Man, 20, dies after being intentionally mowed down by SUV

     With a sudden and unfortunate change of tides, a day of celebration quickly turn into a day of remorse and sorrow for the Dang family. The Dang family originally had plans for Saturday to celebrate the birthday of Mother Dang, instead, the Vietnamese couple spent their Saturday at Toronto morgue learning how their son Vincent Dang, 20, had been intentionally killed. The murderer had intentionally mowed over Vincent Dang with a SUV; the suspect, however, is still unknown. Police believe that the case for this unfortunate event was a dispute that broke out with a rival group at a party. Vincent was a student of the University of Toronto. Dang and friends were partying at the Rockwood nightclub when they got into a minor altercation with a rival group at 2:00 AM. Eventually, the groups took their "fight" out to the street, fortunately no physical contact had been made. Although some members of the rival group had been identified, it is believed that the murderer and Mr.Dang did not know one another. Vincent Dang was rushed to St.Michael's hospital immediately after he had been hit by the SUV and was proclaimed dead at 3:30 AM. Investigations are currently under process; police say that investigations are going well, they have interviewed people whom have given valuable information and got a hold of the footage of the incident. Regardless, the murder will be facing a second-degree murder charge at minimum, as stated by Sgt.Nielsen.

     This is an incident that illustrate how unpredictable things can turn out when alcohol fuels the aggressive impulse of young adults and teenagers. Although such incidents are unfortunate, they are very common amongst young teenagers. Small conflicts, added with the effects of alcohol, can result in very serious situations where it is certain that the outcome will not be peaceful. The aggression and inability to remain calm during such situations define the instability characteristic of teenagers. Many teenagers often realize their mistake after committing to it and often suffer from regret; sometimes those stupid mistakes and decision may very well define one's life. Such records of crime leave teenagers to be abandoned by both society and friends who do not want to be dragged down.

     The common behavior with teenagers results in their misunderstanding of society from the protection of their parents; all their lives, they've been viewing society from behind the power and status of their parents. Without the realization that they are being protected, the teenagers begin to view themselves equal to the status and power of their parents and adventure through the real world without any respect and care for things. However, in some other cases, it may be the instability of the family that causes the young teenager to behave in such violent ways. I think the best way to address this problem is to target the youth, to raise awareness before they start developing that aggression and impulsive method of thinking. By targetting the younger generation, it is possible to complete get rid of this problem as they will teach their children and create a trend.

Wisconsin student shoots himself after seven-hour classroom hostage ordeal

     At Wisconsin High School, a 15 year old student held his classmates and teachers captive after school one day. The 15 year old student held a gun that struck fear into many other students and even the teachers themselves. The principal did not learn of this until he realized that none of the teachers and students in that class had been seen since the end of school. Authorities said that the gunman did not have any intentions of neither harming others nor gaining something; the gunman's motive is still a mystery. However, the gun has been shot a total of 5 times; 3 just as the police arrived, 1 in the wall, and 1 in a desk. Later, extra ammunition has been found. Fortunately, all the hostages were released safely. During the standoff, the gunman ordered everyone to abandone their cellphones; and when his own cellphone rang, he snapped it in half. Students later describe that the gunman had no intentions of harming anyone, they were just conversing, however, the gunman would not talk to the teachers. The students and teachers tried to keep the gunman happy by talking to him about his subjects of interest. After the 7 and a half standoff, the gunman shot himself in a vital spot; he was immediately transported to the nearby hospital. The conditions of the gunman are unknown, just that he was vitally wounded. The teacher, later described another, was very calm in the situation and was able to reassure everyone.

     This article illustrates the problem of isolation in high schools. Although there are many methods to isolate one from the community, the results are all the same; the victim becomes uncomfortable, depressed and insecure. The 15 year old student in this article was clearly lonely and it is clearly shown that he only wanted to converse with others and meant no harm. Despite his intentions, his method of approaching his desires forced others to think otherwise. I am sure, however, that the student realized his mistake and decided at the end of the standoff to shoot himself. It is very normal for other students to panic during the standoff because you can never know what is going through the gunner's mind. I thought the teacher played a very vital role in keeping everyone safe because she was able to calm her students. In situations like these, with the absence of calmness, the situation may have turned out very differently. Although this article does not relate hugely to society, it still serves as a reminder to us that we may encounter very difficult situations in our lives and that patience and calmness is the key to persevere through them.

