Ont. health agency scrutinized for contract tendering practices

Keith Curtis, author and former Microsoft programmer, makes no bones about his view that open source puts the software giant’s wares to shame. In this interview, he discusses what’s wrong with Microsoft programming, what’s behind all those bugs, and what’s shaping his former employer’s grim future.

Linux changes how people think about their computer. Microsoft has no response for this.

In addition, proprietary software hurts Microsoft. Google writes mostly proprietary software, but quietly leverages a lot of free software that is a key to its success.

What can Microsoft do to curb the threat of free software, and what do you think it will be willing to do?

Other than adopting Linux, there is little Microsoft can do. Even if they did embrace it, not only would it hurt their profit margins, they’d be forced to explain to customers why they should continue to pay for Office if the company believes the free OpenOffice is good enough.

Microsoft has created Web sites where developers can use free code and collaborate, and the latest is called CodePlex. While it shows that Microsoft understands the benefits of free software, this site mostly contains tiny add-ons to proprietary Microsoft products.

Microsoft has also released some software it wrote under various open licenses. While it is good PR for Microsoft, this software is being absorbed by the outside community. This doesn’t actually curb the threat; it increases it.

So I don’t really know what Microsoft can do. While the company says it doesn’t like piracy, it does allow itself to compete on price with free software. As Bill Gates wrote: “It’s easier for our software to compete with Linux when there’s piracy than when there’s not.”

Read more…

PM Harper attacks Obama, Liberals and Liberatarians

By Jennifer Ditchburn, The Canadian Press

OTTAWA – Stephen Harper made two very different sales pitches for his economic plan this week: one a public pep talk to jittery Canadians, the other a private smoothing-of-the-feathers for uneasy conservatives.

The marquee speech Canadians saw on television Tuesday or read about the next day was about how the economy would recover swiftly and strongly through targeted spending in the budget.

The other was behind closed doors Thursday evening to a group of key conservatives – sharply partisan remarks that ripped into the Liberals, libertarians, the Obama administration’s tax policies and Wall Street.

The prime minister spoke at a conference sponsored by the Manning Centre for Building Democracy, a conservative think-tank run by former Reform Party leader Preston Manning.

The prime minister’s office did not signal beforehand that he was giving the speech, and refused to make his remarks available afterward.

In a recording obtained by The Canadian Press, Harper goes after the Liberals in a election-campaign style attack, saying the current situation would be much worse had they been in power.

“Imagine the stance Canada would have taken when Hezbollah and Hamas terrorists attacked Israel. Imagine how many Liberal insiders and ideologues would be now in the Senate, the courts and countless other federal institutions and agencies – I should say, how many more,” Harper said to laughter.

“Imagine the costs of going through with the Kyoto and Kelowna accords with no plan to actually achieve anything on either the environment or aboriginal affairs. Imagine what a carbon tax would be doing to our economy in the middle of a global recession.”

He twice pointed disdainfully to tax hikes U.S. President Barack Obama introduced for the highest tax brackets.

Harper urged the crowd not to “forget that Conservatives being in power has made an enormous difference.”

The prime minister has been criticized in some conservative circles for allowing the government to go into deficit with spending programs designed to stimulate the economy. At the conference, which continued Friday, some high-profile conservatives warned against watering down conservative ideas to win votes.

“Conservatives should stop having the internal debate in their head and all the philosophical arguments, and talk about hard specific ideas that make a difference in people’s lives, have the courage to stand up and fight for the things we know are right,” said Tom Long, a former leadership candidate for the Canadian Alliance.

“We have tried going out and selling things we don’t believe in – how’s that working?”

Said Michel Kelly Gagnon of the Montreal Economic Institute: “If you want to vote for a centrist party, you can vote for the Liberal party of Canada. They’re very good at that.”

But Harper vigorously defended his policies, arguing that compromises had to be made to face the economic reality.

“I’m talking about compromises that address the reality of the lives of real people.”

He went on to deride the spendthrift culture in the United States and the recklessness of Wall Street. Harper, who has been described as a libertarian in the past, surprised some in the audience by critiquing those same ideals.

“The libertarian says, ‘Let individuals exercise full freedom and take full responsibility for their actions.’ The problem with this notion is that people who act irresponsibly in the name of freedom are almost never willing to take responsibility for their actions.”

