You Really Have To Dig To Get The Facts

You can make what you want of the following article but human nature being what it is people will get angry and lash out at muslims but the fact is "But many Somali taxi drivers don't have a problem transporting passengers with alcohol and are worried about a backlash, said Omar Jamal, executive director of the Somali Justice Advocacy Center. Jamal said he supports the tougher penalties."We tell the taxi drivers, if you don't want to do this, change your job," he said. "You are living in a country where alcohol is not viewed the way it is in your country." and that is exactly what I was thinking.

Airport Battles Some Muslim Cabbies

Jan 4, 12:20 PM (ET)


MINNEAPOLIS (AP) - Officials at Minneapolis-St. Paul International airport are proposing stiffer penalties - including suspension of an airport taxi license - to Muslim cab drivers who refuse service to passengers toting alcohol or service dogs.

Officials on Wednesday asked the Metropolitan Airport Commission for permission to hold public hearings on a proposal that would suspend the airport licenses of cab drivers who refuse service for reasons other than safety concerns. The penalties would also apply to drivers who refuse a fare because a trip is too short.

Drivers would have their airport licenses suspended 30 days for the first offense and revoked for two years after the second offense, according to the proposal.

"Our expectation is that if you're going to be driving a taxi at the airport, you need to provide service to anybody who wants it," commission spokesman Patrick Hogan said.

The commission is expected to vote Jan. 16 on the request for public hearings.

Airports Commissioner Bert McKasy said the issue raised by Muslim cab drivers who say that carrying alcohol or dogs, including those that help people with disabilities, violates religious beliefs is "unfortunate."

"I think it's pretty much the consensus of the commissioners and the staff that we have to provide good service to the public, and that's pretty much the bottom line," McKasy said.

Each month, about 100 people are denied cab service at the airport. Airport officials say that in recent months, the problem of service refusals for religious reasons has grown. About three-quarters of the 900 taxi drivers at the airport are Somali, many of them Muslim.

Hogan said the goal is to have a new policy in place by May 11, when airport taxi licenses come up for annual renewal.

"We want the drivers to know about the policy in advance, so that if they don't think they can work under these conditions, they have the option of not renewing their license," Hogan said.

Last year, the airports commission received a fatwa, or religious edict, from the Minnesota chapter of the Muslim American Society. The fatwa said "Islamic jurisprudence" prohibits taxi drivers from carrying passengers with alcohol, "because it involves cooperating in sin according to Islam."

Eva Buzek, a flight attendant and Minneapolis resident, said she was recently refused service by five taxi drivers when she was carrying wine as she returned from a trip to France.

"In my book, when you choose to come to a different country, you make some choices," said Buzek, a native of Poland. "I never expected everything to be the same way as in my homeland, and I adjusted. I never dreamed of imposing my beliefs on somebody else."

But Hassan Mohamud, imam at Al-Taqwa Mosque of St. Paul and director of the Islamic Law Institute at the Muslim American Society of Minnesota, one of the largest Islamic organizations in the state, said asking Muslims to transport alcohol "is a violation of their faith. Muslims do not consume, carry, sell or buy alcohol, and Islam also considers the saliva of dogs to be unclean, he said.

Mohamud said he would ask airport officials to reconsider.

But many Somali taxi drivers don't have a problem transporting passengers with alcohol and are worried about a backlash, said Omar Jamal, executive director of the Somali Justice Advocacy Center. Jamal said he supports the tougher penalties.

"We tell the taxi drivers, if you don't want to do this, change your job," he said. "You are living in a country where alcohol is not viewed the way it is in your country."

Let's See What Happens

January 04, 2007
BREAKING NEWS -- Khan crosses floor -- EXCLUSIVE

I am now reporting that Wajid Khan will join the Conservative ranks tomorrow as a backbench MP. Doing so protects Khan from cynicism of the press and opposition of making such a political move for career advancement, or for monetary considerations. Khan joins the Tories without taking a position in either cabinet or as a Parliamentary secretary.

This move has been a long time coming and I expected to report on this just after the Liberal leadership convention as such a move would have been wise political strategy to deflate the post-convention bounce in the polls that benefitted the Liberal party.

Khan is expected to make a formal announcement tomorrow and will likely describe that he is switching parties because of the "values" that the Prime Minister represents.

UPDATE: Liberals are reportedly doing their best tonight to lobby Khan to keep him from leaving their caucus.

Blogger predictions

Give The Public What They Want

Dion certainly didn't meet their expectations when he was Environmental Minister......

Nothing Has Changed At City Hall

Personally I don't object to paying more for water and sewer services as long as (1) the money raised goes directly into upgrading water/sewer services and not into general revenue but (2) why is the budget committee meeting behind closed doors.

City staff float 12% hike in water rate

Backlog of $800 million worth of work needed to repair crumbling water mains

John Spears
Toronto Star

Don't like the proposed 9 per cent increase in City of Toronto water rates for 2007? Then how would you like a 12 per cent increase?

The proposal for an even steeper hike, amounting to an extra $1 a month for a typical household, was floated to the city's budget committee in a closed-door session at City Hall Wednesday, for which no public notice was given.

The city has given formal notice that it's contemplating a 9 per cent rate increase for 2007.

In fact, plans call for a 9 per cent increase each year until 2012.

But at the budget committee's behind-the-scenes meeting Wednesday, water officials pulled the wraps off an "alternative model" that would see a 12 per cent increase in 2007, followed by 9 per cent increases in subsequent years.

Voters don't care.........

Tune In To CBC Next Tuesday At 8:30 PM

Is it just my imagination or do people think that only "rednecks" can harbor racial attitudes. My position has always been that racism is colour blind and knows no boundaries. Any bets that no matter how benign the plot someone will play the race card.

Little Mosque treats Toronto

Toronto Star

The world media have landed in Toronto to report on a CBC comedy that has yet to air but has a tantalizing title: Little Mosque on the Prairie.

The attention is gratifying yet also a bit puzzling to Zarqa Nawaz, a 39-year-old filmmaker who's the heart and soul of Little Mosque, a comedy about Muslims living in a Canadian prairie town.

After all, the show doesn't premiere until Tuesday at 8:30 p.m.

"A lot of people writing about it haven't even seen it yet," said Nawaz yesterday in Yonge-Dundas Square, where "the world's biggest halal chicken shawarma" was being served to promote the show.

"People are assuming because of the title and subject matter that it's going to be really controversial and political. But it's just a comedy that happens to have Muslim people in it."

A segment was to air on CNN's Paula Zahn Now last night after a crew visited Little Mosque's west-end Toronto set. (Zahn herself did not visit, as wrongly reported previously.) The New York Times, BBC Radio, Associated Press, Houston Chronicle and countless blogs have also run items on Little Mosque.

At yesterday's un-CBC-like event, friendly camels were on hand, including one that shared a shawarma with one of the show's stars, Boyd Banks. He plays the resident redneck who is suspicious of the mosque goings-on in the fictional town of Mercy.

"Let's face it, after Sept. 11 we all had racist thoughts," Banks said. "I know I had them and I'm not proud of that. It would be nice, wouldn't it, if this show could end some of the prejudices people have about Muslims."

CANADIAN PRESS

Bi-partisan Politics Not On Dion's Agenda

Us or them? Dion tells MP to choose
Susan Delacourt
Toronto Star

OTTAWA–Liberal Leader Stéphane Dion says he won't allow Mississauga MP Wajid Khan to keep serving as a "special adviser" to Prime Minister Stephen Harper.

Calling it "bizarre" for a Liberal MP to be advising a Conservative prime minister, Dion said it's time for Khan to choose his political team.

There are persistent rumours that Khan is being wooed to join the Conservatives – rumours the MP for Mississauga-Streetsville hasn't denied this week.

