by Cooper Jordan Hernick Image from: https://www.nbcsports.com/washington/sites/csnma/files/styles/gallery_image/public/2020/04/22/chase-young-burrow-herbert-split-usat.jpg?itok=-JuXfADH×tamp=1587608221 Before I start my mock draft, I just wanted to inform you that I am not a fan of any of these 10 teams that I will be talking about. I am coming from an unbiased state of mind. Also, I do not know as much as Mel Kiper would know about all these prospects, so don't judge me if, I get some of these wrong. Without further ado, let's get into it. PICK: 1 TEAM: Cincinnati PLAYER: Joe Burrow POSITION: QB Cincinnati Bengals really need anything with this first overall pick. However, Joe burrow is their guy. Hopefully, the LSU quarterback will lead their team out of the darkness that they're in. From how it looks, I think that he will fit in perfectly with Zach Taylor's system and Andy Dalton will be a great mentor for him. I hope this works out for Joe Burrow. PICK: 2 TEAM: Washington PLAYER: Chase Young POSITION: DE Chase young will be a great edge rusher for Washington's already-good defense, which will become so much better this season, and could maybe lead them to being second in their division. However, this is probably not going to happen. Nonetheless, Chase Young will definitely make this team better. He is looking like a bona-fide star. Good luck, Dan Snyder. PICK: 3 TEAM: Detroit PLAYER: Jeff Okudah POSITION: CB So, the Detroit Lions. This team has been defined as mediocre for a very long time no. They just traded away their one of the best cornerbacks in the NFL because their coach didn't like his personality (or something else). You shouldn't be doing that, but since they already went through with it, they're going to need to replace him. Jeff Okudah will definitely do a good job of replacing him because he's looking to be an amazing shutdown corner. PICK: 4 TEAM: NY Giants PLAYER: Tristan Wirfs POSITION: OT The New York Giants really need to rebuild their offensive line to protect the new Eli Manning (AKA Daniel Jones), because Daniel Jones cannot run it off like Eli Manning; they're both pocket passers. If they don't draft this guy, he is going to get killed on their current offensive line because this guy is really good. PICK: 5 TEAM: Miami PLAYER: Tua Tagovailoa POSITION: QB So to Tua Tagovailoa used to be unanimously that the best player in this draft. But, he had a very bad hip injury and has a very bad injury history. That's why on my draft board he fell all the way down to pick 5 with the Miami Dolphins taking him. Where they already have a massive QB carousel. So, I really hope it all works out there because he is left handed just like me so I feel like I have a connection with him. Which is because there are very few left-handed quarterbacks in the NFL. I just want everything to go well for tua. so good luck. PICK: 6 TEAM: LA Chargers PLAYER: Justin Herbert POSITION: QB So the third quarterback off the board to the LA Chargers is Justin Herbert. The Chargers really needed the quarterback after losing their longtime franchise quarterback. Philip Rivers who probably should have retired. Justin Herbert should work out perfectly for them from how he played in his final year with the Oregon Ducks. He should be a great NFL quarterback and good luck in Los Angeles with Dean Spanos. PICK: 7 TEAM: Carolina PLAYER: Jerry Jeudy POSITION: WR So the Carolina Panthers are kind of going to the rebuild for the next year or so after having a whole whole lot of their players retire. But, they still have Christian McCaffrey and they need to get a wide receiver to compliment him. That's why I think Jerry Deudy would complement very well and would make their offense a lot better. PICK: 8 TEAM: Arizona PLAYER: Jedrick Wills POSITION: OT So, the Arizona Cardinals they really need to build their offensive line because Kyler Murray their quarterback got absolutely killed last season, behind one of the worst offensive lines in football. So, that's why they need to draft Jedrick Wills. Who will help protect Kyler Murray. Arizona please draft Jedrick Wills. PICK: 9 TEAM: Jacksonville PLAYER: Isaiah Simmons POSITION: LB The Jacksonville Jaguars really need to build ourselves a defense. After, trading away they're old Sacksonville defensive core. They basically have no defense. So by drafting linebacker Isaiah Simmons to go along with Josh Allen. Their defense would be much improved. PICK: 10 TEAM: Cleveland PLAYER: Andrew Thomas POSITION: OT So, the Cleveland Browns last season horrifically underperformed. To make sure the same doesn't happen this year. They need to build up their offensive line, so their quarterback “the overrated” Baker Mayfield doesn't get killed again. That's why drafting Andrew Thomas will help them greatly. Read the original article here: https://cjhsports.wordpress.com/
0 Comments
by Cooper Jordan Hernick The formula that I used was this: Total championships weighted by 0.75 then / total Seasons weighted 0 .01 Then, I added normalized playoff appearances weighted 0.075, then divided that by normalize seasons which is again weighted by 0.01. Then, I added on the normalized seasons + winning percentage + division titles weighted by 0.1in their league. That's how I got the teams ranked in the order that they are. Now it's getting to the rankings. Top 5 greatest franchises of all time 1. Los Angeles Lakers Score: 4.834287037 Championships 16 Playoffs 60 you can W-L% .596% Division 32 Been around: 72 So we're going to start it off with the Los Angeles Lakers who won 16 championships over 72 years. hey've almost had a winning percentage way above 500. They've been to the playoffs for 60 years which means they've only missed the playoffs 12 times which is absolutely amazing. Also, they won their division just over half the times that they have been in the playoffs. You can’t do all this winning without great players so I made a list of some of the greats they've had in their history: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Jerry West, Shaquille O'Neal, Magic Johnson, Kobe Bryant, Wilt Chamberlain, James Worthy, Elgin Baylor, George Mikan and LeBron James. All of these players can make their case for being the greatest players of all time and have had part of their careers with the Lakers. 2. Boston Celtics Score: 4.740532505 Championships 17 Playoffs 56 W-L% 591 Division 31 Been around: 74 Boston Celtics are the winningest basketball franchise ever with 17 championships. A fun fact about the Celtics championships is that Bill Russell won most of these championships. In a 13-year run where he won 11 championships in 13 years. They have been to the playoffs 56 times out of the 74 Seasons that they have been around for. They won their division 31 times and their winning percentage 591%. In their history they've had so many great players like one of the greatest shooters of all-time Larry Bird. Also, they also had the true Paul Pierce, the sharpshooting Ray Allen and one of the greatest power forwards of all time Kevin Garnett. Which was when they had the first big three. They also had back in the day, Kevin McHale, Robert Parish and the greatest winner of all time as I mentioned Bill Russell. 