This is just a disclaimer to say given my job in the Government is related to Health I cannot comment on H1N1. I am saying this as I have had a few emails on the topic asking why I don’t post on it.
If you want good info on the situation go to the Public Health Agency of Canada’s FluWatch site at http://www.phac-aspc.gc.ca/fluwatch/index-eng.php, and Health Canada’s site at http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/hc-ps/dc-ma/influenza-eng.php.
PS. I am not allowing comments on this as there is too much BAD H1N1 info out there already no need to add more here.
Here again is Pastor Anderson defending himself from the evil media that objects to the fact that he preached about wanting his president dead. Hey maybe if you want to be considered a nice guy you should move your gun out of the frame before you start taping? This man is such a media whore in so many ways. Is this the role of a man of God? Not in my books.
I vaguely recall another man that wanted a president dead posing with a gun .
Hey they even have the same hair cut and big ears.
Holigolitely posted an article on her blog entitled, “I Wanna Go Out And Do Something Fun and I Don’t Mean Walking Along Some Silly Nature Trail.”
She pointed out that “With every passing day, Downtown Winnipeg gets more and more desolate. The Winnipeg version of progress is truly sucking ass. It seems to me that while we were all home nurturing our children, the boring, anti-fun league took over the city.”
I generally agreed that urban culture has changed and that dives or places were people go to blow off steam are getting rarer, although I like hiking trails.
I guess all of Holigolitely’s readers are not on the same wave length as one reader (Joe) wrote back and blamed the current city decline on laziness.
(See Joe’s first post below)
Okay so I got a bit PO’ed as I really hate when people blame welfare recipients for the big economic problems, I think it is nonsense of the first order. I pointed out that from my socialist opinion that the fault was on the Banks for loaning money.
(see my first post below)
Joe responded to my post pointing out that there are jobs out there but people don’t want to work, and reiterated that people that could not afford to pay borrowed the money so who’s fault is it.
(see Joe’s second post below)
Then I went searching and found the stats for Winnipeg showing that there were not a lot of jobs and I outlined how I saw the financial situation.
(see my last post below)
Joe responded by blaming the responsible and referring back to the lazy (those that won’t work)
(see Joe’s last post below)
Now I have to give Joe credit although I disagree with him he has been very civil not once has he tried to attack me, but has kept to his opinion, the only thing I can criticize him on is a lack of evidence to support his point, but as he said and we both agreed this was getting off topic when it addressed Holigolitely’s original article. I decided that Joe might like to as he said “take this discussion further.”
So I have hijacked it from Holigolitely’ Blog. I don’t feel too guilty as Holigolitely is also a contributing editor here as you know. (that said if she would like to move this back to her Blog I have no problem with that)
First of all I don’t think I will ever agree with Joe on this point so If he choose not to debate it I will understand, secondly I promise to be reasonable and this debate will inevitably end in a stalemate so won’t keep it going ad infinitum.
So Joe as you didn’t flesh out your last point now is your chance as you say to “type a lot of ideas, and take this discussion further”
……………………………………………………………………..
ORIGINAL THREAD
Joe 6 November 2009
I think Winnipeg is becoming increasingly, a welfare town. The neighbourhoods are falling apart. People sitting around with nothing but spare time, getting a cheque from the government. They resort to all sorts of dysfunctional behaviour, but generally don’t go to bars to party. When those who work hard for a living go to their jobs, these people are just going to bed. We are plauged by the lazy.
A wise co-worker pointed out that the rest of North America has been suffering from a Depression, but Winnipeg has not. He suggested that the reason is, Winnipeg has been in a depression for a long time before this…so there is no change here.
Any activity that gets you out of the city is great! Even if it is a boring nature trail… beats getting shanked.
