Jordan's Daily -- Almost!

Labour Day Signals Labour Unrest to Come

2010-09-07T18:56:00.000-04:00

Now that the summer vacation season is all but a warm and fuzzy memory, we’ll get back to our informative posts – from a brief summer break.

Speaking of summer vacation, yesterday’s Labour Day holiday across North America was the official last long weekend of summer.

I enjoyed it wandering around Canada’s largest fall fair, the Canadian National Exhibition – CNE – or just “the Ex” for locals in the Toronto area.
It sure felt like fall, it was unusually cold and wet seeing as the hot, sticky and dry weather we’ve had most of the summer.

Figures, the one day I spend all outside, it rains.

Going to the CNE is a Canadian tradition for many, and certainly it was for me. Every year I get up extra early on Labour Day, go out with friends to a local restaurant for breakfast, then head to the fall fair.

This was my first Labour Day at the Ex – I have gone during the Labour Day long weekend, but never ON Labour Day itself.

Maybe because it was the last day of the Canadian classic – the CNE has been around for 132-years – it was packed with people, despite the poor weather. I don’t think I’ve seen so many people at the Ex – ever.

While wondering around the CNE, I saw many wearing t-shirts sporting anti-government, pro-union messages like “Keep the TTC from falling into private hands, keep the TTC public” in reference to the potential privatization of Canada’s largest city’s transit system. Saw a button on someone that said: “Unions keep jobs in Canada.”

Maybe that was an old button from years ago, because even the largest unions haven’t prevented a slew of jobs from heading to other countries. In fact, more companies than ever are outsourcing to places outside North America.

It used to be that just big multinational companies could afford to farm out labour to cheaper third-world countries. Back in the 1990’s, big sporting giants Nike and Adidas drew bad press when the media reported they were using “sweatshops,” for much of their products sold in Canada and the United States.

According to the reports, some of these sweatshops were dirty, dungeon-like factories, employing even young children, in dangerous manufacturing jobs, which paid literally nickels and dimes an hour – if they paid. Some of the reports indicated that the people running these sweatshops withheld what little pay they provided, to ensure the poorly treated workers came back to work the next day.

Nike and Adidas quickly distanced themselves from the sweatshops, and went on a public relations mission to clear their names.

Funny, with all the outsourcing that happens now, we don’t hear much about the poor working conditions, the below average wages, or the inferior quality checks and balances anymore.

Well, we do hear about the poor quality of goods produced these days – just look at Toyota’s massive recalls, the tainted pet food from China, and the constant warnings from food and health agencies about fruit and vegetables with e coli, salmonella, or some other dangerous by-product of a society that rarely produces anything itself anymore.

Try and find something NOT made in China, India or somewhere else these days – go ahead and try.

Unions have their pros and cons, but job security ain’t one of ‘em.

What we need is for governments to take a stronger stand with companies that want to do business here in North America. If federal governments mandated that at least 70 percent of the products they sell in North America be made in North America by North Americans, with North American-made materials, then we’d have a start.

Problem is, governments over the past two-decades have been weak – no, they have intentionally pandered to the interests of companies instead of to the very people they serve – their citizens.

Government legislation over the past two decades provides for tax relief and grants for companies with offices here in North America, that have to bring in goods made elsewhere. This provides the illusion that just because the companies aren’t shutting down in Canada and the States, that their are still jobs here in Canada and the States.

But that’s just the government pulling the wool over our eyes – just look at our continuing to crumble economy, with job losses across every sector in Canada last month, except teaching (and that’s because September is back to school).
Our country’s leaders continue to brag about the economic recovery, and how they have taken steps to ensure our countries are world leaders in the new economy.

What our country’s leaders aren’t telling you is they’ve created – and continue to create and build – an economy that doesn’t include you.

Unless of course, you’re one of the few chosen to relocate to some distant land, to manage the production of goods and services elsewhere – then you really are one of the few lucky ones.

Chocolate Covered Bacon? Only in Canada, eh?

2010-08-21T10:00:00.001-04:00

Yesterday, Canada’s largest fall fair opened – the Canadian National Exhibition (CNE), a right of summer’s passage into fall long before most of us can remember.

From the usual midway rights, the sounds of hucksters peddling their midway games, the rides, the air show to the food, there is something special about the CNE which most Canadians fondly remember.

One year they served up pizza on a stick – looked too messy so I didn’t try it. Last year they had chocolate covered bacon – that just sounds gross.

Not to be out done, this year you can get something slightly healthier – deep fried butter. Well, okay, it might not be healthy at all, but I’m just curious how they are going to deep fry something that melts like – well butter.

Want something more meaty? Try a cheeseburger in a bag, also new this year.
What ever happened top good old burgers, fries, and ice cream cones?

Although “the Ex” as it has become known by locals in Toronto, Canada, has its fair share of unusual foods – they boast this year there are 22 items sold on a stick – there is something missing from CNE’s of the past.

When I was a kid, I remember going to the Food Building for lunch, and being amazed at all the different tastes. It was a multicultural smorgasbord from everywhere on the planet. They even gave out free samples!

For at least the past decade, if not longer, the Food Building has suffered the modernization of the rest of the world. Now it’s littered with big multinational fast food giants, national fast food chains. You can get burgers and fries, finger licking chicken, and pizza from all the big fast food vendors.

Probably why the mom and pop shops can only survive at “the Ex” by offering wild concoctions like deep fried butter, and pizza on a stick.

Oh well, at least they still sell the classic ice cream waffles, beaver tails, and the ultimate fall fair treat – cotton candy.

Work Life Balance Doesn’t Exist in Canada

2010-08-20T10:00:00.001-04:00

A recent study by an Ontario college says over a third of Canadians spend 10 hours or more at work (though those hours also include the travel time to and from that work).

Everest College in Toronto claims Alberta has the most dedicated workers, with 44 percent of those surveyed saying they spend 10 or more hours per day on office related tasks. Manitoba and Saskatchewan tied at 39 percent, while Ontario and the Atlantic province came in at 38 percent. The west-coast is often mocked for it’s casual hippie-type lifestyles, but maybe that image is true, as only 28 percent of people surveyed from British Columbia said they spend 10-plus hours per day at the office.

Funny thing, when computers were just beginning to enter homes back in the 1980’s, futurists, technological gurus, and computer geeks everywhere were saying that those magic mechanical boxes of blinking lights and whirling noises were going to cut the amount of time spent at work. Some even boldly declared we’d have four-day work weeks by the dawn of the new millennium.

I should have known that was flawed, when 1999 rolled over into 2000, and although everyone was worried about the dangers of Y2K, the work week still was five long, laborious days.

Computers actually in more instances than not, INCREASED our amount of time at the office. They constantly fill our minds with emails, instant messages, and manage our overflowing voice-mails. Instead of walking over to our colleague’s desk to discuss that new report, we just send it through email – and in turn, that once 25-page report comes back to us through email, often hundreds of pages more, and requiring a read through.

Thanks to computers, we can work at home – many offices have secure networks you can link to, and our voice networks – run by computers – allow us to call into conference calls from anywhere around the world.

That also means we can be reached at anytime, anywhere by work. How many of you have taken your office-issued BlackBerry or other smart phone with you on vacation, only to find yourself reading and responding to work related emails?

And if your co-workers can email you even when you are on vacation, they can call you too. “Just email that contract to my BlackBerry, I’ll sign it right away.”

As the labour market continues to shift from an employee-based one, towards contract and temporary consultant-based, more people are burning the midnight oil at the office.

Companies generally don’t care if they burn out a contracted consultant, they don’t have to pay for your benefits, so if you get sick or develop psychological issues from being constantly under the gun, it’s no skin off their back. Need to take time off to deal with that overtime-related stress? Doesn’t bother your “employer” – contractors don’t generally get sick days, extended medical coverage, or other benefits, so it won’t cost your boss anything if you take it off. Worse still, consultants only get paid for the time they spend working, so anytime of is lost wages.

And as more and more full-time staff jobs are lost in the new economy, there are suddenly a whole lot more people willing to work those excessive inhumane hours, just to keep a roof overhead, and food in their tummies.

Statistics Canada’s employment numbers for this month weren’t very good – the Canadian government department which keeps tabs on these things says the economic recovery has slowed down, as thousands more full-time permanent jobs have disappeared, most likely forever.

This tosses fear into the working world, causing those with staff jobs to do whatever it takes – even if it means working more hours than are healthy – in the hopes that our employers will spare our jobs from the cutting block.

And so continues the cycle of constantly increasing working days, and shorter recovery times.

Time for a break . . . I think . . .

Canadian Politics Taking Ugly Tone of American Electioneering

2010-08-19T21:24:00.000-04:00

Want to be mayor of Canada’s largest city? Hope you don’t have a past, because it’ll come out and that’ll be it – no mayor’s office for you.

Or at least that’s what’s going on in Toronto, Canada, where candidates are fighting an ugly battle for a municipal election this coming October.

Today, long-time Toronto councillor Rob Ford held a press conference to spill the beans on his impaired driving and having an illegal substance charge. While he was in the United States over a decade ago, he got pulled over and was charged for failing to take a breathalyser and for having a joint in his pocket.

The drug charge was dropped, but he admits to doing community service for the DUI charge.

So what? Are we seriously going to deny a man a job because of something stupid he did in his youth? Don’t we all make stupid decisions at some point in our youth? I sure know I did. That’s all just part of growing up.

But leave it to Toronto’s media – and this is even playing on national and some international wires – to play this story up as if it were the be all and end all for deciding who should run Canada’s largest city.

Not that I’m all too happy with the selection – in my not so humble opinion, none of the candidates has convinced me that they deserve the big lofty office, huge mayoral salary, and prestige of being in charge of the country’s economic engine.

I’m sure all the candidates running are really great people, but if the best they can come up with is trumping up ghosts from their competitor’s past, they really don’t know what the needs and wants of the people are, and shouldn’t be running the show.

Actually, this whole story stinks of American political campaigns, where campaign managers do whatever it takes to make their competition look outright evil.

We Canadians are supposed to be better than that, peaceful, overly polite. Yes we need to debate the issues, but those issue stretch far deeper than the colourful past of a handful of players.

Too bad the wanna-be mayors of Toronto, Canada just don’t get that.

Experienced Cop Shoots Self in Foot Raises Questions About Public Safety

2010-08-17T10:00:00.001-04:00

An experienced police officer in Canada’s largest city accidentally shot himself in the foot during a routine training exercise yesterday, making you wonder just how safe it is to have this fellow wandering the streets with a gun.

The 33-year-old police officer’s gun accidentally went off as he put it back in his holster, after a gun range exercise at the Toronto Police College, in Toronto, Canada.

Rest assured, the cop is going to be okay, according to police, he was alert and breathing when taken to hospital, with non-life-threatening injuries. All that appears to really have suffered his is pride.

Or more likely, the public’s perception of just how safe it is to have gun wielding cops in the city.

All of “Toronto’s finest” have to go through the yearly gun range drills to carry their firearm – even the highest cop in the land, the chief must do the annual gun range.

Yet, there is no word as to what happens when a police officer – especially an experienced one – fails the drill.

Not that we are questioning the need for law enforcement officers to protect themselves and the public by carrying guns. One of the unfortunate ills of our modern society is the level of weaponry criminals have at their disposal – from pistols and sawed off shotguns, to fully automatic weapons with armour piercing rounds – crime reports read like movie scripts, but the firepower is anything but fiction.

However, when an experienced cop shoots himself during a regular drill, one must question just how effective the training is?

Most police in cities and towns across North America never have to draw their weapon. And those that have, often say they never want to do that ever again.
But when a police officer holsters his or her sidearm before heading out on their shift, we trust that police officer knows how to use that sidearm impeccably well. Because all it takes is one mistake, and innocent lives could end instantly.

We wish the officer from the Toronto Police Service well, and hope he gets better soon. And we hope that this incident alerts the top brass at that police service that maybe, just maybe, they should take a long, hard look at their weapons training program, to make sure embarrassing incidents like this don’t turn into public tragedies.

The Real Humanitarian Thing to do is Often Just Say NO

2010-08-16T10:00:00.001-04:00

Last week, a rag-tag cargo ship with almost 500 Tamils from Sri Lanka docked at a Canadian Navy base in British Columbia. The people on board were trying to sneak into Canada undetected, but thankfully our authorities were more than aware of their presence.

Many of the 490 people on the ship were sick, and carrying highly deadly and infectious diseases. Had they managed to cross into Canada undetected, they would have put many lives at risk.

They are all claiming refugee status, saying that they fled their homes because their lives were in danger.

Federal and local authorities are investigating as to whether the cargo ship is part of a people smuggling operation linked the Tamil Tigers, a terrorist organization which has been banned in Canada, the States and many other western countries.

People smugglers often lure poor people in third world countries to first world countries (such as Canada and the States), saying for a small percentage of their earnings, they will earn their citizenship. However, once here, these unsuspecting people find themselves working in prostitution, drug trafficking, weapons shipping, or as slaves to crime family members, for little or no pay.

Today, rumors spread as other cargo ships, crammed with men, women and children – there were 50 children on the ship that docked last week – are en-route to Canada, all aboard seeking illegal entry.

Canada is known for being very friendly to people from all over the world who want to call this place home. We rarely turn away anyone, so why then, would people who wish to live here try to sneak in?

Granted, the immigration procedure to get into Canada, as with most things run by the government, is a long and tedious process – as it should be.

We have to look out for ourselves – as the Canadian Border Patrol can attest too, letting in people who carry infectious diseases could cripple this country.

