B.C boy found!

Original story

Sam Cooper, Postmedia News: Tuesday, May 31, 2011

 

Reflection:

Valor Health Howell will finally re-united with his father after seven long years of separation. Valor was taken by his mother and they ran away his parents had joint custody.Valor and his mother  were finally located in a town called Chandler which is just 20 kilometers southeast of Phoenix, Arizona. Garrett Taylor the father of Valor had last seen his son Dec 1 2004, even though Valor has been missing for eight years his family never gave up hope and always left messages on his Facebook page. Although parental-kidnapping is a non-extradible offence the U.S police is working things out with the RCMP and they are trying to get the necessary paper work done so they can get the fugitive mother and Valor back to Canada. 

I believe that even though it has been seven long years Valor and his father will move on and the transition wont be that difficult, since the have the Facebook page " help find Valor" that is proof of how much they cared about him and how much they wanted him in their life and Valor might be able to better understand it since he is 17 years old and is now a adult. Also now it wont be just him and his mother on the road, he now has his entire family with him in Kamloops and they will be a family once more, and it isn't many times you hear happy endings like this so Valor is very fortunate, and he also has his big sister to look out for him now.

MAP

                                                    " photo by Google"

Psychiatric assessment for molestor!

Original story

By Sheila Reynolds - Surrey North Delta Leader
Published: May 18, 2011 3:00 PM
Updated: May 18, 2011 3:59 PM

 

Reflections:

 

kyle Berkson,36, last February was convicted for breaking into a child's bedroom and molesting her, and a psychiatric assessment has been ordered to to see if he should be mark down as either a dangerous or long term offender. The crwon requested for Berkson to be tested and it was granted this Wednesday and in Canada if you are determined as a dangerous offender you indefinitely get a prison sentence and if you are deemed as a long term offecdor you can receive prison time up to 10 years in jail. Berkson's criminal record dates all the way back to 1988 and that includes a sexual interference in 1995 which involved a five-year-old boy. Berkson's new victim is now 10 years old and testified in January and there was a man on top of her who molested her, licked her and tried to get her to perform oral sex, and she also testified that he sounded and looked a lot like Berkson, and Berkson was also a family friend who had been to their house before.

The common way these assaults happen is that the assaulters first befriend the children's parents. Many of the cases that are coming up these days have a common way of happening, the convicted already knows the family and either has been in their home or know them pretty well. This isn't the first time that Berkson's done something like this so a proper punishment should serve sometime in jail and away from society with some medical attention to help him get better. The parents of children should also beware of who they are befriending and watch out for suspicious activity if they are too attached to your child or getting to close to your child then they are supposed to, becasue that is how it all starts the first job of these molestors is to befriend the parents and then move to their children.

MAP

Over 1700 Taliban Give up arms

Original Story

Agence-France-Presse May 20, 2011

 

Reflection:

 

On thursday it was announced that more than 1700 talibans have given up arms and joined the reintegration program, a program started by NATO a year ago. British Major General Phil Johns, is  the director of the Force Reintegration Cell of the International Security Assistance Force said that a total number 1740 former taliban have joined the reintegration and the peace council is in negotiation with 40 to 45 more groups across the country. This program helps taliban members break from the path of violence, break all ties and live peacely under the Afghan constitution. The Afghan revolt is mostly composed of Taliban men, and the total number is around 25,000 men. The members that have put down their arms usually join the program with their Taliban chief and these are life changing decisions to give up the life of violence, and hatred and start a new peaceful life. The program is financed by the international community  coming to a toal of $141 million with $58 million coming from the United States of America, and in 2012 the U.S. plans to contribute $12 billion to build the Afghan army. When asked that if the death of Osama Bin Laden have anything to do with people putting down their arms and they arent sure that his death had that big of an impact on people joining the program.

 

I believe that the U.S is not building a army for Afghanistan but a U.S. unit in the east. The United States are helping build this country from the bottom up and they wont expect anything ni return? They will come to collect and they will collect big, Afghanistan will turn in to a nation under the United States, U.S will become the mother country of Afghanistan now they are trying to build it from scratch again and turn it into a peaceful country.

 

MAP

 

                                                          "photo courtesy of Google"

 

Olympic Village sales rising

Original Story

NEAL HALL, VANCOUVER SUN: Thursday, May 19, 2011

 

Reflection:

 

The financial health of the Olympic Village is improving as of Monday the occupany is 60 percent and has also determined that by July 31 the occupancy level will rise to 70 percent. It is also reported that 124 units have been sold at a price of $84 million dollars. In March when the condos went up for sale again they sold roughly 100 out of the 700 they had, but they had to reduce the price by 30 percent, there were alot of complaint of defiency's, people were getting less then they had been promised and there are lawsuits in progress against the city. While there are many cases in progress the reports stated that the Village's defiencies have been resolve as of May 5. There were big problems with the condo's as there water system had problems and other things such as major appliances were missing.

