Lam Luong Sentenced to Death For Murder of Four Children

Lam Luong, who in January 2008 threw his four children off the Daupin Island Bridge, was sentenced to death in an Alabama courtroom Thursday.

Judge Charles Graddick sentenced Luong to death on Thursday after the jury recommended the death penalty in March. Luong was found guilty for the murders of Ryan Phan, 3; Hannah Luong, 2; Lindsey Luong, 1; and Danny Luong, 4 months when he threw them into the coastal waters of Alabama from the Daupin Island Bridge.

The average time between sentencing and execution in Alabama is 15 years. During that time Judge Graddick has ordered that Luong be shown photographs of the four children every day on death row.

Luong was also ordered to pay $50 million in restitution. That’s a debt that will not be paid because Luong could not afford legal council. The judge put the fee in the mix to ensure that if the man sells the rights to his story for a book or movie deal he will not profit from it.

CTV’s Fecan Asks Government For Cable Regulation

Is it time for the Canadian government to step in and regulate cable rates? CTVglobal media Inc.’s chief executive Ivan Fecan thinks so.

Fecan spoke in front of the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission seeking a renewal of its TV licence on a one-year basis instead of the typical seven-year term. The request is a result of the financial crisis.

CTVglobal has a three point reform plan that they are presenting to parliment.

1. The immediate implementation of fee for carriage. “Fee-for-carriage
does not need to impact the consumer nor will it invoke undue harm to
the cable and satellite industry,” said Mr. Fecan. “This is an
industry-to-industry matter”.

2. Satellite carriage for local TV stations. “We simply would like the
CRTC to uphold Parliament’s clear statement in the Broadcasting Act
that calls for priority carriage of local television stations.”

3. A hybrid digital transition strategy. “We cannot justify an
investment of several hundred million dollars to reach 9% of the
marketplace, particularly when this investment produces no additional
revenue in a business that is already teetering on the edge.”

The economic crisis is forcing private broadcasters to write down their value of assets by billions. CTVglobalmedia is planning on closing to stations by August in Windsor and Wingham, Ontario. Earlier this year in March it announced that 118 newsroom jobs were being cut and that morning shows at A Channels had been canceled. The company is not seeking licence renewal for a station in Brandon, Manitoba.

Financial Post reports:

“Please understand this is not a cash grab or greed from a private broadcaster. This is real. We are not bluffing,” Mr. Fecan said, adding that unless the CRTC introduces relief CTVglobemedia may be forced to shut down additional stations.

He’s not alone with the concern.

“We have cut every conceivable cost,” said Richard Gray, head of national news at CTVglobemedia’s A Channel chain.

The National Post reports that Fecan criticized the federal regulator.

“What I’m telling you is you are playing chicken with the studios, and the consequence may very well be the end of broadcasting as we know it in Canada,” Mr. Fecan told Mr. von Finckenstein at a special hearing into the state of the industry.

“What are you trying to achieve? I’m at a loss to consider why you, Mr. Chairman, who have no skin in this game, why you would play this kind of risk with our business.”

Fecan’s comments are in contrast to those made last week by Phil Lind, Vice Chairman of Rogers Communications Inc. before Parliament’s Heritage Committee. Lind said that the Canadian television industry is not in a crisis and believes that the call for fee-for-carriage was simply an unneeded tax on consumers.

On Thursday Canwest is expected to speak about their need to apply for a one-year licence.

CDC Confirms 109 Swine Flu Cases in U.S., 1 Death

Confirmed cases of swine flu in the United States is at 109 with 1 death. At this time six of those cases are in hospital with more serious symptoms, a CDC media conference explained.

Richard Besser, M.D., Acting Director, CDC gave today’s briefing to reporters at the CDC on the latest swine flu information.

On thoughts about closing borders it was noted that once the disease has crossed the border there is not an added value. There will continue to be surveillance at all borders for the disease.

In past modeling cases of flu outbreaks, mild cases protect future infections. It is not known if this will be the case though in the fall when it is suspected that there will be a larger outbreak.

Earlier today on TV Vice President Joe Biden said that he nor his family will be flying. Doctor Besser assured the reporters that public transport is safe at this time. Besser also noted that if you are ill do not use public transportation.

There have been some slight changes to the way the outbreak is behaving. A few more serious cases are beginning to be reported. Six patients are now in hospital. Besser had no other details on those cases. Besser also did not have the numbers of people going to the emergency rooms across the nation with suspected cases of swine flu.

We do know that the flu virus spreads easily in community settings. This virus is being investigated as to how easily it spreads but if it is like other flu viruses it does not require close personal contact.

“We don’t know yet how easily it is transmitted.”

If the need for a vaccine, which will [-b]not be ready until the fall arises it will then be decided who will get the shot. It will be impossible to produce enough vaccine for everyone in the US. The final decisions will be a matter of public discussion and knowing who the risk groups are at that time.

According to the latest numbers at WHO there are 236 confirmed cases worldwide.

As for suspected cases Veratect has non going non-stop in the past 24 hours that I have been monitoring them on twitter. The service is available for anyone who wishes to monitor them for free.

Last night President Obama spoke to the press about the swine flu.

Well, first of all, as I said, this is a cause for deep concern, but not panic. And I think that we have to make sure that we recognize that how we respond — intelligently, systematically, based on science and what public health officials have to say — will determine in large part what happens.

I’ve consulted with our public health officials extensively on a day-to-day basis, in some cases, an hour-to-hour basis. At this point they have not recommended a border closing. From their perspective it would be akin to closing the barn door after the horses are out, because we already have cases here in the United States. We have ramped up screening efforts, as well as made sure that additional supplies are there on the border so that we can prepare in the eventuality that we have to do more than we’re doing currently.

But the most important thing right now that public health officials have indicated is that we treat this the same way that we would treat other flu outbreaks, just understanding that because this is a new strain we don’t yet know how it will respond. So we have to take additional precautions — essentially, take out some additional insurance. That’s why I asked for an additional $1.5 million, so that we can make sure that everything is in place should a worst-case scenario play out.

Opinion: Where’s The Money? TTC and Toronto Dropped The Ball

It’s a case of putting the horse before the buggy in Toronto as no money in the coffers may mean no new fancy Bombardier streetcars in two years.

The problem is that when the TTC and Bombardier got the contact all together the only thing missing was the money to fund the project. Oops.

This isn’t high school where Junior can ask Daddy for a few extra million to go to the dance.

Come on I am sure that the TTC has a spare $1.2 billion laying on the tracks hidden away. With only 60 days to find those bills there just may be a bit of a problem.

The price on the table with Bombardier goes away on June 27. If they aren’t happy they can just walk away or they can tell the TTC to cough up more money.

Premier Dalton McGuinty says that those funds weren’t in the budget planning. So where’s the money? The Toronto Sun reports:

“It would have been helpful had we had a better understanding … a more comprehensive list of their priorities,” McGuinty told reporters yesterday.

The folks that could soon be working at the Thunder Bay Bombardier plant hope it can be found.

The Globe and Mail reports:

“I heard the news, I was in Waterloo, ‘Oh the city have said they’re going to do the contract with Bombardier.’ And in the next breath I heard we were paying for it. So that was a bit challenging,” George Smitherman, Ontario’s Minister of Energy and Infrastructure said April 28 at an event on the revitalization of Regent Park, with Mr. Miller just steps away. “I’m little bit perplexed… I’m not really accustomed to operating in an environment where you have an announcement about the acquisition of a product and the entering into of a contract, absent of the financial resources to do that.”

It’s not like the TTC is asking for all the money. So far the piggy bank has $9 million in it. So asking for the one-third rest shouldn’t be a problem, should it?

Chrysler Entering Bankruptcy Protection

President Barack Obama is due to make a statement on the future of the US car maker. Obama has said that the company would become stronger after any move into bankruptcy protection.

Chrysler is entering bankruptcy protection after failing to get their debtors to write off their debts.

The move almost guarantees that the company will be given billions of state loans if they could restructure the business by midnight Wednesday.

Obama is set to speak at noon about the Chrysler situation, appearing with members of his auto task force.

According to sources for the Globe and Mail, the car maker will be gaining $15 billion from both the US and Canadian governments to help Chrysler survive through bankruptcy protection.

On Thursday morning it is expected that the signing of a strategic alliance with Fiat SpA imminent.

Fiat will take a 20-per-cent stake in Chrysler.

The company will be split into two companies with its key Canadian operation placed with the part of the company that will form the basis for the Fiat-Chrysler strategic alliance. Unwanted assets will be placed into another operation.

Yesterday Chrysler released a LLC Statement in Response to UAW Ratification of Contract.

We are thankful to the Chrysler UAW members for their support in ratifying this contract, especially during these challenging times. This was a necessary step as we move forward in revitalizing this great Company. Today’s vote enables us to continue our work to meet the conditions laid out by the U. S. Treasury Department. The entire Chrysler leadership team believes in and appreciates the men and women that make up our great workforce worldwide.”

The members of the United Auto Workers have ratified a settlement deal with Chrysler. The vote was 82 per cent of production workers and 80 per cent of skilled-trade workers in favor.

The agreement will take effect on May 4. This is the last piece of the plan that the company will take to the meeting with the U.S. government to meet with the Thursday restructuring deadline.

A similar agreement was reached this past weekend with Canadian Auto Workers.

The Canadian government is set to have a press conference about this issue at 2 p.m., according to Derek Mellon, media relations at Ottawa headquarters.

This is a developing story, check back for updates

Prime Minister Stephen Harper will make a joint announcement with Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty today. They are expected to announce that Canada and Ontario will have a two per cent equity stake in restructured Chrysler.

Officials expect that Chrysler to be in bankruptcy for 60 days only. The plan with the federal government is allowing the company to keep 30,000 jobs at Chrysler and its suppliers.

Fiat has agreed to transfer billions in cutting-edge technology to help Chrysler. Also, the United Auto Workers has agreed to further concessions, such cuts to benefits.

Impaired Driving Laws Are Changing In Ontario

If you are caught in Ontario driving impaired on Friday the laws will be stricter than they are today. If you value your licence be wise, don’t drink and drive.

From May 1 if you are stopped with a blood alcohol concentration from 0.05 to 0.08 your licence can be suspended right there for three days for a first occurrence, seven days for a second occurrence and 30 days for a third or subsequent occurrence. The judge won’t be involved. Bottom line, you drink, you drive, you lose.

The Ministry of Transportation’s web page gives Ontarian a clear view of what the new laws are.

Consequences for Driving with a 0.05 to 0.08 “Warn Range” Blood Alcohol Concentration

First Time

* 3-day licence suspension
* $150 Administrative Monetary Penalty

Second Time (within 5 years)

* 7-day licence suspension
* Mandatory alcohol education program
* $150 Administrative Monetary Penalty

Third Time (within 5 years)

* 30-day licence suspension
* Mandatory alcohol treatment program
* Six-month ignition interlock licence condition
* $150 Administrative Monetary Penalty

Subsequent infractions (within 5 years)

* 30-day licence suspension
* Mandatory alcohol treatment program
* Six-month ignition interlock licence condition
* Mandatory medical evaluation
* $150 Administrative Monetary Penalty

If you are stopped don’t bother calling a lawyer, they can’t stop your licence suspension. When the police nab you on the road there is no appeal process. Each suspension will be recorded on your driver’s licence. For the next five years you will be considered when determining consequences for subsequent infractions.

You will be given a suspension notice by a police officer, indicating that the suspension of your licence takes effect immediately. The police officer will take your licence from you and send it back to the Ministry of Transportation (MTO).

If the police send your licence to the MOT a reinstatement notice will be mailed to you. The notice will include a Temporary Driver’s Licence as long as nothing shows up when they run your licence. You can take your paper temporary licence to a a Driver and Vehicle Licence Issuing Office to pay the $150 administrative monetary penalty. Your new plastic card will then be mailed out to you.

If you do not get the reinstatement in the mail you mail obtain a TDL from a Driver and Vehicle Licence Issuing Office.

If your licence has been suspended for 30 days you will not be allowed to drive any vehicle that does not have an ignition interlock device installed. The in-car alcohol breath screening device that prevents a vehicle from starting if it detects a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) over a pre-set limit of .02 (i.e., 20 mg of alcohol per 100 ml of blood).

In Ontario about 17,000 drivers are convicted of Criminal Code of Canada offences every year. These offenses range from impaired driving, driving with a blood alcohol concentration of more than 0.08, criminal negligence causing bodily harm or death, manslaughter, dangerous driving and failure to remain at the scene of a collision. The largest amount (about 3/4) of these crimes are a result of drinking and driving. One fourth of deaths that occur on Ontario roads are a result of drinking and driving. In 2005 174 people died because of a drunk driver and 3,852 more were injured by those drivers.

The smartest thing to do is not drink at all if you plan to be driving home.

So why was the ‘warn range’ changed? Drivers will a BAC above 0.05 but still below 0.08 are 7.2 times more likely to be in a fatal accident than drivers with a 0 BAC.

National Post to Stop Monday Editions During Summer

Canada’s National Post is going to stop Monday editions during the summer. The decision to stop the Monday edition is an attempt to lower newsprint costs starting June 29. The action will follow for the next nine Mondays.

The company is owned by Canwest.

Canwest is having problems with creditors itself. The company is carrying roughly $4 billion of debt.

Canwest is also considering selling five TV stations and has agreed to sell its stake in sports broadcaster Score Media.

The company owns a chain of daily newspapers in Canada. It also owns the Global network.

Reuters reports:

Analysts have said Canwest could file for bankruptcy protection, but the company thus far has continued to negotiate with creditors rather than involve the courts.

Fans of the Score Network don’t have to fear that its going anywhere.

” We’re not going anywhere,” Chris Suppa, a producer for the Score told Digital Journal.

“Regarding the stock, it’s great for the company long term, being able to invest in ourselves, it makes us stronger. Not many media companies can say they’re experiencing stability, much less growth, but we are,” Suppa said.

The total number of shares that Canwest sold back to Score was 16 million shares.

WHO media briefing on swine flu, April 29

The latest news from the World Health Organization is much the same as in past days. WHO meet with reporters online at 5 pm Geneva time April 29 with Dr Keiji Fukuda, Assistant Director-General ai, Health Security and Environment answering questions.

What is known at this point:

The virus spreads person to person
The virus started as a swine flu and has been able to adapt to acting like a human flu virus.
The cases are mostly mild except for in Mexico at this point.
Studies are underway to study the transmission methods of the virus.
Eating cooked pork will not cause the swine flu.
That all of the test samples look very much the same globally.
Right now there is no evidence that other bacterial infections are involved with serious cases. This could change with further studies.

The numbers as of 5 PM at WHO Headquarters are:

Canada- 13 cases
United States- 64/ 1 death
Mexico-26/7 deaths
Israel- 2
Spain-4
United Kingdom-2
New Zealand-3

Where We Are Now

The transmission rate does not slow signs of slowing.
We are not yet at a Phase 5 level, although that could change quickly. While there is evidence that the swine flu does spread well in a school situation the Phase 5 status will come if it starts to spread in neighbourhoods of two or more countries.
While the swine flu is very much like seasonal flu there is a higher rate of diarrhea and vomiting associated with it.
There are now cases that have been reported where Mexico may not have been a factor. WHO is investigating to see if there is a link.

WHO is not sure yet of the ratio of mild/serious/fatal cases as of yet.
WHO is not sure yet if there are risk factors for those with serious disease.

“One of the features of this type of outbreak is that the initial numbers are confusing. WHO can’t address why the numbers are conflicting. I can’t address the specifics.”

Where We Are Going

Because the evidence is that the transmission of the swine flu virus is not likely to stop spreading we must be prepared. The WHO has mentioned a number of times the similarities between this outbreak and the 1918 Spanish Flu pandemic. During the 1918 pandemic the initial start was a mild period of outbreak with a very quiet summer period and then a very deadly fall pandemic.

“It’s premature to think of the swine flu as mild. We just don’t know yet. In the 1918 Spanish Flu the patterns were similar. This is the time to prepare and figure out how to proceed.”

When asked why some of the new global cases cite Cancun as a location where the virus was imported and yet Cancun is not listed as an outbreak area Dr Keiji Fukuda said it was quite possible that the test results have just not gotten in right in that location.

For the near future WHO and other health agencies will be focusing on how the overall picture of the disease is going and how best to protect people. In the future they will turn back and look for the origin of the outbreak.

Victoria George-Pazzano Dies At 29

Victoria George-Pazzano, 29, died at Peterborough Regional Health Centre’s Intensive Care Unit around 9:45 p.m. last night. The Toronto woman’s return home was delayed after an asthma attack in Mexico.

The family knew that Victoria was unlikely to survive her illness but wanted her to be at home. The market researcher was in Cancun last week with her husband and son when she had a severe asthma attack.

Although the family had travel insurance provided by RBC and an air ambulance willing to bring the woman home they had a difficult time finding an ICU bed in Ontario.

The Toronto Star quoted husband Dylan Pazzano yesterday outside of Peterborough Regional Health Centre:

“I’m going to lose my wife. The people behind me are all going to lose somebody so special. But we finally achieved what we wanted, to get her back home.”

Mr. Pazzano spoke highly on the medical staff in Cancun who tended to his wife.

Government leaders Frank Klaas and Jack Layton both worked Monday to get the young woman home.

Inside Toronto quotes Jack Layton:

They had to go through hoops,” he said of the family in an interview Tuesday afternoon. “People shouldn’t have to have questions asked on the floor of the House of Commons to get their loved one home safely.”

Victoria’s husband Dylan Pazanno, her mother, Pauline George, and sisters were at the hospital with her when she passed away.

Veratech Inc. Warned Clients About Swine Flu Outbreak April 6

Veratech Inc. is on the cutting edge when it comes to searching the web for signs of pandemics. The two-year-old company had a hunch two weeks ago that something was up, a week before the CDC and WHO. How is that possible?

“In this rapidly evolving outbreak, early intervention can mean the difference between life
and death for people in countries potentially affected by swine influenza. We want to
provide Veratect’s services to everyone concerned about this outbreak so they can have the
information they need to respond in a timely and effective manner,” said Robert (Bob)
Hart, president and CEO.

The company combines computer algorithms with human analysts to monitor online and off-line sources for hints of disease outbreaks and civil unrest worldwide. Tracking ‘events’ the company ranks them for severity and posts them on their site for the paying clients who want in on early warnings.

In the past week Veratect and other companies that work with the same goal have been getting more clients.

They are able to track information about possible outbreaks by using blogs, online chat rooms, Twitter feeds and news media and government Web sites are full of data that public health agencies to see if there is a potential hot spot, often before the agencies can see a pattern forming.

The swine flu is a case in point. Veratect had posted a report to their clients on April 6 when there was an unusual number of respiratory illnesses in Veracruz, the new known epi-center of the outbreak. They also sent an email to the Centers of Disease Control on April 16 pointing out an outbreak of atypical l pneumonia in Oaxaca state when officials issues an alert.

Yahoo Tech reports:

“Playing the blame game is one of those indicators” that something unusual is going on, said Dr. James Wilson, Veratect’s chief scientist. When the company posted the La Gloria information, it treated the incident as a matter of “moderate severity.”

Of course there are some glitches with the program. Veratect reported that a Canadian lawyer was hospitalized in March with the swine flu after a trip to Mexico. That turned out to be wrong.

Still the company had already given their clients a head up before the world health authorities were on the case in a public way.

Dr. Scott Dowell, who heads the CDC’s international swine flu team, admits that his agency looks at the reports from companies like Veratech while monitoring outbreaks around the world. He says that Veratect is often useful about emerging threats.

Veratech leans towards the business client. They work with corporate, financial services, non government organizations, insurance and government agencies.

Veratect has less than 50 employees but that may be changing. They are actively looking for high-end employees.

The company is on twitter and gives updates often. Recent updates include:

* Spain: Number of confirmed swine influenza cases rises to four; most recent in Bilbao. #swineflu 11 minutes ago
* Costa Rica: Health Minister states laboratory results on a third “highly probable case” will be available soon. #swineflu 15 minutes ago
* Costa Rica: Second confirmed swine influenza case is a 29-year-old male who recently returned from Mexico. #swineflu 16 minutes ago

Paulette Zimmerman, a spokeswoman for the company Veratech answered the following questions for Digital Journal:

Can the average person become one of your clients?

Veratect’s service is geared towards federal and non-government organizations (NGOs) and Fortune 500 companies in a variety of industry sectors. However, the average the person can follow information provided by Veratect on disease outbreak and civil unrest via twitter.

How much does your service cost?

The cost will vary depending on how many reports and organization wishes to receive and the level of monitoring they need.

Do you send your information to public health groups (like the CDC) for free?

For this particular crisis (Swine Influenza), they are sending information for free.

Ms. Zimmerman also sent a pdf. file of James M. Wilson MD’s testimony in front of Homeland Security to Digital Journal.

James M. Wilson MD, Chief Technical Officer and Chief Scientist for Veratech addressed the Home Homeland Security Committee on July 16, 2008 about developing the art and science of timely, accurate, sensitive and specific detection and warning for disease – early enough to do something
about it before it enters the global transportation and commerce grid.

During the winter
of 2006 and 2007, the team issued nearly 3,000 event reports across 128 countries and 27
languages, which included 181 Advisories, 58 Watches, and 38 Warnings. Our team
identified hundreds of reports of a type A / H3N2 influenza virus that appeared to have
drifted away from the current vaccine strain of H3N2 beginning in early January 2007 in
Beijing, China, six weeks prior to the WHO Consultation on the Composition of
Influenza Vaccine for the Northern Hemisphere. We later found similar reports in a
multitude of countries and collaboratively worked with CDC to track this important
finding. The value of this information was validated when the World Health
Organization and its partners recommended a change in the southern hemisphere
influenza vaccine to include an updated H3N2 strain.

Veritech had at the time (2007) an estimated coverage of 82% of the world’s population now, in near real time. By the end of 2008, we will have expanded this coverage to more then 90%. (which they have done so)

Man Allegedly Kidnaps Child To Force Mother Into Prostitution

A Toronto man allegedly forced a mother into prostitution by kidnapping her daughter, 3. The child was located last night and is in the care of Children’s Aid Society.

The police arrested the suspect yesterday morning. Tyrone Dillon has been charged with
10 counts including procuring a person to become a prostitute, exercising control, procuring illicit sex and living off the avails of prostitution.

He is set to appear in court later today.

There are few details about the incident. What is known from police records is that the woman asked the suspect to watch her daughter. He then took the child to a babysitter and refused to tell the mother where her child was.

Investigators allege that the suspect used the child as leverage to coerce the mother into working as a prostitute for him.

The mother tried to escape and the suspect is said to have assaulted her.

Police believe there may be more victims in this case.

Anyone with information about the case is asked to call police at 416-808-3105, Crime Stoppers at 416-222-TIPS or online at 222tips.com.

Man arrested after posting Craigslist ad requesting sex, murder

An ad on the popular website Craigslist, under the “casual encounters’ section, lead to the arrest of a man in Seattle who showed up at a motel ready for a little sex and murder.

The man posted that he wanted to have sex with a woman and then kill her. He finished his ad with “Serious iquiries (sic) only please.”

Thankfully the police were waiting for him instead of an intended murder victim. It appears the guy was serious because he showed up at the motel with a length of chain and a knife to live out his fantasy.

The man and what he believed was a woman exchanged a series of emails to come to a price for his desires. That price tag was $2,000.

The police were notified about the ad by a Craigslist employee email on April 22. Over the next several days an undercover detective communicated with the man several times via email.

While the suspect had been looking for a consensual arrangement, the police turned the tables on him asking if he would be willing to murder someone for a fee.

The set-up in place the detective gave the man a location to meet at a local motel. As the suspect knocked on the motel room door he was arrested.

TheBoston Herald reports a phone interview with a woman who was at the suspect’s home:

“He didn’t do anything,” said the woman who asked not to be named. “If he was doing anything, he was trying to figure out a way to get money. He had no intent to go through with it. She said she read some of the e-mails between police and her boyfriend and she said the police “definitely entrapped him.” She said the issue of payment was brought up by officers, not by her boyfriend. They offered him money and we’re broke, living at our grandmother’s house,” she said. “He actually has a lot, lot, lot of mental issues that need to be dealt with,” she said. ” … But he’s not really the person they’re making him out to be. He’s a good person, an amazing father and I love him and support him.”

The suspect has been convicted in the past for indecent exposure. The hearing on that case was scheduled for Thursday.

He’s being held in the King County Jail.

‘There Is No Bed Available’- Sad Reality For Sick Out of Ontario

You’ve prepared for your vacation out of the country with travel insurance, medical insurance and a passport handy. Then the worse case scenario happens, you become ill and want to get home. If you’re from Ontario you may find there’s no bed available.

Just yesterday that case was illustrated when Victoria George-Pazzano’s family was told that there was no bed in all of Southern Ontario for her after she became critically ill following an asthma attack in Mexico. She has since been flown back to the province and her family is with her at the Peterborough Regional Health Centre.

She is not alone. Each year Ontarians that get ill out of the country face not being able to have a bed. One politician that is working on this issue is Frank Klees, MPP for Newmarket-Aurora. Klees is now running for Premier with the Progressive Conservative party. One of his biggest platforms is health care issues for those living in Ontario.

In an interview with Digital Journal Wednesday morning Klees expressed his concern not only in the George-Pazzano case but all of the other cases that he has seen that the same action took place. He has been involved with Victoria’s plight but is not taking credit for helping her return home, although he could take partial credit. His voice in Parliament does speak louder than just the common man when getting the powers that be to listen.

“The case reveals the real tragedy. The family did all the right things, they got insurance for example. Then when tragedy hit they were told there were no beds available. This is a problem of communication between the government and the management of the hospitals and the Ministry of Health. It shows that the Ministry of Health does not know what is really going on in the system.”

Klees wants to bridge the huge gaps that are going on between the Health Ministry and the realities of health care in the province. He also wants those in Ontario to be aware that this issue could face them if they get sick outside of the country and want to be repatriated into a Ontario hospital.

“It’s a great concern that no one can assume that they can return home to Ontario if they get sick out of the country.”

That’s not how it looks on paper but it’s the sad truth for some of those who have had to hear the words ‘there’s no beds available.’

All pigs in Egypt going to slaughter

The government in Egypt is set to slaughter all pigs in the nation. They are doing this as a precautionary measure against the swine flu.

The Star Online reports:

“It is decided to slaughter all swine herds present in Egypt, starting from today,” Health Minister Hatem el-Gabali said in a statement published by state news agency MENA.

The Health Ministry says that about 300,000 pigs will begin to be slaughtered immediately.

At this time Egypt says that there are no cases of swine flu in their nation.

NATO Issues Strict Rules For Afghan News Coverage

NATO is imposing strict new restrictions on foreign journalists covering the war in southern Afghanistan. The new rules could very well affect the news that the Canadian people will now be getting from Kandahar.

The new rules have been in place since early March. The enforcement of the rules by the US military is very much like what is in place for reporters covering the news in Iraq.

It is now impossible for Canadian journalists to leave Kandahar Airfield without an escort and then return safely to NATO’s principle base.

Canadian soldiers are required to escort newly arrived journalists everywhere on the airfield. That includes the military going into the showers with reporters.

Some journalists have been confined to sleeping quarters when they are not working.

This measure has been temporarily suspended under pressure from the Canadian military. The military has tried to have the policy reversed.

The Toronto Star reports:

“The media is not the enemy and this is a form of censorship – and it is unacceptable,” Liberal MP Denis Coderre said Tuesday.

“There is a public interest to know what’s going on in the field.”

The Canadian Association Journalists have called on the Harper government to put pressure on the Pentagon to reverse this policy.

The Star reports:

“It sounds like the more control they have over journalists, where they go, who they talk to, they’ll be able to shape the story in a much effective way,” she said.

“That ultimately is not effective for Canadians’ understanding of what’s really going on.”

Some of the same rules do not apply to journalists from the United States. Those rules are a violation of their rights under the United States constitution. One of the differences is that Canadian reporters are also compelled to forfeit their passports to the military for the duration of their stay.

The new measures appear to affect Canadian news organizations the most. Other NATO countries have sent groups of reporters through Kandahar for short-term assignments.

Reporters have noted that an informal reason for the new guidelines is that some U.S. private contractors have been accused of stealing.

The new rules require Canadian journalists be given a full federal government security screening, involving background checks to be granted accreditation.

This new mandate comes just as Washington is about to booster the troops with an additional 21,000 combat soldiers and trainers.

The U.S. security team at Kandahar Airfield has stopped issuing International Security Assistance Force accreditation since February. Now journalists are only given base visitor passes. These passes restrict movements and require those with the passes to be closely monitored.

Some of the stories that Canadian journalists in the past covered had to do with the allegations of torture among Taliban prisoners and the lives of refugees who have been left homeless after bombing raids.

Canadian troops in Kandahar are stationed at the air field also.

Four Cases Of Swine Flu Confirmed In Ontario

Ontario has reported that there are four cases of swine flu. Three of the cases are in Durham and one is in the York Region.

All four cases in the province of Ontario have a Mexico connection.

Dr. David Williams, Ontario’s Associate chief medical officer of health says that all of the cases are mild.

The patients are all recovering at home.

In Canada there are 13 confirmed cases of the swine flu. On Tuesday Alberta and Ontario reported their first cases.

The Canadian Press reports:

Health Minister Leona Aglukkaq said seven new cases were reported Tuesday: four in Ontario, two in Alberta, and one in B.C.

“I want to stress that all these cases have been mild … and they do not change our course of action,” she told a news conference.

“Decisions are being made based on the best available information coming to me from one of the best health systems in the world.”

Healthy Body Image Badge Coming Soon For The Girl Guides

The Girl Guides of Canada have come out with a new badge to promote a healthy body image. Girls from five to seventeen can earn the Love Yourself Challenge badge that promotes healthy eating, a positive body image and self-esteem.

The new badge is purple is green with three female stick figures of differently shaped girls and will be launched on May 11.

The challenge program was helped by the National Eating Disorder Information Centre. The Center approached the Girl Guides about the idea last year.

There are different activities depending on the age of the girl earning the badge.

In recent years the Girl Guides have been working on updating their image.

CBC reports:

“Guiding has an old-fashioned stigma to it. It’s been around for 100 years and our membership has dropped,” Rebecca Tye, girl program coordinator for the group, said Tuesday.

“We don’t usually deal with something so progressive … but we know it’s important to our 80,000 members,” she added.

The Guides started in 1909 when Lord Baden-Powell at the Crystal Palace in London, Great Britain organized a Scouting rally for boys. To his surprise a number of girls showed up. Baden-Powell impressed by the girls asked his sister Agnes to create a program just for them.

By 1910 the program had come to Canada with the first unit in St. Catherines, Ontario. In just two years there were units in each province.