Those who bring with them weapons banned here could endanger the lives of all around them. And then there are those who are terrorists or human traffickers, bringing people in to run their crime syndicates.

Clearly, there is more here than just rubber stamping everyone that claims refugee status into the country.

Granted not everywhere around the world enjoys the freedoms we have here, but that doesn’t make it right for unscrupulous souls to sell over-priced admission on cramped ships, to sneak others into the country.

Anytime you have to sneak into something, chances are it just isn’t right.

There are Canadian embassies the world over, even in war torn Sri Lanka where the latest boatload of refugee claimants originated. The right way to come to Canada, is through official channels.

You don’t barge into someone’s home unannounced, expecting to be welcome with open arms. Why should we expect any less from those seeking to come to our country?

The Canadian government should do the right thing – check on the medical needs of all those who were on the ship, to ensure their medical needs are looked after. And then, they should be sent back to Sri Lanka, and instructed on how to apply to come here the legal and proper way.

By doing this, we aren’t shirking our humanitarian responsibilities, yet we aren’t allowing others to walk over our openness and acceptance of others either.

This Alma Matter Doesn’t Matter

2010-08-10T19:41:00.000-04:00

One of the most influential times in a young person’s life, is attending university – or at least it was for me.

And NO, I’m not talking about the academic side of the coin – although that too is very important. I’m talking about all the other things that matter – like hanging out with classmates at the campus pub and debating some big mind over matter problem, joining a club or sporting event, or kissing the prof’s butt to get a good grade.

I never did the last item on that list. Honest.

But whatever you do aside from reading books, listening to professors with bated breath, or writing essays and exams, university life gives young people a chance to explore who they really are, so they can become somebody in our crazy world.

That’s what I took away from my university days. I’d never have been what I am now, had I not had that amazing opportunity.

So whenever I hear about something from my alma matter, my ears perk up. Even more so when there is something big and impressive happening on my former university campus.

Which just so happened this past weekend – I attended the Rogers Cup Tennis tournament held at the Rexall Tennis Center at York University.

Even back in the day when I was a student, they held part of the Canadian national tennis tournaments at my school.

Every summer they alternate between the men and the women’s tennis between Toronto and Montreal. This year it was the men’s tournament, so big name tennis celebs like Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Daniel Nestor were lobbing and volleying on the courts here in Toronto. In Montreal, big name women’s tennis players this year include Serena and Venus Williams, Justine Henin and Maria Sharapova.

Just my luck, it rained for most of the day, but that wasn’t my big gripe. I was extremely proud, and maybe even a little teary-eyed as I stepped foot on my old university campus’ grounds. Fond memories of a time long ago, which led to me being who and what I am surfaced, and even despite the rain, it felt good to be there.

And you’d figure, with the world’s sport media in attendance, people from all over the world flooding the university campus, and even some non-tennis celebs wandering around to take in the matches, my university would be beaming proud.

They certainly beam when it comes time to remind me about donating to the alumni fund several times a year. I do participate in alumni events – I love my school.

But this year, there wasn’t much well-deserved beaming from my school – it was as if they just didn’t care.

There were big corporate logos plastered everywhere from all the media, private company and government sponsors – but the host facility, MY UNIVERSITY wasn’t being promoted. Not in the literature being handed out, the logos everywhere you looked, nadda, nothing.

I was very disappointed – especially in York University’s marketing program. If they can’t take advantage of an opportunity right on their doorstep, what good are they?

But I was even more disheartened by the greed of the big corporations which did get their logos everywhere, but kept the host’s logo out.

It was like barging into someone’s private party, and leaving without even thanking the host.

Years ago, Tennis Canada, which organizes the event, threatened York University to get a bigger stadium. When I was a student, the event went on at the National Tennis Center at York University, which saw the likes of legendary tennis players Bjorn Bork, John McEnroe, Ivan Lendl and others over the years.

Tennis Canada threatened to pull the event out of York University, if the university didn’t provide the pompous national tennis association a new stadium.

Sadly, York University caved, and built the spectacular venue which now houses the event – there are several indoor courts, along with the main stadium court, which dwarfs similar venues.

In the process of providing the land, and part of the funding for building their precious new stadium, Tennis Canada dropped the “at York University” from the name.

Guess having it named after a chain of Canadian drug stores – it is now known as the Rexall Tennis Centre – is more worthwhile, because big drug companies provide far more to society than a university.

I don’t know who I’m more frustrated with – my university for selling out, the big greedy corporations for buying out the space, or Tennis Canada for their part in ignoring their more than accommodating host.

But then these days, nothing is spared the corporate greed of bribery for naming of a sports stadium. There’s the Staples Center, The Rogers Centre, The Air Canada Center and many more.

It’s just strikingly sad when nothing is safe from being branded.

Are You Old Enough for an Autobiography?

2010-08-04T16:43:00.000-04:00

Are you 16 or older? Okay, then you too can have your own movie about your life. Just ask Justin Bieber – the Canadian pop singer’s management recently announced work on his life story will be made into a move – NO WAIT – a 3D movie – of all things.

Justin Bieber is only 16-years-old – which begs the question, just how old do you have to be to have enough life experiences for a movie?

Though there have already been autobiographical books of Miley Cyrus and she’s only a year older than Bieber. Though a biographical book I saw on Cyrus was filled mostly with full color pictures showing the teen idol on the set of her SITCOM, which is slated to end this season.

And her one-hit-wonder-dad, country music singer Billy Rae Cyrus plays her dad on the TV show. Gee, that must be really tough, playing daughter to your real-life dad?

Some celebrities have been long gone before anyone makes a movie about their lives. Internationally known singer Ray Charles died during the making of his biopic movie, he was 73.

Canadian jazz legend Oscar Peterson lived to be 82, yet no one put his life story down until he was well over 70.

And no one ever questioned the talents of Ray Charles or Oscar Peterson– any music historian will boast for hours of the importance to music both artists left behind.

But baby-faced Justin Bieber is just that – baby-faced. Sure he draws in throngs of young teenage girls, yelling and screaming his name. But has Justin Bieber actually contributed something no one else has to his art?

Has he broken down the walls of racism and discrimination – like Ray Charles? Has he invented new sounds and new ways to express those never before heard of, like Oscar Peterson?

The King of Pop – Michael Jackson – lived a short life, but unquestionably made great contributions to his art. From his trademark dance moves, to his storybookish lyrics which helped re-invent MTV through his mini-movie-like music videos, again, no one can question his invaluable contributions to pop music.

Aside from causing teenage girls hormones to race – which isn’t all that hard seeing as most teenagers have raging hormones – just what exactly has Justin Bieber done to deserve a movie about his life?

Not that Bieber one day may make a great and important contribution to pop music, on par with the likes of Michael Jackson, no one can predict the future. And if that one day does come, by all means, spend millions using the latest technology to make a movie about his life.

But so far, this whole biopic movie smells like a get-rich-while-he’s-hot attempt by his handlers, instead letting him develop and grow into someone worthy of telling their life story on the big screen.

The Smarter the Phone The Bigger the Genie in the Bottle

2010-08-03T12:20:00.000-04:00

Recently politicos in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) announced a ban on email, text messages and web surfing from all BlackBerry smart phones in their country.

UAE placed the ban on Canadian-based Research in Motion (RIM) BlackBerry smart phones, because they cannot monitor email, text or web browsing, their highly regulated digital universe.

RIM is known for producing one of the most secure networks for any mobile device -- all BlackBerry information is funnelled through RIM’s own highly encrypted and secure servers, unlike Apple’s iPhone and Google-based Android smart phones, which depend on local cell phone carriers for data transfer and encryption services.

Controversy surrounding the state and freedom is nothing new – some of the greatest thinkers of our time have had clashes on their views from the state.

Copernicus faced excommunication from the Catholic Church, when he announced his discovery that the Earth wasn’t the center of the universe as was the populist thought back in the 16th century. Although he was right that the Sun was the center of the universe, and the Earth and all the planets rotated around the Sun, Copernicus was shunned by many – if BlackBerrys existed back then, his would have probably been bugged.

These days, when governments censor digital communications, they do so at the risk of turning back time on their citizens.

Just look at Google’s battle with China over censorship. Google threatened to pull out of China completely, unless the Chinese government backed off.

For most of us in North America, we couldn’t imagine a world without Google – it is the world’s largest Internet search engine.

UAE’s attempts to control BlackBerry communications are just another attempt by an overly powerful government to keep their citizens in the Dark Ages, by keeping technological genies in bottles out of the country.

Government officials in UAE claim they put the ban on the BlackBerry – which takes effect this October – because they can’t monitor email, text messages and web surfing patterns for illegal activities on it thanks to the highly secure RIM servers.

RIM says they are working with UAE officials to minimize the effects of the ban and perhaps have the ban lifted.

Saudi Arabia announced they too are also considering a ban on smart phone communications, and who knows what other dictatorships down the road may do so as well.

There is no word yet from the Chinese government on if they too are planning bans on smart phone communications, however if their recent and very public fight with Google are any indication, chances are they will jump onto the bandwagon.

The problem here isn’t just between private corporations like RIM and governments, the problem here is a global problem of epic proportions.

Yes, here in North America, and much of the Western World, we enjoy freedom of expression thanks to our open society. But isn’t it about time our world leaders took a more aggressive stand against other countries which trump their citizens freedoms?

Isn’t it about time our politicians stood up for the rights and freedoms of those who don’t have freedom to chat, text, email – essentially the freedom to think and express those thoughts?

Our digital world is making it harder and harder for political systems which rely on fear and domination – as it should. Now that we have the technology to break down these barriers, isn’t it about time our political leaders use that as a stepping stone to do just that?

Part of Apple’s Dictatorship Smashed By U.S. Court

2010-07-28T15:11:00.000-04:00

This week, the American Copyright Office ruled that “jailbreaking” your iPhone doesn’t violate the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DCMA), breaking Apple’s strong-arm tactics to keep iPhone applications – often called “apps” – under the computer company’s control.

Prior to the American government ruling, Apple’s iPhone wouldn’t allow you to properly install “apps” which Apple didn’t sanction.

Thanks to the American ruling, Apple no longer can use the DCMA to control what you do and don’t do on your iPhone. However, Apple still has the ability to deny warranty coverage on iPhones which have been set to run non-Apple approved applications, and may be able to sue iPhone users for attempting to reverse engineer their iPhone.

Whether Apple intends this sort of action is still up in the air, as the latest legal developments could be viewed as a precedent which would further erode Apple’s dictatorship-approach to the iPhone, and it’s other technologies.

What would have happened if Microsoft took the same approach to Windows-based Personal Computers? What if Microsoft only allowed Microsoft approved applications be run on Windows-based machines?

Chances are, we’d still be in the dark ages, running computers with teeny hard drives, barely any memory and the Internet – ROTFL – that woudn’t exist.

By allowing software developers the freedom to explore the digital wonders their minds can concieve, we open up a whole new technological universe. Apple claims its restrictions on its hardware and software maintains a high quality user experience, while minimizing the risks from viruses and malware.

Granted, having Big Brother watching over every single application which is in development may help prevent viruses and malware, but it won’t eliminate it completely. Smart phone malware is still relatively new, and potentially devastating. Clicking on a link in a text message from someone you think is sending you a link to their resume might actually download your complete address book to some hell-bent hacker who giddy with delight at receiving a new batch of victims, spams their smart phones.

And not all the “apps” denied approval by Apple are dangerous. Google Voice was never approved by the wanna-be computer gods at Apple, yet this proven technology by the largest search engine on the planet is in use by millions around the world.

Some smart iPhone users found a way to beat Apple at its own game, and figured out how to hack into the iPhone’s file system, unlocking the device so it would run “apps” which didn’t have an Apple-approved digital signature.

Unlocking of the iPhone to run non-Apple approved “apps” is ironically called “jailbreaking” as you are breaking the smart phone out of Apple’s jail.

Apple, not surprisingly, is advising users against jailbreaking their iPhones, claiming it may cause performance issues.

The only performance issues experienced by the estimated four-million iPhone users already using “apps” which Apple has not approved is the freedom to use their iPhone as they want too.

A Box On Wheels – Recalled

2010-07-27T17:07:00.000-04:00

I never did like the Nissan Cube hatchback. The vehicle looks like a box on wheels, but must appeal to some, because 51, 100 of them in North America have been recalled due to excessive fuel leakages during a rear collision.

The American National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) says more fuel spills out during a rear-end crash than American standards allow. The vehicle is also known for being spun right onto its side in such a collision – though Nissan’s voluntary recall is only for the fuel problem.

One wonders just how safe this box on wheels really is, if an American safety standards test can toss it about like a tin can?

Maybe the NHTSA is giving the automakers a break? After all they have already endured far more recalls in the past two-years than in the entire history of the automobile. I mean safety isn’t really a big issue – that’s what air bags, seatbelts, and simply looking before you leap come into play.

It’s not as if Nissan is intentionally selling an unsafe vehicle just to make a buck.

Or is it?

The American government’s NHTSA has conducted the standard barrage of tests on the Nissan Cube hatchback, and concluded that the vehicle and its occupants can very well find themselves on their sides in the NHTSA’s standard 80 KM/HR rear-end crash test.

That’s just the car I want! Where can I line up?

Though I suppose anyone thinking this fashion trend box on wheels – it’s supposed to be a crossover between a minivan and a compact hatchback – might enjoy the ride from the side. The vehicle’s demographics are the young, hip and trendy recent college graduate crowd.

