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My Personal Journal
Page 29

April 17th. 2008; It is sad to see that the three people whom one would normally look up to, as being decent people, would turn out to have such deep seeded hatred towards homeless people. This is what had happened in Toronto according to CTV News. Three former Canadian Forces reservists, Privet Brian Deganis, 23, Corporal Jeffrey Hall, 24 were charged in the beating death of a homeless man in downtown Toronto. Brian Deganis and Jeffrey Hall were charged for manslaughter and assault causing bodily harm. The third person, Corporal Mountaz Ibrahim, 25, pleaded guilty to being an accessory after the fact to assault causing bodily harm and to helping his fellow soldiers flee the scene. The homeless man Paul Croutch, 59, died as a result of injuries after being beaten in Moss Park, near Toronto's downtown armoury, on August 31, 2005. The three former Queen's Own Rifles members were originally charged with second-degree murder and assault causing bodily harm. The assault was against a witness who testified in court that she tried to stop the attack against Croutch. Deganis, Hall and Ibrahim were at the nearby armoury for an event on the night of the attack. The witness, Valerie Valen, said she saw men kicking and punching Croutch, who was on a park bench. When she yelled at the men to stop, they chased after her and beat her as well, she told the court. Valen said during the attack on Croutch, one of the men shouted "all these bums -- these f---ing druggies, hookers, addicts, bums, homeless derelicts." During her beating, Valen said one of the soldiers shoved his dog tags in her face and screamed, 'Who do you think you are? All you crack heads, derelicts and bums don't belong here. This is our park. This gives us the right to do what we want. We can kill you." Beric German, who advocates on behalf of the homeless, said he was disgusted by the court outcome of dropping the charge to a lesser degree. "When we talk about intent, there was hate there -- there was hate against homeless people. The three men will be sentenced on April 30, 2008. Both Deganis and Hall face prison terms of up to 10 years, while Ibrahim faces a jail term of several months. Crown prosecutor Hank Goody said he accepted the lesser pleas because there was a reasonable doubt the jury would have found Hall and Deganis committed murder because of their levels of intoxication. "I think what happened here was that in an alcoholic haze, my client and Deganis misjudged entirely the situation and completely overreacted," said lawyer John Rosen, who represents Hall. I need to ask the question, how much time is required to premeditate a murder? A week, a few days, a few hours or just minutes or seconds before the crime is committed? That statement one of the men had shouted at Valerie Valen face; "Who do you think you are? All you crack heads, derelicts and bums don't belong here. This is our park. This gives us the right to do what we want. We can kill you", keeps ringing in my ear. An autopsy conducted on Mr. Croutch disclosed that he suffered severe injuries to his brain, a ruptured spleen, fractured ribs and several other injuries to his upper body during the attack. Having been brought up in Toronto, I am aware there is a huge problem now with people who are drug addicts, small time hookers and homeless people whom society view as the derelicts of soceity. I do not recall ever having seen as many homeless people or seeing people sleeping on the city streets as they do now. I find it disturbing when walking the streets of Toronto and see these homeless people sleeping on city streets during the day and night. Instead of hatred, these people need a great deal of help. These people have lost all hope of becoming anything than what they have become. I try to help out by buying them some take-out food, a hot or cold drink, or sometimes a bag of fruits if a fruit market is near by, and even throw in a pack of cigarettes and lighter for them. But that do not solve the problem of having these people sleep on city streets. I have often spoken to them, but they shun at any suggestion to seek help from the various Government and privet agencies that are available to them. What can one do? You can not force a person to do something they do not want to do. But to beat-up on a person because he/she is homeless and have lost the will to better themselves, is the most disgusting thing a person can ever do. Those young people who had caused the death of that homeless person, Paul Croutch, should be thankful that they had not surcome to this kind of tragedy in their lives. Only by my good fortune and the grace of GOD, goes I. While I had never fallen to the level these people find themselves in, I can only have a deep compashion towards their situation. Yes, I had some of these people steal from me, or had taken advantage of my compassion, or at times I became frustrated and angry because of what they do, but that do not give me the right to hurt, or beat-up or kill these people, as those three young men have done. Frankly, I find the defence of intoxication as an excuse for the beating and death of Paul Croutch to be very lame. How drunk do you have to be to use that as an excuse for what had taken place? Just drunk enough to build up the courage to vent one's deep seated hatred towards those who have become the derelicts of soceity?