3. Green Bay Packers Score: 4.531671209 Championships 4 Playoffs 33 W-L% 568 Division 29 Been around: 101 The Green Bay Packers number three on this list because they are one of the oldest NFL franchises. They have one of the richest histories out of all the NFL teams by winning just 4 championships, while being in the playoffs 33 times. The packers have won their division 29 times. Also, they have been around for over a hundred years and over those a hundred years they've won 568% of their games. Over the years, they've been blessed with two of the greatest quarterbacks of all time in Brett Favre and now Aaron Rodgers. Who are both Elite and Hall of Fame quarterbacks. So, that's why the Packers are one of the greatest franchises. 4. Montreal Canadiens Score: 4.36819054 Championships 25 Playoffs 83 W-L% % 583 Division 37 Been around: 102 Next up we have the Montreal Canadiens and this one is going to be very hard for me to talk about because I am a Toronto Maple Leafs fan. So, the Canadiens have the most championships in the NHL with 25 championships over 102 years. The Canadians have been to the playoffs 83 times. They have won their division 37 times which is also pretty good. With a winning percentage of 583%. The Montreal Canadiens have had tons of great players. A few of the players they have had are Maurice Richard, Jean Beliveau, Guy Lafleur and Larry Robinson. 5. New York Yankees Score: 3.862720147 Championships 27 Playoffs 65 W-L% 570% Division 19 Been around: 119 The New York Yankees probably should have been the greatest team of all time. But, that's just how numbers work. They ended up in fifth place. In their history, they've won the most championships out of all teams with 27. They made the playoffs 65 times. They have a winning percentage of a 570%. They've won their division 19 times, which is pretty good and keep in mind with all the stats that they've been around for almost 120 years. Which is absolutely amazing and it's so amazing how good the Bronx bombers have been over their history. In the New York Yankees history, they've had tons of great players. To start off George Herman “Babe” Ruth the babe one of the greatest home run hitters of all time. He is third in home runs and he is most likely the reason why the Yankees became one of the greatest franchises. But they've also had other good players like Mr November Derek Jeter and Derek Jeter's Best friend turned arch-enemy Alex Rodriguez. Who is fourth in all-time home runs, but did use steroids to get most of the home runs. They also have, Lou Gehrig, Joe DiMaggio, Mickey Mantle, Yogi Berra, Rodger Maris, Jorge Posada, Don Mattingly, the greatest closer of all-time Mariano Rivera, mr. October Reggie Jackson and also Andy Pettitte. So with all those players, they are definitely one of the greatest teams of all time. Top 5 worst franchises of all times 1. Cleveland Browns Score: 0.6860068027 Championships 0 Playoffs 1 W-L% 459 Division 0 Been around: 21 The Cleveland Browns have always been the laughing stock of the NFL. In their history, they only made one playoff appearance. They have had a 459 winning percentage which means that they have wins less than losses. I think this probably should be lower because they have really sucked. This year they were hyped up so much to win a Superbowl but they ended up not even being above 500, with a record of 6-10. Over the years the Cleveland Browns have gotten a lot of high draft picks because of how bad they are. So, with all these picks they have a tendency of getting big name college players with big attitudes. But, turn out to be busts for example Johnny “money” Manziel and . 2. Memphis Grizzlies Score: 0.785 Championships 0 Playoffs 10 W-L% 415 Division 0 Been around: 25 The Memphis Grizzlies are on the list of the worst teams because although making the playoffs 10 times in 25 years that they've been around for. they've had a winning percentage of 415% which is extremely low and the Memphis Grizzlies they originally played in Vancouver as Vancouver Grizzlies and in Vancouver the only lasted for about five years because the people there weren't really that much into basketball and in there in one of their first years they drafted Steve Francis who demanded a trade without even playing a game because didn't want to have to go to cold weather in Vancouver. it's a real shame that happened to the Grizzlies. For these reasons that's why, they are one of the worst teams. 3. Columbus Blue Jackets Score: 0.7898781163 Championships 0 Playoffs 5 W-L% % 496 Division 0 Been around: 19 The Columbus Blue Jackets third on this list because they have won zero championships. Also, they made it to the playoffs five times. They only made it past the first round this past season. Also, they have a very low winning percentage. With what I mentioned that's why they're on this list. 4. Colorado Rockies Score: 0.7924403292 Championships 0 Playoffs 5 W-L% % 471 Division 0 Been around: 27 The Colorado Rockies are the fourth worst franchise because of there winning percentage of 471. The Rockies shouldn't be on this rankings because of playing in high altitude where it's easier to hit home runs in baseball. Another reason why is because of only having five postseason appearances which is partially because of being in a very tough division in the NL West where in that division they have juggernauts like the Dodgers and Giants. So for all these reasons that's why the Rockies are they slow 5. Charlotte Hornets Score: 0.821333 Championships 0 Playoffs 5 W-L% % 438 Division 0 Been around: 30 The Charlotte Hornets are an obvious member of the worst franchises ever list because of they're awful owner, for the past decade Michael Jordan. Who was a great player, but being a great player does not mean you're a great executive. This man has made countless bad moves. He has been awful as an executive only leading this team to five playoff appearances. They have had a 438 winning percentage. Which is absolutely awful showing how much they suck. So overall, that's why the Hornets are this on this list. by Cooper Jordan Hernick This MLB offseason has been nothing short of insane. What started out as one player airing some dirty laundry about his former team has now spiraled into a massive cheating scandal, resulting in multiple investigations by MLB and a number of people losing their jobs. But what really happened? Here to make things easier is a timeline of the events that went down.
