Welcome, 2006

A new year has arrived. My family and I had a great time celebrating, enjoying some of the best fireworks we've ever seen.

2006, however, seems to have already got off to a rough start. Toronto had its first murder of the year - another gun crime - within hours. Winnipeg had it's first murder, also a shooting, in the wee hours of the morning as well. Calgary started off the year with a drunk plowing his van through a crowded street, killing one person and injuring others. Apparently the driver had been in an arguement with some people in the crowd and deliberately targetted them.

In other parts of the world, a collapsed roof in Russia has killed 20 (or 23, depending on the source), and now a landslide in Jakarta has killed at least 200. I won't even begin to list the shootings and bombings in the middle east - there's just too many.

At least we have some good news. Twelve of the 13 trapped miners in W. Va had been found alive, having been trapped for 41 hours. Now there's a welcome miracle!

Meanwhile, here in Canada, it's time to buckle of prepare for a rough ride. Just a few more weeks to election day, and the slander is starting to fly thick and fast. The Conservatives, after yet another RCMP investigation into the Liberals was announced (the 33rd in 3 years!!!) have finally topped the polls. Now, the gloves are off. Martin and his cronies, who've blundered their way through their campaign with both feet in their mouths, are desperate. They're going to dig up every bit of ammunition they can find to use against Harper, twisting and misleading every bit of the way. The worst of it is, that sort of thing actually works, and I know a disconcerting number of people who say that, if it looks like Harper will become the next PM, they will vote Liberal to try and prevent it. These are people who normally wouldn't vote for either party, but they are so convinced of the possible evils of Harper and the Conservatives, they will overlook the proven evils of Martin and the Liberals.

This is going to be a tight race.