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The first thing the pointy-headed social-worker types tell me when I propose correctional boot camps for hard-core young offenders is that they don't work. "All the research shows boot camps are a failed experiment," they tell me. "They were set up for political, knee-jerk reasons in the U.S. but they actually hurt kids." I love that when they trot out the "all the research shows" line. In many cases, they haven't read the "research." They just heard about it somewhere or read someone else's interpretation of it. The truth is, the "research" on boot camps in the U.S. -- for adults and youths -- shows that boot camps do change behaviour and if they're run properly, even reduce recidivism (crimes committed after release from custody) in some cases. One of the most comprehensive studies in the U. S. by the National Institute of Justice in 2003 (a U.S. Department of Justice agency) concluded 10 years of studies of boot camps "produced mixed results." What the study found was that boot camps did a very good job at changing offender behaviour, including improving self-esteem and skills and reducing anti-social attitudes and anxiety. "Boot camps were almost universally successful in improving inmates' attitudes and behaviour during the course of the program," the study found. "The camps' disciplined structure and therapeutic programs eliminated idleness and created a safer environment, which in turn improved inmate attitudes and behaviour." The trouble is, that positive behaviour doesn't always continue after release into the community. As a result -- overall -- boot camps have not reduced recidivism, the study found. However, it did reduce recidivism in some cases (this is the part the pointy-heads conveniently ignore), including in programs with lengthier stays, better preparation for release and more aggressive supervision in the community, the study found. "Chances of reducing recidivism increased when boot camp programs lasted longer and offered more intensive treatment and post-release supervision," the study says. But because many states are also trying to reduce costs, those features are often lacking. Most boot-camp programs in the U.S. have three objectives: to reduce recidivism, reduce costs and cut the prison population -- goals that often clash with each other, the study found. The longer the stay in boot camp, the greater the chance of reducing recidivism, but the higher the cost and the higher the prison population (at least in the short term). "Efforts to achieve multiple goals are likely the overall cause of boot camps' conflicting results," the study says. So it's not that boot camps "don't work," as critics claim. Their success depends on how they're run. The kind of boot camps we need in Canada are those with longer stays, strong post-release strategies and rehabilitation programs, such as drug and alcohol addiction programming. Instead of two years at the Manitoba Youth Centre, where kid criminals just hang out with other kid criminals, why not two years at a boot camp -- or longer if necessary -- even if it costs more money? It's a hell of a lot better than what we have now. |
Tuesday, October 31, 2006
Boot Camps Might Not Be A Total Solution
You Have To Take A Stand On Groups Like ACLU
Or whatever they are called on your own stomping grounds. Do you support them all the time or only when they are fighting for something you believe in? The are an enigma!
ACLU Finds Racism in Crack Cocaine Law
Blacks are big users of crack cocaine and blacks often get locked up for dealing it. And because black people get locked up a lot for breaking the law concerned, then the law must be racist? Right? The ACLU certainly thinks so.
The same sort of deliberately blind Leftists who once could not see that the old Soviet Union was a brutal and impoverishing tyranny are now determined not to see that blacks DO commit a lot more crime than whites so they SHOULD be locked up more. STACLU has the details.
Underlying the ACLU stance seems to be a complete disrespect for blacks. Blacks are treated as poor things who cannot help breaking the law rather than as responsible adults who know what choices they are making. It is the ACLU that is racist.
To post relevant comments, click the squiggle to the left of where it says "COMMENTS". Open commenting here. My old posts on this blog can be found here or here. Email John Ray
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The People Have Spoken-Is Mayor Miller Listening
91% approve burning trash`Widespread view' among public that change necessary
Miller at odds with challengers; warns technology unsafeOct. 31, 2006. 05:36 AMWith Greater Toronto facing a garbage crisis, more than nine in 10 residents believe burning waste to produce electricity could be a viable solution.And according to a Toronto Star/Decima Research poll, 79 per cent of respondents also said it's time their city considered significant changes and new solutions to garbage-disposal problems."There is a very widespread view that the garbage situation has to change," said Decima chief executive Bruce Anderson. "These results show that people not only want to believe, but are prepared to believe, that technology will be able to turn garbage into valuable energy without harmful emissions."Whatever resistance political leaders might sense to traditional incineration concepts may not be relevant to how the public will react to modern technologies and current circumstances."
Toronto Mayor David Miller is a staunch opponent of incineration, saying such facilities can produce dangerous dioxins.
Two of his election challengers, Councillor Jane Pitfield and Stephen LeDrew, say the city should consider energy-from-waste plants as a way to deal with the growing garbage crisis.
More
Sue-Ann Update On Our Future
By SUN-ANN LEVY
Ride the Moscoe-mobile
How Mayor Miller and his NDP core of councillors hope to roll to victory
Coun. Howard Moscoe -- who on a good day has more nerve than a toothache -- has been scaring up votes by shuttling through his North York community on a big bus.
It's not a TTC vehicle, the TTC chairman was quick to stress yesterday. "It's an airport shuttle bus ... we leased it from a (private) company," says the 27-year NDP councillor.
But Moscoe readily conceded he's using the 30-foot bus -- which is "big and bright and gets a lot of visibility" -- because it's a "great way" for the person who heads up the TTC to campaign.
In other words, it quickly reminds voters that this is no ordinary run-of-the-mill schlepper but a man who is allegedly going places at City Hall (my words, not his). "The image is important," he said.
The bus -- the cost of which is being shared equally by Moscoe, his loyal pal Mayor David Miller and NDP trustee incumbent Maria Rizzo -- is regularly taken to neighbourhoods and community meetings held on it, he said. It is also parked outside of supermarkets -- a highly visible backdrop while he canvasses.
Asked how environmentally friendly a 30-foot bus that usually carries just two passengers (Moscoe and an aide) can be, Moscoe insisted it's far better than a car. He added that buses are a "time-honoured tradition" in politics.
But Moscoe's chutzpah is no less pronounced than that of environmentalist and would-be councillor Gord Perks, an ever-present fixture in the mayor's office during council's last term.
The 43-year-old Perks, one of 14 candidates vying for the Ward 14 seat vacated by Sylvia Watson, has done little to hide his tight ties to Miller. He's pictured on his campaign literature joined at the hip with the mayor.
