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The Dunstan Times Webnews

oldnews2008

 
DUNSTAN TIMES GETS SCOOP ON PUFFIN POOP!
The image of a puffin 'pooping' on Liberal Leader Stephane Dion's shoulder was removed from a Conservative attack website.The image of a puffin 'pooping' on Liberal Leader Stephane Dion's shoulder was removed Tuesday from a Conservative attack website (shown above).

SORRY BUT IT IS THE ANNIVERSARY..........9/11Excluding the 19 hijackers, 2,974 people died in the attacks. Another 24 are missing and presumed dead. The overwhelming majority of casualties were civilians, including nationals of over 90 different countries. In addition, the death of at least one person from lung disease was ruled by a medical examiner to be a result of exposure to dust from the World Trade Center's collapse, as rescue and recovery workers were exposed to airborne contaminants following the buildings' collapse.Image sequence of United Flight 175 impacting Two World Trade Center. Source: CNN Mohamed Atta, tactical leader of the 9/11 attacks Mohamed Atta, tactical leader of the 9/11 attacks. The US responded to the attacks by declaring a War on Terrorism, launching an invasion of Afghanistan to depose the Taliban, who had harbored al-Qaeda terrorists, and enacting the USA PATRIOT Act. Many other nations also strengthened their anti-terrorism legislation and expanded law enforcement powers. Stock exchanges closed for almost a week, and posted enormous losses upon reopening, especially in the airline and insurance industries. The economy of Manhattan ground to a halt, as billions of dollars in office space was damaged or destroyed.A variety of conspiracy theories question the mainstream account of the September 11, 2001 attacks in the United States. These theories assert that the official report on the events is not sufficiently forthright, thorough or truthful. Many critics allege that individuals in the knew of the impending attacks and intentionally failed to act on that knowledge. Some critics state that the attacks could have been a false flag operation carried out by high-level officials in the U.S. government who may have engaged in compartmentalization to keep knowledge of their actions limited. The common suspected motives were the use of the attacks as a pretext to justify overseas wars, to facilitate increased military spending, and to restrict domestic civil liberties.

Tuesday, Jan 13 
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A diverse group of Jewish Canadian women are currently occupying the
Israeli consulate in Toronto. This protest they say is against the on-going Israeli assault on the people of Gaza. They are demanding an end to Israeli
aggression and justice for the Palestinian people.

 
Friday, Jan 9 
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The world is watching - add your photo Update from the UN climate summit 
half way through the UN Meeting on climate change in Poznan, Poland and leaders are still stalling on the action plan they've promised for climate change, the world is watching. Almost 13,000 people have already responded, and we'll be projecting your photos during the Global Day of Action tomorrow, make sure the delegates know it is time for them to GET SERIOUS -- the world is watching!

Police Seek Suspect Accused Of Making Fraudulent Purchases At LCBO StoresPolice Seek Suspect Accused Of Making Fraudulent Purchases At LCBO Stores. Police are on the hunt for a man they claim used fake ID and stolen credit cards to buy alcohol and other items over the course of two months in the fall. According to investigators, the suspect went to LCBO and electronics stores in the Yonge and Bloor area in October and November. They allege he used the false and stolen cards to buy items.

Smoke emerges from behind a dome on the Taj Hotel in Mumbai, India, Wednesday, Nov. 26, 2008. Teams of heavily armed gunmen stormed luxury hotels, a popular tourist attraction and a crowded train station in at least seven attacks in India's financial capital, killing at least 78 people and wounding at least 200, officials said. The gunmen were specifically targeting Britons and Americans, media reports said, and may be holding hostages. The gunmen also attacked police headquarters in south Mumbai, the area where most of the attacks, which began late Wednesday and continued into Thursday morning, took place. (AP Photo/Gautam Singh) Religious Fanatics See Death and Destruction as Divine

What is wrong with mankind? Throughout history he has blamed God for the hatred in his heart. Religion teaches that God creates, yet these men destroy. Certainly they are Satan in the purest sense; the opposite of God. I tried to blame the Islamic religion, but Irish Catholics, Pakistani Hindus and even Burmese Buddhists are all guilty of becoming evil- minded degenerates. No, to me, it is like some self destructive gene that eventually will end mankind unless ordinary people use extra-ordinary courage to overcome these tendencies. We used to rely on law, but even most law everywhere is completely corrupted. So, without individual fortitude, we will never progress off this planet. Rather we will self destruct. 

Ovechkin joins Eastern all-starsOvechkin is the league's reigning scoring champion and MVP, and is tied for the lead in goals with 27. He was passed over in fan voting in favour of Pittsburgh Penguins' young guns Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin, and the Montreal Canadiens' Alex Kovalev before the NHL named him to the team Thursday. The all-star game is Jan. 24 in Montreal, where Kovalev will be joined in the Eastern starting lineup by teammates Andrei Markov and Mike Komisarek on defence and Carey Price in goal. Also selected as reserves on Thursday were Dany Heatley of the Ottawa Senators at forward, and Tomas Kaberle of the Toronto Maple Leafs on the blue-line.

Canada signs cluster-bomb ban
OSLO, Norway - Scores of countries, including Canada, began signing a treaty banning cluster bombs Wednesday in a move that supporters hope will shame the United States, Russia, Israel and China and other non-signers into abandoning weapons blamed for maiming and killing civilians

 Tibetan exile leaders opened weeklong discussions Monday over the direction of their struggle against China, after the Dalai Lama, the region's exiled spiritual leader, expressed frustration over years of fruitless talks with Beijing. The meeting in northern India, called by the Dalai Lama, follows the exiled Buddhist leader's comments last month bemoaning the lack of any progress by his envoys in talks with the Chinese government since 2002. Chinese officials said no progress was made in the talks two weeks ago, calling the Tibetan stance "a trick" and saying it lacked sincerity. "The Dalai Lama or the Tibetan government-in-exile cannot be held responsible for the failure of the Chinese to respond to our sincere and genuine attempts," said Dalai Lama envoy Lodi Gyari, who has participated in all eight rounds of talks since 2002. "The Chinese leadership keeps on saying that the doors to a dialogue are always open but they haven't shown any willingness to take any step, however small, forward," he said in the statement, the first by envoys since the latest round of talks.
 
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-7 °C
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Prob of Precip
30 %
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80 %

GOOD-BYE MR. HARPER
Harper asks GG to shut down Parliament
Stephen Harper  prorogues Parliament   It's a bid to avoid Monday's non-confidence vote that would bring down his minority Conservative government. Harper, his job on the line, spent more than 45 minutes at Rideau Hall talking with Michaelle Jean. The Governor General has already been consulting with constitutional experts about her options. The opposition coalition has told Jean that Harper no longer enjoys the confidence of the House of Commons and asked her to refuse prorogation. The Liberal and NDP leaders have requested a meeting with Jean before she made her decision, but were rebuffed.Liberal leader Stephane Dion reads his speech in reaction to the prime ministers televised speech to the nation from his office on Parliament Hill in Ottawa Wednesday Dec. 3, 2008. (THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld)  People are dumping on Dion I believe, in an attempt to minimize the powerful front the coalition has. Detractors talked about him being ten minutes late to air. So what! They mentioned poor tape quality; bah humbug! The message was what got me as good stuff, where to me, Harper was full of hot air with no substance. Looking at the people who will run the coalition, I can confidently comment that they are far superior to Harpers idea of a cabinet. Look at Tony Clement for instance a lousy back-water yes man with optirectimitus, a man who while MPP for Brampton could not even peer over his desk to see or change the troubles here; how is he going to solve our nations industrial woes. What qualifies him to this job? Nothing! It’s just a reward for a yes man with optirectimitus and thus spelling doom for industry’s true troubles. I hope for the coalition’s success and to see Jack Layton handling the job as planned by Dion. Viva La Coalition!

Premier's Kids Picketed Their Dad To Change New Ontario Licence RulesPremier's Kids Picketed Their Dad ...On Monday we told you about the major reversal by the Ontario Liberals to one controversial provision in their graduated licence law.
 pressure from the Premier's own family. Under the original plan, new drivers wouldn't be allowed to carry more than one other non-relative passenger under the age of 19 in their cars. But teens complained it was an unfair restriction that would have seriously impacted their ability to have car pools, meet for recreational purposes or give lifts to friends who'd had a bit too much to drink. A Facebook page protesting the idea garnered 150,000 people within just a few days and despite assurances from Transport Minister Jim Bradley that the government wouldn't change its mind, it did, officially dropping the rule from the bill. Dalton McGuinty has revealed one of the many reasons he insisted the alteration be carried out. His own kids went after him on the issue. "We overreached ourselves," he confesses. "When my own kids began to picket my own home, I knew we'd overstepped. But, you know, I got hit with this everywhere. I'm talking about the grocery store, going for walks. You know, so every once in a while, you step in it."The other changes - including a zero blood alcohol limit and automatic licence suspensions for speeding - will remain

Teen's Friend Foils School Shooting Murder Plot Friend Foils School Shooting Murder Plot....It could have been another event like Columbine. But unlike the worst high school attack in North American history, this one was stopped before it started, thanks to the intervention of a worried friend who did the right thing. Police near Philadelphia, have arrested a 15-year-old boy after he allegedly stole his father's guns to use them in a suicide attack against his classmates. Cops say the teen was packing an arsenal that included a revolver, two semi-automatic pistols and ammunition taken from his dad's gun locker in the basement of the family home. But the boy made one key mistake and it may have saved dozens of lives - including his own. After gathering all the weapons, authorities allege the student gave them to a friend and told him to take them to the school for him. The frightened pal told his stepmother about the items instead and the alarmed mom quickly put her son in her car and drove him to a river, telling him to throw the arsenal into the rushing waters. Police divers later recovered them all. Meanwhile, the father discovered his guns were missing and reported it to police. When they began to investigate, they put the pieces of this emerging puzzle together and honed in on the only person who had immediate access to the arms: the man's son.

Toronto has unveiled a new "secret weapon" in the war on winter. Just in time.
  This new machine has special retractable snowplow blades, made to adjust to any street size, making it possible for plows to go where no equipment has gone before. As a bonus, it also lifts its loads to the side, so it won't leave one of those huge piles in front of your driveway!

Can Lance Armstrong Make A Comeback At 36? Can Lance Armstrong Make A Comeback At 36? Look out France, Lance Armstrong is making a comeback. The 36-year-old Armstrong is breaking out of his three-year retirement and aiming to win yet another Tour de France in 2009, a move sure to shake up things across the Atlantic and give a boost to a sport that has missed its biggest star. In a formal statement Tuesday, Armstrong called his comeback an attempt to raise global awareness in his fight against cancer. Just as likely, it's also about his relentless desire to compete and win, especially at the Tour, which he won a record seven times from 1999-2005.

Ring Lost For 21 Years Found Inside A Fish Man Recovers Ring Lost For 21 Years Inside A FishWhere had it been all these years? The incredulous owner caught an 8 lbs. bass and found the keepsake inside of it. It was in incredibly good condition after all those years in the fish's guts - so good, in fact, that the angler who made the catch of the day was able to read the inscription on it.

 

Nick Mallet is a very focused and determined man whom I met in Quebec City. He has cycled all over the Americas and took picture below in his recent cross Canada cycle; raising funds for cancer research.

His amazing vovages can be followed@ his website www.nicksultraadventures

Nick and his friend Barb from Penticton.

He says there is no better way to get in shape for the race than to bike across the country.... In Q.C. I sat around the hostel and met some of the most interesting characters that I'd met in quite some time. It was great to be talking to people who were excited about every day and were so positive about life. Just what I needed to bring me out of my depressed funk. Most of the next two days were spent walking around the streets of Quebec City taking in the sights and watching all the entertainment that the city was providing at various venues around town. I could quite happily live in this place as I just love the whole feel of the old town and the palpable history of the place.

 

 Patti Regan stands in front of her house, once the home of Neil Young  Music legend Bob Dylan wanted to see how another rock icon grew up when he was in town earlier this month. Dylan casually pulled up in a cab outside John Kiernan's duplex in River Heights on Nov. 2 prior to a performance at MTS Centre to sneak a peek of the place that Winnipeg-raised music legend Neil Young once called home. "We had just got back from grocery shopping," said Kiernan, 53, a landscape architect, who lives with his partner Patti Regan and his two daughters at their home on Grosvenor Avenue. Kiernan said the family -- who have lived in the home since 2001 -- is used to having Young fans dropping by to see where Young grew up during his Kelvin High School years. But the guys stopping by that day seemed older than the usual curiosity-seekers. "So these guys were standing at the front of the house about to get back into their taxi. I noticed he was wearing these expensive-looking leather pants tucked inside these world-class boots. Then I studied his face and tried to keep cool," said Kiernan, who only then realized one of the curiosity-seekers was Dylan. "He was very articulate and introspective." Eventually, Kiernan invited Dylan -- who was unshaven and had his toque pulled down -- and his associate inside for a quick tour of the two-storey house, where Dylan asked "thoughtful questions" about how much the place had changed since Young lived there. Kiernan showed him Young's old bedroom, which now belongs to his 16-year-old daughter Julie and is painted bright pink. "When he said 'Would Neil have looked out this window when he played his guitar?' I realized what a spiritual experience he was having at that moment, knowing that he would have been doing the same thing at the same time in Minnesota," said Kiernan. Kiernan told Dylan, 67, the only room that would have changed since the 1960s was the kitchen, which has since become a laundry room, and of course the pink paint!

 

I

 
Four things that come and go..name 'em in our latest survey...answer listed near bottom of paper.

 

LONDON, Ont. - The endless enigma that is Bob Dylan was back at the John Labatt Centre last night. This time, Dylan had an old friend Toronto blues rocker Paul James onstage for the start of his two-hour set before 3,200 fans. Early in the set, the rock icon with the calculated squawk for a voice had already played completely reworked versions of such Dylan new and old classics as I'll Be Your Baby Tonight, Masters of War and The Levee's Gonna Break before 3,200 fans. Having James along to fire up the start of the show wasn't the only positive difference between last night's concert and Dylan's 2006 visit to the downtown London arena.  This time, Dylan seemed more animated, getting out from behind his keyboard to wail on harmonica a lot and gesturing encouragement to crackerjack band. Dylan's keyboard, which was missing in action last time, was prominent, recalling the organ sounds of Al Kooper on Dylan's 1960s classics and Augie Meyers on newer albums.

Cops Collar 73 Suspects In $1 Million-Plus Coke And Pot RingCops Collar 73 Suspects In $1 Million-Plus Coke And Pot Ring.  Durham Regional Police and the Canadian Border Agency silently gathered the evidence they needed to take down a huge drug trafficking ring, which they allege was responsible for importing over a million dollars worth of coke, marijuana and cash into the GTA. They also recovered a loaded .357 magnum handgun. In all, 73 people are facing a wide variety of charges, ranging from trafficking to gun possession. And some are also charged with assaulting police, testimony to what happened when the law came to get them. At least 21 of those collared are from Toronto, while others hail from Oshawa and Ajax.
 
Fri, Dec 5 
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Sunny  
Light snow 
A few flurries 
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High
-4 °C
-4 °C
-5 °C
-6 °C
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-7 °C
-11 °C
-5 °C
-14 °C
Prob of Precip
20 %
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20 %
TOO Sexy for my....
Victoria's Secret models Extra jump rope, no carbs for Victoria's Secret lingerie models
 Victoria's Secret .... you're nervous because it's lingerie and it's on TV," says Kroes, whose outfits include a frothy pink ballerina ensemble and a Greek goddess get-up. "There are so many people seeing you live. It's not like a picture when there is Photoshop after." To prepare, Dutch beauty Kroes, who says she normally eats what she wants because she exercises often, goes on a strict sugar-and carb-free meal plan and spends many extra minutes a day jumping rope. "For other fashion shows you can be skinny, but for Victoria's Secret, you need definition," says Kroes, 23
Chris Bosh poured in 39 points and grabbed 11 rebounds to lead the Raptors to a 93-86 victory over the Charlotte Bobcats Toronto Raptors forward Chris Bosh, left, and teammate Kris Humphries, right, battle for the ball with Charlotte Bobcats forward Gerald Wallace, center, during the first half of an NBA basketball game in Toronto on Wednesday, Nov. 26, 2008. (AP Photo/The Canadian Press, Nathan Denette)The 24-year-old has been enjoying a career season and it was more of the same Wednesday, as Bosh looked fierce and focused and played all but three minutes of the game, shooting 15-for-20 on the night and making nine of 10 free throw attempts. "It's something Chris and I used to talk about all the time, I used to tell him, `the great ones walk on the floor every night and they think they're the best player on the court,"' Mitchell said. "It's just an air of confidence, it's mental. We know he's got the talent, it's just coming focused and ready to go every night, and learning how to pull your teammates along with you." Bosh, whose 27.6 points per game rank him third in the league in scoring, said his confidence is at an all-time high right now. "I think I'm just figuring a couple of things out, I'm trying to have a little bit of confidence in myself, and every night I'm trying to bring it to the table," said Bosh, who matched his career high of 42 points in last Friday's loss to New Jersey. "When I'm settling, I have to keep that in mind, be aggressive, get to the free throw line and take my jumpers when I'm open and just move quick and fast." He said he took the frustration from the losses to Boston and New Jersey and channelled it into working harder in practice and setting an example for his teammates.

 The Moon Venus and Jupiter on Monday night, Dec. 1st, the three worlds will gather in a patch of sky less than 3o across. The celestial triangle will be visible around the world, even from light polluted cities. Don't miss it!"The mammoth skewering the Moon is one of dozens of massive sculptures at Galleta Meadows depicting animals that once dominated the desert

PrestinGallery Image 
September
Amanda, also known as Miss Hooters Canada 2008, plans to become an entrepreneur. But for now, this 20-year-old Virgo is spending her spare time shopping.
Who would someone as sultry as Prestin pick as her hero? Norma Jeane Baker (Marilyn Munro), of course. But Carmen Electra is the object of her secret celebrity crush
METROMIX.COMhonda fc concept la auto show The L.A. Auto Show runs through Thanksgiving weekend, which seems appropriate, because there is a lot of turkey on the show’s menu. From Honda’s hydrogen-powered hypercar -- a guess that’s tofurkey, of a sort -- to a huge, steroid infused, poultry-yellow Rolls-Royce that is lacking only a wattle, the show’s collection of large, flightless birds is certainly worth a, um, gander.
 
 
 
 
 
Flaherty grins and bears opposition threats to bring government down over fiscal report card. (Tom Hanson, The Canadian Press)

 



Photo details: Canon EOS 30D, 10mm, f/3.5, ISO 800, 20 sec

"November has been a good month for auroras," says Serre. "We've had five clear nights and I saw the Northern Lights every time." Serre's home in far-northern Quebec lies under Earth's auroral oval, a glowing ring around the North Pole where auroras are almost constantly active.

The Odd Couple: Obama Meets Bush At The White HouseThe Odd Couple:  Bush welcomed Barak Obama to the White House on Monday, visiting for nearly two hours and offering the nation a glimpse of a new first family. While Obama and Bush chatted in the Oval Office, Laura Bush and Obama's wife, Michelle, talked in the White House residence. The president later escorted his successor to his limousine. Obama's wife was leaving separately after her discussions with Laura Bush. I'm sure they talked drapes. None of the four spoke to reporters. It was Obama's first visit to the Oval Office. The agenda was kept private, although he and Bush were expected to discuss their transition of power and such pressing issues as the war in Iraq and the country's economic downturn. Mrs. Bush and Mrs. Obama greeted each other warmly while the president and his successor exchanged smiles and a handshake. Taking a bit of prerogative, the president-elect put his left hand on Bush's back as the two couples entered the Diplomatic Reception Room.

 The cost of gas is seen at a station in Toronto, Tuesday, Nov. 4, 2008. The cost of gas is seen at a station in TorontoThe cheapest gas in Toronto is about 83.5 cents a litre in the city's east end, according to gasbuddy.com. The lowest price in Ontario is Brockville, where one gas station is charging only 81.9 cents a litre. The last time Ontarians enjoyed such cheap gas was in February, 2006, Gasbuddy co-founder Jason Toews told The Canadian Press. Across Canada, a litre of gas was on average priced at 88 cents in Calgary, 91 cents in Montreal, 95 cents in Montreal, 97 cents in Vancouver and $1.05 in Newfoundland. The national average is about 98.3 cents a litre

MEDIA MARSHMELLOWS

 A recent story by CBC exposed the depth to which the world media sank following George W Bush's assertion that Iraq was “THE AXIS OF EVIL".

A pro-Palestinian gunman fires in the air at a refugee camp , Lebanon2990633.jpg  Remember reporters from the NY Times and the Washington Post back in the 60's and 70's. They dug for and exposed the truth. That is how Nixon was impeached. Reporters digging for the truth.  The world media today is sickeningly shallow, parroting the prose of the powerful.  There were no weapons of mass destruction. Politicians and left wing peaceniks were ignored by the press and we all sailed blindly into believing we should flatten Iraq. Which basically we did. The war has cost a trillion bucks and counting. Last year 35,000 Iraqis died by American forces. The overall result is a mushroom cloud, not of nuclear fallout as we were told to fear, but of bitter hatred of the ‘White Alliance’ as third world people lump the offenders and innocent ‘WASP’s’ as their enemy.

The media has basically bailed on the important issue beyond the fact of missing WMD: Who was responsible for the lies? Are they too busy dealing with weightier matters, such as the Michael Jackson or Kobe Bryant sex cases and all the other fluff stories they love to fill your head with? Are they overwhelmed by a bouillabaisse of homeland security stories dished out by the Department of Homeland Security? Or is it possible that "Bush Lied about Iraq's Weapons of Mass Destruction" is a headline that would be too darned hot to handle? Get out of Iraq you American warlords; you are the true AXIS OF EVIL! You reporters, seek the truth.

Canadian Journalist Kidnapped In Afghanistan Freed After Month Of CaptivityA CBC journalist abducted last month near a refugee camp in Afghanistan has been freed after 28 days in captivity, and is healthy and in good spirits, officials with the CBC said Saturday.

Priest Stunned To Find Church MissingPriest Stunned To Find Church Missing. They say a thief will take just about anything that's not nailed down. But an entire church? That's what happened in the small Russian village of Komarovo, after a parish priest called authorities to tell him his church was missing. The building that once housed a congregation had originally been built in 1809 but had long been abandoned in favour of new digs.  There were plans to revamp the large two-storey edifice, which unfortunately for local officials, sits in an isolated area where few people venture. Even the village priests rarely went out to see it, and that allowed the thieves their opportunity. Over what must have been quite a long period, a thief  - or more likely a group of them - began slowly removing the building brick by brick, taking everything they could find both inside and out. When one of the pastors finally ventured out to the site last month, he was stunned to see nothing left but the foundation and few wall remnants.
 

