Tuition Hikes

I have to say I was a bit disturbed by McGill’s student strike on November 10th. First off, nothing gets resolved through angry mobs, riots, breaking an entry, and other violence.

In 5 years, students should expect to see $1600 total of tuition increase. Students need to be aware that McGill is not the one implementing this tuition hike, it is the Quebec Government, and frankly, considering how small of an amount we pay for tuition currently, I don’t see this amount being such a big deal. University students in Quebec pay a fraction of what students at universities in the rest of Canada do. Of course, one could argue that this defeats the whole idea of equality of opportunity. Maybe for some people this tuition hike will prevent them from attending university, but I believe that this money will be funneled back in to the schools for improvements and further development of education and programs.

Universities need this money; professors have already begun leaving McGill to teach elsewhere where they can receive higher pay. If McGill wants to keep its reputation of being the best, it needs the best professors, however, if they’re all leaving, it’ll probably lose its status, but more importantly, its current quality.

Maybe students who are currently attending McGill won’t see such amazing improvements to quality, but this tuition hike will definitely benefit our younger brothers and sisters, or better yet our children.

The Issues Americans Face in 2012

Since May of 2011, 14 republican candidate debates have occurred, while 14 more will take place from now until March 2012. I have not watched all of them, but of the ones that I have, the republican candidates continue to make a mockery of themselves, in my opinion. I don’t think any of them has any structure for their forums, they’re all over the place.

Herman Cain in particular makes me laugh with all these women who continue to make a public statements about having been sexually abused by him. He is now even considering dropping out of the running. Also, he has continuously been rude to reporters who ask him about the incidences instead of just facing it and talking about it openly.

All of the candidates plan to revoke Obama’s health care plan if elected. First off, the income inequality gap between the 99% and the 1% (the whole basis of the occupy wall-street movement) has a lot to do with the fact that there is no universal health care. Americans spend a significantly larger amount of money on their health care, yet, get so much less out of it. Canadians have a life expectancy ten years longer than Americans do, and I have a strong feeling that it has to do with the lack of access to health care. If anything, more social services through government funding will decrease the economic issues American’s face.

AMT Ignores Threat of Tunnel Fire

Right after posting the AMT and how excited I am for their new trains, I came across an article that worried me a little bit. The new trains, which run on diesel and electricity, run the risk of fire in the Mont Royal tunnel. If a fire were to spark in this tunnel, it would be fatal. The Gazette describes it as an "instant inferno" and a "fire furnace". The AMT is ignoring the threats of a potential tunnel fire because it would cost hundreds of millions of dollars to take safety precautions by installing emergency stares, a better ventilation system, etc. The Mont Royal tunnel has never had a fire before, but it is not unlikely. 11 years ago, 150 people died in a tunnel fire in Austria. New York has invested millions in taking safety precautions to avoid tunnel fires. Quebec has lots of money invested in building an inessential project for the North Shore. When it comes to essential safety precautions, they simply refuse to do it. This is very worrying but there is nothing that train commuters can do. The trains are expected to be in use in the Spring of 2012. This makes me re-think the way I commute to school. If the AMT can't spend money on taking safety measures, then I might invest my money in another method of transportation in getting to school.

http://www.montrealgazette.com/Aubin+ignoring+threat+tunnel+fire/5769894/story.html

The AMT Makes Heavy Investments

Being someone who takes the train downtown, from the West Island every day, I was very excited to hear that the AMT will be converting the remaining lines and replacing the current trains with new, double-decker trains. This trains will be quieter, run somewhat on diesel fuel while also electricity, and will be faster then the current trains. I was especially excited to hear of this news since I usually take the train at busy times, which is not the most pleasant situation, since the trains are very overpacked. The AMT has invested millions of dollars into these double-decker trains. In addition, they are also constructing a new train line that will be ready for use in 2013. Good to know that they're putting their money to good use, considering monthly passes are a decent amount of money more expensive than a pass for the bus/metro. The train is a very efficient way to commute and I think it will keep getting more popular as time goes on and they keep investing in new projects.

A Milestone

Today was a big milestone for our planet. The population of the entire world hit 7 billion! The world's population has doubled over the past 50 years. Experts believe that the population will increase by another 2-3 billion people over the next 50 years, and providing food and water will be a serious worry since these resources are already under strain. In order to feed this extra 2-3 billion people in the next 50 years, the UN's Food and Agricultural Organization says that food production will need to increase by 70%. Climate change may be an obstacle in this. Looks like we need to change our ways and to start looking more towards helping the future of our planet. 

No Sympathy for the Madoffs

Almost 3 years ago, Bernard Madoff confessed to running a 20 year 65 billion dollar scheme. Thousands of people were fooled and their lives were ruined. Madoff is now spending 150 years in prison. His family had to live with the shame of what he did. One of his sons even commited suicide. Several of Madoff's family members are being sued for being involved in fraudulent transactions and allegedly have millions from this. His wife, Ruth, and one of his sons, Andrew, claim that they weren't involved in this scheme, which is actually the largest financial fraud in history. Now the family is living lavish lifestyles. 

Andrew and Ruth recently appeared on 60 minutes and on the Today Show to promote their new book that they have written, titled "Truth and Consequences". This book was organized by Catherine Hooper, Andrew's fiancee. While Andrew and Ruth are not receiving money from the book, it is Andrew's wife, Catherine, who is profiting from it. It is no surprise that this angers all the people who were made victims of Madoff's scheme, since the profits from this book should be donated to the victims whose lives have been ruined. 

The Occupy Movement

Lately I've been following the Occupy Wall street movement. Occupy Wall Street represents groups of protesters who are fighting an unfair economic system that no longer wants to deal with greed and corruption among the wealthiest 1% of the population. The protesters are a mix of the general population that are from all religions, genders, colours, that represent the 99% that are using non violent means to voice their frustrations over economic inequality.

Over the last 6 weeks, the movement has spread to over 70 cities in the United States and has also spread to 900 cities worldwide including Montreal. Several hundred people are protesting, many are camping out and are voicing their issues in Victoria Square and throughout downtown. The protesters who are claiming to be part of the 99% have marched to the premier's office. I found it interesting to read in the news today about many Munaca members even joining Occupy Montreal rallies!