"You can't have a foot in the government and a foot in the opposition," Dion told reporters yesterday.

"He needs to choose. I hope he will stay with us,"

Khan was named in August by Harper as a special adviser on the Middle East and Afghanistan, over the protests of some of his Liberal colleagues who were incredulous that he intended to stay as a Liberal while working for the Conservative prime minister.

This week, the former car salesman and Pakistani fighter pilot told the Star he had submitted a report on the Middle East recently to Harper and that he had enjoyed doing the work.

But Dion, who became leader in early December, made it clear yesterday he wouldn't have allowed Khan to accept that job and still remain in the Liberal caucus.

"I think it was not a very wise move to do that," Dion said.

Khan had no immediate response to Dion's ultimatum.

He was due to meet with Dion by week's end to discuss his political future.

Let's Debate Our Presence In Afghanistan....

But let's get some facts about why we committed troops and what we are accomplishing. As far as I can see this is not a peacekeeping mission.

Alexander gives us an invaluable asset
By PETER WORTHINGTON

Even though it was the last Liberal government that escalated our military into a more aggressive fighting role in Afghanistan, the first interview given by new Liberal Leader Stephane Dion, stressed a greater non-fighting role for our troops.

As well as "reconstruction," he proposed a Marshall Plan for Afghanistan.

Any politician who proposes anything resembling a Marshall Plan in the middle of a war, doesn't know what he's talking about.

We all know that Jack Layton would have our forces cut and run.

The Bloc Quebecois' Giles Duceppe has backed off threats of a non-confidence motion based on the Harper government's refusal to consider pulling out of a fighting role. Instead, he anticipates making political hay when casualties occur among the Van Doos when the regiment goes to Afghanistan come summer.

So what should Prime Minister Stephen Harper do?

By all means have a debate when Parliament reconvenes.

First, he should call upon Chris Alexander to deliver a speech to Parliament, and to talk to parliamentary committees and to subject himself to questions from the various political parties -- all open and attended by the media and the public.

Who is Chris Alexander, you might ask?

At 34, he was Canada's youngest ambassador to Afghanistan (2003-05) and is today the UN secretary general's deputy special representative in Afghanistan and arguably the most knowledgeable diplomat (if not foreigner) when it comes to understanding that unusual country.

Alexander was interviewed by CBC radio's Anna Maria Tremonti -- no slouch when it comes to foreign issues.

Alexander feels positively about Afghanistan's future, and says the opium poppy trade doesn't make farmers rich; that headway is being made to reduce that evil trade. Profits from Afghanistan's opium don't help the small producer, but those up the distribution line.

As for the resurgence of the Taliban, he feels they must be soundly beaten before peace and security reign. He says they are being beaten -- largely by Canadian forces who've gone after them in the field and have kicked the Taliban's ass.

Another campaign is under way in Kandahar's Panjwaii region where the Taliban is a significant presence.

As Alexander eloquently points out, the more successful Canadian troops (and our allies) are, the more confidence the locals have and the weaker the Taliban influence becomes. Most Afghans want no return of the Taliban.

I was in Kabul for the 2004 elections, and one of the few who wasn't surprised at the country-wide success of the vote was Ambassador Alexander.

He is informal, likes and understands soldiers and has gone on night patrols with them, knows the Afghans, and is not intimidated by danger.

As ambassador, he was an invaluable asset.

I feel he would be an ideal NATO ambassador, which is usually a quiet, end-of-career diplomatic posting. Alexander is so knowledgeable and dynamic he could instil greater verve into NATO, whose role has changed since the Cold War.

Only A Matter Of Time Before It Hits Canada

Convicts become part of the protected group; women, gays, disabled, etc., and I am waiting to see what "label" the leftists will come up with to identify people who speak out in opposition

"Convict Quotas" Coming to DC?

Post lifted from Amy Ridenour

Not a joke. DC employers may soon be required to hire ex-cons. From Legal Times (subscription required), December 11:

Ex-convicts would be protected from employment, housing, and educational discrimination as the newest protected class in the D.C. Human Rights Act under a bill the D.C. Council unanimously approved on first reading last week.

Making criminals a protected class. Oh, that's rich. Now DC employers will be vulnerable to lawsuits for not hiring ex-cons. Some interest group (taxpayer-subsidized, most likely) will figure out what percentage of the DC population has ever been convicted of anything, and any employer who doesn't have at least that percentage of ex-cons on his workforce will be vulnerable to discrimination lawsuits. De facto "convict quotas." The lawyers get thirty percent.

Anyone who thinks I am kidding, think again. Members of other "protected classes" bring suits on that basis, and a certain class of trial lawyer (the technical name is 'bottom dweller') is always looking for new reasons to bring lawsuits. If this bill passes and remains in force, "convict quota" lawsuits would not be immediate, but they are probably inevitable.

It gets worse: In an effort to avoid convict quota lawsuits, employers will seek out convicts. Hoping to stay safe and alive themselves -- not to mention avoid lawsuits that may occur should the ex-cons they hire commit crimes while on their clock -- employers will bid hard against one another for the non-violent ex-offenders. Small businesses; businesses just starting up and businesses without much ready cash will be forced to meet their quotas by hiring the folks who come cheapest -- the people who were convicted of violent or otherwise especially loathsome crimes.

Something Our Garbage&*^%$## Can Strive For

We have the Chairman Of The Works Department out opening garbage bags and threatening to impose fines for improper sorting and he would probably give these Ipswich officers the keys to the city.

Friday, January 05, 2007

50 pound fine for British boy who fed seagull

A schoolboy has been given a 50 pound littering fine - for feeding half a chip to a seagull. Jack Double, 14, was handed the on-the-spot fixed penalty by two council litter enforcement officers.

He said: 'I was walking along with a bag of chips on my lunch break when I bit into one and found it was really hard. 'The other half was green so I just threw it to a seagull.'

Jack refused to give his name to the officers but they followed him back to Chantry High School in Ipswich where staff identified him.

His mother Mandy has written to Ipswich Council to appeal against the fine, describing it as ridiculous. Three weeks earlier Jack was awarded a certificate by an enforcement officer in the same area, commending him for putting his rubbish in a bin.

Source

A Leader's Role

The Thought For Today

"A leader's role is to raise people's aspirations for what they can become and to release their energies so they will try to get there.."
~ David Gergen

How does this definition fit with the cradle to grave policies of the liberals and other left wing organizations. They depend on the suffering of their constituents for their survival. The liberals knew the buttons to push and held power for 13 years, until they got greedy, and then we have the ndp who are falling out of favour since they put forward that all their candidates had to have their thumbs amputated so that they could more easily get the wallets of the middle class out of their pockets.

Thank You Dalton

Minimum wage workers are getting a raise -- just like politicians. But there's a difference, and it's big -- and unfair

A Thank You Note To The Homeless

Of course I am being facetious but I have to agree with Sue-Ann that it sticks in "my craw" that money that should go to helping the individual on the street is going to promote the homeless industry. Sue-Ann points out there are homeless people sleeping in view of the mayor's office and she might want to take a walk along Edward Street and take note of the bedding, etc. along the side of the Edward Street transitional housing/shelter project.

So, who gets the money?
By SUE-ANN LEVY

Sitting on my desk here at City Hall is a nice little 2007 calendar produced -- for the fifth year in a row -- by the city's homeless department and paid for out of your tax dollars.

The calendar features the pictures of 12 kids together with their thoughts on what they'd like to be when they grow up. On the back is a list of phone numbers and websites to access for emergency, social and rental housing.

Pat Anderson, manager of partnership development in the Shelter, Housing and Support division, told me 5,000 calendars were created at $1.60 per copy or $8,200 in total.

She said their intent is to send the calendar out to shelters and agencies that "interact with homeless people.

