"Two Rs Come September"

The kids have finally gone back to school. Summer seems like it could go on forever, then BAM, it's September already. At least Christmas and Thanksgiving are around the corner.

Now, down to business. It looks like the 2006/2007 school year is not going to be without conflict, which is nothing new. This time we have school boards whining for a change. They must alternate with the teachers every other year.
The Toronto District School Board has been leading the complaints this year. I don't have the exact data in front of me, but I believe they are $80 million in the red. The TDSB has refused to balance its budget forcing the province to investigate them. The TDSB claims the old 1998 funding formula is no longer enough for a 2006 education system, due to rising energy costs, and other unforseen expenses. The people in Toronto are only a case study for the growing problem of fiscal mismanagement in today's education system. They are guilty of the sort of things that would get somebody working in the private sector fired. Of course, it's always easier to spend someone else's money.

The TDSB now needs to find a way to cut $80 million from it's budget. However, they don't want to cut anything. Too bad as running up huge debts only makes things worse for students in the long run. Throwing more money at the problem isn't the answer either. The province already tried that by giving them some $200 million, which apparently wasn't enough. What people choose to ignore is that the TDSB's operating costs should indeed be going down as enrollment is declining. They also sit on a huge pool of assets that are being underused, if used at all.

A few years back, the TDSB closed several schools. The problem is, they are still holding onto them, and still paying expenses on them. These schools will continue to go unused for the forseeable future due to the province's aging population. Why then, do they insist on keeping them. Many of these schools have degraded into eyesores with weeds so tall in the playground they resemble wild jungles. With a lack of commercial space in the GTA, the properties would likely sell very quickly. Schools can easily be converted to office space and the playgrounds in the back could add some much needed greenery. It's seems insane for an organization to hang onto something so useless, that's costing so much to upkeep. (yep, there's a teacher joke in there too) The TDSB also has assets that it has no business owning, such as pools. These should be sold to the city. School boards are not in the business of parks and rec either. Though the board claims assets can only be sold once, they forget about the money they're saving by not having to pay upkeep expenses.

Then there is the issue of over-employment. The schools have more teachers, lunchrooms supervisors, and assistants than you can shake a yard stick at, even though they like to tell people otherwise. All this hiring was done to keep class sizes under 30 kids. Studies have shown that lower student/teacher ratios do not necessarily mean a better education, only less work for teachers. In post secondary education, classes can be 10 times (or more) bigger than those in public schools, with student/teacher ratios usually being 100:1. People who attended school from about 1950-1970 typically had classes of 40 or more students due to the baby boom, yet did not suffer. Much of the focus on education recently has been in fact lowering workload for teachers, rather than improving the quality of education for students. Teachers typically work only 30-40 hours a week, including marking time, which is no more than anybody else does. Not to mention they only work about 42 weeks a year. Their pay rate is roughly between $40-60/hour, which is equivilant to that of a skilled tradesperson or small business owner. My estimates on teacher pay are actually four years out of date, under the Conservative government. Teachers make about 5-10% more annually today. I conservatively estimate 70-80% of current education funding goes to pay for teacher salaries and benefits.
Class sizes should be capped at a more practical 40 students. There should be a teacher hiring freeze, and any wage increases should equal the rate of inflation except in the case of promotions.
Then there is the large number of unionized support staff, such as teaching assistants and lunchroom supervisions that demand premium cash for what should be a minimum wage job. Quite frankly, these people serve little use. Back when I was little, they had hall monitors, older students or parent volunteers who did what these supervisors are getting paid for today. Schools also do not need to hire these so called Teachers' Aids. They can get these as volunteers or co-op students from teacher's colleges. It's sad to lay any working person off, but you can't keep somebody on when you simply can't afford to keep them. Lunch room supervirsors and Teacher's Aids need to go.

There are also several programs that can also go. Breakfast and lunch clubs are a total waste of tax payer cash. I find if difficult to believe that there are that many kids in Toronto that go hungry because they are too poor to afford a slice of toast in the morning. Some of these programs even exist in afluent areas! Parenting courses should also be given the boot. If you don't have the instincts necessary to raise a child, wear a condom. If these problems are so rampant, they should be taken over by the city instead, or be administered by the Ministry of Health.

Now for the board itself. The TDSB recently voted to give trustees a $20,000 raise. Most corporate CEOs are lucky to get that much in one go. This raise added over $400,000 to the $80 million deficit. Trustee wages should be equal to the rate of inflation and for cost of living only. Being an elected official is not a job for life anyway. Trustees should be limited to a maximum of two or three terms in office. This gives them plenty of time to achieve goals. Parents also need more say at school board meetings. After all, they should have a say on what's to be done with their money. People also need to start voting in municipal elections.
I'm sure we can also find ways to cut a lot of bureaucratic waste within the TDSB as well. Government offices also suffer from over-staffing and uncessessary expenses.

It's not impossible for school boards to balance budgets. In fact, even with this "dreadful" Mike Harris funding formula, there is plenty of money to go around. It all boils down to gross mismanagement at the hands of school board trustees and administrators. Only parents can take action against them. Watch this issue closely and send a strong message to these trustees come November. Anybody who doesn't vote in municipal elections is a moron, as they will have the most direct effect on you and your family.

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Troll Under the Bridge

Remember the story of the Three Billy Goats Gruff you were told as a kid? It was about a troll under a bridge. Toronto has its own troll under the bride, his name is Chris Gardener.

Chris Gardener has taken the spotlight recently. You see, he lives under the Gardener expressway at Spadina. He has done so for the past 8 years. He built a makeshift house under the highway in which he stole electricity and payed no tax on. He even has his "property" fenced in. Gardener's career choice to support his "house" is drug dealer. Gardener (as he has named himself, after his place or residence) hasn't been a major problem until recently. The city of Toronto needs to make repairs to the highway. He needed to be moved as his choice of residence would pose a safety hazzard to himself and construction workers.

The political fallout has been over Gardener being moved. Gardener recounted the story that eight years ago, while he was in Montreal, God came to him and told him that landlords have no right to charge rent. Thus Gardener travelled to Toronto and set up his shack under the highway. Judging by this statement alone, we can safely assume that Gardener is a frosty chocolate nut bar with a brain turned to nouget. The city has repeatedly offered him welfare, affordable housing, and treatment for his mental issues. All of which he has refused. Gardener simply does not want to be a part of our society, though he won't go as far as moving to a cabin in the woods, which would be a far more appropriate place if he wants to drop out.