 

I believe that the city is just trying to get rid of this as soon as possible. They have realized they arent going to make as much money they had thought and there might not be a profit at all. Since you would think that people would he heads over heels to live in an apartment in which an olympian had stayed in and actually live there, its like buying a house that was previously owned by a celebrity.  The thing that the city is most worried about is returning the $740 million dollars it owes the taxpayers. The current number of people suing are 60 condo owners and how i would solve this problem is just fix the problems they have with their apartments whether its the water system or there roof is leaking you are going to make more money selling the condo and giing them a proper working water system is implied, nobody takes a shower when checking out the house.

 

MAP

 

                                                     " photo courtesy of Google"

 

Racial profiling by Montreal police!

Original Story

Anne Sutherland, Postmedia News: Thursday, May 19, 2011 1:02 PM

Reflection:

Marcus Gordon filed a complaint with the Quebec Human Rights Commission (QHRC) claiming he was singled out as a gang member because of his racial profiling. Gordon happened to take a video of the incident and in this video you can see the cop cars that have decals of anti gang squad and Gordon 27 with his girlfriend was returning from a memorial concert in Montreal. Gordon claims to be targeted because of being black, having dreadlocks, baggy jeans and wearing a baseball cap, there was a shooting two blocks away from Gordon's house that still is unsloved and the police are still investigating Gordon also claims that people behind were jaywalking and didnt receive a ticket. The Montreal police denies racial profiling becuase they say that the officer handed out a total of five tickets two to black men and two to white men also one to Gordon's girlfriend who happens to be white.

This is just another incident in which the police have been found to abuse their power. The truth is still not known of what happened that night but if you look around Canada there are a lot of incidents occuring in which the law enforcement in known to be abusing their power. The media might be adding a couple of thing and rephrasing to make the story more juicy and more appealing to the readers. On the other hands Gordon must have written a complaint because some words were exchanged or expressions between Gordon and the officers. So I believe that there was something that the officers did and they may have been racial profiling, but like all the other dozen times they will get away with it.

MAPS

                                                              " photo courtesy of Google"

Surrey man related with 15 sex offences!

Original Story

By Kevin Diakiw - Surrey North Delta Leader
Published: May 17, 2011 10:00 AM
Updated: May 17, 2011 11:47 AM

46 year old James Cardno was areested for connections with 15 sex offences, with 6 of them being under 16 has been released and now is in the Fraser Heights area. Cardno was charges with 8 offences in March, but more people came forward after that, it is believed that he commited the offences by King George Boulevard and 96 Avenue in the Fraser Heights area.The charges that have been laid on him inlcude two counts of sexual interference, sexual exploitation, and one count of sexual touching and also have been charged with making and possessing child pornography. The police do have pictures of him being in contact with others but they havent been identified and it is believed that Cardno would check out the children by first making friends with their parents, his next appearence in court will be on June 9 2011, until then he resides in Fraser Heights and the mounties are asking the publice to come forth with any info they have or if there children were approached.

I believe that it isnt a good idea to keep him Fraser Heights, it isnt secure for the residents of that area or him. To place him in an area where he has been charged of commiting a crime puts the publics and his security at risk. Many people do thing when they are overcome with rage and they may do something that they regret such as taking the law in their own hands because none of accusations have been proven in court so many may be upset because of that.

Donald Trump not running for presidency !

Original Story

By Sheldon Alberts, Postmedia News May 16, 2011 5:44 PM

 

Reflection:

 

Donald Trump the multimillionaire was just messing with Americans. On Monday May 16 2011 Donald Trump declared that he will not run for office in 2012. But his confidence still remains Trump claims that if he had run for office he would have won but has decided not to, this news wasnt broadcasted it was just a written letter to the Republic party saying he will not run. Trump got alot of attention when he questioned whether Obama had a valid birth certificate proving he was born in America, Obama replied with a long letter copy with a copy of his birth cetificate and after event Trump's popularity fell 26% down to 8%. There are also many that say this was just a way to get his NBC show The Apprentice some publicity since there is a season finale on May 22. The Apprentice is a long series running show and Trump is looking to renew the series with NBC. Political Science professors say the biggest trick that he had up his sleeve was the "birther" card which Obama triumphed over and now has lost poularity, and never really had any intention of running it was just a stunt to gain popularity for his show and it may have showed he had any interest if he talked about things that actually mattered. Now with Trump gone the republicans are now looking for a strong candidate for the presidential bid.

 

I seem to agree that Trump never took running for presidency serious. I didnt see his involvement in bringing forth topics that are important, and taking that "cheap" shot at Obama by questioning his citizenship. If that card had worked Trump would still be running for presidency but Obama was the one who had the last laugh and following Obama's reply Trump fell in the standings and now is backing out. But Trump claims if he was still running he would have won and Trump has never been wrong about ANYTHING. So as Trump has backed out of presidency bid the republics are looking for a strong contendor.

