H1N1: Swine Flu

The H1N1 virus is a new strand of the influenza virus. It started in México and has now made it to Canada with a total of 116 people that have contracted the virus in Canada. More commonly known as the Swine Flu, originated in Mexico and has spread all across the world. Over 1,000 people have been confirmed that they have the virus and 26 people have died from it. WHO (World Health Organisation) Has increased the pandemic alert to a 5 which means that a pandemic is inevitable and there is talk og it being raised to a level 6. There has been some drastic movements during the phase of this flu, including that Egypt ordered that all the pigs in it's country be slaughtered immediately. The swine flu isn't stopping anytime soon, the number of cases will continue to rise.

The swine flu to me was a bit over rated at first, I understand that over 1000 people in the world have it, but this is in a world with almost 7 billion people, that’s only 0.00000014% of the entire population, which isn't very much. I think that it is true to be said that this virus will start to spread very rapidly and I hope that I don't get it. Our school is taking precautions by putting a bottle of hand sanitizer and a sign that says: "please wash your hands upon entering and exiting the building". After doing this short blog I know more about this strand of influenza and that it is quite a serious matter and that more people will start dying. The fact that I didn't mention above is that it will take 6 months before a vaccine will be devolved since the virus has been identified, so I don’t think that there is a prevention but there are ways to get better, but if you have it your are immediately hospitalized and will eventually get better.

Reference:

http://toronto.ctv.ca/servlet/an/local/CTVNews/20090504/ont_h1n1_090504/20090504/?hub=TorontoNewHome

Pirates In Somalia

Richard Philips became a popular name 2 months ago when he was captured by Somali pirates and was taken hostage in a lifeboat. The situation in Somalia is getting worse and worse and there are no naval ships in that part of the world to give each ship that goes through that area the protection that it needs. Philips was kept hostage for five days in the life boat until U.S. navy seals snipers shot and killed the three pirates with three bullets. This was the order that president Obama gave to the commander in charge on the navel warship that was handling the situation. A 65 year old Canadian from aurora was on the ship when it was hijacked, this story mad many headlines in American press during the time of this incident.

This issue has to be resolved sooner than later, weather it be that the Somali government has to do something about it or the pirates have to be taken into custody. Obviously this issue won't go away as soon as is should and the pirates are taking more hostages as the days progress. Last year I heard a speech about this topic, and when I heard this story it was interesting that something would actually. Philips family suffered terribly through this incident and it should be prevented from happening again. These pirates are selfless and the bigger question is where are they getting their money from, sure they are making a lot of money through ransom but there has to be more than just right, it just doesn't add up.

Reference:

http://toronto.ctv.ca/servlet/an/local/CTVNews/20090502/sabga_pirates_090502/20090502/?site_codename=Toronto

School Finder

A new website was unveiled from the ministry of education. This site was meant for the new immigrants to Ontario the opportunity to decide where they wasn’t to live according to the demographics in the schools. For instance on the sit you can find information about the wealth of the people in that area, what race they are, and generally what the community is like. This site has had some controversy saying that now parents have the ease to access the information even easier than before and they can say that they don't want their child going to a school that has lower income levels and higher immigration rates. The Conservatives and the NDP do not agree with this decision that the liberals have made. The bottom line is that the website makes it easier for people to find out what is happening to an area and will make them go to the better schools and might, even overcrowd them.

I think that the government should not make this information this readily available to the general public. I think that this decision could lead to some schools being overcrowded and that some parents might not use the site for what it is suppose to be used for. Instead the parents might not put there child where they belong, but in the school where the demographic base is wealthy and a good learning environment instead of where the child would feel more comfortable. I don’t agree that this information should be this accessible, this information can be accessed before the website came out and all people have to do is look for it. I think that this privilege will be heavily abused by at least 50% of parents.

