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)

Scripted! with Regis and Kelly

Documents obtained by The Canadian Press show how far the Tory government went to micro-manage the announcement that this show was coming to PEI last summer. There was even a requested soundbite for the announcement.

"Our government of Canada continues to work in partnership to further strengthen the tourism industry on Prince Edward Island," the MEP says.

Of course, this is an open advertisement of the Conservative party. It's saying that the Tories do good things for everyone, vote for us. It's like the Economic Action Plan signs: a propaganda campaign to brainwash Canadians. And the Tories were also mad when they didn't make the news. They wanted the front page headline to be: Tories contribute $200 000 to bring Live! with Regis and Kelly to PEI. This is just one of many examples of how Harper needs to control everything and keep secrets from us. More will come in the future.

OTTAWA — It may be called LIVE! with Regis and Kelly, but new documents reveal just how tightly the Harper government scripted the announcement that the popular morning show was coming to Prince Edward Island last summer.

Hundreds of pages obtained by The Canadian Press under the Access to Information Act show the lengths to which officials went to stage-manage the big announcement.

Read more at CTV.ca

I Hope to see Dems Win.

Even though polls showing Democrats losing the House I am still hoping that the Democrats pull off a surprise. If the Republicans get back in Government it will be a much longer less progressive Government. Democrats aren't great, but they still did much more progressive things then the Republicans. I do think that increasing taxes will have to happen, and must reinvest in there own country like many European countries. This might not happen even with the Democrats in power, but they'll be the closest one to it so far. Many Republicans believe that they can just reduce taxes and still hold a surplus. They think they can spend all this money and reform nothing and still make social services efficient. I am no Democrat. I am a Canadian Liberal, but since there is no true American version of the Liberal party the Democrats are the only one's close enough. There the only one's who see that change has to happen even if they do things half done or half wrong it's much better than all wrong the Republicans are offering. I know this may be last second on the morning of Nov 2nd, but I have changed my prediction seeing Democrats 51-54 in the senate and 230-235 Republican.I am still hoping for a Democratic House.

Mid Term predictions.

I saw Dr Roy's predictions where he said that the Republicans would gain 10 senate seats and 60 house seats. I think that is extremely optimistic for the Republicans. The Democrats according to the NYT has a 90% chance of winning the senate. The House I am almost certain will go Republican, but then again there are many swing districts. The best I see Democrats doing is winning both houses , and the Republicans have a very good chance of winning the House, but almost no hope in the senate. In the senate I am seeing around 51-53 Democrats, and in the House I am seeing 223-228 Republicans, but then again polls can change in seconds. I will be watching the election this Tuesday I hope most of you do to, and If your in the U.S  I hope you vote. There are so many countries where people don't have the right to vote , and it makes me sad to see only 40% of Americans voting on the mid terms.

Related articles

• Cook report final predictions: 50-60 seat gain in House, 6-8 in Senate (hotair.com)
• Prize competition: Here are my 20 US mid-term election predictions. What are yours? (blogs.telegraph.co.uk)
• After a long and nasty campaign, voters finally decide on Tuesday (cnn.com)

Omar Khadr: Wrongfully Prosecuted

Yesterday, a military jury sentenced Omar Khadr to forty years in prison on top of the eight he has already served in Guantanamo Bay. This shows the shortcomings of the US military justice system and the Canadian government as well to protect its citizens. Even though he was fifteen when he committed the crime of tossing a grenade at a soldier, he was still tried under the standards of an adult. Even though he was eleven when his parents put him in a training camp for terrorists. And did the court really need to accept evidence retrieved in bad ways, such as threatening one with gang rape or during the grogginess after surgery.
And what did Harper do about this obvious attack on a Canadian? Nothing. Actually, worse than nothing. He sent officers to coerce Khadr into giving the incriminating evidence and then handed over to the prosecutors. Even the Canadian Supreme Court condemned this action!
But, after all this will Harper allow Khadr to come back to Canada? The answer will be evident in one year, when he's allowed to apply for transfer. But, in the end, the sentencing really isn't so bad for Khadr. Since he pleaded guilty, he only gets eight years of prison time. But, still, the prosecution of Omar Khadr has brought shame onto both the Canadian government for allowing a citizen to go unfairly prosecuted in a foreign country and the US justice system which accepted for use in court tainted evidence.

And what role did Canada play? Shamefully, it sent its officials to bully him into giving out incriminating information that it then handed to his prosecutors, an act the Supreme Court of Canada unanimously condemned. The Canadian government then declared, “Let the process work.” Some process.

Read more at the Globe and Mail.

Related articles

• Omar Khadr sentenced to 40 years for murder, terrorism and spying (theglobeandmail.com)
• Guantanamo jury slams Khadr with symbolic 40-year sentence (theprovince.com)
• Khadr to serve eight years (thestar.com)