William Hung.: Nobody - and we mean NOBODY- put as much enthusiasm into singing Ricky Martin’s 'She Bangs' as this 'American Idol' hopeful. Did YOU buy his Christmas album? Amber Lee Ettinger became an overnight YouTube sensation with her Barack Obama tribute 'I Got a Crush...on Obama.' Now that he's been elected, our guess is he doesn't need her help anymore. Joe Wurzelbacher, or Joe The Unlicensed Plumber, became a household name after he was repeatedly mentioned in the last presidential debate. He stretched out his 15 minutes by campaigning for John McCain. Better get that licensed renewed, Joe. And fourth…Christmas

 
Thurs, Nov 13 
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Sunday, Nov 16 
 
Forecast
 showers 
 showers 
 snow 
snow 
High
10 °C
10 °C
5 °C
4 °C
Low
5 °C
10 °C
3 °C
3 °C
Prob of Precip
60 %
70 %
40 %
40 %

 Brampton's 14th Annual Nighttime Santa Claus Parade lights up downtown Brampton on Sat. Nov. 15, 2008.
 Beginning at 5:00 pm. the parade runs along Main Street from Sproule and heads south to Elgin Drive. 
Cameras For Guns Amnesty UnveiledCameras For Guns Amnesty.
 It's an unlikely partnership, but Toronto Police and photography chain, Henry's Cameras, are hoping it will mean fewer guns on the streets. The amnesty program, Pixels for Pistols, calls for people with working - including illegal - firearms to trade them for digital cameras. What a stupid idea.
Finance Minister Jim Flaherty announces further changes to stabilize the lending industry during a press conference in Toronto, Wednesday, Nov. 12, 2008. Finance Minister Jim Flaherty announced further changes to stabilize the lending industry during a press conference in Toronto, Wednesday, Nov. 12, 2008. The federal government is purchasing another $50 billion in residential mortgages to further stabilize the lending industry and encourage lower interest rates, Finance Minister Jim Flaherty announced Wednesday. The announcement follows a similar move last month in which Ottawa bought $25 billion in mortgages. The Tories have been quick to indicate that the deal to buy mortgages is an asset swap, not a bailout. The idea is that banks can take good assets, in this case the mortgages, and turn them into cash -- which can then be made available to people seeking mortgages or to small business. Why? Yes, we're facing tough times, but the markets had to correct. They were way overinflated. Greed ran amuck. How much profit did the banks make the last number of years? Why don't they bail themselves out? They got themselves into this mess. How is it that they will be bailed out of their recklessness? If I get myself into a mess, I'm the only one who's responsible to get myself out, and by the way where did all that money go?
Dion gives such classics as "Summertime Blues" and "Jailhouse Rock" his interpretation on his new CD. The rock 'n' roll legend, who dominated the charts in the '50s and '60s with such hits as "A Teenager in Love," "Runaround Sue," "The Wanderer" and "Abraham, Martin and John," Dion, 69,  on his latest album..."Rock 'n' roll started in the '50s, not the '60s. And I started thinking, a lot of people, even the kids buying the [old] records don't understand the significance of Cliff Gallup, James Burton and Scotty Moore," Dion continued, naming guitarists known for their work with Gene Vincent, Ricky Nelson and Elvis Presley, respectively. "These guys infused freedom into the music," he said. "And I thought it would be a fun thing to record the songs." Which led to Dion's new album, "Heroes: Giants of Early Guitar Rock" (Saguaro Road). The CD features Dion's take on songs including Eddie Cochran's "Summertime Blues," the Everly Brothers' "Bye Bye Love," Presley's "Jailhouse Rock" and Big Joe Turner's "Shake, Rattle and Roll," songs known as much for their big beats and driving guitars as their vocal performances.
CRTC TV Rulings Will Affect Viewers For Years To ComeCRTC TV Rulings Will Affect Viewers For Years To Come

Here's something you rarely hear - a promise that you'll be getting a lot more TV to watch and it won't be costing you any more money on your cable or satellite bill. That's just one of the pronouncements from the Canadian Radio Television and Telecommunications Commission in a series sweeping changes that will alter the landscape of broadcasting in Canada over the next three years. The biggest announcement may be a change to the way you buy your programming. If you're one of those who want say, Rogers Sportsnet, but you don't want to be forced to take another non-sports related channel you never watch to get it, the Commission has decided to consider the elimination of bundling and allow you to choose only the stations you really want to pay for.

It's pie in the sky - and the sky isn't the limit. That's the not unsurprising reaction from Leaf CEO Richard Peddie on the prospect floated Tuesday that the NHL was pondering allowing another hockey team to intrude on their turf. Any deal to allow the competitors in would hinge on a Leaf OK, and there would have to be an incredibly sweet pot to get them to give up a monopoly they've enjoyed virtually alone since they were introduced as the Toronto Arenas the year the NHL was formed in 1917. Fed-up fans could throw their allegiance to a newcomer with a chance to win it all.

No. 8 Derek Boogaard Minnesota Wild, Left Wing,  6'8", 257 lbs., along with his brother Aaron, a minor league journeyman player, opened a hockey fighting school in Regina, Saskatchewan, in 2007. 
 

Current Montreal Canadiens enforcer, Georges Laraques, ranks second on Forbes list of "Best Hockey Fighters For The Buck."
    
 Enforcers have a long tradition in the league. Bob Probert helped the Detroit Red Wings regain prominence after 14 straight losing seasons by dishing out punishment to anyone who took liberties with Steve Yzerman. Ditto for the Philadelphia Flyers' Dave "The Hammer" Schultz, who protected Bobby Clarke in the mid-1970s as the team won two Stanley Cups. The Edmonton Oilers used Dave Semenko as their policeman in the mid-1980s to keep Wayne Gretzky safe as the Oilers captured their first two championships. Says Lacavalier, a three-time All-Star who led the Tampa Bay Lighting in points last season: "We need [fighters]. If there weren't fights, players wouldn't be accountable for their actions." With NHL payrolls capped at 57% of revenue, having an inexpensive enforcer enables teams to spend more money on skilled players.

According to friends, Lennon has tried LSD, heroin, as well as amphetamines. He also later claimed that The Beatles ''smoked marijuana for breakfast.''
 
Amy Winehouse's recent troubles have been well covered by the media. Her hospitalizations as a result of overdosing on a cocktail of drugs led to various public statements from her parents and in-laws in an attempt to get through to her.

winning your own prizes...wow

This image is a composite of visible (or optical), radio, and X-ray data of the giant elliptical galaxy, M87. M87 lies at a distance of 60 million light years and is the largest galaxy in the Virgo cluster of galaxies. Bright jets moving at close to the speed of light are seen at all wavelengths coming from the massive black hole at the center of the galaxy. It has also been identified with the strong radio source, Virgo A, and is a powerful source of X-rays as it resides near the center of a hot, X-ray emitting cloud that extends over much of the Virgo cluster. The extended radio emission consists of plumes of fast-moving gas from the jets rising into the X-ray emitting cluster medium.MoreIn X-rays, M87 also reveals evidence for a series of outbursts from the central supermassive black hole. The loops and bubbles in the hot, X-ray emitting gas are relics of small outbursts from close to the black hole. Other interesting features in M87 are narrow filaments of X-ray emission, which may be due to hot gas trapped by magnetic fields. One of these filaments is over 100,000 light years long, and extends below and to the right of the center of M87 in almost a straight line.
M81
At the center of M81 is a supermassive black hole that is about 70 million times more massive than the Sun. A new study using data from Chandra and ground-based telescopes, combined with detailed theoretical models, shows that the supermassive black hole in M81 feeds just like stellar mass black holes, with masses of only about ten times that of the Sun. This discovery supports the implication of Einstein's relativity theory that black holes of all sizes have similar properties, and will be useful for predicting the properties of a conjectured new class of black holes.
2009 Edition

 
Friday, Nov 7 
Saturday, Nov 8 
Sunday, Nov 9 
Monday, Nov 10 
 
Forecast
A few showers 
Scattered showers 
Scattered showers 
Variable cloudiness 
High
15 °C
11 °C
7 °C
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Low
7 °C
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Probability of Precipitation
60 %
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OBAMA REIGNS
McCain is pulling tv ads and Obama is releasing new ones. 
President-elect Barack Obama waves after giving his acceptance speech at Grant Park in Chicago Tuesday night, Nov. 4, 2008.
At the upper reaches of the Democratic Party, "FOB" used to mean "Friend of Bill," as in Clinton. With Obama's victory on Tuesday, "FOB" is the new acronym for the close-knit corps of Chicago neighbors, graduate school classmates, pickup basketball teammates and family friends of the incoming president. A few Friends of Barack are likely to follow him to the White House, Jarrett being the most probable candidate. Others expect to stay close to Obama through the thicket of personal and business ties that have evolved over decades. The Obama inner circle is largely a high-achieving group of professionals clustered around Chicago. They vacation with the president-elect's family; play Scrabble with Obama and his wife, Michelle; and stay in touch by e-mail and at dinner parties when time permits.

CALGARY -- The break and enter suspect left in critical condition during an arrest earlier this week was not jolted by a Taser and his injuries are mainly self-inflicted, the head of the Calgary police union said yesterday. Mainly self-inflicted means to human rights activists that he damaged his own skull when police repeatedly "placed it on the floor". Calgary Police John Dooks said cops shot the man with a Taser during the arrest, but only one of the barbs hit the suspect, meaning he was not shocked by any electricity. Police responded to a home in the 500 block of 42 St. S.E. about 8:15 p.m. Saturday on reports of a suspicious man in a backyard. Dooks said four officers climbed in through a window and tackled the suspect. During the arrest, Dooks said the suspect went into medical distress. "At this point, it's speculation until we have medical evidence, but it could be related to his state of intoxication or his substance abuse," he said, adding the suspect's actions were consistent with drug induced, excited delirium. The suspect was rushed to hospital and was listed in critical condition last night. The suspect, believed to be in his early 30s, is known to police, said Dooks, but does not have a known history of violence.

Filming of House of Cards centred around a character who lures people into a garage, ties them to a chair and chops them into pieces, cops say before Altinger's Oct. 10 disappearance. Edmonton filmmaker Mark Twitchell, seen on his MySpace page, will appear in court today charged with first-degree murder

Durham Cops Issue Mountain Lion Warning After Sightings In PickeringDurham Cops Issue  Warning After Sightings In Pickering reports of a much bigger cat on the prowl in Pickering Sunday and local residents most certainly did not want to feed this one. Durham Police issued the warning concerning a mountain lion after two reports of sightings during recent weeks. "The first incident involved an adult on Oct. 16 and the second was on Oct. 29 a 12-year-old boy reported that he had seen a mountain lion," confirmed Sgt. Jim Griepsma. The mere possibility of the large and potentially dangerous animal approaching schools or private homes prompted letters home for students in the area, leaving parents understandably on edge.

Greenpeace Australia-Pacific has launched  their Forests for Climate tour. To the sounds of beating drums and singing, their ship the Esperanza docked in the tropical heat of Port Morseby, Papua.With a colourful welcome in Papua New Guinea, Esperanza, will tour the region protecting forests and highlighting the effect of deforestation on global warming. The ship’s crew was welcomed by traditional Huli, Kairuku, and Oro dancers along with Asaro mud men from coastal and highland regions.

 
A University of B.C. epidemiologist says there is now evidence to support a heroin-assisted addictions therapy clinic in Vancouver.Dr. Martin Schechter says Vancouver's NAOMI clinic should be re-opened. The three-year study treated 251 of the most chronically addicted in both Vancouver and Montreal who have not responded well to other treatment options. "These people are out in the alleys, injecting heroin of unknown quality and quantity," said Dr. Martin Schechter, the study's principal investigator. "They're committing crimes, they're involved in sex work to pay for that, and they're certainly, in that situation, not going to get better." The study was funded by an $8.1-million research grant from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research and was approved by Health Canada. The study's participants received methadone, injected heroin or an opiate known as hydromorphone. The study found illicit heroin use among participants fell by almost 70 per cent, the proportion of participants involved in illegal activity fell to 36 per cent from 70 per cent, and participants who were once spending on average $1,500 per month on drugs reported spending between $300 and $500 per month by the end of the treatment phase. Schechter said that is enough evidence to show heroin-assisted therapy is a safe and effective treatment for the chronically addicted, and he wants to reopen the heroin-assisted therapy clinic in Vancouver that was used in the study.

POTHEADS WORSE THAN POTHOLES POLICE PROCLAIM! Toronto police broke new ground Wednesday by arresting a 27-year-old woman under Canada's new drugged-driving law.  The driver was taken into custody after she hit a parked car at 625 Richmond Street West. The woman was suspected of driving while under the influence of drugs. The new laws allow police to demand a drug test if they suspect a driver of being high while behind the wheel.

  NORML Coffee CompanyMeanwhile...Sam's Journey

"Study turns pot wisdom on its head," pronounced the Globe and Mail in October. Researchers have found that the administration of synthetic cannabinoids in rats stimulated the proliferation of newborn neurons (nerve cells) in the hippocampus region of the brain and significantly reduced measures of anxiety and depression-like behavior. The results shocked researchers, other so-called "drugs of abuse," including alcohol and tobacco, decrease neurogenesis in adults.

 
Fri, Oct 31 
Sat, Nov 1 
Sun, Nov 2 
Mon, Nov 3 
 
Forecast
Sunny 
 sunny 
 cloudy 
showers 
High
15 °C
7 °C
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6 °C
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40 %

PHABULOUS PHILLIE PHINISH/HOWARD HOMERS/STAIRS TO GLORY
Closer Brad Lidge and catcher Carlos Ruiz celebrate Philadelphia's World Series victory after the Phillies defeated the Tampa Bay Rays at Citizens Bank Park.2008 World Series
Closer Brad Lidge and catcher Carlos Ruiz celebrate Philadelphia's World Series victory after the Phillies defeated the Tampa Bay Rays at Citizens Bank Park.
player playerThe Philadelphia Phillies held up the World Series trophy after Game 5. The Phillies defeated the Tampa Bay Rays 4-3 to win the series for the first time since 1980.
traded late(Aug 29, 2008: Toronto Blue Jays traded Matt Stairs to the Philadelphia) got to hoist MLB's most coveted prize.
The Philadelphia Phillies hold up the World Series trophy after Game 5

 Republican presidential nominee John McCain speaks during a town hall meeting at the Scranton Cultural Center at the Masonic Temple in Scranton, PA.Sen. Obama's  $3 million 30-minute infomercial on seven networks simultaneously. Eager to cement his case for the presidency in voters' minds before the campaign's frenetic final weekend, Sen. Barack Obama blitzed the television airwaves and deployed one of the Democratic Party's biggest names to deliver his message of change.
We see aspersions of racism on Sen. John McCain and running mate, Gov. Sarah Palin. He said "You know who voted for it? You might never know. That one," he said, pointing to Obama, who was sitting on a stool several feet away. "You know who voted against it? Me."Regardless of intent, it showed Senator McCain to be culturally ignorant, and completely unaware of the implications of what his off-the-cuff statement meant to people of colour. Whether McCain meant it that way or not, if you are a person of colour, and someone trots out the 'that one' remark, you instantly take it as racist. A man allegedly shouted out "kill him" at a Palin rally in which she criticized Obama's association with a onetime domestic terrorist. The Secret Service was investigating. Ange-Marie Hancock, a race relations professor at the University of Southern California, says it's not surprising McCain is now running a negative campaign of the type that could incite some of the baser elements of society.As another example of media fluff BBC showed crazed Peruvian's holding human skulls shouting Obama will win. What has this to do with geuine news?  Barack Obama apparently can count on the support of a majority of Peruvian faith healers.Each of the 11 shamans in a Peruvian faith-healing organization said they have foreseen victory in the U.S. presidential race: nine for Democrat Obama and two for his Republican rival John McCain. Blowing incense over a sacred llama fetus perched on a bed of coca leaves next to posters of the leading candidates, the shamans shook rattles, chanted "up, Obama, up!" and threw flowers at their images. Obama is growing stronger, I've seen that he has the spiritual support of Martin Luther King and John F. Kennedy to protect him," Juan Osco, president of the Apus-Inka healers association, told The Associated Press. "He's going to win."Mary Gomez, a healer from the city of Chiclayo, said she has seen that Obama "will win and he will change history ... he is going to help all the Latinos living in the United States."The shamans whistled, chanted and rubbed both posters with Andean spirit-totems, crucifixes, a statue of a dark-skinned Jesus and other idols to scare away bad spirits and negative energies they said might prevent a fair and democratic election.

A Canadian dollar coin falls past a United States dollar in Ottawa, on Wednesday Oct.22, 2008. (Adrian Wyld / THE CANADIAN PRESS)North American stock markets continue bleedingCitigroup 3-month NYSE chartThe Canadian dollar dove another cent in opening trading Thursday, hitting a four-year low of 78.48 cents U.S. Toronto's S&P/TSX composite index was showing significant gains on Thursday after two days of big losses, but analysts said they don't expect the gains to last. Citi Bank total losses over the past 12 months to $20.2 billion. On Wednesday, the S&P/TSX composite index tumbled more than 631 points, or six per cent, while the Dow Jones industrial average retreated by 733 points, or 7.87 per cent, which was its biggest percentage drop since 1987.

Colombian President Alvaro Uribe admitted Wednesday that police fired on Indian demonstrators despite a government pledge that security forces would not do so.
Indians in Piendamo are shwn marching Tuesday toward the city of Cali. Indians in Piendamo are shown marching Tuesday toward the city of Cali. Uribe had earlier denied accusations that security forces fired at demonstrators during protests by thousands of Indians. "The police did fire," Uribe said at a news conference Wednesday. He made his remarks after CNN obtained and aired a videotape that shows police at La Maria Indian reservation.
Chinese dissident  Hu Jia won the European Union's top human rights prize Thursday despite a warning from Beijing that his selection would seriously harm relations with the 27-nation bloc.  Hu Jia was sentenced to 3 1/2 years in jail earlier this year."Hu Jia is one of the real defenders of human rights in the People's Republic of China," said European Parliament President Hans-Gert Poettering. "The European Parliament is sending out a signal of clear support to all those who support human rights in China." Hu was selected by members of the European Parliament from a shortlist of three that also included candidates from Belarus and Congo for the Sakharov Prize. Lawmakers said Chinese pressure had been counterproductive. "Beijing was lobbying heavily for Hu Jia to be passed over but the award of this richly deserved accolade to him shows that MEPs (members of the European Parliament) will not be silenced like so many Chinese dissidents have been, said Charles Tannock, foreign affairs spokesman for the British Conservatives in the EU assembly.
Whales, Dolphins, Sonar and the Courtshttp://www.worldproutassembly.org/archives/2006/10/intelligent_emo.htmlWe were cheered to learn that the Navy and conservation groups have reached a court-approved settlement that allows the Navy ample opportunity to test its low-frequency sonar systems while protecting the habitats of marine life that can’t tolerate loud underwater sound. Sometimes compromise and good sense do prevail. So it is especially disturbing that the Bush administration is still trying to block the courts’ ability to mediate future agreements between the military and environmentalists. The vigilantly anti-regulatory Bush administration told the Navy that it could test its sonar in more than 70 percent of the world’s ocean area. It claimed that training on the loud, low-frequency devices, which can detect submarines at great distances, was important to national security and that any environmental damage would be minimal. However, the same sound waves that can detect distant submarines can also bombard marine habitats, near and far, disrupting the activities of whales, dolphins and other acoustically sensitive creatures. Fortunately, the Natural Resources Defense Council and other organizations sued to rein in the exercises, and a federal court in California issued injunctions and supplied the judicial muscle to force a mediated settlement. The agreement, approved this month, still allows the Navy to test its sonar in large areas in the Northwestern Pacific and around Hawaii while carving out segments that are critically important for marine life.

Stay of Order Freeing Detainees   A federal appeals court panel on Wednesday issued a temporary stay of a federal judge’s order that had directed the Bush administration to free 17 Guantánamo detainees by releasing them in the United States on Friday. The order, from a three-judge panel of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, made clear that it was intended to give the appeals court time to review the government’s request for a longer stay of the order from a federal district court judge in Washington, Ricardo M. Urbina. On Tuesday, Judge Urbina had directed that 17 men, members of the Uighur Muslim minority in western China, be brought from the prison at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, to his courtroom where they were to be freed.

 
Fri, Oct 17 
Sat, Oct 18 
Sun, Oct 19 
Mon, Oct 20 
 
Forecast
Sunny  
 cloudy periods 
Sunny  
A few showers 
High
10 °C
10 °C
13 °C
15 °C
Low
2 °C
2 °C
0 °C
7 °C
Prob of Precip
10 %
10 %
10 %
60 %

 Conservatives Return to Power. Back To The Future: Conservatives Return With More Seats, But Still A Minority  Still A Minority
Early in Semptember we proclaimed Conservative return to power. How did we do this? Our story was on the differences between Canadians and Americans. We take abuse well in politics and we often suggest that bad men be "given another chance". Americans on the other hand  get very upset about being messed with. Reminds me of my old joke about living in the States. Love to, but can't afford the bullets.

Liberal Andrew Kania of Brampton West was in a close battle all night with Conservative Kyle Seeback with Kania ultimately being declared the winner. Only 127 votes separated the pair unofficially as of press time

What if they gave an election and no one came? We now know the answer to that question. Tuesday's federal ballot casting will down in history, it had the lowest voter turnout in history. Just 58 per cent bothered to make an "X", easily besting the 61 per cent or so who showed up in 2004. People were saying they simply didn't like what they were being offered and said they'd rather make no choice than one they didn't want.

Julie Couillard Opens Up On The Scandal, Her Past And Her Book Ms. Julie Couillard Opens A Can of Worms.....she's many things to many people; an accused associate of the Hell's Angels, the woman who brought down a federal cabinet minister and now, a published author. Julie Couillard doesn't like any of those labels, except maybe that last one, although she may well be stuck with all of them. Especially now that she's written her memoirs, which includes the story behind her now infamous affair with former Tory Foreign Affairs Minister Maxime Bernier and the secret and highly classified documents he left at her apartment. That scandal forced the high profile MP to step down. But Couillard insists he was the architect of his own demise and that she couldn't help discovering them. "I was scared of them," she contends. "I was scared of the fact that I had them in my possession. I'm not a specialist in politics or anything, but why would you write secret on a document if it's not important?"

Wednesday, Oct 15 
Thursday, Oct 16 
Friday, Oct 17 
Saturday, Oct 18 
 
Forecast
Cloudy with sunny breaks 
Sunny with cloudy periods 
Variable cloudiness 
Mainly sunny 
High
17 °C
13 °C
11 °C
10 °C
Low
7 °C
8 °C
3 °C
3 °C
Probability of Precipitation
20 %
10 %
20 %
0 %

ELECTION DAYGreen party leader Elizabeth May waves to supporters from the steps of a VIA Rail train as she arrives for a brief stop shortly before 3 a.m. in Kamloops, B.C., on Monday Sept. 22, 2008. Darryl Dyck / THE CANADIAN PRESS) NDP Leader Jack Layton makes a speech at a campaign stop in Quebec City on Tuesday, Sept. 23, 2008.
A new poll suggests the New Democrats are facing tough competition from the Green party as a second choice for voters in TODAYS federal election campaign.  Speaking in the heart of Ontario's forestry industry, NDP Leader Jack Layton pledged to reverse the Conservatives' softwood lumber deal with the United States.

 
Friday, Oct 3 
Saturday, Oct 4 
Sunday, Oct 5 
Monday, Oct 6 
 
Forecast
 showers 
Cloudy  
cloudy 
Mainly sunny 
High
12 °C
12 °C
13 °C
13 °C
Low
3 °C
4 °C
3 °C
4 °C
Prob of Precip
30 %
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10 %

News News  U.S.A. FAILING. Barack Obama solemnly declared, "This is one of those defining moments when the American people are looking to Washington for. President Bush went on television again and solemnly declared, "For the financial security of every American, Congress must act.” he didn't explain why he could only get one-third of his fellow Republicans in the House to vote for the bailout.  This story is hard to report on but we will at least acknowledge it as a major event.  That’s it. Major players get all the long term benefits of worthwhile stock anyway. Servers hosting Web sites of the House of Representatives have been flooded with millions of e-mails in recent days. This story is hard to report on but we will at least acknowledge it as a major event.  That’s it. Major players get all the long term benefits of worthwhile stock anyway. Merrill Lynch is warning that Canada could be headed for a housing and mortgage meltdown similar to the one that has devastated the United States economy. A report issued by Merrill Lynch economists says Canadian households are financially overextended! They say it's only a matter of time before the "tipping point" is reached and the housing and credit markets crack in Canada. READ MY LIPS NO BAILOUT IF WE WIN GREEN IN ONTARIO 08 It may have been the oddest coalition of dissenters you'll ever see: hard-core southern conservatives allied with ultra-liberal members of the Congressional Black Caucus, blue-collar Republicans from the Rust Belt, and a couple of dozen conservative Democrats known as the "Blue Dogs." As a group they likely never agreed on anything before in their lives, and may never again. But they agreed on this - Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson's US$700-billion plan to rescue Wall Street from a rising tide of toxic debts was a no go.Some said it was morally indefensible that ordinary taxpayers, many of them worried for their jobs, should have to foot the bill to support rich bankers whose idea of hardship is having to sell one of their vacation homes. Others complained the plan failed to address the root of the problem: millions of ordinary people declaring bankruptcy and facing foreclosure. With public opinion firmly against the deal, many simply opted to side with the voters and let the chips fall where they may.