Of course, OCAP has to get involved in all of this. The Ontario Coalition Against Poverty, a radical Toronto based anachist group, was attracted to his story like flies on cow pies. More alarming is that they tend to agree with Mr Gardener and "God" that people should be allowed to live for free. OCAP is simply getting more comical as the days go on. Perhaps they should host their protests at Second City and get some money out of making people laugh at them. This is a group that has failed to attract the attention of political parties due to their beyond communist, extreme far left tactics. Today, they attempted to block Mr Gardener's eviction. Fortunately, they were peaceful, but not without giving people a hard time. Mr Gardener's shack was rightly demolished and work can now proceed on the highway safely.

The story doesn't end there though. It brings about some questions about the true nature of poverty in the city of Toronto. The question is, should we allow this type of behaviour? More low income housing seems to be the magical cure-all that OCAP is proposing. The fact is, there are already tons of low income housing projects in Toronto. One must be making an income first though. Homeless do not. They simply choose to live on the streets even though there are plenty of safe alternatives. I don't buy the mental issue argument either Despite what OCAP wants, nobody can, nor should live for free. That's the nature of most societies. If everybody is going to get things handed out to them, well, who is going to produce and manage those things? Even in communist countries, that type of behaviour is unacceptable. Sorry Mr Gardener and OCAP, you loose and you always will.

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Time To End Air Travel Restrictions

This is getting more silly by the day. Since last week, it is now illegal to carry liquids and gels onto a plane. Seniors and children even are not allowed to bring water or juice with them.

Restrictions on what can be carried aboard a plane is simply a sign of how flawed the security at airports is. It has long be known that explosives can be made in liquid for, yet they have just been banned. The big question is if this ban is really justified. I say it isn't. We are punishing an entire population of innocent people. We are not protecting them, but are simply taking away their civil liberties due to the incompetance of security officials. It won't be long before we won't be able to fly with anything in the cabin, including our clothes. Yep, we'll all be nakid.

El Al Israel airline doesn't have these bans. You'd think they'd be terrorism target #1 but they don't suffer from these problems. Why? They are carful of who they let on board. Yes, they profile. That seems to be a dirty word, profiling. However, it is a step we must take. We cannot keep punishing those who have done nothing as a few would choose to turn airplanes into weapons of murder. It is unlikely a 90 year old grandma from Saskatoon is going to strap a bomb to herself in the name of Mohammed and Allah. The odds of being involved in a terrorist attack are less than that of being hit by lightning.
The least disruptive way is to monitor those who get on board the plane, not by what they have on them, but rather who they are. More hightech security is also needed at airports such as chemical sniffers. Rather than ban stuff, just check for things that could be used by someone who might be a terrorist, and leave the rest alone.
Perhaps we should also redesign the planes while we are at it. Buses in Britain in the mid 20th century had a separate driver cab. We should do this with planes. Have cockpit and cabin separated by a solid bulkhead with separate doors. Make it so the cockpit can only be accessed from outside the plane. This would most certainly prevent hijackings. Systems such as gas could also incapacitate attackers in the cabin without harming them. This would be far more effective than simply taking away each and every right we have when we fly.

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Big Problems

This is a BIG day for MMN. It's a BIG milestone, the 100th post. Today I'd thought I'd tackle a BIG issue. That being, how BIG a problem our kids are getting, because they are so BIG!

That's right, 26% of children are considered obese. Roughly 1 in 2 are overweight. That's a huge number of huge kids. Off these kids, only 8% of their parents consider then to have a weight problem. This has created a health care crisis. It is estimated that this current generation of children will not live longer than their parents, the first time in over a century. This problem will likely end up costing the health system billions.

Kids are inactive. That's the problem. I don't see many kids playing outside as I did when I was a kid, which wasn't that long ago. The government and the entertainment industry usually get most of the blame. The government is targeted because they supposedly are not providing healthy lunches in cafeterias, physED, and nutritional programs. The entertainment industry is accused of feeding an inactive lifestyle due to television and video games. It's all well and good to play the blame game. Though cafeterias in schools should provide healthier food, physED programs are adequate as they are and nutritional classes are unnecessary. Healthy active living is something that needs to begin at home. The majority of parents of overweight kids are overweight themselves. They also pack so much into their scheduels that they have no time or don't even know how to make healthy meals. Many children these days are brought up on frozen, pre-cooked food. This food is loaded with saturated and transfat, as well as unhealthy doses of salt. Parents simply let their kids sit around the house or are so afraid that a pervert is going to snatch them if they go outside. Quit worring, statistics show that's no more likely than it was years ago. Kids need unstructured play to stay healthy. Peewee sports can also be a good idea but not all kids like sports. They need to be encouraged to be active in other ways. If we get our kids outside, we will eliminate this preventable disease.

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Halton MP Makes National News: A Rouge

Back in January, the people of Halton region voted Conservative party member Garth Turner into office as their representative. He is one MP that has not been without controversy. Particularly his refusal to tow the party line. While I don't agree with some of his decisions, I find that Mr Turner has finally brought a voice to Halton region after Liberal MP Gary Carr was voted out. Mr Carr being the ever silent and loyal back bencher, a sleeze, just what Paul Martin wanted. The Liberal MP before Carr also showed dignity by leaving the party after the sponsorship scandle.

This debate over Mr Turner has sprung a vote within the conservative party that will ultimately decide who gets to represent Halton. Turner has frequently been at odds with Steven Harper who can best be described as Bush Light. Though his leadership on the home front has been good, foreign policy has been questionable. What Turner is trying to do is hold his own party leader acountable, as was promised in the 2006 election. People don't like this because they fear an ununified US based system. Surprisingly this would actually work better, though democracy would be slower. A republic is still better than our antiquated system steeped in useless pomp and pagentry. Canadians however fear change. We need more MPs to speak out on citizens behalf rather than simply towing this silly party line concept. That's what democracy is supposed to be about. Halton citizens should support Mr Turner.

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Harper No-Show at AIDS Conference: Who Cares?

The big thing in the media this week was why Prime Minister Steven Harper did not show up for the AIDS conference currently being held in Toronto. I guess it's been a slow news week. There's only so much one can talk about petty issues such as wars between Hezbolla and Isreal, and terror in the UK.

