Don Martin: Mike Duffy jumps the shark - Full Comment

Don Martin: Mike Duffy jumps the shark - Full Comment

This is worth a read, Poor old Mike must be suffering from a schism of sorts. It's hard to believe that this is the same old Mike Duffy that railed against bad spending and the appointed senate.
Just one more joke in Ottawa folks.

This Is A Great CBC Video Of Peter Van Loan...Explaining....Something

ONE THING THIS GUY IS SURE OF IS THAT  HE'S NOT SURE OF ANYTHING

http://www.cbc.ca/video/#/News/Politics/ID=1320523205

Watch the video at the above link...

You've got to rad the transcript of this entire argument between several Ottawa reporters and Peter Van Loan. Wow. What an evasive guy.

Read the full transcript here
http://www.cbc.ca/politics/insidepolitics/2009/11/scrum-theatre-who-wants-to-know-what-peter-van-loan-finds-interesting-about-the-firearms-commissione.html

Update To The Local Poppy Campaign...Burger King Comments

COMMENTS FROM THE NATIONAL SPOKEPERSON FOR BURGER KING CANADA

 I received a telephone call from Cameron Loopstra this morning at about 8:30AM who filled me in on the details of how Burger King restaurants operates its' partnership with the Royal Canadian Legion on the matter of the National Poppy Campaign.

 What Cameron had to say was this;

 "Burger King in conjunction with the local legions, have allowed for the placement of donations boxes on their countertops and fully allow veterans and their supporters to campaign at the door of the restaurants if they should desire to do so. At the end of the campaign which runs from October 27 until November 11, the restaurant owner or manager then takes the donation to the local legion where the local legion then distributes it accordingly."

 Owner/Operator Don Hamilton put it to me this way when speaking to him on the phone last night "that food safety could be an issue with the pin typed poppies that have been traditionally available in the area." He honestly seemed to have the safety of the community at heart while at the same time pointed out that his restaurants have supported the Legion over the course of time through the placement of donation boxes on coutertops, and by placing a large poppy in the windows of the restaurants he owns.

 With this guy I can agree. The opportunity for human error or accident is immense in this regard. If a pin were to fall into someones' food and then end up in ones' palate or throat, the propensity for human injury could be seriously grave. Food safety is totally important in this matter.

 Mr Loopstra recognized completely that employees can be passionate about many issues as is now demostrated in this issue of the poppies and was grateful that employees voiced their concerns and were demonstrating their support for those who previously fought for Canadas' freedom and security in all global conflicts. To that he made mention of the possibility that there could be "stickers" available from the legion, but that is something that would have to be put forward by the legion, but there have been some historical/anectodotal problems posed through the application of stickers to clothing, and some people have had issues with the sticky glue like things on their clothes.

  The good thing about this whole thing is like I've always said, there's something to be learned from every discussion and today I learned a little bit more about how the food industry handles complaints and employees, and how difficult it can be to walk the line when there are opposing parties debating an issue.

 So to the employees of Burger King in the Oxford region, thank you all for supporting our veterans' and Armed Forces, (I've got a son In there!)and Thanks to Burger King Restaurants and local operator Don Hamilton for continuing their support of a good local and national program by permitting poppy donation boxes to be placed at restaurants that goes to support many people who risked their lives for the freedom you and I enjoy today.

 We'll be keeping our eyes out for the poppy stickers! Remember...Like your freedom? Thank a veteran.

 

And The Four Persons Who Blew The Cash....

BUT FULLY EXPECT YOU TO PAY FOR THEIR ENTERTAINMENT ARE...

Michael Harding....Big Spender Mayor

Ross Gerrie...Big Spending Friend of Labour(Supposedly a socialist, but really, no one knows what this guys is...but he is a big spender!)

Connie Lauder...Big Spender,even when she has no clue what she is spending it on...

Sandra Talbot...I think this apple fell right under the Harding tree.(but then again, are we surprised,this is the same lady that said a golf course would be great because of all the wildlife it brings...because ya know, she grew up next to one and the skating experiences were wonderful!)(oh Sandy, you really need to find something to do with your life)

So folks, remember, November 2010....

This is the month we get to kick these SOB's outta here...so beware Mr Harding, you are turning this into a pitchfork democracy, and the first piece of bacon on that fork is gonna be yours.

Woodstock needs candidates for the next municpal election. We need to put together a group of people with common goals and interests who will work for the people instead of the bureacracy, and we need to rid ourselves of this kind of false leadership that we have seen in the likes of Michael Harding. 

 This is a good community project, the planning for an election that could finally address the democratic deficit that Mr Harding has been promoting.

 "The moment he walked in the room....
 I could see that he was a man of distinction ...
a real big spender...
So good looking, and so refined...."

 Gotta like ole Shirley Maclean.

Gallery Approved By Council..

MAYOR AND THREE CRONIES VOTE TO SPEND MILLIONS ON GALLERY FOR THE ENTITLED FEW

 Despite the objections of 3 city councillors and thousands of Woodstock citizens, Woodstock Mayor Micheal Harding drove the art gallery project down the throats of ratepayers without nary a concern for any citizens' ability to pay the taxes to build this monument or to cover the oeprational costs of a new and expanded art gallery facility.

 In a vote of 4-3(which I did not attend as it was a waste of time going out into the crappy weather to look at the big pinky up on his dais)Woodstock council voted to spend at least $5million to get the ball rolling.

 The art gallery has been a bone of contention on our small city which has a major crack and oxy problem but no services(aside from a highly profitable methadone clinic)available to treat those issues aside from police interventions on the streets, or after the fact, knee jerk reactions. Woodstock has no permanet homeless shelter, but now we do have a fantastic art gallery on its' way...perhaps the curator will take in the down and out and homeless in her climatized facility instead of leaving them to sleep on the grate in front of the gallery...that would be nice now wouldn't it?

 Frankly, the entire issue is one about priorities. This mayor has an issue with what is important and what really isn't. He has issues spending money(or perhaps no issue at all as he seems able to spend vast quantities of money on silly things without repuercussions.)and has refused to be accountable during his tenure as Woodstock mayor.

 And this is how I would have voted.

No.

No to an unwanted and unneeded facility for the entitled few.

(Or were those the people on the back of that flyer that went out in 2006 for someones' election campaign? hmm, good question.)

And I Am Wondering...

POPPIES...CAN ANYONE TELL ME IF THERE ARE "CLIP" POPPIES AVAILABLE VERSUS "PINNED" POPPIES?

 And one story we're following up on today is the issue of wearing legion poppies(remembrance day)at the work place.
 Yesterday I took several calls from people in the food services industry who were instructed not to wear their poppies on the job. According to them they were not really given any alternative at the time to not wearing the popies.
 I made some calls....first to Miami, Florida where I spoke with a lady(Wilmarie)who stated that the parent company had no control over how individual owners operated their franchises which led me to believe that the issue was related to the local operator, but then I made contact with the local operator who actually had a very valid argument as to why they could not be worn and that is what I'm working on today.
 According to the store owner, legion poppies which contain a slender pin that is not fastened in any way to the poppy could fall out and into diners' foods that have been ordered. That is something that no one would want to see.
 The issue wasn't with poppies, but with the pins that are used to adhere them to ones' clothing. After some discussion with the owner/operator we agreed that perhaps there would be a better way of doing this and the thing we decided upon was that there should be contact made with the legion over the issue and to see if there was anyway that "clipped poppies could be had for people in the food industry.
  So this is what we are working on today...if anyone has any ideas on where to find these clipped poppies...send me a mail or post it in the comments section of this story.
 We'll post the legions' response to the matter later on today. At least one thing is good here though...I learned a bit about the food industry and food safety yesterday, and I realized that remembrance day is a pretty important event for a lot of people, including myself.

A Submission...AW(Quite possibly, the most important one ever...in all of world history!)

Experts say we need more experts. Experts everywhere agree.

(Somehow, I knew they would..jim)

It's Guy Fawkes Day! A Tribute To The Only Man To Enter Parliament With Honest Intent

So, to commemorate the only person to ever enter Parliament with honourable intentions....

Remember, remember the Fifth of November,

The Gunpowder Treason and Plot,

I know of no reason why the Gunpowder Treason

Should ever be forgot!!

Guy Fawkes, Guy Fawkes, t'was his intent

To blow up the King and Parli'ment.

Three-score barrels of powder below

To prove old England's overthrow!!!

And Tonight Woodstock City Council Will Vote To Pee Your Money Away

ART GALLERY FOR THE ENTITLED SEEMS TO BE ONLY A VOTE AWAY

 The way things seem to be going here it looks as though Woodstock will be home to a multi million dollar art gallery that will serve at least 10 people, including the staff.

 Local art aficianadoes have been actively twisting arms pursuing the creation of a massive art gallery(for which they have not raised one red cent, but have worked diligently to extort the funds from local ratepayers and federal ratepayers) that will according to them, save Woodstocks' economy and all of the homeless people around the city all with a few simple pictures hanging on a wall somewhere in the old condemned JohnWhite building.

 Frankly, this is a waste of resources. This is nothing more than building of a monument to ones' silly own self. There lacks justification for such expense in this city. The gallery supporters have failed to prove that they actually have anyone walking through the door of the existing gallery except for the people who work there. One individual(yes, I have a name) says that she was regularly asked to cook the books of the place when she worked there. She states that the attendance records are not accurate and that they were beefed up in order to ensure suitability for eligibility of government funding. She says that the board and chair were always included as visitors. She says that all staff were included in head counts as visitors. She also says, that everytime one person walked in and out of the building(even if they were going to their car for something)they were counted as a new visitor. This is shocking, but I believe that it is true. She had no reason to lie to me regarding her tenure at the Gallery.

The thing makes no money for the city, and really, this kind of artistic expression does not increase business. In fact, this gallery will remove valubale retail/office space from the downtown core.
 And frankly, if it were up to me, this thing would be out of the door quicker than it came in.

I'd vote no to spending this kind of money to satisfy the urges of the local entitled friends of our local mayor.

Fire On 11th Line Leaves Two Men Dead

HOUSE FIRE KILLS FATHER AND SON

 A fire in East Zorra Township(to the north of Woodstock)has apparently claimed the life of a father and son who were living in the farm home, but firefighters and police have failed to locate the second body of the two men who were involved.

 The fire was discovered by neighbours driving down the 11th line at 12 AM. They noticed flames poking into the night sky as they approached the farm. They alerted the local fire department, but by the time the department arrived, flames had already consumed the home.

  According to the fire department the upstairs and main floors of the house had already collapsed by the time they had arrived and the house was fully engulfed and impossible to save.

 The body of one man was removed and sent to the local coroner for an autopsy while searchers continmue sifting through debris for the remains of the second man. No names have been released.

 A word of advice to people.

 It is getting colder, be careful with your woodstoves and electric heaters and be sure to test your smoke and carbon monoxide alarms. This is the only defence you have against fires in the home.

Just Looking At Some Pics Of Our Oldest son....

No Wonder He Ended Up In The Military...

Eric...about 10

Eric, 21.

I didn't realize There Could Be A Market In These...

The New Roundabout Direction sign

And The Stupidest Comments I've Heard All Day Are These; Special Thanks To Jason Kenney

Jason Kenney on foreign workers entering Canada

"We've improved the situation under the new regulations," Mr. Kenney said. "Our ministry and provincial labour ministries will be working in much better co-operation going forward to ensure that temporary foreign workers are going into legitimate businesses filling jobs that Canadians won't take."
-referring to comments from the auditor general that foreign workers are coming in on work visas without jobs or employer sponsors and no one knows what they are doing at all.


"There are tens of thousands of employers in this country who would go under if they did not have access to labour for positions that are not being filled by Canadian residents or citizens," Mr. Kenney said in the House of Commons. "In a recession, we need to make sure that businesses that are surviving have the labour they need to do the job and we are proud to be working in co-operation with them."

 What, they're going to let us import children for slaves or something?
 Does he really mean that in the middle of a recession there are countless Canadians who wish not to have a job? And of all of the tens of thousands of employers that supposedly rely only on foreign workers why doesn't Mr Kenney name even one of them?
And if we are in a buy Canadian mode here, then why not employ Canadians first? There are more than a million unemployed persons across this country and if Mr Kenney thinks that not a one of them would do any of these supposed available jobs at any one of his supposed tens of thousands of employers facilities that apparently demands foreign employees then he must be chilling with Rahim Jaffer or something equally ridiculous.
 Frankly, we ought to be hiring Canadians first and fill as many jobs with real citizens of this country before we import labour for anything. And if skilled labour isn't to be found for these jobs, then we ought to be pointing the finger at the governments who have neglected to recognize that education is the key to all things, and that educating your own labour force is a hell of a lot smarter than importing some slaves.

Woodstock Needs A Wandering Registry

WANDERING REGISTRY COULD ASSIST POLICE IN LOCATING MISSING PERSONS

 I would say that just about every person who has met me in the past 13 years or so knows that I have a son with Autism and that he can be a very difficult guy at times. Several times I have had to call for police intervention or assistance after Jayden has jogged out a window or door and off on his own little exploration experience. Several times support workers have misplaced my son or allowed him to run off and this is just plain scary.

 The biggest issue there exists to finding him again  is that he looks like any other kid out there on the streets, and if someone saw him runing down the road they'd be apt to think that some crazy guy is training for the olympics and that he is a really fast runner, right up there with Jesse Ownes!

  Really what needs to be done(besides better vigilance in the home)is the creation of a voluntary wandering registry in order to assist police with identifying the missing person. This system should contain several elements. There should be access to fingerprints and access to updated photographs that would help local officers sight the person who is missing.

 The system could be setup similar to a web portal,with usernames and passwords, that would allow parents and caregivers the opportunity to keep the systemn running up to date with information that parents themselves would input into a web based form. Pictures could be uploaded to the site. Parents could pay for fingerprints to be taken by the police. The site would only be used in the event of an emergency and could  possibly save a life.

 A wandering registry could be used for any person, young or old. Parents and caregivers could supply the information to the site, and the police would have full access to it. The site could be used for Alzheimers' patients and for people like my son who have no understanding of the outside world. This could be avery valubale tool for police in the event of an emergency.

 I would hope that the new police chief takes this matter up. The last one promised to, but then retired. Go figure.

And 57 People Show Up To See The "Royals"

THE MONARCHY IS ABOUT THE BIGGEST JOKE OF THE NEW MILLENIA

 Canadians turned out in small numbers to greet the royal baggage...err couple in Cupids, Newfoundland yesteday and despite the fact that there is absolutely nothing else to do in this fishing town of 500 and some odd people, only 57 of them could muster up the energies to drag themselves outside to see the spectacle of the royals arrive in their community.

  According to several stories I read yesterday the numbers for the "royal" visit were embarrassingly low. In total the couple made 4 stops yesterday and in total only 112 people showed up in those regions to greet the future "king" of England and his dowdy duchess. These numbers are about as good as the numbers they'd get if they were touring merry old England. The monarchy has died in that nation, so why honour it here in this nation?

