With people with disabilities on the spotlight, I have decided to profile two people whose disabilities could not stop them from performing their profession they love. Those people are David Onley, a former journalist for CityTV and currently Lieutenant Governor of the Canadian province of Ontario, Sam Sullivan, the mayor for the City of Vancouver, British Columbia and Stephen Hawking, a famous physicist known for his research about “black holes”. I know this is a very serious topic, guys but they are many people all across the world who has a disability, either they are seeing/hearing impaired, quadriplegic, austic, aspergers syndrome, A.D.D., P.D.D. and other disabilities not listed on this blog. Many of those people need to deal with the challenges everyday and needed a way on how to overcome those challenges. So onward, I’ll talk about the three famous people with disabilities.

First off. I want to start with David Onley. You people might recognize him long time ago, when he was a journalist for CityTV in Toronto. At some point, you might see him on his electric scooter when he is doing a newscast. Other times, he uses his leg braces and canes to walk, but not that far. He is now the Lieutenant Governor of Ontario. From my experience, he is the first and only person with disabilities taking that role. His plan for future is to make places in Ontario accessible for people with disabilities. That means, all physical barriers to all 1.5 Million Ontarians and focus on other issues affecting the disabled and many other things. For his part, I would like to send my thanks to Mr. Onley for the role.

Sam Sullivan, on the other hand is somewhat completely different, to my humble opinion. For those of you who don’t know who Sam Sullivan is, he is the mayor of Vancouver, British Columbia. You might see him waving a big flag that he accepted on behalf of all Canadians, when he appeared at the 2006 closing ceremonies in Turin, Italy (at that time, it was the Winter Olympics). He became quadriplegic at the age of 19, when he broke his neck in a skiing accident. He is a very powerful advocate for the physical disabled. For my part, I believe that Mr. Sullivan has all the willpower to survive for the challenges he faced everyday, like Mr. Onley.

And last but not least, who can no one ever forget, Stephen Hawking. He is known for his role about “black holes”, quantum gravity and cosmology. Using his computer attached to his wheelchair, he can control things all with his body movements. The generous support he received was very overwhelming. Hawking suffers from Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis or in simple terms, Lou Gherig’s disease. Back then, he was in an accident when he fell down a flight of stairs, hitting head on. Doctors performed a diagnosis when Hawking was 21 years old and feared that he wouldn’t survive. Over time, he lost his ability to use his voice, legs and arms. He is now (almost) paralyzed from the effects. But those effects wouldn’t stop him from doing the research about astronomy and he is very known about his research about the “Black hole”. To my contrary belief, he is very popular.

Overall, that’s my opinion about these people with disabilities. I was planning to cover one more person who has disabilities, but i don’t want to spoil this particular blog posting. I’m talking about Mr. Aaron Solowoniuk, a drummer for the Canadian band, “Billy Talent”. I will cover that on my next blog posting. Anyways, I can imagine if Mr. Onley, Mr. Sullivan and Mr. Hawkins were to organize a special summit about people with disabilities, that will raise awareness. Finding out where the summit should take place is anyone’s guess.

References:

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20070905.wliveonley0906/BNStory/specialComment/home

http://www.mayorsamsullivan.ca/

http://www.lt.gov.on.ca/

http://www.hawking.org.uk/

As you people are preparing for hosting your own party at your house, or going to a friend’s place to do the celebrations there, heading to a public place to witness all the excitement or just wanted to watch the ‘tube for the celebrations, I want to say best wishes for the new year and I hope 2008 will be more exciting as it was for 2007.

Anyways, Music World, a struggling music chain once owned by the Pindoff family has finally closed down for good after they had liquidated it’s assets. When I last went to the Pickering Town Centre location of Music World, there was nothing left. The store was almost empty, but there was a few CDs left behind, even the currently released ones - all marked down by half price. Another interesting thing is that they are selling a box of surplus shopping bags - for only $5.00CDN a box!!! I wonder who will get those bags….possibly it’s anyone’s guess. My idea - sold those bags and take those surplus bags to a specialized recycle company and possibly turn into new shopping bags. That’s how recycling works.

I felt really sorry for the people who worked for the company, but if you are a former Music World employee reading my blog right now, I wish you the best of luck finding your new job or taking the job you currently have.

