Ontario files $50 billion tobacco suit

          $50 billion dollars, which is more than any single man on earth has under his possession, it is more than the annual GDP for over 85 countries, and also the amount the government of Ontario is suing tobacco companies for. This fee is issued for the purpose of paying back all the money that has been spent by various government run health centers, taking care of tobacco related illnesses. This value was determined by taking the amount of sales in the cigarette business in the province of Ontario and finding approximately 30% of this value. The government is trying to regain power over the market from the hands of the tobacco companies, and try and give back to the people who don't smoke by making them pay fewer taxes for the thing that kills their people. The triumph for the government is quite far away though. The cigarette companies are in the process of filing a counter statement, proving their innocence in the matter and to try and free themselves from this hefty fee. This unfortunately could take years to wind itself through the court system because of the large amount of money it is regarding, and the importance of the tobacco companies in the global market. One other province, British Columbia, and some areas of the United States have also started lawsuits against the tobacco companies. Smoking is the #1 preventable cause of death in the province killing about 36 people a day, and costing taxpayers over $1.6 billion annually. This would be a great breakthrough for the people of Ontario if it were to be passed.


             I feel that this action by the government is a wonderful step in the right direction for the people of Ontario, and a great example for the entire world. It was quite unfair that the many people in Canada that are nonsmokers had to pay for the obsessive nature of people they don't even know. Some people disagree with this fact, of these most are smokers, but in reality smoking is definitely unnecessary for two reasons, it kills and is highly addictive. This shows how harmful smoking can be and how crazy people can be for a cigarette. Another reason i think that this is a good decision is because the tobacco companies control the markets, and bring in a large amount of taxes to the government, and to show that the government wants to regain power is promising. They have seen enough people die and are deciding than the lives of their people are more important that the tax dollars. This sets a good example for the entire world and if they were also willing to follow and take action it would save millions of lives and millions of dollars. Imagine how much of a better place our world would be without smoking, but we must remember the key is baby steps.

Iran told to allow inspections

        Armed with ammunition in the form of a secret Iranian nuclear base, president of the Unites States, Barrack Obama and the leaders of Britain and France stated the Tehran nuclear center must reveal its ambitions. French president Nicolas Sarkozy said that the Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejadl, has until December to disclose full intentions of the facility, and sanction a search or more several action will be taken. Barrack Obama was quoted in saying "Iran is breaking the rules in which all nations must follow," in regards to this secret nuclear base. Obama is urging the International Atomic Energy Society to provide a thorough investigation of the facility, to find out what is really going on in this secretive base. A former white house employee said that Iran has kept this facility 100 miles southwest of Tehran and managed to keep it hidden from weapons inspections, but the USA has been informed of this for quite a while, and are only now taking action. President Obama is hoping that making this issue a global one will hopefully persuade more countries to oppose Iran if they fail to comply with the inspection, and foreclosure of the base. In regards to using force nothing has been confirmed yet, but many US combat generals feel that everything must be put on the table immediately. The Iranians have recently posted a plea that said they were just enriching Uranium for their many nuclear reactors throughout the country, but many fail to believe this statement. This is a very serious issue and should not be taken lightly.




       I feel that Iran is breaking many of the "codes of honor" that all nations have, by making this affair so secretive. They are making it seem that they do have nuclear weapons when they clearly don't. I think if they had nothing to hide then they wouldn't have kept this facility a secret and they would have issued it as a nuclear uranium plant. This would have avoided the conflict that is arising in the situation. I feel that the Iranians are hiding something because if they didn't have anything to hide they would have let the USA in right away to confirm that nothing was going on that shouldn't be. I believe that the Iranian don't want war but now that their secrets have been revealed I think that it what it will come to. Unfortunately this shows that the world is nowhere near the peace levels we all hope for and conflict will still be afoot.

