Time to Clean (Court) House

Ontario's justice system has a serious problem. The problem is that judges are out of touch with society today. Lately, many dangerous criminals are being released on bail or are being given extremely soft sentences. Today, one person accused of one of Toronto's most shocking shooting incidents back on Boxing Day was released on bail. He plans to spend the weekned watching soccer. Gee, that's nice to know. You assist in the murder of someone and injure others and you get to spend the weekend relaxing at home. Something just doesn't seem right with that. In fact many recent deadly shooting incidents have involved people who were out on bail at the time.

The judges making these irrisponsible decisions are endangering the public and should loose their jobs. Our justice system is desigined to give people a second chance, but being accused of cold blooded murder is very different from shoplifting or lighting up a joint. Many of the people being released are already well known to the justice system.

I propose some solutions to this problem. First of all, it's time to clear out the old guard and bring in new blood to the bench that is in touch with today's society. Secondly, there needs to be a check on the justice system by making bail more difficult to grant for indictable crimes. Trials for indictable crimes should only be tried by jury, and sentencing should also be jury decided. If we don't act now to limit the power of irrisponsible judges, the problem will only get worse.

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Canada Should Not Take Sides

The United Church and the Ontario Union of Public Employees is calling for a boycott of Israel due to their treatment of the Palestinians. In other words, they want the Canadian government to start taking sides in the nearly 60 year conflict. This is exactly what I expect for unions and religious nuts. An ignorant decision on their part.

The conflict over this small strip of land on the Eastern Mediterrainian has been going on as long as anybody can remember. I liken it to children fighting in the playground over who gets the sandbox. Rather than just sharing it, they scream and cry, and throw a few punches. Unfortunately, there are no parents or teachers around to break up the fight. I think it's the heat.
Now if I had my way, I'd just nuke the whole area and declar that nobody gets it. That wouldn't be smart or correct though. The solution is simple, share the land and treat each other equally. It works here. War ends, everybody lives peacefully. Unfortunately, the hard part is getting these bickering children to realize that.

Some would argue we take sides. The United Church and the UPE want use to take the Palestinians's side because they are being oppressed. Others wish we take Israel's side because they are being terrorized. The correct path is to take neither side. This conflict is none of Canada's business. This is not the west's fault for giving the Jews the land either. They created their own mess. Nothing but trouble arises from taking sides in the problems of distant nations. Each side is as bad as each other. There are people from the troubled region that preach their causes here. Immigrants need to be told to leave their problems at the door or go back to where they came from.

There is no way we can solve, and we do not have to right to even try. Only the Israelies and Palestinians alone can solve it.

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Spousal Support Unnecessary

Remember the 1970s when feminists pushed to be completely independent of men? Well it looks like that trend is reversing. Divorce these days has become a big cash cow. It's no wonder half of all marriages end in it. It pays off, especially in a system that tends to favour women. They begin to think "that SOB hurt me, time to clean him out." I think divorced people should get something but the courts are turning into a big sparing match, over the car, the kids, even the dog these days. Now it appears you can get a big payout for "emotional trauma" suffered due to your spouses too friendly relationship with that blond co-worker.

Canada's Supreme Court jesters made a decision reguarding one particular case. A woman was claiming that because her husband cheated on her and she divorced him, she is now too bitter to work. In fact, she's so bitter, she passed up an $80,000 a year job because of the emotional trauma her sleezy husband caused her. She wants her ex to support her. The ex had recently lost a $200,000 job and wanted to get his payments reduced from $2,250 per month. (thanks to the Toronto Sun for the details) That's not a lot, a mere $27,000 per year, and the husband could probably easily afford it, but loosing ones job can be just as traumatic as a divorce, especially one with that much dough. Not that he should be forgiven for cheating. However, this woman was given an opportunity to tripple her current income she's getting from her husband but she turned it down. The supreme court upheld a lower court ruling that the husband must keep paying the $2,250, even though it's 8 years after the fact. This woman had not had an easy life based on the article in the Sun, but one must suck it up, because life does sucks sometimes. If you turn down a high paying job because you are too bitter, you deserve to be homeless in my opinion. Quit sponging off other people. What happened to the vision of the strong and independent woman?

Of course, this court ruling opens up a whole new can of worms. It puts a burdon on the courts as divorced men and women scam the system by making up fake mental illnesses that prevent them from working, when in reality they're just lazy. What an enlightened justice system we have. Spousal support is totally unecessary in today's society, unless the person has a real disabilaty that prevents them form working, few of which exist. People need to be encouraged to become self-sufficient. When a divorce happens, it should be over and thats the end of it. The man should only have to worry about any children with the woman after that, and vice versa.

