More Pics Of Burgess Park And The Deer That Live In It.

WHERE WILL THESE ANIMALS GO WHEN THEY BUILD THE GOLF COURSE HERE? Click on the pictures to see the deer that live in this natural area.
To think that our council decided to displace these deer is unfathomable.
Will the UTRCA move to stop this golf course development?
For their sake(the deer that is), and our global ecosystems' sake we can only hope they uphold their own mission statement and policy objectives.

Bribes, Bribes and More Bribes

BRIBERY...101

According to many news reports, the CONservatives(or some officials of theirs whom they refuse to identify) apparently attempted to bribe Chuck Cadman(a former Conservative party MP who dumped the party to sit as an independent) in order to cement the vote against Paul Martins' minority government in 2005 whom they were attempting to topple over the 2005 budget.

Standing Order 23(1) states:
The offer of any money or other advantage to any Member of this House, for the promoting of any matter whatsoever depending or to be transacted in Parliament, is a high crime and misdemeanour, and tends to the subversion of the Constitution.

There ought to be an investigation into the suggestions that Cadman was offered a $1million life insurance policy(no small change for a man who was dying of skin cancer at the time) in order to swing his vote in the direction of the CONservative party.

CONServative Government Now Wants Control Over What You Watch

CANADIAN GOVERNMENT WILL DENY FUNDING TO ALL FILMS THAT THEY DEEM INAPPROPRIATE

Canadian government officials from the Heritage Office have announced that they will immediately cut all funding to Canadian film producers that produce films that contain content the Conservative government does not agree with.

Charles Mcvety, a hard core right wing christian nut bar insists that he was able to pressure the government into making changes that would prevent the release of films that are partially financed through Telefilm Canada that might have topics including sex, homosexuality and violence. (that means we'll have absolutely nothing to watch except for those Big Al Tiny Talent Showcase reruns) he claims that he personally met with government officials and that he lobbied them extensively through the PMO as well as through Stockwell Day.

David Cronenberg(the fly director) says that edgy low budget films that have traditionally won big in the international scene will be at risk as well as TV shows that contain references to anything that the CONservatives' regime opposes.

CONServative MP Dave Batters says "the purpose of Telefilm is to help facilitate the making of films for mainstream Canadian society - films that Canadians can sit down and watch with their families in living rooms across this great country.(like that great canadian classic, Littlest hobo...oops, there was violence on that show...we'

ll have to cancel that one too)

The mission statement for Telefilm Canada goes something like this...

As a cultural investor in cinema, television, multimedia and music, Telefilm Canada is primarily concerned with the funding of original, diverse and high-quality productions that reflect Canada's linguistic duality and cultural diversity. Telefilm Canada also works to ensure the broadest possible dissemination of Canadian productions at home and abroad, and seeks to be a leading promoter of a Canadian audiovisual industry of international calibre.

I don't see anything there about them only promoting family films, but I suppose if the government wants to say things that aren't correct they are more than welcome to, afterall they are the government and the keeper of lies, and legally they have the right to censor the living hell out of all of us.

If we allow this government to remain another year we may be having public book burinings.

And This Is Where We Get Our Coal From That We Burn In Ontario

BANNING COAL BURNING PLANTS FOR ELECTRICITY SHOULD BE A NO BRAINER

This is a really good story on how our usage of coal, is destroying the environment in another region,or another country.

Dalton McGuinty promised us that he would remove coal plants from the grid.

http://www.thestar.com/sciencetech/Environment/article/306165

And Again, I am asking everyone Who Reads Tis To send A Letter in

CONTACT NAMES AND ADDRESSES FOR THE UTRCA BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Members of the UTRCA's Board of Directors may be contacted through the Administration Office:
Telephone: 519-451-2800
Fax: 519-451-1188
E-mail:
buildemail("infoline", "thamesriver.on.ca", "infoline@thamesriver.on.ca");
infoline@thamesriver.on.ca
Mail: 1424 Clarke Road, London, Ontario, Canada N5V 5B9
Open: Monday to Friday, 8:00 am to 4:30 pm
UTRCA Staff

The Board of Directors meets ten times each year. People or delegations interested in making a presentation to the Board may contact the Administration Office. Board minutes are posted on our Downloads & Publications page in pdf format.
Members of the Hearings and Personnel Committee are indicated with an asterisk (*).
MUNICIPALITY REPRESENTED
DIRECTOR
LONDON and MIDDLESEX
City of London
Councillor Joni Baechler (Vice-Chair)*
Murray Blackie*
Councillor Judy Bryant
Stephen Clark*
Municipality of Middlesex Centre
Deputy Mayor Albert Bannister*
Municipality of Thames CentreTownship of Lucan-Biddulph
George Marr
OXFORD
Township of Blandford-BlenheimTownship of East-Zorra Tavistock
Councillor Marion Wearn
Town of Ingersoll
Councillor Ernie Hunt
Township of NorwichTownship of South-West Oxford
Councillor David Mayberry
City of Woodstock
Councillor Connie Lauder
Township of Zorra
Councillor Jeff Brown
HURON, PERTH, ST. MARYS and STRATFORD
Township of Perth East
Hugh McDermid
Township of Perth SouthTown of St. MarysMunicipality of South Huron
Tony Jackson
City of Stratford
Jane Boyce
Township of West Perth
Peter Huitema (Chair) *
TOP

