Got a beef with meat, tired of bad service from those that are paid good public or private money to protect your interests? This is the whistle blowing place to vent your rant and point of view to make them visible and accountable.
Monday, April 09, 2007
Food banks -the reality
Osprey Media. - Brantford Expositor: "Thousands rely on Brantford Food Bank
By Michelle Ruby, Expositor Staff
Local News - Monday, April 09, 2007 Updated @ 9:16:00 PM
A box of crackers, a bag of pasta, a bag of lentils, a box of cereal, one kilogram of peanut butter, three cans of vegetables, two cans of fruit, four cans of soup, and one can of beans.
Throw in a few loaves of bread and a litre of milk and that's what the Brantford Food Bank is able to give a family of four once a month.
The offering, put together based on nutrition and portion recommendations in the Canada Food Guide, is meant to be an emergency supply intended to last a family two or three days.
But Catherine Lawrence, director of development for Community Resource Service which operates the food bank, admits that concocting meals from the medley of foodstuff can be a challenge.
On a recent weekday, some 20 people sat in the lobby waiting to register for their grocery boxes. At this time of year, about 30 people a day come into the food bank. At other times, that number swells to 80 a day.
Those who came in last week were lucky. With Easter, public donations are generous. Recipients might walk away with a bit of meat or some snack foods.
In 2006, the Brantford Food Bank gave away 521,000 pounds of food. About 127,000 pounds of that went to community organizations that prepare meals for those in need. Local residents can get a free meal pretty much every day of the year at various churches and from other charitable groups.
Tammy Masters, 24, has been coming into the food bank once a month for about two years. The single mother of a five-year-old recently lost her job at a local sub shop where she earned minimu"
Saturday, March 31, 2007
YouTube - The Big Brother State

This is really scary . People should be more aware how their basic liberties
are being eroded. Get your rights back say no to the big brother security establishment. PR
YouTube - The Big Brother State: ""
Monday, March 26, 2007
Winning over hearts | Markets | Stocks | Canadian Business Online
Winning over hearts | Markets | Stocks | Canadian Business Online: "Winning over hearts
Erin Pooley
From the March 26, 2007 issue of Canadian Business magazine
In the global cardiovascular drug industry, Medicure Inc. is a David among the Goliaths. With just 90 employees and a market capitalization of less than $140 million, the Winnipeg-based drug-discovery company is a small player compared to the pharmaceutical giants that compete in the US$70-billion heart-disease space. But despite its size, Medicure is working on a drug with the capacity to reduce the risk of heart damage due to cardiovascular disease — the No. 1 killer in both Canada and the United States. Recent safety concerns regarding drug-coated stents — an alternative treatment to coronary artery bypass surgery — could also pump some new life into this biotech's sagging share price (TSX: MPH).
Currently in pivotal Phase 3 trials, Medicure's MC-1 drug is a cardio-protectant, designed to reduce the damage to the heart when arteries are blocked and when they are subsequently reopened after bypass surgery. In a previous trial involving 900 bypass patients, the drug reduced the heart attack rate by nearly 50% in the first 30 days. If Phase 3 trials are successful — results are expected in March 2008 — MC-1 could be on the market in the U.S. as early as the beginning of 2009, following shortly after in Canada. (Medicure has already received fast-track approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for MC-1.)
'I call it the second Aspirin,' says Claude CamirĂ©, a biotechnology analyst at Toronto-based Paradigm Capital Inc. 'A lot of people use Aspirin or blood thinners [after surgery], but those only help your blood flow — they don't really protect your heart like M"
Sunday, March 25, 2007
winnipegsun.com - Editorial - Flexible PM outfoxes budget critics
Harper is getting far too little credit for creating a budget that gives him the support he needs in the Commons to keep his minority government alive, while at the same time bolstering the party's fortunes in Ontario and Quebec so that the PM can eventually win a majority.
Frankly, that's a pretty deft bit of stick-handling from a politician who has been woefully misjudged his entire career. "
Saturday, March 24, 2007
RED HERRING | Bye-Bye Bankers?
Zopa nabs $12.9M as online lending gains believers.
