Protests in Serbia Turn Violent

Protests in Belgrade, Serbia over the arrest of former Serbian War General Ratko Mladic turned violent today as supporters of the Serbian Radical Party threw stones at police before being dispersed by Riot Police who arrived on the scene shortly after the original attacks. The Radical Party demanded that the President of Serbia, Boris Tadic resign because of the arrest of Gen. Mladic. Mladic was arrested for allegedly being involved in the genocide of 8,000 Muslims during the 1992-95 Bosnian War. 

Supporters of Mladic all over the country responded to the arrest, with posters and banners of the General hanging all around towns, and also with violence, as store windows were broken and riots were everywhere. The protests in Belgrade today seriously injured 7 people. The Radical Party spokespeople say they want the President to resign because of the way they are giving in to Western Views. They say that their Government has "Pro-Western Policies" and that they are "Betraying all interests of the Serbian nation." 

In my view, the Serbian Government did the right thing. Serbia is a democratic society, and one where human rights are valued. If this former General really did have a part in the mass murder of 8,000 innocent people, than he deserves whatever sentence he gets. Maybe Serbia isn't as democratic and peaceful as we all think. 

http://news.nationalpost.com/2011/05/29/protest-against-mladic-arrest-turns-violent-in-belgrade/

Are NATO Airstrikes Necessary?

Afghanistan has reported that 14 women and children are dead after an alleged NATO airstrike in the southwest part of the country. The attack was apparently aimed to strike insurgents in retaliation for an attack on a US Marine base, but instead hit houses in the area. NATO has not confirmed the strike, but has said that they are sending delegates to Afghanistan to investigate the damage.

Airstrikes and civilian casualties in Afghanistan has increased tensions between NATO and the Afghanistan government over the past few years. The President of Afghanistan has ordered that nighttime strikes be stopped and that any strikes or attacks should first be cleared with the Afghani government. There has been no indication as to what effect, if any, this will have on NATO's actions in the country.

Even though NATO claims that these strikes are necessary, I see them as being highly ineffective. What's the use in conducting these airstrikes if they don't even hit who they are supposed to? And when they have the lives of innocent civilians in their hands, that's when things really can get out of hand.

http://www.ctv.ca/CTVNews/TopStories/20110529/nato-airstrike-afghanistan-110529/

Department Store Target to Open in Canada

U.S. Department Store Target has announced 105 stores to open in Canada next year, the first stores of the chain to open outside of the United States. Target, however, is no stranger to Canadian consumers. Many Canadians are loyal Target shoppers already. When Canadians travel across the border to shop, many of them stop at Target. Target's low cost approach has worked for years on both American and Canadian consumers, as many loyal Target consumers have said that they will "walk in there with a list of two items and walk out with a receipt for $144. The way Target does this is by their trendy appeal. When a customer buys one item that is trendy at the store, it makes everything else in the house stand out because they aren't new or trendy.

But the problem is that once Target comes to Canada, the approach may not work with Canadians anymore. For many, the fact that the items at Target were only available in the United States was a big part of the appeal. With all these items being available right down the street, will the appeal to Canadians fade?

I think Target should re-think opening so many stores in Canada at once, just to test the waters. Starting with a low number of stores (10?) is a good idea, because if things go wrong and no customers come, it is easier to shut them down. 105 stores will be a lot harder.

http://arts.nationalpost.com/2011/05/27/close-to-home-but-off-target/

List of World's Most Peaceful Countries Released

The 2011 Global Peace Rankings were released this morning, and for the first time, Canada was in the top 10, placing 8th. The Global Peace Index ranks countries around the world by the following criteria: crime, terrorism, government, democracy and human rights. The rest of the top 10 include: Japan, Czech Republic, New Zealand, Denmark, Austria, Finland, Slovenia and Iceland taking the top spot. Some people have argued about Canada being included in the top 10 because o the violent protests that occurred during the G20 summit last summer, but the creators of the index have indicated that the protests were a "one-time blip."

This is in contrast to the United States placing an astonishing 82nd on the index. This ranks the United States below countries such as China and Cuba. The creators have stated the the U.S. "reflects much higher levels of militarization and involvement in external conflicts than its northern neighbour." The countries at the bottom of the list include: Iraq, Sudan, Afghanistan, North Korea, and Somalia taking last place.

To me, this is a very proud moment to be Canadian and to be thankful to live in a place as peaceful as we do. It is always good to know that we enjoy a high level of freedom, as it is something we must never take for granted.

http://www.thestar.com/news/world/article/996268--canada-among-10-most-peaceful-countries?bn=1

A Solution to Toronto's Taxi Problems?

Toronto may finally have a solution to its taxi problems, and the solution does involve technology. As it stands now, after a night out, especially in a busy area like Toronto's downtown, it can be hard, if not almost impossible to find a cab. But smartphones could change that. The proposed idea to be implemented in cities like Toronto would involve the customer opening a application that knows where the customer is. It would then send a signal out to all available cabs in the area to notify them of a possible fare. The customer would then be able to browse the cabs by their price or company, and select one from the list.

Apparently, this would ensure price competition between taxis, which is most likely true. But there is a downside: it would make the task of policing the taxi network that much more difficult. Authorities now can easily detect rogue taxi operators because they need to advertise their services in order to attract customers. But with the new system, it will make it almost impossible to detect rogue taxi operators because the customers cannot tell who belongs to which companies.

In my mind, this is a system which will be implemented soon, and I believe it is a good idea. I'm sure customers will be able to tell which prices seem outrageously low enough to raise an eyebrow, and so they'll be able to police themselves.

http://news.nationalpost.com/2011/05/25/urban-scrawl-a-smart-solution-to-torontos-taxi-woes/

Election 2011

The Canadian Federal Election of 2011 is over with, and it seems that the early poll results were correct. The Conservatives, led by Prime Minister Stephen Harper, won a majority government in the House of Commons with 167 seats, while, in a surprise move, the New Democratic Party, led by Jack Layton, became the Official Opposition with 102 seats. Another surprise was the election of Elizabeth May to Parliament, the first MP of the Green Party of Canada.

On the other hand, the Liberal Party and the Bloc Quebecois were blown away by the NDP surge, as the Liberals dropped from their previous 70 seats to only 34, the majority coming in Atlantic Canada, and the Bloc dropping from around 40 seats to only 4. To add even more surprise, the leaders of these parties, Michael Ignatiff and Giles Duceppe both lost their seats in Parliament and subsequently resigned from leadership of their respective parties.

As well, something that interests me is the election in my cottage riding of Simcoe-Grey. The incumbent, Helena Guergis was a member of the Conservative Party but was kicked out last year, sitting as an Independent MP for the duration of Parliament. She was defeated by a landslide by the Party-backed Conservative MP, Kellie Leitch.