According to the little bit of information I was able to obtain, Paul Croutch was once a husband, and founder of the Dawson Creek Mirror newspaper, until he became mentally ill 25 years ago, which eventually led him to become a homeless person. He used to tell people he was being hounded and persecuted by various people and would hound shelter staff to fax his handwritten letters to government officials for him. Paul Croutch suffered from schizophrenia and depression. He was a well-spoken man, obviously a person who was well read and very likable. He was an individual with a sense of dignity. At his funeral down at the Jarvis Street Salvation Army, his ex-wife, Marilyn Howard, and a former business colleague showed up to eulogize him as a good and kind man, a clever man, an entrepreneur, a man who loved his daughter and who drove a Toyota Camry until his brain shorted out.
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April 19th. 2008; I am looking forward to have nice warm weather today with temperatures hovering around 20°C and staying around that mark during the entire week. I see the oil industry is really gouging the public again with their price hikes. It is getting pretty ridiculous the way the price of gasoline is going up. This will no doubt greatly affect the price of everything we use in our daily lives. Lately, there has been much talk about kittens that are being abandoned by irresponsible people. I am talking about cat owners' who are not taking responsibility of their cats. Their cats are having unwanted litters and are dropping the kittens off to animal humane shelters. These agencies are getting a little fed up having to euthanasia healthy animals because some people are being so irresponsible. My personal pet peeve is with dog owners who are not picking up their dog's poop. Every time I go out from my doorway or walk in front of the building, I find dog poop that had been left behind by other dog owners. I do not mind picking up after my own dog's poop, but I am getting fed up with dog owners who are so irresponsible and inconsiderate. Will I be forced to install a security camera or place my computer camera on a window to catch the culprits? Even when I am walking my dog, I cannot help notice dog poop all over the place. These dog owners are not taking proper responsibility for their dogs. I am aware that a lot of people are getting a bit fed up, including me, picking after other people's dog poop, from people who are being so irresponsible. These people are clearly not abiding the poop-and-scoop by-law in Haileybury. There is a municipal by-law, which requires people to clean up after their pet in public areas. Unfortunately it's a by-law which is rarely enforced and more often than not, people are forced to step around the little or sometimes huge poop landmines which people step on that have been left behind by pet owners who don’t take responsibility and do their part in keeping the town clean. Municipalities do not have the staff to watch all the streets and parks, so they can only respond when complaints come in from dog owners. This makes it bad for all dog owners, even for those who are responsible people and pick up their dog’s droppings. What will it take to stop this? Are people going to have to resort to snitching on those people who are leaving their dog’s poop behind. Is that the kind of soceity they want? Will we need to have security cameras everywhere to catch these people in the act, just because there are some dog owners who are simply being uncooperative and have no sense of pride or decency for their community? Who have so little regard or concern about what they do, or in this case, fail to do. Instead of being a part of the problem, it would be nice if these people would be part of the solution and clean up after their dogs. It really makes it look bad to all the rest of the dog owners who do act responsibility. Well; I finally got that off my chest, for all the good it will do!
Gas prices have jumped again, surpassing the $1.20 a litre mark in most major cities across Canada. People are already frustrated by the high gas prices and they are bracing for $1.40 to $1.50 per litre this summer across the country. A lot of people are already at the breaking point in trying to use their vehicles on a daily basis. There is no doubt that these gas hikes are going to cause enormous pain for everybody because it will once again rise the cost of living for everyone. It is said that Canada is the second largest oil reserve in the world, next to Saudi Arabia, so why are we paying $1.20 per litre for our gasoline? These huge gasoline price hikes is going to force mass poverty upon Canadians. The oil industry and refiners are taking advantage of its consumers while market fundamentals do not support the rising prices. There is no doubt that the oil refineries, along with the major oil companies across Canada are taking advantage of the consumers great need for its fuel. I heard someone made the claim that cars are only a luxury. That may have been the case when car's were first invented and made, but now they have become a necessity in our modern age. These global elites and their goons want to monopolize and take over the control over people’s lives and dominate the world. It is plain to see by now that the entire oil industry are gouging the public for all they can get and will use any excuse to reach their greedy, predatory capitalistic, globalization world. Because the Federal Government do not have the authority to regulate gas prices except through taxes. Maybe it is time for Canadians to consider and demand that a new Government be formed who will not hesitate to nationalize all fossil fuels and its production facilities, those within our Canadain borders, in the interest of protecting its Canadian citizens from this premeditated price gouging by the global elites. By force if need be. Then our gas and oil will not be affected by the wild fluctuations of world market prices. If need be, we could build more oil refineries to ensure a steady supply for our domestic needs. It is high time that Canadians stop being the victims, and start to become the masters of their own country.