Socialists like to try to find every single fault in their right of center buddies. Fortunatley for us on the right side, we don't have to look for the faults of those on the left because they are so obvious, even blind people can see them plain as day.
Federal health minister Tony Clements has attended to conference to my knowledge. He is in charge of the portfolio that administers treatment for the disease. Does the Prime Minister really need to attend as well. According to non-Canadian Richard Gere, he does. Mr Gere probably had to consult Buddah, or more likely Google Maps to even find where Canada is so I hardly think he's in a possition to criticise our government. Typical Hollywood smug but unfortunately this demi-gods of tinsle town carry a lot of pull amoung the idiotic socialist proles. Now everybody has jumped on the bash Steve bandwagon, including, I believe, former US president and non-Canadian Bill Clinton. I'm sure if his wife wasn't running for president in 2008, he wouldn't be there.

The last time the AIDS conference was held in Canada was 1996. Apparently, then Prime Minister Jean Chretien did not attend either, yet he didn't receive the same amount of criticism. There is a huge double standard in the way we treat our politicians in this country. We should hold all government officials accountable yet it is simply not fair to criticise one leader for not attending, but not to criticise another.

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The Danger of "Safe" Injection Sites

AIDS is a 100% preventable disease. Except in cases of rape and deception, most people who get it are unsanitary or careless.

The latest solution to help limit the disease is are these safe injection sites. Vancouver has them. What these sites do is provide clean needles for haroine addicts to use. A protest to be held later today will lobby the federal government to legalize these sites nation wide, with particular focus on Toronto. Stupid people in large groups are dangerous indeed.
The common argument against these sites is that it will encourage illegal drug use. It certainly will but this is not the problem. What it does is it gets government into the business of peddling drugs. An extremely dangerous precident.

It is estimated that up to 46 million people are infected with HIV. Though a horrible disease, it pales in comparison with the pandemic of drug addiction. Yet another 100% preventable health problem. Both ruin lives and kill. Though one cannot live relatively normally with drug addiction to the extent that people with AIDS can, thanks to new treatments.
This is what's wrong with safe injection sites. The bigger problem is not encouraging drug use, but rather encouraging people's addictions to them. Heroine is one of the most addictive known drugs. Giving them a place to inject is not going to solve the problem, it's only going to make addiction appear more socially acceptable. We must never get to that point. The only solution is to encourage these people to get off their addiction. Most probably do want to get off the junk, but don't know how. We need more money for addiction programs, not this crap that these protesters are proposing. If you still think there is nothing wrong with government's administering mind bending drugs, I can suggest several distopian books and movies in which that is the central theme, both real and fiction.

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Protect our Children

I have to blast both the Liberal and Conservative governments for this. The problem is the sharp increase in the number of sex offenders in our society, particularly those who victimize children. I sometimes wonder if buggering kids is still a crime anymore.

This week's big story was the kidnapping or a young boy out west by a dangerous child molester who has been convicted of that crime numerous times. Seeing the tears in the father's eyes and the trembling in his voice, I knew this pervert had his way with the poor man's son. This was something that didn't need to happen, it shouldn't have happened.

I think our government is afraid of sex offenders. I don't think I can target any particular party because they're all guilty of this. They just don't seem to want to act to toughen laws that would keep in jail, or at least restrict the momement of pedophiles. These people are sick, pure and simple. They are criminally insane and should be locked in mental institutions indefinately. It is not a sexual orientation as some would like us to believe. How many more kids need to be hurt before the people in the halls of parliament and the halls of justice put an end to it.

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Pesticide Bylaws Ludicrous

Toronto people are funny. They try to get as far away from the city as possible, yet they try and make their new home exactly like Toronto.

Some new residents to Milton, most likely former residents of Toronto have been pushing for a pesticides bylaw. This proposed bylaw would ban the use of synthetic chemical pesticides in town. This sort of thinking makes little sense, as do most things that come out of that putrid city. These bans simply don't work.

Anyone been to Toronto lately. Take a look at the weeds. They're everywhere. In the sidewalks, on lawns. Everywhere. Due to the pesticides bylaw, there is no way to control them. So called organic methods such as pouring boiling water on them don't seem to be working and there are far too many to pull out. In turn for supposedly saving the environment a bit, the weed problem is making people sick. Toronto has forgotten that many of these weeds produce allergens that can make summer miserable for many. Many of the pesticides used are considered safe by the federal government. I think a bad case of hay feaver is a lot worse than the smell of pesticides. The law would likely also include pesticides used to control harmful insects, which I'm sure local farmers wouldn't be too pleased with.

Do we really want Milton to end up like this. The weeds here are bad enough as it is because the town does not control them on their property, due to budget cuts. If we cut pesticide use all together, the town will be a virtual jungle of dandylyons, ragweed, and hawthorn bushes, just like Drumquin park. Toronto people, if you like Toronto's way of doing thing, get out of Milton and go back there. Milton is a farming community. Farms used pesticides, people use them. We use them to control harmful pests to feed you.

Here are a few tips for people worried about pesticides. First of all, apply them yourself using the bottles that connect to your hose. Weed and pest control companies often use way too much. Doing it yourself is cheaper and you can control how much goes on the lawn. Sprey only a light application during the peak time of year, or whenever pests start to cause major problems. Spreying more than once or twice is often unnecessary, even though pest companies would have you think otherwise. This will help control the majority of dandylyons on your lawn. From then on, it's simply a matter of pulling stragglers. Mow your lawn often to remove dandylyon flowers before they go to seed. Insects and diseases can be controlled with the same method of light spraying. Insecticidal soap can be used after. Try and plant insect and disease resistant varieties.

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When to Draw the Line on Hate Crime

Well, looks like the media has grown board of Israel's scuffle with Lebanon. This big story this week is Mel Gibson's DUI. Conspiracy theories are out in full force, claiming Mel is in bed with the cops. The police spokesperson stated that he was arrested without incident, but the leaked police report tells a different story. Apparently the "Road Warrior" (as the media has dubbed him) resisted arrest and shouted slurs at the cops. This is something you expect from a drunk person, and Mel has suffered from alcoholism for some time.

