Canadian crackdown
It seems that the problem of street racing happen everywhere, not just in the United States. In May of this past year, the Prime Minister of Canada, Stephen Harper, announced that Canada's New Government is pushing a new bill that would make street racing a separate criminal code. With this bill, much stiffer penalties would become the normal. Any way,
here is where you can find his speech.
25 May 2006
Vancouver, BC
Notes for an Address byThe Right Honourable Stephen HarperPrime Minister of Canada
Good morning ladies and gentlemen: Canada is a great country.And one of the things that has made it so is our traditionally low crime rate.Which is in no small measure due to the work of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.
Created in 1873 by Sir John A. Macdonald, the North West Mounted Police – as they were then called – were instrumental in bringing law and order to the Canadian West.
From horseback patrols on the frontier to helicopter scans over the Greater Vancouver Area, they have always been there for Canadians.
I thank the Mounties for welcoming us here today.And for their exemplarily service to this country.Our traditionally low crime rate is due in large part to their efforts.Their dedication.Their professionalism.And their bravery.
There is little the RCMP can do, however, to change the times in which we live.
And times are changing.
Our communities are changing.
A plague of guns, gangs, and drugs is afflicting our streets.
And the RCMP and other law enforcement officers need help and support from above.
Something our Government is going to provide. No more excuses.No more broken promises.No more favouring the rights of criminals over those of their victims. We will crack down on gun, gang, and drug crime.
We will protect the Canadian way of life.In fact, we’ve taken important steps to this end by introducing legislation to:
Establish mandatory minimum sentences for gun crimes;
and
End conditional sentences – including house arrest – for serious offences.
We will continue moving forward on our agenda of safer communities later this spring by introducing legislation to raise the Age of Consent from 14 to 16.
And this is just the beginning. And that means, among a variety of things, cracking down on street racing – a reckless crime that all too often kills.
Fighting street racing was an issue championed by my former colleague the late Member of Parliament for Surrey North, Chuck Cadman.
A selfless man who devoted his years in Ottawa to fighting for safer streets.Let’s be clear.Street racing is not about kids having fun.
It’s reckless.
It’s dangerous.
And all too often it kills.
Chuck, who sadly passed away last year, knew this.
One of the impetuses for Chuck’s involvement on the street-racing file was the tragic death of Irene Thorpe.
Irene, a recently widowed mother of two, was taking an evening stroll in Vancouver when she was struck by a street racer who – after having reached speeds of up to 140 km/h - had spun out of control.
This unthinkable and horrific act took place on a city street.
A street on which mothers drive their kids to soccer practice.
A street on which people cycle to work.
And a street along which people take evening strolls.The magnitude of this tragedy coupled with the light sentence handed down to the perpetrators prompted Chuck to action. He became a tireless advocate of tougher sentences for street racers.
In December 2002, Chuck introduced a private member’s bill that sought to toughen sentences for street racers.
Unfortunately, his bill was never passed into law.
Since his untimely death last summer, his wife, Dona, has taken up the cause about which he was so passionate. I would like to commend Dona for carrying on Chuck’s good work, and thank her for the dedication and commitment she has demonstrated during her battle to crack down on street racing.
Because street racing is a serious problem that is claiming new victims each year. Consider its toll in 2006 alone.
In January, three young men were killed on an east Vancouver highway when their car spun into a ditch, splitting into two as it hit a power pole. Another passenger later died in hospital. In that same month, Tahir Khan of Toronto, who was set to become a Canadian citizen only days later, was killed when his cab was involved in a horrific crash with a street racer.
And a man in Burnaby was killed when he lost control of his car and struck two oncoming vehicles, sending their occupants to hospital on Mother’s Day. Simply put, street racing kills.It’s a serious crime for which offenders should serve serious time.
That is why Canada’s New Government will introduce a bill that will tackle street racing head on.First, we will create a new criminal code offence for street racing.
One that will result in stiffer sentences for street racers.
