Most recent entries for May 2008

It looks like the film premiere of Sex and the City has proven the age-old adage, women are from Venus and men really don't want to see this movie!

Whether or not it's possible to escape the hoopla and excitement surrounding its debut, not all of you will be lining up to watch the ladies of SATC on the big screen.

Read all the comments here.

Here's what some of your more, uh, milder views were:

"The chances of me watching the movie are next to none, unless my girlfriend absolutely needs to see it." — CDN72

"Complete garbage, and waste of time. I will not be watching this, and would not watch even if it was free.... only maybe if they paid me." — FM

"Nothing/ No." — Jeff

What about you ladies, will you be checking out the flick this weekend? Let us know. I'll meet you at the concession stand!

A recent report published by Active Healthy Kids Canada gave Canadian kids a D on their physical activity report card. According to the results 90 per cent of children and youth are failing to meet the guidelines outlined in Canada's Physical Activity Guides. The report suggests more time spent in front of the TV and computer is a key reason for youngsters' inactivity. Read more here.

According to your votes, 50 per cent of you limit kids' screen time to 10 hours or under. How much screen time do your kids put in on an average week? Let us know here.

We asked you how you get the kids up and moving, and what your tips are for decreasing their screen time.

Here are some of your suggestions:

"... cut the cord to the TV and replace it with a bike-powered cell. It is simple to make. Here are the specs:
http://www.los-gatos.ca.us/davidbu/pedgen/ultimate_pedal_tv.html" — Three Senseworth

"We read to our son when he was very young and he's an avid reader now. He does enjoy the TV and his PlayStation time (as I said, limited and monitored), but he still reads for 30 - 45 minutes a night in bed before he puts the lights out." — Dave

"I unplugged the TV and put it in storage. The kids read more and run around more, their behaviour has improved and we all interact a great deal more. They say they don't miss it and are happier at home. Me too!" — Saffron

"I can monitor what my son watches.But if I'm going to tell him to turn the TV off,I feel like I need to either find something we can do together,or suggest something he can do with his friends.Not always an easy task if the money is short,if I have work to do,or there are few safe alternatives close enough for a couple of parents to be able to keep an eye on them." — Doug

"My kids are only able to watch t.v. or play video games on the weekend, and even then it is limited to two hours. This rule flies out the window, however, whenever they have "sleepovers" or playtime at their friend's homes." — Grace

"We have a hockey net permanently set up in living room (beside the tv) so they can see it and choose playing the real thing instead of just watching someone else do the thing on tv. We also leave musical instruments (guitars, piano) out in areas where the kids hang out, so they see them and pick them up daily. even if just for a few minutes. When they see these other options, they gladly do them." — Linda

"I unplugged the TV and put it in storage. The kids read more and run around more, their behaviour has improved and we all interact a great deal more. They say they don't miss it and are happier at home. Me too! – Saffron
Three years ago we told the kids that if they insisted on fighting with us about TV we were going to get rid of it. They said something like, "Yeah, ure. As if you're going to go without your evening news or Hockey Night in Canada. They called our bluff. we have had no cable, satellite or antenna service since then." — Peter

"For us it was probably more about making TV time a family time - a time to not only passively watch, but to discuss and perhaps relate what was happening to our own lives. Which is not to say watching TV was all we did. We invested a lot of time and money in letting them try different things and we went with them to everything.
And, right from a very very early age, it is a point of great pride for me that I read to my kids every single night before bed time." — Mickey56

"Our children enjoy some TV but it's not hard to convince them to turn it off. I might add that I see TV as being very different from a computer. TV viewing is an absolutely passive activity (mentally and physically) in which you are limited to watching what's available (including advertisements). A computer, on the other hand, is at least interactive, so it's less mentally passive. I also agree with one other poster who highlighted the usefulness of compuputer skills." — Gregg

".. my son is an athlete. He's also an avid reader and a board game fanatic. He hangs out with his friends and loves taking his dog for a run (not a walk.. a run). In between all this, he watches TV, or plays with his GameCube or Wii.
While me may rank mid-range for TV watching, it's the balance in his life that makes him healthy and happy." — Deborah

Do you have tips of your own you'd like to share? Leave your comments here.

In a recent Your Vote, sparked by the Bernier incident (read here), we asked you: What would you do if you found classified government documents in your home?

An overwhelming 52% of 1385 voters said they would return the documents to their owner without reading them. Not even take a peek. Weigh in with your own opinion.