Changing gears, what are your new year’s resolution? My new year’s resolution goes as follows:

• Go to as much concerts as possible (even some Punk Rock concerts)
• Lose some weight
• Save money
• No strike by GO Transit (which all hell with break loose on January 7th, 200
• Recommendations that GO Transit should wear “ID badges” complete with the number of that particular employee.

The last two are my main points. First off, I don’t want a strike to happen by GO Transit bus drivers and second, I would highly recommend that all GO transit bus drivers, ticket staff, maintenance workers, locomotive engineers, etc. should wear ID badges complete with a unique number to identify that employee. This is my latest addition as my ongoing dispute with the transit authority. I already informed the student ID coordinator about my problem, which I’m still awaiting their response. If GO Transit does not apologize for the incident, all hell with break loose and that how I have decided to break it. I’m filing a class action lawsuit against the company for the “unfair” practices. As what the song by Marianas Trench goes:

You can take it all away and I’ll miss
There’s a little bit of you in all this
And you can say you only think you know, yeah
Please, there’s a better bit of me to see yet
Cause you haven’t seen any of my best
You know I hate myself without you now

Hurts the same when nobody knows
I guess that’s just how it goes
And I won’t say anything at all

To see the music video “Say Anything” by Marianas Trench, you can view it here:

To learn more about Marianas Trench, please visit their website at www.marianastrench.net. On behalf on myself, I wish everyone a safe and happy new year. If you drink, please don’t drive. Arrive Alive. Drive Sober and Use your RoadSense.

2004 – Hostage Situation

SIMON: Every day, thousands of people flock to and from Toronto’s busy Union Station by GO train, subway and intercity train. But things had grinded to halt as a hostage situation is ongoing, leaving many commuters unaware. This report dates back on August 2004 as our Maurice Roussieaux reports; the crowd has thought that a Hollywood action flick is filming in their doorsteps.

[Cut to officer telling the public to stay away]

POLICE OFFICER: Everyone please stay away from the area, this is a very dangerous situation!

POLICE OFFICER 2: You are in the line of fire, get off the road!

[Cut to a scene of the suspect holding a hostage with gun]

MAURICE ROUSSIEAUX: Streets were shut down, all doors locked, parameters were set up and police surrounded a male suspect holding a gun pointing at a hostage at Toronto’s Union Station. Police had tried to tell the hostage to surrender successfully or they will open fire. The hostage refuses and told the public to stay away or else the suspect will open fire. [Cut to an aerial scene of the station] This view as filmed in our helicopter showed a birds-eye view as the hostage stands quietly against the hostage taker. [Cut to a closed circuit surveillance camera video] Initial reports show that the suspect has attacked inside a food court inside an underground mall and fired shots at her, but the woman managed to evade any action. The shooter however was able to pistol whip at the woman and then the shooter managed to flee the scene. The wife however, had survived. [Cut back to ground view of Hostage and suspect] Back outside the station, the shooter identified as 45 year old Sugstan Anthony Brookes holds a raffle at an innocent young woman identified as 20 year-old Nicole Regis. Police Constable Larry Wong tells Newswatch that this is the first time that he ever sees a situation like that.

P.C. LARRY WONG: We tried desperately to tell the hostage taker to surrender successfully, but we failed without any accounts. We told the general public that they must stay away from the situation and we have to plan a different strategy.

[Cut to a shot of the ETF officers]

MAURICE: That’s when the Emergency Task Force officers come in along with the sharp shooters.

COMMUTER #1: First when I got there I saw, “Oh, this is a movie. It appeared so surreal.” And oh boy, it was action definitely. You know see the police with real guns.

TOURIST: I came all the way from Australia and when I woke up in front of my hotel room this morning, I told my family members to have a look outside – I was telling to myself, “Is it a movie shoot or it something real?” When the automated broadcast told us to stay in our hotel rooms, I was kind of scared. I thought the hostage taker is going to take my kids [laughs].

[Cut to another view of the hostage and suspect]

MAURICE: The standoff continued for 40 minutes and police tried precariously to talk to the man, traffic rerouted and many horrific passengers saw the action unfolded.

[Cut to a female]

COMMUTER #2: At that time I was inside and I said to myself, “Thank god. I was inside.” The situation could happen to anyone, even me and my kids.

