Fifty per cent of the voters took the time and effort to hand the ruling Liberals a new majority. Fifty four per cent voted on electoral reform- the majority of those that voted rejected the proportional representation alternative.
What happened to those that did not vote? Has the political process become so irrelavant or jaded that this "not interested" has been lost to the democratic process. This is a sad example of the loss it or loss it principle . The question becomes who really represents these disinfected individuals who have chosen not to participate in the fundamental democratic process?
Good, bad or indifferent -Ontario will reap what it has sown for the next 4 years
Thursday, October 11, 2007
forbes -worst jobs 21 century
The Worst Jobs For The 21st CenturyBrian Wingfield,
Related Stories
In Pictures: The Worst Jobs For The 21st Century
Economy Didn't Need Fed's Help
Jobs Report Just Right For Wall Street
Wall Street Cheers Jobs Report
U.S. Jobs Outlook: Weak, Not Dreadful
Health care, education and financial services--if you're looking for work in the coming decades, these are the fields to get into.
What to avoid? The usual suspects. According to the projections by the U.S. government, manufacturing jobs are expected to decline by more than 5% by 2014 as production moves overseas. Same goes for textile workers, such as sewing machine operators, who will see a 36% drop in employment. Technology will kill off more office positions, such as file clerks. They'll see a 36% drop in their ranks by 2014. Digital cameras will zap the manual photo processing industry by about 30%. And that guy who comes around to read your electric meter? Expect to see a lot less of him, too.
But these are the obvious victims as the U.S. moves from a goods-producing economy to a services-producing economy. More interesting are the jobs that are likely to experience slower than average growth (average being about 13%). This is where the surprises are.
In Pictures: The Worst Jobs For The 21st Century
Like computer programmers. Despite all the advances--and expected job growth--in the computer industry, expect the number of programmers to increase by about 2% between 2004-2014. Why? Outsourcing. Americans who want a career in this field should find a specialization, like cybersecurity.
Another endangered species: journalists. Despite the proliferation of media outlets, newspapers, where the bulk of U.S. reporters work, will cut costs and jobs as the Internet replaces print. While current events will always need to be covered (we hope), the number of reporting positions is expected to grow by just 5% in the coming decade, the Labor Department says. Most jobs will be in small (read: low-paying) markets.
Radio announcers will have a tough time, too. Station consolidation, advances in technology and a barren landscape for new radio stations will contribute to a 5% reduction in employment for announcers by the middle of the next decade. Even satellite radio doesn't seem immune from the changes. The two major companies, XM and Sirius--which now have plans to merge--have regularly operated in the red.
Anyone who regularly books their flights online can tell you why the travel agent business is in jeopardy. So here's a surprise: The Department of Labor only predicts a 6% drop in travel agent jobs by 2014. The demand for luxury and specialty travel, and increased spending on tourism, will buoy the industry somewhat. If you do plan to be a travel agent, best to find a niche field or specialize in specific-destination trips. Travel agents might also find success in organizing groups of foreign visitors to their home markets. But remember, the travel industry is highly connected to swings in economic conditions.
Worse off? Federal employees and their amazing benefits. Washington employs nearly 2 million people, not including the military, making it the country's largest employer. After Sept. 11, 2001, it expanded significantly due to homeland security needs. But those days may be coming to an end. By 2014, federal government jobs--excluding the Postal Service-- will only have increased by about 1.6% above 2004 levels due to the transfer of some jobs to state and local governments and the increased use of private contracting companies. Don't believe it? A report compiled by a House of Representatives panel earlier this year found that government spending on contracts rose by 103% between 2000 and 2005.
Should you be discouraged if a career you pinned your hopes on is not expected to grow? Not at all, says Anthony Spadafore, director of Pathfinders, a career counseling company in Alexandria, Va. He says that if people pursue their fields that play to their talents, they'll be able to compete for the top jobs where competition is fierce, even if the industry is diminishing.
"The idea of shrinking and hot fields, we think it's sort of a rudimentary way of looking at things," Spadafore says. "Believe it or not, there's still a need for bank tellers."