Ontario Says No Beds for Canadian Victoria George-Pazzano

When Victoria George-Pazzano, 29, fell ill after a severe asthma attack last Tuesday while on vacation in Cancun she was placed on life support. Her family wants her to come home to Ontario. The only problem is that no hospital in Ontario will accept her.

George-Pazzano has travel insurance that will pay the costs of her medical evacuation to Toronto. Her husband, Dylan Pazzano says that because of the fear of swine flu no hospitals will accept his wife. He wants his son, 5, to be able to spend some time with his mother before she passes away.

CBC reports:

“I am disgusted, I am ashamed right now to call myself Canadian,” he told CBC News in a telephone interview from Mexico. “There’s no words to describe what I am going through right now.”

Pazzano has been told that there isn’t a ICU bed available in southern Ontario for his wife. The family’s insurance company has searched for a bed from East York to Hamilton and they have been unable to locate a bed.

That’s not the case says the Ministry of Health. There are no shortages of ICU beds in Southern Ontario nor are there any prohibitions placed on transporting patients from Mexico to Toronto.

CBC reports:

“The bottom line is that a Canadian was waiting to be repatriated and there was not a hospital in the province of Ontario, certainly not in the GTA, that was willing to receive her. That’s the tragedy here,” said member of provincial parliament Frank Klees.

Klees has tried to help the family bring Victoria home without success.

When Digital Journal contacted Jennifer Gougeon, Public Affairs Assistant of the University Health Network which includes Toronto Western Hospital and Toronto General Hospital was unaware of the case. On a return call she said that she would get back to us with any information. She was not sure if at this time there are beds available in the ICU unit.

Frank Klees, MPP for Newmarket is on the road and can’t return calls at this time.

footnote:

George-Pazzano is being taken to the Peterborough Regional Health Centre.

She is still in a critical condition and on life support, said a family member earlier today.

Late last night, George credited the media and several MPPs for bringing her daughter home.

“The media has been fantastic…As have elected officials,” said George. If not for them, “I don’t think we would have had this event today,” she said.

Veracruz, Mexico is Suspected Ground Zero For Swine FluVeracruz, with its many pig farms, is suspected of being Ground Zero for the swine flu. The Gulf of Mexico coastal state had at least one confirmed case before the first death. Tests have confirmed that a 4-year-old boy contracted swine flu at least two weeks before the outbreak claimed its first life. The case was part of a normal strain of influenza outbreak that took place in early April. The boy recovered from the illness. It’s not clear if that one case spawned the epidemic. Granjas Carroll de Mexico, which is partly owned by Virginia-based Smithfield Foods, is near the epicenter. The Toronto Star reports that farming company has released a statement that said: has found no clinical signs or symptoms of the presence of swine influenza in the company’s swine herd or its employees at its joint ventures in Mexico.” La Gloria’s community of 3,000 believe that their town is ground zero. More than 450 residents say that they are suffering from respiratory problems from contamination spread by pig waste at nearby breeding farms co-owned by a U.S. company. AP reports: But Jose Luis Martinez, a 34-year-old resident of La Gloria, said he knew the minute he learned about the outbreak on the news and heard a description of the symptoms: fever, coughing, joint aches, severe headache and, in some cases, vomiting and diarrhea. “When we saw it on the television, we said to ourselves, ‘This is what we had,’” he said Monday. “It all came from here. … The symptoms they are suffering are the same that we had here.”

Veracruz, with its many pig farms, is suspected of being Ground Zero for the swine flu. The Gulf of Mexico coastal state had at least one confirmed case before the first death.

Tests have confirmed that a 4-year-old boy contracted swine flu at least two weeks before the outbreak claimed its first life.

The case was part of a normal strain of influenza outbreak that took place in early April. The boy recovered from the illness. It’s not clear if that one case spawned the epidemic.

Granjas Carroll de Mexico, which is partly owned by Virginia-based Smithfield Foods, is near the epicenter. The Toronto Star reports that farming company has released a statement that said: has found no clinical signs or symptoms of the presence of swine influenza in the company’s swine herd or its employees at its joint ventures in Mexico.”

La Gloria’s community of 3,000 believe that their town is ground zero. More than 450 residents say that they are suffering from respiratory problems from contamination spread by pig waste at nearby breeding farms co-owned by a U.S. company.

AP reports:

But Jose Luis Martinez, a 34-year-old resident of La Gloria, said he knew the minute he learned about the outbreak on the news and heard a description of the symptoms: fever, coughing, joint aches, severe headache and, in some cases, vomiting and diarrhea.

“When we saw it on the television, we said to ourselves, ‘This is what we had,’” he said Monday. “It all came from here. … The symptoms they are suffering are the same that we had here.”

Juan Lubroth, an animal health expert at the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization in Rome, believes that the Mexican government has shown a sound based surveillance system dealing with their swine. He noted that the system had previously eliminated an unrelated disease from the country’s commercial pig population, which he said is a good indication that they also are conducting adequate reviews of pigs for swine flu.

The LA Times reports:

“We never had this type of epidemic, this type of virus in the world,” Health Secretary Jose Angel Cordova said at a news conference Monday. “We don’t know how many days this will go on, because it’s the first time in the world this virus has appeared.”

Afghan President Karzai Pledges To Change Shia Family Law

Yesterday Afghan President Hamid Karzai pledged to change the law that many in the world has deemed a legal way for men to rape their wives because of the concerns that it is violating basic human rights.

The law allows a man to demand sex with his wife every four days unless she is ill or would be harmed by intercourse. The law also restricts the movements of a married woman outside of her home.

The Toronto Star reports:

“Amendments will take place,” and the law “will not have any concerns on any account of human rights and especially the rights of the Afghan people,” Karzai told reporters at a joint news conference with British Prime Minister Gordon Brown. Later, Brown said he discussed the law with Karzai.

“I assure you that the laws of Afghanistan will be in complete harmony with the Constitution of Afghanistan and the human rights that we have adhered to in our constitution and in the principles of the international treaties,” Karzai said.

The wording of the existing law applies to the Shiites in the nation. They make up less than 20 per cent of the Afghan population.

Karzai has said that completion of the law review process will happen prior to May 21 when his term ends.

The Afghan constitution guarantees equality of the sexes. The nation is also a signer of the Universal Declaration on Human Rights. The new law violates provisions of both documents.

President Karzai says that the controversial portions of the 239-page document were buried in theological jargon. He claims that when he was briefed on the document those details were not included in the briefing.

The changes to the newly passed bill should be made before voting time in August according to Sabrina Saqib, a legislator from Kabul who was in the meeting.

Car Wash Event To Donate To Help Car Wash Employees

Demi Moore’s standing behind the CLEAN (Community-Labor-Environmental Action Network) Carwash Campaign. The non-profit group is committed to improving the lives of working families in great Los Angeles. This project is to benefit car wash workers.

Car wash employees are often paid less than minimal wage and rely on tips to make ends met. The campaign is working jointly with the Carwash Workers Organizing Committee (CWOC) of the United Steelworkers to raise the standard of living for car wash workers and to address basic workplace safety issues.

According to their website CLEAN is committed to:

* Supporting the right of car wash workers to organize a union and bargain collectively.
* Improving working conditions and ensuring that car wash employers meet labor standards and abide by fair workplace practices.
* Demanding environmental clean up to ensure that waste water from car washes does not contaminate our rivers or oceans.

This campaign will not only help the workers but the environment as well. Professional car washes can contain toxic chemicals such as ammonium bifluoride and hydrofluoric acid that if not properly managed can be leaked into the environment. These toxins have been shown to cause kidney damage, increased cancer risk, and developmental delays.

The workers in professional car washes often work 60 hours a week with no overtime pay. Some make as little as $180 a week. They often work without the protective gear that costs as little as $3 enabling chemicals to seep into their bodies.

If you want to help out and are in the LA area the event is taking place on Tuesday afternoon.

Date: Tuesday, April 28, 2009

Time: 2:00pm – 4:00pm

Location: Vermont Hand Wash
Street: 1666 N. Vermont Ave.
City/Town:
Los Angeles, CA

WHO Upgrades Swine Flu To Phase Four Status

The World Health Organization has upgraded the swine flu outbreak to Phase Four. The Phase Four status means that there is sustained human to human transmission of disease.

It has now been determined by WHO that the swine flu has reached the level that human-to-human transmission is sufficient to sustain community-level outbreaks. Phase Four is short of calling the outbreak a pandemic. Phase 4 indicates a significant increase in risk of a pandemic but does not necessarily mean that a pandemic is a forgone conclusion.

The new Phasing calls for the countries that have been affected to contain the outbreak. The core focus at this stage is to stop the mitigation as much as possible.

CTV reports:

Phase 4 normally calls on affected countries to contain the outbreak. But WHO spokesperson Dr. Keiji Fukuda said that “given the current situation,” the the focus should be on mitigation.

“This virus has already spread quite far, so at this time containment is not a feasible option,” he said.

The following countries have confirmed cases of swine flu A:

* United States: 40
* Mexico: 26
* Canada: 6
* Spain: 1
* Scotland: 2

Since the initial outbreak in Mexico 1,995 people have been hospitalized in that country. Of those, 1,070 have recovered and have been released from hospital.

It is not clear why the United States was not aware of the deadly potential just across their own border. Mexico was already enacting protective measures a week prior.

The United States learned about the deaths caused by a rare strain of the flu until after Canadian officials did.

South California was already investigating milder cases of illness that in hindsight were related to the major outbreak in Mexico.

When Mexico realized that they were dealing with a new strain of flu they contacted Canada. A week ago Mexico sent swabs to the National Microbiology Laboratory in Winnipeg for detailed testing. Why samples were not sent to the CDC is clear, the Mexican authorities were on a time crunch and Canada has a different paperwork system in these cases.

The samples hit the lab in Winnipeg on Wednesday. Six hours later the first news that a new swine flu has been confirmed by testing.

The Washington Post reports:

The CDC, in Atlanta, is one of WHO’s four “reference laboratories” for flu. It routinely gets samples from Mexico and many other countries, and processes them with great urgency, Nancy J. Cox, the head of the flu lab, said last night. It, too, eventually received the Mexican samples.

“The only reason the samples went first to Winnipeg is because the paperwork is easier. We were in a rush,” Hernández said.

Mexico and Canada has had in recent years a close relationship when it comes to preparing for an pandemic.

Victoria, British Columbia Crowned Best City In Canada

Don’t tell the folks in Toronto but their town didn’t make it to the top ten places to live in Canada list just released by MoneySense. The top city honour goes to Victoria, British Columbia beating the long time list favorite Ottawa-Gatineau.

Toronto ranked a lowly 79th place.

So why did Toronto score so poorly? Our housing costs are way up at the top end of the spectrum. Out of 154 cities Toronto came in 141 on that one.

Toronto also has a higher unemployment rate than many other Canadian cities.

The good news though is Toronto is second when it comes to having people employed in the arts, culture, recreation and sports. Only those French guys in Quebec beat us there.

The top ten city list:

10. Brandon, Man.
9. Peterborough, Ont.
8. Winnipeg, Man.
7. Fredericton, N.B.
6. Moncton, N.B.
5. Vancouver, B.C.
4. Burlington, Ont.
3. Kingston, Ont.
2. Ottawa-Gatineau
1. Victoria

So what makes the top ten so great to live in? A combination of key factors like climate, housing, wealth and the arts are a few areas MoneySense looked at while composing their list.

So who was the winner in each category?

Climate

Rain/Snow Days: Okotoks, AB
Closest to 700mL/year for percipitation: Barrie, ON
Warm weather: Powell River, BC
Air quality: Squamish, BC

Housing
Lowest home prices: Bathurst, NB
Time-to-buy index: Baie-Coomeau, QC

Prosperity

Average household income: Wood Buffalo, AB
Household discretionary income: Calgary, AB
Unemployment rate: Estevan, SK
New cars on the road:Whitehorse, YK
Income tax: Yellowknife
Provincial sales tax: Whitehorse, YK

Lifestyle

Crime rate: Saint-Hyacinthe, QC
Walk or bike to work: Yellowknife
Doctors( per 1,000): Grand Falls-Windsor, NL
Health professionals:Portage la Prairie,MB
Transit use: Montreal and Toronto
Population Growth: Centre Wellington, ON

Buzz

Those living the arty dream: 1 Montreal
2Toronto

Mexico Hit by 5.6 Magnitude Earthquake

Mexico was rocked by an earthquake on Monday. The quake hit central Mexico with a magnitude of 5.6. It was centered by Chilpancingo, about 130 miles southwest of Mexico City or 50 miles from the resort of Acapulco.

Mexico already reeling from the swine flu is now having to deal with a strong earthquake in the central portion of the nation. The quake was strong enough to sway buildings in Mexico City.

According to Televisa television network Mexico City there are no reports yet of damage or injuries.

Deseret News reports:

“I’m scared,” said Sarai Luna Pajas, a 22-year-old social services worker standing outside her office building moments after it hit. “We Mexicans are not used to living with so much fear, but all that is happening — the economic crisis, the illnesses and now this — it feels like the Apocalypse.”

USGS earthquake analyst Don Blakeman said that the quake was felt in Mexico City is because the epicenter is shallow and the ground under the nation’s capital is built on a former lake bed. This can intensify shock waves.

The quake happened at around noon in Mexico.

Toronto Ready for Swine Flu If it Arrives

Canada Health is working closely with the provinces and territories and international partners to protect the health and safety of Canadians. There are a total of six cases of swine flu in Canada: four in Nova Scotia and two in British Columbia.

“We are not pushing panic buttons,” says City Councillor Joe Mihevc.

In a telephone interview with City Councillor Joe Mihevc this morning, Digital Journal learned that Toronto is in good shape in terms of being prepared for a swine flu outbreak. The public health and hospitals in the city are all on high alert. There have been no reported cases in Ontario.

Toronto learned what to do and what not to do during the SARS outbreak.

“We have learned a lot from SARS. We are now one of the global leaders when it comes to outbreak preparedness,” Mihevc said. “We are now tracking the issue. Because we have known that we are due a major flu hit and in fact expecting on Ontario has a stockpile of Tamiflu. “

Ontario is staying well informed and working with the CDC, WHO and Canada’s Center of Disease Control.

“Everything is in place. We have knew something like this was coming. We don’t know at this time if this is the ‘one’ but we are ready for it.”

So ready for it in fact that all of Toronto’s emergency service heads have been and are in meetings since the beginning of the outbreak in Mexico. On Monday the TTC will be meeting to discuss what to do in terms of the swine flu. The TTC is one of the few city transit departments that has a physician on retainer for these types of situations.

The TTC would be at the front lines of the swine flu if it does hit Toronto. Over a million and a half people use the service any given week.

Canada Health reports:

“The federal government will continue to monitor the situation closely to detect any illness as early as possible and ensure Canadians are protected. I have been in frequent contact with my counterparts in the provinces and territories. I’m having discussions regularly with our international partners, including the World Health Organization, officials from Health and Human Services in the United States, as well as the Mexican health minister,” said Minister Aglukkaq. “Although we are relieved to hear that the Canadians who have been diagnosed with swine influenza exhibited mild symptoms, we will remain vigilant and continue to monitor the situation closely.”

Health professionals in Ontario are on alert to screen patients for febrile respiratory illness and influenza like illness. All flu-like illnesses in patients that have a history of travel to Mexico or where a cluster of swine flu is to be reported to the local public health unit.

Patients that present with the about conditions should be given fit tested N95 respirators in clinical situations. Health care professionals are being advised to wear eye protection, gloves and gowns in dealing with such patients.

“Ontario is well-positioned to deal with this situation. We have a strong public health system in this province. I have the utmost confidence in the ability of public health professionals to manage any health issue that might arise.”
- David Caplan, Minister of Health and Long-Term Care

People returning from Mexico who have symptoms of respiratory illness should contact their health care provider or call TeleHealth Ontario at 1-866-797-0000.

CDC Briefs Media on Swine Influenza- Sunday April 26

Anne Schuchat, M.D, Interim Deputy Director for Science and Public Health Program answered questions from the media during the daily press conference on the swine influenza A. The United States is working aggressively to slow the growth of the disease.

Schuchat confirmed that one in the 20 confirmed cases in the United States has been hospitalized.

“We’re expecting the numbers to change quickly. The CDC will be updating the numbers on a daily basis. We do know that this is a human to human virus. Remember that the influenza virus is very unpredictable and because of that we are expecting many changes. We are not sure of the transmission pattern time wise of the virus yet.”

Because the swine flu has the same symptoms of so many other illnesses it is difficult to lock down a number at this point. The basic symptoms are; high fever, cough, muscle aches and stomach flu (diarrhea and vomiting).

There are now 20 confirmed cases in the United States. Those who traveled to Mexico do figure into that number. We do know that this virus is transmitted person to person to person. It can very well be spread in a school setting for instance as was the case in New York City.

Thus far the two newest flu medications are working well with those who have become ill.

The two cases in Kansas are a man and his wife. He got ill after returning from Mexico and his wife, who was not in Mexico, fell ill two days later.

WHO, the CDC, Mexico and Canada are all working together to slow the transmission of the virus. In Mexico the CDC is working on helping to ID those who are ill, examine the factors on how the virus is being transmitted, tackle lab issues so that the virus can be ID-ed more quickly and improve communication response.

The CDC will have different recommendations depending on each community. This information can and will be moving quickly. Public health departments are working within the clinical community to keep everyone informed of any new changes.

The best thing that the general public can do at this stage is to stay informed. If you are in an area with no disease still have basic good health care precautions such as hand washing and covering your mouth.

The main focus at this time for the CDC is to slow and limit the spread of the swine flu and the overall impact that this virus will have on the health community.

The CDC is now preparing yellow cards for border areas. There will not be extra screening at this time but that does not mean screening is not taking place. Screening happens for those who are ill at the borders at all times.

In Mexico there are 12 confirmed positive cases some of which were from fatalities. Schuchat reminded the media not to focus on the numbers at this time. The tests take time to process. The truth is there are many cases and it’s clear the disease is in several parts of the country, not only in Mexico but in the United States as well.

It is still not known why Mexico appears to have more severe cases than the United States. One explanation could be the numbers of ill already in Mexico. Schuchat said that the CDC does fear that the United States will be seeing deaths from the swine flu.

One theory to the reason that the cases in the United States and with the elderly are less severe could be previous exposure and immune protection.

We know that this virus can not be contained at the border. there is however a lot that can be done to slow the transmission down. Patients are being isolated in health care centers. The easiest way to slow the transmission of the disease though lays in the hands of the general public. Taking basic precautions when one is ill such as staying home or seeking medical care when needed is a good way to help slow the disease. Washing your hands, covering your mouth and nose when coughing or sneezing and avoiding public places when ill will all be a part of slowing transmission down.

Another key step in being prepared is to know what you will do if next steps have to be taken. One example is if your child’s school is shut down have a plan in place for child care. Also inform yourself where to obtain local information about the swine flu in your community.

There were questions about the potential vaccine that is in the works and the vaccine that took place in 1976 where many became ill with other conditions after a mass vaccine program for swine flu. Schuchat said that there has been many advancements in vaccine production since 1976 and at this time that matter is a precautionary concern.

Everyday Precautions
1. Avoid close contact with people who are sick.

2. Stay home if you are ill.

3. Cover your mouth and nose when coughing or sneezing.

4. Clean your hands often.

5. Avoid touching your eyes, hands or mouth.

6. Practice good health habits. Get plenty of sleep, be active, manage stress levels, drink plenty of fluids and eat healthy meals.

New website lets you gamble on meeting your goals

Half the battle of success is following through with your goals. A new site on the web Success…Or Else! is offering to be your personal motivational coach for a price if you fail. What is their take on the key to success? Punishment.

Using three simple steps Success..Or Else! aims to help people succeed at completing their personal goals.

Step one: Tell the site what you want to do and your deadline for that. The owners of the site will review your case and set a fine for incompleteness of your goal. They will also inform you of how to prove to them that you have accomplished your goal.

With the goal and potential fine set it’s time for the next step.

Step Two: It’s time to ante up the pot. You send the site money to hold until you have completed your task by your deadline. They will send you a nagging email once in a while to let you know how they will spend your money if you don’t finish your goal.

Step Three: If you have done your work you get your money back. If you have failed they laugh all the way to the bank.

The Management has announced that due to an influx of cash half of all money users lose will got to charity.

I signed up to get an interview with the founder, Sevaan Franks and was told I had to pay $20 if I didn’t meet a deadline by April 30, 2009.

If you don’t interview the Succeed or Else crew by April 30th, 2009, you lose $20! If you do get the interview, you get to keep your money and probably be short-listed for a Pulitzer. Think how good that will make you feel!

In order to prove that you interviewed us, I will require a URL to read the article online by no later than 12:00am on May 1st, 2009. Otherwise I will probably spend my $10 on lunch (the other $10 goes to charity…so even if you fail, you are still a success!)

In an email interview with owner Sevaan Franks of Toronto I got the scoop of where the idea to start this site came from.

What was your motivation for starting the site?

For the past few years, whenever I would chat with friends and they would tell me about a goal they had, or something they wanted to accomplish in a certain amount of time, I would immediately throw out a punishment. Something like, “Ok, if you don’t complete that screenplay, you owe me a big expensive dinner.” And occasionally I would have some takers, and more often than not, I wouldn’t. Out of those who took me up on it, most would accomplish their goal, and those that didn’t would take me out to dinner and then accomplish what they wanted to do. It’s sort of like negative reinforcement, as oppose to positive reinforcement that everyone talks about. Once they were punished for failing, they weren’t likely to do it again. One of my friends who decided not to take me up on it teasingly said “I’d rather give my money to a stranger than to you”. And then the thought of making it a website came to me like a light bulb going off in my head

Mind you, this was years ago. I have the same problem as most people I know where I talk about getting things done, but don’t actually follow-through. However, this year, one of my new years resolutions was to bring to life all the crazy business ideas and concepts that I come up with. So this is the first on the list. And to ensure that I would do it, I decided to put some money on the line myself. So just like the Hairclub for Men…not only am I president of Succeed…Or Else!, I’m also a client!

I had a bit of an epiphany earlier this week when I was sorting through some of the goal requests that were coming into the site. There are really people out there who need help and I realized that this site I set up, sort of as a lark, if I’m being honest, was actually helping people more than I initially thought. It’s touching to see the goals that people want to accomplish. There are the standards ones, such as losing weight, scoring high on tests or quitting smoking, then there are the ones that I just know people are embarrassed about slightly…that they can’t go to their friends for motivation. One guy wants to learn how to swim so he won’t be embarrassed at a holiday he is going to. Someone else wants to be a better husband to his wife. And another person wants to stop looking at adult websites. These are really personal goals. I feel privileged to hear about them.

Have people actually sent you money?

Yes. Not as many people have sent money as have sent in goals, but there have been a few people who have been serious enough about accomplishing their goals, and fed up enough with not having the motivation to, that have sent in money. I really believe in this concept of external motivation, and I think it’s going to work for them.

How much money have you kept and given back?

No money has been given back yet because none of the deadlines have been reached. But I’m sure they will get their money back. One person didn’t finish an essay in time, however, so I got to keep $40. I’m sure he’ll finish it next time now!

One issues everyone asks me about is proof, and how do I know when someone has accomplished their goal. I usually ask for something cursory, like a photo or testimony from a friend. And yes, I realize that any of these can be easily faked, but to be honest I’m not doing this to make the money. It’s out of a genuine interest in helping people. So really, if they want their money back, they will get it. I just hope they realize that the point of losing the money is to reinforce that failing is not okay. So I hope that if they didn’t genuinely accomplish their goal that they accept the loss and try again for another date.

What is the success rate for your clients?

It’s too early to tell. However, I did have one failure already. I think the real key will be whether he succeeds next time, knowing what it feels like to fail a goal and be punished for it. I will be following up with him.

How long as the web site been in place?

The website has only been online for a couple weeks! I starting making it and finished it on one Tuesday evening while watching TV, and by the next evening I already had 5,000 unique visitors. It’s the kind of idea that people talk about at the water cooler. It seems to market itself.

The feedback has been interesting too. The majority of people like it and say it’s something they wish they had thought of, or that it’s the funniest and cleverest business model they have ever seen (which gives me confidence for my other ideas!). However, some people hate it. I think because it’s so new and doesn’t have an established record many people are concerned (and rightly so, I guess) that it is a scam. I’ve received a few threats through the goal submission form too. People whose goals it is to hack my site by a certain date, or do bad things to me or even my family! Nothing serious, I’m sure.

As for the future, the site will be changing a lot in the coming months too, allowing users to better take control of their goals and respective punishments. I really think there is something to this idea of punishment motivation and negative reinforcement, and I have some interesting plans up my sleeves. We’ll see where it goes!

The concept is a good one, in fact I wish I had thought it up before Mr. Franks. I wish him success and success for his clients. And I did met my deadline before I had a chance to send my money in. Not bad for a day’s work.

The Mountain Equipment Co-Op is considering an Israel boycott

The resolution to boycott Israeli products at Mountain Equipment Co-op is expected to be proposed at the April 30 annual meeting. It is expected that members from British Vancouver Teachers for Peace and Global Education will introduce the motion.

The co-op screens the products that they sell to make sure that the workers are treated ethically.

B’nai Brith Canada expressed concern over reports of the motion, and said it was encouraged by the company’s official position that it does “not divide its supply chain along political lines” and will “not take sides in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict,” according to a news release.

The Calgary Herald reports:

“We just don’t think(MountainEquipmentCo-op)should be doing business with Israel until it changes its behaviour,” said Patrik Parkes, a spokes-man for BC Teachers for Peace and Global Education.

“Many of us are MEC members, and because MEC promotes itself as an ethical company, we believe their actions need to reflect that.”

On the MEC blog a posting deals with the fact that the company is being labeled a hypocrite for buying from China, Taiwan, US, India, Sri Lanka and just about everywhere else outside of Canada.

The company points out that the resolution to boycott Israeli suppliers is not being put forward by MEC or MEC employees. The resolution was table by members of MEC and will be voted on at the annual meeting.

Because the company is a co-op it must protect the right of members to participate in the co-op and allow for their views to be heard.

The company’s position is as follows:

MEC is a Co-op retailer with a mandate to get Canadians outdoor by selling them the right gear and giving them the relevant technical insight. MEC is neither a political activist group nor a human rights body. Nonetheless, we believe business can and should improve the human condition behind manufacturing. To this end, MEC takes a Canadian and international view of our global supply chain. Just as creed and country are not barriers to being an MEC member, we do not divide our supply chain along political lines. In short, we will not take sides in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Our human rights efforts are squarely focused on our supply chain—on working to improve the factory conditions and treatment of the workers that make MEC-brand products. As much as this is cowardice to some or a sell out to others, it is our conviction and our intent is to not veer from this belief.

An update on probable Swine Flu cases around the world

The latest news in about the swine flu shows that with higher surveillance globally, more cases are being investigated. There is also at least one report of a case in Spain earlier this year.

As Reuters reports:

The WHO declared the flu a “public health event of international concern.” WHO Director-General Dr. Margaret Chan urged greater worldwide surveillance for any unusual outbreaks of influenza-like illness. “(We are) monitoring minute by minute the evolution of this problem across the whole country,” Mexican President Felipe Calderon said as health officials counted suspected infections in six states from the tropical south to the northern border.

There are now also 10 probable cases in New Zealand. The students have tested positive for the flu and had traveled to Mexico recently.

The Age reports:

“Ministry of Health officials advise me there is no guarantee these students have swine influenza, but they consider it likely,” NZ Health Minister Tony Ryall said in a statement.

In Asia, the government has started to quarantine those with symptoms of the flu. Some Asian countries have issued travel warnings for Mexico.

Some governments have increased their screening of pigs and pork imports from the Americas even though you can not get swine flu from eating cooked pork.

There are three people in Spain that are under observation in hospitals. They have all recently returned from Mexico.

An Israeli man, 26, has been hospitalized with symptoms of swine flu. The man was admitted to Laniado Hospital in Netanya on Sunday and isolated.

The Israeli Embassy in Mexico has canceled its annual Independence Day reception at the request of the Mexican government. The Mexican government is trying to avoid public meetings to help stop the spread of the disease.

In a report from The Pig Site dated Feb. 24, 2009 a case of swine flu infection was found almost by accident in a female pig worker in Spain. At that time it was not considered to be a concern.

Fortunately, these and similar swine influenza viruses that can infect humans have not yet met any of the criteria to cause a human pandemic. The true risk can only become clear if epidemiological investigations are combined with experimental research.

2 confirmed cases- Kansas of swine flu, 8-9 possible cases-NYC

There are new reports that swine flu has confirmed in Kansas. The Kansas Department of Health has confirmed two cases of the flu. In NYC there are 8 to 9 probable cases.

The New York City Department of Health commissioner Thomas R. Frieden, MD, MPH has said that there are eight to nine probable cases of swine flu at St. Francis Preparatory School in Queens.

Frieden told the public to seek medical attention if they have flu like symptoms and trouble breathing. If a person is mildly ill please use good judgment prior to going to the hospital. Emergency rooms in Queens are having huge turnouts of mildly ill patients that could be taken care of at home.

This strain of flu responds well to medication if started within 48 hours of onset.

Canada Working With Mexico About Swine Flu Around The Clock

Canadian researchers have been working around the clock since Wednesday night dealing with the Mexican Swine Flu outbreak. After SARS Canada is well prepared for a pandemic.

The alert about the possibility of a Swine Flu outbreak did not start in Mexico but in Canada according to one report. When a patient who had recently returned from Mexico was diagnosed with the illness that Canadian health officials believed was Swine Flu they alerted Mexican authorities.

That report may be a bit faulty. At this time according to Dr. Kamran M. Khan with St. Michael’s Hospital in Toronto there are no confirmed swine flu patients in Canada.

That is not to say there are no patients being tested for the illness.

In Canada resources have been mobilized and are at the ready and working non-stop to combat what could become a pandemic.

The National Microbiology lab, located on Arlington Street in downtown Winnipeg has been a key component in rapidly getting test results out for health officials.

The Swine Flu virus that experts are working with is like none other before. It is an animal to human strain that is not working in the usual manner. Had the test samples not matched genetically at the Winnipeg lab the concern would not be as high as it is. They did match however and that means that the strain in Mexico is the same strain that was found in the United States.

In Mexico City all public events have been canceled to help contain the outbreak. This virus is a mix of human, pig and bird strains that has epidemiologists around the world deeply concerned.

CDC Briefs Media on Swine Influenza

The CDC Briefing on Public Health Investigation of Human Cases of Swine Influenza was held today at 1 pm Eastern time. CDC is working closely with health officials in California, Texas, Mexico, Canada and the World Health Organization.

At this time there are a total of 15 confirmed cases of swine flu in North America.

Background information

The swine flu does not normally infect humans. There is the one case in Wisconsin in 1988 resulted in multiple human infections, and, although no community outbreak resulted, there was antibody evidence of virus transmission from the patient to health care workers who had close contact with the patient.