 And frankly, there really is no good reason for Canadians to pay homage to these people anymore. Sure, we can all say that we "owe" our beginnings to these people, but on that I beg to differ.

 Most of our ancestors fled merry old England or the commonwealth in order to escape the life of a peasant or the brutal existence the "royals" afforded all of us back in those days. We fled, that's right.

 There was very little hope for any person living in monarchial England and so we escaped with our dreams and hopes to a new world. Some of us survived, many of us didn't, and most of us didn't come here to be overseen by a King nor Queen after having left that regime behind.

 Canadians understand where they've come from, but today in an age of rampant immigration from every corner of the globe, the "royals" look pretty out of touch with the reality of what Canada now is.

 Frankly I think the "royals" are looking for a new world themseves. Perhaps Canada is the place for them? But I doubt it, given the low turnout to wave and greet the people who once earned their living from the broken backs of the peasantry. I don't think they are welcome anymore, or at least not welcome enough for us to want to pay for their trip across Canada. Yes, I think that the "royals" are looking for a new home because the one they fostered over hundreds of years has blown up in their faces and now the remnants of merry old England can only be seen through a childs' Kaleidoscope in sliver fashion, and frankly, that's all that's left of England now, slivers of what was once and what will never be again.

Wow, and I Thought Woodstocks' Mayor Spent Too Much Getting Elected

NEW YORK MAYOR MICHAEL BLOOMBERG SPENDS $100 MILLION FOR HIS JOB

 And so I opened up the paper this morning(okay open is a bit much as I read this online)and was not too surprised to see that the Republicans swept several states clean in the USA yesterday considering the testy argument the Americans are having over many issues but predominantly the health care issue.

 What really blew me away though was the fact that Michael Bloomberg, the New York mayor spent a record $100million to get himself elected to a job that pays only a couple of hundred thousand a year. This is the same mayor who retooled term limits from two terms only to unlimited terms which enabled him to run for office again.

 It is shocking.

 Who in their right mind would spend that kind of money to get a job with a zero chance of payback? Is it possible that there is much more money to be made in the office of mayor and this is why these guys routinely spend vast amounts of money in order to get their poorly paid jobs?

 In Woodstock our mayor last election spent a record amount of money to get elected to a job that paid very little at the time. Back then I wondered, what kind of a democracy do we live in when it all boils down to a nice suit and a wad of cash? Myself I spent about $900.00 to get 2400 votes, which works out to a little more than 25 cents a vote. I felt immense guilt even spending that money. It just felt wasteful. Our mayor spent nearly $40,000.00 to get elected to his post, nearly $12.00 per vote, a horriffic number by any measure. Federally and provincially there are limits to the amount of money one can spend on an election. Most times that number works out to around the $2.65 mark. Any spending over that and you will be charged under the Elections Act. The same should apply for municpal elections as well.
 Obviously, money buys elected offices, especially mayors' offices.

 Frankly, there should be limits imposed on the amount of money that one can spend to get themselves elected. It just became too obvious to me that there must be something more to these jobs than what these guys regularly shill for, because if there wasn't you wouldn't see such overspending fo such minimally paying jobs.

 Yes, it may be New York we are talking about here, but really, elections in Canada are not much different than elections in New York. The corruption is there, and it exists here. And frankly, money is the prime corrupter of men.

 Too bad we wouldn't see elections based upon the merits and visions of the individuals running instead of the thickness of their walletts. I guess it's just another form of the big cod piece thing.

Ottawa ill-prepared for emergencies: Auditor General - thestar.com

Ottawa ill-prepared for emergencies: Auditor General - thestar.com

Wow, this shows how truly inept these CONservatives have been at running the country.

The only thing they've been running is...Canada into the ground.

Canadians standing in line for H1N1 vaccinations while millions of others have no access to the vaccine, companies selling lead laced jewelry to kids that Health Canada cant get off the shelves. The list is endless.

I just wonder, how many more years will Canadians allow themselves to be governed by this ship of fools?

Oh Heck...

And The Facebook status of the day is this....

"Whenever I feel blue, I remember to breathe again!"

And What Is The Point Of All Of This?

DOESN'T SECTION 13 ALREADY COVER THIS KIND OF STUFF?

http://www.cpcca.ca/home.htm‏

 It never ceases to amaze me that in this day and age that we require another committee to study this non-issue. Frankly, the issue of hate is already covered by the kangaroo courts(the CHRC) and the criminal code of Canada and why is there so much emphasis placed on this one group of peoples when many other groups of people are subjected to the same racism and hatred that this group is supposedly suffering from?

 I suppose that some groups are entitled to more protection under the law than others and I suppose that if one particular group is connected enough politically then they can easily influence a bunch of otherwsie boorish and lame MP's into jumping on the racism bandwagon.

 Perhaps there should be a committee struck to see how they could waste more tax dollars on this one issue that seemingly never dissappears...or perhaps it does dissappear but someone loves to drag out the old bogeyman of hate just to see how much more resources they can extract from the rest of us.

 All I know is that to create a special group of people with parliamentary backing is really just singling out this one special group for perhaps more attacks...afterall, people hate those people who are entitled more than anything and the way it looks this one group seems very entitled, or at least enttiled enough to get their very own parliamentary committee.

 Perhaps the best way to stop this messy thing called hate would be to stop importing more people who hate that one particular group of peoples. And we'll let you figure out which group seems to hate that group.

Here's An Interesting Site For Political Junkies

http://parliament2.ca

Canadas' Parliamentary Budget Officer says Hard Times Are Just Around The Corner

BUDGET OFFICER SAYS CANADA FACING STRUCTURAL DEFICIT

Parliamentary Budget Officer Kevin Page says that Canada is in for some tough times coupled with tough choices as we move closer to a permanent structural deficit.

 Page says that the current government will face a persistent annual shortfall of at least $19billion which will require massive spending cuts and tax hikes to combat.

 Stephen Harpers' CONservative government refuses to acknowledge this though and they continue to claim that they will balance the books in the coming future and that by 2013 we should only face a deficit of around $5billion. Harper says that the government will be able to refill its' coffers when the recession ends as tax revenues begin to rise on higher manufacturing output and retail sales taxes.

 Page says that the economy should pick up by 2013 but the revenue shortfall will be next to impossible to manage. Structural deficits are something that occurs when an economy is otherwise fine but a government overspends too much.

 The CONServatives, campaigned against deficits and have have spent enormous amounts of energies to play down Canada's deficit while under their care.

 The CONS say that we should be happy that we are not facing the same mess the USA is facing.

(as if that means anything....you know, when I was a kid my mother always said, blame yourself first before dragging someone else into your own mess...accept responsibility for your actions.)

Liberals and New Democrats together could unseat Harper - thestar.com

Liberals and New Democrats together could unseat Harper - thestar.com

Of course, everyone knows how I feel about this situation. I have always felt that these two parties are so close together on the vast majority of topics that they should work together as one party working for the benefit of Canadians.
Here in Oxford riding we have been successful at pulling some NDP heavy weights into the LPC and I can only hope that the rest of the country does the same.

CBC News - British Columbia - Man dies of stab wounds after pursuit

CBC News - British Columbia - Man dies of stab wounds after pursuit

And this is one of the strangest things I've read all day.

FLU SHOT CLINICS FOR THIS COMING WEEK

FLU SHOT CLINICS FOR THIS COMING WEEK..OXFORD

MON. Nov. 2, 3PM-7PM Ingersoll -- St. Jude's School 30 Caffyn St.


TUES. Nov. 3, 3PM-7PM Tillsonburg -- Special Events Centre 60 Cedar St.

WED. Nov. 4, 3PM-7PM Woodstock -- Central Public School 410 Hunter St.

THURS. Nov. 5 3PM-7PM Mount Elgin -- Community Centre on Plank Line

SAT. Nov. 7 10AM-2PM Woodstock -- Goff Hall 381 Finkle St.

Save Local TV

It's hard to say who is right or wrong, but really, shouldn't the cable guys have to pay for the products they are selling us?
http://watch.ctv.ca/news/save-local/regulate-rates/#clip221316

And Did You Know?

THAT DUNCAN HINES WAS A REAL PERSON?

 Duncan Hines was born on March 26, 1880, in Bowling Green, Ky and later went on to become a well published author on the topic of food and fine dining. He was the author of "Adventures in Good Eating” which was published in 1936, the same year in which the Berlin Olympics ran.

 Hines originally began his career as a salesman and during his salesman travels visited many restaurants across the USA. He began keeping a journal of his favourite restaurant experiences and in the early years would send christmas cards to friends and family that contained his recommendations for fine dining. after some time he put all of those recommendations into a book that he called "Adventures in Good Eating".

 In 1948 Hines was approached by another ad man who thought that they could create a national brand that would suggest higher quality if the Hines name was attached to it. Hines agreed and the Duncan Hines Brand was launched under the company name, Hines-Park Food Corp. Over the years the company produced more than 150 food items under the Duncan Hines brand name.

 Hines died in 1959 at the age of 78.

Gerry Rafferty...Baker Street

And This Was The Seventies

gerry rafferty baker street
by iowaluder

Environment Ministers Call On Business To Develope Better Packaging

ONTARIO ENVIRONMENT MINISTER DEMANDS "SUSTAINABLE PACKAGING" FROM BUSINESS

 Ontario Environment Minister John Gerretsen would like to see all Canadian businesses begin practicing what he calls "sustained packaging" of consumer goods and has found support amongst his federal and provincial counterparts on the matter.

 Gerretsen would like to see a national set of packaging guidelines put into effect that would reduce the amount of garbage that ends up in landfills across the country and province. "There is an overall view that the amount of packaging being produced in Canada in which products are being marketed is excessive and so we want to see specific guidelines adopted nationwide so the amount of packaging will be lessened".

 And my opinion on this matter?

 Frankly, this is about one of the smartest things that we could be doing to combat the growing issue of mountains of packing garbage and it would be a perfect opportunity to see this instituted as recycling has become sort of a non-option with the fall of recycled materials prices during this current global recession.

 Making manufacturers more responsible for the garbage they create is a perfect fit for a world driven by consumerism.

And Some Posters We Spotted Around The City Today

SOME ODD POSTERS HANGING AROUND TOWN

And Todays' Favourite Facebook status Update

When I’m feeling down, I like to whistle. It makes the neighbor’s dog run to the end of his chain and gag himself.

Oh What Does It Matter?

JUST ONE MORE DEAD CANADIAN SOLDIER, THAT'S ALL FOLKS

  Steven Marshall, 24, from 11 Field Squadron, 1 Combat Engineer Regiment, based in Edmonton, Alberta was killed yesterday by an improvised explosive device as he walked while on patrol in Afghanistan. It was this soldiers' first week on the job in Kandahar. Marshall was the only person injured/killed in the explosion.

 Canadas' contribution to the Afghan state now totals 133 dead young Canadians that would have been better off staying at home.

What Will The County Do With All The Extra Cash?

COUNTY OF OXFORD IN MIDST OF GIANT TAX GRAB

 The County of Oxford is in the midst of an unprecedented tax grab this year.

With increases in water and sewage rates, and increases in garbage collection rates, the county is well on its' way to pocketing more of your money, but wait, it gets better.

 In just a few months, the province of Ontario will begin picking up the tab for ODSP and welfare services across the county, so I am wondering, what will the County of Oxford do with all of those extra millions of dollars that they will no longer need to earmark for those services?

 Your guess is about as good as mine...but I think that this extra cash will go to the useless bureaucrats and politicos that run this place.

  

Proposed New County of Oxford Logo...A Submission

I'm thinking that the Author of This one...May Be upset over All Those Nasty rate increases...

Perhaps it should say...submit or move one...

re:County to Drop the Hammer on Water Meter Deadbeats



Written by Adam J. Nyp
A small number of Woodstonians have been refusing to have a water meter installed in their homes...but that could be about to change.
Last night, County Council approved a water rate for people without water meters of 100-dollars a month for water and 100-dollars a month for a sewer surcharge.
That adds up to 2400-dollars a year.
That's far too excessive for Councillor Pat Sobeski. "There is a need to bring in compliance, and as Mr. Walton (Rob Walton) said, we need to introduce a hammer, I thought he brought in a sledgehammer."
Mayor Michael Harding, however, welcomes the high fee. "Whether it's a tack-hammer or a sledgehammer...I think some people in our community do need a sledgehammer in the same way we have horrible fines for speeding and other kinds of stuff." "I think the public demands the rules apply for everyone and if you want to absent yourself from those rules, your gonna pay a penalty."
The good news is there is still plenty of time to comply. The installations will continue until October 2010 with the first readings being taken in January 2011. So far 3000 have been installed across the city.
No, Mr Harding. The public does NOT demand that the rules apply to everyone. If that statement were true you wouldn't have any need to resort to your favourite (maybe only) tool. Intimidation. There is overwhelming opposition to these meters. The fact that you've only managed to get 3000 to comply illustrates that nicely. The public neither wants nor needs them. They're about as popular, and as big a scam, as bag tags.
Is anyone paying attention? Your elected "representatives" are talking about dropping the hammer on you. They've forgotten who they work for, if they ever knew or cared.
I've got news for Harding and the rest of the Politburo. The election is going to be in October 2010. We'll see who drops the goddam hammer.

fire.them.all.

Should livestock on way to slaughter get more respect? - thestar.com

Should livestock on way to slaughter get more respect? - thestar.com

This is an interesting read. Of course, many know how I feel about the way we treat our livestock on the way to the butcherhouse.
Anyone wants to know more about animal abuse on the way to the butcher should take the time to watch
EARTHLINGS...and then you'll see what I'm talking about!
Go Liberal MP Alexandra Mendes (Brossard-La Prairie)Go!
This is a worthwhile argument!

Harper Government Criticized For Secrecy On Stimulus Projects

GOVERNMENT REFUSES TO DIVULGE DETAILS OF EXPENDITURES

Pat Martin, NDP MP has heavily criticized the Harper government for failing to provide details of where and how tax dollars are being spent on infrastructure programs.

 Martin told a parliamentary committee in Ottawa that he felt that the CONServatives were playing an elaborate shell game with tax monies that were supposed to be doled out for infrastructure upgrades after the government refused to release details of how many jobs have been created and whre exactly the money has all gone.

 Later in the day John Baird(the cheshire cat)stomped his way into the office of parliamentary budget secretary Kevin Page and dumped on his desk more than 4,400 paper files that supposedly contained the details of those expenses(but didn't) but then related to the press that it was impossible to tell what's been done as no provinces or municipality has submitted invoices for any work yet.

 Gerard Kennedy, Liberal MP says that the government has spent 33% more stimulus funds in CONservative held ridings than in alternative ridings and in some cases like in Ontario, those numbers are up to 102% higher than in alternative held ridings.

   

More than 500 on federal payroll top $200K

More than 500 on federal payroll top $200K

This is not good. There needs to be some control on how much these guys are paid, oh yes, I forgot, there is control, they control how much they are paid.
Frankly, it's time to place a limit on these guys.(and girls)

CBC News - Windsor - Man linked to slain Islamic radical nabbed in Windsor

CBC News - Windsor - Man linked to slain Islamic radical nabbed in Windsor

Wow folks, this is crap your pants kind of stuff, right here in our very own backyards.

