Saskethewan Reused Syringes

Recently being a widespread concern around in Alberta, a hospital in Lloydminister, Saskatchewan has been reusing syringes. Dr. Moira McKinnon, the province's chief medical health officer, confirmed that Lloydminister Hospital has been reusing syringes to inject medication into intravenous lines. Lloydminister Hospital serves both patients from Alberta and Saskatchewan. Saskatchewan's Ministry of Health has launched an investigation, searching if other health regions are reusing syringes. The province's Ministry of Health is not sure how long this practice has been going on, nor can they say how many patients may be at risk. Dr. McKinnon expressed that the risk of this practice is extremely low and experts are searching for further details of the risk. As the chief medical health officer, Dr. McKinnon has issued a cautionary alert to the province's health regions about reusing syringes.

Opinion: Regardless of the risk factor, I believe that reusing syringes is unhygienic and a practice which hospitals should not be doing. How do patients have full trust in hospitals if they can't even follow instructions as simple as not reusing syringes. Though the needle is being penetrated through an IV line, there is still a theoretical risk where there can be a back flow of blood. Depending on the patients medical status, this can be very dangerous.

The Gun Shop Owner says "Arms Up"

One Washington gun shop owner is experiencing an influx of new business since the November 4th election. Bernie Conaster, a gun retailer in Manassas, Virginia has seen more business in a single day than he has seen all year. In fact, on the Saturday after the election Bernie had more business than he had all week.

"I have been in business for 12 years, and I was here for Y2K, September 11th, Katrina," Conaster commented. "And all of those were big events, and we did notice a spike in business, but nothing on the order of what we are seeing right now." Although Conaster didn't provide explanation for the recent flare in business, many political strategists and gun owners themselves have attributed the spike in sales to the controversy surrounding 2nd Ammendment rights. Most gun owners believe President-Elect Obama will remove the rights of Americans to bear arms. Furthermore, many of those in rural Southern areas within Virginia feel Obama regards their right to bear arms as menial and of little importance. This skepticism still emerges after Democrats --and Obama himself-- have stated the upcoming administration will support gun ownership rights.

In terms of statistics, the FBI has reported 374,000 background checks are being conducted on possible gun owners within a period of just 6 days (November 3-9). These checks are being applied to mainly automatic weapons such as the AR-15 rifle, which many gun owners fear Obama will hit with tougher regulations and penalties.


Opinion: Personally, I find this story to be a perfect example of the type of ignorance and fear mongering that has plagued America for so long. As the rest of the country, are continuing to spread dissension and fear. The reality is that the number one issue on voters minds is the economy as people are continually losing their jobs and pensions, and having a gun in your hand won't guarantee a future for your child or savings for your retirement. To be blunt, I feel that if these same people have the money to stock up on arms, the economic crisis isn't hitting them hard enough.

Unfortunately, the people who are stocking up on arms right now fail to understand that. This type of small minded thinking is exactly what I feel a President Obama will have to conflict with as he pushes for major change in Washington. I just hope that the progressive policies of the Obama administration will overcome the fear mongering of those who still seek to divide America.

House Passes Humanitarian Bill

The U.S. House of Representatives passed a bill today that recognizes Israel's right to defend themselves in their recent conflict with Hamas. White House officials say this bill was aimed at raising awareness to the current humanitarian crisis in Gaza. For instance, during this conflict, the World Food Program, is reporting 1 million Palestinians are without food or water.The bill was proposed by Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi, and passed by a margin of 390 to 5. This measure passed on the second week of fighting between Israel and Palestine in the Palestinian territory of Gaza. $1.6 million in food and $15,000 in medicine has reached refugees, but an additional $3 million are still awaiting distribution in a U.N. warehouse. Due to the unsafe conditions on the groud, Howard Sumka (the top U.S. aid official for the West Bank and Gaza) says supply deliveries are "not as high as we would like."These concerns bring to light the recent humanitarian problems associated with conflict in Gaza. Just a day ago, The U.N. Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees suspended all food deliveries to over 750,000 Palestinian refugees due to Israeli air strikes. One aid worker was killed and another was wounded, despite the fact "they had received Israeli clearance," the agency said.

In addition, Rice says the US will continue to support the Non Governmental Organizations within Gaza and applauds them for their work in such "a very difficult environment."

********
Personally, I think the U.S. isn't doing very much to assist Palestinian refugees in Gaza. Condolezza Rice's words about having "tough phone calls" probably don't mean anything to the refugees who are without adequate health care or clean water to drink. On the other hand, I do realise the reality of the situation. There is a war in Gaza right now, and so Israel is taking the measures it sees fit to eliminate all Hamas leaders within Gaza. Also, the U.S. is obviously in support of Israel in this conflict but can't have this fact be made to clear to Hamas if the U.N. is going to be sucessful in any kind of peaceful negotiation. In a way, Condolezza Rice's words are probably the best response to any media right now if the UN wants to reach a peace agreement soon.

All in all, I am very confused about this situation and realise there is no clear cut answer. Even if a peace agreement is reached, will Hamas just use it as a time to restock on weapons? Will Israel really work with the Palestinians? Nobody really knows the answers to these questions, and its definitely not any easier for a grade 10 civics student in Aurora to come up with a response.