Between December 2005 through February 2009 there were a total of 12 cases of human infection with swine influenza.

According to the CDC it takes time to have a true diagnosis of swine flu. To diagnose swine influenza A infection, a respiratory specimen would generally need to be collected within the first 4 to 5 days of illness (when an infected person is most likely to be shedding virus). However, some persons, especially children, may shed virus for 10 days or longer. Identification as a swine flu influenza A virus requires sending the specimen to CDC for laboratory testing.

A new vaccine is being worked on because the normal vaccines do not deal with the swine flu strains. The H1N1 swine flu viruses are antigenically very different from human H1N1 viruses and, therefore, vaccines for human seasonal flu would not provide protection from H1N1 swine flu viruses. Making a vaccine is quite complex. It takes months to make a new vaccine.

Schuchat says, “A new vaccine will not happen tomorrow.”

People with swine influenza virus infection should be considered potentially contagious as long as they are symptomatic and possible for up to 7 days following illness onset. Children, especially younger children, might potentially be contagious for longer periods.

All unsubtypable influenza A specimens at this time in the United States are being sent to the Viral Surveillance and Diagnostic Branch of the CDC’s Influenza Division for further diagnostic testing.

The Conference

Glen Nowak, media relations of the CDC introduced Anne Schuchat, M.D, Interim Deputy Director for Science and Public Health Program and Daniel Jernigan, M.D. Ph D. Medical Epidemiology, Influenza Division to the press. Dr. Schuchat took most of the questions and gave a brief update at the start of the conference.

“Starting with the general view. We are worried and acting aggressively. There is not a lot of new information about this illness. There are 8 confirmed cases in the United States.

Mexico is in a serious situation with severe disease and numbers of infection.

“At this time it is hard to predict the next step. We are very committed at the CDC with getting information out and shared as quickly as we can.”

The investigations in the United States are ongoing. State labs and the CDC are looking at a number of suspicious cases. At this time Mexico, Canada and the public health teams in Southern California and Texas as well as the CDC are working together.

The CDC has put up a new web page to deal with this situation.

“This is a time of uncertainty,” says Schuchat. “At this time the cases in the United States have been mild. That is not true in Mexico. We are taking action early.”

The CDC is not confirming where other investigations are ongoing saying that local public health departments are working on a case by case basis. Public health labs are trained in spotting new strains of influenza. When a new strain or untyped strain is found then it is sent to the CDC labs for more advanced testing.

Homeland Security has been informed and is working closely with the CDC on details that could take place.

While WHO has yet to upgrade the phase of this outbreak it is important to know that it does not change the direction that the CDC is heading. Public health departments are acting quite aggressively on this situation.

Schuchat stressed that it is always challenging to get the message out to the public. The CDC is worried. This is a very serious condition in the United States. Involved leaderships are aware of the severe situation and are dealing with it on a day to day manner. The trouble with the general flu is that it spreads easily. The CDC is looking into how easily this strain of the flu is spreading.

At this time the CDC is looking for clusters of severe disease in the United States. This can be problematic as the flu mimics many other illnesses. Because of this it can take time to put the pieces of the puzzle together.

It is not known why the Mexican cases have been more severe than the reported US cases. They may be co-factors in this. It may also be that Mexico has yet to tag less severe cases and the United States has yet to tag more severe cases.

The one thing to remember about the flu is that is does not act in a normal manner. Researchers can make predictions about what could happen and the flu virus may not act in the way that was predicted.

There are quite a number of cases being investigated in the United States at this time. The CDC is not able to give actual numbers nor locations of where those investigations are. The process of testing is rather complex. The first stage is at the hospital where a rapid test can tell if a person has the flu. The sample is then sent to the public health lab for more complex testing. It only is sent to the CDC if the strain is untypeable or in this case the new virus. For that reason the clear number of specimens being tested throughout the US is not known.

“What we know right now is that we can not contain the spread of this Swine flu,” says Schuchat. “We are not at a point to keep the virus in one place. It is likely that we will find it in more places.”

Two confirmed cases were investigated from the border patrol system. There are ongoing respiratory flu testing going on at the border of the United States and Mexico.

Mexico is just in the beginning stages of broad national surveillance.

In the United States a lot of work is happening within local public health departments. Bigger cities are rapidly preparing for the worse case scenario.

Jay Leno In Hospital, Tonight Show Taping Canceled

The Tonight Show has been canceled tonight after Jay Leno checked himself into the hospital. Leno left his offices midday to enter hospital for observation. Leno, who turns 59 on Tuesday, is expected to leave the show on May 29 after a 17 year run.
It has been speculated that Leno is suffering from food poisoning. Tracy St. Pierre of NBC said that she did not believe that was the case.

AP reports:

“Jay Leno is doing just fine,” read a statement from NBC spokeswoman Tracy St. Pierre. “He was kidding around with the hospital staff and running his monologue jokes by the doctors and the nurses. He’s expected back to work on Monday.”

It’s said that Leno is writing jokes from his hospital bed. Dick Guttman, Leno’s spokesman said that Leno left his office for Providence St. Joseph Medical Center. Guttman described Leno’s condition as ‘mild.’

Guests for tonight’s show were Ryan Reynolds, Jules Sylvester and swing band Big Bad Voodoo Daddy. NBC will be running a rerun instead tonight.

‘Streets to Homes’ Makes Huge Impact for Toronto Homeless

When it comes to the homeless one program in Toronto appears to be working. Streets to Homes is an award winning program started in Toronto. Since it being in early 2005 more than 2,400 homeless people have found permanent housing.
Clients are saying that having a home of their own has changed their lives. They also say that they are using less alcohol and drugs now that they are off the streets. What is most amazing almost 91 per cent of those who have been placed in housing remain in housing. The program has a zero waiting list allowing them to help people quickly leave the street and enter into a home of their own according to Pat Anderson of the Toronto City housing department.

Research has shown that the those who are in the Streets to Homes Program are less likely to use costly emergency services in Toronto. Not only does this benefit the city but the cost impact is shared by the Province and the Federal government.

Housing officials are able to take the success of the program and leverage it with the provisional government for more funding.

The idea of the program is to bypass shelters or transitional housing and put the homeless straight into their own apartment. So far 2,400 have been placed in a home of their own according to Pat Anderson.

Not only does the program help the homeless have a place to sleep their health, mental health, food quality, sleeping, personal safety and social interaction has improved in the majority of cases.

An important component of the enhanced service is a single phone number for the public for those who are street involved in the downtown core. The staff is then able to direct the person to the right social service approach that is needed.

The program is operated by City staff with partnerships with 25 community non-for-profit agencies. The program was one of the finalists for the 2007/08 World Habitat Awards.

Toronto.ca reports:

“Streets to Homes is helping us to end street homelessness,” said Mayor David Miller. “It is making Toronto a more inclusive city, and the world is taking notice. This recognition is a tribute to both City staff and our community partners, who have worked together tirelessly and seamlessly to help some of our most vulnerable citizens.”

The model of Streets to Homes in use today is enhanced built from the 2007 Pilot Project. During the first 12 weeks of the 63 per cent of those who were panhandling stopped this practice.

The staff of Streets to Homes are down in the trenches. They engage with as many homeless people as they can. Not every homeless person is visible, some live in the ravines that most don’t venture into. The program helps not just the homeless but anyone who is ’street involved.’ That includes people residing in shelters, homeless and those who have legal housing but panhandle.

“We are not telling people not to give or to give when it comes to panhandlers. What the city does believe in is directing people to social service response programs.”- Pat Anderson

The front-line workers work 24 hours a day in the winter and the summer with outreach programs. They have a mobile service that hits every part of Toronto. The program is in operation from 7 a.m. until 10 p.m. seven days a week during the fall and spring. There are currently 39 front-line City staff in the program, up from the 10 staff at the beginning of the program.

A recent study by the Ontario Association of Food Banks also found that the cost of
poverty in Ontario related to increased health care costs, crime and lost productivity was
$32 billion to $38 billion a year – the equivalent of 5.5 per cent to 6.6 per cent of
provincial GDP.

Once a person is in housing the average daily follow-up costs the city of Toronto a mere $10 combined with their housing costs total an average between $22 to $41 per day.

Those who wish to help can volunteer for the program. Ms. Anderson said that one program has volunteers going to apartment buildings that have several clients in them and setting up bingo nights and spaghetti dinners.

Opinion: It’s Scary When Mike Tyson Makes Sense

Hold onto your hats, Mike Tyson’s girlfriend wants him to perform on ‘Dancing with the Stars.’ You read that right, she wants the man who bit off a guy’s ear to get down and dirty on the dance floor. Pardon me as I faint.
Okay, world there has to be a limit to what is on the reality television screen.

Never mind as I remind myself that we watched Paris Hilton look for a BFF not only in the US but in England too. (Yes, I have watched the show. It’s great mindless guilty pleasure when you’re sick in bed.)

Will we as a public watch anything as long as someone famous is on the stage? Do we really want to know who is the next American Scream Queen or that a model can have mega brains?

Right now the world is loving Susan Boyle on Britain’s Got Talent but is that a reason to watch all the talent shows in the land? Oh wait a second, sorry Adam Lambert I wasn’t dissing your show.

But come on do we really need to know how many women Gene Simmons has bedded, the adventures of Spencer and Heidi, if Bruce Jenner’s step kids are just brats or if Tommy Lee can study?

There’s so many more to choose from. Reality television is all that seems to be on some days. You can watch an intervention, swapping wives and nannies that save the day.

Do we really need more reality in our lives? Don’t we have enough in the process of just living?

What is the scariest thing to deal with is that Mike Tyson made a comment that actually made sense as VH1 reports:

“This stuff can pollute your mind,” he said. “I don’t care what level of intellect you have. This stuff can rot in your mind.”

And he told MTV that he often asks his girlfriend, “You allow these people to invade your mind? You don’t know these people! How do you hate this person? You don’t know this person!”

You know it’s bad if even Tyson is questioning it.

I will now swear off reality TV. Well maybe in a month or two. I have to watch Adam be crowned the next American Idol after all!

22 militants suspects arrested in Bangladesh

Twenty-one suspected militants are being held in Bangladesh. Security forces arrested the group, most of whom are women in Barisal district raid.
The Rapid Action Battalion arrested the 21 women and 1 man while they were holding a meeting.

All of the women were wearing burqa.

World Latest News reports:

“We were closely monitoring their movements since long and it seemed to us that there is something suspicious so we’ve nabbed them,” Rashid said.

The suspects have denied any wrong doing stating they had gathered to discuss Islamic books.

Security measures have been tighten after the United Nations Children’s Fund, World Food Program and the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies in Barisal were sent death threats in the mail on Monday. The posts were sent in the name of Jamaatul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB), a banned Islamist group.

Online Newspaper Readership Grows

As the print news industry suffers online news has grown. Websites that American newspapers operate attracted more than 73.3 million unique users a month in the first three months of this year.

Online newspaper readers average more than 3.5 billion page views per month so far this year. This is an increase of 13 percent over the same period last year.

The one problem that newspapers are dealing with though is keeping advertising revenues up to deal with the increased digital need.

Advertisers aren’t willing to pay premium prices online that they have in the past for print editions.

Losses in ad revenues is the chief reason that so many newspapers have folded in recent months.

Morning Sickness Makes For Brighter Kids

That morning sickness you are dealing with may be cause to celebrate. Researchers at the Sick Kids Hospital in Toronto say that morning sickness could make for brighter kids.
A new study appearing in The Journal of Pediatrics shows that that queasy feeling enhances children’s long-term neurodevelopment.

This is the first study that assesses the direct impact of morning sickness on children’s neurodevelopment. Past studies have suggested that there are benefits to morning sickness but the long-term effects for children had not been investigated before.

Sick Kids reports:

“Our findings suggest an association between NVP and improved neurodevelopment in the offspring,” says Dr. Irena Nulman, lead author of the study. “NVP is a widespread and puzzling physiological phenomenon that has yet to be sufficiently studied,” adds Nulman, Associate Director of the Motherisk Program, SickKids Associate Scientist and staff physician in SickKids Division of Clinical Pharmacology and Toxicology, and Associate Professor of Paediatrics at the University of Toronto.

The participants of the study were recruited using the Motherisk’s NVP hotline database. The researchers used 121 women who called the hotline from 1998 to 2003. The participants were spilt into three groups of mother-child pairs: mothers who experienced morning sickness and were treated with diclectin (a drug used to treat nausea and vomiting during pregnancy); those who experienced morning sickness and did not take diclectin; and those who did not experience morning sickness.

The children aged three to seven were then given standardized age-appropirate tests to measure their intelligence and behaviour. Other outside factors were figured into the study including mother’s IQ, number of cigarettes smoked per day, alcohol consumption and socioeconomic status.

The findings showed that all of the children in the three groups had normal ranges for neurodevelopmental outcome. What was surprising though was that children whose mothers had morning sickness scored higher on performance IQ, verbal fluency, phonological processing and numerical memory. The use of diclectin did not make a difference in the intelligence of the children. The severity of morning sickness did make a difference along with maternal IQ.

Sick Kids reports:

“The results from this study emphasize the need for further scientific investigation into the physiological basis of NVP, in order to provide safer management and more successful pregnancy outcomes in the future,” says Dr. Gideon Koren, principal investigator of the study, Director of the Motherisk Program, Senior Scientist at SickKids and Professor of Paediatrics, Pharmacology, Pharmacy and Medical Genetics at the University of Toronto.

Sick Kid’s Hospital Researchers Find Gene That Causes XMEA

Researchers at The Hospital for Sick Children (SickKids) Research Institute have found the gene that causes X-linked myopathy with excessive autophagy (XMEA).
Scientists studied the component in the cell called an autophagosome. This component breaks down the materials within a cell that are to be recycled. An enzyme called V-ATPase is in charge of making the acid that is needed. There are a total of 14 components that fit together in order to function. A protein called VMA21 puts all the parts together. The researchers have found the gene that encodes VMA21.

Humans have to have VMA21 to survive. Some people have mutations in the gene that codes for VMA21 that reduce the levels of the protein without eliminating it completely. While people with the mutations can make the acid-making device it’s not made in qualities that are sufficient.

Because there are fewer acid-making devices there is less acid in the autophagosomes. When this happens the cells go on a major fast. The patient with the mutations start to live in near-starvation mode to survive.

While most organs are able to survive this loss the muscles cannot cope. This results in muscles that waste away and muscular dystrophy.

Sick Kids reports:

“To cure XMEA, we are looking for ways to increase the acidity of the autophagosomes,” says Dr. Berge Minassian, SickKids neurologist and Scientist, Associate Professor of Paediatrics at the University of Toronto and Canada Research Chair in Pediatric Neurogenetics. “As well, we hope to uncover the precise mechanisms in other vacuolar diseases – diseases whose cause is currently unknown and are characterized by expanded debris-containing structures.”

“This is a groundbreaking discovery that we hope will lead to finding a cure for XMEA and other forms of muscular dystrophy,” says Dr. Berge Minassian.

At this time there are 24 authors and 10 institutions in six countries, France, Japan, Finland, Italy, United States and Canada, working on this research.

Jim Carrey Speaks Out Against Vaccines

Jim Carrey and his partner Jenny McCarthy have become advocates for autism since her son was diagnosed with the condition. They have focused on the MMR vaccine as a cause of autism and warn parents to be cautious about vaccines.
Carrey recently responded to a commentary by CNN’s Campbell Brown on the vaccine issue. A ’special vaccine court’ saying the Measles, Mumps, Rubella shot wasn’t found to be responsible for the plaintiffs’ autism and therefore the vaccine is safe. The case examined three out of 5,000 cases addressing the possibilty that the MMR vaccine caused autism.

Carrey likens the case to the tobacco industry. Using only three cases as the means to say that the vaccine is safe does not mean that it is. It would be like saying that three smokers didn’t get lung cancer so don’t worry about the effects of cigarette smoking on your health.

At this time there are 36 vaccines that are on the current childhood schedule. The only studies that have been released and considered by the government are by those who make a profit from these vaccines.

If we believe the testing all vaccines are safe. If we dig deeper there have been cases such as the Hannah Polling and Bailey Banks cases were the direct link to autism was the vaccines. Does this mean that all vaccines are then unsafe?

Such broad statements are not sensible nor are they logical. The truth is in some cases vaccines may be a cause of autism or other complications. That does not mean that vaccines should not be used. It does mean that some cautions should be addressed though.

There has been an increase of autism and other behaviour disorders in children like Aspergers, ADD and ADHD. It is possible that the toxins that are in vaccines could have a part in this. It is logical considering science has shown that toxins may have a part in the growing problem.

The drug companies make money with their vaccines. In the United States children undergo many more vaccines than in any other nation in the world.

Carrey quotes the August 21, 2000 a congressional investigation’s report titled, “Conflicts in Vaccine Policy”:

It has become clear over the course of this investigation that the VRBPAC and the ACIP [the two main advisory boards that determine the vaccine schedule] are dominated by individuals with close working relationships with the vaccine producers. This was never the intent of the Federal Advisory Committee Act, which requires that a diversity of views be represented on advisory committees.

Could the increased vaccine policy be behind Minnesota’s reporting of 1 in 80 children having autism?

Not even Carrey questions the good of vaccines. Without the polio vaccine we would still be dealing with the disease.

There are still issues though if every child needs each and every vaccine that the government says that they do.

As a parent would you give your child aluminum, mercury, ether, formaldehyde and anti-freeze? When your child is vaccinated they are exposed to these ingredients that are used to preserve and enhance vaccines.

Shouldn’t the information on the safety of vaccines include those that are not from the companies that profit from each shot that a child or teen has to protect them from diseases?

While it is important to protect your children from disease it is also just as important to understand that there are certain risks that come from the vaccines. More research is needed by outside parties to ensure that the public is not taking a chance without knowledge.

Shark left on newspaper office doorstep

Why was a live shark left outside an office in Canberra? That’s a question the police would like to have answered as they investigate the Port Jackson shark left in front of a newspaper office.
The shark was still alive when the police got to the scene Thursday. The juvenile Port Jackson shark was about 2 feet long. Once the authorities poured some water on it the animal kicked around for a bit.

Reuters reports:

“I walked over to McDonalds and borrowed a bucket off them and filled it up with water, and we picked the shark up and put it inside it and then drove it down to the breakwater and released it back into the water,” he said.

Perhaps one of the journalists in the office had upset a source? The police are clueless as to the animal’s arrival at The Standard’s door.

Chief of staff Glen Bernoth is equally confused as to why the shark was there. He learned of the surprise guest in a middle-of-the-night call from a friend who had heard about it on his police scanner.

Strait Times reports:

‘Naturally, I assumed it was like some sort of prank or something, but I’d been asleep for a couple hours,’ Mr Bernoth said with a laugh on Thursday.

The shark has been taken back to the water and freed. Kindhearted police had used a borrowed bucket from the McDonald’s next door to put the animal in for it’s ride home to the sea.

ABC reports:

“If we can locate the person that’s dumped it, then they’ll be charged with cruelty to animals,” he said.

Constable Dwyer says he is at a loss as to why the shark was left at the town’s newspaper.

“They had no ideas of any person that wished them any harm or wished to send them any type of message, so we’re a little dumbfounded at this stage,” he said.

Missing vials from Fort Detrick, thought to have been destroyed

3 vials of a dangerous virus are missing from Fort Detrick in Frederick, Maryland. The Army’s Criminal Investigation Command agents who are investigating the incident say that they have found no evidence of any criminal activity.
The vials contain samples of Venezuelan Equine Encephalitis, a virus that sickens horses and can be spread to humans by mosquitoes. Most humans that come down with the virus have flu-like symptoms. In 1 out of every 100 cases though the virus is lethal. The disease has a vaccine and there has not been an outbreak since 1971 in the United States.

The missing vials had been among thousands that were under the control of a senior scientist who retired 5 years ago. They were discovered missing when another Fort Detrick scientist recently inventoried the biological samples. The records of the missing vials were part of an inventory that were hand written.

Several years ago a freezer full of biological samples at the lab broke down and all of the samples were safely disposed of. At that time a complete inventory of those samples was not taken. There is a strong chance that the missing vials were in that freezer according to lab spokesperson Caree Vander Linden.

The retired scientist and another former Fort Detrick researcher worked with the agents investigating the missing vials.

Free Internet Press reports that the scientist, Alan Schmaljohn, now a professor at the University of Maryland had been questioned about the vials.

“They caught me on my cellphone on the road, and I stopped and talked to them for quite a long time,” Schmaljohn said in an interview. “She was just going down this whole list of questions, including, ‘Did you take it?’”

“The number of vials is utterly meaningless,” said Schmaljohn. “Three vials missing is no indication of any evildoing. … It’s almost equivalent to saying you’re missing 3 cents out of the national budget. …

“From the scientist’s point of view, it is inconsequential, but from the regulator’s point of view, it is an indication of sloppiness, and they are finally going to take rugged action.”

The investigation is in its final stages and should be closed soon.

The lab is the same one that the Federal Bureau of Investigation implicated former USAMRIID researcher Bruce Ivins in the 2001 anthrax letter attacks.

Does violence in the workplace worry you?

If you can hold onto your job, should you be worried about that co-worker who didn’t? With headlines screaming about workplace violence some say they do worry.
Considering the news lately that has shown a violent wave of mass murders in the United States that worry may be well founded. Reports of multiple killings have spanned North America during this recession. Some companies have followed former employees because they fear what their actions will be.

Shanghai Daily reports:

“Tough times will cause people to do crazy things,” said Kenneth Springer, whose company Corporate Resolutions Inc did the surveillance. “People are taking more precautions.”

Does this increased violence mean that workers take up karate or another means of protecting themselves? For the health benefit it’s not a bad idea but for safety in the workplace it may not be needed. Karate chops still don’t stop a bullet. Being aware though of negative feelings of co-workers may though be an indicator of danger.

AOL.ca reports:

“People aren’t mushrooms sitting in a dark closet by themselves and all of a sudden one day explode,” Cawood said. “If you listen and observe what they’re actually doing and saying, they’re communicating.”

James Cawood, a security expert says he has been doing more training now than in recent years.

“People are flat out concerned,” said James Cawood, a security expert and author of “Violence Assessment and Intervention: the Practitioner’s Handbook.”

“People who are staying in companies where there has been significant downsizing … are worried at every level. Even in down economic times, I’m doing more training now than I’ve done in years.”

The pressures from job losses and economic hardship may be the reason behind the violent incidents in the news lately.

Workplace Violence News reports:

“Most of these mass killings are precipitated by some catastrophic loss, and when the economy goes south, there are simply more of these losses,” says Jack Levin, a noted criminologist at Northeastern University in Boston.

Experts say that you shouldn’t worry about everyone who loses their jobs turning into a mass murderer. Though some former co-workers could be suspect if they have already had mental and anger problems in the past.

Canoe reports Richard Earle, director of the Canadian Institute of Stress, said uncertainty — like that caused by economic chaos and job loss — is the main factor in stress elevation.

“Humans respond to uncertainty very badly,” said Earle. “Under high stress, people always catastrophize.”

Those who have gone on to commit acts of violence tend to have said they would before they do.

It’s safest to not fear your workplace. Fear is one of the key elements that can make matters worse according to Joel Shults, head of public safety at Adams State College in Alamosa, Colorado.

“It makes it hard to tell ourselves that we’re safe because they seem like such ordinary people in such ordinary circumstances,” Shults said. “It’s hard for us to tell ourselves, no, that’s not going to happen us.”

Ironically, he added, a heightened sense of fear can make matters worse. “That might potentially actually increase the number of people snapping. It’s one more thing to worry about,” he said

Two Canadian diplomats have been freed in Mali

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Mali officials say that two Canadian diplomats held hostage by African militants were released on Wednesday. The two were held captive for four months.
Robert Fowler and Louis Guay have been freed according to Seydou Cissouma, a spokesman for Mali’s president. The Canadian government has yet to confirm the release.

The Toronto Star reports that officials in the Foreign Affairs department urge caution and that they are still working to confirm the news about the releases.

“We are aware of these media reports and have no comment at this time. We continue to request good judgment and caution in reporting on a situation where lives may be at risk,” the official said in an e-mail to news organizations.

Fowler is a special UN envoy to Niger. He was once the Canadian ambassador to Italy.

Guay is Fowler’s assistant.

There are also reports that a German woman and a French woman were also released.

Fowler and Guay were abducted on December 14 with their driver Soumana Moukaila in Niger on route to look at a gold mine. Their vehicle was found later the same day about 40 kilometres of Niger’s capital, Niamey.

Moukaila was released last month.

The kidnapping have been claimed by Al-Qaeda’s north African branch. The group, known as AQMI said that they are also holding four European tourists since January.

While there were no demands for the release of those held the group was requesting and had received ransoms.

The Toronto Star quotes Fowler’s relative New Brunswick Liberal MP Dominic Leblanc:

“Obviously it’s been, since the 14th of December, a very, very difficult time for the Fowler family. They were hoping to have spent Christmas in Florida as a family when Bob went missing,” Leblanc said.

“From that point forward, every day and every night has been a source of concern for Mr. Fowler, for his wife Mary, for his children, so we’re very hopeful that in fact as soon as this news is confirmed it will be a very, very important celebration for the Fowler family.”

It has been confirmed that the Canadians are free.

Globe and Mail reports:

“I have spoken to members of Bob’s family…They are obviously very encouraged by the information that they’ve been given,” said Mr. Leblanc.

“Our understanding is that Bob is on his way to Bamako, Mali, and obviously until the Canadian government physically sees him, until they’re able to be in personal contact with Bob, they’re not going to confirm. But the family is certainly very enthusiastic about the news that they’ve been given and I know that they’re looking forward to hopefully reuniting with Bob in the coming days.”

Ford Donates $20 For Each Test Drive to Race for the Cure

For 15 years Ford has been working with the Susan G. Komen for the Cure charity. This year they are donating $20 for each Ford, Mercury or Lincoln that is test driven at a Ford dealership, up to $1 million.
Many dealerships are also pitching in an additional $20 up to $1,000.

Ford is the exclusive automobile manufacturer of the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure and a valued corporate partner.

Those who wish to participate are asked to present a test drive certificate available for download at fordcares.com and at Race for the Cure events across the country.

At the Ford Cares site you can also purchase apparel and accessories dedicated to the fight against breast cancer.

Ford Cares was launched in 2003 as part of the Warriors in Pink initiative. One hundred percent of the net proceeds for the sale of items goes to Komen.

If you want your ride to show that you are a Warrior in Pink, Ford offers a limited edition 2009 Mustang with a Warriors in Pink package. The package is available on V-6 Premium Coupe and Convertible models and on three body colors. Your ride will sport a unique grill with a pink ribbon and pony fender badge, pink Mustang rocker tape striping, charcoal leather seats, an aluminum-spoke steering wheel and charcoal floor mats, all with pink contrast stitching. Each of these Mustangs sold will also come with a donation by Ford of $500 for Komen.

To date Ford has given back to the Race for the Cure more than $5.5 million.

For members of Facebook there is a Susan G. Komen for the Cure® group.

Freddie Mac’s acting CFO found dead

The acting chief financial officer of Freddie Mac was found dead Wednesday morning from what initial reports say was a suicide.
David Kellermann, 41, was found home in Northern Virginia.

Kellermann was named acting chief financial officer last September after Anthony Piszel stepped down during the Sept. 2008 government takeover.

Kellermann was responsible for company’s financial controls, financial reporting and oversight of the company’s budget and financial planning.

He had been with Freddie Mac for the last 16 years.

Neighbours are saying that the stresses of the new postion were visible. Kellermann had lost weight since taking the reins in September.

AP reports:

Paul Unger, who lives across the street from the Kellermanns, called the family a “solid, salt-of-the-earth kind of family” that hosted the neighborhood’s Halloween party. “He was just a nice guy … You cannot imagine what kind of pressures he must have been under,” Unger said.

It has been reported that Kellermann’s body was found in the basement of his home that he shared with his wife Donna and five-year-old daughter Grace.

AP reports:

John Koskinen, the company’s interim chief executive, said in a statement that Kellermann, “was a man of great talents …. His extraordinary work ethic and integrity inspired all who worked with him.”

American doctor claims to have cloned human embryos

Doctor Panayiotis Zavos attempted to clone the world’s first human baby. He says he cloned 14 embryos and then transferred 11 of those into four women. None of the attempts resulted into a viable pregnancy.
Cloning human embryos for transfer into a human womb is illegal in most of the world. It is believed that Dr. Zavos, a naturalized U.S. citizen born in Cyprus, did the work at a Middle Eastern lab.

The embryos were made from blood cells of a dead 9-year-old named Cody. The child died in a car accident and her relatives asked the doctor to use her blood cells for cloning.

Zavos has in the past used skin cells to clone embryos.

The patients are three married couples and one single woman. They are from Britain, the United States and somewhere in the Middle East.

He told the Independent:

“There is absolutely no way that it will not happen. “If we intensify our efforts we can have a cloned baby within a year or two, but I don’t know whether we can intensify our efforts to that extent.”

The procedures were captured on film by a documentary film maker. Director Peter Williams verified that the women knew that they were having cloned embryos inserted. The film was made for the Discovery Channel and will be aired today.

The ethics of cloned humans is just one reason that cloning has been taboo. Another aspect is that cloned animals have led to early deaths and abnormalities.

In 2004 Dr. Zavos said that he had used skin cells from an infertile man for cloning and transferred that embryo into the man’s wife. He admitted later that experiment failed.

The Independent reports:

“I get enquiries every day. To date we have had over 100 enquiries and every enquiry is serious. The criteria is that they have to consider human reproductive cloning as the only option available to them after they have exhausted everything else,” Dr Zavos said. “We are not interested in cloning the Michael Jordans and the Michael Jacksons of this world. The rich and the famous don’t participate in this.”

Trainer: Jessica Biel a natural at stripping

According to exotic dance trainer Cati Jean, if Jessica Biel’s film career dries up she could take up dancing with no problem.
Trainer Jean worked with the actress to prepare for the film Powder Blue. There will be a very limited release on May 8 before the film comes out on DVD and Blu-Ray on May 26.

Times of India reports:

“Jessica is so good and so focused. She has the beauty element, she has the body – she has all the package that you want in a professional dancer,” the Sun quoted Jean as saying.“She could be a professional dancer if she wanted to. She is strong, she is flexible. She has everything,” she added.

Jessica gets down and dirty in the film that also stars Forest Whitaker and Patrick Swayze.

The film features some well-known talent but the word out is that the main draw of the film is that Biel strips.

Abdul Loves Idol, Contract Being Up Isn’t a Concern

Paula Abdul’s contract is up at the end of this season but she isn’t worried about being asked to come back next season to American Idol.
Abdul said in a Nightline interview that will air on Thursday that she loves the show and her part as a panelist on it.