Who would Have Guessed? Our CONservative MP, Supports the CONservative budget

CONSERVATIVE MP SUPPORTS CONSERVATIVE BUDGET...NO NEWS THERE

It's hard to believe, but according to the Sentinel Review, our MP(a CONservative) supports his own partys' budget! The news would have been more impressive if it had said he hates his own budget.(or at least it might have caused some excitement out of the otherwise comatose Dave)

In an article penned by Hugo Rodrigues, Dave mackenzie is quoted as saying ""I would be more than happy to campaign on this budget." I bet you would. Hell, that EDA of yours must have money coming out of the rear end by now after all of the tax payers dollars you've received for the last election...you know, the $1.94 a vote subsidy that we pay you for winning...plus the wages you are paid, plus the bonuses you are paid, plus the pension that is building up into a monterous thing for us Canadians to pay.(even though many canadians cannot afford a pension...we are still paying yours for you)

Well, could you imagine Dave saying something like, hey, the budget sucks, and now I am going to join the CHP just because of it? Not likely. Could you see Dave standing up and saying that Oxford needs a wee bit more...not likely. Or how about Dave standing up for farmers(like he said he would) in this budget?No, not ever.

Come hell or high water, Dave is a vote to be depended on in the house, and that vote will always side with the government, no matter what. they could choose to start WW3 and Dave would stand there with his hand in there air waving it around for the next vote to happen.(I'm wondering if he has a rubber stamp affixed to any of those arms?)

It would have made absolutely zero difference to Dave what was contained in that budget as Dave is only another vote for the Harperites, and nothing more.

So as far as news goes, it's no news to us that Dave would support himself...and his job.

On another note. I will give them some credit where credit is due.

The issue of ISA's.

The UK has had in practice for at least 10 years now a system where people can contribute to an individual tax free savings account. This program has worked well for all levels of income earners(inclusing high income earners who have topped out their RRSP contribution limits), and has assisted in putting people from a lower income bracket in a position of saving money without paying the government taxes on the interest earned.

This is the one good idea I will say that the government has come up with in this budget that may have broad appeal to Canadians.

The rest of it? Is just the same old blase kind of stuff that we were expecting. Flahertys' budget contained nothing substantial and on the issue of Ontario and the deepening recession that is hitting the manufacturing sector he had only one thing to say...it's the Liberals fault.

Of course all of the parties will be spending their time complaining about what they would have done, and how things would be different under their leadership, but when it comes down to it, I don't think any of them are any different, and that they would all do whatever is necessary to keep their elected jobs for another day longer.

They aren't there to govern, they are there to keep their own jobs.

Ottawa is a place where good ideas go to die.

National Parole Board Releases Robert Latimer

ROBERT LATIMER EARNS HIS RELEASE AFTER NATIONAL PAROLE BOARD APPEAL

Robert latimer who euthanized his severely handicapped daughter Tracy in a cab of a truck in rural Saskatchewan in October of 1993 has won his appeal of a National parole Board decision that was handed down this past December that initially rejected his request for day parole to a halfway house.

Latimer will be released in the next 4-5 days pending the availability of bed space in an Ottawa halfway house. The release comes with the addition of several "special" conditions.

1. Not to have responsibility for, or make decisions for, any individuals who are severely disabled.
2. Participate in psychological counselling in order to address any personal/emotional issues and to further develop stress management and coping strategies to assist you in your reintegration into the community."

Although I do not agree with the idea of killing ones own family members off, I certainly can understand how difficult a life it can be to maintain someone who is physically and emotionally dependent upon you for everything as a result of disability, and who is suffering immensley, coupled with the lack of supports from outside the home. I can well imagine that the Latimers in 1993 had virtually exhausted all of the resources that were available to them, and after watching their daughter suffer in the most miserable way came to the conclusion that life was not good for her and that the possibility that it would ever be painless was non-existent.

One thing that is sad is that we are quite able as a society to euthanize sick pets, but on the other hand would rather leave our sick and suffering human relatives to suffer and writhe in pain, gasping for air, hooked up to IV hoses and breathing machines...just so we can stand around and say our last goodbyes. This does not sound like a compassionate way to die.

To me it sounds more like we are attempting to solve our own concerns about death more than we are interested in solving the issues of those who are actually suffering and who should be provided access to euthanasia services which should be provided by doctors.

One thing I do find odd that really hasn't much to do with anything is that Latimer comes from Saskatchewan and historically the NPB attempts to send you back to the nearest community from which you came, and from where you have the most amount of family and community supports. His day parole will be to an Ottawa halfway, thousands of miles from his family unit.

A Few More Shots Of Burgess And Standard Tube Parks Before They Bulldoze It All

THE GENERATIONS WHO FOLLOW US WILL THINK WE WERE IDIOTS FOR DESTROYING ALL OF THIS...THANKS TO MAYOR HARDING AND WOODSTOCKS' DYSFUNCTIONAL COUNCIL

Woodstock Budget Deliberations?

THIS WRITER WONDERS WHAT SIDE SANDRA TALBOT IS ON?

AW

Sandra Talbot said what? You've got to be kidding! She is suggesting that Woodstock should have to "make cuts to lessen the blow from the County?" Who the hell is she working for?

I believe she was elected by the residents of Woodstock to represent us on County Council.

Why is she advocating that Woodstock take the hit to make up for that ridiculous increase from the County?

