Rational Radical

Sissy commented on someone whose story I posted in this thread.

Here’s the headline, to remind you of what kind of an animal the scumbag is: Killer can’t get parole for 11 years, judge rules - Donald Corey Martin serving life sentence for murder of deaf, schizophrenic man WHO WAS ALSO A FATHER

Sissy wrote that Martin’s troubled past made it clear that it was just a matter of time before he killed someone.  She then commented on the very difficult question of what happens when we lock up “good” people: They are likely to become not so good people.  I personally believe in sparing people from jail for relatively minor crimes so that they don’t become worse after serving time; make them pay direct restitution for however long it takes and if they fail to do that, then send them to jail.

However, I can tell you from my knowledge of and experiences with many people young and old, smart and stupid, hard time was the major factor in convincing them to turn their lives around.  Many of these people had been arrested many times before but were given second, third etc. chances and/or never really did “hard time” in really tough prisons.  Once they saw how bad the experience was, each one made a vow never to return.  And each one admitted that, until they had to do hard time, the fear of getting caught was never a deterrent from comitting crime because they knew (or believed) they could always weasel their way out of a tough sentence.

So yes, some hard-core criminals are never deterred from their criminal activities because prison is no worse than life on the outside (and sometimes even better!).  And yes, some “good” people might end up “turning bad”–or at least worse–after spending time in jail.  But we can’t ignore the many cases where the horrible experience of doing “hard time” is the only thing that convinces people with the capacity to change to actually change and stay that way.

Maybe it’s best to give such people–not those who’ve committed serious crimes–ONE chance only.  If they screw up again, then they get a taste of real prison life for a certain period of time: not long enough to leave them incapable of functioning properly in society upon their release, but long enough to make an impression; proper studies on the optimal length need to be conducted.  Of course, while doing time they need to have access to effective psychologists who might be able to help them deal with the issues that contributed to their criminal behaviours, and continued therapy needs to be a condition of their release, at least for a certain period of time.  Yes, this all costs money, but research does show that such a system can potentially save much more money than we’re wasting on the current system.

Hard-right Tory ideology has put the PM in a bind

Think of it as hubris. Stephen Harper’s governing Conservatives are so used to seeing the opposition parties back down that they think they can get away with anything.  It seems that this time the Conservatives are wrong.  The catalyst for this remarkable state of affairs, in which the opposition parties say they are planning to unite to bring down Harper’s government and replace it with one of their own, is Finance Minister Jim Flaherty’s economic update – a bizarre document that bears no relation to either reality or any of the current prime minister’s recent statements.

In that update, Flaherty downplays Harper’s fears of a lengthy economic depression, ignores his stricture not to cut back at a time when governments should be doing more and singles out seemingly random targets in an effort to solve problems that don’t exist.  Flaherty says he would cut back public service pay at a time when no one is suggesting that it is out of control. He wants to suspend the right to strike for federal employees even as the country enters a slump in which such strikes are highly unlikely. And he would put a crimp in pay equity – a program that requires Ottawa to pay women equal wages for work of equal value – although there is no evidence that the current system is either iniquitous or expensive.

[I’M NO FAN OF HARPER’S, BUT HE SHOULD NEVER BE CRITICIZED FOR TRYING TO CONTROL WASTEFUL GOVERNMENT SPENDING, WHICH WILL LIKELY HAPPEN AS HIS OPPONENTS TRY DESPERATELY TO GET AT HIM]

Crisis looms in welfare rolls — With reserve fund low, Toronto faces `ticking time bomb’ if economy forces spike in caseload

Toronto has no financial cushion to cover any increase in welfare costs sparked by a slumping economy. The city’s welfare reserve, a fund intended to take care of any spike in caseload, has been raided to meet day-to-day operating expenses. From a high of $94.4 million in 2003, the reserve has dropped to $8.3 million. In 1992, the last time the reserves were drained, Metro councillors raised taxes by 14.7 per cent.  “It’s patently irresponsible. There’s no cushion,” said Councillor Michael Walker (Ward 22 St. Paul’s), who wants city council to debate the issue.  “We’re all human and we all make mistakes but I don’t think people understand what could happen to us – and happen very fast – because we have nothing in the bank to cover us.” Councillors have been lulled into complacency because the number of cases has been stable, at about 75,000, he said. Walker said it appears no lessons have been learned from the recession of the early 1990s, when the monthly caseload rose to more than 100,000, which in part led what was then Metro council to hike property taxes.