E! Weekly reports:

Abdul says, “I don’t think anyone [can]…. Whenever there is change it’s not about replacing anybody; it’s about possibly moving on.”

Paula learned that there would be a fourth judge this year as she headed to the airport in August for this season’s try-outs.

Strait Times reports:

‘I thought that respectfully all of us as a group, maybe we could even figure this out together and I was surprised because Simon has always been against the fourth. We’ve had guest judges come in before and he banned that from happening anymore,’ she said

Songwriters Workshop SongStudio Coming To Toronto In July

In July a week-long workshop for songwriters will take place in Toronto. SongStudio is the creation of Rik Emmett and Blair Packham two of Toronto’s best songwriters.
During the week students will be spending one-on-one time with faculty and having the chance to meet with some of the industry’s top names. The event will be held on the campus of Ryerson University. The workshop is for anyone who wishes to improve their songs and is for songwriters of all levels.

Blair Packham is the program director. He is in charge of designing and implementing content of the workshop. Packham has been writing songs since he was 17. He was part of Toronto’s The Jitters and recorded two albums for Capitol-EMI Music of Canada with the band. Since that time Packham has spent his time in the industry working behind the scenes with themes and scores for broadcasters such as TSN, Global Television, Discovery Channel, CBC Newsworld, TVO, CTV and others.

Since the 1990’s Packham has been involved with the Songwriters Association of Canada. An advocate for the rights and privileges of songwriters Packham has worked to foster more education for songwriters. He currently teaches songwriting at Humber College and Seneca College. He is also a co-host for the weekly Toronto music radio show ‘Rock Talk.’

Emmett and Packham have been running the event since 2005. Some of the alumni have gone on to release their own recordings, perform and tour. One special stand out is Justin Nozuka who was a nominee for Best New Artist at the 2007 Juno Awards.

The cost for the week is $750.

I had the opportunity to interview Blair about the workshop.

KJ: Why did you want to do SongStudio in the beginning?

Blair: Rik Emmett was teaching courses in the music business industry at Humber in 2005 and the facility approached him about doing a summer program. He asked me to work on it. It has run for the past four summers but the school wasn’t making money at it. This summer with the school’s blessing we’re running it ourselves as an independent program.

KJ:How many students are you planning on having this year?

Blair: We’re hoping to have roughly 50 students. That has been in the number range the past years. With 50 to 55 students we have the staff. If we get more students we will increase the staff and have to get more classroom space from Ryerson. Spots are open until the day before but after June 1 the cost does increase to $850. We’re expecting many returns. One of those who has been in the workshop for years saw me last night and said “I just go to hang out with so many friends and talented people.” And that is how we feel also, many of those who have been in the workshop in the past are now friends.

Even in spite of the economy the workshop is the deal of the century. The amount of talent that students have a chance to be with is just incredible.

KJ: Have you had a ‘wow’ moment during past workshops?

Blair: Oh my goodness! Over and over! One is when Justin Nozuka first attended the first year. We just were wowed by his voice and musical ability. His songwriting was okay but needed some work. The wow effect was even stronger though when he came back to visit and performed. He was and is just amazing.

Another wow moment was with a student named Christian Caldeira. He has an incredible voice. I haven’t seen him since but he was definitely a wow moment.

KJ: With everything that you are involved with how do you find the time to plan out the workshops?

Blair: We have a rough template of how the workshop will be. The first year was the most difficult because there was no template in place. But it is very time consuming. It’s hard for me to even find time to talk on the phone or watch TV. What’s the hardest for me is the lack of time to compose songs. That really hits me when I play a gig. I have though managed to steal some time and have written three new songs. I find that I have to steal time to do everything.

KJ: What is your advice to budding songwriters?

Blair: There is only one right reason to be a songwriter and that is because you love it. An artist is asked to do music they don’t like or write something they don’t want.

You need to remember why you write. It’s an act of communication not just for yourself but also for your audience. They are who come to hear you play, hopefully. You want to be able to connect your feelings to them. Simple things to remember are not to make your songs too long and have a memorable melody. But the most important is to remember that communication factor. You want people to listen so you have to give your audience a song that they can feel and connect with. Your song has to be responsive and be interesting.

FBI Adds Animal Rights Activist To Most Wanted Terrorist List

The FBI has added animal rights activist Daniel Andreas San Diego to their list of “Most Wanted Terrorists” on Tuesday.
Daniel Andreas San Diego, 31, was added to the list for his part in the bombings of two Bay Area biotech firms. San Diego was a computer specialist before he went on the run.

San Diego has eluded law enforcement for almost six years. The hope is that by placing him on the list with a reminder that there is a $250,000 reward a capture will take place sooner. This is also a sign that the FBI is taking ‘domestic terrorism’ as seriously as it does threats from outside of the US.

Mercury News reports:

“Mr. San Diego and those like him are every bit as great a threat to the peace and security of the United States as any foreign terrorist,” said Special Agent in Charge Charlene Thornton of the FBI’s San Francisco office.

San Diego joins Osama bin Laden and Ayman Al-Zawahiri on the FBI’s list. He is only the second American citizen to be placed on the FBI’s terrorist list.

CBC reports:

“Nominations to our Top 10 or our top terrorist lists is a well thought out process. We ran this investigation for the past almost six years where the leads have gone stale on us,” Michael Heimbach, FBI assistant director of the counterterrorism division, said in a news conference. “So now we’re seeking the public’s awareness, the public’s assistance to see if we can flush out additional leads.”

San Diego has been linked to bombs that exploded at the offices of Chiron in Emeryville on Aug. 28, 2003, and Shaklee in Pleasanton on Sept. 26, 2003.

The FBI had San Diego under 24-hour surveillance but he managed to lose his tails. The agency believes that he is now underground using a network of fellow activists to stay hidden.

According to the FBI flyer on San Diego he follows a vegan diet. He has worked in the past as a computer network specialist and with the operating system LINUX.

San Diego has several tattoos:a round image of burning hillsides in the center of his chest with the words “It only takes a spark” printed in a semicircle below; burning and collapsing buildings on the sides of his abdomen and back; and a single leafless tree rising from a road in the center of his lower back. It is thought that those tattoos may have been removed or covered with newer ones.

The site says that he should be considered armed and dangerous.

Canadians watched 3.1 billion videos online in February

One of the leaders in measuring the digital world, comScore released their findings on the Canadian online video market based on findings from February 2009 comScore Video Metrix data.
In February, 21 million Canadians viewed more than 3.1 billion videos online. The average Canadian spent 10 hours in front of their monitors watching videos during that month. This figure is up 53 per cent over last year.

“Canada’s high broadband penetration and tech savvy Internet users make it an optimal environment for online video to flourish,” said Bryan Segal, vice president of sales, comScore Canada. “The combined forces of reach, high engagement and ‘sight, sound and motion’ make online video a particularly attractive brand-building vehicle for online advertisers.”

Google Sites ranks first place for Canadian online video consumption with 1,625,244 hits. Other sites fell far below the hit volume of Google.

In order, the top ten video sites that Canadians tuned into are:

Google Sites-1,625,244
Microsoft Sites-55,645
Yahoo! Sites- 45,697
Megavideo.com- 36,828
CTVglobemedia- 25,200
Dailymotion.com- 20,930
Facebook.com- 19,470
Viacom Digital- 18,190
Turner Network- 12,368
Fox Interactive Media- 11,694

With 21 million Canadian viewers watching an average of 147 videos during the month of February, it’s clear marketers need to understand their viewing habits.

In a telephone interview with Mr. Segal I asked why Google Sites had so many more hits. The answer was YouTube.

YouTube is the biggest reason for the Google hits. Canadians have highest usage of YouTube, more so than any other of the 35 countries that we monitor.”

The average time on each video was 4.1 minutes which is also up from last year’s 3.3 minute average.

Nearly 88 percent of the Canadian population watched videos online. Canada has the highest penetration of the five countries that are currently being reported by comScore Video Metrix (France 82 percent, Germany 82 percent, U.K. 81 percent, U.S. 76 percent).

It seems that Canadians not only watch more videos but are at their computers for longer stretches of time. In February on average the Canadian video viewer consumed 605 minutes compared to the U.K. viewer at 540, the German viewer at 466 minutes, French viewers at 390 minutes and the average United States viewer’s 312 minutes.

For the website clients this information is vital. Knowing that their sites are getting heavy media viewer traffic is important not only for the front end of the business but the back end as well. As Segal told me:

“This knowledge not only increases the information for advertising but also in terms of what back end tools are needed to keep up with the traffic. The more views a site is getting the better the tools have to be. For instance the higher volume traffic sites have to have a prime media player that can handle the amount of traffic. It helps keep the clients and consumers happy with their viewing time.”

comScore, Inc. is one of the highest ranking sources of digital marketing intelligence with more than 1,100 clients including AOL, Microsoft, Yahoo!, BBC, Carat, Cyworld, Deutsche Bank, France Telecom, Best Buy, The Newspaper Association of America, Financial Times, ESPN, Fox Sports, Nestle, Starcom, Universal McCann, the United States Postal Service, the University of Chicago, Verizon Services Group and ViaMichelin. There has been a Canadian presence in Toronto for the past 10 years.

“You see, there are two major services that evaluate the size of a Web site’s audience, comScore Media Metrix and Nielsen Netratings … Only comScore, however, offers reporters access to an apples-to-apples comparison that measures the entire network of sites owned by each major player,” saidTed Leonsis, Vice Chairman of AOL

Opinion: Obama Declines to Legalize Pot for Sake of the Economy

Legal pot. That’s an idea many cling to on April 20 each year. 4/20 is a part of urban culture where toking a joint is the thing to do. Like last year it’s still an illegal activity. There bad news for those wanting change, it’s not coming from Obama.
There are those who will say celebrating a day that in itself is illegal is wrong but is it? In the past other days would have been considered illegal, like say the Fourth of July. I am in no way saying that making pot legal is as important as the birth of a nation. Still the legalization of marijuana could be revolutionary.

Think about being able to relax with your friends and not worry if the police were on the other side of the door. That in itself may take away some of the paranoia that tokers experience.

What about those small time hoods that sell their goods. If pot was legal they may be out of a job but you could be in one that would feed your family. Yea, President Obama says that isn’t going to happen but maybe Prime Minister Stephen Harper could mix it up a bit.

Hey’s it’s 4/20, folks think outside the box.

If you were wondering why 4/20 is so important to those in the ‘pot culture’ here’s a little history lesson.

A group of teens at San Rafael High School in San Rafael, California, United States in 1971 used to meet after school at 4:20 to smoke pot around the Louis Pasteur statue. That time was picked because detention let out at, you’ve got it 4:20 p.m.

Perhaps those meeting with their buddy Louis had a habit of getting in trouble at school.

Since the beginning of time, or at least 1971 the day was left open on calendars to meet, get high and celebrate the bud way of life.

SFist reports:

The group of friends were known as the Waldos, and their story, via a very long game of stoner Telephone, made it onto a flyer passed around among some Grateful Dead fans in Oakland in 1990, and was then immortalized in the May 1991 issue of High Times.

The truth is, not everyone is for legal marijuana. Some believe that marijuana is a curse on the land. They believe that making pot legal would open up a gateway to other drugs becoming legal. That all the naughty people would lay around and get high instead of making a living. They don’t want to hear that pot can be beneficial to those who are sick. Nor do they care that the herb has been around since the dawn of man. It’s against the law and that is that.

If the stuff was legal today wouldn’t be an annual party day. It wouldn’t be a day of defiance, of standing up to the man or voicing the virtues of a herb that more and more scientists are finding uses for. It would just be a day like any other.

So happy 4/20 to those that celebrate it and good luck in convincing the rulers of the world that next year it’ll be a legal holiday.

New Urine Test Could Pinpoint Lung Cancer Risk in Smokers

A new urine test that tests the levels of the chemical NNAL may be able to tell which smokers are more likely to contract lung cancer.
The chemical NNAL has been linked to lung cancer. Those who have high levels of the chemical in their urine have a 8.5 increased risk of developing cancer.

The test has been studied in about 500 men and women in Shanghai and Singapore. Results from the study were presented at the annual meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research.

NPR reports:

“A history of smoking has always been thought of as a predictor of lung cancer, but it is actually not very accurate,” said Dr. Jian-Min Yuan, associate professor of public health at the University of Minnesota. “Smoking absolutely increases your risk, but why it does so in some people but not others is a big question.”

The chemical NNAL is created as the body metabolizes tobacco. It has been shown to induce lung cancer in lab animals but the effect is just now starting to be studied in humans.

Researchers say that the test is not a means to give smokers a license to smoke. There are many other health risks associated with tobacco uses. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that about 23 percent of adult Americans are smokers, and smokers account for about 87 per cent of cases of lung cancer, the number one cancer killer.

The study showed that those with a medium-level NNAL test had a 43 percent higher risk of cancer and those with the highest levels had a twofold higher risk.

This evidence held true regardless of how many cigarettes a person smoked per day, the number of years of smoking, and urinary levels of another chemical, cotinine, on lung cancer risk.

Science Daily reports:

“Smoking leads to lung cancer, but there are about 60 possible carcinogens in tobacco smoke, and the more accurately we can identify the culprit, the better we will become at predicting risk,” said Yuan.

The researchers collected data from 18,244 men in the Shanghai Cohort Study and 63,257 men and women in the Singapore Chinese Health Study. They then looked at 246 current smokers who later developed lung cancer and 245 smokers who did not. The study participants were followed for 10 years.

Scientists could perfect the current test within a few years according to Yuan. The current test costs about $100 to $120. There is a catch, other than quitting smoking there is no intervention known if the risk factor is there.

Scientist Stephen Hawking Hospitalized with Chest Infection

Scientist Stephen Hawking is at Cambridge Hospital. He is said to be ‘very ill.’ At this point the physics genius is having tests run. He has been ill from a chest infection for several weeks.
The sixty-seven-year-old Hawking works at the Department of Applied Mathematics and Theoretical Physics at Cambridge University. He has been the University’s Lucasian Professor of Mathematics since 1979.

Hawkings suffers from motor neurone disease. He developed symptoms of the disease in the 1960’s. He is one of the longest surviving sufferers.

The Belfast Telegraph reports:

“Professor Hawking is very ill and has today been taken by ambulance to Addenbrooke’s Hospital, Cambridge,” said the University spokesman.

“He is undergoing tests. He has been unwell for a couple of weeks.”

Professor Peter Haynes, Head of the University’s Department of Applied Mathematics and Theoretical Physics, added: “Professor Hawking is a remarkable colleague. We all hope he will be amongst us again soon.”

6 Canadian hostages released after plane hijacked in Jamaica

A gunman boarded a CanJet Airlines plane at Montego Bay demanding to be flown to Cuba.The drama started late Sunday night when what has been described as an “mentally challenged” 20-year-old Jamaican took the plane hostage.
Jamaican authorities stormed the plane and rescued the six crew members taken hostage after negotiations with the gunman were unsuccessful. The crew was not injured.

The New York Post reports:

“We are relieved that all the passengers involved in this incident are safe,” CanJet Vice President Kent Woodside said.

Passengers were debriefed by the police after they were released. The released passengers were taken to a hotel and CanJet is planning on flying those passengers home on another aircraft.

The incident started around 10 p.m. Sunday, local time.

As the AP reports:

“It’s a most unfortunate situation, but I can say the passengers are happy to be alive,” Jamaican Information Minister Daryl Vaz said. “This whole experience has been very traumatic for them.”

CanJet Flight 918 was a Boeing 737-800 aircraft.

CNN reported:

“The hijacking is that from a mentally challenged youngster and not anything that would be of concern in terms of an international incident,” said Jamaica’s Information Minister Daryl Vaz.. “His demand was to go to Cuba,” he said.

All of the passengers are Canadian. There were 174 passengers scheduled to be on the flight but some had not boarded by the time of the hijacking.

The flight originated in Halifax, Canada. When it landed on a scheduled stop in Montego Bay, the gunman fired a shot on the boarding bridge as he entered the plane. He got on board as airport workers were loading luggage onto the aircraft. Passengers are reporting that the man asked passengers for all of their money.

Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper was in Jamaica for a one-day visit. He was monitoring the story and offered his plane up to Canadians who wanted to get back home.

China Launches English Language ‘Global Times”

China is launching an English language newspaper on Monday to push their party line in the international media arena. The paper will run five days a week.
The paper is said to be a new mouthpiece for the Chinese government using the English language. The Global Times will cover world news from the Chinese perspective according to the official Xinhua News Agency.

The editor in chief, Hu Xijin says that the goal of the newspaper is “to make friends with foreigners and to facilitate communication between China and the world.”

The Global Times will be published by the party mouthpiece People’s Daily. It is directly controlled by the Central Committee. Xinhua is controlled by the Cabinet.

The Global Times joins the Chinese version that focuses on international news. It begun in 1993. The English paper will also have a website that launches on Monday as well. The paper will be printed Monday through Friday.

Xinhua Net reports:

“It marks a new beginning for the Global Times,” said Hu Xijin, the Editor-in-Chief of the Global Times. “The world of English language was new to us. But with the launch of the Global Times English edition, we have gained confidence to make it a success, to make friends with foreigners and to facilitate communication between China and the world.”

U.S. Waterways Carry Drugs From Pharmaceutical Companies

Waterways in the United States are routine dumping grounds for pharmaceutical manufacturers seeping the drugs into drinking water.
The water you may be drinking from your tap could contain a watered-down drug cocktail. That’s the findings of an Associated Press investigation.

The scary truth is no one in the federal government is looking into the issues of US water being contaminated by the runoff from manufacturing medicines.

With no one tracking which pharmaceuticals being dumped into the waterways U.S. manufacturers are free to release a potential environmental and health nightmare at will.

PharmaWater investigation is ongoing research by AP. The investigation found 22 compounds that have shown up in water supplies. Both the EPA and the Food and Drug Administration are supposed to be monitoring the compounds for the American public. There has been a ‘don’t ask, don’t tell’ policy regarding these drug companies.

Not only are drug companies to blame for the amount of contamination. Consumers excrete the drugs not absorbed by the body and flush drugs down the toilet.

There are also an estimated 250 million pounds of pharmaceuticals and contaminated packaging discarded each year from medical centers.

It is known that even diluted amounts of drugs can harm wild life. There has been research that shows that human cells fail to grow normally in the laboratory when exposed to trace concentrations of certain drugs. Yet water utilities say their water is safe.

Two chemicals, phenol and hydrogen peroxide, account for 92 percent of the 271 million pounds of what is coming from drug makers and other manufacturers. Both of those chemicals can be toxic and are harmful for the environment.

Pfizer is one of the companies that knows that water contamination has been happening. They are working on reducing the impact their company has on the environment in a negative way.

They are working through their company’s EHS Guideline on Water Conservation requiring their facilities to:

* Review and quantify their water use
* Identify and prioritize water conservation measures
* Develop, implement and report on water conservation action plans and targets
* Support community efforts during drought conditions

The drug companies say that they are in compliance and work to prevent leakage into the water supply.

AP reports:

“Manufacturers have to be in compliance with all relevant environmental laws,” said Alan Goldhammer, a scientist and vice president at the industry trade group Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America.

When AP asked the companies point blank if they tested the waterways from their plants there was no direct answer.

“Based on research that we have reviewed from the past 20 years, pharmaceutical manufacturing facilities are not a significant source of pharmaceuticals that contribute to environmental risk,” GlaxoSmithKline said in a statement.

While Pfizer says it tests its waste water when investigated further it’s only the waters outside the United States.

“The government could get a national snapshot of the water if they chose to,” said Jennifer Sass, a senior scientist for the Natural Resources Defense Council, “and it seems logical that we would want to find out what’s coming out of these plants.”

This investigation has to be looked into further. Left unchecked the United States could end up with a situation like that in Patancheru, India where their water is a medical soup.

Welsh actress Stephanie Parker found dead at age 22

A young Welsh actress has been found hanged according to South Wales Police. Stephanie Parker, 22, was on the BBC Wales show “Belonging.”
Parker had been on the show for the past 7 years, starting her role as Stacey Weaver at the age of 15. The show had been canceled just two days before wrapping up the series.

The Press Association reports:

“I can confirm that we investigated a report of a deceased woman on open ground near Pontypridd yesterday morning,” a police spokesman said. “The incident is not regarded as suspicious and a report has been passed on to the HM coroner.”

A passerby found the body of the young actress on Saturday morning. The police have said that they do not suspect foul play.

Clare Hudson, BBC Wales’ head of English language programs told BBC:

“Stephanie also worked with BBC Wales radio drama department on productions for Radio Four. Stephanie’s talent played a major part in making Belonging the success it was and I’m sure that the programme’s fans will be shocked by this untimely news. Our thoughts are with her family and friends at this very difficult time.”

Did Science Just Prove Henry VIII Was Mad?

462 years ago Henry VIII passed away years before an autopsy could delve into his brain. On the History Channel Monday a belated autopsy will explore the husband from Hell and expose madness.
In the past when someone died doctors didn’t have the means to find out the causes of death. Certainly that was the case over 450 years ago when King Henry VIII passed away leaving questions and a new church in his wake.

Scientists have been able to look into the man who at 57 died crippled by leg ulcers and a huge waist.

When he became king he was an athletic teen who loved to joust. The king’s waist can be measured by the waist measurements throughout his years of armor.

King Henry VIII was well educated, speaking several languages and a lover of the arts. He was also very hated by his rivals and not a fan of the ex-wives that survived their marriage. Two of his wives lost their heads when they lost favor with their King.

AP reports:

“Clearly, at the beginning of his reign he was quite a catch – ebullient, charismatic, handsome,” said Dolman, who has put together a touching exhibition at Hampton Court devoted to the women in Henry’s life – his put-upon wives and his two daughters, Mary and Elizabeth.

“He’s a horrid person, but he is a passionate person and he loves – passionately loves – at least four of his wives.”

England was changed by his reign to this day. The church of England was Henry VIII’s doing and stands still strong to this day.

Gulf News reports:

“He marked the transition from a medieval state to a modern state. He founded the Church of England. He swaggered out and claimed a place for England on the European stage that it has held ever since, despite its size,” said Suzannah Lipscomb a curator at Hampton Court Palace.

Was his love of jousting the reason that he spiraled into madness. Doctors have found that he suffered brain damage following a jousting fall.

Henry VIII also suffered from malaria, syphilis and diabetes.

Tune into the Discovery Channel to find out the science behind Henry VIII’s death.

Are Ashkenazi Jews Smarter Than The Rest Of Us?

Why are some European Jews prone to so many deadly genetic diseases? That question always puzzled Gregory Cochran. It wasn’t logical, thought the self-taught genetics scholar. But the answer could be intelligence.
That question sent Cochran on a search through scientific journals.

Cochran believes he has discovered the answer: the faulty genes increase intelligence. He quickly sent an email to collaborator Henry Harpending, professor of anthropology at the University of Utah in Salt Lake City and a member of the National Academy of Sciences reports the LA Times.

“I’ve figured it out, I think,” Cochran typed. “Pardon my crazed excitement.”

The “faulty” genes, Cochran concluded, make Jews smarter.

The two worked together on an age old debate on the link between IQ and DNA. Early this year their book “The 10,000 Year Explosion” were published.

Some scientists dismiss the idea that one race is smarter than another because of the racist implications that it would conjure, says the LA Times.

“What are their theories about those on the opposite end of the spectrum?” asked Neil Risch, director of the Institute for Human Genetics at UC San Francisco, who finds the matter so offensive he can barely discuss it without raising his voice. “Do they have genetic theories about why Latinos and African Americans perform worse academically?”

Neither Cochran nor Harpending are Jewish. The say that on average Ashkenazi Jews have a higher IQ. The average IQ is 100 while the Ashkenazi Jews average falls between 107.5 to 115.

It makes sense. Jews make up less than 3 per cent of the US population yet they have won more than a quarter of the Nobel Prizes awarded to American scientists since 1950.

The prevalence of certain diseases that kill more Ashkenazi Jews than any other group like Tay-Sachs, Niemann-Pick disease and Caravan disease all affect the brain and cause a very early death. They also involve problems with processing sphingolipids, the fat molecules that transmit nerve signals.

Only 108 of the 20,000 human genes are known to be involved in sphingolipid metabolism. The odds that Ashkenazi Jews would have four sphingolipid storage disorders by random chance are less than 1 in 100,000, he calculated.

Other scientists have thought that IQ could have something to do with the DNA but Cochran and Harpending are the first to make a broad case linking multiple Jewish genetic diseases to intelligence. The pair’s theories came from research on history, statistics, neurobiology and population genetics.

T. J. Kelleher reviewed the book in SEED, bringing out several interesting points:

Cochran and Harpending also find value in such work [as the Genographic Project], but they argue for a fuller appreciation of the geographic distributions of genes, and in doing so, they herald a new era not only in biological anthropology, but also for history. They do not stop with what information about human history can be found in the genes, precisely because many gene variants are not neutral. Where the usual geographical analysis treats the distribution of genes as an effect of history, in Cochran and Harpending’s view, the genes themselves are a cause: Two variants in the same gene do not necessarily have the same effect, and the relative selective advantages and disadvantages of them will — not surprisingly, to anyone versed in evolutionary biology — influence the movements of genes through populations over both space and time.

The academic community though has yet to embrace the theory but some are saying that it does need to be researched further.

The LA Times reports:

Dr. Melvin Konner, a biological anthropologist at Emory University in Atlanta, said he’s impressed by the theory’s ability to explain why all the Ashkenazi diseases are clustered “on about five pages of a biochemistry textbook.” But, he added, Cochran and Harpending still have to show that the genes play a direct role in brain development.

“There’s evidence that some of them do,” he said. “It’s not a crazy idea. It’s just not nearly a proven idea.”

Elaine Paige Asks Susan Boyle For Duet

The stars of the world have been moved by the voice of Susan Boyle. The likes of Demi Moore and Ashton Kutcher have twitted their praise. For Boyle the best news has to be that Elaine Paige has asked to record a duet.
Singer Elaine Paige has got Susan Boyle fever like much of the globe. Before Boyle’s voice stunned the world she had spoken of Paige when Simon Cowell asked who she’d like to be as famous as.

BBC reports that Paige has put an offer on the table for Boyle.

“Ever since Susan’s appearance on Britain’s Got Talent my inbox has been flooded with e-mails,” said the actress on her BBC Radio Two show on Sunday afternoon.

“Perhaps we should record a duet?” she continued.

“I will continue to watch and I hope you make it to the final,” she told Boyle. “I wish you every success.”

As Boyle’s fame grows so does her presence on television. The modest singing sensation has already appeared on Larry King Live, Good Morning America, NBC and CBS. There are whispers that Oprah wants her to grace her stage.

Ashton Kutcher twitted that sing Boyle perform “just made my night” and it brought tears to the eyes of his wife Demi Moore.

Larry King has told his viewers that the only one that could beat Boyle at this point would be Frank Sinatra.

King told her if she is to be beaten “Sinatra will have to be reborn” and he added: “You’ll be singing for the Queen, Susan, I predict it.”

The new found fame hasn’t seemed to have changed the modest Boyle.

The Sunday Mail reports:

“That doesn’t bother me. I knew I had to get on with my act. I wasn’t sure how I would be received, so I just thought I’d give it a whirl.”

Susan said: “I just take it all in my stride, I’m enjoying it. I haven’t had time to think!”

Questioned about her chances of winning, she replied: “I can only do my best, like everybody else.”

Don’t think she’ll be a one song wonder, friend Derek Brown, 47, told The Guardian the best is yet to come.

“I wouldn’t say the one she did on the telly was her best song, you should hear her belt out ‘The Fields of Athenry’ or that song from Titanic ['My Heart Will Go On'],” he said.

Boy Dies After Attempting Stunt From TV Show Roadies

Chandan Singh never missed an episode of the show Roadies. On Saturday night the nine-year-old died trying to do a stunt on the show.
The young boy accidentally hung himself after watching the Saturday night episode of Roadies. In the show two female contestants were made to stand on a wooden stool with their hands tied. A rope was placed around their necks as another contestant had three minutes to save them.

NDTV News reports:

“He watched the episode on the third floor of our house along with his friends and tried to imitate the stunt after his friends left. After hearing a loud noise, I rushed to the room and found Chandan hanging from the ceiling fan,” his uncle Bhagat Singh told media persons.

Inspector Jaganath Saroj of Vikas Nagar police station said: “According to his uncle, Bhagat Singh, with whom he used to live in the Vikas Nagar locality, Chandan never missed any episode of the show.”

The boy was pronounced dead at hospital.

Shopaholics Can Rejoice, The Recession Is A Shopping Dream

The recession may be making life more difficult but for shopaholics this is a dream come true. So get out your visa and come along for some of the best buys this year.
Time reports that the picking is ripe for shoppers to pick up pricey items at bargain basement prices.

Do you love cashmere? This is the season to buy those sweaters that are a luxury item. At Target you can grab a Cashmere Capelet for a mere $37.49 that was going for $149.99.

Dressy clothes are also on the chopping block. If you want the ultimate bridal gown it might not cost you the price of a car if you hurry.

Maybe clothes aren’t your thing. Are you a tech lover? Now is the time to upgrade your computers. Two years ago it cost $200 to upgrade to 4 gigabytes, now you can do so for under $50.

Are you a shutterbug? Cameras cost a ton, or they used to. It’s now possible to get a 10-megapixel digital camera for $185.55 at the Shopping Channel.

The economy is down and going out is not in a lot of budgets. Staying home shouldn’t be a problem though if you grab a new flat-screen television for under $500 at Target.

Grab your wallet and hit the stores, the recession was made for those with shopper syndrome. And when you come home with all those bargains you can honestly smile while telling your partner that you saved them a bundle.

Park found muffins sicken four puppies in Southern Ontario

Four puppies in the Durham Region have gotten sick when they ate muffins laced with marijuana. The muffins had been hidden by a teen boy in a nearby park.
The teen is said to have hosted several house parties while his parents were on holiday during Spring Break.

The teen took the muffins to the Poplar Park after cleaning up from the last party as so his parents would not discover them.

Several dogs sniffed out the pot-laced goodies and woofed them down on March 23. They became ill after indulging on the treats. All of the dogs recovered.

The police at first feared that the stash had been laced with an antifreeze-like substance.

There are no charges pending. The teen showed remorse and is willing to personally apologize to the pet owners.

CBC reports:

“Investigators do not believe there was any criminal intent and the teenager did not think about the consequences of his actions,” the release said.

Murder Ends The Game

One young woman is dead, one young woman sits in jail, another sits at home with the baby she had as a teenager. There is one man that connects the dots. The unemployed young man is said to be a player. He indeed played with the hearts of the three women.