[Cut to a view of suspect]

MAURICE: All negotiations with the gunman had failed. But then appearing from nowhere – something strikes the suspect – [Cameraman vibrates as shots fired at suspect and the ETF officers rushed through the scene and rescues the hostage taker]. A strikeshooter out of view managed to kill the suspect freeing the hostage.

[Cut to another commuter]

COMMUTER #3: Next thing you hear was a shot and I saw him hit the pavement. It’s just a sack of potatoes just came down.

[Cut to a salesman]

MAURICE: Clarke Von Kok, a person who sold newspapers at the time of the shooting managed to barricade himself when the shooting broke out.

CLARKE VON KOK: The gunman didn’t say anything, but I heard a voice – which turned out to be a police officer and then I managed to take drastic action, when the big shot came I ducked and cover and after that an eerie silence came. I quietly got up and I saw that the shooter was dead.

[Cut to a shot of ETF officers surrounding the killed gunman and officers guide the hostage to a waiting ambulance]

MAURICE: The gunman was instantly killed by a police marksman and the hostage meanwhile, which turned out to be a student on her last day on her summer job, relieved and free. Paramedics were on hand to comfort the hostage. She was later examined at the hospital and later released. As for the wife of the hostage taker, she was taken into hospital for observation and was later released. [Cut to reporter outside the station] The suspect had a history of domestic violence and was told by local authorities to stay away from his family and was barred from possessing any weapons. Union station officials will review their security procedures following today’s events. For Newswatch, I’m Maurice Roussieaux reporting from Union Station.

SIMON: The incident had marked shockwaves all across the country and eventually the coverage was picked up by CNN discussing the situation. All public places shortly after the shooting immediately reviewed their security protocols to make sure that an incident like that from happening ever again. Next time on flashback, Wakestock’s last straw in Wasaga Beach and organizers were scrambling, where the event should take place?

Well folks, I went down cross-border shopping to Niagara Falls and Buffalo, New York with my mom today and we had a lot of fun. That’s all I have to say. I bought two Famous Stars and Straps t-shirts, a can of Vurt deodorant bodyspray and some Vurt eau de toilette from a store called PacSun (Pacific Sunwear for short). I spent around $66U.S. As for my mom she spent some stuff from Guess, Bath and Body Works and Hickory Farms. I can’t remember what stuff she spent, but that’s ok.

Anyways, this is a take home message to all of you cross-border shoppers down there - especially if you are using your debit card in the United States. I just want to point out that not all Canadian bank cards (depending if you deal with a major Canadian bank or a credit union\caisse populaire) work in the United States. This “instance” occurred when I witnessed a Canadian trying to pay a purchase at a American store using his ATM card.  In this case, the person was using a CIBC bank card to pay for the purchase. That card does not work. He tried another bank card, that didn’t work. The cashier told them that there’s a bank machine somewhere in the mall, but instead the person decided to use his Visa Credit Card.

It seems that Canadian people followed a message on one contributor to the Toronto Star newspaper about our soaring dollar. Here’s what he have to say:

“Don’t forget folks, if you use your ATM card in the U.S. the good ol’ Canadian banks will charge you a 2.5% conversion fee on the withdrawn amount. ” - Ron Russell, El Naranjo Mexico

Let me point this out, folks: Not all Canadian bank cards will not work in the United States. Even thought that the card displays the PLUS or Cirrus logos doesn’t mean that this card will not work on an American debit network. Unless, if you are the lucky ones who bank with TD Canada Trust, Scotiabank, RBC Royal Bank, National Bank of Canada, le Mouvement Desjardins and ATB Financial, you can use your debit card in the states with no problem (NYCE is a debit card network in the states that will work with these financial institutions). I’ve decided to ammend Mr. Russell’s claim (sorry, dude. You just give the Canadian’s a misunderstanding) as a result (the explaination can be found on my old Livejournal blog, which since has been closed down).

There’s another debit network in the states called ACCEL/Exchange. As far as I know, Citizens Bank of Canada and Vancity are the only two financial institutions that offers access to that American debit network. A “minor” debit network called the CO-OP network has a debit system as well. Only two financial institutions, Alterna Savings and Alterna Bank offer such a service. There’s one benefit of that network: They’re all ding-free (surcharge-free)!