"It is not a fridge magnet ... it has really important numbers to refer to," Anderson said.

A contact who received the calendar "unsolicited" in the mail said the postage was $1.78 -- a cost not included in the $8,200. My contact wondered, obviously tongue in cheek, whether the homeless would be using the calendar to shelter their heads from the rain (and snow.)

While the dollars to produce this year's version came out of the homeless division's general budget, this is the kind of thing that sticks in my craw after hearing a long list of city officials and homeless advocates moan last fall about the need for more funding from the federal government.

What is the date........

Wake Up Mr. Thompson

Today's unions protect the marginal worker. If what he says is true; "but I take great pride in what I do and I do my job well." why is he opposed to competition. And I would like to point out to him thatwhile he is not a member of the newspaper guild he was able to get his letter published. Why does he deny that same right to non-union contractors.

January 4, 2007 Letters

I'm nobody's 'trained seal'

Re "Business makes a point" (Jan. 2): Yet another column by Sue-Ann Levy bashing the city unions and the contracting out of work only to union shops.

Never have I read in any of her columns that Levy is a card-carrying union member, as are all the staff writers.

Wouldn't it be nice if the Sun opened the City Hall beat to non-union writers, those who more fairly represented the majority of Toronto's citizens, not just the downtown property owners who drive.

I was just wondering, when Levy had to join the union, knowing our propensity for sloth and greed, was she dragged in kicking and screaming, as I think would be the case, or did she join meekly because there was no other choice?

I started in Etobicoke with CUPE 185 and after amalgamation, Local 416 -- and you were a member or you didn't work. I don't agree with everything CUPE does or stands for (Sid Ryan and Palestine), but I take great pride in what I do and I do my job well.

We're not all Mayor Miller's "trained seals" or his "minions" as she likes to call us.

I've never called Levy, Doug Holyday's, Case Ootes' or Jane Pitfield's trained monkey, but now that I think of it ...

Greg Thomson

Etobicoke

(This has clearly gone bananas)

Come On People...Let's Not Become Hysterical

and start parking our cars, shuting down our industries, lowering/raising our thermostats, etc. let's compare the levels in the politicos with a smoker who died at the age of 80 because when the pedal hits the medal we have to see how this information impacts on longevity. In 1940 life expectancy was 66.1 years but in 2001 it climbed to 77.7 years which would indicate that environment is not a major factor.

Politicians found to carry toxic chemical soup

Updated Wed. Jan. 3 2007 3:52 PM ET

CTV.ca News Staff

Four top Canadian politicians have a combined cocktail of toxic chemicals in their bodies that would make a smokestack shudder.

The group Environmental Defence released results Wednesday of laboratory testing done on Environment Minister Rona Ambrose, NDP Leader Jack Layton, Health Minister Tony Clement and Liberal environment critic John Godfrey.

The study found that Ambrose had fewer flame-retardants in her blood than Layton, but had a higher level of arsenic than the New Democrat leader.

Clement's blood, meanwhile, contains polychlorinated biphenyls, or PCBs, despite the fact they have been banned for years. But Clement's blood was lower in neurotoxic mercury than Godfrey's.

The results are part of the report Toxic Nation on Parliament Hill: A Report on Pollution in Four Canadian Politicians, which is intended to serve as a wake-up call for leaders about the state of pollution in Canada.

So what......

It Is Going To Be An Interesting 2007

Especially for bloggers.......

It Is Going To Be An Interesting 2007

Especially for bloggers.......

Defining A Liberal

Let's Play, "Spot The Liberal"

Every once in a while, when friends get together for coffee, we see if we can spot a liberal at 40 paces. You get one clue. That is you think of someone, who you met from Cherranna.

As every Canadian knows, Cherranna is the lep....er....liberal colony of Canada, and chances are that any one you meet from there is a liberal. Of course there is also the chance that if you were born in Cherranna, Mel Lastman could be your father.

The Story

Defining Junk Food

Today it is defining what is good for us and what is bad for us but there is enough proof that once the social engineers get involved we will start seeing bans......

I

t starts with cheese........

Foods banned from advertising during children's TV include: Marmite, Flora Lite, half-fat cheddar, Dairylea triangles, bran flakes, camembert, sugar-coated puffed wheat, instant hot oat cereal, Jaffa cakes, reduced calorie mayonnaise, multi-grain hoop cereal, half-fat creme fraiche, takeaway chicken nuggets, potato waffles, Greek yoghurt (from sheep's milk), ham, sausages, bacon rashers, low-fat spreads, peanuts, cashew nuts, pistachio-nuts, peanut butter, raisins, sultanas, currants, low-fat potato crisps, olive oil, butter, pizza, hamburgers, tomato ketchup, chocolate, brown sauce, cola and lemonade.

Foods which escape the ban include: Plain fromage frais, fish fingers, lasagne ready meals, currant buns, malt loaf, frozen roast potatoes, chicken curry with rice ready meal, frozen oven chips, sliced white bread, cottage cheese, supermarket frozen chicken nuggets, milk, brazil nuts, canned strawberries in syrup, diet cola and chocolate-flavoured milk.

You Voted For Change....You didn't Get It

Remember this when you go to the polls to elect a new provincial government.

An all-too familiar tune

The solutions for helping the poor are the same for the McGuinty Liberals as it was for the Harris Conservatives: raise assistance benefits and minimum wages and provide affordable housing and child care for the least wealthy, says Dennis Raphael

Toronto Star

Public policy under the Harris-Eves regime led to dramatic increases in misery, suffering, and pain among many Ontario residents. Now, more than three years after that government's defeat, in spite of mounting evidence concerning the health-threatening effects of poverty, the provincial government's response remains one of indifference.

Indeed, the number of, and the situation of the poor in Ontario – with its attendant health implications – are worse today than at the conclusion of the Harris-Eves rule.

Policies that create poverty are bad for health since poverty is the experience of material and social deprivation associated with food and housing insecurity, childhood deprivation, unemployment and insecure employment, and exclusion from Canadian life.

An accumulating literature details that living in poverty is a life characterized by material and social deprivation, the experience of stress, the experience of stigma and degradation, and an awareness that poverty grinds down one's health and well-being.

Poverty is the best statistical predictor of just about every indicator that describes Canadians' health.

Children's health is especially vulnerable to conditions of living in poverty. Chronic diseases such as coronary heart disease and type II diabetes are strongly related to living in poverty as is the incidence of respiratory disease, lung cancer and some other cancers.

The Ontario Liberal party campaigned on the premise that the economic and social policies of the Harris-Eves regime created unacceptable levels of suffering and misery among the most vulnerable Ontarians.

It noted the explosive growth in numbers of children and families living in poverty, living as homeless or home-insecure, and using food banks. The clawback of the National Child Benefit to families on social assistance would be repealed. Little has been done to fulfill these commitments.

And, not surprisingly, the latest 2004 poverty figures show that the situation in Ontario has actually deteriorated.

As of 2004, 14.7 per cent of all Ontarians were living in poverty. Among children under 18 years of age, the poverty rate was 17.4 per cent. Among female-led families with children, the poverty rate was 54.6 per cent.

These rates have risen since the election victory of the Liberals in 2003. Similarly, the 2004 data show an increase in the gap between the average income of people living in poverty and the actual poverty line.

On average, families living in poverty in Ontario have incomes that are $8,400 below the poverty line. Unattached individuals in poverty have an average gap of $7,600. People living in poverty are not just poor, they are very poor.

These numbers are consistent with what is known about the resources being provided to the most vulnerable in Ontario.

According to the National Council of Welfare, 2005 social assistance rates in Ontario fall well below the poverty line benchmark. A single "employable" person receives benefits that are 34 per cent of the poverty line, a person with a disability receives 58 per cent; a lone parent with one child receives 56 per cent, and a couple with two children receives benefits that are 50 per cent of the poverty line.