Early Wednesday morning Sarah Rose Ludemann, 18, was stabbed in the heart. She died in a pool of blood on a Pinellas Park, Florida street less than a half-mile from her mother and home. Two services will be held Saturday, from noon until 3 p.m. and from 5 to 8 p.m. The funeral home is at 5750 49th Street N.

Saturday morning Rachel Marie Wade, 19, sits in county jail under a $500,000 bond. She faces charges of second-degree murder in the death of Sarah Rose Ludemann. Rachel has a criminal past. She was arrested in 2005 for battery as a juvenile and arrested for shoplifting in 2006 and 2007. It is possible that the charge against her will be upgraded to first-degree murder.

Another woman in this story goes without a name. She dated Joshua Camacho, 19 first. She had his baby.

Joshua Camacho is the connecting dot in this story. He dated three women. Two timed at least two of them.

Rachel started texting Sarah all day. The two were rivals for the affections of Joshua. They had been fighting over the young man for over a year along with the mother of his baby.

The feud started in the parking lot of a Taco Bell where one of the girls worked. Silly String was sprayed, punches thrown, car mirrors broken. It followed to cyberspace. Threats issues. Promises made.

On Tuesday night the feud ended. Sarah heard that Rachel was hanging out with friends near by. She drove her green minivan to confront the woman with two others. Rachel is said to have been allegedly waiting for her with a kitchen knife.

The knife was plunged into Sarah’s chest.

Tampa Bay.com reports:

“She was out with friends. Coming home. I was waiting up for her, just after midnight, when the phone rang,” Gay Ludemann said Friday. Ludemann was so close to the crime scene, she got there while paramedics were trying to save her daughter.

“She never got to hear me say, ‘I love you, Sarah,’ ” Ludemann said, sniffling. “I kept saying it, but she never heard.”

The time line of this story played out on MySpace and with police reports starting February 21, 2008.

Police Report (2/21/08)
Eight month pregnant Erin waited for Sarah and Joshua outside movie theater. He yelled at Erin. Erin pushed Joshua.

MySpace-Rachel (6/17/08)
When we first met I was madly in love and it lasted for years but since then things have changed. … You called me names, you slept around. … I deserve so much better!

Police Report (7/2/08)

Sarah drives Erin to confront Joshua abut sleeping with the two girls at the same time. Erin’s infant is in the backseat. Joshua punches Sarah in the face.

Police Report (7/31/08)

Rachel reports that Sarah and friends are following her. Reports that Sarah shot Silly String at her car.

Sarah says Rachel’s friend bumped her car so they chased them.

Police Report (8/31/08)

Sarah says that Rachel called her 20 times in a two hour period harrassing her about dating Joshua.

Rachel says that Sarah sent her threatening e-mails.

Joshua admits dating both girls at the same time.

MySpace-Rachel (9/12/08)

I’m an independent chick! Yeah, I got a man. But I’m not one of those spoiled little girls who … expects the world from her man! … So yall hoes can just stop hatin …

Then silence until earlier this past week.

Rachel’s last MySpace login: 4/13/09

Mood:Loving my boo

Sarah’s last MySpace login: 4/14/09

Mood: iloveyoubaby

Police Report (4/15/09)

Homicide. Suspect in fatal stabbing arrested.

There is no more fighting. Death ends the game.

Roxana Saberi Sentenced To Eight Years In Jail

Journalist Roxana Saberi was sentenced this week to eight years in jail by a Tehran court for spying. Her father says that the young woman was tricked into confessing.

The woman “confessed” after being told that she would be released if she co-operated according to her father. Saberi is being held at Evin prison in Tehran.

News 24 reports:

“Her denial is documented in her case, but apparently they did not pay attention to it,” Reza Saberi said. “We are very shocked and we were not expecting it.

“We were hoping for six months and then clemency.”

Several other US-Iranians have been detained for security charges in recent years but have always been released after months in jail. Iran rarely arrests foreign journalists, but foreign nationals with Iranian parents who work as journalists are subject to extra scrutiny and are sometimes harassed.

Saberi, who is of Iranian and Japanese descent, was born in the United States. She had been living in Iran for six years working for the US-based National Public Radio (NPR). In 2006 Iran revoked her press card and since that time all of work has been deemed “illegal.”

The New York Times reports:

In a statement released Saturday, Vivian Schiller, the president and CEO of NPR, said “We are deeply distressed by this harsh and unwarranted sentence.”

She also said that “ we know her as an established and respected professional journalist.”

Saberi was arrested on a much lighter charge of buying alcohol. She was later accused of working as a reporter without press credentials. The final charge that came from the prosecutor’s office who said this month she would be put on trial for spying. The trial took place on Monday behind closed doors.

This is the harshest sentence given by the Iranian court to a dual-national to date.

Study Says Non-Q-Wave Silent Heart Attacks Happen More Often

Silent heart attacks may happen much more often than was commonly thought. That may mean that more people are at risk of a deadly heart attack than was previously suspected according to Duke University experts.
Dr. Han Kim of Duke University thinks that these silent heart attacks, known as unrecognized myocardial infarctions happen more often than what studies have shown in the past.

Doctors look for certain changes when a patient is brought into the ER having a heart attack. Looking at the tell tale signs on an ECG and checking for certain enzymes in the blood is often the tools that emergency room doctors use in treating cardiac patients. Often when a heart attack has happened recently the Q-wave on the EGC shows a change. The problem is not every heart attack will change that Q-wave.

Dr. Kim and his colleagues used a new type of MRI imaging called delayed enhancement cardiovascular magnetic resonance. This new technology is very adept when it comes to locating damaged heart muscles.

The study of 185 patients with coronary artery disease but no record of heart attacks found that 35 percent had evidence of prior silent heart attacks with non-Q-wave patterns. This showed that the non-Q-wave pattern is much more common than silent heart attacks with Q-wave patterns.

In follow ups of patients with the non-Q-wave heart attacks it was found that the sufferers had an 11-fold higher risk of death from any cause than the other patients. More startling is that they have a 17-fold higher risk of death from heart problems compared to patients that did not have any heart damage.

Dr. Kim’s research may change the way these patients are treated. They are currently treated the same as any other heart patient.

One Cell Could Lead To Prostate Cancer

John Hopkins experts think they may have narrowed metastatic cancer down to one singe cell. Studying the autopsies of 33 men who died from prostate cancer the experts were able to pinpoint the single cell that has genetic defects.
The scientists went all out on the research, taking the tumors from the 33 men and preparing 150,000 slides and 30,000 blocks of tissue. The results of the 14 year study was hindered by finding men who would allow for an autopsy immediately after the died from prostate cancer. Findings from the study were published online April 12 in Nature Medicine.

Science Daily reports:

“Many of the men were motivated to join the study in hopes of leaving some legacy that might lead to cures for this cancer,” says Bova, who holds secondary appointments in the departments of pathology, genetic medicine, health sciences informatics, oncology, and urology at Johns Hopkins.

“Much is unclear and appears chaotic about how cancer spreads, but analyzing genetic markers allows us to trace its roots backward, somewhat like ancestry,” says Bova.

The single cell left clues for the researchers hidden in the changes that occur in a cell’s DNA. Cancers are caused when the DNA code of a cell is altered. When the DNA because mutated for whatever reason it can cause unchecked cell growth and spread.

The scientists scanned genes that spanned the entire genome from autopsy samples looking for areas of copy number variations. Attaching the DNA to special silicon chips they then photographed them into a computer program that produced a report with varying colors representing the amount of DNA per sample.

The scans allowed the scientists to compare the patterns of gains and losses in tissue samples from multiple metastatic sites in 29 of the bodies. Unique copy number changes where noted along with shared multiple metastatic sites in each man and then again with the other men as a whole in the study.

What the researchers found was that several of the men had missing chunks of DNA in the same DNA region.

Science Daily reports:

Tissue samples from 14 of the 33 men were studied at the highest available resolution, and all showed common genetic patterns across metastatic sites, suggesting a single cell source for their cancer.

Future research is planned to see if the different metastatic sites came from a “big bang” in the prostate or if the changes happen more slowly.

With time the results from these studies could make for personalized cancer therapies for patients of prostate cancer.

In other prostate cancer news the SLC45A3-ELK4 gene fusion has been found to be detectable at high levels in urine as a risk factor in some men. If more testing shows that the data can be validated future testing for prostate cancer may become simpler.

Science Daily reports:

“Our work has a long-term goal of achieving a test that distinguishes clinically significant prostate cancer from indolent disease that does not require additional treatment. With better diagnosis, we will be able to treat cancer patients with individualized therapies — one of the main goals of the Cancer Center at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center,” continues Dr. Rubin, who is the Center’s associate director of translational research and a pathologist at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center.

Work is already underway using the gene fusion TMPRSS2-ERG in another urine test for the disease.

It’s believed that different types of gene fusions may be a common mechanism with cancer. By hijacking androgen-regulated genes with nearby genes alternations could be occurring. It may be the way that tumors have the competitive edge in the body.

Palin Slams Obama At Anti-Abortion Dinner In Indiana

Alaska Governor Sarah Palin took out time during a anti-abortion dinner to criticize President Obama for supporting abortion rights. Palin spoke to a crowd at the Vanderburgh County Right to Life banquet Thursday night.
Palin and Republican National Convention Chairman Michael Steele both spoke Thursday night at the Indiana event.

Politico reports:

“Palin drew approximately 3,000 people to the Vanderburgh County Right to Life fund raising dinner in Evansville, an annual banquet that typically attracts some of the GOP’s top national talent. Her sold-out appearance in a local exhibition hall prompted organizers to set up a paid closed-circuit broadcast at a nearby auditorium for a large spill-over crowd and led local authorities to close down nearby streets.”

Palin said that being pregnant with Trig, born with Down’s Syndrome has given her the opportunity to live out her own anti-abortion beliefs.

Newser reports:

“The moment he was born, I knew that moment my prayers had been answered,” Palin said. “Trig is a miracle. He is the best thing that ever happened to me and I want other women to have that opportunity.”

Palin believes that instead of allowing abortions women with unwanted pregnancies should give the child up for adoption.

The dinner was attended by nearly 3,000 people. The Right to Life banquet is an said to be the nation’s largest event.

The dinner was the first time since the 2008 presidential campaign that Palin has been outside of Alaska for a major public event.

Flying Your Pet in Style, Pet Airlines

Pet Airlines has opened for business serving New York, Los Angeles, Denver, Chicago and Washington, D.C. Instead of putting your pet in the cargo hold the airline places the animals in the seat free plane into carrying cases.
The animals may be without their owners on the flight but they have “pet attendants” who are with them at all times. Before they board their plane they get to hang out in a special animal lounge.

The pet owners drop their pets off at a smaller airport on the way to their own flights. Animal flights are made to coincide with their owner’s flight schedules. After the owner has gone through their flight they pick up Fido or Spot from a lounge.

Zoo Too reports:

“You don’t have to worry about missed flights or connections,” Binder said. “Someone will be with your pet at all times, until you are there to collect them.

“This is about the safety and comfort of your pet. We can’t stress that enough. We are pet lovers, we are our own audience.”

The planes can carry as many as 50 pets at a time.

While the company is just starting down the runaway it’s been in the works since 2005.

Pet Airlines is working in conjunction with Suburban Air flight, Inc. using Beechcraft 1900’s. The planes are climate-controlled.

Zoo Too reports:

“Within the last 20 years, there has been a great deal of concern and care over the welfare of pets, and airlines are now very restricted for where they can keep the animals, the temperature of the environment, the length of the flight, and things like that,” said Greg Hammer, DVM, of Dover, Del.

“I think they do a very nice job of taking care of the animals — they have to.”

The $150 flight costs are comparable with other airlines. American Airlines charges $150 for pets in the cargo area and $100 for the pet to travel in the main cabin. Continental is a lot cheaper for cargoed pets at $55. If you want your pet with you on Continental is will cost you $125. Delta is more expensive at $150 for an animal flying beside you or $275 in cargo. Some airlines like Southwest Airlines refuse to allow any animal on its planes.

Putting a pet in the cargo hold comes with risk. Of the two million pets that traveled that way last year about 5,000 were injured on route.

At this time the Pet Airlines site has had too much travel and is off-line.

According to one comment on their Facebook page the company is hoping to cater to the show dog crowd as they grow.

Their first flight is due to take off on July 14th.

Women and children make up large portion of death count in Iraq

The bombs drop on a village said to be housing insurgents. The death tolls mounts. The village mourns their dead women and children.
That is the sad tale of too many villages in Iraq where the most innocent members of the war have been the ones that pay with their lives. Analysis being carried out for the Iraq Body Count report the 39 per cent of those killed in air raids are children, 46 per cent are women. When it comes to mortars used by both American and Iraqi government forces and the insurgents the death toll is even higher; 42 per cent children and 44 per cent women.

Those road side bombs that make the news do not just kill the military. One in five of the deaths are children and one in four are women.

The Raw Story reports:

“Analysis carried out for the research group Iraq Body Count (IBC) found that 39 per cent of those killed in air raids by the US-led coalition were children and 46 per cent were women,” Kim Sengupta reports for The Independent. “Fatalities caused by mortars, used by American and Iraqi government forces as well as insurgents, were 42 per cent children and 44 per cent women.”

When suicide bombers hit a market even more women and children perish. Pushing the numbers at King’s College and Royal Holloway, University of London academics see that the highest cost in the war in Iraq has been those who have the least amount of say, the children and women in small villages. the figures were reported in the report The Weapons That Kill Civilians, Deaths of Children and Noncombatants in Iraq.

There have been 99,774 total deaths so far in Iraq according to the IBC. The death tolls according to The Lancet is much higher with one study saying in the first three years of the war 600,000 people were killed.

IBC reports:

The authors conclude that “Policymakers, war strategists of all persuasions, and the groups and societies that support them bear moral and legal responsibility for the effects that particular combat tactics have on civilians — including the weapons used near and among them.”

1,500 Indian farmers commit suicide

As many as 1,500 farmers in the agricultural state of Chattisgarh in India committed suicide. The shocking number appears to be a result of not being able to pay off local money lenders.
The farmers had been affected by the dropping water levels.

Press Association reports:

(Money-lenders) lure farmers to take money but when the crops fail, they are left with no option other than death,” Organic Farming Association of India spokesman Bharatendu Prakash told The Press Association.

The government in India has recently waived $15 billion in debt but that didn’t factor in for those who had made private arrangements with local lenders. In India, those who are in debt feel they only have one way out: death.

The Daily Times reports:

The agricultural state of Chattisgarh was hit by falling water levels. “The water level has gone down below 250 feet here. It used to be at 40 feet a few years ago,” Shatrughan Sahu, a villager in one of the districts, told Down To Earth magazine. Most of the farmers here are indebted and only God can save the ones who do not have a bore well.”

Over the last 10 years, it’s estimated that 10,000 Indian farmers have ended their own lives.

Pirate Bay defendents sentenced to jail time and fines

Torrent Freak is reporting that Pirate Bay has lost its court case in Sweden. Peter Sunde, Fredrik Neij, Gottfrid Svartholm and Carl Lundström were all found guilty.
The Pirate Bay team will have to spend a year in jail and the fine between the four of them totals over $3.6 million. The court said that the four worked as a team and were aware that copyrighted material was being shared using Pirate Bay. It said that the infringement was severe. The first offense was done by the users of Pirate Bay by sharing the files and the team was found guilty of assisting this copyright infringement.

The civil case ran along side the criminal case. The $3.6 million will be paid in compensation for lost sales and split up among 17 media companies. Some of the companies are Twentieth Century Fox ($1.3 million), followed by Columbia Pictures ($504,000) and Warner Bros. ($300,000).

Torrent Freak reports:

Peter Althin, brokep’s lawyer said, “I spoke to Peter and he wasn’t very surprised. A journalist he’d spoken to knew an hour before it was public that all four would be convicted. The verdict was leaked from the court. I have to think about what effects that can have on the sentence. It is unacceptable that the court is leaking.”

The judge also said that the usage of BitTorrent at Pirate Bay is illegal.

Pirate Bay’s site has said “But as in all good movies, the heroes lose in the beginning but have an epic victory in the end anyhow. That’s the only thing Hollywood ever taught us.”

The TPB is asking for Sweden to be banned from the Internet according to Paul Glazowski.

TPB will evidently be “asking…international ISPs to block traffic to Sweden. Yes, that’s right! We want Sweden to be banned from the Internet.” Brokep’s explanation for such a request? “The ISPs need to block Sweden in order to protect their own customers integrity since everything they do on Swedish ISPs’ networks will be logged and searched.”

According to Peter Sunde Pirate Bay will stay on the Web as the site was not on trial. The four will be appealing the verdict so that final, final decision could be years off.

Torrent Freak reports:

While the judge won’t be getting any flowers for this verdict, Roger Wallis who spoke in favor of The Pirate Bay at their trial and received a mountain of floral tributes in return, noted, “This will cause a flood of court cases. Against all the ISPs. Because if these guys assisted in copyright infringements, then the ISPs also did. This will have huge consequences. The entire development of broadband may be stalled.”

Bush signed-off on stinging insect interrogation method at Gitmo

New reports coming out show that former President Bush approved the use of insects to be placed in a confinement box during the interrogation of Al Qaeda official Abu Zubaydah. The secrets the CIA wanted to be buried are now out for public display.
The rules that Bush’s administration approved from CIA interrogation are the stuff of nightmares; being thrown against a wall 30 times was allowed as was denying prisoners sleep for more than a week.

The legal memorandum for the CIA was prepared by Assistant Attorney General Jay Bybee. It reviewed 10 techniques that could have been used to interrogate Zubaydah and determined they were not torture under U.S. criminal law.

Those techniques included attention grasp, walling (hitting a detainee against a flexible wall), facial hold, facial slap, cramped confinement, wall standing, stress positions, sleep deprivation, insects placed in a confinement box, and water-boarding. The memorandum was written on Aug. 1, 2002.

According to reports, Bybee says the approved torture techniques would not prove to have lasting effects on the prisoners. The Christian Science Monitor reports:

“In the absence of prolonged mental harm, no severe mental pain or suffering would have been inflicted, and the use of these procedures would not constitute torture within the meaning of the statute,” Mr. Bybee wrote.

On Thursday as President Obama absolved CIA officers Thursday he in effect tied his hands to the torture used on the prisoners at Gitmo.

The CIA wanted the memos kept secret. Obama however wants the United States to be able to move beyond “a dark and painful chapter in our history.” Unleashing the cruel skeletons from the political closet is one way of doing so.

Time quotes the memorandum on the use of insects.

“You [the CIA] would like to place Zubaydah in a cramped confinement box with an insect. You have informed us [the Department of Justice] that he appears to have a fear of insects. In particular, you would like to tell Zubaydah that you intend to place a stinging insect into the box with him. You would, however, place a harmless insect in the box. You have orally informed us that you would in fact place a harmless insect such as a caterpillar in the box with him.”

The CIA is said to have never used the above method according to another declassified memo also released on Thursday. It has been verified that water-boarding was used to interrogate Zubaydah.

The legal rules that Bybee had written out are no longer used by the United States. President Obama signed under an executive order his first week that all CIA interrogators must follow the Army Field Manual’s rules.

Kansas City Star quotes CIA director Leon Panetta:

He said: “The fact remains that CIA’s detention and interrogation effort was authorized and approved by our government. For that reason, as I have continued to make clear, I will strongly oppose any effort to investigate or punish those who followed the guidance of the Department of Justice.”

Human Rights Watch wants more to be done though now that the secret documents have been released.

UPI reports:

“President Obama said there was nothing to gain ‘by laying blame for the past,’” said Stacy Sullivan, counterterrorism advisor at Human Rights Watch. “But prosecuting those responsible for torture is really about ensuring that such crimes don’t happen in the future.”

The Rebuilding of WTC Office Towers Could Take Decades

Because of the recession, failing real estate market and building costs the construction of office towers at the site of the WTC could be put off for decades. Analysis projections show that just one skyscraper could be built and occupied by 2036.
The Port Authority is dealing with the recession just like much of the world. Developer Larry Silverstein has been unable to secure financing for all of the towers and there is only $1 billion left in insurance money to pay for their construction.

The more the recession hits the harder the money will be to complete the project. About a week ago the Port Authority did agree to back about $800 million in financing but will that be enough.

AP reports:

Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who has committed city office space to the one tower the Port Authority agreed to back, said Thursday the 2036 date is “just a number out of the blue.”

“My hope is that things will get done a lot quicker. … The problem is that you sort of have to do everything or at least part of everything because if you don’t, then nothing works.

With the exodus of heavy hitters like Merrill Lynch and AIG from downtown Manhattan there is question also as to the need for the towers until about 2013. The Port Authority is now saying until the demand for office space is here the second two towers shouldn’t be completed. But considering the wording of the original leasing documents that would put Silverstein in jeopardy.

CBS 4 reports:

“The Port Authority’s obligation is to rebuild the site in the public interest based on the economic reality today,” the agency said in a statement. “That starts with keeping the memorial and the other public infrastructure on the timeline and budget we’ve committed to, and it extends to building the right amount of office space to meet what is now a very different market downtown.”

Silverstein has been asking the Port Authority to guarantee the financing of two of his towers. By doing so Janno Lieber, who is overseeing the trade center site, the Port Authority could collect for 90 years of the remaining lease that Silverstein has.

The Seattle Times quotes Lieber:

“Most important, from a public standpoint, this allows the Port Authority to honor its commitment to rebuild lower Manhattan – a promise that the agency has made many times since 9/11,” he added.

Analysis prepared by Cushman & Wakefield for the Port Authority sees that while two of the towers could be built by 2013, the second tower would not be fully leased until 2025. The third tower wouldn’t be built and leased until 2035.

Because of the wording of the lease Silverstein has to have all three towers built by 2013 or he will forfeit the rights to them.

AP reports:

“The option to build ’stumps’ instead of gleaming office towers must be rejected, as it would be a failure from which the site as a whole may not soon recover,” wrote Gary La Barbera, president of the Building & Construction Trades Council of Greater New York.

The new proposals have not yet been rejected by Silverstein but he’s not going to sing on the dotted line until a new deal is in place.

Silverstein is currently being paid $300,000 a day in late fees for not having the land completely excavated.

The Seattle Times reports:

“If you don’t have commercial tenants demanding the space, I don’t see it being developed,” Kathryn Wylde, chief executive of the Partnership for New York business group said. But she wondered at projections like the 2030 date, saying demand for new office space in lower Manhattan would happen long before that.

“It may take five years, it may take 10 years,” she said, “but it’s not going to take 21 years.”

CBC Starting New Age of 24-Hour News Coverage

CBC News announced Thursday that it reorganizing its way of news gathering with an emphasis on 24-hour-a-day coverage. The news department is forging ahead despite dwindling funding and a smaller staff.
This comes at a time when the department has to deal with a cut of $7 million and losses of more than 70 jobs.

Just weeks ago, on March 25 the CBC announced it had to cut $171 million from operating costs for 2009-2010 because of shortfalls from advertising revenue.

The new direction has been in the works for the past two years. Because of the reorganization of the department, the restructuring is much more urgent.

CBC reports:

“We’ve been investing across all platforms and trying to better serve Canadians in the way they live,” she said in an interview. “At the same time, we’re dealing with incredible [financial] pressure. What we’ve been trying to do is look at how we work and what we do and do it more efficiently,” said Jennifer McGuire, interim head of news.

According to McGuire, local news service will be improved. Regional service will be worked out over the next two months. She pointed out that the CBC has been too slow on news coverage because no one has been monitoring early morning news.

While CBC plans to focus on 24-hour-a-day coverage, there are fewer people to handle the workload.

Journalists car-jacked in Detroit while reporting city struggles

Two Dutch reporters got an inside look at crime when they went to Detroit last week to report about the city and its struggles. The journalists were carjacked near Ford Field.
Detroit News reports the pair say that they will remain fans of the city. Jacqueline Marris, 50, and freelance photographer Daimon Xanthopoulos, 29, are used to being in rough and tumble towns. They have covered war-torn Africa and the Middle East. The story in Detroit begins on Monday on VPRO.

The series will be telling the resilience of Detroit residents despite living in a decaying city.

“It’s so (expletive) sad people have to live among idiots like that,” said Jacqueline Maris, 50, an award-wining senior foreign correspondent for VPRO, The Netherlands’ national public radio.

The two were at a former housing project when they were approached by armed gunmen wanting their car. The car was recovered later that day just blocks from the crime scene.

“I don’t like hit-and-run journalism,” Maris said, “I feel a lot of the reports I see and read of Detroit are like that. I always want to do stories about people and go out in the streets, whether it’s Africa, the Middle East or the projects of New Orleans. We found many people who give hope to (Detroit). They are not waiting for the City Council or anyone to take some initiative to change things for the better. It is those people who make up most of Detroit, not those stupid criminals.”

During Maris’ stay in the northern city she encountered drugs, gangs and garbage. The dirty side of Detroit struck her hard.

UPI reports:

“It’s very shocking. Wherever you go you see the houses that were once the houses of dreams. You see once there was a thriving life there,” Maris said, describing Detroit as a city where “many people are trapped.”

Flying to a City Near You, Pandemics in the 21st Century (Part 2)

There is no question that we will have to deal with an epidemic at some point. In part one of this series we looked at the hows of what can start a pandemic, now it’s time to look at how it will spread to Canada.
The second half of Pandemic flight path: How infectious disease spreads through the global airline transportation network was a lecture by Dr. Kamran Khan, Research Scientist at the Centre for Research on Inner City Health St. Michael’s Hospital.

When SARS hit Toronto Dr. Khan wanted to see if it was time to devote his life to how global population mobility was the key to pandemics. After running the numbers back and forth he knew that this was the way pandemics will travel in the 21st century. He had found his calling.

The way an epidemic moves throughout the world has changed in the last 50 years. In the past it was fairly easy to contain certain diseases. That was before you could fly from one point on the earth to any other point within 24 hours. Air travel has changed the way diseases flow. As Dr. Khan puts it, “It’s the perfect storm for infectious disease.”

Most diseases take a little bit of time for symptoms to develop. As we jet from place to place some passenger could be carrying a deadly virus within and no visible clues showing. By the time that the person is gasping for breath several cities globally could be having sick people spreading the virus without a clue. Welcome to the 21st Century Pandemic. Modern man has created the perfect route of traffic for wide spread death.

Let’s start with SARS. The disease started in Guangdong Province, China in November 2002.
It didn’t seem like anything really important when a farmer died at hospital. China didn’t even call WHO in about it. Then others got sick. An American flying out of China got sick on a flight to Singapore and died in hospital in Hanoi. SARS was getting ready to show the world something about how diseases travel today.

A group flew into Toronto from Hong Kong. They didn’t look sick. But as we know looks can be deadly and deceiving. As they crossed the ocean and the border those passengers were carrying a ticking time bomb in them. SARS had entered Canadian ground. In the end there were 438 cases of SARS, 44 of those cases resulted in death.

It put Toronto on the map and not in the best light. North America had it’s first real glimpse of a pandemic and fear was among us.

What’s interesting to note in the case of SARS, all the clusters were in industrialized areas. There were no cases in Africa or South America. There’s a reason for this. Air traffic. When looking at the air traffic of SARS it’s interesting to note that of every imported case in Toronto not one came from a flight that had multiple stops. Almost all of the cases of imported SARS came from non-stop flights.

What’s also interesting to note is just yesterday a case of suspected SARS came down in the wires in a small town in Russia. We have changed, we now know to be on the look out of what’s going on in our back doors. Because of SARS we now have better plans in motion to stop pandemics in their paths but it took the lives of 44 to get to where we are now.

We like to travel. We also like to get to new places quickly. This is not going to change, we’re not going to go back to the days of horse and buggy. While air travel has helped humans be able to cross the globe quickly it has also compromised global public health security. We have to be ready in advance. That’s why the Bio-Diaspora Project was started. It’s goal is to understand aircraft and how they move in aspects to global health.

“The airline industry is like a heart. Within the arteries are people going places through the body.”- Dr. Khan

There are 35,000 international airports around the world. The locations are dense in some areas and farther apart in others like South America and Africa. Most of the world’s airports are in the Northern Hemisphere. There are few places in the world that a Canadian boarding at Pearson can’t get to quickly or non-stop. One of those places though is sub-terrain Africa. You can’t get there directly from Canada. That’s an important piece of the pandemic puzzle.

When we in Toronto consider air traffic and pandemic we have to group ourselves with the United States. The concerns are the same. Fifty percent of international travel that comes into Pearson came via the states. The United States accounts for 13% of international traffic world wide, Canada accounts for 3%. Those guys in Europe travel internationally a lot more than we do. And they come here, as do people from Asia. In Ontario we can get to Asia, Europe, a few cities in Australia and the United States on a non-stop airline.

Now we have to look at the flows of air travel. Those flows are much like arterial blood pressure tracing. Time and events shape the flow patterns, after 9/11 and SARS the flows into Pearson were lower. Since 2006 though the flow is back up. Certain time periods also have larger peaks, the 3rd quarter of every year has the highest spikes of air traffic.

What this tells researchers is timing when it comes to a pandemic means everything. If a pandemic hits in the Northern Hemisphere during the third quarter of the year we are in BIG TROUBLE. More people will be exposed and carry the disease farther around the world than at any other time of the year. Researchers can also tell us where these pandemics will hit, not the little villages but the major hubs of international travel. In Canada that means in order; Toronto, Vancouver, Calgary, Montreal, Ottawa and Halifax. If you live in the Yukon you are pretty much safe from an epidemic this century.

The Bio-Diaspora Project is tracking air traffic. The researchers know where people are coming and going to. They have access to tickets, not personal information just locations. They know in Canada that each city has international hot spots. In Toronto the only African hot spot is Johannesburg, South Africa. In Montreal there are more African hot spots, in Vancouver it’s East Asia. This tracing of where the hot spots are located is important, many new diseases come from these areas.

The project will soon be allowed to study the flight traffic in real time. They will be able to have true data on weather changes and other factors in travel times. They will be able to work on emergency responce in a way that has never happened before.

Now let’s get down to brass tacks.

“No single country can protect itself.”- Dr. Khan

WHO has started planning for an international outbreak. Their vision is: An integrated global alert and response system for epidemics and other public health emergencies based on strong national public health systems and capacity and an effective international system for coordinated response. WHO has a treaty on how to prepare for outbreaks. The question is whether or not the treaty will do the trick according to Dr. Khan.

Threats to Canada

First off the main threat to Canada is natural pathogens that already exist and are in place. They just haven’t taken hold yet. There are also threats when labs that house the worst of the worst viruses and bacterias are breached. The most difficult to predict though is the threat of an intentional international release of pathogen.

Now it’s time for the truths. At this point we are still in the putting out fires phase. We do have the tools to start doing more than that but they are in their infancy. Once the disease has taken off the best we can hope for is to have the measures in place to stop the front line, those who are the first to get ill.