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Give Childhood Back

Childhood is a concept that has become lost in today's society. It seems the push is ever greater to get kids to grow up faster. Yet almost paradoxically, adults try to shield youth from everything that could possibly deem offensive. It is no wonder the world seems very confusing to today's youths, more so than ever.

First of all, let us examine the issue de jour. The Harper government plans to raise the age of sexual consent from 14 to 16. The current law, that allows youth to legally have sex with anyone of any age at 14 has been on the books since the late 1800s. Raising the age to 16 would bring Canada into line with the rest of the developing world.
Raising the age of consent by two years is viewed as a positive step by many Canadians, but oddly enough, it is facing fearce opposition from others. Several interest groups are strongly against raising the age by two years. Accoding to a recent article in the National Post, these are Justice for Children and Youth, the Canadian Federation for Sexual Health (formerly Planned Parenthood), the Canadian AIDS Society and Equality for Gays and Lesbians Everywhere. The most surprising ones on the list are the AIDS society and Planned Parenting. Logically, one would think they'd approve of teen abstinance in order to prevent unplanned pregnancy and STDs. According to them, however, they feel that raising the age of consent would force teen sex underground. These interest groups have missed the boat entirely.
There is an exemption in the new law that would allow teens under 16 to have relations with another person as long as they are no more than 5 years older. Meaning that teens can still legally have relations with other teens. The point of this law is to protect our youth from sexual predators. Perhaps it's just me, but I find it deeply sickening that a 45 year old man would be having relations with a 14 or 15 year old girl, or vice versa. It is easy for these men and women to take advantage of young, naive teenagers. Not to mention the higher risk of STD's if a teen is with an older partner who may be a sexual predator.
Personally, I think the age should be raised to 18 as it is in the United States. If you are not considered mature enough to drink, vote, or appear in pornography at 14 and 16, then how can you be mature enough to have a sexual relationship? Obviously there must be some gray area to allow relations with other teens, but allowing them with adults who are much older is unacceptable. It is simply a case of forcing kids to be adults far too quickly. One should not have to worry about complex adult matters such as sexual relationships at 14. To end on a lighter note, I believe Isac Hayes once said "there's a time and a place for everything, and it's called college".

Now about the paradox of children in our society. Forcing them to grow fast, yet shielding them from everything. The idea of protecting kids from everything that could possibly be deemed offensive of mind warping that's present in today's society. (Somehow underaged sex doesn't seem to fall under mind warping though.)
Back in grade school, we used to play a game called Presidents and Assassins. We split into two teams. One team was the Secret Service. The other was the assassins. One kid was made president and it was the job of the secret service to protect him from ths assasins. We'd "shoot" at each other with the age old finger pistols. This game has remained popular for some time, but now some parents are complaining that it's too violent and it encourages gun play. I used to play this game all the time and I've never even picked up a gun in my life. The schools have now been forced to ban this game, along with other popular childrens' games such as war, snowball fights, british bulldog, etc. They are simply too violent for children! That's what the parent's are declaring. Meanwhile, the same parents are going out and buying their 9 year old M rated video games such as Grand Theft Auto, and then they complain that these games are too violent. I guess the big sticker that says "M for Mature: Only for 17+" isn't a good enough indicator of the game's content.
Then again, when it comes to fictional content, parents can go over board in not letting their kids view it. I had somebody tell me yesterday that they wished somebody would shoot Homer and Bart Simpson dead because they encourage children rebelling against authority. A ludicrous notion. Children have been rebelling against authority long before Simpsons creator Matt Geroning was born. I hardly think Bart Simpsons has anything to do with it. If he does, it's the parent's fault and not poor Bart's. That's because the Simpsons, as well as Family Guy, South Park, and all the other shows that parents rant and rave agaisnt are fictional. The program is like that to be funny. If Bart's relationship with Homer was like that stupid Leave it to Beaver show, nobody would watch it. It would be dull. The problem, as I discussed in a past article is parent's failing to teach their children the difference between fiction and reality. As long as parents tell the child that Bart and Homer are just silly cartoon characters and that it's not appropriate to emulate them, then there should be no problems. Obviosuly a four year old should not be watching those kinds of shows though. Parent's need to use their own discression but also to stop being so up tight. For the one child that does do something bad because of something they saw on TV or in a game, there are probably thousands or even millions of other children who did nothing wrong. Why should their fun be spoild because one of their peers is an idiot. Parents should not rely on the schools and the government to declar what's appropriate as every kid is different. Use your brains.