Reduction of TV fast food Ads

A recent study shows that a reduction of TV fast food ads may cause a significant change in childhood obesity. Researchers of this topic has found that a ban on such fast food ads may decrease the number of young obese children by 18 percent and the number of older teens by 14 percent. Suggestions such as ending advertisement expense tax deductions for fast food restaurants could result in reducing childhood obesity problems. Obesity rate in the U.S. has rose steadily starting from the 1980's. It has just recently leveled off, leaving a third of American children over weight or obese. Though the causes of obesity can vary, for many years now, researchers pondered about the effect of fast food advertisements. Lisa Powell is a researcher at the University of Illinois at Chicago's Institute For Health Research and Policy. Powell has found that fast food commercials account for 23 percent of food commercials on TV. This means, children see fast food commercials multiple of times a year.

After reading this study, I have understood the strength of TV advertising and why companies spend tens of thousands of dollars on commercials. I believe that ending advertisement expense tax deductions for fast food restaurants is a great way to stop this problem. As many people know, with a higher budget to fill, many fast food franchises will pull back on the amount of commercials produced. Another helpful idea may be to control the regulation of each fast food commercial. By regulating fast food commercials, can limit the amount the commercial can be played.

Afghanistan's only pig quarantined in flu fear

Reports from Afghanistan have reached the international news world upon learning that
the Kabul Zoo Director, Aziz Gul Saqib, has placed the pig in quarantine since Sunday after visitors expressed alarm that it could spread the new flu strain. Fortunately there are no pig farms in Afghanistan and no direct civilian flights between Kabul and Mexico. The pig was a gift to the zoo from China, which itself quarantined some 70 Mexicans, 26 Canadians and four Americans in the past week, but later released them. Visitors expressed their concern for the pigs presence, and because influenza is contagious and it passes between people and animals, it will not hurt to lock the lone pig away. The Kabul Zoo, however, has not been in the best shape as many of the other zoos in the world since it suffered on the front line of Afghanistan's 1992-1994 Civil War, where Mujahideen fighters ate the deer and rabbits, and shot the zoo's lone elephant.



Opinion: It certainly reads like these folks are pandering to the masses and find it easier to lock up the, uh... already caged pig, rather than explain and educate them about how swine flu works. The ignorance shown by the Afghanistan people and the Kabul Zoo show their need of some sort of education that does not involve teaching their children to become child soldiers. Experts have said that you cannot contract the H1N1 virus from direct contact with a pig or pork products, but rather has grown through interpersonal contact rather than animal-person contact. They should be thankful though, that the Afghan-Muslim people do no eat pork products, because this ignorance could carry over to the thought that the influenza can be contracted through pork products, which could cause a real stir, in an already unstable country.

Mexico Prepares to Lower Alert as Flu Subsides

Citing an ebb in the number of swine flu cases, Mexican officials said Monday that they would lower the public alert against the virus and allow most of the nation’s businesses to reopen this week, even as the outbreak, which appears to have started in Mexico, continued its spread worldwide. Across the country, factories and offices will reopen, Health Minister Jose Angel Cordova said in a news conference. A decision has not yet been made to reopen schools, which have remained shuttered for well over a week. The number of new cases is declining in Mexico, he said, and no deaths have been reported since April 29.Swine flu is now widespread in the United States, officials said, and continues to spread globally, the World Health Organization reported Monday. There are now 985 laboratory confirmed cases in 20 countries. On Sunday, there were 898 confirmed cases in 18 countries.Colombia and El Salvador were the latest countries to join the W.H.O. list, which is topped by Mexico, with 60 percent of the world’s total confirmed cases, and the United States, with 23 percent of the total.

Spain remains the most affected country in Europe, with the health ministry saying Monday that the number of flu cases there had risen to 54. But there was no evidence of sustained human-to-human transmission of the flu anywhere in Europe, where all but one of the cases have been mild, the European Center for Disease Prevention and Control reported.The lack of sustained transmission outside of Mexico and the United States, has kept the World Health Organization from declaring a full-scale pandemic, but officials there have warned nations to not let down their guard.

The good news, Dr. Schuchat said, is that most cases in the United States have been mild, and health officials in Mexico said that cases there seemed to be leveling off. But Dr. Schuchat said, “I don’t think we’re out of the woods yet.”She said the virus had a number of unusual features that were cause for concern. It has flared up at a time of year when the flu season is normally ending. It is new, so people probably have little or no resistance to it. And unlike the common types of seasonal flu, it appears to infect an unusually high percentage of young people. The median age of patients is 17. Dr. Schuchat said scientists at the C.D.C. were preparing a “seed stock” from virus samples that could be used for a vaccine. The possibility that H1N1 might be passed back and forth between humans and pigs was discussed at a World Health Organization news teleconference from Geneva on Sunday. Canadian officials reported on Saturday that an infected farm worker had spread the virus to pigs in Alberta.


Opinion: I believe that Mexico is taking the correct steps, towards correcting this obvious dangerous epidemic that is affecting many people throughout the World. It is important to create calmness within the public, so that activities can resume in the state of Mexico. Since a major part of the Mexican economy is based off tourism, allowing people to travel back without the fear of contracting the H1N1 virus, is especially important. Mexican President Felipe Calderon had already ordered a economic shutdown of all activities, in hopes of stemming the virus in its tracks. It is steps like these that Mexico should slowly progress on, to rid the world of the virus, especially so that this virus does not progress to be of a danger level such as the SARS virus in 2003.

