If I Was A CONservative Supporter, I'd Be Really Pissed Off Right About Now

POLITICS OF DIRT AND SLIME ALIVE AND WELL IN THE CONSERVATIVE PARTY OF CANADA

You really have to wonder why those CONServatives would want to waste their money on silly assed ads and manufactured blogs(http://www.notaleader.ca/kyotoblog_e.html) such as that link there....

If I was a Tory supporter, I'd be kind of upset at the way they frivolously spend the money that they were handed by their own supporters.

But even more, as taxpayers in Canada, perhaps we should be pissed at the way in which Elections Canada finances these parties...most of them,(excluding the M-L/CAP/PMP/CHP) based on the tally of votes(*a threshold must be obtained), and then examine the issue of these ads again...

Every taxpayer in the country is paying for the CONServatives to run their negative campaign of lies and distortion. This is not a good thing for Canada.

We would be best served by ending the payment system to all of the parties in the country as they are discriminatory in their present capacity. The fact that not all political parties are paid is the primary reason. A vote for the main 4 parties(the greens reached this status in the 2006 election) is worth something in dollar values(at election time it was $1.74 per vote, indexed for inflation in 2007 to $1.96), while a vote for an independent candidate or a fringe party candidate

is worth absolutely "ZERO" therefore implying the concept that voting for an alternative is a waste of time and worthless.

An end to the system of being paid for each vote is necessary in order to level the playing field for all political parties in the country.

So, as a taxpayer, I find it gross and assinine of the CONServatives to take our collective resources, and spend them on silly low brain crap.

Obviously, this is how they run their government as well. The politics of pettiness is alive and well in the CPC.

Defence Minister O Connor Lied To Parents of Slain Soldier

DEFENCE MINISTER UNDER FIRE FOR MISLEADING STATEMENTS TO PARLIAMENT

"Since I've been in office, I've directed the department to pay the full funeral cost of fallen soldiers," stated Gord O Connor,the defence minister ,Monday in the House of Commons.

"And I also directed the department to review the previous Treasury Board policy set by the Liberals to come to a proper resolution and to line it up with current realities. We have been doing that since I've been in office. Any family that had to bury their loved ones is entitled to the full recompense for the funeral expenses".

So....

Yesterday the parents of slain soldier Mathew Dinning made the trip to Ottawa to salvage their tarnished reputation after O' Connor made that statement to the commons. They have been fighting with Ottawa over the funeral expenses for their son who was killed in Afghanistan for several months now. They were told initially that the government would cover all costs related to the funeral of their son.

These parents should not be responsible for the costs of this funeral.

Any parent who has lost their child as a result of their child serving their country during conflict should have 100% coverage.

It is disgusting that our government would drag its' feet on this issue, and more disgusting that they would prefer to increase the pain and suffering of the Dinning family.

This is one more indication that this government is morally weak and lacking in direction and cause.

Guelph Police Hunting For Really Strange Guy

MAN IN GUELPH IS APPROACHING WOMEN ASKING TO BE KICKED IN THE BALLS(GROIN)

Police in Guelph, Ontario are busy looking into a case of a man who has been approaching women, and get this....

ASKS TO BE KICKED IN THE BALLS!

Three women in the past few days reported having been accosted by a man riding a bicycle who asks to be kicked in the nuts.

The women have reported no injuries...

but has he???

Prince Edward Island Voters Toss The CONServatives

LIBERALS REVERSE PARTY FORTUNES IN PEI

The CONServative Party of PEI has been delivered a beating at the polls by the son of a former PEI premier, Robert Ghiz.

The government of Pat Binns fell yesterday as PEI voters overwhelmingly backed a majority Liberal government in the island province.

Pat Binns who had governed PEI for 11 years commented that "no government after 11 years in office can expect to have no baggage".

Voter turnout was heavy, and expected to hit at least 80% of the islands population of 137,000 eligible voters.

PEI routinely outdoes all other provinces for voter participation.

Harper Government Distances Itself From Global Warming Reduction Efforts

HARPER MOVES TO DEFEND GW BUSHS' STANCE ON GLOBAL WARMING

Stephen Harpers' CONervative government has moved itself away from a strongly worded international statement about fighting climate change, explaining Canada is trying to craft a consensus to include the United States and China in a new pact to tackle global warming.

European nations are asking G8 leaders in advance of a summit to endorse a declaration stating that those countries will support the new initiative that sets mandatory targets to reduce greenhouse gas pollution and limit global warming to two degrees Celsius.

Harper has suggested that he will only sign a deal if it is a deal that the USA can live with. "The fact of the matter is that in order to have a post-2012 effective international protocol, we need to have all major emitters, including the United States and China, as part of that effort," Harper said in the Commons. "Canada will be working to try to create that consensus."