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Dust in the Wind

Once again, these developers have had me fuming. This time, it concerns local health. The last few days have been quite windy and dust from housing sites has blanketed Milton in a thick brown cloud. All the windows, lawn furnature, and my car are covered in a thick dust remenicent of the storms suffered in China and the south-western US.
Our family owns a heavy construction contracting business. I know the rules involved with building and I know Fieldgate Homes is not following them. By law dust must be kept wet down, especially when it's windy. This is to prevent dust storms. Fences must also be erected to prevent dust from blowing, similar to the orange ones put up in winter to prevent blowing snow. This particular developer has failed to do either of these. A neighbouring development owned by another company is complying with the rules, and they are not the problem.

I'm beginning to wonder if these dust storms are having a negative health effect. Lately, I've suffered from sneezing and itchy eyes. Now this could be just alergies, but they only seemed to start when the dust started being kicked up. Historically, I have not suffered from alergies. Oddly enough, I don't seem to suffer from these symptoms when I travel outside of town either. Could this dust be making me ill? Other residents of Milton that I've talked to are complaining of similar symptoms. Unfortunately it's hard to pinpoint an exact cause. However, according to local weather, pollen counts are rather low. They aren't high enough to cause severe symptoms.
The town should start fining these people. Of course, with local corruption, that has become difficult.

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McGuinty Buys Out & Sells Out

This so called "land dispute" in Caladonia is turning into a huge farce. In hopes of ending the chaos, the McGuinty government bought the land in dispute from the housing developer, to hold it in good trust. I think we can all see where this is going. Where else can you sell a piece of land for money, claim you never did, protest it, gain government sympathy, and have the land given back to you without having to give any money back to the buyer? If you don't think the Ontario government is going to hand the land back free of charge, you're pretty foolish. McGuinty claims he doesn't want another Ipperwash to happen. Perhaps that would be the best thing though, as it would certainly solve the problem. Not to encourage violence, but with the way things have been messed up, what options are left? Our friend in government Big Dalton has a track record of not being able to handle tense situations. During the SARS crisis and the 2003 Blackout, he went MIA. Now he's doing pretty much the same thing with Caladonia, ignoring the problem and hoping it will go away.

If this is a reason not to vote McGuinty back in, then I can't think of a better own. This whole Caladonia thing has been going down hill from day one. Most of the natives at the blockades are on welfare and have nothing better to do. This is not my opinion, but of natives from the area who work for our family business. Simply put, the people at the blockades are only there to stir up trouble. They were hoping to make some free money through this elaborate scheme and it looks like their plan is working.
The OPP should be ashamed of themselves for not putting an end to it. Them standing by while natives attacked two camera men from a local TV station and an elderly couple is disgusting and the officers in question should loose their jobs.

The McGuinty government has failed miserably to solve the Caladonia problem. It's time the Federal government took over. The military should be called in to dispel the protesters and keep the peace, as the OPP are obviously unwilling to do so.

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Quary Chaos

Recently, the local quary in Milton has is application to expand denied. I find this rather odd. I do not support the expansion of the quary but I think there is definatley a major double standard Halton Region, the Town of Milton, developers, and other businesses.

The Quary is nestled in the escarpment. It has wanted to expand for some time but has faced firce opposition by both town and regional councils on the grounds of environmental concerns. A sound decision if you only look at the outer layer. If we dig deeper, let us keep in mind that the new housing developments going up at the base of the escarpment. This is also on environmentally sensative land. These developers have faced relatively little opposition from the town and the region. Opposition tends to be weak and is used only as a means to cajole town residents seeing that 2006 is an election year.

Once again, I smell corruption. Milton residents. If you see your current councilors name on the ballot in November, put your check mark next to somebody else. I for one have had enough games from our local government.

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CAA Wrong in Novice Mobile Ban

The Canadian Auto Association wants to ban all mobile devices in cars driven by novice drivers. This would include cell phones, MP3 players, and other mobile electronic devices. I agree with this idea in its concept, but I think the CAA is way off base.

First of all, there is a big difference between cell phones and things such as MP3 players. That is that MP3 players and satellite radio units are "set it and forget it". Once they're set up, they can be left alone. They do not pose the same risk of distraction. Cell phones on the other hand constantly beg for the drivers attention by ringing at them and dumb people just cannot put them down. Unlike these mobile music players, the driver has to lean over, pick up the phone, and hold it to their ear while using one hand to drive. Hands free units pose the same danger because they also demand the driver's attention by constantly ringing. If you're going to ban MP3 players and other mobile music devices, why not ban car stereos and climate control systems as they pose the same threat of distraction. I think any sensible person can see that cell phones are the greater enemy.