Mike Brock, a Conservative blogger who attended the conference, called the speech bewildering.

“The treatment to classical liberals and libertarians – of which I consider myself – was nothing short of stunning,” he wrote.

“The condescension was literally dripping from his mouth. Was this his response to the disillusionment that libertarians across the country have had to his government and its policies of late?

“If it was, it did not build any bridges. Rather, it burnt them right down.”

Read more at http://ca.news.yahoo.com/s/capress/090313/national/harper_conservative_speech

http://www.thestar.com/News/Canada/article/602131

http://www.apple.com/trailers/paramount/startrek/

Provided by: The Canadian Press
Written by: Patrick Mcgroarty, THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Nov. 12, 2008
BERLIN – An American man who suffered from AIDS appears to have been cured of the disease 20 months after receiving a targeted bone marrow transplant normally used to fight leukemia, his doctors said Wednesday.

While researchers – and the doctors themselves – caution that the case might be no more than a fluke, others say it may inspire a greater interest in gene therapy to fight the disease that claims two million lives each year. The virus has infected 33 million people worldwide.

Dr. Gero Huetter said his 42-year-old patient, an American living in Berlin who was not identified, had been infected with the AIDS virus for more than a decade. But 20 months after undergoing a transplant of genetically selected bone marrow, he no longer shows signs of carrying the virus.

“We waited every day for a bad reading,” Huetter said.

It has not come. Researchers at Berlin’s Charite hospital and medical school say tests on his bone marrow, blood and other organ tissues have all been clean.

However, Dr. Andrew Badley, director of the HIV and immunology research lab at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn., said those tests have probably not been extensive enough.

“A lot more scrutiny from a lot of different biological samples would be required to say it’s not present,” Badley said.

This isn’t the first time marrow transplants have been attempted for treating AIDS or HIV infection. In 1999, an article in the journal Medical Hypotheses reviewed the results of 32 attempts reported between 1982 and 1996. In two cases, HIV was apparently eradicated, the review reported.

Huetter’s patient was under treatment at Charite for both AIDS and leukemia, which developed unrelated to HIV.

As Huetter – who is a hematologist, not an HIV specialist – prepared to treat the patient’s leukemia with a bone marrow transplant, he recalled that some people carry a genetic mutation that seems to make them resistant to HIV infection. If the mutation, called Delta 32, is inherited from both parents, it prevents HIV from attaching itself to cells by blocking CCR5, a receptor that acts as a kind of gateway.

“I read it in 1996, coincidentally,” Huetter told reporters at the medical school. “I remembered it and thought it might work.”

Read More

by Dan Nowicki – Nov. 5, 2008 01:34 AM
The Arizona Republic

Barack Obama, the cool and collected Hawaiian-born son of a man from Kenya and woman from Kansas, whose promise of “change” inspired a generation of young people, shattered the last racial ceiling in U.S. politics Tuesday to become the first African-American elected president.

Obama, a freshman Democratic senator from Illinois, crushed his Republican foe, Sen. John McCain of Arizona, to capture a White House controlled for the past eight years by GOP President George W. Bush. In a striking repudiation of the Bush era, Obama won in an Electoral College landslide.

Obama’s historic win comes 40 years after the assassination of civil-rights icon Martin Luther King Jr. and 45 years after King’s dramatic “I Have a Dream” speech. And it comes at a time when the United States is militarily engaged in Iraq and Afghanistan and reeling under economic pressures not felt in decades. OAS_AD(‘ArticleFlex_1′)

“It’s been a long time coming, but tonight, because of what we did on this day, in this election, at this defining moment, change has come to America,” the triumphant Obama told more than 100,000 supporters at Grant Park in Chicago.

Obama’s breakthrough was symbolic and transitional. Obama, 47, becomes the fourth-youngest elected president and the first too young to have served in the Vietnam War. McCain, 72, a former Navy aviator who spent more than five years in Hanoi as a prisoner of war, would have been the oldest president to take office.

For McCain, the disappointment caps a 26-year career representing Arizona on Capitol Hill. He returns from the campaign trail with two years left on his Senate term. He joins his Senate predecessor, the late Barry Goldwater, in the history books as an unsuccessful Republican presidential candidate. Goldwater, the only other Arizonan to secure the nomination of a major political party, lost to Democrat Lyndon Johnson in 1964.