Stephane Dion stated to the media that "When (Harper) killed the plan he knows very well that we wasted a full year and billions of dollars in greenhouse gas reductions," Dion said. "Will (Harper) have this kind of awful behaviour at the G8 meeting? Will he try to fool the world as he tried to fool Canadians?"

Hopefully we Canadians aren't as silly as the rest of the world.

Mayor of Aurora Ontario Takes Exception To Developers Wash Line Bans

MAYOR OF AURORA ONTARIO GOES AGAINST BIG DEVELOPERS

Phyllis Morris, the mayor of Aurora, is pushing the Ontario government to consider banning developers from forcing homeowners to sign deals that will prevent them from using a wash line on their properties.

"They could designate the humble clothesline as a good, a service or a technology," Morris said, noting that the Energy Conservation Leadership Act allows the government to help remove barriers that block energy conservation.
"Once they do, that would rescind all of those sidebar agreements that developers have struck with homeowners," she said.

Morris started the "right to dry" campaign last August in an effort to convince developers and provincial authorities to allow wash lines even when a homeowner has been forced to sign a deal that would allow developers the right to determine how you use the property you buy from them.

Go get 'em Phyllis.

This is a dumb thing. It is a no brainer that every person who wants to dry their clothes using a wash line should be permitted the right to do so.

I would suggest not buying homes from developers who are not environmentally friendly.

Canadian Food Inspection Agency Stops Chinese Wheat Gluten Imports

FOOD INSPECTION AGENCY STOPS CORN GLUTEN FROM ENTERING COUNTRY

Canadas' food watchdog has prevented a toxic load of corn gluten from entering Canada after the product tested positive for chemicals.

Melamine, a chemical used to make plastics and fertilizers and cyanuric acid were found to be in the latest shipment of food additives from China.

China was responsible for the tainted pet food situation that killed hundreds of family pets in the US and Canada in the past 6 months.

Chinese authorities say they have used these toxic products in their foods for many years unknown to us.

"Shipments are being tested for both melamine and cyanuric acid since, although neither substance is believed to be particularly toxic by itself, their potency appears to be increased when they are present together," the federal agency said in a statement.

On Thursday the US food and drug administration began testing toothpaste that was manufactured in China after tests in Panama showed it to be toxic.

So, is it time for Canada to have a safe food policy?

Local Man Dies OF Drug Overdose

A GUY EVERYONE CALLED "G" DIED OF A METHADONE OVERDOSE FRIDAY

A local addict has found himself on a permanent trip after overdosing on methadone which he and some friends stole from the local methadone clinic this past week in a break in.

"G" died of an overdose on Friday after injecting a massive amount of methadone.

Methadone is used to wean people off of harder street drugs like oxycontin, and heroin.

Some people say the treatment is harder than the actual addiction.

John Baird Pays Woodstock Energy Expo A Visit

Hmmm, Which face to use today?

ENVIRONMENT MINISTER BAIRD COMES TO WOODSTOCK

John Baird came to Woodstock yesterday to give a few remarks at the opening ceremonies at the Woodstock Clean Energy Expo....

and did I tell you...

blah blah blah.

Basically he said he'd be applying some "tough new standards on big industry."(he forgot to use them on Irving Oil though....hmmmm)

Environment Canada will not assess the impact of greenhouse gas emissions from this new Irving development. The assessment will barely cover the impact of the construction of a pier, which will be used for unloading crude oil from supertankers, and not the impact of the increased tanker traffic in the vicinity of the new refinery.

This is a bullshit decision from the environment minister and his cronies.

Fact is, if we do not apply more stringent regulations now to large emerging industrial developements, than we have nothing in the way of precedent to apply in the future to the next big industrial complex that seeks a similar typed exemption.

This is one more example of the Harper government paying attention to the needs of big oil and big industry versus the needs of the environment, and the needs of the people.

But on the other hand folks, if you are near Woodstock, get your butts out to see this energy expo which lasts the entire weekend and is very easy to find from the 401. Take exit 230 at Woodstock, head north 3km, turn right on Pembers Pass(big rocks say Potters Woods on the corner) and you'll drive straight into the complex.

