GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip — A column of Israeli tanks, some firing their weapons, rolled into the northern Gaza Strip on Saturday, a Palestinian witness said, in what appeared to be the beginning of a ground offensive against Islamist Hamas.
The Israeli military confirmed that a force had entered the Gaza Strip to seize some areas used to launch rockets.
The witness, a resident of the Gaza town of Beit Lahiya, said the column crossed the boundary fence under cover of darkness, accompanied by Israeli combat helicopters.
The witness could not immediately say how deep the Israelis had penetrated into Palestinian territory.
Israeli tanks and soldiers had been poised on the Gaza Strip border preparing for a possible ground offensive, as militants kept up rocket strikes on southern Israel in defiance of international calls for it to halt such attacks.
“I hope the results of this operation will bring about quiet in the long term. The moment they fire, we will respond with great force,” Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni said on Israeli TV.
“It could be that several operations will be needed.”
Witnesses said an air strike on a mosque in the town of Beit Lahiya took place as people prayed inside. At least 11 civilians, including children, were killed and 50 wounded, Hamas and medical officials said.
Rescuers pulled people from the debris and the bodies of victims lay in pools of blood, the witnesses said.
Israel has targeted mosques before saying that Hamas had used them as command posts and fire bases.
The raid brought the Palestinian death toll to at least 446, with about 2,050 wounded, in the worst sustained bloodshed in decades of the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians.
Four Israelis have also been killed in cross-border rocket attacks by Hamas and other militant groups.
Israel launched artillery fire on Gaza for the first time in an offensive that was entering its second week.
Israeli air strikes targeted Gaza from early morning on Saturday and naval vessels also shelled the area from the Mediterranean, witnesses said.
One strike killed Abu Zakaria al-Jamal, a senior commander of Hamas's armed wing, Hamas said. He was the second Hamas leader killed in three days.
Israel launched the campaign, called Operation Cast Lead, on Dec. 27 saying it wanted to stop Hamas rocket attacks on southern Israel.
Summary:
The Gaza strip is a is an area where they were launching missiles towards Southern Isreal. The Israeli army had to do something about this. They decided to try to take it over during the night time with tanks, troops, and and combat helicopters. This whole attack was witnessed by a palestinian civilian. 11 civilians including children were killed from an air raid and 50 were wounded. People were rescued from the debrie of the raid.
Questions:
1. How does this relate to what we have studied in history so far?
2. Do you think it was necessary for the Israeli military to raid the Gaza Strip?
3. Do you think that this could possibly rase up a new war in Israel?
Saturday, January 3, 2009
Sunday, November 30, 2008
OTTAWA
OTTAWA — The NDP says it may pursue criminal charges after the Conservatives covertly listened in, taped and distributed audio of a closed-door NDP strategy session.
NDP Leader Jack Layton can be heard on the tapes boasting to his caucus that he had prepared scenarios to bring down the government with the help of the Bloc Quebecois before the Conservatives issued their recent economic statement.
The caucus talks took place Saturday and a recording of the meeting was delivered to the media on Sunday by Prime Minister Stephen Harper's staff.
In response, NDP MP Thomas Mulcair said the government is panicking and desperate to change the channel on its economic management and may have committed what could be an illegal act.
New Democratic Party leader Jack Layton speaks during Question Period in the House of Commons on Parliament Hill in Ottawa November 20, 2008. (Chris Wattie/REUTERS)
Mr. Mulcair said his party is looking into “the application of the Criminal Code,” in the taping.
As for the substance of the call, Mr. Mulcair said the talks with the Bloc were perfectly normal consultations between parties in a minority government. They began only after the government's economic update was delivered last Thursday, he said.
And Mr. Mulcair pointed as an example to consultations that took place between Mr. Layton, Mr. Harper and the Bloc's Gilles Duceppe in September 2004 when the Liberals were freshly installed as a minority government.
Mr. Harper, who was leader of the Opposition at that time, held lengthy discussions with Mr. Layton and Mr. Duceppe aimed at supplanting Paul Martin's Liberal government without an election in the fall of 2004.
Those talks did not invoke a coalition, but rather revolved around replacing the elected Liberal minority with a Conservative government led by Mr. Harper and supported by the New Democrats and Bloc on an issue-by-issue basis.
During Saturday's conference call, Mr. Layton also is heard saying it doesn't matter what the policy issues are, they just need to defeat the Harper minority. He says he hopes a lasting coalition can be built that will survive two or three years in government.
NDP spokesman Brad Lavigne said the Conservatives are merely trying to deflect attention from the government losing the confidence of the House of Commons.