The Heart FM Poll Of The Day...Taxes....Bag Tags....Arrrgggghhh!

And my response to the question posed as the poll of the day on the Heart FM...Poll of the Day
"Do you agree with the counties decision to raise the price of garbage tags to $1.50 on May 1st, 2010 and $1.75 in January of 2011?"

I keep wondering...what ever happened to the "extra" tax dollars that were left pinned to our tax bills after the county first imposed bag tag fees in the very beginning? I mean, they never discounted our tax bills, but imposed a new tax therefore adding more to the county spending pot,and much less value for the taxpayer.



Perhaps cutting some of those SUNSHINE list wage earners salaries would be a better way of raising money for this purpose, or better yet, force all county departments to report all of their expenditures online at all times for taxpayer scrutiny and watch the complaints roll in and then see how much money we could be saving. I bet there would be no need for another tax grab when those bureacrats all realize that their spending habits were being watched by the people who pay the bills.

re:on Deb Ashbees' S-R Letter On Domestic Violence

Kudos to Deb Roswell!



I just want to say thank you for keeping this issue in the mind of the public. It is a sad issue this issue of domestic violence. We see it everyday on the streets, in homes across this country, but yet many or most of us are afraid to stand up or speak out about it, especially in the case of men who are fearful of looking less "manly" in the eyes of their respective male peers should they intervene in another mans' personal relationships.
 Men, just what the heck kind of animals are we when we cannot even attempt to stop our gender related counterparts from unleashing violence upon their mates?
 We all need to participate in the prevention of social and domestic violence.
 I tell people all the time that there is never a time when a person should feel it necessary to club or emotionally/verbally abuse someone that they claim to love and respect. people argue, but argument should be about debate, not abuse.
 There is never an appropriate time or place for violence anywhere.
 My sister was married three times before she died.
 Two of those men were awful wife beaters. One man beat her on their wedding eve. That same man beat their only child while she was an infant. Criminal charges were laid, promises of I'll never do it again were made, plea bargains gained, and beatings re-issued as soon as he returned to the matrimonial home.She re-married, was re-beaten, again on their wedding night. I moved her out of that apartment while that husband was at work only 3 months later. Another man emotionally abused her for 5 years until she had a stroke during an argument. She was never the same person.
 Luckily my sister passed away, luckily I say because after 20 years of brutal beatings she finally succumbed to an illness which to this very day I believe was a direct physical manifestation of the hard realities of the abuses she had endured both physical and emotional.
 She died quietly, but not quiet enough that any of us who knew her would ever forget her. The memories of her suffering will always be carried around. My partner and I will never forget that.
 Somehow I get the feeling that for the first time in her life that she finally had some peace. And that's what makes us never forget that this is something that can never be forgotten. And frankly, I just don't think that I could ever forget the christmas eve that we waited for her and her husband to arrive at 6pm , and when 9pm chimed, my dad decided to take a drive only to discover that her husband had beaten the crap out of her and left her lying in the snow in front of the smashed bay window. And of course the weasel was no where to be found. Of course all I can think now is that the man was a coward, and of course he was, just as every person that exacts a beating is a coward because they have yielded to the physical versus the cerebral.
 Talk people. Talk to everyone. Couples should talk, friends should talk, relatives and so on so forth. The only way to stop this miserable tragedy is for everyone to open their eyes. We are a community and we can stop this by just talking about it and being vigilant and offering a helping hand to those we feel could use it.  That's what a family would do.

And If There was One Thing....

IF YOU HAD ONE OPPORTUNITY TO CHANGE THE WORLD...WHAT WOULD YOU WANT TO CHANGE?

 For me this is quite simple, or so it seems. 

 I think that if there was one thing that I could do that would make a difference to my fellow citizens of this planet, the one thing I would do is this...

  I would pick up one piece of garbage from the streets everyday for the rest of my life.

 If we all did the same thing, perhaps this planet wouldn't look like a giant trash bin for the most part.
 What would you do to make this world a better planet?

CONServatives Move To Fill More Prisons with Non-Violent Convicts

REMOVAL OF "DAY PAROLE" WILL "ONLY" COST $60MILLION A YEAR...TO START

 Day parole, which is generally issued to a person who will be placed into a community living facility(group home) is about to get the axe from the CONservative government if Peter van Lunatic gets his way.

 Van Loan says that white collar non-violent criminals are getting an easy ride and that the public has demanded longer prison sentences for non-violent offenders.

 Day parole was started in the early 1990's to alleviate the issue of prison over crowding and the overwhelming costs of jailing large segments of the criminal population who were considered to be non-violent. Day parole can work in some instances and is not easily obtained as Van Loan argues. In fact, the requirements for day parole are far more stringent than say for a person who is released on full parole. Day parole also allows for more frequent contacts between correctional services staff(parole officers and halfway house staffers)and ex-convicts. Most full parolees are asked to sign in to the parole officer once per month or in some cases once every two months. In the case of day parole those contacts can take place several times per day as the inmate is still technically imprisoned and still serving a period of incarceration.

 Personally I think that removing this "re-socialization tool" will without a doubt cause an increase in crime over time as there will be less oversight over the released parolee than what there is with a parolee released into a halfway house setting. Less oversight only means one thing.

 Perhaps what these guys should be doing is having JUDGES enforce the goddamned law with effect if they want to keep people off of the streets. Judges have discretionary powers in sentencing and perhaps it is time for this government to re-examine their roles in how this prison issue is playing out. But removing a tool that has proved to be quite useful is a silly way of attempting to combat a problem.

 And finally, considering that crime has fallen substantially in the past 5 years is there a real reason why these guys should want to spend $60million on something that quite likely will not do one thing for any victim of crime? Frankly I think the real issue is that Van Loony didn't get his name  did get his name on a stimulus cheque and this is a good make up project for the man.

Hudak Offers Tons Of Criticism, But Nothing For a Plan

ONTARIO PC'S ARE CHOMPING AT THE BIT

 Ontario PC leader Tim Hudak spends lots of time criticizing the McGuinty government but offers no constructive balance to any of his arguments. He is a one man smoke show.

 Yesterday Hudak stated that "the liberals have no plan on how they intend to deal with the burgeoning deficit" but then in the same breath offered nothing that would indicate that he could have done any better and said nothing that would make one believe he would have the ability to dig us out of this mess that we are in.

 The only thing  that Tim could say is that they are doing a bad job and that leads me to believe that Tim would have done the same under similar circumstances.

 Frankly, it is stupid to open your mouth when you have nothing to say even in defence of your own position.

 

Ontario Moves To Amend The Ontario Municipal Act

NEW RULES FOR THE 2010 MUNICPAL ELECTION

 The Ontario government introduced legislation yesterday that would see the rules change for all future Ontario Municipal elections.

 According to a spokesperson, the government will be tightening all of the rules for fundraising and will be barring incumbents from rolling over their campaign surpluses into future campaigns. As well they intend to:

-Move election day up two weeks to the fourth Monday in October, before daylight-saving time ends.

-Bar councillors/mayors from using surpluses in future elections. 


-Require councils to appoint compliance and audit committees to oversee all public complaints about campaign violations, ending the practice of making politicians police themselves.


-Raise the penalties for violating the Elections Act, up to $25,000 for individuals and $50,000 for corporations or trade unions.


-introduce mandatory electronic filing, putting donation and expense records online.


-Work with municipalities to improve the voters list, and allowing use of data from library cards or recreation programs where available.


-Require all voters to show photo ID on voting day to reduce possibility of fraud.


-Close all loopholes in fundraising rules, to prevent candidates from claiming parties for supporters or full-page self-promotional ads as "fundraising events." 
 
 
So this isn't so bad, but what it is sorely lacking is an effective recall measure that would give electors the ability to remove people from office who are useless or corrupt.
 Without that, there really is nothing.

A Letter From G.J. Rancourt, Former Conservative London-Fanshawe Candidate For CPC Nomination

re:Rancourt Quits Tories‏Re: Embattled Rancourt Quits Tories by Chip Martin


From: G.J. Rancourt (ranco424@sympatico.ca)

Sent: October 25, 2009 8:46:50 PM

To: ladygodiva@sympatico.ca

1 attachment

Response ...doc (28.5 KB)

Please see attached.

Dedicated to Solutions,
Gilles J. Rancourt


G. J. Rancourt B.B.A.; M.B.A.; B. of Ed;
Director & Candidate: CHP (London-Fanshawe)
Toll-Free: 1-877-452-1212
London Office: 519-452-1222



In response to Chip Martin's recent article on my quitting the Torie Party allow me to correct three (3) facts that should have been verified in advance of publication.  Let me also "unspin" the fiction of Mr. John Brotzel.
First of all, there were not two failed attempts to represent the Conservatives - just the one. This one attempt failed, I was told by Party Brass in Ottawa, because of the "cloud hanging over my head" as result of an "an informal investigation" that was prompted by 15 false allegations. These allegations were fabricated by those displaced former directors who were not happy to have lost their former seats on the Board to new ethnic members who had been democratically elected at the May 15th Annual General Meeting.
This was no "coup" as Mr. Brotzel would like you to believe for how can a democratically held election be considered "a coup"? In fact, had not Mr. Brotzel's name been placed on our Slate of Directors, he would not be a director today much less the President.
Secondly, the membership applications were taken on the basis that new party members would participate in a Nomination Meeting where they could vote for the candidate of their choice, but alas, and true to form, the Conservative Party once again usurped member's rights by eroding democracy through the appointment of the candidate. Why take risks with democracy when an appointment provides a great degree of control? The Candidate’s greater allegiance then is to the Party who appointed him and NOT the members!
Need we wonder why 45% of eligible voters believe that their vote no longer matters?
As a result of not having a Nomination Meeting, we were faced with a decision: should we send these applications in for membership or should we first ask each new member what they would have us do with their application? In order to maintain integrity, our group decided to contact all the applicants.
Two months later, after we had completed our phone calls, we submitted the balance of applications to the Regional Controller, Marion Meinen but she promptly rejected them! We then bypassed this most difficult local board by sending them directly to the Membership Department in Ottawa, where they were immediately accepted into membership.
Thirdly, and for the record our resignation letter read as follows:
…We…(resign) “in protest” of the racial discomfort shown locally by London-Fanshawe EDA. We also object to the Conservative Party of Canada’s disregard of grass roots membership—with the sole exception of using the membership for constant solicitation of donations. We are tired of “top-down democracy.” We further object to the CPC’s undemocratic and unjust practices.
I have always admired Mr. Chip Martin's long term involvement in local party politics. I am now left in awe at his ability to write fiction.

Burgessville Man Arrested For Hit and Run Death

BURGESSVILLE MAN RUNS OVER 80 YEAR OLD GUELPH WOMAN AND LEAVES HER TO DIE ON THE ROAD

 Jesse Riem 19 of Burgessville was charged with careless driving and failing to remain at the scene of an accident after the truck he was driving contacted and killed 80 year old Joanne Heydon of Guelph.
  He was released yesterday after grinning his way through a bail hearing that described the death of the 80 year old lady.
 According to witnesses Riem allegedly turned a corner and knocked the lady to the ground, killing her almost instantly. He then pulled his vehicle over, looked at the old lady laying on the street in several busy lanes of traffic, then drove off to presumably hide from the law without another thought for the old lady who had just been run over. 
  Riem left the elderly lady on the side of the road to die without a single thought for her well being. The man should not have been sent home on bail.
 His license has been suspended(thank goodness) and he has been ordered to remain at his parents farm at RR#1 Burgessville. He is not to be behind the wheel of any vehicle...I wonder if that includes tractors?

New Woodstock Police Force Is Good For Morale

LOCAL POLICE SEEM HAPPY WITH MOVE TO LOCAL FORCE

 I had a good conversation about the new local Woodstock Police force with an officer last night who was attending a tow- away from the street beside my shop.

 I asked a couple of questions mostly about how he felt the turnover went and was going and what his impression of the new chief was/is.

 I was totally impressed.

 The officer(I didn't get his name)was happy that the force had gone this way and he was happy with the move from OCPS to Woodstock Police. He said instead of only 3 officers on overnight in Woodstock, now they have 7 officers overnight...and that is good for Woodstock. Anything that makes the streets a wee bit safer at night is good for all of us and can only lead to better things.

 The best thing was...he said his boss, the newly installed Chief of Police, Rod Freeman, was a good guy and liked to actually GET THINGS DONE! Which means for us that the morale of the police force would appear to be healing after many years of difficult times and lax leadership. And that is a strong positive for our city.

 He said the most pressing issue was the issue of Oxycontin in our community...those nasty little doctor prescribed opiate pills that are everywhere here.(hell, it's easier to buy pills on the streets of Woodstock than it is to get a hamburger!) And he actually had some damned smart ideas about why there are so many of them out there.

 The biggest thing that he mentioned that stuck out like a thorn to me was that there is no communication between family doctors and the local methadone clinic doctor.(which he called a business...which he is totally correct about...make no mistake that meth clinic makes bundles of cash)

 I would think that in order to stop the flood of abusers that the gates should be opened for information to flow freely between family doctors and the clinic itself. This is one the smartest suggestions that I've heard in recent times and I'm wondering how the heck can we make this happen? Ernie Hardeman step up to the plate please! You are the provincial representative for us and we need your help for this one.You could introduce a motion or a bill in the legislature to deal with that issue...the transfer of information between the privately owned meth clinics and family physicians.

 Like he said, if family doctors were aware that people were on methadone, they may be less likely to write out further prescriptions to that person, or perhaps they would be in a better position to cut peoples' un-needed extras from their prescriptions.

 And that is something that I can get totally behind. There needs to be a plan for this stuff...it's about as serious as it can get, has ruined many lives in this community and for once it appears that we may have a force that is prepared to work through the issue.

 All I know is that I was definitely impressed with the officers' professionalism and his concern for this community...and that's a hell of a lot better than anything we've seen here in a long time. 

CBC Launches A New Politics Website!

HERE'S A NEW WAY TO GET YOUR MORNING FIX OF POLITICS

CBC has launched a new website that is devoted entirely to politics.

 Check it out, you'll love it!

Tory tied to players in Quebec scandal - thestar.com

Tory tied to players in Quebec scandal - thestar.com

And here is some more on the CONServative senator who chills with alleged mobsters.

Oxford CONservative MPP Hardeman On The Provincial Deficit

OXFORD MPP CALLS ONTARIO DEFICIT "ASTRONOMICAL"

 Progressive Conservative MPP Ernie Hardeman says that he has received complaints from local residents regarding Ontarios' looming provincial deficit which he calls "astronomical".

 Hardeman says that people expected a deficit considering the loss of employment and the added costs of more provincial services combined with falling government revenues, but nobody expected it to grow from a projected $14.1billion to what he describes as an "astronomical deficit".

