Happy 1st Birthday Martin's Mill News

August is the first anniversary of Martin's Mill News. That's when I first started wrighting it on the now defunct Myblogsite.com. We currently have nearly 90 editorials.
I'll be working on a special "First Year in Review" article. Look for it shortly after August 1st.

If you have any comments or questions, please do not hesitate to post them under the comments section.

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Police Action Needed in Israel

Ok, I'm beginning to think this has gone on long enough. The Middle East is once again at war with itself over petty issues. Innocent civilians are being killed, or forced to hide underground on both sides. All because some Muslim nutbars in Lebanon can't mind there own business and because the Israelies are too dumb to use diplomacy.

I propose a state of Police Action in Israel and Lebanon by United Nations forces. These countries cannot seem to handle their problems on their own. Lebanon for allowing Hezbolla to exist and Israel for over-reacting to kidnappings. Israel is constantly looking for sympathy from the west but they are just as bad as the terrorists. Perhaps giving the Jews their own state was a mistake after all, because they haven't proven to the international community that they are worthy of it. The only way we're going to stop this conflict is send armed troops into both countries and physically pry them apart, much like what was done in Korea.

What needs to be done.
-UN troops need to enter Lebanon and worwith the Lebonese government to root out every single member of Hezbolla and jail them. They need to be tackled like the police here do with street gangs. Mass armed raids with the help of the community.
-UN needs to place sanctions on Israel. Diplomacy was not exhausted and Israel, much like the Palestinians they hate so much, always resorts to violence whenever something happens that they don't like. If the two countries had worked together peacefully, this whole soldier kidnapped could have been solved without the massive shelling and rocket attacks that are hammering both sides. Israel needs to learn that violence against their neighbours is not ok, especially without declaring war. It is also important to note that they are in violation of the Geneva convention for killing civilians, which Switzerland has already spoken out against.

As I mentioned earlier, the west CANNOT take sides in the conflict if it's ever going to end. We have to treat both sides equally harshly to let them know that this sort of childish behaviour is unacceptable.

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Toronto's Misguided Waterfront

For over a decade now, Toronto has planned to revitalize its waterfront, but has now run into more snags. The problem this time around, they don't own all that land.

Earlier this year, the city unvailed a unique plan for their waterfront that would have everything interconnected by fancy boardwalks and bridges. With shopping and parks. As of right now, Toronto's waterfront looks like one you would find in New Jersey, complete with smell. It's in dyer need of restoration. The only problem is the plan selected after an international contest was held is impractical. Unfortunately, it wasn't properly surveyed and it turns out some people own some of the land, and live on it. Two apartment buildings in particular.

Toronto's mayor went back to showing his true red stripes today. Mr Miller is a fundamentalist communist, although he's never publically stated this, it's obvious from his actions. He's all upset that these apartment buildings would block the flow of this interconnected plan. The mayor wants that land and wants the land owners to give it to him nicely. The land owners don't want to sell which has the city puzzled. Why aren't these owners being good socialists like all Torontonians? Are they greedy capitalists who want more money?
It would never dawn on the people running the city that the owners like that land, and don't wish to sell it at all.

I'm beginning to think this waterfront this is just a pipe dream. By the time I'm Mr Miller's age, Toronto's waterfront will probably be dirtier and smellier than ever. In the mean time, they keep wasting my money to pay for this so called improvement in a city I don't even live in.

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North Korea: Threat or Joke?

Today, Prime Minister Steven Harper condemed the launch of its first long range, nuclear capable missile. It has left many questions. Is North Korea really a threat. Are we doomed for another cold war, or perhaps World War Three? We must get inside the mind of the infamous short statured dictator, Kim Jong Il. He clearly suffers from mental issues much like his historical counterpart Joseph Stalin. He is a man who knows little of the West but hate. He suffers from paranoia.

Ever since the cold war ended and the Soviet Union collapsed, other communist nations have gone through a rapid process of modernization and reconcilation. Cuba, Vietnam, Laos, and China have opened their doors to the rest of the world and openly engage in the global community. North Korea is different. The country has changed little since the Korean War petered out in the late 1950s. It is isolated, a strange place. It is sort of a twisted version of the USSR with elements of George Orwell's fictional nation of Oceania from 1984 mixed in for flavour. Film footage shows military weapons being paraded and soldiers marching with almost robotic percision. To them, the Cold War never ended. The nation moves further and further behind as its fellow communists push forward. It's no wonder they often ignor Little Kim.

Is North Korea a threat though. The short answer is no. It's certainly not in the nation's best interest. China sits to the west. It has too much to loose by supporting them. The United States has other things to worry about. Other nations are simply over reacting. North Korea is certainly trying to reconcile with the south and launching nuclear attacks would not be smart. Little Kim is simply showing bravado. They simply are doing these missile launches to get a reaction. The best way to combat it is to ignor them. It's a Chinese issue anyway. Historically, the Korean peninsula has been treated by China as a little brother. It is really none of the west's business and to do anything would be a waste of time on our part. China takes great offense to interferance in the Koreas so it's simply best to let them deal with any problems that crop up.

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