She should be demanding that the County tighten its goddam belt, suck it up and learn to be fiscally responsible.

She wants to be Deputy Mayor? I would expect my Deputy Mayor to speak on behalf of the City not the County.

Deputy Warden seems more appropriate.

Some Photos of Burgess And Standard Tube Parks, courtesy of John.

FOR THOSE OF YOU WHO DO NOT KNOW, THIS IS THE CONSERVATION AREA THAT IS UNDER DEVELOPMENT CONSIDERATION FROM THE UTRCA, AND ALREADY GIVEN APPROVAL BY OUR SELF-SERVING COUNCIL(okay...minus two of ya)

Who needs trees and parks for the public, when you can make money from golfers for a private consortium?A lovely view of the creek and forest

Look at these pictures and tell me those are not bulldozer tracks into the creek? And hasn't the view somehow become polluted with all of this?

More bulldozer tracks into the creek, but hey, who cares?

Tracks from a bulldozer made into the creek..Isn't there a 50 foot protection law surrounding rivers/estuaries?

Clearly identifiable heavy equipment tracks along the creekside.
Deer tracks....
To be chopped down...
More Pics of the stand of pines they intend on chopping down.
the meadows, soon to be golf course ..should be picture perfect..to a chemist
more of the meadows soon to be destroyed

More trees to be cut up and below being destroyed for what?

A view of the meadows

And the sun sets on Burgess Park...kinda like it's life.

A Letter To The Tillsonburg News

LPRCA BUDGET DELIBERATIONS...AND A 46% INCREASE

Although the numbers seem huge there are many other issues to be considered when considering the recent LPRCA request for an increase of 46% to their annual operating budget. It may seem excessive, but when put up against other options(like what Woodstock came up with) the price is not that high. I would like everyone to consider what has happened in Woodstock when making their decision on the fate of the LPRCA budget. In Woodstock our city council voted to allow our local conservation authority to sell off or lease out substantial parts of our conservation authority park system(Burgess and Standard Tube Parks...part of the Pittock Conservation Area) for the developement of a new golf course. This course is a private for profit venue, and will have zero access to the public who have enjoyed these lands for some 45 years since the land was donated by Mr Burgess for the formation of a park. The land was donated and now it is being given away to the lowest bidder...actually there was no bid process, the land was just given away period.Given away to one company, one man, who only has one vote in our community. Six thousand people signed a petition against this, and lost out to one man who wishes to privatize our parks and waterways. There are many reasons why they(our city council and mayor)say we do not need the green space.(even though Oxford has a reported green space area of less than 11% according to the Oxford Natural heritage Study, and is well below the provincial average recommended for a healthy ecosystem)but the number one reason though appears to be for the building of a golf course, and nothing more. Worse though is the fact that on one hand, our mayor was signatory to the Oxford Natural Heritage Study,voted to spend the money on it, even wrote the heartwrenching preamble to it, and then when it came time to apply it, wiped his butt with that huge piece of science(that we financed at his behest) and decided to sell out...to the lowest non-bidder. So really,you have to wonder why.It is concerning that only one company was given the right to bid on the lands, and it seems improper that only one company was given access to all of the necessary reports in order to make a bid for the land.The community was not apprised of the potential sale/lease, until several years after the deal happened. There was no public consultation on the matter until our council was caught with its' pants down. The sale/lease was done to bolster the coffers of the conservation authority who claim that they have a lack of money to operate. It appears that LPRCA may be headed the same way. If council does not approve its' budget, will your authority begin the sell off of the lands surrounding your community?(and remember most of your source water comes from within this area) In our community, they did just that against the public will. Even though thousands of persons(in the form of petitions that council refused to recognize) told our council that they wished to keep the land in the public trust, the council voted against the community and for the developer who promised to contribute a tiny amount to the conservation authorities' coffers and a small yearly payment(bnased on the rounds of golf sold)that will be made to the city. If we as a people wish to keep these conservation areas operating, then we will have to pay for it. If we wish to have access to nature and fresh water then we will have to pay.It is much better than the option of giving it away to the lowest bidder, and cutting off public access to those areas. If I were you people, I would agree to the increase, otherwise your council just might vote to sell it all off or lease it out to one of their friends for a period of 25 years like they did here. Your conservation authority was 'invented' to protect source water, and to control flooding.If you feel that water and resources are precious, you will find a way to maintain what you have and you will forget about the bickering. Your water and access to nature is more important than a few measly dollars. We have enough money for corporate subsidies, fat bonuses to public officials and constant pay increases to elected members that we can surely find a few bucks for the environment. Here's to hoping that Tillsonburg and area decides to help maintain the conservation region. Sadly, it is going to cost something.Unfortunately, nature no longer is a free ride.

Schrieber and Mulroney...Let's Just Forget Both Of Them

EVERY CANADIAN ALREADY KNOWS WHAT BRIAN MULRONEY DID TO CANADA

We don't need a public inquiry for most Canadians to determine that former prime minister Mulroney was a sell out. The vast majority of us can fondly remember a time when Canada was owned by Canadians, a time before the free trade agreements of the Mulroney era and the NAFTA that followed on its' heels. Mulroney sold out our country and he continues to embarass our nation with his behaviour.