He even uses the same campaign colours and typeface as Miller. "Most people (at the door) are very excited that the mayor and I are running together and promoting the kinds of issues they care about," he said.
THE OLD STANDBYS
There's no doubt such cross-pollination will prove fruitful should Miller be re-elected on Nov. 13 along with his trusty core of NDP councillors.
Those who look likely to return include the old standbys who seem better at recycling themselves than the city's garbage: Moscoe, Maria Augimeri, John Filion, Kyle Rae, Adam Giambrone, Joe Pantalone, Pam McConnell, Paula Fletcher, Janet Davis, Sandra Bussin, Shelley Carroll (who says she's a Liberal but always votes with Miller) and Glenn De Baeremaeker.
There's also Paul Ainslie, who's running in Scarborough's Ward 43. Appointed to fill the vacancy left by Bas Balkissoon, he completely went to the left last term.
In Ward 17, fiscally conservative incumbent Cesar Palacio is facing a tough fight from 35-year-old Alejandra Bravo. "I am not running as a New Democrat ... I'm running as a community candidate," she said, nonetheless admitting she has the endorsement of some unions and left-of-centre councillors.
In at least two more wards it's a tight race between two left-of-centre candidates: Helen Kennedy vs. Adam Vaughan in Ward 20 and Joe Mihevc vs. John Sewell in Ward 21.
I count 18 potential votes on which Miller could likely rely. Not enough N-Dippers to warm all of the seats of Moscoe's campaign bus, but certainly it could mean a socialist stranglehold on council for the next four years.
Goldstein Versus Mercer
By LORRIE GOLDSTEIN
Hey Rick, what about Bob?
Dear Rick Mercer:
You say on your blog you enjoy giving advice to people.
Me too. My advice to you is that you're not as funny as you used to be.
Not since you did those One Tonne Challenge commercials for the feds back when the Liberals were in power.
The first time I saw one, I thought it was one of your "Rick's Rants" and eagerly awaited the punch line.
But you weren't joking.
Or rather, since you were paid $85,000 and the One Tonne Challenge program turned out to be a $37-million bust, I guess the joke was on us taxpayers. Ha, ha, ha!
Word of advice, Rick. When you're a political satirist, it's probably not a good idea to take a paycheque from the government you're satirizing.
By the way, you know that Kyoto thing the One Tonne Challenge was promoting?
You do realize that if the Liberals had ever actually implemented the Kyoto targets they committed us to and then promptly forgot about, they would have sent our economy straight into the toilet, right? And that with the massive loss of tax revenues that would have followed, heck, the feds might have even had to sell the CBC.
Hmm ... Come to think of it, I'm still game if you are, Rick!
More Jobs For Toronto
By JOE WARMINGTON
What this town needs are more people like Bob Deluce, who got Porter Airlines going despite all the naysayers
If Bob Deluce has his way, the Toronto Maple Leafs will soon be flying on his Porter planes.
And their fans too. Heck, if this guy has it his way, he'll have the Raptors, Argos and the Marlies on board as well.
"There have already been inquiries to see what we offer," he said after addressing the Economic Club of Toronto yesterday at the prestigious National Club on Bay St. "It's such a natural for sports teams."
Yesterday he announced Montreal as Porter Airlines' second destination point -- starting in December. They start bookings tomorrow, just one week after they began daily flights to Ottawa.
How about that, Mayor David Miller? What was that about stopping the Island Airport bridge? It seems they are ferrying in a new island airline era! You can't win them all.
Just think of how perfect this could be for the teams. For some trips they could leave from the island instead of Pearson and be in their opposing city a lot quicker.
Monday, October 30, 2006
Isn't It The Truth
Parenting, over the last two generations, has evolved into the Baskin Robbins Syndrome. Whatever the flavour of the day might be is the way many will go and the following editorial cartoon illustrates societal values for many today........
Daylight Saving Time Is Over
© Copyright 2006, Onion, Inc.Daylight Saving Time Yields Massive Daylight Surplus
WASHINGTON, DC—Energy Secretary Samuel W. Bodman announced Monday that the country's seven-month-long effort to conserve sunshine has resulted in the largest national daylight surplus since October 2005.
"We have built up over 200 hours of this precious, life-giving resource," said Bodman, noting that "the sun's rays are not going to last forever." "We have decided it would be most prudent not to squander this valuable daylight by distributing it to Americans, instead suggesting that they all just wake up a little earlier."
Bodman said the surplus will be stored in the Strategic Daylight Reserve—a system of opaque, sealed-off underground tanks located in Arizona—and only tapped in the case of the sun burning out or a particularly rainy afternoon.
Fantino Knows When To Kick Ass
Caledonia is top priority, Fantino saysNew OPP chief says he can't solve problem, but will not allow laws to be brokenOct. 30, 2006. 12:02 PM
ORILLIA - Lawbreakers in Caledonia will be dealt with swiftly, regardless of which side of the native occupation they are on, newly-minted OPP Commissioner Julian Fantino warned today.Fantino told reporters the controverial native occupation in Caledonia is the single biggest issue facing him in his new post.
"I certainly don't expect that there will be lawbreaking that isn't dealt with and that will be my message to our people as well, that it's their duty and responsibility is to enforce the laws," said Fantino on his first official day on the job.
"I assure that those who do (break the law) will be dealt with."
Under former commissioner Gwen Boniface, the OPP came under criticism for not enforcing the law, in particular when an elderly couple was accosted by native protesters and two camermen were assaulted.
According to witnesses, OPP officers stood back and watched both incidents. Charges were not laid until much later.
Fantino said one of his first priorities is reviewing the large contingent of officers on duty at the site.
"That is certainly one of the issues I will be looking at," he said.
Six Nations protesters have occupied a former subdivision for almost nine months now, an occcupatuon that has badly divided the community.
"These issues are greater than what the police can ultimately resolve," Fantino said.
Officials from the province and the federal governments are currently negotiating with Six Nations representatives.
The commissioner said he was concerned that some in Caledonia want to "hype up" the tensions.