Stephen Harper Cabinet Changes

Today, Stephen Harper made a change in his cabinet arrangements. The new cabinet includes several new female members who are managing key portfolios, in an attempt to recognize the troubling economic times. John Baird, who was previously Minister of Environment, has now taken the job of Minister of Transport. In addition, Lawrence Cannon has now been assigned as Minister of Foreign Affairs. Also, Tony Clement will now be responsible for the Industry, in order to address Ontario's crippled auto sector. In light of these recent appointments, Stephen Harper said, "The new cabinet introduced today is composed of an experienced team that's prepared to work on behalf of all Canadians."

However, Deputy Liberal deputy leader, Michael Ignatieff told CBC News that, "Mr. Harper used the word team. The question is, is it a team or a one-man band as before?" Ignatieff is referring to the several allegations of Harper's tight leash on all his ministers and alleged controlling nature. Ignatieff also commented on Finance Minister Jim Flaherty saying, "keeping Mr. Flaherty says our economic policy so far has been good for Canadians. We in the Liberal opposition think it's been bad for Canada, because he made some tax cuts that left us no room to help Canadians in tough times."

Opinion: I feel a change in cabinet will not result in a new policy for Canada. Harper has led this country in the same direction of partisan bickering and division, and I think the same will follow after his cabinet change. Michael Ignatieff is absolutely right in my opinion and I hope he can lead the new Liberal party and defeat Mr. Harper.

CIA waterboarded prisoner 200 times

The top Obama administration officials have released a memo that describes CIA interrogators using waterboarding (near-drowning) techniques, which as been described as illegal tortue, approximately 266 times on 2 Al-Qaida prisoners. The memo included information such as officers using this technqieu at least 83 times in August 2002. John Kiriakou, who is a former CIA officer, had said that this technique was used on Abu Zubaydah for 35 seconds, before agreeing to tell all the information was used. Information such as 183 incidents in March 2003 against Khalid Shaikh Mohammed, who is described as the planner of the 9/11 attacks. CIA officials were then fearing that they were trespassing on legal limits, and therefore stopped his interrogations.

President Barack Obama planned to visit CIA headquarters today and make public remarks to employees, as well as meet privately with officials, an agency spokesperson said last night. It would be his first visit to the agency, whose use of harsh interrogation methods he often condemned during the presidential campaign and whose secret prisons he ordered closed on the second full day of his presidency.
Reports have said that Barack Obama had ordered the release of the memos that describe these incidents. He has also said that persecution of the CIA officers will not be followed through, and that reform of the Bush administration interrogration and warrantless eavesdropping, counterterrorism programs should be examined. The 2005 Justice Department memo included reports that the waterboarding techniques exceeding the limits of its use including the volume allowed.

Michael V. Hayden, director of the CIA for the last two years of the Bush administration, would not comment when asked on the program Fox News Sunday if Mohammed had been waterboarded 183 times. He said he believed that that information was still classified.


Opinion: In my opinion, this should open many eyes to the way the United States has dealed with terrorism in regards to ethical standards.

Obama embarks on Latin American Trip

Barack Obama will make history on Thursday afternoon, as he will be the first American president to visit Mexico since Bill Clinton visited 12 years ago. He will meet with President Felipe Calderon to talk about some of the local and trade issues affecting these countries. On the agenda is economy, energy, immigration and settling the problem of trucks from Mexico coming across the border. The most prominent issue that will be addressed is drug violence. Parliament is confident that both the US and Mexico can team up together to end the violence caused by drug cartels. The Obama Administration has already made steps towards this by initatiing stiff financial sanctions on the Kingpin's of the drug cartels. This legislation allows the US government to seize their assets.

Barack is working hard in forming a Mexican policy along with Felipe Calderon, that shares the responsibility between the two countries to combat the drug problem. Obama has referred to American's acceptance of these drugs play a large role in the motives of these cartels. Mr. Obama comes here fresh from a much-publicized swing through Europe that put him squarely on the world stage. The Latin America trip, which will include a visit to Trinidad and Tobago, may not be as high-profile; for one thing, First Lady Michelle Obama, who gave the Europe trip an added touch of pizazz, is staying back in Washington. But the president has made repairing relations with world leaders a signature of his foreign policy, and the visit will give him a chance to do that in a region he is less familiar with.In addition to tackling the drug problem, they will also be discussing the trade relations. With the North American Free Trade Agreement, the ties are strong and consequently Mexico is feeling the pinch of the American economy.


Opinion: In my opinion, I believe that these international visits to other countries are somewhat a waste of time unless policies are directly put in immediately. These drug cartels have been a large problem for a long time now, but every now and than the U.S. has to hold Mexico's hand and spoonfeed them on plans on our to save their country. Countries should start being accountable for their actions and think of positive and favorable solutions. The U.S. has put their policy in place to sieze three of the cartel's assets, but the Mexican government should also take iniative and put a similiar policy in place for the other smaller cartels. Simply stopping these cartels in the present, will not help them in the future, because more and more youths are being influenced by drug violence. The key is to have a good education system in a favorable environment, that keeps these kids out of bad influence. Improving the education will protect the kids of the future, and putting immediate policies in place now ill prevent harm being done to Mexican and U.S. citizens over the border.