 

MAP of Washington

 

                                                               "courtesy of Google"

 

 

 

Slave Lake lost to fire!

Original Story

 By Mariam Ibrahim, Postmedia News May 16, 2011 4:55 PM

Reflection:

One third of Slave Lake was lost to a wildfire on Monday. The mayor has stated half of the buidling and homes in Slave Lake are destroyed, also destroyed in the fire was the town hall and library but the hospital school and RCMP detachment is the only things that remain. The managing director of Alberta's emergency management said that there are no reports of injuries or anything and that 95% of Slave Lake hs been evacuated, and now the focus is for the firefighters to suppress this fire. Firefighters from other cities like Calgary and Edmonton are coming to help there are 125 firefighters right now and another 100 are on there way. As of Monday there were 115 wildfires all over the province and 36 of those wild fires are declared out of control included those areound Loon Lake and Fort McMurry. The province has a total of 900 firefighters 20 tankers and around a hundred helicoptors and on Monday 120 are coming from British Columbia to assist and more on Tuesday from Ontario,  it was also reported that a 25,000 plus hectare wildfire is out of control in Richardson Backcountry and is burning across the Athabasca river. The evacuation sites have been set near neighbouring towns and the sites go bakc as far as Edmonton.

Everybody getting together to help those they dont even know shows the unity of this country. I believe that in all this destruction you see the manpower of this country a town which has the population of 7000 is being assisted by the entire country. This town wouldnt even be in the top ten populated towns in Canada but still people from everywhere are coming together to help maybe this is why we all come to Canada. This is the unity and strength that others country's dont have and this is what makes Canada great. So this is a great example of how good we have it here in Canada where everybody is ready to help another without anything in return.

MAP

                                                           " Courtesy of Google"

Canucks come back to win game 1! GO! CANUCKS GO!

Original Story

Ben Kuzma, Postmedia News: Monday, May 16, 2011

Reflection:

Everybody was holding their breaths and were in anticipation of Sunday when the NHl Western Conference finals would begin between two hot clubs the San Jose Sharks and the Vancouver Canucks. The Vancouver Canucks finally getting past the second round, defeating the reigning champs and now  were in the final four for the first time in 17 years, seems like a successful post season but it isnt successful till they bring home the cup. The Canucks were favourites coming into the playoffs and may as well still be the best but San Jhose being here the previous year  have experience that may give them the edge some say. That didnt seem to be the case on Sunday in Rogers Arena where the Canucks came back to beat the Sharks 3-2.  Roberto Luongo gave Joe Thornton an early welcome-to-Vancouver present when he came out to play the puck and accidently gave it up to Joe Thornton who put it into the yawning cage. Each team might have had their strategies but the Canucks was to tap into Christian Ehrhoffs brain and learn what ever they could about the Sharks and it was helpful as Ehrhoff dished out the winning goal to Henrik Sedin as it gave the Canucks a 3-2 lead in the third which held up and gave the Canucks a 1-0 series lead and they are now 3 wins away from a stanley cup final. After the Sharks took the lead again in the second it was sort of a warning for the Canucks that they need to attack and attack and that is exactly what they did they even got their mobile defence involved which enabled Kevin Bieksa to score the goal that tied the game at 2-2 and allowed the Canucks to take the lead in the third. There were other stars through out the match like Kesler, Raymond,Higgins,Edler who tried to put it pass Niemi but couldnt solve him and ended up knocking on his pads.

This is a historic year for the city of Vancouver because for the first time in 17 years the Canucks have reached the western cup final the last time they were to do that was in 1994 when they went onto the stanley cup final. This is the Canucks 40th year and have not obtained Lord Stanley and this year are the favourites to win the cup and they have done everything to prove they deserve it. They have beaten last years champ's, gotten past the second round which is usually their downfall and not to mention their dominance in the regular season, they were first in goals scored,against, had over 50 wins, broke club record of most points, president trophy winners, and also had the best powerplay. So personally I would I like to see the Canucks win the cup, a team that has worked hard the entire team to get to this point and are continually working hard deserves the cup and I hope I get to see them win it.

MAP

                                            " courtesy of google"

Surrey man charged with 2008 double murder

Original story

Published: May 13, 2011 2:00 PM
Updated: May 16, 2011 7:15 AM

Reflections:

 

Jack Douglas Woodruff has been charged with two counts of murder, he is being charged with two counts in accordance with 2008 murder of Lisa Dudley and Guthrie Mckay. Woodruff first appeared in court in Abbottsford in on Friday afternoon and will appear next monday by video he is being charged with two accounts of first degree murder. After 31 months of investigation the IHIT caught Woodruff and revelaed some details like how he knew the couples but the one one thing they didnt verify was that if the murder was targeted or not. Dudley and McKay were found on Sept 22 2008 in a rural home on 31000 block GreenWood drive by a neighbor four days after a 911 call concerning six shots being fired, McKay died on the scene while Dudley passed on on the way to the hospital. Cpl. Mike White was docked one days pay after he failed to properly investigate the shooting, he showed up to the scene and lefft after 10 minutes without properly invvestigating the scene. Woodruff has been known to the police and his criminal past dates back to 1997.