Now, don’t feel blue, you guys. I’m just posting my “second opinion”. When I checked out the Fashion Outlets Mall and the Walden Galleria, there’s is foreign exchange service provided by a company called “eFX” that recently accept Canadian bank cards!!! To give proof, I saw a sign that says, “Now accepting Interac”. Those were the only places that accept Canadian debit cards - but just only for changing currencies from Canadian dollars to the respective currencies such as the U.S. Dollar. I haven’t tried this myself, so if anyone is planning to go to these shopping malls, I highly recommend that you give a try. It’ll make a difference. If in doubt: you can always exchange money in Canada before shopping in the U.S. or use your Canadian Credit Card in the U.S. If you intend to cash money at an American bank machine (either using your bank card or debit card), be prepared to pay all the extra fees.

We hope that this information you find will be very useful.

References:

http://www.royalbank.com/products/deposits/cross-border-debit.html 

http://www.scotiabank.com/cda/content/0,1608,CID8186_LIDen,00.html 

http://www.desjardins.com/en/nouveautes/paiement_direct_eu.jsp 

http://www.tdcanadatrust.com/ebanking/tda_dir.jsp 

http://www.nyce.net/consumers/crossborderdebit/crossborderdebit.html 

http://www.atb.com/Dev/features/abm_interac.asp and http://www.atb.com/Dev/aboutatb/atb_index.asp (scroll down until you find the word, “NYCE”)

https://www.vancity.com/MyMoney/ProductsandServices/Banking/WaystoBank/

https://www.citizensbank.ca/Personal/Products/BankAccounts/HowtoBankwithUs/INTERACDirectPayment/

http://www.alterna.ca/Templates/BankPersonalSub.aspx?mid=338&id=1302 (this is the same page as Alterna Savings’)

http://www.thestar.com/printArticle/265884 - readers’ perspective about the benefits of our stronger dollar.

http://www.thestar.com/Travel/article/271896 - facts about Cross-border shopping and many ways for you on how to pay for the purchase while shopping in the U.S.

Do you guys remember there was a slogan by a major credit card provider that always ask the viewer, “What’s in your wallet?”. Well in that case, that company is Capital One and they decided to pitch in financial support for providing the TTC free rides on the transit system - streetcar, subway and buses! The TTC haven’t done this for almost 30 years. In the past, it’s business as usual for many riders - even on New Years’ Eve. But some TTC attendants like to “break the rules” on letting passengers in so they won’t pay the fare - that’s a bad idea to some and that’s in my humble opinion. If you live in Toronto and/or going to attend the celebrations in Toronto, you’re in luck. However, there’s one drawback: the free service does not start until 12.a.m on New Years Day - Jaunary 1st, 2008.

Many other transit systems in the GTA (Greater Toronto Area) are offering similar or relatively identical promotions like the TTC. For example, Durham Region Transit is teaming up with Ontario Power Generation or OPG (the province’s power generator) and the Manufacturing and Technology Centre on providing free transit service from 8a.m. to 2a.m. GO Transit in the meatime will provide free rides after 7p.m. until end of service (All times Eastern). It is uncertain for Durham Region Transit, as they are in a middle of a $2.3 Million CDN deficit and it could rise…..As for GO Transit, their bus drivers are currently planning to have a strike sometime on January 7th, 2008. Which is blasphemy because, people will have nowhere to go! This is the worst experiences I had as a college student.

Today, I was catching a bus home from Oshawa to Ajax (I was at the Oshawa Centre to do some Boxing Day shopping). I showed my UPASS to my bus driver (a universal transit pass on my Durham College student ID card. UOIT students and Trent @ Oshawa students also participate in the program and it’s included in the tuition) and the bus driver told me that the UPASS is NOT valid on holiday service. I’ve tried to persuade him that it is valid during on holidays, but the driver refused my claim. I was then forced to pay with my leftover DRT adult ticket. Another colleague of mind - this time a UOIT student showed the UPASS to the driver and she got the same response as mine. She was then forced to pay cash as a result. She didn’t got angry at first and for myself, I tried to cool down my frayed tempers. By the time I left the GO bus, I was mumbling to myself on my head. Shortly after the incident, I briefly recorded the bus number, the date and time of the incident and where the incident occurred. I filed a complaint to GO Transit and to the Better Business Bureau. To view my progress of the BBB report, click here.