Whether or not those young, hip and trendy grads will survive their chosen vehicle-slash-fashion statement remains to be seen.

But hey, it only took Toyota about ten years to come clean and admit that deaths a decade ago were caused by poorly manufactured cars. Wait another decade and maybe we’ll know just how safe this box on wheels really is.

Sheesh – whatever happened to quality in today’s automotive world?

What’s In a Face?

2010-07-26T13:32:00.000-04:00

That may be the question of the future, as medical experts conduct more face transplants.

Today, the world’s first full face transplant recipient – identified only as “Oscar” – showed off his new face at a press conference at a Spanish hospital.

Last March, over 30 doctors at the University Hospital Vall D’Hebron in Barcelona, Spain worked on “Oscar” whose face was severely injured in an accident.

The surgeons transplanted the entire facial skin and muscles, including the nose, lips, cheekbones, even the complete mouth, including the palate and teeth.

The full face transplant took just over 24 hours of surgery, and months of recovery.

Partial face transplants had successfully been done previously in France, China, the United States and Spain.

Organ donation has always been a controversial topic, but now may be reaching new levels of complexity. When an organ donor provides a much needed heart or liver to a person in need, the chances of the donor’s friends and family recognizing him or her are seldom to none.

In fact, one of the golden rules of organ donation is the donor’s family and friends are never told the name of the person or persons receiving the life-saving organs.

But a face – a human face – is perhaps the most common way we recognize one another.

Imaging walking down the street only to be shocked to see your deceased best friend stroll past? The thought is enough to send ghostly shivers up one’s spine.

Is it right to transpose another person’s likeness – their face – upon someone else? If we were able to alter the original face, how much is enough – and is this even ethically correct? Should the family and friends of the donor be told who the recipient of the new face is ahead of time? Should the donor’s family and the recipient’s meet – and if so, do either party have a vote in whether or not to proceed?

As modern medicine constantly amazes with new ways to mend us, we as a society will have to tackle the complex philosophical and ethical questions about the nature and value of these modern medicinal cures.

Bikes VS Cars – Ride or Drive

2010-07-22T16:56:00.000-04:00

There has been much debate in the mayoralty races in Canada’s largest city regarding the best way to get around town.

Some local wanna-be mayors are in full favour of adding bike lanes to busy Toronto streets, while others are opposed.

Those for them say they make it safer for cyclists, as it provides a lane dedicated to their chosen mode of transportation.

Those against say it takes away a lane from drivers, adding to traffic congestion.
Cycling in Canada isn’t a year-round method of travel. There are those brave – some might say crazy – souls, that will peddle their way around town in -30C wind chills, through the snow-covered streets in our typically Canadian winters.

However, even these rare cyclists aren’t able to hit their bikes during an ice-storm – it’s physically impossible to get enough traction on a standard bicycle when the sidewalks, walkways and roads are pure sheets of ice.

Cycling in Canada sadly is limited to the warmer months – spring, summer and fall. And even in these months, the challenges of Canadian weather can force even the most die-hard cycling enthusiast into a climate controlled car.

Try explaining to your potential employer why you are soaked, as you slosh into your chair during a job interview.

But does that mean we shouldn’t be investing in alternative modes of transportation for our urban centers?

Cycling is good for the environment, is good for exercise, and takes up a much smaller footprint on our streets, meaning it is generally better for traffic flow.

On top of all that, cycling doesn’t require oil-based fossil fuels from environmentally uncaring companies like British Petroleum (BP). BP still hasn’t fully stopped their leaking oil well which began polluting thousands of miles of wetlands along the Gulf of Mexico back in April. Scientists say it could take decades before the area is fully restored to what it was before the oil spill.

Not to single out BP – though it isn’t hard to do as their lack of planning is quite evident in their mismanagement of their own product’s storage, refinement and transportation. Other oil companies have had environmental accidents – some resulting in disasters like BP. Prior to BP’s fiasco in the Gulf, Exxon was known for its mega-oil tanker leak the Valdez in 1989 where about 750,000 barrels of crude oil slunk across Alaska to California.

Yes, taking away a lane of traffic from cars will aggravate drivers – as it should.
If more of us got pissed off at the cyclist whizzing past us, as we sat idling in our gas-based polluting automobiles, then maybe more of us would switch to cleaner peddle-power.

Unfortunately, many big city dwellers just curse, swear, and sometimes intentionally cut-off cyclists because they don’t see eye-to-eye with them. Road rage between a driver and a cyclist is never pretty. But in many instances it can be prevented by having a lane dedicated to cyclists.

And that’s why we need more – not less – bike lanes in all our towns and cities.

Canada’s Largest City Running Out of Numbers

2010-07-21T13:33:00.001-04:00

According to the Canadian Radio-television Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) – the Canadian government department responsible for managing everything communication – Toronto will run out of phone numbers in five years.

The original Toronto area code of 416 is almost completely used up, and the newest area code for the city – 647 – only has about 2.5 million numbers left.
Canadian area codes typically have 7.5 million unique numbers.

So yesterday, the CRTC says that the Canadian Numbering Administrator – yes there is such a thing – is looking into the creation of yet another area code for the country’s largest city.

What gives?

There are about 2.5 million residents in Toronto -- 2,503,281 as of the latest 2010 Statistics Canada numbers to be official. The entire Greater Toronto Area (GTA) which includes the municipalities immediately surrounding the city (including Toronto’s population) is about 4.4 million people.

DO the math – Canadian area codes have 7.5 million numbers – wait a sec . . . the CRTC says we are running out of numbers, yet the population hasn’t met demand?

Guess some people just can’t put down their technological toys – some of us have two or more cell phones. It isn’t all that uncommon to have a cell for work and another for personal use. Some even have a different cell for their car.

Some people even have an old style cell phone and a smart phone. They keep their old phone because – well – I don’t really know – but they do – OKAY?!?!?

Why someone needs more than one personal communications device is beyond me. Unless you’re leading a double life.

That might be fun . . . or not . . .

Though we can’t blame the lone mobile phone or our new dependence on the BlackBerry and other smart phones for our overuse of the telephone system.

Many people have more than one landline-based phone at home – say a voice line and a fax line. Some people even get their teenagers their own landline, so that they never have to hear what my mom always yelled at me when I was a kid: “get off the phone!”

Offices and other businesses account for a huge toll in the telephone numbers game. According to a 2007 study at the time, there were 75,500 businesses in Toronto. Each business can have multiple numbers – so an office with a few hundred employees could have a few hundred voice numbers – or more.

And don’t forget facsimile machines. Although instant messaging and email have quickly become the dominant person-to-person communications systems thank to the Internet, most businesses still have fax capabilities. And for every fax machine, there are . . . JUNK FAXES.

It’s remarkable – and sad – that in this day of environmentalism, thoughts of greening the planet, and saving forests by using less paper, some businesses still think the best way to do business is by blasting their unwanted advertising to the masses by fax.

Some business leaders just aren’t very good leaders.

On average, most Canadians have three phone numbers – work, home and cell. So multiply 2.5 million by three, and you get 7.5 million – exactly the number of unique possible phone numbers in a Canadian area code.

Cool math.

City of Toronto Spends Over $400,000 on Crap

2010-07-20T14:19:00.002-04:00

It took just two months for Canada’s largest city to flush CDN$400, 000.00 down the drain. That’s the amount it cost to put a fully self-cleaning pay toilet in downtown Toronto. Two months and about 3,500 flushes later, it is now out of order.

Apparently, the automatic device that pulls the seat into the wall after each use for cleaning has malfunctioned, so the city’s first high-tech pay toilet is now broken.

What a waste of taxpayer dollars – granted having your own private air conditioned room to do your business sounds pleasant. And sometimes you can’t always find a clean public washroom when you need one.

However, it would have cost a lot less to hire a handful of cleaners to improve the city’s public toilets already available throughout the city, or even to simply slap on a new coat of paint to the older washrooms.

Granted, there is a certain “wow” factor associated with new high tech toys – and I suppose a high tech self-cleaning toilet is no exception.

And the city is hoping to recoup some of its costs through advertising in and on these things – they’ve partnered with Astral Media (which owns the Movie Network and other media holdings) to install 20 automated toilets across the city.

However, at a mere quarter-a-use, the unit has only made about CD$875.00, and is now going to cost some more coins to repair.

Maybe the city’s first automated public toilet is just a lemon, and this first repair is only a fluke. Or, maybe it is a sign of the poor quality of the product, and just the first of many costly repairs – to an already costly publicly-funded venture?

Either way, Canada’s largest city is in the hole.

The Best Way to Green the Planet -- Mentally

2010-07-19T12:19:00.001-04:00

A recent survey by Colliers International ranked the most expensive places to park.

Topping the list, is London, England where residents pay on average US$933 per month, while the average parking fees people in Hong Kong pay aren’t far behind – it came in second on the most expensive places to park list – at US$744.72.

Some places didn’t seem all that bad, residents in Kitchener-Waterloo, Ontario, Canada only pay on average US$116.94 per month to park their vehicles. The most expensive Canadian city? Calgary, Alberta at US$453.38 – and Calgary is the only Canadian location to make the top ten of the international most expensive places to park.

Today’s press will no doubt focus on how ridiculous it is to pay these prices for parking. They’ll probably do what journalists call “streeters” – those one-line sound bites from passersby on the street, getting reactions from angry drivers.

However, the municipalities which made the list should be congratulated, despite complaints from local drivers.

Whether you drive a Hummer in mid-town New York – the most expensive place to park in the United States – or a Lorry in London, UK – the most expensive place to park in the world – parking fees should be high.

Higher parking fees discourage people from driving in major urban centers, reducing the amount of vehicles in confined city spaces. Not only will this reduce commute times, thanks to the reduction in overall traffic, but all those nasty greenhouse gases spewed out from those vehicles is reduced too.

What a hassle – you say – how am I to go anywhere?

You’ll find a way.

We always do.

As more buildings a jammed into our already overcrowded urban areas, there are fewer and fewer spots to park. This generally increases the costs associated with parking, which is a good thing.

It forces people to think of alternative modes of transportation – such as taking public transit, riding a bike, walking, or if a car is absolutely required, car pooling.

Ironic how environmental disasters like British Petroleum’s oil slick in the Gulf of Mexico bring attention to the need for more green solutions, but what really brings about change is our own discomfort.

As parking spots in our urban centers are eaten up by newer developments, bringing even more people into the urban centers with cars and trucks, it constantly takes longer and longer to circle the block looking for a parking spot.

As those parking spots are increasingly rare, the cost to use them constantly increases.

Both the high fees and the hassle of finding a spot to park work on us psychologically, forcing us to think of other ways to get around.

Maybe the solution to our dependence on fossil fuels lies in our minds?

Is BP Intentionally Stalling for It’s Own Good?

2010-07-15T11:27:00.001-04:00

This morning, British Petroleum (BP) said it’s latest scheme to end the oil slick gushing into the Gulf of Mexico for the past 12-weeks is on hold, because of a leaking pipe.

If it isn’t one thing, it is another – for 12-weeks – that’s over three-months – since the April 20 explosion which killed 11 people on the BP oil rig, and has been unleashing a torrent of toxic oil into ecosystems stretching thousands of kilometres.

The latest efforts to repair the deep drilled oil well – so deep even military divers can’t get down there, only robots can handle the pressures at those depths – was supposed to be “the” fix to finally stop the oil.

Less than 12-hours after it began, this fool-proof fix made fools of us all.

Or did it?

Granted, BP’s stock price has ridden the ups and downs of this fiasco, the company has had to shell out billions of dollars, and even took a very public dressing down from the most powerful man in the world – American President Barack Obama.

However, as the old saying goes, any press, is good press.

Despite the negative comments hurled at BP for creating the world’s worst human-caused environmental disaster – even when compared to the Chernobyl nuclear accident in 1986 – BP has been consistently in the press for the past three-months.

That’s not all bad, because the more your name is out there, the more valuable your business is. Sure it isn’t good news, but that hasn’t stopped BP from making money.

And that’s why the question has been raised, that maybe BP is intentionally stalling it’s clean up efforts in the Gulf of Mexico.

What a horrible thing to say! To think that major, multinational company would intentionally do harm to the environment just to increase its value.

However it isn’t completely without basis, major multinational companies have gone to great lengths in the past to succeed, even when it means doing things not exactly kosher.

Just look at the Enron scandal, where the company intentionally mislead investors by over inflating it’s profits by $1 billion dollars in 2001. This lead to criminal convictions, suicides by executives, and the eventual failure of the company.

Or look at American Airlines, which has repeatedly delayed repairs ordered by the American government’s Federal Aviation Authority (FAA) regarding its fleet of aging MD-80 airliners. Some of these repairs could affect the lives of everyone on-board, as failing to repair cracks to pressure bulkheads could cause the cabin to depressurize, leading to the catastrophic loss of the plane.

Clearly, business ethics aren’t front and center in the hearts and minds of the world’s corporate elite.

So, is BP stalling to make the most of a bad situation?

Only the time will tell.

Meanwhile, the environment and those who live in the affected areas continue to suffer, due to BP’s continued negligence.

Ontario’s Eco Tax Not Even Managed

2010-07-14T14:04:00.002-04:00

A new tax in Canada’s largest province is so poorly mismanaged, that one of the country’s largest retailers has had to issue a public apology for overcharging customers.

Ontario’s eco-fee (provincial politicians call it a “fee” instead of a “tax” because they snuck it through without any debate – public or otherwise) went into effect this past July 1.

The Ontario government claims the new “fee” is supposed to discourage people from purchasing products harmful to the environment, and it is supposed to be applied to the costs associated with recycling and disposing of the harmful products it is applied too.

