Inheritance Tax on Rich Popular!

According to a new poll I wrote about some days ago the inheritance tax on the rich is apparently popular.

that 69 per cent of Canadians support the introduction of an inheritance tax on any estate valued at more than $5 million.

I have been talking about this for some time. Which I still holds can provide 3 billion dollars and it wouldn't even allow major taxes to be payed by the top 1-2% of Canadians. The rich in the U.S don't seem to mind and some rich are even asking that their taxes go up. The "Buffet Rule." It seems the center of Canada is with this plan.

Because if all 31% are against and Harper conservatives support is at 32% it shows that only the right is against it.,and Harper in the last election got 40% of the vote that leaves for the sake of argument the people who jumped to the right wing party since 2004 and gave Harper his majority. If the Liberals support a Death Tax it would get the people we need from the Conservative party to our party. Now I am not saying this will help us win election, but obviously it won't hurt us in elections.

9/11 anniversary

Today we stop and think of the people who dies 10 years ago in the terrorist attack done by 19 people that killed more than 3000 people, and also the people who stooped a plane from killing thousands more by trying to take control away from the hijackers, and unfortunately died saving other people. I think that today is also a day to remember to be generous. 10 years ago after 9/11 when the U.S closed it's air space Canada opened it's doors to thousands of people and helped feed and shelter misplaced Americans.

Farewell

Yesterday it was reported that Jack Layton has passed away. I may not agree with Layton politically, but he was someone who you just had to admire. he kept running in many elections even though he lost before numerous of times. My best wishes to his family and friends. Farewell Jack Layton. (age 61)

No-Fly Over Libya

The UN Security Council has voted unanimously on a motion to impose a no-fly zone over Libya. They have also authorized countries to do anything they can to protect civilians in Libya from attacks by Libyan dictator Moammar Gadhafi's army. This could clear the airspace for strikes on Gadhafi's tanks and ground troops.

Dropping bombs on this dictator's troops and armor would be a good way to help end his reign of terror without getting directly involved in the war. We should not not put lives in danger to fight with the rebels, but we must help them while maintaining safety and help them transition to a fair, democratic government.

The UN Security Council has voted on a resolution that would not only impose a no-fly zone but authorize member states to take all necessary measures to protect civilians from attacks by Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi's forces. 

The vote late Thursday was 10 to zero in favour of the measure with five abstentions, including Russia and China.

Read more at CBC.

Related articles

• U.S. hints at Libya air strikes as Gadhafi pounds rebels (cnn.com)
• UN council votes for no-fly zone over Libya (thestar.com)

Asbestos Must End

The asbestos industry in Quebec must end. Asbestos has been proven to be a harmful mineral that causes more than one disease and also causes suffering. Yet the government in Quebec wants to expand the industry. This mineral used for insulation has long been put out of usage in all of Canada. Instead, we ship asbestos to developing nations, letting them suffer the consequences. And they do not have as good a healthcare system as Canada. It is time to stop the asbestos industry and the accumulation of money at the expense of other people's health and lives.

MONTREAL - More than three-quarters of Quebecers oppose the idea of the Quebec government financing a project to expand the Jeffrey asbestos mine, according to a survey commissioned by the Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment.

Read more at The Gazette.

Related articles

• Medical journal slams Canadian 'hypocrisy' on asbestos (nationalpost.com)
• Victims, activists urge Canada to stop asbestos exports (thestar.com)
• Asian anti-asbestos delegation headed to Quebec (ctv.ca)

Canadians Support Training Mission

A new poll shows that a slight majority of Canadians support a training mission in Afghanistan after our combat troops leave in July 2011. I feel that we should have a continued presence in Afghanistan, but non-military. We should focus completely on humanitarian aid and development of the country. I don't see the training mission as a big monster: I can live with it. We just need to make sure that we don't end up on a slippery slope. We simply cannot abandon the civilians in that country. Humanitarian aid and development will allow us to help Afghanistan without putting a large number of Canadians at risk.

OTTAWA — An narrow majority of Canadians support keeping upwards of 1,000 troops in Afghanistan until 2014 to train Afghan forces, says a new Ipsos-Reid poll that also shows the decision is most popular with westerners and men.

Fifty three per cent of respondents said they support the revamped and extended mission, although there is a caveat. Slightly more than six in 10 said there should be a debate and vote in Parliament even if the new mission involves only training, said the poll, which was released Friday.

Read more at the National Post.

Related articles

• Afghanistan 'training' mission not 'strictly civilian' (cbc.ca)
• Canada to pull civilian staff from Kandahar, base trainers in Kabul (theglobeandmail.com)

Stay Off the Tracks

Three young men were killed Sunday when a Via train hit them near the old Turcot yards. They were trespassing  on CN property to probably graffiti on the walls near the tracks. Of course, it's never smart to be on the tracks, especially in the dark at three in the morning. Trains can't stop suddenly. It can take more than a kilometre for a train to stop, after the driver has hit the emergency brake. But, what needs to be done to stop this from happening again? Obviously, there needs to be more awareness that getting hit by trains can hurt. Badly. Some people still think a train can stop as fast as a car. Now, instead of that car, imagine an eighteen wheeler filled with lead, speeding on a sheet of ice, trying to stop. That might put into perspective the distance needed for a train to stop. People need to be educated on this issue. I suggest representatives from CN and CP visiting schools.