March 19, 2007
By Ken Schachter
A new crop of online lending marketplaces is letting even the hoi polloi try their hands at being angel investors or micro-bankers.
On Monday, U.K.-based Zopa, an online loan marketplace that unites lenders and borrowers without a bank in the middle, announced a $12.9-million third round investment led by Bessemer Venture Partners to fund a U.S. launch.
Zopa, launched in March 2005, joins a group of online lending marketplaces that includes raisecapital.com, a Port Washington, New York-based startup that matches startups and angel investors and Kiva.org, a San Francisco-based site that lets lenders make microfinance loans to Third World entrepreneurs.
Should direct lending online gain a foothold in the marketplace, it could put pressure on a market traditionally dominated by banks, savings and loans, and credit unions."
Thursday, March 15, 2007
Health Policy - Dr. Mike Magee provides education and insight into health policy and current healthcare issues.
Health Policy - Dr. Mike Magee provides education and insight into health policy and current healthcare issues.: "Taking Action on Obesity
Download PDF Version
Transcript
The obesity epidemic is very real, and we hear about it constantly. But the talk is mostly about the problem – not the solution – and in the meantime, the situation is actually getting worse. Between 2005 and 2006, adult obesity rates continued to rise in 31 states, and it’s extremely unlikely that any state will be able to meet the national goal of reducing adult obesity levels to 15 percent or less by the year 2010.1,2 As for children, obesity rates have more than doubled over the last 25 years.3"
Tuesday, March 13, 2007
Budget 2007 - Sympatico / MSN Finance - Backroom budgeting
Budget 2007 - Sympatico / MSN Finance - Backroom budgeting: "Backroom budgeting
The budget process is increasingly political and increasingly irrelevant too.
advertisement
By Deirdre McMurdy
February 08, 2007
For a great many years now, there’s been a Holiday Inn rule in place between Ottawa and Bay Street: No surprises.
The Finance Department had learned to respect the need of financial markets to avoid jolts, sudden changes of direction or measures that might cause scrambling. That implicit partnership in maintaining an even keel worked well and along with it, came an elaborate system of pre-budget consultations that allowed everyone with a vested interest in the outcome of a budget to come forward and make their case.
That relative transparency effectively de-politicized the budget process. And the assurance that there’d be no surprises on the day of its formal delivery, meant that currency, bond and stock markets weren’t buffeted about. Predictability engendered a degree of mutual trust between private and public sectors.
That’s no longer the case – something that anyone who watched the changes to the tax status of income trusts go down last October can attest."
Sunday, March 11, 2007
Bigger bang for research buck needed
It would appear that Brantford ratepayers are tired and skeptical of yet another study to help the downtown. Maybe they are tired of paying for studies that are never used or implemented or common sense obvious. The reverse of the penny wise pound foolish thinking, it seems that they are tired paying a pound to get a penny worth of results at their expense.
We , the Brant Taxpayers Coalition agree with these readers and suggest another use of these public funds. We suggest on a constructive basis, that council establish a committee of councilors and knowledgeable citizens form the ratepayers, to determine the viability of establishing a commercial casino that has the potential of creating an additional 2000 jobs. This study would include calls for proposals from the private sector to renew the overall recreational complex in the area and which would include an upgraded civic centre , Our information indicates that a commercial casino was at one time considered but narrowly defeated under the stewardship of former mayor Friel and that a promised public plebiscite was never conducted . This approach could have more benefits, get wider community acceptance , and be more visible , then the proposed traffic study A bigger bang for the taxpayer's research buck is respectfully requested.
Sieg Holle Communications director Brant Taxpayers Coalition
Brantford, On
Thursday, March 08, 2007
Osprey Media. - Brantford Expositor
Osprey Media. - Brantford Expositor: "Public routinely kept in dark, Osprey survey shows
James Wallace
Queens Park - Thursday, March 08, 2007
Osprey News Network
Secrecy, stone-walling, manipulation and ignorance within Ontario institutions is undermining fundamental public rights to hold government accountable, a four-month survey by Osprey Media newspapers has found.
