Sanction on Syria!

Since the Arab spring has started it is as if a big chunk of the western world all of a sudden got glasses. They realize that these countries that in many cases are being ruled by dictators should have sanctions put on them. Last week the EU joined us here in North America in imposing sanctions on Syria. Very soon the EU nations will have an arms embargo on Syria and will ban Petroleum imports , and ban all investments and loans in the country. Not to mentions the millions of dollars they froze in assets. It seems the western world is listening to the need to stop supporting these dictators from staying in power. Because giving loans to dictators is supporting them. I am glad to see the EU put sanctions on Syria.


Read more here (P.S it is in french so for many readers you may have to translate it on Google translate)

Political Rights

My condolences to the families of the 92 people killed in the Norway attacks. It is a horrible thing to kill children and terrible to kill fellow human beings in the first place.

News has come out that the killer belonged to party promoting intolerance to immigrants, particularly Muslims as tehy think that a lot of them are terrorists. This incident just goes to show that anyone, regardless of ethnicity can be evil. The Norwegian PM is right when he called that there needs to be more transparency and more openness. Moving into the future, we must be more tolerant and accept other human beings.

OSLO, July 23 (Reuters) - The Norwegian charged with killing at least 92 people in a gun and bomb massacre had belonged to an anti-immigration party and wrote blogs attacking multiculturalism and Islam.

Police said Anders Behring Breivik, detained by police after 85 people were gunned down at a youth camp and another 7 killed in a bomb attack on Friday, was unknown to them and his Internet activity traced so far included no calls to violence.

Read more: http://www.calgaryherald.com/news/Accused+Norway+killer+attacked+multiculturalism+online/5149857/story.html#ixzz1Sxik9qwx

Way to Go Germany!

Germany is making huge pushes to stop the use of dirty energy , and dangerous energy. Germany said that it will eliminate all nuclear plants in Germany of the grid and replace it with renewable energy. That's right renewals. It silly to switch from nuclear to coal or gas, because nuclear out of the three is the safest and the least pollutant. Not to say we should keep nuclear power plants, but rather eliminate first coal, oil and natural gas then move to eliminating nuclear. In Germany all coal plants will be gone in 2018. This shows that Germany will be one of the best countries when it comes to making the shift, and proves yet again that you can have a strong economy that is the fourth in the world, a small deficit and low employment while still having very tough targets when it comes to not only CO2 emissions, but Canada you can say is falling behind. Currently most of our electricity comes from Hydro and other renewable energy, but we still have many coal plants and nuclear in Canada. In Canadian consumption renewable energy only make up 28%.  Oil and Natural gas are first and third respectively. We must move to try and reduce these numbers especially in coal which makes 12% of our consumption. Germany already has a strong plan. Not only in eliminating nuclear and coal out of the country, but also going for a CO2 target of 40% below 1990 levels. Way more aggressive then Canada's. in Germany renewable energy are becoming more visible in consumption although they are currently less than Canada's.Because here it is easier to make hydro plants when you have the most rivers in the world and only have to supply for 35 million compared to Germany which is much smaller, has fewer rivers , and must supply demand for 83 million people.  Germany even with the tough obstacles, has targets that will make Renewable energy the main source of energy in the following decade's possibly surpassing Canada very soon if Canada doesn't try to increase production of clean energy instead of dirty fuel.

Read more here

Electoral Reform!

The deal made by the Conservatives and Lib Dems is that they would form the next government, but there has to be a referendum on electoral reform for the Lib Dems to be happy. I support changes to electoral reform. In the U.K the system that was put up on referendum was voted on May 5th. The U.K people unfortunately voted against IRV was unfortunate, But that shouldn't discourage us from changing are electoral reform. Just look at the last election 40% of people voted conservative yet Harper has a majority that in the House of Commons represents more than 50%. How is it fair that 60% of people voted for other parties yet a party that gets less than 40% gets a majority. We need to change our electoral system, and the fact that a referendum was put up for a vote in the U.K is an important first step.  

A law of descrmination in France.