Canada unveils another $93-million for Haiti quake reconstruction

     The International Cooperation Minister of Canada, Bev Oda, has announced that Canada will put out another 93-million dollars on top of the original 400-million dollars into the aid of Haiti's recovery after a devastating earthquake. The 93-million dollars will be spent towards the goals of : improvement of child health, education and agriculture. This new initiative will revolve around reconstructing and improving everyday lives of Haiti inhabitants; efforts such as building new schools, hospitals, and providing food all contribute to the reconstruction of Haiti. While Oda states that Canada is fulfilling its promises to Haiti of improving life, the federal government and Western donor nations are feeling skeptic that Canada has not done enough in the 12 months since the earthquake. The earthquake that struck Haiti on January 12, 2010 killed 300,000 and left over 1.4 million homeless.

     Mrs. Jean, a Haitian born Canadian feels that other nations have been giving as little effort and money as they can contribute to the cause. Haitians feel abandoned because of the slow pace of recovery, although the earthquake happened a year ago, over 1 million still live in camps and remain homeless. What started as a natural disaster is becoming a disgraceful reflection of the international community. However, Canadian officials argue that the slow pace of recovery is the result of the Haitian government's weakness, which was completely devastated by the earthquake.

     While money does not define the amount of effort that Canada has contributed in the recovery of Haiti, it definitely helps, especially when Canada contributed almost half a billion to the recovery of Haiti. However, sometimes people think that it is the willingness and display of care that earns the credit rather than giving the resources. In reality, I think that both factors are important in the aid of recovery because without resources, no advancements will be made and without care, it just seems that our connection as a species is so weak and that we are escaping the human nature of sympathy.

     In my opinion, I do not think that Canada has not contributed enough, but they can certainly contribute more to this cause. It is just as the article says, Canada is giving the minimal support they can; but then again, who is to say that Canada has to aid in this cause? There are many more worse outcome of this recovery process; the Haitians do not have any right to demand the help of other countries although it is humanely righteous for other countries to do so.

NDP makes gains amid ‘startling’ Tory-Liberal deadlock

     Released Thursday morning, November 11, a EKOS poll shows the percentage of Canadian supporters that each political party currently holds. This poll shows shocking results and reflects the major changes to Canada's society; the question lies in whether if a stable minority government can be formed. The statistics show that the Conservative party and Liberal party are at a tie with around 28-30 percent of the population's support. The surprising change is that the NDP has gained nearly 20 percent of the population's support; this is the highest number of supporters that the NDP has had in two years. However, not so much of a concern is the Bloc and Green party at 10% support each. The controversial subject which mainly sets aside the voters is the decision of whether or not to purchase 65 new fighter jets at a cost of 16 billion dollars. With all the statistics aside, the big question is: "Can any single party eke out the more humble goal of even a secure minority?"

     This is a rather unstable period in the political history of Canada because all the parties currently have a relatively equal share of the support of the citizens; this is unstable because it will be hard for the formation of a government. It will be very diffcult for the party in office to make decisions for the country because they do not have enough supporters that if, other parties decide to join together and overthrow the party in office, it will be very hard for the govenrment to stay in power. In the current moment, the Conservative party is only leading in the election by a fraction of one percent. Since the combined supporters of the Liberals and NDP are more than those of the Conservatives; the Liberals and NDP form a coalition. However, this would not be a smart move for the two parties as it would create the aullsion that they are trying to gain power. Rather, it is smarter to wait for Harper to disatisfy his supporters and thus losing office. Waiting for Harper's mistake, I would think, is much safer because it is very easy to displease the citizens at a time like this; when all of Canada is unsure about their position. The current controversial topic that creates this even division of Canadian supporters is the decision to purchase 65 new stealthed fighter jets for a total of 16 billion dollars. Personally, I do not think that the money will be well spent if it does go to purchase these new fighter jets. There is simply no need for them, we are living in a relatively peaceful century in the moment and the fighter jets will simply be books waiting to be outdated. Technology advances way to fast and this is why this decision, in my opinion, is very unwise. By the time war emerges, new fighter jets will already be developed that far exceed the capabilities of the ones that they are planning to purchase. To this point, I think the supporters of the Conservatives party have been somewhat brainwashed by their actions to go as far as to support such a reckless purchase like this; maybe it is time for Harper to step down.  

KKK costume shocks Ont. town

The Ku Klux Klan costume at the halloween party

     Mark Andrane was at a bar on Saturday night when he sighted a man parading down the down the street in a Ku Klux Klan costume with a confederation flag. The sight was very disturbing to Mr.Andrane as he was an African American himself; the Ku Klux Klan was a society built upon white surpremacy and white nationalism. In addition, the man in the Ku Klux Klan costume was dragging a black man behind him with a rope around the man's neck; suggesting white surpremacy ideas. Mark later finds out from his friends that the two people in the costumes had won a halloween party contest in a legion. Mark later expresses his worry for this issue, " This is 2010, that is unacceptable, especially in a legion". The principle of the legion issued a public apology and there was an investigation of the two people in the costume. Mark feels that an apology is not enough to solve the issue at hand, he feels that there should be some kind of sensitivity training for them.