Falun Gong Justice Media Notice

Media Release For Immediate Release May 25, 2007
Calls For PM To Cancel Monday Visit Of Chinese Minister Alleged To Have Committed Crimes against Humanity
Ottawa - Falun Dafa Association of Canada, the Canadian Coalition for Democracies, Hon. David Kilgour, former Secretary of State (Asia-Pacific), and victims of persecution held a press conference yesterday on Parliament Hill in Ottawa calling on the Government of Canada to cancel its invitation and bar Bo Xilai's entry into Canada. Bo Xilai is China's Minister of Commerce and is scheduled to visit Ottawa on Monday, May 28, 2007.
In Canada, Bo Xilai is on the RCMP watch list of Chinese government officials. Moreover, the Department of Justice - Crimes Against Humanity & War Crimes Program is aware of Bo Xilai and maintains mechanisms, along with Citizen and Immigration Canada allowing for the barring from entry, denial of visa, deportation, or prosecution of perpetrators of crime.
According to Kilgour, "Bo Xilai was a senior party official and governor of Liaoning province in the years 1999 to 2004, when some of the worst [government sponsored] crimes were taking place against Falun Gong prisoners of conscience in that very province. There are thus ample grounds to exclude him from entry to Canada under our Crimes Against Humanity and War Crimes Program and our obligations under international law."
"My mother Ms. Xin Huang, is serving a 8-year jail term in the 'prison town' built for jailing Falun Gong practitioners under the direct instruction of Bo Xilai", said Mr. Michael Zheng from Toronto. "She was not allowed to be represented by a lawyer, now she lost most of her memory and can hardly walk and speak due to the torture and psychiatric abuse."
"My whole family was under Bo Xilai's white terror in Liaoning Province because we are all practitioners of Falun Gong- my son lost his job, was arrested and incarcerated, there were constant harassment to our family, and we went in hiding to avoid arrest. My husband's medical clinic has to close down and under the extreme stress beyond he could bear he had a heart attack and died in May 2001", said Ms. Zhao Yu from Toronto.
According to the Falun Gong Justice website www.flgjustice.org, Bo Xilai is a defendant in a number of lawsuits (both criminal and civil) in ten countries for torture, crimes against humanity and genocide.
David Harris, senior fellow for national security with the Canadian Coalition for Democracies added, "There are serious allegations about Bo Xilai regarding torture and crimes against humanity. Prime Minister Harper has acted with conviction and compassion when it comes to respecting human rights. We call on the Prime Minister to maintain his record by keeping Bo Xilai out of Canada and by supporting the efforts of victims and their family members to see that justice is done."
For more information, contact:
Lucy Zhou 1 613 852 7494

Woodstock Developer Still Wants To Build Golf Course On Public Park

After reading the comments made by Mr Flannigan regarding the Sally Creek Golf Course developement I decided I should write this rebuttal.

Mr Flannigan points out numerous arguments in his column on why a golf course should be permitted to go ahead.

1/ The land is not being sold and will remain in the land bank according to him. That is 100% true, the land could be leased, but it is preferable to the developer to purchase it according to Mr Flannigan himself, which would remove it from the public land bank.(he made those comments during a walking tour in January)

2/During Januarys' walk about, Flannigan had no idea how many trees or what species of trees would be left, or replanted.

3/Fact 3 is not much of a fact when all of the details are missing.According to Flannigan himself, the buffer dimensions are unknown, but the course will butt up to the trail system.

4/IPM...IPM is a failed program that does little or next to nothing for the environment. Most IPM committees are peppered with industry insiders,(look at Woodstocks' IPM and see what you have here) like golf course reps, lawn care company reps,and retired chemical industry people. Their word is as good as nothing.

5/Sally Creek was given Bronze status(the first level) on April 20, 2007 in the Audobon International Signature Program. I spoke with their US National president yesterday and that person told me that Audobon does not under any circumstances endorse nor support this developer.They only support and endorse their own programs.

6/Three cows in a 100 acre field produce more nitrates than an 18 hole golf course according to Mr Flannigan. If we are only talking about nitrate contamination his argument is valid, but we aren't. Golf courses use large amounts of herbicides, pesticides and fungicides.That's why the greens look so green.Not just nitrates. Cows on the other hand, use no chemicals, and despite Mr Flannigans concern for the problem of cow pooh nitrates I would say his "cow" argument is bullshit.

7/He claims they will be planting trees. in January he had no idea on how many trees, what species or where they were being planted. 1 tiny shrub will not replace the lost biomass of a 40 year old tree.I wonder how many birds the Audobon society will spot in the astillbe shrubbery?8/The course will provide 75 jobs for people.(maybe they can pick up the ICT slack)I will not argue against more jobs. I will argue for responsible stewardship of public lands.

9/At the time of the walkabout(a well used line here) there was no information on the water being pumped out of the well, and the colour was nasty, smelled like sulphur and was being sent into the local creek.

10/At no point has anyone ever chastised this company for their "generous donation" to the Woodstock Hospital Fund. I don't remember reading in the paper that the donation to the new hospital hinged on whether or not the proposed golf course would go through so I am not sure why Mr Flannigan has included this comment other than to "twist the arms of the Woodstock public" into ceding the park to them. I know thousands of people, as well as myself who have donated money to numerous organizations. Not many of them feel the need to jump up on a pedestal and tell the world what a big donor they are...unless they are looking for something.(like a big pat on the back)

11/He is correct in stating that the course will not be private for only the villages of Sally Creek. They will sell memberships as well to the public, but, the public who normally walk the trails of Burgess Park and Saly Creek will see their access cutoff to this area, unless the devloper loses his bid to build the course on our public parkland.