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April 20th. 2008; I recall thirty years ago I had delivered the warning about these global elites and their goons, who want to monopolize and take over the control over people’s lives and dominate the world. But people had then choose to ignore it. It is strange that only during the past few years, people are now taking that message seriously. But now, as is always the case, it is almost too late to do anything about it, for people are already, "locked-in", so to speak, into the New World Order globalization system. Well; that was their choice in the matter. We had a little drizzle this morning and it looks like we are going to have another warm day today. It is going to be partly cloudy with sunny breaks and the temperature will be hovering around 18°C. Western Canada got hit with a winter blast of -12°C, which felt like -19°C with 30 to 50 centimetres of snow with blizzard conditions in open areas. Here in North-eastern Ontario, we had nice sunny warm days. I recall that during the May long weekend, we always tend to get cold, miserable, wet and even snowy weather. So we need not think that we are totally out of the woods, just yet, and think we are free from the cold breath of a winter blast. I picked up some gas for the lawn tractor, which was selling for $1.22.7 a litre. I use ethanol because it is a cleaner burning fuel and it is better for the engine, so I am told. The little tractor runs well and should provide a lot of service towing my canoe with its camping gear. I would like to try to go to Mowat Landing where the Montreal River flows by and spend some canoeing time there, if I get the chance this year.
I happen to be watching CTV's W5 today and one of its topic was about an epidemic of crack, crystal meth and cocaine use and its related crimes in downtown Ottawa. It is disturbing to know that the nations capital is infested with drug houses and drug pushers which our polititions seem to have turned a blind eye to it. Which is causing much concern among the tourists, business and residents alike. According to W5, crack, crystal meth and cocaine addiction is a major problem in Ottawa, along with homeless people who are sleeping on its streets. The Police Chief in Ottawa would like to get rid of the drug problem, but our politicians are reluctant to deal with it. I can recall how quickly our politicians in Ontario, particularly Premier Dalton Mc Gitty had eagerly jumped on tobacco smokers, in which he could not wait to add more taxes on tobacco products. He had twice raised the tobacco tax since he was elected. But when it comes to dealing with a real serious social problem, such as crack, crystal meth and cocaine, which are all illegal, along with drug pushers and crimes which are associated with it, Dalton Mc Gitty and his officials, according to W5, are very elusive and are reluctant to deal with it. All that talk about getting tough on illegal drugs, is just that, talk, and nothing more. I find this type of hypocrisy disgusting and shows where their priorities are. The Ontario Liberal Provincial government, along with those Anti-Smoking morons sure do not mind getting tough on tobacco smokers, even though it is still legal to buy the product in this country, according to the last time I had checked, These people concentrate so much on people who smoke tobacco, they are blindsighted to the real drug problem. That may be because they are cowards when dealing with the illegal drug trade. After all, those Drug Lords and their people will not hesitate to shoot to kill anyone who gets in their way, while people who smoke cigarettes or use tobacco products, are for the most part, law abiding citizens and therefore are easy targets to bully. Which reminds me was another topic W5 had on as an issue on that same program.