"I would remind everyone of our absolute critical need to preserve the peace to make sure no one gets injured," he said.
Meanwhile, Fantino did not rule out the use of photo radar, but noted that is provincial government policy decision.
More For The Working Poor-Less For Bums
By SUE-ANN LEVY
Taking it to the streets
Downtown resident Francesca Filippelli is most skeptical of Mayor David Miller's claims that 800 people have been removed from the streets and put into homes in the past 18 months.
The mayor, in fact, regularly boasts on the election campaign trail that one homeless person per day is being sheltered under his $18-million Streets to Homes strategy, initiated in February 2005.
But Filippelli, a 31-year-old paralegal, wonders if that is indeed the case why she still sees the same faces on the same downtown corners each day when she walks to work.
"I don't buy it," she told me last week while discussing the mayor's claims.
"I've seen the same faces for four years."
She lists with ease the gauntlet of street people she encounters en route from her condo at Spadina and Queen's Quay to her office at Queen and Yonge.
There's Kevin Clarke, the perennial mayoralty candidate, parked at Adelaide and Bay; a man in the bus shelter in front of one of the TD Bank towers at Wellington and York; a petite woman huddled near a woman's clothing store at Yonge and Adelaide; and a man with a long beard on one of the grates at the corner of Richmond and Yonge Sts.
"I even know their names," she says with a sigh.
But to hear Miller or the city's shelter housing officials tell it, the Streets to Homes strategy -- which added $18 million to the whopping $200 million already being spent annually on the homeless -- has been a smashing success.
Miller/Blair's Safety Plan At Work
Two shot at Queen and ParliamentOct. 29, 2006. 10:42 PM
Toronto police are getting little help from two men who walked into a hospital on Sunday with gunshot wounds.Officials at Humber River Regional Hospital, northwest of Jane St. and Lawrence Ave. W., alerted police around 8 p.m. to the two young men - one is 20; the other's age is unknown.
But the prime witnesses to the shooting - one with a gunshot wound to his shoulder, and the other to his hand - have been little help, Sgt. David Knowles said.
They are being “marginally” co-operative, Knowles said, describing their injuries as non life-threatening.
They police is theshooting took place at the corner of Queen St. E. and Parliament St., but that's it.
“They weren’t really specific,” Knowles said.
When they were shot and how they got to the hospital - a good 15 kilometres away from the apparent shooting scene - is not known.
Anyone with information can call police at 416-808-3100.
Saturday, October 21, 2006
A Valuable Lesson In Tipping
10-Percent Tip Teaches Waitress Valuable Lesson
CONCORD, NH—After receiving "subpar" service and experiencing an unusually long wait for his $4.75 lunch at a local Beefside Family Restaurant Monday, customer Gus O'Connor opted to give waitress Carla Hyams a reduced 10 percent tip in an attempt to communicate his dissatisfaction and raise awareness of the areas in which he felt her performance was lacking.
O’Connor hoped his reduced tip would be a “wake-up call” for Hyams
Hyams, 49, who has been serving tables at the popular eatery for 13 years, expressed enthusiastic gratitude for the "immense personal growth" the gesture will afford her, adding that, in the long run, the experience will make her a better waitress.
"Maybe I was a little short with him when I told him to 'hold on a sec,' but in the future, I'll do my best to ensure a situation like that never, ever happens again," said Hyams, who put O'Connor's order slip in as the understaffed cooks dealt with a large, complicated meal for a busload of senior-citizen tourists. "It's days like this that I thank God I get paid less than minimum wage and can rely on a built-in economic incentive to keep me motivated during those 16-hour double shifts."
Hyams added that she now knows she should always bring a glass of water without any ice cubes every time someone orders a Diet Coke, and that the phrase 'when you get a minute' is in fact a polite way of indicating that the customer wants his request filled in under one minute.
"If he hadn't withheld that 50 cents, I'd make these same mistakes over and over for the rest of my career," she said. "Even at my age, it's amazing to think you can still learn something new about a low-paying, menial-labor job."
Hyams added that the next time she sees O'Connor she will remember that he undertipped her and strive to serve him better to avoid any further disappointment.
"He may not realize it, but his actions today will not only improve my work ethic, but will directly benefit him, as well, in that I will gain economic and personal rewards by treating him with the tremendous respect and unfailing attention he deserves," Hyams said. "So really, if you think about it, that 10 percent tip is a win-win situation for both of us."
O'Connor said he felt he needed to get through to the waitress, and did so the best way he knew how.
Gus O'Connor
"By giving her less than the universally agreed-upon minimum, I sent a clear, unmistakable yet constructive message," said O'Connor, who claimed that he hoped the smaller tip would be a "wake-up call" for Hyams. "I was just trying to help push Carla along the path to achieving her full potential as an employee."
"It was the absolute least I could do," he added.
O'Connor said he first considered reducing his usual 15 percent tip for the waitress when Hyams failed to replace the cream packets for his coffee while he looked over the restaurant's extensive list of lunch specials. But it wasn't until Hyams neglected to ask if he needed extra ketchup that O'Connor made the decision to let his "money do the talking."
"In the competitive service industry, there is a mechanism to effect change," he said. "I know this will be an invaluable lesson she won't soon forget, but I just did what any decent human being in my position would have done. And that feels good."
O'Connor said his overall goal was not only to receive better service, but to help Hyams become a role model for her two teenage children, Tyler and Michael.
"I know as well as anyone how hard it is for a single mother with a limited income to raise kids on her own," he said. "But this way they learn the value of money and the satisfaction of a job well done."
In the end, Hyams said, she could not agree more.
"My boys have had a few run-ins with the law, and they could certainly use some good advice," she said. "I can't wait for them, and maybe a couple of their friends, to meet Mr. O'Connor firsthand. I think they'd get a lot out of it."
Hey Bloggers! It Is A Free Service
Grouch!
Blogger.com and blogspot are having troubles again. Their problems usually last only a matter of hours but can be frustrating if you are trying to access a blogspot blog. As usual, however, I advise readers of my other blogs that my mirror sites are all up to date and working so just bypass the usual addresses at the moment. You can find a list of my mirror sites here or here.