Learn more about the fee.

However, it appears not only was this new tax – whoops I mean “fee” – brought in without any debate, there was no thought as to how to manage it.

Canadian Tire apologized today, for overcharging customers on a biodegradable shower cleaner sold in its stores. The large Canadian retailer says it will gladly refund the overcharged amount to customers who bring in their receipts.
Canadian Tire blames its computerized Point of Sale system for the error, and says it has since been corrected.

Why is an environmentally-friendly “fee” is being charged on an environmentally-friendly product? Isn’t the whole nature of the eco-fee to be charged on products harmful to the environment, to encourage environmentally-friendly product purchases?

Maybe this mix-up is because the provincial body charged with managing the eco-fee admits they don’t know what they are doing. Stewardship Ontario, admitted it doesn’t have a way to monitor or control how much retailers are charging.

This brought heavy fire from the province’s Environment Minister John Gerretsen, who warned the organization that if it doesn’t implement an auditing system to ensure correct and consistent fees are collected, he’ll end the program.

That’s government talk for – “hey, if you don’t do my job and make me look good, I’ll shut down the program, and you’ll be moved to another government program.”

(No one ever gets fired anymore.)

Seriously, isn’t it the Environment Minister’s job to create the policies and procedures for his own ministry?

Gee Mr. Gerretsen, wouldn’t it have been a better idea to discuss, debate and then decide how to implement this eco-fee BEFORE you put it in place? Don’tcha-think?

But no, you just had to get this tax into place as fast as possible, without any input from anyone other than your own closely guarded circle of – did you talk to anyone about this? Anyone at all?

Naturally, the opposition parties are coming down on the Ontario government over this mess. One politician even saying if elected he’ll kill this new tax right away.

When was the last time you ever heard of a politician canceling a tax completely?

Never?

Me either.

What’s worse, is now our politicians are using our passion for the planet against us. Instead of instituting green initiatives which really are environmentally-friendly, they are instituting policies which just pad their pocketbooks, using the environment as an excuse.

No wonder politicians get a bad rap, and jokes abound about just how far you can trust ‘em.

What will you do next Minister Gerretsen, paint a baby green, toss a sash on it reading “Earth” and then kiss it in front of the cameras for a photo op?

Just remember, if you do that – don’t use the lead-based paint.

Social Networking’s Invasion of Privacy Just Got a Whole Lot Messier

2010-07-13T12:58:00.001-04:00

Today, computer software giant Microsoft announced that their latest version of MS-Office will integrate seamlessly with Facebook.

Previous versions of the world’s most popular set of applications – which include Word, Outlook, Excel and PowerPoint – have allowed users to connect to LinkedIn using a plug-in called MS-Outlook Social Connector. The latest version of MS-Office not only has this plug-in built directly into the interface, it pulls far more information from Facebook than it did from LinkedIn.

From pulling Facebook photos into MS-Outlook, so now you’ll know what the other person you are emailing looks like, to revealing all their status updates, news feeds, even their wall posts – so you not only know what they like and are up too, but who their friends are, and what their friends like and are up too – all of this – and more is now publicly available to anyone you email using MS-Outlook, or any of the other MS-Office applications.

Cool sounding at first, but then think about all the personal information being shared. Do you really want your boss to see the drunken photos of you that you posted after celebrating your last birthday?

What if you are looking for work – do you want potential employers to see you vent off your frustrations about your current or past employer thanks to having access to your newsfeed and status updates?

Think you are very social network savvy, and you are extremely cautious about what you post on Facebook?

Doesn’t matter – if a friend posts something which you just might not want the whole world to know, too damn bad – because wall posts and news feeds are now shown directly in MS-Outlook.

So that video of you doing an air guitar rendition of Stairway to Heaven in your underwear that your girlfriend posted on her Facebook, could now be playing on a colleagues computer. Worse – that colleague can simply forward the email to everyone in your office so even your coworkers without Facebook accounts will see you dancing in your undies.

Social networking has come a long way in a very short time. It wasn’t all that long ago that unless you actually knew someone personally, you’d never know that person at all.

But thanks to the information powerhouse of the Internet, just type a name into a search engine, and you can see what they look like, who they work for, their kids names, the kind of car they drive, and even some of their silly photos from real-world social activities.

And thanks to Microsoft’s new and more direct integration of Facebook – the most popular social networking site – you don’t even have to search for the information. It’ll just appear right in your MS-Outlook inbox.

Not that social networking is all bad. Knowing more about a client may earn you brownie points and make your job easier.

If you discover that a hard to read client has just come back from a business trip in San Francisco, for example, you could use that as an opening to try and break the ice. Seeing photos of that client, with a beautiful woman wrapped around him while on that trip may prompt you to ask about his wife and their shared experiences on that trip, only to find out, that he didn’t take his wife on that “business” trip.

Uh-oh.

Awkward.

Thanks social networking!

America’s Not So Green President

2010-07-12T16:15:00.001-04:00

Breaking news from CNN, the U.S. Interior Department issued a new moratorium to block deepwater oil and natural gas drilling today.

Big whoop.

If the American government really gave a damn about the environment, then we wouldn’t still be talking about the British Petroleum (BP) oil spill in the Gulf, which began April 20 – yes APRIL. An estimated 35,000 to 60,000 barrels of crude oil continue to pollute all the interconnected water and ecosystems of the Gulf of Mexico EVERY DAY.

BP has yet to cap their leaking – more like GUSHING – oil well, and despite fines, harsh language, and personal meetings with American President Barack Obama, BP is taking a very lazy, don’t give a rat’s ass approach. Their latest scheme to stop the oil well is only being considered a temporary measure, which may or may not even work.

We live in an age of technological wonder. As you read this sentence, billions of emails, web pages, instant messages and text messages have been sent and received.

Yet in this world of instant everything, when it comes to our home, planet Earth, nothing is quite as fast.

Yes, eventually Mother Nature will clean up the mess left by the careless executives at BP that failed to prevent this disaster from occurring. Mother Nature takes her time – scientists estimate it’ll take about half-a-million years before all the oil is gone if it were just left there for Mother Nature to tackle.

Plants and animals affected by the oil won’t come back from the oil spill for another few thousand years after that.

The first Black American president often considered the most “green” because of his strong public image towards environmental initiatives is looking anything but green. His first attempt to initiate a moratorium on deep oil drilling was tossed out by a federal judge – yes a FEDERAL judge.

Now we sit and wait for the overly powerful oil and gas industry to take the latest deep oil and natural gas drilling moratorium to court. Will the American President be embarrassed a second time, by having one of his own federal judges toss it out?

Moratoriums aren’t even a real solution, they just are temporary bans, which means they are temporary quick fixes to long-term, real problems.

The long-term real problem – our dependency on fossil fuels.

When President Obama was recently sworn in, he gave a serious of very moving speeches, mentioning how his administration was committed to reducing what he called in all of these orations “America’s dependence oil and non-American fossil fuels.”

He enthused with great energy, how he was going to take the lead, in moving America away from this dependency. He talked about ensuring all federal government buildings had green power alternatives, and how Americans can harness the power of the wind, the Sun and the water to make America great once again.

He did what many politicians in many countries do – he gave great big moving speeches.

Unfortunately, he then did what many politicians in many countries have also done – failed to act on those great big moving speeches.

The BP oil catastrophe isn’t a time to back away, and let a room full uncaring oil executives tell you it just can’t be done.

NOW is the time President Obama should make good on those great big moving green speeches. NOW is the perfect time to take action, to really make America – and the world – a better place.

Those Sneaky Politicians Have Done it Again

2010-07-08T11:52:00.001-04:00

Those calling Canada’s largest province of Ontario “home” may question just how publicly democratic the provincial government is, as they continue to pass legislation secretly.

Sounds more like a dictatorship than a democratically elected government – but that has been the Ontario government’s method of governance for at least two – that we now know of – policies.

First there was the controversial and ever hush-hush passing of a war measures-like act just prior to the G20 and G8 Summits held in the province. A new law was passed temporarily allowing police across the province to detain and arrest people without just cause, if they just happened to be too close for comfort during the summits.

That’s how a number of local residents got arrested during the gathering of the world’s most 20 powerful leaders in Toronto late last month. One person was just coming home from picking up a jug of milk for her infant son, and was tossed to the ground, handcuffed, and stuffed into a moving van by police, and held for over 48-hours in a temporary jail created especially for the anticipated increased numbers of detainees.

The law providing the police these sweeping – and highly questionable powers – was passed without any debate, and wasn’t made public until a handful of hours prior to the first summit (the G8) was to be held.

Then, just today the province lets us know about another new tax, which has already been in effect for exactly one week – yet there wasn’t any mention of it until today.

On the same day the province’s controversial Harmonized Sales Tax (HST) kicked in, a new eco-fee also took effect on thousands of everyday household products. We’ve been paying both since Canada’s Birthday on July 1 – happy Canada Day from the province of Ontario!

The new fee bumps up the price of aerosol containers, household cleaning products, even fire extinguishers – which you’d expect the province would encourage people to have through tax cuts or savings, as those actually save lives.

Stewardship Ontario is the government body in charge of the levy, and they claim the money collected by the new eco-fee will be used only for recycling of the products on the list.

Sounds like a similar scam being run by the City of Toronto, where retailers must charge a nickel for every plastic bag they provide you. The logic behind this fee is to encourage shoppers to bring their own bags, to reduce the amount of plastic bags going to landfill sites.

So far, the “bag tax” in Toronto has proven more of a nuisance than anything else, as the fee is so small, many simply pay it to bring home their groceries (or other purchases). However, since the introduction of the “bag tax” many checkout clerks have stopped bagging. This causes longer line-ups, as customers have to bag their own purchases, in their own bags.

I’ve certainly felt the pressure to rush my packing, as I fiddle with my purchases, trying to get them into my own bags, as an angry and impatient mob waits for me to finish.

Not a pleasant shopping experience at all.

Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty has the right idea, but just is going about it all wrong. Green legislation is a good idea – any sign the government is actually moving towards protecting our planet is a good idea.

However, just as the temporary military law-like changes were made for the G8 and G20 Summits, passing green laws without discussion or debate defeats the essence of what it means to live in a democratic society.

And when democracy itself is at risk, no good can come from that.

Drop the ego Premier McGuinty – we the people elected you into office, and we the people can just as easily NOT elect you the next time there is an election.

That is, unless you quietly change those laws too.

What the new Eco-Fee Is Applied Too
As of July 1, 2010, thirteen new categories, covering thousands of products have been added to this new eco-fee, including:

• batteries
• pharmaceuticals
• sharps and syringes
• aerosol containers
• antifreeze
• drain cleaners and other corrosives
• spot removers and other irritants
• fertilizers
• fire extinguishers
• fuels and other flammables
• fluorescents
• moth balls and other leachate toxics
• thermometers and other mercury containing devices
• oil containers
• oil filters
• paint and coatings
• pesticides
• pressurized containers
• metal powders and other reactives
• adhesives and other toxics.

Summer’s Heat Shows Vulnerability of Power Grid

2010-07-06T12:01:00.000-04:00

A major heat wave has caused temperatures to rise along parts of North-Eastern North America – but hey, it’s summer time – that’s not new.

Nor is the fact that our ageing and antiquated power supply system fails when we need it most.

Every summer, there are days of excessive heat, followed by warnings from local power companies to cut back on air conditioning use during business hours, otherwise rolling brownouts or blackouts may occur.

The warnings aren’t followed, and what happens?

Hydro vault fires, power failures stretching vast distances, and some of the most heavily populated areas in North America go without electricity for hours.

That’s what happened yesterday in Canada’s largest city of Toronto, right at the start of the afternoon rush hour.

Thousands of people working in skyscrapers hundreds of floors high had to hustle single-file down emergency stairwells to escape the stale hot air, as the air conditioners ceased to function in buildings where the windows don’t open.

Once those thousands of people did manage to get down to street level, they were sucked into a flood of thousands more, wandering around, wondering what to do. Traffic lights were out, subways and streetcars were stopped dead, forcing pretty much everyone in the affected areas out onto the streets, causing chaos and confusion.

That is if you got down – hundreds in elevators across the city when the power went out were stuck mid-floor. One person even used social networking site twitter.com, to “tweet” Toronto’s Mayor in a panic about being stuck in the elevator. The Mayor tweeted back emergency contact info, and eventually emergency services freed those in that particular elevator.

Memories of the major blackout in 2003, which darkened the United States and Canada along the North Eastern Seaboard for days returned.

Memories of summers past, with short, flashes of power outages (brownouts) and longer, blackouts lasting hours returned.

Despite our advances in technology, causing a constant increase in electricity demand – and a subsequent increase in the cost to consumers for that electricity -- our power grids continue to take a back seat to improvements.

Even though most high tech toys these days are mobile, we still need to plug them in to charge them prior to going mobile. Think about all our smart phones, cordless phones and laptops. Toss in our usual electric appliances like fridges, stoves, toasters and televisions, and it doesn’t take a genius to see we are completely at the mercy of the power company to keep us fed, informed and in touch with our loved ones.

Over the years, the costs of electricity in North America have continued to rise – about two percent per year since 1990.

Yet when we hit a couple of days when we the paying customer really need to use electricity – during a heat wave to cool our schools, offices and homes – the power company warns us to cut back our use, or the system will do it for us.

Granted, hitting this excessive demand isn’t an everyday occurrence. But then, it isn’t as if we haven’t hit these high levels of electrical consumption ever before. We average about two days every summer in North America when we do just that.

