Ottawa urges all Canadians to leave Libya

The federal government of Canada urges Canadian citizens to leave Libya as soon as possible, as the growing dangers and escalated violence might result in unnecessary deaths. The situation in Libya is not at all safe, as many Canadians could not even travel to the airport due to the dangers on the way. Even if Canadians were to arrive at the airport, they would be faced with Gadhafi loyalists that demanded money and threatened the people. The Canadians that are in Libya have found different ways to escape, whether it be by plane or by boat. It is reported that many problems occurred with flights going to retrieve Canadian passengers, as some faced insurance problems, and some did not even have permission to land. Many Canadians were able to leave the country of Libya in the end, but it is estimated that as many as 700 Canadians still remain within the borders, constantly in danger.

I think that the Canadian government should try to get all the Canadian citizens out of Libya as soon as possible, however they can. The situation in Libya is getting worse, and people are constantly in danger. It was even suggested to the Canadians that it might be safest to depart for the airport at dawn, as that may be the time where there is least resistance on the road. Many of the chartered planes have returned empty due to different difficulties, and so I think that the Canadian government must find a different, more active and useful approach to this problem in order to ensure that citizens can return home safely.

http://www.ctv.ca/CTVNews/TopStories/20110225/libya-foreign-national-evacuations-110225/

Organizers urge sustained street protests in China

Many people are protesting through the use of the internet in China, and also through the streets. In response to this, the Chinese government, which is an authoritarian government, has rounded up these people and taken them into custody, as these people were charged with subversion. Some people have been taken into custody simply because they reposted someone else's writing, which may or may not be "offensive" to the Chinese government. Even though it was not their original writing, they are still charged for it. More than 100 activists have either been detained by police, confined to their homes, or reported missing. Many people know of the fate of resorting to protests on the streets, and so many activists only encourage the citizens to take an "afternoon walk" near the appointed place at the appointed time. Not many people were able to participate in this campaign in the first place as many didn't know due to the internet censorship that China has throughout the country, which blocks websites such as Facebook and Twitter. Although there are not many people that know of this, all those that do and have come out to protest are sure to have been "punished" in some way by the government.

In my opinion, people should have a right to protest, whether it be online or in the streets. It is not fair to not allow these since the people's wishes are very important to the development and successfulness of a country. The people of China are not able to express their wishes, as any attempt to do so might result in being detained by the police, or sometimes worse. I don't believe it is right for the Chinese government to limit the information and transparency of the government to the people, as the government's activities should be known to everybody that lives in the country.

http://www.ctv.ca/CTVNews/World/20110223/china-street-protests-110223/

Obama proposes fee for Canadian visitors to the U.S.

US President Barrack Obama proposed a plan to have an inspection fee for Canadians upon their arrival in the United States of America, which amounts to $5.50 per person. This proposal was found within the 2010 draft budget that was submitted to Congress. In past years, it had always been free to travel between the countries of Canada, USA, and Mexico; it is believed that Obama is charging the Canadians this "inspection fee" because of the economic downturn and the increasing need to recover as soon as possible. Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper told reporters that the United States are facing enormous financial problems, but charging Canadians is not a "useful" way to solve the problem. The charge proposed by Obama would only apply to passengers that are arriving by air or ship, and travel by car between borders will not be impacted by this fee. This is favourable to the many Canadians that travel across the border, and then take a flight to their holiday destination. Statistics Canada says that around 16 million Canadians flew into the US in 2009, which would supposedly add $90 million US dollars to the US government. It was also found that the number of trips to the US from Canada has increased drastically over time, and that the most popular holiday destination for Canadians is still the US.

In my opinion, I don't think that charging Canadians this inspection fee for travelling to the US will improve or help the economy of the US at all, since it will only total to $90 million per year. Although this number may sound a lot, on a national and country-wide basis, it really does not make much of an impact. I agree with Harper's saying that it is not a useful way to solve their economic and financial problems. Also, charging this inspection fee might lower the number of tourists to the US from Canada since people did not have to pay it before, and there really is no reason to start paying now. It is kind of unfair as Obama stated that only Canadians will pay the inspection fee, and he did not specify if any other country's citizens will have to pay this as well.

http://www.ctv.ca/CTVNews/TopStories/20110217/obama-fee-canadian-visitors-110217/

Prostitution probe leads to trial for Italy's Berlusconi

Italian Premier Silvio Berlusconi will be put on trial this April as he had charges laid against him regarding him paying a 17 year old Moroccan girl to essentially have an affair with him. Not only did he commit to prostitution, but he also tried to cover it up in the end. Globe and Mail correspondent Eric Reguly pointed out that Berlusconi has been put on trial for many times on more than two dozen separate occasions ever since he was elected as the Italian Premier in 1994. Reguly also said that all the past occasions have either been alleged corruption, tax evasion, or things of that sort, and that it is the first time that Berlusconi was charged for something of a sexual nature. Both Berlusconi and the 17 year Moroccan girl, Ruby, say that they did not have sex with one another, but only that the premier gave the girl 7000 euros upon meeting her. The fact that Berlusconi paid for prostitution is not illegal in Italy, the only reason that he was able to be charged and put on trial was because the girl was under 18. For this issue, the premier can be convicted and sent into prison for any amount of time ranging from 6 months to a potential 12 years.