In many cases, municipalities, police forces, hospitals, universities and provincial bodies supported by taxpayer dollars routinely deny, reject, delay or challenge requests for information that should be public and easily accessible.
For example, police in Cornwall refused to identify a high school that had been vandalized by two teens on the grounds the school was “like a victim” and police are not required to identify victims of crime.
Such concerns are familiar to Brian Beamish, Assistant Commissioner Access at Ontario’s Office of Information and Privacy.
Beamish said the findings of the Osprey survey come as no surprise to him and called on public institutions across the province to “embrace the spirit of openness” contained within Ontario’s Freedom of Information Act.
“There are definitely situations described (in the Osprey survey) where out expectation would be that information would be disclosed even without the need for a formal FOI request,” Beamish said.
“They seem quite clear these are situations where information should be made freely available to the public as a matter of course,” he said.
Premier Dalton McGuinty also expressed concern at the failure of some public institutions to readily release in"
Monday, March 05, 2007
winnipegsun.com - Editorial - Hey Dion: It's not the East versus West
winnipegsun.com - Editorial - Hey Dion: It's not the East versus West: "Mon, March 5, 2007
Hey Dion: It's not the East versus West
No part of Canada should ever be baited by politicians for short-term, partisan gain.
It was wrong when the old Reform party used to do it to Quebec. And it's wrong now that the same old Liberal party is doing it to Alberta -- again.
What else are Canadians to think when Liberal Leader Stephane Dion takes a trip out West and blames oilsands workers for 'living too fast for the easy money' and being bad for our economy?
Honest work is bad for our economy?
Perhaps Prof. Dion should spend a few weeks getting his hands dirty in the oilfields before lecturing Canadians on how 'easy' it is.
Then there's Liberal Natural Resources critic Mark Holland, who seems to imagine himself a right little terror of a fellow.
This for lecturing Alberta about how it must reduce oilsands production, now that the Liberals have rediscovered global warming after signing the Kyoto accord in 1998 then forgetting about it for eight years, until they were tossed out of office.
If Holland, who's from Ontario, really wants to make himself useful, let him explain to Ontario auto workers how many thousands of their jobs the Liberals are prepared to forfeit as part of their new-found zeal for reducing greenhouse gas emissions, after falling 35 per cent behind their own targets while in power.
Why isn't Holland, or, more important, Dion, holding daily news conferences demanding their Liberal cousin in Ontario -- Premier Dalton McGuinty -- shut down Canada's single largest greenhouse gas emitter, the Nanticoke coal-fired electricity generating station?
That, along with three other greenhouse gas-emitting, coal-fired energy plan"
Osprey Media. - Brantford Expositor
Osprey Media. - Brantford Expositor: "Man can't afford to fight extradition order
By Susan Gamble
Local News - Monday, March 05, 2007 Updated @ 11:08:07 PM
Carrying no more than they could shove in a few suitcases and cram in backpacks, Mohammed Naim, his wife Ilona and their four children fled from a frightening, corrupt world in Budapest.
They came to Canada in 1997, settling in the Paris area, far from the extortion, threats and killings that marked their lives in Hungary.
The most important thing, the Naims reminded each other, was that they were safe and together.
Now that’s no longer true.
Mohammed Naim, 49, turned himself in to Brantford police Wednesday evening to face extradition to Hungary.
He’s panicked at the idea of leaving his family, but the Naims simply can’t afford to continue to pay their Toronto immigration lawyer any more money to fight the order.
Hungary has 40 days to send for Naim. Meanwhile, he languishes in the Brantford jail where, he told his family, he is mocked and spit upon by other prisoners.
How did a once-wealthy businessman come to such an ignoble position?
Naim’s wife and eldest daughter sat down with The Expositor on Saturday to explain their tale. "
Sunday, March 04, 2007
winnipegsun.com - Editorial - PM should relax, enjoy view from top
By Licia Corbella
Two polls in two days. Both are favourable to the governing federal Tories. Both show the numbers for the federal Liberals, under the inept leadership of the flip-flopping Stephane Dion, freefalling.