[ONE MORE EXAMPLES OF WHY TORONTO CITY COUNCIL SUCKS. THEY TRULY ARE A BUNCH OF INCOMPETENTS WHO AREN’T HELPED BY THE PROVINCIAL AND FEDERAL GOVERNMENTS’ REFUSAL TO REVERSE SOME OF THE DOWNLOADING OF COSTS OVER THE PAST TWO DECADES…]

Report laments legal aid snag; Most cases go to junior defence lawyers who lack experience, creating `vicious circle,’ authors find

The defence of people charged in some of Ontario’s biggest criminal cases – as well as millions in public money – is being placed in the hands of unseasoned junior lawyers, some with less than four years experience, a new report says. More than half of all legal aid certificates issued in complex criminal cases are going to lawyers who have been practising fewer than ten years and lack the judgment needed to conduct trials in a focused manner, according to the report.

[YA GETS WHAT YA PAYS FOR….HOWEVER, I STILL SAY THE GOVERNMENT MUST COME IN AND REGULATE LEGAL FEES, SINCE NO ONE ON THE PLANET ASIDE FROM LAWYERS BELIEVES THEY ARE EVEN CLOSE TO BEING REASONABLE.]

I have been fascinated with UFOs and other supernatural phenomena since I was a small child and have watched countless hours of footage of some crazy stuff.  Most can be explained away but there are always cases that cannot be.  This link will take you to what I believe to be the most recent hard-to-explain-away video footage of UFOs.

From there you can find other related videos.  Unfortunately, idiots often put up garbage so it’s easyto waste time.  But this particular video and its follow-up here are pretty amazing.  If anyonecan find out more information supporting or disproving these videos as evidence of something we can’t explain, please post here.

This put a smile on my face:

2,700-year-old marijuana found in Chinese tomb — Stash seems to have been intended for buried shaman to use in the afterlife

OTTAWA – Researchers say they have located the world’s oldest stash of marijuana, in a tomb in a remote part of China. The cache of cannabis is about 2,700 years old and was clearly “cultivated for psychoactive purposes,” rather than as fibre for clothing or as food, says a research paper in the Journal of Experimental Botany. The 789 grams of dried cannabis was buried alongside a light-haired, blue-eyed Caucasian man, likely a shaman of the Gushi culture, near Turpan in northwestern China.

The extremely dry conditions and alkaline soil acted as preservatives, allowing a team of scientists to carefully analyze the stash, which still looked green though it had lost its distinctive odour. “To our knowledge, these investigations provide the oldest documentation of cannabis as a pharmacologically active agent,” says the newly published paper, whose lead author was American neurologist Dr. Ethan B. Russo.

Remnants of cannabis have been found in ancient Egypt and other sites, and the substance has been referred to by authors such as the Greek historian Herodotus. But the tomb stash is the oldest so far that could be thoroughly tested for its properties. The 18 researchers, most of them based in China, subjected the cannabis to a battery of tests, including carbon dating and genetic analysis. Scientists also tried to germinate 100 of the seeds found in the cache, without success.

The marijuana was found to have a relatively high content of THC, the main active ingredient in cannabis, but the sample was too old to determine a precise percentage. Researchers also could not determine whether the cannabis was smoked or ingested, as there were no pipes or other clues in the tomb of the shaman, who was about 45 years old.