12/ He claims that no one contacted him or complained to him except for one person. That is incorrect. I myself contacted him and asked for information on where the creek would be redirected to or buried, what species and numbers of trees were being planted, and what plan the course had to reduce chemicals and move towards an organic treatment program. Flannigan never returned the call, never mailed out the information and I never heard squat from these people again. Looks like he was afraid to answer me.
The real issue is whether or not the public wants to set a precedent with these lands and "lease them" out for the developement of a golf course.His point that the course will raise property values is pointless as the values will only be raised in the immediate area, thereby benefitting only Sally Creek and its' housing development. No, Mr Flannigan, you don't bite, but your plans do. And by the way, I'd be scrambling too if I were you because I imagine your job depends on the outcome of this.
jim bender

woodstock

Toronto Teen Shot Dead In The Halls Of High School

15 YEAR OLD LATEST VICTIM OF GUN VIOLENCE

Jordan Manners, 15, was fatally shot in a mid-afternoon attack in a Toronto high School which left parents scrambling to retrieve their kids from the school.

An argument began earlier in the day over fireworks between Manners and another student who has yet to be identified. That student followed Manners into the school and up to the second floor where he fired one shot into the victims' chest and ran away.

As I watched CTV news last night there was a scene where the family of the deceased were being harrassed by the media.(cameras in their faces while they learned their son was dead) One family member lashed out at a camera man, striking him.

Police have charged that family member with assault. Police have yet to identify a suspect for the killing.

Maybe that's because they were too busy worrying about arresting the family first.

You have to wonder why there are not metal detectors in schools. As well, why are the doors all left wide open at schools in Ontario?

Last September when I did a clean up at Pittock Park I delivered information packets out to the local schools. There was not one school that I couldn't get into. I just had to walk in the doors.

Heck, I waited at Central school in Woodstock for 20 minutes at the office, knocking on doors, calling out and finally a student came and saw me and got me a teacher for me to speak to.

That was a public school to grade 8, and its' doors were wide open for anyone to just walk in.

I guess if we want better security at school, one quick measure would be to "LOCK THE BLOODY DOORS!".

Looks like our federal government is doing just great in reducing violence on the streets and bringing gun crimes under control. Yeah Right!

Pittock Lake Is Full Of Garbage

IT WAS AN AWESOME LONG WEEKEND, BUT THE GARBAGE WAS BRUTAL

This long weekend I dragged my canoe out and went for a tour with my wife and son to the local lake; Pittock.

The weather was good and it was the first canoe trip of the year.

The first thing we noticed was the immense amount of garbage around the lake, especially along county road 4 where tons of people gain access to the lake.

Paper cups, "worm" containers, fishing line and empty soft drink containers littered every location where one could possibly look. You couldn't look in any direction and not see garbage. It was disgusting.

So, here we have a bunch of people out using the area, and not really caring about it. People who drag their garbage with them,and then refuse to take it home, or even to a trash can.

People coming here to go fishing, and leaving their days garbage behind for the rest of us to look at. Would these same people fish in the pond at Salford Landfill?

Pittcok and Salford landfill are almost indistinguishable from each other now.

Nice. I am so impressed.

Otherwise, the trip was interesting.

We got a good first hand view on how the railway has bisected the marsh area east of county road 4 by building a berm and rail line across the lake. No more wide area of marsh to look at, just a large eyesore that was built in the name of progress, to serve Toyota.

What a great pile of construction. A wonderful sight to stare at.

Amidst all of the manmade chaos we spotted 2 very large cranes circling overhead, saw tons of ducks(even sneaked up on a pair of them), and a good array of fish species jumping for their dinner.

Overall, the trip was great, and it reminds me that we have tons to be thankful for here in Woodstock.

Like my partner said, " Where else could you live and have access to a lake, trails, forests, and a pile of good and decent people?"

Yeah, it's Woodstock. For all the bitching and moaning we do, we must admit, this is one of the greatest places a person could want to live.

I'm thinking this years' clean up should be on the eastern end of the park.

Who Financed Harpers' Alliance Leadership Bid?

HARPER CLAIMS HE BROUGHT IN $1.1 MILLION FOR HIS CAMPAIGN, BUT REFUSES TO SAY WHERE THE MONEY CAME FROM

PM Stephen Harper has some big donors in his pocket.

Harper has admitted that he took in over $1.1 million dollars during his leadership bid of the Canadian Alliance, but refuses to address where the money came from aside from $144,000.00 that he disclosed connections to.

So, lets' have a look at where Harper may have gotten some money.

1/ Armed Robberies.

The PM refuses to say where the money came from so we can assume it is stolen, or the result of some other high crime.