 

This murder most likely looks like a targeted . Woodruff knew the couple and knew them well, so you can rule it out that he randomly saw them or didnt knew who they were. This conflict affects Canadian because Canadians will have to re evaluate their relationships with many of the closest people in their lifes. Woodruff was a friend and both the parties really knew each other well so the question comes up again how well do you know your friends? Their might be some feelings they might be hiding from you that you do not know or maybe unaware of, and if their is something dont leave it so it will resolve itself, resolve it yourself and as soon as possible.

 

MAP of 31000 greenwood drive

 

                                                          " courtesy of google"

 

Search for a Surrey Runaway in Nanaimo

original story
By: Chris Bush

Reflections:

Len and Solimar Di Vincenzo havent seen their son for sevelar days. Their sone Scott 13, ran away from home with a female friend after he was grounded for a little bit of trouble, Scott got on a ferry to Nanaimo but they were caught by the mounties at the departure bay of the terminal. On Sunday when his friends's parents came to pick him up and stopped at the Tim Horton he jumped out of the car and hasnt been heard of since. The police are doing their best, but at this point nothing has come up, Scott's parents brother,sister and more family arriving Tuesday and will continue to search for him. The parents have confirmed that he has never run off before and this is the first time he has left and they dont know where he is going, the only things in Scott's possession are the clothes on his back a little cash and a bank card in which the parents have deposited some cash so he can buy food.

I believe there is a side of the story that we do not know yet, why would a boy who has never left home without telling his parents run away and when being brought back run away again. So there is something that the parents arent telling us, maybe he was grounded but because of a bigger issue and not for some "minor trouble" like the parents claim.

Turcotte Sings and stabs his children

Original Story
by: Sue Montgomery, PostMedia News
May 12 2011 12:02 PM

Reflections:

Doctor Turcotte shared his story of the night that has will continue to torture him forever. In front of a hushed courtroom on Thursday he commited the murder of his two children after finding out that his wife had moved on after their seperation and was in love with someone else. On Feb 20 2009 Turcotte had taken his kids to his rented house fed them, played with them,  watched TV, and then sang songs with them as he put them to sleep, then he saw the email exchange between his wife and her lover Martin Huot and he was hurt because "i'd never  been loved that way and it hurt." After reading that e-mail turcotte spent many hours surfing the web on how to kill himself when found not toxics in the house he decided to stab himself in the heart and began to sharpen a knife, but realized his wife, a doctor in the emergency room told him stabbing yourself in the heart doesnt always work. Turcotte described how he killed his two children Oliver and Anne-Sophie and when Oliver cried he would stab him more becuase he saw him in pain and the same thing happpened with Anne-Sophie, after hearing the whole story and reconted over and over Gaston left the courtroom and collapsed outside in tears.

There are many cases of manslaughter and events where the anger and sedness is being expressed towards the wrong person. He was sad because his wife left him and he was probably angry with hinself that he couldnt have loved her more or been a better husband so in the end he wanted to upset her and punish himself so that is why he first decided to kill himself, but in the end killing his children which brought pain to his wife and it also brought pain to him, but he didnt realize was that his children had nothing to do with this they were bystanders that got caught up in this and they ended up losing their lives when they were only 5,and 3 and hadnt lived at all and had their entire life before them.

Map of St Jerome

Chirsty Clark has a narrow win in byelection

Original story
By: Tom Fletcher-BC local news
published: May 11 2011, 9:00 PM

Reflections:

Christy Clark squeaked by NDP David Eby for the victory in the byelection. It was a close finish for both rivals, but the final score was Clark 7,371 and Eby 6,776 and took the seat that previously belonged to premier Gordon Campbell. Clark was ahead of Eby in the beginning, but later Eby slightly took the lead but then we were a third of the way done Clark was leading by a single vote. It has been over three decades since a goverment candidate won in a B.C byelection, but the results will be official only on May 18, for those that dont know Christy Clark was elected premier of B.C after previous premier Gordon Campbell resigned, to received thsi prestigious honor she had to over come tough obstacles such as Steven Falcon, and Abott. David Eby is a lawyer known to be a advocate for anti-police protestors for the Vancouver and it was because of his role in the anti-olympic demonstration that he came to the point-grey Vancouver constituents to run in the byelection.