The large cache was contained in a leather basket and in a wooden bowl, and was likely meant to be used by the shaman in the afterlife. “This materially is unequivocally cannabis, and no material has previously had this degree of analysis possible,” Russo said in an interview from Missoula, Mont.

“It was common practice in burials to provide materials needed for the afterlife. No hemp or seeds were provided for fabric or food. Rather, cannabis as medicine or for visionary purposes was supplied.” The tomb also contained bridles, archery equipment and a harp, confirming the man’s high social standing.

Russo is a full-time consultant with GW Pharmaceuticals, which makes Sativex, a cannabis-based medicine approved in Canada for pain linked to multiple sclerosis and cancer. The company operates a cannabis-testing laboratory at a secret location in southern England to monitor crop quality for producing Sativex, and allowed Russo use of the facility for tests on 11 grams of the tomb cannabis. Researchers needed about 10 months to cut red tape barring the transfer of the cannabis to England from China, Russo said. The inter-disciplinary study was published this week by the British-based botany journal, which uses independent reviewers to ensure the accuracy and objectivity of all submitted papers.

The substance has been found in two of the 500 Gushi tombs excavated so far in northwestern China, indicating that cannabis was either restricted for use by a few individuals or was administered as a medicine to others through shamans, Russo said. “It certainly does indicate that cannabis has been used by man for a variety of purposes for thousands of years.” Russo, who had a neurology practice for 20 years, has previously published studies examining the history of cannabis. “I hope we can avoid some of the political liabilities of the issue,” he said, referring to his latest paper. The region of China where the tomb is located, Xinjiang, is considered an original source of many cannabis strains worldwide.

I’ve got to stop listening to Talk Radio.  Both stations (if anyone knows of any others in the GTA region besides 640 and 1010, please let me know) reported on this Canadian animal who spent seven years in prison in India I believe for dousing his sister in law in gasoline and then setting her on fire to burn to death.  He then returns to Canada and applies to have his new wife come over.  Well, the one person in immigration Canada with two brain cells working raises a red flag and denies the wife entry, since we have rules against evil scum such as this monster.  But then the typical Canadian beuracracy takes over and determines that this rule applies only to blood relatives (and, apparently, spouses).  So now we’re going to bend over backwards and let this piece of shit argument for the death penalty live in marital bliss with what I can only imagine is a very stupid and/or pathetic bride (if she’s never heard of his past, or if she’s being forced to marry him, I take it back).

In other parts of the world, a woman who was scarred by (I think) her ex-bf when he threw acid in her face is asking for an eye for an eye and wants the courts to burn his eyes with acid so this other evil fuck can never harm another person.  As barbaric as it seems, I’m all for it.

Now back to the home of the (do whatever you want and even if you get caught we’ll soon set you) free, where school children have now learned via their trustees that, if you get caught breaking the law, all you have to do is re-pay some of what you stole and not even apologize for it and all is well in La-La Land called Canaduh.  Here’s the latest on a story I’ve written about several times:

Catholic trustees avoid police probe — No grounds for criminal investigation are found in report about questionable, prohibited expenses

Toronto’s shamed Catholic school trustees, stripped of power and pummelled by critics for an expense account scandal and not balancing their books, will not be investigated by Toronto police. Two weeks after Ontario’s education minister gave police a damning forensic audit of Toronto Catholic District School Board trustees that cited almost $30,000 in questionable and prohibited expenses from alcohol and vacations to even ice cream from Dairy Queen, police say they have assessed the report and found no grounds to investigate any trustees for criminal wrongdoing. While noting many of the trustees’ books were not in order, police said ineligible expenses have been repaid and the audit by Ernst and Young provided no evidence that further investigation is needed.