McCain, flanked by wife Cindy, running mate Sarah Palin and her husband, Todd, saluted his opponent and acknowledged “the special significance” Obama’s win holds for African-Americans and “for the special pride that must be theirs tonight.”

“A century ago, President Theodore Roosevelt’s invitation of Booker T. Washington to dine at the White House was taken as an outrage in many quarters. America today is a world away from the cruel and prideful bigotry of that time,” McCain told the upbeat crowd at the Arizona Biltmore in central Phoenix. “There is no better evidence of this than the election of an African-American to the presidency of the United States. Let there be no reason now for any American to fail to cherish their citizenship in this, the greatest nation on Earth.”

Read more

“The introduction of enhanced driver’s licenses, which appears to be a central focus of Bill 85, will lay the groundwork for a new and more extensive identity regime, the effects of which are not fully known,”

So what are they not telling Ontario citizens? PIPEDA and your privacy will not matter if Bill 85 is passed, in its current form. In the long-term, it will be easier to be monitored by the Government, Businesses and other organizations.

RFID tags

So what is Bill 85? Yes, you are probably unaware that the Ontario government is quickly pushing through legislation on behalf of the U.S government (okay, that’s a stretch, but it has already pass 2nd reading). No, this is NOT a joke. But, you can ignore the picture; I just wanted to make a point. There has been little fan-fare or information to the public, however soon ALL drivers licenses will have a new RFID tag embedded within your card (not your hand, yet…). This means personal information about who you are will allow border agents to “quickly get you into the U.S”. However what you do not know is that these RFID tags will be UNENCRYPTED. Still lost? Let me put it to you this way.

Radio-frequency identification (RFID) is an automatic identification method, relying on storing and remotely retrieving data using devices called RFID tags or transponders. An RFID tag is an object that can be applied to or incorporated into a product, animal, or person for the purpose of identification and tracking using radio waves. Tags can be read from several meters away and beyond the line of sight of the reader.

Being that it is UNENCRYPTED “ANYONE” will be able to get information about you without you actually knowing by getting readily available scanners and devices to read RFID tags. The dangerous part of this legislation is that YOUR PRIVACY IS GOING TO BE VIOLATED by Dalton McGuintry and the Ontario Government. This has gotten little to no media press and has already passed second reading. Of course you could use tin foil or a shield to prevent people from scanning the card without you knowing, but the main issue is the UNENCRYPTED portion of this legislation. We can argue whether or not “Big Brother” should be able to monitor you, but UNENCRYPTED. In effect, there is NO OPT OUT part to this legislation. You must get the tag inserted into your Drivers license, if this bill passes. Might as well force us to get it inserted into our bodies? Sounds familiar? This is a win-fall for criminals and identity theft, however do you want everyone to be able to track your movements. Please contact your MPP and get this legislation stopped in its current form. It is TOO open ended and changes MUST be made.

By Andy MJ
a.k.a The G.T.A Patriot

Big Brother and your privacy

—– more information below —–

We need to draw attention on the development of ‘enhanced’ driver’s licences (EDLs) by many provinces in advance of new US border crossing requirements coming into effect June 1, 2009. Ontario in particular is proceeding with its EDL via Bill 85 – Photo Card Act, 2008, now before the legislature.

The high-tech system Ontario and other provinces are planning could result in a “privacy nightmare.” He adds that the new cards “are a waste of money and establish a de facto national ID card in Canada,” which tramples on citizens’ civil liberties. In June, The Ontario government introduced the Photo Card Act.

http://www.idforum.ischool.utoronto.ca/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RFID

http://www.todaystrucking.com/news.cfm?intDocID=20562

By Deborah Charles

KKK and the US election

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Two white supremacist skinheads were arrested in Tennessee over plans to go on a killing spree and eventually shoot Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama, court documents showed on Monday.

Daniel Cowart and Paul Schlesselman were charged in a criminal complaint with making threats against a presidential candidate, illegal possession of a sawed-off shotgun and conspiracy to rob a gun dealer.

The plot did not appear to be very advanced or sophisticated, the court documents showed.

“We’re unsure of their ability or if they have the wherewithal to carry out any of their threats,” said a source close to the investigation.