Christy Clark is now the official premier of B.C and I know that she will do a terrific job and try to restore some of the damage that Gordon Campbell has inflicted upon this province. Some example maybe the long term promises he didnt commit to and the debt that has brought upon this province.

Map of point grey vancouver

Search for a Surrey Runaway in Nanaimo

original story
By: Chris Bush

Reflections:

Len and Solimar Di Vincenzo havent seen their son for sevelar days. Their sone Scott 13, ran away from home with a female friend after he was grounded for a little bit of trouble, Scott got on a ferry to Nanaimo but they were caught by the mounties at the departure bay of the terminal. On Sunday when his friends's parents came to pick him up and stopped at the Tim Horton he jumped out of the car and hasnt been heard of since. The police are doing their best, but at this point nothing has come up, Scott's parents brother,sister and more family arriving Tuesday and will continue to search for him. The parents have confirmed that he has never run off before and this is the first time he has left and they dont know where he is going, the only things in Scott's possession are the clothes on his back a little cash and a bank card in which the parents have deposited some cash so he can buy food.

I believe there is a side of the story that we do not know yet, why would a boy who has never left home without telling his parents run away and when being brought back run away again. So there is something that the parents arent telling us, maybe he was grounded but because of a bigger issue and not for some "minor trouble" like the parents claim.

Map of Nanaimo

Al-Qaida confirms death of Bin Laden

original story
By: Steven Edwards


Reflection:

On Friday the terrorist group Al-Qaeda released a video confirming that the United States did in fact kill Osama bin Laden, but in the video also stated they will continue on the path of Jihad and continue their mission. In the message there was some self doubt because they said they will take down USA or "die trying." This message couldn't have come at a better time because there are doubts that Bin Laden might not be dead and the White House was trying to find ways to prove his death.  Another shocking statement in the message was that Osama was a normal human and not a prophet to downplay his significance. Al-Qaeda hopes that all Muslim's would rise against USA and continue to say that the organization that Bin Laden built is strong enough to continue without him and was prepared to run after his death.

I personally believe that this message was a way for Al-Qaeda to reassure them self then more of a threat. They may be trying to build confidence in their own organization. There were many phrases in the message that sounded like they have self doubt and that they are actually weakened. So I believe that USA has in fact won this war because what is a army without its general, but on the other side the organization might resort to desperate attempts to hurt the USA to avenge their leaders death, so the USA should not let down its guard.

 MAP!!

State of emergency in Brandon, Manitoba

original story
By Brandon Sun

Reflection:

The city council of Brandon declared state of emergency to help fight the flooding of the Assiniboine River.  The state of emergency actually allows the government to remove sightseers and now they are trying to increase the size of the earth dikes. This will also make it easier to evacuate the city if needed, at the meeting they also were concerned about shutting some streets down because they might be unsafe to travel on, the premier of Manitoba has flown down to Brandon to meet with the mayor and will discuss the resources the province has and will use to aid the town of Brandon.

This affects us Canadians very much because this situation might get worse and may cause more harm before it is controlled. This flood might spread to other cities so they should use every resource possible to control this disaster and make proper adjustments to make sure that this does not happen. My brother is visiting a friend in Winnipeg so I hope everything goes okay for him and returns safely, just knowing he is around there is pretty scary for me and knowing that he will have to travel past Brandon on his way back.

MAPS!!

original story
By: Randy Shore

Reflection:

The Simon Fraser University plans to use wood construction waste to power heat and water facilities for its Burnaby campus. The provincial government has provided 4.7 million dollar for this joint venture between SFU, and Corix utilities they are a green energy company that will we responsible and maintain the facilities. This is a great step forward in my opinion because it will reduce SFU's green house emissions by 11,000 tonnes a year stated by premier Christy Clark during the announcement. The plant will turn urban wood waste in to fuel that will generate electricity and thermal heat and will be used to heat the entire campus, the system will generate 36 megawatts of thermal energy and 2 megawatts of electric energy. This utility will provide clean, affordable and reliable heat and hot water to all new buildings to be constructed by UniverCity residential community on Burnaby mountain. The new system will reduce emissions by 60% and UBC also announced a wood waste gasification system the Provincial government provided $5.5 million for the UBC project and the federal government contributed $10.2 million.

Our country is moving forward. This is the very proof of it, we know that we cannot rely on fossil fuels forever and we are making the necessary changes and we are moving forward. You are trying to make a difference and you ask yourself where do you start? In this case you are starting with the generation of tomorrow, setting this system up in universities and showing the students that we have to innovate and change for the better. By doing this SFU has taken a step further and I hope that other universities will follow the example set by SFU and we all work together to make this world a better place, and we started to do that by using our waste to power tomorrow and creating hybrid vehicle and we will continue to move further and I am so relieved that we are  preparing ourselves for tomorrow by using Eco friendly tools and preparing for the day when we wont any fuel left and what we will do them?