A spokesman for the Prime Minister's Office said there was nothing unethical about covertly listening in to the private NDP deliberations, taping those discussions and releasing them to the media.
An unidentified Tory was “invited” to participate in the call, said PMO spokesman Dimitri Soudas.
“Maybe the invitation was meant for the Bloc, and they accidentally invited us. We were invited. When you get invited somewhere you have the opportunity to choose to participate or not participate.”
Summary: A private meeting held by the NDP was taped by the Conservitives and released to the media. Now the NDP want to press charges.
1. Why do you think that the Conservitives did this?
2. Do you think that the NDP should press charges?
3. How do you think the Conservitives will benefit by knowing what the NDP were discussing?
NDP Leader Jack Layton can be heard on the tapes boasting to his caucus that he had prepared scenarios to bring down the government with the help of the Bloc Quebecois before the Conservatives issued their recent economic statement.
The caucus talks took place Saturday and a recording of the meeting was delivered to the media on Sunday by Prime Minister Stephen Harper's staff.
In response, NDP MP Thomas Mulcair said the government is panicking and desperate to change the channel on its economic management and may have committed what could be an illegal act.
New Democratic Party leader Jack Layton speaks during Question Period in the House of Commons on Parliament Hill in Ottawa November 20, 2008. (Chris Wattie/REUTERS)
Mr. Mulcair said his party is looking into “the application of the Criminal Code,” in the taping.
As for the substance of the call, Mr. Mulcair said the talks with the Bloc were perfectly normal consultations between parties in a minority government. They began only after the government's economic update was delivered last Thursday, he said.
And Mr. Mulcair pointed as an example to consultations that took place between Mr. Layton, Mr. Harper and the Bloc's Gilles Duceppe in September 2004 when the Liberals were freshly installed as a minority government.
Mr. Harper, who was leader of the Opposition at that time, held lengthy discussions with Mr. Layton and Mr. Duceppe aimed at supplanting Paul Martin's Liberal government without an election in the fall of 2004.
Those talks did not invoke a coalition, but rather revolved around replacing the elected Liberal minority with a Conservative government led by Mr. Harper and supported by the New Democrats and Bloc on an issue-by-issue basis.
During Saturday's conference call, Mr. Layton also is heard saying it doesn't matter what the policy issues are, they just need to defeat the Harper minority. He says he hopes a lasting coalition can be built that will survive two or three years in government.
NDP spokesman Brad Lavigne said the Conservatives are merely trying to deflect attention from the government losing the confidence of the House of Commons.
A spokesman for the Prime Minister's Office said there was nothing unethical about covertly listening in to the private NDP deliberations, taping those discussions and releasing them to the media.
An unidentified Tory was “invited” to participate in the call, said PMO spokesman Dimitri Soudas.
“Maybe the invitation was meant for the Bloc, and they accidentally invited us. We were invited. When you get invited somewhere you have the opportunity to choose to participate or not participate.”
Summary: A private meeting held by the NDP was taped by the Conservitives and released to the media. Now the NDP want to press charges.
1. Why do you think that the Conservitives did this?
2. Do you think that the NDP should press charges?
3. How do you think the Conservitives will benefit by knowing what the NDP were discussing?
Tuesday, November 25, 2008
Arrest in Afghan acid attack
Afghan police have arrested 10 Taliban militants involved in an acid attack this month against 15 girls and teachers walking to school in southern Afghanistan, a provincial governor said Tuesday.
"Several" of the arrested militants have confessed to taking part in the acid attack, said Kandahar Gov. Rahmatullah Raufi. He declined to be more precise.
High-ranking Taliban fighters paid the militants a total of $2,000 to carry out the attack, Raufi said. The attackers came from Pakistan but were Afghan nationals, said Doud Doud, an Interior Ministry official.
The attackers squirted the acid from water bottles onto three groups of students and teachers walking to school in Kandahar city on Nov. 12. Several girls suffered burns to the face and were hospitalized. One teenager couldn't open her eyes days after the attack, which drew condemnation from around the world.
After the investigation is complete, the accused will be tried in open court, said Raufi.
One of the victims, a teacher named Nuskaal who was burned through her burqa, called Tuesday for a harsh punishment for the attackers.
"Several" of the arrested militants have confessed to taking part in the acid attack, said Kandahar Gov. Rahmatullah Raufi. He declined to be more precise.
High-ranking Taliban fighters paid the militants a total of $2,000 to carry out the attack, Raufi said. The attackers came from Pakistan but were Afghan nationals, said Doud Doud, an Interior Ministry official.
