Do We3 Have Safeguards In Our Handout Deal

Stephen Harper - Call Your Office

The UAW Reneges;

Last week's deal was supposed to hold both the managers' and unions' feet to the fire. In handing out the taxpayer money, the White House insisted the auto union cut worker pay roughly to the levels of their successful competitors, Toyota, Honda and Nissan.

For $17 billion in emergency bailout cash and possibly much more later, it was a reasonable request. As President Bush said, "The time to make the hard decisions to become viable is now — or the only option will be bankruptcy." He added that a deadline of March 31 for the industry to prove its "viability" and other limits "send a clear signal to everyone involved."

Well, if so, the United Auto Workers didn't get it.

Just days before Christmas, the UAW let it be known it'll fight any concessions on wages and benefits. "An undue tax on the workers" is how union boss Ron Gettelfinger described it as the UAW reneged on the deal almost before the ink was dry.

This will go down as one of the most cynical acts of political manipulation ever. The UAW agreed to one thing with President Bush, knowing full well President-elect Barack Obama and congressional Democrats were big recipients of union largesse and would let them slide. They read the situation correctly.

h/t

Posted by Kate at 10:46 AM

It Might Be A Concern BUT....

Enviro-nitwits of the day

By Michelle Malkin • December 23, 2008 03:06 PM

Seattle’s no-salt policy is endangering lives. It’s just the latest example of enviro-nitwit-ism from greenies in the Puget Sound, who would rather force commuters to risk accidents than “pollute” salty sea water with more salt.

Oy:

To hear the city’s spin, Seattle’s road crews are making “great progress” in clearing the ice-caked streets.

But it turns out “plowed streets” in Seattle actually means “snow-packed,” as in there’s snow and ice left on major arterials by design.

“We’re trying to create a hard-packed surface,” said Alex Wiggins, chief of staff for the Seattle Department of Transportation. “It doesn’t look like anything you’d find in Chicago or New York.”

The city’s approach means crews clear the roads enough for all-wheel and four-wheel-drive vehicles, or those with front-wheel drive cars as long as they are using chains, Wiggins said.

The icy streets are the result of Seattle’s refusal to use salt, an effective ice-buster used by the state Department of Transportation and cities accustomed to dealing with heavy winter snows.

“If we were using salt, you’d see patches of bare road because salt is very effective,” Wiggins said. “We decided not to utilize salt because it’s not a healthy addition to Puget Sound.”

Instead, they’re using sand — which is even more damaging to the environment, as other city officials point out:

“We never use sand,” said Ann Williams, spokeswoman for Denver’s Department of Public Works. “Sand causes dust, and there’s also water-quality issues where it goes into streets and into our rivers.”

End result of this moron policy?

“Sunday was full of car crashes, even after several pleas from State Patrol and local police to stay off the roads.

The State Patrol responded to 157 collisions Sunday in King County. …

Between noon and midnight on Saturday, the State Patrol responded to 246 collisions … in King County.” “Snow: Sunday Traffic accidents by the numbers”

Coming To A Kiosk At Your Local Mall?

Eco-guilt assuaged in San Francisco

By Michelle Malkin • December 26, 2008 11:26 AM

San Francisco is building carbon offset kiosks for enviro-nitwit plane travelers who want to assuage their guilt over their carbon footprints. Frequent flier and planet savior Nancy Pelosi approves, no doubt:

San Francisco’s Airport Commission has authorized the program, which will involve a $163,000 investment from SFO, but is still working out the details with 3Degrees. Because of that, McDougal said, he can’t yet discuss specifics, such as the cost to purchase carbon offsets and what programs would benefit from travelers’ purchases.

But the general idea, officials said, is that a traveler would approach a kiosk resembling the self-service check-in stations used by airlines, then punch in his or her destination. The computer would calculate the carbon footprint and the cost of an investment to offset the damage. The traveler could then swipe a credit card to help save the planet. Travelers would receive a printed receipt listing the projects benefiting from their environmental largesse.

(link)

Wonder if they’ll let the folks who came up with carbon offset offsets build their own kiosks? I’ll buy those!

The Senate And Reality

David Frum: Canada's Senate -- unredeemed and unreformed

Posted: December 26, 2008, 3:30 PM by Kelly McParland

For two years, Stephen Harper pressed the provinces to hold elections so that he could appoint democratically selected senators. They ignored him.

For two years, Harper minimized prime ministerial powers of patronage in the Senate. Again: Nobody responded.

Harper's principles exposed him to political danger. The partisan balance in the Senate has deteriorated to the point where the Liberals outnumber Conservatives by a margin of nearly 3-to-1 (58 to 20).

Fears that the Liberals would abuse this unelected advantage are well grounded in history. John Turner used his base in the Senate to thwart the U.S.-Canada Free Trade Treaty in 1988, forcing an election. (Turner misjudged the election's outcome -- but his misjudgment of the result does not beautify the ugliness of his manoeuvre.)

Click here to read more...

Elaine McCoy: The Senate reform Canadians wanted

Posted: December 26, 2008, 2:48 PM by Kelly McParland

Now that Stephen Harper has filled 18 Senate vacancies, he can forge ahead with his goal of reforming the Senate itself. In the new year, we may well see the Conservatives reintroduce bills that will propose elections for future Senators and fixed eight-year terms.

But Harper should not presume to know what significant changes Canadians would like for their institutions without asking them first. He might be surprised at the response.

We know he has already ignored one consultative report on the issue. Last year, he asked Canadians what they thought of their government, and they told him. The 2007 Compas report that the Harper government itself commissioned ('Public consultations on Canada's Democratic Institutions and Practices: A Report for the Privy Council Office') provides in-depth consultations with a wide assortment of Canadians from across the country.

Click here to read more...

Great Unwashed Speak Out.......

Magder got the ball rolling

December 27, 2008
I walked my dog down Yonge St. on the morning of Dec. 26 and saw that most stores were open. Paul Magder championed the cause by opening on Boxing Day and getting charged and convicted numerous times. He was a visionary who saw the appeal of Sunday and holiday shopping long before the establishment allowed it. Is there an Order of Canada in his future?

Closing hardly worth tears

Dec 27, 2008 04:30 AM

Luxury For Women boutique

I was close to nausea as I read of clients in tears over the closing of this upscale boutique. Anyone who can pay $30,000 for a handbag, $80,000 for a coat, and hundreds of dollars for gimcracks is uncaring or unaware of the poor and starving. Do these tearful women who "loved" Hazel's not know what brought on the French Revolution? Perhaps they should pick up a copy (leather-bound, gold-embossed and printed on the finest vellum, of course) of A Tale Of Two Cities.

Edward Camp, Oshawa

Spending nonexisting money

Economics for dummies: The world economy is collapsing because our society was excessively using nonexistent money.

Financial institutions have been supporting each other by granting worthless credit to homebuyers and credit-card holders. Big labour and monopoly public service unions have been extorting extravagant wages and fringe benefits from fewer and fewer truly productive people.

Now the bubble of imaginary money bursts. Could anybody explain to me why using even more nonexistent money to bail out unsustainable businesses and corrupt institutions should fix what was caused by exactly the same practices?

