attacks

Monday November 16, 2015

 

By Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator - Monday November 16, 2015 Paris attacks: World must avoid revenge and cosmetic measures While we are in shock and grief about the carnage in Paris, Islamic State terrorists and their sympathisers are celebrating the death of innocent people. It is a terrorist act not only on France but on humanity, and those who are behind it have no right to exist in the civilised world. The horrific attacks on different locations in Paris must have been meticulously planned for some time to cause maximum death and terror among innocent civilians. It was a highly sophisticated operation and needed lots of coordination and intelligence inputs by a strong organisation that could get its sleeper cells active whenever it ordered. It is a condemnable terrorist act carried out by terrorists who have no respect for human life. It came after the US announced the targeting of ÒJihadi JohnÓ in Raqqa, the IS headquarters in Syria. It also comes after suicide bomb attacks in Beirut that left more than 300 people of different faith and nationalities dead and injured. It also brought back memories of the 26/11 attacks on Mumbai when terrorists came to kill and die. It is chillingly similar to the Beslan school siege of 2004 in Russia and the London underground and Madrid train murders to name a few. It is a replica of the attack and counter-attack pattern which leads to more provocative measures while these terrorists and perpetrators get off scot-free. We are aware terrorists know no boundary, religion or nationality. They are merely criminals driven by their own ideology, which was taught to them in the caves of Tora Bora and other terrorist safe havens. The Syrian refugees in Europe draw attention to the magnitude of the humanitarian catastrophe faced by Syrians for the past four-and-a-half years. Homes uprooted, people decapitated, kids taken into training camps, girls enslaved and raped. They did not even spare our heritage. When Europe open

By Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Monday November 16, 2015

Paris attacks: World must avoid revenge and cosmetic measures

While we are in shock and grief about the carnage in Paris, Islamic State terrorists and their sympathisers are celebrating the death of innocent people. It is a terrorist act not only on France but on humanity, and those who are behind it have no right to exist in the civilised world.

The horrific attacks on different locations in Paris must have been meticulously planned for some time to cause maximum death and terror among innocent civilians. It was a highly sophisticated operation and needed lots of coordination and intelligence inputs by a strong organisation that could get its sleeper cells active whenever it ordered.

It is a condemnable terrorist act carried out by terrorists who have no respect for human life. It came after the US announced the targeting of “Jihadi John” in Raqqa, the IS headquarters in Syria. It also comes after suicide bomb attacks in Beirut that left more than 300 people of different faith and nationalities dead and injured.
It also brought back memories of the 26/11 attacks on Mumbai when terrorists came to kill and die.

It is chillingly similar to the Beslan school siege of 2004 in Russia and the London underground and Madrid train murders to name a few. It is a replica of the attack and counter-attack pattern which leads to more provocative measures while these terrorists and perpetrators get off scot-free.

We are aware terrorists know no boundary, religion or nationality. They are merely criminals driven by their own ideology, which was taught to them in the caves of Tora Bora and other terrorist safe havens.

The Syrian refugees in Europe draw attention to the magnitude of the humanitarian catastrophe faced by Syrians for the past four-and-a-half years. Homes uprooted, people decapitated, kids taken into training camps, girls enslaved and raped. They did not even spare our heritage.

When Europe opened its doors to other nationalities, the terrorists took advantage and sneaked into Europe along with the refugees to create havoc and terror across national capitals. Many mercenaries from Europe too returned, well trained and ready to kill and act independently in a new trend of mobile terrorism.

IS or Daesh has threatened to attack many Western capitals and it has proved again that it is capable of striking anytime, anywhere.

Mercenaries were allowed to travel freely into Turkey and then into Syria, to join terrorist groups, and they are now using the same route to return home, fleeing the conflict in Syria and Iraq.

According to reports, 500 French terrorists returned from Syria and Iraq. Many other European nationalities also went home. The authorities are trying to rehabilitate some, while others are waiting to act once their “masters” issue orders.

How long will we wait before we address this crisis seriously? How many innocent people must be sacrificed before we jointly act to defeat these evil forces and eliminate the infrastructure of terrorism?

But we must avoid provocation, revenge and cosmetic measures. We need surgical operations.

There is no good and bad terrorism. No country can defeat it alone and hence we need to act together now. (Source: Hindustan Times)

 

Tuesday November 20, 2012

By Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator, Tuesday November 20, 2012 Property Assessment vs. Air strike Crises The average assessed value of a Hamilton home will rise more than 12 per cent over the next four years. Municipal Property Assessment Corporation (MPAC) notices are beginning to arrive in Hamilton homeownersÕ mailboxes with the latestÊupdate on assessed property values since 2008. Increases will be phased in over four years so locally, residential property values will increase by an average of 3.1 per cent in 2013, saidÊLou Castellani, an area MPAC representative. Decreases will not be phased, however, and should be immediately reflected in updatedÊproperty values. Just because your home is assessed at a higher value doesnÕt mean your taxes will spike, Castellani emphasized. It depends on how yourÊincrease stacks up against the city average. ÒIf you look at your notice and see your home has gone up (in value) 9 per cent, you can probably expect a tax cut,Ó he said. ÒIf you liveÊin a hot market and your property increased in value by 14 per cent, you may see a slight increase in taxes.Ó More than 161,000 homeowners in the Hamilton area will soon receive updated notices, he said. Meanwhile, more Palestinian civilians were caught in the line of fire Monday as Israel expanded the scope of its campaign in the GazaÊStrip, hitting densely packed areas of the territory with airstrikes. Israel began targeting the Gaza homes of Hamas activists and suspected military commanders over the weekend, bolstering its efforts toÊstop Hamas rocket fire on the state. The new approach, however, has led to an increased number of civilian casualties as airstrikesÊdevastate more crowded areas of Gaza. (Source: CTV News) http://www.ctvnews.ca/world/civilian-death-toll-climbs-in-israel-gaza-crisis-as-world-leaders-urge-ceasefire-1.1044011 News, Canada, Ontario, property, assessment, news, rockets, Israel, Palestine, attacks

By Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator, Tuesday November 20, 2012

Property Assessment vs. Air strike Crises

The average assessed value of a Hamilton home will rise more than 12 per cent over the next four years.

Municipal Property Assessment Corporation (MPAC) notices are beginning to arrive in Hamilton homeowners’ mailboxes with the latest update on assessed property values since 2008.

Increases will be phased in over four years so locally, residential property values will increase by an average of 3.1 per cent in 2013, said Lou Castellani, an area MPAC representative. Decreases will not be phased, however, and should be immediately reflected in updated property values.

Just because your home is assessed at a higher value doesn’t mean your taxes will spike, Castellani emphasized. It depends on how your increase stacks up against the city average.

“If you look at your notice and see your home has gone up (in value) 9 per cent, you can probably expect a tax cut,” he said. “If you live in a hot market and your property increased in value by 14 per cent, you may see a slight increase in taxes.”

More than 161,000 homeowners in the Hamilton area will soon receive updated notices, he said.

Meanwhile, more Palestinian civilians were caught in the line of fire Monday as Israel expanded the scope of its campaign in the Gaza Strip, hitting densely packed areas of the territory with airstrikes.

Israel began targeting the Gaza homes of Hamas activists and suspected military commanders over the weekend, bolstering its efforts to stop Hamas rocket fire on the state. The new approach, however, has led to an increased number of civilian casualties as airstrikes devastate more crowded areas of Gaza. (Source: CTV News)