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April 20th. 2008; Today was another fine, warm day with temperatures hovering around 20°C. I did a little work on the lawn tractor which was not much, really. I had to go and buy a spring for the carb needle valve and install it which took all of a minet to do. I took Buddy out to the place where people take their dogs for a walk. The dogs can run around without having to be on a leash. I never knew anything about this place until Sharron had invited me and Buddy to a walk with her and her little dog. Sharron had taken her dog on daily walks at this place when she had lived in Haileybury. This place is a wooded area that looks like a Park, where people can let their dogs run free along the trails that are there. I have to try to get Buddy's weight down, since he had added quite a few pounds, that he looks more like a small bear than a dog. I notice that the land is now for sale. This property would make a real nice Botanical Park where people and their dogs would be able to enjoy themselves. Children can learn things about nature here, which is close to the local schools in Haileybury. It would be a real nice place just to stroll or have a picnic on a warm, sunny day. You can have park benches alongside the trails, scattered here and there. The trails are already here running throughout the property. Places could be made where Ontario wildflowers can be viewed on raised rock beds so that the dogs will not trample over them. This place could be turned into a real nice park for people to visit. It would be nice to leave a wooded area in the midst of a growing community that is already being built up and is expanding outward. But then, as with all the land that is being sold around here, it is just the money thing that one can get that is more important to people, like the people who owns Farr Island, than to leave something behind for future generations of children and people to enjoy. Lets face it, not everyone thinks in these idealistic terms. Making money seems to be more important than anything else that people have on their minds. But it was a nice thought, all the same. When I got back to my apartment, I decided to turned off the gas valve for my apartment heater or furnace, and opened some windows to let some fresh air in and air out all the stale air in my apartment which had accumulated during the cold winter months. I do not think it will get that cold now that I will need to have the heater or furnace on. I have not figured out exactly what to call this thing that heats my apartment. If it is a furnace or a heater. I vision a furnace as a monstrosity lerking and hidden in the depths of some dark hole people call a basement, but this thing is a narrow box thing that hangs on a wall and it runs on gas, like those gas furnace or heaters you see in cottages. Heck, I'll call it a heater, and be done with it. If I do need to turn it back on, it only takes a minute to open the gas valve and get the polite light going. For now, the gas is going to stay off for the coming summer season, until it is time to relight the gas heater again in the late fall.
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April 22st. 2008; It is unbelievable that some Canadians would act like a bunch of barbarians and jump on police cars and then torching them in the heart of Montreal, Que. Five police cars were set ablaze, completely ruined, another 10 were very badly damaged. Looters ransacked a liquor store, and caused a lot of damage to local businesses, mostly on Ste-Catherine Street which is one of Montreal's most popular main streets. This display of violence, looting, stealing and vandalizing had not taken place in some uncivilized country, or for some grim, serious matter such as a mass revolt for a revolution in overthrowing a corrupt, disgraced government, but of all things, because of a hockey game. The hockey game had ended last night around 9:30 p.m. and the violent riots began two hours later. One minute people were having a good time celebrating the outcome of a hockey game, and then all of a sudden, all hell broke out. According to the news media, there were extensive damage done to property that night. At least 13 people were arrested. Those people who were arrested face several charges, including break-and-enter, mischief, damaging and torching police vehicles, assaulting police officers and numerous other violations. Just because people in England act like a bunch of hooligans for a soccer match, do not give the right for hockey fans to act that way. I realize that this display of violence might have been the work of a few rotten people who had spoiled it for the rest of the hockey fans, because here in Canada, true hockey fans know how to act in victory or defeat. I can not help wonder if this type of action is a sign of the times we are now living in, or is it only a bunch of stupid hoodlums, mindless thugs, who are acting like idiots who need to have the full extent of the law thrown at them and provided with the harshest of punishment. No doubt most Canadian hockey fans are totally disgusted by such unruly behaviour which has tainted one of Canada's great cities.