And I think the so called “kids” are smart to stay home. Going to the bars that remain open is dangerous. With all the street gangs and lack of common decency out there, going out is risky. Maybe they should work on their spelling, granted…. But, I won’t knock them for avoiding the danger.
billarends 9 November 2009
Joe I disagree. I don’t live in Winnipeg but I disagree. Why? Because the first thing those that have money do, when there is a problem is blame those that don’t have money. The issue is that those that have, were greedy and created a situation that has caused this depression. It’s that simple. It has NOTHING to do with Laziness. I would like your definition of Dysfunctional behaviour, would that be hanging out selling drugs because there are no jobs for them to earn money legitimately. And don’t tell me that there are lots of jobs out there or you haven’t looked recently. As for street gangs and crap in Winnipeg give me a break. Winnipeg may not be the safest city on the planet but try going to New York City or Los Angeles or Chicago. Personally I think that investment in Winnipeg is down because entrepreneurs don’t have money to invest why because there isn’t enough out there. Don’t blame welfare don’t blame young people try looking at those that really caused the problem, the people that wanted big returns on their investments so loaned money at interest to those they knew couldn’t pay it back. As for Holigolitely’s original post, she is talking about places these young folks can go that will take them off the street, a solution to depression, not whining about welfare types or street kids etc..
Joe 11 November 2009
Bill, I agree that my comments go beyond the scope of the article, but people generally do not party much if they are unemployed.
For every evil banker handing out loans to the poor, there are eager poor people borrowing more money than they can handle… It just depends on your political perspective on the topic who you think is to blame. I see blame on both sides.
Besides, the company I work for has trouble finding people who want to work. This summer I`ve personally worked over 70 hours every week! The pay is considerably higher than minimum, and I for one am so busy.. I don`t have any time to party…
billarends 12 November
It all depends on what your company does. Keep in mind that most job losses were at the lowest level those that require less training or less education not everyone is cut out to be an accountant or even machinist. Stats Canada recorded and the Winnipeg Free Press reported that “Employment fell by 400,000, or 2.3 per cent, between October 2008 and October 2009, while the unemployment rate rose to 8.6 per cent from 6.3. The manufacturing and construction sectors suffered the largest employment declines in all three economic downturns. StatsCan reports 218,000 manufacturing jobs were lost, or 11 per cent, from October 2008 to October 2009, and the decline was widespread. The agency says manufacturers suffering notable decreases included fabricated metal products; transportation equipment manufacturing; paper and printing; and furniture and related manufacturing. Construction employment dropped by 73,000, or 5.8 per cent, all of it during the first five months.”
Albeit the trend has stabilized, this is no rosie picture to anyone.
As you can see by the stats it is the working poor that caught the brunt of this. Although the reduction in construction jobs was not a total disaster there was a 36% drop in housing starts which means that those that were working will soon not be working unless there is a bounce back before the current jobs end these folks are screwed.
Also the eager people you are describing are not the poor. Most of them would not even think to take on a mortgage it is the working poor the non-lazy ones that are the ones that took the loans and mortgagees and credit cards. If you’re lazy and don’t work people don’t give you money even as a loan banks are greedy not stupid.
Argue all you want that both sides are to blame, from a causational point of view if the banks did not offer the loans then the would be no crisis. If people were not told they could buy a house with no down payment we would not be in this problem. The club of Rome (think tank) back in the 50s and 60’s said that there were limits to growth. More people borrowing money means more money needs to be made, and the only way to do that is to grow the productivity that exists. No growth no money. We are going to hit the limit of growth and thus the banks are going to have to accept that they have reached the maximum amount they can loan before people stop paying it back. My parents taught me to only loan out the maximum amount of money that you are willing to loose. The banks would loan out everything they had if they thought that they would get it all back with interest. Sorry that is just greed.
Joe 13 November 2009
Wow. I could really type a lot of ideas, and take this discussion further, but as you said earlier, we are getting off topic.
All I can say is there will be people who disagree with me.
Irresponsibility is rampant out there. Everyone thinks they are entitled to their piece of the pie, even if they haven’t earned it. This applies to those who do not work for a living, as much as it applies to those who work but are borrowing irresponsibly. Even applies to the Banks who are loaning the money out. There is a general lack of responsibility out there… and eventually it will catch up to us.
Folks from the UK will understand this 
GO Away and Stick Your Head in the Sand with the Rest of the Anti-Global Warming Nuts.
It would seem that mcauleysworld continues to send me comments on anti-global warming (which I delete). However I tend not to ignore people when they are persistent. But as I said I don’t intend to give him a pulpit to preach from. It’s a personal fault of mine sorry folks. In his most recent comment he notes that I have increased readership in his blog by posting a couple comments on his blog and writing about it here. I think he said the increase was in the thousands, which is odd because only five people have bothered to click on the link to his article in my blog post.