I still remember seeing stickers on items that said "Made In Canada",but Mulroney took care of that by promising unprecedented access to US markets in return for full and fettered access to our own markets. Of course all of those big Canadian business leaders fell for it, not understanding that their own futures would be limited in potential as they continued to fail to compete against US interests.

The fact is, the cost of doing business in Canada has remained fairly even, but what has changed is the cost of US companies doing business in Canada, and the access they have to cheap interest loans provided by Canadas' banks.

Canadian banks have financed the foreign takeover of our country. Through the usage of low interest loans subsidized through our government, our country has been bought up piece by piece. Foreign takeovers of Canadian companies financed by Canadian banks.

Free trade did not make Canada more competitive, free trade made Canada a picking ground for foreign nationals looking to buy up manufacturing infrastructure. After 20 years of free trade Canada is barely recognizable to itself.

Long before there was any mention of this Karlheinz Schreiber guy in the news, Canadians came to grips with the suspicions that our former PM sold us out and down the river.

The addition of Schrieber into the paradigm only solidifies the idea that Canada suffered miserably under the watch of this man and that anything Mulroney has to say should be greeted with a massive amount of suspicion.

Personally I look at the situation like this; When you are young your parents say things like don't hang out with the bully down the street lest you be judged as being a bully yourself.

Karlheinz Schreiber was a known gun and weapons runner, a known criminal who assisted in the demise of one west german chancellor through illegal campaign donations, and who by his own admission ferried money around to world leaders, prime ministers and presidents in return for access to the markets of those countries for the weapons he sold. Karlheinz Schreiber is a man with no conscience and the weapons he sold murdered thousands of persons around the world.

Thats' the kind of person our former Prime Minister liked to hang out with. We can only assume that they are cut from the same type cloth.

Whats' Next For A Woodstock Money Grab?

IN AN EFFORT TO INCREASE REVENUE IN LIGHT OF THE MASSIVE PROJECTED DEBT...WOODSTOCK JUST MIGHT HAVE TO DO THIS AFTER DECIDING TO PUNISH CAT OWNERS WITH THEIR HISTORIC AND MASSIVE CAT LISCENSE.

Oh, I just can't bear to comment on this one!

Thanks AW

How will Ontario Fare In Feds Budget?

NOTHING IN FLAHERTYS' CARDS FOR ONTARIO

It is widely expected that Jim Flaherty, the federal finance minister(once Ontarios' finance man under Mike Harris)will present a "bare bones" budget tomoroww at 4 pm when he makes his budget presentation.

Under pressure to hold the line on spending and tax cuts after two years of massive spending increases coupled with GST tax cuts , Flaherty will be hard pressed to make any substantial spending announcements, especially for Ontarios' hard hit manufacturing sector as the federal treasury buckles up for the longer than expected economic downturn.

Flaherty says that in bad times its' not a good time for the federal government to be injecting money into the economy even though hundreds of thousands of jobs are quickly dissappearing in the manufacturing sector of the economy. Flaherty says he prefers to force those companies to weather the storm on their own and that his government has previously supplied canadian manufacturers with enough of an economic stimulus package which will assist them in staying afloat.

Flaherty will apply most of Canadas' budget surplus(there should be no surplus...that means we are all being overtaxed)towards Canadas' accumulated deficit of $467 billion.

After two years of unfettered spending by this government, Canadas' healthy economic position appears to be deteriorating quickly.

The NDP and Bloc are expected to turn the budget down leaving the last decision up to Stephane Dion and the liberals, who are expected to approve the budget.

Cats...and Not The Play

ONE MORE TAKE ON THE CATS OF WOODSTOCK

Cats! Cat licenses! Do you believe it?

What's next? Budgie licenses? Gerbil licenses? Where does it stop? City needs a little more cash? No problem. Let's get the suckers to pay to license something.

They've tried the cat license thing before and it has failed every time because council knows damned well that the public do not see any need for cat licenses. Unlike stray dogs, cats do not pose a threat to the public. When was the last time you heard of someone being attacked by a stray cat?

Cats tend to avoid strangers and even feral cats pose no threat. At the very least stray cats are a minor nuisance not unlike squirrels. Hey now there's an idea. If you've got a tree on your property that's home to squirrels you have to buy squirrel licenses. Are you listening council? Here's your chance for another cash grab. Squirrel licenses! Go for it! Their financial justification for this shameless cash grab is more bullshit and sleight of hand.

This is from the Heart FM news (let's leave this one up, OK guys?).... "It's in response to animal control figures for the city that show cat control cost 61-thousand dollars in 2007, while dog-related costs were just 13-thousand."Dog related costs are just $13,000?? Well sure, if you don't count things like leash-free dog parks.

What's the set-up cost and annual maintenance costs for the two doggie parks? Aren't those dog related costs? Let's add up ALL the dog related costs. Let's really go out on a limb here and maybe TELL THE TRUTH!It's strange that this cat licensing became a priority shortly after the two doggie recreation centres opened up. It's only strange until you realize that the money from cat licenses will help offset the additional costs incurred by the city for the dog parks.

One of the selections on Jim's cat park poll is, "Dog parks are discriminatory." He's right and now the doggie fanciers are getting cat owners to pay their freight.If council is short of cash to pay for dog parks they should raise the fee for a dog license rather than screwing over cat owners. Remember, it's only a matter of time before they go after the squirrels.

aw

Despite Poor Support...John Tory Decides To Stay

TORY BARELY SURVIVES CONFIDENCE VOTE ON LEADERSHIP

Embattled Ontario Conservative leader John Tory has(for now) survived a review of his leadership skills at an event that was held in London yesterday, nearly 6 months after his astounding electoral defeat .