However Board Chair Catherine LeBlanc-Miller said she worries a police review that takes “two short weeks does not seem thorough to me. Will the public be satisfied that all matters have been truly resolved?  “A thorough investigation is what the public deserves and what my colleagues deserve. I worry now we are all still under a cloud.” Education Minister Kathleen Wynne said last night she is awaiting a written report from police, but will require trustees to pay back almost $20,000 in expenses the audit deemed “potentially” ineligible, largely for lack of proper documentation. “That money will have to be repaid, either voluntarily or by taking it out of their honorarium,” said Wynne.

Most trustees have paid back nearly $10,000 in ineligible expenses, but the audit found trustees Mary Cicogna, Joseph Martino and Sal Piccininni had charged the board for $18,857 in expenses the auditors deemed “potentially ineligible.” Piccininni’s questionable spending is the highest at $13,804 – largely for sports equipment and clothing from a company that has the same address as his constituency assistant.

Cicogna has repaid $373 for Internet gaming, luggage and a car wash, but had refused to repay $918 for a gold school-board ring, sun lamp and personalized licence plates, the report noted, because she “disagrees with our assessment of the expenses.”

Martino has paid back all of $1,783 he received for ineligible expenses, including tax software, dry cleaning, shoe repair and car washes, and said he would be prepared to repay $330 more in Highway 407 tolls and several meals outside Toronto. But he has said he does not owe $2,113 cited by the auditors as “potentially ineligible.”

Trustee Rob Davis questioned whether the process has been worth the money it has cost taxpayers, from the $250,000 provincial audit to the $190,000-a-year salary being paid to educator Norbert Hartmann to take over the financial reins of the board until the deficit has been wiped out. Wynne said it has not been a waste of money. “The auditor found there was abuse of public dollars, much of which has been paid back, and the whole exercise has been about restoring the integrity of this board. There are principles at stake here and we have a clearer notion now of the relationship between staff and trustees.”

And finally, here is the latest on another story I wrote about before.  This “woman” should be involuntarily sterilized:

Woman found guilty in cyber-bullying trial – But mistrial declared on conspiracy charge

A Missouri mother on trial in a landmark cyber-bullying case was convicted yesterday of only three minor offences for her role in a mean-spirited Internet hoax that apparently drove a 13-year-old girl to suicide. The federal jury could not reach a verdict on the main charge against 49-year-old Lori Drew – conspiracy – and rejected three other felony counts of accessing computers without authorization to inflict emotional harm.

Instead, the panel found Drew guilty of three misdemeanour offences of accessing computers without authorization. Each count is punishable by up to a year in prison and a $100,000 fine. Drew could have faced 20 years in jail if convicted of the four original charges. U.S. District Judge George Wu declared a mistrial on the conspiracy count. There was no immediate word on whether prosecutors would retry her.

Tina Meier, the mother of the dead girl, said Drew deserves the maximum of three years behind bars. “It’s not about vengeance; it’s about justice,” she said. Prosecutors said Drew and two others created a fictitious 16-year-old boy on MySpace and sent flirtatious messages from him to teenage neighbour, Megan Meier. The “boy” then dumped Megan in 2006, saying, “The world would be a better place without you.” Megan promptly hanged herself with a belt in her bedroom closet.

Prosecutors said Drew wanted to humiliate Megan for saying mean things about Drew’s teenage daughter. They said Drew knew Megan suffered from depression and was emotionally fragile. Drew was not directly charged with causing Megan’s death. Instead, prosecutors indicted her under the federal Computer Fraud and Abuse Act. Among other things, Drew was charged with conspiring to violate the fine print in MySpace’s terms-of-service agreement, which prohibits the use of phony names and harassment of other MySpace members.

I’m curious to see people’s reaction to this story.  I’ve heard such conflicting information over the value/effectiveness of windmills.  I would personally not mind waking up to find a farm of such things near my house, as long as they caused no damage to anything, if they are as effective as claimed, which does seem to be the case in Europe.