Madonna confirms widely reported Malawi adoption post

Today, Madonna has officially confirmed her attempts to adopt a young Malawian girl. Her spokesperson that standard procedures for adoption are being followed legally, in spite of the protests, that she was using her fame to speed the process. While in Malawi, she took her 3-year-old son David to visit his biological father for the first time, since leaving the country in 2006, showing her openeness in allowing David to connect with this roots. They also had toured the country and visited the day-care center that her charity had constructed.

In her statement this is attempting to adopt a girl by the name of Chifundo "Mercy" James, 4 years old. Her mother had died soon after giving birth, according to Mercy's uncle John Ngalande. Her father keeps little contact.
A coalition of non-governmental organizations called Mwakusungula have criticized Madonna's adoption attempts, saying that adoption should be the last resort and that children need to be taken care of by their own family.

Opinion: In my opinion, it seems as though Madonna is merely doing this merely based on a celebrity trend ( Angelina Jolie ). Also Madonna, is using her fame to skip through loopholes in the adoption system is completely unacceptable. In personal experience, my Aunt had tried to adopt a child from Africa around a year ago, but because she was single, the adoption agencies would not let her adopt. She had followed the whole process legally and fairly, and was stricken with much grief at the end. But Madonna can adopt a child, because she is able to afford nannies, when she is never home because of all the time being famous takes away. The nannies will be the real mothers, but Madonna never will. People should see that she is merely doing this for the fame rather that the goodwill that is attached. Although Mercy will be given a better life, Madonna should not be credited because she is relocating Mercy rather than being a mother.

Vancancies Become Easier to Fill

The continuing decline in Canada's economy is proving to be profitable for only one segment of the population, job recruiters. One Alberta job recruiter, Gerald Clark, says, "there are better candidates available today than there were a year ago. It was very difficult recruiting and hiring people in 2007 because things were very tight." This year, Clark can be much more selective in his selection of candidates, now that his field of applicants has grown nearly five times. On the whole, those living in Alberta are holding onto their jobs at a much higher rate than the rest of Canada, In fact, Calgary's unemployment rate is only 3.4%, compared with the national rate of nearly 6.4%. At the very least, this economic slowdown is bringing the quality of Canadian job applications up.

Opinion: I have mixed feelings on this issue. On one hand the quality of applicants is improving, and job recruiters are seeing resumes they haven't seen in "nearly five years." However, the fact remains that more Canadians are out of work. If the pool of unemployed in Canada is growing, that is still unsettling. Furthermore, Alberta job recruiters have also said many of those seeking jobs in Edmonton and Calgary are coming from the United States, so I can't imagine this being beneficial for those in the Edmonton area seeking employment. I suppose the moral here is: with every gain there is sometimes a loss.

Today a prosectuer alleged that a boyfriend of 15 year-old school girl pressured him into killing a fellow schoolgirl Stefanie Rengel over jealousy. The unnamed boyfriend lured the 15-year-old girl in the early evening of New Year's Day 2008 from her East York home with a cellphone call, and then proceded to stab her six times. In the previous weeks before the murder, police had found several MSN chat messages, and numerous phone calls which had urged the boyfriend to kill Rengel. At the time she was a Grade 9 Student at Rosedale Heights School for the Arts.
Flumerfelt was who was the prosecuter had stated that Stefanie Rengel was savagely murdered for no other reason besides jealousy.
In previous months, the stabber had "come on to" Rengel, and she felt bad for the accused, Flumerfelt said. So Rengel asked the accused's cousin to warn her about the boyfriend. "And so (the accused) decided for herself that Stefanie Rengel's life would end."
Today she had pleaded guilty to first-degree murder.
After killing Stefanie, the boyfriend than proceded to a friend's house and confessed that he had stabbed Rengel around 5 times, and then received a phone call from the accused asking if he had killed Rengel. The previus October before the killing, the boyfriend had visited Rengel at her Northdale Blvd. home and asked for her. He had asked Stefanie to call his girlfriend, and just tell her that he had tried to kill her, to get her to stop pestering him. The girlfriend tried several times through MSN messaging to pressure her boyfriend. Messages like " I want her dead....LOL", and messages like "UR getting blocked until u kill her"



Opinion: In my opinion I thought that this was an appaling story. However I think that the boyfriend was really in fault here. Empty threats like " Im gonna block you on MSN", or that "we are going to be friends, if you dont kill her in a week" are not threats that should pressure you to commit a murderous acts. The boyfriend should have taken better action, and probably have called the police. Better job by the parents, to keep a computer in a public place where the whole family can moderate computer activity probably could have prevented this from happening. I also believe that Stefanie should have maybe been in contact with authorities, if she was aware of death threats being opposed to her.