The attackers squirted the acid from water bottles onto three groups of students and teachers walking to school in Kandahar city on Nov. 12. Several girls suffered burns to the face and were hospitalized. One teenager couldn't open her eyes days after the attack, which drew condemnation from around the world.
After the investigation is complete, the accused will be tried in open court, said Raufi.
One of the victims, a teacher named Nuskaal who was burned through her burqa, called Tuesday for a harsh punishment for the attackers.
Saturday, November 22, 2008
McGuinty worries auto sector rescue would drive deficit higher
McGuinty worries auto sector rescue would drive deficit higher
KEITH LESLIE
The Canadian Press
November 22, 2008 at 12:22 PM EST
TORONTO — As governments in Canada and the United States consider rescue packages for the struggling auto industry, Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty warned Saturday that giving taxpayers' money to support the sector could drive the province's deficit into dangerous territory.
Ontario already had to revise its budget forecasts for this year to eliminate an expected surplus and instead post a $500-million deficit.
With mayors from 22 Ontario communities pressing the province to help save the industry, auto dealers begging for help and the automakers looking for cash, Mr. McGuinty said the demands on his government are only increasing as the economic times get worse.
“The auto sector demand alone could cause our deficit to dramatically balloon,” Mr. McGuinty said after a speech to a Liberal policy conference.
“When it comes to the deficit, some people say ‘Well, what difference does it make?' Well, it makes a big difference. If we get caught with a major structural deficit, it becomes difficult if not impossible to get out of it.”
With more than 400,000 Ontario jobs at stake, Mr. McGuinty spoke about the “economic and social value” of the auto sector, making it clear the province intends to offer financial aid, even if it means adding more red ink to the books.
“We've got to balance public support and what that means in terms of costs and the absence of support — the failure of the industry — and what that means in terms of costs,” he told reporters.
“It makes for a real challenge for us.”
Analysts warned Friday that General Motors could soon be forced to seek bankruptcy protection if a U.S. government bailout package isn't worked out soon, saying the auto giant could run out of cash before January.
Federal Industry Minister Tony Clement and Ontario Economic Development Minister Michael Bryant visits to Detroit and Washington this week helped give a clearer picture of the situation the automakers face in the United States, Mr. McGuinty said.
“It was an opportunity for them to get a sense — even if they didn't get all the meetings that would have liked — they got a feeling for how things are unfolding there, which is very helpful to us.”
Mr. McGuinty cautioned the auto companies that provincial support would not be automatic, and said taxpayers want to know the companies and unions have a strategy to get out of the current mess.
“I think Ontarians are bringing both goodwill and a healthy skepticism to the table,” he said. “But they are going to have to demonstrate to us that they are prepared to do what it takes. Let's see some specific plans. Let's get some reliable assurances things are going to get better.”
However, Mr. McGuinty said taxpayers and governments also have to be realistic in demanding that car makers to switch to smaller, more fuel efficient cars and trucks, noting that five out of the top ten selling vehicles in Canada are trucks and mini-vans.
“We buy a lot of trucks and big vehicles, and we need to be honest about the demands we place on the auto sector,” he said.
“If we want them to produce more fuel efficient vehicles, I think we have to buy more fuel efficient vehicles.”
Summary:
Premier McGuinty, the premier of Ontario, is trying to decide whether to give the American car manufacturers money. The American cars tend to use lots of gas. People these days like the Japanese and German cars. This means the Americans are losing a lot of business. This is important in Canada because the manufacturers have big plants in Canada and especially in Ontario. The manufacturers in Ontario are begging McGuinty for money now. McGuinty is afraid that if he gives them money, Ontario will fall into a $500 million deficit.
If the car manufacturers don't get money, then lots of people will lose their jobs. This will cause a domino effect so that other people will also lose their jobs.
Questions:
1. How does this relate to this course?
2. Why are the problems in the car industry significant to other people's jobs?
3. How could this affect us when we become adults?
KEITH LESLIE
The Canadian Press
November 22, 2008 at 12:22 PM EST
TORONTO — As governments in Canada and the United States consider rescue packages for the struggling auto industry, Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty warned Saturday that giving taxpayers' money to support the sector could drive the province's deficit into dangerous territory.
Ontario already had to revise its budget forecasts for this year to eliminate an expected surplus and instead post a $500-million deficit.
With mayors from 22 Ontario communities pressing the province to help save the industry, auto dealers begging for help and the automakers looking for cash, Mr. McGuinty said the demands on his government are only increasing as the economic times get worse.
“The auto sector demand alone could cause our deficit to dramatically balloon,” Mr. McGuinty said after a speech to a Liberal policy conference.