Rising seas create first climate refugees

           When the sharks started showing up in her garden, Ursula Rakova knew her home and native island of Cartarat off the coast of Papua New Guniea were doomed. Her along with 1 700 other residents of the island are forced to find higher ground in an attempt to get away from the death grip of the rising ocean. Many people like Ursula are not taking this well, and feel very strongly that they have been sabotaged by the rest of the world, and are the first official "climate change refugees". The residents did all they can to stop the overwhelming rain that has come this past year by building several barricades and mangroves, but unfortunately the storms that came this past year were just too powerful. The island has recently started to develop a more modern outlook on architecture and style and had recently built many houses along the coastline. Every single one of the 100 houses were demolished in the several violent storms over the course of the year. "It is especially hard for the older people. Many of them are refusing to leave. We don't want to force them. None of us want to go. But the saltwater is spoiling our ability to grow food. So there is no choice," said Rakova. Many of the older citizens as well as the more educated of the younger population are questioning why this happened. Many believe it is the modern world, and climate change caused by global warming is to blame. They are blaming the industrial world for thier misfortunes, because they contribute little to global warming. This is the first alarming incident of global warming affecting our people.

              I feel that the people of this island do have a right to feel that they have been taken advantage of and have been written off by the industrial countries. Their way of life and home has been destroyed because of the acts of a small amount of people on our earth. The many people who have disregarded global warming as a non-serious issue, and have chosen not to change their ways, have essentially ruined the life of the people on this island. This is the first true warning of how serious climate change is and how we need to change it very soon, or more of us will end up like the people of this island, lost and without a home wondering why people didn't change their ways earlier. They must also feel so powerless because the people of this region have little technology that contributes to climate change, and therefore they had no partaking in the demise of their homes and their current lives. I feel that these people have a good reason to be angry and should vocalize their thoughts to the entire world to show how much trouble we are all in.

Toronto's first balck police chief?

                His supporters, and there are lots of them, say that he is destined to become the Toronto police forces first chief of African American heritage. Although many oppose, Peter Sloly is a strong candidate to become the new police chief of the Toronto police force. This week with a mere 21 years in the police force will be assuming one of the four roles of deputy chief, which is only one rung below the chief Bill Blair. At 43 years old Peter is believed to be one of the youngest police officers in the country’s history to achieve such a high rank, and honor but also a burden for someone with 21 years of experience, which is considered a small amount of time in this industry. He has achieved the rank of someone who has been part of the force for 40 to 50 years. The chairman of the police board says that he does not usually condone such fast moves through the ranks, especially for someone as young as Sloly, but he believes in this case Sloly has been so successful he believes he will one day become chief. Sloly was slightly humorous about the matter but still retained the serious nature of the situation by saying ""Well, for one, I think I'm only a couple of years younger than the most powerful man in the free world," Sloly said recently of U.S. President Barack Obama, who is 48. "If you're required to be in a place for a certain amount of time, I guess I don't hit that benchmark. If it's about experiences, and adding value to help build the police service into the best it can be, then I think I hit that benchmark." Everyone in the force has high hopes for Sloly and he is expecting one day to become chief.




           I believe this amazing man is a step in the right direction for the both the police force and equality. When people think of a police officer, the automatic stereotype that comes to mind is a middle aged white man, not someone of African American heritage. To see someone of African American heritage be able to do so well, in a job that is usually controlled by the white population, is a positive look at equality in our future. It is also a step in the right direction for the police force. There have been prior thoughts that the police force in Toronto was slightly racist towards anyone other than the typical white male, and to see them start to make promotions not based on race, but their ability to do the job better in quite refreshing. We the people could not be expected to act without prejudice if the people who govern us and enforce rules are prejudice. That would be extremely hypocritical. I feel that this is a large step in the right direction for equality in Canada, and I hope the best for Peter.