Update:
Everything seems back to normal now. The downtime was very patchy -- on-again/off-again -- so was probably an overload phenomenon.
To post relevant comments, click the squiggle to the left of where it says "COMMENTS". Open commenting here. My old posts on this blog can be found here or here. Email John Ray.
11:21 PM
Another Example Of Two Solitudes
Prison report a real con job
By MICHAEL HARRIS
With people like Howard Sapers around, it's a wonder there are any correctional officers willing to work in Canada's federal prisons.
Sapers is the federal ombudsman for inmates, a man in other words whose job it is to champion the easily offended sensitivities of murderers, rapists, and drug dealers.
This week he accused the Correctional Service of Canada of "systematic discrimination" against Native inmates. I laughed so loudly I frightened the cat.
Remarkably, Sapers admits that prison officials are "very quick to act" when individual acts of deliberate harassment against Native inmates are substantiated. What is this dubious civil servant's point -- that the system doesn't act when such complaints are unfounded?
The truth is that there is no class of convict in Canada's federal prison system (with the possible exception of female offenders) which gets more special treatment than aboriginals. In fact, they have their own parallel prison system and are well on their way to having a parallel justice system as well.
Case in point: There are already a number of CSC facilities that are operated specifically for aboriginal inmates. These institutions do not look or run like Kingston, Warkworth or Millhaven.
Their staffs are aboriginal and their institutional principles are based on aboriginal ethics and values -- a philosophy, by the way, which is built right into the Corrections and Conditional Release Act. Their partners in these ventures are the local aboriginal communities.
Canada's prison system has already turned the keys over to Natives themselves in some jurisdictions. Under Section 81 (1) of the CCRA, former Solicitor General Lawrence MacAulay legally transferred correctional services to aboriginal communities in Alberta in 1999. Not only do these communities have full custody of federal inmates in places like Stan Daniels Healing Centre in Edmonton, they also have the right to supervise them when they are given conditional release. Normally the decision to release a federal prisoner is made by the National Parole Board and parolees are then supervised by CSC.
Far from being the disadvantaged group that Howard Sapers says they are, the CSC made it an objective to "significantly increase the number of aboriginals safely and successfully reintegrated" into society.
In practice what that meant was adopting a policy that actually endangered the public. The idea was to ignore technical violations of parole when it came to Native parolees so that they wouldn't be returned to prison for drinking, drug use, or associating with known criminals. In other words, the system set out to ignore violations that would cost other parolees their freedom.
The court system participated in helping CSC to treat Native offenders more leniently than anyone else in the federal prison system. In 1996, the Liberals passed a new provision to the Criminal Code requiring judges to consider "all available sanctions other than imprisonment that are reasonable in the circumstances."
Although that provision applied to all offenders, the judges were to pay "particular attention to the circumstances of aboriginal offenders." It is an example of the system bending over backwards to do something about a fact Howard Sapers says it is ignoring the so-called "overrepresentation" of Native offenders in our federal prisons. The Supreme Court of Canada eventually ruled that judges should sentence aboriginal offenders in different ways.
They did. When 19-year-old Jamie Gladue fatally stabbed her husband at a party, she was given three years for manslaughter.
On appeal, the Supreme Court of Canada ruled that the trial judge had not given due attention to the "Indianness" of Jamie Gladue. She was released from prison after serving just six months.
One of CSC's showcase "prisons," Okimaw Ohci, reveals exactly how the federal prison system caters to Native offenders. This healing lodge in Maple Creek, Sask., is situated on 160 breathtaking acres in the Nekaneet First Nation Reserve in Cypress Hills. There are no fences or barbed wire and inmates are free to roam the poplar forest. There is a library, a ceramics studio, and whirlpool to soothe away the stress of the sweat lodge.
The lodge also has a daycare centre for 10 children up to age four so they can be looked after while their mothers are occupied.
There is no warden and no guards and no one recruited from CSC. Each of the 30 "residents" of Okimaw Ohci costs the taxpayer more than $100,000 a year.
There may be discrimination in the system but it is against the men and women who guard federal prisoners, not Native inmates, who continue to offend violently at very high rates despite the emphasis on aboriginal culture and spirituality in their prison treatment.
Howard Sapers needs a new job and Stockwell Day should give it to him. How about CSC Liaison Officer with the victims of crime?
Mutiny On The Good Ship Jack Layton?
Former NDP spokesman takes environmentalists to task for being unfair to Stephen Harper
James Heath, a well-known spokesperson for the NDP and former communications director for the party and for Greenpeace, takes his fellow party members, Greenpeace, David Suzuki, and the rest of their lot to task for playing politics instead of giving credit where credit is due. Stephen Harper and the Conservatives have done more than the Liberals managed to do in 13 years on the environment, and yet Harper can't seem to do anything right. James Heath quite rightly points out that this refusal to recognize progress undermines environmentalists, both in their progress to achieving their goals, and in terms of their credibility.
Putting Yourself In The Same Boat As OCRAP
Friday, October 20, 2006
Power to the people.
posted by Enough is EnoughSigns are showing up around the city, and I decided it was time to put my money where my mouth was.
OCRAP isnt the only who can protest :)
On my way to work today I noticed that my favorite local restaurant had 2 big David Miller signs up. A tear fell down my cheek, but then I started to formulate a plan.
I got off a bit early today and stopped in on my way home. Got up to order my takeout, and started to chat with the owner who is always friendly to me. Gave him half my order then said:
"Oh BTW, are those your David Miller signs out front?"
"Yes", he replied, "They came and put them up, and he is the mayor so I dont want to complain."
"Oh no. Thats too bad, Fahim. I cant eat from here with those signs up. I love my city and just can not bring myself to buy something at a David Miller supporter."
He was very apologetic, and I felt bad, but I felt I needed to stand up for a change.
Funny thing is I just got back from picking some groceries and the signs are down. I stopped in, Fahim took me by the arm and showed me the fact that the signs were down.
Mmmmm. Glad I can get back to having my Chicken Tikka Masala when I want it :)
Business should not put campaign signs up, regardless of the political party or ideology. Its stupid to alienate your customers.