Obama would be the first black president in U.S. history if he defeats Republican John McCain in the November 4 election. Concerns about Obama’s safety led the Secret Service to provide round-the-clock protection from early in his campaign.

The suspects met over the Internet about a month ago, said an affidavit filed by Brian Weaks, a special agent with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.

“The individuals began discussing going on a ‘killing spree’ that included killing 88 people and beheading 14 African Americans,” Weaks said in the affidavit.

The men stole guns from family members and also had a sawed-off shotgun. They planned to target a predominately black school, going state to state while robbing individuals and continuing to kill people, Weaks said in the affidavit.  Read More…

Asbestos is a mineral with long, thin fibrous crystals. The word asbestos (῾ἀσβεστος) is derived from a Greek adjective meaning inextinguishable. The Greeks termed asbestos the miracle mineral because of its soft and pliant properties, as well as its ability to withstand heat.

Asbestos is known to have toxicity. The inhalation of toxic asbestos fibers can cause serious illnesses, including malignant mesothelioma, lung cancer, and asbestosis (also called pneumoconiosis). Since the mid 1980s, many uses of asbestos have been banned in many countries.

—–

The possibility of converting the Scarborough RT to true LRT when its current fleet reaches the end of its life, instead of conversion to ICTS Mark-II, is still being considered by the TTC.

In the supplementary agendafor the October 23 TTC meeting, the status update on Transit City includes a section on the planned upgrading and extensions of the Scarborough RT. The following paragraph appears in the document:

The project team is currently re-visiting the option of converting the Scarborough RT from its current vehicle technology to light rail technology, when the current fleet of vehicles reaches the end of its service life.

Read more at the Toronto LRT Information Site

Website: http://lrt.daxack.ca/

Will the GOP’s campaign to deter new voters and discard Democratic ballots determine the next president?

ROBERT F. KENNEDY JR. & GREG PALAST

These days, the old west rail hub of Las Vegas, New Mexico, is little more than a dusty economic dead zone amid a boneyard of bare mesas. In national elections, the town overwhelmingly votes Democratic: More than 80 percent of all residents are Hispanic, and one in four lives below the poverty line. On February 5th, the day of the Super Tuesday caucus, a school-bus driver named Paul Maez arrived at his local polling station to cast his ballot. To his surprise, Maez found that his name had vanished from the list of registered voters, thanks to a statewide effort to deter fraudulent voting. For Maez, the shock was especially acute: He is the supervisor of elections in Las Vegas.

Maez was not alone in being denied his right to vote. On Super Tuesday, one in nine Democrats who tried to cast ballots in New Mexico found their names missing from the registration lists. The numbers were even higher in precincts like Las Vegas, where nearly 20 percent of the county’s voters were absent from the rolls. With their status in limbo, the voters were forced to cast “provisional” ballots, which can be reviewed and discarded by election officials without explanation. On Super Tuesday, more than half of all provisional ballots cast were thrown out statewide.

This November, what happened to Maez will happen to hundreds of thousands of voters across the country. In state after state, Republican operatives — the party’s elite commandos of bare-knuckle politics — are wielding new federal legislation to systematically disenfranchise Democrats. If this year’s race is as close as the past two elections, the GOP’s nationwide campaign could be large enough to determine the presidency in November. “I don’t think the Democrats get it,” says John Boyd, a voting-rights attorney in Albuquerque who has taken on the Republican Party for impeding access to the ballot. “All these new rules and games are turning voting into an obstacle course that could flip the vote to the GOP in half a dozen states.”

Read more

Dion

Well the election is over and the knives are already out calling for a new leader. It is strange? I do not remember anyone forcing out McGuinty, Harris, Harper, shall I go on. They were given a chance and look at them now! Dion is a smart and a decent person. He does care for our country. However what this really shows is the “arrogance of the Liberal elite in the party“. I really do not think that people like Bob Rae or Ignatieff (Iggy) ever really supported Dion. Look, I am not a full fan of Dion. However, how he was treated only minutes after loosing was disgraceful and just awful. It is obvious that this is not a united party. What the elite do not realize is that they are further alienating themselves. Canadians don’t like what they are seeing, Conservatives, Liberals and Social Democrats alike. I have spoken to many and despite what they think of Dion, Volpe and others are making themselves look like little evil “children of the corn”. I believe that Volpe ran for leadership and eventually put his support behind Bob Rae, so where are his allegiances?