Despite the fact that 1/3 of delegates to the convention had knives out for him, Tory decided to stay anyways after receiving 66.9% of the votes cast. He categorized his support as "large" in a statement made to the media yesterday.

Tory said ,"the grassroots spoke today, and more than two thirds of those people said they did not want to have a leadership convention."

Although nearly 2/3 of convention supporters voted in favor of allowing Tory to continue in his role as party leader(a poor result at best)it's the other 1/3 that he needs to be concerned about.

Immediately after the votes were cast, Tory announced that he would require some time to think about his future, but then later in the evening he came out and said that it wasn't fair to his supporters to be kept hanging on for an extended period of time while he pondered his future, so he made the decision to make the announcment that he, despite the odds, would be staying on...until the cows came home, or in some wierd Caeser scenario until he meets his doom at the hands of the 1/3...the official Tory, tory opposition.

John Tory is a great fund raiser, and for that reason, the CONservative party should keep him on.(really, there are no other reasons to keep him on the job)

His downside is his ability to come up with absolutely stunned ideas which have left his party in shambles after the 2007 provincial election.

During the campaign of 2007 Tory suddenly(without the knowledge of CONservative insiders) decided that he would announce the funding of radical Islamist schools and other religious schools in ordwer to grab up on a few voters.(thousands of Ontario residents send their children to alternative schools that are neither financed by the government or tax deductible. Tory believed that by offering substantial financing for alternative religious schools he would be able to draw more red tories like himself into the CONservative fold, and as well increase his chances at being elected to the top job in Ontario.

Unfortunately for Tory he was not prepared for the backlash of public anger that awaited his stunned decision to announce the governmental financing of religious schools. Dalton McGuinty went on the attack(even though his government finances several right wing christian schools, and the Penetanguishene protestant school board amongst others) and through the use of misinformation was able to push Tory into retreat forcing Tory to re-evaluate his position in light of the public howl over the issue. Tory offered up a free and public vote, and McGuinty played on that calling Tory "weak' and "indecisive" and catering to special interests.

Although John Tory might think that 66.9 % of the vote is a solid lead (and it is when you are talking about an election), the fact is 2/3 support is weak when considering the role is one of leadership.

If I were John Tory, I'd take my cue from the responses of the 1/3 of delegates who openly opposed him during the review and step down.

North American Union: The SPP is a "hostile takeover" of democratic government and an end to the Rule of Law

Connie Fogal says the SPP is the "hostile takeover" of the apparatus of democratic government and an end to the "rule of law".

by Constance Fogal

This is worth reading...or I wouldn't put it up here.