     I think that this a huge issue when students are unable to identify the difference between having fun at a halloween party and going overboard to the extent where you are offending others. Althought some may argue that making mistakes is a learning process and helps people become better citizens; there are situations in which mistakes should not be made. The issue of racism is an issue that Canada takes alot of action on in order to education its population to not tolerate it; this education system is implemented from as early as kindergarden. Yet, these two individuals, from a "school" decide to dress up as something that degrades a certain race, is very shocking and a huge sign of warning to the boards of education that something needs to be done.If students now are unable to identify the boundary between fun and offense, then what will the future bring upon? Chaos. Thus brings the point that schools are not doing enough to raise awareness of this issue, because a majority of people think that it is a big issue that people will be aware. Those people are wrong, there is a difference of being aware and then knowing what to do about the issue or rather, what not to do.  

Alcohol ranked most harmful drug

Study show that alcohol is ranked the most harmful drug.

     A study done by British experts evalutates the dangers and harms of individual drugs; ranking them in level of destructiveness. The factors that the experts considered included: individual effect, effect on family, and the drug's economic cost. The individual effect refers to the addictiveness of the drug and its effects on the human body while the other two factors consider the damage the drug deals outside the person taking it. Herion, crack, cocaine, and crystal meth were ranked amongst the most dangerous and harmful to the individual body. However, when considering the social effects of the drug, alcohol was by far the worst and outranked all the other substances in the grand scale of effects. Alcohol has such a widespread use that it contributes to many more death rates and crime rates than those of other drugs. When the intaken is excessive, alcohol nearly damages all the organs of the body; and contribute to violent behaviors. Many experts argue, however, that banning alcohol will not be a good solution to this problem because alcohol has become a "culture" in the global lifestyle. Some suggest that by targetting the heavy drinkers through education that it may help to relieve the situation; while others suggest that by raising the pricing on alcohol may lead to less consumption. 

     This study, in my opinion, was very biased and was complete non-sense. How can one compare the effects of illegal drugs to those that are legal. Did data even need to be shown for the obvious answer of such studies? Illegal drugs were banned for a reason, they caused too much damage both to the user and people around him; of course, there small groups of people whom still use these drugs. However, their effect on the present society is minimal. While something like alcohol, a daily used substance, is obviously going to prove more harmful because it is "legal" and people will inevitably consume excessive amounts. It simply amazes me how "experts" can do such "in-depth" studies whilst not even considering the level of comparison between the objects of analysis. On the other hand, if the illegal drugs were legalized, then this study would have been informative; such studies are often misleading and tend to education society in a biased way to not consume alcohol.

Rob Ford elected mayor of Toronto

Ford's victory

     Rob Ford emerges as the victor of the Toronto Mayoral elections gaining 47.1 of the 99.9 percent of the vote that was reported in on Monday. Ford celebrated his victory at the Toronto Congress Centre in Etobicoke, making an appearance to the 80s  rock song Eye of the Tiger while holding the hand of his wife, Renata. Ford's campaign revolved around taxpayers and how their money should be treated; this idea gained the awareness of many citizens and thus gathering him many supporters. Ford's promises included:

• Scrap the city's vehicle registration fee and land transfer tax.
• Dedicate transit resources to building subway lines instead of light rail.
• Phase out streetcars in favour of low-emission buses.
• Contract out city services.
• Do away with the "fair wage" policy when contracting out.
• Cut city staff through attrition.

Rivals Smitherman and Pantalone even admited that Ford's campaign was extremely well focused on the issues that affect the daily lives of citizens most and congratulated Ford on his victory. In addition to Ford's victory, 14 of the 44 councillors will be newcomers replacing old councillors in various wards around Toronto.

     A major part of Ford's success came from his well devised campaign to target the problems and issues that most appealed to the citizens; and instead of targetting every single issue with brief actions, he decided to take detailed and specific actions on certain issues. This gives reassurance to citizens as they are aware who and what they are voting for; this time around, rather than targetting the candidate, the campaigns and ideas were targetted. Compared to other candidates, Ford was able to spread his message clearly and loudly; Ford focused on improving his campaign rather than attacking other candidates  ( which ultimately backfired this election) and the victory of the election was his reward for his actions. However, only time can tell whether or not Ford is able to keep to his promises.