My comments on newspaper articles that are published (Part V)

Various newspapers around the world invite their readers to submit their views for publication on the various articles they publish. What follows are nine submissions of the many of mine that were published. I will quote in part some of what was published by THE TORONTO STAR and then give you my published comments typed in bold.

On February 16, 2009, a woman in Stamford, Connecticut was mauled by a pet chimpanzee and lost her hands, nose, lips and eyelids and may be blind and suffering brain damage. Charla Nash, 55, also lost the bone structure in her face. It's unclear if her condition will improve. The 200-pound chimp was shot and killed by police in the attack.

It is a known fact that chimps are dangerous animals and can attack people most unexpectedly. They may appear cute and cuddly when they are young but when they grow to as much as 200 pounds, I am wondering what kind of fool would keep such an animal in a home? Well, that answer is obvious. It is its owner, Sandra Herold who will undoubtedly be faced with an enormous law suit by her victim.

Published on March 5, 2009.


An investigation was launched nearly a year ago, in January 2008, following complaints about taxi drivers at Union Station in Toronto. The infractions include aggressive and illegal soliciting of cab fares, refusal to accept the first fare, the operation of unlicensed drivers and taxis, and the poor condition of vehicles that serve the area.

Some taxi drivers have no right to be driving a taxi. They are real creeps and the city should take their taxi licences away. If they want them back, they should wait five years before applying for them again. Maybe by then, they will have reformed and if they have, they can be trusted to drive a taxi again.

Published on December 05, 2008


In 1992, a 35-year-old former altar boy in Cornwall, Ontario came forward with allegations that he was sexually abused by both probation officer Ken Seguin and Rev. Charles MacDonald, It was followed by sensational allegations in that city that a clandestine pedophile ring operated in eastern Ontario. As more people came forward and alleged they too had been abused by a priest, or teacher or some other official, the city was gripped by a ‘hysteria’ that a mass of child abusers were in their midst. The allegations were fuelled by the kind of moral panic that takes hold when the public presumes people accused of sexually abusing children are guilty. There are safeguards in the Canadian legal system to ensure an accused is presumed innocent unless proven otherwise, but no such safeguards exist for public perception of what they believe, even when there is no real evidence to support those beliefs.

Many people who have been arrested and charged with sexual offences have later been acquitted because the courts have deemed them innocent. Alas, their dilemma doesn't end there. Many people will still maintain that the person is a sex offender and that he got away with it on some technicality. They believe that where there is smoke, there is fire. Just as you cannot unscramble an egg, you cannot erase from the minds of the public that a person in the community had been charged with a sex crime. Unless the suspect is on the lam and his freedom poses a risk to the community, the names of suspects should be kept secret unless they are convicted. Even if the trial judge clearly states that there was no doubt in his mind that an accused person was innocent, the stain on his reputation will forever remain with him.

Published on February 25, 2009


Mohamed Kohail and Muhanna Ezzat, a Jordanian friend, were convicted last year in the death of Munzer Haraki, 19. Both men were sentenced to death by beheading and maintain their innocence. The brothers claim they were not given a fair trial by the Saudi judicial system. They said they were acting in self-defence and were not involved in inflicting the fatal wounds during a brawl in January 2007. A gang of 15 men ----- some armed with knives and clubs ----- chased down the Kohail and Ezzat over an alleged insult Kohail’s brother has denied making. Kohail said that the gang leaned against a fence, which toppled, pinning Haraki underneath. He died later of internal injuries.

Trying to overturn a death sentence in Saudi Arabia is like trying to single handedly flip over an overturned bus. But I suppose there is the possibility that a miracle can take place in that country, even if that possibility is remote.