He also criticizes the fact that I didn’t use a string of pro-global warming articles as he uses a string of anti-global warming ones. Personally engaging in that sort of DATA-MINING is a waste of time when I can use one source that speaks for a large number of groups as I did, using the letter in the series of links below. He claims that the letter is “Alleged” implying it does not exist. Hey folks go check out the letter at the links below it exists. I don’t intend to let Mr Daost or Mr Mcauley or whatever his name is comment any more, why, because he has chosen to ignore the one piece of evidence that disproves his claim to represent the majority of scientists. He continues to claim that the body of science supports his fringe view. Read the letter folks and tell me if you think he is right. As you can see almost every credible science group is represented in the letter.
http://enviroknow.com/2009/10/22/climate-science-senate-letter/
http://www.grist.org/article/18-leading-scientific-organizations-send-letter-to-senators/
His claim that I am increasing his readership is crap. I would be honored if I thought it was true but I know how to read my blog stats.
His claim that the letter was an “alleged letter” is bogus as you can see by clicking on the links above which show the signatures of the groups involved.
So either mcauleysworld is lying or is deliberately ignoring the truth. I can’t argue Pro-global warming (I have said it before, I am not a scientist) but I can and will argue that a larger percentage of science supports global warming over the contrary. As the letter quote says;
“Observations throughout the world make it clear that climate change is occurring, and rigorous scientific research demonstrates that the greenhouse gases emitted by human activities are the primary driver. These conclusions are based on multiple independent lines of evidence, and contrary assertions are inconsistent with an objective assessment of the vast body of peer-reviewed science.”
This letter was sent to a large number of senators before legislation to limit carbon emissions moves forward. I hate to admit I have not checked in to see how this is progressing in the US senate as it was scheduled for the first few weeks in November. Possibly this is the reason behind the increase in traffic to mcauleysworld’s blog (didn’t think of that did you).
So mcauleysworld STOP COMMENTING because I and 18 Scientific Groups representing a huge number of scientists DON”T AGREE ! I won’t approve your comments EVER, because you’re a Crank. Notice I am not wasting my time posting on your blog I haven’t for some time now. (besides I think I only posted twice to begin with)
SO please GO Away and stick your head in the sand with the rest of the Anti-Global Warming nuts.
See my last post (yup same guy ) Couldn’t have happened to a more deserving guy
All I could think of is, why didn’t this guy just let them search his trunk. The problem is he thinks he is so righteous why would anyone think he was a drug smuggler. I’m sure there were no drugs in his car he is so up tight he wouldn’t know what to do with them. Doesn’t he realise that millions of people on the internet are now laughing themselves silly at his expense?
I like the fact that he is wearing a firefighters shirt and FYI “Steve Anderson used to be a volunteer firefighter in Reno, Texas until a background check uncovered a felony conviction of burglary of a habitation, which occurred over 20 years ago. “
This guy is hilarious
Pastor Steve Anderson a Arizona pastor wants US President Obama to die.
On August 16th, Anderson preached:
“Why should Barack Obama melt like a snail? Why should Barack Obama die like the untimely birth of a woman? Why should his children be fatherless and his wife a widow, as we read in this passage? Well, I will tell you why. Because, since Barack Obama thinks it is OK to use a salty solution, right, to abort the unborn, because that’s how abortions are done, my friend, using salt — and I would like to see Barack Obama melt like a snail tonight… And yet you’re going to tell me that I’m supposed to pray for the socialist devil, murderer, infanticide, who wants to see young children and he wants to see babies killed through abortion and partial-birth abortion and all these different things — you’re gonna tell me I’m supposed to pray for God to give him a good lunch tomorrow while he’s in Phoenix, Arizona. Nope. I’m not gonna pray for his good. I’m going to pray that he dies and goes to hell.”
This man is as clueless as he looks !
He claims that his church follows the King James version of the bible.
Here is a verse this so called pastor forgot to read:
Matthew 5:44 KJV But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you.
http://www.faithfulwordbaptist.org/081609p.mp3
PS – he’s also preached on killing homosexuals.