As a result, many Parliament Hill pundits and opposition politicians are predicting that Stephen Harper and his Conservative Party will 'force' an election sooner rather than later. "
Friday, March 02, 2007
"Breaking the Link Between Poverty MSN Hotmail - Message
and Obesity
It's not easy being healthy and fit in America, and for those in lower income groups, staying fit is a huge challenge. Research shows that in the United States, minorities and the poor have higher rates of obesity and type 2 diabetes. Among women, higher obesity rates tend to be associated with both low income and lower education. (The relationship between obesity and income is a little murkier with men for no known reason.) A casual observer could be forgiven for reaching the conclusion that poverty causes obesity. But the truth is a lot more complicated. There are some good reasons why the link between poverty and obesity is so strong -- not the least of which is the fact that poverty is also generally accompanied by the low cost of high-calorie foods containing high amounts of fat and sugar.
'Obesity is a political and social problem,' says Mark Hyman, MD. 'There's a medical-industrial complex designed to keep people sick and fat,' Dr. Hyman told me. 'We're spending billions of dollars a year subsidizing soybean and corn production, some of which winds up in our food supply as high-fructose corn syrup and hydrogenated soybean oil.' High fructose corn syrup is a main sweetener in many foods and is found in high-caloric processed foods and sweetened beverages... hydrogenated soybean oil is a source of trans-fats. Both are among the cheapest source of calories on earth.
Indeed, research presented at the Institute of Food and"
Wednesday, February 28, 2007
yes
We live in a period of improbable technologies such as self-cooled beer, artificial retinas of the eye, full automated factories. All these open new methods of preservation and transfering of energy.
AC Energy Introduction to Technology
Wednesday February 28, 6:02 am ET
GARDNERVILLE, NV--Feb 28, 2007 -- AC Energy (ACEN P K - News) is committed to leading the world in research and development of TOP quality alternative power sources for cell phones and other small and large electronics.
Our target is to revolutionize the battery industry by providing consumers with products of unparalleled convenience and efficiency.
Through the establishment of select strategic partnerships, AC Energy will maximize its market reach, penetrating every
sector of the cell phone and electronics power source industry.
Using their advanced battery technology, a phone could operate for its entire
life without ever needing to be plugged into an outlet or cigarette lighter -- it could actually charge itself. Imagine,
a cell phone that never needs charging!
Furthermore, their product will have the capability to meet the energy needs of the entire small and large electronics market, with minimal
adaptations to the original technology.
AC Energy's Technology "The battery that never needs to be charged" could work in cell phones, laptops, music players or any other portable device.
It will be a self-contained unit that will replace the original battery of the device. It can be made to work with any existing product.
It's not some kind of story or something like this, we provide you with 100% information.
Energy is our future, don't waste time.
Conversation problems
In 21st century
energy supply problems are standing for every man.
Prices for oil, gas, coal are rising higher and higher.
The governments of many countries discuss using of the renewed kinds of energy such as biofuel, energy of the sun and so on. But the issue of saving energy also is of great importance. Because of it energy conservations is needed vitaly. One of perspective directions is the technology hydrogen. But Proton Exchange Membrane is required in order to modernize this technology. It's developing now by the following company.
AC Energy, Inc is an electrochemical power company pioneering strategic energy
pathways in the milliwatts to kilowatts range. AC Energy is creating
energy solutions designed for all spheres of modern life.
The fuel cell technology, Proton Exchange Membrane ("PEM") is
touted as the "Catalyst for the Hydrogen Age".
PEM, declared as the major candidate to replace the internal
combustion engine, has created investor interest. Famous developers, knowledgeable in commercialization issues, possess the expertise to capitalize on new concepts.
The strategies of AC Energy have an excellent understanding of these
issues and elive that because the Company has right team that certain market niches can be dominated by it.
Read more about Proton exchange membrane at wikipedia.
AC Energy symbol is ACEN
Watch, trade, invest, buy it today on Feb 28 2007 for tomorrow and beyond tomorrow.