“When it comes to the deficit, some people say ‘Well, what difference does it make?' Well, it makes a big difference. If we get caught with a major structural deficit, it becomes difficult if not impossible to get out of it.”
With more than 400,000 Ontario jobs at stake, Mr. McGuinty spoke about the “economic and social value” of the auto sector, making it clear the province intends to offer financial aid, even if it means adding more red ink to the books.
“We've got to balance public support and what that means in terms of costs and the absence of support — the failure of the industry — and what that means in terms of costs,” he told reporters.
“It makes for a real challenge for us.”
Analysts warned Friday that General Motors could soon be forced to seek bankruptcy protection if a U.S. government bailout package isn't worked out soon, saying the auto giant could run out of cash before January.
Federal Industry Minister Tony Clement and Ontario Economic Development Minister Michael Bryant visits to Detroit and Washington this week helped give a clearer picture of the situation the automakers face in the United States, Mr. McGuinty said.
“It was an opportunity for them to get a sense — even if they didn't get all the meetings that would have liked — they got a feeling for how things are unfolding there, which is very helpful to us.”
Mr. McGuinty cautioned the auto companies that provincial support would not be automatic, and said taxpayers want to know the companies and unions have a strategy to get out of the current mess.
“I think Ontarians are bringing both goodwill and a healthy skepticism to the table,” he said. “But they are going to have to demonstrate to us that they are prepared to do what it takes. Let's see some specific plans. Let's get some reliable assurances things are going to get better.”
However, Mr. McGuinty said taxpayers and governments also have to be realistic in demanding that car makers to switch to smaller, more fuel efficient cars and trucks, noting that five out of the top ten selling vehicles in Canada are trucks and mini-vans.
“We buy a lot of trucks and big vehicles, and we need to be honest about the demands we place on the auto sector,” he said.
“If we want them to produce more fuel efficient vehicles, I think we have to buy more fuel efficient vehicles.”
Summary:
Premier McGuinty, the premier of Ontario, is trying to decide whether to give the American car manufacturers money. The American cars tend to use lots of gas. People these days like the Japanese and German cars. This means the Americans are losing a lot of business. This is important in Canada because the manufacturers have big plants in Canada and especially in Ontario. The manufacturers in Ontario are begging McGuinty for money now. McGuinty is afraid that if he gives them money, Ontario will fall into a $500 million deficit.
If the car manufacturers don't get money, then lots of people will lose their jobs. This will cause a domino effect so that other people will also lose their jobs.
Questions:
1. How does this relate to this course?
2. Why are the problems in the car industry significant to other people's jobs?
3. How could this affect us when we become adults?
Friday, November 21, 2008
TORONTO — What pushed Keith Delong over the edge? Why would the retired IBM employee stab to death his wife and two adult children, and then kill himself with a rifle?
As Toronto detectives Thursday pieced together a horrifying murder-suicide on a tidy residential Scarborough street, a catalogue of concerns emerged that may have been quietly building within the walls of the Delong family's modest bungalow.
The pressures of a remortgaged home, a volatile stock market, a shrinking family income and two ailing kin – one dependent on pricey medication – may have boiled over with violence.
There had been widespread speculation that the bloody interior of 12 Welwyn Ave. was the site of a quadruple murder and that the prime suspect was Mr. Delong's 44-year-old son-in-law, James Tompkins, led away from the crime scene in handcuffs, weeping.
Videos
Police are still trying to piece together why someone killed their three family members and dog before committing suicide in an east-end Toronto home.
But after speaking to Mr. Tompkins for several hours and examining his townhouse in Whitby, just east of Toronto, police released the 44-year-old welder, concluding he had nothing to do with the slaughter that claimed the lives of Keith Delong, his wife Wanda and their two children, Elizabeth, 41, and Richard, 38.
Rather, Detective Sergeant Pauline Gray of the Toronto police homicide squad, said “the tragic deaths of the family was in fact a triple homicide-suicide.”
Autopsies are scheduled for Saturday Det. Sgt. Gray would not confirm the names of the victims or the killer, or say how any of them died.
Police sources confirmed, however, that detectives are certain the murders were committed by Keith Delong and that, after stabbing his family to death and also killing the family poodle, Charlotte, he shot himself.
Mr. Delong's fishing-lure-decorated hat was a common neighbourhood sight, in sun or snow, and residents struggled to understand the concerns percolating beneath its broad rim.
“I can't believe it,” said Katherine Harper, a neighbour, whose driveway Mr. Delong often shovelled. “They were both good, very nice people.”