Maybe IT IS Time For Party Politics At City Hall
Party politics at city hall need not be covertOct. 21, 2006. 01:00 AM
Two Etobicoke Conservatives, instrumental in merging the former Alliance and Progressive Conservative parties into the ruling federal government, have launched The Toronto Party, aimed at ending what they call the dominance of the NDP at city hall.
They plan to start organizing right after the Nov. 13 election and expect to have candidates contesting each ward and the mayor's seat in the 2010 election, running under the umbrella of a civic party — something not possible under current provincial legislation.
Stephen Thiele and Brian Roussie, right-of-centre mavericks not afraid to shake up the political establishment, say city politics is too often unaccountable, non-democratic, unresponsive and unable to move an agenda to get things done quickly and efficiently.This week they launched the website, thetorontoparty.com, announcing their intent.
The move comes during a dreadfully dull mayoral election. The front-running candidates Jane Pitfield, Stephen LeDrew and incumbent Mayor David Miller, square off in the first televised debate tomorrow at 8 p.m., sponsored by Citytv and the Toronto Star
Lets get off our collective asses
Doesn't Say Much For The Voters Of Toronto
Finally, an election promiseOct. 20, 2006. 06:30 AM
I know it's a small thing and the promised money isn't much, but we finally have an election proposal from Mayor David Miller that might just increase our pulse rate. A bit.Starting next year, the mayor would distribute $100,000 a year for four years to each of Toronto's 44 wards to assist in beautifying their neighbourhoods.It's a start. It's not the massive makeover of our neighbourhoods that's needed, but having dipped his big toe in the water, Miller might return emboldened and committed to a grand beautification scheme involving service clubs, business, institutions, homeowners and BIAs.Miller's campaign strategy has been to promise little, let sleeping dogs lie, deflect anything controversial and ride back into office. It's a winning strategy, for sure.
You get what you deserve.......
Nothing about fiscal responsibility, nothing about taking city hall back from the unions, nothing about abusive panhandlers, nothing, nothing........
Who You Friends Are Says A Lot About You
Former premier drumming up donations for Miller raceOct. 20, 2006. 01:00 AM
Former Ontario premier David Peterson is asking voters to help Mayor David Miller's re-election campaign. In an email sent to Miller supporters, Peterson asks for $100 donations. "As a former premier I understand how important it is for different levels of government to work together to make good things happen," Peterson writes. "I've watched David Miller's strong leadership help bring forward the new deal for cities culminating in the City of Toronto Act. I've seen him secure our share of the gas tax from both the provincial and federal governments that will put more than $500 million into the TTC's coffers over the next two years ... David Miller needs a strong second mandate to continue the job."The letter is signed Hon. David R. Peterson, P.C., Q.C., C. St. J., L. d'H., D.U., L.L.D., Honorary Co-Chair, Re-Elect David Miller Campaign.
Island Squatters Don't Understand Competition
Miller blasts Porter airline deal
Company signs 'massive subsidy' agreement to fly fed employees at a discount
By ROB GRANATSTEIN AND ZEN RURYK, CITY HALL BUREAU
The federal government and Porter Airlines have twisted the knife into the opponents of the island airport again.
Porter announced yesterday it has signed an agreement with the Government of Canada to fly federal employees on its flights at a discounted rate. Airport opponents are furious with the news.
"It becomes clearer and clearer that airport is only there for federal civil servants and because of federal civil servants," Toronto Mayor David Miller said yesterday. "Porter Airlines had a massive subsidy disguised as a legal settlement. This is another way of the federal government propping them up. It becomes very clear why Porter's flights are to Ottawa."
Bill Freeman, spokesman for Community Air, the group calling for a boycott of the island airport, said the federal government is again ignoring Toronto's wishes.
"It's in your face to David Miller and to the people of Toronto opposed to the island airport expansion," he said.
The agreement makes it far more likely Porter will become a viable airline.
"We certainly think it goes a long way toward our long-term sustainability," Porter president Robert Deluce said.
Porter had to be included in the Shared Travel Services Initiative (STSI), part of Public Works and Government Services Canada, to be eligible to fly federal employees.
The government has a deal with several carriers, including Air Canada and WestJet.
Community Air estimated this week 90% of trips from the island airport on previous commercial carriers were made by civil servants.
Porter takes off on Monday with 10 flights daily to Ottawa.
Teflon Mayor Plays It Safe
Challengers attack mayor
Miller targeted in debate
By NATALIE PONA, TORONTO SUN
It was a David Miller sandwich.
Mayor Miller was fielding attacks from both sides last night during the first televised debate of the mayoral race on CANOE Live.
Miller was left defending his time in office, calling some of his competitors' accusations "astonishing."
"He looked like he was ready to throw the white flag down," said the Sun's Sue-Ann Levy, in post-debate analysis.
FIREWORKS
There were fireworks as Jane Pitfield and Stephen LeDrew attacked Miller's record on transit, City Hall ethics, the waterfront and the St. Clair streetcar line.
"Why do you keep saying things you're going to do when you've been mayor for three years?" LeDrew said.
In one attack, Pitfield accused Miller of having a "secret agenda" for the Gardiner Expressway.
"(You will) wait till the election is done, then tear it down," she said.
Miller said tearing down the Gardiner is not a priority.
Pitfield took her share of the heat when she was asked why she has flip-flopped on issues such as the St. Clair streetcar line.
In September 2004, Pitfield voted in favour of the $68-million plan to put streetcars on dedicated lanes along St. Clair Ave., from Yonge St. to just west of Keele St.
Many local business owners and residents are against the project, which has been built from Yonge to Bathurst Sts. so far.
Miller questioned why she has since again changed her mind.
Pitfield defended herself, saying a mayor must be open to change, when better options are presented.
"Circumstances have changed, David Miller," she said.
Pitfield then fired back, arguing Miller hadn't done enough public consultation before forging ahead with the streetcar plan.
LeDrew -- who the Sun's Lorrie Goldstein called the "flame-thrower" of the debate -- spent his time attacking Miller.
Miller "played it safe," said the Sun's Zen Ruryk, adding that strategy, used in the campaign, may actually win Miller a second term.