A law was passed by the french senate that has before passed the lower house and now the bill is going to the president Nicola Sarkozy. This law would make it illegal for any women to wear a full body Burqua. This law is nothing less than descrimination. This law would make it illegal for women of the muslim faith to wear religouse clothing in public. That means Muslim women by law will be forced to be told what they can't wear. This is a right of anyone to wear whatever they want. People will be fined almost $200 to wear what they are rightfully aloud to wear. This is a horrific law and should be overturned.

Ironically, instead of helping some women integrate, the measure may keep them cloistered in their homes to avoid exposing their faces in public.

The measure affects fewer than 2,000 women, but Muslims believe it is one more blow to France's second religion, and risks raising the level of Islamophobia in a country where mosques, like synagogues, are sporadic targets of hate. Some women have vowed to wear a full-face veil despite the law.

The French Goverment continues it's discrimination.

French Prime Minister Nicolas Sarkozy has made a new law to evacuate all Roma people from France. Why? Well, apparently all Roma people are involved with crime, so says Sarkozy. There is some truth to the argument: there is is major crime coming from Roma camps. However, to evacuate all Roma people from the country, because a portion of the group is involved with crime is just stupid and descriminative. If you follow that ideology than you migt as well expell all cultures and groups, because there is bound to be at least one that is invovled with crime.The European Union and the UN consel on rascism condems this act of descrimination. It is just plain wrong to force all Roma people out when it is a minor group that is commiting crime. It would be much better if they increase law enforcement in these areas of high crime, but to evacuate the country of a people, because of this discrimination is wrong on the fullest degree.

Thousands of people have attended demonstrations in Paris and other French cities to protest against tough new security measures introduced by the government which they say are being used to target the country's Roma community.

France began clearing large numbers of illegal Roma camps in July, after Nicolas Sarkozy, the French president, announced a series of measures to fight crime.

Read more here

Double dip rescession maybe not.

A fear of a double dip recession came first when Greece's debt crisis was causing havoc on the powerhouse Euro currency. The Euro, has lost it's value as the crisis was moving forward, meanwhile here in North America our TSX and Dow Jones went up and down that resulted in no real change. The fear of a double dip has been growing as the job reports show that in both countries Canada and U.S we lost jobs in July. This might all prove that a double dip recession is going to happen, but the Euro zone (the 16 nation that uses the currency) has posted a gain of 1% from the moths (April and May) gaining more than the U.S 0.6% gain, While here in Canada 1.5% gain. The Euro zone even in the midst of the Greek debt crisis was expected to have a 0.7% growth out did expectations, but some parts of the Euro did better than others. Germany did the best with a 2.2% increase there highest increase sine unification, but other countries like France gave U.S numbers. The worst performing one's where Spain that only gained 0.2% this of no surprise as Spain has a nearly 20% unemployment, but those are small potatoes compared with Greece's contracting economy that reduced by 1.5%. The global economy is growing which is good indicator that a double dip recession might not happen.

Germany was the clear leader, with data showing its powerhouse economy expanded by 2.2 per cent.

Data released Thursday showed the Greek economy contracted by 1.5 per cent in the quarter. And while Spain eked out a small 0.2 per cent gain, its unemployment rate sits near 20 per cent.

"Despite an inevitable slowdown, all ingredients are there for the German economy to take the next step toward a self-sustained recovery," ING economist Carsten Brzeski said.

 Read more here

France takes a step back in the world.

France has just passed a law that would make it illegal for wearing the Niqab, Burqa and Hijab in public places. I think this is bad. You can't force people not to wear something. There is not a justified reason to do this. It is freedom of expression , and nothing else. This bill passed the lower house in France by a margin 335 yes 1 no. This will be the first European country to pass a law of banning this clothing. I do think that in some circumstances like voting, driver license, passport and others a face must be shown, but in public area's I say no everyone like me should have the right to where whatever in the world we want. This is just sad that France would do this to it's own citizens. It is not tolerant of us to not allow people to wear what they want. I would hope no other countries follows France, and that France's upper house rejects this law.

Some 82 percent of people polled approved of a ban, while 17 percent disapproved. That was the widest support the Washington-based think tank found in any of the five countries it surveyed.