Taped to the Welwyn Avenue bungalow's front door, below a loon-shaped welcome sign, was a note scribbled in blue ink on white paper. Written in a leaning, unsteady hand, it urged the reader not to step inside and to call police.
But there was no explanatory note offering what drove Mr. Delong to despair, and no criminal history. As far as is known, none of the four slain Delongs had had any prior contact with police.
What does seem clear is that Mr. Delong may have been under some financial pressure.
One concern may have been his mother-in-law, who lives in Mexico and is unwell – sufficiently so that on the same day the family were found dead, Keith and Wanda had been scheduled to head to Mexico to help care for her.
A second worry may have involved the couple's son Richard, who suffered from a degenerative bone disorder and lived in the basement of the beige-brick bungalow. Neighbours said his condition had worsened in recent years, that Richard was in an increasing amount of pain, and that the cost of his medication had risen.
A friend of Richard's who visited the crime scene Thursday said that a few years ago his condition had forced him to leave his job at Sears, where he had been a member of the IT department. Tears filled her eyes as she recalled that she had made plans to come over for pizza and a movie with Richard while his parents were away.
“They were such good, gentle people,” she said.
Keith Delong had recently incurred a slab of fresh debt, money that may conceivably have been sunk into some ailing investments. Certainly the timing would fit that scenario.
The Delongs purchased their home in 1975 for $60,000, and remortgaged it at least once before moving their banking arrangements to the Bank of Nova Scotia in 2002.
Mortgage documents show that on Sept. 30 of this year, Scotiabank registered a new mortgage with the Delongs for $240,000. How much the couple already owed the bank at that point is unclear, but the new mortgage was at least $70,000 more than the discharged mortgage it replaced.
At that stage – before Toronto's housing market began to weaken, and before severe turmoil began roiling financial markets – there may have been little reason for Scotiabank to hesitate about advancing cash to the couple. What the Delongs did with the extra money is unknown.
But if any of it was tied up in the stock market, they may have had some concern.
On Sept. 30, the TSX composite index stood at 11,752.90. By Nov. 18, the day before the killings, it had slumped to 8,835.73, a drop of roughly 25 per cent.
Summary: A recent muder of the Welwyn family has now been linked to the next door neihbours, and more precisely Mr. Delong. Other nieghbours say that they are shocked and said that the Delong family was a very nice one.
Questions:
1. What do you think made Mr.Delong do this?
2. Would you feel safe if you lived in that neighbourhood after this muderer?
3. What things in Mr.Delong's family might have put him in a depressioned state?
As Toronto detectives Thursday pieced together a horrifying murder-suicide on a tidy residential Scarborough street, a catalogue of concerns emerged that may have been quietly building within the walls of the Delong family's modest bungalow.
The pressures of a remortgaged home, a volatile stock market, a shrinking family income and two ailing kin – one dependent on pricey medication – may have boiled over with violence.
There had been widespread speculation that the bloody interior of 12 Welwyn Ave. was the site of a quadruple murder and that the prime suspect was Mr. Delong's 44-year-old son-in-law, James Tompkins, led away from the crime scene in handcuffs, weeping.
Videos
Police are still trying to piece together why someone killed their three family members and dog before committing suicide in an east-end Toronto home.
But after speaking to Mr. Tompkins for several hours and examining his townhouse in Whitby, just east of Toronto, police released the 44-year-old welder, concluding he had nothing to do with the slaughter that claimed the lives of Keith Delong, his wife Wanda and their two children, Elizabeth, 41, and Richard, 38.
Rather, Detective Sergeant Pauline Gray of the Toronto police homicide squad, said “the tragic deaths of the family was in fact a triple homicide-suicide.”
Autopsies are scheduled for Saturday Det. Sgt. Gray would not confirm the names of the victims or the killer, or say how any of them died.
Police sources confirmed, however, that detectives are certain the murders were committed by Keith Delong and that, after stabbing his family to death and also killing the family poodle, Charlotte, he shot himself.
Mr. Delong's fishing-lure-decorated hat was a common neighbourhood sight, in sun or snow, and residents struggled to understand the concerns percolating beneath its broad rim.
“I can't believe it,” said Katherine Harper, a neighbour, whose driveway Mr. Delong often shovelled. “They were both good, very nice people.”
Taped to the Welwyn Avenue bungalow's front door, below a loon-shaped welcome sign, was a note scribbled in blue ink on white paper. Written in a leaning, unsteady hand, it urged the reader not to step inside and to call police.
But there was no explanatory note offering what drove Mr. Delong to despair, and no criminal history. As far as is known, none of the four slain Delongs had had any prior contact with police.
What does seem clear is that Mr. Delong may have been under some financial pressure.