Frank Simek, Braeside

Is Che Guevara smiling?

Dec 27, 2008 04:30 AM

Does the current economic climate in the U.S. represent a failure of capitalism or what? Because it sure looks like the captains of industry need an infusion of capital from the big bad government in order to survive. Does this mean the U.S. may have to change its subversive policies in South America now that they've got socialism brewing on Capitol Hill? Somewhere up there Che is really enjoying this.

Mishal A. Naseer, Milton

.

Not A Factor In Blogging....

Errors are no joke at the Star TheStar.com - Opinion - Errors are no joke at the Star

December 27, 2008

Kathy English
PUBLIC EDITOR

Question: What do toilets, turkeys, Warren Buffett's billions and a white rhinoceros named Bull have in common?

Answer: There should be a good joke here, but alas, there isn't. In fact, each of these were the subject of a Star correction in 2008.

And while incorrect facts in the Star are indeed no joke, sometimes you do just have to laugh at the things that can go awry in reporting and presenting the news.

More....

Many Of The Faithful Are Also Concerned

Harper abandons zeal for reform TheStar.com - Opinion - Harper abandons zeal for reform

December 26, 2008

No surprise that Prime Minister Stephen Harper's slew of mostly partisan senatorial appointments has sparked widespread condemnation. After all, it's something of a Canadian tradition for prime ministers to take political heat for using the much unloved upper chamber as a repository for patronage.

The real surprise is how Harper is reinventing himself as a conventional politician.

After devoting his career to changing the way power politics is practised, Harper has changed into a practical politician uncommonly devoted to furthering his career in power. The transformation goes well beyond this week's announcement that 18 new senators would soon be sworn in, despite his previous vow to await an elected Senate.

The Senate appointments are merely part of a pattern of dizzying turnarounds by a Prime Minister who pledged to stay on the straight and narrow. On the very holiday week he anointed the senators, he also slipped in the appointment of a new Supreme Court judge without the consultative measures he had previously committed himself to.

More......

A Spouse Wh Understands Toronto Silly Hall

And knows the voters will hav e to deal with more garbage from Comrade Miller and his clowns.......

Deck The.........

The Human Condition & The Law

Criminally dumb and dumber

Sun's crime reporter shares some of the most oddball incidents from the files of 2008

By IAN ROBERTSON, TORONTO SUN

Welcome to a few strange and ironic tales about cops and suspects in 2008.

But first, how about an example of some kind cops this holiday season?

BAD DRIVERS CAN GIVE YULE TOYS

Some naughty Texas drivers had a chance to avoid tickets by buying toys for kids. Officers who played Santa in Sansom Park, near Fort Worth, by giving a discretionary "ticket for tots" instead of $165 citations, asked drivers they stopped to take a $10 toy to a police station for needy children this Christmas.

MOST HONEST ROBBER

Investigators easily tracked an armed robber in Athens, Ga., last April. The suspect honestly completed an application form at a store while waiting for customers to leave before pulling a knife. His chances of getting the job are poor.

WEARING ONLY A SEATBELT?

A Lothario faced charges in the B.C. capital after drivers reported seeing a naked man and two nude women cruising a highway last February while engaged in sex acts. After running the licence plate, Victoria Police waited for the owner to return home and arrested him plus one companion. The other lass was dropped off earlier.

REVEALING CONFESSIONAL

A couple caught making love in a Cesena, Italy, cathedral confessional box last June made peace with a bishop after admitting they were drunk and unaware of their surroundings. Cautioned for public obscenity and disturbing a religious function, their sin was forgiven before a "mass of reparation."

HONEST, OFFICER, IT'S NOT MINE

Police in Rhode Island found 266 grams of cocaine last July behind the dashboard of an unmarked Ford Taurus police cruiser. The cops had been driving the car since seizing it in 2000. Providence Deputy Police Chief Paul Kennedy said officers search confiscated cars, but sometimes "miss stuff."

CLEAN DRIVING RECORD ICED

A 34-year-old woman accused of being drunk on vodka while erratically driving a Zamboni in Kingsville was charged Oct. 30 with impaired driving. Paging the back-up Zamboni driver!

CARJACKER'S COLD TURKEY

A Raleigh, North Carolina man nabbed in a stolen car was bruised after being battered with a frozen turkey in November. A shopper leaving a grocery store spotted Irene Bailey being beaten and whacked her attacker with the stiff bird. The suspect then hit several cars but was stopped by cops.

MARK HER AS 'FAILED'

The OPP charged a 24-year-old clocked driving 142 km/h on an 80 km/h road near Walkerton in March. Shockingly, she was en route to her driver's test. Instead her learner's permit was yanked for seven days, her vehicle was impounded and she was ordered to court to explain.

"SNOW RAGE" IN QUEBEC

Hard hit by wintry blasts in March, police in Quebec reported people fighting over snow-clearing and parking spaces. Officers answered 12 calls one day to resolve neighbour feuds over snow dumped on adjacent lawns. A man even bashed a plower's window after she shoved snow onto his yard.

IMPAIRED ON A LAWNMOWER ?

A grass-cutter faced a drunk driving charge after riding a lawn mower onto a Richmond Hill sidewalk in July. He was also accused of possessing grass -- the smokeable kind. Just another day on Toronto's Wisteria Lane.

BANK CANDID CAMERAS PAY OFF

Five men -- in court as spectators to show support for seven accused debit-card skimmers -- were not smiling when they, too, were nabbed in the courthouse lobby. Two Durham Region detectives told them of their photos taken by ATM machine candid cameras during their December arrest. The fivesome hadn't banked on the surveillance systems and joined their pals with a list of similar ripoff charges in connection with fake bank cards used to illegally amass at least $200,000 in Toronto, Vaughan and Markham.

SO MUCH EFFORT, NO PAYOFF

A pair of hapless robbers got away with nothing in early March after spending a night chopping through the tarred steel roof of a Scotiabank at St. Clair Ave. E. and O'Connor Dr. Toronto Police Det. Indy Esken said the empty-handed bandits, who had burglary tools and walkie-talkies, were foiled by the "heavily fortified" casing around the bank machine they tried to rip off.

DOG-FACED ROBBER

A cash-strapped pet owner was nabbed by police in Osaka, Japan last March after a robbery spree by a man filmed on surveillance cameras wearing a black-and-white dog mask. Dubbed "The Dogman" by the media, the 28-year-old unemployed owner of two dogs, five cats, five turtles, two snakes and tropical fish was accused of stealing about $5,600 from convenience stores while armed with a knife. The accused man -- whose pets were turned over to a pet shop -- insisted his $1,145 monthly welfare payments did not cover their food bills. But police said some of the stolen money was used to buy another dog, which he said ate his mask.

DRUNK PARKS AT COP SHOP

Police in Wetaskiwin, near Edmonton, charged a man with drunk driving after he parked at the cop shop in February. It was closed, so the motorist kept warm in the lobby before being spotted as officers returned from a call. Impounding the car was not a problem.

FOR WHOM THE TILL TOLLED

A bruised wannabe thief fled empty-handed April 3 after a Bradford store clerk rammed a cash register drawer on his hand, South Simcoe Police said.