You may be asking why I'm bothering with this idiotic Hollywood celebrity. It's because Mel has re-opened a can of worms that definately needs to be sorted out. This time Mel has taken the roll of the character Pink, from Pink Floyd's classic "The Wall". In a drunken haze, Mel alledgedly shouted racial slurs, anti-semitic slurs to be exact. It has long been suspected that Mel doesn't like Jews. Whether that's true or not is undetermined.
What can be determined is Hollywood's anger about it. Many of those that run Hollywood are Jewish. The rest are Scientologists, making Jesus loving Mel a bit of a minority. Mel's father Hutton Gibson is a extreme fundamentalist Catholic. He is well known for his Holocaust denial. Some are beginning to wonder is Mel takes after dear old dad. Mel's biggest movie, the infamous Passion of the Christ, is said to be anti-semitic.

Hollywood now wants to take their revenge on Mel. They want him to be black listed but also charged with hate crimes. This begs the question. How does one define a hate crime, exactly? Lets use Mel as a case study. Mel alledgeldy said hateful things about Jews. Was he hurting Jews? No, as the arresting officers were not Jewish. Was he spreading hate? No, he was drunk so it's unlikely anybody would take him seriously. So did Mel commit a crime? No. In the United States, freedom of speech is protected under the first amendment. You can say what ever you want no matter how idiotic. That's the way things should be in a democracy. California is slightly different. Hate speech in the workplace (only) is not prohibited, but it is not protected, meaning it is considered reasonable grounds for termination. How California skirts the 1st is unknown. The state is almost a different country and they seem to get away with having their own rules. However, under California and US law, Mel cannot be black listed and he cannot be charged with a crime.

Here in Canada we are a little different. In the US, freedom of expression and speech are god given rights. In Canada, not so much. Sure, our media has more freedom here. The CRTC is less likely to censor offensive material than the FCC does. However, if Mel had done the same thing here, it would have been a crime. You can be arrested, and jailed for making off the cuff remarks. Technically, your constitution is little more than a piece of paper. The SCOC gets to decide what reasonable limits it can put on you, and they get to define what's "reasonable". Doesn't seem quite right, does it. I don't condone hate speech as I like to follow the "just because you can, doesn't mean you should" ideology. However, I don't think our government has the right to tell me what I can and can't say, and they certainly should not have the right to imprison me for it.

Here's where the line is drawn. You say you hate Jews. That should not be a crime. You say the Holocaust never happend. You're an idiot and obviously never paid any attention in school, but that should not be a crime. You harass Jews, threaten them, vandalize their property, beat them up, and/or kill them, well then those are hate crimes and should be punished accordingly. We have to put our democratic values over people's feelings. As long as nobody is being hurt (hurt defined as being directly targeted, not simply offended), we cannot deny people the right to say what they want to. End of discussion.

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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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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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Time To Make Transit an Essential Service

Unions are beginning to go to far. Their time has ended.

The Toronto transit union went on an illegal strike today. They are protesting concerns over shift changes and on the job safety. My viewpoint, they should all be fired, and here's why.

The job safety concerns are absolute BS. I take transit because I attend school in Mississauga and it is too expensive to park. I have taken the bus nearly every day for three years now and I have not witnessed a single incident. I can't seriously imagine that Toronto is that different. I'd like to know their definition of a fare dispute. It's probably somebody not realising that fares were increased and depositing the old amount. Then the poor harassed driver has to advise them of the correct amount. Poor soul.
As for shift changes being protested by the maintenance workers, I've got news for them. If you work shifts, shift changes are a normal part of the job. If you can't handle that, quit now.

Unfortunately, the people running Toronto don't have any balls and will probably just let these idiots continue on their little temper tantrum. All unions are them same now. The wealthy union leaders brainwashed their members using almost Orwellian methods. That's why these things happen.

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Power Drive

I love these political documentaries that come out lately because there are just so many blatant lies in them. I was watching a trailer for one that is premiring at a variety of film festivals this summer dealing with the electric car. Today I'm going to mix politics with one of my other loves, tech.
Electric cars have been around for some time. Many, including the producer of this movie believe it has to do with an oil company conspiracy. Ok, let's slip away from commie central and talk to someone who knows quite a bit about vehicle tech.

The auto companies don't give a crap about what the oil companies do, because the oil companies have been putting their sales in the toilet. The real reason involves some science so bare with me.

The reason is batteries. There are basically several different types of battery technologies competing to power electric and hybrid vehicles. They are Nickle Cadmium, Nickle Metal Hydride, Lithium Ion/Litium Polymer, and Lead Acid.

Lead Acid is your standard 12 volt car battery. These batteries pack a lot of energy buy are big and heavy. If you've ever tried to pick one up, you'll know they aren't light. These batteries aren't expensive but you need several for the high voltage needed, making the car very heavy and inefficient. You wouldn't be able to drive very far with these. Also, unless they're expensive gel based, you'll need to keep all these batteries topped up. They are not maintenance free.

Rechargable nickle based batteries are usually found in portable electronics such as radios, MP3 players, toys, etc. These batteries are good for small applications but they are more expensive than lead based batteries but are lighter. However, they still are quite heavy. They pack about the same amount of energy. You'll get increased range but not much. They don't last as long as lead batteries either.

Lithium based batteries are the most expensive of all. We use these a lot in radio controlled aircraft. Most people will usually find this type of battery in their cell phone or laptop. Lithium polymer are the most common and are best suited for electric vehicles. They pack a lot of power but are relatively small and light. They can weigh less than half as much as the above batteries used in electric cars. The car is therefore effcient and has the greatest driving range. However, the batteries can cost as much as the rest of the car, making them impractical for the majority of people.

So that's why electric cars aren't more common. Batteries today are either inefficient or cost so much that they are out of reach for the majority of people. There is no conspiracy, the technology just isn't here yet to make them practical. I'm afraid you'll have to stick to hybrids if you want to cut back on gas consumption. Sorry to tell the truth my socialist friends. I don't like the big oil companies either but I'm afraid you are searching for things that just are not there.

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Top 10 Reasons Why You Should NOT Move to Milton

A lot of people are considering moving to Milton, but perhaps you should give it a second thought. Here are the top 10 reasons why Milton is not a good place to live.

10. Lack of Recreation Facilities: Milton does have three hockey areans and a couple of pools but not much else. Recreation programs and facility user fees are quite steep and have gone up a lot in recent years. If you are not interested in sports, there is little to do here. Parks are in poor condition due to unnecessry cut backs and some may even turn into more housing developements.