 Well Ernie, I suppose that one thing you could do would be to ask Stephen Harper and Jim Flaherty, your federal CONservative friends, or Dave Mackenzie, the local MP whom you are very familiar with(being you share the same ideology and political backgrounds)how it was that they managed to spend Canadas' surplus monies and create the largest deficit in Canadian history in only 3 short years? This may offer you a clue as to how Ontario got into this mess as well. It's kind of a national problem you see.

 The funniest line in the entire damned story was this...

  "Hardeman said the average person can't review the province's spending line by line".

 Well, when you and your friends held the reigns of power in the good old province of Ontario, I didn't see you chomping at the bit wanting to expose the books to the people of Ontario. If you had, I might have voted for you. Never once did you ever beckon the presses to exort your point of view that the provinces finances should be open to public scrutinization.

 What I see today is a man who is flailing around trying to catch some press for whatever silly stuff he possibly can. And that seems to be sytemic to the way the provincial CONservatives are operating.

 Instead of offering Ontario a vision of what should be and how to get there, they offer nothing but a flailing simple minded argument like what Ernie offered the public today.

 The first thing that MPP's should be doing, and as well MP's, is to accept a pay cut combined with a pay freeze for the next 5 years, or until they find a way out of this mess they've created. This should be extended to the provincial and federal public sectors as well.

 And the only thing left to say is this...

  In a day and age of computer technology there is no reason why there cannot be real time reporting of all provincial and federal expenditures.

 All government employees expenses should be online. All MP's and MPP's shouldbe forced to put all of their financial operations' information online aside from something that could be categorized as a security measure for which there would have to be some mighty big just cause. That means all things related to operating the office of MPP or MP or whatever.

 All departments which receive money should be forced to do the same. All organizations that are handed tax dollars should be forced to put their budgets online as well alowing for public scrutiny. Corporations that receive public monies should be forced to divulge their expenses online for all of their operations if they desire public money. in the case of GM and other car makers that took public funds, they should be forced to put everything online or get no more cash. 

 The only thing that should be private is a private individuals informations. 

City of Toronto Water Supply Has Drug Resistant Bacteria In it

UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN SCIENTIST SAYS TORONTO WATER CONTAINS DRUG RESISTANT BACTERIA

 Prof. Chuanwu Xi, a University of Michigan scientist has arrived at a disturbing conclusion in some of his most recent work and that is that Torontos' water supply is heavily contaminated with a variant strain of a drug resistant bacteria.

 The professor says that the water is still somewhat safe to drink although in the future the drug resistant bacteria contained in the water could easily migrate to bad bacteria, creating a drug resistant scary bacteria that could cause much human misery and illness.

 The most frightening thing about the entire study is that the professor has discovered a drug resistant bacteria in the water supply that cannot be killed with any conventional typed drugs or antibiotics.

 Overuse of antibiotics has created numerous drug resitant bacteria. The biggest concern for people is that eventually there will be no known antibiotics that can treat human infections if we continue to misuse antibiotics as we do now.

Beware...there are tons of Deer out There

DRIVERS BEWARE, THERE ARE DEER EVERYWHERE!

  This week I have spotted numerous deer while travelling around the county of Oxford. Every fall there is a migration of the animals as they seek out new territories for the winter months and drivers are warned to keep your eyes open for these guys as they love to leap into the headlights of oncoming cars!

 Yesterday I spotted a freshly hit deer on Stage road between highway 59 and Sweaburg road. It couldn't have been dead for more than a few minutes as there was still fresh blood running from its' ears.

 Whoever the driver was that hit the deer must have been darned lucky though; the deer was enormous and could have easily rolled through the windshield of a car.

 So, take care while driving and watch for those beady little eyes in the ditches of Oxford County.

Libya Places Travel Restrictions on Canadians

Libyan Government Retaliates After Harper Tongue Lashing

 Canadians who were planning on taking a trip into Libya in the near future will be forced to rethink their plans after the Libyan government imposed visa restrictions on Canadians travelling to Libya.

 It is believed that the restrictions are being placed on Canada after Prime Minister Harper made it known that he or a representative of his would berate the Libyan leader during a planned stopover in Newfoundland last month.

 The Libyan leader cancelled his appearance on the rock after he was made aware that he would receive a tongue lashing for the heroes welcome handed to Lockerbie bomber,  Abdel Baset al-Megrahi after his release earlier due to medical reasons.

 The move could affect several Canadian companies who are operating in Libya, including one company that is building and monitoring the worlds' largest irrigation project, The Great Man-Made River Project.

Mother Arrested For Autistic Sons' Murder

MISSISSAUGA MOTHER ARRESTED IN SONS' DEATH

 The mother of a 15 year old autistic boy was arrested yesterday morning after a 911 call was made from a motel room where an attempted suicide had taken place.

 Police and emergency crews arrived on scene to find Seow Cheng Sim, (the mother) and the badly traumatized body of 15 year old Tony Khor of Mississauaga in the motel room on Hurontario Street.

 Investigators say that she took her son to the motel after an argument with her husband Saturday evening and then apparently murdered him the next morning.

 _________________________

 As everyone knows that reads this blog, I have a son who is 14 who suffers from Autism. His name is Jayden.

 Almost every day of the week I wake up at some completely ridiculous time of the day because of him, but still I carry on because frankly there is little else that one can do about the sitiuation and really there is no other place to send him to live in this region. (even if this existed I would still keep him in my home as he is my family and we love him to pieces)Oxford just sucks for services for disabled people who cannot care for themselves. I will assume that this lack of service is the norm, a trans-provincial issue.

 The stress on families with kids with autism is immense and many marital breakdowns can be attributed to this. Many people would probably fold over from the pressures of living with a person like my son.

 There is no justification for a murder in this country or anywhere on the planet.

 I don't know how this person could have done this to her own child and it makes me weep to think of the whys and hows of the case.

    

Long-term use of mobile phones 'may be linked to cancer'

A £20million, decade-long investigation overseen by the World Health Organisation (WHO) will publish evidence that heavy users face a higher risk of developing brain tumours later in life, The Daily Telegraph can disclose.

The conclusion, while not definitive, will undermine assurances from the government that the devices are safe and is expected to put ministers under pressure to issue stronger guidance.
A preliminary breakdown of the results found a “significantly increased risk” of some brain tumours “related to use of mobile phones for a period of 10 years or more” in some studies.
The head of the Interphone investigation said that the report would include a “public health message”.
Britain’s Department of Health has not updated its guidance for more than four years. It says that “the current balance of evidence does not show health problems caused by using mobile phones”, and suggests only that children be “discouraged” from making “non-essential” calls while adults should “keep calls short”.
In contrast, several other countries, notably France, have begun strengthening warnings and American politicians are urgently investigating the risks.
The Interphone inquiry has been investigating whether exposure to mobile phones is linked to three types of brain tumour and a tumour of the salivary gland.
Its head, Dr Elisabeth Cardis, backed new warnings.
“In the absence of definitive results and in the light of a number of studies which, though limited, suggest a possible effect of radiofrequency radiation, precautions are important,” she said.
“I am therefore globally in agreement with the idea of restricting the use by children, though I would not go as far as banning mobile phones as they can be a very important tool, not only in emergencies, but also maintaining contact between children and their parents and thus playing a reassurance role.
“Means to reduce our exposure (use of hands-free kits and moderating our use of phones) are also interesting.”
The project conducted studies in 13 countries, interviewing tumour sufferers and people in good health to see whether their mobile phone use differed. It questioned about 12,800 people between 2000 and 2004.
Previous research into the health effects of mobile phones, in the short time they have been in use, has proved inconclusive. However, a breakdown of the latest findings, seen by The Daily Telegraph, shows that six of eight Interphone studies found some rise in the risk of glioma (the most common brain tumour), with one finding a 39 per cent increase.
Two of seven studies into acoustic neurinoma (a benign tumour of a nerve between the ear and brain) reported a higher risk after using mobiles for 10 years. A Swedish report said it was 3.9 times higher.
A summary said a definitive link could not be proved because of difficulties with subjects’ memories.
An Israeli study found heavy users were about 50 per cent more likely to suffer tumours of the parotid salivary gland.
The Interphone inquiry has faced criticism for including people who made just one call a week, and leaving out children, which some experts said could underplay the risks. Some results for short-term use appeared to show protection against cancer, suggesting flaws in the study.
The final paper, funded partly by the industry, has been delayed as its authors argued over how to present the conclusions. But it has been sent to a scientific journal and will be published before the end of the year.
A spokesman for the Health Protection Agency said there was “no hard evidence at present” of harm to health. Use by children for non-essential calls should be discouraged, he added.
A spokesman for the Mobile Operators Association said more than 30 scientific reviews had found no adverse health effects
(Sent by several kind persons)

The Cape Breton Post: Editorial | Riding patronage not whole story

The Cape Breton Post: Editorial Riding patronage not whole story

And here's another story on how the federal government is buying the ridings in which they govern.

London-Fanshawe Conservatives falling Apart

CONSERVATIVE CANDIDATE SPLITS FOR THE CHP

A Conservative Party nominee for candidate in the London-Fanshawe Riding has jumped ship for the CHP after realizing that there was no room for democracy in the CONServative Party of Canada.

 Gilles Rancourt says he left the Conservative party because it doesn't embrace ethnic members and cares very little for grassroots democracy.

 Rancourt became the candidate for the CHP in the same riding and is appealing to other Conservatives to join him. He said that the  CHP is the only true "conservative" party in Canada and "welcomes all minorities of any colour."

John Brotzel, president of the local CONservative riding association says "he's glad that Rancourt jumped ship."

Nice...Prime Minister Harper says He Prefers The US News Channels Over Canada

PRIME MINISTER PREFERS ANYTHING BUT CANADIAN NEWS...Go Figure, He's About As anti-Canadian As They get

 According to Prime Minister Harper he prefers to watch US news over the Canadian news services that are available to Canadians.

 Harper in a speech to the "Canadian Chamber of Commerce" stated that "I watched the last several elections in the United States very closely. I tend to watch mainly American news, because I don't like to watch Canadian news and hear what Allan (Gregg) and everybody else is saying about me. So my hobby is to watch politics elsewhere."

 Harpers' assertion drew much disbelief from some of his own cabinet ministers like Tony Clement who jumped up immediately(like the lapdog he is)and chirped that "I'm sure (Harper) does" watch Canadian news, We're news junkies, all of us are. Come on. You know what we're all about," Clement added.

 Well actually, no we don't know what you guys are all about Tony, but we do suspect that you guys do watch the FOX news channel for all of your important stuff.

Flu Vaccination Information For Oxford County

http://www.oxfordcounty.ca/site/2942/default.aspx

And A Story From The Sentinel Review I've Been reading...

HAPPY 20TH ANNIVERSARY TO PAUL BRYAN-PULHAM?

 I'm not sure if this one is a cause for celebration or not, but I do know as the story says at the end of it, Paul is responsible for hiring many of the department heads that now grace the city of Woodstocks' adminstration, and that would include the former RIM scandal survivor from Waterloo region, the Bobguy(Bob Mcfarland) and several others who could not negotiate their way out of a wet paper bag if they were forced to.(Have you seen the poor guy that runs the Human resources department lately?)

 The man has hired people who are not the quickest guys on the block. There's probably a good reason for that though as people tend to surround themselves with people who are of lower intellect themselves. The man is an enabler.

 We'll let you figure that one out for yourself.

 Over the course of twenty years Bryan-Pulham has earned more than $2million in salaries plus a myriad of bonuses and perks. He has achieved status annually on Ontarios' "Sunshine List" since the Sunshine list was put into practice.

Little Old Ladies

A young man shopping in a supermarket noticed a little old lady following him around. If he stopped, she stopped. Furthermore she kept staring at him.

She finally overtook him at the checkout, And she turned to him and said, "I hope I haven't made you feel ill at ease; it's just that you look so much like my late son."
He answered, "That's okay."
"I know it's silly, but if you'd call out "Good bye, Mom" as I leave the store, It would make me feel so happy."
She then went through the checkout, And as she was on her way out of the store, The man called out, "Goodbye, Mom."
The little old lady waved, and smiled back at him.
Pleased that he had brought a little sunshine Into someone's day, he went to pay for his Groceries.
"That comes to $121.85," said the clerk..
"How come so much ... I only bought 5 items.."
The clerk replied, "Yeah, but your Mother said You'd be paying for her things, too."
Bet you thought this was going to be a tear jerker. Don't trust little Old Ladies!!!

Thank Goodness it's Saturday! The joke Of The Day Is...The Balloon Boy

Thank Goodness they found the "balloon boy".

<
<
<
<
<
<
<
<
<
<
<>
For a while we almost thought Michael Jackson was ordering take out from heaven.

Man Held In Prison 14 Years For Murder Released; No Compensation To Be Offered

MANITOBA MINISTER SAYS MAN DESERVES NO COMPENSATION FOR 14 YEAR WRONGFUL IMPRISONMENT

The provincial minister of Justice for Manitoba says that he will not be offering any compensation to a man who spent more than 14 years in prison wrongfully convicted of a murder.

 Kyle Unger was released this week from a Manitoba federal penetentiary after spending more than 14 years in custody for the murder of Brigette Grenier. His co-accused, Timothy Houlahan was released on bail for an appeal many years ago but committed suicide once he was released as he was not prepared to go through another trial.

 Dave Chomiak(the Manitoba justice minister) says that "The sad reality of this entire tragedy is that had it not been told to an undercover officer that he killed Brigitte Grenier, even all of the other evidence available would not have sent him to jail," Chomiak said yesterday. "Without his confession he would not have been charged ... External legal advice to the department indicates there are no grounds for compensation."

 Well frankly I look at it this way. I wonder if the "confession" was extorted from the man in the first place, and secondly, how often does one hear about people confessing to a capitol crime for shits and giggles? Quite often people will confess to crimes just to get out of the interrogation rooms where they are being subjected to whatever kind of abuse at the hands of their police captors.

 Frankly I hope they offer the man some counselling at least. 14 years in a prison lock up will not have been good to him and in all likelihood the man will have a difficult time re-integrating into society after that length of a sentence.

 If they cannot offer compensation they could at least offer the man the necessary tools to re-integrate into society. Obviously he needs some kind of help if he indeed confessed to this crime for no apparent reason.

I Will Assume This Means...

OXFORD IS NOW FAMOUS FOR SOMETHING OTHER THAN THE SPRINGBANK SNOW COUNTESS...

WE ARE RANKED IN THE TOP 5 OF CONSERVATIVE LARGESSE RIDINGS!!!

 Thanks Dave for bringing on some positively nasty media to our wonderful riding. You guys are doing such a rocking job!

 Oxford County, once home to idyllic cows grazing in the grass is now basking in the national spotlight after it was revealed that Oxford is one of the top five contenders for the national largesse awards.

  According to the HEART FM'S Adam Nyp, Oxford County was a major benefactor of the greasy palm Recreational Infrastructure Canada program.

 The program has apparently dished out more than $4.7million in benefits to local recreational projects which turns out to be the third highest dole out in Canada for similar typed projects.