Russian Bomber intercepted on eve of Obama visit

Canada was in for a scare just before Obama's visit to Parliament last week. Defense Minister Peter Makay informed the public about them receiving information about a Russian Bomber discovered on the perimeter of Canadian airspace just hours before U.S. President Barack Obama arrived in Ottawa. He also said that it was difficult to know if the encounter was pure coincidence , or whether they were unto some sort of 'mischief' as Makay coined it. Knowing that Canada's security efforts were centered around this day, as so were the American security efforts in ensuring that Obama's trip is as safe as possible. Makay said it was a very strong coincidence that the Russian Bomber was in their airspace and Defense Minister has said that he will conduct a long investigation into this matter. He is holding a news conference on February 27, with the Commando of NORAD and the staff of the Canadian Defuse Department to enlighten them about this messy situation, and what other security measures should be tightened and maybe even newly implemented to insure that this does not reappear.

The CF-18s took off from Cold Lake, Alta., on Feb. 16 after Norad detected the bomber heading towards Canadian airspace. Using internationally recognized signals, Canadians used, the Russian planes turned back away from Canadian airspace. U.S. Air Force Gen. Gene Renuart, head of the North American Aerospace Defense Commander said that this is just one of the many methods used to warn planes of dangers. Mackay has also said that Russian planes have been encroaching on Canadian sovereignty on an upward scale, and has also said that the U.S. and Canada must maintain the defensive posture if they are to protect their people. Russians were very co-operative and professional in their conduct. Past talks have involved North America asking Russia to inform them when trips like these are scheduled, as Russia has pushed for the Arctic and oil wealth and so flights leaving from Moscow are on the rise.

Opinion: As I have been noticing, Russia has been making many suspicious moves in terms of their military action, and in terms of neglecting foriegn ministers of other countries. I would hate to see their action just like Germany during World War II, who made several slight moves, finding loopholes in the Treaty of Versailles which eventually led to their expanding army, and eventually World War II. The UN should keep close tabs on Russia, if they want to put their safety first. Having Russian war planes, neglectful of Canadian laws, just when President Barack Obama is visiting Canada is quite the unlikely coincidence. As Mackay has said that "Russian planes have been enroaching on Canadian sovereignty on an upward scale, and has also said that the U.S. and Canada must maintain the defensive posture if they are to protect their people." This is exactly what other countries should take when they look towards Russia.

Provinces Welfare System Falters

In 2007, ninety children in Ontario's child welfare system died, which is according to the latest report from the cheif coroner's office. Irwin Elman, in his first annual report to the Legislature, has made it clear to the government that their refusal to share detailed information on these deaths is completely unacceptable. Irwin has worked with several youth in Toronto for more than 20 years, and was completely surprised when the open cases of the CAS had died within a year of files being closed. The tracking of these deaths did start in the late 1990s as ordered from the coroner's office. Elman had been urged on my medical officers and colleagues in child welfare to speak out. Elman has said that the 90 deaths are a fraction of the 26, 260 cases in children aid societies. His goals of the year are to gain more access to information about these child welfare cases and the youth criminal justice systems, and also expand his office's rights to access the coroner's files. They need these files in order to resolve these issues and respond accordingly by correct investigation. The 90 Deaths were reported by the annual Pediatric Death Review Committee released last June. Those children were including in the children's aid society and in foster care, and also added that most of these deaths were preventable. Sixteen were accidental; nine were listed as suicides; four were homicides; eight died from natural causes and could probably not have been prevented; 22 were considered undetermined, which means there was no evidence for any specific classification or they fit within more than one classification; 17 are yet to be assigned a classification; and 14 were not considered appropriate by the Coroner for investigation because their deaths were expected due to fragile health.Of the 76 classified deaths, 34 were babies younger than one year old and 24 were youths between the ages of 12 and 18.



Opinion: In my opinion, I am in total agreement with Irwin Elman. 1 Death is unacceptable if it is preventable, let alone 90. If these children aid services and foster care services are sponsored by the government, than these deaths should have been prevented. But these children death's cannot go in vain, by not being reported, because if there are no reports, than we cannot learn from our escapes. Therefore I support Irwin Elman's movement towards urging these governments to sharpen their regulations, and make thorough, detailed reports on these unfortunate deaths.

Obama : A failure of leadership led to GM, Chrysler Problems

Today, while President Barack Obama delivered ultimatums today for General Motors Corp. and Chrysler LLC to enact deeper Advertisement, he blamed the problems on GM, Chrysler as a failure of leadership from Washington to Detriot.He stated that there will be limits set on the aid that the federal government will give, and that workers, dealers, creditors and suppliers, and bankruptcy court would be needed.
According to the market, shares of 20% of GM fell on the New York Stock Exchange.
The prior plans under the administration plan included 50,000 people losing their jbs. The administration had found that GM and Chrysler had failed to make business plans to pay off their $17.4 Billion loan. So Barack Obama decided to take matters into his own hands and let GM and Chrylser know what strategies they have to take.
GM had 60 days to create a new plan, because their previous plan included shedding 20,000 jobs and closing 14 plants. The resignation of GM Chairman Rick Wagoner was also suggested in order for the company to be given a new direction towards the future. Obama suggested that GM make a deal with Fiat ( European car brand ) so they can be suppoorted by up to 6$ billion in loans that would be repayed before Fiat joins with Chyrsler. Declaring bankruptcy could also reduce the debt, and would enable the government to have say in the companies next moves towards success

Opinion: I believe that Obama is absolutely correct. By taking matters in his own hands, by consulting with his economic advisors, he has given GM and Chrysler a thorough COMMAND ( not suggestion ) on what to do in the coming times, in order to be successful during the recession.