One concern may have been his mother-in-law, who lives in Mexico and is unwell – sufficiently so that on the same day the family were found dead, Keith and Wanda had been scheduled to head to Mexico to help care for her.
A second worry may have involved the couple's son Richard, who suffered from a degenerative bone disorder and lived in the basement of the beige-brick bungalow. Neighbours said his condition had worsened in recent years, that Richard was in an increasing amount of pain, and that the cost of his medication had risen.
A friend of Richard's who visited the crime scene Thursday said that a few years ago his condition had forced him to leave his job at Sears, where he had been a member of the IT department. Tears filled her eyes as she recalled that she had made plans to come over for pizza and a movie with Richard while his parents were away.
“They were such good, gentle people,” she said.
Keith Delong had recently incurred a slab of fresh debt, money that may conceivably have been sunk into some ailing investments. Certainly the timing would fit that scenario.
The Delongs purchased their home in 1975 for $60,000, and remortgaged it at least once before moving their banking arrangements to the Bank of Nova Scotia in 2002.
Mortgage documents show that on Sept. 30 of this year, Scotiabank registered a new mortgage with the Delongs for $240,000. How much the couple already owed the bank at that point is unclear, but the new mortgage was at least $70,000 more than the discharged mortgage it replaced.
At that stage – before Toronto's housing market began to weaken, and before severe turmoil began roiling financial markets – there may have been little reason for Scotiabank to hesitate about advancing cash to the couple. What the Delongs did with the extra money is unknown.
But if any of it was tied up in the stock market, they may have had some concern.
On Sept. 30, the TSX composite index stood at 11,752.90. By Nov. 18, the day before the killings, it had slumped to 8,835.73, a drop of roughly 25 per cent.
Summary: A recent muder of the Welwyn family has now been linked to the next door neihbours, and more precisely Mr. Delong. Other nieghbours say that they are shocked and said that the Delong family was a very nice one.
Questions:
1. What do you think made Mr.Delong do this?
2. Would you feel safe if you lived in that neighbourhood after this muderer?
3. What things in Mr.Delong's family might have put him in a depressioned state?
Monday, November 17, 2008
Tougher Rules Ahead for Young Drivers
Nov 17, 2008 04:30 AM
Brett Popplewell Staff Reporter
The Ontario government is expected to introduce tough new legislation today that will further restrict the privileges of young drivers.
The move comes after a long lobbying campaign, led by Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) and Tim Mulcahy, the father of one of the three young people killed in a drunk-driving accident in Muskoka on July 3.
New measures affecting young new drivers are expected to include:
A total ban on alcohol consumption
A ban on more than one teenage passenger
Zero tolerance for speeders – one ticket and they're off the road.
"We've been advocating this for a long time," said Carolyn Swinson, Toronto spokeswoman for MADD.
"Manitoba has already brought that in – it's already zero blood alcohol for drivers up to the age of 21 and for the first five years for new drivers.
"We've been asking Ontario to follow suit for a while."
In Ontario's current graduated licensing system – introduced in 1994 – young drivers can obtain a full driver's licence after just two years of driving experience, making it legal for them to drive after having a drink, and placing them on the standard demerit point system for speeding and other moving infractions.
Mulcahy began echoing MADD's calls for action shortly after his son's death when he learned that his son had a history of speeding and that alcohol had been a factor in his deadly car crash.
On July 3, Tyler Mulcahy, 20, his girlfriend Nastasia Inez Elzinga, 19, and friends Kourosh Totonchian, 19, and Cory Mintz, 20, spent the afternoon drinking 31 drinks over a three-hour period at a restaurant in Port Carling.
They left that evening in Mulcahy's Audi, but they never made it home.
Tyler Mulcahy was driving when he crashed the car into the Joseph River.
Only Elzinga escaped the sinking car with her life.
His son's death launched Mulcahy on a crusade to change the laws that bind young drivers in the province, to stop other youth from following his son's fatal journey.
First he began a petition for a revamping of the laws.
Then he began taking out full-page ads in the Star and other local newspapers that urged the province to revoke the licences of those under the age of 21 should they be caught speeding or driving with any alcohol in their system.
"Dear Mr. McGuinty, my son is dead," the ads began.
"It is not your fault, but you can make a difference and reduce future suffering."
It was enough to earn him a private meeting with the premier and, according to a note posted to his blog last Thursday, the drive produced results.
"Mr. McGuinty called me this morning and told me that both laws are being introduced into the legislature on Tuesday," Mulcahy wrote last week.
"I could not believe my ears and wept with Mr. McGuinty on the phone. If these bills are passed, Ontario will be the safest jurisdiction for young drivers in the world."