There has been a kind of coup d'état over the government operations of Canada, U.S.A. and Mexico.The first formal step towards the NAU was NAFTA. Ron Pastor of the Council on Foreign Relations has affirmed that. The Canadian Action Party, a registered federal sovereigntist political party in Canada, began as a party in 1997 precisely because none of the mainstream parties were calling for the clear, outright, unequivocal abrogation of NAFTA, or for control of our national monetary system.Even now, our mainstream Canadian political parties and significant citizen groups are still stuck on re-negotiation of NAFTA (they talk of fair trade) which completely misses the point. As such, they remain blinded, and of no use to the citizens who care about our nation and our sovereignty, our independence, our civil liberties, our civil rights, our culture, our freedom .The second formal step was the integration and subjugation of Canada's military into the US military command under NORAD, NORTHCOM, and the Bi-National Planning Agreement. That is why our Canadian military is in Afghanistan.The third formal step in the creation of the NAU was the implementation of the respective liberty-stripping anti-terrorist legislations, the Patriot Act in the USA and the Anti-terrorist Act in Canada. This has been the mechanism to implement the police state apparatus necessary to enforce Fortress America.The fourth formal step is the SPP, Security and Prosperity Partnership Agreement. That agreement is a "hostile takeover" of the Executive branch of government, a coup d'état over the government operations of Canada, U.S.A. and Mexico.The three branches of democratic governance are: 1, the legislative arm, i.e., the policy makers, the people we elect; 2, the judicial arm, i.e., judges who interpret and apply the laws created by the policy makers; and 3, the executive arm, i.e., the civil service, the bureaucracy, who implement and run the policy and operations of government.The SPP is a treasonous metamorphosis of our federal and provincial government bureaucracies into formal instruments to implement the agenda of the shadow government - the military/ industrial/ financial complex exemplified by the Canadian Council of Chief Executives who in turn are dominated by the U.S Council on Foreign Relations, and the US military apparatus. The S.P.P. has created the competitiveness council (10 to 16 people from industry and academe unelected by citizens, unaccountable to citizens, unrepresentative of citizens ) in each of Canada, U.S.A., and Mexico. They meet with our Prime Minister and the two Presidents. They actively direct the restructuring of the civil service apparatus and governance of Canada, U.S., and Mexico away from instruments serving the public interest and nationhood, and into tools to serve the power and greed of the industrial, financial, military complex. This Competitiveness Council will be at Montebello directing the three leaders in August, 2007 finalizing the last steps of the NAU.Since March, 2005, under the direction of three senior cabinet ministers of each country, about 100 working groups of unelected officials from government and industry have been meeting at taxpayer expense deciding on and directing the implementation of the restructuring of the apparatus of governance and the form of rule over the people. Their command goes out down the chain of bureaucracy expending vast amounts of taxpayer dollars implementing the changes in our border crossings, in our airports, on our airplanes, in our skies, on and to our roads and highways, in our personal identification systems, in our health, in our vaccines, over our food supplements, in our pesticide safety levels, in our schools and universities, in the exploitation of our natural resources-our rivers, lakes, oil, gas, in our environment, in the arms industry, in the manufacture and use of depleted uranium, in the exploitation of and experimentation on our indigenous people and our military personnel, in immigration, over our right of Habeus Corpus, in our right of due process, our right to assemble and our freedom of speech, etc., etc.Government of the people, by the people, for the people has been eliminated while those people we have elected stand idly in the sidelines apparently blissfully oblivious, or deliberately careless of the termination of their policy making role except as a rubber stamp. Those we have elected have abused their responsibility to protect our power, the people's power. They have permitted an undemocratic elite to control them and the operation of government. It is by us, the general citizenry, that Members of Parliament and Members of Legislative Assemblies and city councillors,and Senators and congressmen are supposed to be ruled in all matters, not by the military/ industrial/ complex that General Dwight D. Eisenhower warned about on his final address to his nation. The Prime Minister and Presidents along with their most senior Cabinet members and officials really now do apply a "Divine Right of Kings" mentality to their role. They have metamorphosed into a cancer rotting the life out of our democracies.For this reason the Canadian Action Party calls for electoral reform not just in how we elect candidates, but why and how the bureaucracy operates. In particular, we call for a curb on the exercise of power in the executive branch of government, and especially in the P.M.s office. This need is of paramount importance because it is the key to why and how three nations (Canada, USA, Mexico) are being dismantled.Remember, if you believe in democratic accountable representation, there must be a universal franchise. Government of the people, by the people, for the people still is right. It is not government by officials of any organization or interest group whether public or private who are unelected by, unrepresentative, and unaccountable to the general public. We need to reform our government structure so that we can recall and replace any person we elect when they fail to keep their promise or do their duty to us, the citizenry; and, we also need to turn our executive arm of government back to being the servant of the citizens.The Security and Prosperity Partnership Agreement (S.P.P) is deliberately not a formal international treaty such as NAFTA which is set out in a system of rule by international law. As a legal treaty the SPP would never have flown because it would have been exposed to scrutiny. It remains a work in progress agreement of incredible treacherous magnitude. It has already succeeded in implementing profound changes to three nations integrating the geographical region of North America. We do not even know the full extent of what has been completed or what little is left to be accomplished..We know that a powerful think tank chaired by former Sen. Sam Nunn and guided by trustees including Richard Armitage, Zbigniew Brzezinski, Harold Brown, William Cohen and Henry Kissinger, is in the final stages of preparing a report to the White House and U.S. Congress on the benefits of integrating the U.S., Mexico and Canada into one political, economic and security bloc.We know that the final report, published in English, Spanish and French, is scheduled for submission to all three governments by Sept. 30, according to the Center for Strategic & International Studies.We know that the data collected for the report is based on seven secret roundtable sessions involving between 21 and 45 people and conducted by CSIS. The participants are politicians, business people, labour leaders and academics from all three countries with equal representation.We know all this because it is described in a CSIS report, "North American Future 2025 Project."It will be interesting to see who the think tank representatives will be that appear before our Canadian Parliament and how it is presented since so many of our Canadian MP's deny this integration is happening. They need to realize that the vote still works in Canada and if they want to be re-elected, they must repel the submissions for integration. In fact, their duty to us is to refuse to hear such a delegation. SInce when has it become lawful to entertain discussion or debate on any form of treason??This kind of presentation by such influential players will likely be a formalization of the integration as a done deal.We, the citizens, must demonstrate to our governments that we demand an end to the integration of North America . And, we must tell them we are not asking for a front row seat at our hanging party. We do not want to be involved or to have them involved in any negotiations or discussions or debate about how our nations are to die. We already know we do not want a North American Union, period!!! They must repel the formal instructions coming to them this fall from the shadow government.In recognition of our sovereign democratic rights and powers as citizens promulgated by the respective founding fathers of three nations, the Canadian Action Party calls upon all Canadians to join with our neighbours in the USA and Mexico to stand and defend our distinctive nations, NOT TO CALL FOR DEBATE AND DISCUSSION ON INTEGRATION. We must DEMAND SOVEREIGNTY AND INDEPENDENCE We must make a sound and sight so that uninformed citizens can be alerted. Connie Fogal Leader is leader of the Canadian Action Party (CAP/PAC)

Oh, and This Is where our Money Went...again....

