In this video police pursued a suspect that finally gave himself up. I guess that the cop felt annoyed that he had to chase him so he kicked him square in the head. All of the events were caught on camera by a Fox News helicopter.

Under new terrorism laws politicians are trying to make it illegal to video tape policemen. Remember that these video tapes are our only defense against policemen brutality. It will just become your word against theirs. Make sure you support the freedom of the press and help weed out these bad cops.

Calgary Homeless

Originally uploaded by jonsimo

It is becoming more and more obvious that the big issues dominating the media these days has been the economy and job loss. For me the issue of having a job was never the problem, it was having a job that paid enough to cover the bills. No one likes working 9hour days, five days a week knowing that no matter how hard they work they will still come short on paying the bills. We all know the story, guy takes out loans to cover the rent and soon takes out too much and is forced to declare bankruptcy. It happens all the time, and it could happen to anyone rich or poor because of the simple – equation spend more than income = disaster. The problem here isn’t that there aren’t enough jobs, it’s that there aren’t enough jobs that pay enough.

There can only be two solutions to this problem. 1. Increase the minimum wage or wages in general. or 2. Decrease the cost of living. You could even combine the two so that they meet somewhere in the middle.

By increasing the standard wage people will be able to cover their costs and save a little to put back into the economy. We see it in China where the average worker is able to play the stock market and re-invest in their country’s economy because they have such low cost of living. The economy is hurting in the Western world because the only way we can posses things is if we buy them with credit. Forget about saving up to buy a car or a house, for the average Canadian that will never happen. We have a real problem in Calgary, Alberta when it comes to affordable housing. The government refuses to build apartments but instead provides relief money to poor families so that their landlords won’t be left high and dry. The money buy the families a month but allows the landlord time to find new more suitable tenants. In a recent survey I heard that Calgary has as many homeless people as the city of London. Even if this was exaggerated it is still an embarrassing number. One that should send chills through every government and city official.

I spoke with a couple who were panhandling on the street because they were forcibly evicted from their basement suite. They failed to come up with the rent due and were kicked out on one of the coldest nights in Calgary’s recent history at -30C. Theirs was not an unwillingness to work. The both had jobs and lived in the cheapest accommodations available to them and it still wasn’t enough. Their case is not unusual, Calgary is becoming world renown for its fluctuating economy and high costs of living. Yet the minimum wage still remains at just under $6/hr.

Calgary and all cities in the civilized world have an obligation to the poor and desolate. Someone once said that you can measure a city by the way they treat their poorest citizens. It’s no use boasting the largest malls or sports facilities. If the poor have no where to go and have no hope of attaining a job that will allow them to live in their own city than it’s pointless to boast to the world that the C-train runs completely on wind power.

I was embarrassed by Canada as I drove though East Hasting street in Vancouver’s East side. The sheer volume of people huddled on the sidewalks (children and adults included) in their makeshift homes was a sight I hope the whole world see’s during the Winter Olympics 2010. I mean talk about human rights violations! China and Cuba have nothing on Vancouver.

As humans we are hotwired to do whatever it takes to survive. Lie, cheat, steal… whatever it takes. We need to come together and realize that this is not a secular burden but a civic responsibility to make sure that anyone who wishes to be off the streets be off of the streets. And the only way to do that it to make sure everyone has access to the tools necessary to survive.

Namely; affordable housing, cheap transportation, sufficient wages, education, and food. Some are happy with just the bare necessities of life. But if the bare necessities are unattainable than we need to take a hard look at what our society is becoming.

Free Electricity…from Thin Air – The funniest home videos are here

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Some lawmakers in Britain and the United States are trying to challenge the freedom of the press laws to allow policemen the right to refuse filming in certain situations. If this were to happen things could quickly fall into full out tyranne.

This is the kind of news that should be an embarrassment for Calgary – the cleanest city in Canada? Mayor Dave Bronconnier was recently in a report that found it’s way onto CNN to announce that most city owned buildings and the city run LRT (light rail transit) system was now fully powered by windmills. However, at the same time Calgary citizens were upset when they learned that they would have to pay extra taxes to fun the new curb side recycling program.

Calgary should be embarrassed for their false claims of setting environmental standards. The truth is that people here could care less about the environment and they have proved it time and time again by making petty excuses for non-participation. The only thing moving Calgary into the future is a few governing officials who are reduced to trickery to establish the much needed reform in this backwards town.

Image By Jyle Dupuis

Also got to meet many of the winners and former contestants of the American Idol show from various seasons. The best part of the trip was the great people who work at Disney and their always willing to help attitude.

Thanks Disney.

Image: Jyle Dupuis