Today is another warm day. We are expecting a thunder storm later this evening that is going to sweep through our area. One can already feel it in the air. There is still a lot of ice on the lake, though it is no longer safe to be on it. I spent the morning going around, on foot, to get people's statements who are in wheelchairs and want to have access to the public library. The Haileybury library is applying for a grant to have their facilities be wheelchair accessible. They require with their application, hand written statements from people who do not have access due to their disabilities. I only managed to get a couple of people statements so far, though I know there are quite a few people who need to have places that are wheelchair accessible. Mostly, I do not know where most of these people live. I just went to the two old age/health care facilities here in Haileybury. But most of the people there, do not go out around town because of their mental condition. At least Buddy got a good walk out of this. I have to stop feeding him every time I eat something. I can eat as much as I want, anything I want, and never gain any weight. I am the same weight now, as when I was twenty years of age. Buddy has grown too fat for his own good. I have to stop looking at his sad looking brown eyes and drastically cut down on his treats before I end up killing him due to my giving in because of loving kindness. He may think I am being cruel to him, but I have to just get tough on this issue to save him from eating himself to death. A recent survey indicated that 40% of pets, mostly cats, is overweight. The reason Buddy is overweight, he is taking in (eating) more calories than he needs. He is just consuming unnecessary amounts of food. I know that healthy dogs and cats do not need to eat every day, as the pet food industry seem to imply by giving us a picture of the "eager eater" with the impression that a happy, healthy dog will eat every meal with gusto. Someone told me that as long as I provide good quality food and liberal amounts of water, and let Buddy eat when he wants, has not quite worked out very well. He will eat anything you give him, for as long as you give him. He is like a vacuum cleaner. Aside from his regular dog food, he gets some of my people food, like chicken, pork chops, liver, ice cream, cookies, etc, because he is such a good dog, I don’t want him to go hungry or disappoint him. Fortunately, I am realizing that Buddy had been getting too much of a good thing and I need to be focusing more on physical activity than feeding.
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April 23st. 2008; We never got the thunder storm yesterday as far as I am aware of which was predicted by our weather forecast. We did get some scattered showers early this morning which is expected to linger in our area for most of the day. I am not surprised to hear that a Mexican judge has found Brenda Martin guilty of Internet fraud and sentenced her to five years in prison. Their whole political and a justice system is corrupt as Amnesty International will concur. The Mexican justice system had no proof of guilt in the Brenda Martin case. The affidavit of her ex-boss proved her innocence which had little sway in that Mexican court. The Mexican court officials were only interested in saving their wretched face rather than wanting to serve the truth and justice. Brenda Martin will have the stigma of being found guilty despite her innocence in this whole shoddy affair. Sources from CTV News is saying that our Prime Minister's Office is going to get directly involved in the prisoner transfer process, with Prime Minister Stephen Harper personally ensuring it's carried out swiftly over the next few weeks. The only thing that came out of the Brenda Martin case was to give a clear warning to all Canadians who are contemplating on living in, or taking a vacation in that corrupted infested country of Mexico, is to avoid that country like the black plague. Any Canadian who is stupid enough not to learn a lesson from the Brenda Martin case, are really playing Russian roulette with their lives. I also find it disturbing that our Prime Minister, Stephen Harper, would place himself with the likes of a perpetual liar and a government that represents a corrupt regime in that tri-lateral summit with U.S. President George W. Bush and Mexican President Felipe Calderon. But then, Stephen Harper along with U.S. President George W. Bush and Mexican President Felipe Calderon are in with the New World Order crowd to fulfill their globalization agenda.
Liberal senator Colin Kenny, chair of the Senate Standing Committee on National Security and Defence, had told Canada AM on Wednesday he's definitely seen improvements there since his last visit. Since Liberal senator Colin Kenny last visit to Afghanistan, a spate of suicide bombings and other attacks by the Taliban, on security forces in southern Afghanistan had left 13 people dead and 24 others wounded, officials said. In Kandahar province, a suicide bomber blew himself up next to a vehicle carrying intelligence agents in the border town of Spin Boldak, killing three civilians. Two children and three intelligence agents were among the 14 hurt, Kandahar Gov. Assadullah Khalid said. A Canadian military vehicle has been hit by a roadside bomb in southern Afghanistan, injuring one Canadian soldier. Another explosion in southern Afghanistan killed two NATO soldiers and injured two others, a military alliance said. Then the latest attack by the Taliban on April 27th, 2008 when Canada's ambassador to Afghanistan and President Hamid Karzai narrowly escaped an "audacious attack" by the Taliban during a ceremony in Kabul marking the end of the Soviet invasion. The Taliban suicide attack had killed 15 people, 25 people were wounded, two lawmakers were critically injured. A local Shiite leader died, and three Taliban fighters were killed. The attack happened just after the band had finished playing the Afghan national anthem. It's believed that the shooting, including mortars and grenades came from a nearby building. The Taliban were able to get into Kabul on its national day, where Hamid Karzai was showing off its security with a great parade. If this is what Liberal senator Colin Kenny claims are improvements since his last visit, he needs his head examined.