HUGE BILL FOR US TO PAY AND ZILCH FOR RESULTS...THANKS .
STATEMENT OF ACCOUNT
To: The City of Woodstock
To Ms. Louise Gartshore, City Clerk
- In Account With -
Hunter Arbitration Services Ltd.
33 Warbler Heights
ST. THOMAS, Ontario
NSR 6J5

Re: Report on Hydro Holdings and Info Energy

To: September 13, 2007 to UWO Law Library for
research on jurisdictional issues 5.0 hours
September 26, 2007 in Woodstock for meetings
with P. Bryan-Pulham, Murray Coulter, and others 5.0 hours
September 29, 2007 draft opinion on retroactivity 5.0 hours
October 23, 2007 in Woodstock for meetings
with Councillors Lauder, Northcott and Gerrie 6.0 hours
November 1, 2007 in Woodstock for meetings with Councillors Sobeski, Talbot and Tait 6.0 hours
November 13, 2007 final preparation of report 2.0 hours
TOTAL 29.0 hours @ $250.00/hour $ 7,250.00
GST 435.00
(continued page 2)

(page 2)


Disbursements (GST Included)
September 26, 2007
Travel (162 km. ~ $.44 per kin) $ 71.28October 23, 2007Travel (162 km. © $.44 per kin) 71.28Lunch 10.25November 1, 2007Travel (162 km. © $.44 per kin) 71.28Lunch 8.50
Total Disbursements $ 232.59

TOTAL ACCOUNT $7,917.59


This is my Account herein.


GST Registration No. R125 480 293
Please make cheques payable to Hunter Arbitration Services Limited.
Interest at 15% per annum will be charged on accounts overdue after 30 days.






Inegrity Commissioner
November 15, 2007

Oh, A Public Consultation Period For The Useless Bus Service?

Where will the bus go? That's the article in yesterday's (Wed Feb 20) newspaper regarding council's proposed upgrades to our transit system.

What's really interesting about this story has little to do with buses and everything to do with how this Council works, both behind the scenes and in public.

For purposes of illustration let's compare the "public process" involved with the transit farce vs the process involved with the Sally Creek Golf Course. Both issues were supposedly based on a process of consultation with and input from the public.

Here's a quote from the story, "....during a four-hour public input session held at city hall. The event was sparsely attended - drawing 30 to 40 people - despite councils decision to give a free ride on city buses and extended service to 9 p.m."

THIRTY or FORTY people?

The city offers free bus rides, advertizes the hell out of the meeting and all they can get is 30 or 40 bodies to show up?

Creery talks about "priorities shared by riders and residents." Yeah. All 30 or 40 of them.

This meeting demonstrates clearly that transit is NOT a priority with the public!

They did everything but offer to have councilors personally chauffeur people to the meeting and they still couldn't get any public interest! If these so-called improvements go through (and they will) it won't be because the public wants them it will be because council wants them.

Here's an example of the "input" from one of the thirty or forty attendees, "The first person in today said she will have to walk to catch her bus in phase one," Creery said. "We will hear that - were not surprised to - and we will listen." Walk to catch her bus? Of course she will have to walk. If she could drive to the bus stop she wouldn't need a bus would she? I would assume that everyone would walk to the bus stop. What do they expect? Is the city supposed to provide transportation to and from the bus stops too? This is the kind of input the city "listens" to? Remember the public meeting over the golf course? The one the city tried to downplay? No notice on the website. No press. No free bus rides? We had HUNDREDS show up to oppose the golf course.We had petitions with THOUSANDS of names. THAT was a public priority. Did council pay attention? Did they "listen?" Not a chance. Council did precisely what they had already decided to do. And they will do precisely the same thing again. The transit "improvements"are already a done deal. This is just a PR campaign. And a pathetic one at that.

AW

Who Inspects Woodstocks' Local Restaurants?

EVER WONDER WHO ACTUALLY INSPECTS RESTAURANTS IN OXFORD?

The odd time I might decide to take my family out to dinner and when I do, we generally go out for pasta or pizza or something that everyone can pretty well enjoy without too too much suffering. Usually we prefer to pick out a comfortable spot, or are ushered to a spot chosen by the host/hostess and then like all patrons, wait our turn for service.

Generally at this point we are busy reading through the menus, and making decisions on what to order and the such. Quite often we don't really have the time to look around until we've ordered our drinks.

Yesterday we decided that we would dine at one of those big franchise pizza typed places where all the rage is the stuffed crust thing...

I was not impressed with the surroundings at all, and after the waitress left started doing a precursory check on what was safe to touch and what wasn't.

The blinds.

I might have considered closing the blinds for my partner(the wind was howling through the windows...making it a chilly experience at best)but the sickening amount of grease stains on the handle area(and almost all of the area where one might possibly reach to pull the blinds down) kind of put me off...so instead I offered her my sweater to ensure that she remained warm enough.

Having to be concerned with the large amount of filth on the blinds was kind of gross....until I looked at the walls, and the window sills, the booth fronts and sides, and the fabric that upholstered the bench seats, and realized that the place more than likely hasn't been cleaned since it was opened.(okay...that might be a little much, but it sure is filthy.) The dirt was so immense that even the little stand up menus they place on the table had to be moved with a napkin because of the enormous food debris that was stuck to them.

We spent the rest of our time there imagining what those unidentifiable "chunks" of food were on the walls, and by the end, had devised a new family board game using pieces of food and chunks of sauces that had dried up on the walls and benchseats. (with the leftover pizza that was now black that was wedged between the bench seat and the wall we made a wonderful board.)

So, I wonder, just who in Oxford inspects these places, and is there no inspection of dining rooms? And if there is, do they warn them before they come to inspect?