Secondly, I think the CAA missed the mark by wanting to ban cell phones for novice drivers only. It is true that novice drivers lack skill. However, cell phones are just as dangerous in the hands of a seasoned driver as they are in the hands of a novice. A popular science TV show recently proved that a cell phone in the hands of both a novice and experienced driver is just as dangerous as driving drunk. This has been supported by more professional studies. I myself have seen more near misses with seasoned drivers trying to dial and talk while driving. In fact, I don't know too many youths who do talk on their phone while behind the wheel. If you want to ban cell phones while driving, ban them right across the board. The CAA's system won't stop accidents. It won't teach youth good habits either as they'll just start using the phone in the car as soon as they're "experienced" enough.

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Terrorism Hearings a Farce

What body in Canada allows showboating, breaking the constitution, and letting dangerous people run loose? The justice system of course! The bail hearings for the Toronto terror suspects is turning into an absolute farce. Once again, the Canadian justice system is failing the people. These failures are starting to get more and more serious, to the point of being a direct threat to national security.

First off, the judge in the bail hearings should be fired for putting a publication ban in place. In my opinion these publication bans are a direct violation of the constituion. I feel the people have the right to know what is going on with a case this serious. I won't go as far as saying the proceeding should be televised, but the media has the right to report on the trials. The judge has no right to say otherwise. This is not a reasonable limit.

The second problem deals with accusations of torture. Convicted serial killers such as Paul Branardo are allowed to keep an Xbox in their cell. If you believe these suspected terrorists are being tortured, I have a bridge I can sell you. The lawyers are simply showboating to the media in order to draw sympathy for their clients. Let us not forget that these people are on trial for conspiracy to mass murder innocent civilians. They wouldn't be the first people to claim torture in prisons here in order to get off. Obviously these lawyers are not very good. I suppose all reputable law firms refused to take the case so Ali Bombalot had to stick to the bottom of a very deep barrle of poor lawyers.

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Cyclists Need to Ride Smart

I predicted this a while ago and it finally happened. A cyclist has died on Milton's roads. Who is to blame for these types of accidents? Both drivers and cyclists.

Cyclists are riding on roads that they shouldn't. They are constantly going up Britannia and Termaine roads. These roads have too much traffic now and are far to narrow to accomidate both cyclists and motorized traffic at the same time. Unfortunately, far too many foolish cyclists keep sticking to these roads despite the fact that there are many scenic and challenging roads for biking that are a whole lot safer. If you are cycling for excercise, I recommend you purchase a mountain bike and try one of the exciting roads and paths in Milton's escarpment country. That's more of a workout than travelling down smooth, flat terrain. If you like racing, try one of the less busy side roads in the area. There are plenty of them. Going down these busy routes is simply not safe. More will die unless you cyclists ride sensably.
I have another bone to pick with cyclists. I frequently see you breaking the rules of the road during my travels. The most common is riding in groups that are two or more cyclists wide. I know you would like to talk to your friends while you cycle, but riding like that isn't safe. The proper proceedure is to ride single files. If you ride like this, cars have even less room to navigate around you, which leads to accidents that can injure or kill drivers and cyclists. Hands free walkie talkies are available if you must talk.
Anothe common rule of the road that cyclists make is failing to stop at stop signs. This is incredably dangerous. Remember that the same rules that apply to cars also apply to bicycles.

Now for drivers. I constantly see you taking risks to get around these people. Don't try to gun it around them but rather slow down, check to make sure its safe, and them proceed. I've seen a few near misses with other cars when drivers swerve to avoid cyclists. Drivers also swerve much father into the other lane than they need to.

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Employee Census Discriminatory

I have a co-worker who's son is taking his carpentry aprenticeship. He was recently handed a package by the school board to fill out. It wasn't mandetory to complete it but it brings to light some startling new trends in today's work place.