In Pictures: The Worst Jobs For The 21st Century
Want more info? The Department of Labor has some excellent information, including the bi-annual Occupational Outlook Handbook, which includes career descriptions, salary information, employment projections and working conditions for hundreds of jobs. (The next version is due out early next year.) Another good resource is the Occupational Outlook Quarterly, which profiles specific careers. Last year, the publication issued an entire volume related to growth projections.
Related Stories
In Pictures: The Worst Jobs For The 21st Century
Economy Didn't Need Fed's Help
Jobs Report Just Right For Wall Street
Wall Street Cheers Jobs Report
U.S. Jobs Outlook: Weak, Not Dreadful
Health care, education and financial services--if you're looking for work in the coming decades, these are the fields to get into.
What to avoid? The usual suspects. According to the projections by the U.S. government, manufacturing jobs are expected to decline by more than 5% by 2014 as production moves overseas. Same goes for textile workers, such as sewing machine operators, who will see a 36% drop in employment. Technology will kill off more office positions, such as file clerks. They'll see a 36% drop in their ranks by 2014. Digital cameras will zap the manual photo processing industry by about 30%. And that guy who comes around to read your electric meter? Expect to see a lot less of him, too.
But these are the obvious victims as the U.S. moves from a goods-producing economy to a services-producing economy. More interesting are the jobs that are likely to experience slower than average growth (average being about 13%). This is where the surprises are.
In Pictures: The Worst Jobs For The 21st Century
Like computer programmers. Despite all the advances--and expected job growth--in the computer industry, expect the number of programmers to increase by about 2% between 2004-2014. Why? Outsourcing. Americans who want a career in this field should find a specialization, like cybersecurity.
Another endangered species: journalists. Despite the proliferation of media outlets, newspapers, where the bulk of U.S. reporters work, will cut costs and jobs as the Internet replaces print. While current events will always need to be covered (we hope), the number of reporting positions is expected to grow by just 5% in the coming decade, the Labor Department says. Most jobs will be in small (read: low-paying) markets.
Radio announcers will have a tough time, too. Station consolidation, advances in technology and a barren landscape for new radio stations will contribute to a 5% reduction in employment for announcers by the middle of the next decade. Even satellite radio doesn't seem immune from the changes. The two major companies, XM and Sirius--which now have plans to merge--have regularly operated in the red.
Anyone who regularly books their flights online can tell you why the travel agent business is in jeopardy. So here's a surprise: The Department of Labor only predicts a 6% drop in travel agent jobs by 2014. The demand for luxury and specialty travel, and increased spending on tourism, will buoy the industry somewhat. If you do plan to be a travel agent, best to find a niche field or specialize in specific-destination trips. Travel agents might also find success in organizing groups of foreign visitors to their home markets. But remember, the travel industry is highly connected to swings in economic conditions.
Worse off? Federal employees and their amazing benefits. Washington employs nearly 2 million people, not including the military, making it the country's largest employer. After Sept. 11, 2001, it expanded significantly due to homeland security needs. But those days may be coming to an end. By 2014, federal government jobs--excluding the Postal Service-- will only have increased by about 1.6% above 2004 levels due to the transfer of some jobs to state and local governments and the increased use of private contracting companies. Don't believe it? A report compiled by a House of Representatives panel earlier this year found that government spending on contracts rose by 103% between 2000 and 2005.
Should you be discouraged if a career you pinned your hopes on is not expected to grow? Not at all, says Anthony Spadafore, director of Pathfinders, a career counseling company in Alexandria, Va. He says that if people pursue their fields that play to their talents, they'll be able to compete for the top jobs where competition is fierce, even if the industry is diminishing.
"The idea of shrinking and hot fields, we think it's sort of a rudimentary way of looking at things," Spadafore says. "Believe it or not, there's still a need for bank tellers."
In Pictures: The Worst Jobs For The 21st Century
Want more info? The Department of Labor has some excellent information, including the bi-annual Occupational Outlook Handbook, which includes career descriptions, salary information, employment projections and working conditions for hundreds of jobs. (The next version is due out early next year.) Another good resource is the Occupational Outlook Quarterly, which profiles specific careers. Last year, the publication issued an entire volume related to growth projections.