There is no doubt that we in Toronto are vulnerable. Pearson International Airport has the 4th highest volume of traffic in North America, more than Atlanta or Washington D.C. We are the front lines in Canada.

To be prepared we have to stay alert. But here’s some good news, the chances of an outside threat coming into Toronto are limited to 13 countries. Okay the bad news is that those same thirteen countries were also the ones that dealt with the SARS epidemic. Viruses of the 21st century have a flight path. Hong Kong, Eastern Asia, Sydney, Europe, LAX, New York, Toronto, Vancouver… the more industrialized a city, the greater the risk.

Fear is not productive. We have to prepare not only in Toronto or North America but globally. We have to be alert to disease patterns and alert other nations what is going on. This is not the time to think in terms of borders, pathogens have no borders.

“Fear isn’t productive. What researchers are trying to do with research is. Stop looking at the limits of borders and start up streaming the international realm. It’s the way of the future. We must be proactive to look upstream when it comes to pandemics.”- Dr. Khan

That means the people of the world have to understand that it takes money to stop disease flows. The richest countries like Canada will have to use money for under developed nations to save itself. When tax payers complain that $10 million was sent to Africa to work on TB that money is not only helping those in Africa but also in the long run the people of Canada. As Dr. Gardam puts it, most of the TB cases in Canada came from across the border. If we don’t help in those nations then we are setting Canada up for a huge fall.

Dr. Kahn also pointed out that clean water and sanitation has to be worked as a global partnership.

“We have to reach the point to prepare in advance. I think as we spread more domestically and far less upstream we see larger problems. The international common good will move us up stream. I see us as Canadians moving in that direction.”

Science has to sell the government though and it’s a hard sale point. Researchers have to show the government that it’s important to the economy to be pro-active.

So are we ready for the next pandemic?

Dr. Gardam says he’s more confident now than ever before. Canada has learned from the SARS epidemic what has to be in place. We are heading in the right direction. We just have to hope that the rest of the globe is also heading there as fast as we are.

But we don’t know the real answer yet. We can’t. The next big pandemic has yet to hit.

Flying to a City Near You: Pandemics in the 21st Century (Part 1)

What is the future of a pandemic? In Toronto do we need to worry about the diseases of Africa like Ebola or are other diseases more likely to attack the city? These important questions are on the minds on doctors that track the course of disease.
Wednesday night at Bar Italia in Toronto the CIHR and Saint Michael’s Hospital presented a Café Scientifique open to the public on “Pandemic Flight Path: How Infectious Disease Spread through the Global Airline Transportation Network”. I was able to attend the event. Radio personality Bob McDonald of CBC’s Quirks & Quarks hosted the forum that included discussions from Dr. Michael Gardam and Dr. Kamran Khan.

In part one we will be looking at the hows of a pandemic. The basic elements that are in place to give diseases the chance to spread like wildfire. Part two will deal with how these diseases will come to Canada.

Doctor Michael Gardam is the Director of Infectious Disease Prevention and Control at Ontario Agency for Health Protection and Promotion. He informed the audience that “you know I am an expert because I am wearing a suit,”
and thus started a two hour evening dealing with the issues of how and what will happen when a pandemic reaches Canada and more pointedly reaches Toronto. It’s not a matter of if, we know that at some point another pandemic will hit the city. If anyone questions that they only need to go back a few years and remember the SARS epidemic. That epidemic has taught Canada what is already working and what has to be in place in time for the next killer disease wave.

When it comes down to it pandemics have certain elements that make them famous. One is genetics. Take the flu, an ordinary little virus that researchers know quite a bit about. Every year they can make a vaccine that will protect most of the population against most influenza. Now the problem comes from the fact that the flu virus itself makes mistakes. As it constantly changes sometimes one of the mutations change in a way that makes it as a disease take off. This past year scientists saw that happen when a variant of the flu became able to survive Tamiflu. When that happens you have the chance of a major pandemic running wild.

Another disease that is fairly common that has caused over the course of time is the bacterium Clostridium difficile. It’s been around for decades and at one time was a fairly harmless little fella. That is not always the cause today, case in point; recently Hamilton, Ontario saw the closure of a hospital wing when two cases were discovered. C Diff and Staph viruses have been able to become immune to many antibodies and proved to be a heck of a fighter. When it attacks the body it can bring on its toxic elements and rapidly spiral out of control. Because it causes severe diarrhea it has the means to quickly move through a population if the elements are right.

Tuberculosis (TB) is an old name when it comes to pandemics but it’s a true contender. While the disease can be managed often by medicines those same medicines have created a disease that has been able to create an immunity. Scientists know how it happens and the whys even. Take the Russia of yesterday, old communistic Russia had one thing going for it, a decent medical plan for its comrades. Those who had TB had the means to the drugs and were getting better. Than came the fall of the Communistic Bloc and people who couldn’t rely on being able to get their TB drugs. TB will mutate if not kept in check and it did. The cases of TB that started to appear were resistant to antibiotics.

Researchers know where and when TB will emerge. War. War brings out TB like a back stabbing mistress. She enters into the refugee camps where people are packed in tightly and coughing on each other. Hello epidemic.

We also have the ultimate killer, Ebola Virus. If you want to set up a disease that could in theory wipe out the world Ebola is your baby. It kills almost everyone that it touches. Quickly. In Africa where it is most often seen it uses the simplest tools, man and how man responds to death. Much of Ebola’s spread has had to do with the burial rituals in Africa. Once it takes hold it goes quickly through a village and takes no prisoners. The one thing that makes it so frightening is the one advantage that man has. It is deadly but too deadly. It can’t keep going because once it starts no one escapes, and it stays where it is. Another factor is its location which will be gone into more depth in part two of this article.

Next we have to deal with the biological aspects of a pandemic. One of the more well known biological epidemics is Mad Cow Disease. Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy is by no means a new disease. It’s been a fatal disease for decades in cattle and other animals. How it spread to humans though is because of man. Man farms cattle, man feeds cattle with cattle. That also isn’t new. What was new though was the processing that took place in the UK that lead to human cases. Old disease, little changes, epidemics. It’s simple math actually.

Next we have the social aspect of a pandemic. As the world becomes more modern more people move from rural settings into urban ones. That simply means more people in smaller places. In developed nations this isn’t a problem. The problem comes when you have all these people together and a lack of clean sanitation. It’s the perfect breeding ground for diseases like cholera.

As Dr. Gardam said Wednesday night, “Don’t put sewage and drinking water together.”

The cure to these epidemics is simple and yet it has not taken hold in countries that still have their drinking water and sewage plants next door to each other. Clean water, proper sewage and basic health care can stop many pandemics in their path.

The last step we have in a world-wide pandemic is politics. Political policies can help keep a disease alive or stop it in its tracks. When TB changed in Russia it wasn’t just the disease but the change in politics. When the Spanish Flu spread through Philadelphia in 1918 it wasn’t just the flu in charge, so was the return home of WWI vets and parades that the government wanted regardless of what doctors warned them could happen.

When all the factors are in place a pandemic will happen. In part two we will look at how it will come to Toronto and the rest of North America.

Layoffs at Toronto’s Art Gallery of Ontario Prompts Protest

There are threats that more than 100 jobs could be in the balance at the Art Gallery of Ontario (AGO) due to restructuring and organizational changes. Those changes may be the result of a 18-month review that studied a number of U.S. museums.
It may be better news though for AGO as new funding increased by the government has come in. Because of the funding the Ontario Public Service Employees Union is saying that AGO must reverse its decision to lay of staff. But will they?

On April 8 the Ontario government added $8.6 million to this year’s funding for the gallery and added an annual operating funding of $10 million.

That didn’t make any difference. On April 2 and April 6 the gallery laid off 26 full-time employees. Many of those who lost their jobs had been with the gallery for decades. They were all in specialty fields. According to literature that OPSEU was handing out on the street the total years of experience of those who were laid off totaled 275. One of the reasons the second lay off came according to Union Stewart Paula Whitmore was on April 2 the AGO had it’s annual fund raiser. Some of those that were let go the following Monday were part of the crew that worked long hours to put the fund raiser on. Ms. Whitmore said she knew of one employee who was laid off who had toiled 16 hour days in prepping for the event and then was without a job the next Monday.

The Union also contends that the layoffs came when the management of AGO knew the additional funding would be coming. The Ontario public Service Employees Union believes that that funding the the AGO received is a good enough reason to reverse the lay offs. All of the Union staff that were let go were in highly skilled positions. Ms. Whitmore told me that the Union is concerned that the gallery’s quality of work will suffer as a result of the lay offs.

“Who’s going to be looking out for the public interest. The collection belongs to the public. The quality of the art will be suffering because those who were full-time employees and skilled have been laid off and part-time employees will have to try to have to do the work of full time employees.”

On Wednesday, April 15 the OPSEU and members of the public picketed the gallery starting at 5:30 PM. The Union chose Wednesday night because it is Toronto’s free night each week at the AGO.

Marketwire reports:

OPSEU President Warren (Smokey) Thomas asked for an immediate halt to the layoffs. “We will not stand by while the AGO pretends to care about the public and at the same time uses union-busting tactics against decent working people who have thrown their lives into this work on behalf of the public,” he said.

OPSEU and members of the public will picket the gallery at 5:30 pm on Wednesday, April 15.

“I don’t know how Teitelbaum can look himself in the mirror after saying to our staff only last week that the new AGO is a wondrous thing, brimming with life and deep potential to change the way people experience the world,” Thomas said.
Executive Director of Public Affairs Susan Bloch-Nevitte says that the gallery only knew that there was the possibility of funding. That knowledge though wasn’t all that was in consideration when it came down to the lay offer. The changes were already in place regardless of if funding came in. It’s part of a restructuring period with the gallery, one that many other galleries and museums are also having to undergo to keep afloat during these times.

“It’s never easy to have to let employees go,” Bloch-Nevitte said, “No one likes laying folks off. It’s not like yippee bring it on. But the fact is the world is changing and so is AGO. It’s a different world and economic factors are different. We can’t stop change.”

Bloch-Nevitte is correct. The times are changing not only for AGO but for museums world wide. Membership and patronage have declined. At this time it’s not a wise idea in bringing in a lot of new works when the gallery has 23,000 pieces of art, many of which have not been seen by the public yet. It’s time to bring more attention to AGO’s permanent works. That doesn’t mean that there will no new pieces being bought, just fewer. Because of this some positions at AGO have had to be streamlined. In the end 23 people of the 600 employees had to be laid off in an effort to cut costs. No one entire department was let go and the lay offs affected many different areas.

When I asked Ms. Bloch-Nevitte why it was the older employees that were let go she said that while some of those who were laid off had been with AGO for years others had not. It was more of deciding where the existing employees fit into the new structuring of the AGO and who sadly didn’t fit in. What the gallery hopes to be doing in the future is adding new positions that those who have been laid off will be able to come back to work. That will take some time though.

The truth is AGO is changing with the times, like other fields in the arts where the recession and public interest effects the tides. There will be a newer on-line focus with the gallery as well as social media and networking aspects which will result in new career opportunities.

The management of the AGO has a hard road ahead. They have to be able to make provisions for quality and still be able to run a sustainable gallery.

Polk County Jail Inmates Charged $2 per Night

If you do the crime in Polk County Florida you better be ready to pay for your time staying at the county jail. Starting on Wednesday inmates are being charged for their cells.
The $2 fee per night is estimated to bring in between $300,000 and $500,000 a year for the prison. That money will go towards offsetting the costs of food, clothing and laundry.

When the prisoners enter the jail an account is set up. The fees will be deducted
from that account or they will have a negative balance.

No one will be denied medical care of hygiene products. In fact the fees may reduce canteen sales.

The store funds help provide rehabilitation programs, exercise equipment and television sets paid for through the inmate commissary fund.

Several other Florida prisons have set fees for daily cell ‘rental.’

Polk inmates cost tax payers about $52 a day. The new program goes along with current programs in place. Inmates are charged a $30 booking fee and $9 for a hygiene kit and underwear. Those that can pay are also charged for their medical care and work programs.

With the average stay in the jail at 34 days the cost is about $100 for the mandatory fees. That’s about the same price as one night in a local motel.

Sheriff Grady Judd has some good advice for those who are complaining about the fees the Lakeland Ledger reports.

“There are always going to be some of them who whine and complain. My answer to them is stay out of county jail,” he said. “Behave your-self, quit violating the law and you don’t have to come to jail.”

Reports Of Afghan Women Being Stoned At Protest

There are reports coming in that Afghan women were stoned with gravel and small rock pellets at a protest against marriage laws in Kabul Wednesday.
About 300 women protesting the new marriage law in Kabul were attacked by 1,000 Afghans on Wednesday. The women were stoned by the mob as the police tried to separate the two groups.

The new law allows a man to demand to have sex with his wife every four days unless she is ill or would be harmed by intercourse. The new law also says when and why a wife is allowed to leave her own home alone.

The new law would apply only to the country’s Shiites but many groups fear that it will start a return to the Taliban oppression that women suffered from 1996-2001.

The world has been reacting to the new laws that deal with marital relations, divorce, inheritance and family matters for the country’s Shia Muslim minority. Some critics have said that the new revisions are even stricter than those in place when the Taliban regime was in power.

The Telegraph reports that organizers had called on Afghan women to “join us strongly to reach our voice to all over the world”, but found themselves outnumbered by vocal and angry opponents.

The protest on Wednesday scheduled by Women’s right activists was mostly attended by young women. The larger crowd was comprised of both men and women who shouted to drown out the chants of the women’s protest.

The New York Daily News reports:

“You are a dog! You are not a Shiite woman!” one man shouted to a young woman in a headscarf holding aloft a banner that said, “We don’t want Taliban law.” The woman did not shout back at the man, but told him: “This is my land and my people.”

Many of those who wanted to be part of the protest were blocked by men who refused to allow them to pass.

Female MPs have said that the law passed with very little discuss or debate in parliament after a few Shia MPs championed the cause.

News 24 reports:

The government of President Hamid Karzai has said the Shi-ite family law is being reviewed by the Justice Department and will not be implemented in its current form. Governments and rights groups around the world have condemned the legislation, and President Barack Obama has labelled it “abhorrent”.

Shia religious leaders have defended the ruling and are angry about what they call Western meddling. The Shia population in Afghanistan make up 10 to 20% of the 30 million citizens.

Study Shows More CEOs Got Raises in 2008

The recession may be in full swing but for CEO’s it appears most have escaped unscathed. In 2008 more U.S. chief executives got a raise instead of losing their jobs, according to an AFL-CIO survey released on Tuesday.
Wall Street may have been under the microscope this year with federal tax dollars bailing out major financial firms using the Troubled Asset Recovery Program. It seems though that the bail outs may have helped those at the top continue being on top of the pay check food chain.

The executive pay study of major companies by the AFL-CIO didn’t just use the amount of dollars on pay checks to calculate total pay. The total figures used included stock options granted to CEOs but not yet vested.

Vikram Pandit, Citigroup Inc CEO therefore made $38 million in 2008. Citigroup was one of the banks granted a huge portion of the bail out, $45 billion.

Yahoo Finance reports:

“When it comes to CEO pay, many companies continue to hew to the fiction of pay for performance,” said Daniel Pedrotty, director of the AFL-CIO’s Office of Investment.

The survey used data from 946 companies in the Russell 3000 index with 2008 information available. According to the results 480 executives were taking home more at the end of 2008 than at the beginning. 463 of the executives did take a cut in pay.

The median CEO salary rose 7% in 2008. It wasn’t all bad news for those who took a cut in pay. Compensation packages averaged $3.9 for those CEOs.

The AFL-CIO also launched a web site that shows how the CEOs of the US fare compared to their workers. After you check out the differences in pay you may want to try out the game feature on the site, Boot the CEO!

Child Molester Appears To Have Bitten Off Own Penis

A convicted child molester was found in New York a victim of sexual self-mutilation. It appears that the man had bitten off the tip of his own penis.
Damiene Iriarte was taken to Brooklyn Hospital Center for treatment after being found naked and bleeding behind a Brooklyn building.

Iriarte was convicted of raping a 13-year-old child in Suffolk County in 2003. He had also arrested in 2002 for violating an order of protection that a former girlfriend had taken out on him.

The New York Daily News reports:

“How he did it? Limber, I guess. Not the work of a sane mind,” a police source said.

Woman Shoots Husband After He Threatened Family

A Winter Haven, Florida woman shot her husband Tuesday morning in self-defense. He was taken to hospital after being shot several times by his wife.
Dawn Christoff, 35, allegedly shot her husband after he loaded a gun and threatened to kill his family. Police found evidence that the man was planning on shooting several family members that resided at the residence.

Before Dawn Christoff bravely fired upon her husband he loaded his weapon. As he put each bullet into the chamber he told those present who the bullet was meant for. After the gun was loaded he aimed it at his wife. He never had the chance to fire as Mrs. Christoff was also armed and defended herself.

Mrs. Christoff was not charged by the police for the shooting.

The Lakeland Ledger reports:

“Prior to the shooting he armed himself with a handgun and began to load the weapon, stating which member of his family each bullet was intended for,” said statement from police.

Troy Christoff was charged with five counts of attempted first-degree murder with a firearm. Christoff was released from Lakeland Regional Hospital under police custody. He has been booked into Polk County Jail without bond.

Troy Christoff has been arrested four times prior for battery, disorderly intoxication, aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, possession of methamphetamine, possession of cannabis, driving under the influence and violation of parole.

Opinion: Get Out Your Fighting Claws-Foxx and Cyrus Square Off

Jamie Foxx isn’t making fans with the Cyrus family after dissing Miley. Now instead of one person acting like a teen who was two are in a battle to take first place.
The feud between Foxx and Miley started when they young teen told Ryan Seacrest that she wanted to meet Radiohead after the Grammys. When told that the band wasn’t going to meet with her Cyrus showed her teen years with a little rant.

“The band doesn’t really do that.” “I left ‘cause I was so upset. I wasn’t going to watch. Stinkin’ Radiohead! I’m gonna ruin them, I’m going to tell everyone.” the singer further said.

The band got wind of her harsh words and suggested that when she grows up, she shouldn’t feel like she has a sense of entitlement.

And that was that until Foxx added a little vulgar fuel to the fires.

Softpedia reports:

“Jamie Foxx had some not-so-nice words for Miley Cyrus during his weekend Sirius radio show ‘The Foxxhole,’ judging by an audio posted on YouTube. During a discussion criticizing Miley, 16, for being upset at not getting to meet Radiohead backstage at the Grammys, Foxx, 41, told her to get a gum transplant and to ‘grow up… Get like Britney Spears and do some heroin… get some crack in your pipe… Catch chlamydia on a bicycle seat.” the aforementioned publication writes of the actor’s on-air outburst. The entire tirade was, as noted above, posted on YouTube.

Like the kid on the video, I agree. Come on Foxx, this is a teenage girl. They spout out stuff without thinking. They aren’t adults yet. You on the other hand are. The comments you fired off are not becoming of a man who has a child of the same age. Would you want another adult man saying that to your daughter?

Someone here needs to grow up and it isn’t a 16-year-old. She still has time that is scheduled in for that. That is as long as she doesn’t ruin her life taking your advice.

North Korea Kicks Out Nuclear Inspectors

North Korea has ordered International Atomic Energy inspectors out of the nation Tuesday. Thus ends the monitoring of a research reactor at Yongbyon. In theory the reactor is capable of reprocessing fuel rods to make plutonium.
It’s been an ongoing battle between the world and North Korea since October over the use of the Experimental Nuclear Reactor Plant and the Nuclear Fuel Fabrication Plant at Yongbyon.

IAEA received a statement from North Korea on Tuesday that the nation was ceasing cooperation with the IAEA and that the agency was to remove its containment and surveillance equipment. This follows an announcement that North Korea plans to reactivate all of its nuclear facilities and resume production of nuclear fuel.

International Business Times published the statement sent out from the DPRK Foreigh Ministry on Tuesday.

“First, the DPRK resolutely rejects the unjust action taken by the UNSC wantonly infringing upon the sovereignty of the DPRK and seriously hurting the dignity of the Korean people.

“Second, there would be no need to hold six-party talks which the DPRK has attended.

“Now that the six-party talks have turned into a platform for infringing upon the sovereignty of the DPRK and seeking to force the DPRK to disarm itself and bring down the system in it the DPRK will never participate in the talks any longer nor it will be bound to any agreement of the six-party talks.

“Third, the DPRK will bolster its nuclear deterrent for self-defense in every way.

“It will take the measure for restoring to their original state the nuclear facilities which had been disabled under the agreement of the six-party talks and putting their operation on a normal track and fully reprocess the spent fuel rods churned out from the pilot atomic power plant as part of it.”

It is expected that U.S. experts and monitors for IAEA will leave North Korea before the end of the week.

On Monday the United Nations Security Council adopted a nonbinding presidential statement condemning Pyongyang’s April 5 rocket launch as a violation of a resolution banning the country from all missile activity and demanding no further launches.

North Korea maintains that the rocket was to send a satellite into space. Japan, the United States and other countries believe that the launch was a cover for a long-range ballistic missile test.

Kyodo News reports:

”North Korea’s announced threat to withdraw from the six-party talks and restart its nuclear program is a serious step in the wrong direction,” White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said at a news briefing.
”North Korea will not find acceptance by the international community unless it verifiably abandons its pursuit of nuclear weapons,” he said.

North Korea is carrying though earlier threats that it would withdraw from international disarmament talks if the UN criticized the launch.

The Toronto Star reports:

“The six-party talks have lost the meaning of their existence, never to recover,” the North’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement, declaring it would never participate in the talks again and is no longer bound to previous agreements.

No Angels singer arrested for having unprotected sex

A member of the German pop group No Angels was arrested for allegedly having unprotected sex even though she knew she was HIV positive.
The singer, Nadja Benaissa is accused of having unprotected sex with three men from 2004 to 2006. One of the men has since tested positive for HIV.

Benaissa was arrested in Frankfurt on Saturday. She was there to give a solo performance.

No Angels is a German band that gained popularity after winning a TV talent competition in 2000. No Angels has sold over 5 million records. The band split up in December 2003 but reformed in 2007. They finished last at the 2008 Eurovision Song Contest where they represented Germany with their song Disappear.

Benaissa has been charged with dangerous bodily harm. She is being detained because the judge believes that she would repeat the alleged charge if she would be released. She could face up to 10 years in prison if she is convicted.

Khalid Schroeder, manager of No Angels, refused to comment.

Ethanol May Require More Water

Ethanol derived from corn requires much more water than was previously thought, according to a study by the researchers at the University of Minnesota. That water need also differs greatly from state to state depending on regional irrigation needs.
Prior studies had said that the water needed to convert one liter of corn-derived into fuel at all stages should be 263 to 784 liters, the newer study changes that theory. It states that 5 to 2,138 liters of water per liter of ethanol will be needed.

That’s a vast difference that could make the production a bigger problem than other issues which have arisen. Environmental concerns from pollution from fertilizer to greenhouse-gas emission from the production of the ethanol could be a deterrent for the product.

There is also the concern that the corn needed would be competing for food crops.

Technology Review reports on the new study out in the journal Environmental Science and Technology:

“Ethanol consumes more water over time as corn production extends to regions that need extensive irrigation,” says Sangwon Suh, an assistant professor of biosystems engineering at the University of Minnesota and coauthor of the study. “That means more water is needed to produce a given unit of ethanol over time.”

Considering that ethanol uses more energy to be produce than it releases may leave this fuel as a dead end.

Even as the new information comes into play The U.S. Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 mandates that ethanol production increase from 34 billion liters in 2008 to 57 billion liters by 2015.

Jerry Schnoor of the University of Iowa, in Iowa City, says that ethanol producers are already planning additional production facilities in all states to meet the 2015 goals. “We’re already in an unsustainable situation in terms of water use, already drawing down aquifers like the Ogallala,” Schnoor says of the vast underground water source stretching from South Dakota to northern Texas. “This would exacerbate that decline if we expand in these irrigation states.”

Ethanol’s answer may become finding ways to make the fuel with alternative products like grass, wood and sawdust says Jerald L. Schnoor.

The study was funded in part by the Department of Energy and the state of Minnesota.

Study Shows Facebook Users Have Lower GPAs

Using Facebook may not be the best thing for students according to a survey of college students. It seems that those on Facebook tend to have lower grades than those not on the social network.
The survey asked 219 Ohio State students only about Facebook leaving out other social networking sites. The study was comprised of 102 undergraduates and 117 graduates during the summer and fall quarters of 2008. There were 148 Facebook accounts among those in the study.

While the study can not link the use of the social network to dumbing down students it does question how students on the site use their non-classroom time.

Live Science reports:

“I’m just saying that there’s some kind of relationship there, and there’s many third variables that need to be studied,” said Aryn Karpinski, an education researcher at Ohio State University.

Aryn Karpinski, a doctoral student at Ohio State does not use Facebook herself.

The study found that those on Facebook had GPAs in the 3.0 to 3.5 range on average compared to 3.5 to 4.0 averages of non-users. Facebook users tended to study less than the other students by six to ten hours. And who uses Facebook the most in university? More science, technology, engineering, math and business majors are updating their profiles than those in the social sciences and the humanities.

The study showed that those who worked at jobs tended to be on Facebook less than those involved in other extracurricular activities.

Computer World reports:

“There may be other factors involved, such as personality traits, that link Facebook use and lower grades,” she added. “It may be that if it wasn’t for Facebook, some students would still find other ways to avoid studying and would still get lower grades. But perhaps the lower GPAs could actually be because students are spending too much time socializing online.”

More undergrads (85 percent) are on the social network than grad students (52 percent).

Karpinski was bemused that students rose to defend their online activities. She took pains to make sure that the survey did not have a positive nor a negative bias. While Karpinski says her research was not biased she was not surprised at the results. She is quoted by Time.com:

“Maybe [Facebook users] are just prone to distraction. Maybe they are just procrastinators,” Karpinski told TIME.com in a phone interview on Monday.

The research will be presented at the annual meeting of the American Education Research Association on April 16.

The Canadian Press reports:

Katherine Giroux-Bougard, national chair of the Canadian Federation of Students, said the site has been a great tool in promoting activities on campus, and helps keep students engaged with issues they wouldn’t necessarily hear about elsewhere.

Robyn Gibson Seeking Divorce From Husband Mel

Mel Gibson’s wife Robyn has filed for divorce after 28 years of marriage at the Los Angeles Superior Court on Friday. She cited “irreconcilable differences” as to the reason for the divorce.
Just weeks ago tabloids had a field day when Gibson was photographed with Oksana, a Russian woman, during holiday. Mrs. Gibson who had in the past stood beside her husband though thick and thin seems to have finally had enough.

The recent rumors aren’t the first for Oksana and Mel. Last August the pair were photographed leaving his trailer on the set of Edge of Darkness.’ Gibson denied having an affair.

Though it may appear that the couple split over Mel playing the field, the reality is they separated on August 26, 2006. That coincides with the DUI arrest where Gibson made anti-Semitic slurs at the police.

The Daily Mail reports:

The incident definitely took a toll on his marriage,’ an acquaintance of the actor told the Daily Mail last night.

‘Robyn was humiliated by the fallout from that incident, as was his entire family. Mel never thought there was anything inappropriate about his relationships with other women.

‘In his mind, it was perfectly natural to have female friends – even if they were beautiful and often far younger than him. It was something his wife needed to deal with as far as he was concerned.’

Mel Gibson issued a statement on Monday reports WELT Online.

“Throughout our marriage and separation we have always strived to maintain the privacy and integrity of our family and will continue to do so.”

Mel and Robyn Gibson have seven children together. Their youngest is Thomas, 9. They married in 1980 just after “Mad Max” was released. Under United States law Robyn stand to be awarded half of Gibson’s £640 million fortune. The Gibson’s own a Catholic Church, a private island on Fiji, a ranch in Costa Rica and several properties in Malibu.

Robyn Gibson is seeking joint custody and spousal support along with legal fees. The couple did not have a prenuptial agreement.

Marilyn Chambers Dead At 56

Former model and porn star Marilyn Chambers was found in her Canyon Country home dead on Sunday night. The actress was 56.
Chambers was a former Ivory Snow model. Chamber’s daughter found her mother’s body at the family home. She was pronounced dead at the scene.

Chambers started her porn career in 1972. Chambers is best known for her roles in “Deep Throat” which is worked with Linda Lovelace and her breakout movie “Behind the Green Door”. Her films had actual acting in them instead of the porn norm of the day.

Chambers was barely struggling to make ends meet as an exotic dancer in San Francisco when she answered an ad from the paper seeking actresses for a ‘major’ motion picture. She went and filled out an application before finding out that the movie was pornographic.

The LA Times reports:

“I thought I’d take a shot,” she explained in a 1977 interview with the Los Angeles Times. “I was intrigued by the story. I really liked the fantasy involved. And I figured it might be my last chance at something really big.”

Her modeling career came to an abrupt end when her first movie “Behind the Green Door” was revealed to have the Ivory Snow model, whose products were touted to be “99 44/100% pure” showing all of her assets.

AP reports:

“She was the first crossover adult star. She was the Ivory Snow girl and when she decided to make an adult movie that was big news,” Steven Hirsch, co-CEO of adult filmmaker Vivid Entertainment Group, told The Associated Press on Monday.

“It was the first adult movie that was more than just a bunch of sex scenes,” Hirsch said of her breakthrough film. “She was an actress and she brought that ability to the set of ‘Behind the Green Door.’ That’s part of what made that movie so successful.”

Chambers still acted. Her last appearance was in Victor Franko’s low-budget independent movie “Solitaire.” The PG-rated film has yet to be released.

Ms. Chambers is survived by her daughter, McKenna Marie Taylor, her brother Bill Briggs and sister Jann Smith.

The cause of Chambers death has not been revealed but the police say that foul play was not suspected. An autopsy is pending.

Florida Seeking Death Penalty in Casey Anthony Case

Florida is seeking the death penalty in the case of Casey Anthony for the murder of her young daughter Caylee Marie. The trial is set to begin this fall.
The notice for the death penalty was filed Monday afternoon. The filing states that “sufficient aggravating circumstances exist to justify the imposition of the Death Penalty.”

Marti Mackenzie, spokeswoman for Anthony’s defense lawyer, just told the Orlando Sentinel: “This is not a death penalty case. We will do whatever is necessary to defend Casey Anthony from the state trying to take her life. We already have death qualified defense lawyers on our team and are prepared for a vigorous defense.”

It’s a risky move, in Florida juries rarely convict when a woman is on trial with the death penalty as the sentence.

Only two women have been executed in Florida, Judias Goodyear Buenoano and Aileen C. Wuornos. There is only one woman who sits on death row in the state, Tiffany Cole. She was convicted of the double murder of a Jacksonville couple.