2/ The American Gun Lobby

The PM for no other reason has moved to disassemble the long gun registry because he feels Canadians do not need protection from insane gun owners, and that rules are bad for guns.

Harper favours guns and gun lobbyists over concerns of families and average non gun owning Canadians. Does Harper favour the killers of Jane Creba vs the family of Jane?

Guns are bad, the idiots that own them are bad. This makes the PM who favours them; bad.

3/The Oil Lobby

Harper hails from Calgary, home of Canadas' oil barons.

Harper has in the past refused to support environmental initiatves that would slow the growth of the petro chemical industry, or force them into complying with better industry standards.

he is a flag bearer for the oil industry, and a pall bearer for the envrionment.

4/Muti National Industry

As a proponent of freer trade(no holds barred trade)with America, and deep integration policies, Harper has come to stand for AMERICA!

5/ America; The Once Beautiful now imposing Hulk of hate

There is virtually no difference between this PM, and the buffoon in the Whitehouse.

They are both working toward the goal of a United Jesusland of American-Canadian Organized States. They have shared campaign strategists, and share similar petty interests.

6/Anyone not related to Preston Manning

Chances are, Stevie hijacked the party from Manning, or so Manning claims.

The people against Manning, helped finance this takeover.

So Canada, wake up.

Leading us down the path of ruin is the un-Canadian PM.

Perhaps he should make a white house run, he's more American than the American president.

Ha, but they are smarter than that there!

They have a rule that says you must be an American to run.

I suppose they saw him coming.

So, $1.1 million for Mr Harper, and he still refuses to come clean?

Hogwash is what it is.

Canadas' New Government(tm): Protecting Domestic Stripper Jobs For Canadian Families

CANADAS NEW GOVERNMENT(tm) IS ALL ABOUT PROTECTING REAL CANADIAN STRIPPERS' JOBS

It could have been the environment, or Afghanistan but it isn't.

Harpers' CONservatives have finally moved on one of the most pressing concerns that all Canadian families have; Strippers.

Yes, those damned foreign rippers are here taking all those good jobs away from Canadian strippers. And Canadian CONservatives are fuming mad over it!

Some CONServative members are so outraged at having to leer at foreign strippers that they are actually going to cut the program that allows desperate strip club owners(who they say can't find good Canadian girls) to import rippers for their clubs.

The CONServative government says "Foreign strippers are bad for Canada, and we've decided that the industry should be filled with local Canadian content to ensure good jobs for Canadian families and their chldren in the future."

Just one more fine example of a government getting things done, that it wasn't asked to do, while the 5 priorities of their election campaign remain in tatters.

What ever happened to wait times guarantees?

Or the environment?

Or an elected senate?

Or a real accountability act with teeth?

Or doing away with appointments?(like Fortier)

What about a government that cares for its' people instead of being embroiled in some petty party politics?

Not in our Canada.

We'll have to wait for another election to make those changes again.

When Exactly Will The City Of Woodstock Hire An Integrity Commissioner?

ALMOST SEEMS AS IF OUR LOCAL COUNCIL HAS FORGOTTEN ABOUT THIS ISSUE.

Several months ago there was a flurry of news regarding huge losses at Woodstock Info Energy.

Woodstock city council refused to address the problem for months until the issue was pressed at the council level.

Our council then said that they would hire an integrity commissioner to deal with the situation to clarify it.

As of yet, there has not been one peep out of the bastards over this aside from the odd rumbling...similar to stomach growls.

So, this week, I will send a letter into council again, through the clerk, to ask for the right to speak to council to press them on this, and to discover when this will take place.

Harper CONservatives Cut Funding To Camps For Disabled Children

YES MR HARPER, YOU'RE DOING A GREAT JOB PICKING ON THE PEOPLE WHO CANNOT DEFEND THEMSELVES

The "New CONservative Government"(tm) has announced that it will no longer fund summer camp programs for disabled people in Canada.

Human Resources Minister Monte Solberg and the Conservatives are short-changing community groups nationwide by removing financing for summer students to work in summer camp programs.

Charities, community groups, museums and a Toronto nursery school for autistic children are up in arms after being denied federal funding to hire students putting all of these summer camp programs in jeopardy.

I think they did this to get the heat off of themselves for the Afghanistan issue.

Or the environment.

Yes, Mr Harper, you've done a great job picking on average Canadian families, driving the message home to them that they do not matter to anyone, least of all the "New CONservative Government".(tm)

I guess Harper knows that disabled people do not vote, and if they did, it would not be for him.