ENDING HUNGER  In the Asian, African and Latin American countries, well over 500 million people are living in what the World Bank has called "absolute poverty" UNDP Human Development Report states that “climate change is the defining human development challenge of the 21st Century.  Failure to respond to that challenge will stall and then reverse international efforts to reduce poverty.... Looking to the future, no country – however wealthy or powerful – will be immune to the impact of global warming.” contact Patricia Young, National Coordinator (patricia.young@fao.org.) checked lots of sites providing lots of facts but no clear ways of individual acts aiding elimination of this problem   Every year 15 million children die of hunger For the price of one missile, a school full of hungry children could eat lunch every day for 5 years. Throughout the 1990's more than 100 million children will die from illness and starvation. Those 100 million deaths could be prevented for the price of ten Stealth bombers, or what the world spends on its military in two days! The World Health Organization estimates that one-third of the world is well-fed, one-third is under-fed and one-third is starving! Over 4 million will die this year.

S.I.U.   Ontario Ombudsman Andre Marin called the province's Special Investigations Unit a "toothless tiger and muzzled watchdog" while presenting the findings of his report on Tuesday.  He also called for a massive overhaul of the civilian police agency. Marin, who was once head of the SIU, is calling for new legislation and sweeping internal changes aimed at re-gaining the public's shattered confidence. "The SIU has become so timid and fearful in its watchdog job role, that police oversight has hit rock bottom in Ontario," he said. "It has preferred to focus its energy on an introspective, esoteric, pie-in-the-sky journey that has little to do with holding police accountable."

Hendrix's Burnt Guitar And Beatles 1st Contract Fetch Big Bucks At AuctionHendrix's Burnt Guitar And Beatles 1st Contract Fetch Big Bucks At Auction. How much would you pay if someone offered to give you a beat up old guitar that had burn marks all over it? Chances are if you found it at a flea market in that condition, you might pony up just a few dollars. But what if you found out that axe was once owned by guitar god Jimi Hendrix - and that those scorch marks came after he set the instrument on fire in a legendary concert in London in 1967? That last fact upped the price in a big way and the famous Fender Stratocaster (top left) sold at auction in England on Thursday for US$497,557. It was bought by an American collector named Daniel Boucher, who also paid for the flight to Britain just to bid on the iconic item. He believes he got a bargain. "I thought I'd have to pay a little bit more for it, actually," he reveals. The original estimated worth of the instrument was $900,000. What does he plan to do with his expensive new toy? You may not believe it.  "I am going to play it," he promises. "I hope some of it rubs off on me."

 Immanuel Christian Reformed Church held a grand re-opening Saturday at its new location, on Mayfield Rd. The highlight was a torch walk that started at the church's old site at 63 Church St. E. Brad George, one of the newer members of the church, is the last carrier of the torch and lit the flame at the new church. Ironically albeit sadly, the original church was destroyed by fire.

 

 Brampton man zapped by a Taser in a Peel police station has not revealed any "anatomical" cause of death, the province's Special Investigations Unit (SIU) has revealed. He went into "medical distress" after being Tasered in the cell area of Mississauga's 12 Division Sept. 16. Four Peel officers have now been designated as subject officers in the SIU investigation. A fifth officer has been deemed a witness officer in the incident. Reilly was jolted with the Taser around 5 p.m. Sept. 16, following his arrest for assault with a weapon at a Mississauga home. He was taken to hospital where he died almost 12 hours later.

 He Pingping from Inner Mongolia, China's autonomous region, the world's smallest man sits underneath Svetlana Pankratova from Russia, the Queen of Longest Legs, as they pose at Trafalgar Square in London, Tuesday, Sept. 16, 2008.

Mar 12, 2007 | Volume 106, Issue 1End Of An Era: Yankee Stadium Closes With Home Team's Final Win And Lots Of Nostalgia

 Yankee Stadium Closes ...After 85 years, the most storied stadium in sports history has experienced its final out. The sportswriter Fred Lieb nailed it from Day One when he called it The House that Ruth Built. But this Yankee Stadium, the one with the 1974-75 makeover, belongs as much to Jeter as the original did to Ruth. A generation of fans will tell their grandkids, "I saw Jeter play," and the best stories will often take place in those clear, cool nights of Octobers past. The last group of Yankees to stand for a picture on the mound was the most special one of all. Jeter, Rivera, Pettitte and Jorge Posada stood side-by-side, their arms linked around one another's backs.

Is Toronto's street violence out of control?
Yes
 79%
No
 3%
It's the same as it always was
 18%
Maple Leaf Foods is restarting the plant where tainted meat was produced. Will you buy their products again?
Yes, they say they've found the source of bacteria and disinfected everything. 27%
Yes, but not right away. 20%
Maybe, they will need to build my trust again. 24%
No, I don't want to take any risks with their products again.

 

 

Saint Andrews Food bank Report                                       Sept. 24/08

           

I personally have been receiving aid from St Andrews Church for about three years. They have helped me out a lot. Especially the saint-like efforts of your many volunteers who, week after week help the needy.

             As with any good thing, after a while negative influences begin to appear. Jesus noted this phenomenon in his parables. In our case it involves the ability to reach the needy. The program is failing on this point.

Worse than failing to provide for the extremely vulnerable, these same unfortunates sit and wait hoping for help; watch middle class people shuffle out past them loaded down with all the best of  the available food! These same affluent people can be seen outside stepping into recent model minivans and SUV’s.

 No one at your set-up should be able to afford any vehicle. It is obscene!

I personally am on disability and as such this barely covers my most basic expenses. Welfare gives many of your clients half that much! These are the people who really do suffer. The food they get is what they live on. For many weeks now I have noticed that the last twenty clients or so missed out on many of your key staples. For instance even rice or dry pasta was unavailable. which is a inexpensive and yet sustaining staple!

Solutions are simple in this particular situation. Other groups use the method I propose with great success. One time only confirm that your clients are on Ont. Works or other government assisantance (or have been denied assistance). Of course there should always be an avenue of exceptions such as one time compassionate acceptance. The only other solution is to cut down on the program shopping list. The chicken/ eggs/ wieners section hardly ever reaches my people at all. If you made it all wieners, you could afford more units and the end of the line could get wieners. It might even cull out some of your wealthier clients when chicken by-product is what they end up with instead of the large bags of fresh chicken they enjoy now! Most of your poor haven’t seen real chicken in months.

I request a comprehensive response to this dilemma within as short an interval as can reasonably be obtained. In light of the possibility of delays please invoke some emergency measures promptly, prior to any final word on this dire situation.

                                            Sincerely, D.D. (dedicated disciple)

 
Letters to the editor
MEDAL MYSTERY: LOST GOLD FOUND IN BRAMPTON BAR!. The mystery begins when a Brampton man found a gold medal in a Brampton bar. How did it get there just weeks after the win in Kitchener Ontario, but how did it get there and why can we still not find the owner.
 The Juvenile Girls brought home the Gold Medal from the OBA Provincial Championships alright but not everyone .  Who is missing this medal and can we get it back to its rightful owner Please Mike Milne

 Long and Mc Lousy Again. A friend drove  me all the way to L&M  Mississauga to pick up my Precision where it had resided for some weeks to be set up. I went through hell to get it there, wait two weeks without it and then I was informed they declined to do the set-up due to a previous history in Brampton. What the hell is going on? Mike     In light of  the weightier matter of the store refusing to serve me after holding my bass for two weeks! I mean what the heck! And all I wanted was my inntonation corrected!  previous history Jeff, I am still very sad about the abuse I received at one of your outlets. I also miss my jazz very much. I am still unhappy and really have not been served adequately I am still requesting that you confirm some of the issues. I still feel cheated on my jazz and would rather have a replacement which though you offered verbally never was accomodatedI also feel I am owed an expanation as to how all this occurred Mike

Astronomers are familiar with seeing amazing things through their telescopes. But nothing prepared them for an incredible explosion detected early Wednesday morning by NASA’s Swift satellite. At 2:12 a.m. EDT, Swift detected an explosion from deep space that was so powerful that its afterglow was briefly visible to the naked eye. Even more astonishing, the explosion itself took place halfway across the visible universe!
ABUSING THE DOWNTRODDEN...The abuses continue even now at the Knights Table in Brampton. I am getting a stream of complaints of forced donations by staff to clients, abusive behaviour by staff to clients and the selling of Maple Lodge donations for personal profit by Michelle. A worker named Maxine is even cheating clients by collecting money and then laughing at the clients saying there are no meals available. I am getting no response from the Knights of Columbus or any other party involved (except for an unsolicited email from a Knights Table employee provided at bottom). Due to the problems at the Knights Table from many upset clients I  conducted a survey and I asked 5 simple questions. The results were scary. Of those willing to fill in the questionnaire (many were afraid of reprisals) I received 36 different failing reports.  One must realize too that these answers are from current clients, the majority of non-respondents I questioned who simply no longer attend; like myself did not answer the questions. The most disturbing part of the survey was that many people chose to fill in the personal comments section. The answers are a bold reflection of what I was hearing on the street prior to my survey. I got notes stating: Michelle was cold, rude and swearing at clients, not fond of Maxine, staff were degrading, swearing and stealing produce. I got comments like 'fire the staff, fire the boss, get new management and get caring people', which I believe accurately reflects the state of affairs at this facility. I am getting disturbing results from my both my hardcopy and online questionnaire on The Knights Table on Kennedy Rd... Oddly I noticed you published a letter on Sunday Feb 10/08 sent in by one of the main focuses of my investigation, Michelle. I hope you publish my response to this letter. A simple questionnaire was recently sent out asking for a response by http://dunstan-times000.tripod.com. Below find the email I received apparently from a Knights Table representative (you are a small individual with obviously little true information and less brains but they will still service and serve even ppl like yourselves. if you spread the word of lies which your cabbage bullshit is ...I would rather you ate at the shelter where you are obviously from or definitely heading ...). The response I have received from the Knights Table speaks more loudly than anything I can say. This is the exact spirit that needs being removed from dealing with vulnerable people. People have been complaining about lots of issues at the Knights. Let’s fix the problem for the whole community immediately not later! .

Tuesday, Sep 23 
Wednesday, Sep 24 
Thursday, Sep 25 
Friday, Sep 26 
 
Forecast
Sunny 
Sunny 
Sunny
 cloudy 
High
21 °C
23 °C
22 °C
20 °C
Low
10 °C
10 °C
9 °C
12 °C
Prob of Precip
0 %
0 %
20 %
20 %

Friday, Sep 26 
Sat, Sep 27 
Sun, Sep 28 
Mon, Sep 29 
 
Forecast
Sunny  
 showers 
 sunny breaks 
Sunny  
High
20 °C
20 °C
19 °C
16 °C
Low
10 °C
13 °C
15 °C
9 °C
Prob of Precip
10 %
70 %
30 %
10 %

 
Thurs, Sep 18 
Friday, Sep 19 
Sat, Sep 20 
Mike's B'day, Sep 21 
 
Forecast
Sunny 
Sunny 
Sunny 
cloudy periods 
High
15 °C
18 °C
23 °C
22 °C
Low
8 °C
7 °C
10 °C
11 °C
Prob of Precip
0 %
0 %
0 %
10 %

SHINE ON YOU CRAZY DIAMOND...

The family of Richard Wright, founder member of Pink Floyd, announce with great sadness, that Richard has died after a short struggle with cancer.Richard Wright Richard Wright, a founding member of the rock group Pink Floyd, died Monday. He was 65. Pink Floyd's spokesman Doug Wright, who is not related to the artist, said Wright died after a battle with cancer at his home in Britain. He says the band member's family did not want to give more details about his death. Wright met Pink Floyd members Roger Waters and Nick Mason in college and joined their early band, Sigma 6. Along with the late Syd Barrett, the four formed Pink Floyd in 1965. The group's jazz-infused rock and drug-laced multimedia "happenings" made them darlings of the London psychedelic scene, and their 1967 album, "The Piper at the Gates of Dawn," was a hit. In the early days of Pink Floyd, Wright, along with Barrett, was seen as the group's dominant musical force. The London-born musician and son of a biochemist wrote songs and sang. The band released a series of commercially and critically successful albums including 1973's "Dark Side of the Moon," which has sold more than 40 million copies. Wright wrote "The Great Gig In The Sky" and "Us And Them" for that album, and later worked on the group's epic compositions such as "Atom Heart Mother," "Echoes" and "Shine On You Crazy Diamond." Tensions grew between Waters, Wright and fellow band member David Gilmour. The tensions came to a head during the making of "The Wall" when Waters insisted Wright be fired. As a result, Wright was relegated to the status of session musician on the tour of "The Wall," and did not perform on Pink Floyd's 1983 album "The Final Cut." Wright formed a new band Zee with Dave Harris, from the band Fashion, and released one album, "Identity," with Atlantic Records. Waters left Pink Floyd in 1985 and Wright began recording with Mason and Gilmour again, releasing the albums "The Division Bell" and "A Momentary Lapse of Reason" as Pink Floyd. Wright also released the solo albums "Wet Dream" (1978) and "Broken China" (1996).

U.S. Coast Guard Finds Homemade Sub Carrying 6.6 Tons Of CokeU.S. Coast Guard Finds Homemade Sub Carrying 6.6 Tons Of Coke. The self-propelled semi-suvmersible was stealthily heading from Costa Rica towards the U.S. when it was intercepted by the U.S. Navy. The craft was about 60-feet long and had a crew of four on board, who were all taken into custody. The sheer size of the haul and the way it was being transported has amazed officials and has given a whole new meaning to the term 'the high seas.'
 COP SHOCK DEATH....A Brampton man who Tasered while in police custody. Sean Reilly, 42, was arrested at a Mississauga home on Tuesday and charged with assault with a weapon.He was then Tasered by police during a struggle in a jail cell. He was taken to hospital where he was pronounced dead. Peel police have a very bad record of abuses; for a start there are way too many with a "red neck mentality" and the "us, them" attitude. A friend was assaulted by one of these "cowboys" Friday last. The rogue officer  said "you match the discription of a person of interest", a standard line used by these malevolent men. Next thing my friend knew he was tackled and handcuffed. As a sidebar, I notice that even Jesus is quoted as reprimanding officers not to use excessive force. Same old story today folks.  As if to support this claim Peel police on the same day shot and killed two dogs in a local home while trying to enter. Rednecks love their guns!
It is sad to note that the popularity for abusive government has continued in this country; where south of the border, new government seems to be wanted. Stephen Harper and Jack Layton announced rival campaign pledges aimed at seniors on Thursday, with the Conservative leader offering tax cuts and the NDP leader promising to boost the number of home-care spaces. Speaking from a seniors' residence in Trois-Rivieres, Que., Harper said the Conservatives — if re-elected in Oct. 14 election — would increase the amount of income that seniors can claim tax free under the senior age credit by $1,000. Less than an hour later in Winnipeg, Layton advocated a $1-billion home-care program for seniors, saying "Stephen Harper has let down many Canadian families." He said an NDP government would provide funding to allow 100,000 more seniors to be cared for in their homes instead of institutions. Harper said his party's proposal would save low-income seniors about $150 a year each, while costing the federal government $400 million annually. "We should do more to allow seniors to keep a larger part of the money that they have worked hard to earn," Harper said. "This new measure is part of our long-term economic plan. It's modest, but it's affordable and responsible and credible." The senior age credit is available to Canadians aged 65 and older. About 4.4 million people are currently eligible. Toronto Mayor David Miller, seen here in May 2007, says urban voters need to pick a political party that will address their needs. Toronto Mayor David Miller waded into the federal election campaign on Tuesday. He spoke about the need for a ban on handguns on a day that saw three homicides in the GTA, as well as the shooting of a 16-year-old in a city high school. Miller also pointed out that so far, only the Green party has directly addressed the growing needs of Canadian cities. Its platform has a national transit strategy and plans to give cities a permanent revenue source to help fix a growing infrastructure backlog.Nick Rizzuto, seen here centre during his November 2006 arrest, plead guilty to two gangsterism-related charges Thursday in a Montreal court.Nick Rizzuto, seen here centre during his November 2006 arrest, plead guilty to two gangsterism-related charges Thursday in a Montreal court. His son, Vito Rizzuto, once considered the godfather of Montreal's Mafia, is serving a 10-year prison sentence in the United States for his role in the 1981 murders of three captains of the notorious Bonanno crime family.
 
A Florida judge has ruled that a local ordinance banning sagging pants is unconstitutional. The ruling came after a teenager spent a night in jail in Riviera Beach, Fla., for exposing too much underwear. Seventeen-year-old Julius Hart was charged last week after an officer said he spotted the teenager riding his bicycle with over 10 centimetres of blue-and-black boxer shorts revealed. Voters in Riviera Beach approved an anti-saggy pants law in March that calls for a $150 fine or community service for those who wear their trousers too low. Habitual offenders face the possibility of jail time. Circuit Court Judge Paul Moyle ruled that the law was unconstitutional based on "the limited facts" of the case. Technically, however, the charge hasn't been dropped: a new arraignment awaits Hart on Oct. 5.
SPORTS POLL
With the Leafs training camp opening soon how far do you think the blue and white will go this? 
This is the year: (17%)
They'll sink like a steel puck by Christmas: (64%)
Who cares? : (19%)

Many years from now, a small group of Hurricane Ike survivors will probably still be telling the story of how, on the night the storm flattened their island, they took sanctuary in a church — with a lion. Shackle, an 11-year-old African lioness lays on an alter at the First Baptist ChurchThe full-grown lion was from a local zoo, and the owner was trying to drive to safety with the animal when he saw cars and trucks stranded in the rising floodwaters. He knew he and the lion were in trouble. He headed for the church and was met by a group of residents who helped the lion wade inside, where they locked it in a sanctuary as the storm raged. The water crept up to their waists, and two-by-fours came floating through broken windows. But the lion was as calm as a kitten. When daylight came, everyone was still alive

STAN STREET -  BLUE ART 
Street's earliest art celebrated the blues pioneers in wide slashes of brilliant color on slabs of discarded wood, rescued from anonymity with portraits of the likes of Muddy Waters, Elmore James, Robert Johnson. After some time in New Orleans, the juke joints and blues festivals of the deep South started to breathe on his canvas. As he experimented with different styles, drawing on the Impressionists and Expressionists, Street "took what he needed to know and went from there". Bold strokes and colors played out the sounds he heard and played as a musical artist. "Being self-taught is an advantage, in that doors are always open for new development. My art will always have a primitive feel to it and I try to give it movement and life."The biggest influence on Street's art is the perspective of being a blues musician. Growing up in New York he was influenced by his father and uncle - classical percussionists - who encouraged his creativity. He took up: sax, harmonica, percussion and singing, accumulating credits in award winning blues groups. He tours the Canadian blues festival circuit as well as blues festivals and honkytonks of Louisiana, Alabama, Mississippi and Georgia. Although Street called Florida his "home" for more than 25 years, he has moved to Clarksdale, Mississippi, where he finds common ground with the primordial blues of the Delta, and also will be closer to New Orleans, Chicago, and Kansas City. 

 Sony Corp. is recalling 440,000 Vaio laptop computers  A Sony Vaio notebook computer. The recall involves 19 models in the Vaio TZ series manufactured between May 2007 and July 2008. The Tokyo-based consumer electronics company said improperly placed wires near the hinge connecting the body of the laptop and its display could wear quickly, causing a short circuit and overheating. A flaw in a circuit board inside the display could also overheat its rim. Sony has received 209 reports of overheating worldwide, including seven cases in which people received minor burns. The laptop problem comes two years after Sony had to engage in massive recalls of laptop batteries, which also caused overheating or even burst into flames.  The Vaio notebook

LOOKS BAD!

Thurs, Sep 11 
Fri, Sep 12 
Sat, Sep 13 
Sunday, Sep 14 
 
Forecast
 sunny 
Light rain 
rain 
Light rain 
High
21 °C
23 °C
22 °C
21 °C
Low
9 °C
14 °C
18 °C
19 °C
Prob of Precip
0 %
70 %
80 %
70 %

Police are trying to determine if foul play was involved in the death of a Brampton man found beneath a bridge in the Hwy. 10 and Steeles Avenue area. Police discovered the 54-year-old at about 6 a.m. Thursday ( 4/9/08) laying along a walkway on Steeles just east of Hwy. 10. The pathway, underneath a bridge overlooking the Peel Village Golf Course, is often used by leisure walkers, cyclists and joggers. According to police reports, someone walked into 22 Division early Thursday morning to report seeing a body on the pathway. When police arrived at the scene, they discovered the unconscious man. He was transported to hospital, where he was later pronounced dead. The walkway remained closed much of Thursday as officers attempted to determine circumstances surrounding the death. The body did show signs of injury, but those injuries are not inconsistent with a fall from the bridge, police said. In another apparently random act of violence, a well-known and beloved downtown character ( known by his street name as Relic) was savagely struck from behind by a cowardly unknown person. The 65 year old was discovered by a caring local man known only as Grant. Police have no leads.  Street gossip impunes local toughs who hang around the area of Nelson and George.

Geneva, 10 September 2008. The first beam in the Large Hadron Collider at CERN was successfully steered around the full 27 kilometres of the world’s most powerful particle accelerator. A historic moment in the CERN Control Centre: the beam was successfully steered around the accelerator. An historic moment in the CERN Control Centre: the beam was successfully steered around the accelerator. Experiments using the Large Hadron Collider (LHC), the biggest and most complex machine ever made, could unlock secrets about the universe and its origins. The project has had to work hard to deny suggestions by some critics that the experiment could create tiny black holes of intense gravity that could suck in the whole planet. Such fears spurred huge public interest in advanced physics ahead of the start up of the 10 billion Swiss franc ($9 billion) machine, which proceeded smoothly on Wednesday (10/9/08).Time will tell of the mistakes of man. Hell, fire her up and lets see what happens....Video Thumbnail  CERN Director General Robert Aymar was quoted as saying  that there's no risk.

 Image of GRB 080319B The extremely luminous afterglow of GRB 080319B was imaged by Swift's X-ray Telescope

On the hunt for the Higgs boson

Stephen Hawking in his study 
The sum of human knowledge could be massively increased on Wednesday - but Professor Stephen Hawking could find himself $100 poorer. As Cern prepares to switch on the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) below the French-Swiss border, the physicist has a bet that it will not find the Higgs boson - the most highly sought-after particle in physics. Dubbed the "God particle" because it is so crucial to our understanding of the Universe, it is thought to give everything its mass. The most powerful physics experiment ever built, the LHC will re-create the conditions present in the Universe just after the Big Bang. When subatomic particles like protons are smashed together in the LHC, the energies released will create an array of new particles - some of which have not been seen since the big bang itself. It will give scientists a glimpse into how these building blocks of matter are made.
 