This is the third time that I got ding’d! The first time I got ding’d was a DRT bus driver thinking that my pass is not valid. My second incident happened when another (you got that right), another GO bus driver checked my pass at the back and she thinks that I had altered my pass, but what I was suppose to mean is that the inked that the student ID office stamped for me got smudged. So after that, I have to get my student ID replaced. This is a very bad experience for me, I’m considering to file a lawsuit against Durham Region Transit and GO Transit (the problem is, i don’t know where to start and as the old saying goes, it’s up to the courts to decide). The College’s paper had written an article about the UPASS misuse and you can view it right here. Here’s what a co-ordinator for student identification services referred about me:

“The onus is on the bus services. Some drivers don’t check, and it’s up to them to enforce it. We had one guy come in and he’d written over his stamp in marker……as if we couldn’t tell it was his handwriting. We will re-stamp cards if they become faded, scratched or damaged, though. It happens.” The bottom line is that using a fake stamp on campus ID cards is considered fraud.

Anyways, free transit rides are a sure thing that the TTC has finally get their hands in their pockets. To close it off, I would like to say best wishes for a better 2008. If you are going to a public place, like an arena (such as Oshawa’s Celebrate 2008 at the General Motors Centre) or a square (like CityTV’s New Year’s Bash 2008 at Nathan Philips Square in Toronto), this is my take home advice for you: Remember to be kind and generous to other people at this time of year. If you exaggeratedly filed with excitement, you have decided to break it. Just like the song by a band from Vancouver, B.C. called Marianas Trench. The song goes like this:

A thousand promises that never seemed to help me before
A hundred less and I would stumble till I found the back door
With nothing left to think I’ll probably sit around and ignore
The apathy it always leads me
It always finds a way to break me down…

And that’s when I decided to break it

Remember what the phrase in a scene in the “Decided to Break It” music video:

“Failure is not an opinion. It’s inevitable.”

You can view Marianas Trench’s music video below. To learn more about the band, please visit www.marianastrench.net:

References:

http://www.citynews.ca/news/news_18024.aspx

http://toronto.ctv.ca/servlet/an/local/CTVNews/20071226/free_TTC_071226/20071226?hub=TorontoHome

http://www.thestar.com/News/article/288699

http://680news.com/news/local/article.jsp?content=20071226_094649_4740

Well folks, I hope you people got on what you had wanted for Christmas. The biggest gift that I have is the Sumi & Quatchi plush dolls that my sister and her friend gave to me and the concert tickets for the Angels & Airwaves concert in Toronto, which I intend to attend on February 22nd, 2008. It’s not those I had just wanted for:

My friend Bobby Foley has mentioned on his blog that I had made the grade: I’m listed at #6 on “The fastest growing blogs” on WordPress. Since this blog started two months ago, Viewership is slowly but surely growing by the tens of hundreds per week. This is partly that I added tags to all major search engines and the fact that I made some interesting posts that really appeal to me and I want to give a “second opinion” on the current event. It’s a far out cry from my old LiveJournal blog, no one seem to leave any comments on my blog postings and the fact that I just don’t have the time to update it.

Anyways, changing gears now and it’s another busy year down at Pacific Mall in Markham (an Asian-themed shopping mall on Kennedy Rd. and Steeles Ave.). The parking lots are very crowded, it’s simply impossible to find a spot on their parking lots. Some people took at least 20 minutes or more to find one. But despite this, the mall enjoyed very high attendance. It’s not Pacific Mall who’s reaping in the benefits, 5,000km (3,045 Miles) way in a city called Burnaby, B.C., another Asian-themed mall called the Crystal Mall opens it’s doors too - just to cather the non-Christian crowd, like Pacific Mall.

If you people didn’t recall from my last blog posting, it’s anyone’s guess if those two malls are going to break the law if they kept opening on Christmas every single year. Just like the song by the Plain White T’s, “Finally it’s our time now….it’s our time now……” The people who visit those shopping malls however, don’t mind at all. They all need to find a place to gather around. Just like the song by a band called Angels & Airwaves, “Everything’s, Everything’s Magic.”