Saturday, October 06, 2007
Police can be sued over wrongful arrests and convictions: top court
Police can be sued over wrongful arrests and convictions: top court
Posted By Jim Brown
Posted 1 day ago Updated 1 day ago
Police can be sued for negligence over wrongful arrests and convictions, the Supreme Court has ruled, dismissing warnings that allowing such lawsuits will have a "chilling effect" on law enforcement.
But the resounding declaration of legal principle rang hollow Thursday for Jason George Hill, who brought the case to the high court after being exonerated on a bank robbery charge that cost him 20 months behind bars.
Hill, of Hamilton, was the victim of an "unfortunate series of events," wrote Chief Justice Beverley McLachlin, but the actions of Hamilton-Wentworth regional police didn't amount to negligence.
The nine judges were unanimous in ruling against Hill based on the facts of his case. They split 6-3, however, on the broader issue of whether the public should be able to sue at all in such circumstances.
McLachlin, writing for the majority, concluded that people can sue police forces and individual officers under common-law tests of negligence.
The finding could have a major impact in future because it's easier to prove negligence than it is to prove malicious prosecution, the main alternative available to the public.
McLachlin said police "owe a duty of care" to suspects, and that officers' conduct "should be measured against the standard of how a reasonable officer in like circumstances would have acted."
"The existing remedies for wrongful conviction are incomplete and may leave a victim of negligent police investigation without legal recourse. To deny a remedy (on grounds of negligence) is, quite literally, to deny justice."
The Ontario and federal governments, backed by the national associations representing police chiefs and rank-and-file officers, contended that allowing actions for negligence would have a "chilling effect" on law enforcement and would spark a rash of spurious lawsuits.
McLachlin rejected both arguments. The notion of a chill on police activity is mere "speculation" unsupported by hard evidence, she said, while the legal system contains enough safeguards to deter any "glut of jailhouse lawsuits" mounted on spurious grounds.
The chief justice also took pains to point out that not every mistake made by police will automatically make them liable for damages.
Posted By Jim Brown
Posted 1 day ago Updated 1 day ago
Police can be sued for negligence over wrongful arrests and convictions, the Supreme Court has ruled, dismissing warnings that allowing such lawsuits will have a "chilling effect" on law enforcement.
But the resounding declaration of legal principle rang hollow Thursday for Jason George Hill, who brought the case to the high court after being exonerated on a bank robbery charge that cost him 20 months behind bars.
Hill, of Hamilton, was the victim of an "unfortunate series of events," wrote Chief Justice Beverley McLachlin, but the actions of Hamilton-Wentworth regional police didn't amount to negligence.
The nine judges were unanimous in ruling against Hill based on the facts of his case. They split 6-3, however, on the broader issue of whether the public should be able to sue at all in such circumstances.
McLachlin, writing for the majority, concluded that people can sue police forces and individual officers under common-law tests of negligence.
The finding could have a major impact in future because it's easier to prove negligence than it is to prove malicious prosecution, the main alternative available to the public.
McLachlin said police "owe a duty of care" to suspects, and that officers' conduct "should be measured against the standard of how a reasonable officer in like circumstances would have acted."
"The existing remedies for wrongful conviction are incomplete and may leave a victim of negligent police investigation without legal recourse. To deny a remedy (on grounds of negligence) is, quite literally, to deny justice."
The Ontario and federal governments, backed by the national associations representing police chiefs and rank-and-file officers, contended that allowing actions for negligence would have a "chilling effect" on law enforcement and would spark a rash of spurious lawsuits.
McLachlin rejected both arguments. The notion of a chill on police activity is mere "speculation" unsupported by hard evidence, she said, while the legal system contains enough safeguards to deter any "glut of jailhouse lawsuits" mounted on spurious grounds.
The chief justice also took pains to point out that not every mistake made by police will automatically make them liable for damages.
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