"The LHC will increase the energy at which we can study particle interactions, by a factor of four. According to present thinking, this should be enough to discover the Higgs particle, the particle that gives mass to all the other particles," Professor Hawking told the Today programme. Previous particle accelerators have failed to find it, but because the LHC is so much more powerful, there is hope that it will succeed. Even a failure, Professor Hawking says, would be exciting, because that would pose new questions about the laws of nature. "I think it will be much more exciting if we don't find the Higgs. That will show something is wrong, and we need to think again. I have a bet of $100 that we won't find the Higgs." He believes another important discovery that the experiment could make is superpartners, or particles that should theoretically exist. They are "supersymmetric partners" to those particles we already know of at present. "Their existence would be a key confirmation of string theory, and they could make up the mysterious dark matter that holds galaxies together. Whatever the LHC finds, or fails to find, the results will tell us a lot about the structure of the Universe," he says."If the collisions in the LHC produced a micro black hole, and this is unlikely, it would just evaporate away again, producing a characteristic pattern of particles. Collisions at these and greater energies occur millions of times a day in the Earth's atmosphere, and nothing terrible happens." The human race is characterised by an insatiable quest to understand things, and the LHC is an example of our willingness to invest in that quest. It is however difficult to predict whether it will bring any practical advances in the scale of our lifetime. But the LHC might reveal something completely unexpected about the workings of our Universe, and that, says Professor Hawking, is what makes physics so satisfying. "Throughout history, people have studied pure science from a desire to understand the Universe, rather than for practical applications, or commercial gain. But their discoveries have later turned out to have great practical benefits. "It is difficult to see an economic return from research at the LHC, but that doesn't mean there won't be any." Asked if he would be able to choose whether the LHC or the space programme is more important in advancing our knowledge of the Universe, Professor Hawking says that would be like "asking which of my children I would choose to sacrifice". "Both the LHC, and the space programme, are vital if the human race is not to stultify, and eventually die out. Together they cost less than one tenth of a percent of world GDP. If the human race cannot afford that, it doesn't deserve the epithet, human," he added. Scientists have spoken, if cautiously, of the experiments at Cern venturing into realms long regarded as those of speculative science fiction - multiple universes, parallel worlds, black holes in space linking different levels of existence. Professor Hawking says that a parallel universe may be a universe very different to the one we recognise. "According to the sum over histories idea of Richard Feynman, the Universe doesn't just have a single history, as one might think, but it has every possible history, each with its own weight. A few of the histories will contain creatures like me, doing different things, but the vast majority of histories will be very different." In 1974 Professor Hawking argued that due to quantum effects, primordial black holes created during the Big Bang could "evaporate" by a theoretical process now referred to as Hawking Radiation in which particles of matter would be emitted. Under this theory, the smaller the size of the micro black hole, the faster the evaporation rate, resulting in a sudden burst of particles as the micro black hole suddenly explodes. In the past Professor Hawking has joked that if the LHC does creates micro black holes - even if they are rather short-lived ones - it could win him the Nobel prize. However, he now says he does not believe this is something that is imminent. "If the LHC were to produce little black holes, I don't think there's any doubt I would get a Nobel prize, if they showed the properties I predict. However, I think the probability that the LHC has enough energy to create black holes, is less than 1%, so I'm not holding my breath."

The Canadian frigate HMCS Ville de Quebec will escort ships carrying food aid to Somalia. The Canadian frigate HMCS Ville de Quebec will escort ships carrying food aid to Somalia WFP asked the world's naval powers in mid-June to help its ships reach the more than 2 million people in need of aid. It put out the request weeks before French, Danish and Dutch warships ended their escort missions, which began in November.Pirate attacks on unescorted ships have been a growing problem in Somalia. Three European freighters were hijacked off the Horn of Africa in June, adding to the 27 other reported attacks this year, according to the International Maritime Bureau, which tracks piracy.

N. Korean leader suffers stroke!
SEOUL (AFP) - North Korean leader Kim Jong-Il has suffered a stroke but is still able to run the country and will recover, South Korea's intelligence agency told parliament Wednesday.

Friday, Sep 5 
Saturday, Sep 6 
Sunday, Sep 7 
Monday, Sep 8 
 
Forecast
showers 
 showers 
 cloudiness 
showers 
High
27 °C
22 °C
22 °C
23 °C
Low
19 °C
15 °C
13 °C
12 °C
Prob of Precip
60 %
40 %
40 %
40 %

This NOAA graphic shows the expected three-day storm path of tropical storm Hanna on Thursday, Sept. 4, 2008. This NOAA graphic shows the expected three-day storm path of tropical storm Hanna on Thursday, Sept. 4, 2008. Meteorologists are predicting that Tropical Storm Hanna will hit Canada as soon as the end of the weekend. The storm, which was winding its way across the Bahamas and southern U.S. Thursday morning, could bring heavy winds and rain to Atlantic Canada by Sunday, a media spokesperson for the U.S. Hurricane Center told reporters. "The storm will be extra tropical by the time it gets to that part of the world," Dennis Feltgen said. That means it will have lost some of its strength by the time it arrives but it will still be "fast moving, very fast moving," he said. Feltgen illustrated the storm's speed by noting that it's expected to hover over Long Island on Sunday and it will already be near Newfoundland by 2 a.m. Monday. Hurricane Ike, which has grown into a Category 4 storm, is seen lumbering across the Atlantic Ocean, 885 km northeast of the Leeward Islands in this infrared satellite image provided by the NOAA on Thursday, Sept. 4, 2008. Hurricane Ike, which has grown into a Category 4 storm, is seen lumbering across the Atlantic Ocean, 885 km northeast of the Leeward Islands in this infrared satellite image provided by the NOAA on Thursday, Sept. 4, 2008.

harper Prime Minister Stephen Harper has testified that he personally authorized an offer made to late MP Chuck Cadman in 2005 for help defeating the Liberal government. In sworn testimony filed Wednesday in Ontario Superior Court, Harper said it happened after he heard Cadman was willing to side with the Tories but couldn't because of financial distress and fear of losing an election. It was Harper's first detailed account of his role in the so-called Cadman affair and, during four hours of testimony, he offered two different versions of when he first learned about Cadman's financial troubles. Harper said he approved the overture to Cadman on May 18, 2005, the day before a crucial confidence vote, after receiving a message from his top political organizer and campaign manager, Doug Finley. Harper testified during a cross-examination in his $3.5-million libel suit against the Liberal party that he gave permission for Finley to speak to Cadman, a former Conservative, even though he was sure Cadman was going to support the Liberals in the confidence vote. This is Harper's only lengthy explanation of his actions in the Cadman affair -- allegations that Conservative representatives offered Cadman a $1-million insurance policy to help defeat the Liberals. Vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin stands at the podium during a walk through at the Republican National Convention.(AP / ABC News) Right wing corruption will bring both the north and southern versions down Vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin.  NBC's O'Brien joked that Palin said that "we should never have introduced her to John Edwards." David Letterman, on CBS' "Late Show," made the pregnancy the subject of only his fifth and last joke about the selection of the Alaska governor as John McCain's running mate.

During a smog episode  like Sunday (51), individuals may experience eye irritation. Today is better
BRAMPTON Air Quality Index = 20  On bad days...
Heavy outdoor exercise may cause respiratory symptoms such as coughing or shortness of breath. People with heart or lung disease including asthma may experience
a worsening of their condition. Spare the Air Actions: During a smog advisory, there are a number of actions that you can take to help spare the air. Leave your car at home - walk, cycle, carpool or take public transit, tele-conference instead of driving to meetings
- limit car trips by doing all your errands at once, and do
not let your engine idle- keep your car well tuned, check your tire pressure and drive at moderate speeds, avoid exposure to vehicle exhaust fumes  consult your doctor for specific health advice wear light clothing at work while air conditioning is reduced avoid strenuous exercise in the heat of the day : save electricity at home by setting your air conditioner temperature a few degrees higher (health permitting) and turning off lights you are not using Other pollution reduction tips: leave lawn mowing for another day, restrict the use of gasoline-powered equipment, delay using oil-based paints, solvents and cleaners

 
Friday, Aug 22 
Saturday, Aug 23 
Sunday, Aug 24 
Monday, Aug 25 
 
Forecast
 cloudiy 
 cloudy
 showers 
Sunny 
High
28 °C
28 °C
26 °C
22 °C
Low
16 °C
18 °C
17 °C
13 °C
Prob of Precip
20 %
20 %
40 %
0 %

 Pakistan's president Pervez Musharraf has given in to impeachment pressure and says he will step down.   Pakistan's president Pervez Musharraf announces his resignation. (Canadian Press)Propane station explosion in Toronto, August 10, 2008 In Toronto, residents are now being allowed back home near the site of the massive Sunrise Propane blast last weekend.  Homes in the Keele Street and Wilson Avenue area had been cordoned off for the past eight days while asbestos was cleaned up around the site on Murray Road in Downsview.

Worse than the top two stories is the chance that you might die from a stroll in your own backyard! When are our MPP's going to make this a priority problem. I do not wish to die tending my garden like my friend did. We need to pressure all levels of government for a soution. More cases of the West Nile Virus are being reported all across Ontario.

MosquitoGiuseppe Coluccio is wanted by Italian police. (Photo: Italian Interior Ministry)An alleged mafia boss arrested in Toronto earlier this month will be deported to Italy. Giuseppe Coluccio, 41, has been ordered by the Immigration and Refugee Board to leave the country. The soon to be ex-City councillor Maria Augimeri says "The law is an ass. People need to wake up and tell their MPPs to change the law."the province has no disaster protocols and should be blamed for the massive explosion that forced thousands out of their northwest Toronto homes on 10/8/08. Augimeri; Talk TV A horse-driven cart moves past a Russian vehicle at a checkpoint in Khurvaleti, near Gori, Georgia, on Monday.David vs. Goliath... Russian vehicle at a checkpoint in Khurvaleti, near Gori, Georgia. Many cases of Russian atrocities still pouring in, claimed to be for peoples protection. They say they are now exiting Georgia (or what is left of it)!

Afghanistan -- Canadians must convince their government to pull out of Afghanistan or face more attacks like the one that killed two Canadian aid workers last week just south of Kabul, the Taliban have said in an "open letter" addressed to "the Canadian people."

It's been about three months since the Mehdi Army, loyal to radical Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, abandoned this mosque as it withdrew from several strongholds across the country.  Abu Muhanad said as he walked through a torture chamber in a Baghdad mosque where more than two dozen bodies have been found. Spray painted on the walls is a chilling warning: "Spies, you will dig your own graves. Long live the Mehdi Army." Now the mosque is under the watch of the Sons of Iraq, a local armed group that is largely financed by the Americans working alongside the Iraqi police. U.S. guards patrol at Camp Bucca in Iraq in May. They are charged with trying to keep the peace in the neighborhood.Muhanad is their leader. "We found this chain on an old man's corpse that we dug out of the grave," he said, gesturing to a bloodied chain on the floor. "We recovered about 22 corpses and then another five." Only now are people able to understand the true magnitude of the Shiite militia's atrocities and the brutal laws they were enforcing on the people.

Mime the Knife...Police arrested a rubber knife-wielding man at Yonge and Dundas Square Sunday afternoon. It all started after a child had given money to a mime, who was then allegedly robbed by the suspect. The mime and the man got into an argument, prompting the man to allegedly pull a fake knife from his pocket, police say.

Canada's Jason Burnett, from Etobicoke, Ont., holds up his silver medal following competition in the mens trampoline final at the the Beijing Olympics in Beijing, China, Tuesday, Aug. 19, 2008. (Adrian Wyld / THE CANADIAN PRESS) Canada now has 13 medals, beating our country's output in Athens four years ago. Canada enjoyed another successful day at the Olympics winning four medals, three silver and one bronze. Simon Whitfield of Kingston, Ont. won second place in the men's triathlon momentarily surging into the lead before being overtaken with less than 30 metres to go. He completed the course in one hour, 48 minutes, 53 seconds.Toronto's Jason Burnett captured the silver medal in the men's trampoline with a routine of a high difficulty rating

Serena Williams barely got the better of older sister Venus Williams in a U.S. Open quarterfinal that was fit for a final, coming back in each set to win 7-6 (6), 7-6 (7) last night and break a tie in their head-to-head series.

Might they tip the balance on Oct. 14. I hope we're not stuck with another minority just because parties didn't court the Bunny Vote.

Every woman I talk to is undecided.

"Maybe if they got us involved," says dusky beauty Jacqueline O'Neil, 21, of Uxbridge, who is set to appear in Fresh Faces Special Edition.

"Maybe if they made us care."

Says Emilie Lanteigne, 26, of Ottawa: "I hear a lot of talk. I need to see action before I make my choice."

Incidentally, I hate to burst your bubble, Bubba, but Playboy's College Girls? Most of them aren't. You just have to look like one.

Cher McConnell, 23, of Etobicoke, on the other hand, has a BSc in psychology from U of T. She thought about a medical degree.

"Or something to do with makeup. I'm kind of trying to figure myself out."

This much for sure: She is Irish/Scottish with freckles and flaming hair and eyes deep as Loch Ness. You could swim in those eyes. She's a model who plays rugby.

And she hates politicians.

"They're weaselly," she says. "I don't like any of 'em

REUTERS
Missouri
delegate George Engelbach, wearing a hat and beard reminiscent of former U.S. President Abraham Lincoln, walks the floor at the start of the first session at the 2008 Republican National Convention in St. Paul, Minnesota September 1, 2008.
ERNEST

 The Snowbirds perform at the 59th Annual Canadian International Airshow at the CNE on August 30, 2008.

IT LOOKS BAD
Thursday, Aug 7 
Friday, Aug 8 
Saturday, Aug 9 
Sunday, Aug 10 
 
Forecast
showers 
showers 
showers 
showers 
High
24 °C
21 °C
24 °C
22 °C
Low
16 °C
15 °C
12 °C
16 °C
Prob of Precip
40 %
60 %
40 %
40 %

 Adam Van Koeverden the 26-year-old Oakville Ont. native was named Canada's flag-bearer for the Beijing Olympics at a news conference this morning in Montreal. He also carried the Maple Leaf at the closing ceremony for the 2004 games.

Adam  displays the gold medal he won at the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens Olympics to kick off 8/8/8 @8:08 pm

U.S. warns of 'punitive' action on Iran

Iran may face "punitive" measures in an “or else tactic” to force Iran to cutback in its nuclear program, a White House official said

LOST GOLD STILL NOT CLAIMED!!

Though the medal was found in May and the team was emailed the good samaritan of Brampton still has the medal and has heard no word from its owner or the team Pictured here is the winning team of a recent provincial basketball playoffs. They are all wearing their beautiful gold medals proudly. The mystery begins when a Brampton man found one of these medals in a Brampton bar! How did it get there just weeks after this photo was taken in Kitchener Ontario. We have emailed the club and await a reply. The Juvenile Girls brought home the Gold Medal from the OBA Provincial Championships.  This marks the second Gold Medal for Newman Youth this season --  an outstanding achievement.  Congrats Girls! Does Newman Youth Basketball not run an organized email system  or do they regularly ignore peoples email or do they not care about the "lost gold"?  pleasereplyspreadtheword75@hotmail.comTo: nyb@newmanyouthbasketball.comSubject: lost 2008 champ medalDate: Thu, 29 May 2008 12:29:32 -0400My friend found a medal for 2008 please help find owner mikeMEDAL MYSTERY....LOST GOLD FOUND IN BRAMPTON BAR!

The Prime Minister, Stephen Harper, proudly receiving the 400th anniversary of Québec City commemorative medallion from Jean Leclerc, chairman of the board of the Société du 400e anniversaire de Québec.Prime Minister Stephen Harper received the 400th anniversary of Québec City commemorative medallion from Jean Leclerc of the Société du 400e anniversaire de Québec. Vaisseau du premier rang portant pavillon d'admiral

KBEC400

CITY OF SOUL...or...UP and IN KBEC   

                                                                                                                           by Mike Milne

I first heard of the four hundredth anniversary celebrations of the founding of Quebec City in a small article in the Toronto Star in December 2007. I posted the article on my wall and decided immediately without hesitation that I would go there and share in their historic party. I planned and investigated for six months, and on June 17th. 2008 at 1040 am., I slipped out of Brampton on a Via train. Changed trains in Toronto and Montreal, arrived in Quebec at 930 pm... The station was deserted and when I stepped outside, so were the streets. I was last in this city that had captured my heart thirty four years earlier in 1974, but back then I had never been around the train station, so as I stepped out into the fresh night air only experienced after a hard rain, I felt excited to be there, but also I had that sickening feeling one gets when utterly lost. After about five minutes in the cool fresh air, I bumped into a lady and with my best French I asked if she knew the way to rue Couillard. She did not and went her way. As I stood there I panicked slightly, what with my whole world packed into about eighty pounds of baggage and all alone. After about eight minutes the lady returned and informed me she had asked elsewhere and knew where I needed to go. She told me she would walk with me there. We started along a level street that abruptly turned into a cliff face that she assured me was the way we had to go. Sure enough the cliff was paved and had all the markings of a real street except it rose almost vertically before us! We started to climb and thanks to the luggage cart lent to me by Phillip Loew I was able to traverse the first leg of our climb. We reached a bend in the ah, ‘road’ where another seemingly steeper section appeared ahead. I leaned briefly against a massive stone wall corner there, which, unbeknownst to me at the time was exactly one of the treasures I had come to seek. This spot was where a porte (door in English) had once stood. Porte cote du palais was its name. More on that later. I was sure I could not go on, but the woman urged me forward. I t was about that time that I began to question the motives of this stranger I was mountaineering with, as by that time we had climbed about 800 feet together in the pitch black night. In Toronto the best you can hope for from a stranger is completely wrong directions, or as usually happens, being completely ignored. I knew the old woman couldn’t take me on alone, but I started imagining that I might be walking into a trap. By the time we reached the next corner, I was sure a massive heart attack was building within my heaving chest. I stopped for a few seconds catching my breath but she pleaded me forward. Now I was certain. I was walking into a trap, for before us lay the darkest, crookedest, old alley I had ever seen! I refused to enter this alley until she pointed out a small sign indicating we in fact had reached rue Couillard. She bid me bon chance and beetled off into the night back down that same killer hill we had just conquered. Suddenly I felt an awful gut wrenching guilt and shame over my stupidly improper imagination. I perception now was that this was in fact some kind of a saint who had aided a stranger in the night. Her name as I recorded it then was Elena but it might have been Helene as this had been my first foray into the French language in twenty years. I will not quickly forget her kindness. I checked in at the auberge de la paix without incident, unpacked my sleeping bag and headed out into the night. Within ten minutes I found the second goal of the night from the list in my quest. I recognized it almost immediately. A dark dingy bar up a narrow alley that in 1974 was called La Cav. It was where I had often partied at and held many deep and moving memories. One must consider that I was only twenty when I had last seen this place. It is also where I hooked up with a hostel worker Nicole in 1974; took home and lived with for a couple of months. For thirty four years I have thought of that woman and that bar and now I was back! On this night a really good guitarist/singer entertained us, and though the bar was not packed to the rafters with the sixty or so freaks I last saw there in 1974, there was about thirty souls partying pretty hard. I was proud and sure that La Cav had kept its spirit. Incidentally it was called La Cav as it is dug straight into the side of the mountain with the walls and part of the ceiling bare natural rock. This I believe not only adds to the charm but properly set up as it was in 1974 the sound is heightened by the natural acoustics of the rock. Enjoyed a couple of beers and went home. 

 For more on my exciting expedition email us your request  to spreadtheword75@hotmail.com. Free teeshirt for published items. Editor

Étude pour «L'Arrivée de Samuel de Champlain à Québec»
Étude pour «L'Arrivée de Samuel de Champlain à Québec

Saturday, Jul 26 
Sunday, Jul 27 
Monday, Jul 28 
Tuesday, Jul 29 
 
Forecast
Chance of thundershowers 
Mainly sunny 
Scattered showers 
Mainly sunny 
High
28 °C
26 °C
25 °C
25 °C
Low
19 °C
16 °C
16 °C
15 °C
Probability of Precipitation
60 %
10 %
40 %
10 %

Karadzic to defend himself in courtKaradzic to defend himself in court Former Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic plans to defend himself before a U.N. war crimes tribunal, his lawyer said Wednesday after his arrest brought to an end the decade-long hunt for Europe's most wanted man.

July 3 is the anniversary of the founding of Québec City, and in 2008, marks the exact date of its fourth centenary.
Québec plein la rue  Photo

Québec City marked its 400th birthday in 2008: Recognized by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site, the city is celebrating four centuries as a vital and influential presence on American soil!
Fireworks Light Up The Lake In Toronto's Annual Victoria Day TraditionLegacy
NASA's Gamma-ray Large Area Space Telescope (GLAST for short) left Earth onboard a Delta II rocket. "The entire GLAST Team is elated," reported program manager Kevin Grady of NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center shortly after the rocket's liftoff from Cape Canaveral. "The observatory is now on-orbit and all systems continue to operate as planned." What is NASA's newest space telescope going to accomplish? GLAST will explore the most extreme environments in the universe, searching for signs of new laws of physics, investigating the nature of dark matter, and many other things as well. Read today's story, A Violent History of Time, to preview one of the deep mysteries researchers hope GLAST will solve.A Violent History of Time From mother Earth, the night sky can look peaceful and unchanging, but the universe as seen in gamma-rays is a place of sudden and chaotic violence. Using gamma-ray telescopes, astronomers witness short but tremendously intense explosions called gamma-ray bursts, and there is nothing more powerful.

see captionNo one is sure what causes gamma-ray bursts. Favored possibilities include the collision of two neutron stars or a sort of super-supernova that occurs when extremely massive stars explode. One thing is certain: gamma-ray bursts happen in galaxies far, far away -- so far away that the distances are called "cosmological," beyond ordinary comprehension. Artist's concept: A gamma-ray burst destroys a star. Think about this: When you look up at the night sky, you are looking at the ultimate history book – one that goes back to the very beginning of what we call time. And each star is a chapter in the book. You are not really seeing the stars as they are now. You are looking at stars as they used to be when their light left them long ago. And the deeper we peer into space, the farther back in time we are looking. In fact, light from the galaxies farthest away is billions of years old.

T.O.Police Arrest 17 Members Of MS-13 Gang  Police allege that three of those arrested had conspired to murder someone involved in law enforcement, a chilling tactic often used by other chapters of the group.
Police Arrest 17 Members Of MS-13 GangJewelry Worth Millions Stolen From North York Home
Jewelry Worth Millions Stolen They're pieces of jewelry worth millions of dollars but to their owner the sentimental value is priceless.Police are hoping to nab a suspect and a robbery victim is hoping to recover several exquisite pieces of jewelry pinched from their safe.On Thursday authorities released pictures of the stolen gems, including a custom made diamond ring, a diamond necklace and a sapphire ring, hoping someone recognizes them.

SHOT FOR LEMONS...........One month after Byron Debassige was gunned down by police in a Davisville-area park, his family and friends returned to the scene to retrace his final steps. "I first want to return the lemon my brother stole," Angie Assinewe told a clerk at D&Y Market on Yonge St., handing over a fruit she brought from home. It was here that the string of events leading up to Debassige's death began. Debassige, who suffered from mental illness, had stolen some lemons from the convenience store around 8:15 p.m. on Feb. 16. Shortly thereafter he was shot dead by police.
 
Byron Debassige's father Ken Assinewe, left, Angie Assinewe, the slain man's sister, and her daughters Jacquelyn and Edielynn at the spot where the 28-year-old was killed by police. March 14, 2008 ..Photo courtesy of AARON LYNETT /TORONTO STAR

Saturday, Jul 19 
Sunday, Jul 20 
Monday, Jul 21 
Tuesday, Jul 22 
 
Forecast
Chance of thundershowers 
Thundershowers 
Variable cloudiness 
Mainly sunny 
High
28 °C
27 °C
23 °C
24 °C
Low
19 °C
20 °C
17 °C
13 °C
Prob of Precip
60 %
80 %
30 %
10 %

Come And Sit Together (CAST), an addiction support group, meets Tuesdays at 10 a.m. at St. Paul's United Church, 30 Main St. S. and Thursdays at 7 p.m. in Mississauga at Christ Church, 1700 Mazo Cres. It is for all people at any stage of recovery looking for a safe and compassionate place to discuss concerns about drinking, drug use, gambling, relationships, Internet and any type of addiction. No fees or donations are requested. For information, call Tom at 905-846-2829 or visit www.cast-canada.ca.