Phil Spector convicted for Lana Clarkson’s death

Music heavy-weight Phil Spector has been convicted of second-degree murder in the death of Lana Clarkson six years ago. The jury took nine days of deliberations to convict Spector.
The music producer is said to have listened to the verdict in silence in a Los Angeles courtroom. He was remanded into custody until his sentencing on May 29.

The Beatles, the Righteous Brothers and Ike and Tina Turner are among the greats that Spector has worked with as a producer. He was often said to be a bully in the studio with a love of guns and an unusual personality.

Witnesses during the course of his murder trial told of being threatened at gunpoint as far back as the 1970’s.

A previous trial had resulted in a deadlocked jury.

Spector could face up to 18 years in prison when the judge announces his sentence.

The trial began in October with the prosecution portraying Spector as a sadistic misogynist.

Naheet Wins Top Prize On Reality TV Poet Contest

In Saudi Arabia there’s a new type of reality TV, poetry competitions ala American Idol. This year’s winner is 34-year-old Ziyad Hijab bin Naheet.
Naheet performed in front of an audience of 2,000 in studio and 17 million in front of their televisions to bring home the top prize of $1,361,207.64. Naheet is a Nabati poet. Nabati poetry is an ancient form of storytelling in verse. It is recited in tribal dialects unlike other forms of classic Arab poetry.

The Global Post reports:

“It’s the most famous genre of poetry in the Gulf,” explained Muhammad Ayish, a professor of communications at the University of Sharjah in the United Arab Emirates, the seven-state nation nestled between Saudi Arabia and Oman.

Arab’s are one of the first cultures to perform the Spoken Word in the form of poetry. It has always been an important part of the culture.

The show “Million’s Poet” has been a huge success. The elders are pleased that the younger generation is seeing that poetry is being preserved with the young. The show is Abu Dhabi TV’s highest rated prime time show. The contestants recite their own poetry written in the Nabati style. The poetry form dates back to the fourth century.

The studio audience is segregated with men and women sitting in different areas. Women who are performing however at with the men they compete against.

The Guardian reports:

“When we designed this show we had in mind the grandness of Who Wants to be a Millionaire and the suspense of Pop Idol, ” says Nashwa Al Ruwaini, Millions’ Poets producer and head of the show’s production company, Pyramedia. “The idea was to create a new format that would appeal to this part of the world without offending this part of the world.”

Regional governments are very active in reviving Nabati poetry. Poetry festivals are becoming popular.
At Dubai International Poetry Festival 2009 audiences listened to poems that were translated to various languages as well as dialects.

The Saudi Gazette quotes Jamal Huwaireb, chairman of the recent event:

“We want to help break that translation barrier,” he said. The organizing committee has called on poet-translators to contribute to the noble cause of making poetry available in many different languages. The festival has also launched the Translator Poet Award which goes to the one who provides an accurate translation of own poems in other languages, including Arabic. With that, Dubai has rightly “earned the title of the world city of poetry,” Huwaireb said.

Global Post quotes the star of the hour, Naheet.

“All of royalty loves it,” Naheet said.

“It’s unacceptable for someone to stand up and say ‘I love you,’” he explained. “Whereas to use the channel of poetry to convey praise, loyalty and love, it’s acceptable.”

Shigeo Tokudo Keeps It Up, Japan’s Oldest Porn Star

It could be said that Shigeo Tokuda, 75, is a lucky man. On Monday he was relaxing on a movie set waiting to have sex with a woman young enough to be his daughter. Tokuda is Japanese oldest porn star.
The senior citizen started his new role in life at the age of 59 and has since heated up the screen in over 200 movies. He wanted to prove that an older man could still set the sheets on fire.

Tokuda may not be using his college education as he uses whips, vibrators and candles in his latest unscripted film but it’s sure more interesting than being a travel agent.

Shigeo Tokuda isn’t the kindly looking older gent’s real name. That he prefers to keep under wraps. He’s famous enough that his name is a brand, the Shigeo Tokuda series that he has recently finished filming shows a tactful gentleman who is a teacher of erotic arts.

Time reports:

“The adult-video industry is very competitive,” says Glory Quest p.r. representative Kayoko Iimura. “If we only make standard fare, we cannot beat other studios. There were already adult videos with Lolitas or themes of incest, so we wanted to make something new. A relationship between wife and an old father-in-law has enough twist to create an atmosphere of mystery and captivate viewers’ hearts.”

He turned to the porn industry because of his lack of interest in the story lines of the pornos he had watched. That lack of spark led to a discussion about whether he could do a better job.

It took him a few more years because he unbuttoned his pants. Once he first stepped out of his trousers he
seemingly hasn’t put them back on for long.

Reuters reports:

“Other old men think they can do it because he can. The elderly can feel secure and encouragement when they see his films,” said Gaichi Kono, the director of Tokuda’s latest film.

His wife and daughter have no idea what dad’s been up to. They’ll have to continue to be in the dark for a few more years, Tokuda plans on keeping the babes in porno land busy until he turns 80.

Tokuda’s part time employer is Ruby Productions. They figured out early that an aging population needed a hero aging stud. They are currently trying to market Tokuda’s films in retirement homes. There is already a deal in the works to ship his flicks to the United States.

Amazon accused of censoring books by removing gay titles

Amazon has dropped gay titles from search results. Is the self imposed censorship from Amazon or is it a glitch in the software program the company is using?
Amazon.com has been accused of censoring books with gay, lesbian, transgender and bisexual themes.

An Internet fury was started on Sunday when writer Mark R. Probst wrote about the news on a blog. After contacting Amazon and being told that the books were now classified as ‘adult’ titles.” Mark Wagner warns that the action could be a result of a software glitch on Information Weekly.

Indeed, an Amazon spokeswoman said late Sunday that the change was a “glitch” in their software, they’re fixing it, and they’re still trying to figure out what’s going on. Even in text, she sounded tired.

My prediction: By the end of the day Monday, we’ll find out this is, indeed, a software glitch. Or maybe some bigoted middle manager got too big for his britches. I am confident that this is not a reflection of Amazon policy.

Queerty is one site that isn’t buying the ’software glitch’ excuse. Amazon sent out a statement to the site:

“We recently discovered a glitch to our Amazon sales rank feature that is in the process of being fixed. We’re working to correct the problem as quickly as possible.”

According to the article’s author running a search on homosexuality on Amazon brings up A Parent’s Guide to Preventing Homosexuality first. When Digital Journal typed the same word in it indeed brought up the book title first. Most of the first ten book shown indeed were of a religious theme.

Mark Probst, the author who started the furor received an email from Amazon after he asked two weeks ago why his gay-themed romance books were removed from the listings.

“In consideration of our entire customer base, we exclude “adult” material from appearing in some searches and best seller lists. Since these lists are generated using sales ranks, adult materials must also be excluded from that feature.

Hence, if you have further questions, kindly write back to us.

Best regards,
Ashlyn D
Member Services
Amazon.com Advantage”

The titles are still on the site, they have just been delisted. Amazon reports CNET has simply excluded ‘adult’ material from appearing on some searches and best sellers lists.

After a weekend of Twitters flying back and forth, one has to wonder if Amazon will take a hit over this matter? In times of economic crisis, any help can be devastating.

Scare Tactics or Facts? New Ad Campaign Against Obesity in UK

Did the Department of Health in the UK try to scare mothers from giving their children sweets? The agency recently spent 500,000 pounds to place two adverts in women’s weekly magazines that made treats look like a demon meal.
The ads are part of a £75 million program to help slim the public’s waistline. It now has critics throughout the country including the National Obesity Forum.

Mothers are objecting to the message that giving their children a treat now and then is leading their young to a premature death.

The Taxpayers Alliance isn’t thrilled about the spots either. They are saying that people are not happy that the government is using their hard owned tax dollars to bash them about the way they live their lives.

The Telegraph reports:

Tam Fry, from the National Obesity Forum described the initiative as sending out “an absolutely ludicrous message”.

“The idea that a cupcake will kill you is totally over the top, and for that reason the whole thing is totally counterproductive.

“Obviously cakes have to be an occasional treat, but the idea that a healthy child eating a cupcake at a party is dicing with death is absolutely crazy. Parents will switch off,” he said.

The Department of Health has reason though to target mothers with their ads.

The Guardian reports:

“Early signs show that we may be halting the rise in childhood obesity,” said the public health minister, Dawn Primarolo. “But there’s still more to do in particular to tackle obesity in adults.

“More than 60% of adults in England are overweight or obese, leaving them at increased risk of type two diabetes, cancer, heart and liver disease.”

The truth is that the UK is in an obesity crisis and the young will be paying the ultimate costs later on. With many parents in denial about the health risks that their children’s waistlines can pose there may have to be drastic steps taken. Obesity in the UK is increasing. In 2006 almost 30 percent of children under the age of 16 were classed as obese or overweight. The adults are doing even worse, 67 per cent of men and 56 per cent of women were listed as overweight or obese.

A government survey found that many of the 1,200 parents questioned were in denial about their children being overweight.

The Change4Life campaign has been in full swing since the beginning of the year.

Food Navigator reports:

“We have already made progress on things like labeling and fat and salt content working with the industry. But … if this three-year campaign does not succeed, we don’t rule out regulating in future,” health minister Ben Bradshaw is quoted as saying.

The Department of Health is backing their campaign saying that its based on extensive research. A spokesman said that the ads are not using scare tactics just “straightforward language” and pointed out that obesity costs the NHS £4.2 billion a year. The ads are being backed by Diabetes UK, Cancer Research UK and The British Heart Foundation.

BBC reports:

Health Secretary Alan Johnson said: “The message that we received from parents was clear – we recognize that obesity is a big problem, but it’s not our problem.”

Studies also show that parents are having a hard time understanding all of the literature and information that is being handed them about feeding their children in a healthy manner.

With a more fast paced life style convenience foods are becoming the norm. Britain’s consumption of ready made meals is doubling that of France and six times higher than Spain. It could be to due with the fact that 80% of homes in the UK have a microwave while other European homes don’t have the appliance as often.

Kids in the UK are consuming an increasing about of soft drinks, crisps and savory snacks, fast food and pre-sugared breakfast cereals. Research suggests that while many mothers think they know what a healthy diet is, they are at a loss as to how to make this attractive to their children.

5 Dead In Florida Boat Accident

Five people are dead and seven more were injured today after a boat in Florida slammed into a docked tug boat near Saint Augustine Sunday evening.
The accident occurred about 7 p.m. on the Intracoastal Waterway in St. Johns County about 20 miles northwest of St. Augustine.

Three of those injured on the pleasure boat were airlifted to hospital. All seven have been taken to area hospitals.

there were twelve people aboard the pleasure boat when it crashed into the tug.

The dock where the accident took place was under construction. Planking had to be laid by rescuers before they could get to the injured people on the boat.

It is not believed that anyone was on the tugboat at the time of the accident. The tug boat is registered to F&A Enterprises in St. Augustine.

Massive Fire Destroys Homes at Alton Bay Christian Center

Easter will be known as the day that 40 New Hampshire summer homes burnt to the ground. The homes were part of a 146-year-old Christian center. The center was founded along New Hampshire’s biggest lake in 1863.
The fire started at 4:30 pm Sunday when families were celebrating at their homes away from the summer home area. The homes were all cottage seasonal homes that go unoccupied during much of the year.
Services had not yet started at the Alton Bay Christian Conference Center on Lake Winnipesaukee.

Witnesses watched from across the lake as the houses burnt to the ground in just minutes.

AP reports:

“As I was looking across the bay, I could see 600 feet of flame lengthwise,” John Lobdell told the News 9 television station in Manchester. “The whole entire camp ground looked like it was up in flames.”

There were no injuries to civilians according to state Fire Marshal William Degnan. One firefighter was hurt when a propane heater exploded. Others have been treated gor smoke inhalation and exhaustion. The fire was reported to be under control by 8:30 pm.

The cause of the fire has yet to be determined.

Obama May Have Just Started The Pizza Wars

President Barack Obama loves Chris Sommers’s way of making a pizza pie. So much so that the man was flown to the White House this week to whip a few pizzas up for the First Family. The news isn’t making those in Chicago that happy.
Sommers is from St. Louis. When President Obama was campaigning last year in his town he happened upon Pi’s Pizza in the Delmar Loop where the pies are made and loved them.

This week Sommers boarded a plane with 20 pounds of dough and three gallons of pizza sauce to cook his specialty at the White House kitchen. Sommers was serving up his pie to 140 guests Friday night.

The Sun quotes Sommers:

Chris was due to cook lunch at the White House yesterday, reported People.com. He said: “It’s surreal. It’s a huge honour.”

He made have made folks outside of Chicago happy but those in the windy city aren’t really sure about this ‘foreign policy.’ As Politico quotes Marc Malnati, owner of 30 Lou Malnati’s Pizzerias across the Chicago area.

“I like his economic policy — I think he’s going to get us out of trouble. I like his foreign policy — he’s making friends around the world. His pizza policy is going to have to change.”

Providence Woman Accused Of Cyber-Stalking

A Providence, Rhode Island business owner has been accused of cyber-stalking a business competitor. The woman has allegedly been calling the other business woman places to have place call it day and night.
Owner of Bruna Puppets and Costumes, Bruno filled out applications in Tracy Sisson’s name which resulted in the woman having harassing phone calls. Sisson owns Absolute Fun Party Rentals in Cranston.

The pair have been feuding since 2001 when Sisson was not satisfied with a costume that Bruno had made for her business.

The phone calls after Sisson had arranged her mortgage through Able Financial Services. When Bruno was hired Sissons told her boss that she was uncomfortable working with Bruno and planned to leave. Bruno was laid off.

Ann Bruno, 59, is said to have used a computer at the local library several times a week to sign the other woman up for debt relief programs and the like. The misdemeanor charge was issued after she was caught in the act at the public library. Her court case is set for April 14.

When reporters asked the woman about the charges she donned a bunny head to do the interview.

Why Did Vanessa Die?

Canadian Terence Young has been on a mission. He wants to know how it is possible his 15-year-old daughter dropped dead in front of him March 19, 2000. Oakville’s MP believes the answer is a medication that their family doctor prescribed.
Prepulsid is used to aid digestion. It has been linked to irregular heartbeats, heart attacks and sudden death. Most of those that have died from heart related issues have been taking other medications or have underlying risk conditions.

The coroner’s inquest said that Vanessa died from cardiac arrhythmia followed by cardiac arrest, resulting from the effects of bulimia nervosa in combination with Cisapride toxicity and perhaps an unknown condition like a congenital heart defect.

In July 2000 Janssen Pharmaceutica stopped making Prepulsid voluntarily. In August Health Canada pulled the drug from drug store shelves following a decision “founded on the association of the drug with serious cardiac arrhythmias … and sudden cardiac deaths.”

There were about one million prescriptions written for the drug each year prior to 2000 in Canada.

Young founded the advocacy group Drug Safety Canada. In January 2007 an Ontario judge certified a $100 million class-action lawsuit, initiated by Young, against the drug’s maker, Johnson & Johnson and its Canadian subsidiary, Janssen-Ortho Inc., which marketed Prepulsid in this country.

This week Young’s book Death By Prescription will hit book store shelves.

His life changed that March night when his daughter collapsed.

The Toronto Star quotes Young:

“She fell back, like a giant hand pushed her – whack – onto the floor,” Young recalls.

As his daughter died his family changed. He changed. His brother Scott Denton said that it is hard to know who he truly was prior to Vanessa’s death. The family knows now. Young is a tiger who will not stop when a wrong has been done.

Had someone apologized for Vanessa’s death Young may have never fought as hard. No one though, not the doctor, not the drug company, the government, would say it was their fault. Vanessa was a statistic, nothing more, nothing less.

Young reached out to the media in his quest for an answer. He studied texts, called drug companies, exchanged emails with experts. He pushed to have the coroner’s inquest for his daughter.

To the powers that be Vanessa may have been a statistic, but her father would not sit back and allow her death to go in vain.

The jury listened for 16 days about Vanessa. She had been diagnosed with bulimia nervosa, one of the conditions that Prepulsid is not recommended for. One that the drug comany said that Canadian doctors had been sent a warning about two months prior to Vanessa’s death.

Last week a statement was sent to Toronto Star from the manufacturer Janssen-Orthro Inc.:

“ongoing litigation limits our ability to comment on specific issues related to this matter.” Calling Vanessa’s death “a tragedy,” it said: “Following efforts by the Company to ensure that Prepulsid was being prescribed and used appropriately, in the summer of 2000 the sale of Prepulsid was discontinued. “Janssen-Ortho believes that Prepulsid is a safe and effective medicine when prescribed appropriately. Patient safety is a priority for our company. We conduct ourselves in a way that meets or exceeds regulatory requirements.”

That statement though differs from the research that Young has worked on while writing Death By Prescription. He claims that drug companies will do everything they can to keep a drug on the shelves.

Doctors in his opinion rely to heavily on the information that the drug companies give them about their wares. They remain silent far too often about the side effects.

Young also has contended that the government closes their eyes to the problems. He wants to change that for all Canadians.

The Oakville Beaver quotes Young:

“The overall goal is to reduce the number of injuries and deaths related to prescription drugs, which are the fourth leading cause of death in our society,” said Young.

“These deaths are mostly covered up and hidden. We want to shine a light on the risks so patients and families can make themselves safer when using prescription drugs.”

Young believes that his book will save lives. The knowledge that you need to know about the medications you put into your body may be one of the most important life lessons a person can learn.

Over 750,000 people in the United States die every year from the drugs that their doctors prescribe to them. The high stakes that drug companies play to keep money pouring in can put people at risk. Side effects are not often discussed when a doctor prescribes a new medication. Often the doctor is not even aware of some of those side effects. Patients have to become their own advocate when it comes to their prescription medications and take the time to research if the side effects are a potential danger. One way is to talk to the pharmacist about each medication you are on and ask what are the risks and side effects to be aware of.

Hamas Bomb Factory Discovered Under Mosque In West Bank

Palestinian security officials reported Sunday that they have discovered a Hamas bomb factory under a mosque in the West Bank.
There have been several people detained by Fatah-led Palestinian security for questioning.

The discovery is likely to increase the tensions between Hamas and Fatah loyalists. The two factions have been in a feud since June 2007 when the Islamist Hamas were kicked out of Gaza by the Fatah loyalists.

News 24 reports:

“Security forces found a bomb-making factory inside a mosque in Qalqiliya,” an Interior Ministry statement said. “Many of the bombs were ready to use and many of them were of industrial grade.”

The factory was located in a mosque in Qalqiliya. The bombs were ready to use and of industrial quality.

Polar Bear Chomps On Zoo Patron In Germany

Zoo keepers are being credited for saving a life at Berlin Zoo after a woman jumped into a polar bear exhibit at the Berlin Zoo. The woman climbed over the fence and jumped into the animals habitat during their feeding time.
The woman was bitten by one of the four adult polar bears while still in the water several times.

Zoo workers tossed rescue rings towards the woman to help her escape as the bear swam close to her.

She is being treated at hospital for the bites. Police do not know why the woman climbed into the enclosure.

Last year a man who stated afterward that he was lonely went into the same enclosure. At that time the zoo keepers used large chunks of raw beef to divert the beers in his rescue.

The Telegraph reports:

“The woman has proved herself to be careless by jumping into the enclosure,” a police spokesman said afterwards. “Logic tells us that polar bears will do this type of thing in this situation.”

Polar bears have become endangered because of climate change. They are the world’s largest land predators. Native to the Arctic they live in the U.S. (Alaska), Canada, Russia, Denmark (Greenland), and Norway.

The only predator of the polar bear is man. The fact is a polar bear can take a man without a gun out easily with a quick swipe of the paw.They are not cuddly little teddy bears.

Fewer Subs- Polk County Florida Looking To Cut School Costs

Polk County students in Florida may see some important people in their classrooms instead of the regular substitute teacher.
In an effort to save money school officials are thinking about using district employees who are not educators instead of coughing up $80 for a sub.

This plan would save the school board about $50,000 of the budget if each of the 620 employees who are qualified to teach fill in one day out of the year.

Principals are also being given the option to spilt up classes and move students elsewhere when a teacher is ill.

Each school has their own substitute budget. The size of the budget depends on the number of students registered there.

There isn’t a shortage of people wanting to be substitute teachers. Since last July the county has had 2,252 applications. Once the county has a list of 1,250 substitute teachers they stop hiring each year. To be a substitute teacher in Polk County one has to be 18 years old and have at least 30 hours of college credit.

If the new plan of using available employees as resource teachers passes there will be a smaller substitute teacher hiring this coming year.

Sex Ratio In China As Boys Outnumber Girls By 35 Million

China is in a crisis with over 32 million more boys born than girls. A new report is showing that China will continue to see the high differences in sex ratio worsen even more over the next twenty years.
The report was published online by the British Medical Journal.

At this point China can not escape its fate of a failed “one-child” policy. Parents who defy the law have to pay fines and pay a steep price for their children’s education.

Because of the shortages some of the provinces do allow a second child if the first is a girl or if the parents are having a ‘hardship.’

World Net Daily reports:

“If you’ve got highly sexed young men, there is a concern that they will all get together and, with high levels of testosterone, there may be a real risk, that they will go out and commit crimes,” said Hesketh, a lecturer at University College in London.

It is routine for Chinese families to opt for abortion when they find that they are expecting a girl. Chinese mothers have early access to ultrasound diagnostics and abortion. China’s laws do not expressly prohibit or even define late-term termination. That infanticide while illegal is speculated to be in the hundreds of millions. Families who want a son will abandon their infant daughters on the side of the road to die. There have been reports that some families will even go to the black market to buy a child that at times has been stolen.

The average number of children in Chinese families has fallen from 5.9 to 1.7 during the past forty years.

In 2005 alone China had more than 1.1 million excess male births according to the authors of the report Zhejiang university professors Wei Xing Zhu and Li Lu and Therese Hesketh of University College London/

“This large reduction in the fertility rate, whether by choice or by coercion, has inevitably increased the male to female ratio because of the preference for sons and the availability of contraception and sex selective measures.”

Because of the huge sex ratio millions of men will not be able to find a partner. The review assessed the populations in all 2,861 of China’s counties.

“Overall sex ratios were high across all age groups and residency types, but they were highest in the 1-4 years age group, peaking at 126 … in rural areas. Six provinces had sex ratios of over 130 in the 1-4 age group. The sex ratio at birth was close to normal for first order births but rose steeply for second order births, especially in rural areas, where it reached 146 (143 to 149). Nine provinces had ratios of over 160 for second order births,” the report said.

“Sex selective abortion accounts for almost all the excess males,” it said.

There have been reports that the shortage of women has already made an impact on crime in China. Many Chinese men are buying foreign wives according to the World Health Organization. The going price for Burmese women is between $600 and $2,400.

Because the low chance of being able to find a partner future males in the Chinese society may lead to antisocial behavior and violence, threatening societal stability and security.

While females will be able to ‘marry up’ from their social standing males in lower socio-economic situations will be less likely to find a mate.
Because of this it there will likely be an increased rate of violence in play against females.

Females could become even more of a commodity where there value will be controlled by the males in their families.

South Korea had the same problem in 1992. That year they had a 229-to-100 gender imbalance. The nation quickly used a public-awareness campaign and enforced laws on general selection. The policy appears to have worked, in 2004 the gender balance had righted itself out to 110 male births to 100 female.

Malia and Sasha Can Hang Out With First Dog On Tuesday

On Tuesday the First Dog will take his first steps into the White House and on the White House lawn. The Kennedy family will be presenting the doggy to the Obama family. Total photo op moments will ensue.
The Portuguese Water Dog is coming from his breeder after the first owners gave him back. For political purposes though Senator Ted Kennedy’s family will be handing over the-6 month-old pup formerly known as Charlie.

Believe it or not there is a ton of red tape over this little pup. The kennel is ‘re-homing’ the puppy to the Obama’s. But, and this is a huge but that’s just not kosher with the rules and regulations so the Kennedy’s will be giving the pup over. The pup is actually in the same linage as three of the Kennedy family pets.

The Obama’s had said they wanted to rescue a dog from a shelter not a kennel.

The Recession Hits Shriners Hospitals Hard

They help the helpless but if the recession keeps on track Shriners may have to pull out of the hospital business within five years.
As the charity endowments shrink, the cost for care increases and donations leak instead of pour in the Shriners, based out of Florida may have to close some or all of their 22 hospitals across the United States, Canada and Mexico.

The fund for the endowment has fallen to just $5 billion from the $8 billion it was at just a year ago. The slump has been going on longer than the recession though, since 2001 it has been declining.

This summer the group will gather and decide on the closing of the hospitals.

USA Today reports:

“Unless we do something, the clock is ticking and within five to seven years we’ll probably be out of the hospital business and not have any hospitals,” Ralph Semb, chief executive officer of Shriners Hospitals for Children, told The Associated Press.

The Shriners have been helping children since the doors first opened at the facility in Shreveport, Louisiana. At that time the need was polio care. By the 1960’s there were hospitals across the nation. Care expanded to include spinal cord injury rehabilitation, cleft lip and palate care and medical research.

More than a million children owe their lives to the hospitals.

In March the Shriners Board of Directors voted to close four of the group’s eight research centers and lay off about 40 people at its administrative office. On July 6-8 in San Antonio, Texas the annual meeting will convene. This year will be difficult as about 1,200 Shriners will vote on if its time to close their hospitals in Shreveport, La.; Erie, Pa.; Spokane, Wash.; Springfield, Mass., and Greenville.

Patients would still be treated at other Shriners hospitals that specialize in the illness or injury.

USA Today reports:

“The outlook is not good, but we know that we can right it,” Semb said. “And we can within a five-year period of time get our expenses down far enough to equal the income we have coming in and hopefully start building on that endowment fund.”

The Vancouver Police Sorry For Taking Press Camera

The Vancouver Police took a newspaper photographer’s camera last Sunday as the journalist snapped shots following a police shooting.
On Wednesday the police issued a statement about the incident as CBC reports:

“I am here this morning to advise you that the Vancouver Police Department has formally apologized to the Province newspaper for retaining the camera belonging to their photographer Jason Payne for longer than we should have,” Chief Jim Chu told reporters during a morning news briefing.

Canada.com reports that the police know better than to take cameras from the media.

“As police officers we know, or should know, that media personnel have special protections in law, and that a search warrant is the appropriate legal mechanism to seize such evidence from a media person in these circumstances,” said Chu. “Unfortunately, the constable was not given the appropriate advice by a senior officer.”

The camera was seized for about an hour when an officer believed it had pictures of police shooting a man as he tried to ram a police car with a stolen truck. The man was hit in and leg and suffered gun shot wounds.

Chu says that the police were unaware that the camera belonged to a member of the press.

The Calagary Herald was told Payne’s side of the story.

“They said I was obstructing justice and they were going to confiscate my camera as evidence. They ended up taking my camera from me. It was either that or be arrested,” he said.

“They were manhandling me,” he said. Payne was shocked.

Payne’s side of the story fits into what another witness recalled. A movie crew was witness to the events as they were filming close by. The best-boy on the production Nicholas-Kandie told the Calgary Herald.

“He was assaulted by the police. They had him in a lock hold and (Payne) had his foot on his camera,” trying to stop it from being taken, said Nicholas-Kandie.

The Editor-in-Chief at the Province, Wayne Moriarty said that he would be investigating the matter. He wants to know why his photographer had to endure what he called typical police bully tactics.

While Payne accepted the chief’s apology he denies that he did not identify himself as a member of the press.

“I appreciate the explanation that Chief Chu has presented but I reject his claim that I did not identify myself immediately as a press photographer for the Province newspaper,” said Payne, a news photographer for 16 years. “The first thing I did when the police attention was drawn to me was to tell them that I was a press photographer for the Province newspaper. I was there in an official capacity as a journalist and I reject that claim that I did not announce who I was immediately.”

Chu has told his officers since the incident that they do not have authority to take cameras from either the press or the public unless they have made an arrest, have a warrant or believe important evidence may be destroyed.

Police can easily track down images from the press but when it comes to the general public that is iffy. At times for investigative reasons those cameras can be taken for that reason.

The B.C. Civil Liberties Association has filed a formal complaint with the police board about the incident.

Canadian Journalists for Free Expression joins in with condemning the event.

CJFE calls upon the Vancouver police and police departments across the
country to ensure that their officers are given comprehensive training that
sets out the rights of the media. We also expect that police will be held
accountable if they flout these rights. CJFE looks forward to the results of
an internal investigation that the Vancouver police has indicated it will be
holding.

Murder-suicide at Henry Ford Community College Friday

A man killed a 20-year-old female student at Henry Ford Community College in Dearborn, Michigan Friday before killing himself.
The police have named Anthony Powell, 28, of Detroit as the gun man in Friday’s crime. Asia McGowan of Ecorse was a student at the college.

The school went into lock down after the shooting that happened in the Fine Arts Center.

The Detroit News reports:

“Everyone started running out of the building,” said Barhoumeh, a 21-year-old Dearborn Heights resident. “I just ran. I didn’t know if I was going to be the next target.”

Police responded shortly after noon on Friday to a report of shots fired. They entered a south hallway and heard one gunshot. Entering one of the classrooms they discovered both bodies. Ms. McGowen was alone at the time of the shooting.

Marjorie Swan, comptroller for the community college, thanked police and said: “Our hearts go out to the family and the friends of the young woman who lost her life today.”

The school made good use of their email alert program. All students using the program were quickly alerted to the incident and what to do.

The college released an e-mail shortly after the shooting to warn the campus of a lockdown. “We received an e-mail telling us to lock down our offices and classrooms,” said James Smith, a physics professor.

Interestingly a clue could be coming from Facebook about McCowan and Powell. Ms. McCowan had hundreds of friends on the social network site while Powell had two. He allegedly shot one of those two friends on Friday.

Classes for Friday were canceled.

The Boxmasters Cancel Canada Tour

Billy Bob Thornton has canceled the rest of his Canadian tour with his band, The Boxmasters, citing a bandmate’s sickness. The show goes on though with the headliner Willie Nelson.
The Boxmasters were set to open for Willie Nelson Friday night in Montreal. Instead of playing the gig the box office was called and told that only one of the opening acts would be performing.

The Boxmasters were also scheduled to play London, Ontario on Saturday but that is also going to be a no show. The band said some of the musicians came down the flu.

Thornton and his band faced booing fans booing in Toronto on Thursday night at Massey Hall. The boos came from an interview that Thornton and the Boxmasters had done earlier on the show show Q with host Jian Ghomeshi where he likened Canadians with mashed potatoes without gravy.

2 Canada reports:

“Boo all you want, but I want to say something,” Thornton told Toronto crowd. He then called Ghomeshi an “a-hole.”

Earlier the same day Thornton had told reporters that he loved Canada.

The band may have also taken offense to a bad review that they got in the Globe and Mail. Robert Everett-Green called the Thursday night performance one of the most amateurish performances he’s ever seen at Massey Hall.