Just over 60 per cent of food-bank users in the Toronto GTA in 2005 were on social assistance or disability supports. Even with recent increases in minimum wages, the amount received for a single full-time employed person is only 64 per cent of the poverty line.

The percentage of the poverty line attained for a single parent working at these wage levels is dramatically lower.

The Liberal government has refused to honour its commitment to end the clawback of the child benefit to families on social assistance.

The refusal to provide desperately needed resources to the most vulnerable children in Ontario is at best negligent and at worst borders on child abuse.

The Ontario Ministry of Health Promotion has thrown itself with great energy into communicating the importance to health of eating fruits and vegetables, exercising, and reducing tobacco and alcohol use.

Considering what we know about the importance of material and social deprivation as a threat to health, and the unwillingness of the Ontario government to ease the plight of the most vulnerable in Ontario, such messaging is misleading and malicious. The Canadian Association of Food Banks, Campaign 2000, the National Council of Welfare, and others outline a consistent set of priorities – raise assistance benefits and minimum wages and provide affordable housing and child care – to promote the health of the least well-off.

These solutions are not being implemented.

There is no reason that in an era of unparalleled wealth that the most vulnerable in Ontario society are being forced to subsist on clearly health-threatening levels of social assistance and minimum wages.

Raising these levels would be just a first step in dealing with the related health crises being faced by so many Ontario residents.

These are the means by which health should be promoted in Ontario. Choosing "healthy lifestyles" will not do the trick.

Dennis Raphael is a professor of Health Policy and Management at York University. His book Poverty and Policy in Canada: Implications for Health and Quality of Life will be published in March.

It Is Like Putting On A Clean Shirt But Not Changing Underwear

Rebranding Toronto

Toronto Star

In the year ahead, Toronto has a golden opportunity to develop its future tourism prospects, an exercise that is much needed given its past failures on this stage.

The 3,000 members of the Professional Convention Management Association will meet here Jan. 7 to 10, and officials call it a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to lobby convention decision-makers.

Several other events in the coming year could help the city stamp its mark on the world. They include the FIFA Under-20 World Cup of soccer in late June and early July and a new festival called Luminato that is to run from June 1 to10. It will feature live theatre, music, light shows, dance and design exhibitions and, with the right nurturing, officials hope it will become a signature event in the city.

Tourism Toronto, which organizes these events, is a well-funded organization that must begin to show results for that investment. The group's "Toronto Unlimited" slogan was panned locally last year when it was unveiled. Even the mayor called it "an embarrassment and indefensible." In recent years, Toronto also bid unsuccessfully for the 2008 Olympic Games, which were won by Beijing. And the city fell short last fall in its bid to host Expo 2015 after the provincial and federal governments failed to step up to the plate and guarantee funding.

Attracting tourists is crucial since tourism ranks as the sixth largest economic contributor to the city, bringing in about $4 billion a year.

In order to attract more of it, Toronto needs to focus on the things it does well, like the Toronto International Film Festival, Caribana and the Pride Parade, each of which targets a specific market, and develop more events like these.

Toronto needs to rebrand itself this year as the most successful experiment in diversity, tolerance and cultural richness of any city in the Western Hemisphere. Then it must sell that image to the world.

You Want To Reduce The Number Of Guns

Simple solution......impose harsh penalties for being in possession of a restricted weapon.

* special courts and justices
* possession will be dealt with seperately of any other charges
* swift dispostion (no longer than 30 days from arrest)
* all persons will face the same justice. No YOA.
* no bail
* mandatory sentencing. Five years for first offence.
* no concurrent sentencing
* special hard labor camps (gulags) located in the far north
* a legislated mandate that these camps serve no purpose but punishment.

Gun crime: The bleak facts

It Was Only A Matter Of Time Joe.......

You have an enclave of NIMBYers in the Beach opposing helping the homeless so slowly but surely gentrification is creeping along Queen Street filling in the gaps.

What in the world is a "soyaccino?"

A Quiz About Ontario

May you should need to get a passing mark in order to vote.....let's start by giving the test to all elected MPPs and those wishing to be.

Do you know Ontario?
Our MPPs are off till March, but here’s a little quiz about provincial matters
By CHRISTINA BLIZZARD

Okay, Ontario’s MPPs have given themselves a 25% pay hike and gone home for their long winter’s nap. They’ll be back March 19.

So let’s forget about them for a day. Let’s find out just how much do you know about the province? Here’s a Blizz quiz for you.

(1) The word Ontario is an Iroquois word meaning:

(a) Place of pine forests.

(b) Sparking lake or beautiful water.

(c) Place where taxpayers get shaken down.

(2) Translated from the Latin Ut Incepit Fidelis Sic Permanet, the province’s motto means:

(a) Loyal she began, loyal she remains.

(b) From sea to shining sea.

(c) Take your sushi and your pitbull and get out of here.

No cheating now........

Maybe It Is Just Semantics But......

But I think the justice might have gone to far in defining the second mom a parent (the parents of a child can be two women or two men,) even though in some circles the definition of parent agrees (a father or mother; one who begets or one who gives birth to or nurtures and raises a child; a relative who plays the role of guardian). I don't think this decision, even though it was to protect the child, is going to be accepted by all.

January 3, 2007
Court: Boy has a dad, a mom - and another mom
By SUN MEDIA

LONDON, Ont. -- A 5-year-old London boy now has two moms and a dad as a result of an Ontario Court of Appeal decision released yesterday.

The same-sex partner of the boy's biological mother was determined to be his mom too in an unanimous decision rendered by three appeal court judges.

Social conditions and attitudes have changed to such an extent since the passage of the Children's Law Reform Act in 1990 that it's now possible "the parents of a child can be two women or two men," said the decision written by Justice Marc Rosenberg.

Or, in this case, a man and two women, said the ruling supported by the signatures of justices Roy McMurtry and Jean-Marc Labrosse.

The case was initiated in early 2003 when the lesbian couple asked Justice David Aston to declare the partner of the boy's birth mother as a third legal parent, while maintaining the status of the biological mother and father.

"I have two moms and a daddy," the boy said outside the court.

Aston was told the boy lived with the two women but spent time with his father as well.

The boy's father wasn't opposed to the application but made sure his rights were represented by a lawyer.

We Accept It As Part Of Our Daily Lives

And that is not surprising when you consider our "leaders" feed us stats and sound bytes on what a good job they are doing, the arrests that are being made (but not the final outcome), how much they are spending on crime prevention and helping at-risk kids, putting forward the rationale that there are not enough "basketball courts," and we have the liberals, ndp and bloc opposing law and order legislation in Ottawa.

Blood paving T.O. streets
Another day, another shooting and no one seems in a rush to put an end to the violence
By JOE WARMINGTON

There was blood in the streets.

And on them, too. Lots of blood, actually. In fact, small puddles of it were all over the sidewalk, too.

Yes, the corner of Queen's Quay E. and Lower Jarvis had a surreal feel to it as you could not miss the hundreds of spatterings of blood over a distance of some 80 metres.

It's ugly. It may still be there today. It didn't look as if anybody was in a giant hurry to clean it up.

There were 61 blood-soaked footprints -- the remnants of gunplay early yesterday involving at least two suspects.

Ho hum. Just another war in the streets. You know the drill. The poorly paid and underappreciated paramedics saved more lives and no witnesses saw anything to help frustrated, overworked cops.

Witnesses would have had a difficult time missing this blood though. You couldn't possibly.

"It's disgraceful," said courier Corey McCoy. "If you commit a crime with a gun you should get a minimum 10 years."

Give Mayor Miller A Call Mr. McCoy......

Not Quite What Was Promised

A Lighter Look........

Toronto's only hope for it's fiscal problems.