The package asks, among other things, what your ethnicity and sexual orientation are. These, according to the school borads who are also making teachers fill them out, are to ensure "fair" hiring practices. Fair? I don't think being gay or streight matters unless your applying for a job at a bar on Church & Welsley. For the longest time, we were trying to build a racially and ethnically blind society, now we are trying to single people out. This is once again an affermative action program. I question if these kinds of practices are really needed today. Organizations without these programs do not encounter problems with hiring inequalities. They base their employment practices on whether or not you are qualified for the job, not on your skin colour or who you go home to at night. Yet they still get a fair mix. Walk into any retail store or office and you'll see what I mean. In my opinion, the school boards have no business asking these questions. They need to get out of their ivory towers and understand that problems of racially discriminatory hiring practices have drifted into the shadows since the 70s and 80s. Affirmative action is no longer needed. We all loose when what we are begins to determine our future, rather than who we are.

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Terrorists Get Out

Once again I am disturbed by what's going on in this country. Not frightened as some would like it, but rather infuriated. Infuriated that pure scum who have come to Canada and grown up in this country would even dare to commit mass murder against it.

The recent terror arrests and plot against Toronto reveals the truth behind Muslim terrorism. We can no longer say that it's due to Iraq, or attrocities commited by the west. It is simply a pure hatred of who we are. That we are free and live equally. That Christian, Muslim, Jew, Hindi, Bhuddist, Athiest, etc can live together. This enrages them. They want a Muslim world and will murder anybody who does not believe in their religion.

We all know how Bin Landen likes to post things on the net about his plans. Well I hope he and his thugs are reading this. Attacking Canada is not like attacking the US. Attack a peaceful country that has done nothing to harm you, and the world will make you pay with an all out war. If you truely believe in your hate crusade, face us on the open battlefield instead of bombing and running like a coward.

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Time To Do Away With Copyright

Back in March, I posted an article about my disagreement with copy protection measures on electronic media. In that time, I have come to the conclusion that as a society, copyright laws are no longer needed.

Copyright was originally intended to protect the owners of publications from people stealing their ideas. In the years since it was first concieved, it has become an unbelieveable farce and a burden on our society. It has also been molded into a clever way to scam consumers.

Ever wonder why a bag of popcorn and a medium soda costs $10 at the movies, but only $3 at the grocery store? The answer, copyright. This law requires people showing the content to pay royalties each time it is payed. The ticket price for the movie covers those steep royalties. Theaters must charge huge amounts for snacks in order to make money, because they don't make it from tickets.

Ever wonder why your local library lacks quality books, charges a fortune in late fees, and is always holding fund raisers? Copyright again. Libraries must pay a fortune when purchasing new material to allow books to be read over and over again. Royalties. Libraries are the great halmark of human society, but are being held back by this law.

Ever wonder why you can't return media to the store such as magazines, movies, CDs, and games? Copyright once again. They're afraid you may be making pirated copies in your basement and selling them on eBay. Meanwhile, you're stuck with a defective or unsatisfactory product and they get to keep your hard earned moeny. Does that sound fair?

This is only the tip of the iceberg. I haven't gone into how taxing it is on our legal system due to all te ludicrous lawsuits that organizations such as the MPAA and RIAA are filing against those who are innocent. For an information society, our informatin sure is restricted. Then there are the scams that require you to buy new TVs and computers in order to decode new digital copy protection methods. I personally see nothing wrong with copying other people's work as long as people acknowledge who did it. Copyright law is only taxing our society and it should be done away with.

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Fixed Election Dates a Good Move

This has been a growing trend in Canada. Ontario for example recently declared a fixed date for its elections. The Federal Government is making a move to do this as well.

Fixed election dates are something Canada has needed for years. They allow citizens to know exactly when they are to vote next. It also prevents politicians with majority governments from toying with the dates to call elections only when it's convinient for them. Former PM and sleeze ball Jean Cretien was famouse for this, which is what kept him in so long. It is a good move to strengthen democracy in our country.

The new bill proposed by the Harper govenment will set the date. I don't have the information in front of me but I believe they will be set at the third Monday in October, every four years. The current system allows elections to be called at any time during a government's mandate up to a maximum of five years. This new bill does not apply if a government falls after loosing a vote of non-confidence, such as the case of the last election.

The Harper government's new bill also proposed limiting the terms of senators to 8 years maximum. Under the current system, Senators are in office from the time of their appointment up until the age of 75, unless they choose to leave or if they die. This is also a good move as it keeps fresh people coming into the senate. The bill however falls short of requiring senators to be elected instead of appointed. I would personally like to see direct election of senators, with the same powers as their counterparts in the United States. If we do choose to keep the appointment method, I believe that senators should have to go through the same process as when the US elects judges to the supreme court. This would give parliament the veto over choices made by the Prime Minister. Canadian democracy won't improve unless we start transfering powers away from Prime Ministers, cabinets, and parties to those that were elected by the people.

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