I do believe that Berlusconi should go to jail for this, as although prostitution is legal in Italy, I still believe that it isn't technically "right" and acceptable to do so. The fact that the girl was under 18 made this issue much more serious, and thus he is facing trial. This matter is also very serious since he is not only known to everybody, but he is the Premier of Italy, and this is a very embarrassing situation for all Italians seeing and hearing about this. Although Berlusconi and the girl did not have sex together, I still believe he should be sent to prison to preserve justice in the law, since it was also found that he used his influence to get the girl out of jail due to theft charges.

http://www.ctv.ca/CTVNews/World/20110215/italy-berlusconi-indicted-prostitution-probe-110215/

WHO says alcohol abuse causing 2.5M deaths a year

Today, the WHO (World Health Organization) uncovered a variety of disturbing statistics regarding the use of alcohol. It was found that approximately 2.5 million people are killed by issues relating to alcohol abuse, and the WHO tries to enforce that governments do more and help in this issue in terms of alcohol abuse prevention. It was also found that 4% of all deaths worldwide have a direct relation to alcohol, where the main causes of deaths are: injuries that occur when drunk, cancer, liver disease, heart disease, and also strokes. WHO also said that over 6% of male deaths are caused by alcohol, while only 1% of deaths in women are due to that cause. Also, 10% of deaths in young people ranging from the ages of 15-29 are from alcohol related issues, reaching a number of around 320,000 per year. The WHO shows these statistics to the world in order to create awareness, hoping that the numbers in deaths caused by these issues will decrease as people know the potential horrors that they could be facing.

In my opinion, alcohol shouldn't be consumed on a large basis at any time or any place. This is because when drinking too much and becoming drunk, your senses are lowered and impaired, while your knowledge of what is happening around you is also decreased. It is because of this that people do not know what they are doing, and they sometimes tend to do things that they normally would never think of doing. As they abuse alcohol, they are putting themselves and the people around them in immense danger. From this, it is fair to say that one should never abuse alcohol, since the effects can be deadly, but I do not believe it is fair to say that one is not allowed to consume alcohol at all. As long as one is responsible with matters concerning this issue, I do not believe that alcohol should really be a problem. The only reason for these deaths is specifically the abuse of alcohol, and that alone is what should be controlled, not the consumption of alcohol in general.

http://www.ctv.ca/CTVNews/TopStories/20110211/who-alcohol-abuse-110211/

Teacher leaves behind nine-year-old boy on class trip

Today, a father protests outside an Ontario school as his son with special needs, Ryan, was left behind with two strangers on a school trip. It was later discovered that the teacher that was in charge at the moment had done it on purpose. Ryan is described by his father to have problems retaining information such as words and numbers, such that he does not even know his own home address. Officials from the Waterloo District School Board then tried to explain that Ryan was left behind in the care of an elderly couple so that the teacher can come back for him, after escorting the rest of his classmates back to the school. Kevin, Ryan's father, has pulled both Ryan and his sister out of school and demands that the teacher in charge of the school trip and the principal be fired from the school. It was also reported that the board is taking disciplinary action with the teacher, but it is not clear what punishment she received, or whether she received a punishment at all.

I strongly believe that the teacher was irresponsible for leaving Ryan behind on this field trip, since he is still a kid, and can get easily lost. Above that, he was left with an elderly couple he didn't know, and possible could have kidnapped him or done things many times worse. The teacher was wrong not in the sense that he purposely left the boy behind, but because there was an assistant available for classes with children that have special needs, but the teacher chose to handle the trip all by herself and was determined that she did not need any assistance. Overall, the teacher did not do a good job of taking care of the students and did not act appropriately, and so I firmly believe that she should be fired, or at least faced with some other major punishment.

http://www.ctv.ca/CTVNews/TopStories/20110208/boy-left-at-skating-rink-110208/

Toronto judge rejects pot smoking as a religious right

In Toronto, many people that are members of The Church of the Universe have tried to legalize marijuana through arguing that the drug acts as a sacrament. Since marijuana has always been illegal, they have tried to argue that the law does not protect their rights or freedoms regarding religion, as stated in the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. Today, a Toronto judge has rejected this idea as a right for the people, as approving it would cause many people to claim the smoking of Marijuana to be a religious right as well. This church refers to marijuana as God's "Tree of Life", and are therefore encouraged to spend as much of their time as possible around this drug, whether it be wearing it, inhaling it, growing it, writing on it, or eating it. On their website, it also says they have the right to use it as sacrament in and throughout their lives, when clearly, they don't. The church founders, Walter Tucker and Michael Baldasaro, and two other men have also been previously convicted of selling marijuana to undercover police officers in 2006/2007, as the officers acted as new members of the church.