Bailout Still in Progress

Since President Bush announced his proposal to pump 700 billion dollars into the US financial markets to prevent more corporate bankruptcies, Treasury Secretary Paulson and Federal Reserve Chairman Bernanke have begun a heated debate within the Senate to discuss the possibility of such a dramatic boost to the US Financial Markets. Paulson remarked on the current economy saying: "You know, I share the outrage that people have," said Paulson. "It's embarrassing to look at this, and I think it's embarrassing to the United States of America."

Ultimately, Paulson and Bernanke have proposed that the US Treasury buy troubled assets of companies on Wall Street and other firms at a discount and sell them for a profit. The plan could work, but several Senators --especially Senator Chris Dodd D-CT-- are skeptical of the effectiveness of such a large bailout that would come at the expense of the American taxpayer. Ultimately, a decision has yet to have been released in the Senate.

Personally, I feel that such a plan must be looked over extensively purely because of its cost. Bernanke and Paulson must communicate clearly the effectiveness of this bailout, and convince not only the Senate, but the taxpayers of this plan. Government can't simply throw this amount of money at the banking industry without a careful analysis of how this plan will be effective.

Trade and Oil on Agenda

The United States is a major importer of Canadian oil, and Mr. Harper has been trying to win an agreement to exempt Canada`s vast tracts of oil sands, which contain up to 173 billion barrels of recoverable oil bound into sand and clay, from regulation. Mr. Obama is under intense pressure from environmentalists to resist that effort. Thursday`s visit is not expected to produce any detailed pact, but a White House official said the two countries would commit to working more closely together on research and information-sharing on energy and technology.In an interview with the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation prior to his trip, Mr. Obama stopped short of using the word dirty, as environmentalists do, to describe the process of extracting oil from the sands. But he said extraction work there "creates a big carbon footprint."President Obama arrived here on Thursday morning for the first foreign trip of his administration, a visit that was expected to focus on the fragile world economy, the sagging auto industry, international trade, Afghanistan and energy -- in particular the question of how to turn Alberta`s oil sands into a clean source of power.Mr. Obama was greeted by the governor general of Canada, Michaëlle Jean, as well as the Canadian ambassador to the United States, Michael Wilson, and a retinue of red-jacketed Canadian Mounties after Air Force One touched down in a light snow at Ottawa International Airport shortly before 10:30 a.m. He is here for a string of official meetings and plans to hold a short news conference with Prime Minister Stephen Harper in the afternoon.Mr. Obama may also face tensions with Mr. Harper over the issue of trade; Canada is up in arms over a "Buy America" provision inserted by Congress into the $787 billion economic recovery package Mr. Obama just signed into law, and Canadians have not forgotten Mr. Obama`s campaign pledge to reopen negotiations on the North American Free Trade Agreement.


Opinion: In my opinion, the president made an important step towards smoothing over rough corners that Canada had with America. Talking about fragile world economy, the sagging auto industry, international trade, Afghanistan and energy. They also talked about Alberta's oil resources, as a future resource for clean fuel. America's attention to Canada is crucial because Canada is such an important trade partner to America. After a rough patch in regards to Russia's CF-18 flying into Canadian airspace, Canada showed some sort of action that it can defend themselves, which may have surprised the President in terms of swift action. There are many things that these countries can learn from one another that can help them to get out of this economic predicament.

Emergency Wait Lines

On February 10, 2009 the province revealed its plan to cutting waiting times and long stays in emergency departments, and a lack of access to family health care. The plan will include many policies such as:

Creating an online tool that would allow users to type in their postal code and find alternatives to emergency departments in their neighbourhoods.
Public reporting on time spent in hospital ERs on a health ministry website.
Setting of targets for individual hospitals on time spent in ERs.
Creation and expansion of community programs to help frail, elderly patients stay out of hospital.
Establishment of a Health Care Connect Program to connect patients with family health care providers in their community who are taking on new patients.
* Courtesy of source listed at end of Blog
According to the Ontario Health Department 9 out of the 10 patients spend 9.4 hours in emergency departments. For patients being admitted to hospital the wait is even longer. They spend 35 hours in the ER before being moved to a in-patient bed. "Waiting too long in an emergency department means there's a problem in the system that needs to be fixed," says Dr. Rakesh Kumar, chief of emergency at Humber River Regional Hospital. According to the Local Health Integration Networks in Ontario, approximately 50 percent of emergency visits are made by patients with non-urgent needs, or less urgent needs. The government will encourage these patients with less needs to seek urgent-care centres, walk-in clinics, or family health networks and doctors. According to the CEO of LHIN, the big causes of waits is that patients who do not really need to be in the emergency room are there.

Opinion:
In my opinion, I think that government should be proud of themselves, unveiling a plan now. I would have been happier with this decision if they had put this plan into action earlier, because long ER waits, have been a large problem in Toronto. There is proof that plan’s similar to this do work. In the article it mentions that the Trillium Health Centre has been recently been able to discharge frail, elderly patients thanks to a Restore plan they have put into place. It is a separate wing of the hospital where they’re long-term facilities available for the elderly. The Missasauga Life Care Centre put a program into place where patients are transferred upto 90 days to receive extensive physiotherapy and other support to help them regain strength and prepare them for their homelives.
I believe that if the government asks other hospitals to put similar programs into place in their hospitals, than the collective wait time in the emergency departments will be reduced.