Wind farm debate far from over — Councillor enters fray between locals, activists over energy proposal off Scarborough Bluffs
City Councillor Paul Ainslie has demanded another public meeting on a controversial wind turbine project, after complaining that bused-in activists made him wait more than 2 1/2 hours to ask a question on Monday night. Many of his constituents from the Scarborough Bluffs area left that public consultation early – some elderly and exhausted, others simply fed up, Ainslie said. “It was frustrating,” he said. “It was about 40 minutes before someone from the affected area actually got to a microphone.”

The meeting was Toronto Hydro’s second attempt to hold a public consultation after an earlier event in a small church hall left about 200 people outside. But Ainslie says his constituents deserve yet another meeting because they were denied a voice by the sheer number of environmentalists, students and union members who turned up to support the proposed offshore power project. David O’Brien, chief executive of Toronto Hydro, promised Monday a meeting for those who lived near the bluffs would be arranged.

Roughly 1,000 people overflowed Sir Wilfrid Laurier Collegiate’s auditorium. Attendance swelled under efforts by environmental groups and unions to bus in people favouring the project. “Some of my residents ended up in the overflow room,” Ainslie complained, noting that many of his senior residents could not physically stay for the entire meeting, which began at 7:30 p.m. and ended at roughly 11:20 p.m.

The project, which involves testing wind off the Scarborough Bluffs to determine feasibility of a wind farm over a potential 26-kilometre span 2 to 4 kilometres offshore, has crystallized into a case of local residents pitted against a broader coalition of progressive activists. Some residents fear soiled natural beauty, lowered property values and outsiders lecturing them on sacrificing for the greater good. Activists view the entire affair as another example of the NIMBY (not-in-my-backyard) principle wrecking sound environmental policies.

Brenda Sun, 51, arrived here 21 years ago from China, with only $90 U.S., and vowed to buy a home in Guildwood. In July 2008, “I realized my dream,” she said. She walks along the lake every morning and greets her neighbours. “You need to live there. You love the area and then you can say something from the bottom of your heart. It’s not politics,” she said. “I think, Canadian people – you’re born here, you live here, you see this every day – get used to the beauty and you even take it for granted … We shouldn’t damage this beauty.”

Carolyn Egan, president of the United Steelworkers Toronto Area Council, attended the meeting and told the Star yesterday many of her members live nearby. She stressed that building green technology, such as wind turbines, could offset the immense job loss in North America’s manufacturing sector. “Obviously, the residents have a right to their perspective, certainly,” Egan said. “But I think a lot of other people came out to the meeting because they’re concerned about the future of the Toronto area, the future of the country – the environmental future, the economic future.”

Toronto Hydro and Ainslie’s office have discussed another meeting, but no date has been set. The plan has the backing of other politicians, including Premier Dalton McGuinty, who, speaking to reporters yesterday, said the province needs to be more accepting when it comes to the future of power generation. “We have wind and sun. We have to raise our level of acceptance for those kinds of structures, which are harnessing clean sources of renewable energy,” he said. McGuinty acknowledged that residents are concerned. “I understand that. But we have some tough choices to make. We need to open up our minds to these possibilities.”

This story should be a positive thing but the fact is that it’s far too many years and far too many victims too late.  I just saw the Attorney General’s announcement on TV; does he think taking 5 minutes to spit out 100 words adds gravitas to his announcement?  And before any of them strain their arms patting themselves on the back, they should look at how many experts and non-experts have been calling for such common sense changes for over 20 years.  Instead of praising themselves, everyone involved in the government and courts should personally apologize to every victim of their incompetence, apathy, ignorance, etc. over the years.  Read on:

Changes to family law aimed at better protecting women, children — Death of Katelynn Sampson weighed on attorney general and others who examined child custody laws in Ontario

Proposed tough changes to family law in Ontario — from beefed-up requirements for those seeking custody of children to easier to obtain restraining orders and new rules on how to divvy up pension assets — were announced this morning by the provincial attorney general. The multi-faceted family law reform package is aimed at better protecting the rights of women, children and families in times of breakdown, said Attorney General Chris Bentley. “Families in the course of break-up where one lives in fear, where children live in fear, need the legal supports to protect them,” Bentley said at a news conference at the YWCA on Woodlawn Ave. E.