Reference:

http://toronto.ctv.ca/servlet/an/local/CTVNews/20090406/edu_website_090406/20090406/?site_codename=Toronto

Sunshine List

The list of people working for the government making over $100,000 was published today on a C.D. instead of paper. The premier says its an effort to save paper, oppositions say its an effort to make the list look smaller. What ever the case there are over 10,000 more names than last year of people making over $100,000. This is a lot of extra money that is being spent in an economic recession. The premier says that the people with the names on this list says that it is an achievement that most people think that $100,000 is a lot of money to be making in one year. So what did the list say? Well at the top is Ontario Power Generation CEO and president Jim Hankinson making 2.5 million a year. While the reporter did say that the people that are making this much money have very important jobs, after all you can't leave a nuclear power plant in the hands of just anyone.

While I didn't know such a list existed but probably could of figured it out, I think that the this is an interesting thing to recognise people that make so much money. It is a good thing to know where our money is going, especially large amounts of it. The way I see it is that the C.D. is a way to save paper, It's a good thing that more people are making more money, although this is questionable in this economy. When this report came out I even wondered how it was possible that people are making more money than this time last year, and haven't felt anything due to the recession. Now I sort ok know where some of the Defecate dollars are going, this is the only thing that I don’t agree with. The government can have an infinite amount of money and doesn't care as much as some people do about where that money should be spent.

Reference:

http://toronto.ctv.ca/servlet/an/local/CTVNews/20090331/sunshine_list_090331/20090331/?hub=TorontoNewHome

Chrysler - threatening to leave

Yesterday chairman of Chrysler spoke to a parliamentary committee, regarding the economic crisis. The bottom line is that if Chrysler does not get the money that it wants from the government that it will pack up and leave Canada and go to the states. Of course this will affect tones of jobs and unemployment will probably hit another high. The details are as follows: seeking 2.3 billion in loans, break on taxes, and major sacrifices from the Canadian auto workers. The government is willing to help Chrysler but has to be assured that the investment will be returned. The Chrysler has cut 1,200 jobs just last week in Windsor, and is sounding like blackmail for some people.

The Decision that Chrysler is making is a huge decision for the government. Because there are ups and downs depending on what they do. But no matter what they do some people will disagree. I think that the government should give Chrysler the money that they want, because it isn't worth having so many jobs being taken of the market. I don't totally agree with Chrysler because I don't think that black mailing the government is a good way to get money from them and if the government doesn’t accept than things will get worse in this already unstable economy.

A kick start to Afghanistan

Prime minister Harper says that his version of victory is to push back all the Taliban until the point that NATO can take over the crisis. He said at a news conference on Friday that the situation should be in the hands of Afghanistan's themselves. This message even made it to the major CNN station in the states. The other parties didn't like this and basically said that they wanted to do the opposite. The article goes on to say what has happened in the past years in Afghanistan; Harper said in 2006 that the war would be extended until 2011 two years more that the original date, and that over 2000 soldiers are in Afghanistan and 111 of them have died since this date.

This whole war isn't a good thing, war is never a good thing. When Canada decided to get involved in this situation I though that it was a bad idea, and why should we fight a war that isn't ours. Since then I have understood that we have a relationship with the us, it is an unwritten code. I think that Harper has the what but not the how. Recently I have noticed that for a lot of politicians and other people that are high up there. They will say what they are going to do but never mention anything about the important part of how it is going to be implemented and the what happens if, they are never truly honest which is why In my opinion that the only time that I get into politics is when there is an election, because most of the time it is just a bunch of babbling kindergartens.

Reference:

http://www.thecanadianpress.com/english/online/OnlineFullStory.aspx?filename=n030635A&newsitemid=636529025&languageid=1

Second best ally

According to a recent survey Canada was ranked the second best ally to the united states, Great Brittan being the first. About 29% of Americans in this survey said that Canada was the top ally. The rest that made the top five were Israel, Japan, and Germany. The poll was released yesterday when the British prim minister visited Barack Obama since he was inaugurated. Among the article more democrats said Canada is their most important ally than republicans.

I think that this is a good thing for Canada because to have one of the most powerful countries at your side is a very good thing. I think that Canada could of made it to the #1 spot if our population was only a bit bigger. I think that the relations between Canada and the us have been getting stronger over the years. And now the us is wanting to have a similar health care system, more tax, "free" health care. I think that the more that we help the us the more they help us and the more similar we become. Although I do like Canada's way of doing things better that the U.S., they are a solid neighbour.

Reference:

http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20090304/gallup_poll_090304/20090304?hub=Canada