When It comes to things like justice and senate reform, the liberal party...uhh....the party of "progressiveness," always seem to be stuck because of the charter of rights and freedoms. I guess that's why all they can do is sit around and dream!

The Thought For Today —"A comfortable old age is the reward of a well-spent youth. Instead of its bringing sad and melancholy prospects of decay, it should give us hopes of eternal youth in a better world.." -- R. Palmer

I Will Bet You Have One In Your Office

Man Won't Stop Coming Up With New Sniglets

March 28, 2001 | Issue 37•11

STOCKTON, CA–Nearly 20 years after the briefly popular lexicographic fad made its debut on HBO's Not Necessarily The News, local resident Paul Appleby continues to create new Sniglets. "I was drinking coffee with Paul in the breakroom, and he informs me that the non-dairy-creamer residue at the bottom of the cup ought to be called the 'cremorass,'" coworker Gail Farner said Monday. "Then, a few minutes later, he says, 'You know that little pop-up safety button on the cap of juice drinks? That's a snubbler.'" Added Farner: "He's working on these things like there's still someplace you can send them. Is that Rich Hall guy even still alive?"

Add This To The Agenda Of No Plan B Mayor Miller

Right up there with contracting out and fiscal management.

Union Station still on the to-do list

Miller says revamp a priority for key piece of real estate

Paul Moloney
Toronto Star

Another year gone by, and still no plan to restore Toronto's venerable but deteriorating Union Station.

After three years of failure to get the project under way under his watch, Mayor David Miller has identified Union Station as a priority as he commences a new four-year term.

"There may be opportunities for public sector partnerships," Miller told the Star. "Certainly, we need to move forward with Union Station, and I'm looking forward to seeing what advice we get."

A Union Station makeover has been on the city's to-do list ever since it acquired the key transportation hub from the railways back in the summer of 2000.

Restoring Union Station is considered a key initiative for Toronto. The building is a historic landmark, a vital transportation hub and a crucial part of the city's downtown. It is a destination point for the TTC, VIA Rail and GO Transit and will one day have a rail link to Pearson airport.

But the structure badly needs renovation.

Appeals to the private sector haven't worked out.

Union Pearson Group, a consortium of high-profile companies, was to have invested at least $100 million to transform the place into a showpiece that would also attract people to retail and entertainment venues.

The consortium engaged in extensive talks with the city over a four-year period but announced in June that time had run out to complete the deal.

It may be the city approach of turning the whole project over to a single developer was too ambitious, said Deputy Mayor Joe Pantalone.

"We tried to go with the big, comprehensive, whole-enchilada approach with the private sector," Pantalone said. "Either it was too early or that simply doesn't work. It may be that we can do things in smaller pieces."

That's one of four options advanced by city officials: if the private sector isn't interested in tackling the whole thing, maybe parts of the station could be leased out, renovated and put to new uses.

The other options are:

# Do nothing and simply maintain the status quo, which has left major components of the building vastly underused.

# Try again to find a private sector partner willing to re-do the entire structure.

# Go it alone, with the city carrying out needed renovations.

Pantalone hopes conditions are more conducive to getting something done now.

Union Station is considered a key piece of real estate, with the Air Canada Centre, SkyDome and the financial district on its doorstep.

That's even more the case now with a new office tower for Telus going up just to the south and condominiums sprouting up seemingly on all sides.

Meanwhile, GO Transit is improving operations within the station and the TTC plans to build a second subway platform to cure overcrowding.

"Union Station is now more central in terms of the flow of people and activities," Pantalone said.

How About Direct Access To Mayor Miller

That might be an interesting excercise....determining whether you can get direct access to the mayor. I know in 2006 of about 14 emails I sent to the Mayor not one was answered directly by the replay came from some flunky. Messages to councillors is a joke as well....try sending a email to the council as a whole and see how many responses you actually get.

Hung up on civic access

Jim Byers
Toronto Star

Nobody likes getting the runaround when they call city hall.

It's seen as such a big issue that the City of Toronto's telephone directory gives workers explicit instructions on how to answer and transfer calls and how to leave a proper voice-mail message.

They were almost certainly quite serious, but the authors of the section titled "Telephone Practices" managed to come up with some amusing thoughts.

"Answer all incoming calls on the first where possible, and no later than the third ring," the directions state. Workers are told they should offer a greeting such as "Good morning" or "Good afternoon," then state either "City of Toronto" or "Toronto," and then offer up the name of their division and follow that with "May I help you?" or "How can I help you?"

The book also tells city employees they're "expected to transfer callers to the correct person or service area," and should stay on the line to make sure callers get the correct person.

"There is nothing more frustrating to the public than being passed around an organization and having to repeat their story over and over again," the book says.

The directory also warns workers to avoid such phrases as "That's not our job," and "I don't know." Instead, the city says, employees should reply with something like, "That's a good question. Let me try and find out for you."

When it comes to voice mail, staff are advised to update their personal greeting daily with information regarding their whereabouts or who else the public can call.

So, is the message getting through?

Just for fun, the Toronto Star made 10 random calls to city workers last week to see if they're up to snuff on handling calls from the public. The results were decidedly mixed.

Only four calls were answered by a person. (Admittedly, that may be because it was the Friday morning before the Christmas break.)

Of the four, only one managed to squeeze in the entire recommended greeting, answering the telephone with a cheery "Good morning, City of Toronto, North York Civic Centre, May I help you?"

The person who answered at the Office of Emergency Management didn't offer to help but was solid on the first three parts. One person gave a department name and their own name, while the other simply answered with the department name.

Most calls were answered quickly but one, to the financial administration office at Metro Hall, went unanswered after 10 rings.

The Star also tried out the call transfer policy. Knowing it was the wrong number, we called the North York Committee of Adjustment to complain about a sidewalk crack. A polite woman said we should call Works and Emergency Services. She dug out the number and transferred us after we asked. We were punched through to another number – the wrong one.

"North Toronto treatment plant," said the worker who answered. "I'm calling about a crack in my sidewalk," a reporter said.

"That's totally out of my field," the worker replied. "The best I can do is give you the Access Toronto number," the city's general help line.

The Access Toronto person nailed the greeting, and put us through to one of those annoying "If you have a sidewalk crack, press one," recordings. After navigating the system, we managed to get a live employee in the correct department, although they answered by stating their last name.

Voice mail has been around for years, but some employees haven't quite got the hang of it. The greeting of a worker in policy, planning, finance and administration gave only his first name while a couple of other workers had full voice-mail boxes with no options given.

The best voice mail was for a fellow who said he was away until Jan. 8. But he was nice enough to say that, if we wanted to, we could call another fellow who was only on vacation until Jan. 2.

Thanks.

The city has plans to open a 3-1-1 call centre in July 2008 so the public can call one number for all City of Toronto queries. The centre is expected to cost about $27 million.

I Promise McGinty Getting Ready To Go To The People

How many promises did the fiberals make and how many did they actually keep? They certainly kept the one about taxpayers not having to pay more taxes and the health premium and giving the leftists at city hall additional powers, including imposing new fees, are not taxes.

January 2, 2007
Dalton’s winning strategy
It’s never too early to road test campaign slogans for the upcoming Ontario election
By LORRIE GOLDSTEIN

Happy New Year, fellow Liberals, and welcome to the first of what we hope will be many productive strategy sessions leading up the re-election of Dalton McGuinty as Ontario premier on October 4. (Scattered applause.)

As you know, we’re facing a fixed election date for the first time in our history, so it’s important to establish our main campaign themes now.

We want to define Premier McGuinty in the minds of voters before anyone in the opposition parties has a chance to do it.

To that end, I and a small group of the premier’s top strategists have been brainstorming some possible re-election slogans we want to try out on you today.