“Our children, our most precious, need to know they’ll be properly and fully protected when the question of custody arises.” The tragedies of the past weighed on Bentley and others as they made the reforms. The death of 7-year-old Katelynn Sampson last summer was at the forefront of Bentley’s mind as they examined child custody in Ontario and then came up with suggested changes.

Katelynn’s battered body was found on Aug. 3 in the Parkdale-area apartment she shared with her custodial parents. A judge had granted Donna Irving and Warren Johnson custody as Katelynn’s mother battled a drug addiction. Irving and Johnson are both charged with first-degree murder. A complaint has been filed with the Ontario Judicial Council against the justice in the case, who apparently awarded custody of the girl without investigating Irving, who has a history of drugs, prostitution and violence.

The Star reported on Saturday that Bentley would introduce legislation that toughens how custody is awarded. The proposed changes include detailed, sworn child care plans from those seeking custody for both parents and non-parents; for non-family members seeking custody, they must submit to police checks and submit a letter from Children’s Aid outlining concerns, if any, the society may have about that person’s ability to parent. Making sure families are safe from violence by easier access to restraining orders is also key, said Bentley.

For more than 10 years, from different inquests and many recommendations, law officials have known the restraining order system needs to be better, he said. “It can be better, it must be better and today we are going to fix it,” he said. Reforms to the restraining order system replace the existing provision in family statutes with two key provisions, he said. First, there is a new restraining order protection that will be expanded to include those who have lived in a family relationship less than three years. “It will make available restraining orders from a family judge where a person lives in reasonable fear for their safety or the safety of their children,” he said. “It will apply to all - men and women - and available on an emergency basis.” Any breach of the restraining order can be prosecuted under the criminal code.

Second, judges presiding over difficult family proceedings will be given more powers to “decrease the temperature”, Bentley said. In some cases, judges can order the parties not to communicate with each other during litigation. “(This) provide judges with the powers that can be enforced by means of contempt to make sure difficult family proceedings are as calm as they can be.”

In an effort to clarify and speed up the division of assets when a family breaks up, the government should assist and not get in the way, Bentley said. To that end, the proposed legislation would clarify how and when pensions are divided. This would save court time and the cost of hiring experts. Inside the legislation is a formula that allows for a simple way for separating couples to find out the value of pension benefits they are entitled to.

The changes were welcomed by many groups and advocates for women’s rights. “We can no longer ignore the fact that the safety of women and children in this province must be paramount,” said Zahra Dhanani, legal director for the Metropolitan Action Committee on Violence Against Women and Children. “The reforms being introduced today have been in the works for years and we are glad to see them come to fruition.”

At the bottom is a silly little news story about the Vatican finally coming to peace with the man of peace who once famously dissed them.  More important, I implore everyone to watch the 2006 documentary, Deliver us from Evil, about a monster who truly deserves to die the most painful death possible.

Although this monster is now living in Ireland and seems like a harmless, pleasant old man–on the outside only; inside he is still evil personified–the equally horrible Argument for a Painful, Torturous Death keeps becoming more and more rich and powerful within the church and the USA. Forget about forgiving Lennon, you evil monsters.  Deal with the crisis within your own evil institution!

Vatican forgives Lennon for Jesus quip

VATICAN CITY–The Vatican’s newspaper has finally forgiven John Lennon for declaring the Beatles were more famous than Jesus Christ, calling the remark a “boast” by a young man grappling with sudden fame. The comment by Lennon to a London newspaper in 1966 infuriated Christians, particularly in the United States, some of whom burned Beatles’ albums in huge pyres. But time apparently heals all wounds.