Volpe

I think what is more damning is the fact that somehow Liberals felt that it was their right to lead Canada. Maybe Canadians just wanted to be a bit more conservative this time around. Maybe Canadians just liked Jack Layton a bit better. This does not mean that Dion needs to go. Not sure how many times Jack has given this a kick at the can, but again there is no one looking for blood. No analysis has been done, and already the vultures were waiting in the wings to pounce at the chance to consume Dion. In fact I think it is over for the Liberals anyway. They are out of touch now. Some in the party think that they are royalty and feel it is their inherit right to lead. Sadly, if they remove Dion in this fashion then they are just like any other politician, in the minds of many Canadians. You cannot trust them. Why would ANY Liberal leader trust thugs like this? It is their “god given right to lead and they cannot stand being on the sidelines”. My goodness, this is just ONE election! Ask other leaders how many times they got a kick at the can. I heard a Liberal on CBC totally destroy Dion. He seemed to have some “inherit wisdom given to him and no other from on high”. What it really sounded like was a poor looser, whining about how his “friends” lost a good job because of Dion. Maybe it was good that the Liberals lost then? This is not Kim Cambell and the 2 seats left in the Parliament after the PC’s lost. I lament, ever so slightly for the Liberals. Maybe it was better this way. Volpe and others have now truly destroyed themselves in Quebec. They will never be trusted anywhere else. You all played in Harper masterful game. Think about it? He calls an election and knew that there was decent in the party. The Liberals lost and now will probably lose badly in the next election. The Liberals, at the moment, are in disarray. It does not matter what Dion does now, because  he cannot win. If he stays then the party will splinter. If he leaves they are untrustworthy (with those types of friends, who needs enemies). it is over for the party. Volpe and others like him have ensured the Liberals slow decline and death. Heck, with friends like that, who needs enemies.

NOTE: What they should really think about is the fact that ALL parties had a decline in votes. Not a lot of Canadians really cared this time around.

By Andy MJ
a.k.a The G.T.A Patriot

With the 2008 presidential election, Americans face a pivotal choice between not just two candidates, but two paradigms. We need someone who understands the complexity of our time. Someone who believes in investing in renewable energy, in education, in women’s rights, in civil rights, in healthcare for Americans. Someone who believes in dealing with global issues with diplomacy so we can restore our respect in the world. Barack Obama represents the change we need and can lead us into a brighter future.

“Vote For Hope” was written to encourage and inspire the hip hop generation—and everyone—to get involved, and contribute their time, energy, creativity, and other resources to be the change they want to see in the world. We have been inspired by the artistic and musical contributions that have been pouring out accross the nation in support of Barack Obama’s campaign. Vote for Hope is our offering to this creative movement. It is our way of adding our small voice to the collective voice of millions of Americans calling for a change.

See more…

By Chris Laker
Last updated at 4:43 PM on 15th October 2008

The era of the traditional newspaper could soon be over as scientists launch production of a revolutionary electronic version – made out of plastic.

The e-reader is the brainchild of students at Cambridge University’s Cavendish Laboratory and will be developed by manufacturing plant Plastic Logic at a factory in Germany. The invention is due to hit the high street next year.

Each part of the design will be made from plastic and will be super-thin, as light as the average magazine and able to store and display documents.

Dean Baker, Manufacturing Engineering Manager of Plastic Logic, said the invention of the lightweight e-reader will also drastically reduce the waste that currently comes with the traditional product.

Read more

By DON PEAT, Sun Media

A Chinatown restaurant shutdown after some camera un-shy rats appeared in the front window is now under renovations.

Toronto Public Health officials confirmed yesterday Happy Seven restaurant is undergoing renovations before inspectors conduct a final re-inspection of the Spandina Ave. eatery.

“Swatow Restaurant at 309 Spadina Ave. was closed Tuesday for failing to prevent an insect infestation and failing to provide adequate pest control, among other infractions.”

Read more

DAWSON CREEK, B.C. — As members of the RCMP’s national terrorism unit continued to gather evidence at the sites of two gas pipeline bombings in northeastern B.C. this weekend, other officers met with about 200 frightened citizens at a public gathering.

“There is an ongoing amount of concern and definitely a certain level of fear that has been expressed from the public,” said Sgt. Tim Shields.