So, please, give us your honest opinions. Ready? Here we go

First: How about, “Premier McGuinty, he did what he said he would do”?

So, what do you think folks? Short? Snappy? To the point?

Yes, you … you with your hand up in the back row … please stand up and tell us what you think.

Okay … you’re going to have to stop laughing, or the rest of us aren’t going to be able to understand you.

Try taking a few deep breaths and thinking of something really sad — like Dwight Duncan’s reaction when he found out he was going to be energy minister … again.

Okay, I’m sorry, but I still can’t understand a word you’re saying. You’re still laughing too hard.

Anyone else? Anyone for “Premier McGuinty, he did what he said he would do?” No? All right, let’s move on to our next slogan.

It’s “Premier McGuinty, spending your tax dollars as if they were his own.”

Okay, now that’s enough laughter from you folks at the back of the room.

Yes, you, you and you … you know who you are.

What was that? How can we possibly suggest Premier McGuinty spends your tax dollars as if they were his own when he just raised his own salary and that of all MPPs by 25%, right after saying he wouldn’t?

Easy. If you could spend your tax dollars as if they were your own, wouldn’t you give yourself an immediate 25% raise?

Of course you would! Case closed. This just shows Premier McGuinty is a regular guy. A regular guy struggling to get by on $200,000 a year,just like the rest of us.

Now, for our third suggested slogan: “Premier McGuinty, taking the high road towards a better Ontario.”

What’s that? You’re saying he didn’t take much of a high road in the Parkdale-High Park byelection where we portrayed Cheri DiNovo, the NDP candidate and a United Church minister, as Satan’s daughter, twisted quotes from her sermons absurdly out of context and pretended her old admissions about once being a street kid were a huge new scandal?

Yeah, we did all that, but what’s your point? After all, we won that byelection, didn’t we?

What? We lost Parkdale-High Park to the NDP? Geez. I was sure we won.

Okay, what idiots did we put in charge of countingthe votes in Parkdale-High Park, because I distinctly remember somebody telling me we’d won. Somebody who obviously can’t count worth a damn.

What’s that? We put the Hydro One board of directors in charge of counting the votes in Parkdale-High Park? Oh. Okay. That explains a lot.

What’s that? Your suggested slogan for the election campaign is, “Premier McGuinty, still not as rich as John Tory?”

Well, that’s an interesting idea, particularly since Tory and the Conservatives did support us on that 25% pay raise.

Hmmm. “Premier McGuinty, still not as rich as John Tory”.

Yep, that’s a keeper. Write it down, boys.

Brothers & Sisters Let's Gather Defiantly At The Trough

And stick it to the taxpayers and small business......

Business makes a point
The mayor should ensure city contracts are tendered to all -- not just unions
By SUE-ANN LEVY

Catherine Swift, CEO of the Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB), hopes to meet with Mayor David Miller as early as possible in the New Year.

She wants to discuss a number of pressing issues affecting business in this city.

Uppermost in Swift's mind is the entrenched City Hall practice of allowing only unionized shops to bid for the huge number of city contracts tendered each year -- everything from carpentry and plumbing to painting and sheet metal working jobs.

The CFIB head, who represents 105,000 small and medium-businesses across Canada, 13,000 of them in the GTA, is so disturbed by the preferential treatment of organized labour, she dashed off a pointed Dec. 19 letter to Miller spelling out the many reasons why it's so unfair.

Businesses in Toronto pay a hugely disproportionate share of property taxes, Swift noted.

For that reason alone, it's wrong to exclude a "majority of them" from performing city work, just because they're not unionized. "If these firms are good enough ... to subsidize services to residents, surely they are good enough to provide those services when the occasion presents itself," she wrote.

Allowing more firms to bid would ensure a process that is "open and transparent."

It stands to reason, Swift added, that including both union AND non-union shops in the procurement process will lead to better quality services and value for residents.

It would also strengthen Toronto's case to the senior levels of government for "a new financial deal."

Swift was no less critical of the practice when I spoke to her late last week. She said the city has deemed itself a "construction employer" -- a term written into the last collective agreement with CUPE and other unions. It's a "weasel way" of giving the unions preferential treatment, not just on construction jobs but on all types of contracts involving the trades, Swift argues.

'A BIG LAUGH'

"The notion of City Hall being a construction employer is a big laugh," she told me, noting the city can easily apply to the Ontario Labour Relations Board to have that term removed from its next collective agreement.

It goes well beyond being required to pay union rates as stipulated by the phalanx of bureaucrats in the city's Fair Wage Office. Even if a shop is prepared to pay its workers the inflated salaries being handed to the city's unions, the edict lately appears to be that regardless of that, these businesses must also be unionized.

Swift figures 13,000 Toronto non-union businesses are being automatically excluded from bidding for city jobs.

"What all taxpayers should be aware of is that this jacks up costs," she said, adding city officials waste money "right, left and centre."

Good for Swift and the CFIB for making an issue of this practice. Not that I have much hope of things changing under the Millerites.

It's been Christmas virtually every day for Brother Brian Cochrane, Sister Ann Dembinksi, and the powerful municipal CUPE unions they lead, (Locals 416 and 79) ever since Miller came to power three years ago.

The mayor virtually guaranteed his union pals jobs for life when he took any consideration of Alternative Service Delivery (contracting out) off the table in June, 2004.

I can't wait to see whether Miller and Co. have the nerve to "insource" two garbage collection contracts now handled by private firms in York and Etobicoke. That would cost more than $21.5-million -- an issue debated but not dealt with before the November election.

The new "continuous improvement" process the mayor initiated three years ago to exact efficiencies from city workers has achieved little.

All city manager Shirley Hoy appears to be able to claim as an accomplishment are some attempts at reducing the number of work-related injuries. We've seen no hard numbers and no targets.

The only thing that keeps improving is employee salaries and head counts.

Like me, Swift has little hope things will change, even though the CFIB will make a strong case. As she put it: "Nope, nope, no, it won't happen under (David) Miller."

Everyone Should Make Time For A Dave Barry Column

That Blasted Year
Dave Barry shoots 2006 full of holes

By Dave Barry
Sunday, December 31, 2006; W18

IT WAS A MOMENTOUS YEAR, a year of events that will echo in the annals of history the way a dropped plate of calamari echoes in an Italian restaurant with a tile floor. Decades from now, our grandchildren will come to us and say, "Tell us, Grandpa or Grandma, as the case may be, what it was like to be alive in the year that Angelina Jolie, Tom Cruise, Brad Pitt, Britney Spears and Katie whats-hername all had babies, although not necessarily in those combinations." And we will smile wisely and emit a streamer of drool, because we will be very old and unable to hear them.

And that will be a good thing, because there are many things about 2006 that we will not want to remember. This was the year in which the members of the United States Congress, who do not bother to read the actual bills they pass, spent weeks poring over instant messages sent by a pervert. This was the year in which the vice president of the United States shot a lawyer, which turned out to be totally legal inTexas. This was the year in which -- as clearly foretold in the Bible as a sign of the Apocalypse -- Howie Mandel wound up with a hit TV show.

Also, there were many pesky problems left over from 2005 that refused to go away in 2006, including Iraq, immigration, high gas prices, terrorism, global warming, avian flu, Iran, North Korea and Paris Hilton. Future generations are going to look back at this era and ask us how we could have allowed Paris Hilton to happen, and we are not going to have a good answer.
[JANUARY]

. . . a month that dawns with petty partisan bickering in Washington, D.C., a place where many people view petty partisan bickering as honest, productive work -- like making furniture. The immediate cause of the bickering is the Republican ethics scandal involving lobbyist Jack Abramoff and House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, both of whom you can tell, just by looking at them, are guilty of something. The Democrats charge that the Republicans have created a Culture of Corruption and should be thrown out of office so the Democrats can return to power and run the scandal-free style of government for which they are so famous. The Republicans respond that the Democrats are soft on terrorism, soft on terrorism, soft on terrorism, soft on terrorism. Both sides issue news releases far into the night.