Nov. 12, 2019: Mike Fiers Speaks to "The Athletic" On Nov. 12, 2019, former Houston Astros pitcher Mike Fiers got the ball rolling on the cheating scandal when he alleged in speaking with "The Athletic" that the team was stealing signs illegally during their 2017 championship run. Mike Fiers said that the way they did was by using a camera in Centerfield staring at the catcher to get his hand signals and if it was a breaking ball they were banging on a trash can if it was a fastball they wouldn't and to find out what their signs were they used a code breaker algorithm. Nov. 12, 2019: Alex Cora and Carlos Beltran Named in Report from MLB Cora and Beltran, managers of the Boston Red Sox and New York Mets at the time of the report's release, were named as the main perpetrators of the sign-stealing scheme in Houston in 2017. Nov. 14, 2019: MLB Opens Investigation Into Astros A few days after the report from The Athletic, MLB opened up an investigation into Fiers' allegations. Video monitors were instructed to listen for any suspicious banging sounds in videos from Minute Maid Park. Jan. 7, 2020: The Athletic Releases New Report on Red Sox On Jan. 7, The Athletic released a new report alleging that Alex Cora, who joined the Boston Red Sox as their manager prior to the 2018 season, masterminded another cheating system in Boston. Jan. 13, 2020: Hinch and Luhnow Suspended and Fired, Astros Penalized Houston Astros manager AJ Hinch and general manager Jeff Luhnow were each fired by team owner Jim Crane for their roles in the sign-stealing scandal after the MLB suspended the both of them for one year. The team was also fined $5 million and stripped of first and second-round picks for the 2020 and 2021 drafts. Jan. 14, 2020: Red Sox, Cora Part Ways The Boston Red Sox parted ways with their manager just a year removed from a World Series win following the punishment handed down by the league. Cora's punishment is still pending, but many are expecting it to be significant. Jan. 16, 2020: Mets, Beltran Part Ways Before he even got the chance to manage a game, Beltran, who was first believed to have stepped down from his post with the Mets, agreed to mutually part ways with the team because of his role in the scandal and the bad press it was bringing New York. His termination made him the third manager to be forced out of a job as a result of the allegations. by Alan Nemirovski and Evelyn Wisebourt Recently, a disease known as “coronavirus” has been taking over various news platforms, with many cases turning up worldwide. Although certain symptoms are known, this virus has only recently been discovered, leading to many misconceptions in the community. It is important to separate myth from fact, to ensure complete understanding of the disease, as well as any preventative measures that should be taken to avoid it. Let’s go ahead and dive into some of the most common misconceptions surrounding the COVID-19 virus.