Published on February 11, 2009


In what appears to be a first, Canada's national charity regulator has admitted that it made a mistake in approving the registration of a Toronto charity called, Phoenix Community Works Foundation. Most of the $56.5 million donated by people in Canada to the firm over a recent two-year period went into a bogus tax shelter scheme, rather than funding charitable projects. Tax shelters promise donors a high tax receipt for a relatively low donation. Auditors found that $56.5 million of donations passed through the Phoenix charity and Phoenix wrote tax receipts for that amount. Donors were told the donations were funding pharmaceuticals for "millions of needy individuals in at least 42 countries." Of that money, auditors concluded that Phoenix was entitled to receive one per cent ($565,000) but it is unclear just what, if anything, the charity received. As to what the charity did with the millions that passed through its accounting ledgers, Larry Rooney, Phoenix's executive director said he was not at liberty to say what Phoenix used to do. It will no longer be able to raise money as a charity, or issue tax receipts to donors. He said his group will try to continue on as a non-profit group.

The operators of the scam have caused a loss of millions of dollars to the government in taxes. The operators of the scam should be imprisoned. Those people who paid less than what they claimed as tax benefits should not only be made to pay the money to the government that they short changed the government of, but also pay a penalty added to it.

Published on February 10, 2009


A former police officer jailed for refusing to testify before a public inquiry into child sex abuse allegations in eastern Ontario was released from his Ottawa cell on October 4, 2008. Perry Dunlop was greeted by family and friends when he left jail after spending seven months in custody on civil and criminal contempt charges. Dunlop was instrumental in sparking the judicial inquiry that examined how allegations of sexual abuse in the Cornwall area were handled in the 1990s. Dunlop had on his own time in 1993, been looking into an alleged pedophile ring that supposedly involved senior civic officials, clergymen and police officers. A provincial police investigation led to 114 charges against 15 men, but it resulted in only one conviction. Despite Dunlop's vehement claims, the police investigation, dubbed ‘Project Truth’, found no evidence of an organized sex abuse ring. He refused to testify at the inquiry and defied court orders to do so, saying he had lost faith in the justice system.

I have always felt that if you defecate, you have to wipe up after. Dunlop apparently made accusations against many people, accusations, that for the most part were unfounded. For him to refuse to testify is a sign of not only his contempt against the court but also contempt against society. His supporters who claim that there is a systemic cover-up of Dunlop's accusation that there was a pedophile ring in existence; is clear proof that Dunlop isn't the only dummy in the area.

Published on October 06, 2008


Three people were dead and three others in hospital following an industrial accident at a mushroom farm in Langley, B.C. on September 15, 2008. A group of men entered a utility shed at Farmers Fresh Mushrooms Inc. and were overcome by toxic fumes. Other workers came to the men’s aid, but were also overcome. Two of the men hospitalized were in critical condition; the third was stable.

There have been many instances where brave individuals have made attempts at saving others who have earlier become victims of toxic poisoning and then become victims themselves. What I would like to know is why wasn't there some means of determining the toxicity of the fumes before the men entered the utility shed? Why was the air toxic in the utility shed? Once that is determined, steps can be undertaken to see that this doesn't happen again.

Published on September 06, 2008


Ontario's provincial police commissioner is being accused of wasting tax dollars by pressing his legal fight with a retired judge. Fantino is pursuing a pathetic attempt at public expense to force former justice Leonard Montgomery to step down from a case he is adjudicating. Fantino maintains Montgomery is biased against him, and should not be allowed to preside over the disciplinary hearings involving two senior police officers. Two courts have rejected Fantino's claims but he is now looking to appeal.

In my opinion, it is wrong for a person who keeps appealing his case and losing, to not be stuck with the costs of the appeals. This will discourage frivolous appeals.

Published on March 14 2009


Maxime Bernier says he's not bitter about being left out of Prime Minister Stephen Harper's new cabinet. Bernier had to quit as foreign affairs minister earlier this year when it was revealed he had left confidential government documents at his girlfriend's apartment. He said he is not surprised he was left out of the cabinet but doesn't know what motivated Harper to exclude him.

Bernier not bitter that he isn't a member of the new cabinet? Give me a break. It's a big pay cut for him and a slap in the face by the prime minister who in effect is saying to us. "I don't trust that man to be responsible enough to be a minister in my government." What surprises me is that he was voted back into parliament. But then, all kinds of fools get voted into parliament.

Published on October 31, 2008