A spokesperson for the ministry of transportation could not be reached for comment.
Mulcahy wasn't available for comment yesterday, but in August he told the Star: "I'd like Tyler's accident to make a difference.
"I really feel there needs to be zero tolerance for alcohol up to the age of 21. Once someone takes one drink, it's easy to take two, three, four or 10 because we stop thinking," he added.
"I feel that speeding is at least as much of an issue as drinking and driving. If there was a zero tolerance for speeding and the licence was revoked for one speeding incident, then word would quickly get around that you can't speed and (keep) your licence.
"I want the law changed immediately so that I don't have to worry as much when my daughters are out partying and driving around in vehicles."
Summary
The Ontario Government is expected to introduce a tough legislation today that will make driving harder for teenage drivers. The reason they started talking about this is because MADD (Mothers Against Drunk Driving) and a man named Tim Mulcahy introduced the legislation. Tim Mulcahy lost his son in a drunk driving accident. The new rules will be that you cannot have any alcohol in your body, period, no more then one other teenage passenger in the vehicle with you, and zero tolerance for speeding – one ticket and your off the road.
Questions
What will be the outcome of this legislation?
Do you think this will affect how teenagers drive and do you think this legislation will really cause teenagers not to drink alcohol before driving.
Do you want the legislation to be introduced to Ontario? Why or why not?
Will this cause you not to speed when your in a hurry when your older?
Erik Kimmerer
Brett Popplewell Staff Reporter
The Ontario government is expected to introduce tough new legislation today that will further restrict the privileges of young drivers.
The move comes after a long lobbying campaign, led by Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) and Tim Mulcahy, the father of one of the three young people killed in a drunk-driving accident in Muskoka on July 3.
New measures affecting young new drivers are expected to include:
A total ban on alcohol consumption
A ban on more than one teenage passenger
Zero tolerance for speeders – one ticket and they're off the road.
"We've been advocating this for a long time," said Carolyn Swinson, Toronto spokeswoman for MADD.
"Manitoba has already brought that in – it's already zero blood alcohol for drivers up to the age of 21 and for the first five years for new drivers.
"We've been asking Ontario to follow suit for a while."
In Ontario's current graduated licensing system – introduced in 1994 – young drivers can obtain a full driver's licence after just two years of driving experience, making it legal for them to drive after having a drink, and placing them on the standard demerit point system for speeding and other moving infractions.
Mulcahy began echoing MADD's calls for action shortly after his son's death when he learned that his son had a history of speeding and that alcohol had been a factor in his deadly car crash.
On July 3, Tyler Mulcahy, 20, his girlfriend Nastasia Inez Elzinga, 19, and friends Kourosh Totonchian, 19, and Cory Mintz, 20, spent the afternoon drinking 31 drinks over a three-hour period at a restaurant in Port Carling.
They left that evening in Mulcahy's Audi, but they never made it home.
Tyler Mulcahy was driving when he crashed the car into the Joseph River.
Only Elzinga escaped the sinking car with her life.
His son's death launched Mulcahy on a crusade to change the laws that bind young drivers in the province, to stop other youth from following his son's fatal journey.
First he began a petition for a revamping of the laws.
Then he began taking out full-page ads in the Star and other local newspapers that urged the province to revoke the licences of those under the age of 21 should they be caught speeding or driving with any alcohol in their system.
"Dear Mr. McGuinty, my son is dead," the ads began.
"It is not your fault, but you can make a difference and reduce future suffering."
It was enough to earn him a private meeting with the premier and, according to a note posted to his blog last Thursday, the drive produced results.
"Mr. McGuinty called me this morning and told me that both laws are being introduced into the legislature on Tuesday," Mulcahy wrote last week.
"I could not believe my ears and wept with Mr. McGuinty on the phone. If these bills are passed, Ontario will be the safest jurisdiction for young drivers in the world."
A spokesperson for the ministry of transportation could not be reached for comment.
Mulcahy wasn't available for comment yesterday, but in August he told the Star: "I'd like Tyler's accident to make a difference.
"I really feel there needs to be zero tolerance for alcohol up to the age of 21. Once someone takes one drink, it's easy to take two, three, four or 10 because we stop thinking," he added.
"I feel that speeding is at least as much of an issue as drinking and driving. If there was a zero tolerance for speeding and the licence was revoked for one speeding incident, then word would quickly get around that you can't speed and (keep) your licence.
"I want the law changed immediately so that I don't have to worry as much when my daughters are out partying and driving around in vehicles."