Almost every night, young people jump over concrete barriers to get to the walls under the Turcot Interchange. Spray cans in hand, they stand on train tracks, painting their tags so that commuters coming through the next morning can see them.

Read more at the Montreal Gazette.

Related articles

• Montreal graffiti writers mourn train deaths (cbc.ca)
• 3 men killed in Montreal by Via Rail train (thestar.com)

Suspicious Packages Found

Two suspicious packages were found in Dubai and the UK bound for some Chicago synagogues, yesterday. This was a pretty crude attempt at an attack as whatever was in the packages had a stamp on it and went through snail mail. The Canadian response was to send two CF-18s to escort a jumbo jet, just in case there was another bomb on it. It seems that the system works, the response to the packages not overblown. Good work!

Suspicious packages sent from Yemen and postmarked for Chicago synagogues represent a “credible terrorist threat against our country,” U.S. President Barack Obama said as counterterrorism authorities everywhere were sent scrambling to divine the significance of the plot.

Read more at the Globe and Mail. 

Related articles

• Suspicious packages from Yemen found (politico.com)
• Cargo plane bomb plot: how the plot unfolded (telegraph.co.uk)

Texting can't only Kill You.

New laws have been put inplace about using your phone while driving is dangerouse. Oprah Winfrey even started a pledge to stop people from driving while using the phone. The issue isn't that you can damage your car and hurt yourself it is that you can in danger others. Not just the people in the cars infront of you, but also in construction areas where workers are holding stop signs telling you to slow down. That is exactly what happened to traffic controller Jennifer Beauregard, 23 she got hit by an SUV. Why? Because the man who was driving was texting. Jennifer was lucky to survive the crash. She had many broken bones, brain damage and she was in a coma for 6 days. Don't cause another person to die, because you wanted to talk to your friend. 

See the full story here 

World hunger what is the world doing?

World hunger an issue I find has not been stressed enough, Because clearly if it was a big issue it wouldn't be that bad. Here are some interesting facts about hunger in our world.

Did you know that 15 million people die from hunger every year. That is 1 person every 3.6 seconds! In the countries of Asia, Africa and Latin America 500 million people are leaving in absolute poverty. 50% of our planet live on less than 2$ a day. It is also in the U.S one in eight children under the age of 12 in the U.S go to bed hungry. Now what is the world doing about it. Well the cost to satisfy all hunger needs in the world would cost 13 billion dollars. That is how much people in the U.S and the E-U spend on perfume. Now nothing against perfume, but the fact is that not enough money is given to end global hunger. In Japan 5 times more food is thrown in the garbage than the UN gives for hunger relief. 13 billion is a lot of money for you and me, but for our government especially the U.S and E-U have plenty they can give. In fact the cost of one missile can feed a hungry school every day for 5 years.

Here is something you can do and it won't even cost a cent. Click here

For some more facts read here

Flush!

Ontario is going to ban toilets that waste water. Toilets are a way everyone wastes water. Water-needy countries cannot imagine how we can flush 13 litres of potable water each time we go to the can. This is a great initiative by Ontario. With the ever-growing population of the world, we cannot afford to waste this valuable resource. If we do not make the moves to conserve and save our fresh water, instead of polluting it, we will run out of it. There could be wars over water. There will be death. That is why we should all pay attention to our water usage.

Ontario is flushing away the SUV of toilets.

Water-guzzlers with tanks that use 13 litres for one flush will be outlawed in the province this summer.

Switching to a more efficient, six-litre flush can save an average household up to 35,000 litres of clean water every year, Environment Minister John Gerretsen said Thursday.

Read about it at the Toronto Star.

There's no business like Torture!

A Canadian interpreter who worked for the Canadian Forces in Afghanistan said that soldiers shot an innocent 17 year old, and then proceeded to round up a 10 year old and a 90 year old and transferred them to the Afghan security service. Let's make it clear from now on. He was not a witness, but, he says he read an intelligence report on the issue. He goes on to make another series of accusing claims. Look, I'm tired of blogging about this subject and I think most people are tired of reading on this subject. But I won't relent until we know the truth. Come on Harper. Release the documents.

OTTAWA -- The Canadian military "subcontracted torture" to the Afghan security service and shot an unarmed 17-year-old man in the back of the head, alleges an Afghan-Canadian who worked as an interpreter for the Canadian armed forces in Afghanistan.

Read about it at the National Post or the Toronto Star.