 

 
Wednesday, Jun 11 
Thursday, Jun 12 
Friday, Jun 13 
Saturday, Jun 14 
 
Forecast
Sunny 
 cloudy
showers 
showers 
High
22 °C
22 °C
28 °C
23 °C
Low
15 °C
11 °C
15 °C
14 °C
Prob of Precip
0 %
0 %
80 %
70 %

Another Summer of Smog Alerts
Once again, Toronto is under a smog alert. The gorgeous summer-like weather has a downside, and it's the blanket of pollution that's covering much of Ontario.The advisory was called Friday and stretched into Saturday afternoon, putting a damper on plans to spend the weekend
WINDSOR DOWNTOWN Air Quality Index = 30Smog Alert Enters Second DayFlying Priest Takes Off In Brazil
PRIEST WHEREABOUTS STILL UP IN THE AIR
Pictured above a S. American Catholic priest took off with the help for a couple hundred helium ballons. He has not been seen since. He is presumed to have perished.  
 
Cosmetic Pesticide Ban. It's a ban environment and health advocates have wanted for years and the Ontario government plans to take action to implement it just in time for Earth Day. Premier Dalton McGuinty plans to introduce legislation Tuesday that would outlaw the cosmetic use and sale of pesticides. He arrived at a backyard press conference in a hybrid SUV to announce the move. "It will be the toughest (ban) of its kind in North America. It will go beyond just lawns. It will go to school yards and playgrounds and the like," McGuinty said. This provincial measure is aimed at replacing a patchwork of municipal pesticide bans, including the one currently in effect in Toronto.
Province To Introduce Cosmetic Pesticide Ban On Earth Day
US President George W. Bush, right, and European Union Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso depart for talks after a group photo with EU leaders in Brdo castle near Kranj, Slovenia.
Nicklas Lidstrom with the Stanley Cup Nicklas Lidstrom with the Stanley Cup NHL spokeswoman Bernadette Mansur said the Cup got a slight dent Friday after some players took the trophy to Cheli's Chili Bar, a downtown restaurant owned by Red Wings defenceman Chris Chelios.Mansur says dent was smoothed out, and the trophy was expected to keep making the rounds
Montreal GP
Following their historic one-two result at Canada's circuit Gilles Villeneuve, Robert Kubica and Nick Heidfeld now consider that the BMW Sauber team counts amongst the top performers of Formula One. Kubica now leads the drivers' championship, four points ahead of Lewis Hamilton and Felipe Massa, seven points ahead of World Champion Kimi Raikkonen. After leading earlier in the season, BMW Sauber now stands in second position of the constructors' championship, a mere three points behind Ferrari, a full 17 points clear of third-placed McLaren. Alonzo crashed late eliminating any points chances for him.

Max MosleyFormula One Prez ---Nazi Pervert-- Motorsport South Africa are the latest organisation to call for Max Mosley, the president of Federation Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA), to resign.
 Condemnation has rained down on the Mosley since the publication in the News of the World of details about his part in an allegedly Nazi-inspired sado-masochistic orgy which is reported to have taken place with five prostitutes in a basement flat in Chelsea, west London. Since then a number of the world's major motoring bodies have condemned the 68-year-old, and MSA are the latest to call for Mosley to stand down.The FIA have now decided that on June 3, Mosley will go before the FIA's general assembley, for a secret ballot that will decide his future as president of the organisation. In the meantime, Mosley, who has run the organisation for the past 15 years, is expected to embark on an intensive round of 'shuttle diplomacy' to try to secure his future. Motoring organisations in the United States, Germany, Holland, Austria, Israel, Canada and New Zealand are amongst those to speak out against Mosley, with only the United Arab Emirates stating they will vote in favour of him remaining in office.The crescendo of calls for Max Mosley to resign are only going to make him more determined to stay on, according to a friend of the FIA president who has spoken to The Times. With car companies, national motor sport federations, the Formula One paddock and well-known figures in the sport calling on him - or expecting him - to resign, Mosley has amazed and annoyed by refusing to accept that his position is hopeless.

RE: crew in Dec @ Australia‏
From: Crew (crew@seashepherd.org)
Sent: May 30, 2008 1:03:40 PM
To: 'Mike Milne' (spreadtheword75@hotmail.com)

I’ll look for your application to come in the mail and I’ll hang on to your picture. Sounds like you have a ton of experience on the water which is great! I’ll be in touch when your application arrives.   Hey, thanks for the prompt reply! Where I attend for internet access restricts adobe upgrade; thus no access to filling out a virtual form. I will snail mail a hard copy. Could you at least keep my photo (below) on file as I see you request one; all of my photos are virtual. I have sailed US to NZ in the Pacific several times; NZ Cook Strait a lot on the ferries to Picton, Stewart Island and Christchurch, crossed the English Channel a few times and piloted a 14 foot sailboat through an anti-cyclone in the Cook Strait with at least a 40 ft swell! I do not get seasick even when everyone else does. I feel drawn toward a position like "Radio operator". I am willing to take any courses needed. MikePS all the qualities you asked for coincidently I have ie):The most sought-after crewmember would be eager to learn, flexible, open to learning many different skills and duties on the vessel, hard-working, honest, trustworthy and committed to being part of a team that is working together to protect marine wildlife  love to learn; learn to love.

 
 
 

pour
Quebec
 Jun 19 
 Jun 20 
Jun 21 
 Jun 22 
 
Forecast
 
 
 
 
High
17 °C
18 °C
19 °C
20 °C
Low
12 °C
12 °C
12 °C
13 °C
Prob of Precip
80 %
70 %
60 %
60 %

 
Saturday, Jun 28 
Sunday, Jun 29 
Monday, Jun 30 
Tuesday, Jul 1 
 
Forecast
Cloudy with showers 
Cloudy with showers 
Thundershowers 
A few showers 
High
23 °C
21 °C
24 °C
22 °C
Low
13 °C
15 °C
18 °C
17 °C
Prob of Precip
80 %
70 %
80 %
60 %

 

Friday, May 16 
Saturday, May 17 
Sunday, May 18 
Monday, May 19 
 
Forecast
Sunny 
Cloudy with showers 
Variable cloudiness 
Light rain 
High
18 °C
14 °C
12 °C
13 °C
Low
6 °C
7 °C
6 °C
5 °C
Probability of Precipitation
0 %
80 %
20 %
70 %

'Boomer' the African lion is seen after being captured by Quebec police on Thursday, May 1, 2008. 'Boomer' the African lion is seen after being captured by Quebec police on Thursday, May 1, 2008. A runaway African lion has been safely captured after police in Quebec carried out a frantic search for the animal. The lion, dubbed "Boomer" by his owner, disappeared Tuesday night from its pen on a native reserve near Maniwaki. The six-month-old cat, which the owner says is domesticated, was caught by police officers Thursday. Luckily they were not like Peel cops who "shoot just to be on the safe side"!

DEATH @ 20,000 FEET

Passenger Aboard Russia-Toronto Flight Was Apparently Drinking Heavily Before He Died....Peel police spent several hours talking to passengers of a flight from Moscow after a 41-year-old man believed to be heavily intoxicated died before the plane landed at Pearson International Airport in Toronto. Witnesses said that a fight broke out during the flight. Patrick Dennie was waiting for his wife at the airport, who was onboard the plane, and told CTV News that his wife told him, "A gentleman had been intoxicated and started a disturbance and the staff of the airline came in and had removed him."
 
Fri, May 2 
Sat, May 3 
Sun, May 4 
Mon, May 5 
 
Forecast
 showers 
showers 
Light rain 
p/cloudy  
High
13 °C
19 °C
15 °C
16 °C
Low
6 °C
13 °C
8 °C
6 °C
Prob of Precip
80 %
80 %
70 %
20 %
 
Versatile Dextre has two arms for delicate servicing tasks on the outside of the Space Station

BRAMPTON -- A Good Samaritan was knifed to death along with the woman he tried to save from an apparent domestic attack yesterday by a suicidal man. A Peel Regional Police sergeant, who arrived at the Red Maple Plaza at about 2:35 p.m. used his Taser to subdue a 28-year-old man as he was stabbing himself in the throat. One woman at the scene, Sharla Weller, said she was told the man had confronted the woman, claiming she was involved in an affair. Police would not comment on the motive for the attack. As the man knifed the woman, another man rushed to her aid trying to stop the attack. A chair was found in the strip mall's parking lot, apparently used to stop the knife-wielding man.

One victim collapsed and died in the parking lot, while the other stumbled into a nearby business and died.

The suspect was taken to Sunnybrook hospital. His condition was not disclosed, but the injuries were described as severe.

Because the suspect was jolted by a police Taser, the civilian watchdog, Special Investigations Unit, sent nine agents to investigate. "When the officer arrived, the man was harming himself," said SIU spokesman Frank Phillips. "The officer deployed a Taser to stop the man from doing so. The Taser was effective." Phillips said the suspect was armed with a knife. Peel Const. J.P. Valade said identities of the victims are being withheld until their families are notified. "We're still trying to identify the relationship of the male victim to the other two involved," he said. The acts of violence left a normally quiet and peaceful neighbourhood reeling in shock. That someone from their community could be dead, sacrificing himself to help someone being attacked, has shaken residents. "You try to help someone and look what happens," said Weller, who was walking her dog and arrived at the plaza on the corner of Red Maple Dr. and McLaughlin Rd., near Bovaird Dr., shortly after the violence ended. "It's scary.

 
Friday, Apr 18 
Saturday, Apr 19 
Sunday, Apr 20 
Monday, Apr 21 
 
Forecast
Sunny with cloudy periods 
Sunny with cloudy periods 
Cloudy with showers 
Variable cloudiness 
High
21 °C
21 °C
15 °C
17 °C
Low
7 °C
9 °C
11 °C
9 °C
Probability of Precipitation
0 %
0 %
80 %
30 %

Protestors Start Hunger Strike Outside Chinese Consulate In Toronto
 Hunger Strikers  In Toronto still chanting Free Tibet.

 
This is a symbolic hunger strike," said Tsering Lama, national director of Students for a Free Tibet. Protesters, many of them senior members of the Tibetan community, chanted and carried protest signs. "A hunger strike is a common tactic in non-violent struggles," Lama said. "It's a solemn way to show their grief and determination." This hunger strike follows other rallies in the city and around the world amid the campaign to fight what Tibetans call the oppression taking place in Tibet.

free tibet dalai lama

 

 

Lhasa: At least 100 killed in uprising Beijing set a "surrender deadline" signaling a crackdown after the worst unrest in Tibet for two decades.

Freeing Tibet is getting expensive for global authorities

Olympic flame snuffed twice, backup fire usedart.tibet.paris.1322.jpg

Security will now need to be beefed up for the now sullied olympic flame relay.The torch was being carried by a wheelchair athlete when it was halted and extinguished due to demonstrations.  Backup flames, also lit from the birthplace of the ancient games in Olympia, Greece, are with the relay at all times to relight the torch.

Motorists Grin And Fill It, As Cost Of Gas Rises Again To $1.17 A Litre!

Eccentric Builds Four Metre Tall Rideable GuitarDieter Senft admits he's not your average guy. After all, he calls himself "El Diablo", frequently appears in public wearing devil horns, and oh yeah - the 56-year-old eccentric just happens to have built his own bicycle.  It's a massive rideable guitar!

Police say the fact Moore's wrists and ankles were bound didn't necessarily mean somebody else was involved in his death. A violent sexual offender being investigated in the disappearance of three young men was found hanging from a braided rope in his cell at the Maplehurst Detention Centre in Milton, an inquest heard yesterday. Donald Douglas Moore, 36, also had his hands and ankles bound with pieces of bed sheets when a correctional officer discovered his body at 3:34 a.m. on April 2, 2004. He was pronounced dead at the Milton hospital 12 minutes later. A coroner's jury in Hamilton started probing the circumstances surrounding his death yesterday and will have to determine if it was a suicide, homicide or accidental death.  At the time police would not release any information to the press which was noticed as being suspicious by both by the Star and the Dunstan Times. Police alledge Moore had first threatened to hang himself during a series of cellphone conversations with Peel Detective Ken Drover, who had sworn out a sexual assault warrant against him on March 13, 2004, for allegedly molesting handicapped children in the Mississauga area. At the time, Peel police were also investigating Moore for the disappearance of Robert Grewal, 22, and Joey Manchisi, 20, who were last seen on Nov. 12, 2003, and Rene Charlebois, 15, who disappeared a month later. During the phone conversations, Moore had refused to reveal his whereabouts and said he would kill himself before spending another day in jail. "I'll be dead because of my past. Turning myself in is not an option," he told Drover on March 13, 2004. "It's OK to commit suicide. Jump off a swing and hang," he said. Two days later, Halton police tracked him down at the Royal Motel on Plains Road in Burlington. A heavily armed tactical team burst into his room in the middle of the night and zapped Moore with a stun gun while he was still in bed. He continued to talk about killing himself when Drover interviewed him after his arrest. He was placed in a single cell on suicide watch at the Maplehurst Detention Centre later in the day. But a week later, a prison doctor concluded he was no longer a suicide risk. Moore was taken off suicide watch and moved to the general prison population, where he shared a cell with another inmate. Forensic pathologist Dr. John Fernandes testified Moore had died of "ligature strangulation with a braided rope," which had been looped over a hinge on the cell door. Apart from the ligature marks, there were no other signs of violence on the body. Fernandes told the jurors he was aware of other cases where people had bound their legs and hands before committing suicide. Shortly after Moore's death, Peel police learned he had been involved in the murder of the three missing men and had recruited his wife and a teenage boy to help dispose of the bodies. Regarding Charlebois, police have never determined why he was murdered and the only connection he had with Moore was that they knew some of the same people. During the teen accomplice's trial, it was learned that Moore went after Manchisi and Grewal because he erroneously believed they had stolen some of his dope, money and jewellery. Joseph Manchisi Sr., a Milton realtor, is attending the inquest hoping to find some answers about his son's missing remains. He told reporters he alerted Halton police two days after his son's disappearance that Moore might be involved. He said police told him Moore was a pedophile but wouldn't kill anybody. The inquest continues.  by plegall@thespec.com

Her name is Valerie Valen and she will never forget what being a Good Samaritan did to her life. She's the woman who tried to come to the aid of a homeless man as he was being beaten to death at Moss Park Armoury on a rainy night in August 2005. Three reservists, Jeffrey Hall, Mountaz Ibrahim and Brian Deganis, are charged with second-degree murder in the terrible crime, which the court heard began when the trio returned from a night of heavy drinking. She was passing by the park that night, and couldn't believe what she was hearing. In some stunning testimony on Wednesday, the only living witness to the crime recalls being startled by the voice of a man later identified as Hall emerging through the downpour, screaming ""f***ing bums" and that the homeless were "all a waste of skin."  Valen became a victim herself when she screamed back at the trio, warning them she was calling 911. She told a hushed courtroom that was the moment they stopped going after Croutch and turned on her. She claims she was beaten by both Hall and Ibrahim and kicked in the head and ribs, leaving her black and blue from her ear to the back of her skull. When the men discovered they were beating a woman, she alleges they didn't stop for a moment. Instead she testified Hall sneered at her, "you're a dike, and you don't matter anyway." All three are also facing charges of assault causing bodily harm for that incident.  After the beating, she says Deganis marched back up to her and shoved his dog tags in her face. "These gave them the right to kill all us homeless crack heads and bums," she concluded. Valen, who knew the victim, called him a sad homeless man who was a "little more prideful" than other homeless people. She termed him a "gentleman" who always tried to help the addicts and the working girls who hung around the area.

 
Thurs, Apr 24 
Fri, Apr 25 
Sat, Apr 26 
Sun, Apr 27 
 
Forecast
Sunny 
 showers 
 showers 
Sunny/ cloudy  
High
19 °C
21 °C
19 °C
17 °C
Low
7 °C
8 °C
8 °C
5 °C
Prob of Precip
0 %
60 %
60 %
10 %

For some time many of us have wondered just who is this guy Jack Schitt? We find ourselves at a loss when someone says, 'You don't know Jack Schitt!'Well, thanks to my genealogical studies, you can now respond in an intellectual way.  It turns out that Jack Schitt was the only son of Awe Schitt. Awe Schitt, the famous fertilizer magnate, married O. Schitt, the owner of Needeep N. Schitt, Inc.. In turn, Jack Schitt married Noe Schitt.The deeply religious couple produced six children: Holie Schitt, Giva Schitt, Fulla Schitt, Bull Schitt, and the twins Deep Schitt and Dip Schitt. Against her parents' objections, Deep Schitt married Dumb Schitt, a high school dropout. After being married 15 years, Jack and Noe Schitt divorced.Noe Schitt later married Ted Sherlock, and because her kids were living with them, she wanted to keep her previous name. She was then known as Noe Schitt Sherlock. Meanwhile, Dip Schitt married Loda Schitt, and they produced a son with a rather nervous disposition named Chicken Schitt. Two of the other six children, Fulla Schitt and Giva Schitt, were inseparable throughout childhood and subsequently married the Happens brothers in a dual ceremony. The wedding announcement in the newspaper announced the Schitt-Happens nuptials. The Schitt-Happens children were Dawg, Byrd, and Horse. Bull Schitt, the prodigal son, left home to tour the world. He recently returned from Italy with his new Italian bride, Pisa Schitt. Now when someone says, 'You don't know Jack Schitt,' you can inform them of this news.
Sincerely, Crock O. Schitt

The Green Party are asking me for money, but I have been asking them for answers. Anyone can have money, not too many people have answers. I wrote to green party regarding provincial and federal issues...never a reply except to add me to a general mailing list...wazzappanee? Mike

One of the most embarrassing exploits in recent police history. Two cops apprehended the 29-year-old after he was listed as a suspect in a series of break-ins. They handcuffed him in front of his body, put him in the back of their squad car, and then stepped outside their unmarked cruiser to examine the contents of a bag he'd been carrying. You can imagine their surprise, then, when the vehicle suddenly roared off, leaving them standing there in stunned shock and the man they'd just arrested at the wheel. Cops eventually found the car but not Nolan. The shackled prisoner is on the loose and for the moment, no one - least of all the cops who left him alone in the vehicle - have any idea where he might have gone.

Officials Plead With Doomsday Cult To Come Out From Their Cave As Rains Promise Disaster Doomsday Cult To Come Out From Their Cave They're were waiting in an underground cave for the end of the world to come. But what if it rains first? That prospect - and a plea from their arrested leader - was enough to bring seven Russian cult members out from a hiding place they'd been sitting in since last November. The doomsday group, which believes the planet will meet its end in May, took refuge in the hole in the ground in the fall and has refused to come out since.  Why isn't Kuznetsov in there with them? The self-appointed leader of the cult claimed God needed him elsewhere and that wound up being a courtroom. He had been charged with inciting religious and ethnic hatred as well as another infraction that makes it illegal to encourage others to do things that will harm themselves. But those counts were dropped when court appointed doctors found he was mentally unbalanced and not fit to stand trial. He was released just long enough to plead with his followers to come out. "Seven people have come up to the surface, all of them women," Melnichenko confirms. "They are all alive and well, so there is no need for medical assistance, those who emerged are still convinced the end is nigh and as part of their agreement to leave, they will be taken to a small wooden house in a village about 750 kilometres from Moscow where they will remain cloistered in prayer until this episodeis over; or the world comes to an end!

LEAFS LAFFING STOCK.....

Leafs Can't Outlast Sabres In ShootoutWith the regular season now over, the Leafs do not even appear on any sports show charts! Why? Simply they are an embarrassment; technically it is because they didn’t make it to the playoffs. This makes me happy. What? Here’s why...to me there is little worse than hoping losers will win. I used to get an ulcer watching the Maple Laffs fall apart in the playoffs. Would someone in say Vancouver be willing to trade me places so I can have a home team I can cheer for? In fact the Canucks didn’t make it to the playoffs either but somehow they looked good doing it. Also there are always good tickets available @ the front gate box office in Vancouver. Not in T.O.! In T.O. you have to go talk to some guy named Guido which is okay, except the deal has a very definite “Shady” feel to it. The fact that organized crime is allowed to gather up all those tickets is beyond my comprehension.

Renault and McLaren have both dismissed any suggestion that Fernando Alonso caused the crash that ruined Lewis Hamilton's Bahrain Grand Prix. Hamilton smashed his front wing when he ran into the back of Alonso's Renault under acceleration out of the first corner on lap two - prompting some suggestions in the paddock that the former world champion had deliberately lifted off or 'brake tested' his 2007 title rival. Renault data seen by ITV Sport proved that Alonso was accelerating normally when the accident happened, and that the speed difference was purely a consequence of the McLaren getting a much better exit from the corner.

Hamilton drags his damaged McLaren back to the pits Massa has his season up and running Massa Wins, Hamilton drags his damaged McLaren back to the pits. Massa finally got his world title challenge up and running with a flawless victory in the Bahrain Grand Prix, beating team-mate Kimi Raikkonen in a Ferrari 1-2. The pint-sized Brazilian had spent the last few days fending off speculation that his Ferrari drive was in jeopardy for 2009 after error-strewn performances in the first two races.Sir Jackie Stewart believes that the current crisis surrounding Max Mosley as FIA president could be the catalyst for an overhaul of the way the FIA operates. Mosley is under increasing pressure to stand down following sexual allegations in the News of the World in recent weeks

1.  MASSA        Ferrari      +1h31m06.970s
2.  RAIKKONEN    Ferrari      +3.3s
3.  KUBICA       BMW          +4.9s
4.  HEIDFELD     BMW          +8.4s
5.  KOVALAINEN   McLaren      +26.7s
6.  TRULLI       Toyota       +41.3s
7.  WEBBER       Red Bull     +45.4s
8.  ROSBERG      Williams     +55.8s
9.  GLOCK        Toyota       +69.5s
10. ALONSO       Renault      +77.1s
11. BARRICHELLO  Honda        +77.8s
12. FISICHELLA   Force India  +1 lap
13. HAMILTON     McLaren      +1 lap

Gas Prices Soar To Highest Levels In Three YearsGas Prices Soar!

Man Gets Back Car 38 Years After It Was StolenMan Gets Back Car 38 Years After It Was StolenEugene Brakke couldn't be happier about hearing that his stolen Mustang has been recovered and is coming back to him. There's just one thing you should know about that otherwise ordinary sounding statement - the car in question is a vintage 1965 model and it was taken from the L.A.-area resident way back in 1970. Now, almost 40 years later, the long gone automobile has been located and he can't wait to drive it again. Where has it been and how was it located? Therein hangs an amazing tale that involves a woman who has had it all this time. A month after the vehicle disappeared, Long Beach, California resident Judy Smongesky received it as a high school graduation gift from her father. He bought it from a used car dealer and didn't think much about it, as his child tooled around town in the iconic machine. She loved the car so much, she lovingly restored it and maintained it for 38 years straight. But when she finally decided to sell it, a computer check turned up evidence that it had been stolen. Police in San Diego, where she now lives, confirmed the vehicle - though very old - was still very hot. So she located and contacted the original owner to tell him his prized former possession was still in existence and in the hands of someone who took good care of it for him

Peel Police Warn Of Dangerous Predator's Return To MississaugaDangerous Predator's Return To Mississauga... It is another of those warnings that makes parents fume, officials explain and police tread a fine line. Cops in Peel Region have put out a warning about the release of a man they're calling a high-risk sex offender whose past crimes involve young children. And they fear he's likely to re-offend. The problem: he's been let loose from the Maplehurst Detention Centre and is being placed in a Mississauga neighbourhood. But as in previous cases of this kind, the law won't let authorities tell you exactly where he'll be living, leaving parents to look over their shoulders with concern. Brendon James MacNeill was convicted of trying to lure a 13-year-old Michigan girl across the border in 2005. He began chatting with the child online and in the classic style of a predator gradually won over her trust, eventually turning to sex talk and sending pornographic pictures to her over email.