Just a quick update it has come to my attention that Mr Anderson is also a firefighter I wonder if he would refuse to assist a homosexual in a fire. Given the way this man talks this really concerns me maybe someone should call the Dept he works with and express some concern?
More proof that Harper is an American Agent…:-)
“I watched the last several elections in the United States very closely. I tend to watch mainly American news because I don’t like to watch Canadian news and hear what Allan (Gregg, a pollster and CBC pundit who was in the audience) and everybody else is saying about me, so my hobby is to watch politics elsewhere.”
Stephen Harper
Why am I less surprised than appalled?
http://www.thestar.com/news/canada/stephenharper/article/714708–if-the-news-is-canadian-harper-s-not-watching
There are two forces at work to get your TV watching money. Cable vs Local television. And you’re now saying but I don’t have to pay for TV. Sorry but you do. Have you tried to get a decent signal from your antenna in recent years? Not gonna happen. The only way you don’t pay is by not watching, personally that would work for me, but then movie rental costs go up. Looking at it from an economics point of view you have these choices.
1. Don’t watch broadcast TV but rent movies as you want to.
The problem is more and more movie rental stores are closing as the Cable pay per view is replacing them
2. Don’t watch broadcast TV but go to the movies
Probably one of the better choices but then there is the cost again and the nuisance of going when you’re tired
3. Don’t Watch TV at all Read
Good idea but then what value do you place on TV if it has any value to you, you are losing out on something you want.
4. Watch local television by antenna
This works but then you need a digital decoder box and you are limited in choice, but you do get community info. The problem here is there are fewer and fewer local TV stations as cable options take away from local stations. It is hard to compete with the super stations that play all movies all the time, if you have a local station budget.
5. Get cable.
This is the obvious choice for avid TV watchers. You get local TV and all those supper stations and PPV and on demand stuff. The only problem is that there are less and less local stations so you’re limited to just the national news and nation wide programs most from the US.
With all these choices you get to pick which right ?
Nope the broadcasters and the cable companies are in a fight to the death for your dollars and now they aren’t going to leave it up to you.
Broadcasters want the government to impose a tax on cable providers (not you directly that is just Cable company BS) In reality it isn’t a tax at all but a Fee-for-carriage, a proposed Canadian television regulatory policy which would require cable and satellite television companies to compensate conventional, over-the-air television stations for the right to carry their local signals.
So all this “stop the TV tax” is crap thought up by cable companies to excite the right of centre types that always get excited about taxes (as if they can avoid it). They are playing dirty as well for every advertisement that Local broadcasters run they run another just after it given that they can add or substitute signal before it reaches your home by cable, they have also bought a sponsored link on Google so when you Google “Local TV Matters” their link “Stop the TV tax” comes up on top.
Then there are the local broadcasters which are neither local nor real broadcasters. They are often owned by large national companies like CanWest, and generally service a limited area they are only broadcasted (more like shortcasted) if they are distributed by cable companies.
The campaign at the local level I can support because I want local TV and Local news but the big campaign is just a way for the networks to make up for the losses they have incurred over the last two quarters.
So who do I like in this battle NIETHER.
Who am I supporting Local TV.
But to be fair here are the links to both sides of the issue.
I was tempted to have both links go to Local TV Matters just because of “The Stop the TV tax” dirty move with Google, but I have ETHICS !
Some time ago I blogged on the Medill Innocence Project. A project by Northwestern’s Medill School of Journalism, which encouraged students to participating in overturning verdicts that would lead to capital punishment (I paraphrased). Now it would seem that that project is under attack. As noted in BloggED, a blog on “the ins and outs of higher educations.”
“The project is currently looking into the case of a man convicted of murder thirty-one years ago, and, in response, Cook County prosecutors have demanded the “grades, grading criteria, class syllabus, expense reports and e-mail messages.” A spokesperson for the prosecutor said this was needed in order to see (in the Times’ paraphrase) “whether students believed they would receive better grades if witnesses they interviewed provided evidence to exonerate” the inmate.”