WHAT, NO DONUTS?

A campus cop was caught by a surveillance camera helping himself to more than free store coffee offered to police, New York State Police said. Filmed purloining pastries, the sergeant was ticketed in October for 17 petty larcenies as Morrisville State College University debated his future.

COP, HORSE, IN STABLE CONDITION

A Manhattan officer was treated for cuts after being tossed from his horse, which was frightened May 2 by traffic. Aldo, 8, trotted eight blocks to the safety of his stall.

---

THESE SHADY CROOKS HAD GOOD TIMING

Thieves chopped a hole through the metal roof of a London, Ont., shopping mall on Jan. 17 and made off with sunglasses and watches worth up to $100,000 from the Sunglass Hut and Watch It! Guess they wear their sunglasses at night ...

---

HOW 'BOUT THOSE JAYS -- JAYWALKERS THAT IS

Fed up police in Shanghai, China, announced Aug. 28 they would post jaywalkers' surveillance photos and videos in papers and on TV to shame them into stopping. No word on what police planned for spitters.

An Appropriate Memorial......

.,..would be if all those involved were in jail doing maximum sentences and hard time.

City Mourns Third Anniversary Of Creba Murder

Canada? Haven Or Tourist Destination

Santa Shooter Intended To Head For Canada
Friday December 26, 2008
Christina Hoag, The Associated Press

Law enforcement officials in Southern California say the gunman who killed nine people in a Christmas Eve bloodbath at his ex-in-laws' home had intended to flee to Canada after the attack.

Equality

Available at.......

The current economic mess can in a small way be attributed to the US attempt to promote equality.....they brought in plans to allow those at the lower level of the economic ladder to become property owners,by lowering, insuring, guaranteeing, etc. mortgage rates, and allowing those disadvantaged to become equal to the middle class when it came to debt load. This in turn gave equal opportunity to fiscal manipulators.

How '08 went bust

It began with a general feeling that the economy, though struggling, would be fine. Then the mortgage crisis hit. Then the bottom fell out. Now, market players are in shock.

The True Meaning.......

Common Values Unite Mankind
By PAUL BERTON

Peace on Earth. Goodwill toward all. These are pretty universal themes, no matter your religion.

Why Not?

Drivers Who Crash In Bad Weather Should Pay For Damages

Hit 'em where it hurts

Ontario's top cop says he'll ask the provincial government to hit "irresponsible" drivers who cause road crashes where it hurts -- in the wallet.

• Full Story

Speed limits on trucks

QUEEN'S PARK BUREAU CHIEF

Large commercial trucks travelling on Ontario roads must be equipped with speed limiters set for a maximum of 105 km/h

MSM Headline Writers Need Re-education

With the liberals holding 58 seats in the Senate I don't think it is appropriate to accuse Harper of "STACKING" the Senate but rather of attempting to level the playing field. I would suggest if the opposition, at all levels, is unhappy and truly want Senate Reform they should be challenging their provincial masters to get on board.

PM does about-turn on stacking Senate

His campaign for Senate reform stalled, Harper appoints 18 to chamber's Conservative ranks

BILL CURRY AND DANIEL LEBLANC

From Tuesday's Globe and Mail

December 23, 2008 at 3:34 AM EST

OTTAWA — Party fundraisers and defeated candidates dominated the list of 18 new Conservative senators announced yesterday by Prime Minister Stephen Harper, as one of the country's leading advocates of Senate reform unleashed the biggest single day of Senate appointments in Canadian history.

The Prime Minister argued he was left with no choice after his three-year campaign for Senate elections fell on deaf ears.

But critics accused Mr. Harper of hypocrisy in appointing a list of individuals known primarily for their service to the Conservative Party, including a former Quebec separatist. They also questioned the legitimacy of the appointments, given that Mr. Harper has suspended Parliament until late January in order to avoid defeat in the House of Commons. More.....

Charity Begins At Home

Especially for many members of the left wing.......

December 21, 2008
Bleeding Heart Tightwads
By NICHOLAS D. KRISTOF
This holiday season is a time to examine who’s been naughty and who’s been nice, but I’m unhappy with my findings. The problem is this: We liberals are personally stingy.

Liberals show tremendous compassion in pushing for generous government spending to help the neediest people at home and abroad. Yet when it comes to individual contributions to charitable causes, liberals are cheapskates.

Arthur Brooks, the author of a book on donors to charity, “Who Really Cares,” cites data that households headed by conservatives give 30 percent more to charity than households headed by liberals. A study by Google found an even greater disproportion: average annual contributions reported by conservatives were almost double those of liberals.

Other research has reached similar conclusions. The “generosity index” from the Catalogue for Philanthropy typically finds that red states are the most likely to give to nonprofits, while Northeastern states are least likely to do so. more

Sally Ann $600K Short Of Kettle Goal

Way To Go Stephen......

...as usual you have made the best of a bad situation.

Prime minister fills 18 vacant Senate seats

Updated Mon. Dec. 22 2008 1:10 PM ET

CTV.ca News Staff

Prime Minister Stephen Harper has appointed new senators, including CTV broadcaster Mike Duffy, former broadcaster Pamela Wallin and skier Nancy Greene Raine, to fill 18 vacancies in the Red Chamber.

The Maritimes and Quebec are well represented, with seven and four new senators respectively. Ontario has two, Saskatchewan has one, British Columbia has three, while one new senator hails from the Yukon.

Harper's list of new senators reads as a who's who of Conservative party operatives, with some surprises.

Representing Newfoundland is former MP Fabian Manning, who lost his seat in the riding of Avalon in October's federal election.

Appointees from Nova Scotia are Halifax lawyer Fred Dickson, one of Canada's foremost legal experts on offshore resource development; Stephen Greene, a former chief of staff to Nova Scotia Premier Rodney MacDonald; and Michael L. MacDonald, a Halifax Conservative organizer and former executive assistant to two federal cabinet ministers.

Former CTV broadcaster and host of "Mike Duffy Live" Mike Duffy enters the upper chamber representing his native Prince Edward Island.

New Brunswick MLA Percy Mockler and lawyer John D. Wallace round out the list of East Coast appointees.

The four new senators from Quebec are Patrick Brazeau, National Chief of the Congress of Aboriginal Peoples; former Quebec MP Suzanne Fortin-Duplessis; Montreal businessman Leo Housakos; and former mayor of Beauport and Quebec MNA Michel Rivard.

Representing Ontario are Conservative Party fundraiser and Member of the Order of Canada Irving Gerstein, as well as charity fundraiser and columnist Nicole Eaton.

British Columbia cultural activist Yonah Martin, former B.C. minister of energy mines and petroleum Richard Neufeld, and former member of the Yukon Legislative Assembly Hector Daniel Lang round out the list.

After years of successive Liberal governments, the 105-seat Senate had been made up of 58 Grits and 20 Conservatives prior to today's announcement.

Harper's decision to fill empty seats with Conservative appointees is a controversial one, given that he has long expressed his desire for an elected Senate, whereby each province would send their own representatives to Ottawa.