Stimulus - Small Businesses

Since the recession took root last year, many of small business loans have significantly dropped. Accordingly, President Barack Obama’s centerpiece of his economic stimulus plan is to rebuild small businesses because he believes that small businesses are the driving force of the US economy. The bill authorizes the Small Business Administration to temporarily reduce fees for participation in their loan-guarantee programs to insure that the banks do not charge the default when dealing with borrowers. There is also some money involved for businesses that need immediate relief. It gives them money to pay off their debt up to $35, 000 in relief. Interest is fully subsidized, and they won’t have any payments in their first year. Although this money will have to be payed back in a time period of 5 years.

According to the SBA, they have a limited amount of time to fund these measures. Congress allocated $630 million to fund loans, and authorized these procedures through 2010. Borrowers will have priority over lenders if the cash does run out, and small banks have priority over larger ones to receive discounts and waivers.

Other stimulus measures for small businesses include:

Unfreezing the loan market

This allows the SBA to guarantee up to $3 billion in debt, which makes it more attractive in investors to invest, and banks to expand their small business lending. They will charge for their guarantees to keep the program tax-free for taxpayers.

Loss accounting

Companies experiencing losses in revenue can reduce their tax bills prior to their loss and 20 years after the loss. Extends carryback provision to five years, which will cut the tax bill that most businesses will have to pay in April. Although it is only available to companies with receipts of $15 million or less.

Equipment expensing

The plan allows the expenditure limit for equipment to be higher. For example in 2005 businesses could write off up to $125,000 in spending on goods. In 2008, Congress increased that amount to $250,000. Not with this plan this amount is even higher. This deduction is aimed at small businesses who spend more than $800,000 on capital expenditures.

Hiring incentives

These incentives are conditional and may not apply to all employees in the work force. If you hire a unemployed military vet or high-school dropout, you could get a $2,400 per worker credit on your taxes. The Work Oppurtunity Tax Credit lets businesses claim a tax credit for 40% for the first $6000 in wages paid to the worker who falls into this target group.

Capital Gains

Investors will get a break on their capital-gains taxes, and if you buy stock in a small business and hold it for at least five years, and then sell it, it allows you to exclude 50% of your gains. The stimulus plan increases this to 75%.

Microloans

This program is mainly aimed at the nonprofit organizations. The SBA previously lended up to $20.2 million for these organizations, but the stimulus increases this amount by $6 million, plus $24 million for marketing and management for the microloan program.


Opinion:

Personally, I think that Barack Obama’s approach to the economy by promoting investors to invest into small businesses, as a crucial part to rebuild the economy, is an excellent idea, although there should be a few things changed. For example, to increase stability in the economic system, there should benefits depending on how long you owned the asset for the business. If you sell within 1 year, you should pay 60% of the gain, 5 years – 40%, 10 years – 30%, 20 years – 10%, 20 years – 5% and so on. This is an added incentive for many investors towards capital gain and would help the economy greatly. I think the idea of hiring incentives is great, although the target market for these incentives should be higher. It should not be limited to war veterans, and high-school dropouts, but should also be aimed towards immigrants who have come to the country looking for jobs.

Reaction to the Budget

I believe that the budget has many positives and many negatives. Although it is Canada’s first action plan to fix its economy. One of their first actions is to help Canadians stimulate spending. This is going to be a long-term action plan, because even if we do manage to fix the economy, Canadians are still going to be very reluctant in fear of a another recession. By stimulating Housing Construction, more homes are being built, and as trust builds in the housing market, the baby boom echo kids are going to start buying their own houses. Building infrastructure, gives a solid foundation for Canada’s economy. As the President of Barack Obama had said, small businesses are the driving force of the economy, and therefore I believe that it is necessary to help small businesses and communities. However they are some unnecessary projects that they are working on like partnership between provinces and territories. Besides Alberta ( oil ) I believe that spending taxpayer money to streghten ties with other provinces is unnecessary.

Reaction to the Throne Speech

I believe that the throne speech had many positive things incorporated but also created some uncertainty. Both Liberals and the NDP, representing the Opposition want strong action. The Throne speech prepares the people for more spending, which means more debt, which means more of your taxpayer money to pay for that. But some of the positives at least, is that they recognize the problem, even it is a little bit late for Conservative Leader Stephen Harper, who had said earlier in the year that there is no economic problem at hand. If they recognize the problem, than they can think of a solution to fix our economy. In the eyes of some unions such as the National Union of Public and General Employees, they have said that it is clear that they will not be focusing on health care, and agree that the health care system is fine. Although several articles and reports have been released that we are in need of health care professionals. In conclusion the throne speech aim is to put forward and reassure the government’s vision for the future.