PM Issues Handbook on Stalling Tactics To CONservative Committee Members

FEDERAL CONSERVATIVES ISSUE HANDBOOK ON HOW TO DISRUPT THEIR OWN GOVERNMENT

The "Dear Leader' of Canadas' "NEW CONSERVATIVE GOVERNMENT"(tm) has issued a training manual to his MPs telling them how to disrupt everything from committee meetings, to stacking inquiries with CONServative friendly witnesses to ending meetings where the CONservatives have lost control, indication the leader of the government is a control freak.

The manual tells them how to create chaos to avoid dealing with subjects that displease the government. It suggests interrupting witnesses or engaging in systematic obstruction or leaving unexpectedly, to block work

I suppose that If I were him, I'd do the same thing, especially considering that the majority of these MPs lack the skills necessary to speak for themselves, or when they do speak, they do so with their feet in their mouths.

Opposition members of the house have asked that the government releases its' "training" manual to the house.

Ontario introduces Law That Would Protect Endangered Species

Future Ontarians will be able to see several at danger species thanks to new endangered species legislation hailed as the toughest of its kind in North America.
Ontario is home to about 15,000 species of animals and plants, but old legislation has left the province with the greatest number of endangered species in the land.
There are now 175 species currently at risk. Ontarios' new law is stronger than anything similar in Canada or the United States, said Wendy Francis of the group Ontario Nature, which is part of the Save Ontario's Species coalition.
"Other than British Columbia, Ontario has the greatest biodiversity in Canada so we have a great responsibility to protect the species that we have here," Francis said.
"I think it's completely appropriate that Ontario is enacting the best endangered species act in the continent."
The changes to Ontario's Endangered Species Act expands the number of protected animals in Ontario and allows scientists to determine which species should be added to the list each year.
Rick Smith, executive director of Environmental Defence said yesterday that "countless unique creatures would one day become nothing more than a memory without the new protections".
"If we want our kids to have butterflies in the future -- as opposed to having their wildlife experiences restricted to viewing squirrels and raccoons -- we need this endangered species act," he said.
"It's important for Ontario residents and everyone around the world that endangered species be protected, even if it comes with a cost", said Natural Resources Minister David Ramsay.
The governing Liberals are pledging $18 million over four years to increase habitat protection for threatened animals, and help farmers, conservation authorities and municipalities absorb the costs of following the new rules.
"I remember in the last century talking about species that didn't need protection and within 50 or 60 years they were gone," Ramsay said.
"In the 21st century we can no longer treat our environment that way, we need to protect all our biodiversity."
Both opposition parties said they would support the bill which was to face its final procedural step in the legislature yesterday, although it was expected some members representing rural ridings would vote against it.
"A number of our members, particularly from rural ridings, are concerned this could result in farmers or other landowners losing income without adequate compensation from the government," said Conservative critic Tim Hudak.
"The government has not set aside adequate funding to help protect areas without hurting farmers' livelihoods."
Farmers aren't against protecting endangered species, but feel they are unfairly targeted by the process, said Paul Mistele, vice-president of the Ontario Federation of Agriculture.
"(We) all along have said that we would embrace legislation but we wanted to make sure that it didn't put the primary producers in Ontario out on a limb," he said.

Go figure some of those CONservatives would act against this legislation.

ICT Lays Off Entire Staff: Call Centre Closes July 15,2007

ICT CALL CENTRE IN WOODSTOCK LAYS OFF ENTIRE STAFF YESTERDAY

Staff at Woodstock employer ICT were laid off unexpectedly this week after being told their business was moving south.

At least 100 people received notice.

We'll report more on this as we hear it...

Fundementalist Right Wing American Evangelist Jerry Falwell Kicks Off

AND THERE GOES THE MORAL MAJORITY

Jerry Falwell who was once courted by presidents and business leaders all over the United States for his super right wing support has finally died after a suffering a heart attack at work. He was 73.

Falwell is better known as the guy who fought the teletubbies, and for blaming gays,lesbians and democrats for the 9/11 attacks on America.

Falwell founded the Lynchburg Bible College in 1972, and later renamed it Liberty. He worked in radio in his early years, and moved to the Old Time Gospel Hour on TV in the 1960's.

It was his Moral Majority movement of the 1970's that financed and campaigned for Ronald Reagan to become president.

In recent years the hard Christian right has lost its' political effectiveness, but every major candidate for president still went to Falwell for his blessing and support.

Scientists Plead for Boreal Forest Protection

CANADAS' HOLDS OWNERSHIP OF LARGEST BOREAL FOREST MASS ON EARTH

1500 of the worlds' greatest scientists met in Ottawa yesterday to push the federal government to move to extend protection to the increasingly threatened boreal forest, a key component in the planet's battle with climate change.

At present less than 10% of Canadas' vast forests are protected by law and with the encroachment of mining and foresty operations in Western Canada, Alberta and northern Ontario this number is threatened.