Plus, here are some of YOUR COMMENTS on this story. Some have agreed with an opposition call for a probe, while others have asked hard questions about the implications of the incident. Many have singled out Harper for criticism. A few, however, are indifferent. Read on:

"What was this dude thinking? Carrying classified documents around like they were a magazine to be left any old place. The man was obviously more concerned about making an impression on his girlfriend than he was about looking after the interests of Canada." – Howdee

"I guess you shouldn't 'hire' someone just because of the province they come from, for political points. They should have to be competent and have some knowledge of the position." – MadeinNS

"You can paint them blue, you can change their names but you can't take the reform out of the reform party. There are NO COMPETENT members in that entire party. Is this the best they could do for foreign affairs?" – mrlgh1

"What really irks me is the double-standard: why is it that a regular citizen applying for upper-management positions (especially with the RCMP or National Defense) gets an extensive back-ground check done, where even the slightest blemish is unscrupulously examined under a microscope and yet a friggin' MINISTER can get away with dating an ex-Hell's Angels affiliate? Where was HIS background check?" - TJBarto

"The Opposition is right to call for a full investigation. This thing stinks." – NickWright

"This is not about the ex-Minister’s right to privacy, but about a government’s shoddy handling of a potential breach in security." – FoxIslander

"It's interesting how this government that ran on a campaign of transparency and accountability has become the MOST censored MOST irresponsible and unaccountable government in recent memory." – afanofCBC

"Its called Ministerial Responsibility. A Minister is responsible for his underlings, the same is true for the PM. He hand picked this man to be our face abroad and when he messes up he needs to take responsibility for it. While I am ashamed at how the opposition has handled this I am furious at how the PM can be so dismissive". – Gwhite

"I DON'T THINK IT MATTERS WHO A MINISTER IS DATING". Can you believe that the Prime Minister of Canada made that statement? - brazeau boy

"Private lives DO matter in areas of national concern or national security. "Les Hells" have been trying to infiltrate government offices, justice ministries, police departments etc. The opposition was right to press on this matter, and if the Conservatives had been in opposition I would have expected no less from them either." – RockyRambler

"Do you honestly think Ms. Couillard made photocopies at her home of Mr. Bernier's papers before giving a copy of them to her former biker buddies? She has mentioned she is no longer associated with them and I hardly believe she went to make copies at the nearby corner store to disseminate them to her former biker friends. It was unwise on Mr. Bernier's part to do such a thing but let's not blow this out of proportion. This is far from being a Liberal ad-scam scandal of the 1990s, early 2000s." – Daniel0206

"Who cares? I hate the Conservatives but this is so unimportant it is on the brink of ridiculousness. Fire him and pick a new minister and for the love of God, please do not spend any taxpayers monies on a probe that will obviously solve nothing. Get over it and move on." – thedunph

Add your comments

Admit it, some of you had 007 visions when the news broke this week that the Canadian military is recruiting soldiers for a new special intelligence unit. How exciting, how Bond.

The focus of the group is "human intelligence." Members of the unit are trained in collecting and analyzing information gathered from the wide variety of human contacts, or sources, they encounter on missions. Read full story.

Your comments on the new spy unit included surprise that it wasn't already in place, support and relief that efforts are being made to protect soldiers doing dangerous work, and lots of questions about oversight and accountability.

Here are eight top comments (there are over 300 on the story):

"So, this is the country that once was seen as the peacekeepers, the bridge builders, the gentle nation? Well, good-bye nice guy; here comes underhanded, back-stabbing and untrustworthy." – Simone

"I actually work in the Intelligence field and let me tell you this. Anything I can do to help save the lives of my fellow soldiers, I will do. On average I read upwards of 30+ reports a day coming from overseas and I use this info to help make sure our guys have the best information they can get to ensure their safety." – ProudSoldier41

"There can be no such thing as a just intelligence agency. In order to get information about enemy troops, their movements, capabilities you will be required to do nasty things. The world is a mean spirited place with a lot of mean people who do whatever it takes to get what they want. If we intend to be players out there we need to play in the same league. It is as simple as that." – Devon K

"The spy unit being created now is a battlefield unit. Honestly I'm shocked that we didn't already have this. If you're sending soldiers hither and yon, it makes sense to investigate the threats surrounding them." – Spinney

"We NEED that intelligence. And we need secrecy to protect our lives during operations, where a determined and resourceful enemy uses intelligence gained in any manner they so choose, to be more effective against us." – Charles Powell