Under the current system, the prime minister chooses senators.

Harper has also said he would like the current 45-year term, which carries a mandatory retirement age of 75, to be reduced to just eight years.

"Our government will continue to push for a more democratic, accountable and effective Senate," Harper said in a news release. "If Senate vacancies are to be filled, however, they should be filled by the government that Canadians elected rather than by a coalition that no one voted for."

Harper said all of the senators support eight-year term limits and other proposed Senate reforms.

The opposition has criticized Harper's decision to make patronage appointments at a time when he is mired in a political crisis that is threatening his government.

Earlier this month, Harper was forced to ask Gov. Gen. Michaelle Jean to prorogue Parliament to fend off a Liberal-NDP-Bloc coalition that was waiting to take power after a confidence vote.

The crisis, which was spurred by a poorly received economic update that did not contain a stimulus package for the sputtering economy, is merely on hold until late January, when Parliament resumes and the Conservatives are scheduled to table a budget.

It Is Important That We Get An Insight Into IGGY So....

The Iggy Book Club II: The Rights Revolution

Posted: December 20, 2008, 12:00 PM by Kelly McParland
Filed under: Canadian politics,ignatieff book club

The Liberal Party of Canada has chosen Michael Ignatieff as its new leader. To help readers decide what kind of leadership Mr. Ignatieff might provide for Canada, members of the National Post editorial board are reading through Mr. Ignatieff’s oeuvre, discussing their impressions as they go. This week’s selection: Mr. Ignatieff’s collection of the 2000 Massey Lecture series, The Rights Revolution.

" He does more reconciling in one book than the average goddamn marriage counselor in an entire career."

COLBY COSH

The style of argument Michael Ignatieff displays in his book of Massey Lectures is curious, to say the least. He has spent so much time dropping great names of the Anglo-Saxon philosophical and humanist tradition, one would assume that in some sense he belonged to the class of what David Stove called “the hard men” of intellectual debate. Here, instead, is a thoroughly typical example of the technique by which Ignatieff characteristically presses home a point:

“The [essential Quebec-vs.-English Canada] problem is not one of rights or powers, but one of truth. We do not inhabit the same historical reality. And it is time we did. For two generations, English Canada has asked, with earnest respect, ‘What does Quebec want?’ It is time for English Canada to say who we are and what our country is. The answer is: we are a partnership of nations, a community of peoples united in common citizenship and rights. We do possess a common history, and like it or not, we had better begin sharing a common truth.”

Click here to read more...

The Left Champions Equality BUT....

....only for the left.

National Post editorial board: Obama lets down the left

Posted: December 20, 2008, 9:00 AM by Kelly McParland
Filed under: Editorial,Full Comment

Obama promised he’d reach out to his opponents. And guess what? He’s doing it

Throughout Barack Obama’s run for the presidency, much of his appeal centered on his professed desire to move past the partisanship and dogmatism that afflicts both of America’s major parties. Now, as President-elect, he is making good on that pledge — staffing senior positions with experts who buck Democratic orthodoxies in important ways.

This is greatly to the man’s credit. Yet Mr. Obama’s approach is proving to be a disappointment to the outer reaches of his own party, which find him far too inclusive and non-partisan for their tastes.

In the United States, as in Canada, the left side of the political spectrum always talks a good game about diversity, pluralism and inclusiveness. The catch is that they don’t really intend to indulge these values, except in alliance with people who share their opinions. Diversity is great when it means affirmative action and speech codes. But it goes too far when it strays into friendly relations with conservatives.

Click here to read more...

If This Is True Where Did The Money Go...

....why are the cycle activists not marching (cycling) on mass to Toronto Silly Hall? And in response to Paul's accusations about motorists ignoring bike lane bylaws I would bet the number doing so is miniscule to the number of cyclists who do not obey the traffic act.

Bicycle lanes don't really exist in Toronto TheStar.com - Opinion - Bicycle lanes don't really exist in Toronto

December 21, 2008

Re:City eyes rumble strips to protect

bicyclists, Dec. 17

The real problem with cycling in Toronto is obscured by the euphemism "bicycle lane." Toronto's streets have no bicycle lanes; they have bicycle paint. Bicycle paint is most readily recognized by the following features: it is frequently so worn as to be invisible; in winter it is covered by unplowed snow and ice; and year-round it is ignored by motorists who want a parking space or passing lane.

Note to Councillor Adrian Heaps: It is not those on cellphones and the coffee drinkers who pose the threat; it is those motorists who believe that bicycle lanes infringe on their exclusive right to the entire roadway.

Paul Collier, Toronto

Would You Be On Our Way To Senate Reform If...

....the provinces had come on board?

Reasons to reflect on Senate choices

TheStar.com - Opinion - Reasons to reflect on Senate choices

Patrick Corrigan Dec. 21, 2008

December 21, 2008

In the next few days, Prime Minister Stephen Harper is expected to name 18 new senators – the biggest-ever single batch of appointments to the Upper House. That's because the vacancies in the 105-seat chamber have built up as Harper has held off on Senate appointments for three years in the vain hope of persuading the provinces to go along with his idea of electing senators.

Now Harper believes he must appoint a whole bunch at once to maintain the Senate as a functioning legislative chamber and to redress the partisan imbalance. (There are currently 58 Liberals and only 20 Conservatives in the Senate. The other nine senators are independents of various kinds and "Progressive Conservatives" who have never reconciled themselves to the merger with the Reform wing of the Conservative party.)

Some critics have suggested that Harper should hold off on the appointments for at least another month or so, given that Parliament was prorogued at his behest to avoid a confidence vote that his government almost certainly would have lost.

more.....

In My Backyard.......

This is an area where we go shopping and my wife's doctor has his office. Shopper's, Macdonalds, TD Bank, Portuguse take-out, No Frills and many other shops are on my daily trips and if it wasn't for the snow I would have probably been out and about.
But I guess I shouldn't be surprised based on shootings, bombings, etc. that have occurred in the overall neighborhood bordered by the Allan on the east and Keele on the west over the years. Of course police want to thank, in advance, the community for their help in catching the perps.....description below.

Shooting leaves holes in TTC bus TheStar.com - Crime - Shooting leaves holes in TTC bus

December 21, 2008

Precious Yutangco
Staff Reporter

Toronto police are looking for two suspects and the intended target of a shooting that left two bullet holes in a TTC bus this afternoon.

Around noon, police were called to the area of Eglinton Ave. W. and Dufferin St. after reports that shots were fired.

Witnesses tell police that at least two men were chasing another man down the street when gunfire rang out.

At least two bullets hit a passing TTC bus, which had the driver and one passenger in it.

So far, no injuries have been reported. However, police are searching for the intended victim because they are concerned he may have been hurt.

Suspect descriptions are vague but the shooter is described as male, black, in his early 20s, wearing a faded green camouflage jacket with a hood. He was carrying what appeared to be a stainless steel-type gun.

Police are checking if the bus is equipped with a camera and are hoping it caught images of the wanted men.