World Renowned Neurosurgeon: Cell Phone Use 'Worse Than Smoking' For Cancer Risk Cell Phone Use 'Worse Than Smoking' For Cancer Risk Calls about whether cell phones are dangerous to your health have been ringing off the hook for years. For every study that finds there's the potential for harm, there seems to be another one that discounts it. Research has emerged about the potential hazards of the ubiquitous devices - and this one comes from someone with impeccable credentials. Dr. Vini Khurana. He's published a study that he claims links cell phone usage to an increased risk of brain cancer and suggests the pocket mobile could one day be responsible for more cancer deaths than either cigarettes or exposure to asbestos. It's a bold and frightening statement and it's based on his review of more than 100 studies into the topic since handsets became mainstream.

SIU probes another trigger happy Brampton police shooting....save on paperwork clear all cops of all activities past and future SIU do eventually anyway. A 22-year-old Brampton man shot once in the abdomen by a Peel police officer responding to a domestic dispute Wednesday has been identified. Nirmal Bagri was shot shortly after police arrived at the Alaskan Summit Court home just before 6 p.m. He was wielding a baseball bat, according to the province's Special Investigations Unit (SIU). He was rushed to nearby Brampton Civic Hospital where he underwent surgery and is now recovering. SIU investigators will make attempts to interview him today, according to spokesperson Frank Phillips. Phillips said the SIU has identified one subject officer and four witness officers. The subject officer confronted the victim and "after some interaction" fired his handgun, Phillips said.
Other PRP news; man found dead outside Bluenote bar "not suspicious" but police refuse to release autopsy results!?!
PRP HERE'S THE BEEF...cops get their jollies pumping a dozen 9mm slugs into an allegedly itinerate cow last week. Fuzz claim they were unsure if it had a concealed weapon or if it had a permit to be "on the grass" and felt it "appeared to look aggressive"!
Martial arts teacher glad to be alive after lion encounter@ zoo
Gitanjali Kolanad was tackled by Leo the Lion and almost eaten while demonstrating the martial art Kalaripayat, during a cover shoot for Desi Life magazine.The 3-year-old lion was lying nearby when Kolanad began her movements. Apparently wanting to frolic, the animal jumped up and fell on her, knocking the wind out of her, bruising her left lung and breaking four left ribs. EDITORS NOTE: #1, if you are stupid enough to display fighting moves around a lion, you can guess you will arouse some kind of challenge #2 anyone that stupid and unable to sense trouble should not be teaching anything other than feeding lions live game.
My pet persian loves when I do my tai chi and often attacks me mid move. Luckily, tai chi raises awareness and I can move before fangs sink into my flesh.

Feist won 1-2-3-4-5 Junos last night, sweeping the annual Canadian music awards in her hometown. The alt-folk-pop singer-songwriter -- who was born in Amherst, N.S., but was raised in Calgary and currently resides in Toronto -- picked up Juno Awards last night in the top categories of album of the year (for The Reminder) and single of the year, for her breakout hit 1234, pronounced 1-2-3-4. That song became a huge hit last year when the video was used in an iPod Nano commercial, which led to her getting four Grammy Award nominations earlier this year.

From: shawnsonier@hotmail.com
To: spreadtheword75@hotmail.com
Subject: uninformed
Date: Fri, 1 Feb 2008 09:20:26 -0500

It is obvious that you are truly uninformed about what really goes on at the knights table and if you are truly trying to help the ppl who are serviced there maybe you should try to volunteer and make things better from the inside instead of lurking in the shadows like a thief in the night. I really liked the last line how it was not about the patrons but about you and how michelle was on your back and not everyones back hmmm funny how some other ppl might not notice that one eh. you are a small individual with obviously little true information and less brains but they will still service and serve even ppl like yourselves. if you spread the word of lies which your cabbage bullshit is because cabbage was the main vegetable with peas and corn also. but the main entree has been sandwiches, chicken, pork and beans. lasagna, veal cutlets and so on. I would rather you ate at the shelter where you are obviously from or definitely heading so you can see the difference in the food. enjoy your bigotry and thank you for comiong to kt.
 
 

With NASA's high-energy Swift Observatory in orbit, cosmic gamma-ray bursts just keep setting new records. The most powerful one yet — in fact, the most violent event ever seen in the universe — flashed into view on the morning of March 19th. While Swift caught it from orbit, ground-based cameras on the hunt for gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) saw a flare of visible light from the burst that peaked around magnitude 5.6 The afterglow of GRB 080319B was imaged by Swift's X-ray Telescope (left) and Optical/Ultraviolet Telescope (right). It was, by far, the intrinsically brightest gamma-ray-burst afterglow ever seen. This sets a record of a different kind: what is the farthest thing visible to the unaided eye? The usual answer is the Great Andromeda Galaxy at 2.5 million light-years, or, for a skilled observer under a very dark sky, the dimmer Triangulum Galaxy, M33, at 2.9 million light-years. But the visible-light afterglow from the March 19th burst had a redshift of 0.94, corresponding to a look-back time of 7.5 billion years

The Bank of Canada offices in Ottawa still believes it will need to cut interest rates further to stimulate the economy. The next scheduled rate announcement is April 22, the sustained period of global growth has been mostly good news for the overall economy in Canada, explaining that the strong commodity prices "are generating a substantial boost to incomes in Canada.'' Canada's manufacturing and forestry sectors are facing pressure from a variety of sides, including the strong loonie, weak U.S. demand and increased competition from developing economies such as China and India.

  President Robert Mugabe's election woes continued Wednesday, with official results showing his party had lost its majority in parliament just hours after the opposition claimed it also had won the presidency.

 

What does Earth Hour mean to you? EARTH HOUR... was a success in many ways. Local power grids saw an immediate 7% drop in usage, way to go fellow  savers! For myself it was a chance to reflect on where mankind is heading, and to observe the habits in my own neighbourhood. I turned off everything but the fridge at 7:59 pm and went out for a walk in the chilly spring twilight. I observed  one neighbour had turned out his lights and I noticed his whole family were sitting at the dining table with one candle and what appeared to be a card game going on. The house next to his was ablaze with three outdoor floodlights on and no-one at home. All the street lights were blazing away. The school, closed for the weekend had about 30 floodlights on. Another school down the road had several dozen floodlights going, and it wasnt even dark out yet. This was depressing. I truly believed we would ALL pitch in for Earth Hour; apparently not. Brampton City had 17 rec. centres operating with no apparent cutbacks. What bugs me is that even the saunas that suck up mega wattage were running full blast, even where no-one was using them. This has been a pet peeve of mine for years. My complaints which city officials have ignored, even in 37c weather still remain unanswered. What does Earth Hour mean to you? We are interested in your thoughts and impressions on the international Earth Hour effort on March 29,2008 when cities around the world switched off for 60 minutes.Send us your observations.

A powerful gamma ray burst detected March 19th,2008 by NASA's Swift satellite has shattered the record for the most distant object that could be seen with the naked eye. "It was a whopper," says Swift principal investigator Neil Gehrels of NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center. "This blows away every gamma ray burst we've seen so far."

Swift's Burst Alert Telescope picked up the burst at 2:12 a.m. EDT on March 19, 2008, and pinpointed the coordinates in the constellation Bootes. Telescopes in space and on the ground quickly moved to observe the afterglow. The burst was named GRB 080319B and registered between 5 and 6 on the visual magnitude scale used by astronomers. (A magnitude 6 star is the dimmest visible to the human eye; magnitude 5 is almost three times brighter.)

see caption

Above: GRB 080319B makes a brief appearance among the stars of Bootes in a movie made by Pi of the Sky, a Polish group that monitors the sky for afterglows and other short-lived phenomena. [More]

Later that evening, the Very Large Telescope in Chile and the Hobby-Eberly Telescope in Texas measured the burst's redshift at 0.94. A redshift is a measure of the distance to an object. A redshift of 0.94 translates into a distance of 7.5 billion light years, meaning the explosion took place 7.5 billion years ago, a time when the universe was less than half its current age and Earth had yet to form. This is more than halfway across the visible universe."No other known object or type of explosion could be seen by the naked eye at such an immense distance," says Swift science team member Stephen Holland of Goddard. "If someone just happened to be looking at the right place at the right time, they saw the most distant object ever seen by human eyes without optical aid." Most gamma ray bursts occur when massive stars run out of nuclear fuel. Their cores collapse to form black holes or neutron stars, releasing an intense burst of high-energy gamma rays and ejecting particle jets that rip through space at nearly the speed of light. When the jets plow into surrounding interstellar clouds, they heat the gas to incandescent visibility. It is this gaseous "afterglow" which was visible to the human eye on March 19th. GRB 080319B's afterglow was 2.5 million times more luminous than the most luminous supernova ever recorded, making it the most intrinsically bright object ever observed by humans in the universe. The most distant previous object that could have been seen by the naked eye is the nearby galaxy M33, a relatively short 2.9 million light-years from Earth.

see captionRight: The afterglow of GRB 080319B as recorded by Swift's X-ray Telescope.

Analysis of GRB 080319B is just getting underway, so astronomers don't know why this burst and its afterglow were so bright. One possibility is the burst was more energetic than others, perhaps because of the mass, spin, or magnetic field of the progenitor star or its jet. Or perhaps it concentrated its energy in a narrow jet that was aimed directly at Earth. GRB 080319B was one of four bursts that Swift detected on March 19th, a Swift record for one day. Swift science team member Judith Racusin of Penn State University comments, "coincidentally, the passing of Arthur C. Clarke seems to have set the universe ablaze with gamma ray bursts." A fitting farewell, indeed.

SUNSET ALERT: When the sun goes down tonight, step outside and look west. Weather permitting you'll see a slender equinox crescent Moon hanging above the rosy glow of sunset. Framed by the cobalt blue of early evening, the Moon reveals its "da Vinci glow" or Earthshine, a pale impression of the full Moon inside the vivid crescent--a beautiful sight. Consider it an appetizer for Tuesday. On April 8th, the still-slender crescent passes almost directly in front of the Pleiades star cluster. Also known as the Seven Sisters, the dipper-shaped Pleiades are visible to the naked eye even from urban areas and they look wonderful through binoculars. Tuesday evening's delicate conjunction of Luna and the Seven Sisters should not be missed.

Friday, Apr 4 
Sat, Apr 5 
Sun, Apr 6 
Mon, Apr 7 
 
Forecast
cloudy 
Light rain 
Rain 
Rain 
High
11 °C
7 °C
8 °C
7 °C
Low
5 °C
4 °C
5 °C
4 °C
Prob of Precip
30 %
80 %
90 %
90 %

Thursday, Mar 27 
Friday, Mar 28 
Saturday, Mar 29 
Sunday, Mar 30 
 
Forecast
 snow 
 snow 
 sunny 
 cloudy 
High
3 °C
2 °C
3 °C
4 °C
Low
-3 °C
-5 °C
-6 °C
-6 °C
Prob/ Precip
80 %
60 %
10 %
30 %

It's an issue that's a world away, but it's hitting home right here in Toronto. A group of hunger strikers have gathered outside the Chinese consulate on St. George St. to protest the ongoing unrest in Tibet.  Protestors staged a 'die-in' again Tuesday morning, echoing a tactic they first tried on the weekend. They're calling on the International Olympic Committee to stop its torch relay from passing through Tibet because of the crisis. And they're promising to protest all day, every day, outside the consulate. Tibet's independence movement has come to the forefront again in the last few weeks, amid crackdowns by the Chinese and reports of many deaths and arrests in the struggle for liberation that goes back years. Advocates believe this is the time to act, because the Chinese are anxious to make a good impression on the world while hosting the Olympic Games. Along with the hunger strike, protestors here plan to gather outside the building from 10am until 4pm every day. Demonstrations are already planned for when the Olympic torch reaches San Francisco in early April - the only place in North America where it's passing through. 

Protestors Start Hunger Strike Outside Chinese Consulate In TorontoProtestors Start Hunger Strike Outside Chinese Consulate In Toronto...It's an issue that's a world away, but it's hitting home right here in Toronto. A group of hunger strikers have gathered outside the Chinese consulate on St. George St. to protest the ongoing unrest in Tibet.  Protestors staged a 'die-in' again Tuesday morning, echoing a tactic they first tried on the weekend. They're calling on the International Olympic Committee to stop its torch relay from passing through Tibet because of the crisis. And they're promising to protest all day, every day, outside the consulate. Tibet's independence movement has come to the forefront again in the last few weeks, amid crackdowns by the Chinese and reports of many deaths and arrests in the struggle for liberation that goes back years. Advocates believe this is the time to act, because the Chinese are anxious to make a good impression on the world while hosting the Olympic Games. Along with the hunger strike, protestors here plan to gather outside the building from 10am until 4pm every day. Demonstrations are already planned for when the Olympic torch reaches San Francisco in early April - the only place in North America where it's passing through. 
Highway Miracles: No One Hurt Despite Major Mishaps On Hwy. 400 And The QEW Highway Miracles: No One Hurt Despite Major Mishaps On Hwy. 400 And The QEW

A bus rollover on the QEW east late Monday afternoon looked worse than was, but the twisted metal and broken glass certainly put a scare into a busload of Mexican tourists.Drivers on the QEW east of Appleby Line also had to contend with the bus that flipped over on the roadway and landed in the ditch after crashing through a fence (pictured).The coach had 48 tourists from Mexico on board, including several children. Thirteen people were transported to hospital with non-life threatening and mostly minor injuries, including cuts and scrapes."I'm just glad that nobody got seriously injured," said driver Drago Halusan. "We all came out of it alive and safe."The accident led to a major backup during the afternoon rush, as traffic slowly squeezed by in the far left lane. There's no word on the specific cause in this one but authorities are aware it could have been a lot worse than it was.

Meanwhile, on a different highway there were more problems when a major accident created commuter chaos on Highway 400 between King and Aurora Rds. just in time for the afternoon rush hour Monday.Traffic was backed up for kilometres after a tractor trailer collided with a Ministry of Transportation truck fixing potholes on the busy roadway around 2pm. OPP Sgt. Cam Woolley called it a 'mess', and for a time the back-up stretched as far as Major Mackenzie Drive. "They had one of those big cross trucks parked behind them in the right-hand lane when a tractor trailer hauling steel came southbound and didn't even slow down, just slammed right into the back of the cross truck and it sent the cross truck spinning into the left guide rail, the concrete wall in the middle," he explains.  "The force of the impact was so great it actually ripped the front axle out of the steel-hauler and it also went with no steering axle across the lane, tearing out the fuel tanks into the guidelines rails, where it caught on fire." Incredibly, no one was seriously hurt in the accident. "The young mother driving the crash truck was taken to hospital with minor injuries, given the impact involved, and that's great news," Woolley notes. "The truck driver's okay as well, and the entire crash missed the workers so the crash truck was properly placed and it did its job; impact on traffic was severe, with just the right shoulder in the southbound lane open for cars to squeeze through. Drivers going the other way slowed down to gawk, creating problems for motorists heading northbound. The roadblocks were finally cleared away around 6pm, but the delays caused by the original crash lingered well after the rush was over

Greeks Light Flame For Beijing Olympics Amid Tensions Over TibetGreeks Light Flame For Beijing Olympics Amid Tensions Over Tibet...Three men from a free-press group ran onto the field of the stadium in Ancient Olympia during Monday's flame-lighting ceremony for the Beijing Olympics, evading massive security aimed at preventing such disruptions in the wake of China's crackdown in Tibet. Three members of the Paris-based group Reporters Without Borders were detained after their protest, which occurred as Liu Qi, president of the Beijing Olympics organizing committee and Beijing Communist Party Secretary, was giving a speech. Police confirmed they had detained three French nationals. One protester held a black banner showing the Olympic rings as handcuffs. The group said three members, including the group's secretary general Robert Menard, managed to get into the ceremony without being stopped. "If the Olympic flame is sacred, human rights are even more so," the group said in a statement. "We cannot let the Chinese government seize the Olympic flame, a symbol of peace, without denouncing the dramatic situation of human rights in the country." The group has urged heads of state to boycott the Games' opening ceremony. International Olympic Committee president Jacques Rogge attended the ceremony at the 2,800-year-old birthplace of the ancient Games in southern Greece. The flame for the Aug. 8-24 Games was lit using the sun's rays. Greek officials said politics have no place at the event ahead of expected protests by pro-Tibetan groups. More than 1,000 police were deployed around the site.

 
Friday, Feb 22 
Sat, Feb 23 
Sun, Feb 24 
Monday, Feb 25 
 
Forecast
 sunny breaks 
 cloudy periods 
Mainly sunny 
sunny breaks 
High
-2 °C
-2 °C
1 °C
1 °C
Low
-11 °C
-8 °C
-8 °C
-6 °C
Prob of Precip
20 %
10 %
0 %
20 %

 
Thursday, Mar 13 
Friday, Mar 14 
Saturday, Mar 15 
Sunday, Mar 16 
 
Forecast
Rain-snow mix 
Wet flurries 
Sunny with cloudy periods 
A few flurries 
High
3 °C
5 °C
3 °C
-2 °C
Low
-7 °C
1 °C
-2 °C
-7 °C
Probability of Precipitation
70 %
40 %
30 %
60 %

Driver's Last Minute Maneuver Saves His Life, After Shots Fired In Road Rage IncidentPEOPLE... WHAZZA MADDA U???.....Last Minute Maneuver Saves Life, After Shots Fired In Road Rage Incident. A driver is lucky to be alive and uninjured and another man is being sought after what Toronto Police say is a road rage incident taken to extremes. It started Tuesday morning near Progress and Highway 401 not far from Centennial College. Cops aren't yet sure what sparked the anger from one motorist, but they say he became incensed at some perceived slight from a person in another vehicle around 11:40am. The apparently unknowing victim pulled away from the area and hit the 401, with his angry shadow in hot pursuit. The suspect followed him eastbound as he exited the highway, turned southbound onto Meadowvale and stayed with him as he went westbound at Ellesmere Rd. And that's when the enraged motorist struck, rolling down his window, pulling a black handgun and pointing it straight at his nemesis, who suddenly became aware he was being followed and was in great danger. When he saw the gun, he put his foot on the gas, accelerating just enough so that the two bullets that followed struck the rear passenger door of his car - but not him. Police believe if he hadn't sped up at the last second, the shots likely would have hit him. As it was, only his vehicle suffered any damage. The suspect then made a U-turn on Ellesmere, turned northbound onto Meadowvale and roared off, disappearing into traffic. The still shocked motorist was able to get a good look at his assailant before he made his getaway.
Billy Crystal Finally Gets A Shot With The YankeesIf Billy Crystal hadn't grown up to be an actor and a stand-up comedian, there's little doubt what his chosen profession would have been - a baseball player. The comic has long been obsessed with the minutiae of the game, even producing and directing the film "*61", about Roger Maris and Mickey Mantle's historic chase of the once impenetrable single season home run record that stood for decades, but now the man who lives, breathes and eats the sport, will get a chance to actually play it for real, after signing a minor league contract with the New York Yankees. But unlike other deals that storied team has arranged, this one has a major out clause - it's only good for one day. Crystal will work out with his beloved Bronx Bombers on Wednesday and get into a spring training game against the Pittsburgh Pirates on Thursday. You'd think a man who's worked on live sketch TV and hosted the Oscars wouldn't be nervous. But for Crystal, this is the ultimate moment of his life, a boyhood dream come true. "I've been waiting 50 years for this call," he notes in a statement. "I'm overwhelmed by the generosity of the Yankees and commissioner [Bud] Selig [who had to give his approval for the odd arrangement]. I know this'll be tougher than the Broadway Softball League, but I'm looking forward to helping the younger players, which by the way is all of them. Oops, I have to go, [agent] Scott Boras is on the phone."
Endeavour Blasts Off On Mission To Build Canadian RobotShuttle Endeavour and a crew of seven blasted into orbit Tuesday on what was to be the longest space station mission ever, a 16-day voyage to build a gangly Canadian robot This illustration provided by The Canadian Space Agency (CSA) displays This illustration provided by The Canadian Space Agency (CSA) displays 'Dextre' (Special Purpose Dexterous Manipulator). and add a new room that will serve as a closet for a future lab.The space shuttle roared from its seaside pad at 2:28am, lighting up the sky for kilometres around as it took off."It's a spectacular night launch," said Minister of Industry Jim Prentice, who attended the launch at the Kennedy Space Centre.Leonard Cohen is photographed in Toronto on Feb. 4, 2006. (Aaron Harris / THE CANADIAN PRESS) Leonard Cohen was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame on Monday, will give three shows at the Montreal International Jazz Festival on June 23-24-25 at Place des arts. His performances will be a prelude to the festival, which runs June 26 to July 6. Cohen has an album coming out this year and will perform new work at the festival as part of his tour - the singer's first such endeavour since he released "The Future" in 1973. Renowned for his poetry and novels since the 1950s, Cohen has produced classics such as "So Long, Marianne" and "Everybody Knows." In announcing the appearance by the 73-year-old poet, novelist, singer and songwriter, the Jazz Festival described him as "one of the most important and influential songwriters of our time." "A great humanist, his songs explore the issues of spirituality, religion, sexuality, power, loneliness, interpersonal relations - simply put, the human condition."

Worldwide Celebrations of Year of the Rat 2008Chinese New Year in Mexico City, Manila and Buenos Aires? Not the usual suspects, but the fanfare prevailed for celebrations around the world during the Chinese New Year -- the Year of the Rat -- On Tuesday morning, Feb. 19th, at approximately 5:30 a.m. Pacific time, people in Washington, Oregon, Idaho and Montana witnessed a spectacular fireball. It exploded not once but twice in midair, casting shadows and rivaling city lights. Many onlookers wondered if spy satellite USA 193 had been shot down. No, it was a small asteroid breaking up in Earth's atmosphere, a surprisingly common event. Reports of meteorites hitting the ground remain unconfirmed; stay tuned for updates...in other space news....On Wednesday evening, February 20th, the full Moon over Europe and the Americas turned a delightful shade of red. It was a total lunar eclipse—the last one until Dec. 2010.

