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OAKVILLE BEAVER Thursday, September 17, 2009 · 6 The Oakville Beaver 467 Speers Rd., Oakville Ont. L6K 3S4 (905) 845-3824 Fax: 337-5571 Classified Advertising: 905-632-4440 Circulation: 845-9742 The Oakville Beaver is a member of the Ontario Press Council. The council is located at 80 Gould St., Suite 206, Toronto, Ont., M5B 2M7. Phone (416) 340-1981. Advertising is accepted on the condition that, in the event of a typographical error, that portion of advertising space occupied by the erroneous item, together with a reasonable allowance for signature, will not be charged for, but the balance of the advertisement will be paid for at the applicable rate.The publisher reserves the right to categorize advertisements or decline. Editorial and advertising content of the Oakville Beaver is protected by copyright. Unauthorized use is prohibited. Commentary Guest Columnist NEIL OLIVER Vice-president and Group Publisher, Metroland West DAVID HARVEY Regional General Manager JILL DAVIS Editor in Chief ROD JERRED Managing Editor DANIEL BAIRD Advertising Director RIZIERO VERTOLLI Photography Director SANDY PARE Business Manager MARK DILLS Director of Production MANUEL GARCIA Production Manager CHARLENE HALL Director of Distribution SARAH MCSWEENEY Circ. Manager WEBSITE oakvillebeaver.com Election won't help economy Lisa Raitt, Halton MP s parliament once again resumes, I am happy to have this opportunity to update you on some of the progress the Federal Government made over the summer. Through Canada's Economic Action Plan, our Conservative government is delivering real results to help take Canadians through the difficulties of the global recession and to ensure that our country is stronger and more competitive in the future. Right now, here in Halton, Canadians are benefitting from the timely, targeted and temporary economic stimulus. More than 80 per cent of the investments in our plan are already being implemented and we are working hard on implementing the rest. From strengthening the Employment Insurance (EI) system to help job seekers who are looking for work, to landmark investments in the roads, bridges, recreation centres and other community infrastructure that families see and use every day, Canada's Economic Action Plan is working to strengthen Canada. Our efforts are helping to turn this economy around. Here at home, our government is delivering for the residents of Oakville. The Conservative government has invested $30.5 million for a new parking facility at the Oakville GO Station, $31.2 million funding for Sheridan College, $500,000 for the North Park Sports fields, $5.3 million for the widening of Tremaine Road, $51 million for renewal of the Skyway Wastewater Treatment plant and $250 million into improvements to the GO Transit system that improve the commute. Yet, while Canada is on the right track, there is still more to do. We are beginning to see the light at the end of the tunnel, but we are not yet out of the global recession. That is why I remain focused on delivering Canada's Economic Action Plan. Unfortunately, Michael Ignatieff and his Liberal Party have different intentions. While our Conservative government is focusing on fighting the recession, Michael Ignatieff wants to fight our recovery by plunging us into the fourth general election in the last five years. Michael Ignatieff's position is clear. He is on the on the record saying, "I'm prepared to form a coalition government, and to lead that government." The Liberals are looking for power at all costs, forcing an unnecessary election that jeopardizes Canada's economic recovery, and a Coalition with the Bloc Québécois and NDP that threatens national unity. No one in Halton that I have spoken with has told me that they neither want, nor need, an election. We are just beginning to see signs of a recovery on the horizon and that recovery must not be put at risk by Michael Ignatieff's political opportunism. Lisa Raitt RECOGNIZED FOR EXCELLENCE BY: Ontario Community Newspapers Association Canadian Community Newspapers Association Suburban Newspapers of America THE OAKVILLE BEAVER IS PROUD OFFICIAL MEDIA SPONSOR FOR: A United Way of Oakville TV AUCTION SUBMITTED BY VLADIMIR KABELIK OGOPOGO?: Oakville resident Vladimir Kabelik said he snapped this photo from Front Street and Trafalgar Road in June. He sent it to the Oakville Beaver asking our opinion -- and asking if we thought it could be Ogopogo. Legend has it that Ogopogo is a lake monster reported to live in Okanagan Lake, in British Columbia. Proponents of its existence claim that the first documented sightings of the monster date to around 1872. In 1926, more people reported seeing the alleged monster. Likely not, but it's interesting. If Twitter is for twerps, why is he tweeting and twittering? I n the past 24 hours I've received sage slices of life advice from self-help guru Tony Robbins, stock market counsel from former Toronto Blue Jay Todd Stottlemyre and updates from author Margaret Atwood in Amsterdam. To boot, I just found out that Mike in Maryland (surely you know Mike in Maryland) thinks his daughter has a fever and he's concerned he's going to get a call from day care. Ah, I'm all atwitter. I know, I know, I was one of those vocal critics who said that Twitter, the free social networking and mini-blogging site, is for twerps. But it's also all the rage. According to Wikipedia, Twitter is one of the 50 most popular websites in the world, and growing at a rate of 1,382 percent, per month. And (shameful plug alert), since I just launched a new website www.thesportjesters.ca, my webmaster said I'd have to be "a total nimrod" not to ride this site's popularity. After considerable contemplation resulting in the pulling of a muscle in my head, I decided I'd be better off being a twerp than a total nimrod. So I signed on. I'm on Twitter, at (shameful plug alert) http://twitter.com/thesportjesters. I'm (officially) a twit. Or, a twitterer. Or a tweeter. Or, whatever. Alas, many of my preconceived notions regarding the site have proven to be true. Most of what's posted fluctuates between porn, promotion and Pablum. Seriously, it is a breeding ground for the mundane, the monotonous and the moronic. Too often the tweets read like those old Dick and Jane books: I'm watching the big Andy Juniper game. Boy is this game BIG. I'm eating a snack and watching the big game. What a great game. This is big. Okay, okay, I get it: it's a big game, right? And you're watching it? In one day, I received more than 40 tweets from a wellknown Toronto entrepreneur who offered up every vapid thought she had (each tied to promoting herself/her business), and further saw fit to announce to the world that she was having an intimate detoxification procedure. Way too much information. Oh, and get a life. Conversely, some aspects of Twitter manage to entertain and even enlighten (news links have been particular- ly helpful for a guy who likes to think he's on top of world events). One of the hottest Tweeters on the block is a guy named Justin, a 28-year-old who lives with his cantankerous 73-year-old father and tweets about what his father says." It's inspired. And hilarious: "I turn on the kitchen faucet and the shower burns you, yes, I get it. No, I'm not going to stop, I'm just saying, yes, I get the concept." While some postings work to be amusing, others simply are. How about Weezer frontman Rivers Cuomo's tweet: "Hanging with some friends in a sports bra." I'm going to give Rivers the benefit of the doubt and assume he's in a sports bar, not a sports bra. I also laughed at comedian Sarah Silverman's tweet: "About to fly. If anything terrible should happen know that I died contemplating a smoothie." Not unlike real life, Twitter has it all: the good, the bad, and the ugly. Now, if I can only find time to keep up with this new wave of social media, I'll surely be entertained, enlightened, and exhausted. Andy Juniper can be visited at www.strangledeggs.com, or contacted at ajjuniper@gmail.com.