Pickle’s Perspective

This article was published in the Winnipeg Free Press.

Wikipedia describes the age of majority as:

The age of majority is the threshold of adulthood as it is conceptualized (and recognized or declared) in law. It is the chronological moment when a child legally ceases to be considered a minor and assumes control over their persons, actions and decisions, thereby terminating the legal control and legal responsibilities of their parents or guardian over and for them.

In Manitoba, the age of Majority is 18.  This means, an 18 year old may do the following.

• Cast a ballot in an election
• Smoke
• Join the army
• Apply for a license and if successful, purchase firearms and ammunition
• Obtain a Class 1 through 4 Driver’s license
• obtain employment in hazardous work (without parental consent)
• obtain full time employment (without parental consent)
• Oh yeah.. Consume alcohol

Pardon me, does any one else think this is crazy?  First off.  If you’re an adult shouldn’t you be treated like one?   In my opinion, if you wanna get plastered at 18 that’s your choice.  These adults make the choice and need to understand the consequences.  We need to stop taking away rights from people because we want to believe that they can’t make their own decisions.

One the weekend a friend of mine sent me a facebook link about a new law in the USA that has now effectively made dirtbikes illegal for children in the USA.

The deal is,  in the metal industry, steel alloys can contain lead.  The addition of lead to steel allows for easier machining as it reduces friction on the cutting surface and improves chip breaking during the cutting.    Once mixed, the steel and lead frame of a motorcycle would essentially need to be eaten to be of any harm to a person.   However, the lead content in this steel does exceed 600 ppm.  The law in question is the  Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act.

I think back at my childhood and, my dirt bike probably had a more profound impact on my youth, morals, and state of mind than you would think.  Yes, an inanimate object has shaped my life.  Does that make me pathetic? (continue reading…)

A couple photos I took The files are fairly large, so please click the link to see them.

Eclipse

Eclipse feb 20/08 #2

Eclipse feb 20/08 #3

Let me get one thing straight. I am no cop hater. I grew up around cops. Some of my best friends’ parent’s were cops. As a kid I wanted to be a cop. To this day I still know a few officers. I even applied to the service when I was 18. So, my issue isn’t with the cops. My issue is with a little device they use that’s more dangerous than we initially thought. The Taser.

(continue reading…)

Based on a Cambridge University Study, it appears that the competition over sex is the reason why males live shorter lives than females. The Cambridge study compared males of various species and found that, the more polygamous a species was the shorter the life expectancy was of the male in regards to the female. In these examples, the males ages quicker also.

So, if the dishonesty of cheating isn’t a strong enough deterrent to infidelity, perhaps the fact that it can shorten your life, may be!

See the original article here: http://www.livescience.com/animals/071016-male-age.html

Found this on the CJOB Website.  “A man who burned his 2002 Ford Mustang in March 2003 has been convicted of Arson and Public Mischief, fined $1,200 and ordered to pay Manitoba Public Insurance $26,129.Danny Dimko Atanasovic, now 22, admitted to the offences when he appeared in Provincial Judges Court last week.Evidence showed Atanasovic was having trouble meeting the lease payments so he decided to burn the vehicle and claim it was stolen. He drove the vehicle to a remote location near Marquette and after setting it on fire, made a theft report to the local RCMP office and a claim for benefits to MPI..The charges were laid after a lengthy investigation by the Special Investigation Unit of Manitoba Public Insurance, working in cooperation with the Headingley RCMP.
Manitobans are reminded they can anonymously report fraudulent claims by calling 985-8477 in Winnipeg, or 1-877-985-8477 outside Winnipeg or email tips@mpi.mb.ca.CJOB’s Robert Holland reporting“

Most Canadians will agree that in Canada, gun ownership should remain to be a priviledge, not a right. Most Canadians agree, that effective gun control is a must. (effective the key word here. The gun registry is not effective and we all know it.) Most Canadians agree that we don’t buy guns for self defense against other people.

However………Most Canadians do not agree on whether or not, Canadian Border guards should be allowed to carry a side arm. For our American friends that read this post, let me explain to you who legally carries a side arm in public in our Nation. Some armoured car operators have permits. These people usually are former police officers. Police officers, military and Justice sheriffs (they work for the courts). Security firms, border guards, commissionares, etc. do not carry side arms. You won’t find a gun behind the counter at a convenience store, and a loaded firearm in a vehicle is strictly forbidden. In fact, leaning a loaded rifle against the hood of your truck while in the bush deer hunting is considered a loaded firearm in a vehicle and can get you in big trouble if Natural Resources find you. Natural resources, by the way, have firearms in their vehicle, but I have never seen one with a side arm. Same goes for Provincial and Federal Park Patrol.

So why is this a big deal, if so few officers, civil servants, general public carry side arms? Canadian Border patrol are seen by many as the tax collector. Welcome to Canada, open your bags, show what you bought and pay your Canadian taxes on it. Welcome to Canada. Well, I think we should give them side arms…. On occasion, these people are all that stands between a dangerous fugitive in a foreign country and a dangerous fugitive in our country. I’d rather keep that dangerous fugitive out.

CBC news posted this article today. Murder suspects from California tried fleeing into Canada via the Peace Arch Border south of Vancouver, B.C. Following a shootout, they made it within a metre to Canadian soil, before being captured by police; American Police….

Where were the Canadian border guards you ask? They invoked the “Right to Refuse” clause as stated section 128 of the Canada Labour Code and walked off the job!

My take on this scenario is simple. Border guards need to be reclassified. They should be re-classified to make their job listed as potentially dangerous, and offered special training and the tools to perform their duty. This would mean police style training, access to firearms, and most importantly, they would be excluded from section 128 of the Canada Labour Code, since the right to refuse can not be invoked if,

(a) the refusal puts the life, health or safety of another person directly in danger; or

(b) the danger referred to in subsection (1) is a normal condition of employment.

In this case point B would apply.

Had these events unfolded differently. If that suspect car made it 100 metres further, if the shootout resulted in stray bullets striking a child, if… if… if…. I’m glad it didn’t go to those scenarios but then we could at least say, “Our Border guards were equipped and prepared to deal with the situation, and handled it as best as possible.” Had those if’s happened under current structure all we could say is, “Well What can you expect, would you stare down the barrel, or would you refuse and walk off the job too?”

I don’t know about you, I don’t eat a meal with toothpicks, I don’t wear sandals at -30 and I sure as hell wouldn’t want to be asked to show up at a gun fight with a rubberband and a stick, and I think it’s unfair that we ask it of them also.

I am not an expert in the field, these are just my opinions.
Please leave your comments. I know many will not agree, and I’d like to see some comments.

PDR_0340,
originally uploaded by GermanPickle.

Around quarter to six, I started hearing sirens outside. I live across from an apartment complex, so hearing sirens isn’t a big deal, there’s regularly a false alarm across the street. Today however the sirens didn’t stop. One truck after another.

Armed with my Toshiba Digital Camera I scooted out the door and jumped on the ole’ steel horse. I got to the end of the street and knew right away what the emergency was. The school across the street had an addition against the gymnasium and it was burning.

I cranked the throttle on the bike and got a better look. I took some photos. You can see them on my flickr account .
http://flickr.com/photos/59428674@N00/sets/743933/

I stuck around for 20 minutes or so. That’s when the roof caved in. I think the fire’s out by now as I heard some firetrucks drive by again. Although I was at least 100 yards away, I can smell the smoke on my clothing.