SO, why is it that despite all the technological advances, all the increases in power consumption and subsequent raises in electricity rates to us paying consumers, and all the previous days, every year, where we hit excessive demand of the power grid, that our power grid can’t handle it?

Shouldn’t our power companies have resolved these problems long ago? What the hell are they using the added revenue from constant price increases on? Why aren’t the power companies using the latest technologies to ensure these regular power outages every summer are ended?

Perhaps, because of our dependence upon the electrical grid to power our world, the power companies don’t feel obligated to improve their products or services – where else are we going to go to keep our homes cooled in the summer, lit at night and our tummies full?

Maybe now is the time to look at setting up our own individual solar and wind-power systems, to end the reliance on a faulty – and poorly maintained – power grid?

Summer Is the Perfect Time to Get Messy

2010-07-05T11:03:00.002-04:00

North America is now officially in summer mode – with Canadians celebrating Canada Day last Thursday, and American’s their Fourth of July yesterday, the lazy hazy days of summer are here.

You know it is summer when the Ribfests are here.

Ribfests are – for those who don’t like to eat with your hands, turn away now – these great outdoor escapes, held in city parks, where professional BBQ rib makers (called “ribbers”) go to compete for the best ribs of the show.

When you sit down at a restaurant, and the menu boasts “award winning ribs” – chances are those ribs won an award at a Ribfest.

It’s usually a long weekend affair, lasting three or more days, and anyone can go to sample ribs from a variety of restaurants and bars, from all over North America.
Last year I went to three Ribfests in Toronto, and enjoyed the messy finger-licking food from ribbers from Texas, Florida and Louisiana – as well as here in Canada.

This past weekend, I went to the first Ribfest of the summer, and sampled some ribs from Tennessee. There were actually two Ribfests in Toronto this past weekend, but alas, I only had time to go to one.

Ribs aren’t the most healthy food choice, they are fatty, greasy, and for those who don’t like eating with their hands – I warned you! – they are probably the messiest food you can eat, as the sauce dribbles everywhere, leaving a sticky residue.

But ribs – pork or beef, side or back – are so very tasty! Tangy, grilled to perfection, meat that practically comes off the bone without any tugging.

Okay, you I’ll admit it – you don’t absolutely have to eat ribs at a Ribfest. Some people don’t like eating ribs – I know it sounds odd but it is true – usually there are many other things around to satisfy everyone’s tastes.

At the Ribfest I went to this past weekend, there were hotdog and hamburger vendors, a French fries truck, even a good old fashioned ice cream truck where you can get soft ice cream.

Though for me, the ribs are the star of the show.

There is something special about ribs.

Sure, I’ll eat ribs at a restaurant – there are places near me that have all-you-can-eat ribs.

But a Ribfest is different.

When I eat ribs in a restaurant, I often feel self-conscious, maybe even a little embarrassed about the thick oozing sauce covering my fingers, hands and face.

It is even worse when you go to a fine dining place, and soak the white cloth serviette with dark red rib sauce.

But at a Ribfest, everyone is covered in rib sauce. At last, I can eat my ribs, make a bit of a mess, and I still fit in!

There are hand washing stations at Ribfests so you don’t have to wander around all day with sauce dripping off of you.

But those are for the weak, the inexperienced rib eater.

Those of us who enjoy a good rack of fall-off-the-bone ribs, thickly covered in tangy BBQ sauce laugh at those standing in line to wash up.

If you aren’t sticking to everything as you munch on your ribs, you’re not taking in the whole experience!

And besides, the best ribbers usually have quite a line up, so after you finish sampling one places ribs, you have to stand in line to get your next taste.

Though my family and friends have devised a system which we use when going to Ribfests which seems to work really well.

Each one of us goes to a different ribber, gets a half-rack of ribs and brings it back. We don’t get the fries, or the buns or the chicken – just ribs. All we’re here for are the ribs, everything else is just filler. We all share the ribs from each vendor, so that we can try each and everyone one’s ribs.

The bones pile up, our fingers stick to everything thanks to the gooey sauce, and the sun beats down on us as we bite into our ribs – this is the perfect way to enjoy summer.

AFTER we have sampled all the ribbers, we’ll line up at the hand washing station – NOW it’s okay, we’re done! We’ll grab an ice cream from the ice cream truck, maybe a few beers from the beer tent, watch the live band, and head home – stuffed silly with some fond summer memories.

A Not So Happy Canada Day, Eh?

2010-06-30T12:19:00.002-04:00

Tomorrow is Canada Day – July 1 – 143 years of our confederation. We’re not as old nor do we have the history of our big brother to the south – the US of eh, eh?

But we Canadians have a lot to be proud of.

Or we did.

Once upon a time.

Our population continues to grow – Statistics Canada, the federal government agency which keeps track of such things, tells us we’re now a country of over 34 million people. They also tell us that now 50 percent of our population wasn’t born here, and just over half of those people don’t speak either of our two official languages.

Wait a sec . . .

How can you go into someone’s home, take up roots there, and re-arrange the furniture without anyone minding?

That’s what has been going on in our home and native land, mostly in our large urban areas. There are streets in Toronto and Vancouver where if you don’t speak Chinese or Hindu, you won’t get very far – in fact you are made to feel uncomfortable intentionally.

If you ask the residents or business owners on those streets for directions, you’ll be told: “sorry, I don’t speak any English.” Funny though, they always speak perfect English when they tell you they don’t.

Newly settled parents to our great land even tell their kids not to play with anyone who’s not like them after school – they send them to special schools where all the kids are from families of their homeland, so during school they are free to do as they wish.

How unCanadian is that?

We warmly welcome newcomers to our great land, only to be given the shaft.
If and when we humble and polite Canadians mumble something about that being wrong, how it is best for all the kids in the neighbourhood to play together, the newcomers join forces upon us, using our own Human Rights and Freedoms laws against us, claiming we are in the wrong for discriminating against them.

Being the peace-loving, good natured and overly polite Canadians we are, we go back and sit on the bench, keeping it warm, hoping that one day the newcomers to our land will feel comfortable enough to break bread with and be our friends.

Problem is, the newcomers to our once great land are already quite comfortable, living their lives just as they did back in their native land, without you or me.

Essentially, they have already established their own country within our country.
They have setup their own culturally-specific schools, so that their kids will never have to mix and mingle with anyone outside their race or creed. They create their own restaurants, shops and businesses, hiring only others from their homeland, so they don’t have any misunderstandings with you or me. They read newspapers written for them, in their native languages, listen to music and radio stations in their native tongues – hell even good old CBC – Canada’s national broadcaster – is televising Hockey Night In Canada in Hindu so the newcomers can watch our game, without learning English or French.

You know something is amiss when Canadian hockey icon Don Cherry is replaced – period.

It isn’t just our national broadcaster, all government institutions and many big businesses are feeding the storm, making it one nasty beast.

The running joke used to be, in order to work for the Government of Canada, you had to like poutine on your hockey puck. In other words, you had to be fully bilingual, in both our official languages of English or French.

Not so any more – oh the federal government still hires fully bilingual people, but so long as you speak English OR French AND another language, they’ll almost certainly take you. Government brass love to brag about how they offer their services in over 120 different languages.

Not that those who come to this great land don’t deserve the same benefits as those who were born here. I’m sure whatever civil servant or politician came up with the notion of offering government services in a multitude of languages had the noblest of intentions.

However noble the initial intentions were, the trends and statistics clearly show that was one of many errors of judgement.

We’re being kicked out of our own country, slowly and silently by newcomers that just don’t want anything to do with Canadians.

Oh they’ll cry racism, and proudly hold up their citizenship cards – we give those things to anyone these days – another fault of our governmental policy.

But they are the ones being racist.

We aren’t the ones telling our kids not to play with their kids. We aren’t the ones not hiring people because they don’t look and sound like us. We aren’t the ones intentionally making others that don’t look like us or sound like us feel awkward or uncomfortable.

We’re just being typically Canadian, politically correct, peaceful, welcoming anyone into our homes, our schools, our workplaces – our lives.

Maybe we shouldn’t be so damn welcoming?

Happy Canada Day.

Okay, Toronto Looks Like a War Zone – Remind Me Why?

2010-06-28T15:03:00.002-04:00

Much of the world’s media focused on Toronto, Ontario, Canada the weekend just past. Images of police cars on fire, masked protesters throwing things, and running rampant among a wall of poorly prepared heavily armed police and military personal – oh and American President Barack Obama was there too.

My favourite image – one which perhaps captured the weekend’s activities best – was that of an innocent bystander, just coming out of a corner store with a jug of milk, suddenly surrounded by a dozen or more police in full riot gear, throwing the poor local resident down on the grown, handcuffing her, and then tossing her into the back of a passing mini van, which then took off to destinations unknown.

Later, the poor person – who had all the proper identifications on her person when the incident occurred – was released without being charged from a temporary jail the police had set up at a former movie studio.

All of this thanks to a semi-regular gathering of the world’s most powerful political leaders from twenty of the most economically and politically powerful nations on Earth – the G20 Summit.

The G20 Summit was held in Canada’s largest city this past weekend, and for as long as these meetings of minds has been held, they are always overshadowed by the ravaging throngs of protesters, violently and without any regard for anyone – even themselves – destroying everything and anything around them.

All because they want the world peace.

Funny, when the protest movement began from its grass roots in the 1960’s, they really were peaceful, chanting pretty much the same slogans they screamed this weekend.

“NO Justice NO Peace!”
But back in the 1960’s, even up until the late 1970’s, most of these protests were peaceful walks down the street, with the occasional person being hauled off by police.

According to the Integrated Security Unit (ISU) which coordinated the security for the G20 Summit, over 900 people were arrested, and five temporary courts have been created to deal with the enormous backlog of cases.

Regardless of the numbers of protesters, the Canadian government estimates about a billion Canadian dollars have been spent on protecting the 20 world leaders and their support staffs for the weekend-long summit.

That dollar figure is expected to rise, as more police were called in than originally planned for, to handle the massive riots in Toronto’s downtown core – even retired cops were brought in to bring back the peace.

But that peace never came during the summit – all is quiet now that it is over. So one wonders just where that billion dollars went, because it certainly didn’t prevent one of the most peaceful cities in the world from becoming a war zone for two days.

Maybe that billion dollars will be used to clean up the mess which was left behind – storefronts were smashed, buildings spray painted, fences overturned, police cars burned.

Toronto Mayor David Miller obviously isn’t intending his city pay for the damage – today he told reporters that it’s unfair to expect anyone but the federal government to pay for the damage, as it was organized by the Prime Minister Stephen Harper.

And so another battle has begun – between Mayor and Prime Minister, as they hammer out the details of who takes responsibility for the mess left by the G20.

Hey, I’ve got an idea, wouldn’t it make more sense to have these G20 meetings virtually? What’s the worst that could happen if all the leaders participated in a virtual teleconference, or videoconference? The technology is very good – I’ve had videoconferences in the past and the quality is just like watching TV.

Then again, maybe the G20 leaders just like the attention, to fuel their egos.

“Look! Down there! It’s an Italian flag – they are fighting over me!”

“Non, non, that is obviously a French man, look at the cut of his bandanna.”

H1N1 Swine Flu Could Be Back in October

2010-06-25T11:49:00.001-04:00

As we in the western world enjoy the lazy hazy days of summer, the flu is probably the last thing on our minds – that’s a winter thing, right?

But yesterday, the American Centers for Disease Control (CDC) Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices began planning ahead, recommending children between six-months and nine-years-old receive not one, but two doses of H1N1 Swine Flu vaccine this fall, as the notorious killer flu continues to circulate the globe.

Every year, the three most common strains of the flu virus are placed in the seasonal flu vaccine. The World Health Organization (WHO) monitors these strains, and currently the H1N1 Swine Flu pandemic virus is still the most prevalent one around the world – which is why the American CDC is suggesting it be included in the seasonal flu vaccine.

The two shots for kids is intended for children who haven’t received an H1N1 vaccine ever, as their bodies don’t have any way to fight the dreaded H1N1 Swine Flu.

CDC estimates that about 60 million people – that’s 20 percent of the American population – were infected with H1N1 Swine Flu since the spring of 2009.

Most flu viruses attack children, the elderly and those with weakened immune systems hardest, but H1N1 Swine Flu affected children hardest, as they haven’t built up immunity from past flu vaccinations over the course of many years.

Not that adults are immune from the deadly virus, they may eventually be included in the H1N1 Swine Flu vaccination program in the fall as well – but children are still more at risk from this particular strain of flu.

Last year, from April to November, the CDC says about 830 to 1,730 children under 17-years-old died from H1N1 Swine Flu.

On June 11, 2009, WHO declared an H1N1 Swine Flu pandemic, moving their alert level to “phase 6,” marking the first global pandemic since the 1968 Hong Kong Flu. About one million people died between 1968 and 1969 from the Hong Kong Flu.

WHO’s latest update on May 30, 2010 says 214 countries and overseas territories or communities have reported laboratory confirmed cases of pandemic influenza H1N1 2009, resulting in over 18,138 deaths.

Welcome to First Grade, Here’s Your Free Condom

2010-06-24T11:46:00.001-04:00

Small town America is growing up fast, or at least in one small community, where little kids – as young as five and six – will get free condoms when the school year begins this September.

Provincetown, Massachusetts, USA, surrounded by Cape Cod Bay and the Atlantic ocean is anything but a sleepy town, since the local school created a controversial policy, where any elementary-age child requesting condoms will be given them free, with or without parental support.