Furthermore, our bill will impose driving prohibitions on those convicted of street racing. With the prohibition a driver faces increasing with each repeat offence. These are measures that are very much in line with the intentions of Chuck’s private member’s bill.
Because just like him and so many tireless advocates, our Government is committed to making our streets safer.
We’re committed to a justice system that hands down serious time to those who commit serious crimes. We’re committed to healthy communities in which Canadians and their families can flourish.
In the weeks and months ahead, my Government will continue to work hard to build a safer, stronger, more secure Canada for all Canadians.
Thank you.
Face it, street racing is just plain old stupid. There is no need for it. If you do feel the need to race some one, go to a dragstip. Ther are also tons of street racing simulations around. Nobody ever gets hurt in those. Above all, just use your head.
Sportbikes and street cars
The cell phones are under attack!
If any people think that their information on their personal cellphone is safe, take a look at this article I found in the Holland Sentinel. The technique described is referred to as blue jacking. But from what I read in the piece, the actual technique is called blue snarfing. Here is the wikipedia definition for blue: Bluejacking is the sending of unsolicited messages over Bluetooth to Bluetooth-enabled devices such as mobile phones, PDAs or laptop computers, sending a vCard which typically contains a message in the name field (i.e. for bluedating or bluechat) to another bluetooth enabled device via the OBEX protocol.acking;
According to that definition, blue jacking is normally considered a harmless prank. Blue snarfing is the complete opposite of harmless. Although both exploit the use of bluetooth connections in cell phone, the use of bluetooth software enables a cracker to steal information from any bluetooth enabled cell phone. This information includes contact lists, emails, and text messages. There have been cases of bluesnarfing being used to clone cell phone numbers.
For comparison, here is the article from the Holland Sentinel.
, December 26, 2006
Keeping information safe
High-tech devices make work easier for owners, data thieves
Networking, handheld computers or personal digital assistants and smart cell phones can all make information more easy to access for their users through wireless networks.
They also makes information easier for data thieves to access, said Hope College computer science department chairman Mike Jipping .
"If you're going to put data on a handheld device, the best thing to do is to also invest in some sort of encryption service," he said. "I would never put my personal information on a handheld device unless I could encrypt it."
Getting people to change their minds about technology is difficult, said Jipping, who has been at Hope for 20 years and specializes in handheld computers. Too many people trust too much in the safety of their personal information, he said.
U.S. Rep. Pete Hoekstra is one man who doesn't have the liberty to trust that his information is safe. As a congressmen, Hoekstra is connected -- a Blackberry for mobile e-mailing that doubles as a cell phone; a second cell phone to make sure where ever he is, he has service and a third cell phone to make campaign calls.
As the chairman of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, he has a secure landline phone at his Holland home.
"I get nothing classified on my Blackberry," he said. "There's a treasure trove of information on there in terms of all of the phone numbers and e-mails of all the people I talk to pretty regularly."
Hoekstra is also "very, very careful" about what information he does send on his Blackberry.
But all that cautiousness hasn't protected Hoekstra's Blackberry from good ol' fashioned spam.
"Is it time to change e-mail," he asked. "Then I'd have to get the new address to people."
"I use my cell phone and my Blackberry recognizing that these are not secure communication devises," he said. "The amazing thing is the longer you have it the more you depend on it. . . . Basically I'm connected 24-7."
Wireless Internet hotspots and Bluetooth technology allow many to be connected 24-7.
But open hotspots (those that don't require a password to use) and bluejacking can leave wireless users vulnerable.
"You can watch data as it whizzes by," Jipping said. "It's very easy to do."
Bluejacking is as new as Bluetooth technology. Bluetooth-enabled phones, PDAs and laptops allow for wireless devices like earphones as well as access to services through a radio connection. Bluejacking is where a hacker scans the area to for devices with the radio frequency-based technology. If a particular PDA or cell phone user has changed the bluetooth settings to allow for access without first requesting permission, hackers could get at his or her private information. Bluejacking could come in the form of text messages or programs being installed on a PDA, phone or laptop.