9. Lack of Schools: Milton's highschools are filled to the brim and cannot except many more students. We seem to have more Catholic schools than anything else even though majority of the town is not Catholic. Public elementary schools are over capacity as soon as they open.

8. High Taxes: If you're looking to get out of Toronto in hopes of getting a tax break, forget it. Milton has some of the highest taxes in the GTA despite huge income from growth and Mohawk race track.

7. Pollution: If you are leaving the city in hopes of escaping the noise and air pollution, you won't find that escape here. Traffic noise is constant for 20 hour a day periods. Constant construction and thick smog from the city drape the town in a choking haze.

6. Lack of Vision: If you think David Miller has a lack of vision, try this place. When the town tries to come up with a vision for Milton's future, it's more like the Mad Hatter's tea party due to chaotic and unthought out planning.

5. Lack of Safety: If you came here to escape the violence of the city, you may feel safe at home here. Milton certainly does not have any violent crimes, but remember that Milton is prone to break ins and auto theft. Petty crime has been rising steadily in recent years. Police spend more time at Timmy's than anywhere else. Let us not forget lack of traffic safety measures due to cost cutting.

4. Lack of Commercial Development: All these houses and hardly any shops to supply them. Expect long lines at grocery stores and drives into Mississauga if you want something specific. Stores that do open here are usually smaller than those in other towns and are of a second rate quality.

3. Bermuda Triangle Transit: Roads are an absolute mess in town and show no signs of improvements. Construction is slow and rush hour has become a 24-hour a day affair. It's difficult to get aroud town and even more difficult to get out of it. We have a bus system but it is expensive for what it is. GO service is not regular, and trains into the city only run during a narrow window around the morning and evening rush. There is no easy way to get to Downtown Toronto from here as it is in other towns.

2. Too Much Development: If you buy a new house for the view of the escarpment, you are a fool. You may loose that view pretty soon as new developments go up. Developers are just allowed to build anyware they wish without limits, including sensitive lands at the escarpment's base. Town infrastucture cannot sustain this out of control and unplanned development for much longer as it is already at it's limit.

1. Corrupt Local Government: Milton is in the mist of it's own sponsorship scandal including my suspicians of taking bribes from developers. Strong evidence has been found to support this. Expect to be ignored by your town and regional councilors as they only favour developer demands. The town council is run by small town cheap rednecks, much like Toronto's. Don't expect to leave Toronto and find things better out here.

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Iran Story Retracted?

The National Post retracted their story in which my last article was based on. This only leaves more questions about the issue. Was the story a fake or is Iran trying to cover something up that they know will leave a sour taste in the mouths of the international community? Whatever the case, Iran still poses a real and possible threat to world peace as it did even before the article was written. We must keep our eyes on them.

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Die Juden sind unser Unglück!: The Iranian Question

You may be wondering what the title of this article means. It is German for "The Jews are our misfortune!" This was a slogan used by the Nazi Party during Hitler's rule. Today, this slogan might as well read اليهود هم البلاء , which is the same phrase in Arabic.
I don't really like to venture into global politics, focusing more on things here at home, as I have a greater knowledge of Canadian issues. However, something in today's paper greatly upset me and I simply had to comment on it.

The problem is Iran although it could be any middle eastern country today. I chose the odd title of this article to reflect what is going on in that particular country at this moment. I have frequently been told by history professors that history does not repeat itself, but reading today's article in the National Post makes me question that. It seems that Iran is heading down the same path that Germany did 73 years ago. If there is one country that the entire world should be concerned about, it is Iran.

Iran has been in the news all too frequently lately. The issue has been their attempts to develope nuclear technology. The theocratic government of Iran seems all to egar to develop nuclear power, but for what purpose? It is feared that they will develope a viable nuclear weapon. Then there is their president, a Mr. Mahmound Ahmadinejad. He has an almost religious hatred toward Jews, has called the holocaust a hoax, and has stated that he wishes to wipe Israel off the face of the Earth. This is not to mention the human rights violations that he and Iran's theocratic leadership have committed against their own people.

The latest issue, as expressed in the National Post today is a law being put forward that would require all Jews and Christians living in Iran to ware a special badge that will indicate what religion they are. This law is expected to pass and could be put in place by early 2007. For those who paid attention in highschool history class, this was part of the infamous Nurmburg laws laid down by the Nazi Government against the Jewish people. This is truely frightening. Will the world be doomed to repeat World War II all over again? The way things are looking now with Iran, the answer is most certainly yes. Iran seems to be preparing for war, with it's numerous parades to show off military might (as Hitler and the Nazis also did) and it's determination to develope nuclear weapons technology. It truely is a scary prospect. World War III is coming, but can be stopped if we act now. The United Nations better get off it's fat arse and do what it is supposed to do. Sanction the country and help those out who are having their human rights violated. The actions of Iran cannot and must not be tolerated as they were with Hitler and Germany in the 1930s. This need not lead to war, but the world has to stand up and show the Iranian government who's the boss.

Iran is a fascist neo-Nazi state that hides behind a veil of "faith".

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Town Corruption Confirmed

I have finally uncovered proof that the Milton town council is involved in a corruption scheme. A relative of mine recently sent a letter into the Canadian Champion blasting the town for its handling of the new growth. We got quite a surprise when letters came from Mattamy Homes and Ward 4 councilor John Challinor. The letters were vary odd. Why would these two spend the time to track down my relative? These letters were not sent in confidence so I am free to critique them, which I belive is my duty as a quasi-journalist and political commentator.

It turnes out that developers are giving huge loans to the Town of Milton according to these letters. It's amazing how people start to slip up when the heat is turned on them. In other words, the housing developers are likely bribing the town to allow them to do as they please. Now, didn't we just have a whole debate and election over the same things at the federal level of government? This is highly unethical. The letters also read as though these two parties are attempting to cover something up. If I was upset at the town of Milton and its council before, I am furious now. There is not a single member of that council who deserves to be re-elected to office in November, especially now that some truths are coming to light. In the mean time, I will see if I can make an arrangement with my relative to have these letters published in the local paper. I feel all Milton residents deserve to know the truth.

I call on the councillor in question to resign immediately or face a huge backlash from angry Milton residents. As for the developer, you can pack up and leave town immediately. Even if each and every Milton resident has to put our pennies together to buy back the land, we will make sure you cannot build another house, not now, not ever.