Afternoon shooting leaves bullet holes on TTC bus

Updated: Sun Dec. 21 2008 1:53:40 PM

ctvtoronto.ca

Commuters aboard a public transit bus in Toronto Sunday afternoon found themselves in the path of danger when two people started shooting in the direction of their vehicle.

Toronto police say two men were seen chasing a third man down the street near Eglinton Avenue and Dufferin Street at around noon. Witnesses say they heard shots being fired.

Police found two bullet holes in the TTC bus. The bus was not packed at the time of the shooting.

No one was injured in the shooting but police say they have yet to locate the intended target.

Investigators are reviewing images from a security camera aboard the TTC bus, hoping to catch a glimpse of the suspects and the victims.

So far, police have a vague description of the shooter. They say he was wearing a green, hooded camouflage coat and was in his 20s.

Anyone who witnessed the incident or can provide police with information is asked to call 13 Division at 416-808-1300. Anonymous tips can be left with Crime Stoppers at 416-222-TIPS.

The Reality Of Military Service

I think this is worth republishing......Dimanno's assessment is; " It is a desertion of common sense."

Ruling deserts basic tenets of war TheStar.com - Columnist - Ruling deserts basic tenets of war

July 07, 2008

Rosie DiManno

The Dutch, nice people, thought they could fight an insurgency in their sector of Afghanistan by gentle intervention, talking to locals in endless shuras, pushing reconstruction promises, offering security over instability.

This tranquilizing approach – at least as promoted by The Hague – drew derision from American and NATO troops involved in combat and clearance missions. At the base in Kandahar, graffiti scrawled on a lavatory wall jeered: "Don't slam the door. It'll scare the Dutch."

It came as a shock to the nation, then, when a TV crew, embedded with troops in Uruzgan, brought back film footage that showed Dutch soldiers kicking down doors, charging into homes and vigorously rousting civilians during raids. Goodness, they looked like ... Americans.

War will do that to you. Often, it compels it of you. Those who don't have it in them need not apply, or enlist.

By no definition, except to a Canadian judge far removed from the maelstrom of a conflict zone, can routine slam-bam searches of targeted premises, in the context of a perilous counter-insurgency, be considered an actionable violation of human rights as defined by the Geneva Conventions.

Federal Court Justice Richard Barnes – who I suspect has never been closer to a heart-racing "kinetic" situation than a weekly squash game – took a different view in a judicial review ruling released Friday.

In the absence of facts, summoning his own interpretation of the Convention articles, Barnes kicked back to the Immigration and Refugee Board the case of an American deserter denied his application for asylum. A new panel must reconsider the claim of Pte. Joshua Key, this time with a broader interpretation of eligibility that might encompass soldiers objecting to "condoned military misconduct."

What Key had described – his traumatizing participation in nighttime house searches during a 2003 deployment to Iraq, rough incursions condoned by military commanders – did not meet the threshold of war crimes, Barnes acknowledged.

Yet Barnes asserts a superior knowledge of both law and combat, maintaining the U.S. military showed "little understanding" that civilians are protected persons. "The wanton destruction of property, the intimidation of the entire family including children, the absence of any cultural sensitivity, the disrespect for human dignity and physical integrity, the pillaging and the violence could well be breaches of the Geneva Conventions."

Not grave enough to constitute war crimes, even if Key's recitation of events was accurate – evidence never challenged – but possibly violations of prohibitions against "humiliating and degrading treatment." In his refusal to participate further in such raids, and facing prosecution as a deserter, Key might qualify for refugee status here, Barnes concluded.

As far as we know, nobody with whom Key served in Iraq has ever been charged under military or civilian or international law: no courts-martial, no conduct unbecoming, no rights violations, no criminal indictments.

But Barnes assumes and accepts a disproportionate level of violence by American troops: "A score of young men brandishing weapons ... descending on a sleeping family in the middle of the night, blowing up the front door ..."

This is what combat troops do. It's what Canadian troops do.

Armed conflict is inherently belligerent, chaotic, bruising to everyone involved. Some violations of civil rights are permitted under the rules of engagement. That's just a fact of war or counter-insurgency.

Soldiers aren't required to read any citizen his rights. They don't obtain subpoenas. Nobody gets to call a lawyer. Brutality and torture are clearly not allowed. Discreditable conduct is punished. War crimes are prosecuted. But a conflict zone isn't Rosedale or Jane-Finch. Barnes clearly doesn't understand that distinction.

What Barnes did, from his distant perch in Ottawa, was indict the entire U.S. military of something just short of war crimes. It is a desertion of common sense.

"Equal Rights" Trumps The "will Of The People"

The logic alludes me.....an issue was put forward and "the people" rejected it. Were there members of the group who favored the issue not given the right to vote? Were there irregularities in the voting process? I am sorry but where is the inequality?

there is no centre ground when it comes to equal rights

Thanks To SDA

The Big List

Posted by Cjunk at 12:29 PM | Comments (41)

Will Walmart Be Going For A Bailout?

Not bloody likely. They have a business plan and no second party, except possibly their customers, will have a say on how they run their business.......

Retail space soon to be available
Quebec unions are nothing if not persistent. Just months after Wal-Mart shut down a unionized tire shop in Gatineau rather than attempt to run a high cost operation, a union has been certified at a Wal-Mart store nearby in Hull. By now Quebec unions really should understand that Wal-Mart is serious about only operating stores if they can be successfully managed according to their business mode
small dead animals | more from this author | 9 hours ago

Welcome to Leslieville

Who Speaks For Those Non-Registered Persons Living In "Poverty"

In Downturn, City Hall More Like Santa Than Scrooge

This is the third in a three-part series exploring the effects of the global economic downturn on Toronto. Two weeks ago, economist Walid Hejazi gave an overview of what we're in for as the slowdown worsens. Last week, community activist John Campey explained how Toronto's most vulnerable residents might fare in the crisis. Today, the view from City Hall. Photo by ...

Continue Reading "In Downturn, City Hall More Like Santa Than Scrooge"

The Will Of The People And Prop 8

It will be interesting to see if this comes up at Obama's acession to the throne.....

Attorney General Moonbeam flip-flops on Prop. 8

By Michelle Malkin • December 19, 2008 10:20 PM

California AG Jerry Brown promised to uphold the will of the people.

Then the anti-Prop. 8 mob reared its ugly head.

So, now he’s changed his mind.

Feel the power of the rainbow-colored fist:

Wage Concessations Only A Minor Part Of The Equation

CAW says it won't budge on compensation

Driving It Home: $73 per hour? Not exactly

China Beats The Big 3
China’s first mass-produced hybrid car goes on sale China’s first mass-produced hybrid electric car hits the market on Monday, in a move aimed at driving the nation to the cutting edge of the world’s green auto industry. The car is made by BYD Auto, a Chinese company backed by American Warren Buffett, who owns 9.9 percent of the firm. The F3DM is also the world’s fir
Vancouver Secrets | more from this author | 11 hours ago

Hey! It Worked For Mel Lastman......

Here Is A City Thant Knows How To Treat Poverty

I am sure Comrade Miller could find a few $$$ to compete......

MILAN POOR TO GET SEIZED CAVIAR

Comrade Miller Receives Xmas Gift....