 According to the opposition parties, the ruling CONServatives have disproportionately doled out dollars to CONServative held ridings versus ridings held by opposition members which has led to calls of vote buying and misspending.

Ontario Rolls Out A Whopping $25 Billion Deficit

EHEALTH BOONDOGGLE AND MILLION DOLLAR A DAY CONSULTANTS HAVE RACKED UP A WHOPPER OF A DEBT

 The Ontario government has racked up debt double that of the debt left behind by Bob Rae when his NDP government left office many years ago to the tune of nearly $25 billion or more than $1800 each for every man woman and child in the province.

  When Raes' NDP were turfed from office more than a decade ago they left Ontario holding the bag on more than $12.5 billion in debt.

 The government says that corporate tax revenues have dropped by more than 48% and have resulted in shortfalls of more than $6 billion but they have continued spending as if there is no debt at all. 

Finance Minister Duncan offered no immediate plans to tackle the growing deficit aside from promises to examine some things in the spring when he feels that he will have a better picture of things in the province.

 A Better picture? Has he gone mad? We already have a pretty damned fine picture of how things have gone down the tubes here in Ontario.

 Frankly I think, why wait? There is no reason to allow the deficit to continue to pile up in this manner without examining what is causing the explosion in debt.

 There are some issues that could be tackled immediately such as not allowing for another round of corporate tax cuts in the midst of this recession and another would be to not bother with the proposed boys school idea...which could be a cash sucking experience for all of Ontario. Farm out the EHealth nightmare to McMaster University where they have developed a piece of freeware called OSCAR that would save millions in the future instead of handing these things over to consultants who hire consultants who hire other consultants to do the work that they are not really qualified to be doing.  

 Today Ontarios' operating deficit threatens to destabilize any possible economic recovery and there is no doubt about that at all. If we continue on in the same fashion we will never dig ourselves out of the hole we are in.  

Ignatieff has nothing to lose by talking straight - thestar.com

Ignatieff has nothing to lose by talking straight - thestar.com

For sure this is worth the read.

And What Is Going On With Albertas' CONServatives?

FRACTURED PROVINCIAL CONSERVATIVES COULD CAUSE HARPER SOME GRIEF

 I keep watching the political machinations of Albertas' two right wing parties, the Stelmach CONservatives versus the newly emerging Wild Rose Alliance and keep thinking that this is nothing but good news for any party that opposes the federal CONservatives in Alberta, or even further to the east.

 There is no doubt that the failings of the Alberta CONservatives to rule their province properly has resulted in the extreme gains in the polls that have been recently made by the Wildrose Alliance. The election of a Wildrose candidate to the Alberta Legislature in a riding that had been held by the Stelmach CONservatives since the days of Peter Lougheed was the first sign that the CONServatives were losing their grip on Alberta.

 If this movement continues on into the future, there is a good chance that this party will derail Harpers' Alberta advantage, especially if they decide to run federal candidates against sitting Alberta CONservative MP's. This will no doubt split the polls and will result in perhaps even a few NDP or Liberal MP's from that province, but what it will do for sure is water down the PM's Alberta connections enough that it could cause him strong grief in the final polls in the event of an election.

  Seeing the hardline Alberta CONS split into seperate warring factions will only be good for the rest of us.

This Is truly A Horrible Story

Father killed children for 'right reasons,' trial told

 This is one of the most awful things a person could read. It almost makes you want to cry. To think that these kids could still be alive if the father had received some mental health assistance is disturbing.

The Skatepark....A Submission

AND...THE SKATEPARK

I just read the letters in the paper about the skate park. All the little piggies are squeaking for more money. They're positively outraged that council isn't showering them with other peoples' cash. After all they're entitled. They whined and did power point presentations loaded with bullshit and everything. That's supposed to guarantee a big cheque. How come it works for doggie parks and art galleries but not for them? They're special too. (insert whining and snivelling here.)


Hang onto your wallets Woodstock. Here comes a whole new litter of entitlement piggies.

Video Of Subway Restaurant Robbery

VIDEO OF WOODSTOCK NORWICH AVE ROBBERY ON NEW CITY OF WOODSTOCK POLICE WEBSITE

 Woodstock city Police have released on their new website a video of the Subway restaurant robbery which took place on Norwich avenue this past week.

 http://www.woodstockpolice.ca/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=101:robbery-at-norwich-ave-subway-restaurant&catid=27:publications&Itemid=193

Check it out and if you recognize the perpetrator, call Woodstock Police at 519-537-2323 or call crime stoppers.

Kitchener-Waterloo Area Turkey Farm Is Location Of H1N1 Outbreak

REGIONAL TURKEY EGG FARM HIT BY H1N1

 A Waterloo region turkey farm is the latest place where health officials say the H1N1 virus has taken hold.

 The farm is an egg production facility that provides stock for the turkey industry.

 Health officials say that the risk is minimal though as the turkeys were not intended for human consumption but were for stock usage.

 Officials are keeping an eye on the operation to watch for mutations in the virus that could either become more or less serious.

   

When Will The Conservative ATM Machine Run Out Of Cash?

IS CANADA BEING TREATED LIKE A GIANT ATM MACHINE BY OUR PRIME MINISTER?

 I talk to tons of people in the course of my day and the biggest thing that many people keep asking is...when will the Prime Minister exhaust the national bank account that he's been writing those god awful humoungous sized cheques from?

 Well folks, there is no money. In fact, we are borrowing all of that money that the Prime Minister is spending willy nilly across the land on silly projects like light bulb replacement and other run of the mill tasks that most of us perform on a daily basis but for the Prime Minister have become important vote buying stimulus measures.

 Funding a recovery with deficits is stupid. Eventually we will all be forced(except those who earn way too much money to pay any taxes at all) to pay these dollars back and when that day comes it will not be pretty.

 I fully expect that there will be much gnashing of teeth in the coming years as governments across the land slash and burn at every public institution that remains in order to once more balance the books of the nation.

Ottawa Will Target White Collar Criminals

I WONDER, WILL THIS LEGISLATION DEAL WITH POLITICAL CROOKS AS WELL?

And so Canadas' justice minister Rob Nicholson says he will make things tough on white collar criminals...yeah right.

 Nicholson says that he intends to slow down white collar crime by introducing tougher penalties that would allow for the introduction of informations from victims to be considered in the sentencing aspect of any criminal fraud trial. He says that they will consider victims' ages, their health and a few other things when sentencing.

 Of course, he says that everything hinges on those pesky opposition members in parliament who think that this is a silly bill from the Silly Minister of walks that will really do very little to combat crime at all according to them.

 Fact is most fraudsters think that they are able to get away with their crimes and that is why they commit the crime to begin with. Longer penalties will mean nothing to someone who believes that they will never be caught for fraud.

 This bill will just add to the mess of confusion that is already out there. At present, a judge can easily sentence a fraudster to years in jail. The problem is getting those judges to do just that. We don't need a new law, we just need the existing laws to be enforced.

 And Mr Nicholson can take that one all the way to the bank.

CBC News - British Columbia - Vatican decision welcomed by B.C bishop

CBC News - British Columbia - Vatican decision welcomed by B.C bishop


A former Anglican bishop in B.C. is welcoming the Vatican's offer to open its doors to disaffected Anglicans around the world.

Pope Benedict XVI has approved a new structure that would recognize Anglicans who've split from their church over the blessing of same-sex unions and the ordination of women priests.

Bishop Peter Wilkinson of the Anglican-Catholic Church of Canada was involved in making the proposal to the Pope.

Wilkinson, based in Victoria, is head of the Anglican Catholic Church of Canada.

Other than adopting the Pope as God's representative on Earth, Wilkinson said, there's very little to change by joining with the Roman Catholic Church because the traditions have long been entwined.

"We were out of communion for more than 450 years,[but] we were in communion from 597 to 1535, which is a long time," Wilkinson told CBC News Tuesday.

Under the new Catholic structure, former Anglican priests could continue to be married, but Bishops in the church could not.

The Vatican won't say how many of the 77 million people in the Anglican church are seeking to join the Catholics.

But Wilkinson says the Pope's decision will have huge ramifications.

The Anglican Catholic Church of Canada was founded in the 1970s by conservative Anglicans who were dissatisfied with decisions made by the mainstream Anglican Church.

Shared via Add this

This is a Silly Bill That's Intended To Hurt Canadians...A Submission

WILL GOVERNMENTS' C-6 BILL CREATE CRIMINALS FROM GARDENING GRANDMOTHERS?

Please see the videos at the bottom of this website, very IMPORTANT, natural health products are not as protected as we seem to think!!! Do as you choose...... thank you for your attention though...

http://nauresistance.org/2009/10/farewell-canada-bill-c-6-will-be-passed-in-days/

New enforcement powers allow Canadian government to seize your home or business.

At the same time that C-6 is outlawing herbs, supplements and vitamins, it would grant alarming new “enforcement” powers to the (thugs) enforcement agents who claim to be “protecting” the public from dangerous unapproved “therapeutic agents” like, say, dandelion greens. As explained on the www.Educate-Yourself.org website ((http://educate-yourself.org/cn/canadian… ), the C-6 law would allow the Canadian government’s thugs enforcement agents to:

* Raid your home or business without a warrant

* Seize your bank accounts

* Levy fines up to $5 million and a jail terms up to 2 years for merely selling an herb

* Confiscate your property, then charge you storage fees for the expense involved in storing all the products they stole from you

C-6 would even criminalize the simple drying of herbs in your kitchen to be used in an herbal product, by the way. That would now be categorized as a “controlled activity,” and anyone caught engaging in such “controlled activities” would be arrested, fined and potentially jailed. Other “controlled activities” include labeling bottles, harvesting plants on a farm, collecting herbs from your back yard, or even testing herbal products on yourself! (Yes, virtually every activity involving herbs or supplements would be criminalized…)

There’s more, too. C-6 is the Canadian government’s “final solution” for the health products industry. It’s a desperate effort to destroy this industry that’s threatening the profits and viability of conventional medicine. Natural medicine works so well — and is becoming so widely used — that both the Canadian and American governments have decided to “nuke” the industries by passing new laws that effectively criminalize anyone selling such products. They simply cannot tolerate allowing consumers to have continued access to natural products. To do so will ultimately spell the destruction of Big Pharma and the outdated, corrupt and criminally-operated pharmaceutical industry that these criminally-operated governments are trying to protect.

CBC News - Canada - Doorknob repair in P.E.I. trumpeted as stimulus: Liberals

CBC News - Canada - Doorknob repair in P.E.I. trumpeted as stimulus: Liberals

Shared via AddThis

And A final Thing I found To Be Of Some Interest

An Interesting Perspective On The Harper Cheque- a-thon

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/blogs/brian-topp/cheques-speak-volumes/article1326193/

 I thought that the story was interesting enough and deserving of some peoples' attentions.  

Conservative Senator employed By Company That Gained Stimulus Dollars

Senator Leo Housakos On Payroll Of  BPR Inc

 And the slime that sits at the bottom of the lake has come to the surface.

 A Conservative Party Senator, Leo Housakas who is also on the payroll of a Quebec company must be celebrating his ability to drag the business money after it was revealed that his employer was handed a $1.4 million contract as part of a bidding consortium that won an engineering bid on Montreals' Champlain Bridge that is being redeveloped with a $212 million makeover.

 According to several Quebec media reports, Housakas attended a celebratory bash for the winning bidders, BCDE to which his employer is a party to.

 BPR president Pierre Lavallee,(Housakas' other boss, not Harper) celebrated the winning bid by sending a donation to the CONservative party a couple of days later.

 10 days after BPR won the federal contract, Housakas resigned his position with the company. Earlier in the year he had filed papers with the ethics commissioner that stated he was an employee of BPR inc.

 According to BPR they say that he was an employee of their side firm, Terra Nau and was in charge of business start up and developement.(whatever the heck that means but one can only assume...)

 Whatever the case is, the "optics" of it sure look like crap.

Pensions...

Pensions: What you need to know

•17.6 million: Number of people in the Canadian work force.


•11 million: Number of Canadian workers without pension plans.


•4 million: Number of those workers with registered retirement savings plans.


•10,000: Number of pension plans in Canada.


•4.5 million: Workers with pension plans who have defined benefit plans that guarantee the pension income of retirees until they die.


•55 per cent: Amount of those plans held by public sector employees.


•$25,000: Average pension per year.

Source: Infometrica, University of Toronto professor Keith Ambachtsheer
 
 The only thing I wonder is if this is the case, why on earth did they(our federal and provincial governments)spend billions to save the pensions of a few workers, when 11 million workers go completely without? That is a question that deserves to be answered.

Harper Bills Taxpayers For Scripted Cambridge "Town Hall" Meeting

HARPER BILLS TAXPAYERS MORE THAN $100,000.00 FOR TOWN HALL MEETING

 A town hall meeting that took place in June in Cambridge, Ontario turned out to be a scripted Harper event that cost taxpayers more than $100,000.00 for one hour.

  The fake town hall meeting which was attended by primarily CPC supporters was meant to provide a backdrop for the Prime Minister to unveil his update on the economic well being of the nation as he agreed to do earlier in the year.

 Instead, critics say that the Harper government misused tax dollars in order to buy voters.

 Some items that the Tories spend wads of money on were $30,000.00 for audio equipment rentals,$10,000.00 for some photos,$50,000.00 for some glossy brochure printing,$5700.00 for "editing" and $3,300.00 for a "communications" firm. Another $10,000.00 was spent to fly in some extra CONservatives from Ottawa.(just in case a few didn't show up I presume)

 I always wonder, how is it that we need all of these outside people doing jobs for the government when the government owns its' own presses, AV equipment and have on staff hundreds of people who are efffective communicators.(when they are allowed to speak)

 These costs did not include the $11,000.00 per hour it costs to fly the PM around in his Challenger jet, nor the astronomical cost of housing and feeding Mike Duffy so Mike could be the emcee for the Harper stimulus show. (Just what Mike Duffy has to do with Cambridge is beyond me and as far as I can see there was no reason for the man to be flown from Ottawa.) 

 I suppose though that in the larger context of things, Harper tossing money around in these small communities could be viewed as some sort of economic stimulus activity and that's cool because 10 days ago the Independent Parliamentary Budget Office stated in a report that the government has been so "stingy" with details that it's impossible to tell whether the measures have had any economic impact at all.

 $108,000.00 to deliver an economic impact statement to Canadians? That is totally ridiculous and there was no reason that the Prime Minister could not have done this job in the halls of parliament instead of in some faked town hall meeting that we paid dearly for. That money could have fed more than 20 welfare recipients, or 10 persons on disability pensions, but instead the money was funnelled to "consultants", editing staffers, and whoever those persons were that supplied the equipment for the one hour extravaganza that cost Canadians $500.00 per minute for the rental.

 Gotta like Harpers' version of accountability.

Sharia Is All the Support a Gal Needs - Mark Steyn - The Corner on National Review Online

Sharia Is All the Support a Gal Needs - Mark Steyn - The Corner on National Review Online
Sharia Is All the Support a Gal Needs [Mark Steyn]

Read this one...you'll be laughing all day.