“The remark by John Lennon, which triggered deep indignation mainly in the United States, after many years sounds only like a ‘boast’ by a young working-class Englishman faced with unexpected success, after growing up in the legend of Elvis and rock and roll,” Vatican daily Osservatore Romano said. The article, marking the 40th anniversary of the Beatles’ “The White Album”, went on to praise the pop band. “The fact remains that 38 years after breaking up, the songs of the Lennon-McCartney brand have shown an extraordinary resistance to the passage of time, becoming a source of inspiration for more than one generation of pop musicians,” it said.

I’ve always liked Alex Jones for being a shit disturber (you may remember him from his infamous infiltration of the “Bohemian Grove,” a truly creepy, well documented ritual among the elites of the world.  Here’s Richard Nixon talking about it; for the record, the homosexuality isn’t the creepy part…it’s the mock human sacrifices that should worry you).  He has also made many sage points based on some pretty good predictions, including 9/11 months before it happened (he was quite precise in predicting how it would happen) and the recent economic crisis and subsequent bailout (again, he was specific/precise).

The problem is that some of his guests are truly out of their minds and he treats them with the same respect and gives them the same credence he gives to his guests with legitimate points to make.  So it’s very easy to dismiss him as a wing-nut conspiracy theorist.  However, anyone who knows his/her history knows that so many massive conspiracies have gone down in virtually every country throughout history, so the true wing-nuts are those who deny that conspiracies do exist.

In any event, watching the heads of the “Big 3″ automakers in the US fly separately in their own private jets to beg for $25 Billion was pathetic and proved just how out of touch they are.  If each of them and each of their top earners took a pay cut that would leave them as “only” millionaires, thousands of people could keep their jobs.  And if they actually learned to adjust with the changing market, things wouldn’t be as dire as they are.

But Alex Jones has been talking about a global conspiracy–THE NEW WORLD ORDER–for years, and this recent global crisis–typified by the Big 3–plays perfectly into the conspiracy.  Now, some of these conspiracy theories involve aliens (lizard people) walking among us, and I’m not ready to buy into that.  And I truly hope this is NOT some kind of conspiracy because there are many points that scare the be-jeezus out of me.  But I will never allow fear or anxiety to keep me from at least exploring/investigating certain possibilities, no matter how terrifying they might be.  Again, Alex Jones promotes some pretty “out there” theories, many of which I don’t buy into.

But listen to him talk about this economic meltdown and you might get a bit concerned.  Or a lot…Please listen if you dare: http://www.infowars.com/?p=6125

There really isn’t much more to say about this story yet, other than to stress something I’ve said often, which is that, whenever a tragedy occurs, it’s often irrelevant to hear friends and family claim that certain people were this way or that way, or that they would never do this or that…

Keith Delong killed wife and children, sources say — Autopsies scheduled for weekend expected to confirm that family patriarch took his own life after slaying others

Autopsies to be conducted over the weekend are expected to confirm that the patriarch of a four-person family discovered dead yesterday committed suicide after taking the lives of his wife and two adult children, police sources have told the Star. Post mortem examinations are scheduled for Saturday. They are expected to illuminate that Keith Delong took his own life after killing his wife Wanda, 64, and their two children: Elizabeth, 41, and Richard, 38. The four family members were discovered dead inside a small, quiet bungalow at 12 Welwyn Ave., near Ellesmere and Markham Rd. in Scarborough. Homicide Det. Sgt. Pauline Gray confirmed earlier today at a press conference that the killer was inside the house and there was no threat to public safety. This incident is being treated as a triple murder-suicide, she said.

Yesterday, the four people were found dead in the home after a note was seen on the door warning, “Do not enter, call police.” The victims have still not been formally identified, but neighbours say they are Keith and Wanda Delong, who owned the home, and their two adult children, Richard and Elizabeth. Elizabeth’s husband, James Tompkins, was taken in for questioning by police yesterday morning, but was released without charges early today. Police said yesterday that the incident appeared to be one of family violence. This morning, they classified three of the four deaths as homicides, but did not immediately say which of the family members was believed to have committed the killings.

