Man Arrested for Bomb Threat Against PM's Residence

Ottawa Police have arrested a 35 year old man after a bomb threat was made against the Prime Minister's residence at 24 Sussex Drive in Ottawa. Ottawa Police searched the area immediately following the call andreported that there were no threats found that could harm either the Prime Minister or his family. They then traced the call to an apartment across the river in Gatineau, Quebec.

When police arrived at the scene, a standoff occured, as the suspect threatened and began throwing objects at the police from inside his apartment. No officers were injured when the standoff occured, however, it only added another charge to what the man is facing. He was arrested and charged with one count of uttering threats and one count of assaulting police. The man was taken into custody and identified, and the police stated that they did know the man.

To begin with, I would very much like to know the man's motivation for pulling off a stunt like this. But even so, this is an act that could land you in jail for a while. Making a threat against the Prime Minister is bad enough, but the man managed to make the situation worse by assaulting police when they came to arrest him. I am glad that the authorities called an investigation just to make sure the situation was under control. When it comes to matters like this, it is better to be safe than sorry.

http://news.nationalpost.com/2011/02/28/bomb-threat-near-prime-minister%E2%80%99s-residence/

Recent Survey of Students Say Cellphones are Distracting in Class

A survey of Ontario teenagers that will be released later this week has shown that cellphones are a nuisance for students in class. A shocking 72% of teenagers do not want cellphones to be part of their classroom learning. The survey was conducted by the Ontario Student Trustees' Association, which consists of a number of students across Ontario. 71% of the respondees to the survey were female, and a whopping 85% of the respondees were in Grade 12.

The figure that 72% of teenagers do not want cellphones in class goes strongly against Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty's comments last fall, who said that he believes cellphones in class should be looked at in the near future and could be used as an educational tool, as long as that's the only function they serve while in class. I believe this is a good response, as cellphones can be very distracting to a student's learning when used for texting and other things like that during class. However, with the number of applications for the iPhone and the Android, they could surely enhance the learning experience.

Another part of the survey was whether or not students wanted a later start to the school day. Students were split on this issue, as most thought a later end to the school day would interfere with their after school working hours. Even so, many schools have already decided to try a later start to the day as a pilot project.

http://www.parentcentral.ca/parent/education/schoolsandresources/article/943880--teens-say-cellphones-distracting-in-class

Toyota Recalling Even More Vehicles

Toyota announced announced this week that they are recalling 2.2 million of their vehicles because of multiple safety risks. This recall is an expansion of the recall they had in 2009 in which gas pedals could be trapped in floor mats. Apparently, that problem has not yet been fixed, as gas pedals can still be trapped in driver's side floormats, and so they are recalling 20,000 Lexus GS's to fix this problem.

Another issue that has arisen lately is the retention clip on some of the mats that could also cause the pedal to be stuck. Toyota has been forced to recall 370,000 cars manufactured from 2004-2007 to fix the issue. They are also adding 603,000 cars to the 2009 recall - including the 4Runner and Rav 4 models.

This is a shameful turn of events for Toyota. Still one of the world's leading car companies, their image has been tarnished in the last few years because of all these recalls. It is shocking to me how they had not fixed the issue with the first recall back in 2009. People will use caution now when deciding whether to buy a Toyota, and all because of Toyota's carelessness and negligence of a simple, yet possibly deadly problem.

http://money.cnn.com/2011/02/24/autos/toyota_recall_floormat/index.htm?hpt=T2

6.3 Magnitude Earthquake Hits New Zealand

The 6.3 Magnitude Earthquake that hit New Zealand yesterday was one of the worst to ever hit the country, and the second in under five months. It is second only to a 7.1 Magnitude one that hit Christchurch last September. This one, however, was far more costly, as the epicentre was far closer to the area of the city where people live and work. Thousands affected by the Earthquake have moved into temporary shelters, and some have even moved into tents outside their homes.

So far, 65 people have been confirmed dead, while hundreds more are still missing, trapped underneath the rubble of fallen buildings. New Zealand officials have confirmed that rescue workers will be working around the clock to free anyone trapped underneath all the debris. Seismologists have said that the issue with this quake is that it was very shallow underneath the ground, and many people were within 10 to 20 kilometers of the epicentre.

Canada is also sending resue workers to the country to assist with cleanup and location of missing persons. I think this is the right thing for us to do, as we need to help other countries when they have been hit with a disaster if we ever want them to do the same for us when and if we are hit with something like they were. \

http://www.thestar.com/news/world/article/942674--rescue-efforts-in-new-zealand-to-continue-overnight?bn=1

TTC Delay Raises Issues with Intercom System

Early Monday morning, the Toronto Transit Commission discovered a cracked rail at King Station during the height of rush hour, prompting all trains on the TTC's Yonge line to be held up and delayed while the rail was fixed. The delay eventually lasted around 1 1/2 hours, leaving many commuters stuck in the subway tunnels.

Now in these situations, the TTC will inform commuters of the delay via the intercom system in all trains. But today's delay caused many commuters to be unsatisfied with the intercom system. When the person came on the system to announce the cause and estimated time of the delay, many people heard only static and garbled words. When the announcement was finished, most were still unsure of the cause and estimated time the delay would take. A TTC spokesperson said that in situations like this, they try and put safety as their top priority, putting communication in the backseat. But the spokesperson did acknowledge that the speaker system is poor and that they are working on an update. I have noticed this problem with the speakers many times while riding the TTC, and am very glad that a major news piece has addressed the issue.