Children won’t just be handed the condoms, the school will provide educational information about safe sex, but then they will be handed the condoms, no questions asked.

Many parents have complained, some even writing letters formally requesting their children not be given condoms if they ask. However, the Provincetown school board was ready for this – the new policy clearly states that parents are not allowed to ask that their children be excluded from free the condoms on request policy.

Despite parents angered by this, the school board claims they are not in favour of students having sex, but they are also not in favour of kids being denied birth control.

Starting in September, any of the 66 kids in high school and 89 kids in the lower grades can get condoms if they ask, without their parents ever knowing – the school board’s policy is to provide education and condoms, but they won’t be keeping a list of those who request and receive the free condoms. And they will not report back to parents that their son or daughter has requested and received birth control.

Is it up to school boards or shouldn’t parents take a more active role in their kid’s development?

Granted, sitting across from your son or daughter and having a heart-to-heart about sex isn’t comfortable or easy. But being a parent isn’t always comfortable or easy period.

When your son accidentally crashes the car, or your daughter comes home well past her curfew, you talk to them. Why can’t you talk to them about sex?

Sex is everywhere in our de-sensitized overhyped world. From billboards and night club signs, to advertisements on television and radio, to the wild and crazy Internet, where the porn industry makes more money than all sales – including porn – on eBay.

In this de-sensitized overhyped world, parents have forgotten just how visible sex is, and now a small town in the States is taking steps to protect their kids, from that parental mistake.

A War Zone For Sale – Canada’s New Global Image?

2010-06-22T13:16:00.003-04:00

This week, Canada plays host to the most economically potent, politically powerful world leaders, as the country hosts both the G8 Summit in Huntsville, Ontario, and the larger G20 Summit in Toronto, Ontario.

Canada’s Prime Minister, Stephen Harper says this is a time for the country to shine, to show us off on the world stage.

That may be true, as media from around the world will be following the antics of world leaders during both summits.

However, consider this, in order to host both these events, security measures so stringent have been put in place, the image these international media-types are getting isn’t the Canada that we’ve come to know and love – or the rest of the world for that matter.

Internationally, Canadians are thought of as being a peaceful lot. Overly polite, friendly, beer drinking hockey fans – that’s us.

Thousands of riot police on horseback, foot and in armoured vehicles, waving batons, armed with fully automatic weapons, while military helicopters hover overhead. Huge concrete barricades, and solid steel fences surround designated “security zones,” as supposedly peaceful Canadian citizens are thoroughly questioned by heavily armed police prior to entering or leaving these “security zones.”

That’s the image the media are seeing now – today – right this very moment, because all the above is going on right now in Huntsville and Toronto.

Statues and historic buildings have been boarded up to protect them from battle. Mailboxes, newspaper stands, even some trees have been removed, because the lame-ass security company – which isn’t even licensed to practice security in Ontario (they are from British Columbia) – says they can be used as weapons against police.

Peel and stick Plexiglas – I didn’t even know they made that stuff – has been applied to the first three stories of all windows on all buildings within specific security zones. Other buildings have been boarded up with planks of wood.

These are the images the media from around the world are getting of peaceful Canada.

Famous tourist attractions are being shut down. Toronto’s most internationally recognizable symbol – the CN Tower has been ordered closed by the police, for fear it could draw protesters or even terrorists.

Toronto’s Major League Baseball team, the Toronto Blue Jays were scheduled to play a game here in Toronto this weekend – that’s been moved, again for security concerns.

Family-run mom and pop shops and restaurants – which really give Toronto it’s peaceful, multicultural spice – are allowed to be open, but as the concrete barricades separate them from the rest of the city, they won’t have any customers and stand to lose thousands of dollars.

Tourists are being warned not to come to Canada during the summits – the American State Department even issued a travel advisory for Toronto, advising American’s not to come here.

The international media is being shown a Canada which resembles a country in the midst of a civil war, where the totalitarian government dictates where its citizens can and can’t be by use of military law.

That’s not really Canada – honest. Unfortunately seeing is believing.

What’s to come?

If history repeats itself – as it unfortunately often does – thousands of angry people will rattle the cages setup around the security zone, throwing things, challenging the police, military and security persons on site.

Then the media will see a war zone, as riot police go in with their water cannons, tanks, and weapons, to quash the riot, all under the guise of protecting the peace.

Funny, how whenever the world’s most powerful leaders get together, the issues they came to discuss are always overshadowed in the media by the violent protests.

But then, everyone loves to see someone get shot by a water cannon – those images attract more readers and watchers, which in turn brings in more advertising dollars, which is why the media from around the world will be wined and dined, but still focus on the violence on the street, rather than the stuffy suits and ties in the boardrooms.

Yes Prime Minister Stephen Harper, by playing host to the G8 and G20 Summits, the world will see Canada front and center. But it isn’t the Canada you wanted them to see now, is it?

King of Pop Starts Week of Summer

2010-06-21T12:01:00.001-04:00

Summer officially – and finally! – arrived today at 7:28 this morning. The summer solstice gives us the most daylight of any day of the year, as our planet’s orbit is closest to the Sun.

Usually this is the time of year when thermostats rise, people take time off to enjoy the longer days, and kids chase ice cream trucks because they are out of school.

But the start of summer will be marred by the tragic, and bizarre death of the King of Pop – Michael Jackson, who died a year ago this Friday.

Actually, here in Canada, it will be interesting to see who gets more press – famed singer Michael Jackson, or the gathering of 20 of the most powerful world leaders in Toronto for the G20 Summit, which just so happens to take place the day after “MJ’s” death (though the G8 takes place on prior to and on his death).

Toronto, Canada is locked down like a prison, with thousands of police, military and security-types, to protect presidents, prime ministers and their staffs.

Once again, Michael Jackson will probably overshadow the news – it won’t be the first time his death upstaged a major event.

Hours prior to the announcement of Michael Jackson’s death at 2:26pm on June 25, 2009 at Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center, USA, famed Charlie’s Angels pin-up star Farrah Fawcet had passed away.

Even the largest Cable News Network (CNN) in the States changed gears once reported rumors of Jackson’s death began appearing. CNN’s most popular personality, Larry King earlier had “tweeted” on social network Twitter.com that he would dedicate the full hour of his show to Farrah Fawcet’s life, but once news of Jackson’s death hit the world, Larry King dropped Farrah Fawcet faster than a hot potato, swapping her last chance in the lime light for the King of Pop, Michael Jackson.

Despite all the media back then – and the circus of media yet to come this week, as the anniversary of the King of Pop’s death draws closer – his death still remains a mystery.

Jackson’s personal physician Dr. Conrad Murray may be the only one who truly knows what happened, but he is going to be standing trial later this year, charged with involuntary manslaughter in Jackson’s death.

Eye witness affidavits, telephone call logs, 911 recordings and police reports have identified large amounts of high powered narcotics and medical equipment in Jackson’s home, not normally found outside of a hospital setting.

From Valium and Midazolam – two potent sedatives requiring prescriptions, to Lorazepam, a strong anti-anxiety medication similar to Valium, to the most controversial of all -- Propofol.

Propofol, a white liquid drug administered by intravenous is an anaesthetic used for serious surgeries, and in some cases, to put animals to sleep. According to Dr. Murray’s statements, Michael Jackson was addicted to Propofol, often referring to it as “his milk” to help him sleep.

All of these drugs had been rampant in the King of Pop’s body, leading to his eventual cardiac arrest and death, according to reports from the singer’s autopsy.

But you can’t kill a legend – and the first week of summer will prove that – as the King of Pop rises from the grave – in the media at least – as the one-year anniversary of his death nears.

What Would You Do with $95 Million?

2010-06-18T12:50:00.000-04:00

That’s the question many people in Ontario, Canada are asking themselves, as today is the last day to purchase a ticket for the largest lottery prize in Canadian history.

Though that $95CDN million is misleading. It’s actually only $50CDN million in the main Lotto Max provincially-run lottery. The remaining $45CDN million will be doled out in $1CDN million prizes to 45 lucky winners.

Even those amounts are STILL misleading, when you take in account the average amount Canadians spend on lotteries – about $300CDN per year – and add in how many years the average Canadian has been playing the lotteries – about 10-years – that’s $3,000CDN.

Then you must pay taxes on your winnings, estimate about 30 percent of $50CDN million -- $15CDN million.

So, realistically, if you were to win $50CDN million, you’d be taking home about $35CDN million – which still is pretty good.

But then you’d probably need to pay some security firm an outrageous amount to keep all the crazies claiming to be your long lost relatives away. And then there are the constant death threats past lottery winners get, from wickedly evil crazies, so you’d be constantly living in a high security cocoon.

Still, that wouldn’t be much of a problem on your own private island in the tropics.
Hmm . . . $35CDN million take-home?

Got to scoot – time to get me a lottery ticket. . .

G20/G8 Security Gone Too Far – To Remove Trees for Security

2010-06-16T09:14:00.002-04:00

Living in Canada’s largest city is getting harder and harder these days.

Oh sure, Toronto, Canada is one of the most metropolitan cities in the world, and it shows. We have it all, from grocery stores open 24-hours-per-day, seven-days-a-week, restaurants serving up the cuisine from just about every corner of the globe, sporting stadiums for all the major events, lush green spaces, filled with – hey! Where’d the trees go?

The security company contracted out by the Government of Canada to provide security services during the G20 and G8 world leader summits in Toronto are now requesting trees be uprooted in the designated security zones, as they pose a security risk.

So far, they have had garbage cans, mailboxes, bicycle locking posts, and newspaper boxes removed, all while installing concrete barricades, ten-foot-high steel fences – did we mention the military snipers on the roof tops?

Businesses are being forced to close in the immediate areas surrounding the high security area – banks, theatres, restaurants, night clubs, even the Canadian headquarters of some big multinational corporations are all going to be shut down thanks to the added security.

And today, the security company announced that trees – yes TREES rooted in the ground – pose a security risk, because they could be uprooted and used against police.

Aside from the environmental concerns – the security company assures us they will have seedlings replanted after the event – just how ridiculously further must we go, to protect a handful of people for a mere 48-hours?

With all the security – estimates have put the cost to Canadian taxpayers at about $1 billion CDN just for the security alone – must they dig up harmless trees?

What’s next, declaring the air a potential threat, so they create an airtight dome spanning several city blocks, and higher than the highest skyscrapers?
Enough is more than enough.

With a billion dollars spent on security, if the heavily armed military, police and special forces personal on the ground can’t fight off an attacker digging up a tree, then we certainly aren’t getting our billion dollars-worth.

Let us stop to ponder this for just a second. Thousands of highly trained police, in armoured vehicles, with bullet-proof vests, armed to the teeth with high powered, armour piercing weapons, tear gas – did we mention the snipers on the roof -- versus some hippy with a tree branch. Gee, I wonder who’s going to win that battle? If the hippy wins, we have definitely been over billed for security services – I want a refund!

Well, at least for those of us that live in the suburbs, we’ll have a taste of downtown closer to home. Apparently sex trade workers – in non-politically correct lingo “hookers” – have told one media outlet they will be moving their – ahem “services” – north to the suburbs during the G20 and G8 summits, to avoid all the security hassles.

What an eye-opening relief that will be to parents taking their kids to daycare.
“Daddy, what did that woman mean when she asked if you wanted a good time?”

American President Tries Hand at Mother Nature

2010-06-15T13:06:00.001-04:00

Tonight at 8pm EST, American President Barack Obama will address his nation for the first time from the Oval Office.

Oval Office speeches are nothing new to American presidents. They have been used to give calming messages of action, during times of crisis.

American President Ronald Reagan was famous for his slick orations from the Oval Office. They even started the Jelly Bean Meter, where journalists joked that the bigger the crisis, the more Jelly Beans filled the jar which always sat on President Reagan’s Oval Office desk.

The speech tonight by President Obama is going to be mostly about the British Petroleum (BP) oil slick in the Gulf of Mexico, sliming its way along America’s southern coastline. The oil has penetrated the shorelines of Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Florida, since an explosion released it from the BP Deepwater drilling site on April 20.

The people that live and work along the coastal areas now submerged in dirty, black crude oil, are in a state of panic. Their lives are literally threatened, as drinking water tables are becoming contaminated. Their food stocks are threatened, as fish and wildlife die off from being buried in the thick black goo. Businesses are at risk, as outsiders aren’t venturing in, so tourism is at an all time low.

The BP oil leak, is the worst corporate-caused environmental disaster since another famed oil company released its liquid gold into the environment – the Exxon. Back in 1989, Exxon’s oil tanker the Valdez, ran aground dumping 10.8 million gallons of crude oil into Alaska’s Prince William Sound.

According to the American National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, there are approximately 98 m³ (26,000 gallons) of Valdez crude oil still in Alaska's sand and soil today.

But that’s not going to happen, because American President Barack Obama – the former Chicago Senator, turned President – is now tackling a new role – Mother Nature.

In tonight’s live address from the Oval Office, President Obama is going to lay out his plans for cleaning up the Gulf Coast.

Should be quite a show, seeing as Mother Nature herself is still struggling with the oil left in the Alaskan sands left over from the Exxon Valdez.

It will take billions and billions – if not trillions of dollars – to clear most of the crude oil. And it will take several years – decades – before the environment is completely recovered from BP’s leaking oil well.

President Obama should leave the recovery of the planet to Mother Nature, and use his political power as it was intended – politically. President Obama has the political power to force his citizens to adopt a lifestyle less dependent upon oil.