References:

http://torontosun.com/News/2007/12/25/4739977.html

http://www.citynews.ca/news/news_18009.aspx

Well guys, It’s Christmas Eve and I have decided to post a few videos that I want to share you folks. But first, to protect me from any further legal action, I have posted a disclaimer page on my blog, so you can read on what I had posted. Remember: The posts that I had made are purely those of me, the author. They do not necessarily reflect those of the parties involved.

Anyways, onward. I was watching a few funny videos on YouTube. First off, Now there’s a true meaning of “This Just In”. A well known Canadian personality and now anchor for a local ABC TV affiliate (WLS-TV, channel 7) in Chicago, Illinois named Ravi Baichwal really got a jolt of his life when as he talked to a reporter live on the scene, a car crashed in the middle of their news studio and this have startled Mr. Baichwal. He immediately reacted by saying “Ho!!!” As the reporter finishes talking live, she asks, “What Happened?” (you can hear that on the video below). Luckily, no one was apparently injured, but the driver who apparently drives the car and crashes to the studio was later charged for reckless driving and not carrying any insurance.

Anyways, you can have a look of the video right here:

http://my.break.com/content/view.aspx?ContentID=422539

Here’s how the anchor reacted:

Here’s what the damaged caused by the car to the studio:

Just like the song “Say Anything” by Marianas Trench:

“That one stings a little
I’m always in the middle
I don’t expect but try me
And you will always find me here
This is where I scream from….”

If you are reading this blog now, Josh Ramsay, you will be stunned if you suddenly got this similar experience for you and the band. The same goes for The Wise Guys on the CHFI morning show “Erin and Mike”. Follow the lines of that song. The rest explains itself.

In other massive crash news, I was watching a very funny video on Youtube of a cycling rack in Australia, when somehow, there was a chain reaction of many cyclists riders crashing on the track. 12 riders crashed on the track, but apparently no one got seriously hurt. You can see the pictures of the crash right here:

Here’s a few videos that I scoured on Youtube:

It could have got worse for those riders. They should congratulate themselves on the best moment they will remember for many years to come. It seems that the cyclists on the crash and Ravi Baichwal has finally faced, “The Shortest Line” (an homage of the song by the Canadian Punk-Rock band Social Code) As what the late-Herbert Morrison once said when commentating on the horrific Hindenburg blimp tragedy in 1939, “Oh, The Humanity!!”

If anyone wants to see the cyclist crashed into a dog on the Tour De France, you can see it here:

Anyways, if you have children with you and reading this blog just now, please remember to tuck them into bed early tonight. Don’t let your kids stay up late and/or don’t let them to see Santa in the middle of the morning……on behalf of myself, Merry Christmas. If you don’t celebrate Christmas, thank you for taking the time for reading my blog posting.

References:

On the car who crashed in the studio:

http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20071224/studio_crash_071224/20071224?hub=Canada

http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5hZ3FBzeDDAj8MiiofqM93AAP4gVAD8TO1IU00

http://www.reuters.com/article/topNews/idUSN2435839720071224

http://abclocal.go.com/wabc/story?section=news/local&id=5853723

http://www.bestsyndication.com/?q=122407_car_crashes_into_chicago_channel_7_newstation.htm

http://www.citynews.ca/news/news_17975.aspx 

On the bicycle race crash:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/news/worldnews.html?in_article_id=503698&in_page_id=1811

http://www.metro.co.uk/sport/other/article.html?in_article_id=81033&in_page_id=52

http://www.nbc10.com/news/14907837/detail.html

I was reading an article on various sources throughout on my Google search and I realized that one shopping mall, nestled on the Scarborough-Markham border on Steeles Avenue and Kennedy Road has decided to open it’s mall on Christmas Day. That mall is called Pacific Mall, where it is home to many Chinese shops selling electronics, fashion clothing and many other things. They also have a food court down there.

From my perspective, I cannot understand why and how did the mall’s management want to open the mall on Christmas Day unlike many places which close on Christmas which translate into a virtual “Ghost town”. I’m not sure if the mall will break the law as set by the Retail Business Holidays Act set by the Government of Ontario. However, the City of Toronto has decided to pass its own bylaw last year (this is part of the new City of Toronto Act).