                                                        "photo by google"

MAP!!!

Teen Killer Stands Trial !

original story
By: Sheila Reynolds

Reflection:

Steven Brandon Mulligan is standing trial in connection with an alleged murder of an 17-year-old boy last summer. Adem Aliu was the name of the teen who as killed early in the morning of April 14 2010 on 103 and 141 street. Residents that lived by said they heard sounds of raising voices followed by the sounds of running and then gunfire.Within 15 hours of the shooting Mulligan was charged with second degree murder, Mulligan is known to the police and has a gang lifestyle. Aliu is an Albanian immigrant and isn't known to the police and does not have a criminal record. Police believe he was out with his friends slashing tires and kicking cars before they came face to face with Mulligan and the murder trial was ordered after a preliminary hearing at Surrey provincial court that concluded on April 19 and now the case will continue in the supreme court of B.C  and a date will be set May 19.


I believe that the media doesn't take sides. This article is a very good demonstration of that they explained both sides of the story telling that Mulligan is accused of murder but also explaining that Adem and his friends were out late and up to no good not saying that killing him justifies it, but if you think about it if your out 1 or 3 in the morning hanging out with your friends you not reading the bible you are up to something and this comes back to the parents, don't let your kids out to late. Have a certain timetable when its dinner, chores, so there is discipline and a bedtime so this is one of those things that Adem's parents learned the hard way and lets hope no other parent has to.

                                                                          "photo by google"

MAP!!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY QUEEN ELIZABETH!!!

original story
By:  French press agency

Queen Elizabeth II celebrated her 85th birthday by visiting the London Westminister Abbey in a rehearsal for her grandson William's wedding. She attended the Royal Maundy service where she gave silver coins to the elderly. The easter ceremony was a good rehearsal for the wedding in eight days, everyone gave their equipment a test run and everything went well. The Maundy coin reflects a tradition that dates back to the 12th century when the king would give money to the needy at Easter time. As the queen left the abbey there were crowds of people with signs saying "HAPPY BIRTHDAY" and children were holding union flags. Each recipient got two bags one containing the coins and a red bag that had a five pound coin commemorating prince Philips 90th birthday and also a 50 pence coin commemorating the 2012 Olympics.  The queen has two birthdays her actual birthday and her official birthday in June when the weather is deemed more favorable for outdoor activities.

I believe that this is an important event and we in Canada should celebrate it. We are a commonwealth and Britain was our mother country and the queen was the one to sign the document that patriated our country and that she is part of the royal family.

westminister Abbey Beside London

Canadian newcomers should not vote tories !!!

original story
By: Carmen Chai

Reflections:
Dozens of lawyers and academics all over Canada are saying that new Canadians should not vote for for tories.  The parties policies are "unfriendly" toward the immigrant community.  In a statement signed by 40 of the countries leading lawyers. They say that newcomers to Canada should not believe Conservative immigration minister Jason Kenney, it is said that he is manipulating the statistics to show that the conservatives are doing a good job.  The parties policies concerning immigration isn't friendly to new Canadians and they have used immigrant issues to secure anti-immigrant votes.  Mr. Kenney has fought hard to secure votes from the ethnic groups by telling them that they will welcome new Canadians quickly but the truth is far from this.  The group of lawyers say that since the tories took power the processing time for visa's has increased and also the funding for immigration has decreased. So if you believe in the reunification of family and spouses meeting spouses and children getting to see their grandparents then you should not vote for the Conservative party and this statement is backed up by the professors at the university of McGill and and toronto and many of Canada's top lawyers.

I believe this is true that the conservative are against immigration. Jason Kenney has manipulated the statistics as I was watching the news other party members say that what Jason Kenney is saying is untrue and if you add up everything the process actually takes up around 12 years and that is the true and the number of immigrants coming into this country has decreased rather then increased like the conservatives  claim. So I believe that those who are looking forward to bringing family to Canada they should vote for Liberals because they are focusing on educations and immigration.

map of South Bc where Minister Jason Kenney payed a visit

Alleged Vancouver crime boss trial ends abruptly

original story
The Canadian press

Reflection:

So two years after the police makes high level arrest the leader of the Sanghera crime group and one of its associate are freed. The crown was putting charges against the purported leader of the Sanghera crime group, which the police blamed for most of the gun fire and shootings in the lower mainland in 2009 it is determined that the Sanghera crime group was involved in 20 shootings through out the lower mainland.The men were faced with firearm charges and shortly after their arrest in February 2009 another five associates were arrested including Sanghera's sons. That was a year before the Olympics and was considered a huge achievement in cleaning up the city. So Udham Sanghera and Gordan Taylor were released from the North Fraser Pretrial Center five weeks after the trial in the supreme court. The men have been released but Const. Lindsey Houghton stated that the door is open in respect to new and other charges, and the police have stated they can link up to a 100 shootings with the Sanghera group.