“This event was an opportunity for the RCMP to explain what is going on with the investigation and to provide a forum for the community to ask questions of the police and EnCana.”

The pipeline operator and police officers met with residents in a hall at the tiny nearby community of Tomslake.

Eric Kuenzl of Tomslake, B.C., was at the meeting at the school in the hamlet near the Alberta boundary.

He says people in the area aren’t venturing out unless it’s absolutely necessary.

“People are on edge. They’re scared,” Kuenzl told The Canadian Press. “They want answers. The meeting was designed to give direction. They ironed out a few things . . . as far as flying over with choppers and looking with infra-red to make sure there’s no other bombs.”

“That makes me feel a little safer.”

Kuenzl was critical, however, of officials locking children in the Tomslake school when news of the bombing came out.

He says the community sits in a low-lying area and the heavy gas from the pipeline could have killed youngsters locked in a school.

“They put all the kids inside and then they closed all the ducts and everything. It’s like building a giant coffin,” Kuenzl said.

“Why wouldn’t you just load them up in the bus and get ‘em the hell out of here. I think I’d be safer on the roof of my house than I would be inside my house.”

Meanwhile, members of the RCMP Explosive Disposal Unit and the RCMP National Post Blast Team continue their work at the blast sites.

“Personnel are continuing to conduct a thorough search of the blast area and the surrounding debris field,” said Shields.

“Essentially, these individuals are combing the area looking for any item that is out of place and could provide a clue to investigators. This can include anything from a footprint to a piece of the explosive that was used.”

It’s not yet clear what motivated two attacks on pipelines near Dawson Creek, the first last weekend and the second Wednesday night.

Police believe they’re linked to a letter sent to local media last week calling oil and gas companies “terrorists” that are “endangering our families.”

People living in and around Dawson Creek are quick to condemn the explosions, but they also say the region’s burgeoning oilpatch has had a sometimes uneasy relationship with its neighbours.

In both cases, the pipelines were owned by EnCana (TSX:ECA). The first pipeline did not rupture but the second explosion caused a small leak, one the company said was quickly contained.

The RCMP explosives unit was also at the site Friday, trying to find out what happened, said Shields.

“They will be in the process of recreating the blast in order to determine what type of material was used, how it was used and to gather evidence,” he said.

Terrorism expert John Thompson said the fact the bombings weren’t preceded by other incidents of protest and vandalism suggests they’re likely the work of one or two people working alone rather than organized environmental groups mounting a broader campaign.

“This also suggests that this is a small, amateurish effort by community activists,” said Thompson, president of the Toronto-based Mackenzie Institute.

“It’s either somebody who is particularly torqued off by the oil and gas industry specifically, or someone who is self-actualized as a radical environmentalist with their own strange ideas about how to fight.”

The bombings have brought back memories of Wiebo Ludwig, an Alberta farmer who spent nearly two years in prison on charges related to oilpatch bombing and vandalism in the 1990s.

Read more

Harper and our money - we have none

We warned you during the election that the numbers did not make sense. As with others in the past who promised no deficits it seems that Harper has retracted on what he said during the election. Flip-flop? We focused so much on the Green Shift that other issues were put to the side. Now we are stuck with this situation. Are Canadians prepared for deep cuts to funding? Show me the money!

• Tories face $10B deficit, report suggests – Amazing we did not talk about that during the election?
• Canada will be in a recession – The fundementals are not sound?
• We should stay the course! Isn’t that what the captain of the Titanic said before it sank? Stephen Harper’s Uniquely Bad Productivity Record

QUEBEC, TORONTO, OTTAWA — Stephen Harper refused yesterday to rule out the possibility of a deficit next year despite his promise during the election campaign that he would not allow one if re-elected.

While the Prime Minister said he intends to maintain a balanced budget this year, he did not say the same for 2009-10.

“I don’t think we’re in a position yet to know all the information in that regard,” Mr. Harper said in Quebec City, where Canada is hosting a summit of French-speaking governments. “It would be premature to speculate on that. I will just say that the Government of Canada will maintain responsible fiscal policies and the Government of Canada will ensure that whatever we do is in the long-run interests of the Canadian economy.”

The government will unveil an updated economic statement this fall. Should revenues be affected by economic turmoil after this year, the Tories would have to choose whether to run a deficit, cut spending or find other revenue sources such as increasing taxes.