Myth 1: "It is a single virus" The current coronavirus causing the epidemic is just one of the many viruses in the Coronavirus (CoV) family. These can range from the common cold to SARS, which caused an epidemic in the Toronto area back in 2003. The one causing the current epidemic is called COVID-19, or Novel Coronavirus. Myth 2: “It only kills the elderly, so the younger generation has nothing to worry about” Although most cases of coronavirus are apparent in senior citizens with prior medical concerns, there have been confirmed cases amongst young people. Medical workers are also prone to this disease, no matter their age, as they would have heightened chances of coming in contact with it. So, although less likely to contract the illness, youth should still be very aware of it, and should take all precautions described by professionals. Myth 3: “If I wear a mask, I won’t get coronavirus” As far as researchers know, the COVID-19 virus can be transferred through any type of contact- it is airborne. So, this means that you can still contract it through, for example, your eyes. In fact, small particles, commonly known as aerosols have the ability to penetrate the mask. Surely, if you are in close proximity to someone with the virus, you would decrease your chances of getting sick with a mask. However, realistically, it wouldn’t make much of a difference if you decide to wear one in public- it could be thought of as unnecessary. The WHO even recommends leaving the already scarce quantity of masks for health care professionals and those who show clear respiratory symptoms. Myth 4: “A vaccine will be developed in a few months” Thankfully, scientists have made rapid advances with the coronavirus. This is partially due to the early release of genetic sequences from Chinese researchers. However, although a vaccine may be developed in the near future, the actual use and implementation of it would be much farther away. This is mostly because of strict regulations surrounding the creation of a vaccine, as well as the multiple clinical trials which would need to take place before the use of the product. Researchers would need to ensure that there are no rare long-term side effects associated with the vaccination before releasing it into the public. So, all in all, the public would be lucky to have accessibility to the vaccine within the next year. Myth 5: "Canadians are at high risk of being infected" As of February 27th, 2020, there have been 13 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Canada, 6 in Ontario, and 7 in British Columbia. The Public Health Agency of Canada is constantly monitoring the health risk the COVID-19 virus poses to the public, and has currently concluded that risk to be low (as of February, 28th 2020). However, the situation may always change, and so you should always be aware of the virus’ risk to Canadians and the COVID-19 outbreak in Canada. For more information, and for current updates, please visit: https://www.canada.ca/en/public-health/services/diseases/2019-novel-coronavirus-infection.html Evidently, there are many misconceptions surrounding the idea of the coronavirus. However, it is important to consistently research this topic from reputable sources to ensure complete understanding of the disease. In a time of chaos and panic, it is vital that we maintain our calm, and act in a way that focuses on prevention and awareness. Leave the treatment to the medical professionals. And finally, make sure that you are aware of the current status and situation of COVID-19. More updates to come, as we continue to follow news of the outbreak. For more information and detailed updates on the situation of COVID-19 worldwide, please visit: https://www.who.int/emergencies/diseases/novel-coronavirus-2019 For more debunked myths, please visit: https://www.who.int/emergencies/diseases/novel-coronavirus-2019/advice-for-public/myth-busters by Evelyn Wisebourt Recently, US health authorities released a statement linking lung-based diseases to a vitamin E added in vape juices. This is thought to have affected over 2000 American vapers, and caused 39 deaths. Medical professionals from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) analyzed and confirmed these results. Typically, vitamin E oil is harmless. In fact, it is used in many home remedies and relaxation processes. It is known to have many advantages, that is, until inhaled. When they are in fact inhaled (through the e-cigarettes), the oils become toxic and very dangerous. They can "cloud" up the lungs, and can cause illnesses. This new research has in fact motivated and given incentive to President Trump to ban vapes completely. As a result of these possible actions, vape shops would be forced to close down permanently. This has created a ton of controversy in the nation amongst vapers. In fact, on November 9th, 2019, there was a protest against the banning of vapes outside of the White House in Washington DC. Image from https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/trump-campaign-urges-white-house-to-soften-proposed-flavored-vape-ban/2019/10/25/5d39dbae-f733-11e9-a285-882a8e386a96_story.html This entire situation is still currently under review by authorities and the FDA. Scientists are solidifying their discoveries through the use of animal testing in lab procedures. So, in a couple years, will the use of vape products still be relevant? Will the risks decrease, or increase? Will there be a better solution for smokers trying to quit? Truthfully speaking, only time will tell what the future of e-cigarettes holds. By Eric Nemrodov Thornhill has been predominantly Conservative for over 10 years, with an election range of 50-60% in their favour. Will Mr. Gladstone succeed in attracting Conservative voters? Will he prove himself to be a worthy opponent to current MP Peter Kent(read his interview here)? In this interview, we talked to Mr. Gladstone’s assistant Willie Handler to discuss the Liberal platform and their plans to improve Thornhill. Mr. Gladstone comes from an entrepreneurial background, having worked for different profit and non-profit organizations like the UJA Federation for Greater Toronto and the Reena Foundation, in managerial and executive roles. According to his website, he has worked to support different ethnocultural communities and those with developmental disabilities. This is his second attempt at becoming MP, his first unsuccessful in the King-Vaughan district in 2015. On Environment Mr. Handler tells us that the Liberal Party wants to end all emissions in Canada by 2050 and that they’re going to be planting two billion trees. When we asked what Mr. Gladstone is planning on specifically, aside from the Liberal Platform’s promises, he told us about their eco-friendly lawn sign policy, “He has a policy where he is not going to be using any lawn signs during the campaign. The lawn signs are not only made up of non-recyclable plastic, but they also end up in landfills, and every election there are hundreds of thousands of these that end up in landfills. So, in following the three principles of waste reduction, he is only using the hard-plastic sign, only on arterial roads, which means that he will be using approximately 83% fewer signs