The other big focus of the bickering is the nomination of Samuel Alito to the Supreme Court. As always, the Senate Judiciary Committee hearings provide high-quality TV entertainment as the nation tunes in to see whether Sen. Edward M. Kennedy will be able to successfully remember the nominee's name. The bulk of the hearings are spent in the traditional manner, with Democrats trying to trick the nominee into revealing his views on abortion, and Republicans reminding the nominee that he does not have to reveal his views on abortion. The subsequent exchange of news releases is so intense that several government fax machines burst into flames.

In the War on Terror, Osama bin Laden, who may or may not be dead, nevertheless releases another audiotape, for the first time making it downloadable from iTunes. Bin Laden also starts a blog, in which he calls upon his followers to destroy the corrupt infidels and also to try to find out how a person, hypothetically, can get Chinese food delivered to a cave.

In the Middle East, Palestinian voters elect the militant Hamas party, which assumes control of government functions such as street repair, which Hamas decides to handle by firing rockets at potholes. Canada also holds elections, which are won by some Canadian, we assume.

In economic news, the big story is the retirement of Federal Reserve Board Chairman Alan Greenspan, who, after 19 years as the person most responsible for guiding the American economy, steps down, taking with him the thanks of a grateful nation and a suitcase containing $11 billion. But the financial news is not so good in . . .
[FEBRUARY]

. . . when President Bush, delivering what is billed as a "major address on energy policy," reveals that the nation has an "addiction" to "foreign oil," which comes from "foreign countries" located "outside of the United States" that are getting this oil from "under the ground." To combat this problem, the president proposes the development of "new technology" in the form of "inventions" such as "a Lincoln Navigator that gets 827 miles per gallon," although he allows that this could take "time."

But this bold energy initiative does not get nearly as much attention as the administration's decision to allow a company owned by the United Arab Emirates to operate some U.S. seaports. This outrages Congress, which briefly ceases partisan bickering to demand that the White House return control of the ports, in the interest of national security, to Tony Soprano.

Speaking of guys who avoid the limelight: Vice President Dick Cheney, attempting to bring down a quail with a shotgun, shoots attorney Harry Whittington. Local authorities rule the shooting was an accident, noting that if the vice president were going to intentionally shoot somebody, it would be Nancy Pelosi. The quail is eventually tracked down and vaporized by an F-16.

Internationally, the big news comes from Denmark, center of a mounting furor over some cartoons, published the previous year in a Danish newspaper, that depict a prophet whom, in the interest of not offending anybody, we will refer to as Fohammed. This upsets several million of the prophet's followers, who request a formal apology from the newspaper, greater sensitivity to their religious beliefs and, where necessary, beheadings. Eventually everybody realizes that the whole darned thing was just a silly misunderstanding. That is all we are going to say about this.

In sports, Super Bowl XVXXLMCMII takes place in Detroit, and by all accounts it's a big success for the Motor City, with huge crowds thronging to both of the restaurants. The Pittsburgh Steelers win a game featuring a controversial play in which an apparent Seattle Seahawk touchdown pass is called back after the Steeler defender -- in what is later ruled an accident -- is gunned down by Vice President Cheney.

But the big sporting event is the Winter Olympics, a glorious quadrennial celebration of world-class virtuoso athletic accomplishment in sports nobody has ever heard of. Surprise winners include Latvia in the 500-kilometer Modified Nordic Combined; the Republic of Irvingkahnistan in the 2,300-meter Slavic Personified; and U.S. skier Bode Miller in Most Nike Commercials Featuring a Competitor Who, in the Actual Competitions, Mainly Falls Down.

Get A Drink and Keep going.......

It Is Possible Our Prayers Are Being Answered

and this might be the first indication........

A Non-sectarian Prayer

Monday, January 01, 2007

A prayer for the new year

HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYBODY!!!!

May 2007 be the year that historians look back
on as the "beginning of the end" for everything
evil and retrograde from Islam to
left-liberalism. May this New Year
be the year that they all
begin their journey to the
unmarked graveyard
of disgarded lies.

# posted by Lemuel Calhoon @ 2:14 AM

An Insight Into 2007 II

An other cause for the social in-activists and an other cottage industry.....

An Insight Into 2007

Nothing has changed in Toronto....Mayor Miller and his cohorts still have their heads up their keisters!

A Message From The Other Solitude

MNN Tribute to Six Nations

TRIBUTE TO SIX NATIONS - INDIGENOUS NEWSMAKERS OF 2006 – WE WANT “HOME RULE ON TURTLE ISLAND”! END INDIAN AFFAIRS! THROW OUT THE “INDIAN ACT”! IT’S ILLEGAL!

MNN. Dec. 31, 2006. We’ve been saying this from the beginning! On February 28, 2006 Six Nations people swept into international prominence. They took back some stolen land and kicked off the developers. They’ve held it since. Why is this story important?

There were numerous military attacks launched against the people at the site which became known as “Kanenhstaton”. The colonizers want the Indigenous people to go home and stay invisible. With the support of brothers, sisters, hundreds of Indigenous nations worldwide, friends and allies, the people stood firm.

Minister of Indian Affairs, Jim “Jonestown” Prentice, was kicked out as Minister. We refuse to look up to him as our “great white father”. Colonial appointments at the “table talks” were constantly backed further into the wall. Our brilliant researchers put out irrefutable research to back up our claims to the “Haldimand Tract” and beyond.

The colonists pretend they can cut off our rights and take our possessions by the stroke of a pen. They don’t want to discuss the issues on a nation-to-nation basis, as set out even in their own laws. They don’t know what to do. They have become afraid of our truths.

We constantly speak of non-violence. They have the power of guns and weaponry to use on us while we have nothing. We believe they don’t mind striking at defenseless people if no one is looking. Sure, we know what kind of brutality they can mete out to us. When pushed, we defend ourselves as we have a right to do. They call us “vandals” and they say they are the law.



Six Nations people never wanted to be martyrs. They only wanted to do what they’re supposed to do. They showed that we must unite and be treated as equals, and it doesn’t mean becoming Canadians or Americans.

The 500 years of colonialism have been over for a long time. Six Nations and many others have led the way. Canada, wake up and smell the coffee. Yes, someone else was here first. Stop your brutality. Six Nations showed us how to be firm and dignified. It was the principles of the Kaianereh’ko:wa/Great Law of Peace that provided the path. We have laws and we must never submit to their foreign laws. They never got the right from us to have jurisdiction over us and our land.

What did Six Nations reveal?

One of our big problems is the “sell-outs” set up by the colonial governments to do us in. We saw some of our band councilors come out and openly commit espionage and treason against us. We saw rich “Indian” politicians riding around in limos, with big bank accounts and “Indian” and foreign police at their beck and call. They are setting themselves up to be the masters who will replace the colonists to rule over us. So they think!

We found out we don’t need so many cars, shoes and clothes. All we need is one and to wear it with dignity. We don’t want anyone to be the master over another. We must live as who we are, according to our own minds.

The colonists despise our attitude because we object to having our peace disturbed. They don’t know where we find the nerve to assert ourselves like we do.

Our resistance has provoked responses from our Caledonia neighbors who are “squatting” on our land. We embarrassed all those who want to treat us like slaves. We changed their minds about killing us over their anger at us for asking that the colonists be law abiding.

We commend the people of the Six Nations, our brothers and sisters, our friends and allies. They are all our heroes. Especially those who remained on the site through it all. The Six Nations people showed us how to reach into ourselves and how to use our anger in a constructive way. It takes bravery to take all that racist provocation that was hurled at us by the state and their hired guns like the KKK, skinheads and rioters and 'porky pig’s' navy. They wanted to mow us down and tried to set this up many times.

