The South Bayview Bulldog

You might get a pretty good discussion going in most living rooms about whether it is “cruel and unusual” to sentence someone to a minimum three years for using a loaded, prohibited firearm in a first offense  But it wouldn’t matter what the armchair debate decided. That’s because the Supreme Court of Canada, by a majority of 6 to 3, does not like the idea. The Ontario Court of Appeal had previously found the notion “cruel and unusual”. So did the SCOC. It is an interesting matter because it is one where the Justices are bringing to bear personal opinion about what’s unusual and what’s cruel. There isn’t much factual precedent for this type of rumination. It’s just what you happen to believe. In this, case, the majority, led by Chief Justice Beverely McLachlin said the minimum terms would be fair in most cases, but would be grossly disproportionate in “reasonably foreseeable” cases that amounted to no more than licensing infractions, rather than serious crimes. The minority said that basing a law’s constitutionality on hypothetical cases that have never happened lacks common sense.

An Alaska Airlines flight took off for Seattle but had to return to Anchorage Monday when the captain heard a thumping noise coming from the hold. On landing, officials discovered a baggage handler inside the hold.. He said he had fallen asleep .

Technology continues to tear apart copyright and ownership of intellectual property. It started a long time ago when suddenly no one was getting paid for creating and playing music. Or not much, anyway. The latest manifestation of the vanishing copyright comes courtesy of a Twitter app called Periscsope. Last night it streamed Game of Thrones simultaneously with HBO.

Parents who refuse to vaccinate their children will miss out on government benefits of up to $15,000 per child under a new measure announced by Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott. Under current laws, families with children who are not immunized can still receive annual childcare rebates and other benefits if they have a personal, philosophical or religious objection.

It may be the finest addition to the life of the people of Ontario since OHIP, but Cap and Trade leaves many people wondering what it is and how it really works. Cap and trade is described by its advocates as the most economically sensible approach to controlling greenhouse gas emissions, the primary driver of global warming. The “cap” sets a limit on emissions, which is lowered over time to reduce the amount of pollutants released into the atmosphere. The “trade” creates a market for carbon allowances, helping companies innovate in order to meet, or come in under, their allocated limit. The less they emit, the less they pay, so it is in their economic incentive to pollute less. What many fear is that if businesses and corporations are financially punished for their pollution emissions, the costs will eventually be handed over to the consumers. Basic economic principles state that if a good’s price increases, demand usually decreases. However, because energy production is an inelastic good, utility companies can drive up their sale price to cover their rising production costs without seeing a decrease in demand from their customers. All of this becomes all-too-real at Premier Wynne signs an agreement today (Monday, April 13, 2015) with Quebec to create a system of cap and trade.

U.S. presidential campaigns seem to eat the world. They go on forever. Hillary Clinton will try again at the age of 68 to become president. If she is nominated and ends up running against a Bush (Jeb) it will be quite a statement about name-recognition. Here is a content-light but amusing photo history of Ms Clinton and Bill. Check out the 60s hippies.

It is a dilemma faced daily by food shoppers in Canada and U.S — is organic food really safer or just more expensive? According to the 2012 U.S. Census of Agriculture purchases of organic food have hit a plateau as consumers struggle with the pricing. They no doubt like the idea —  as stated by the U.S. National Organic Program — that  “synthetic fertilizers, sewage sludge, irradiation, and genetic engineering may not be used in growing organic foods”  But is this useful information or just scary talk? There are lots of things that cannot be used in the growing of food. Canada doesn’t permit nor condone the use of sewage sludge in agriculture or the entry of such products. The picture in the U.S appears to suggest that despite the availability of organic food, consumers are increasingly hard-pressed to accept the added expense and sales have gone flat. A pint of berries cannot be justified at $3.99 rather than $2.99 because they left out the sewage sludge. But that dubious proposition is put before shoppers daily. Supporters of organic say the benefits have not been communicated well enough to consumers. Still, evidence that non-organic food is threatening seems hard to find. Who died or got ill from buying non-organic food?

Rural Saskatchewan teacher Justin Sauer has converted his classroom to stand up desks at Delisle Elementary School south of Saskatoon. There are no chairs in the classroom for young students but the kids don’t seem to mind. They get to sit sometimes — like when they read or work on the computer. But the lectures are on two feet. Their teacher was looking into methods to rehabilitate his own injuries and came across studies showing the benefits of standing, and thought he’d try it in his class.

A treasured picture with Johnny Bower and Mike Palmateer

Hockey fans and collectors filed into the William Lea room Sunday to attend the Toronto Card Show.  At one point, the lineup to get an autograph from Mike Palmateer and/or Johnny Bower spilled out the west door. Here we see a fan who looks to be a rose between two old hockey thorns (at least to the opposing teams). Does anyone know if Johnny Bower ever guessed when he first settled between the pipes in 1943 that he would live on to become an autograph-signing sensation to legions of fans. Bower, 91, was known as the Great Wall of China for his capacity to block the puck.