Crude Oil – a slimy, highly toxic substance, is formed as fossil remains from plants and animals are crushed between the layers of the Earth and sea over thousands of years.

We human beings consume about 30 billion barrels of crude oil year. Crude oil is the building block for almost everything – it forms the basis for toothpaste, plastics, and chewing gum. We use it to heat our homes, power our cars, and keep our world in order – most of the parts in a computer are made out of petroleum products.

Yet in its natural unaltered state, crude oil is one of the most dangerous substances on the planet. It is highly flammable – even the slightest spark can – and has – cause disaster. Its viscous thick goo clogs the pores of living things, slowly suffocating them. If taken orally, it poisons the body, causing a slow and painful death, as your vital organs shut down one-by-one.

Processing this stuff is no safer. One of the side effects to its many uses are the many toxins produced when it is manipulated. Petro chemical by products toxic to any and all life such as benzene, chlorine, carbon dioxide and many others are by-products of oil production.

Our society has become too dependent on a highly toxic substance. If crude oil was directly administered to us, it would be no different than being addicted to cocaine.

Instead of trying to do the impossible, American President Barack Obama should do the possible – create laws, policies and procedures which move his country away from the dependency on crude oil.

If he can do that, he’ll really make a world of difference – America is the largest consumer of crude oil in the world, using 24 percent of those 30 billion barrels consumed annually. Canada on average uses about 16 percent of those 30 billion barrels of crude annually, while other countries trail far behind.

So if the largest consumer of crude oil – The United States of America – starts to wean off of our drug-like dependency, the rest of the world will follow.

World Cup an Indication of a Canada Lost

2010-06-14T12:13:00.001-04:00

As the World Cup continues in South Africa, celebrations of games lost and won continue worldwide.

That’s certainly evident to passersby in Canada’s largest city – you’ll see Toronto drivers proudly flying their country’s pick for support from their homes, their balconies and their cars.

Not since the Toronto Blue Jays first won the World Series in 1992 have I seen so many flags flying across the city.

It’s a joy to see the energy and support driven by loyal fans.

That got me thinking – how come we don’t see that many Canadian Flags come our nation’s birthday?

Canada Day – the day we became a nation – is just over three-weeks away, yet I don’t see a sea of red and white Canadian Flags.

And it isn’t that the World Cup is overshadowing Canada’s day, it appears every year for as long as I can remember, there are fewer and fewer Canadian Flags period.

When I was a kid, I remember celebrating Canada Day up at the family cottage a long time ago. My cousins and I made the five-mile trek up a dusty gravel road to the local tennis club, which also doubled as the center for group activities in the sleepy summer-resort town.

The weeks leading up to the proudly Canadian moment were obvious everywhere. Whenever we went into town for supplies, or to catch a movie on a rainy day, all the streets – not just the main street – ALL the streets – were dotted with red and white Canadian Flags hanging from street lamps, store fronts, and people’s homes.

I remember one store window which had taken every Canadian icon, and created a fun and colourful display to honour our nation’s birth. It was a scene of a beaver chomping on the CNTower, while being scolded for doing so by a Mountie. A flock of Canadian Geese hanging on wires was shown flying overhead.

Everyone was talking about this one event the weeks leading up to it. The other kids and I were excited to munch on red and white coloured floss candy, while watching fireworks. The adults were looking forward to the BBQ and beer, and I remember hearing rumours of a skinny dip party, but what do I know, I was just a kid.

I remember wearing a red shirt, white shorts and being handed a mini Canadian Flag as I flied out the door to meet up with my cousins and the local kids, the night of Canada’s birth. There must have been about 20 of us, as we excitedly hopped and skipped along that dusty gravel road, to watch the fireworks.

We’d meet up with the rest of the kids in the area, and later the adults would pop on by too – as the sun darted into darkness, setting the stage for the fireworks.

Everywhere you looked there were signs of Canada. People dressed in red and white, waving Canadian Flags, people with red maple leafs painted on their faces. Someone had gone so far as to die half their head red, the other white!

There was red and white cotton candy, maple fudge – in the shape of maple leaves no doubt – they even were handing out red and white popcorn!

It was a great time to show our home town pride, in our home and native land.
I remember other past Canada Day celebrations too, but with each passing year, they got smaller and smaller.

Even in the big city of Toronto, I remembered they used to have Canadian Flags overflowing up and down University Avenue, along Yonge Street, and even along some of the main streets of the suburbs such as Markham, Unionville and Stouffville – just northeast of Toronto.

There used to be a giant Canada Day fireworks celebration at the Markham Fair, a growing suburb just north of Toronto.

Fireworks still ignite the night’s sky, but the weeks, days and even hours before seem a lot less patriotic than years past.

What happened Canada?

I’ll tell ya what happened –we’ve lost touch with what it means to be Canadian.

It used to be a privilege to be a Canadian. People from other countries who came here had to really want to be here to settle down and have a Canadian life.
Becoming Canadian wasn’t just a rubber stamp, you had to really want it bad.

But over the years, our overly politically correct governments have lessened the requirements to joining this once great land, so much so, those coming here don’t respect Canadian values.

Our once proud land, a smorgasbord of cultures from all over the world worked together, making Canada great.

These days, those who come here want nothing to do with you or me, unless you look like others from their cultural group, speak in their home tongue, or participate in their culture.

Instead of continuing to share, develop and grow as a country embracing different cultures and beliefs, we have become a country with hostile pockets of other countries embedded within.

Unless you want to be mistaken as the white cleaner, don’t go to the Chinese megamall. Don’t walk down that street after dark, you’ll get beat up or worse – shot – by the Jamaican gangs, because you don’t fit in. You can’t get a job there – you don’t speak Punjabi.

Oh how I miss the Canada of days gone by, where it doesn’t matter where you originated from, we all got along under the proud glow of red and white.

Whatever Happened to Originality?

2010-06-11T11:49:00.002-04:00

Today, yet another classic television show from years gone by opens in theaters as the latest summer movie blockbuster.

The A-Team movie opening today is a remake of the 1980’s action television show of the same name. Also this summer, MacGruber, a Saturday Night Live movie spoofing the MacGyver action show from the same decade has already begun.

Remaking classic television shows is nothing new for Hollywood – past summer movie seasons have opened with remakes of Charlie’s Angels, Miami Vice, Starsky & Hutch and The Dukes of Hazard.

But enough already!

Although some of these remakes aren’t bad – the first Charlie’s Angels movie was very well done, and the remake of Starsky & Hutch was so close to the original series, it felt like I was at home watching an old re-run on TV – leave the past in the past.

When I go to the movies, I want to get lost in a completely new world, with characters I’ve never met before, dealing with situations or subject matter which is new and different.

If I wanted to watch a classic television show, I’d just buy the DVD/Blueray – in many cases those even come with NEW material of their own, such as never before released outtakes, cast and crew commentaries, actor and character bios, behind the scenes footage and more.

SO, if the old original television shows can come up with new material, how come Hollywood’s biggest and brightest movie-types can’t?

Whatever happened to originality?

Is it really true that everything that will be thought of, already has been?

Truth is, although watching a remake of an old television show brings back warm and fuzzy memories, something completely different would have caught my eye more.

And this summer, the movies are anything but original.

Aside from remade television shows of the A-Team and MacGyver, this summer’s list of movies are based on plots, storylines and characters we’ve already seen before.

Morning Glory – due out in July – is the story behind the lives of a television cast and crew trying to put together a morning news and entertainment show each day. Sounds a lot like 1987’s Broadcast News, which is still recommended viewing by any broadcast journalist students today.

Killers which opens this month is about an undercover assassin that gets married and soon discover each others hidden lives. Remember Mr. And Mrs. Smith anyone?

And although vampire movies are cult classics, most follow the same storyline, and share the same commonalities of the living undead. So this month’s opening of The Twilight Saga: Eclipse, has undertones of The Lost Boys, Interview with a Vampire and even Buffy the Vampire Slayer.

Again I ask – whatever happened to originality?

Bone-Headed Move By Toronto City Hall – What Else Is New?

2010-06-10T13:43:00.000-04:00

Local politicians sometimes – correction – often – act first then deal with the consequences of their thoughtless acts later.

Take city officials in Canada’s largest city as a case in point. Yesterday, City of Toronto council voted in a new controversial anti-idling bylaw, which will now cost the city thousands of dollars to enforce on its own city-run transit system.

Toronto has had an anti-idling bylaw for years, prohibiting drivers from letting their vehicles idle for more than three-minutes, else they get a hefty fine.

The new anti-idling bylaw is stricter, prohibiting drivers from letting their vehicles idle for more than one minute – sixty-seconds – else they get a hefty fine of $125CDN.

Cutting the legal time limit down to a mere minute for idling won’t green the planet any more – well maintained vehicles spew most of their toxins on start-up. So forcing drivers to stop and then re-start their engines may actually cause carbon dioxide levels to go up, instead of down in the long run, especially on short stops.

Though restricting idle times will discourage motorists from letting their vehicles sit for long periods of time – which is a good thing.

Where things get sticky for the City of Toronto is for its transit system. Prior to the new anti-idling law, the Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) was fine with the three-minute anti-idling regulations. But under the new minute policy, they could face fines and/or mechanic bills in the tens of thousands of dollars.

Today, TTC spokesman Brad Ross explained why the city’s bus drivers can’t comply with the city’s new law.

"Heavy diesel engines such as buses, (and) tractor-trailers need at least three-minutes to cool down before we shut a bus off. If we don't do that it will damage the engine, particularly the turbos within the engine, and when you damage those you're looking at about $8,000CDN per engine," Ross explained.

Ross says the TTC asked for an exemption from the new bylaw, but council declined that, because of complaints they received from residents about idling buses.

So what happens when the new bylaw is implemented?

Will TTC bus drivers get ticketed? If they do, chances are the City of Toronto itself will have to pay those tickets, which seems like the cat feeding the rat.

Or will TTC bus drivers obey the new bylaw, and in the process kill their bus, at a cost of $8,000CDN to fix?

Just another act now deal with it later bone-headed plan by politicians that failed to think things through.

If City of Toronto politicians really wanted to do some environmental good, they’d create policies and laws which discourage vehicle use during peak rush hour times in the city – like London, England has done.

In the United Kingdom, aside from emergency vehicles, buses, taxis and delivery vans, you can’t drive in London’s downtown. This curbs traffic congestion, by forcing people to take more environmentally-friendly options for urban travel – such as walking, cycling or taking public transit.

Now that plan really does clean the air.

So how about it Toronto – do you really want to make the world a better place?

Automakers Starting Society on the Take

2010-06-09T10:36:00.001-04:00

Toyota’s major worldwide recalls of faulty vehicles with issues over a decade old raised awareness about the dangers of driving, previously unthinkable in our technologically advanced world.

Who would have thought that a major corporation wouldn’t care enough about it’s customers to ensure their products were safe?

Over the next few months, the other major automakers followed, with their recalls, realizing that they’d better fix the problem then face the wrath of an American Congressional Hearing like Toyota – though it really is the bad press more so than the wrath. Toyota was hit with fines, but no one went to jail, and never would.

Now the big automakers are continuing to show us just how out of touch with their own products and their customers they are – instead of fixing their products, they will now pay you off with a bribe.

Yesterday, General Motors recalled 1.5 million vehicles worldwide that will catch fire due to poorly designed heated windshield wipers. GM originally “discovered” the problem in 2008 – though it affects some makes and models from 2006 – and through an earlier 2008 recall replaced the motors.

However, the problem has continued, so now GM is recalling all the affected vehicles, but instead of trying to fix their own product, they will just disconnect the faulty heater, and pay registered owners a $100 for “the loss of the feature.”

Cute.

Instead of taking responsibility for rushing a product to market which is unsafe, and used as a selling feature to capture customers, they simply hold up their hands, claim they can’t fix it, but here’s a small token of our appreciation of your understanding, as they hand you a cheque for a mere $100.

Aside from the obvious questions about how they arrived at the dollar amount for the “loss of the feature” the real issue is the fact that a major global corporation is now bribing their customers, instead of doing the right thing.

General Motors made – or more likely contracted out to a third party who made – the mechanism, so they should take responsibility for ensuring it is safe and works as it is supposed to. They shouldn’t give up on it, and pay off their customers for the loss of its use.

Now we are talking about a feature that doesn’t affect the primary use of any vehicle – to get you from where you are, to where you want to go – yet.

However, if we consumers take the passenger seat now, we’ve opened up the door to corporate bribes in place of corporate responsibility. By accepting the $100 bribe from GM, you are telling GM and other executives who no doubt are watching at other companies in other industries and sectors that it’s okay to make faulty products with false promises, we’ll just pay off those affected with a small bribe later.

So next time when your fridge freezes solidly shut, and the manufacturer tells you you’ll have to just unplug it until it thaws, and live with the constant over-freezing because they can’t fix it, but oh – here’s a $50 cheque for your troubles – you’ll accept that?

We’ll become a society of corporate patsies, pushovers for products which don’t do what the manufactures told us they initially would, just so long as we are all on the take.

How Many Hero Highways Do We Need?

2010-06-07T11:44:00.001-04:00

Today, the mayor of Canada’s largest city is renaming parts of a major highway to honor fallen Canadian soldiers – their bodies are brought back home on these parts of the road.

Toronto Mayor David Miller will officially rename parts of the Don Valley Parkway and some local connecting side streets the “Route of Heroes.”

Previously, the province of Ontario renamed a section of Highway 401 from Trenton to the Don Valley Parkway the “Highway of Heroes.”