than a typical election campaign. He will collect up all the signs at the end of the campaign and reuse them for next time, except for the ones that are too damaged to be reused. York Region actually does recycle those types of signs. So that’s how he is personally investing in helping to have an impact on climate change and he has challenged other candidates to do the same.” On Conservative Opposition We asked what Mr. Gladstone will be doing to overcome Thornhill’s strong Conservative voting base, given its election history. Despite Liberal polling numbers declining in recent years, Mr. Handler remains optimistic about their chances, “Well, what is he doing? He has been busy knocking on doors, he’s out twice a day and today we have visited around thirty-three thousand homes and getting a very positive response. So I don’t think necessarily the past results are going to happen this time around.” On Marijuana Even though marijuana was legalized by the Liberal Party, we had to ask about Mr. Gladstone’s stance, and we got a very neutral response. “I think he has stated that he is a non-user but respects the fact that there are Canadians who support the legalization of Marijuana and are responsible users, and as such he feels its fine, he has no issues with the government policy.” On Doug Ford’s Cuts Mr. Handler stated that Mr. Gladstone does not support the cuts and that the Liberal Party seeks to make post-secondary education more affordable, “Well, he is opposed to the cuts and as an MP he will have a limited role in education because it is under provincial jurisdiction, but certainly he will voice his opposition and he has voiced his opposition already in the past. The Liberal Party has made certain commitments, specifically for post-secondary school education, commitments to make them more affordable. And, the party platform reflects that and with especially around student grants and student loans.” On Transportation We asked Mr. Handler if they had any plans to make public transportation like buses or subway less expensive for student commuters, “Again, yes the Liberal government is committing to I believe it’s 6 billion dollars towards public transportation. One of its priorities is in fact the extension of the Yonge Street subway and the role for the federal government is funding because public transportation is a service that is provided by municipalities. And by additional funding, the idea is that the network can be expanded and sort of [sic] in their increase.” The prioritization of the extension of the Yonge Street Subway seems to be a common concern since both MP candidates we interviewed included that in their campaign promise. We then asked whether Mr. Gladstone supported Justin Trudeau’s decision to revert the 15% tax credit on transportation, which used to make transportation slightly cheaper in the long run. “That is not part of the Liberal Party platform. Part of the reason is that it does in fact favour wealthier Canadians rather than... a lot of students are sort of low-end wage earners, in fact, one of the things that the Liberal platform has is that the first 15,000 dollars in income will not be taxed at all. So I think it works for the benefit of students much more than the transportation tax credit would.” While not having the first 15,000 dollars in income taxed would technically save three times as much money than a 15% tax credit on transportation, it is not clear how this would directly impact high-school students since most of us don’t earn that much money. That being said, parents who don’t use public transportation would benefit more from the tax cut proposed by the Liberals. Final Statement We asked Mr. Handler if there is anything else he would like to say to our readers on behalf of Mr. Gladstone before ending the interview, “I would just like to point out to you and your readers that Mr. Gladstone has been involved for the last 25 years in doing advocacy work and fundraising for charitable organizations and non-profit organizations. And a lot of them, especially work in the ethnic communities, and people with disabilities. So he will prepare to advocate for the students of Thornhill in Ottawa, certainly, his background reflects that, and I think that that is something that people should be quite aware of. He will fight to make sure that Thornhill residents get their share of services and benefits from the Federal government, something that has not happened in the last 4 years.” The responses we got in this interview seem to be more generic Liberal Party answers, due to the fact that Mr. Gladstone wasn’t available for the interview in person. We thank Mr. Handler for speaking on behalf of Mr. Gladstone. You can check out the transcript and audio file in this link. By Eric Nemrodov and Anton Nemchinski Elections are just around the corner, and politics is on everyone’s minds! Debates, accusations, embarrassing revelations between the political parties and their leaders make all the headlines. Yet, in all the chaos, we tend to forget who we are actually voting for, and who will represent us in parliament… our MP candidates! So we decided to reach out to Thornhill’s MP candidates and asked their opinions on various student-related issues like Ford’s cuts, transportation and marijuana. In this article, we summarized the responses of the Conservative candidate for the Thornhill riding, Peter Kent. The full transcript is available on this link. Mr. Kent is the sitting MP for the Thornhill district and has been representing the riding since 2008. Re-elected in 2011, Mr. Kent was appointed Canada's Environment Minister for two years. In October 2013 he was elected Chair of the House Standing Committee on National Defence. Beyond politics, Mr. Kent had a 40-year-long career as a broadcast journalist and published for numerous Canadian and international media. He was the first journalist to anchor CBC’s The National and was the Deputy Editor of the Global Television Network. On Environment As former Minister of the Environment, Mr. Kent had a lot to say about the party’s plans to reduce carbon emissions and fight climate change. When we pointed out that Canada is one of the worst carbon emitters per capita in the world, second only to the U.S., this is what he had to say, “A lot of the critics of Canada’s emissions, which are around 2% of global annual emissions, use that per capita measure and by the per capita measure, China is one of the lowest emitters in the world. The reality is if we are going to address climate change and if we're going to address the reduction of emissions, the big emitters have to do their part. The little emitters and Canada should do its part, but if we shut down the country tomorrow and stopped emitting a single megaton of carbon dioxide, CO2 would still be generated by the Chinese, by the Americans, by the Indians, by the Brazilians, by all of the Gulf State oil producers, Nigeria... for they still flare their gases from their petroleum production. So to do a megaton per capita for a country as large as Canada, of one of the largest countries in the world, with one of the smallest populations in the world is a red herring. To use the per capita measurement I would say fairly that