Some companies allow employees to use these technologies for work, but most require that encryption software be used to protect the information.
But it's not all bad if users are careful about their personal information. Newer, faster, smaller, more connected technology can make life infinitely more convenient.
Henri Paterson, an associate broker with Coldwell Banker Woodland Schmidt, uses her handheld computer to e-mail, send text message, check voicemail, and look up property prices on the Internet.
"We can be sitting in front of a house and they say 'Well, what about this house,'" Paterson said. "I pull it up within seconds and tell them the price."
Her Treo 700 can also open up the real estate lock boxes on properties for sale.
She doesn't keep the pass code to the hidden program on the device and feels secure that if anyone found it, they wouldn't know what to do with it.
"For what I use it for there really aren't any security issues because I don't keep any information on here that someone else could do something with that would be detrimental to me," she said.
This article is meant to show people that there is no 100% proof that any information they have stored electronic devices. The people who know how to use this technology are not always on the correct side of the law.
Christmas 2006
Today is Christmas, 2006, so Merry Christmas everyone! I have here some pictures of my 2 and a half year-old nephew. Gift giving among adults is great, but the real fun is watching the children open their presents. Giving presents during the holidays has always been about the children and watching how much fun they have opening their presents.
Children are what makes life worth living. Watching them grow up one of the best things you could ask for in life. There are times when they can be real brats, but then nobody is perfect. Parents who say their kids are perfect are either lying or they are severely deluding themselves.
Just goes to show that size really does matter
I was browsing the
Car Accidents.com and found this article, which I found would be an interesting addition to this blog. The woman in this article found out the hard way what can happen when you do not pay attention to the road. She some how managed to not see that there was a large SUV stopped right in front of her.
To whom it may concern: I was driving to school as traffic started to get thick in Marin County, California (north of the Golden Gate Bridge).
I slowed down and was crawling at about 5 mph with the rest of traffic. I look in the rear view as a woman doing hell knows what probably on her cell phone doing makeup and changing CD's, comes flying in at full speed. She finally realized to slow down, but it was too late and skidded into my 97' Jeep Grand Cherokee at about 35 + mph. Thanks to the weight of my college supplies, my rear was weighed down enough to put my hitch smack in the middle of her honda's grill which pierced through the radiator and engine block! Oil and radiator fluid was all over the highway. If not for the extra weight she would have missed my hitch and hit the gas tank.
I came out fine, but she was a bit dazed and bruised. The scary part was that her air bags didn't go off.
I drove away as if nothing had happened. The only damage to my vehicle was my bumper being push up letting me barely lift my tail gate open. To make a long story short...pay attention to the road! and a hitch is a great investment even if you dont tow anything.
To hear that the offending driver had the only vehicle that sustained any damage in this incident can only be poetic justice. Hopefully, she learns her lesson before some one gets hurt. It is true that when people do stupid things, they only hurt themselves.
A place to recommend for aviation buffs
I thought these pictures might interest the aviation buffs out there. The next time any of you out there who just happen to be interested in aviation and the history pertaining to it, I would highly recomend that you take the time to visit the
Kalamazoo Air Zoo. The exhibits there are simply awesome. I have had the chance to visit there last winter and had a great time. The flight simulators were as realistic as you can get without simulating the effects of g-forces. All in all, a lot of fun. These pictures were taken by Jon M. Houghtaling of
Fly By Aviation.com
Another life needlessly taken
This could have been totally avoided. This sad story was found at
Car Accidents.com. How hard could it be to see a red light, let alone a car turning left in front of you? The person that did this definitely does not deserve to have a drivers license. The collision happened as follows.
This accident happened on September 28th, 2005 in Riverview FL. A careless driver on a cell phone blazed through a red light at 55 mph and struck my mom's drivers door as she was going 20 mph attempting to make a left turn towards home. Her car was pushed 40 feet and my mom's neck was broken in 2 places. She died instantly.