The scientists want to get the word out that forests absorb and store carbon dioxide, playing a important role in the fight against climate change. Global warming concerns are based on predictions that human-made emissions of greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide are trapping heat in the Earth's atmosphere.
The boreal forest, a green band primarily made up of coniferous trees, stretches from Alaska to Newfoundland and from the northern tundra to a varying southern edge that touches Lake Superior and Lake Huron.
"We are concerned that current conservation planning efforts are insufficient to sustain the ecological integrity of Canada's Boreal region, one of the most intact ecosystems left in the world," the letter states. "Specifically, the amount of land in protected status within the Canadian Boreal, now at under 10 per cent, is inadequate and must be markedly increased."

Flaherty Rolls Over For Big Business

FINANCE MINISTER FLAHERTY FLIPS AND THEN HE FLOPS, LITERALLY

Facing howls of complaint from corporate Canada, Jim Flaherty(Not related to Joe from SCTV)rolled back his two-month-old announcement forbidding tax deductions on the interest of loans financing investments in business acquisitions abroad after much heated exchange between corporate Canada and the CONServatives.

"We are proceeding with our anti-tax-haven initiative because it is the right thing to do, but we must ensure we get it right," Flaherty told a Toronto Board of Trade breakfast, which tells us that he now believes he got it wrong in the first place.

His announcement received mild applause and corporate leaders called the reversal a step in the right direction for them.

The government had originally predicted that the changes would cost business $40 million a year in new taxes, but corporate Canada says the number is closer to $1-2 billion in new taxes.

Opposition leaders decried the move as a flip flop of vast proportion which outlines the inexperience of the finance minister.

Government Plans On New Ridings

GOVERNMENT MAY ADD NEW SEATS, BUT STILL NO PROPORTIONAL REPRESENTATION

And, what else is there to say until they move to ACTUALLY include a FAIR AND EQUITABLE voting system in their silly waste of time, grandstanding legislation.

Liberals Leading In National POlls According To CanWest Global

CANWEST GLOBAL REPORTS A NATIONAL SURGE FOR THE LIBERAL PARTY

A survey conducted by Ipsos Reid from May 8 to May 10 for CanWest News Service and Global National has shown that there has been a turn of events for the CONservative Party across the country.

According to the poll, 32% of Canadians countrywide voiced their support for a Dion led government in Ottawa, compared to 31% for a CONservative government.

Some of the issues that were presented during the poll were related to the environment, and the Canadian public perception that Mr Baird, the Environment minister is not presenting all of the facts related to his charge that "instituting environmental greenhouse regulations would be bad for Canada."

61% of respondents polled said that clearly the environmental plan put forward by the Tories, was a failure in public policy and the wrong direction for Canada to be taking. Less than 40% agreed that the plan was allright.

The poll revealed a staggering loss of support in the Western provinces where they had their most support.

The poll showed that only 32% of Canadians feel that Mr Baird wasn't lying to us. 68% of us feel he is full of crap!(i personally don't feel that way, but it is possible that he really is made from crap)

The CONServatives have lost 13% of their support in Alberta, and 19% of their support base was shedded in BC.

Obviously, the big feel good(or in their words) budget that they introduced hasn't gained them one iota of public support in the polls. A few more months of this bad leadership, and they should be sunk for a few more years.

Former Reform Party May Gain New Life

IS THE CPC ON THE VERGE OF COLLAPSE?

This weekend marks the first time since the old CONservative Party and the Reform Party joined forces, that there will be a meeting of REFORMERS who are amply pissed at the way Harper has walked away from their right wing agenda of nastiness.

At the centre of the mess is the failure of Harper to reign in big budget spending(the biggest spending budget in Canadian history), the same sex marriage argument(looks like Steve decided same sex is good), the appointment of the unelected Michael Fortier(remember he PROMISED never to do that, so in effect is a liar!), the floor crossing David Emerson(which Harper stood against just a few months before that move), the failure to hold senate elections,(Harper says senators should be elected...unless he's allowed to do the appointing), the reversal of income trust taxation(he promised never to touch them prior to his election as PM), misspending on government flights(he was nailed taking some buddies to a hockey game and using the government jet), allowing cabinet ministers to take unaccounted for flights(last week a Quebec minister was nailed for $150,000.00 in unreported flights, and of course, the rampant buying off of Quebec contrary to everything the CONservatives stood for in the last election.

Turns out Mr Harper is probably the biggest spending, largest lying, most divisive PM Canada has ever had, and it is no wonder the old Reform/Alliance wing of the Party seems ready to split.

We'll see what happens after this meeting of right wingers this weekend in Kingston.

All we can hope for is that they split in a terrible way, and that the silly party is destroyed by their own fundementalist attitudes.

Long Live Canada, but not with Stevie Harping!

CONservative Government Accused Of Breaking The Law

DISCONTINUATION OF COURT CHALLENGES PROGRAM IS DEEMED A CRIME

Canadas' "New Government(TM)" led by Harping Stephen stands accused of violating the charter rights of individuals by preventing them from accessing fair language services for court trials and cases.

