Hippie Lesson

As seventeen suspects were hauled off into the William G. Davis/Grenville courthouse in Brampton, the media started to roar. Agencies, local and international, pumped out headlines and mulch that were from quaint to outrageous.

There were a few media reports that suggest that the most basic Canadian principle we hold as a dominion, multiculturalism, was going to wane. This could be quoted from newspapers within the country, in the United States and most of the glove. An American congressman blamed our "lax immigration policies" from all this.

My question out to the open is: when? As a Chinese Canadian, I did not see any difference before and after the sting operation. It angers me that the media has sensationalised all this, even though no lives were (directly) affected except those of the subjects (those being detained and their families). Don't we have our courts to decide whether all of this is right?

In this world, there are always two extreme points of view, and a moderate balance. It is no fiction that some people are following a violent interpretation of Islam. But there are also people bent on hurting Muslims due to the acts of an extreme few. Canadians need to know that these are still accusations, and the last thing we all need to hear in this post-9/11 world is a sensationalised media.

I'm disgusted at those preaching violence in such a peaceful religion. I am also disgusted at those bent on reeking violence at any certain group of people, regardless of circumstances. Haven't we learned from history that a peaceful world is better than a world of plight?

Canada shall remain peacefully multicultural, regardless of circumstances.

A Homegrown Disgrace

As proven in a terrorist sting instigated by police officers in the Toronto area, the threat of bombs going off and people getting killed is no longer theorised as "what happens outside Canada".

As told in a police conference, the suspects held, in their posession, around three tons of explosives, three times more than what was used in the bombing of the Murrah Federal Building back in 1995 around Oklahoma City. The media and citzenry had speculated on where they would've bombed: Our gracious CN Tower, the offices of CSIS (Canada's intelligence service), the subway system? Police won't officially say.

What I do want to make clear, however, is that this is an isolated group, bent with the principles of Al-Qaeda. Muslim clerics in Toronto have condemned any violence at all, which doesn't surprise me due to Islam's teachings of peace. This, a disgrace to those who tried to handicap the Great White North, gives not only people of all ethnicities a fit of anger, but they have disgraced the country some of them hold citizenship with. Talk about biting the hand that fed you!

I am giving my two cents on the matter because this deserves a look into. I would never wonder, back in my childhood looking in my backyard onward to Mississauga, that this Toronto suburb would be home to misled extremists. I am deeply saddened at their motive to destroy the country that I love. The country that extended its hand when my family had no where to go thanks to war. The country in which I am proud to be part of.

Shame.

A Dirty Habit

For smokers in Ontario and Quebec, lighting up will be so much harder from now on.

A smoking ban that blankets just about every single indoor public space will be in effect, and restaurant owners and smokers are less than thrilled aobut this development.

In my humble opinion, smoking is not a matter of nuisance. Smoking affects the lives of way more than just the person who lights up. People around this smoker have a higher chance of getting cancer. None of these people even lighted a match and they're at risk of dying. Is it fair for one to risk the lives of others so coldly and needlessly?

In these lazy hazy crazy days of summer, business owners need not be worried about their business. What is the point of grumbling over the inevitable? Just set out a patio and sell some good cold beer. The law would only apply indoors.

It's funny how over a decade back, people even smoked on airplanes. People are starting to realise how smoke could affect someone's life so easily. It angers me to hear about how the poor smokers can't have a smoke and a drink. What bullshoy! The two sins in life that will impair your health in such a "McDonald's" combo!

For smokers, I say this is tough love. I'm tired of hearing about cancer caused by second-hand smoke. It upsets me to hear people talk of "government oppression" when this is done for the good of society!

People who smoke indoors as a matter of choice risks a right other humans deserve to recieve: the right to life. I find this (accusing government) a childish excuse for not quitting.

Take your smokes outside.