Shared via AddThis

Ingersoll Volunteer Pleads Guilty To Sex Crimes

Ingersoll Volunteer Pleads Guilty To Sex Crimes
http://jimbenderoxford.blogspot.com/2008/06/and-in-case-anyone-wishes-to-meet.html
(Photos located at above url)

 Ingersoll native and local volunteer Raymond Chase has decided to plead guilty to a whopping pile of child related sex crimes after nearly one year in jail.

 Chase in his late 60's was arrested last spring after numerous complaints that the old man had taken inappropriate pictures of children, and had groped several little ones.
 The volunteer faces 19 charges related to children to which he plead guilty to all of them.

Accused Child Killer Rafferty Moved For Safety Reasons

MICHAEL RAFFERTY ACCUSED CHILD KILER MOVED TO CHATHAM, ONTARIO JAIL

 One of the accused killers of Victoria Stafford has requested a move to another facility after fearing for his personal safety.

 According to media reports, Michael Rafferty was concerned about telephone access, guards taunting him and a supposed threat from the Bandidos motorcuycle club and harrassement from other members of the prison. The poor baby.

 Frankly, the man should be thrown into the general population of the prison where all inmates get tossed without any mercy for him.(or perhaps he should be given the same mercy that his victim was allegedly given)

 You can well imagine that the guards in that facility will not be treating him any better than the last place, EMDC. It will take perhaps 24-48 hours for the balance of the inmate population to discover who this person is and you can bet that poor old Rafferty will be screaming for another move at that point as well.

 Prison justice is swift but painful.

 

  

50 More Job Losses For Woodstock, Ontario

WOODSTOCKS' HOBART BROTHERS WILL CLOSE UP SHOP

Nearly 50 more persons will lose their jobs in Woodstock, Ontario this coming spring after a local business that had been in the community for many years announced this week that it would be closing its' doors effective April of 2010.
 Hobart Brothers, manufacturers of welding equipment, says that their decision to close the plant is based on economics and that they could no longer justify keeping the plant open as sales continued there downward plummet.
 Many of those employees were long time people, some with 30 years and more invested in the production facility.
 The plant, located in the Patulla Ridge business park will close its' doors on April 16. I guess Canadas' Action Plan just isn't doing enough for the economy.
 I wonder what local MP Dave Mackenzie has to say about any of this? I will assume that he will say absolutely nothing.

And In Case Anyone Wishes To Meet Ingersolls' Child Pornographer...Raymond Chase..Here's a photo..or 3

Longtime Ingersoll Volunteer,67-year-old Raymond Chase of Ingersoll...Charged With Child Porn Offences

Photos..Used With Permission

Regarding The Tori Stafford Petition For Stiffer Penalties...PETITION TO THE HONOURABLE ROBERT NICHOLSON, MINISTER OF JUSTICE AND ATTORNEY GENERAL

A Petition For Stiffer Penalties

 Earlier this week I recieved a copy forwarded to me of a petition that has been circulated around the internet.

 There are a couple of things that need to be straightened out on this matter.

 One; apparently the note that was attached to it from a person who identified themselves as "Toris' teacher" turned out to be totally false. Whoever would perpetrate that kind of bullshit needs to take a serious look at themselves and question just what in the hell is wrong with that brain of yours. 

 Frankly, this is a terrible thing for people to do. To take gross advantage of a rotten situation like this is sick.

 No doubt this crime has affected many people in our community. To attempt to "worsen" it is abhorrent and morally repugnant. It is a tragedy that remains trapped in our psyche for many persons and will continue to remain that way for years to come.

 On that note, I would like to see that this petition does get going. I feel it is important that not only do we press the justice system to not allow for a "deal" for any participant in any murder, but to ensure that our communities remain safe we need to pressure those MP's who are elected to defend our nations' peoples and children and to make the decisions that are hard but necessary.

 Anyone who murders a child should never be released back into our communities again. The law should stand as natural life for child killers with absolutely no chance of parole. Anything short of that is a waste of legislative time and money.

 Both of the alleged participants in the Tori Stafford case will be back on the streets before the age of 55 if they are convicted. The female participant(Mclintic) could very well be on the streets by the age of 45.

 And here is the text of the petition.

Once you have the petition printed and your name added, you can gather as many signatures as you can. Anyone who is a legal citizen or resident who wants to support the cause can sign it.(there is no age limited as to who can sign a petition, as long as they can read and understand what it is they are signing)



It is your legal right to support any cause you so choose to in this country, with no ramifications. This is your way to get your voice heard.



You are only to sign your name once on one sheet. The remaining lines are for other citizens who want to participate. It's important that the pages be stapled together so petitioners can read the front page and what we desire our Minister of Justice to change. The second page is a continuation of the first.



It is also important that you understand that this document needs to be submitted as it is written. So therefore nothing can be extracted or added to the original petition’s wording or format. The only thing that you are allowed to add is your signature and address. If you wish for Ottawa to know your thoughts and opinions, feel free to write them on a separate standard size sheet of paper, address it to The Honourable Robert Nicholson, sign and date it and send it back to me with the petition. I will personally make sure Mr. Mackenzie receives both documents. I ask that you please refrain from using vulgar language or name calling as these letters will be discarded as hostile and will not be accepted. I know many of you are angry and you have valid points and views. Let them hear your voice, be respectful as to how you approach it, and it will be heard.



Ask your family, friends, co workers, neighbours, anyone you think would like to participate to sign. Send this notice on to your email list and ask them to get involved. Become your own neighbourhood or office advocate to stiffen our laws to punishments that fit the crimes. Our aim is to fill both pages, but if you are only able to sign your name, send the petition back to me and I will get signatures on this end to fill the pages. Every name counts.



Unfortunately, you cannot scan and email or fax the petition back to me, as original signatures must be present and not copied or altered in any form when the documents are submitted. Therefore you will find below an address that I have provided. If anyone is willing or able to send along a few stamps to aide me in some of my costs, for those folks who are only able to receive the petition by mail,(many elderly citizens) just pop them in the envelope along with the petition, and please accept my sincerest thanks. This is purely optional and certainly not expected. Please do not send money. As I at no time want any citizen to feel that there is any financial profit to be made by this. If any money is sent, it will promptly be returned with an explanation of why. Donated stamps are sufficient and very much appreciated.



I have rented the P.O.Box for 6 months. It’s my goal to have all returned petitions back to me by early Spring 2010.



It’s imperative that we get as many names on this petition as we can if we are to have this addressed in The House of Commons before the two accused stand trial for Victoria’s murder. We need to get to the word out to all the Canadian people in all provinces.



I have now brought this to the attention of the press with hopes of reaching many more citizen's. I have been interviewed by 104.7 Heart FM, (a quick skip over to their web page and you can read that interview on Tuesday Sept 8),Rogers Cable, and the Sentinel Review. Rodney Stafford has graciously agreed to accompany me in the media. His strong beliefs mirrors our thoughts that stiffer punishments are needed for violent offenders in our country.



But we need your help too. By simply contacting your local MP, mayor, police station or town counsellor, you can bring this to their attention of what we are doing. Or, if you are uncomfortable in pursuing that avenue, you could send me the name and email/mailing address of your town newspaper/editor and I can contact them directly.



I truly thank you all for your comments, questions, concerns, and advice in this matter. I apologize for the lack of knowledge at the beginning as this is my first time I have ever attempted to petition our Government.





If you have any questions or concerns, feel free to contact me at my email address. I know this is a little different from the original email you received. This requires a little more effort on all our part, but it’s the legal way to do it to be accepted. I ask that you please help us to continue on to show Ottawa that we are not accepting the laws and punishments as they are now.







Thank you and God Bless.



Sincerely,



B Burke



bburke4@hotmail.com







Return petition to:

Stiffer Canadian Laws Petition

P.O. Box 271

Ingersoll Ontario

 When finished, please mail to:

 Stiffer Canadian Laws Petition

 P.O. Box 271
 Ingersoll Ontario
 N5C-3K5

Sears Canada Now Outsourcing Their Catalogue Order System To The Phillipines

SEARS MOVES HUNDREDS OF JOBS TO THE PHILLIPINES

  Sears Canada has fired all 249 of its' Regina call centre staff as well as its' 230 person Belleville call centre staff in order to maximize its' profit potential while still grabbing dollars from the Canadian consumer.

 Instead of employing Canadians as they have since the early 1990's in Regina, the company moved its' operations in order to capitalize on low pay, no benefits, and no employee rights.

 This move will increase the profit potential of Sears which has lost substantial market share in the past few years to larger retailers like Walmart.

 

And This Is The Greatest Country OnThe Planet

We are So so Lucky...We Should All Work Hard To Keep it Together!

 As far as I am concerned, Canada is the greatest nation on the planet earth.

 Sure, there may be warmer places, and there may be places that have awesome historical values with wonderful buildings and Big Ben-like towers, but really when it comes down to it, we are lucky to have been born here, and we are lucky that we have a nation that has plentiful resources.

 Could you imagine having been born in say Somalia or Rwanda or in the ring of fire region of Indonesia?

 Nope, I'm totally glad to be here and to be able to say that I am a Canadian. I just couldn't imagine the alternative to that.

And Of Course....Don't Forget To Laugh

HOW NOT TO USE THE AUTOMATIC GARAGE OPENER

Harper Says He "Didn't See Afghan Torture Memos"

PRIME MINISTER CLAIMS HE WASN'T PAYING ATTENTION

 Canadas' Conservative Prime Minister says he had no idea that inmates were being tortured in Afghanistan by the Afghan police and military despite a Canadian public servants' assertion that he wrote at least 16 memos that pointed to specific concerns regarding treatment of detainees.

 Former senior diplomat Richard Colvin says that he sent a memo off in 2006 and in the following 18 months sent off at least 16 more memos that detailed serious torture allegations.

 Although the allegations had been made public at the time, Harper still claims never to have seen a memo on the issue, and that his own investigation(wonder if he had Dave working on that one?)into the matter determined that the entire issue was "baseless".

 Peter MacKay the former foreign affairs minister as well states that he had no knowledge of any memos regarding any torture allegations.

 Colvins allegations at the time stated that there were "serious, imminent and alarming" trends developing in the treatment of Afghanistan detainees at the hands of Canadian and Afghan officials.

 Of course everyone knows that this is no surprise. Have you ever heard of any head of State admitting to dropping the ball while on their watch? And the second issue I have with the PM is ....how did he determine that the allegations were "baseless" if he didn't see the memos at all?

The Establishment of The Canadian Department Of Peace...Call Your MP And Implore Them To Support this!

Dear friends,

 Here is a chance to do something positive this week. There is a bill before the House of Commons for a department of peace in Canada and we can support that with a simple phone call to our MPs. For contact info, check this link: www.webinfo.parl.gc.ca/MembersOfParliament
 Here in Toronto we will be having an information evening on November 2nd, 7pm, at Friends House, 60 Lowther Ave. Toronto. Our speaker will be Rob Acheson, who is just back from Costa Rica where a global summit was held in September for the international campaign for ministries and departments of peace. Costa Rica has established a ministry of peace as has Nepal and the Solomon Islands. Rob has met with more than 50 MPs to advocate for such a department or ministry in Canada. And now you can advocate for this too. It makes a difference when we raise our voice! Don't wait for the info evening - call your MP now.

SUPPORT BILL FOR A DEPARTMENT OF PEACE IN CANADA – CALL YOUR MP THIS WEEK

Bill C 447 - An Act to Establish the Department of Peace, tabled in the House on Sept 30 as a Private Members Bill by NDP MP Bill Siksay and seconded by Liberal MP Jim Karygiannis. The 17-page Bill has answers for those who wonder what is meant by this initiative. The Bill has a susbstantive section on Disarmament, particularly Nuclear Disarmament.
The Bill will get an opportunity for debate in the House of Commons if it is co-seconded by more MPs. We are asking the electorate across Canada to contact their Member of Parliament asking him/her to co-second this peacebuilidng Bill before Oct 18.
Tabling of this Act in the House is once in a lifetime opportunity to champion a Department of Peace independent of political party platform constraints.
We must ensure that we have done everything in our power to make use of this unique space our two MPs have created for a possible debate in the House on DoP. Both Bill Siksay and Jim Karygiannis have told us that it is the call/email from local constituents that energizes Members to act.
Bill Bhaneja
Co-founder
Canadian Department of Peace Initiative (CDPI)
http://www.departmentofpeace.ca/

and Member, Canadian Pugwash Group

Ottawa

Here are the links.�

http://www2.parl.gc.ca/HousePublications/Publication.aspx?Docid=4116951&file=4

http://www2.parl.gc.ca/HousePublications/Publication.aspx?Language=E&Mode=1&Pub=hansard#SOB-2872523

The bill is based on the model developed by the Canadian department of peace initiative. This bill would establish a full, comprehensive department of peace as part of the infrastructure of the Canadian government, with its own minister, department and resources, and put peace at the centre of government rather than on the corner of a desk of another minister or other public servants. Important aspects of the bill include:

�a voice dedicated to the promotion of peace at the cabinet table.
�The department's mandate would be to promote a culture of peace and the non-violent resolution of conflict in Canada and around the world and to build institutions for long-term research policy and action for sustainable peace.
�establishment of a Canadian civilian peace service to further professionalize peace work by Canadians.
�A similar youth peace service is also contemplated by the bill.

"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful committed citizens can change the world. Indeed it's the only thing that ever has. " Margaret Mead

And So It is Friday

ANOTHER WEEK ENDS

 And here we are it is Friday and the week is coming to a close, but not without a wee bit of excitement.

 I kind of figured there was some change in weather approaching in the near future as last night my ankle throbbed like mad(arthritis from an old ankle injury)and so I didn't feel too amazed when I awoke to see SNOW on my car and lawn. Thank godness there wasn't too much as I really didn't feel like going outside to scrape or shovel or anything of the sort and now that my teenager has hit the big 17, he has suddenly gotten too old to shovel snow as well.(he seems to have gotten too old for many things, but not video games!)

  So I read the S-R this morning and saw that they worked on the skateboard idea a bit at last nights' council meeting....there seems to be some discussion about where to build it going on and the topic of Sutherland park came up...mostly due to its' central location and its' "bowl like" natural setup.

 Mayor Harding made some mention about perhaps partnering with local community organizations and businesses to get the thing built...which I think is a good idea. I'm still wondering where James Stewart is in all of this as he seemed to be the big push behind getting it going. Perhaps Michael should approach him and ask him what his ideas are for community partners...but then again...I'm pretty sure James Stewart won't have too much to say. 

 And of course, last night was part 2 of the Art Gallery slide show in the Great hall of the Woodstock Museum. Of course I didn't bother to go. No point wasting time going to something that has already been approved and has no public component to it at all. I was better off staying at work or at home...just as the majority of the community has done. Of the people who did visit, they all told me the same thing, that it was stacked with gallery supporters, and there was zero component for public conversation. There was no reason for anyone who opposed the plan to be there.(unless of course you were hoping to run into Bobs' smiling grin.)