"Whether you are for or against the mission in Afghanistan, I would hope that all Canadians would see the merits of a Unit that should reduce to some degree the level of harm our courageous citizens in uniform are exposed to." – egotoronto

"This isn't a bunch of secret-squirrel door-kickers. We have those already, and they're bloody good. This is just about the gathering, consolidation, and interpretation of information from a slew of different sources of varying degrees of reliability and validity." – BrianH

"The matter is important enough that it deserves open debate on the floor of Commons. We can't just give the military a blank cheque to do whatever it likes. The rationale, objectives, and guidelines and limitations for the unit should be clearly laid out before funding is authorized." – Wild Otter

Add your comments

People across the country and abroad have recently joined the news gathering team here at CBCNews.ca, submitting YOUR BEST photos, videos, comments and stories.

Check out this video submitted by Ray Richard of Moncton: RCMP Car accident

According to Richard, the accident, which occured between the patrol car, truck and car, happened approximately 6am, May 20, on Assomption Blvd where it meets the Gunningsville Bridge. The officer was responding to a call in Riverview when another RCMP officer on foot pursuit called for back up, says Richard. It was raining lightly at the time of the accident.

Richard regularly listens to a police scanner and says that public media has changed his life. "I shot one video of a man being arrested who had just killed someone here in Moncton, it aired on the news, and I was hooked right away…I arrive at most scenes long before other media and post a lot of my videos on www.youtube.com/newschaser"

Got a story of your own? Add a comment to this blog. To submit news to CBCNews.ca, go here.

For ideas on how to participate in our news, check out the Your Voice page.

No damage has been reported after a tornado touched down in southeastern Manitoba Sunday afternoon. Read more.

Patrick Ayotte took these dramatic weather photos around 4:30 p.m. CT Sunday 25 May while standing on a dyke in St. Jean Baptiste, Man., facing southwest toward Altona, Man., about 100 kilometres south of Winnipeg. Thank you for your submission.

If you have weather photos or video of your own, submit them now.

After the Quebec report came out on reasonable accommodation last week (read full story), we asked you: "What do you think is working/not working in your community to help new Canadians?"

Some of you suggested that Canadians need to be more tolerant and patient. Others suggested there are real barriers to economic integration, including a lack of recognition of foreign credentials. Still others said new Canadians can make a difference themselves. Here is a selection of some of your best comments:

On being welcoming:
"What DOES need to happen is more services provided and people actually WELCOMED into Canada rather than looked upon with prejudice and suspicion." - Charlene Smith, Woodstock, Ont.

"I think that it would be potentially helpful to offer new Canadians the opportunity to be paired up with a similar volunteer family of at least second or third generation Canadians from a different cultural background to help them to understand and feel comfortable in their new environment.

I am sure that it would also be an enriching experience for the host family and it could lead to some lifelong friendships and mutual appreciation and respect for each other that might never happen otherwise. - B. Kelley, Brantford

On language:
"When entering a store and you see a person on crutches, you will hold the door open for them and not give it a second thought. You do this because you can see that they need a hand and you are humane. This is what our society expects of us, to assist those in need.

What is the difference between a physical disability and a communications disability? We need both of these abilities to get along every minute of every day. Why is it ok to bash someone or be intolerant because they are struggling with their English? Maybe we could hold the door open for those who have English as a second language, listen a bit closer and allow them a few more minutes to speak so that they too can get through the door." - Brad, Saskatchewan

"The big problem in small communities is the lack of services to help newcomers get orientated and integrated. ESL/FSL courses and settlement counselors are supposed to be equally accessible wherever the immigrant chooses to go, but in reality many smaller communities don't get them because the government expects community groups to bid for service funding while not providing the capacity building needed to get such groups up and running.

All levels of government recognize this issue, and the importance of diversifying immigration beyond the GTA, Montreal and Vancouver to achieve more balanced population growth, but have so far done very little about it. There is also very little follow-up to connect newcomers to those services that do exist." - Terence Johnson

On foreign credentials:
"I think the worst element for an immigrant is the confusion around acceptance of one's credentials by Immigration Canada (granting you landed-immigrant status), but then the refusal of many local, provincial, and national associations (trades and professionals) to accept these credentials... I want to see concrete leadership whereby the Canadian government will screen and give a seal of approval to the credentials (that cannot be later on questioned) and put in place
Canadian standards to expedite and ease this reform.

