Make it Legal, eh, Man

According to a report by Reuters,  Canadians smoke more weed than other industrialized countries, touting an impressive statistic that 16.8 percent of all Canadians between the ages of 15 and 65 have toked reef in the past year.   This is apparently more than 4 times the global rate.

With powerful and moving statistics like these, its no wonder the pot-heads are out in full force campaigning for the legalization of their favorite non-medicinal plant.

I for one am impressed something got the lazy pot-heads off their asses. . . .

 

Ruby Friday

Cheryl and Michael are visiting tonight, they are headed to Quebec City for a wedding tomorrow.

It will be really nice to see them.  They will also be staying over on Sunday night before driving back to Ontario on Monday.

Cheryl and Michael are expecting their first baby in late July, the sex of the baby is unknown, and currently the baby is simply and humourously called ‘Ruby’.

FIFA dragged into Canadian row over girl´s hijab

Source: about.com (What Age do Muslim Girls start to wear the Hijab?)

Source:  Antara 

Source: Soccerway  Written by: AFP

MONTREAL (AFP) – A young girl’s expulsion from a tournament this weekend for wearing a hijab will be upheld by Quebec soccer officials, they said Monday, unless the world soccer federation FIFA changes gear rules.

Asmahan Mansour, 11, was ousted from a tournament on Sunday in a Montreal suburb after refusing to take off her hijab, the head scarf many Muslim women wear under religious principles.

Brigitte Frot, executive director of the Quebec Soccer Federation, told AFP she was not allowed on the field for safety reasons, not religious objections.

“It’s unfortunate,” she said. “I believe FIFA will have to rule, yes or no, whether hijabs are permitted on the soccer field. Whatever they decide, we’ll abide by the rules.”

Until then, however, Mansour and other Muslim women would not be allowed to play soccer in Canada’s French-speaking Quebec province while wearing a head scarf, she said.

The incident that sparked a national outcry occurred about five minutes into a game Sunday, when the Nepean coach wished to substitute Mansour, who was not in the starting line-up, for another player.

Media reports said the referee, who is coincidentally Muslim himself, feared Mansour could be choked if the scarf were tugged on.

“Based on FIFA rules, the referee asked the young girl to remove her hijab, fearing it posed a danger to her and other players. She refused,” Frot said.

Mansour’s Nepean Hotspurs Selects team quit the tournament to show solidarity with their teammate. Four other teams also joined the boycott.

Rules of the Zurich-based FIFA, which governs international soccer play, do not specify a ban on head scarves.

But Frot insisted local players are covered by FIFA’s strict dress code, which bans any equipment or wear, including jewellery, that could be dangerous to players.

The Quebec federation had previously disallowed players who wore piercing rings or medical bracelets, she noted.

What a sad story, sad on two fronts.  The first is simply that this child cannot partake in a common childhood event – soccer.  The second is that this even has to be an issue.

In all honesty, an 11 year old girl did not come up with this idea for a battle on her own, it is most common in Muslim customs for girls of puberty age and older to wear the hijab, because they are affirming their beliefs and roll in the Muslim society, no small decision for a child.  Sadly I believe she was forced into starting a battle.

Although, the rules in Ontario and Quebec differ for their soccer associations.  Ontario uses the rules of the Canadian federation for soccer, while Quebec uses a variation of the FIFA rules.  Canadian rules allow for reglious head dress, while the Quebec rules were not clear (hense the reason this has come up as a debate)

I’m trying to see what FIFA would not allow the Hijab.  The only reasoning I can come up with is that they would have to rule it yeah or ney for all relgious head dresses, take the Sihk turban one could argue that it could be used as additional padding and provide an unfair advantage.

What do you think?

And Then Someone You Know Does Something Stupid

Source : The Milton Canadian Champion Newspaper

Man faces numerous charges in fatal Steeles Ave. crash

Feb 27, 2007
A local man faces numerous charges including drunk driving after being involved in a fatal crash Friday morning that claimed the life of one of his passengers and seriously injuring the other.Halton Regional Police say preliminary information from the crash site, which happened shortly before 3 a.m., suggests that a car carrying three Miltonians was travelling east on Steeles Avenue when it struck the rear of a stopped transport float trailer commonly used to move heavy equipment.

A Milton man in the backseat of the car died at the scene, while the Milton woman in the front was seriously injured and rushed by air ambulance to Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre. She remains in serious but stable condition, according to police.

At press time, the names of the two victims and their relationship to the driver aren’t being released, but police indicated they’re both in their early 30s.

The driver of the car, 31-year-old Dylan Palmer, has been charged with impaired driving causing death, impaired driving causing bodily harm, dangerous driving causing death, dangerous driving causing bodily harm and driving with more than the legal limit of alcohol in his blood.

He appeared in Milton Court late yesterday for a bail hearing.

Police are continuing to investigate the collision. Steeles Avenue from James Snow Parkway to Sixth Line and Fifth Line, from Steeles Avenue to Main Street, were closed Friday for almost 12 hours.

Source: The Milton Canadian Champion

Man killed in crash was 33-year-old Hornby man
Mar 02, 2007

Police have released the name of a man killed last Friday in a Steeles Avenue collision.

Jason Wood, a 33-year-old Hornby-area resident, died at the scene of the accident after the car he was traveling in struck a stopped transport trailer at Fifth Line.

A funeral for Wood, a father of one, was held Wednesday.

The collision occurred just before 3 a.m. Wood was traveling in the back of the eastbound vehicle when it struck the rear of the truck.

A Milton woman who was in the front passenger seat remains in stable condition in hospital.

The driver of the car, 31-year-old Dylan Palmer from Milton, faces numerous drunk driving charges including impaired driving causing death. He was released on bail under strict conditions after a hearing Monday at the Milton courthouse. He’ll make his next court appearance Monday.

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I was talking to a friend from my home town yesterday and she was telling me about a car accident on Friday. I was all to aware of this particular car accident, because it blocked the access roads leading to the Graham’s house. With frantic trips to the spas, salons and of course WalMart for last minute wedding things it was quite a pain to have to drive all the way over to Highway 25 and back around to the WalMart.

The first time I got to the blockade and asked the police what happened I was simply told to “move along” – this was at 8:30 in the morning, so only hours after the accident itself. The second time Colin was with me, and the police this time at least gave us an answer. “Fatal”.

We couldn’t see anything up on Steeles to indicate what type of accident it was. Be honest, if you were as close as we were you’d look. There were a row a school buses, and the usual construction trucks and gadgets. We assumed for the length of time the road was closed that it was either a child getting on a school bus, or a construction accident – both which would be heavily investigated.

Needless to say when I found out the circumstances, and the driver, it makes me sad to know him. His sister was hero of mine when I was younger. You hear about impaired driving accidents everyday, and its not until one touches you do you sit back and think about your own life and choices.

I thankfully have never driven my car drunk, or gotten into a car with someone under the influence. Neither has Colin.

Has drunk driving affected you. . . . .