As her daughter, and someone that had to go to the scene to identify her, I can't tell you enough-DRIVE SAFELY! OTHER PEOPLES LIVES DEPEND ON IT! My Mom always wore her seltbelt and was a very cautious driver. My sister and I, her fiance' (she was due to marry him the next week) , brother and grandson will miss her forever. The other driver has not been charged with anything due to no witnesses willing to get involved and make a statement at the scene.
Melissa T.
People, when you see an accident happen right in front, it is your duty to get involved and tell the police what you saw. That is the only way to get dangerous drivers like this off the road. They make it hazardous for everyone else. And when well meaning and otherwise clueless people decide to let them have their way, things only get worse.
An extremist
It is one thing to get angry at people for not dimming their bright lights, but the trucker in
this story took his anger a little to the extreme side. The most he can legally do is complain, but what he did is vandalism. Getting angry at someone is not justification for damaging their car.
Trucker had his fill of bright headlights
CHARDON, Ohio -- A trucker is accused of throwing iron ore at passing motorists because he was angry they wouldn't turn off their bright headlights.
Glenn Rogers Jr., 40, told Geauga County Sheriff deputies he was mad at drivers who wouldn't dim their high beams as he passed them on state Route 422, Sheriff Dan McClelland said.
Rogers pleaded not guilty to two felony counts of vehicular vandalism Wednesday. More charges are possible because some motorists were injured, authorities said.
"This was not an accident, something accidentally falling out of his hand," McClelland said. "This was a deliberate act."
The department received more than 30 calls reporting broken windshields caused by the rocks since September.
The case had been a mystery to deputies until earlier this week when a woman whose windshield was broken followed the truck she believed the rock came from and called 911.
Deputies pulled over the semi-truck and found 15 lemon-sized pieces of black ore, used in steelmaking, in the cab. Bits of ore were found in many of the cars, McClelland said.
There is a reason why a person should always cut the other driver a break. When people don't cut the other driver a break iis when we have the problem called rage.
Two stupid things at once!
Ah, the relative ignorance of the youth of today! I found this article at
Car Accidents.com. Talk about a bunch of idiots! How stupid canyou be, using a cell phone while driving drunk! Just one is bad enough, doing both at one time is just asking for certain trouble. The greatest danger to teenagers on the road is inexperience. This manifests itself in such risk taking activities as driving drunk. And that problem is compounded when a cell phone comes into play.
This happened just a few days ago in Green Bay, WI on Friday the 13th in 2006. I was driving just after leaving a get together with two of my friends around 4 a.m. We were all three highly intoxicated. We picked up another friend. Two girls in the front, and two guys in the back, all only 17 .
The music was blasting, and my cell phone rang. I picked it up without thinking, and smashed into a tree head on going 70 m.p.h. on a residential road. It turns out, it was my friend on the phone checking up on me. She wanted us to go back there because they all had a bad feeling.
After I gained consciousness, I woke up to my friend laying on my lap, her face covered in blood. She was screaming she couldn't feel her legs. Shes still in the hospital. She'll be able to walk again in at least 9 months. She won't be able to ever run again though.
The guy on the rear passenger side is okay now, he had torn ligaments in his arm. The other guy and I are okay. Nobody was wearing seat belts. We are all so lucky, we should have died. It was a horrible, tragic experience.
I'm never drinking and driving again! It was a harsh lesson, but I honestly hope someone can learn from my mistake. If you think nothing bad won't ever happen to you, just remember this phrase "Not Yet". It just hasn't happened yet, but I promise you, it will!
Hopefully, others will see this piece and learn from it. But, as always, there will always be those that think that this will always happen to the other person. They think "This will never jappen to me." Then, in the end, they turn into the other guy.
Awesome cars and hot women, what more could you ask for? I found these pictures and more at Auto Rush.com. These were taken during the Miami December 2006 Hot Import Nights event. More of these can be found at their website. The cars are hot and the models are even hotter. Even more information about this and other upcoming events can be found at Hot Import Nights. Hot vehicles. Beautiful women. Browse and enjoy!
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