They tried to provoke, intimidate and constantly threatened to kill the men, women and children. Those threats became irrelevant to the point that we wanted to make, even when guns were constantly pointed at us.

We cannot get our freedom by violence and murder. This would create shame. The Indigenous people are marching because we have been aroused. Six Nations did not despair. We have tyrants around us that seem invincible. Many of us were arrested and falsely charged. We used our minds. Many of our people refused to stand up in the colonial court when the colonial judge walked in. We are not Canadians or British subjects.

Our message to Canada is to secure peace by removing your troops and your administration. Put them where they are needed, to control your own people. We want what’s ours. We are never going to lie down and let you walk over us again. We want you to see our wisdom. You cannot go on maintaining your system on us at gunpoint.

Six Nations never said an “eye for an eye” because it makes everyone blind. We know the colonists have bad tempers. They kept trying to bring in martial law to control the situation of the white rioters who wanted to attack us. We saw their desperation. The Indian police, in some instances, can be the most brutal to us even when their police stations have not been burnt down, their uniforms ripped off them, their weapons confiscated or their cars turned over.

Colonists, stop offending the hospitality that we have offered. Don’t be afraid of our desire for freedom and independence. We are not afraid to look any colonists in the eye. We don’t want to cooperate with this foreign system. We have to follow our duties by marshalling what is inside us. We have gone as far as we can under your brutal regime. We want Indigenous home rule on Turtle Island.

Six Nations demonstrated that they will not back down. On February 28th, the anniversary of the reclamation of Kanenhstaton, let us hold our heads high. It is an important day. We must obey the law of the land, our law, not the colonial laws imposed to exploit us and our land. Turtle Island belongs to the Indigenous people. We will never grovel for what is ours. We will not lose strength when there are setbacks.

Six Nations, you made the injustices visible. You gained a victory for all of us with friendship, not fear.

Six Nations persistence continues. Though we’ve been blocked many times, we always try again. On January 1st 2007 the people will take over the Old Confederacy Council House on Six Nations that was stolen in the 1920’s. That’s when Colonel Morgan and Duncan Campbell Scott pretended to depose our government. They also denied us access to what was left of our trust funds after a series of unauthorized gifts and investments to institutions like the Grand River Navigation Company, McGill University and the Law Society of Upper Canada. These and hundreds of other debts have been certified but not repaid. If we don’t succeed, the coming generations will try again and again. The truth is on our side and we know we will win.

Turtle Island will be free. We are still here. We have not retreated. We won’t let the colonists divide us, even when they cling to their old dreams which shall be one day gone.

Creation begins with the power of the women. As long as the sun shines, the grass grows and the water flows, it means that the birth of our people will continue. In the end it is the power of the women and the men together that made it happen. As long as we are people, we will exist. We must remember our original instructions that come from the natural world. Our most precious commodity is our mind. We all have been given a path to be free through the use of our minds. Six Nations people, you used yours to analyze, to disagree and to come to an understanding. That is what freedom is. That is what the Six Nations people stood up for in 2006.

Kahentinetha Horn

MNN Mohawk Nation News

A Message From A Leader

Monday, January 1, 2007

The New Year's Message From
Prime Minister Stephen Harper

The arrival of the New Year is a time to reflect on the year that was and
chart a course for the one to come.

Without a doubt, 2006 was a great year for Canada. Our economy has been strong, our country united, and Canada took a lead role on the world stage.

As Canadians, we were drawn together by the Winter Olympics, when our athletes made us all so proud by Canada Day, when we celebrated all that we've achieved in this great country .

And by Remembrance Day, when we honoured our veterans and remembered their sacrifices.

For me, the highlight of 2006 was visiting our troops, diplomats and aid
workers in Afghanistan.

We should be very proud of them. Of their courage and commitment, and their skill and professionalism.

Through their selfless acts, these brave men and women are protecting our security interests, and making a real difference in the lives of the long-suffering Afghan people.

As Canadians, we are very fortunate.

Ours isn't just a great country. It's the greatest in the world. But make no mistake, Canada's best days are still ahead.

Happy New Year Canada....

And may God keep our Land glorious and free.

Your Comment

Prairies Becoming A Cultural Oasis

Fill up the car at Corner Gas and get directions to the town of Mercy. It looks like it is going to be a good winter.

What's In/Out In 2007

The List

Legalize Prostitution

There are a number of things that would be accomplished: reduce the possibity of getting AIDS; another source of revenue for Howard Moscoe; a red light district could be the lynchpin that drives the development of the waterfront; social in-activists gain another cottage industry.........

A national debate on prostitution

Do You Have A Casaul Interest In Ontario History

Would you or can you easily get to York University to feed your interest? Would you get more involved if the information was housed in downtown Toronto. Of course this is a mute question if you don't live in the center of the Universe but I want to start fiberal bashing as quickly as possible in this election year.

New home for archives

What did 18th-century Toronto or Kingston look like to Elizabeth Simcoe, the wife of the first lieutenant-governor of Upper Canada?

How cold was it on Dec. 2, 1905, the date of Toronto's first Santa Claus Parade? When were our ancestors born, married and buried?

These are just a few of the historical nuggets anyone can uncover by visiting the Archives of Ontario, a treasure trove of written material, photographs and government records that documents the province's rich and storied past.

But for far too long, this irreplaceable collection has been threatened by the abysmal conditions in which it is housed.

The Grenville St. archives building in downtown Toronto is a mould-infested firetrap with sagging floors and no sprinkler system.

A consultant's report has estimated the collection, worth more than $400 million, is losing value at a rate of $36,000 a day for every day it remains in this substandard building.

So it is welcome news that the Ontario government has finally struck a deal to move the archives to a new building on the campus of York University in northwest Toronto.

The facility, set to open in 2009, will meet international archival standards and incorporate environmentally friendly features.

Most important, it will ensure Ontario's history is properly preserved for future generations.

The question many are rightly asking, though, is why it took so long.

The simple answer is politics. The previous Conservative government had struck a deal with an insurance company to move the archives to a building on Simcoe St., near Queen St. W. But the Liberals killed that agreement in 2004 and started the search all over again.

Four bidders initially emerged. But after three of them dropped out of the running, York University was the only option left.

More.....

Sentiments & Catch Phrases Are The Problem

It is time we start holding politicians accountable for their failure to keep election promises....maybe the introduction of recall legislation is the answer. And while we are on the subject why does the legislature not sit for longer periods?

Noble sentiments, empty words

Carol Goar
Toronto Star

There goes another perfectly good phrase.

First it was "sacred trust." Former prime minister Brian Mulroney debased that expression in the 1980s, when he proclaimed Canada's universal social programs "a sacred trust not to be tampered with," then proceeded to scrap family allowances and claw back old age benefits.

Then it was "common sense." Former Ontario premier Mike Harris contaminated that saying in the 1990s, when he closed hospitals, sacked nurses, slashed welfare rates and turned the school system inside out in the name of "common sense."

Next it was Paul Martin's turn. The former prime minister killed a whole crop of aphorisms – "democratic deficit," "transformative change," "new politics of achievement" and "fix for a generation" – in the early years of this decade. But since he coined most of them himself, it was no great loss to the political vocabulary.

Now Dalton McGuinty has done it. He has cheapened a term once used to denote acts of high principle or moral leadership.

Defending his decision to support a 25 per cent pay raise for MPPs, the Ontario premier said: "It was the right thing to do."

It may have been an admissible thing to do. It may have been a justifiable thing to do. It may even have been an audacious thing to do.

But it wasn't the "right thing to do." It was just a messy piece of legislative housekeeping.

Keep promises.....