The thing is a done deal. The local arts community grabbed millions in federal tax dollars that came from mainly lower income families who pay the majority of taxes in this country.(That is the truth...the poor pay more in taxes proportionally than any other segment of this society)

 Like I said, there really is no point in attending any of these meetings as they have already made those decisions before hand,in the back rooms, with the gallery supporters(whoever they may be, but i would imagine it is a political pay off for someone) without public consultation.

 The only way to change that is for another council to come in and wipe the project out.And that is something that could be done by a new council as it will take a long time to put this thing into play, and the election for municpal council will come sooner than those shovels hit the asbestos in the old John White building.

 We can only hope that the next mayor and council walk away from this wasteful plan.

 

Another Massive Pile Of Conservative MP's With Their Tacky Taxpayer Funded Bailout Ads

http://www.flickr.com/photos/conservativecheques/

An Average Day AT University of Western Ontario

CAMPUS POLICE APPEAR TO BEAT DOWN AND ARREST UWO STUDENT

Too Funny...Sell The Vatican, Feed The Poor...

Sell The Vatican, Feed The Poor...

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/world/sarah-silverman-sell-the-vatican/article1324392/

And So I Awoke To A Day Of A Hacked Computer

Hmmm, Some people really Have Nothing Better to Do

  Computers are totally handy things....until they break, or are hacked and this week I was subjected to the dreaded xwoarh.sys virus which thus far seems damned near impossible to destroy.

 So, needless to say, if anyone is wondering where in the world has Bender gone this week...don't wonder too much more.

 I'm not a Blackberry typist but I can use the thing when I need to so I'm just going to limit these posts until I get this thing fixed. So, I'll fire off a few links to some things that I'm finding to be of interest today and hopefully tomorrow we'll have this thing fixed enough that we can publish again.

 So everyone have an awesome day, thanks for all the great support and remember, if you've not signed up to the Liberal party...you should!

 

And Another CPC Logo On A Stimulus Funding Cheque...Way To Go Colin Mayes!

HOW MANY CPC LOGO EMBLAZONED CHEQUES ARE OUT THERE?

This Is Another Disgusting Conservative Misuse Of Their Office

Gotta Like That CPC Logo On That Stimulus Funding Cheque

http://network.nationalpost.com/np/blogs/fullcomment/archive/2009/09/24/john-ivison-battle-of-the-pork-barrell-all-stars.aspx#

http://unambig.wordpress.com/

CBC News - Toronto - Ont. researchers tout cheap eHealth alternative

CBC News - Toronto - Ont. researchers tout cheap eHealth alternative
Researchers at Hamilton's McMaster University say they have devised an electronic medical records system that can be implemented by physicians across Ontario for two per cent of the money the provincial government has spent on eHealth Ontario.
The web-based program, dubbed OSCAR, organizes medical records and can be set up on any computer system with a browser. It was first created in 2001, and has attracted more users each year.
Around 600 doctors across the country — including 450 family physicians in Ontario — currently use the software.
The software is open-source, which means users are allowed access to its basic code. Users are free to add to or modify the software without fear of legal repercussions, as long they abide by the conditions of the General Public Licence, which stipulates that the program must remain open and sharable.
Because it's open-source, OSCAR is free. The costs to set it up come in the form of servers, hardware and support staff.
"In Ontario, there are approximately 8,000 family physicians that are not using electronic medical record systems. All these physicians could have OSCAR implemented within the next 24 months, and the cost would be less than $20 million," Dr. David Price, chair of family medicine at McMaster's medical school, said in a release.
While the software would be able to cover all the family physicians in Ontario, it is not as comprehensive in scope as eHealth, which is charged with linking all healthcare facilities, including hospitals and clinics, not just family doctors.
$1B spent already
Yet it can still help in digitizing Ontario's medical records, said Dr. David Chan, who developed the software.
He said Ontario's approach to building a health-record system is wrong. The province spent some $1 billion commissioning eHealth Ontario to produce an electronic medical database.
But in a report released Wednesday, Ontario Auditor General Jim McCarter said the province had wasted that investment and eHealth had little to show for its work.
We really don't need to spend that kind of money. I think the government's paranoia about building ... a secure network is hugely expensive," Chan said Friday.
People often get concerned about the security risks of open-source software, but Chan said it has passed stringent provincial security tests. It is no more vulnerable to hackers than more expensive proprietary software, he said.
"I think evidence has shown that open-source software has been more robust and free from viruses ... than the more common software that we're familiar with," he said.

No interest from eHealth
Another key factor in keeping costs low, said a smiling Chan, is that "we don't have very high-priced executives and consultants."
McCarter said in his report the government was "lacking in strategic direction and relying too heavily on external consultations." At one point, the auditor general noted, the eHealth program branch had "fewer than 30 full-time employees but was engaging more than 300 consultants."
No one from eHealth Ontario has expressed any interest, Chan said.
"A common thing that I hear [about] people who are making decisions about information technology — [they] seem to have an impression that open-source software is not mature enough to market, which I would [call] an incorrect statement," he said.
Health ministry officials wouldn't comment for this story.
NDP health critic France Gelinas said the government missed an opportunity.
"EHealth was so concentrated on the use of consultants that they never even looked at the good work that was being done right here in Ontario," she said.
Shared via AddThis

And What Has Harper Done about This?

Nothing, Absolutely nothing.

Healthcare...no public discussion and wait times have increased massively under the care of Harper and team.


Infrastructure...no real plan, unless rec centres and art galleries count.


Post Secondary Education...No new announcements, no new plans.


New Social Programs (Daycare, Drug Benefits)....Zilch, Zero.


Toronto (Decay)...Hogtown is falling to pieces


Canada's Competitive Advantage in the world (Diversity)...What advantage?


Canadas Finances are out of whack...No wonder, we have a used car salesman running the public purse.






Attack the Cons on:


Fiscal Mismanagement (Liberals left a surplus...Cons leave only deficits)


Unqualified, poisonous Leaders (Harper, Flaherty, Clement, etc,etc,etc,etc)(Oh, let's not forget johnboy)


Denial of a Recession...(Even when smacked in the face with it these guys were too stupid to recognize it)


Discriminatory treatment of minorities...Harper mails body bags to Canadas' northern reserves for the H1N1 outbreak.

And Some Things I Am Reading Today

http://www.usatoday.com/news/religion/2009-10-12-burka-canada_N.htm

http://www.calgaryherald.com/life/debate+theology+burka/2091478/story.html

Swine Flu 1976

Swine Flu 1976

Swine Flu 1976 & Propaganda
by Dianequiose-4

He Ain't Heavy...He's My Brother

He Ain't Heavy...He's My Brother

Old Fart Football...Thanks al(no, not al gore!)...Hope you Haven't Got too Much Experience At This!

Old Fart Football

An old married couple no sooner hit the pillows when the old man passes gas and says, Seven Points.'

His wife rolls over and says, 'What in the world was that?'
The old man replied, 'its fart football.'
A few minutes later his wife lets one go and says Touchdown, tie score.'
After about five minutes the old man lets another one go and says,
'Aha. I'm ahead 14 to 7.'
Not to be outdone the wife rips out another one and says,
'Touchdown, tie score.'
Five seconds go by and she lets out a little squeaker and says,
'Field goal, I lead 17 to 14.' Now the pressure is on the old man.
He refuses to get beaten by a woman, so he strains real hard.
Since defeat is totally unacceptable, he gives it everything he's got, and accidentally shits in the bed.
The wife says, 'What the hell was that?'
The old man says, 'Half time, switch sides.

Canadian Government Grants for First Time Homebuyers...Penny-Ann Lupton

Canadian Government Grants for First Time Homebuyers

Author: Penny-Ann Lupton
Buying a house these days is more difficult for young people purchasing their first home than it ever has been. The uncertainty in the market has made it an opportune time if you are buying your first house to get a good deal, but the banks are making it harder to get a mortgage. The more stringent guidelines that the banks have imposed are making it more challenging for people to qualify for a mortgage. The good news is that the Canadian Government is trying to help. They are offering government grants for first time homebuyers.

These Canadian government grants for first time homebuyers are making it possible for people to get into their first house much sooner than they would on their own. In addition, because there is no interest on the money and no monthly payment it makes it a little easier to qualify for a mortgage. If you’re wondering if you will qualify for the government grants, for first time homebuyers you will be happy to know it is available, however if you have owned a house previously you do not qualify.

You must also have good credit to qualify and a preapproval from a bank showing that you are approved for a mortgage. It is important to note that not all banks will allow you to use a down payment that comes from a government grant. First time homebuyers should seek out the help of a mortgage broker in this situation, they are aware of the banks that will allow down payments from the Canadian government grants for first time homebuyers program.

So how does a person get a government grant? First time homebuyers must first speak to a mortgage broker and fill out an application for a preapproval. The mortgage broker should be able to tell you who is administering the program in your area. Once you get a pre approval, you will then make an appointment with the person in your area who handles the government grants. First time homebuyers may find the experience a little overwhelming but your mortgage broker will help guide you through the process.

First time homebuyers should be aware that it is necessary that you have some money saved by the time you move into your new house. The bank will want you to save up enough to pay for your lawyer fees and any other costs you might incur at closing. These are called your closing costs and the amount you should save is 1.5% of your house value, so if you buy a house worth one $100,000 you will need $1500 for closing costs.

Many people ask if they have to pay back the government grants for first time homebuyers, and the answer is no, however there is a catch. If you live in that house for twenty years you don’t have to pay it back, if you sell the house before the twenty years then yes you have to pay it back when you sell the house. The good news is that there is no interest on the money so the balance won’t grow, and you can even keep the appreciation in the house. What that means is, if you buy a house and then sell it five years later, and it’s worth 20% more than when you bought it, you can keep that.

This is an amazing chance for first time homebuyers, if you’re ready to buy a house but you don’t have enough of a down payment its perfect. The best thing is, houses grow in value about 5% each year and if you had to wait an extra year to save for the house you like today, it would cost you 5% more to buy. If you’re interested, don’t wait because the Canadian Government Grants for first time homebuyers program is over in March 2009.
About the Author:
Penny-Ann Lupton is a registered mortgage specialist who is dedicated to always finding her clients the best rates available!



Quick Mortgage Approvals.ca is a website designed to help people with their mortgage needs which also includes getting approved for the CanadianGovernment Grants for first time homebuyers.
Article Source: ArticlesBase.com - Canadian Government Grants for First Time Homebuyers

Man Lit On Fire While Sleeping

VANCOUVER MAN LIT ON FIRE WHILE PASSED OUT

 I think that sometimes there is just no cure for the illnesses that seem to plague our society.

 Yesterday in Vancouver, a man who had earlier left a bar in the cities' east end seemingly intoxicated found himself fighting for his life after a group of three men...(let's not call them men as they are more equivalent to being large anuses.)poured a flammable fliud over the man as he was sleeping and lit him on fire for something to do.

 A homeless man in the area saw the attack take place and attempted to stop the "youths" from proceeding but was beaten down to the ground by the three young men who then fled on foot to avoid being detected for their crime.

 Vancouver Police are not saying if this was a "hate" related crime as of yet even though the person attacked was of Filipino decent and the attackers were described by a homeless person as white skinheads.

 They say that the attack appeared to be completely "random" in nature and that the general safety of the east side of Vancouver is still good despite these people.

Happy Thanksgiving Canada! Let's all Hope For a Better Future

Happy Thanksgiving Canada! Let's all Hope For a Better Future

You Know, If You Don't Laugh...You Might Be One Of Them:)

TODAY IS REDNECK DAY...OR MAYBE THAT'S THE SAME AS CONSERVATIVE APPRECIATION DAY?(IF THERE CAN BE SUCH A RIDICULOUS THING!)

A new Redneck law was just recently passed

When a couple gets divorced, they are STILL cousins.
____________________


Did you hear that the Redneck Prime Ministers' Mansion burned down?



'Yep.. Prit'near took out the whole trailer park.. The library was a total loss too. Both books went poof . . . up in flames and Good ole Steve hadn't even finished coloring one of them.
____________________
 
A Redneck passed away and left his entire



estate to his beloved widow . . . but she can't touch it 'till she's 14.
____________________
 
How do you know when you're staying in a Redneck motel?



When you call the front desk and say,


" I gotta leak in my sink, and the clerk replies .....


"Go ahead."
____________________
 
Did you hear that they have raised the minimum drinking age for Rednecks to 32 ???



It seems they want to keep alcohol out of the high schools.
____________________
 
Two reasons why it's so hard to solve a Redneck murder:



1) The DNA is all the same


2) There are no dental records
____________________

Who invented the toothbrush?







A Redneck!!


(If it had been invented by anyone else,


it would have been a teeth brush)
____________________
 
Did you hear about the $3 million Redneck Lottery ?



The winner gets $3.00 a year for a million years.
____________________
 

Flu Clinics For Seniors This Week...Oxford County

OXFORD COUNTY FLU SHOT CLINICS FOR THIS COMING WEEK

Need more information? Call the Oxford County Board of Health at 519-539-9800 to speak with a public health consultant.

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 13

Woodstock

South Gate Centre, 191 Old Wellington St. S. 11:00AM—3:00PM

Ingersoll

Seniors Activity Centre, 250 Ingersoll St. S. 2:00PM—5:00PM

 

WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 14

Tillsonburg

The Livingston Centre, 96 Tillson Ave. 3:00PM—7:00PM

Ingersoll

Seniors Activity Centre, 250 Ingersoll St. S. 2:00PM—5:00PM

THURSDAY, OCTOBER 15

Woodstock

College Avenue Secondary School, cafeteria 3:00PM—7:00PM

SATURDAY, OCTOBER 17

Tillsonburg

Tillsonburg Senior Centre, 45 Hardy Ave. 10:00AM—2:00PM

MONDAY, OCTOBER 19

Plattsville

Plattsville Arena, 68 Mill St. 9:30AM—11:30AM

WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 21

Thamesford

Thamesford Library, 165 Dundas St. W. 9:30AM—11:30AM

Local Subway Restaurant Robbed At Gunpoint

ARMED ROBBER CLEARS OUT RESTAURANT CASH

Oxford Community police services are searching the area for a man who held up a local fast food restaurant in the cities' south-east quadrant.

 The police say that a male walked into the Subway restaurant on Norwich Avenue at about 8:30 Saturday night with a gun. He was alone at the time of the robbery.

The gunman took cash from the clerk after issuing several threats and was handed over an unknown amount of cash and fled on foot.
The K-9 unit was brought in to search the area for the suspect, but was unsuccessful in locating him.
Video footage from nearby stores have provided a clear image of the suspect.
The investigation is continuing this morning at this time.
Anyone with further information or who may have witnessed the event are asked to contact the local OCPS at 519-537-2323.

I Know Everyone Will Rush out To Buy This One:)

SEXY MARGE SIMPSON MAKES THE COVER OF PLAYBOY MAGAZINE!