Read more

Tracy Moore Named New CityLine Host

Friday October 17, 2008

It’s one of the most popular shows in Canada and an institution at Citytv.

CityLine has been on the air for 24 years and was the original TV show that put the spotlight on design, food, gardening, health, fashion, beauty and other items of interest to domestic goddesses everywhere.

Now there are entire networks devoted to the subject. But a quarter of a century ago, this show was  unique. And it remains that way to this day.

Part of that success has always been attributed to the hosts who guided viewers through the ins-and-outs of homemaking and style. In the early years, that was the legendary Dini Petty. And for 19 of those seasons, it was the remarkable Marilyn Denis.

But after she left the show in May, there was a big question mark: who could possibly replace the irreplaceable?

After trying out a series of co-hosts over the summer and early fall, we can finally answer that question – and it’s someone you know very well.

Read more

Dick Pound comments racist

National Post Published: Friday, October 17, 2008

An aboriginal advocacy group wants the International Olympic Committee to suspend Canadian IOC member Dick Pound for comments he made to a Montreal newspaper, which they believe suggests he views aboriginals as cultureless savages. In a letter to the IOC’s ethics commission, LandInSights’ director Andre Dudemaine called for sanctions against Mr. Pound in the lead-up to the Vancouver Games. On Aug. 9, Mr. Pound was quoted in Montreal’s La Presse as saying, in French, “We must not forget that 400 years ago, Canada was a land of savages, with scarcely 10,000 inhabitants of European origin, while in China, we’re talking about a 5,000-year-old civilization.” The comments were made after a question about whether the IOC was embarrassed to be affiliated with China’s political history. Mr. Dudemaine said it suggests that Indians have no culture or civilization.

http://www.nationalpost.com/todays_paper/story.html?id=886402

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/LAC.20081018.POUND18/TPStory/National

http://www.molsoncanadian.ca/landing/

http://www.canada.travel/selectCountry.html

By David Neiwert Thursday Oct 16, 2008.

It was kind of strange … that John McCain came to the defense of his supporters last night after Barack Obama pointed out that people at McCain/Palin rallies were shouting out “terrorist” and “kill him!” in reference to Obama.

Now an Al Jazeera camera crew caught the honest sentiments of McCain/Palin supporters at an Ohio rally:

Racism In America

“I’m afraid if he wins, the blacks will take over. He’s not a Christian! This is a Christian nation! What is our country gonna end up like?”

“When you got a Negra running for president, you need a first stringer. He’s definitely a second stringer.”

“He seems like a sheep – or a wolf in sheep’s clothing to be honest with you. And I believe Palin – she’s filled with the Holy Spirit, and I believe she’s gonna bring honesty and integrity to the White House.”

“He’s related to a known terrorist, for one.”

“He is friends with a terrorist of this country!”

“He must support terrorists! You know, uh, if it walks like a duck and quacks like a duck, it must be a duck. And that to me is Obama.”

“Just the whole, Muslim thing, and everything, and everybody’s still kinda – a lot of people have forgotten about 9/11, but… I dunno, it’s just kinda… a little unnerving.”

“Obama and his wife, I’m concerned that they could be anti-white. That he might hide that.”

“I don’t like the fact that he thinks us white people are trash… because we’re not!”

Yep, McCain must be so proud.

The rest of us, well … let’s just say those polls should tell the story.

“You know racism exist in this country, you’ve experienced it but this race has brought everything out all at once. When they make race an issue, they’re not just attacking Obama but every single African American whose back this country was built on. They might as well be telling us all over again that we’re not human.”

Read more

Internet Regulation by the CRTC

The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) this week said it has launched a proceeding in hopes of gaining a better understanding of broadcasting on the internet. CRTC is trying to establish a role for itself in the regulation of what Canadians can and should be able to see on the Internet. In other words, Censorship…

The result of these hearings could result in in the overturning of a 1999 decision that exempted from regulation broadcasters that distribute their video content over the Internet. The hearings will also examine a 2007 decision that took a hands off approach to broadcasters and wireless companies who were sending video through cellphones and other mobile devices.

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The U.S. Secret Service is investigating a threatening remark directed at Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama during a political event in Scranton.