.....from another professional bureaucrat. Warren looses sight of one thing....leaders are supposed to lead not blame someone else for their failure. Where is the new broom? Where is the promise of more openess in communication?

City of lost opportunity TheStar.com - Opinion - City of lost opportunity

Mediocre leadership, lack of vision, high costs have squandered Toronto's once-glittering prospects

More

Toronto Silly Hall

City Council

His Highness Comrade Miller

Mayor's trim, budget isn't

Despite world's economic woes, there's a surreal sense of calm and arrogance inside City Hall

By SUE-ANN LEVY

At our City Hall Media Gallery Christmas party last week, I was surprised to learn that in recent months Mayor David Miller has trimmed his own personal fat by 47 pounds.

If I do say so myself, the mayor -- who turns 50 on Dec. 26 -- is looking very lean and fit these days.

Now if only King David could have applied the same discipline over the past year to the excess in his bloated city administration.

Fact is, while the rest of the world is hanging on by their fingernails -- hoping to keep their jobs and watching their investments sink into the dumpster -- there's a surreal sense of calm and arrogance inside Socialist Silly Hall.

One only has to look at how few of the recommendations of the mayor's own fiscal review panel have been implemented in the year since the panel released its insightful 86-page blueprint for fiscal sustainability.

I had my doubts that the mayor would do much with the blueprint, considering that the day the report was released Miller chose to interpret its findings as a ringing endorsement of the city's efficiency and sound managment. (Insert laugh track here.)

So I couldn't help but laugh at the idea that the mayor is in "constant contact" with the panel members.

"The mayor is speaking to them all the time and will continue to do so ... particularly now," his spokesperson Stuart Green told me late last week.

In fact, claims Green, his boss consulted with the panel while creating two new corporations -- Invest Toronto and Build Toronto -- with $10-million in seed money from one of the city's barebones reserve funds.

PROPERTIES TO BE SOLD

It remains to be seen what those two entities will accomplish -- Build Toronto will supposedly "unlock the value" in some of the city's 7,000 properties worth more than $18 billion (this according to the mayor). I'm betting few city properties or pieces of land will ever be sold off to the private sector to raise the target $150 million annually recommended by the panel.

Frankly, if the mayor is indeed in "constant contact" with the panel members, it must be a one-way dialogue (with Miller doing all the talking and not much of the listening.)

For other than increasing his own powers and that of his hand-picked executive committee, King David has done nothing to put the city's fiscal house in order.

The panel's proposed cost reduction target of $50-million for this year didn't happen. While the 2009 operating budget won't be released until Feb. 10, I'm guessing the $150 million in efficiencies proposed for next year will be the furthest thing from Miller's mind as he and his minions continue to travel, endorse pet projects and spend, spend, spend their way out of the recession.

To date the city's unions have just laughed at the panel's suggestion that negotiated pay hikes be "in line" with broad labour market averages and the "city's fiscal health."

The firefighters already got 9.8% over three years; TTC workers 9% and the police were just handed 10.3% over three years.

Kevin Gaudet, Ontario director of the Canadian Taxpayer Federation, said those kind of wage hikes "create hostility" in the rest of the non-public sector world.

"All of us in the private sector feel lucky to have our jobs ... we thank our bosses for not firing us this year."

Yet even the panel's proposal to review the city's generous merit pay plan -- which rewards managers and non-union staff pay hikes of 6% simply for doing their jobs -- is sitting in limbo.

"He (the mayor) is looking into it but nothing's been done yet," says Coun. Peter Milczyn.

Coun. Denzil Minnan-Wong's proposal to look at the idea of monetizing (converting to cash) the city's share of the Toronto Parking Authority and Toronto Hydro to fix the huge backlog of road, rec centre and park repairs went down in flames at council earlier this month.

That suggestion also came straight from the fiscal review panel.

In the past year, Coun. Karen Stintz has put forward seven motions at council asking the mayor to implement a variety of panel recommendations. All but one -- which was declared redundant -- have been sent to the mayor's office with no further response.

"Over the last five years our operating budget has increased by $1.5-billion," she said. "I don't think the people of Toronto feel they've received a $1.5-billion material benefit in their quality of life."

The Answer is Not Midnight Basketball Courts.....

...or social in-activist funding. It is the "community" taking action on a one by one basis and admitting it is their problem.

Reach one, teach one

By LORRIE GOLDSTEIN, ASSOCIATE EDITOR

How do you fight violent, urban street crime?

Thanks To The Michael Taubes

They present both sides of "the story." I have to admit they are more charitable than I but that could be due to wingnuts that I seem to attract......

Michael Taube: Best of the blogosphere (right-wing version)

Posted: December 20, 2008, 12:29 PM by Kelly McParland
Filed under: Full Comment,Canadian politics,Michael Taube

Who do you think are Canada’s leading political bloggers?

In the past five years, tens of thousands of blogs have started up across Canada. If you have some spare time on your hands, have something to say, and you know how to use a computer, you’re on your way. It doesn’t cost a penny to start a blog on sites like Blogger and Wordpress, and it only takes a few minutes to learn how to post, add web links and the like. That’s all there really is to it.

Naturally, there are problems with blogs. For instance, some of the information in blog posts lack facts, sources, historical context, is misleading, or is just dead wrong. As well, the style, language and grammar of some bloggers leave something to be desired.

Click here to read more...

Michael Taube: Best of the blogosphere (left-wing version)

Posted: December 20, 2008, 2:00 PM by Kelly McParland

In my previous Full Comment column, I listed the right-leaning Canadian political bloggers that I enjoy reading. Now, I shall do the same with left-leaning Canadian political bloggers.

It’s no secret that I don’t agree with what is being discussed on these particular blogs, since my political viewpoint is quite different. That being said, I’ve never refused to read well-written articles and columns in left-leaning newspapers and journals. In my view, it’s good to be informed – and it’s always important to understand what the other side is thinking.

Click here to read more...

They Have The Choice.......

....but I can't believe in the nanny state that prevails in Toronto there isn't a bylaw or other mechanism to prevent people from putting themselves in harm's way.

Homeless reject shelters

By JASON BUCKLAND

Despite the city-issued extreme cold weather alert, many of Toronto's homeless said yesterday theft and violence at local shelters will keep them out on the streets.

BREAKING NEWS FLASH!!!!!!!

Thursday, December 18, 2008

Jack Layton to move into Stornoway as leader of the opposition.

An AWM exclusive: Don't call the movers yet Iggy.

Having had his plans of being in a coalition cabinet thwarted by newly anointed interim Liberal leader Micheal Ignatieff; Jack Layton has made a deal with Bloc leader Gilles Duceppe that would have the NDP named as the official opposition with Layton as leader.

Similar to the failed tripartite coalition agreement the 2 parties are expected to approach the Speaker of the House of Commons with a letter of intent outlining their cooperation in forming the official opposition as their 2 parties combined have more seats than the now current official opposition Liberals.

An NDP insider said; "If Mr. Ignatieff will not honour the coalition agreement that he signed then we have no other choice but to do what Canadians have already strongly voiced with their votes in the last election." adding that "74% of Canadians voted against the Liberals being the official opposition and we are following along with the great traditions of our democracy by doing what the voters intended."

