New Boundaries of our Riding

Posted on 22 April, 2013 by

Last year we had a proposal for changes to the Federal Electoral boundaries that would see Northumberland split.  There were public hearings and I was one who asked the commission to keep Northumberland intact.  Well it seems they listened.  The commission’s report proposed a new boundary that kept Northumberland Intact, lost Quinte-West, added north of Rice lake but excluding Peterborough and added an west to include parts of Clarington but not Bowmanville.  It would be called Northumberland – Pine Ridge.  I have included a map below (click to enlarge it) but if you want to see the whole of Ontario, go here.   Cancel the “find my Riding” box then click “report” to get the latest proposal.  A full description of the new riding is found here.

The report was tabled February 25 and the current status is described as:

The Commission has submitted its report redrawing the province's federal electoral map to the Chief Electoral Officer of Canada, who sent it to the Speaker of the House of Commons. The report has been tabled, and members of Parliament will have a chance to review the report and file objections to it in the coming weeks. The public should therefore raise any concerns they may have about the electoral map with their member of Parliament.

Personally, I’m mostly happy with it because it keeps Northumberland intact.  I never did feel we had much in common with Quinte West but then I don’t think we have much in common with the new add-ons either.

Northumberland-Pine-Ridge

Any other comments?

Posted in Politics | Tagged , | 2 Comments

Why did I close my Climate Change Blog?

Posted on 10 April, 2013 by

A few years back, I had a blog on climate change.  I was what many people call a denier.  These are supposedly people who do not truly understand Science or have a vested interest of some kind.  Neither of these are true.  I am strongly pro-science, have a degree in Electrical Engineering  and I’m skeptical of anything that is not supported by evidence.  That’s about as scientific as it gets.  I have no connection whatsoever to any group who would gain by killing talk of global warming.  I have no connection with any energy company – not even any shares.  So why was I a “denier”?  Why did I find it hard to accept that the warming of the world was caused by the actions of people?  Note that virtually no “deniers” say the world is not warming – at least in parts of the world like the arctic.  We just say that the effect of actions by mankind is small, non-existent or not proved.

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We all need heroes

Posted on 9 April, 2013 by

One of my heroes has died – Margaret Thatcher was my hero, or I should say heroine, but I don’t distinguish between men and women when it comes to heroes.  She was my hero in politics and she had the guts, courage and determination to  follow through.  She was a true Conservative and focused on the economy  and not social issues.  She understood that Unions have value but have bad points too.  Unions are often necessary as a defence against exploitive management  but once they win that battle, they should be disbanded.  Pay based solely on tenure is counter-productive and open to exploitation by workers.  Margaret Thatcher also had other ideas – for one, that conservative values produce prosperity – and she was right and England can be grateful for her legacy.

But I have other heroes:

heroes Continue reading →

Posted in Economy, Politics | Tagged , | 1 Comment

More on Natives

Posted on 30 January, 2013 by

I came across an article written by Donald Cooper that gives a view close to mine – and I think, close to that of many Canadians.  Attached to his article is a report on Chief Clarence Louie, a native chief from Osoyoos BC.  If all natives followed his approach, the problem would go away.  And with no taxpayer money at all!

But read it for yourself.

Donald Cooper article on natives

Posted in Politics, Social issues | Tagged , | 1 Comment

Housing bubble

Posted on 27 January, 2013 by

I wrote about it last August – I predicted prices would crash in Toronto and Vancouver by now.  They haven’t but they are dropping slightly.  Meanwhile, the U.K. based Economist has produced more data that says that Canada’s house prices are the most overpriced in the world (see below).   Canadian Economists are saying that “yes, prices are too high but they won’t crash”.  Maybe.  Canadian Business has a recent headline “Canada’s Housing Crash begins”.   Economists are saying there needs to be a catalyst to precipitate a crash.  Sounds like wishful thinking to me.  The problem is primarily in Vancouver and Toronto – hopefully markets like Cobourg will only see a small drop.  But anyone who has Real Estate holdings in Toronto or Vancouver should get out now or be prepared to wait 20 years.  Real Estate does not “always go up” and Canada is not “different”.  The only thing to be sure of is that markets always correct themselves – eventually.
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Posted in Economy | Tagged | 2 Comments

Privileged Natives

Posted on 16 January, 2013 by

Why is it that natives think they are above the law?  Do they think they can make their own laws?  Why do they think they can block roadways and railways for more than an hour or so when no-one else is allowed to do that?  Are they a superior race like the Nazis thought  they were?  If they think they have a separate set of laws and a separate nation, let them demonstrate inside their reservations.  Last time I looked, they are doing all these things inside the boundaries of Canada and are subject to Canadian laws.  Sorry, they don’t get an exemption.  But it seems our wimpy politicians have directed our police forces to leave them alone.  That’s plain wrong.