“It’s shocking,” said Seth Rogers, who said he has lived next to the family for more than 30 years. “It’s terrible. They were quiet, nice people.  I seen (Tompkins) weeping and the cops came and took him under arrest, in handcuffs,” Rogers said. “He just kept looking over at the house.” At about 7: 30 a.m. yesterday, Rogers had become suspicious as he got ready for work. It was the unusual quiet about the Delong residence that caught his attention. “There was no noise,” he said. “Keith usually comes out and feeds his birds and walks the dog.”

Throughout the day yesterday yellow police tape cordoned off a block of homes on Welwyn Ave. Similar tape was strung around a Whitby apartment complex where Tompkins and his wife own an apartment. Neighbours said they had been married for a couple of years, but had been together for more than a decade. Tompkins, a welder, bought the apartment in 1997, then added Elizabeth to the title in 2003, using her maiden name. Her Suzuki Sidekick was parked in front of her parents’ bungalow yesterday. Tompkins’s Sidekick was parked just in front of it. Neighbours on Welwyn Ave. said Elizabeth had arrived at her parents’ home on Tuesday evening to help them get ready for a last-minute trip to New Mexico, where her 92-year-old grandmother is dying. The grandmother, who lives in New Mexico, broke her hip several months ago, but took a turn for the worse in the past few weeks, said neighbour and close friend Peter Lemonides.

He said Keith Delong had asked him two days ago to look out for their son Richard, 38, who lived at home and had a chronic illness, described as a “degenerative bone disease.” The parents had planned to be gone for a week or two. “It’s unbelievable,” Lemonides said of the tragedy in his quiet neighbourhood. “I didn’t hear anything. … I’m the one in the neighbourhood who knows what’s going on. And I was closest with them. And I didn’t hear anything.” When he went to bed Tuesday night, Lemonides didn’t see Tompkins’ vehicle out front. He assumes it arrived in the early morning.

While Tompkins was at 43 Division police station yesterday, a woman identifying herself as his sister said her brother hadn’t heard from his wife Tuesday night and got worried, so he drove to Toronto to check on her. That’s when he found the note, she said, and called police. Back on Welwyn Ave., still reeling from the news, neighbours sifted through their memories of the family for clues. As for the parents, Keith, a retired IBM employee, and Wanda, a homemaker, were “wonderful people,” their neighbours said. Wanda’s family is from Quebec while Keith’s family lives in the United States. Tidy, quiet and friendly, they would walk their caramel-coloured poodle Charlotte and help friends with odd jobs around the home and yard, such as cutting hedges or mending broken doors. “And they loved to go camping,” Lemonides said. “Real outdoor people. They had a trailer they would use.” The couple, who had guns on display in their home, were avid fisherman and nature lovers, Lemonides added.

Brenda Whynot, who lives down the street, said Keith and Wanda brought over warm cookies when they moved in nearly three years ago - they were “that kind of people.  They seemed to be one happy little family,” she said. “They were great people.” She added that in the last few months the family had been clearing out their home, selling furniture and other household paraphernalia. Neighbour Philip Matthew said Keith had been dropping off chandeliers and other items at his home, where he runs a small recycling business. “They were getting rid of a lot of stuff,” Whynot said of the Delongs. “It wasn’t typical.” Others suggested the couple was running out of money. On Sept. 30, the Delongs remortgaged for $240,000 the house they had bought in 1974.

No one on the street heard any unusual noise Tuesday night - no gunshots, no screams - and they were all horrified by the news. Police canvassed the area yesterday and spent time scouring the Delongs’ back porch where a large saw hung down from the floor. “Keith was so tidy,” Rogers said. “He never would have left that saw like that. It’s weird.”