Our phone calls to the Liberal Party of Canada were not returned.

Bailout Line Starts At The Left........

The Latest Bailout

December 18, 2008 at 11:25 am, by Rand Simberg

Just in time for the holidays. Congress has to step in to keep the North Pole from going under:

“These are grim economic times for everyone, but even more so for non-profit toy manufacturers in the Snow Belt,” said Kringle. “Our accountants have indicated that we are on track to exhaust our reserves of cash and magical pixie fairydust by December 23. Oh deary me.”

Kringle and UET union president Binky McGiggles presented a draft emergency bailout plan to the committee calling for US $18 trillion in federal grants, loan guarantees, and sugarplum gumdrops that they said would keep the company solvent through December 26.

“We believe this proposal shows that management and labor can work together to craft a reasonable, financially responsible short-term survival plan,” said McGiggles. “After the new Congress is seated in January, we would be happy to return to present a long-term package to get us through April.”

Kringle warned that failure to approve the plan would have dire global economic consequences.

“Oh goodness,” said an emotional Kringle, fumbling with his glasses, “think of all the children who will wake up sad and angry and confused on Christmas morning, with nothing in their stockings. Let’s just say I wouldn’t want to be their parents. Or a someone answering your switchboards on December 26.”

Where will the madness end?

Of course, if Santa isn’t too big to fail, who is?

Posted in Humor, Media Criticism, Political Commentary, Popular Culture | 3 Comments »

SantaCorp Pleads Case For Bailout

WASHINGTON - Flanked by officials from the United Elf Toytinkerers union, SantaCorp CEO Kris Kringle today told the House Ways and Means Committee that without immediate government financial help, his firm would be forced to declare bankruptcy, lay off thousands of elves and reindeer, and potentially cancel its annual worldwide Christmas Eve toy delivery. "These are grim economic times for everyone, but even more so for non-profit toy manufacturers in the Snow Belt," said Kringle. "Our accountants have indicated that we are on track to exhaust our reserves of cash and magical pixie fairydust by December 23. Oh deary me." [...more]

Thank You Jean Charest!

We are not hiding......I still wish people a Merry Christmas and will be attending a Hannukah dinner on Christmas Day.

Theo Caldwell: Christians don't need to hide in the festive bushes

Posted: December 19, 2008, 8:15 AM by Kelly McParland

One recent December, a tour guide on Canada’s Parliament Hill was overheard referring to the “Christmas Trees” in the main hall. When the guide’s heresy was reported to her superiors, she was firmly told that the decorated greenery were most certainly not “Christmas trees,” and a heated debate ensued as to just what to call the arboreal splendour. It was decided that guides would refer only to “Festive Bushes” for the remainder of the holiday season.

But this year, Quebec Premier Jean Charest quickly corrected an overeager staffer who declared that a “Holiday Tree” would be lighted in the provincial capital. Charest’s commonsensical statement that it was, in fact, a “Christmas Tree” was a welcome rebuke to the seasonal game of sensitivity and silly bears that goes on every year.

Click here to read more...

We Are Going To Be Okay!

I was a little concerned but now that that paragon of truth and lofty promises, Dullton McGinty, has said we are going to be okay I can rest easy and not worry about how I am going to put food on the table, keep a roof over my head and survive......

Placating with platitudes TheStar.com - Opinion - Placating with platitudes

December 19, 2008

Jim Coyle

Premier Dalton McGuinty has a new buzz-phrase.

He's got lots of them actually. Not much that comes out of the premier's mouth is spontaneous. Most of what he says (you will have heard, surely, about his five-point plan and that perfidious federal unfairness) is thoroughly scripted and endlessly repeated.

But the new slogan is this: "We're gonna be okay."

That's what he tells most audiences these days. That was the single most important thing, he told reporters this week, that he wanted citizens alarmed at the seismic economic upheavals rocking their world and workplaces to know.

"If there's a message that I want to convey to Ontarians, it's that we're gonna be okay."

It's by no means an original line. A musician named Jenny Youngman apparently has a song titled "We're Going to Be Okay." Bob Marley used a variation on the theme – "everything's gonna be all right" – to pleasing effect in his hit "No Woman, No Cry."

But where the expression seems most commonly to pop up, if a recent troll of the Internet is any indication, is in the fields of sports and religion – two of the more paternalistic realms, not coincidentally, of human endeavour and arenas where promise almost always surpasses performance.

The instances are endless – from the pros to colleges to high schools – of coaches predicting before big games that if the players can find a way to hit, or skate, or rebound, or rush the passer, or play within themselves, why, "we're gonna be okay."

A classic of this genre came from the coach of a women's softball team from Nantucket, Mass., who announced the happy news that "pitching-wise, we're going to be okay, and defensive-wise we're going to be okay, too."

Down at his Episcopal church in Bethesda, Md., a preacher was apparently onto this cheery bromide years ago in a sermon titled "Bob the Turtle."

The central theme being that, for all life's vicissitudes, the wars, the famine and disease, prison "or worse," yep, you guessed it, "you're going to be okay."

Out in California, a member of a church badly damaged in last year's catastrophic fires told reporters, while surveying the loss, that "we can worship in this building here, we're going to be okay."

If there's just a hint of condescension in the premier's tone, a sense that he's talking down to folks with lots tougher roads ahead of them than his, it's precisely because this is the very language we are advised to use in talking to children under stress.

In a web posting titled "How to talk to your preschooler about disaster," a counsellor says the important words for kids to hear during difficult days are: "We're all okay, and we're going to be okay."

The support group GriefWorks agrees that children wracked by trauma and fear should be told, "we're going to be okay, even though we are sad."

The inherent paternalism in the expression shows up, as well, in Cormac McCarthy's novel The Road.

"We're going to be okay, aren't we Papa?

"Yes. We are.

"And nothing bad is going to happen to us.

"That's right."

There it is again in the first chapter of Lisa Unger's detective novel published earlier this year when the protagonist leans toward an injured man.

"`It's okay. We're going to be okay,' I tell him, even though I don't have any reasons to believe this is true."

The book, for what it's worth, is called Beautiful Lies.

Jim Coyle's provincial affairs column appears Monday, Wednesday and Friday.

Harper Not Meeting Our Expectations......

When it comes to Dullton "vote for change" McGinty and Comrade David "new broom" Miller they not only meet our expectations but they exceed them when it comes to lies, mediocrity and in-action but Harper, even with a minority, should take a couple of steps back from the center to the right and make hard decisions and damn the opposition......

Please, a leader, any leader

By SUN MEDIA

Are there any real leaders left out there, at any level of government?

Politicians capable of inspiring public confidence in hard times?

Clearly, Prime Minister Stephen Harper and Finance Minister Jim Flaherty aren't up to the job given their daily game of pin the tail on the deficit.

During the recent election, Harper said Canada could no more run a deficit than he could have a baby.

Oh ... wait ... that was the late Montreal mayor Jean Drapeau, whistling past the graveyard of an earlier fiscal disaster -- the 1976 Montreal Olympics.