That’s my first point.

Secondly,  they are being stupid.  Is there something in their diet that makes them unable to think straight?  The purpose of a demonstration is to convince others of your cause.  But all they are doing is alienating everyone and getting everyone mad at them.  Caledonia was bad enough – now they want to do the same in more places and really antagonise more people.  Plain stupid.  This point is reinforced by opinion polls:

A recent poll found:

  • 60% of Canadians think the problems First Nations people face are brought on by themselves
  • Only 29% approve Theresa Spence’s protest fast,
  • More than 80% don’t want more money sent to aboriginal reserves unless proper, independent audits are conducted to ensure financial accountability.
  • Fewer than 33% think the money spent by the federal government on reserves is well-managed by the native leaders and communities who receive it

This is success?

But natives are not stupid (except maybe some chiefs).  They can also read the polls; most want to be responsible so they will get rid of their scamming chiefs who are living high on money that should be used to  really help them out.  At least that’s my hope.

They will also see that their blockades generate only antagonism and ill will and certainly do not help their cause.  Not all publicity is good publicity.

And where are the politicians – of all stripes?  Can’t they see what the public wants?  Can’t they demand a stop to illegal, immoral and thuggish behaviour?

Posted in Politics | Tagged , | 5 Comments

Why is manufacturing coming back?

Posted on 23 December, 2012 by

Twenty years ago and even ten years ago, it was expected that manufacturing would be done off-shore in China, India, and SE Asia but that is now being reversed.  It’s not altruism – big business has not suddenly decided to be the good guy and hire locally.  It’s because it is cheaper in the long run to make things here and it’s because of some changes that have happened over the last 10 years.  These changes include:

  • Oil prices are three times what they were in 2000, making cargo-ship fuel much more expensive now than it was then.
  • The cost of natural-gas here is about four times what it was in 2000;
  • The wages in Asia are about five times what they were in 2000 and they are still going up fast.
  • Many unions – at least in the U.S. – are changing their priorities. Labour costs are now about 30% less.
  • Labour productivity is continuing to go up so labour is a smaller proportion of the cost.

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Posted in Economy | Tagged | 1 Comment

Stupid DJs in Australia

Posted on 7 December, 2012 by

Why do the media – and for that matter – other idiot brains think it’s OK to harass famous people?  Why do they think it’s funny to lie on the phone and pretend to be someone they are not?  Are they still at the level of school kids who do April Fool’s jokes?  At least on April Fool’s day (or half day) you might be expecting such things.  The latest example of the Australian radio station DJs was out of line even before the nurse killed herself in shame.  Just like Paparazzi were out of line chasing Princess Diana at high speed – they are effectively murderers.  Maybe not according to law, but in reality.

It was not just the DJs.  Before the suicide, the radio station was loving the publicity.  I wish I lived in Australia so I could make a point of boycotting anyone or any advertisers who had anything to do with the stupid idiot-brained “prank” and the radio station that encouraged the perpetrators.

By the way, I am not by any stretch a royalist – but they did nothing to deserve this treatment.

If any radio station within my listening range does anything similar to this, I will not just refrain from listening, I will be working hard to stop them.

Below is a photo of the two DJs – looks like they live by being stupid.  Hopefully, they have learned their lesson but somehow I doubt it.

Radio Idiots

Radio Idiots

Posted in Events | Tagged | 2 Comments

A Christmas Story

Posted on 2 December, 2012 by

A bit early for Christmas and this video is from 2001 – but it’s a new one for me. The email that sent me this said: “If this doesn’t bring a tear to your eye, then you simply aren’t human.”  The real tear jerker is if you don’t know the ending.  A version of this is on You-Tube with a giveaway of the ending.  This version is hosted here to avoid that.

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Political parties not truly representative

Posted on 19 November, 2012 by

Each of the political Parties in Canada (and elsewhere) has a package of policies and values that cover both social and fiscal matters.  The problem is that actual individuals, real people, usually don’t agree with the full package.  Real people like some but not all of what a party stands for.  When it comes to voting, they often have to choose the “lesser (or least) of the evils”.

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