This is just another reason I don’t like lawyers, aside from the fact they cost to damn much, they are often willing to step beyond the truth and claim it to be the truth. If you believe for a minute that the Cook county prosecutors are really doing this to see “whether students believed they would receive better grades if witnesses they interviewed provided evidence to exonerate” the inmate.” then you are naive. This stinks of intimidation. If we threaten to expose student grades to the public they won't participate in the project is more like the truth.
http://billarends.wordpress.com/2006/04/20/the-fantasy-of-deterrence-and-the-medill-innocence-project/
If anyone is reading the comments on my last GW post they would have read Mcauley’s claim that “The vast majority of ’scientists’ in the world reject the ‘Warming’ theory as “bunk” and extremely bad science.”
As I think this is better put forward as an article I have bumped it up a notch and am posting both Mcauley’s comment and my response here.
mcauleysworld
Well Bill, you are simply wrong – 1st Global Warming is simply a theory – it is not fact. I invite your readers to visit a real science blog – in fact – it is rated the #1 science blog on the net …..
Watts Up With That ……. http://wattsupwiththat.com/
The vast majority of “scientists” in the world reject the “Warming” theory as “bunk” and extremely bad science …… Global Warming isn’t about science, it is about corruption, money and greed ……. nothing new there. Heck, Al Gore just scored half a billion dollars from the US Government (US Taxpayer money) to build autos in Europe. http://www.cnbc.com/id/32971727
Then there is the bundle Gore is making off his TV network. http://www.businessweek.com/technology/content/mar2008/tc2008035_855093.htm
Well Bill – lets let your readers decide based on facts – my original post is here – it is fully cited – every claim I make can be confirmed with a click of the mouse. http://mcauleysworld.wordpress.com/2009/03/29/the-global-warming-myth-debunking-global-warmings-5-commandments/
Your readers might appreciate the most recent post by PhD Roy Spencer ….Global Warming as “Urban Legend” …… http://wattsupwiththat.com/2009/10/24/spencer-agw-has-most-of-the-characteristics-of-an-urban-legend/
or
Climate Change Theory – It’s 10 minutes of fame are up ……. http://wattsupwiththat.com/2009/10/26/is-climate-change-10-minutes-of-fame-over/
2009 October 26 billarends
To be fair as the Originator has deemed to comment on this Blog I have approved his response just so you can see the way he puts forward his case. I think most of my readers are inteligent enough to see his blog and his opinion for what it is. That said he is right Global warming is a theory and so is evolution and Gravity.
His claim that: “The vast majority of “scientists” in the world reject the “Warming” theory as “bunk” and extremely bad science,” is bogus he gives almost no real evidence to back it up. On the contrary Several scientific organizations, sent a letter to the US Senate October 21, 2009, reaffirming that climate change is occurring and greenhouse gases from human activities are the primary driver. 18 organizations, including the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) and the American Chemical Society (ACS) also signed the letter.
If his Blog was actually the number one science blog on the net as he claims he would know this. Maybe he needs to keep up with the news in his industry?
As he says “every claim I make can be confirmed with a click of the mouse.” true but with a click of the mouse I can find proof that the world is flat and that evolution is a myth and elvis lives in Ottawa. So What!
Here is the full list of signatories to the letter to the Senate:
American Association for the
Advancement of Science
American Chemical Society
American Geophysical Union
American Institute of
Biological Sciences
American Meteorological
Society
American Society of
Agronomy
American Society of Plant
Biologists
American Statistical
Association
Association of Ecosystem
Research Centers
Botanical Society of America
Crop Science Society of
America
Ecological Society of America
Natural Science Collections
Alliance
Organization of Biological
Field Stations
Society for Industrial and
Applied Mathematics
Society of Systematic
Biologists
Soil Science Society of
America
University Corporation for
Atmospheric Research
In the letter which the above signed it reads;
Observations throughout the world make it clear that climate change is
occurring, and rigorous scientific research demonstrates that the
greenhouse gases emitted by human activities are the primary driver.
These conclusions are based on multiple independent lines of evidence,
and contrary assertions are inconsistent with an objective assessment of the vast body of peer-reviewed science.
I hope this proves to my readers (if not Mr McAuley) that a very large number of scientific organizations representing a very large number of scientists not only suport the global warming theory but are against contrary assertions which as they say “are inconsistent with an objective assessment of the vast body of peer-reviewed science.”
Need I say more?