Clear majorities also backed burqa bans in Germany, Britain and Spain, while two out of three Americans opposed it, the survey found.

France's lower house of parliament Tuesday overwhelmingly passed a ban on any veils that cover the face -- including the burqa, the full-body covering worn by some Muslim women.

Economic Recovery?

The TSX has been drooping lately giving new fear of a double dip recession. So now no country is attempting to spend more money, but with fear growing and economic confidence is down the recovery could turn to another recession. No country is eager to tell the world they are going into a double dip recession that will just cause more fear. I think that the economy is slowing down because of the Europe crisis so they have less confidence in the global economy. I still think that we are not going into a double dip recession if we don't shake the economy anymore. Canada is doing well , and will continue to do well I think this is just a bump in the road.

The S&P/TSX composite index ended trading down 103.56 points, or 0.9 per cent, to 11,092.5. Its previous low close for this year was 11,094.31, on Jan. 29. 

Though closed on Monday, the Dow Jones industrial average was on a seven-day losing streak up to Friday, its longest such stretch since October 2008, when the financial crisis sent markets into a tailspin.

Read more here

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U.K. Votes for Reform!

The U.K are going to have a referendum on changing the current voting system to another one. The current voting system they use is called "first past the post." They plan to change it to is instant runoff voting. On the ballot, instead of picking one choice, you list your first second, third, fourth choice and so on. Then if no one has the majority of votes, the candidate in the last place is eliminated. Then they take the eliminated candidates votes and give it to the second preference. This continues till one candidate gets 50% +1 of the vote. Now I know that there is no perfect democratic system so right now this is the best it may get, so I support changing the system in the U.K, and I hope it passes .

Image via Wikipedia

Example of Instant Runoff Voting Ballot

Britain's government will hold a referendum next year on changing to a proportional voting system — a reform that could permanently affect how the U.K. is governed.

Prime Minister David Cameron's Downing Street office said Friday an announcement will be made next week.

Any change could make European-style coalitions commonplace in the U.K. Britain currently has its first coalition government since World War II.

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A new law in France

A new law in France would make it illegal to wear full body burqa in public areas. This is going much too far. I think that people should have the right to wear whatever they want, but I think in certain areas you must be able to be identified by your face. Also, in areas like on your passport and drivers licence you must be seen.This might not be new, but I think that everyone can were whatever they want in public. That is a human right.

Conservative U.K PM

The U.K now have a new PM, David Cameron. He has made a coalition with the Liberal-Democrats. This is a good thing because now Nick Clegg is the deputy PM which means he is second in charge. I think that this is good news although, I would rather have a Labour and Lib-Dem coalition than this. Nick Clegg was right to talk to Davis Cameron first because he won the election. Most importantly, what we know now is that the Conservatives have a majority goverment, but this is only with the coalition, so now the British people have a stable goverment and also a goverment that needs to appeal to the Lib-Dem party.The motions to be proposed by the Tories will need to be more centrist to maintain the Lib-Dem support.

Congratulations, Green Party

Of the U.K. not Canada. In the U.K. something amazing happened. The Green party of the U.K. has their first seat in U.K history. This is a step forward for the green party across the world. All I am hoping for, is that the Green party helps get something done in the U.K. or at least show the people what they vote for to see that the Green party wants to help the nation. Now all we need is to get Elizabeth May a seat.

VE day

Today is the 65th anniversary of VE day. The Allies accepted the surrender of Germany and the war in Europe ended. Across the country, there are a few events scheduled for VE day. For example, the Tulip Festival in Ottawa commemorates the liberation of the Netherlands. However, there were still millions of soldiers who died to ensure this victory and we should all remember their sacrifice today too. In my opinion, a good way to do that is to learn the history of World War Two.

U.K election

On May 6 the U.K had a general election. The results of the election is that the Conservatives won a minority goverment or as they say in the U.K. a hung parliment. U.K. welcome to Canadian style politics. Now, this is not necessarily a bad thing. In fact, even though I dislike the Conservatives' party leader David Cameron, he has some ideas that great and much better then the current prime minster of Canada. The good news is that the Liberal democrats which in Canada would be considered the Liberal party, have strong power that can help make sure that the motions tabled by Cameron are not like Harper's motions. I am very glad that the Labour party that in Canada could be considered the NDP no longer have a majority goverment, because I feel it is unfair to have a majority goverment without a majority of the votes, and I like that now the Liberal Democrats have more power than last time.