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The Right to Bear Dogs?

Once again I must be vague about a certain person, so as I don't get accused of something, or sued for lible. This certain person is a high profile lawyer who is challenging Ontario's pitbull ban in the courts on the grounds of it being unconstitutional. Now I've read through the constitution and I've come to the conclusion that this particular lawyer obviously needs to go back to law school, no, make that highschool. There is nowhere in the constitution that states that the rights of citizens to bear dogs will not be infringed upon. Nor does it say that a law must be specific in order to be constitutional. So lets examine the dog owner's (a Toronto woman) and her lawyer's case further.

Lets see, everybody has the right to life, liberty, and security according to the the Constitution's list of legal rights.
-Is her life being infringed upon? No. She certainly is not going to die because of the law, unless the dog decides otherwise.
-Must be her liberty then? No. It's not like she's still free free to own the dog, but she must muzzle it and is liable if it attacks somebody.
-What about her security? Well, she claims the dog is "friendly" so it's obviously not being kept as a guard dog.

Ok, so she has no case under legal rights, but what about other rights?
Is she being discriminated against? No. Keeping the dog is not part of her religion and this woman is hardly keeping it for political protest or to express a belief. It's just a pet.

Simple put, this woman and her certain lawyer have absolutely no case against the Ontario government on the grounds of constitutional violations. To even make that accusation is purely ludicrous and a mockery of core Canadian values.

It is rare that I ever agree with Big D's Liberals, but I do on this one. The fact is that pitbulls are dangerous dogs. People usually only get them because a certain body part happens to be smaller than most others, and a pitbull makes them look tough. Most people in that situation usually just buy an huge SUV, but unfortunatley there are many Canadians who are not blessed with an abundance of intellegence.
There have been numerous stories about the dogs mauling children, other pets, and people to death, and needing to be shot dead before they let go. The dogs are genetically bred to fight so pain is almost orgasmic to them. This is why they won't stop attacking even if you bash them with a shovel as hard as you can. The dogs serve no use as pets and are dangerous around children and other animals. It is also important to note that the law covers all breeds of dogs. Pitbulls are bared from being bred or sold, must be fixed, and must be muzzled while out in public. Owners may also be liable if the dog attacks someone. However, this liability applies to all breeds of dog. Banning pitbulls may be the old stone keeping tigers away though process, but it does seem to be working. Even if the drop in attacks is just a coincidence, it is still important to keep this breed of dog out of society for a simple reason. Society need not pay for a person's bad choice in pets. If they want to keep the dog so badly, just move to a place where they are still legal.

I just have one last comment for this woman and her certain lawyer. Have fun in court, though I suggest you both brush up on the fundamentals of Canadian law first. I guess for a man trying to be the white Johnny Cochran, if the muzzle doesn't fit, you must aquit.

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Counting Yourself In... Again?

I'm probably the only person in Canada who thinks about this stuff, but is it just me or is the Census a colosal waste of government money? Every five years the government requires Canadians by law to fill out this form, but is it really necessary. The truth is no. Think about it. All that information is already logged somewhere in the vast servers of the government's computer library. Got a birth cirtificat or immigration landing papers? They've got that info too including country of origin. Tax forms list your income, who you work for, and how many people live in your home. They already know where you live or else the package wouln't reach your house. Other stuff that they sometimes ask such as ethnicity is really none of their business, although they can usually guess by name or examining country of origin on immigration papers. Education can be obtained by looking through school board records. The government already has all the information they need, and if lazy civil servants did some digging it could be obtained far easier than making citizens fill out more forms. If they already have everything they need to know, what's the point of asking again?

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Blowing Smoke

There has been a lot I want to take about this week. This entry will deal with that ever persistant debate over the legalization of marijuana. I for one am strongly opposed to this drug being legalized, or even decriminalized.

What really upset me was the protest held on Queen Park on this past weekend by a bunch of dazed and confused stoned hippies. They were all committing an illegal act while the cops just stood there doing nothing. They were protesting for the drug to be legallized.

I feel that we already have too many toxic subsistance in society that are legal. Look at all the people who smoke cigarettes and pop doctor perscribed happy pills to get themselves through the day. Does our society really need all these chemical substances to function? It is important to note that alcohol should be left out of the debate as certain alcoholic beverages such as red wine are beneficial and the fact that most people are not drinking to get a buzz.

Marijuana on the other hand is not a beneficial drug. People only smoke it to get high. I don't buy this medicinal crap either. If it's such a good pain killer, why not extract the active chemical and put it in pill form. Why, because it's not a pain killer. It just numbs the mind temporarily. I also don't buy the crap that it isn't addicted. I remember kids in highschool were addicted to it. Alcohol isn't physically addictive yet we have alcoholics. Marijuana is the same, it is a mental addiction. People's minds begin to crave it. I saw these kids go from being relatively bright melt into a false reality as the drug began to consume their lives. They disolve themselves into the drug culture and it becomes imposible for them to deal with their lives problems without some sort of chemical substance to perk them up or relax them. It's sad really.

But I digress. What really upsets me is the effects these people have had on our society. The selfishness of the high is destroying our civilization. They say that drugs do not hurt anybody or only hurt the person using them. This is perhaps the biggest understatement of all time. Tell that to all the people murdered because they were caught in the cross fire of gangs fighting over drug territory. Tell that to those killed in drug deals gone wrong. Tell that to the families who anguish because their loved ones were killed by these drug dealers or have fallen into the pits of dispair caused by the drugs.

Not let us not forget that drugs simply are not morally wrong. For every toke somebody takes, that costs society thousands of dollars. Thousands for police to catch the dealers, thousands the send them to jail, thousands to treat people in hospital who have ODed. People must learn to stop doing these drugs. So what should be done. First of all, I think we should eliminate jail sentences for drug possesion but rather require manditory drug rehabilitation in a secure treatment facility. We also need to crack down heavily on the dealers and throw them in jail longer. Let them know that society won't tollerate this. Legallizing weed or other drugs won't eliminate these problems as more people will only use it more, not to mention gangs smuggling it to the US. If Canada ever legalizes weed, I will leave this country as it will be one of the biggest mistakes we could ever make.

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Municipal Elections: When to Vote?