it's a red herring. All of that said, Canada has to do its part to reduce emissions...” Mr. Kent described many regulations, projects and incentives that his government put in place in the past, such as his outlawing of new coal-plants, tailpipe regulations for cars, the green home tax benefit, etc. Mr. Kent explains the effect of some of the regulations he put in place with the help of Environment Canada and the scientists at the Environmental Protection Agency in the U.S, “ ...if any of your folks bought a new SUV since 2017 you paid extra for that vehicle because of the technology that the automakers had to put into it. The benefit was that the cars would emit 50% less emissions and they would also consume 50% as much fuel so that was a cost-benefit because it costs less to run the car.” Mr. Kent was also very critical of the carbon tax, which is a measure pushed by the Liberals, and argues that it doesn’t really change behaviour. “...The economists will tell you that the carbon tax is the easiest way to change human behaviour and it is. But it has to be so big that people stop driving SUVs, Ford 150s, they stop driving super trucks to move earth… For people who live near the poverty line, for low-income Canadians, for a single soccer mom, that extra $0.31 a litre can be the difference between getting to work or not, or getting kids to school or not. So if we were to impose a carbon tax that would truly change Canadian’s behavior it would have to be several dollars.” Yet, according to the B.C. government, which has been implementing a carbon tax since 2008, they dropped their carbon emissions by 4% while managing to grow its real GDP by 19%. While a 4% change is relatively small, B.C. is incrementally increasing the tax which should keep lowering carbon emissions, and it is still not clear that modest carbon taxes have no effect. On Legalisation of Cannabis Mr. Kent made it clear that the Conservative government won’t reverse the laws put in place, yet he was very critical of the way the situation was “handled”. “I think it was inevitable. A Conservative government won't reverse that, won't criminalize [it] again. We think that it was done very badly, we think that a promise was made in the last campaign to legalize and then there was a rush to legalize and they found out that it wasn't as easy as they thought, so there was a delay, but in rushing to legalize they didn't realize all of the other things that needed to be done, for this is a big change in the way society treats a hallucinogenic product...” He also blamed the Liberal government for setting the prices too high on the legal market, which discourages people from transitioning from the black market. “... then they found that today the black market, the criminal Market still dominates sales in Canada. In British Columbia, 80% of the product that’s sold is still on the black market, not the government market and it's unregulated and part of the reason is the Liberals set the price...” And this is true, according to StatCan, 40% of cannabis users buy illegally even after legalization, so it seems that many Canadian cannabis users are dissatisfied with Trudeau’s solution in some way or another, “It was an election promise of the wrong sort and it was a rush to technically make it legal ...but the regulation, the quality, the service, certainly in Ontario, has not been what I think a lot of people dreamed it would be when they made a Liberal check on their ballot back in 2015.” On Trudeau’s Media Bailout and Media Bias For context, Trudeau recently set aside $600 million dollars for struggling news outlets in the form of tax credits and incentives. In the past, Mr. Kent has expressed heavy concerns on how this bailout could affect journalism independence and objectivity. In our interview, he elaborated that CBC and other Canadian news organizations become sensitive to political parties since the Liberals tend to fund them more, at least partially contributing to a left-leaning bias in Canadian publications. “I think that there's a very obvious bias in recent years, but when we were in government, they didn't like the Conservatives because we were trying to downsize a little bit. The Liberals, as soon as they were elected, upsized and you can see, and I think it's pretty clear on a lot of issues, that there is an in-built bias.” He stated that another reason for media-bias is that traditional media organizations, like the Toronto Star, have declined in readership over the last few decades and have to resort to more opinionated content in order to compete with CBC in attracting viewership and advertisers. “...in the last century journalists, tried to be, the word was “objective”, we tried to be objective. Gather the facts and lay them out. We didn't necessarily come to conclusions, we left that to the consumer. If it was a newspaper, radio, television today every journalist is basically a columnist… who are the best writers in the newspaper if we want to sell newspapers? With a brand-new newspaper who are the best writers? Well, they're the columnists, the guys with flashy opinions, the guys who stack their stories to support their point of view on a story…” He continues, “So opinion was all of a sudden the front page and Canadian consumers, to be honest, I don't think they realized they were getting less balanced information to make decisions on.” He finished off by saying that the $600 million bailouts are only a temporary solution and that the government should seek more robust and sensible proposals. On Doug Ford Education Cuts The Progressive Conservatives (Doug Ford) and the Conservative Party of Canada (Peter Kent and Andrew Scheer) are two different parties, even though they tend to attract the same voters. Also, since education is under provincial jurisdiction, and Peter Kent is a federal politician, he can only comment on this issue from an Ontario citizen’s perspective. Mr. Kent mentioned several of his concerns regarding Ontario’s leadership and education, like the fact that Doug Ford is currently spending $4 billion more than Kathleen Wynne had planned to spend had she been re-elected, Mr. Kent responded to the question of Ontario’s leadership and reference to "education cuts" by pointing to the fact that Doug Ford is currently spending $4 billion more than Kathleen Wynne had planned to spend had she been re-elected, “A lot of fiscally prudent conservatives were disappointed that the Ford government is actually spending more on education in its first budget than the last Wynne government and you can see why the Ford government was elected after 13 years, 15 years of McGuinty and Wynne government where in terms of Education they went through exactly what the conservative government is going through now with the teachers unions with the Maintenance Workers Union.” Furthermore, he said Ontario teachers are one of the highest-paid in Canada, implying that teacher unions are being unreasonable in their negotiations for higher pay. “...