Inauguration of Barack Obama

Smithsonian museums were filled with adulation across the National Mall, as momentous history took place. On Tuesday, the first African-American President was officially inaugurated, and the country was filled with great spirit and sense of accomplishment. The accomplishment of a huge step in breaking the racial barriar. Nearly two million people enveloped the Capitol to the Lincoln Memorial to watch the inauguration.
Thousands more filled the street of Pennsylvania Avenue, where a black limousine escorted Obama to the White House. The immense turn-out of the inauguration spoke volumes about the appeal of Barack Obama. Many of the mall crowds, could not even see Barack, as he was a speck in a sea of security gards, police officers, and several snipers on every roof. They watched in the distance on a giant television screens, just to be a present at a moment of history.
Advice from many officials, advised people to arrive early, even to wait in the dark and bitter cold. As the sun rose against the night sky, the glory of US merchandising was exposed. Many people bought Barack Obama tattoos, badges, coinds and several other qwerky merchandise.

Even the swearing-in had lived up to the hype. Even though he had messed up giving Barack Obama the wrong words of the oath, Barack stuck with what was given to him and later gave a wonderful speech infront of millions of cameras and millions of people. People were jumping with excitement the great orator didn't disappoint when he delivered a predictably emotive, beautifully-phrased address.There tended to be subdued silence during the long passages, in which the new President spoke of the challenges ahead, enthusiastic cheering whenever he said anything more upbeat and a particularly loud roar when he talked tough about standing up to terrorists.

Opinion: I thought that Obama's inaugural speech was inspiring and embracing. His responsible acceptance of the responsiblity before were eminent. His humility and loyalty to the country were obvious. Here's a man with the ability to lead, and I pray that he does what's best and what's right for this country. A milestone towards racial equality was made on Tuesday. Even though the vows were skewed with, Obama still was able to give a great speech, having been proceeded by Pastor who gave a prayer to remember for the ages, Obama's message of hope reached millions of people across the world. On TV, I remember the African's in several African villages screaming with joy, to have one of their own become the most powerful man in the world.

Girl Decapitated in Virginia Tech

On Wednesday January 21, 2009 at approximately 7:00 p.m, Yang Xin, a young graduate student from Beijing, was killed at the Au Bon Pain cafe on the Virginia Tech campus in Blacksburg, Virginia. A large kitchen knife at the scene was identified as the murder weapon, and according to officials, Zhu Haiyang from Ningbo, China was identified as the murderer. Emergency records suggest that both the suspect and the victim knew eachother, and according to seven witnesses in the cafe at that time, there seemed no prior motivation. The police had reported that they recieved several 911 phone calls just minutes after the murder, and the officer had found Zhu holding Yang's head in his hand.


Several of Virgina Tech officials and spokeperson's offered their condolences to the families, and assured students at the university that they will offer help to students if they are experiencing any troubles. The retraumatizing effects of this murder have awakened many memories, for several Virginia Tech students, who were witness to the mass killings at the University in April 2007, when Cho Seung Hui killed 32 students and teachers, and later commited suicide. Counseling centers have been continued to run since the shooting to help students cope with losses of friends and family. Security measures have also been put in place, since the mass killing. Notifications were sent to subscribers of the network, sending messages of emergency alerts, warning students.

Opinion: Personally, this story sickens me to hear yet of another horrific killing at Virginia Tech University. As if the grief layed upon them wasn't enough in April 2007, when Cho Seung Hui killed 32 students and teachers, and later commited suicide. However, there all some positives, if minimal in relation, that can be taken away from this experience. Virginia Tech officials now know that perhaps personality profiling on students should be in place, that can judge whether students are in a healthy condition to stay in that university. To offer therapy to students on the university is a good idea, as a professional can relay information to officials whether a problem may occur. Offering more social activities to students can insure that they are involved in various activities with friends, and I think we can expect many more measures to be put in place in the near future.

Isreal Hopes to Complete Gaza Troop Pull-Out by Tuesday

Hamas ( militant Islamist group ) called for its first news conference since the war, with two Hamas leaders from the government, to announce their victory and the morale of their followers growing steadfast. The site of the worst-hit areas is horrifying and the death toll had passed 1, 300 on Sunday. Decaying bodies covered the rubble-filled streets, with several Palestinians suffering from the trauma of losing friends, family and their homes. According to Taher al Nunu, 5000 homes have been destroyed, and 20,000 homes are partially destroyed. He announced that Isreal has killed everything except the will of the people, and insulting Isrealis inability to stop their rockets. In contrast, Isreal triumph in Gaza has boosted the moral of the people, and President Shimon Peres boasting that his army has achieved both a military and moral victory, while visiting injured soldiers.His appointed Isreali officials aim to withdraw troops by the time Barack Obama is inaugurated so the new President can focus of the rebuilding of Gaza, and empowering a new Palestine leader, rather than pressuring Isreali troops to withdraw. The rebuilding of Gaza will be sped up with a visit from United Nations secrectary-general, Ban-Ki Moon to an Arab summit, where King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia pledged a $1 billion contribution to a $2 billion reconstruction fund that Palestinians are seeking to institute into the rebuilding process.



From this we can obviously believe who is in control in this War. Isreali's objectives when entering Gaza, was to end the rule of Hamas, but it is Hamas that is calling for a one-week cease-fire and is asking Isreali troops to leave Gaza in one week. Although I believe that the cease-fire is necessary to prevent any more casualties. The policticians should have to pay with their time, to work the problems between these parties out, so that innocent civilians do not have to suffer