Nuclear treaty signed

Both countries (US and Russia) have now decided to reduce their nuclear weapons. There are some loopholes to this disarmament treaty. Such as how countries can modernize their weapons, and that boomers who have 20 nuclear weapons they use to count as 10 bombs, but now they count as 1 so the number will look smaller than it actually will be. I think that this treaty is a step in the right directions, but these loopholes I think should be closed. I do still think this treaty is much better than the cold relationship Moscow had with Washington during the Bush years. this is a step in the right direction, and I hope not just Russia and the U.S, but the entire world will get ride of their nuclear weapons, and eventually the threat of a nuclear war ending the world will end. This would also apply to Iran who should be pressured by the international community to not seek nuclear arms, and the same goes for North Korea.

http://www.spiegel.de/international/world/0,1518,688173,00.html

Collateral Murder

A web page called "Wikileaks" has released a video (actually two) showing US troops gunning down innocent civilians including two journalists who worked for Reuters. This video shows a lot that the military didn't say how the journalists were killed and said they did not know how children were injured. All lies. These two videos show that the military could have found out who they hit. If some smart guys running Wikileaks could do it, I'm sure the US Army, with all their hi-tech equipment could have pinpointed a grape in the destruction if they wanted to. The point is that incidents can be covered up. Soldiers aren't angels. And investigating incidents like this, can lead to the truth. Investigating incidents like this or demanding access to incidents like these doesn't mean that we don't support the troops. All we want is the truth. The cold hard truth whether it's supportive of our soldiers or not. Is that too much to ask of our government? Therefore, I demand the release of the full uncensored Afghan detainee documents. In other words, I want the truth. Now.
Warning: the videos might be disturbing for some viewers.

Short Version


Long Version


http://www.collateralmurder.com/

Bitumen Bird Death

On April 28, 2008, more than 1 600 birds died after landing into one of those tar sands waste ponds which look like this:

I doubt even humans could survive that. An expert has testified that this Syncrude pond is smack in the middle of the breeding area of the waterfowl. In fact, it's the second most important area for the waterfowl in North America. This is the kind of ecological meltdown the tar sands can create. Proponents of the tar sands continue to deny its effects. Not one tar sands project has ever been denied. Continuation like this will lead to more disasters.

Read about it at the Vancouver Sun.

Torture is Real

Torture is, was and should be a concern. A few people with first hand experience voiced their opinion and what they saw . Nevertheless, the Tories refuse to give the documents or be cooperative with the opposition. Col. Christian Juneau, one of the soldiers responsible for the transfer of detainees said that he was getting very little information from diplomats about the matter. In fact, he was so much in the dark that he stopped transferring Afghan detainees.

“I am forced to conclude that I must cease approving the transfer of further detainees on the basis that the legal test upon which such decisions must be based can not be satisfied at this time, having due regard to all the information and lack of information at my disposal."

 This letter was copied to Defence Minister Peter Mackay. So, the Tories did know about the torture concern. In 2007, the Conservatives boasted that the security of Afghan detainees was at it's best. However, as we read the paragraph above, we know that it can't be true. If they are lying about this, on which other subjects are they withholding the truth from us?


Read about it at the Globe and Mail or the CBC.

Worried Troops

Now about the contents of the documents. They show that our soldiers in Afghanistan were worried about the treatment of detainees. In fact, one soldier reports that the Afghan police/army took a detainee and for all of our and his knowledge, killed him. However, there was very little follow up on any of these observations. Therefore, the comments were deemed unfounded. While our own troops were worried about the treatment of prisoners, the opposition MPs were too. By just inquiring about the detainees, they were submitted to an onslaught of accusations that they were attacking our soldiers. But, our soldiers were also worried and inquiring about the treatment of prisoners. So according to the Conservatives, the soldiers were attacking themselves. Again, great arguments from the great Tories.

All of the incidents are deemed unfounded by military investigators, but the documents also show a disturbing trend of front-line soldiers and senior military officials keeping their own police investigators in the dark and even threatening them at a time when sensitivity to how Canadians treat and handle their Afghan detainees was at its highest.

Read about it at The Toronto Star

Zambia: the Climate Change Reality

UN video showing the climate change reality in Zambia.

Deadly Driving

A study by WHO (world health organization) shows that 1.2 million people have died by car accidents. it is not just the people who drive will be in danger it is also the cyclist, motorcyclist and pedestrian. 50 million other people are injured. Think about that 16.2 million people died more than there are people in all of Canada. the amount of people that died is 1/3 of all of Montreal. WHO even predicts that if people do not do anything traffic accidents will be the 5th most cause of death in the world. So I think that it should be illegal all over the planet that no person can use his phone in his car while he is driving.

Campaigners have said they hoped to cut the forecast level of fatalities over a decade by 50 per cent — saving a potential five million lives.

Without such efforts, said Dr. Ala Alwan, WHO's assistant director-general, road accidents "will otherwise become the fifth-leading cause of death by 2030" behind heart disease, strokes, respiratory infections and lung disease.

 http://www.cbc.ca/world/story/2010/03/03/road-accidents-who.html#ixzz0h9H3DFQk