So as Mr Mcauley says; “lets let your readers decide based on facts” The fact is that a very large number of science groups have stated that “Observations throughout the world make it clear that climate change is occurring, and rigorous scientific research demonstrates that the greenhouse gases emitted by human activities are the primary driver,” and have commited this fact to paper. Or you could believe as he does that this is all for Gore to make money.
http://www.agu.org/outreach/science_policy/pdf/Climate_Letter.pdf
The other day I was reading another rant by a so called pro-progress type the type that thinks if we listen to the voices of reason , those that acknowledge that global warming exists we will head down a slippery slope to recession or even depression or worse we will all become tree huggers eating ground up tree bark for breakfast. Just to note I am a mild tree hugger trees are a heck of a lot better than fire hydrants or telephone poles to hug, but I will not eat tree bark. As the saying goes “I may have been born in the bush but I don’t eat the trees.” ( hat tip to James Martin – if he ever reads this blog)
Back to my original rant – This Global Warming Denier argued that Global warming was not a threat and listed five so called myths of Global warming. He cites known global warming deniers like Philip Stott, and uses a bunch of conservative science to prove his point. I don’t mean conservative here in the political way, but in the way that these so called scientific facts are ones that have been questioned in resent years. I personally am not a scientist but in my life and work I have seen and heard of the effect of global warming as most of us will in the next few years. We are arguably the ice cube on the lip of the glass and about to be plunged in (as I pointed out in my comment to this blogger – see below) To All those that refuse to take their heads out of their butts please read the following fact and my followup email to the anti global warming article. It is important if you want to learn about the true myths of Global warming that you check out the New Scientist article attached to my response to the so called Myths of Global Warming.
Global Warming is Happening
_______________________________________
This is a good argument, although I have read better from the so called alarmist camp, who are arguably winning this fight. ( I conceded that he had done some research)
My concern is regardless of whether global warming in happening or not. I (inconsequential) and a majority of scientists seem to think it is happening. The majority is a statistical fact. The argument that because a lot of people believe it does not make it true is also valid but as Global warming is a projection all thoughts on it are beliefs. There is no way we can say beyond a doubt what will happen there will always be dissenters and that is a good thing.
My concern is this; The other day I was in a parliamentary committee as an observer and the presenters were wheat producers and Millers. Over the last couple of decades they have been subject to a raise in Fusarium damaged wheat. Fusarium grows a certain temperature and humidity which usually does not occur in our country but it’s levels are rising. In this room full of experts not one person doubted that global warming was behind this problem.
My point is here that while it is good to dissent keep in mind that dissenting tends to slow change and if change slows on this then there will be a lot of farmers who will suffer.
Your little blog article is just one more hurdle the world has to jump to realize that global warming is not going away even if you don’t believe in it. .
For those that would like to read more about some of the myths perpetuated in the article above new scientist magazine (a much more credible source than this) has a excellent article debunking the myths against global warming that you read above.
http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn11462-climate-change-a-guide-for-the-perplexed.html
I laughed so Hard I almost wet myself.
Here is a list of people I could vote for in any party, generally because they know what they believe and have integrity (but I am beginning to question Peter MacKay’s integrity).
This might be the reason none of them will ever be Prime Minister. Who would you want as PM from each of the parties?
Conservatives – Peter Gordon MacKay
Liberals – Peter Milliken
NDP – Judy Wasylycia-Leis
Green Party – Jim Harris
A friend of mine forwarded this article to me as he knew I came from the village of Angus Ontario, and I still have relatives there.