But, same difference, since Harper is as credible now as Drapeau then.

As late as his government's recent economic statement that almost plunged Canada into an unwanted election or constitutional crisis -- and still might -- Flaherty was merrily predicting modest budget surpluses, even though Harper was already sounding a more cautionary note on the international stage.

Now, the latest word from the finance department is -- surprise! -- Canada is facing four years of deficits totalling $15.5 billion.

We're not suggesting Stephen and Jim can spare Canada from a global recession, but could they at least get on the same page and decide what the page actually says?

Which brings us to Premier Dalton McGuinty, who noted this week that yep, the province's market value assessment system is going to screw a lot of homeowners on their property taxes because the evaluations of house values were made before the real estate market collapsed. And nope, he isn't going to do anything about it other than punt the whole mess over to municipalities.

Finally, at City Hall, Mayor David Miller, the police board and police union pronounced themselves reasonably pleased with an abritrators' award giving police a 10.31% pay hike over three years. The mayor says that will cause a 2% jump in property taxes. Apparently the idea of finding the money in ... uh ... efficiencies, never even crossed his mind.

As they used to say of the woebegone New York Mets' first season, Stephen, Jim, Dalton, David: "Can't anybody here play this game?" Apparently not.

Please Comrade Miller DON'T Stop There....

The city is better off if you just stay in your office and continue to do nothing positive.....possibly you can get out the instructions in how to use "The New Broom" and practice, practice........

Mayor leaves cop board

Will focus on 'economic issues' in these troubled times, says 'crime is down'

By IAN ROBERTSON, SUN MEDIA

Mayor David Miller made a rare appearance at a monthly public meeting of the Toronto Police Services Board yesterday -- and quit.

Stephen Is Asking A Valid Question......

.....it is prudent to be working on a "bailout" plan but to implement such a plan without some insight into what the USA is going to do is foolish. If the US and Canada do bailouts what will it accomplish? Are the Big Three going to continue making widgets?

Just Had To Share This........

There will be no Nativity Scene in Ottawa

by Jundee on Thu Dec 18, 2008 9:00 am

The Supreme Court has ruled that there cannot be a Nativity Scene in Canada's capital this Christmas season.

This isn't for any religious reason, they simply have not been able to find Three Wise Men in the Nation's capital, nor could they find a virgin.

P.S. There was no problem, however, finding enough asses to fill the stable

I'm Alright JACK!

National Post editorial board: Canada's public service -- can't be fired, can't be satisfied

Posted: December 17, 2008, 9:00 AM by Kelly McParland
Filed under: Editorial,Full Comment

In the Canada where most of us live and work, it’s a time of economic uncertainty and feelings of powerlessness. Everyone -- miners, farmers, factory workers, retail employees, forestry workers, journalists -- is wondering what 2009 will bring, and when the roller-coaster will hit bottom.

But in the other Canada, the Canada of the public-sector worker, it’s a time of exhilarating struggle to consolidate the gains of the past. In Ottawa, for instance, the Amalgamated Transit Union’s local 279 is holding Christmas shoppers hostage and freezing retail traffic during a season that many vendors were counting on to propel them through the tough year ahead.

Click here to read more...

Well Intentioned BUT...

.....the actions of Comrade Miller and his flunky Kyle Ray remind me of the guy in the bar is buying drinks for his buddies while his wife and kids are at home munching on mac and cheese. How does the saying go; Champagne tastes on a soft drink budget.

Taxpayers foot bill for Botswana fund

Mayor defends money sent to fund AIDS relief in Africa as 'good on us'

By SUE-ANN LEVY, TORONTO SUN

While Mayor David Miller's regime was busily dreaming up new ways to tax Torontonians in April, 2007, a Global Aids Prevention fund was quietly approved by council to fund AIDS projects overseas.

A total of $200,000 from that city-sponsored fund has so far gone to create a youth centre for the South East District Youth Empowerment League (SEDYEL) in Ramotswa, Botswana and to initiate preventative AIDS measures for young women both in Botswana and Nairobi, Kenya.

This special $100,000-a-year fund is over and above the more than $1.5-million in grants given to 47 projects this year to undertake HIV/AIDS prevention education programs in Toronto.

The money was handed over the past two years to Schools Without Borders -- a Toronto-based community agency. A report to the board of health in May, 2007 notes that this agency is "well-positioned to help support and implement a range of initiatives pertaining to youth engagement in Botswana, Kenya and Toronto."

Councillor Kyle Rae, chairman of the AIDS Prevention Community Investment Program, could not be reached for comment. A staff member in his office told my Sun colleague Bryn Weese that the councillor is away on city business.

"He's not in Canada," said the woman staffer, refusing to say exactly where he is.

The city's Botswana project co-ordinator, Barbara Emanuel -- a senior policy adviser in public health -- said the Federation of Canadian Municipalities has funded an HIV/AIDS "capacity building" partnership between Toronto and the South East District of Botswana since 2002. That funding is separate from the $200,000 provided by Toronto.

Emanuel said the new city-funded Global AIDS initiative -- in place for the past two years -- was a commitment made by the mayor and Rae when Toronto hosted the International AIDS conference in August, 2006.

Some of the money -- $40,000 -- went to create the youth centre in Botswana, some went to further support the FCM/Toronto partnership and some was spent to bring youth (training) leaders from Africa to Toronto, Emanuel said.

Julian Caspari, managing director of Schools Without Borders, said the money was used primarily to open the Ramotswa centre -- the new home for SEDYL -- and to operate Safe Spaces programs for young females in Botswana and Kenya. These programs provide sexual health training and teach the young women to be "facilitators" and "role models" in their own communities, he said.

Caspari also confirmed that the centre just opened officially in mid-October, an event he attended.

Emanuel confirmed she was there as well -- as part of the wrap-up mission for the FCM partnership -- along with Liz Janzen, director of healthy communities for public health and Councillor Rae.

She said FCM paid entirely for the $14,000 mission, some $3,000 or $4,000 of which went to the official opening.

"There was no city money at all," she said.

Not entirely.

When I checked with the city's director of council services, Winnie Li, she said Rae claimed some "minor" expenses for the Botswana trip but wouldn't say what they were, noting the details will be posted online with the year-end expenses report sometime at the end of February.

Asked why taxpayers should be footing the bill for AIDS initiatives in Africa -- when many are struggling to pay their vehicle ownership, land transfer and garbage taxes -- the mayor got quite heated in his response yesterday.

He challenged me to note in my column that Toronto's property taxes are lower than the rest of the 905 municipalities.

So I am -- but with the proviso that none of those municipalities have any of Miller's other creative taxes or the highest commercial taxes in the GTA.

On the Global AIDS initiative itself, Miller said Toronto should be taking this kind of leadership, being a city of the world.

"I certainly support the fund. At the AIDS conference I committed to expanding our efforts to working internationally on AIDS," he said, insisting I was incorrect to suggest the city funding for Global AIDS Initiatives only began in 2007. (I was not.)

He added that people in this city would say they are proud to be supporting this kind of initiative -- the "right kind of project."

"People would say 'Good on you, Toronto,' " he said. "I think Torontonians would be delighted."