The agency followed up on a report in The Times-Tribune that a member of the crowd shouted, “Kill him!” after one mention of Mr. Obama’s name during a rally Tuesday for Republican vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin.

The remark came while congressional candidate Chris Hackett was addressing the crowd at the Riverfront Sports Complex.

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Canada risks running a $10 billion deficit in the 2009-2010 fiscal year if the re-elected Conservative government fails to stitch a “looming fiscal hole” that is already raising the spectre of higher taxes and possible spending cuts, a report suggests. That stark prediction was made yesterday by Merrill Lynch economist David Wolf.

That stark prediction was made yesterday by Merrill Lynch economist David Wolf, hours before Prime Minister Stephen Harper unveiled a six-point economic plan and vowed to keep government spending “focused and under control.”

Merrill Lynch’s report suggests Ottawa may succeed in eking out a small surplus this year, but it is on track to recording its first deficit since the 1990s – a political anathema for Canadians.

Wolf is known for his pessimistic views. His analysis in this case assumes no change in fiscal policy. Nonetheless, some of his contemporaries agree the growing likelihood of a deficit will force the Harper government to make some difficult spending decisions if it intends to live up to its no-deficit pledge.

At least one other economist is taking Wolf’s argument to the next level. Don Drummond, TD Bank’s chief economist, said a multi-billion dollar deficit is not only possible, it is unlikely to be “a one-year wonder.”

For his part, Wolf argues that Canada’s real economy is stagnating amid the global financial crisis. Sharp declines in commodity prices will weigh heavily on exports, while corporate profits are set to fade.

“This fiscal year still looks on track for a small surplus given the better results in the first half of the year, but next year looks awful – we estimate that nominal GDP (gross domestic product), the best proxy for the tax base, will contract outright in 2009 for the first time since 1933,” he wrote. “The effects on government revenues are likely to be profound.”

The last federal budget projected a $2.3 billion surplus for 2008-2009. When asked about that estimate last week, Finance Minister Jim Flaherty told reporters: “No, actually we’re on track – a little bit ahead of the track – on the surplus.”

Still, some private-sector economists say posting a surplus this year will be tricky. The idea of a deficit, however, is politically taboo. The last time Canada recorded one was in the mid-1990s. At the time, legislators worked tirelessly to slay it and subsequent governments vowed to never to repeat it.

“Given the circumstances that we’re in, a budget deficit is more of a political issue than an economic issue,” said Doug Porter, deputy chief economist at BMO Capital Markets.

“If it is caused by the fact that the global economy is struggling mightily (rather than by overspending), then a deficit is something we probably have to accept.”

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LAWRENCE MARTIN
lmartin@globeandmail.com
October 16, 2008

This was the election that shouldn’t have been held, that attracted a dismal turnout, that didn’t change anything – but could well change everything.

Stéphane Dion will be out as Liberal leader by year’s end. Stephen Harper is likely to follow him before the next election. Jack Layton, despite having the best showing of any leader in Tuesday’s vote, could well depart next year. And so could Gilles Duceppe.

The Liberals will move back to the political centre. The Tories will face some internal bitterness for having gone down on bended knee to woo Quebec and getting nothing in return for their fawning efforts. The Greens will sink more than swim because they are a single-issue party whose single issue has been overrun by apprehended economic perdition.

Mr. Harper will face no internal challenge for his leadership. Any time you increase your seat total by as much as he did, you have a respectable result. His challenge was to be seen knocking on the majority door and, by scoring more than 140 seats, he did just that.

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What about Justin Trudeau?

Video shot by CityNews showing rats inside the Happy Seven Restaurant is raising questions about the possibility of a rodent infestation that goes far beyond the boundaries of a few unfortunate establishments along the city’s Chinatown district.
“The rat problem’s getting worse,” said Art Bossier, owner of Advantage Pest Control. “It started about ten or fifteen years ago when our garbage pickups went from twice a week, to once every two weeks.”

An expert in pest control for more than 30 years, Bossier says the city of Toronto should be stepping up its efforts to rid the city of rats. An estimated 4 million rodents live in the G.T.A.

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On November 11, 1999 Terry Kelly was in a Shoppers Drug Mart store in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia. At 10:55 AM an announcement came over the store’s PA asking customers who would still be on the premises at 11:00 AM to give two minutes of silence in respect to the veterans who have sacrificed so much for us.