If you have friends or relatives living in Angus or the other areas mentioned in this article you might want to refer them to this
from Joseph E. Cummins, Associate Professor (Genetics) Dept. of Plant Sciences University of Western Ontario London, Ontario N6A B7 “Feel free to reprint this article”
Most people believe the water they drink is safe and healthy and they will be alerted the instant hazardous pollution endangers their water supply. However, there is clear evidence that more than 300,000 Ontario residents drink water polluted with carcinogenic solvents. About half that number drink water polluted to levels exceeding the guidelines accepted by the Ontario Ministry of Environment (MoE) prior to the emergence of evidence that numerous wells are polluted. MoE concealed evidence of significant pollution from residents in a large northern community for at least a year, and falsely informed residents of Angus that their polluted drinking water was safe. The use of designer guidelines that increase as pollution increases seems like a dirty trick to the average person but that is what MoE is doing. My Freedom of Information request showed that the municipalities of Barrie, Cambridge and Delhi exceeded accepted guidelines for carcinogenic solvents. Bracebridge, Guelpb,Waterloo, Simcoe, Marathon and Manitowadge had trace to significant levels of solvent. In Waterloo, the levels were 10 to 20 times lower than reported during 1990. Flamborougb, Fergus and Erin had wells polluted beyond the accepted guideline, and Georgetown and Cannington had polluted water. The Erin wells may have been polluted by a highway accident involving a waste hauler. In other municipal wells such as in Angus, levels of perchloroethylene hundreds of times greater than guidelines allow were acknowledged months after MoE falsely discounted a private laboratory study. People drank polluted water in Orillia for a year before the pollution was acknowledged by MoE. Penetanguishene residents drank polluted water for a long time, as did the village of Manotick near Ottawa where levels were over 10,000 times higher than established guidelines. I expect that a number of wells over and above those I listed are polluted. However, MoE demands a huge fee from me to obtain this vital information.
How is carcinogenic solvent bad for you? The two major solvents are trichloroethylene and perchloroethylene (tetrachloroethylene). Polluted wells usually contain both, butone is usually higher than the other. Both solvents cause cancer in animals. Trichloroethylene was implicated in liver, testicular and lung cancers while tetrachloroethylene was implicated in cancer of the liver and kidneys as well as leukaemia. People drinking water polluted to levels comparable to that of the Ontario wells have experienced higher rates of leukaemia in women and children of both sexes. Children born to mothers drinking polluted water have experienced more heart malformations. Cases of the skin disease lupus are highly elevated among women drinking solvent-polluted water. In adults, nerve damage and heart attacks are caused by drinking polluted water.
What can one do? Showering in polluted water causes two to three times more solvent to be ingested than drinking two litres of the same water. It is best to bathe instead, and to drink bottled water. If you are sick a great deal with rashes or insomnia, an independent laboratory can be used to study your water. Don’t let the local MoE bureaucrats bully you if the results show significant pollution, but go directly to the Minister and demand action. The United States Environmental Protection Agency and the MoE Drinking Water Surveillance Program publications have used the standard of five parts per billion for both carcinogenic solvents as the acceptable limit. Don’t let the local health unit try to palm off a higher guideline. Students from communities mentioned in this article should tell their families about the problem, because it has likely been concealed from them. It is not clear the provincial government can be trusted to inform those who may be affected.
Recently, Steve-O chastised Her Excellency, Governor General Michelle Jean for referring to herself as Canada’s Head Of State. Apparently, he reminded her that Canada’s Head Of State is in fact, Queen Elizabeth II.
I am making a face.
The Canadian Press seems totally confused about this issue. I wasn’t able to track down a single article that had a clear answer other than the ones that thought that this incident was embarrassing to Her Excellency. Sorry kids, but there is nothing embarrassing about this to Her Excellency other than her association with Harper. He even had someone in Ottawa call Buckingham Palace for the answer, but the Queen wouldn’t come to the phone. Hmmmmm. The Governor General wouldn’t have had that problem. No sirree, the Governor General has a direct line to the Queen and can get ahold of her anytime day or night. Wonder why that is……
It’s actually not that difficult to figure out. Here’s my 2 cents on how it works. Don’t bother doubting me either, I double checked with Daddy about this, and he says I am exactly right.
The Governor General is The Queen’s representative and Head Of State in Canada, unless the Queen is in residence. (ie: In Canada herself) If the Queen is here, then she wouldn’t need to be represented because she would be here and the Queen would be Head Of State in Canada. Get it?
This was much more confusing before 1982 of course, so that’s the most likely reason as to why Harper doesn’t know the scoop. He had no interest in politics back then, did he? He was probably just trying to get his Beatles tribute band going and worrying about his paper route.
In 1982, Trudeau repatriated the Constitution of Canada. Before 1982, Canada was governed by a constitution that was a British law and could be changed only by an Act of the British Parliament. Repatriation gave Canada full sovereignty. Bringing home the Constitution was a pretty big deal at the time. If you are old enough, you will remember this being all over the news.