Kopeto's Attire Appropriate
His suit was dismissed
Ex-lawyer's crime was in his clothes
By ALAN CAIRNS, TORONTO SUN
Harry Kopyto's colourful ensemble was more than a fashion faux pas. It resulted in the Toronto paralegal being booted from the courtroom by a judge. (Ernest Doroszuk, SUN)A colourful Toronto paralegal is seeing red after his forceful ejection from court for a fashion crime.
Harry Kopyto alleges that a Toronto cop "manhandled" him out of a Scarborough court yesterday after a justice of the peace adjourned a case because of his attire.
When city prosecutor Janet Stoeckl complained about Kopyto's multi-coloured open-neck shirt and his textured burnt-orange jacket, speeding charges against Kopyto's client were brought to a halt.
Have Politicians Nothing Better To Do
Analysis: Has political debate gone to the dogs?
Did Peter Call Her A Dog-Definitly An Insult
Stronach asks MacKay to apologize over comment
Updated Fri. Oct. 20 2006 3:39 PM ET
CTV.ca News Staff
Liberal MP Belinda Stronach rose in the House of Commons on Friday to ask her former flame Foreign Affairs Minister Peter MacKay for an apology after he allegedly referred to her as a dog -- a remark he has denied making.
http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20061020/stronach_mackay_061020/20061020?hub=TopStories
Friday, October 20, 2006
Is Anyone Really Surprised At The Action Of Fiberals
McGuinty wants Ottawa to pay for CaledoniaOct. 20, 2006. 12:53 PM
NIAGARA FALLS — Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty wants Ottawa to compensate Ontario taxpayers for the cost of the ongoing aboriginal occupation in Caledonia.McGuinty said today that aboriginal land claims are a federal responsibility and wants the feds to wrap up negotiations with Six Nations protesters and end the dispute.
He saids Ontario citizens are paying a hefty price for the occupation in the town south of Hamilton, and expects the federal government to reimburse the province for all costs.
He wouldn’t put a dollar figure on the compensation but says he’ll make a formal request to Prime Minister Stephen Harper in the days to come.
The costs to the province have included more than $16 million to buy the land, compensating businesses for lost revenue and police overtime.
Six Nations protesters have occupied the former housing development site since February and say they won’t leave until the land is returned to them.
I Wish We Could Get Off The Caledonia Issue
Government and police misuse power to repress the truth
Thursday, October 19. 2006From a resident of Breamar
Check this link after you read the article below so you can contact your MP and MPP
Email sent to me today and to various political leaders from a resident of Braemar.
Further to this, one of the residents of Braemar Ave and the brother of Anne Marie Vansickle (one of the speakers at the Caledonia rally), Steve Reilly was arrested last night by OPP and Immigration officers...
Steve was informed that his currently validated Visa good until February, 2008 was being immediately revoked for undisclosed reasons and that he had 7 days to get out of the country, they then seized his passport (which is the only proof he has of the valid Visa) and released him....
I Appreciate Tor Pol Annoyance
If he parked on the wrong side of the street was he in compliance with the by-law?
His personal comments are parking by-law enforcement officers are out of line. You might not like what that do but they are getting paid to do a job and they reflect society in general....the majority are no different than Tor Pol or I.
Thursday, October 19, 2006
I Am So Effin Angry Part Two
posted by Tor PoliWithin the last 36 hours I received 3 x $30 parking tickets.
I deserved one. The other two were 100 Bogus.
I am a permitted parker. My street is near an entertainment area, and reserved spots are generally taken up until ten pm or so.
So I park on the wrong side of the street until one opens up.
Tonite I was with a friend mid town until 637 (I have the restaurant receipt). I was given a ticket at 715 for parking longer than an hour.
Parking Enforcement Officers are bacteria on scum on slime on fleas on rats.
Enough Is Enough Is Right On The Money
Thursday, October 19, 2006
See Millerwatch get annoyed.
posted by Enough is EnoughI am more than a little annoyed.
I got an email this afternoon from a concerned voter. Someome who is supposed to be one of David Miller's core voters.
Progressive, left of centre, a woman. Not exactly what I am guessing is the core MillerWatch reader demographic :) .
She went to the David Miller campaign for some valid information, and never recieved it. She waited a reasonable period of time, then inquired again. This time she was insulted and screwed around. To the extend that she is not an anti-Miller voter. And is passing the word along to little old me.
Maybe I am too much of a political idealist, but reading her email got my blood boiling. Whereever we sit on the political spectrum, regardless of issues we differ on, the bottom line is that we are all humans, and deserve to be treated as such. If I answer the phone in a campaign office and it is someone complaining, until they disrespect me, they get the same respect supporters do.
This may sound cliche, but I have Liberal friends, and Dipper friends, and Communist friends (no really), Republican friends, Democrat friends, single issue friends. They are all my friends. I do not shun people because they have different opinions.
Too often candidates forget how to treat people.
I have always said, who you vote for is way less important than that fact that you got off the couch and voted. Nothing pisses me off more than campaiging at someone's door, or meeting someone at a subway stop and they confidently pronounce 'I dont vote' and thumb their nose at me.
Might as well wear a sign that says I'm a Coward.
Let's See What Ann Is Up To.......
O.J. TRIALS FOR TERRORISTS
by Ann Coulter
October 18, 2006
The Democrats claim they want to treat terrorism as a criminal law problem, but when we give them an American citizen convicted of aiding terrorists — as happened this week — a Democrat judge gives her a slap on the wrist. Or he was going to give her a wrist slap until someone told him that wrist-slapping was banned under the Geneva Conventions, so he let the wrist off with a warning.
Last year, a New York jury found Lynne Stewart guilty of helping her former client, Sheik Omar Abdel Rahman, communicate with his Egyptian-based group of murderous terrorists, appropriately known as "the Islamic Group."
The blind sheik needed to instruct his followers to abandon a truce and resume murdering innocents, but he couldn't get the message through because, by sheer coincidence, he was in prison for conspiring to murder innocents here in America by plotting the first World Trade Center bombing. So Stewart and a "translator" met with her former client in prison and took his messages for transmission to his followers in Egypt.
http://www.anncoulter.com/cgi-local/printer_friendly.cgi?article=153
Moscoe Is At It Again
Election Sign Flap Angers Residents In North York
Thursday October 19, 2006If it didn't look like there was an election going on in Toronto before, it sure does now.When the clock struck midnight Thursday, candidates in the race to get to City Hall were legally allowed to put up their election signs for the first time.