I believe that the two men should have not been released. They can be detained for more than charge. Certainly they have committed more than crime and the police just has to look hard. Also you have to file the charges and the crown should seek time from the accused and payment and stuff like community hours just straight up jail time. With jail time the leader stays off the streets and there will be less shootings and violence since there is no one there to direct them.

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Surrey Students treated like 'second class citizens'

original story
Sheila Reynolds

Reflections:

The Surrey board of education is asking for a one time $ 2 million grant from the government for the CommunityLINK program. Local school board has said the the government has refused to change its funding formula and left many kids shortchanged. For many that don't know the CommunityLINK program helps pay for things like meals for low-income students counseling for at-risk children and youth, and community schools partnerships that run after-school programs and etc. The school board is the largest in B.C it has about 12% of the public schools in the province and receives only a small amount compared to other districts.A good example of that would be the Vancouver district which gets about $8.7 million annually and Surrey gets about $3.7 million and Victoria gets about the same while Victoria is smaller.They say that $400,000 dollars will have to be taken out of the general operating budget to supply the meal program alone.Laurae McNally the chairperson of the board says the government should be ashamed of itself for not upholding its promise and making families a priority. So the board thinks its fair to ask for a one time grant of $2 million dollars.
Do you?

I believe that the board should get this one time grant. Since they have been given less money in the past meaning more money was used in another area that didnt require that much money means there is some left over there are savings. If you can run an area that cost around 8 million with 3 million there has to be some saving and those savings add up. So I believe that it is time that the government gives back to the people and this money will go to the unfortunate and really will help kids and the money would be used on education which the Liberal party believes is very important its in their platform so they should give extra money.

                                                               "photo by google"


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Gunfire for Syrian protestors!

Original story
By Garrett Therolf, Los Angeles Times April 8, 2011

Reflections: 
Syrian president has fired his cabinet members and and governors and promised citizenship for the minority but that is not enough. The Syrian people want the president to step down. The prime ministers political tactics have failed and tens of thousand fill the streets to protest against him. Also for the first time a large group of people protested on Friday in Aleppo the nations second largest city. In the city of Dara armed forces have killed 22 and wounded hundreds and as described by a human rights lawyer "its another bloody day in Syria".State run media say there was violence in Dara but blamed it on the vandals, the activist estimate more than 130 dead people while the Syrian officials say the death toll is no more than 30. 


I personally feel that the easiest way to resolve this issue is for Assad to step down. He came in power trying to improve the economy of Syria and that has not gone too well. He has tried no one is to say that he didn't but he has failed and now should let someone else try. Also under Assad rule there has been no political freedom.


This affects us Canadians by showing us how lucky we are. They cannot express their political freedom and here in Canada we take it for granted, also the fact that this situation doesn't worse and become the same as the one in Libya. Everyone should try to end this quickly and make sure no more blood is being spilt.


I don't believe our media seems to faovour anyone. They are showing what Assad tried to do and it was a good idea but he had failed and now is causing useless bloodshed. The states  facts like what the people want and what the government isn't giving. our media gives us the whole picture.

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Ex-Senator Spent $32,000 While Waiting For Sentence For Fraud!

Canada.com link to story
By: Althia Raj

Reflections:

Ex-senator Raymond Lavigne charged taxpayers $32 391 in expenses in the three months before an Ontario Supreme court found him guilty of fraud and breach of trust. Lavigne a former liberal who was turfed from the party caucus in Ottawa, retired from office last month before his colleagues would and strip him of his salary and pension. Documents that were released on Friday showed that Lavigne spent $20 281 on staff, $983.74 on hospitality, $6,565.28 on living expenses while in Ottawa and $4 560.91 on travel between Dec 1 2010 and Feb 28 2011 this was less than two weeks before the court had found him guilty. Lavigne is a Montreal area senator and he was convicted for defrauding the government of $10 120.50 in traveling claims and also breach of trust by misusing his office by telling a staff to cut trees on his property. But that isn't all he also spent $315 355 in senate expenses on top of his $132,000 pay cheque despite he not having any participation since 2007. The outrageous part is he will continue to receive his $79 000 pension but he will be sentenced on May 10 and can face up to 14 years in prison. Records that were released on Friday also showed that the 107 senators spent over 5 million dollars in three months when the senate only sat 17 times .( For individual top spenders check link)

This is a simple issue he spent the money he shouldn't have and defrauded the government. I personally feel that all the unnecessary spending that Lavigne Did he should pay that back to the government. Also how much the senate spends in three months is shocking. Of all the money they are spending can help solve many of the issues are society is dealing with like homelessness and the money could be put towards something better.So my personal feeling about abolishing the senate is stronger than ever.