[Unions] want more money, they want more members and more teachers, they want more bodies in the union, which is the union’s job to try and do that. But in successive contract negotiations the Liberal government, the Wynne government even spent millions of dollars on pizza for the union negotiators when they were right up against the wall when the last contract expired 3 years ago. But Ontario teachers are the best-paid teachers in Canada, it's great to be a teacher in Canada so I'm not sure what the solution is going to be in terms of resizing and reprioritizing...” According to StatCan, in 2014/2015, Ontario teachers with at least 10-years of experience get paid $91,000/year, second only to North Western teachers who are paid $108,000/year. Compare this to Canada’s average household income of $70,000, without even including teacher benefits. On Transportation Many people in Toronto, especially commuting students, justly feel that transportation is too expensive because according to the CBC Torontonians pay the 5th highest transit fares in the world. We asked Mr. Kent if he had any plans to solve this issue, apart from Andrew Scheer’s promise to return a 15% tax credit return on transportation. “... for the very young in downtown Toronto, up to 12 you ride free? There should be another consideration up to the end of secondary, and university students should have exactly the same opportunities as if they want and then seniors it goes without asking.” He mentioned Andrew Scheer’s promise to prioritize the extension of the Yonge Subway line to Richmond Hill, which will run through Clark Avenue, which should, in theory, help Thornhill residents commute to downtown Toronto. “...in that same announcement that Andrew made about the energy corps across Canada he also said the extension of the Yonge Street Subway to Richmond Hill would be a priority of our government so I mean there's a recognition public transit works.” On Student Debt/Loans Mr. Kent thinks that one of the major issues in post-secondary education is that university student fees rise faster than parents' income, so most students can’t get the support they used to get from their parents, “ …domestic student fees have gone up way faster than the rate of income for parents who might be helping out or for students to bear the burden of the loans that it would take to go through three years, four years, post-grad… it's a huge challenge and it's one that impacts the affordability of the first houses for doctor graduates after the 7 years of the internship, with a huge debt and can't buy a house. And that's on a huge scale, that's not good for the economy, not good for society, not good for communities…” One of the reasons he gave was that some universities, especially the University of Toronto, take in many international students for their financial profit. This makes the university more competitive for domestic students, making it harder for Canadians to get in. “...but it still [University of Toronto] wants more and more International students because universities make a lot of money off International students and they charge them significantly more than Ontario students in your case,” he elaborates, “Canada has gone the same way they follow the European and the American model but in doing that and then having to expand. York University, you've seen it explode over the last 10 years just in the number of buildings, all of that capital investment, a lot of it's been covered by the international students, a lot of it hasn't, so domestic student fees have gone up...” Mr. Kent says that the government and universities should settle the escalation of costs year to year to make post-secondary education more affordable for Canadian citizens. What should students do if they want to get involved in politics? Mr. Kent recommended students to get involved in local EDA’s for door-knocking and opportunities to gain volunteer hours. “I'd say get involved early, our campaign has a lot of volunteers out knocking on doors with me. I'm not saying I want you guys to join me, I'm not trying to encourage you to become young conservatives but with every political party there's an opportunity to get involved in the local EDA. I've talked about policy talk, about policy changes, talk about the way government relates to people and at election time particularly you can get your student service hours, you can get them knocking on doors for the political party of your choice and you get to talk to the spectrum of people who volunteer, of all ages, young, middle-aged, rich, poor, elderly just about the political process.” The MP also suggested that changing the voting age to 16, an idea which Jagmeet Singh(NDP) and Elizabeth May(Green Party) have supported, could be an option if high-schoolers were more educated and more aware at their high-school. “...there's a proposal now by some politicians that the voting age be lowered to 16. That's interesting, I would support it if the school's, I talked to Mr. Lee's class a couple of times a year, social studies current affairs, there's a lot of really smart kids in those classes that know what's going on in Ottawa but there are a few that really haven't paid attention... but I think education and awareness is essential so I would think that informed 16-year-olds are just as capable of making wise decisions as uninformed 30-year-olds...” Generally, he advised listening and watching political content, more specifically CPAC which broadcasts House-of-Commons debates and other political-related events. He ends by saying that “that's one of the things that you can't avoid, there's politics in everything”. Advice for Aspiring Journalists Seeing Mr. Kent’s long career in journalism we wanted to ask him for suggestions to students who are looking for a career in journalism. He recommends getting a degree in a specialty first, like law or science, because political science and general arts degrees are “too broad” because there are too many graduates and only the top get into journalism. “These days I would say get a degree in a specialty first, law, science, environment, political science is a bit too broad and a general arts degree is a little too broad because we're seeing that there are too many graduates and only the top of the classes get a job in journalism but if you develop these days, with the concern about the environment, a scientific a degree in science in a particular area (water, air, chemical) you would find you would be more likely to find an opportunity. With law and all of its different applications, you'd be more likely to find an opening than a General Arts Craft would as a journalist.” he later adds, “...and the thing in journalism today is it's not enough to be just a great writer or a great photographer or videographer or editor or producer, a lot of entry-level journalism jobs you got to do the works and you gotta do it enthusiastically and you gotta do it, not without asking because that's unhealthy, but you gotta be able to just bite down.” He concluded that journalism is a great career, although it became harder since he started, and stressed getting a journalism degree after a specialty degree. We hope that this interview sheds some light on Peter Kent’s plans and positions. We would like to credit Mr. Kent for really putting in the effort to answer our questions, providing us more than 12 pages worth of interview material! Unfortunately, we couldn’t fit all of Mr. Kent’s ideas into the article, but we definitely recommend reading or listening to the full interview, if you are interested. If you want to read more interviews, stay tuned on Voice of Vaughan for the upcoming interview with MP Candidate Gary Gladstone for a look on the other side of the aisle. by Alan Nemirovski Image from: https://i.cbc.ca/1.5299521.1569588694!