Marge Simpson on the cover of Playboy? It's hard to believe but I suppose that for a generation of cartoon comedy watching people this is probably as hot as it gets:)

Ottawas' 100 Biggest Lobbyists For This Year

Hmmm, I wonder, what is it that all of these people are lobbying for and why? and how does this impact the decision making process of our government?

• Patricia Anderson, Suncor Energy

• Diane Brisebois, Retail Council of Canada

• Perrin Beatty, Canadian Chamber of Commerce

• Claude Paul Boivin, Canadian Dental Association

• Heidi Bonnell, Rogers Communications Inc.

• Pierre Boucher, Cement Association of Canada

• Michael Bourque, Canadian Chemical Producers Association

• Michael Cleland, Canadian Gas Association

• David Collyer, Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers

• Thomas D'Aquino, Canadian Council of Chief Executives

• Monique Doolittle-Romas, Canadian AIDS Society

• Murray Elston, Canadian Nuclear Association

• Ian Faris, Brewers Association of Canada

• Pierre Fortin Canadian, Hydropower Association

• Joseph Galimberti, Air Canada

• Nicholas Gazzard, Canadian Co-operative Housing Federation of Canada

• David Hardy, Encana Corp.

• George Haynal, Bombardier Aerospace

• Graham Henderson, Canadian Recording Industry Association

• Nancy Hughes Anthony, Canadian Bankers Association

• Francesca Iacurto, Genworth Financial

• David Jurkowski, Bombardier Aerospace

• Claude Lajeunesse, Aerospace Industries Association of Canada

• Eric Lamoureux, Canadian Automobile Association

• Eugene Lang, Bell Canada

• Jacqueline LaRocque, GlaxoSmithKline

• Roger Larson, Canadian Fertilizer Institute

• Martin Lavoie, Bombardier Aerospace

• Avrim Lazar, Forest Products Association of Canada

• Pierre Leduc, Propane Gas Association of Canada

• Bernard Lord, Canadian Wireless and Telecommunications Association

• Tony Macerollo, Canadian Petroleum Products Institute

• Rajiv Manhas, Talisman Energy Inc.

• Cate McCready, BIOTECanada

• Elly Meister, Canadian Institute of Chartered Accountants

• Claire Morris, Association of Universities and Colleges of Canada

• Phil Murphy, MDA Corp.,

• Jayson Myers, Canadian Manufacturers and Exporters

• Richard O'Farrell, Imperial Oil Ltd.

• Gordon Olsen, TransCanada Corporation

• Robert Ouellet, Canadian Medical Association

. Tim Page, Canadian Association of Defence and Security Industries

.Gordon Peeling, Mining Association of Canada

• Richard Phillips, Grain Growers of Canada

• Carole Presseault, Certified General Accountants of Canada

• Gordon Quaiattini, Canadian Renewable Fuels Association

Michael Sangster, Telus

• Richard Smith, Environmental Defence Canada

• Paul Sparkes, CTVglobemedia Inc.

• Peggy Tabet, Quebecor Inc.

• Eli Turk, Canadian Electricity Association

. Robert Weese, General Electric Canada

. Garth Whyte, Canadian Federation of Independent Business

• Kristin Anderson, Global Public Affairs

• David Angus, Capital Hill Group

• Andrew Boddington, StrategyCorp Ottawa

• Ken Boessenkool, GCI Group Canada

• Daniel Brock, Fasken Martineau, DuMoulin LLP

• Carolyn Chisholm, Global Public Affairs

• Peter Clark Grey, Clark, Shih and Associates

• Michael Coates, Hill and Knowlton

• Warren Everson, StrategyCorp Ottawa

.Graham Fox, Fraser Milner Casgrain

.Philippe Gervais, Capital Hill Group

.Lynne Hamilton, Hill and Knowlton Canada

• Bruce Hartley, Prospectus Associates

• Tracey Hubley, Summa Strategies Canada

• Goldy Hyder, Hill and Knowlton

• Joe Jordan, Capital Hill Group

• Tim Kennedy, Global Public Affairs

• Gerald Kerr-Wilson, Fasken Martineau, DuMoulin LLP

• Charles King, Earnscliffe Strategy Group

• Teri Kirk, CentreBlock

• Gar Knutson, Borden Ladner Gervais LLP

• James Lorimer, Humphreys Public Affairs Group Inc.

• Ken MacKay, Policy Insights

• Richard Mahoney, Ensight

• Velma McColl, Earnscliffe Strategy Group

.Gord McIntosh, self-employed consultant

• Josh McJannett, Summa Strategies

• Michelle McLean, Hill and Knowlton

• Emanuel Montenegrino, Lang-Michener

• Don Moors, Temple Scott Associates Inc.

• Harry Near, Earnscliffe Strategy Group

• Geoff Norquay, Earnscliffe Strategy Group

• Patrick O'Donnell, CFN Consultants

• Randy Pettipas, Global Public Affairs

• Tim Powers, Summa Strategies Canada

• Mark Resnick, Rothwell Group

• Michael Robinson, Earnscliffe Strategy Group

• Walter Robinson, Tactix Government Consulting Inc.

• Lisa Samson, StrategyCorp Ottawa

• Robin Sears, Ensight

• Dan Seekings, Global Public Affairs

• Anthony Stikeman, Tactix Government Consulting Inc.

• Phil von Finckenstein, PVF Consulting Inc.

• Kaylie Wells, Crestview Public Affairs

• Huw Williams, Impact Public Affairs

.Terrance Wylie, Global Public Affairs

• Alan Young, Tactix Government Consulting Inc.

Not Sure If This Is Correct, But It Sure Is Interesting

And Here our Government Admits That bil C-32 Will Do Very Little

So I Would assume That This Means This Will Be A Costly Piece Of Legislation In Several Ways ...

Link to debate transcript: http://www.parl.gc.ca/40/2/parlbus/chambus/senate/deb-E/057db_2009-10-06-e.htm?Language=E&Parl=40&Ses=2

Section of debate regarding C-32:

Debates of the Senate (Hansard)


2nd Session, 40th Parliament,


Volume 146, Issue 57


Tuesday, October 6, 2009


The Honourable Noël A. Kinsella, Speaker


ORDERS OF THE DAY
Tobacco Act


Bill to Amend—Third Reading


Hon. Gerald J. Comeau (Deputy Leader of the Government) moved third reading of Bill C-32, An Act to amend the Tobacco Act.






Hon. Jane Cordy: Honourable senators, I am pleased to rise today at third reading to speak to Bill C-32, an Act to amend the Tobacco Act.
After study of the bill by the Standing Senate Committee on Social Affairs, Science and Technology, I continue to support this bill without amendments. Maybe it is because I am allergic to cigarette smoke and I would love it if everyone would stop smoking.
The number of young people smoking in Canada is still far too prevalent and Bill C-32 takes a step in the right direction to curb the tobacco industry's blatant marketing of tobacco products to Canada's youth. Little cigars, or cigarillos, and blunt wraps are marketed today with fruit flavours such as grape, cherry, peach, banana split and tropical punch. They have additives such as vitamins and sugars that taste like candy, making the taste more appealing to young people.
Bill C-32 strives to protect children and youth from tobacco industry marketing practices that encourage them to use tobacco products. These marketing practices include the use of these flavourings and additives that would make the tobacco product easier to smoke and, therefore, be more appealing to young people.
Bill C-32 repeals the exemption that permits tobacco advertising in publications with an adult readership of not less than 85 per cent. It prohibits the packaging, importation for sale, distribution and the sale of little cigars and blunt wraps unless they are in a package that contains at least 20 units. We know the price point for tobacco is very important to children.
I fully support Bill C-32 without amendments and I believe that Bill C-32 takes important steps toward reducing the number of youth in Canada who take up smoking. However, I was left with a number of concerns following the testimony heard when Bill C-32 was studied by the Standing Senate Committee on Social Affairs, Science and Technology.
(1500)

During the study, several witnesses raised the issue of contraband cigarettes. In 2008, over 3 billion more contraband cigarettes were sold in Canada than in 2007; that is 3 billion more cigarettes available to Canadian youth.
Contraband cigarettes cost the Canadian government nearly $2.4 billion a year in lost revenues. The availability of contraband tobacco products on the Canadian market is the major issue when it comes to tackling the problem of youth smoking in Canada. Studies show that in Ontario 48.6 per cent of the cigarette butts found on playgrounds are contraband; illegal cigarettes that kids are buying out of duffle bags in the parking lot for $6 a carton. This is where many young people are getting their cigarettes and this is how they are ultimately becoming addicted to tobacco.


I believe Bill C-32 is a good first step toward curbing youth smoking in Canada by removing flavoured tobacco products from store shelves. These tobacco products are packaged in such a way as to appeal to children. However, Canadian law currently prohibits storeowners from selling these products to minors, and the source of cigarettes for children is not from over the counter.






Bill C-32 is limited in its powers to truly deal with the problem of youth smoking. Canadians need the government to stop ignoring the problem of contraband tobacco and bring forth strong policies to engage directly the issue of the contraband tobacco market. The government must do this and provide leadership and vision before we can truly say we are tackling the problem of youth smoking.


We need to make cigarettes unappealing to eliminate the "try" factor of these products and, most important, these products have to become unavailable to Canada's youth.
Another serious concern I have that was raised during the committee hearings was with regard to the government's idea of consultation with stakeholders during the development of Bill C-32. When questioned by committee members regarding the level of consultation the government had with stakeholders when drafting Bill C-32, it was obvious that consultation was not high on the government's priorities. Witness after witness testified that the government ignored their requests for consultation.
I would like to quote Paul Glover, Assistant Deputy Minister, Healthy Environments and Consumer Safety Branch from Health Canada, who appeared before the committee on September 17. This was his response to the question of whether Health Canada consulted with the tobacco industry and others when developing Bill C-32:
With respect to consultation, this was a platform commitment in some ways. As a platform commitment, it was very visible and public to all Canadians through the election process.
I was quite surprised that a senior bureaucrat would talk about the election platform of any political party when appearing as a witness, and to say that this was consultation.
The following quote was typical of witnesses' responses to questions on the level of involvement stakeholders had during the development process of Bill C-32. In referring to committee hearings on the other side, Laurie Karson, Executive Director of the Frontier Duty Free Association stated:
When Health Canada was asked during those hearings if they consulted specifically with the Frontier Duty Free Association, a question posed by Joyce Murray, they said they did consult with us. I beg to differ on that. I have subsequently contacted the Minister of Health to meet with her directly. I have been refused a meeting. I have contacted Leah Canning twice and have been refused a meeting. I am sure you would agree that we, as an industry, believe that is lack of consultation, and it is very disheartening.
I truly hope that the lack of consultation with stakeholders is not the policy of this government when it comes to developing legislation. Open communication and input from Canadians and stakeholders is crucial to crafting effective legislation when addressing these issues. It takes consultation with stakeholders to minimize the possibility of negative, unintended consequences a piece of legislation may have.
In closing, I wish to reiterate my support for Bill C-32, An Act to amend the Tobacco Act and its intent to reduce the appeal of tobacco products to Canada's youth. We all agree that smoking and the health of our children continues to be of great concern to Canadians, and I applaud the efforts of this bill.
I do hope to see this government put greater emphasis on introducing policies through consultations with stakeholders. Such consultations would aggressively target the problem of contraband tobacco in Canada, which remains the largest source of tobacco for young people.
The Hon. the Speaker: Are honourable senators ready for the question?

Hon. Senators: Question.

The Hon. the Speaker: Is it your pleasure, honourable senators, to adopt the motion?
(Motion agreed to and bill read third time and passed.)
_________________________________________________________________


 To me this is an utter waste of time and money and I think the government is busy making make work projects for themselves in order to look busier than they actually are.
 Every Canadian retailer of cigarette products understands the risks in selling to minors. One sale equals a massive fine, two sales equals a suspension of your license, three strikes and you are pretty well out of the cigarette business for good. It will be next to impossible to regain your license and some municipalities have even refused businesses the ability to re-open after being charged under the Tobacco Act. 
 The profits on tobacco products are so small that many retailers refuse to accept the risk of selling to minors. Plain and simple. The law attacks adults and the choices that those adults make.
 Another issue is the lost tax revenues to the federal and provincial governments. Adult smokers of flavoured tobacco products contribute huge dollars into the system that supports many other programs and services....including the governments' ability to have cash on hand to buy votes when needed. Just how will these guys ever get re-elected if they cut off all of the cash to themselves? Especially when they promise no new taxes and no spending cuts? They must be lying.
 I don't know a lot about how these guys in office work, but it is funny that on one hand the law purports to be there for the kiddies when in fact the government says they are not banning the smoking of these or the possessing of these items, they are only preventing Canadian retailers from selling these items to Canadians.
 On the other hand there is nothing that prevents anyone from buying these blunts and flavoured items on the internet in the USA and having them shipped across the border. All this does is create a good economy for the USA tobacco industry while the Canadian tobacco continues to suffer its' decline.
 This is just another lame piece of legislation. If you want to save peoples' lives...just outright ban all tobacco...everything. Otherwise these bits and pieces of legislation just add up to be tiny fragments of garbage that clog the system entirely.
 But really, it is not about saving lives. It's all about looking good to a portion of your voter base. And that's a fact.
 

And Of Course...You Know you want To Laugh:)

Interested in Old texts?

This is an amazing resource for anyone who is interested in ancient writings...

http://www.ancienttexts.org/library/contents.html

Harper Says he Will Not Raise Taxes

HARPER ALSO SAYS....HE WILL NOT CUT SPENDING

 I'm not quite sure how this man intends to do this but Stephen Harper, The Prime Minister of Canada says he will slay the deficit beast while not raising taxes or cutting any spending.

 Harper says he's pretty sure that if he gets to stay in power until 2016 he will have the deficit totally erased by then if not sooner.(Or at least those are the words that Harper used yesterday in Welland where he was out tryng to buy some votes with your tax dollars.) 

 He went on to say that he will limit government spending...right after he said, he will not cut government spending.

 "Our spending for this recession, our stimulus spending, is temporary. It will end when the recession ends and we will return gradually to budget as our revenue recovers from the recession. So absolutely we do not require tax increases." I guess he's the economist in the crowd so we'll let him figure this one out all on his own.

"We do require spending discipline over the long term. We have to make sure that when the recession ends we end the temporary spending and other new spending grows at a modest rate."

 The Conservative government has said it will be increasing EI premiums to employees and employers which will help to stabilize that program itself which is a new tax on the working people of Canada, as well as the federal CONservatives have pushed the provinces to institute the dreaded HST which is a massive tax grab on the citizens of Ontario and it includes numerous new taxes on items that presently are not taxed in Ontario.

 Yes sir Stevie, you're right...no new taxes eh?

Some Excellent Community Resources

Some Excellent Community Resources For Oxford County

Community Employment Services

http://www.informationoxford.ca/

http://www.unitedwayoxford.ca/

Liberals slam Tories for patronage plums

Liberals slam Tories for patronage plums
The federal Liberals slammed the governing Conservatives on Thursday for handing out government jobs -- some of which pay more than $100,000 a year -- to failed former candidates, party workers and financial supporter