War crimes fugitive Mladic arrested

Ratko Mladic, Europe's most-wanted war crimes fugitive is finally arrested in Serbia after years of hiding. The arrest was confirmed by the Serbian President Boris Tadic on Thursday.  "Today, we close one chapter of our recent history that will bring us one step closer to full reconciliation in the region," he said during a news conference in Belgrade. "All crimes have to be fully investigated, and all war criminals must face justice." Mldaic led forces that attacked the Bosnian town in the summer of 1995. An estimate of 8,000, or more, Bosnian Muslim men and boys were executed by Serbian forces and women along with children were driven out of the area. Just few hours before the killing, Mladic handed out candy to Muslim children and assuring them everything would be fine. Of course, the shooting soon came and bodies lied everywhere. The bodies of those victims were bulldozed into massive graves. Since then, many of the dead victims have been identified through DNA tests and laid to rest. Mladic is wanted for this massacre and had been on the run since 1995.  The arrest was successful from the full co-operation of Serbia with the Hague tribunal said the President. 


I think that Mladic deserves to have a heavy punishment. He gave the Muslim children false hope and kills them. This is an unforigivable crime and I am glad that he was caught. However, it had been almost 17 years since that happened and I don't think Serbia put that much effort into seizing Mladic so I am not that happy with Serbia. 


http://www.cbc.ca/news/world/story/2011/05/26/ratko-mladic-arrest-serbia.html

Alberta wildfires rage as extra help arrives

50 million dollars are given by Alberta to help the victims of the wildfire that happened in Slave Lake and for rebuilding the town that was destroyed. 7,000 residents are evacuated to the evacuation center It was crucial for the residents to register with Red Cross said Premier Ed Stelmach. “As individual residents will have specific needs and requirements, it is important that we have an accurate list of evacuees." While firefighters are currently winning the battle with the fires in Slave Lake, it is still too dangerous for residents to return to the northern Alberta community. The fire is maintained in the town but it is not completely out yet said Calgary Fire department spokesman Brian McAsey. "Right now it's dangerous to return to Slave Lake, and I'm sorry to say that," said McAsey. Officials told the resident that it could be weeks before they could return to the town. 


This wildfire had cause my problems to the community of Alberta. The residents cannot go back to their home due the heavy smokes and chemicals around the town. It was great that Alberta contributed 50 million dollars for the residents in need and to help rebuild the town. I hope that the Slave Lake resident can return to their home soon. 

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/story/2011/05/18/alberta-wildfires-slave-lake.html

More than 100 fires raging across Alberta

Alberta on Tuesday, suffers from more than 100 forest fires as they continue to burn. 36 of those are out of control and three around the town near Slave Lake that is already half-destroyed. Dozens of firefighters are sent to the Slave Lake to try to contain the fire and save the rest of the town. 7,000 resident from that area had already evacuated on Sunday when the town was suddenly ablaze by wind-whipped wildfires. It is predicted that the resident cannot return yet until 3 or 4 days later. The Alberta Premier, Ed Stelmach, said "I know it's difficult, because everybody's really concerned about their home and whether it was damaged or burnt to the ground and whether it's salvageable." British Columbia was said to be sending 120 firefighters there and Ontario 80. Calgary fire dpearment had already sent 116 firefighters and many pieces of equipment to help with fires in the town.  Sokesman Brian McAsey told the press that the fire is under control and all that left now is to check on the damage of the town. 


Natural disasters can happen anytime. I am glad that no one in that town got hurt because of the early warning. However, I think that this incident probably left many of these resident in the town homeless. At least it is not as devastating. The resident should expect some sort of help from the Alberta government as this incident was not intended to happen.   


http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/story/2011/05/17/slave-lake-tues.html

Ignatieff pitches $500M a year for child care

Ignatieff, the Liberal leader, presented a plan to give the provinces $500 million a year for early childhood learning, ramping up to $1 billion a year by its fourth year. Ignatieff announced his plan in a preschool in Winnipeg. There wouldn't be any delay, he said, since the party worked with the province to develop it. "These programs very consciously and deliberately have been constructed with pre-consultation with provincial authorities and provincial experts because the key thing here is to act. To get it done for Canadian families," Ignatieff said. "We'll have a flexible fund and we can get this thing moving. We don't need to have another three or four years of argument and negotiation." The provincial government could use this fund to pay for more spaces in daycare and early childhood learning programs of to train daycare workers. The Conservatives, on the other hand, have brought in a taxable $100-a-month payment to parents and tax credits to employers who is in child-care spaces.