The reason I ask this is because as far as I am concerned there is no way on earth this place could pass any inspection with the amount of filth and dirt that could visibly seen on the walls, the seating, the window sills and the blinds. The floor was carpeted so it was impossible to determine the extent of the dirt on the floor...but I imagine it was not good. I think that if someone did a bacteriological test on this place...we'd see several new species of bacteria.

And that was only one restaurant.

Now this brings me to the other pizza competitor in town.....the big one, you know, the one with the big building, huge ad budget...and the fruit fly problem.

Twice in less than 3 months we went out to the big box pizza place, and twice were greeted by the new wave in servers....the fruit fly flock.

Now hey, I will say that I don't mind a bit of meat the odd time in my diet, but, I kind of prefer to decide on the type of meat it is...and fruit flies do not constitute meat as far as I am concerned.

twice in a few short months we went to dinner here...and both times spent the time swatting away fruit flies.

At the time we wondered how long they had been opened now and determined that the time frame was less than 2 years, but the accumulated dirt...and chunks of stuff on the walls(even as high as the hockey pictures on the walls)belied that fact...it looked like they had been there as long as the other pizza place on Dundas. The dirt seemed very similar and I began to wonder if they were moving this dirt back and forth between the two restaurants in order to gross me out.

We called the company anonymously and told them they had a problem...they must have had call display because their management called back to apologize.

Now I don't mind when someone says sorry, but when they say sorry and continually commit the same crime over and over again then I become suspicious of their intents.

So we began to analyse the problem and determined that the one common theme between these places was the usage of student labour to perform most of the tasks. Heck, even some of the management was student labour.

Now me having raised several children have always had an issue with those kids in my home, and that issue is personal hygiene and of course handwashing. And of course, how many kids in your home do a "spectacular" job of cleaning their rooms or their laundry or just cleaning up after themselves? And how many times have you had to tell your own children to wash their hands after they say pick their noses, or go to the toilet, or any other 'dirty" activity?

You may catch my drift on this now.

The Board of Health should be ramping up inspections of food services.

And there should be a rating system in place for inspections similar to what other jurisdictions have instituted.(like Toronto)

In fact, both of these places were so dirty that I doubt I will ever eat there again...and I suspect this problem is county wide. And I wonder who is doing their job at the board of health???

next time you go out for lunch somewhere...take a good look around at the menus, the underneath of the tables, the floors and walls...and drop me a line and let me know what you see.

In fact, I think there should be a photo contest to go with this one.(no, you will not win a free meal at any of these places)

jim bender, woodstock

The world According To Americans....Thanks AW

Lunar eclipse Details

TOTAL ECLIPSE OF THE MOON
A Lunar Eclipse takes place at a Full Moon when the Moon moves into the shadow of the Earth cast by the Sun. This takes place at the same instant for all observers, but the LOCAL time on the clock depends on your time zone!In North America (Canada & the US), the Total Eclipse takes place during:Newfoundland ~ 11:30 p.m. - 12:21 a.m.Atlantic ~ 11:00 - 11:51 p.m.Eastern ~ 10:00 - 10:51 p.m.Central ~ 9:00 - 9:51 p.m.Mountain ~ 8:00 - 8:51 p.m.Pacific ~ 7:00 - 7:51 p.m.MEXICO, Central America and the Caribbean include all time zones listed above, so if you're not sure which time zone you're in, just keep your eyes on the skies from 7pm until midnight!South American time zones range from UTC (GMT) -5 to -3, so the time will be from 10pm until 1am.In Europe and Africa ~ 3:00 a.m. - 3:51 a.m. UTC (GMT) in the early morning of February 21Look 1 hour 20 minutes before and after to see the partial phases. In Western regions, the Moon may rise partially eclipsed.You don't have to go to any special place to see the eclipse, as long as you can see the Moon from where you are: front porch, backyard, walking down the street.To the left of the Moon you will see the planet Saturn.It may help to look for the Moon on the night before, so you know roughly what part of the sky to look in. On eclipse night, the Moon will be further East and a little lower in the sky, compared to the previous night. But don't worry...a near-Full Moon is hard to miss, even in the city!IS IT SAFE TO LOOK AT? SHOULD I BE WEARING PROTECTION?Not only can you view a Lunar Eclipse with the naked eye, it's absolutely amazing when viewed through binoculars. Better yet, you should try watching it through a telescope. Incredible. THERE WON'T BE ANOTHER FOR ALMOST 3 YEARS, so you don't want to miss it!3 years? BUT I JUST SAW ONE IN AUGUST!Yes, there was a Total Eclipse on August 28, 2007. Eclipses run in cycles, as the moon does. Although there will be a few partial eclipses over the next few years, the next Total Eclipse won't be until December 21, 2010, when we will have 3 more Total Eclipses in a row over a 12 month period.Guests who "confirm attendance" will receive an automatic reminder as the date approaches.Of course, there is nothing to attend, just go outside and look up, wherever you are!

Elections...Just Some Thoughts From Another Bitchy Canadian

THIS BITCHY CANADIAN

Man, everyday I wake up thinking...what would I do If I were, the mayor, the PM, or just any old elected official? There are thousands of answers available to that question, but deciding which ones are the most important to the electorate is the real dilemna. Every individual would most certainly come up with something a little different than their neighbours, but the primary concerns, you can almost guarantee would be similar in many respects amongst all peoples.

Part of the problem is the way we elect our representatives, and the manner in which they finance their election campaigns. Undoubtedly, the first major overhaul would h