From what I had remembered, the mall was jam-packed last year, just like the scenes you saw on Boxing Day (in Canada) and Black Friday (in the U.S.). As for the mall, It’s anyone’s guess that the fact they will break the law if they open on Christmas Day now and then.

If only MSNBC personality Joe Scarborough visited the City of Toronto to check out the great and vibrant people and the tourist attractions down in the city. If Mr. Scarborough finds out, he will get “Tongue Tied”. As for Mr. Colin Minihan, the director who directed music videos for such artists as Social Code and Faber Drive, he will get kinda “knocked up” and “Tongue Tied” as well by the time he visited this ever-popular Asian-themed shopping mall. As Robin Williams once said (during his trip to the Canadian and American soldiers recently serving in Afghanistan), “You’re a kind people. You’re like the apartment of a very loud party. It’s wonderful, keep it down eh.” His own view on Pacific Mall opening on Christmas Day in “The Shortest Line” is anyone’s guess.

To the people who I had mentioned on this blog: I’m sorry that I profanely misused and mentioned your names on my blog posting. Please don’t sue me!!!!

References:

http://www.citynews.ca/news/news_6410.aspx

http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20061222/xmas_pacific_06122?s_name=&no_ads=

http://www.pacificmalltoronto.com/

As you people are doing your last-minute Christmas shopping for the big day, I want to tell you a very big nightmare that could happen to you and you may never realized unexpected until you find out the damage has finally done:

I was reading an article on Citynews.ca about a debit card scam taken place on the streets of downtown Toronto (Queen Street to be exact) and someone out there allegedly decided to spy on the customers’ PIN numbers as they use their bank card to steal the customer’s information and somehow steal that person’s money!!! From what I heard, this is blasphemy! This is ridiculous! This is an outrage! It literally traumatized many customers and eventually asked the banks to compensate for the entire loss.

From my experience, I demanded that the implementation of chip-based bank cards should be expeditied as soon as possible. It will be at least after 2010 until all bank cards (debit and credit) will be equipped with chip cards. So far, many PIN pads are equipped to handle the new chip cards. However, there’s one serious loophole. Fraudsters might find a way on how to break the chip card system and eventually steal the money!!!!!

If you have a bank card, here are a few tips that you should to protect yourself:

• Change your PIN number at least once a month
• Cover the PIN pad on the external device or bank machine by using your hand or covering up your entire body
• Check your statements daily.
• If you suspect that you have a fraudulent transaction that you didn’t do, REPORT TO YOUR BANK IMMEDIATELY.

So far over the past few months, many debit card rings were broken up and many individuals arrested. Debit card scam in the common numerator is equal to traumatized consumers on the common denominator. Here are few pictures of many devices seized by the police:

As I speak, a pilot project is now underway in the Kitchener-Waterloo area on Chip cards. The trial will conclude next fall on October 2008. The town of Saint-Jérôme, Quebec will commence it’s own pilot project starting in the Spring of 2008. As for Tim Hortons (who is already accepting Mastercard for it’s payment along with PayPass), I’m not sure how they will play a role on chip card-based transactions. Until they can solve a problem to that, it’s anyone’s guess how they will cope.

I have yet to see Visa Cards in Canada equipped with PayWave, along with Amex’s ExpressPay system….

References:

http://www.citynews.ca/news/news_15438.aspx 

http://www.citynews.ca/news/news_17940.aspx 

http://www.edmontonsun.com/News/Edmonton/2007/03/16/3763801.html 

http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/news/story.html?id=7b850a1b-6e7b-46b7-a0d1-231542e5fefe&k=23360

http://www.thetelegram.com/index.cfm?sid=92038&sc=82 

http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20071016/Interac_test_071016/20071016?hub=Canada 

http://www.pwgsc.gc.ca/recgen/colloquium2007/presentations/workshop5-paolo-pizzuto-e.html 

http://www.marketwire.com/mw/release.do?id=748409 

http://www.secureidnews.com/news/2007/07/05/national-bank-of-canada-to-conduct-a-smart-card-pilot-project-summer-2008/ 