Remember when Dion put together that coalition to remove Harper from office? Right, it wasn’t all that long ago. We were all on pins and needles waiting to hear what the Governor General had to say when Harper asked for more time to save his government. He didn’t ask the Queen, so that should be another good clue as to who the real Head Of State is in Canada.
Really, Michelle Jean is not new here, she didn’t just step into office last week. Don’t you think that if the Queen was offended that Michelle Jean was going around referring to herself as Canada’s Head Of State, that she would have given her a quick call to say so by now?
If Harper doesn’t know how Canadian Government works, then maybe he shouldn’t be Prime Minister.
When Canada spends less on renewable energy than the State of Alaska, it means Stephen Harper isn’t just behind Barack Obama on clean energy – he’s behind Sarah Palin.
Michael Ignatief
This quote came in a Liberal party circular I thought it was so funny I just had to post it. Palin the gift that keeps on giving
My wife and I just bought a part of Canada, and it looks like this.
We take possession on November 27, 2009.
I have always held that Booze was the founding principle of Canada. I have good reason too. I can equate every crucial moment of Canada’s evolution to some form of Alcohol. Most people are now saying I am nuts but over the next few months I will prove it. I am going to begin with Confederation. Arguably the biggest event that lead to confederation was the Maritime Union conference. In 1864 Arthur Hamilton Gordon the prime mover in the movement to unite the Maritime provinces convinced the legislatures of the three colonies to hold a conference to discuss the idea, but they could not agree on a place. When the Province of Canada asked for an invitation to the proposed conference a meeting was hurriedly organized for September 1 at Charlottetown. In the then Province of Canada a sly and well oiled gentleman had been looking at these pious and proud Maritimers thinking how could he get them to join his vision of Canada. This man Sir John A MacDonald was used to dealing with the rough and course men of the then west (Ontario was the beginning of the west at the time) the merchants and traders and bankers. These men made deals over Whiskey and Gin. Parliamentarians would drink over lunch and come back to yell at each other in the house. Sir John A would mix words and often slur his words in the afternoon. This was Sir John A’s Canada. How could he convince these folks to agree to join Canada if he could not meet them in a bar? Well if you can’t bring them to the bar then he thought let’s bring the Bar to them. In an attempt to hijack the conference he loaded a steamer full of booze and finery and headed to Charlottetown. The Canadians finally arrived on the morning of September 1, 1864. While arguably most of the details of confederation were discussed at the conference Sir John A, had other plans he organized what was the famous oyster and champagne lunch aboard the Canadians’ ship. George Brown in a letter to his wife wrote “Cartier and I made eloquent speeches — of course — and whether as the result of our eloquence or of the goodness of our champagne, the ice became completely broken.” This was what Sir John A wanted. A few ounces of champagne and these sober Maritimers were toast. The hook having been set and the booze applied now Sir John A, said hey you think this is a great party join me in Ottawa…… and the rest was history.
He Cares Not for Pope, Priest, Parson, or King William of the Boyne; All Joe Wants is the Coin
As a Christian I believe that the most of all our social programs come from the Church but all too often the Church goes through times when they forget what they are called to do (see my last article) So who takes over? Let’s look at the case of Montréal in the 1800’s there were no real social programs The Church ran hospitals but if you weren’t sick you were on your own. Amidst this sea of disconcern there was one voice that spoke out for the little guy the poor sailor. This voice spoke out against the Church. The Church was failing and this man knew it. Who was he , Joe Beef, an Irishman whose real name was Charles McKiernan. He hated Churches and Churchmen. He hung a sign on his business (a tavern) that read as follows;
He cares not for Pope, Priest, Parson, or King William of the Boyne; all Joe wants is the Coin. He trusts in God in summer time to keep him from all harm; when he sees the first frost and snow poor old Joe trusts to the Almighty Dollar and good old maple wood to keep his belly warm, for Churches, Chapels, Ranters, Preachers, Beechers and such stuff Montreal has already got enough.
Joe Beef
His tavern was known to stranded sailors as a place they could always get a meal and a warm place to sleep in exchange for chopping a few cords of firewood. He was generous and gave of his excess. When Joe died in 1889 all the shops in Montreal closed as he was laid to rest on Mount Royal.
michaelsuddard
daniellarocque
abdulalqrim
holigolitely