Dalton McGuinty has done it again. His foolish Liberal majority has passed a law requiring municipal elections to be held every four years, as opposed to the current three years. Once again nobody was consulted. I hope somebody has the guts not to allow this to become a reality (Mr Lieutenant Governor...).

Elections should be held more frequently in municipalities and here's why. First off, issues come up a lot faster at the local level. Citizens must have more chances to voice their favour or opposition to local policies. I think our current situation here in Milton attests to that. Would you like to see our corrupt town council sitting for four streight years not listening to you while spending your money on useless projects and handing over town control to developers. I think not. If it were up to me, I would hold municipal elections every two years. Don't give me this garbage that councilors need the extra year to complete goals. First of all, what goals? Secondly, working at a municipality is not like running a large territory like a province or country. Issues crop up a lot faster as I already mentioned and must be solved faster. People cannot just sit on their hands on these types of issues. If we allow councilors to stay in too long, they simply get too comfortable.

McGuinty, please retract this new policy. It doesn't help anybody.

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Developers: Get Out of Milton NOW!!!

I'm getting absolutely tired of this crap and I know many of my fellow Milton residents are too. I am demanding that all future development be restricted to Milton's east end and that all developers immediately leave the south and west ends. For nearly five years now, Milton residents have had to deal with a town run by corrupt developers and a corrupt town and regional council. During this time, the town has been allowed to crumble around us. Roads are a mess, buildings have been illegally destoryed, subdivisions have been illegally put up. All this is seems to go un-noticed by our town council. With the sheer amount of complaints, I am led to believe that there are shady deals being made behind closed doors between developers and those in town government. This must stop, NOW. I don't want to see the number of houses cut down by half or a quarter of the original number in the enviromnetally sensitive escarpment country, I want the number to be ZERO.

Developers, you are no longer welcome in this town and I suggest you leave as soon as possible before you face the wrath of thousands the original residents of this town who have been infuriated by your actions. I suggest Milton residents take a page out of the book currently being written by the First Nations in Caladonia if this does not stop soon.

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Thou Shalt Kill- But Only If You're Under 18

I question the purpose of having a law on the books that makes murder illegal. After all, this law certainly is not taken seriously in this country, along with many other so called 'indictable' crimes. This week, it was announced that a teen who killed another teen who had been protecting a pregnant friend would be receiving a 64-month sentance for the murder. He was convicted of manslaughter. In my opinion, if you have a knife and stab somebody repeatedly with it, that's not manslaughter as you obviously intended serious harm. That's second degree murder. They boy who was killed was unarmed and outnumbered too. Of course the killer's friends were highly delighted with the linient sentance. The person convicted, a Kimo George who is 18, will likely be out by his 21st birthday.

Once again, this brings the Youth Criminal Justice Act into serious question. It's not like a 16 year old does not know that a knife can seriously harm or kill somebody. It's not like the killer did not know that killing another person is wrong. So why are these youth being treated as if they didn't know? When a youth committs a summary crime, that's forgivable but not with an indictible crime. Youths charged with indictable crimes should be treated as if they were adults, and should be given adult charges and adult sentences. I do agree that those under 18 should serve in youth facilities. In adult facilities, impressionable youth can easily pick up the tricks of the criminal trade from their fellow inmates and fall into a life of crime. However, we must stop using the age excuse. If a kid does not know that indictable crimes are wrong by that age, perhaps they should be in a mental institution instead. It's also time to end this protection of names from the media by youths who commit criminal offences, as the public has the right to know.

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Voices of Canada

I have come to disagree with the limits being placed on the Media by Steven Harper. One such example is closing CFB Trenton when the bodies of the four soldiers who were killed in Afghanistan arrive. I can understand where they are coming from but I don't think this is right. They claim it is to protect the families but I think it's to prevent any political controversy.

Disallowing the media creates a certain level of mistrust and the Conservatives better open up soon or face a backlash at the next election.

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Flag Follies

Canada has a long list of problems, but what have the Liberals set as their proiority? An argument over whether the flag should be up or down on the peace tower.

There has been quite a bit of argument over whether the flag on the Peace Tower in Ottawa should be lowered to half mast. People believe it should be lowered to honor the four soldiers killed. The Conservatives do not want to lower the flag instead opting to remember them on November 11th, an 80 year old tradition.The Liberals have been quite upset claiming that the conservatives are going along on the Bush bandwagon and trying to downplay deaths.

This has been the topic of many radio and TV talk shows. Canadians per usual agree with the Liberals. However, soldiers do not. Most soldiers interviewed would rather keep this tradition of Rememberance Day arguing that it is a day where all men and women who died in battle are remembered equally.

Now Toronto's Mayor David Miller has come under fire for chosing to lower the flag at city hall. This has once again fueled the fires of Toronto centricism. Two of the men killed were from the GTA. Many believe that this would not have been so big of an issue if the soldiers had been from elsewhere in the country.

Do the Liberals really care about these men so much, no. Based on their terrible treatment of veterans in the past, such as the refusal to help pay for a monument at Juno Beach in Normandy for one. Then there was that piece of election propaganda that insulted veterals for political gains. The Liberals are simply back to their old games. They are using these poor men who fought and died for their country as a political football. They are doing this for the sole purpose of making the Conservatives look bad, since the Conservatives are gaining in the poles and the Liberals are falling far behind. Obviously the Liberals have not learned from the mistakes they made and the election hardly humbled them. Why do people keep voting for these sick, sleezy people?

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Time to Call In the Military

An short edition to my post earlier on the native protest. It is getting dangerous and it is time to call in the military to deal with them. This sort of action cannot be tolerated by anybody. The police cannot be left to deal with such a large force that intends to commit violent acts. If Canada keeps showing its weakness, it will be taken advantage of.

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Return "Their" Land?

One of the biggest topics in the news this week has been the native occupation of a consturction site in Caladonia, near the City of Hamilton. The land is intended to be used as a new housing development. They claim the land belongs to them.

This is another one of those topics that is difficult to discuss without sounding racisit but I can ensure my readers that that is not the goal here. The goal is to argue whether or not they deserve the land and criticise their actions and the actions of the government.

Do the native protesters in Caladonia believe the land belongs to them? Yes they do. Does it belong to them? No it does not. The land is not on the near by reserve and therefore they have no right to it. They have not purchased the land either. One can make all sorts of arguments about how we stole their land but things like that cannot apply anymore as that happened some 200-300 years ago when Canada was not even a country. Most of the people set to live in these new houses probably didn't even arrive into Canada until the 20th century so they cannot be blamed for the downfall of native society.