Information about Chip Cards:

http://www.cibc.com/ca/features/chipcard/index.html 

http://www.desjardins.com/en/a_propos/publications/carte-puce/ 

http://www4.bmo.com/personal/0,2273,35649_29771630,00.html 

http://www.tdcanadatrust.com/security/chip.jsp 

http://www.banking.pcfinancial.ca/a/security/CHIP.page?referid=tx02 

https://www.laurentianbank.ca/en/personal_banking/my_money/chipcard.html

https://www.vancity.com/MyMoney/ProductsandServices/Banking/VISACards/Benefits/VisaChipAndPinCards/ 

http://www.interac.ca/consumers/chip.php 

http://www.mastercard.com/ca/personal/en/technologies/chip/index.html 

http://www.visa.ca/chip/ 

https://www.atb.com/Dev/features/protect_chip.asp 

http://www.chipmigration.ca/ 

http://www.rbcroyalbank.com/cards/chip/ 

It seems that GO Transit workers has finally plotted a strike date.  The strike has been set for January 7th, 2008 if the Amalgamated Transit Union and GO Transit do not reach a final deal. Therefore all bus drivers, ticket agents, office staff and maintenance personnel will walk off the job.

The strike by GO Transit bus drivers will present a big impact for many commuters who rely on the system to go to work, school or to play everyday. For myself, I normally rely on taking the GO bus to Oshawa and transfer to the 1 Simcoe bus route by Durham Region Transit, but I have a contingency plan in place. I could:

Option 1: Take the 915 Taunton from Westney and Highway #2 to Durham College/UOIT directly.

Option 2: Take the 916 Rossland from Harwood & Mandrake/Gardiner and transfer to the 1 Simcoe to DC/UOIT.

Option 2a: Same idea, but I have to stay on the 916 regardless until that bus reaches DC/UOIT.

It’s a good thing that the strike will not happen until the new year begins, which presents a semi-sigh of relief for all of us - the commuters. We have to get along on the GO buses to major shopping centres at this time of the year either during this last minute dash to get that gift to that special someone or after Christmas go to the malls for some Boxing Day bargains, etc. etc. etc., but the only time that the commuters will worry about the strike is after the New Year has begun.

As a 905er, there is not enough new lanes of traffic to meet the growing demand of the population. More and more cars are on the roads every single day and it could generate a lot of gridlock. Roger Anderson, the chairman for the Region of Durham said in an interview that “A strike would be a serious problem for Durham Region residents.” My transit colleague and advocate Kareem Allen told that “GO buses are virtually the only (and currently the) direct link to York Region. Yonge Street (a major thoroughfare) will be packed with cars.”

The good news is that GO Trains are not affected by the strike (as they are operated by CN and CP respectively), however please be advised that there will be additional delays as the picket lines and the increasing number of traffic could affect many commuters. My suggestion to all commuters: Plan your alternate routes NOW. To finish off this blog, I’m going to leave you a quote from the song “She’s So Sorry” by Hedley (one of my favourite bands):

Get out of my way,What did she say?
She’s so so sorry,Just get
Out of my way,What did she say?
She’s so so sorry,She said I,
Wanna start over today,Take me back again!
Get out of my way,What did she say?
She’s so so sorry.

And it’s all that I can say,
If you’ve never been let down,
Then this story’s far from over,
Everything comes back around!
So be careful what you say,
What goes up has gotta come down,
Don’t be taken back,It’s all
Because of you.

For those of you who want to see the Music Video to that song, you can view it here (WARNING: The following music video contains coarse language and may not be suitable to some viewers. Viewer discretion is advised):

References:

http://www.newsdurhamregion.com/news/business/article/91165 

http://network.nationalpost.com/np/blogs/toronto/archive/2007/12/19/strike-looms-for-go-transit-buses.aspx 

http://toronto.ctv.ca/servlet/an/local/CTVNews/20071222/GOTransit_strike_071222/20071222?hub=TorontoHome

http://www.640toronto.com/news/metro.cfm?cat=7428109912&rem=82197&red=80110923aPBIny&wids=410&gi=1&gm=metro.cfm

http://newsdurhamregion.com/news/article/91283

http://torontosun.com/News/TorontoAndGTA/2007/12/22/4737022-sun.html 

http://www.newswire.ca/en/releases/archive/December2007/22/c5775.html 

http://canadianpress.google.com/article/ALeqM5iKPOgUWsnWYAw7P55eW-MW8ZFtig

http://www.thestar.com/News/Ontario/article/288145