This issue effects Canadians greatly especially now at election time. People aren't sure who is lying and who isn't now Lavigne was a liberalist and this gives liberals a bad rep. Also the Canadians don't know who to trust and how much more unnecessary spending is going on. So it brings up more questions and makes the voters think again who they want in office.

I don't believe the media favors anybody. They are slowly slanted towards the government. because there is nothing in it about Lavigne saying what he spent it on whether he wasted all the money or part of it was necessary and the occasions he used it in was it related to government business.

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Quit talking about hockey B.C Docters are told!

canada.com story link
By: Pamela Fayerman

 Reflections:

 Medical officials are telling doctors to skip the chit chat and not upset patients. Since the playoffs are right around the corner and Canucks are the favorites and there is a lot of hockey chit chat happening in the surgical room. So the college of physicians and surgeons of B.C advised B.C's 11,000 doctors that talking about stuff other than the surgical task at hand is unprofessional and inappropriate and may upset some patients. This all started when the college received a complaint from a patient that his doctor was talking about hockey with the scrubs nurse. The patient had not been given an anesthetic so he was awake the whole time and heard the entire conversation. In the complaint it was written that there was hockey talk through out the surgery and it made him feel uncomfortable because he thought that the doctor could get distracted and make a mistake. The college registrar Dr. Heidi Oetter said in an interview that the surgery was successful and that this is a useful reminder for doctors and surgeons to be discreet not only in the operating room but anywhere they could be heard talking to an associate about something non-medical. Also Oetter added that some doctors create small talk to relax the patient and it is routine for the doctor to also relax but since this is a patient centered environment doctors should focus on the patients and see what they are comfortable with.


I personally feel that it all depends on the patient. As Dr. Oetter pointed out that this is a patient-centered system so the doctors should comply with what the patient is comfortable with. There are patients who will come in and might ask you who is winning the hockey game? So I believe that doctors do this to comfort patients. I would personally prefer a confident doctor who is bonding with me getting to know and doing the surgery meaning he is a professional, he has been doing this for a long time, and that I can trust him. On the other hand if a doctor shows up and is all serious and saying all these scientific words, that will make me a little bit uncomfortable and I would be frighten that my situation is serious. So for me I personally like the calm,and cool doctors 

This issue effects us Canadians because it frightens us of the fact we don't know what the surgeons are doing when they do give us anesthetics. Those going in surgeries have a doubt that is the surgeons going to talk about hockey are they gonna be on the task and if something doesn't go right is this to blame? So a new fear has been created that are the doctors going to be on task or not, how much do they focus on there patients, and its just a matter of time since someone is hurt cause of them not being on task.


I don't believe that the media favors anybody. Because the concern was that the patient thought that the surgeon might get distracted and not be able to perform to the best of his ability, so the patients concern was brought up but the doctors explained why they talk about other things put on music in the background. They use these tools to relax themselves and their patient and actually they might do a better job.

                                                       "photo by Google"

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Surrey rallies around beaten muscian

http://www.vancouversun.com/news/Surrey+rallies+around+beaten+musician/4563932/story.html
BY: Tom Zilich Surrey Now

Reflections:

Michael Taylor a musician who is part of an acoustic groove band was attacked at Scott Road bus loop on the weekend. The event took place over the weekend when Michael Taylor was returning from a gig in Vancouver and was attacked on the sidewalk. It is said that he shared the bus ride home with the attackers and he wasn't the only one harassed there was another passenger on the bus who was harassed. Police are saying and recommending charges under abuse and not hate crime and they are reviewing videotapes and questioning the witnesses. The alleged attackers are said to be between the ages of 14 to 18 and there were three boys and two girls. The conflict in the bus was that Mike wasn't the only one harassed but despite being harassed Mike stood his ground.

    I personally feel that this wasn't a hate crime that it was immature teens. Mike want the only one being harassed there were others but the that fact he was attacked changes everything. It was the weekend and maybe they were "buzzed" so that could have affected there judgment so I feel that they were a bunch of immature teens who have no self control. This event affects us as Canadians because it makes Canadians think is it safe for me to step outside. They read this article and they think to themselves here is a man who is minding his own business and was ruthlessly beaten who is to say the same thing wont happen to me. So it creates a doubt among Canadians that am I really safe?

       I don't believe that our media seems to favor a certain party because our media's job is to bring forth the story and what is right and wrong one is able to judge by himself. But there maybe ways that the media might alter the story to make it more interesting, they personally wouldn't feel that they have done something wrong but they also didn't do anything right either.

                                                          " photo by Google"

http://maps.google.ca/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=Scott+Road,+Surrey,+British+Columbia&aq=0&sll=49.891235,-97.15369&sspn=33.601713,93.076172&ie=UTF8&hq=&hnear=Scott+Rd,+Surrey,+British+Columbia&ll=49.138196,-122.886972&spn=0.004148,0.011362&z=17