U.S. May Shoot Down Falling Satellite Wed. NightSTAR WARS...why days after China shoots a satellite  does  the U.S. decide to shoot down one of theirs? A Navy heat-seeking missile successfully shot down a U.S. spy satellite before the orbiting craft fell  back to Earth. The targeting of the satellite is not the mission for which this piece of the Pentagon's missile defense network was intended, however. The shootdown, already approved by President Bush out of concern about alledged toxic fuel ( maybe WMD) on board the satellite, is seen by some as blurring the lines between defending against a weapon like a long-range missile and targeting satellites in orbit. The three-stage Navy missile, designated the SM-3, has chalked up a high rate of success in a series of tests since 2002, never a satellite. A hurry-up program to adapt the missile for this anti-satellite mission was completed in a matter of weeks; Navy officials say the changes will be reversed once this satellite is down.U.S. Missile Hits Satellite
Officials confident that missile hit, destroyed the tank of potentially dangerous fuel aboard a wayward spy satellite orbiting Earth last night

Amazing Dog Rescue Three Weeks In The MakingAmazing Dog Rescue Three Weeks In The Making. They say dogs are man's best friend. But this week, a mysterious GO Train rider proved he was a dog's best friend. And now his grateful owner is trying to track him down for a thank you that can't possibly express the relief she feels. This is the story of Jagger, a Toronto pooch who got scared three weeks ago when he came into contact with another canine in a local dog park. He ran away and for nearly a month, Karen Ke had no idea where her beloved pet had gone - or even if she'd ever see him again. She checked with animal shelters, put up posters, and waited.  Just when it seemed that wait would never end, a passenger on his way into work restored her hope - and saved her dog. It had been 20 long days. The sharp-eyed stranger was travelling on the GO as it headed towards the south end of the Don River when he spotted what appeared to be a dog in the icy waters of Lake Ontario. He picked up his cell phone as the train roared by, having just gotten a glimpse, and called Toronto Animal Services. They went out to have a look. Sure enough, they came across a still scared Jagger, emaciated, hungry and thirsty - but still very much alive in a tiny hole on the side of the river. "[I] jumped over the embankment, walked along the shoreline, looked inside and sure enough there was a dog cowering inside there," recalls Joe Debusschere. Ke, who had been feeling "stressful, depressed, emotional," got the phone call she couldn't believe she'd ever hear. Her dog was coming home. She still can't believe the kindness of strangers. "It's pretty amazing that not only did he spot him but took the time to get off at Union Station, I believe, and backtrack so that being that it was such an inconspicuous spot, that he pointed it out for Animal Services so that he could come home."

More trash from the Hill started when an outraged New Democrat MP complained to the Speaker that she saw Tory rep James Moore (pictured) surfing the net while Parliament was in session. That wasn't a problem until Irene Mathyssen took a closer look at his laptop. She was stunned to see what she calls a "scantily clad" woman displayed on the screen. And she insists the offending picture was in full view of others in the chamber - including those in the public gallery. "Well, I'm not an expert," she said when probed about the exact content of the pics.  "(But it was) not full nudity. It was lingerie. It was scanty lingerie. And I was startled by it." She called the conduct outrageous and said it sets a bad example. Moore, a B.C. parliamentary secretary, adamantly denied the charge. "I take great offence to what's being alleged here," he said.  "I would never do what's been talked about. I respect this House too much to even consider doing what's been described to me." It was later learned that Moore was viewing a pic of his current girlfriend, and in the end the NDP issued an apology about how their member handled the incident. Its still not right; he is there to uphold democracy and just now it needs all the attention it can garner!

 

Two Men Arrested In 'Huckleberry' Hound TheftDon't mess with my dog; or STRING THEM UP.....Two Men Arrested In 'Huckleberry' Hound Theft! Toronto Police arrested two men in connection with the theft of Huckleberry, a chocolate Lab who went missing from a café on Yonge Street near Roxborough last Saturday. Richard Cassibo, 54, and Andrew Footit, 31, both from Toronto are each charged with:
  • Conspiracy to Commit Indictable Offence,
  • Corruptly Taking Reward for Recovery of Goods,
  • Possession of Property Obtained by Crime,
  • Attempt Fraud Over
    The dog's owner, Bert Clark, handed out a $15,000 reward for the return of his precious hound.  

Bitter Wind Chills And Icy Sidewalks Leave Pedestrians Facing Double WhammyBitter Wind Chills And Icy Sidewalks Leave Pedestrians Facing Double Whammy
First it was snow.Then it was rain. And now your winter recipe for misery contains two new ingredients - ice and a bitter wind chill. Not that you haven't had this meal before during the winter. All of the GTA returned to work after a Family Day that proved surprisingly mild, presenting those lucky enough to get the day off with a chance to get all that ice chipped from their driveways. But if you missed the opportunity, you may not get it again for a while. A cold front has moved in, led by bitter breezes leaving wind chills that make the below average high of -5C feel more like -14. And it will likely stay that way for the next few days.
A frantic search for four stolen Impressionist paintings led to a most unlikely place, the parking lot of a mental hospital just a few hundred metres from the scene of the crime. There, in the back seat of an unlocked car, a painting by Claude Monet and another by Vincent van Gogh were found Monday in perfect condition, authorities said yesterday. The paintings, worth $64 million combined, were still under the display glass used by the private museum from which they were stolen in a Feb. 10 armed robbery, museum director Lukas Gloor said. The other two paintings taken from the E.G. Buehrle Collection -- by Paul Cezanne and Edgar Degas -- remain missing, police said. Together, the four paintings are worth an estimated $163 million."Blossoming Chestnut Branches"

Gunfire broke out at a Brampton club overnight, leaving a man dead and police looking for suspects.Peel Regional Police were called to the Trilogy Nightclub on Kennedy Rd. N. near Queen St. E. at about 2:30am Monday. They arrived on the scene to find the victim, identified as Andre Harrisingh, lying in the parking lot. He'd suffered critical injuries and was pronounced dead in hospital. There's no word on a motive for the violence but Peel investigators are looking for a small white vehicle that was spotted leaving the scene along with a green SUV. So far no suspect descriptions are available and it's unclear how many people cops are looking for. It's Peel Region's fourth homicide of the year.

Blu-Ray Wins DVD Format Battle In the late 1970s and early 80s, during the dawn of the home video era, there were just two combatants in the ring vying for your dollar - JVC's VHS and Sony's Betamax. Many thought that Betamax had the better picture. But when VHS came out with tapes that recorded more hours of TV on a VCR, that format was declared the victor, and Sony suffered a knock-out blow, licking its wounds for years.DVD Deflects Bullet, Saving Man's LifeDBlu-Ray Wins DVD Format Battle ONE MAN SAYS DVD WINS WITH HIM....Deflects Bullet, Saving his Life  Barry McRoy owes his life to a DVD. But it's not something he watched that saved his skin - it's the fact he had it with him in the first place. The Walterboro, South Carolina fire official was walking into a local restaurant on Saturday morning, when two men ran in and began fighting over a gun. The inevitable happened - the firearm went off, and the bullet hit one of the combatants, broke a window and headed straight for McRoy

Warning To Drivers: Gas To Hit $1.09 A Litre By Wednesday MorningGas prices are jumping again after the cost of a barrel of oil on the international market closed above US$100...Just when you thought it was safe to go back into your local gas station, comes this news - the prices at the pump are about to spike dramatically again.

Long Hidden Kennedy Assassination Documents Raise New Conspiracy QuestionsLong Hidden Kennedy Assassination Documents Raise New Conspiracy Questions... related to the 1963 assassination of President John F. Kennedy were revealed for the first time Monday, after spending nearly two decades locked inside a courthouse safe. Dallas County District Attorney Craig Watkins presented the articles at a Presidents' Day news conference while standing next to brown and white file boxes stacked in a pyramid. The items include a purported transcript between Kennedy assassin Lee Harvey Oswald and Oswald's killer, nightclub owner Jack Ruby; a leather gun holster that held the weapon Ruby used to shoot Oswald; brass knuckles found on Ruby when he was arrested; and a movie contract signed by then-Dallas District Attorney Henry Wade. Watkins said investigators told him about the contents of the blue, two-door safe shortly after he took office in 2007. "And every DA up until the new administration decided that they wanted to keep it secret," he said. But he decided "this information was too important to keep secret." One of the most intriguing items was the typed transcript of an alleged conversation between Oswald and Ruby. The transcript - which hasn't been examined by experts and has already been called farfetched by some - includes talk of killing the president at the behest of the Mafia. "Now we don't know if this is an actual conversation or not," Watkins said. "But what we do know is that as a result of this find, it will open up the debate as to whether there was a conspiracy to assassinate the president." Ruby killed Oswald on Nov. 24, 1963, two days after Oswald was arrested in the assassination of President Kennedy. Ruby was convicted and sentenced to death the following year. Ruby won an appeal of his conviction but died of cancer before he was retried.
The two-page transcript resembles one published by the Warren Commission, which investigated Kennedy's assassination and determined Oswald was the lone gunman.
In the report, the FBI concluded that transcript of an alleged conversation between Oswald and Ruby was fake, and that it had been "re-created" for authorities by a now-deceased Dallas attorney who claimed he recognized Oswald in a newspaper photo as the man he saw talking to Ruby. The transcript unveiled Monday is dated Oct. 4, 1963, and allegedly happened at the Carousel Club, a Dallas nightclub. It begins with a discussion of how the "boys in Chicago" want to "get rid of" U.S. Attorney General Robert Kennedy, JFK's brother. "There is a way to get rid of him without killing him," Oswald says. "How's that?" Ruby responds. "I can shoot his brother," Oswald says. After a discussion of the logistics of shooting the president, Ruby says the money for the operation's coming from the Mafia. "Are you with the Mafia?" Oswald asked. "You're asking too many questions," Ruby responds

"Dr. Horrors" reign came to a dramatic end in a jungle resort in Nepal Thursday, even as his wife in Brampton denied he's the mastermind behind a massive kidney-trafficking ring.
Amit Kumar, accused of harvesting hundreds of kidneys from poor, unsuspecting Indians, was arrested by Nepalese police shortly after he checked into a resort hotel in the remote Chitwan National Park at the foot of the Himalayan mountains. On the run since Jan. 24 when Indian police dismantled an underground kidney transplant network in Gurgaon, outside of New Delhi, Kumar was reportedly carrying a suitcase full of euros and American dollars at the time of his arrest. Nepalese officials found a bank draft for 936,000 euros and $125,000 in cash. Tell me what kind of human being would  do these things to anyone. According to the Himalayan Times, Kumar and a Nepalese associate identified as Manish Singh checked into The Hotel Wildlife Camp under Singh's name, and were assigned room 6 at the resort, renowned for nature safaris. Wearing a hat and sunglasses, Kumar apparently asked for a copy of the English daily, which carried a front-page story of the global manhunt for him, then minutes later, returned it to the front desk with the article cut out. Suspicious of such behaviour, the clerk (who is this guy Dick Tracey) alerted Nepalese police who stormed the room and arrested Kumar without incident. Singh, however, managed to escape. Kumar was transported Thursday night from the resort, 60 kilometres from the Indian border, to a jail in Kathmandu where he will await extradition to India, police said.

TOP 3 WIERDIEST SHOW ENDINGS EVER...

#3  M*A*S*H: Goodbye, Farewell And Amen (1972-1983)  It seems only appropriate that this show should follow the one before it, because it smashed the former finale's viewing record. After 11 years - far longer than the actual Korean War lasted - the TV series M*A*S*H* signed off with a 2½ hour finale that culminated in B.J. Hunnicutt refusing to say goodbye to his bunkmate Hawkeye. But as the latter surgeon's chopper lifted off from the 4077th for the last time, he spotted a final message written in the stones below: "Goodbye," it read. The episode wasn't the best one in the series' storied history, but it was hyped so highly that it became the most watched regular non-sporting event in the history of the medium, attracting an astounding 106 million eyeballs - or 77 per cent of the TV audience, a feat likely never to be repeated.

#2 Newhart (1982-1990)

Regardless of how you rate the others on this list, few will dispute this as the greatest single TV farewell in the history of the medium - which brings us full circle back to the late Suzanne Pleshette, who was such an integral part of it. The show concerned an author-turned-Vermont inn owner named Bob Loudon, who was surrounded by an oddball assortment of characters. In the history-making last episode, a Japanese mogul buys out the entire town, with plans to turn it into a golf course. Bob refuses to sell and eventually gets hit on the head by a golf ball, causing him to lose consciousness. When he wakes up in a darkened bedroom, he nudges his spouse and starts to tell her about this 'strange dream' he had about living in an inn, and the odd characters that populated it. And when his wife turns on the light, the audience goes bananas - it's Emily Hartley, Newhart's wife from his previous series in which he played a psychologist. Everything, right down to the bedroom furniture, is the same. And it's Bob Hartley who speaks. "Well, I was an innkeeper in this crazy little town in Vermont," he tells her as she stares at him dryly from the other side of the bed. "Nothing made sense in this place. I mean, the maid was an heiress. Her husband talked in alliteration. The handyman kept missing the point of things. And then there were these three woodsmen..." Pleshette turns to Bob and in that famous gravelly voice tells him that's the last time she'll let him eat Japanese food before bedtime.

#1 The Prisoner (1967-1968)

The strangest and most cerebral single season TV shows in history. Patrick McGoohan played a former spy (assumed by many to be his character John Drake on the previous Danger Man/Secret Agent Man series) who resigned suddenly without explanation. He was kidnapped and exiled to a mysterious 'village' until he'd spill the secret behind his actions. But "Number Six" steadfastly refused to reveal the reasons, and the show became an allegory about the individual against society. In the final convoluted but still fascinating 17th episode, Six's quest to find out who Number One is, is finally realized - the person he's been battling all this time appears to have been himself. The finale ends with him going back to his London apartment, followed by the mysterious butler from the Village and the telltale automatic door opening - a prisoner still? An exceedingly strange ending to an exceedingly strange show, but one they would eventually give college courses to study.

WINTER GTA Braces For Huge Snowfall In What's Expected To Be Worst Storm Of The Winter...COMING BACK STRONG

Two Earthquakes Strike Southern Greece Two Earthquakes Strike Southern Greece Two strong earthquakes hit southern Greece on Thursday - one of them felt as far away as Italy and Egypt. The first quake, with a preliminary magnitude of 6.5, hit just after noon the Athens Geodynamic Institute said. It was felt in Cairo and in the southern Italian regions of Puglia and Calabria. The second struck about two hours later and had a slightly lower preliminary magnitude of 6.4. Both had epicenters beneath the seabed 140 miles south-southwest of Athens, the institute said.

How Sneaking Into John Lennon's Hotel Room Turned Into An Oscar Nod For Toronto ManHow Sneaking Into John Lennon's Hotel Room Turned Into An Oscar Nod For Toronto Man....He only wanted to talk to his hero. What he received was an intimate, life-changing conversation with one of the 20th century's most influential cultural figures. Jerry Levitan's off-the-cuff chat with John Lennon in the musician's hotel room nearly 40 years ago, transformed last year into a five-minute animated short titled I Met The Walrus, could now win the Toronto lawyer an Academy Award. It was a Monday morning in May of 1969 and the then-14-year-old Levitan should have been getting ready to go to school. Instead he grabbed his brother's Super-8 camera and at 7am headed downtown to the King Edward Hotel where he had a sneaking suspicion John Lennon might be after hearing the Beatle had been spotted the night before at Toronto's Pearson Airport. Levitan entered the hotel, zoomed up to the top floor, and knocked on every door, hoping one would lead to the musical icon he'd always dreamed of meeting. A housekeeper saw him and asked if he was looking for 'the Beatle.' He said he was and she directed him to another room a few floors down. He saw Yoko Ono's daughter Kyoko playing outside one of the rooms and knew he'd found "the centre of all things." "My heart was racing," Levitan recalls in a conversation with CityNews.ca. "I knocked on the door. It opened up a bit, and I barged my way in, staring at my feet as I was walking. I turned a corner, looked up, and five feet in front of me sat John Lennon and Yoko Ono."The barefoot Lennon, in the middle of an interview, laughed when he saw the bespectacled, dumbstruck teen in front of him, but his laughter turned to amazement when he saw what Levitan had with him - a copy of John and Yoko's infamous Two Virgins album, confiscated by authorities in parts of North America because the photo of them naked on the cover was deemed obscene. "He said (replicating Lennon's Liverpudlian brogue) 'I thought the Mounties came in and took them all from Canada,'" Levitan describes. "He was happy and surprised I had it, did this great autograph and drew a cartoon of him and Yoko on it." After grabbing some shots of John and Yoko in the room, Levitan boldly asked Lennon if he could return later in the day for an interview. Lennon agreed.  "I realized to my horror I hadn't prepared one question. I had some good questions, some crazy questions, some totally 14-year-old questions," Levitan says, having borrowed a reel-to-reel tape recorder from CHUM Radio for the interview. "I spent a lot of time talking about myself, I wanted John Lennon, my hero, to know who I was. He let me do that, and let me stay, and connected with me. It was important for him, for whatever reason, to give me that quality experience." What struck Levitan was just how 'real' Lennon was. "Joking with me, listening to what I had to say. The coolness of how he treated me made me appreciate him even more. I knew he was this phenomenal artist, arguably one of the most important cultural artists of the 20th century. (But) you never know, sometimes you meet someone famous and they're an idiot or irritating or rough with you. He was far from that," he reveals. I kept trying to read messages into the songs, and he kept knocking me down and saying, 'No, I'm just an ordinary guy. I get up in the morning, I have a coffee, cup of tea. I'm just an ordinary guy writing about me songs. We all are, all four of us.'" For years Levitan held onto and cherished that half-hour conversation with Lennon, and though he always knew he wanted to do something with it he was waiting for the right opportunity. Three years ago that opportunity came along in the form of Toronto filmmaker-animator Josh Raskin, who had the idea to trim down the audio interview to five minutes and set it to animation. The film marries Lennon's words to evocative pen sketches by artist James Braithwaite and digital illustration by Alex Kurina. The project cost $50,000, about half of that supplied by Bravo!FACT, and since its release has won a slew of awards including the American Film Institute's Best Animated Short prize and Best Animation at the Middle East International Film Festival.  On February 24, Levitan may also win an Oscar for the film. If he does it'll no doubt be another life-changing experience, although perhaps not quite as profound as that day he met 'the Beatle.' "So much of who I am today and who I was then is because of that experience," Levitan admits, adding that a part of him died the day Lennon was fatally shot in 1980. "What he did to me, by treating me that way, the things he said to me. I loved him."   I Met The Walrus Sir Jerry

Hezbollah: Israel faces 'open war'Hezbollah: Israel faces 'open war'  The head of Hezbollah, Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah, says Israel faces "open war" as thousands of mourners gather in the Lebanese capital, Beirut, Thursday for the funeral of a senior commander in the Islamic militant group killed this week.art.myanmar.jpg Myanmar's junta blames the KNU for waging attacks to destabilize the military.Two gunmen attacked Man Sha at his home in Mae Sot, a town on the Myanmar-Thailand border, the official said.He described Man Sha as one of the most important people in the rebel group, which he said has received numerous warnings that Myanmar's military leaders planned to target and kill KNU leaders.KNU is a major rebel group that operates in the border area that is trying to establish autonomy for the Karen ethnic minority.The government of Myanmar, also known as Burma, blames the KNU for waging attacks to destabilize the military junta that has run the country for two decades.
art.neworleans.ap.jpg Federal authorities in New Orleans on Monday carry boxes after a raid in connection with a spy investigation. "We hope and we require the United States to stop (this) groundless accusation, which does not help the mutual trust, relationship and friendship between the two countries," said Liu Jianchao. "This is not the first time ... It is time for this to end." A U.S. Justice Department official said Monday Chinese espionage was approaching "Cold War levels" after a Defense Department weapons system analyst and three Chinese nationals were arrested and charged in two espionage-related cases. In a case brought by federal prosecutors in Virginia, a civilian analyst for the Defense Security Cooperation Agency is accused of selling to two Chinese associates classified information detailing U.S. weapons sales to Taiwan.

Clemens could face criminal charges

If Roger Clemens thought Wednesday's hearing marked the end of the questions and allegations about his now scandal-stained career, he couldn't be more wrong: the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform hearing may just be the beginning of a long and difficult legal battle for Clemens that could culminate in the 354-game winner facing criminal charges. Rep. Henry Waxman (D-Calif.), the committee's chairman, and Rep. Tom Davis of Virginia, the panel's leading Republican, could refer the issue to the Justice Department, which would begin an inquiry into whether Brian McNamee or Clemens lied to Congress.

Roger Clemens, AP 

Madonna Still Top Material Girl With $72 Million In 'Queens Of Cash' Earning ListMadonna With $72 Million Is # 1 in the  'Queens Of Cash' Earning List...Say what you want. The pop diva hasn't had a major hit record in a while, but she's still managed to wind up on top of the list of the richest women in music. The 49-year-old former material girl raked in $72 million from June 2006 to June 2007. How did she do it? With some savvy deals that kept her in the spotlight even if she's not in the recording studio. Her "Confessions" world tour pulled in $260 million over the period, and she raked in more dough from CD sales, a fashion line and a broadcast deal to air her Wembley Stadium concert.  

WINTER OF THE GUN...
Police Called To East End Over Possible AbductionCops Have Gun But Not Triggerman In TTC ShootingCops Have Gun But Not Triggerman. Police are asking witnesses after a teen was shot and dumped from a car in North York Tuesday evening. The male victim was discovered by authorities after several people called to report a person may have been hit by a car at Jane St. and Chalkfarm Dr., north of Wilson Ave., at about 8:30pm. When they found him they noted he'd been shot in the neck, and was lacking vital signs. He was taken to hospital where he remains in critical condition and on life support.
Meanwhile the family of an innocent man who was killed by a stray bullet spoke out Monday, on the eve of a meeting between police and a worried community.  New clues in the case were also released, in hopes of tracking down the killers of Hou Chang Mao. He was working hard stacking oranges at a local supermarket when two men opened fire at each other at Gerrard and Broadview on Thursday night.  He tried to run back inside the store for cover, but didn't make it and died in St. Michael's Hospital a few minutes later.  The 47-year-old leaves behind a son and a daughter, both devastated by his loss. Last Saturday another innocent victim of stray bullets, 42-year-old John O'Keefe was gunned down near Yonge and Bloor as he passed a strip club, after two men got involved in a dispute with a bouncer.
Bill Clinton Caught Napping During Martin Luther King Ceremony Clinton Caught Napping During Martin Luther King Ceremony....Bill Clinton has long touted the benefits of the power nap.  Unfortunately, his penchant for nodding off has sometimes overwhelmed him at inappropriate times. Falling asleep at a Mets game was somewhat understandable considering the sometimes slow pace of baseball, but doing the same at Ronald Reagan's funeral was perceived by some as disrespectful. Most recently, the former U.S. president was spotted nodding off during a church ceremony honouring Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
Why Did The 380-Ton Building Cross The Road?Question: why did the building cross the road? Answer: to get to the other side. It wasn't a very funny joke when it was about a chicken. It's less funny about a structure. But it's a lot more interesting to watch. Passersby at Bay and Yorkville got quite an eyeful around the noon hour Tuesday, as crews moved The Four Seasons sales centre about 100 feet and one street to the north.  Why take a building that weighs as much as 380-tons from one place to another? It's currently sitting on the land where the hotel and condo complex will be constructed. It will eventually boast a 20 storey hotel and 36 floors of condos. But first they have to clear it off. The only way without destroying what's there now? Move it out. Chris Lloyd of Menkes Development was one of those who guided the process. It all went with precision and amazing smoothness. "Could have left a cup of coffee on the mantelpiece," he jokes. "Probably wouldn't have moved at all." It took months and months of planning to arrive at this day. Crews used 32 hydraulic jacks to hoist the structure high enough to be able to budge it. Finally, four hours later, those who call the centre home were calling a new location home, too. But if the move was slow, the big build up will be a lot slower. Construction on the new condo-hotel complex is just starting and Toronto's newest high rise won't officially be open for another four years.

A Green Party group, the Task Force on Governance and Cultural Change are calling for change in the RCMP... “The RCMP truly is a national symbol and has long been among the most respected police forces in the world,” said Green Party leader Elizabeth May. “It has a proud tradition of even-handed law enforcement, but it seems that there is something wrong with the RCMP’s governance and oversight at almost every level.” In keeping with this report, the Green Party supports the creation of a new management structure for the RCMP—a Board of Management that would oversee the management of resources, services, financial affairs, property, personnel, and procurement. “It is a fundamental principle of a free and democratic state that its police must be exemplary and above reproach. They must be independent of the political powers and entirely committed to enforcing the law in an impartial and professional manner,” said Justice critic Jared Giesbrecht. “The Green Party supports a professional RCMP force with the highest standards of conduct, commanding the respect of all Canadians.”