But some eager politicians jumped the gun. And a few went even farther than that.
Constituents in Howard Moscoe's North York riding woke up in the morning to find his signs plastered all over their lawns. The problem? Most of them didn't get asked if he could put them there.
"I woke up this morning as I was leaving for work. It was right there," complains Nea Peralta, who lives near the Yorkdale subway. "And I thought that was strange because from between 7pm last night and this morning, we didn't receive any phone calls."
Other residents found the same nasty surprise waiting for them when the sun came up. And many were so angry, they immediately tore them down.
What happened? It turns out Moscoe's office took an old page out of the cable company's book and tried to use a sort of negative billing option, sending a letter to residents telling them if they didn't want a sign, they should let his office know.
Most people weren't even aware of it and were less than pleased when they learned about the idea. "It's like getting something in the post and saying, you know, if you want us to deliver this grand piano, then let us know," laments Maureen McCreight. "Otherwise we'll deliver a grand piano. That's just not on."
Moscoe is nonplussed by the revelation. "We have been doing it for years," he notes. "Out of 12,000 signs, we had 30 calls."
But it wasn't just the morning residents who were surprised by the Moscoe signs. One North York resident was out walking his dog around 10pm and saw they'd sprouted all over the neighbourhood - at least two hours before they were permitted to be there.
Moscoe's response? "I don't put up the signs."
That does little to placate Peralta, one of the many who have thrown hers away. "It's sort of disrespectful in some form because he should have asked our permission first, so it's sort of like intruding," she concludes.
The city's Municipal License and Standards division is investigating the sign snafu.
Where Does The Education Dollar Go?
Is education about bricks & mortar?
There is no question our public education system is in trouble but let's examine the history of the relationship between government, parent groups, teacher's unions and school boards. Who in the hell is in charge? Before left wingers denigrate Harris' efforts let us examine the impact of the above groups.
Oct. 20, 2006. 01:00 AMEvery so often, the folks fighting to keep their neighbourhood school open after hours, bring in a full-time English-as-a-second-language teacher or get art instruction back on the curriculum need a reminder of what is really at stake.
Public education binds us together
This is an edited excerpt of a speech by Senator Hugh Segal on Monday night at a tribute dinner for Annie Kidder of People for Education:
Will The Mayor Be There?
Anti-airport group will picket flight
Community Air not ready to give up Island fightPorter Airlines passengers will be met with protests first thing Monday morning when the new carrier takes off.
Is Anyone Surprised
Pitfield to Miller: Liar
Mayoral candidate accuses mayor of being untruthful about Fantino's departure from top cop postThe gloves came off in Toronto's mayoral debate last night when candidate Jane Pitfield accused Mayor David Miller of lying about former police chief Julian Fantino's departure from Toronto's force.
Sad Day In Law Enforcement
OPP: Mission 'impossible'
Send in the Mounties, say overworked officers fed up with Caledonia standoffOverworked OPP officers are fed up with their "imposs-ible"mission at the Caledonia land claim standoff and want the RCMP to trot in.
Thursday, October 19, 2006
Sanity In Politics In Kazakhstan
Top official invites Borat to visit Kazakhstan
Updated Thu. Oct. 19 2006 8:59 AM ET
Associated Press
ALMATY, Kazakhstan -- A top Kazakh official has an invitation for the British comedian whose depiction of a homophobic, misogynistic, English-mangling Kazakh journalist has outraged the Central Asian nation: Come visit.
Deputy Foreign Minister Rakhat Aliyev said in an interview that he understands why Kazakhs are unhappy about Sacha Baron Cohen's character, Borat.
"But we must have a sense of humor and respect other people's freedom of creativity," Aliyev was quoted as saying by Kazakhstan Today.
"I'd like to invite Cohen here," he said. "He can discover a lot of things. Women drive cars, wine is made of grapes, and Jews are free to go to synagogues."
Though to some Cohen's antics are potentially more insulting to Americans, Kazakhs have long seethed at his popularity and his maligning of their country. Cohen's Borat character has presented inhabitants of the ex-Soviet republic as addicted to horse urine, fond of shooting dogs, and viewing rape and incest as respectable hobbies.
Kazakh officials have tried to respond to the outrageous descriptions.
The Foreign Ministry recently ran ads on CNN, in The New York Times, and the International Herald Tribune reciting laudable -- though slightly boring -- facts and figures on the nation's economic growth, civil liberties and cultural achievements.
Kazakh officials are also wincing ahead of the imminent U.S. premiere of Cohen's full-length feature movie "Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan."
"It's useless to offend an artist and threaten to sue him," Aliyev was quoted as saying. "It will only further damage the country's reputation and make Borat even more popular."
Interesting Stats But Do We Have More Nurses
More nurses working in Canada but profession aging
Last Updated: Wednesday, October 18, 2006 | 12:11 PM ET
CBC News
The number of regulated nurses working in Canada increased by two per cent between 2004 and 2005, but there could be a shortage in supply within a decade, the author of a new report says.
The Canadian Institute for Health Information released its report, Highlights From the Regulated Nursing Workforce in Canada, 2005, on Wednesday.
The number of regulated nurses rose to 321,590 in 2005, from 315,121 in 2004, according to the report. The upsurge followed a decrease in the nursing supply in many regions during health restructuring in the 1990s.
Of the total, about 78 per cent were registered nurses, roughly 20 per cent were licensed practical nurses and 1.5 per cent were registered psychiatric nurses.
The growth is faster than that of the population, said Paul Sajan, program lead of health human resources for the institute, who led the study.
However, currently, almost one in five nurses is older than 55, and the average age is at its highest recorded level: 45.
"With 20 per cent of the workforce age 55 or older in a profession that is as physically demanding as nursing, that does raise a question for what's going to happen in the next five to 10 years," Sajan told CBC Newsworld.
More educated
The report also looked at how education for nursing has changed. In 2005, 34 per cent of RNs had a university degree, compared with 19 per cent a decade ago.