Right now, the remnants of the division of jurisdictions are hurting the country (and helping protectionism to continue to close doors on immigrants, allowing under-employment and under-benefits, AND resulting resistance by some immigrants to embrace the Canadian way, which they feel might have tricked them)." – Pierre

"A disservice is being done to potential immigrants by our own government when a high value is placed on having a university degree but there is failure by the same gov't to recognize that the licensing of professionals is typically handled at the provincial level. Why throw open the gates only to have a barrier put up further down the road? If companies/organizations are so desperate for certain professionals, the onus should be on these groups to recruit outside of Canada & ensure that candidates are suitable & qualified to practice in Canada before they are allowed to come over." - PL, Calgary

On integration:
"Immigrants... bring your culture and freely express your beliefs. Just be aware of the existing culture that you are entering. Accept and respect Canadian culture as it is and there will be plenty of room for your ideals. Join the tossed salad bowl and forget the melting pot." – Chris

"This is Canada. Canadians live here, speak two languages, have various religions, holidays, a way of life. If immigrants want to come here they should know these things. One does not invite oneself into another's home and start to rearrange the furniture, clothing and family practices." - Peter Elwood, Ottawa

"Being a multicultural society means sharing your culture, not hoarding it, and not excluding others." - Caitlin, Winnipeg

Add your comments

They call it Wreckhouse and it's one of the most notorious stretches of highway in Newfoundland and Labrador, connecting the island to the ferry terminal at Port aux Basques. Driving down this part of the road can be treacherous and it's long had a reputation for high winds that can top 100 kilometres per hour. The winds were too much for a couple of unlucky truck drivers whose vehicles were toppled on Wednesday. Read more about that story here.

Reader Wayne Osmond happened to be close by and submitted these incredible shots:

Have you driven along this stretch. Add your comment to this blog and share your story.

If you have some of your own great photos you want to share, submit them here.

Today, with the recent recall of a child's blanket that could cause strangulation because its satin edge can come loose, we decided to ask what hazards you survived as a kid.

First, of course, we discussed this in our newsroom and came up with falling off the monkey bars, eating nuts that caused an itchy tongue (later, a potentially deadly allergy) and being in the way of lawn darts (ouch!). The list was enlightening or frightening depending on how you look at it.

You came up with some equally interesting events. Here are four of your best -- glad you're all still here to write them. Read more and share your own.

1. "Our home was covered in lead based paint. I remember playing with little balls of mercury in school. In our small northern community, everyone wandered through the woods with guns. Even the youngsters had BB guns and slingshots. Everyone smoked anywhere they wanted to, and we ate raw, uninspected food right out of the ground, or off the trees." –Linda

2. "I survived playing outside, from dawn to dusk, with friends, playing in parks, village streets, swimming and fishing in lakes and rivers, toboganning down very steep mountain roads and skiing without ever having an adult hovering over my shoulder for the entire time to make sure I was 'OK.' " -- Bdavies

3. "I got my face smashed into a boulder when a big angry pig shoved me over when I was 5. It split the skin of my forehead open and I remember being blinded by blood as I stumbled accross the farm yard to get to the house.
When I got to my grampa he asked if I broke the rock, at which time I stopped crying to think about it. –DBH, Regina

4.
- the political/social/economic turmoil of the falling apart of the USSR including severe food shortages (not eating anything but plain pasta with butter for months on end), political unrest (including pro-govt tanks advancing towards the city with the intention of seizing control of the city) at age 5
- playing/digging on WWII and 1939/40 Winter War battlefields, including unearthing human remains, ammunition (from rifle cartridges to mines, grenades, and artillery shells), as well as 'exploring' abandoned and exploded bunkers from the same era. age 10-13
-IKM

Renowned scientist Albert Einstein dismissed the Bible as a collection of “pretty childish” legends and belief in God as a “product of human weaknesses” according to a letter being auctioned off this week. The story was posted at noon and received 611 comments from CBC readers -- currently, it's the most discussed on article on the site.

You might expect the comments to be a back and forth of believers versus non-believers but instead it appears to be a competition as to who can more clearly articulate the uselessness of religion. Yes, Einstein followers and athiests have come out for this one.

Here's a sample:
"There is no god. It's mythology. It's fantasy. It's a bedtime story designed to frighten people into acting a certain way...generally to the benefit of the power structure." --Michael AC

Freedom of religion = Freedom from religion. --NickLarson
Remember at the time when the roman catholic bible was written (by man) we still thought the earth was flat! we had very little understanding about anything....when the bible was first "dreamt up" it was literally the first form of mass media the world ever saw, it was the first book to be published on mass, and that why it was so influential....not because of its content, but because it is arguably the worlds most propagated story... --aaronthompson

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