In my opinion, marijuana should not be legalized for any reason as it is a highly addictive drug that causes people to hallucinate, and also to plunge into very serious financial problems as they want to buy more. The inhaling or smoking of drugs such as marijuana leads to increased criminal activity and also accidents, as people are not capable of controlling themselves when under such influences. For the reasons above, it can be concluded that marijuana is not in the least way beneficial to the citizens of Toronto, therefore it should not be legalized and kept away from the people.

http://www.ctv.ca/CTVNews/TopStories/20110207/judge-rejects-pot-smoking-as-a-religious-right-110207/

CRTC chair faces grilling on Internet billing decision

Today, the head of the CRTC (Canadian Radio-television Telecommunications Commission) is forced to face a Commons Committee on the matters of the ruling that charged smaller, independent companies according to the amount of bandwidth that they used, which directly impacted the consumers, who are day to day internet users. Instead of paying a monthly fee with unlimited downloads, people are now paying for a monthly fee for a set amount of internet usage, and they are also required to pay extra money if the set amount is overused. The chairman of the CRTC, Konrad Von Finckenstein, told the MP's that this change was in the best interests of consumers, although it clearly is not. Facing the pressure of the federal government, Von Finckenstein decided to postpone the billing change for 60 days as the decision is reconsidered.

In my opinion, it is very unfair to the many internet users of Canada that there is a sudden change in billing. There are many people that use the internet for most of the day, almost every day, and they will be greatly impacted by such a change as they are required to pay a very large amount of extra fees. There is no reason for the CRTC to make this change, since the only goal that they have is to acquire more money and have increased profit, even though they are still making money. It is not fair that the CRTC can demand more money from the millions of internet users in Canada just for their personal benefits and goals.

http://www.ctv.ca/CTVNews/TopStories/20110203/ottawa-challenges-CRTC-ruling-110203/

Canadians relieved to be safely out of Egypt

As the protests continue, the Canadian government has been trying to bring Canadians out of Egypt as they chartered a plane to bring these people from Cairo to Frankfurt, Germany. All of the passengers that were aboard the Air Canada flight were required to sign a contract, which stated that they would be responsible for all fees after they have arrived in Frankfurt, and also that they must pay $400 for the flight from Cairo to Frankfurt. In Cairo International Airport, the passengers had to wait many hours to get processed, and additional waiting caused by the ground-handling agent, who demanded $2000 from the passengers as a whole in order to let them board the plane. After the bribe was paid, there was yet more waiting on-board the plane as they needed a tow to one of the runways. The management of the Cairo International Airport is very poor, as security agents wanted to delay the flight further by wanting to check all the passengers on the plane once again, but was not done at the end. This first flight took off at 3pm on Monday, and there have already been been 2 other flights that have taken off for Frankfurt to this day, another one on Monday and the last on Tuesday evening. There are still believed to be 6000 Canadians in Egypt.

I believe that the Canadian government should get all Canadians out of Egypt and out of danger as soon as possible, although it is understandable that it is very difficult with the corruption and the poor services and management in the airports, and also in the country as a whole. Moreover, I do not think that it is right for the government to require the passengers to be responsible for their expenses after their arrival in Europe, as this is an unfortunate incident that nobody wanted to happen. It is unfair that these Canadians have to pay extra money in order to be "safe" and return home, since some might find it difficult to get by with the little money that they have left after the $400 flight from Cairo, and also the $2000 bribe that was paid.

http://www.ctv.ca/CTVNews/World/20110201/canadian-evacuees-110201/

Massive Protest in Central Cairo Square

In Cairo, Egypt, there are close to 250,000 people that have gone to protest in Tahrir square in the heart of the city. They have been protesting for well over a week now, all towards a common goal: to force their president of over 30 years, Hosni Mubarak, to resign. During Mubarak's reign over the country, the people of Egypt have all been living under harsh conditions with low income, while corrupt officials rule the country and possess a large portion of the country's wealth. Moreover, the conditions of living have also worsened with rising prices and increased taxes. These are all results of Mubarak's reign as although there is a "democracy", the government is corrupt, leaving it to be no more than a dictatorship that is run by Mubarak. As a result, Mubarak has named a vice president, but the people are still unsatisfied, as they will not rest until Mubarak has completely resigned. Given that the protesters are trying to communicate their idea and demands in a peaceful and safe manner, the Egyptian army has promised not to harm and fire upon any protesters, even though there have been approximately 300 deaths confirmed over the past week.

I believe it is right for the people to fight for and demand what they want from the government, as long as it is reasonable and achievable. The people of Egypt are not satisfied with Mubarak's reign over Egypt and the massive wealth that he lives with each and every day, while the citizens suffer from tragically low incomes and lack of food. Even though Mubarak has named a vice president, there is no reason to believe that true democracy can be formed within Egypt for as long as Mubarak is the president. Mubarak has been in power over the whole of Egypt for close to 3 decades now, and it is time that he steps down and let the country be governed to address the wills of the people, and not to benefit himself and his personal needs. Without the end of this dictatorship and a newly formed democracy, the needs of the many people of Egypt won't be seen, heard, or satisfied in any case.

http://www.ctv.ca/CTVNews/TopStories/20110201/cairo-protests-110201/