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April 24th. 2008; Today is going to be a nice, sunny warm day with temperatures hovering around 19°C. I started Buddy on his on physical activity this morning, and will do it again in the evening. I got my bicycle out and took Buddy on a n easy jog. This I feel would be better than just walking the dog. Buddy needs to trot and run if he is going to get his weight down. I have Buddy on a long leash and he runs alongside me while I ride the bike. I will do this every morning and evening from now on. By next week, I will get Buddy on a medium trot and slowly get up to a full run. In the meantime, I have already cut out most of his food intake to bring his weight down gradually. I will maintain this routine until Buddy is down to his normal, proper weight. I was very surprised how quickly we are hearing about any kind of food crisis and riots from the recent gas hikes. World Vision in Haiti is already stating that food riots have broken out among residents who are feeling a food crunch. In India, there are fears that the domestic supply of rice will dry up. India has already cut back on its rice exports in order to keep the cost of rice down within their country. As for Canadians, anything that is trucked, or flown in is going to cost that much more. The cost of fuel is also going to affect the cost of producing that food, it also affects the cost of feed for the various livestock. It's going to get kind of rough from now on. When people had to fill-up their vehicles 10 years ago, it had cost around $32. Now to fill-up the same tank, it cost around $90. While rising cost of fuel is going to have an effect on the cost of food, and it will only get worse when fuel prices reaches $1.50 per litre. Experts here in Canada are now warning Canadians that a food crisis could hit Canada. There is no doubt that this will effect people on low income first, before it really hits the middle class.
Given the recent high profile raid of a polygamous compound in Texas, U.S.A., politicians in Canada say they are concerned about a polygamous community in Bountiful, B.C. The fundamentalist polygamous Mormon community in Bountiful, B.C. is run by the Bishop, Winston Blackmore. The community is tucked in the southeast corner of the province. While it is the standard practice among these type of fundamentalist polygamous Mormon Christian communities, B.C. police have investigated the Bountiful community and have conducted interviews with dozens of men and women and have not found a single complaint of abuse. In a recent CTV interview, Blackmore told CTV News that he has "plenty enough" children. When asked about the number of wives he has, he said he has "just enough, so I don't chase anybody else's." He also stated that he has married several very young wives, though the 51-year-old Bishop stated he had never married anyone underage. When the CTV news reporter asked how old were the girls when he "married" them, Blackmore quickly broke-off the interview and would not answer any more questions.
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April 27th. 2008; On Friday night it started to rain with lightening and thunder. Buddy is more at ease now when we get that kind of weather. Light continues today. Yesterday, it was raining on and off throughout the day, though it was only light rain most of the time. Today, it is a nice sunny day with temperatures hovering around 13°C. I see most of the ice is gone on the lake. It is open water except along the north eastern shore where I can still can see a band of ice sheet lingering there. Things should warm up around her, now that most of the ice is gone from the lake. Though the weather forecast calls for a drop in temperature to around 3°C by Tuesday where we can expect wet flurries. Whatever we get will not last long, because the ground has already had time to heat up, so that snow should melt quickly. It appears that all the gains we had received from the last federal beget will be swallowed up by the ever rising cost of fuel, which will drive up the cost of living. Granted, had we not received that bit of help from the last beget, we would be in a far worse position than we are now. Ever notice that every time people make any kind of gains, it always follows with a higher cost of living where it makes any kind of gains we had, become null and void. I have noticed over the years, how we have ran on that treadmill which is our present economic system, only causes the cost of living to spiral upwards rather than downwards. It appears that every time we take a step forward, we end up taking two steps back. Maybe what we need is a new type of economic system, a formula which will be more stable and reliable than the wild fluctuation of our present system and its ever increase in the cost of living.

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