The problem here is that the Native communities seem to be involved in some ficticious war to protect something that is not theirs. They often turn violent as what happened yesterday. So how do we solve this problem. I have several proposals that I'm sure will not sit well with natives or Liberals.

First off, we need to eliminate the reserve system. I'm not saying that we should kick them off that land as they do own it. However, their time as wards of the state must end. It is a huge burden on the rest of Canada. It may not have been fair to them to have their land expropriated but it is not fair to me either. My parents are immigrants who came in the 1950s. No one in my family lived in Canada before them. Therefore why should I be punished for something that I and nobody in the entire history of my family took part in.

The natives even being declared wards of the state has also been extremely harmful to them, more harmful in fact that any land expropriation could have caused. They dislike the way the Department of Indian Affairs runs things but they have become addicted to the special funding and treatment they receive. Their culture and society lacks the encouragement that other cultures have received. Therefore my next proposal is to eliminate the Dapartment of Indian Affiars. Natives should not get special treatment but rather be included under multicultural policy. This cosntitutionally entrenched policy would allow them to practice, maintain, and expand their cultural traditions while allowing them to become active in the rest of Canadian society, as opposed to being outsiders in their own country.
If saying they lack they encouragement of other cultures and my demands to take away special treatments appears as racist, what about the current system. It treats them as being incapable of living like the rest of us, and therefore they must be babysat by the government. Canada's current system under the DIA basically treats natives as an inferior people who need to be protected from the big, bad world. At least the elimination of special treatments would make them equal members of society. In my opinion, to treat natives in the way they are currently being dealt with is un-Canadian. They should be treated no different as someone who is White, Black, Indian, Arab, Chinese, etc.

These proposals would not solve all native problems, but would certainly go a long way.

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Black Gold, Bad Business

What happens when you have a capitalist business who becomes anti-capitalist. One who breaks competition laws and brings down the economy. You have oil. Gas prices are on there way up again, but there's no Katrina this time to blame. For a industry that claims to be struggling due to damage to refineries and crisis in the middle east, they seem to be doing very well for themselves, making obsene profits. The problems is that they are harming other industries. Recently, American car company Chrysler lashed out at big oil for gouging consumers and hurting their industry. I agree with them on this. The price we are paying is not the true price but rather one resulting from collusion and back door dealing. Unfortunately, there seems to be no proof of this, accoding to our government, which is making an obsene profit for itself though gas taxes.

So what is a fair gas price. Well at today's oil prices, gas should be at 70 cents per liter. In itself, this price has been grossly over inflated from $20 per barrle in 2002 to $70 in 2006. It makes me wonder where all this oil that the US is supposedly stealing from the Iraqis is, as socialists claim. There are no oil shortages as big oil claims. In truth, they hold back production to jack prices up, then increase production slightly to drop them down a bit. Dumb consumers think they are getting a bargain and get used to paying the new higher prices. It's just toying with the simple supply and demand concept.

What makes matters worse is that high prices for oil are ruining other sectors of the economy. Businesses can no longer afford to ship goods so they must raise prices, making draining more from consumers who have less and less in their pockets after taxes. Businesses that rely on machinery such as construction and the automotive industry are seeing their profits dip. All this so a monopolistic and anti-capitalist industry can line its already stuffed pockets.

So what can be done. First off, the federal government should cut gas taxes immediately. Once a good has a specific tax levied on it, it becomes imposible for governments to regulate it. Take cigarettes for example. It's not as if the government is using these taxes to fix roads as the roads are crumbling even with record government incomes. Most of the money is wasted in some way or another to pay useless civil servants for busy work. Once a government has cut its addiction on taxes from that specific good, it becomes a whole lot easier to clamp down in order to protect consumers and other industries.

Next, we must find alternative fuel sources that cost less. They exist in the form of hydrogen power and alcohol based fuels. Money needs to be given to help develop a practical vehicle that runs off them. Hybrids are no good as they still use gasoline and often have grossly exaggerated fuel efficiency ratings.

Thirdly, we need to get rid of unnecessarily large vehicles. There are too many SUVs and minivans on the road that are being used for communter vehicles. They usually only have one person in them, and they usually are not hauling cargo. These vehicles are not safer nor better for families. I can fit just as much in the trunk of my compact car as most SUVs, and hold just as many passengers.

Next, transit efficiency must be drastically improved, especially in Ontario. People are not going to ride the bus or train if you keep raising ticket prices. They have to be a cheap and convinient way to work and play. First off, the GO line needs to increase the number of trains. By doing so, people will take them downtown instead of their cars for day trips. Cities must also make connecting bus routes with neighbouring cities, which is particularly lacking in the west end of the GTA.

It's time to take a bite out of big oil before our entire economy collapses under their games and greed. If it does, the 1930s will look like a walk in the park so lets stop that before it happens.

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McGuinty's Shocker

I have made several remarks that Dalton McGuinty should be recalled. The time has come for him to be removed from government.

This week, he has hiked electricity bills for consumers on average of 15%. This huge increase is another shot in the back against consumers who are already conserving but are still struggling to pay the bills. This is yet another proof that the man is not capable or running Ontario. %15 is not a small hike, but rather translates between $6-15 per month depending on where you live. Guess who will have the smallest increase. Toronto yet again. Toronto the biggest consumer of electricity in all of the province gets to pay less than smaller towns and cities.

McGuinty has already shown a poor track record of managing the power. First he closed coal plants, putting us in a shortage situation without plans to replace them. Next he forced people to pay $50 for his dumb (aka SMART) meters in order to squeeze more money out of consumers. If you refuse, they'll charge you a fee to read your meter each month. Next he gives the president of Hydro One an undeserved $500,000 raise, while most Ontarians don't even make one tenth of that. Now he forces consumers to fork over even more cash to pay the bills because of his closing of the coal plants.

Well Ontarians, it's your fault. You voted for change and you got it. Too bad it's not what you expected. That's what happens when you let the Fiberals take the reins. All is not lost though. Don't wait until 2007. Petition to recall McGuinty. Based how they've been working to destroy Ontario, don't give McGuinty's Liberals a single seat in the next election.

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