Saturday, December 16, 2006

Two men were arrested today by the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) at a Caledonia rally at about 12:00 p.m. ET after entering the disputed land in Caledonia, Ontario waving Canadian flags. One was Gary McHale, a Richmond Hill, Ontario man who entered the occupied land in Caledonia, Ontario to organize a rally against the ongoing aboriginal occupation. Mark Vandermaas of London, Ontario was also arrested. Vandermaas was forced to the ground by police officers, who ripped the flag out of his hand when he crossed the police line. There were approximately 100 protesters rallying with McHale.

According to news reports, McHale intended to put the Canadian flag across the street from DCE (Douglas Creek Estates) where the aboriginal occupation has been ongoing for 10 months. Back in late October the aboriginals had already put up their flags across from the DCE property and the OPP made no attempt to stop them. However, on Dec. 2 residents of Caledonia attempted to put up Canadian flags with Yellow ribbons in various areas in Caledonia. When they tried to put up a Canadian Flag across from DCE property the OPP sent in 100 officers to stop them.

Mr. McHale called for people to gather on Dec. 16 to try to put up Canadian Flags across from DCE property on the same hydro poles that Natives already had put up their flags. Mr. McHale stated, “I have asked 2 dozen OPP officers why it is legal to have a Native Flag up along the highway but illegal for a Canadian Flag to be up and I have never received an answer.”

“The OPP set up a line just about a hundred yards away from that site and several people were able to cross that line. They got through a farmer’s field on far left side of where I’m standing here,” said CTV reporter Joel Bowey. “We’re hearing that Mr. McHale got in the middle of the street and put a flag down there, and that’s when he and the other man from London, Ont. were arrested. So far all we know is that those two men have been arrested and there are no other arrests at this point.”

The OPP said the men were arrested for “breaking the peace” and noted that it is not a criminal offence. Police had warned them about crossing into the disputed land before.

“I’ve now said that Mr. McHale’s plans were counterproductive and potentially dangerous to what we’ve been trying to do there, and that is to reach a peaceful settlement,” said David Ramsay, Ontario’s minister of aboriginal affairs. “I’ve twice now offered Mr. McHale the opportunity to protest at Queen’s Park [the site of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario building]. In fact, I said I would sponsor his rally and set up a platform and a microphone, a PA system for him.”

Mayor Marie Trainer of Haldimand County, were Caledonia is located, said: “The next meeting or two will be wasted on frivolous stuff again instead of getting down to business.” Trainer also says that he should not be entering the town and did not specify what side she is on or if she is not taking any side.

This was not the first time Gary McHale entered the disputed land. On October 15, 2006, McHale with approximately 2000 (as reported by local newspapers) participants rallied in Caledonia, but the OPP blocked the entrance to the occupied site.

“Our fight is not with the natives, we’re just trying to be equal in a democratic Canada,” said Christine McHale, wife of Gary McHale.

“When a native commits a serious crime or any crime, they stand by and watch the crime take place and will not do anything to stop the crime. When a resident does the simplest thing, even putting up a Canadian flag or drinking a coffee in a lawn chair across some magic line, they will send in scores of officers to arrest the person,” said Gary McHale. “We have to take a stand and say to police forces that there is one set of laws for all citizens.”

“Police have one set of policies for natives and another set of policies for non-natives,” he said before the rally. “It’s against our Charter of Rights, that clearly says there’s not to be any discriminations based on their religion, beliefs, race or their skin colour.”

McHale has been long critical of the Ontario Provincial Police over the land claim saying that they treat aboriginals differently. McHale and his wife operate a website called Caledonia Wake Up Call.com, were they detail what they describe as police bias.

Wednesday, January 26, 2011

Car manufacturer Toyota is to recall almost 1.7 million cars in two simultaneous recalls, that include the Toyota Avensis and Lexus IS 250, after concerns over fuel systems, which, if combined, amount to the biggest Toyota recall for six years.

Japan’s transport ministry stated it was possible for slight cracks to appear in fuel pipes in Avensis models, which may widen if the cars continue to be used. In the United Kingdom, Toyota GB are offering free repairs, which are expected to take around four and a half hours each. The Lexus IS 250 is involved in a separate recall, with around 280 thousand models outside of Japan being recalled over a faulty fuel pressure sensor, which can possibly come loose, causing a fuel leak.

The Managing Director of Toyota GB stated “We are committed to putting the customer first and have a total focus on the quality of all our products. We will liaise with our customers to carry out the repair procedures as efficiently as possible, with minimal disruption”.

Toyota has recalled over 16 million cars globally since late 2009.

Friday, December 7, 2007

Many of record store HMV‘s Canadian locations have started to stock iPod portable music players, in a move to stay relevant.

HMV Canada President Humphrey Kadaner commented “While the majority of purchased music continues to be in physical form, it’s clear the listening experience of many Canadians is evolving to also include portable music and for the majority of those consumers the digital player of choice is the iPod. As the country’s leading music retailer, it only makes sense that we provide a full music experience for our customers by selling Canada’s leading digital music player.”

“Many people think the world of CDs and the world of iPod are incompatible and it just isn’t true. Not only are they compatible, they are now cohabitating at many HMV stores across the country. The addition of iPod in HMV stores is another step in HMV’s evolution from a music retailer to an entertainment retailer.”

In mid-November this year, Canadian chain Music World announced it was closing its stores as of the new year. The franchise has 72 stores across the country, and 648 employees who have been able to keep their jobs during liquidation, which is expected to continue through until Christmas. The store’s website now contains nothing but its logo for months.

Previously, the last remaining location of Sam the Record Man closed down, in downtown Toronto. Sam once had 130 stores nationwide, then the record. There is a store in Belleville and Sarnia, once part of the chain, but now simply known as “SAM”.