Since the program was cut by the CONS, more than 100 complaints have been lodged against this government.

Graham Fraser, (the new language commissioner) in a report to be tabled next week, chastises the federal government for restricting access to services that have been deemed detrimental to providing a fair trial to language barrier groups. These people have not been given fair linguistic services.

The program started in 1978 as a way to guarantee that minority groups would recieve assistance in the courts through translators and other language sensitive programs.

The CONServative government paid no heed to warnings that they would be violating peoples' charter rights by denying them language services.

Although Fraser can make recommendations to the government, the government is not under pressure to accept those ideas, but Fraser said that the government must still follow the rule of law when governing, and that this decision is a violation of the language law.

Oral Sex Leads To Throat Cancer

OKAY, NOW SCIENCE HAS TAKEN THE FUN OUT OF EVERYTHING!

According to a new study,the same virus that causes cervical cancer is the principal cause of throat cancer.

Research also suggests that unprotected oral sex is a major reason people are contracting throat cancer - not just smoking and excessive alcohol consumption, as previously believed.
Maura Gillison, assistant professor of oncology and epidemiology at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Md., and lead author of the study says"It's the human papillomavirus that drives the cancer."

She said the more oral-sex partners a person has, the greater the risk of contracting oral cancers.

Study participants who reported having oral sex - be it fellatio or cunnilingus - with six or more partners were at greatest risk of contracting oropharyngeal cancer. Particpants were 32 times more at risk than people who did not have oral sex.
There is no screening test for oral cancer; it is usually detected when there is a sore in the mouth that does not heal.

News is, Monica Lewinsky has made an appointment with an oncologist.

Tim Horton Donut Chain Thinks It Shouldn't Pay An Environmental Tax On Its' Cups

TIM HORTON DONUT LIMITED THINKS PAPER CUP TAX IS BAD FOR PEOPLE

A suggestion by the city of Toronto that it taxes disposable coffe cups has come under major fire from the country's largest coffee/donut chain Tim Hortons'.

Nick Javor, senior vice-president of corporate affairs says a potential 25-cent or 30-cent tax on non-recyclable coffee cups is a non-starter and won't fly with consumers.""This would only polarize people; it's absolutely the wrong way to go", says Javor. Javor says they are doing all they can do by recyling coffee grounds in their restaurants.

Some Ontario communities accept the disposable paper cups that are lined with wax into their recyling programs, but other communities do not necessarily have the technology to deal with those wax products.

The Hortons' spokesperson stated that " we are not a waste management company" in reference to concerns about the growing pile of garbage that comes from their restaurants.(no, not the food, although, it fits that category as well)

Province wide there should be a tax on these disposable cups. Billions of these cups end up in landfill each year.

Tim Hortons' will say whatever is necessary to keep the costs down, and keep the profits up. They are not an environmental company, but a fast food service that contributes to the growing mess of garbage on our streets, in our parks, and in our rivers.

Woodstock Woman Assaulted By Security Staff And Shoplifter At Zellers

WOODSTOCK WOMAN SMASHED DOWN TO THE GROUND DURING SHOPLIFTING CONFRONTATION

On Saturday at 3:30 pm A Woodstock woman who was entering the Woodstock Dundas street Zellers department store was assaulted by staff and a shoplifting suspect during the takedown of said shoplifter for a .50 cent pair of sunglasses imported from China.

Security personell from TUFF CONTROL were in the midst of apprehending the suspect while chasing him through the store doors. As a result of the chain of events that were set into motion by the suspect, the security people chased the suspect into the path of the woman entering the store, knocking her to the ground, breaking her glasses and injuring her substantially. The security people then continued on with their arrest, taking out the suspect by the legs, and knocked over the woman AGAIN to the ground where the contents of her purse emptied into the parking lot. It was very windy last Saturday, and most of the womans' money ended up blowing around the lot.

The TUFF CONTROL security staff left the woman lying in the parking lot after yelling at her that they were store security and that they were arresting a suspect.

Zellers staff refused to comment on the injury but said it had nothing to do with them as the security staff are contracted,(yeah, okay)and besides that, they said they rent their store from another company(Sobeys)and aren't responsible for any injuries that occurred because of their contractual employees' actions.

PC Kelly laid charges of assault against the shoplifter, as well as theft charges.

No apology was given to the lady from anyone, and the staff of both Zellers, and Tuff Control just left the lady to fend for herself. Zellers staff did take a complaint regarding the issue and no one would comment on any further details.Way to go Zellers and Tuff Control.

Chalk one up for nastiness!

I THINK THIS LADY NEEDS A GOOD LAWYER!

Anyone know of one? She gave me a number to contact her, and says she could use one.