Election

The United Kingdom election has begun. Best of luck to The LPC equivalent in the UK, the Liberal-Democrats. They seem to have made great headway on their popularity. This could be a good example of how to increase popularity to Michael Ignatieff. We must regain the popular vote like the Lib-Dems.

To see the results as they come out, click here.

Harper wake up

The European Union has told Canada to start acting on climate change. Harper just does not get it. He is acting so slowly on climate change you might think he does not believe in it, which poses the question if he does. Few leaders today would challenge the existence of global warming lest they lose support. If Harper truly believes in climate change, he would be leading the effort and showing the world a great economy supported by a green technology foundation. To quote Dr. Seuss, " Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get any better. It's not." So, the E-U cares about the future. Does Canada?

Canada shouldn't keep waiting for the rest of the world to act on climate change before making its own changes, the president of the European Union Commission said Wednesday in advance of a meeting with Prime Minister Stephen Harper in Brussels.

"In Europe, we believe, according to science, that there is a real threat to our survival as a civilization. And for the future of our planet and the quality of life of our children … I think we have to move." (Jose Manuel Barroso, president of European Union Commission)

http://www.cbc.ca/canada/story/2010/05/05/harper-barroso-europe-climate-change-bank-tax.html

Bicycles Only

The chief of the National Capital Commission said that Ottawa should consider closing car lanes to allow more room for bicycles. He said that bicycle commuting should be a priority. This is a great idea. The car is becoming more and more an idea of the past. Public transit, bicycling and walking should be the priority in the reorganization of roads. Ottawa should become a bicycle city role model for Canada. More cities should be buying into this mode of transportation and less into the car. Just look at Europe's beautiful streets.

This is the kind of thing I would love in Canada. Ottawa, as the capital should be a leader and take lanes away from cars, and give them to bicycles.

Read more at the Ottawa Citizen.

Sorry, no help against climate change

As we all know a volcano has erupted in Iceland. Volcanoes have erupted before, but I am talking about Mount Pinatubo and St. Helen's both of these volcanoes erupted a huge amount, and it was proven that after both these eruptions, the planet cooled a very significant amount. Do not take out the wine, because this eruption was way too small so far, and scientists say that it will only have an effect on Europe's climate. To the global warming skeptics no help for you, but more importantly unless the next St Helen's blows out (even if it does) we are on our own.

The benchmark cooling event of the past 20 years was in 1991, when Mount Pinatubo erupted in the Philippines.It cooled Earth's surface by 0.5 degrees Celsius (0.9 degrees Fahrenheit) over the next year, enough to offset the impact of greenhouse gases from 1991 to 1993.

A smaller cooling episode occurred in 1980, when Mount St. Helens in the U.S. state of Washington blew its top, an event that while impressive disgorged only a tenth of the material of Pinatubo. Volcanic cooling is in any case only a temporary brake on the effects of manmade greenhouse gases, blamed for stoking dangerous change to the climate system.

Read about it at the Edmonton Journal.

Ash Cloud Life

Christopher Hume, a columnist for the Star trapped in Europe because of the ash cloud preventing many flights from leaving tackles the question of what would happen if the ash cloud came to North America. His answer? Chaos. Why? Because we have no other means of fast transportation. While Europe has high speed rail, we have the often-late under-funded pollution-spewing diesel trains chugging along our routes. There have been enough studies on this proving that this is an economically viable solution and it might even pay for itself like the AVE in Spain. It's time we get moving on high speed rail.

True, it’s possible to travel across Canada by rail, but let’s be honest, that’s mainly for tourists who pay big bucks to spend their time in vintage 1960s dome cars watching as the Great White North flashes by. As for high-speed rail, now so fast it takes barely more than two hours to go from London to Paris, it simply doesn’t exist in Canada, not even in the densely populated Toronto-Montreal corridor