The TTC is currently working with different companies to have a new speaker system implemented. They are also working with media companies to make delay announcements on platform screens larger, and also to put screens like the ones on platforms outside of stations, so people will know of delays before paying fares. The TTC runs on a very tight budget, however, so don't expect these upgrades to happen anytime soon.

http://www.thestar.com/news/ttc/article/938418--why-today-s-ttc-delay-was-a-mystery-to-many-riders

Bank Employee Accused of Stealing from Clients' Accounts

A former Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (CIBC) worker has been arrested and charged with fraud and money laundering after many senior customers were defrauded of around $200,000. The money was withdrawn from the clients' accounts between 2002 and 2007, when Alicia Canlas worked at the bank. CIBC has reimbursed all of the fraud victims, but police have not yet recovered any of the money that was stolen.

The charges against Alicia Canlas were based on the fact that clients' mailing addresses were changed so that clients would not know about the withdrawals. As well, the money was taken from the accounts in small amounts, so as not to raise any red flags. Only seniors were targeted in this scam, as the victims ranged in age between 60 and 85. This makes the scam even worse for the victims, as most of the accounts the money was taken from were trust funds or life savings funds. None of the seniors wanted to be identified in the report.

CIBC has warned customers to check their bank statements every month to check for any discrepancies or missing statements. CIBC must also do a better job of screening their employees when hiring, as well as doing background checks and regular check-ups and evaluations to avoid any problem like this in the future.

http://www.thestar.com/news/crime/article/936205--bank-employee-accused-of-stealing-from-accounts?bn=1

Real Life Band of Brothers Heading to Afghanistan

The 1st Battalion of the 23rd Regiment of the U.S. Marine Corps is known as the "Lone Star Battalion." Within this battalion, there are bonds between the soldiers unlike any other. The Battalion consists of 5 different sets of brothers, and will be deployed to Afghanistan next week. All of the brothers agree that having family members around when you are being faced with fear and danger will help to ease the stress quite a lot. The commander of the Battalion, Lt. Col. Todd Zink, said that he believes it is a benefit to the battalion because nobody knows you better than your brother and to have him by your side gives you strength and courage you might not have otherwise had.

However, for the families of the soldiers, the strain of their kids going off to war is doubled, since not one, but two of their kids are heading off to fight. Even though the families are filled with many emotions seeing their children go to war, mainly sadness and pride, they too take comfort in knowing they will be fighting together in Afghanistan.

There are no U.S. Marine Policies that are against brothers serving together in the same battalion, but it is not a common thing because siblings usually join reserve corps in their hometown instead of battalions going to fight. I believe this is an incredible story, as it can be a real asset to have the same companion on the battlefield as you did during your childhood.

http://afghanistan.blogs.cnn.com/2011/02/08/a-real-life-band-of-brothers/?hpt=C1

Two Canadians Dead in Mexico

Two Canadians are dead after being swept out to sea in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico. The two were identified as Dale and Linda McDouglas. The two were swept out into the ocean while swimming at Divorce Beach in Cabo San Lucas. Divorce Beach is a popular tourist spot in Mexico for sightseeing, but swimming is discouraged because of very strong currents near the beach. The two were originally pulled from the water and paramedics attempted to resuscitate them, but to no avail.

These deaths are the second and third deaths this week for Canadians in Mexico. Earlier this week, a woman from Canada was killed in Cancun after being attacked by a shark. Mexico has always been a popular spot for Canadians to vacation to, but in recent years has become more dangerous. It was always known that infections such as Hepatitis are risks of travelling to Mexico, but in recent years, those have taken a backseat to water-related deaths such as the ones above, hostage situations, and shootings. Mexico has become a dangerous place, and in some years, the government has even advised travellers against going to Mexico for vacations. In my mind, it has become too dangerous of a place to go on vacation, even if it does offer a cheap and fantastic winter getaway.

http://news.nationalpost.com/2011/02/04/two-canadian-tourists-dead-in-mexico-after-being-swept-out-to-sea-reports/

Groundhogs Ignore Snowstorm and Predict Early Spring

Despite the raging snowstorms in Ontario today, the tradition of Groundhog Day went on like normal. The first one to make his prediction was Shubnecadie Sam in Nova Scotia. The next to emerge from his burrow was Ontario's own Wiarton Willie. Both did not see their shadows, which, according to tradition, means that the country is in for an early spring. If they would have run back into their burrow, it means we would have been in for 6 more weeks of winter. Even though it is hard to believe looking out the window, the predictions are apparently very accurate. Punxsutawney Phil, from Pennsylvania, also predicted an early spring, something people in Pennsylvania say only happens on average every 10 years. The last time he predicted an early spring was in 2007.  

The tradition of Groundhog Day was brought to the country by German immigrants. The date is unknown, however, many people still make the trek to various cities to see Willie, Sam, Phil and Billie make their predictions. In my opinion, it is a fun tradition, and the fact that it is still going strong after a few decades means that people really appreciate it. This tradition can give people a ray of hope that spring will be coming just around the corner. Because of this, it is a tradition that is worth keeping.

http://news.nationalpost.com/2011/02/02/groundhogs-ignore-the-blizzard-predict-early-spring/