Friday, February 23, 2007
Osprey Media. - Brantford Expositor
City, county ink tentative pact on boundaries
By Michael-Allan Marion
Local News - Friday, February 23, 2007 Updated @ 10:45:16 PM
At long last, Brantford and Brant County have an agreement in principle on boundary changes and long-term growth that will change the future of more than 4,000 acres of rural land.
Negotiating teams for the two councils, aided by a provincial facilitator, Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing officials and staff from both municipalities, spent Thursday morning at the Best Western Brant Park Inn haggling over the final wording to resolve their remaining differences.
Then, after the negotiating team members finished nodding their heads through one final reading of the text, Brantford Mayor Mike Hancock and Brant Mayor Ron Eddy pulled out their pens.
They signed an agreement in principle that, if approved, would transfer more than 3,000 acres of county land to the north and east of Brantford into the city effective Jan. 1, 2008. That would handle the city's industrial and residential development needs for the next 30 years.
The vast majority of what has long been mostly agricultural land is now in the hands of development companies that have bought major tracts, particularly over the past four years, in anticipation of the deal.
The tentative pact also would allow the county to create new industrial and urban settlement in two areas of about 1,000 acres in its jurisdiction-- a parcel south of Paris and an expanded one in Cainsville -- which now is excluded from development.
And the pact gives the county a special deal under which the city would supply more water to Cainsville a"
general motors investor warning
GM has been burning the family furniture to keep the furnace running. It has gone past the point of no return. General Motors will never earn enough money selling cars to repay these debts. In fact, the company cannot make enough money to merely service these debts. The final nail in the coffin came in 2005, when GM's credit rating was first downgraded to 'junk' status. Since then, as its obligations have come due, the company has had to refinance at steadily increasing rates of interest. Its financing costs have soared. Over the last three years, GM's annual interest expense grew by 77%, from $9 billion to $16 billion.
GM can downsize, it can close factories, it can lay off union workers and renegotiate pensions. But its debts cannot be downsized. And its bondholders aren't going to settle for less than the full amount they are owed. GM cannot pay. Its shareholders will be wiped out, and its bondholders will end up owning the company. GM will be bankrupt within three years – or perhaps sooner if the economy slows.
Wednesday, February 21, 2007
Inquiry in Major need of all the facts
winnipegsun.com - Editorial - Inquiry in Major need of all the facts: "Federal bureaucrats are insisting that if 'secret' documents are made public at the ongoing Air India inquiry, it could compromise Canada's security.
Surely the greater concern is that if civil servants are allowed to keep too many documents secret using the excuse of 'national security,' the inquiry will never get to the bottom of how Canada's intelligence agencies botched their investigation of the 1985 Air India bombings.
The point of Prime Minister Stephen Harper calling this inquiry was to ensure such blunders as the erasing of key evidence and damaging turf wars between CSIS and the RCMP never happen again.
John Major, a retired Supreme Court of Canada judge who heads the inquiry, has privately seen the disputed documents and does not believe all of them need to be secret. Based on his mandate, which is to oversee a public inquiry into the Air India disaster, Major has given the federal government until March 5 to address this issue, or he will shut down his probe. "
Tuesday, February 20, 2007
Q-jumpers
You are in charge of your health, vitality and life
o Be proactive and eventually you will succeed
o We have all experienced the new words in action.
This is particularly true if you need services or work in a government environment
o Have some fun- use the new words to make others accountable to you -point out 404 errors. Make the Adminisphere accountable and get rid of the seagulls through cropdusting. Reduce or avoid blamestorming before it gets started
Back to Eden-New Beginnings (Ridgetown) 23 Richards Street 519-674-3434
We are a community of like minded peers, with an environment that is cozy, caring and comfortable. We are not GENERICA. We are special designed community just for you . We are not institutional.
Community Updates:
1. We endorse the Carp position on No More waiting on Health Care. Be heard join the better health crusade. "
The liberal credibility gap or hole widens
It seems to me that the liberals or performance Fiberals who are so very liberal with our money have a 82% credibility gap or performance hole of their own making to overcome in the upcomming election. A real Accounting is comming from the old school-those who are tired of the empty promises,high public cost and lack of performance of the existing hole fillers.