Both are part of the route the Canadian flag-draped caskets containing the bodies of Canadian soldiers killed in Afghanistan take, to the coroner’s office, before being released to their families for burial.

The sacrifices men and women make for their country at times of war should be honored, respected, and as many a war memorial says “never forgotten.”
However, Canada is not at war.

SO, why are so many bodies traveling down Canadian roads – enough to prompt petty politicians to use the highways as a promotional vehicle for their own slimy images, by cutting ribbons and making declarations about heroic routes?

As of today, 147 Canadian Forces personal have been killed since their first deployment to Afghanistan in 2002 – just over the weekend another solider had died, which was not even two-weeks after the last solider was killed in the line of duty.

Yet, again – we aren’t at war.

Originally, when then-American President George W. Bush announced his shock and awe bomb attack, in response to the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, the United Nations Security Council didn’t agree.

The UN wanted to find a peaceful solution first, and barring that, a planned and well-thought out approach to using military muscle.

But in keeping with his “you are either with us, or you are with the terrorists,” narrow-minded approach, President Bush went ahead and destroyed most of the infrastructure of Afghanistan and Iraq, all under the guise of getting their alleged ring leader – Bin Ladden.

Whatever happened to Bin Ladden? We never hear about him, other than the occasional poorly recorded audio or video of him ranting like a crazed lunatic.
You’d probably go crazy too if you had a redneck American president making threatening statements about having your head on a platter.

Not that Bin Ladden wasn’t crazy before all this – he may have been – we’ll never know.

President Bush failed in his attempts to nail the blame squarely on Bin Ladden, so he went after Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein, and eventually did get his head on a platter – sort of. Hussein was hung quite publicly for the world to see on YouTube – probably the first world leader to be executed live, on the Internet.

Regardless of whether or not Bin Ladden, Saddam Hussein, or anyone else the Americans have labeled “terrorists” – Canada really has no part in their so-called “war on terror.”

Yes, we are allies of the States, and should support them in peace and in war.

But in typically Canadian fashion, our politicians have sat directly in the middle of the fence on the issue and that is what is killing our soldiers.

Canada isn’t officially at war, and being the backbone of the United Nations peace keeping forces for so long, we have a reputation of supporting the UN at all costs.

Yet the UN hasn’t stepped into the American’s so-called “war on terror” because they never supported the poorly planned vengeful attacks by their redneck leader, President Bush.

So our government sends thousands of Canadian soldiers to bolster up the Americans war efforts, with little planning – because the Canadian politicians don’t want to alienate the UN – and we end up with a never-ending parade of flag-draped caskets traveling our renamed highways.

Maybe our politicians should spend more time planning military strategies and tactics, instead of how to creatively rename a highway to get a photo op.

Want to Get Laid? There’s An App for That

2010-06-03T12:08:00.000-04:00

How far would you push the bounds of technology to get what you want? Would you go so far as to use it to select a sexually compatible partner?

Today, MEDL Mobile released an application for Apple’s iPhone to assist men and women evaluate prospective sexual partners.

Free for the first two weeks, the application – or “app” in Apple lingo – let’s you create a sexual profile based on six categories of likes, dislikes, positions, fetishes and kinks, and then compares them to other user profiles using the same application.

The application connects to other iPhones using the BUMP app, which allows iPhone users to exchange contact information by “bumping” phones.

Don’t worry about airing out your dirty laundry to complete strangers – the application keeps your preferences private, it only shares whether or not the pairing is a good sexual match, leaving you to still make the first move. Though there is an option to post the number of BUMPS you’ve participated in to social networking sites Facebook and Twitter, and you can always share your success or failure stories online.

In our ever increasingly techno-dependent world, this was just bound to happen – an application which helps the one-night stand.

Although sexual attraction forms the basis for many first and second glances, it can never replace a good meal and fine conversation to really get to know someone. So if you’re looking for applications which will help you find that long-term soul mate, this isn’t the “app” for you.

However, if you’re looking for an easy way to break the ice with someone who shares the same sexual preferences you do, you may just get lucky.

Want to Provide Security for a World Leader – No Experience Required

2010-06-02T09:58:00.001-04:00

In Canada’s largest city, a security firm handling part of the protection services for the world’s most powerful leaders is hiring – no experience required!

After a background check by Canada’s federal police service – The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP), and a mere ten days of training – you too can be wearing the dark sun glasses, while protecting the likes of American President Barack Obama, Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper, and 18 other world leaders, during the G8 and G20 Summits in late June.

WOW – sign me up for that job!

It even pays more than a typical security gig. Most security companies in the city pay on average from $10 to $15 per hour, and you’re lucky if you get full-time hours if you’re a rookie. Providing security to the G8 and G20, even the new kids on the block will earn $20 to $24 per hour, plus overtime for two-weeks.

And you may even get to take a bullet for someone!

Even the local Toronto Police Service is only getting a condensed special training session of ten days for the event. Many are used to catching speeders, investigating lost wallets, and handling the occasional domestic dispute – the additional training is to bring them up to speed on how to keep the world leaders from harm’s way.

Perhaps it is security by numbers instead of experience – over 2,000 police are expected to be on hand to protect 20 people for a two-day affair.

Granted, the RCMP – which are in charge for the most part – protect Canada’s Prime Minister all the time, and when was the last time we heard of anything going wrong?

Well, there was that time when the wife of a then-current Canadian Prime Minister was confronted by a home invader, at the Prime Minister’s official residence. Back in 1985, Aline Chretien came face-to-face with the intruder, who was armed with a knife. Prime Minister Jean Chretien and his wife locked themselves in their bedroom, until the RCMP came to take the man away – though if they were doing their job in the first place he should never have got that close to the Canadian leader in the first place.

Even with 2,000 law enforcement types in the area, with that kind of track record, I’d be skeptical whether or not I was safe if I were a world leader.

Though the areas where the world leaders will be – essentially most of the downtown core – will be shut down for the duration of the summits.

Still, a mere ten days of training, and no experience required?

So how come it is costing over a billion Canadian dollars to secure this thing anyway?

There Just Aren’t Enough Days in the Year for Quit Facebook Day

2010-05-31T13:51:00.001-04:00

Two Toronto, Canada men created a website to encourage the 400-million-plus users of the world’s largest social networking site to abandon it, because of privacy concerns.

Joseph Dee and Matthew Milan created the www.quitfacebookday.com website, calling for Facebook users to quit en mass today, because Facebook is too hard to use.

Oh boo hoo you.

Yes, there is a complex web of settings to go through, but all it takes is a little time and even a child could figure out how to set their settings just the way they want.

And Facebook has since resolved this issue – last week their CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced the changes to make it easier to protect private information.

Having a day of protest for a website?

Speak of lazy protesting. Back in my day, you would have grabbed a placard, your running shoes and a megaphone, and walked a picket line.

That’s how you make a statement. Or rather did.

I think that’s what concerns me more than the 6,000 nuts that joined the Quit Facebook Day website – the lack of real social awareness thanks to technological advances like the Internet.

These days, it is all too easy to create some online site to badmouth whoever or whatever you want, without any real thought.

And what’s even worse, is millions of people can join into these causes, with just as little thought or effort as the causes creators.

SO what you end up with, are a bunch of people YELLING AND SCREAMING online for reasons which they themselves don’t fully comprehend.

All it takes is for someone with an understanding of the issues to cleverly manipulate these naive protesters, and you end up with a group of people, yelling and screaming online, for something they didn’t intend too.

Either way, it certainly raises concerns over grass roots democracies which formed the basis of our current governments, via real protests over real issues, with really intelligent, thoughtful and aware individuals that actually knew what they were protesting and why.

Many of our greatest leaders have risen from the protest movement of the 1960’s – former Canadian Prime Minister Pierre Elliot Trudeau was known to cause a ruckus in his university days, even current American President Barack Obama was known to take a stand on controversial issues in his pre-political days – much as he does today. Just look President Obama’s healthcare and fiscal reforms – they are very clearly taken in part from his younger days of action.

But these days, protests are days of inaction – by asking anyone with half-a-brain to “sign” online petitions, mass email everyone they know, and even going so far as to quit using online sites.

Can’t get any more inactive than to quit.

Inaction leads to no action – it is a basic law of physics, which just so happens to work with policies and procedures just as well as it does an apple falling from a tree.

Does this mean the end of grass roots politics – and in turn – the end of real knowledge, power and good governance?

Parents – PLEASE – Be Parents

2010-05-28T12:03:00.001-04:00

Every year at this time, we hear about a horrible tragedy of a child drowning in a recently opened unattended pool.

Just yesterday, a four-year-old Toronto-area girl was plucked from the clutches of death, after she fell into just such a pool. The child is currently in critical condition in hospital, but is expected to recover.

A few weeks ago, a child was run over dead in her driveway, by her own mom, who claimed she didn’t see her baby girl playing behind her mini-van. Another child suffered the same fate less than a week later in a different Toronto neighborhood, also by the parent.

Kids will always be kids. They tumble, and fall, scrape their knees, and suffer all sorts of little cuts and scrapes as they run and play.

That’s okay – that’s what childhood is meant to be – far too many children these days spend too much time in front of computers, than playing in the fresh outdoors.

But what isn’t okay are the tragedies befalling kids of late, because of parents that just aren’t very good parents.

Not that parenting is an easy thing to do, and no one has written a complete and comprehensive manual on how to be the perfect parent.

Deaths from unattended drowning, and driving over your own child are completely avoidable, and are the results of exceptionally poor parenting skills.

Even those of use without kids know better than to drive anywhere – in any direction – without first looking. So those with children should be ever more diligent, knowing that their kids – like all kids – will always be kids.

Any parent that backs over their child not only should have their driver’s license taken away forever, but should be charged with murder – not manslaughter, not accidental death – murder.

By failing to do what everyone knows is the right thing to do – look before you leap – they killed their own child, and should suffer the consequences.

Parents that don’t watch their kids around pools should be prohibited by law from being parents. Common sense – yes I know isn’t all that common – says that water and children spell disaster.

Kids, will always be kids. SO how come parents don’t always be parents?

World Leaders Fail to Use BP Oil Spill for a Greener Good

2010-05-27T11:19:00.001-04:00

Funny thing, with all the media coverage of British Petroleum’s (BP) failure to cap its massive oil leak in the Gulf of Mexico – it has been over a month since the problem smeared across the waters – and around the world – no one is thinking green.

Yes, it is of utmost importance to put an end to the gushing gallons of crude oil – about 5,000 barrels or 210,000 gallons of the icky slimy stuff billow out per day.

But even the once so-called “most green American president ever,” President Barock Obama hasn’t used this ecological disaster to forward his county’s green agenda.

Yet wasn’t it President Obama who boldly declared from his lofty pedestal in the White House’s Rose Garden: “We have to reduce America’s dependency on oil?”

Ironic, as America – and most of the western world – still depends on the highly toxic fossil fuel for everything from heating our homes, powering our cars, to creating plastics and rubbers used in everything from medical hoses to carry drugs and oxygen to patients, to the tires on our cars.

If the leader of the most powerful nation on Earth can’t truly go green, all hope may be lost.

One person may make a difference, but what really matters are the differences made by those in positions of real power.

So, don’t stop your recycling, and don’t switch back to energy wasting incandescent light bulbs just yet. By reducing your impact on the environment, you are making a difference.

However, oil slicks polluting our wetlands and killing off millions of fish, endangering the lives of birds, trashing our drinking water, and even harming human beings involved in the cleanup efforts will continue until world leaders – like President Obama – stop talking about making a difference and actually do.

Sure, President Obama has extended an American-led ban on deep-water oil drilling, but that was his response to a crisis which could have been prevented, had he acted on his previous promise to move his country further away from a dependency on oil. All he did today when he extended this moratorium to six-months was media damage control for his public image.

Sure, President Obama’s administration is holding congressional hearings specifically on BP’s oil spill – but even if BP is fined, and forced to pay the enormous costs to clean up their mess, that won’t prevent future oil disasters.

President Obama, and other worldly leaders need to get together on greening the planet – and I’m not talking about token carbon emissions. Whenever world leaders meet, they talk about reducing Greenhouse Gases by setting specific emission reduction goals –which often aren’t met.

What our world leaders need to do is to create a functional, working plan for implementing green energy alternatives in their respective countries.

Solar, wind and geothermal won’t work in every part of the globe. Not every spot on Earth receives enough sunlight for solar power, nor enough wind for wind power, nor has the underwater hotspots needed for geothermal.

However, every part of the globe can make use of at least one or more of these green alternatives – to realistically reduce our dependence on fossil fuels.

We may not completely eliminate our dependence on fossil fuels such as oil – yet. But if we had world leaders that made it law to use environmentally-friendly alternatives wherever possible, it would be just the incentive we need to reduce our use of fossil fuels, while invigorating the drive to research new ways to power our high-energy consumption lives.

Big business wouldn’t see green energy alternatives as a costly hassle, but rather a cheaper alternative to over-using fossil fuels and having to pay fines or added taxes for their wasteful ways. Having fines and heavy taxes on those relying on oil and other fossil fuels would also encourage companies to fund research into green energy alternatives, as it would now be in their interests to use the greener energy sources.

Having court hearings as to what went wrong in the Gulf of Mexico, and why after a month, the toxic crude oil is still leaking is important – we need to find out what went wrong to prevent oil spills from happening due to the same cause.

But the real way – the only way – we will ever truly avoid destroying the only planet we know of capable of sustaining our lives in our universe – is for world leaders to mandate environmentally-friendly alternatives to the point when they aren’t alternatives – they are the norm.

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