The average age of people graduating as RNs has increased to 24.3 in 2005, from 23.7 in 2000, the report said.
More people are also taking up nursing as a second career, but by the time they graduate, they are already over the age of 30. It remains to be seen whether these older newcomers will remain in the profession past the age of 60.
Hospitals and provincial governments are using retention policies to keep the most experienced members of the workforce, who can help train the next generation, Sajan said.
The number of regulated nurses working full time increased slightly from 53.5 per cent in 2004 to 53.8 per cent in 2005; those working part-time dropped from 34.9 per cent to 33.8 per cent; casual workers increased from 11.6 per cent to 12.4 per cent. It broke down as follows:
- About 54 per cent of RNs were full time, 33 per cent part time, and 11 per cent worked on a casual basis.
- About 47 per cent of licensed practical nurses were full time, 36 per cent part time, and 17 per cent casual.
- About 40 per cent of registered psychiatric nurses were full time, 16 per cent part time, and 4 per cent casual. (The remainder had an unknown status.)
Foreign-trained nurses, which make up about seven per cent of Canada's nursing population, are a potential source of staff, but it may be difficult to attract more of them, given that other countries are also facing shortages, Sajan said.
The Canadian Institute for Health Information is a not-for-profit organization established by the nation's health ministers to collect and analyze information on health and health care in the country and make it publicly available.
Indians Don't Have To Take Back Seat To Islamicfascists
Cigarette advertising and Dalton McGuinty's priorities
An illegal land occupation by Natives from the Six Nations Reserve and the subsequent economic destruction of the town of Caledonia is no reason for Dalton McGuinty's Liberal government in Ontario to get excited. Instead, the occupation goes on for months and months while the businesses in Caledonia are reduced to depending on government handouts to stay afloat. On the other hand, the Natives put up a billboard advertising a smoke shop, and the Feds are called in, threats are made, and the message is sent out that no one is above the law.
I swear, when it comes to cigarettes, everyone just loses their minds.
Another Example Of Who Actually Runs City Hall
The plot thickens
As mentioned on TorontoPolitics Blog yesterday, and brought up to me in an email from a reader last night, sources are saying that Miller and Local 416 have signed and sealed a deal to de-privatize waste pickup in York and Etobicoke.
Some of you will remember in 2003, John Tory pointed out that the old City of York and Etobicoke pay $44/tonne of waste, yet Toronto, North York, East York and Scarborough pay $77/tonne for the exact same service.
And you wonder why we have a deficit.
Get Out Of The Way Or Risk Being Stomped
Dispute the facts if you dare.
Rae's Record Says It All
by Greg Wilson
| |
The good news for Bob Rae is that a recent Ekos Research poll shows he is the No. 1 choice of ordinary Canadians to lead the Liberal party into the next election, his popularity for the Grit job presumably strongest among Conservative voters.
The bad news for Bob is that the closer he gets to the Grit ring, the more his creepy critics are going to dredge up all that nasty stuff about how he almost drowned Ontario in a sea of red ink during his four years as NDP premier.
So far in the Liberal leadership race, Rae has admitted he came away from his turn at the helm of government with some valuable lessons, but regrets too few to mention.
"You'd be crazy not to learn lessons," Rae told the Globe's John Ibbitson recently. "But I'm also very proud of some of the things we did."
And so he should be proud, his accomplishments as premier showing clearly why this is the guy to run the country. For instance:
* Bob Rae made history as a man who gets things done. It took 40 years for mainly Conservative governments in Ontario to accumulate $20 billion in debt building the province's schools, hospitals, highways and hydro dams. It took Bob's NDP administration only four years to run up another $40 billion in red ink with little of enduring value to show for it at the end.
* Bob Rae is a visionary in health care. It was his NDP government that implemented the ingenious plan to cut medicare costs by reducing the number of doctors graduating from medical schools. Today, his legacy endures with a physician shortage that saves taxpayers a fortune by not having to treat millions of sick Canadians who can't find a family doctor.
* Bob Rae is a champion of the Canadian leisure industries. For the first time since the Great Depression of the 1930s, there were fewer people employed in Ontario industries when Rae left office than when he arrived.
* Bob Rae boldly stands up for Big Business and isn't afraid to stick it to the Little Guy, those whining small businesses that always have it easy. In the five years before Rae came to office, about 85% of all the net new jobs created in Ontario were in companies with fewer than 100 employees. Even in the 1980s recession when big companies shed more than 100,000 jobs, small businesses in the province grew by almost twice that number.
But not under Bob's watch -- a few major industries got huge bailouts, while all those mom-and-pop operations got ravaged, losing more than 100,000 jobs in the four years of NDP rule.
* Bob Rae understands what it means to be a taxpayer -- when economic times get tough, the tough get taxed, thereby ensuring the economy slows to the point where everyone gets screwed equally -- although some more equally than others. For instance, by the time the NDP left office, Ontario professionals and entrepreneurs earning more than $67,000 a year had the highest marginal tax rate in North America, and were ungratefully running for the border in droves.
* Bob Rae is a politician who never forgets his promises. The NDP pledged to introduce public auto insurance that would save car owners a fortune in premiums. Four years later, the Dippers were still promising socialist collision coverage even as they were being driven out of office.
* Bob Rae is perhaps the only great Canadian leader of the last century to have a day named in his honour -- Rae Days. Just over a decade ago, the man who would now be the next federal Liberal leader and perhaps Canada's next prime minister looked out upon the economic landscape he had created and saw that it was ravaged by record debt, record deficits and record job losses, and he knew exactly what needed to be done.
He hired 100,000 more public servants, gave them all a big raise, and ordered them to stay home and not get paid.
Bob! Bob! Bob!
About Me
- Unhypentated Canadian
- I lean to the right but I still have a heart and if I have a mission it is to respond to attacks on people not available to protect themselves and to point out the hypocrisy of the left at every opportunity.MY MAJOR GOAL IS HIGHLIGHT THE HYPOCRISY AND STUPIDITY OF THE LEFTISTS ON TORONTO CITY COUNCIL. Last word: In the final analysis this blog is a relief valve for my rants/raves.