I think that this would be a great help to all of the daycare centers in provinces but i think they should focus on other things too. I am not saying it is bad, but what about other places? Like street cleaning, snow plowing, health centers, public schools etc. I think the Liberals should focus more on everything, but I think the Liberal's plan is a great start.


http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/story/2011/03/31/cv-ignatieff-childcare.html 

NDP jumps ahead of Bloc in Quebec: Poll

The New Democratic Party had never been ahead before in Canadian politics. It had even jump ahead of the Bloc Quebecois. CROP released a new poll , published in La Presse,  shows that the NDP stands firmly with 36% of the survey while Bloc Quebecois have 31% . If this continues, NDP could lead to a breakthrough for the left wing party in the province. The polls have shown an increase in support for Layton since people of Quebec had watch him take in a Canadiens hockey game and enjoyed his ads on T.V. Due to this, the other parties are suffering. Youri Rivest, vice-president of La Presse said it was bad news for the Bloc. Most people in Bloc are the most committed sovereignists and those that left are Quebec nationalists. The NDP is receiving great amount of support among francophone and in Montreal. In Montreal, The NDP is at the top with 40% votes, the Bloc is at 28, the Liberals at 16 and Tories at 12.

I think that it a great chance for the NDP to go for the win. Personally, I think that the NDP gives out a great platform and a humorous T.V ad. However, I don't think that the NDP can win this election because the NDP are receiving votes mostly from the Qubecers. NDP shouldn't give up though, as it could win them their seats in the house of Parliament

http://www.thestar.com/news/canada/politics/article/978205--ndp-jumps-ahead-of-bloc-in-quebec-poll?bn=1

Tories fall, election set for May

After more than 5 years in power, Stephen Harper had finally lost the confidence vote in the House of Commons on Friday. A new election is expected to be held on May 2. Stephen Harper was one of the longest prime minister of a minority government in Canada without losing a vote of confidence. "The vote today, which obviously disappoints me, will, I suspect, disappoint most Canadians," Harper told reporters afterwards. Harper sad that Canadians, in his opinion, should have approved of his budget for "the next phase of Canada's economic action plan", he called it, that "is critically important to Canada's economic recovery". His opponents did not agree, they said that it was time for a change. Technically, it wasn't the rejection of the budget that bought Harper down, but MPs were asked if they agreed "with the finding of the standing committee on procedure and house affairs that the government is in contempt of Parliament, which is unprecedented in Canadian parliamentary history, and consequently, the House has lost confidence in the government." Liberals, Bloquistes and New Democrats (all 156 of them) voted in favor while Conservatives and the two independent MPs (all 145 of them) voted against.


I think this is a waste of time as well as a waste of money. Last election was costly, I think it was 300 million dollars. Last thing i would want to do is waste that much money on elections. Even though I do not like the government that much, but I would not want to waste manpower and the country's money on this election since we don't really need it with so much things going on around the world right now. 


http://thesudburystar.com/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=3045056

Home Depot considers banning dogs from stores after employee attacked

The Home Depot is now considering banning animals after a greeter was attacked by a customer's dog. The greeter was immediately rushed to the hospital after the dog bit off the end of her nose. The building-supply chain had always allowed dogs into store as long as they are under their owner's control. But now it may be changed to allow only service animals after the accident. The greeter, Anne Riel, 39, says that she was greeting customers when she bent down to pet a Shih Tzu. The dog then jumped and bit her nose and she had to do surgery to reattach her left nostril. "My nose will never be the same again," she told the Canadian Press. Bernhard Pukay, a veterinarian and pet columnist told the newspaper that owners should take care of their animals and be responsible for what happened. If they are not, animal banning would be everywhere. “If you get more and more of these stories where dogs bite people in public places or they soil the area and the owner doesn’t clean it up, the more likely you’re going to end up with people calling for legislation to not allow that any more and we don’t want that,” he said.


I think that this is a serious situation. Pet owners should be responsible for their own pet. I think that many pet owner would like the privilege of bringing their pet to different places. However, they are losing them because of one silly mistake. Pet owners should know their pet and whether or not it is suitable of bringing them out. There are many cases of dog attacks and their respective owner should be held responsible.
   
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/life/the-hot-button/home-depot-considers-banning-dogs-from-stores-after-employee-attacked/article1991194/