The last American locations of HMV closed in 2004.

Saturday, April 21, 2007

The contaminated pet food that was recalled after it was found to contain a harmful industrial chemical called melamine, has been used as pig feed at a hog farm in Ceres, California, located in the United States.

At least seven urine samples taken from pigs at the American Hog Farm, were tested and the results came back positive for the chemical melamine. At least three samples from the feed used to feed the pigs were tested and those results also came back positive for melamine.

Reports say that at least 100 pigs from the farm were slaughtered and sold from the “custom slaughterhouse” that is operated on the farms site. The meat is then sold to different places as “individual orders” and is not sold commercially for supermarkets. The affected meat goes as far back as April 3 and the company is asking anyone who bought it to return the product or throw it out.

Despite the sale, California State Veterinarian Dr. Richard Breitmeyer says that no evidence has turned up to suggest that the meat that was sold entered the human consumption chain.

“There is no evidence that any products from this farm have entered the food supply. The risk to people right now is minimal,” said Breitmeyer who also said that pet food from bags or boxes that have been torn or ripped, is sometimes reused as feed for small farms.

California’s Department of Food and Agriculture investigated the company and found that it had received the contaminated pet food from Diamond Pet Foods, which supplies retailers with the pet food Natural Balance, one of the over 100 recalled brands of pet food. Authorities then quarantined the farm to further investigate the situation.

At least 1,500 pigs are on the farm.

As of the moment, no other farms are being investigated, but officials say that other farms may also be affected.

“In the course of our investigation, we may find similar situations in other parts of the country,” said head of the Center for Veterinary Medicine at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, Stephen Sundlof.

The FDA is continuing to investigate and Sundlof says that there is a possibility that the contamination of the pet food may be intentional.

“It would certainly lend credibility to the theory that it may be intentional. That will be one of the theories we will pursue when we get into the plants in China,” said Sundlof.

Last month, Menu Foods was the first to recall all of its 60 million products of dry and wet dog and cat food after pets began to fall ill and in some cases died of kidney failure. The FDA found melamine in samples of Menu Foods pet food and in samples of wheat gluten, imported from China, which was used as an ingredient.

Sunday, January 10, 2010

Chinese officials have said that their country’s exports surged last December to edge out Germany as the world’s biggest exporter.

The official Xinhua news agency reported today that figures from the General Administration for Customs showed that exports jumped 17.7% in December from a year earlier. Over the whole of 2009 total Chinese exports reached US$1.2 trillion, above Germany’s forecast $1.17 trillion.

Huang Guohua, a statistics official with the customs administration, said the December exports rebound was an important turning point for China’s export sector. He commented that the jump was an indication that exporters have emerged from their downslide.

“We can say that China’s export enterprises have completely emerged from their all-time low in exports,” he said.

However, although China overtook Germany in exports, China’s total foreign trade — both exports and imports — fell 13.9% last year.

Sunday, July 4, 2010

Russia’s Internal Affairs Ministry’s Department for Own Safety says it will begin a “check” on Russian Militsiya lieutenant colonel Artem Kuznetsov, who is publicly accused by a group of American lawyers of illegitimately imprisoning and then torturing Russian lawyer Sergei Magnitsky to death. Later, head of Investigating Committee of the Prosecution Office Alexander Bastrykin said he will “personally check” the course of investigation into actions by Kuznetsov and his coworkers. In 2007 and 2008, Magnitsky worked in Russia for American investment fund company Hermitage Capital Management and was involved in the disclosure of a large-scale corruption among several top law enforcement officials in Moscow.

Lawyers concerned with the death of Magnitsky, which occurred in Butyrka prison on November 16 of last year, started the bilingual website russian-untouchables.com, where they presented evidence of Artem Kuznetsov’s alleged efforts to cloak the crimes. As reported by the website’s authors, Kuznetsov was a key player in a US$230 million theft from the Russian government and then successfully brought criminal charges against everyone who reported his theft.

The central part of website material is a ten-minute video providing a summary of the case. Its main point is the fact that multiple large-scale luxury buyings registered to members of Kuznetsov’s family; they are not comparable to official income of all of these persons. It is emphasized in the video that Kuznetsov’s official monthly income is $850 per month (in roubles), and to gain all the assets found to be connected with him he would have to work for 322 years. The video was released in the middle of last week, and gained enormous popularity within Russian blogosphere, and drew attention of some mass media.

One of the American lawyers, Jamison Firestone, states at the website that last month he directed several petitions to check the sources of Kuznetsov’s family wealth to Russian authorities: the President of Russia, Prosecutor General Yury Chaika, Department for Own Safety and Department for Preventing Corruption and Other Crimes of Interior Ministry. News website Lenta.ru states that addresses were directed on May, 21, but there were no replies since then.

Magnitsky’s case has received international attention for several months. In April 2010 US Senator Ben Cardin proposed the cancellation of US visas to 60 Russian officials allegedly connected with Magnitsky’s death. He directed an appeal to US State Secretary Hillary Clinton.

There has been no decision on it yet, but last Tuesday Clinton urged Russia to bring officials responsible for the death of Magnitsky to justice, The Daily Telegraph says. She told the US-Russia “Civil Society to Civil Society” summit in Washington that the Obama administration is “deeply concerned about the safety of journalists and human rights activists in Russia”. In the meantime Barack Obama and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev were meeting last week during Medvedev’s visit to US.

Magnitsky’s advocates emphasize that Kuznetsov, since committing his crimes, was promoted in service; previously, he was working for the Department of Tax Crimes of the Central Internal Affairs Directorate of Moscow, and at the start of 2010 began to work in Department for Economic Safety of the Interior Ministry. Recently there were many cases when civil groups and private persons publicly reported alleged large-scale corruption crimes within top Russian authorities, with some evidence provided.