Victim slams police in Col. Williams case

The victim of a sexual assault case from Tweed,Ontario, spoke out about the police actions. She said she felt "totally betrayed" by the police when she learned Col. Russel Williams had been charged with dozens of other crimes dating back to 2007. The police kept telling the victim that it was just a one time occurrence, and the the sex-pervert just wanted to take pictures. The victim was sexuality assaulted and photographed during a home invasion on September 30,2009. In February, 47 year old Williams, then commander of the Canadian Forces Base Trenton, was charged in that attack, along with an earlier home invasion and sexual assault. He was also charged with first degree murder in the deaths of Jessica Lylod, 27 and Cpl. Marie-France Comeau, 37. The victim of the Sept. 30 attack believes that the assailant may have visited her house a year earlier, when an article of her clothing went missing. She thinks that the police should have warned the people in the community about the sex offender. The police responded by saying " They were tyring to solve this investigation without scaring people". The Sept. 30 victim isn't the only Tweed resident who is shocked about the findings, and is questioning the police to why they didn't inform the town earlier.


I agree with the victim. The police should have informed the town about Williams past crime history. This could have prevented many cases of sexual assault, home invasion, and breaking and entry. I believe the only reason why the police didn't inform the Tweed residences is because of who Williams is. Williams is the commander of the Canadian forces, based in Trenton and was supposed to be a very well respected individual. People have now lost total respect for the police force and segments of the military as a result. It is fortunate that the situation did not become a violent one.


http://www.cbc.ca/canada/ottawa/story/2010/04/29/ottawa-russell-williams-police-tweed.html

Pilot in Polish crash may be to blame: officials

Pilot error may be to blame for a plane crash in western Russia on Saturday, that killed the Polish president and 95 others. The passengers on the plane consisted of the Polish President Lach Kaczynski, and his wife, along with dozens of high-ranking government and defence officials. The TU-154 plane crashed while in heavy fog near Smolensk, Russia. The investigator who was assigned this case, is Russia's chief investigator Alexander Bastrykin. Bastrykin said on Monday, that the investigators have almost finished reading the flight recorders. "The readings confirm that there were no problems with the plane, and that the pilot was informed about the difficult weather conditions , but never the less decided to land" Bastrykin said during a briefing with the Russian Prime Minister. The pilot was identified as Capt. Arkadiuz Protasiuk, 36, and the co-pilot as Maj. Robert Grzywna, 36. The Polish delegation was traveling to Russia to attend a memorial for more than 20,000 Polish soldiers, police, and others executed by the soviet secret police and buried in graves in the Katyn forest near Smolensk in 1940.

This is truly a tragic event. These people died because of one mistake. I believe that the pilot is responsible as he should have not taken the risk in trying to fly in heavy fog. Since there were such high profile passengers on board all precautions should have been taken into consideration. The plane was in perfect shape, so a faulty plane could not have been responsible for the crash. This leads us to believe that the pilot flying was responsible and simply made a bad judgement call. He must have believed he could fly and not realized the severity of the fog. Pure and simple pilot error is the result in this tragic event.

http://www.cbc.ca/world/story/2010/04/12/poland-plane-crash-warsaw.html

Canada may fast-track Haitian immigration

The Canadian government recently stated that they are looking into a plan to help fast track immigration from Haiti. This is all because of the earthquake that crippled the Caribbean country, leaving thousands homeless. Prime Minister Stephen Harper said Thursday that he and Immigration Minister Jason Kenney, have been discussing ways to ease immigration and refugee rules to allow more Haitian people to come into our country. Early Friday morning three military air transports arrived in Montreal carrying 272 evacuees. These people were selected by the staff at the Canadian Embassy. A total of 6 Canadians have been reported dead, 13 injured, and 550 have been located in Haiti. There are approximately 1,415 Canadians still missing in Haiti. The Canadian Embassy is continuously acting as a refuge for Canadian citizens, unfortunately many people are being sent to Santo Domingo in the Dominican Republic for transport back to Canada. The government wants to create a plan that would allow Haitian citizens with Canadian relatives to also come to Canada. The difficult task for the government will be deciding who to bring stated Chantal Barratteau-Haitian community in Montreal.



I believe that there a pros and cons of fast-tracking Haitian immigration. The government is doing the right thing by allowing them to come into Canada, because back in Haiti most of the population has nothing left after the earthquake. However, by allowing the citizens in without need is also unacceptable. Most of the individuals who come from Haiti will bring nothing to Canada's economy. The majority have little education, and posess no trades that Canada needs. By allowing too many of these type of people into Canada might reduce the economy in some areas. On the other hand, I do believe that the government is doing the most ethical thing by allowing them entry. Most Haitians have nothing back home, and will most likely live a horrible life for the next 2-3 years until the country gets back on their feet. By allowing them into our country, they will be provided with a much better life.



http://www.cbc.ca/canada/story/2010/01/15/haiti-canada-immigration.html