Lottery Fraud police charged a 60-year-old former convenience store owner with fraud and theft over a winning lottery ticket. Hafiz Malik, pictured at right, was freed on bail Wednesday and concealed his face as he left court. Malik, 60, ran a store at Dufferin and Dupont Sts. and is accused of claiming a lottery ticket worth $5.7 million as his own. Last year, when three of the players found out that someone had cashed in their ticket they hired a private detective to look into whether the fourth had secretly claimed the prize. Malik has been charged with two counts of fraud over $5,000 and one count of theft over $5,000. He could face up to 10 years in prison if he's convicted.
 OPP Investigating Four More Cases Of Possible Lottery FraudGeorge Bush Among Recipients Of Baffling And Nonsensical Statement Awards
         Fraudsters          Nucular Bush Baffles 
CIA TRASHES TAPES...President Bush said Thursday he will reserve judgment on his administration's destruction of CIA interrogation tapes until several inquiries are finished. "Let's wait and see what the facts are," Bush said. The destruction in late 2005 of the tapes, showing harsh treatment of two terrorism suspects, is being investigated by the Justice Department, the CIA itself and by several congressional panels. Bush stuck to the White House line that he personally did not know about either the existence of the tapes or their destruction until he was briefed earlier this month by CIA Director Michael Hayden. "Sounds pretty clear to me when I say I have - the first recollection is when Mike Hayden briefed me. That's pretty clear," Bush said. Congressional Democrats condemned the destruction of the tapes and a federal judge ordered Justice Department lawyers to appear before him Friday to discuss whether destroying the tapes violated his 2005 order to preserve evidence in a lawsuit brought on behalf of prisoners at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
BUSH "GIVE MY CHANCE  A PLAN TO WORK"
 "The truism that heralds the fixture of liberty isn't necessarily the place you want to arrive at without forethought." O.K., we know that doesn't make any sense. But after you read what's coming next, that meaningless sentence may well sound like a sage bit of advice. A group in Britain that specializes in highlighting needless bureaucratese has come up with its list of the most baffling pronouncements of 2007. Second on the list is a man you'd expect to be a regular contestant - and he is. George W. Bush earned the runner-up status for his baffling statement, "All I can tell you is that when the governor calls, I answer his phone."he confused APEC with OPEC and Australian troops with Austrians. Bush's tongue started slipping almost as soon as he started talking, "Mr. Prime Minister, thank you for your introduction," he told Prime Minister John Howard. "Thank you for being such a fine host for the OPEC summit." As the audience of several hundred people erupted in laughter, Bush corrected himself and joked, "He invited me to the OPEC summit next year." Australia has never been a member / visit "Austrian troops" last year in Iraq. There are, in fact, no Austrian troops there. But Australia has about 1,500 military personnel in and around the country. At the end, Bush took the wrong way off-stage and, looking slightly perplexed, had to be re-directed by Howard to a centre-stage exit.
More Bushy Tales     "I fully understand those who say you can't win this thing militarily. That's exactly what the United States military says, that you can't win this military." --George W. Bush, on the need for political progress in Iraq, Washington, D.C., Oct. 17, 2007 "My job is a decision-making job, and as a result, I make a lot of decisions."   "I got a lot of Ph.D.-types and smart people around me who come into the Oval Office and say, 'Mr. President, here's what's on my mind.' And I listen carefully to their advice. But having gathered the device, I decide, you know, I say, 'This is what we're going to do.'"You know, when you give a man more money in his pocket -- in this case, a woman more money in her pocket to expand a business, it -- they build new buildings. And when somebody builds a new building somebody has got to come and build the building. And when the building expanded it prevented additional opportunities for people to work." "More than two decades later, it is hard to imagine the Revolutionary War coming out any other way.""You helped our nation celebrate its bicentennial in 17 -- 1976." --George W. Bush, to Queen Elizabeth, Washington, D.C., May 7, 2007  "I'm honored to be here with the eternal general of the United States, mi amigo Alberto Gonzales."

 

public inquiry.Liberals Salivating At Prospect Of Mulroney-Schreiber Inqury As Chair NamedBrian Mulroney, Karlheinz Schreiber Case Chronology

Harper said the scope of the inquiry has yet to be decided focusing on the former prime minister's business dealings with the German-Canadian arms dealer."In this case, I conclude that the integrity concerns described above do not warrant a lengthy inquiry into matters that have been investigated by the RCMP since 1995. Nor should there be an inquiry with respect to facts already known."Johnston suggests the inquiry focus on whether Mulroney acted improperly in 1993 when he accepted cash payments from Schreiber to lobby on his behalf to promote a German-built military vehicle.He rejects a full-scale inquiry that would re-examine allegations of possible kickbacks in the 1988 sale of Airbus jets to Air Canada and recent allegations that the prime minister's office ignored information from Schreiber.Johnston, president of the University of Waterloo, was appointed by Harper two months ago to sketch out the basis of an inquiry into Mulroney's relationship with Schreiber.Stick him in jail.Why not just charge Brian Mulroney; biggest Canadian sleaze of the 20th century with corruption charges. Karlheinz Schreiber has finally put the finger on his old pal. So what does the government do? Call for an inquiry? Millions more down the drain. It is apparant now that he did receive money for influence and that is corruption! Liberals are salivating at the prospect of the Mulroney-Schreiber Inqury. One is a former Primer Minister of Canada. Another is a German businessman making all kinds of allegations about kickbacks while fighting his own battle against extradition to his native country. Add in potential witnesses that could include other ex-P.M.s like Kim Campbell, Jean Chretien and former Justice Minister Allan Rock and you have the recipe for an explosive and lengthy look at the darker side of politics. Mulroney was in Toronto Tuesday night and came out firing on all cylinders. "I will be there before the commission with bells on because I've done nothing wrong and have absolutely nothing to hide," he promised. "Twelve years ago I was falsely accused. I fought and won. Now it seems I have to fight again ... so be it. I'm going to fight and win again." Mulroney looks to defend his good name, many longtime Tories are worried what the whiff of scandal will do to their party. "This has the potential to rip the party apart," suggests Conservative-turned-Liberal Garth Turner. The inquiry will investigate whether Mulroney took cash payouts while still in office - and try to determine if the current prime minister knew about it. Nothing has been proven, but many observers believe it could be the most explosive scandal to hit Ottawa since the sponsorship affair. Liberals, who have been looking for a wedge issue to dull the Tory tide after voters gave a tepid response to Stephane Dion as leader, are salivating at the prospect of what may emerge from the hearings. "This inquiry's going to open up a massive can of worms," predicts former Grit party president Stephen LeDrew. "It won't be just a small family size. It will be a huge can of worms. It really is going to turn into the shootout at the OK Corral between the old enemies."This isn't a first for Mulroney. Twelve years ago he faced similar accusations from Ottawa about the so-called Airbus Affair. He sued the government and won more than $2 million. This time, it's not money that's at stake, but a reputation. And that may be worth a lot more than any monetary reward can provide. Opposition parties claim the revelations are grounds for Ottawa to consider recovering the $2.1 million settlement it paid to Mulroney in 1997 to compensate him for the harm to his reputation. Mulroney has consistently argued he has done nothing wrong. Mulroney has failed to clear the air completely about his dealings with Schreiber. For instance, why did he say under oath in 1996 that he had only met Schreiber "once or twice" for coffee after leaving office in 1993 and "had never had any dealings with him"? It was later revealed he had met Schreiber in hotels in 1993 and 1994 and took cash payments from him totalling $300,000? Why did he not report the money on his tax returns in the years in which he received the cash, but only at some later date? What was the money payment for?

ZEN MEDIA RELEASE PREMIER ALBUM
Funk / Reggae / R&B sounds put out by Jessie Cullen, son of Brampton Green Party politician Dan Cullen. Good luck guys. Sounds great.
  FOR ALL THE BEAUTIES @ RAXX

Anti-Climate Change Rally Held At Queen's ParkAnti-Climate Change Rally Held At Queen's Park....Hundreds of chanting environmental activists congregated at Yonge-Dundas Square on Saturday as part of the Global Day of Action on Climate Change. The demonstrators later marched on Queen's Park, after taking a roundabout route up Yonge to Bloor, west to Queen's Park Crescent, then south to Queen's Park. "Canada, frankly, is dithering on the issue," one protestor with the Canadian Federation of Students, named Joel said. "(Prime Minister Stephen Harper is waiting for other countries who are major polluters to sign on first, and I think that Canada should be a leader in Environmental sustainability." Harper has long stated he feels the goals set out in the Kyoto Accord are unrealistic and would not support any similar treaty, insisting developing nations should face the same sort of greenhouse gas legislation as developed ones. The Toronto rally, just one of thousands of similar demonstrations in more than 70 countries around the world, was timed to coincide with a UN climate change conference being held in Indonesia. In Tapei, Taiwan some 1,500 people marched through the streets holding banners and placards saying "No to carbon dioxide." In Berlin, ice sculpture artist Christian Funk carved a polar bear out of 15 tonnes of ice as a memorial to climate protection. In London, demonstrators braved cold, rainy weather to descend on Parliament Square, holding signs that read, "There is no Planet B." The protest singled out U.S. President Bush calling his administration the biggest obstacle to progress. Rallies were also held in 36 other Canadian cities.

 
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Tens of thousands of Palestinians on foot and donkey carts poured into Egypt from Gaza yesterday after masked gunmen used landmines to blast down most of an 11-kilometre-long barrier dividing the border town of Rafah. The border breach was a dramatic protest against the closure of the impoverished Palestinian territory imposed last week by Israel. Jubilant men and women crossed unhindered by border controls over toppled corrugated metal along sections of the barrier, many carrying goats, chickens and crates of Coca-Cola. Some brought back televisions, car tires and cigarettes and one man even bought a motorcycle. Vendors sold soft drinks and bakery products to the crowds. The border fence had divided Rafah into two halves, one on the Egyptian side and one in southern Gaza.

Witnesses Claim School Stabbing Started With Argument Over A HatWitnesses Claim School Stabbing Started With Argument Over A Hat....It's hard to accept any motive for the outrageous stabbing of a teenager in  Bramalea on Tuesday. But if what witnesses say is true, the crime is even more senseless than most might have thought possible. Reports indicate some students who saw the altercation between several young teens at Chinguacousy S.S. claim it all started because of a stupid argument over a hat. It seems time for schools to start teaching more than math skills. Calculus don't help when you're dead. Video gamers mentality rules where there are no consequences, just reset....right? Sorry that don't work in real life. We need to teach simple stuff like respect for life...come on teachers...its up to you; schools have kids for the majority of their time. How bout we hold them responsible when their students fail in the major subject; living life! 

THE IMMACULATE POSSESSION------------PATRIOTS 19-0.. PATS WIN SUPERBOWL 24-13 
It's awesome to witness this amazing unbeaten run. With 3 Superbowl's in hand already, this team is incredibly lucky, blessed or something. New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady holds the Lamar Hunt Trophy as Junior Seau looks on after defeating the San Diego Chargers 21-12 in the AFC Championship football game in Foxborough, Mass., Sunday, Jan. 20, 2008. The Patriots advance to the Super Bowl. We predict an easy win 24-13. In one game, losing with some 20 seconds to go they failed on a pass on 4th down and 20 yards short. Game over. Wait a minute, refs signal to replay the last downhe play was restarted as sidelines had called a timeout just as the play started. Patriots again failed to move forward but were again allowed to restart on a sideline timeout of their own. They still failed but a yellow flag moved them into striking range which they then  accomplished. Un believable!
New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady, right, holds the Lamar Hunt Trophy as Junior Seau looks on after defeating the San Diego Chargers 21-12 in the AFC Championship football game in Foxborough, Mass., Sunday, Jan. 20, 2008. The Patriots advance to the Super Bowl. .
The Toronto Maple Leafs haved fired GM John Ferguson and brought in Cliff Fletcher (above) on an interim basis. Not like it will help. No offence and I don't know why, maybe its the ghost of Ballard, but the Leafs are a bunch of losers.

The Mona Lisa - sometimes also known as "La Gioconda", another possible tip-off about its famous subject - remains on display under heavy glass and heavy guard at the Louvre in Paris. It may be smaller in person than most art lovers expect, but it's always been larger than life in its reputation.For centuries speculation has raged about the identity of the woman with the half smile. And now German researchers claim to have found the definitive answer to the question.

Mystery Of The Mona Lisa Solved After Five Centuries: ScholarsMystery Of The Mona The University of Heidelberg say they've solved the mystery once and for all with the discovery of some long ignored notations scribbled in a book owned by a friend of the artist in 1503 - the date the artwork was believed to have been painted. And they definitively point to del Giocondo's wife as being the model for Mona. The notes are from a Florentine official and indicate da Vinci was working on three paintings at the time - including one that was a portrait of Lisa del Giocondo. "All doubts about the identity of the Mona Lisa have been eliminated by a discovery by [manuscript expert] Dr. Armin Schlechter," a university statement assures. Art experts agree the findings appear to be the real thing and are the earliest mentions of the woman and the work known to exist, potentially ending a puzzle that's raged for more than 500 years. Housing costs are getting beyond the reach of many ordinary Canadians. While many Canadians own homes, a new report says the country's poorest struggle just to keep a roof over their heads. "Fewer than nine per cent of all housing units completed in Canada's largest cities between 2001 and 2006 were rental units." As well, the report says homelessness remains a growing problem for urban Canada, requiring cities to establish close to 20,000 permanent shelter beds. "Many low-income families, including children, are living on the brink of homelessness or living in substandard housing," said Hogg, who is also a York Region councillor living in Richmond Hill, Ont. "Families on social assistance are faced with difficult housing choices, including living in unaffordable, inadequate, illegal or overcrowded housing conditions," she said yesterday following the report's release. "And there are signs the underlying fundamentals are getting worse."

Family Day is not only a day off from work, it's also going to be a day off from some traffic tickets, too. The city has confirmed the suddenly-called February 18th holiday, promised by Premier Dalton McGuinty during the last provincial election campaign, has forced it to figuratively tear up more than 1,000 tickets given out by traffic enforcement officers. The reason: those due to challenge the fines on the date when the hastily called holiday is held won't be able to get their due process because the courts will be closed. The result is a withdrawal of the yellow tags and a free ride for some motorists who received them. Most of the infractions affected are for minor offences, like parking or speeding. But the city is adamant it will still prosecute major cases. That means anyone caught going more than 30 kilometres an hour over the limit or charged with careless driving can still expect to face a judge. Affected drivers will receive a letter from the city confirming their ticket has been quashed.

Angry Judge Lectures O.J. Simpson, Raises His Bail To $250,000Judge Lectures O.J., Raises His Bail To $250,000. An angry judge doubled O.J. Simpson's bail to $250,000 on Wednesday for violating terms of his original bail by attempting to contact a co-defendant in the armed robbery case against him. Simpson, clad in jail attire, grimaced as the amount was announced, acknowledging that he understood. This jail time has reportedly cut big time into his search for the lying murdering bastards who killed his wife. Simpson has searched throughout most of the golf courses of the free world in a failing to apprehend the lying murdering scum who fits the blood soaked glove (over another glove).

HILARY: His life was marked by grand achievements, high adventure, discovery, excitement -- but he was especially proud of his decades-long campaign to set up schools and health clinics in Nepal, the homeland of Tenzing Norgay, the mountain guide with whom he stood arm in arm on the summit of Everest on May 29, 1953. Yet he was humble to the point that he only admitted being the first man atop Everest long after the death of Tenzing. He wrote of the pair's final steps to the top of the world: "Another few weary steps and there was nothing above us but the sky. There was no false cornice, no final pinnacle." "We were standing together on the summit. There was enough space for about six people." "We had conquered Everest. "Awe, wonder, humility, pride, exaltation -- these surely ought to be the confused emotions of the first men to stand on the highest peak on Earth, after so many others had failed," Hillary noted. "But my dominant reactions were relief and surprise. Relief because the long grind was over and the unattainable had been attained." "And surprise, because it had happened to me, old Ed Hillary, the beekeeper, once the star pupil of the Tuakau District School but no great shakes at Auckland Grammar (high school) and a no-hoper at university, first to the top of Everest." "I just didn't believe it." He said: "I removed my oxygen mask to take some pictures. It wasn't enough just to get to the top." "We had to get back with the evidence. Fifteen minutes later we began the descent." Then, upon arriving back at base camp, he took an irreverent view: "We knocked the bastard off." His philosophy of life was simple: "Adventuring can be for the ordinary person with ordinary qualities, such as I regard myself," he said in a 1975 interview after writing his autobiography, "Nothing Venture, Nothing Win." But Prime Minister Clark, announcing his death, Sir Edmund Hillary, First Man To Reach Summit Of Mt. Everest, Dies At 88Friday January 11, 2008 Sir Edmund Hillary, the unassuming beekeeper who conquered Mount Everest to win renown as one of the 20th century's greatest adventurers, died Friday. Hillary was anything but ordinary. "Sir Ed described himself as an average New Zealander with modest abilities. In reality, he was a colossus." "He was an heroic figure who not only 'knocked off' Everest but lived a life of determination, humility and generosity...The legendary mountaineer, adventurer and philanthropist is the best-known New Zealander ever to have lived." Close friends described him as having unbounded enthusiasm for both life and adventure. "We all have dreams -- but Ed has dreams, then he's got this incredible drive and goes ahead and does it," long-time friend Jim Wilson said in 1993. Hillary summarized it for schoolchildren in 1998, when he said one didn't have to be a genius to do well in life. "I think it all comes down to motivation. If you really want to do something, you will work hard for it," he said before planting some endangered Himalayan oaks in the school grounds. Hillary's pace slowed in his final years. He made his last visit to the Himalayas in April 2007 when he and Elizabeth Hawley -- unofficial chronicler of expeditions in the Himalayas for 40 years -- met the 2007 SuperSherpas Expedition in Kathmandu. A year earlier, he joined a flight of New Zealand dignitaries who flew to the Antarctic for the 50th anniversary of the Scott Base, which the adventurer helped build in 1957. Unlike many climbers, Hillary said when he died he had no desire to have his remains left on a mountain. He wanted his ashes scattered on Waitemata Harbour in the northern city Auckland where he lived his life. "To be washed gently ashore, maybe on the many pleasant beaches near the place I was born. Then the full circle of my life will be complete," he said.Spokesman Mark Sainsbury said Hillary's family had accepted the offer of a state funeral, on a date not yet set. Tributes quickly began flowing. "Sir Edmund's name is synonymous with adventure, with achievement, with dreaming and then making those dreams come true," said Australia's acting prime minister Julia Gillard. "He was a hero and a leader for us. He had done a lot for the people of Everest region and will always remain in our hearts," said Bhoomi Lama of the Nepal Mountaineering Association in Kathmandu. Hillary remains the only non-political person outside Britain honoured as a member of the Britain's Order of the Garter, bestowed by the Queen on just 24 knights and ladies living worldwide at any time. In his 1999 book "View from the Summit," Hillary finally broke his long public silence about whether it was he or Tenzing who was the first man to step atop Everest. "We drew closer together as Tenzing brought in the slack on the rope. I continued cutting a line of steps upwards." "Next moment, I had moved onto a flattish exposed area of snow with nothing by space in every direction," Hillary wrote. "Tenzing quickly joined me and we looked round in wonder. To our immense satisfaction we realized with had reached the top of the world." Before Tenzing's death in 1986, Hillary consistently refused to confirm he was first, saying he and the sherpa had climbed as a team to the top. It was a measure of his personal modesty and of his commitment to his colleagues. He later recalled his surprise at the huge international interest in their feat. "I was a bit taken aback to tell you the truth. I was absolutely astonished that everyone should be so interested in us just climbing a mountain." Hillary never forgot the small mountainous country that propelled him to worldwide fame. He revisited Nepal constantly over the next 54 years. Without fanfare and without compensation, Hillary spend decades pouring energy and resources from his own fund-raising efforts into Nepal through the Himalayan Trust he founded in 1962. Known as "burra sahib" -- "big man," for his 6 feet 2 inches -- by the Nepalese, Hillary funded and helped build hospitals, health clinics, airfields and schools. He raised funds for higher education for Sherpa families and helped set up reforestation programs in the impoverished country. About $250,000 a year was raised by the charity for projects in Nepal. A strong conservationist, he demanded international mountaineers clean up thousands of tonnes of discarded oxygen bottles, food containers and other climbing debris that litter an area known as South Col valley, the jump-off point for Everest attempts. His commitment to Nepal took him back more than 120 times. His adventurer son Peter has described his father's humanitarian work as "his duty" to those who had helped him. It was on a visit to Nepal that his first wife, Louise, 43, and 16-year-old daughter Belinda died in a light plane crash March 31, 1975. Hillary remarried in 1990, to June Mulgrew, former wife of adventurer colleague and close friend Peter Mulgrew, who died in a passenger plane crash in the Antarctic. He is survived by his wife and children Peter and Sarah. His passport described Hillary as an "author-lecturer" and by age 40 his schedule of lecturing and writing meant he had to give up beekeeping "because I was too busy." By that time he was touring, lecturing and fund-raising for the Himalayan Trust in the United States and Europe for three months at a time, speaking at more than 100 venues during a tour. He was known as ready to take risks to achieve his goals but always had control so nobody ever died on a Hillary-led expedition. He was at times controversial. He decried what he considered a lack of "honest-to-God morality" in New Zealand politics in the 1960s, and he refused to backtrack when the prime minister demanded he withdraw the comments. Ordinary New Zealanders applauded his integrity. He got into hot water over what became known as his "dash to the Pole" in the 1957-58 Antarctic summer season aboard modified farm tractors while part of a joint British-New Zealand expedition. Hillary disregarded instructions from the Briton leading the expedition and guided his tractor team up the then-untraversed Shelton Glacier, pioneering a new route to the polar plateau and the South Pole. In 2006 he entered a dispute over the death of Everest climber David Sharp, stating it was "horrifying" climbers could leave a dying man after an expedition left the Briton to die high on the upper slopes. Hillary said he would have abandoned his own pioneering 1953 climb to save another life. "It was wrong if there was a man suffering altitude problems and was huddled under a rock, just to lift your hat, say `good morning' and pass on by," he said. "Human life is far more important than just getting to the top of a mountain." Named New Zealand's ambassador to India in the mid-1980s, Hillary was the celebrity of the New Delhi cocktail circuit. He later said he found the job confining. He introduced jetboats to many Ganges River dwellers a decade earlier, in 1977, when his "Ocean to the Sky" expedition travelled the Ganges by jetboat to within 210 kilometres of its source.The last segment was by foot and two mountain peaks near Badranath, where the Ganges rises, were also climbed. He sought adventure in places as distant from each other as the Arctic and Antarctic. Hillary didn't place himself among top mountaineers. "I don't regard myself as a cracking good climber. I'm just strong in the back." "I have a lot of enthusiasm and I'm good on ice," he said. The first living New Zealander to be featured on a banknote, he helped raise nearly $530,000 for the Himalayan Trust by signing 1,000 of the sparkling new five-dollar bills sold at a charity auction in 1982.They were snapped up by collectors round the world. Honoured by the United Nations as one of its Global 500 conservationists in 1987, he was also awarded numerous honorary doctorates from universities in several parts of the world. One of his accolades was the Smithsonian Institution's James Smithson Bicentennial Medal for his "monumental explorations and humanitarian achievements," awarded in 1998.Throughout his life Hillary remembered his first mountain he climbed, the 2,940-metre Mount Tapuaenuku -- "Tappy" as he called it -- in Marlborough on New Zealand's South Island. He scaled it solo over three days in 1944, while in training camp with the Royal New Zealand Air Force during the Second World War. "Tapuaenuku" in Maori means "footsteps of the Rainbow God". "I'd climbed a decent mountain at last," he said later. Like all good mountaineers before him, Hillary had no special insight into that quintessential question: Why climb? "I can't give you any fresh answers to why a man climbs mountains. The majority still go just to climb them."

 

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