/fileImage/httpImage/image.jpg_gen/derivatives/16x9_780/uoft-environmental-action.jpg On Friday, September 27th, 2019, at 11 am, thousands of students in Toronto marched towards Queen’s Park in an effort to call for action on climate change. This rally was a part of a series of worldwide strikes aimed to bring attention to the issue of global warming and climate change which took place over the last week. In Canada, similar strikes were organized from coast to coast, all the way from St. John’s, Newfoundland to Victoria, British Columbia, all on the same day. Alienor Rougeot, organizer of the Toronto Climate Strike, was quoted by CBC News stating: “So I think today our message is going to be partly about the fact that you're allowed to be outraged, you should be outraged, and it's only that that's going to save us.” School boards such as the TDSB, while not sanctioning the event, did make it easier for students to participate without being penalized. Certain corporations such as Mountain Equipment Co-op and Lush Cosmetics also halted operations for the day to allow employees and encourage customers to participate as well. In Montreal, about 300 000 people were expected to participate in their local strike, with Greta Thunberg, the 16-year-old Swedish activist who started the #FridaysforFuture movement, appearing at that event as well. It was considered by Thunberg to be “a very good day”. But will today, and the other protests be enough? Or will more action need to be taken? by Alissa Guissine From tradition to religion, from hippie to criminal, from significance to aesthetics, body art has been slowly inching its way into the modern culture since 3100 BCE. The stimulus behind tattoos is rather controversial and undefined, do they bear meaning or are they just senseless blotches of ink on one’s skin. Uncover the true desires and motivations behind the blotches of ink and you realize how hip and eloquent they can become. The antediluvian practice of permanently incising significance onto your body arose from culture and tradition. Initial evidence of the practice was recognized when 12 000-year-old tattooing tools were discovered in Portugal, France, and Scandinavia. Tattoos were used as healing techniques and modus operandi of religious worship in ancient Egypt and India. Countries like the Philippines established status and rank with ink prints, notwithstanding other countries used tattoos as forms of punishment and ridicule. With the adoption of Christianity, Judaism, and Islamic religions tattooing was dissipated and considered to be a sin. Abrahamic religions believed the body was a vessel given by God, in resemblance to God and should not be altered or modified in any way. Consequently, the culture of tattooing slowly began to die in Europe. Only to sail back in the 16th century along with travelers like Captain James Cook and Martin Frobisher, who’s oceanic travels were accompanied by indigenous people, whom they fetched back from their visits to other countries. The indigenous were often inked with spiritual markings. Their spiritual cultures preached that tattooing was a way to express identity, status, and position in their tribes, the process of tattooing metaphorically corresponded with the idea of being reborn. Initially, tattoos were appointed with sailors and the lower class, as time went on ink artists became more skillful and body art grew to become a leisure of aristocracy. Sadly, as tattooing cheapened it was again designated for the lower, poorer classes. For such a protracted time the culture of tattooing was associated with poor and criminal classes that the art was almost omitted. It wasn't until the 1960s when the Hippie movement swept over North America and tattooing was released into the mainstream regarded as a form of self-expression. Symbols, cultures, suits, regarded as emblems of the egregious, the criminal, the savage. Throughout history prisoners and criminals around the world tattooed marks and symbols on their bodies as ways of identification and status. The most common design in North America was the three-point triangle placed beside the eye or between the thumb and forefinger, denoting: “Mi Vida Loca” - my crazy life. Prison tattoos were especially popular in Russia comprising of complex designs and systems. Convicts wore roses and eight-point stars on their chests to display their rank in the system amongst other convicts. Murderers wore with pride daggers and skulls on their chest, informing others of their crimes, and that they were willing to kill again. A pair of eyes upon the pecks showed other inmates that the owner of the tattoo was watching them, these eyes were worn by high-ranked prisoners and leaders of the mafia. The famous St. Basil’s Cathedral was inked onto prisoners’ fronts, each tower indicating the number of sentences served, and the snake around the neck symbolized drug addiction. Prisoners bore tattoos of Stalin and Lenin above their hearts to demonstrate their patriotism and as shields against their keepers knowing they wouldn't dare shoot their leaders. By the 1990s tattooing exploded in western culture, entrepreneurs, accountants, and suburban moms wore tattoos. In the early nineties, folk inked themselves to show their independence amongst other citizens. It was a way to isolate yourself from the pack and embrace your own life. Others wore tattoos for significance; a token, a symbol, a memory, anything meaningful they wanted to keep with them forever. People were inked with symbols of their birthplaces, memories of loved ones, tattoos in dedication to someone, and symbols linked to meaningful events in their lives. Nowadays most people get tattoos for their aesthetic pleasure, they simply relish the way they look. Myriad options come with tattooing; quotes, flowers, animals, people, the options are endless! Getting a tattoo is easy and open. Judgment and stereotype no longer come with tattoos, they aren’t associated with crime or rebellion but merely independence and pleasure. by Evelyn Wisebourt Image From: https://dynamicmedia.zuza.com/zz/m/original_/4/d/4d42959e-3258-401c-ad56-455173f35d6e/YRP_Community___Gallery.jpg On Sunday September 22nd, at around 3:30 am, shots were fired in a Vaughan home near Romeo Dallaire Public School, injuring 2 men. The men were quickly taken to the hospital, where doctors declared the injuries were not life-threatening. Police are still looking into possible suspects for the shooting. The method of escape, whether that be by foot or by vehicle, is still unknown. Unfortunately, shootings are becoming much more prominent in today’s society, whether that be at school, or at home. All communities, no matter the level of safety, are in possible danger. We must take measures to prevent these events, whether that be a more profound education and/or better mental health care. |
Archives
April 2020
Categories |