College sold fake diplomas

         $480 and a couple of hours watching sub-par instructional DVD's is all you need to be registered to work with society's most vulnerable people, either as a nurse, doctor, and private care service worker. This is the case at the North York academy. Star reporter Diana Zlomislic uncovered this scam after interviewing several graduates of the so called "academy", on a project in which she was investigation several colleges in Ontairo. Students who attended this school were not taught how to do the job they were interested in but rather a 15 hour crash course of how to fake a resumé, fake porfessional references and lie your way through a job interview. This is quite frightening when you consider that this college covered fields ranging from health care to operating heavy machinery. Imagine someone with only 15 hours of mediocre experience could be operating a crane building the hospital you are registered to. This is far under the needed 490 hours to be resgistered legally in these jobs. Many projects over the years have been created to stop the rogue college industries, making the consiquences steep, but unfortunately the threat was not enough. One student who attended the school was quoted in saying " It is hard with English being my second language, there is a lot of termination." She means terminology, highlighting the lack of education that the students get in this fraud. Authorities and the Union for colleges are working to get to the base of the issue and see how many people have been scammed. The Owner/dean of the school was arrested for fraud. The school is now being transformed into a proper educational facility, under new ownership.

             In my opinion this scam is just disgraceful to colleges all over the world, the students who wanted to get a proper education, and to the province of Ontario. This act of fraud shows just how low people in this world are. I am disgusted with this discovery for two reasons. The first being because the dean of the school has no respect for anyone but himself. He showed that he didn't care for the people attending the school, who were looking for a good education, and the people who's lives could be in jepoardy because of the lack of education from the workers passing through the school, by making this school. He didn't care that he broke the promise he made to the students about providing them with a good education and more importantly, an oppurtunity to become successful. By letting people graduate people in fields such as operating heavy machinery, and health care, he was ultimately putting innocent people lives at stake. I also don't have any respect for the people who attended the school, and went on to get jobs under false pretenses. They must have known that they weren't getting jobs from their hard work, which shows they had no respect for people who work hard to get jobs. I believe in this situation no one benefited, and they should be ashamed for thier actions.

Armed man arrested at Burlington school.

            September 15th, 2009 was a very frightening and eye opening day for the students and staff of a Burlington public school. The Halton Board of Education was forced to close down Brant Hills Public school, that has students ranging from kindegarten to the 8th grade, after a mysterious man with an loaded shot-gun was found lurking around the school at 2 A.M. The man was arrested shortly after he exited the school out of the main entrance just after 2:30 A.M. The police immediately took the man into custody and proceeded into the school to conduct a thorough search of the building and its surrounding areas. They are still in the process of searching through the school in an attempt to find anything dangerous or helpful for the investigation process. The police were first notified of the situation when they recieved a notice from the school security company that the alarm for the school has been set. There was also a lone security guard who discovered a broken window, which was the point of entrance for the strange man, and he saw a man with what looked like a weapon  running throuhg the schools hallways. Chief police man was quoted in saying "he did a good job, confirming that no one else was in the buliding", in regards to the security guard. The man was caught after a short foot race that took place after the police confronted him and he failed to reply. He luckily didn't fire a shot from his loaded shotgun, and no one was hurt. The police believe he was scouring the school for things such as laptops, computers, and any other valubales. They have not yet released the identity of this man due to several legal reasons. This day will be rembered every day by the students and staff of this school, and they will remember this world isn' at safe as they once thought.

               I feel that this story is important to this class and my age group for a number of reasons. The first being that most students think of a school as a safe haven, but we all need to realize that in our society today their is danger eveywhere and we must be aware. We students need to realize that not everyone in the world thinks like us. Some people might stoop down to a level as low and shooting an innocent student so they can steal a computer. I also feel that this article is important because it stesses the importance for added security around schools, not only in this area but everywhere in the country. When you think about the facts the #1 source of child obductions and child abuse related crimes, happen within 200 meters of their school. With the modern age emerging in the school systems there will be more valuable things located in a school, such as computers and smartboards, making it a more worthwhile target for thieves. The final reason I believe this article is important is because it also shows the flaws in the ownership of a firearm situation. Men like this should never be able to own a gun, and this situation should be taken into consideration. Overall, i think this was a very eye-opening article and shows us how dangerous a serine place like a school could be.

            Dylan Hussey