Summary
The Ontario Government is expected to introduce a tough legislation today that will make driving harder for teenage drivers. The reason they started talking about this is because MADD (Mothers Against Drunk Driving) and a man named Tim Mulcahy introduced the legislation. Tim Mulcahy lost his son in a drunk driving accident. The new rules will be that you cannot have any alcohol in your body, period, no more then one other teenage passenger in the vehicle with you, and zero tolerance for speeding – one ticket and your off the road.
Questions
What will be the outcome of this legislation?
Do you think this will affect how teenagers drive and do you think this legislation will really cause teenagers not to drink alcohol before driving.
Do you want the legislation to be introduced to Ontario? Why or why not?
Will this cause you not to speed when your in a hurry when your older?
Erik Kimmerer
Wednesday, November 12, 2008
Stanley Cup rings stolen in Bronfman break-in
Two Stanley Cup rings from the 1970s are among jewellery worth more than $1 million that has been stolen from the Toronto home of one of Canada's wealthiest families, police say.
Police say about 59 items including the rings and a third ring worth $350,000 were taken from a home in the Bathurst Street and St. Clair Avenue West area owned by the Bronfman family during a break-in this weekend.
Det. Lisa Benoit did not identify which family members owned the hoeme or its exact location. She said the items were mainly necklaces, bracelets and earrings, with some of the diamonds as large as 5 to 6 carats. The other stones included pearls and rubies.
Two of the rings were from the 1974 and 1976 Stanley Cup champion Montreal Canadiens then owned by Peter and Edward Bronfman. The family name was engraved on the side of the rings. The brothers owned the Canadiens between 1971 and 1978, winning four Cups in those years. They settled in Toronto and co-founded the Edper Group.
"It's few and far between when you get a break-in of this value," Det. Benoit said at a press conference at Toronto Police Headquarters this morning.
She said that the property was broken into between 7:30 p.m. and 10:00 p.m. Saturday night while the family was out. The culprits broke in through a second storey side window house and took a 200-lb. (90 kg.) safe.
Police can't say how many people were involved but are reviewing security video and canvassing the area to gather any possible leads.
Summary
There was a great break in at the house of one of the house which was owned by one of the richest families in Canada and the value was over $1 million dollars including 2 different Stanley cup Championship rings. This catastrophe occured while the family was out for dinner, the culprits broke in through a second storey side window and took a 200-lb safe.
The stolen objects were mainly necklaces, earings, and other jeweleries such as rubies.
Police are still reviewing security video and canvassing the area to gather possible suspects.
Questions
#1
How many people do you think were needed to theft the 200 lb safe out of the house? Do you think it was possible with small number of people?
#2
In your opinion, do you think the thiefs already knew and planned about this theft with information of the Stanley cup championship rings?
#3
What are the important factors about the Stanley cup championship rings, and especially for Canadian families?
Police say about 59 items including the rings and a third ring worth $350,000 were taken from a home in the Bathurst Street and St. Clair Avenue West area owned by the Bronfman family during a break-in this weekend.
Det. Lisa Benoit did not identify which family members owned the hoeme or its exact location. She said the items were mainly necklaces, bracelets and earrings, with some of the diamonds as large as 5 to 6 carats. The other stones included pearls and rubies.
Two of the rings were from the 1974 and 1976 Stanley Cup champion Montreal Canadiens then owned by Peter and Edward Bronfman. The family name was engraved on the side of the rings. The brothers owned the Canadiens between 1971 and 1978, winning four Cups in those years. They settled in Toronto and co-founded the Edper Group.
"It's few and far between when you get a break-in of this value," Det. Benoit said at a press conference at Toronto Police Headquarters this morning.
She said that the property was broken into between 7:30 p.m. and 10:00 p.m. Saturday night while the family was out. The culprits broke in through a second storey side window house and took a 200-lb. (90 kg.) safe.
Police can't say how many people were involved but are reviewing security video and canvassing the area to gather any possible leads.
Summary
There was a great break in at the house of one of the house which was owned by one of the richest families in Canada and the value was over $1 million dollars including 2 different Stanley cup Championship rings. This catastrophe occured while the family was out for dinner, the culprits broke in through a second storey side window and took a 200-lb safe.
The stolen objects were mainly necklaces, earings, and other jeweleries such as rubies.
Police are still reviewing security video and canvassing the area to gather possible suspects.
Questions
#1
How many people do you think were needed to theft the 200 lb safe out of the house? Do you think it was possible with small number of people?
#2
In your opinion, do you think the thiefs already knew and planned about this theft with information of the Stanley cup championship rings?
#3
What are the important factors about the Stanley cup championship rings, and especially for Canadian families?
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