Chan's Personal Blog

I just saw this article on the CBC entitled, "Ontario Bans Gift Card Expiry Dates."

I just came across this Canadian Citizenship Practice Test which is prepared by the Richmond Public Library. Immigrants who become Canadian citizens usually joke that they know more about Canada than their citizens. Lets prove them wrong! (Maybe citizens would do better on the test if citizenship had to be renewed every few years by passing this test ).

I managed to score 92% on the full 111 question version.

My favourite question:

What is Canada’s system of government called?
a. Dictatorship.
b. Parliamentary government.
c. Military Rule.
d. Communism.

Last week, I was invited to participate in the "Don't Pump Gas Day" event on Facebook by several friends. This is what the event was about:


After reading this, I thought that it was ludicrous, and told my friends that I wouldn't be participating. Lets just say I got some hate mail from a friend who passionately thought they were making a difference by choosing not to buy gas on May 15th.

The notion that by not pumping gas for one day would inflict harm on oil companies was absolutely ridiculous. For example, I fill up my car once every second Monday because I don't use a lot of gas. If I don't fill up on a Tuesday, it's not because I'm trying to screw over the oil company, but it's because I don't need to buy gas. Additionally, if I decide not to buy gas on a second Monday and instead bought it every second Tuesday, that doesn't qualify as boycotting the oil industry; that's merely shifting my purchase day. Gasoline prices are set by supply and demand; by shifting my purchase day there is no effect on the overall demand for oil.

If simple logic doesn't convince you, I did some research on the internet, and came across an article written by David Emery who shows that this whole "Don't Pump Gas Day" is an urban legend.

Shortly after the Virginia Tech school shootings, I was pondering what actions/scenarios could have prevented such a horrible tragedy. One scenario that I wondered was, what would happen if a student had a gun, and shot dead the insane gunman? What would the legal ramifications be? In my mind, it would be an act of self-defence, and morally right to stop a gunman who's brutally killing others.

So, I posed this question to my friend Jordan Mann who is a security expert, and holds a degree in criminology. I forget if criminology is the study of crime, or if it's studying how to commit crime . Anyway, he is the guest blogger for today since I'm away.

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What would happen if another student shot dead the Virginia Tech gunman?

In terms of the Virginia Tech shootings there are differences between Canada and the United States. I can really only speak for Canada and even then I am not 100% sure the answers, If someone without a gun in either country had taken him out after seeing him shoot someone they would be justified in killing him under the law because in Canada you are allowed to defend yourself with as much force as is necessary. The following is an excerpt from the Criminal Code of Canada found here.

Today I read a news report about another brawl breaking out in the Taiwanese parliament. Their political system is known for its outbreaks of violence where parties duke it out on public television. This is probably why minority governments don't work well there, you don't have enough fighters to physically protect your leader So, here's a video showing how democracy works in Asia.

Enjoy


I personally wouldn't mind seeing Stephen Harper duking it out with Jack Layton. Maybe this is one way to get young people interested in politics.