Dave Arneson, Co-Creator of Dungeons and Dragons Dead at 61

Dave Arneson, 61, died Tuesday morning from cancer. His partner in D & D, Gary Gygax died last year. Arneson was diagnosed with cancer shortly after suffering a stroke in 2002.
The pair created Dungeons and Dragons in 1974. The game allowed players to assume roles in a magical world of elves and wizards.

The first hand-assembled print run of 1,000 games sold out quickly. By the year 1982 sales were topping the $20 million range.

At one point Arneson sued Gygax saying that he was not being given the credit or royalties that he deserved for helping to create the game. All of the lawsuits were settled.

The new media initiatives behind Toronto’s mesh conference

On April 7, Toronto Web developers were invited to the mesh 2009 conference to connect with others as excited about the potential of the World Wide Web as they are.
The World Wide Web is entrenched in every aspect of industry and the market today. The demands on users and customers have changed the way the Web operates in today’s world. The mesh conference in Toronto this week had the task of showing those who are behind the scenes what the Web can do for them and what the developers need to be ready to work on for the future.

Social media is a huge part of the new reality of the Web. Companies and individuals use the Internet to communicate, collaborate, entertain and inform each other. Part of the conference focused on inspiring those who build the sites to do great new things using the tools that are available for the Internet.

The keynote speakers of this year’s conference were a diverse mixture that represents the world of business, government and social change.

Jessica Jackley, co-founder of Kiva.org the first peer-to-peer online microlending website. Kiva.org has been one of the fastest growing social benefit websites in history.

Kiva’s mission is to connect people through lending for the sake of alleviating poverty. Each person that you see on the website is real and in need of funding, not marketing materials. The profiles allow you to choose someone to lend to, make a loan and thus help a real person improve their lives through economic independence. The loans are are for 6 to 12 months. When you give a loan the site allows you to receive journal emails and track your repayments. When you have been paid make you can then offer another hand up to someone else in need.

Kiva works with existing expert microfinance institutions, making this a practical way to help others. This the web site doing the tracking of who is best qualified to make good use of your loan to them the risk is not as great as it could be.

“If you look at Kiva.org, people with a very modest amount of money can make a huge positive impact all around the world. There are so many people who want to give but don’t really know how to do it. Through Kiva.org, people around the would can become micro-bankers to developing world entrepreneurs, who have their own ideas, so we can give them a chance to raise their kids with dignity, send their kids to school, and in troubled places like Afghanistan we can marginally increase the chance that peace can prevail, because people will see there is a positive alternative to conflict.” – President Bill Clinton

Michael Masnick is the founder and CEO of Floor 64. He is responsible for building the management team and overseeing all editorial aspects of the Floor64’s public and customer sites. He also runs the Techdirt blog with was launched in 1997.

Masnick built the company by accident in 1997 while still a student at Cornell’s Graduate School of Management. At that time Techdirt was an industry insight newsletter.

Floor64 was created because of the industry’s media to have access to the same type of analysis and insight that was being offered for a general market on the Techdirt blog.

To provide the most efficient way to deliver both Techdirt and corporate blogs a series of “insight platforms” were built.

As the company grew Floor64 tapped into the expertise of the blog community of Techdirt.

Bonin Bough is the Global Director of Digital and Social media at PepsiCo. He oversees digital strategy and the implementation of social media tools and techniques across the company. Before being at Pepsi he was EVP and Director of Weber Shandwick’s global interactive, social and emerging media practice, leading a 100 plus-person global team.

The final keynote speaker of the event was David Miller, mayor of Toronto. Miller has a degree in economics from Harvard University and a law degree from the University of Toronto.

Prior to being a public official he was a partner at Aird & Berlis specializing in employment and immigration law and shareholders rights.

He became Toronto’s mayor in November 2003. His goal is to make Toronto a city of prosperity, opportunity and Liveability for all residents.

One of the ways to do this is by securing a New Deal for Cities with senior orders of government that has enabled Toronto to garner new powers, moneys and respect from both the provincial and the federal governments. Under Miller’s leadership Toronto is the only city that has a direct agreement with the federal government on transit funding.

Dave Lougheed is a VP in User Experience at Klick Communications. Klick was founded in 1997 and have grown on average 30 percent every year. In 2009 it made it on the Canada’s 50 Best Managed Companies Listing.

He attended the mesh conference this week.

Some of his insights to the conference were that David Miller is answering Tim Berners-Lee’s call to open data up for public consumption. Some key areas of this is having GPS data for every TTC vehicle to be opened via API. Other areas include making it possible to pay for parking tickets online and having Municipal budget details and meeting minutes available to all of us in Toronto.

He also discovered how much blogs matter. In an age where print editions of newspapers are being discontinued blogs are completing with the news media. “Talent displaced by the old model will be consumed in the new.”

I was able to have an interview with Mr. Lougheed about his thoughts on the mesh conference as an industry insider.

KJ-What was the most important thing that you took away from the conference?

Lougheed-Well for me it was the social media, where it fits in for the industry right now. We’re in the Stone Age of the industry right now and are just learning how to employ social media.

KJ-Do you think Toronto as a city is ready and in place to keep up with the demands of where the world is going with the Web?

Lougheed-Absolutely. We have the talent in Toronto. People who have been in the industry as long as the industry has been here.

The more that I travel Toronto is viewed as the hub for technology. The North American cities I have visited view Toronto as the city of the future in this industry.

KJ-I read that you were impressed with Mayor Miller, do you think that he could be doing anything more than what he is doing at this time?

Lougheed-Honestly Miller is doing a lot of heavy lifting to open up data for Toronto. He is building the foundation for now and the future.

He has opened up data so that the public can get the most out of Toronto as a citizen. Citizens have more access to the government than ever before. Things that were never accessible by the public now are.

One example is the TTC program. By using Google Maps I can create a program that shows street cars in real time exactly where they are.

KJ-As a VP in User Experience did you think that the conference was on par with the realities of the business industry in Toronto at this time?

Lougheed- The mesh conference was a great opportunity to gather those in different industries and show how they all are now fitting together because of technology. The title of the conference mesh was perfect because that is just what it was, a mesh of people in different fields working together.

While I have attended other conferences that were more involved as a tech person this one was greatly informative on the social aspects.

KJ- I read on the mesh page the term ‘cloud computing.’ What does the term mean for the average person who’s not up to date on the new computer terms?

Lougheed-Cloud Computing is taking a bunch of computers that are networked all over the Internet and then harnessing that power. By harnessing the power from all of the computers you are able to be bigger than yourself.

KJ-I also noticed that you discovered how important blogs are in the world today. Do you, yourself read blogs to stay up to date with news and your industry?

Lougheed- Yes. Absolutely. As a matter of fact I depend on blogs. The industry is now so specialized that I only want to hear from the experts. Blogs allow that to happen.

As for the news I tend to get my news from traditional sources like CNN, Channel 24 and the Toronto Star.

In Cleveland The Homeless Are Cleaning Foreclosed Homes

They have no home. The homes have no families due to foreclosure. A group in Cleveland, Ohio is quietly cleaning up the properties and sneaking families into the homes.
The families worry day and night that they will be discovered but a roof over their head is better than living on the streets.

Christopher Jackson, 43, and a group of tradesmen are doing something productive during the recession by cleaning the yards and gutters of foreclosed homes. They are covering up exposed wiring and unbarring windows. Then the group silently helps families that were in shelters learn the squatters life.

Some of those families have managed to use the hand up to get enough money to move into a home that has electricity and running water. Others find a way to get a generator and use gas grills to cook on.

In Cleveland one out of every 13 homes is vacant. The authorities are knocking on about 300 homes a week to hold out eviction notices.

MSN Business reports:

“I know it’s bad all over, but it is very clear that Ohio has something uniquely awful going on and this city is right in the middle of it,” Peter Bellamy, who manages the county’s three-year-old foreclosure prevention program.

“A lot of this is going to be permanent. It’s not like California or Arizona, people aren’t going to come back.”

No one is winning in the process of lost homes and displaced families. The city has higher costs because those families have no where to go but the shelters. The banks can’t sell homes that are neglected. Thieves enter in the black of night to remove plumbing, wiring, cabinets and anything else that is nailed down.

Renters are the ones that pay the hardest. The homes that they were giving their pay checks to are taken by the banks. With little money they haven’t a chance in this recession.

Brian Davis, executive director of the Northeast Ohio Coalition for the Homeless says that the cycle has put a huge strain on local shelters.

“We’ve seen a dramatic increase in families in shelters, dramatic,” said Davis, who despite the rising need has had to lay off staff recently because of the sour economy.

“A lot of people who work with the homeless say this is the worst they have ever seen it.”

While other cities are starting to rehabilitate foreclosure homes in Cleveland it’s the homeless that have taken the lead.

“It’s happening more and more and there are even homeless who are acting as real estate agents and moving families into safe properties,” Davis said. “We are seeing desperation lead to some real creative measures.”

Since January 1, 2006 there have been about 45,0000 foreclosure case filings in the Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court. The East Side of Cleveland has been the hardest hit. The verdicts have come through for about 10,000 of those filings, foreclosure.

HUD may not be helping the problem. They are selling homes that the city has already condemned for pennies. One home was sold for $1,500 according to City Councilman Tony Brancatelli but the new owner wasn’t informed that the house had been condemned.

A few weeks later Brancatelli helped the new owner get out of the purchase by persuading HUD to do the right thing.

HUD is responsible for demolishing the homes that are condemned. Instead they are placing ads for the homes with price tags as little as $100.

In the end Brancatelli believes that HUD will make it so that the city is the one that pays the high cost of demolishing the homes.

Lawmaker suggests Asians change names to be easier to deal with

Asians in Texas were told this week by State Representative Betty Brown to change their names to ones that are “easier for Americans to deal with.”
Brown made a statement during House testimony on voter identification legislation that those of Asian-descent should change their names to ones that are “easier for Americans to deal with.”

Late Tuesday Brown made the comment. Later a spokesperson for Brown said that the comments were only an attempt to overcome problems with identifying Asian names for voting purposes.

The Houston Chronicle reports:

“Rather than everyone here having to learn Chinese — I understand it’s a rather difficult language — do you think that it would behoove you and your citizens to adopt a name that we could deal with more readily here?” Brown said.

Brown later told Ko: “Can’t you see that this is something that would make it a lot easier for you and the people who are poll workers if you could adopt a name just for identification purposes that’s easier for Americans to deal with?”

Ramey Ko, 28, was the man the comments were directed to Tuesday night. He is a Democrat and founder of Asian Americans for Obama.He was testifying that Asians often have problems at the voting polls because some IDS show phonetic spellings or family names while others show Americanized names.

After the comments about changing their Chinese name Brown had more for the court to heart.

The Star-Telegram reports:

Brown later asked, “Can’t you see that this is something that would make it a lot easier for you and the people who are poll workers if you could adopt a name just for identification purposes that’s easier for Americans to deal with?”

Mr. Ko found her comments not malicious but subtle racism.

Opinion: Billy Bob Thornton is a singer gosh darn it

Billy Bob Thornton did not take kindly when he was called an actor during a radio spot to promote his band in Canada Wednesday morning. After statements of his acting career Thornton stonewalled questions from Jian Ghomeshi on his CBC show.
Ghomeshi had the nerve to introduce Thornton as an “Oscar-winning screenwriter-actor-director” instead of just a part of the little known trio the Boxmasters Wednesday morning.

Now maybe not everyone knows who Billy Bob is acting wise. He is an Oscar winner for the Best Adapted Screenplay for the film Sling Blade. Just in the past few years he’s appeared in Armageddon, Pushing Tin, The Alamo, Friday Night Lights, The Astronaut Farmer and Eagle Eye plus a dozen or so films. He directed Sling Blade, Daddy and Them, and All the Pretty Horses. The man is a key player in Hollywood.

Plus he was married to Angelina Jolie for a time. While they were together they carried around vials of each other’s blood around their necks.

Ah, that may give a clue to his behaviour. Billy Bob doesn’t move with the flow like other folks.

Little known singers who want to be known for their zest for musical achievement rather than their mere acting talent tend to get miffed when their thespian skills are brought into the picture.

It’s not like actors can turn into prima donna’s at the drop of a hat, no siree. They are masters of the craft that they are undertaking.

CNN reports:

He “simply elected not to engage with the interviewer because of the direction of the interview from the outset,” Robinson told CNN. Thornton took the reference to his movie career as an insult to his musical endeavor.

Who knows, maybe Billy Bob was just tired. After all the interview with the band took place at 9 a.m. in Toronto’s Studio Q.

With answers ranging from “I don’t know what you’re talking about” to “I don’t know what you mean” it was an interviewer’s nightmare. A star that is to miffed to talk. Midway through the interview Ghomeshi finally got to the heart of the problem. Billy bob was to miffed about the comments of his acting career during the intro to give a rational interview. To this listener it sounded like a child’s temper tantrum.

The looks on fellow band mates, J.D. Andrew, Mike Butler and Brad Davis faces was one of uncomfortable dismay.

Billy Bob ended the segment by walking out without the standard song because he said he didn’t bring his drums with him but not before likening Canadians to “mashed potatoes without gravy.”

Not good Billy bob, do you really want an angry Canadian audience carrying gravy into the arena?

Jian Ghomeshi has been holding down the hosting gig at Q since 2007. The man knows music. Before Q he was involved with he National Playlist, Sounds Like Canada, 50 Tracks, Zed, The End, and The Hour. He is also a musician in his own right the the band Moxy Früvous. He’s been on stage with Bob Dylan, Van Morrison and Elvis Costello.

Yeah, I would say he is qualified to interview someone the likes of Billy bob Thornton.

He’s interviewed scores of Canadian and international stars on Q.

As for Billy Bob, he didn’t stop there though Wednesday night during the band’s performance at Massey Hall in Toronto he had finally had a few words ready to fire off about his interview earlier in the day.

The Toronto Star reports:

“Boo all you want, but I want to say something…. We’re really happy to be here, but I need to say something. I talked to this a–hole yesterday.

“I sat down and talked with this guy. He and his producers say, `We promise you we won’t say that’ (meaning references to Thornton’s acting career). The very first thing they said was that.

“I don’t really like sensationalism,” he added. “If you look someone in the eyes and promise them something, and you don’t do it, you don’t get the interview. That’s the way it goes.”

The explanation was met by further boos and catcalls of, “Here comes the gravy,” a reference to Thornton’s description of Canadian audiences as “mashed potatoes with no gravy” during his interview with Ghomeshi.

The US announces CIA secret prisons to be closed

Agency employees were sent an e-mail today telling them that the CIA is no longer in the secret prison business and that there are plans underway to permanently shutter them. the e-mail was sent by CIA Director Leon Panetta.
CIA Director Leon Panetta has told Congress no new prisoners have been taken in since he took the reins of the agency in February. Panetta also informed Congress that the CIA has stopped all contracts with private companies that were used for security at secret overseas CIA prisons. Those contracts were costing up to $4 million a year.

BBC reports:

“CIA no longer operates detention facilities or black sites,” Mr Panetta said in a letter to staff. Remaining sites would be decommissioned, he said.

President Obama had vowed during his campaign to shut down the secret prisons that former President Bush’s administration had allowed the CIA to operate. During his first week in office, Obama ordered the closure of black sites and the prison camp at Guantanamo Bay. President Obama has also ordered a review of the detention and interrogation policies on terror suspects.

BBC reports that there is a true change in the new White House administration on terms of detainees.

In his letter, Mr Panetta also stressed that the CIA no longer employed controversial “harsh interrogation techniques”, like “waterboarding”, or simulated drowning, which have been widely condemned.

“CIA officers do not tolerate, and will continue to promptly report, any inappropriate behaviour or allegations of abuse,” he said.

That said the CIA has the right to hold prisoners temporarily according to Panetta is they are taken. Those detainees would be only interrogated though by agency employees before being returned to their home country or the county that has a legal claim in a quick manner.

In 2005 it was revealed that the United States was running secret CIA prisons overseas. That revelation prompted world-wide outrage tainting the image of President George Bush.

Dr. Anthony Phillips Appointed Scientific Director of CIHR-INMHA

As of April 1 the Canadian Institute of Health Research has a new Scientific Director. The CIHR has appointed Dr. Anthony Phillips as incoming Scientific Director (SD) of CIHR’s Institute of Neurosciences, Mental Health and Addiction (CIHR-INMHA).

Currently Dr. Phillips is a Professor of Psychiatry in the Faculty of Medicine at the University of British Columbia (UBC); the Founding Director of the UBC Institute of Mental Health; and a senior investigator with the UBC/Vancouver Coastal Health Brain Research Centre. He is also the former member of the board of directors and scientific advisory board of Neuroscience Canada and the scientific advisory board of the University of Ottawa Institute of Mental Health Research. He is also a Councillor of the Society for Neuroscience and the former Chair of the CIHR-INMHA Institute Advisory Board (2001-2007).

CIHR quotes Dr. Phillips on his appointment.

“I am honoured and excited to have responsibility, in partnership with a dedicated community of health research professionals nation-wide, for ensuring the continued success of CIHR-INMHA in the application of new knowledge about the brain and mind to the health of Canadians,” said Dr. Phillips. “Innovation will remain a watchword for our activities, as will the continued commitment to partnership with all who seek improvement in the diagnosis and treatment of mental ill health, addiction and the many other challenges arising from disorders of the nervous system.”

Each of the 13 Institutes that comprise the CIHR are led by it’s own Scientific Director. The directors are responsible for campaigning their causes in the areas of research. They are also in charge of promoting their fields in regards to education and public awareness.

CIHR-INMHA supports research to enhance mental health, neurological health, vision, hearing, and cognitive functioning and to reduce the burden of related disorders through prevention strategies, screening, diagnosis, treatment, support systems, and palliation.

Florida sues company over their Michael Vick chew toy

Florida Attorney General Bill McCollum today filed a lawsuit against the company that makes the Caylee Sunshine Doll and the Michael Vick Chew Toy. It is being alleged that the company misrepresented where proceeds of the profits would be going.

Florida is suing toy seller Jaime Salcedo and his Jacksonville, Florida, company, Showbiz Promotions LLC. The case deals with a dog chew toy depicting Michael Vick and dolls that were modeled after Caylee Anthony.

The company falsely claimed charities would benefit when the products were brought. Attorney General Bill McCollum filed the lawsuit saying the company misled consumers that proceeds from the dog toys would go to animal shelters and that the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children would be getting donations from the proceeds for the Caylee dolls.

It has been revealed that the charity was only given a token $10 for the sell of the dolls.

Legal News Online reports:

“This effort is outrageous and attempts to exploit the tragic murder of a child for personal benefit,” said Ernie Allen, the organization’s president and CEO. “NCMEC does not and will not ever be associated with any attempt to commercialize or raise money in connection with the victimization of any child.”

Caylee Anthony was found murdered late last year. Her mother has been charged with her death.

Michael Vick was sentenced in 2007 for 23 months in federal prisons for his role in dog fighting and animal cruelty.

Reuters reports:

“Any company that intentionally misleads innocent consumers to believe they are contributing to worthy charitable causes is absolutely reprehensible,” McCollum said in a news release. “It is disgusting that a company would exploit a tragic situation for personal gain.”

The investigation began last year after receiving 200 complaints about the dog chew toys.

McCollum’s lawsuit is asking for the judge to ban the sale of the doll and to fine the company $10,000 for each violation of the state’s law against deceptive and unfair trade.

The Simpson’s Are Going Postal

Simpson’s fans in the United States can start sending their mail in May sporting their favorite Simpson’s star on the corner. That’s right The Simpson’s are going postal.

The stamps can be pre-ordered now but go for sale on May 7.

The Hollywood Reporter quotes Matt Groening:

“This is the biggest and most adhesive honor ‘The Simpsons’ has ever received,” said creator and executive producer Matt Groening.

The show’s executive producer was equally emotionally about being part of envelopes across the States.

Executive producer James Brooks quipped: “We are emotionally moved by the Post Office Department’s selecting us rather than making the lazy choice of someone who has benefited society.”

The postage service knows that the stamps will be a hit with fans and encourage people to vote for who they like the best.

Only the five members of the Simpson family are appearing on the stamps.

The United States postage service only picks 20 topics or people a year to honour for stamp subjects. The Simpson’s will be the first television series to be honoured in this way while still in production.

On May 7 Matt Groening, creator of the show, James L. Brooks, executive producer and several of the actors are slated to be on hand at Fox Studios for the First-Day-of-Issue Dedication Ceremony.

A limited number of seats are available for the public on a first-call, first-reserved basis. Starting on Friday, April 10 those who want to see it first hand can call 1-866-268-3243 between noon and 5 p,. Because of the expected demand only one person per call may get a spot.

If you are a lucky requester have your driver’s licence or another form of government photo ID on hand when you arrive to the studio.

Toronto’s ROM Facing Controversy Over the Dead Sea Scrolls

In June the Royal Ontario Museum is planning on exhibiting the Dead Sea Scrolls. That showing is being blasted by the Palestinians as they say the scrolls were acquired illegally by Israel when the Jewish state annexed East Jerusalem in 1967.

For six months the museum plans to exhibit what has been hailed as one of the greatest historical finds.

That’s a problem for top Palestinian officials. This week they declared the exhibit a violation of international law and has demanded that Canada cancel the showing.

Letters have been sent to Prime Minister Stephen Harper and the top brass at the ROM with senior Palestinian officials arguing that the scrolls are theirs and not the property of Israel.

The Toronto Star reports:

“The exhibition would entail exhibiting or displaying artifacts removed from the Palestinian territories,” said Hamdan Taha, director-general of the archaeological department in the Palestinian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities. I think it is important that Canadian institutions would be responsible and act in accordance with Canada’s obligations.”

The Palestinians are saying that both Canada and Israel are signatories to all agreements.

The protest letter sent to Harper was signed by Salam Fayyad, prime minister of the Palestinian Authority and its second-in-command while the letter sent to the ROM was signed by Khouloud Daibes, minister of tourism and antiquities.

The scrolls were discovered in 11 caves lining the Dead Sea between 1947 and 1957. Who owns them has been loudly disputed since that time.

Lauren, a spokeswoman for ROM, told Digital Journal there is no further information at statements being given until the matter has been fully investigated.

Omar from the General Delegation of Palestine in Canada was also unable to release an official statement at this time.

The Consulate of Israel in Toronto is closed until next week for Passover.

The planned exhibition at the ROM is called the Dead Sea Scrolls: Words that Changed the World. It is set to run from June 27 to Jan. 3.

The Ethics of Canadian Infants Kaylee Wallace & Lillian O’Connor

Her parents were prepared to say goodbye. Little Kaylee Wallace of Toronto was being taken off life support. Her two months on this Earth was going to have meaning, her tiny heart was going to keep another alive. Kaylee surprised everyone. she lived.

This is the story of two little girls in Canada, Kaylee and Lillian. They are both dying. One’s death was expected to help the other live.

Tuesday night both infants were in the operating room at Sick Kids Hospital in Toronto. One would be receiving a heart, the other was being removed from life support in order for the heart to be ready.

The little fighter who had survived only by life support did the impossible. She breathed on her own.

The girls were taken back to their beds at the hospital. A miracle has happened.

Kaylee has the very rare Joubert syndrome, a malformation of the brain and brain stem that can stop her breathing. She shouldn’t still be alive. But no one seems to have gotten that through the baby who is surviving against all the odds.

Her parents Jason Wallace and Crystal Vitelli know that she’s a miracle and a little fighter.

The Globe and Mail quotes her father:

“Kaylee’s a very complex little girl that’s going to make her decision on her terms and nobody else’s,” Mr. Wallace said.

“When you stop breathing when you’re sleeping 100 times an hour, it’s not compatible with life. But she’s showing everybody else, ‘I am compatible with life.’”

Then there is little Lillian, the baby that needs a heart. It was expected that she would today have a healthy heart beating in her tiny chest but the miracle of a child not ready to die occurred.

Lillian O’Connor who now lays in a hospital bed in the balance. The one-year-old needs a heart. She’s back on the Trillium Gift of Life Network’s transplant waiting list.

Her parents are glad for the Wallace family.

The Globe and Mail reports:

“I’m glad we met Jason and his family,” Mr. O’Connor said. “It’s not over for them, it’s definitely not over for us. …. Being offered that gift is more than anybody here would ever know.”

It’s down to just weeks or months for little Lillian who is dying from truncus arteriosus, which means her heart can’t get enough oxygen to her body.

As the miracle continues to play out the ethics of donation after cardiac (DCD) death is again being brought into question. There are times that a heart does not beat but there is brain activity. Which one cancels the other out? When is death really death.

When does death happen is being called into question and are people who could be saved being used as donors before their due date is up?

In Canada that question has been in play since February 2005 when a national forum consensus said that the nation should resume harvesting organs under DCD in addition to NDD (Neurological Determination of Death). That decision could increase organ donation by 20 per cent.

Before DCD can take place the patient needs to have a non-recoverable injury or illness, dependence on life-sustaining therapy, intention to take the patient off of life support and anticipation of imminent death after withdrawal of life-sustaining therapy.

On Tuesday night those qualifiers were in place when the infants were taken to the operating room and a miracle occurred.

In Canada there were 4,380 in 2008 waiting an organ to stay alive. Since that time 215 died before an organ could be found.

The wait for an organ is long. Those needing a kidney on average have three years to wait in Alberta and 8 years in Toronto.

Canada does not have an opt out policy that some countries have. In Europe it’s assumed you want to donate an organ unless you have said you don’t. In Canada the opposite is assumed.

CBC reports:

“The most important step is to have a discussion with your immediate family,” George Marcello, who is alive because of a liver donation told CBC News. “They’re the ones that are going to be approached, and it will probably be during a tragic time, and they have to be as prepared as possible to say yes [to donating your organs] … and if they’re not prepared, they’re probably going to say no.”

“We have to reform our system because our system isn’t friendly and Canadians lead very busy lives … you might put it off and you might not ever get around to having that discussion with your family.”

Some also are questioning the ethics of this story being taken to the media. The Canadian Press reports:

“These are not the kinds of decisions that have to be taken in the newspapers,” says Trudo Lemmens, a professor of health law and bioethics at the University of Toronto.

“I guess one of the things you could ask is: Is having this media frenzy around this (case), is it a sufficient respect for that baby’s life and death?” wonders ethicist Margaret Somerville.

It is very rare for the names of donors to be listed on the news. The parents in this case went public. But that is the exception. Generally those who receive the gift of life do not know who saved them.

Still this is a special case.

Miracles are rare. They give hope. And little Kaylee is certainly a miracle.

Is New York City the city that doesn’t protect?

She was attacked in full view of a subway clerk. She was then dragged onto a deserted platform and repeatedly raped. A subway train pulled into the station, her attacker did not stop. Four years ago Maria was attacked and no one lifted a hand.

Maria, a young New Yorker, now deals with nightmares, depression and anxiety. She was told by a judge that the two transit workers that watched the attack happen were not in the wrong. They didn’t have to do anything other than alert their superiors that the police were needed.

Maria Besedin dropped out of school after the attack. She now lives with her parents in Rhode Island.

The New York Daily quotes the young woman:

“I really lost four years of my life suffering from this,” she said in her lawyer’s office.

“Everything – my hopes and dreams to go to grad school, to write, and help others – has just been undermined by this.”

MSNBC reports:

“Hearing the decision about the case — it broke my heart. It really broke my heart,” the 26-year-old told TODAY’s Meredith Vieira Wednesday in an exclusive broadcast interview in New York. “I was really hoping that changes would be made, that other women taking the subway out there could feel safe and secure. The subway is raising their fares and spending even less money on security.”

While Maria didn’t expect anyone to put themselves in harm’s way she did expect at least a shout on the intercom to startle the man attacking her.

Maria told Meredith Vieira this morning:

“He could have just gotten over the intercom and said, ‘Hey! Stop what you’re doing! I’ve called the cops!’ Anything like that would have helped,” she said. “He didn’t have to get out of the booth. I don’t expect him to be a police officer. But he could have definitely said something over the intercom, or perhaps having a quicker system of notifying the police would have been effective, too.”

Young Maria was going to celebrate her birthday the day after the attack. A native of Russia, the then 22-year-old was a grad of NYU at the time of the attack. she was planning on taking the Queens-bound G train to see her boyfriend that early morning at around 2 AM.

Her world changed on July 7, 2005.

She was on the train and someone was touching her feet. Looking around there was no one that could be able to do that, as the only other person on the train wasn’t in a position to do so.

As the train pulled into her stop she again was touched and turned to yell at the person. She missed her spot.

Maria got off the train at the next station, 21st Street in Long Island City, Queens. She ran for the staircase hoping to flee the one who had touched her. She almost made it to the clerk at the attendant’s booth when her attacker nabbed her. He then started to carry her back to the deserted platform.

She told the judge that the clerk and her held at least five seconds of solid eye contact. She thought that would help her. She was wrong.

The clerk did push a button notified the central command to send the police.

In own words what followed was horrific.

“After he pulled me down the stairs, he proceeded to rape me at the bottom of the stairwell,” Maria said. “I was screaming and crying and begging him to stop. He said, ‘If you continue screaming, I’m going to have to do something.’ I couldn’t stop crying, so then he took me by the scruff of my neck and my jacket and put me over the tracks, like a 45-degree angle, and said, ‘Don’t scream again or I’m going to let go.’ ”

The conductor of a train that pulled in and departed also held eye contact with the young woman. He didn’t stop.

The judge at the civil trial ruled that the clerk and conductor “had taken prompt and decisive action.”

The MTA has issued a statement about the case.

“It is important to note that while NYC Transit workers are trained to the highest degree of professionalism in their assigned jobs, they are not and should not be expected to perform in the capacity of law enforcement officers.”

The police finally arrived. The attack ran from the station and has never been caught.

Maria is still in therapy for post-traumatic stress disorder and depression. Telling her story though has proved to be therapeutic.

“The most important thing for me was breaking the silence and telling my story, because it was just haunting me and eating away at me. I was kind of a zombie, walking around with this enormous weight on my shoulders and blaming myself,” Maria said. “The more I got to speak out about my story, the better I felt. The most wonderful thing was that other women would start to come forward about their own stories that they had never told anyone else.”

Maria’s lawyer, Marc Albert said that they are planning to appeal.

“We’re going to appeal,” Albert said. “The transit authority claimed to be training their workers. There’s no training going on here and there’s no system in place. We certainly will be appealing.”

When Judge Kevin Kerrigan dismissed the case he may have been correct technically. However the system is flawed when this kind of attack can happen and no one steps in to help.

The New York Daily quotes Maria on her plans to appeal.

“Yes, I do want justice,” said Besedin, who still rides the subway.

As for the court system that rejected her case, she said, “It means that they don’t really understand exactly what negligence is and what the impact . . . this kind of atrocious thing can have,” she said.

“I’m sorry, I just don’t think they get it.”

Florida woman thought she was the anti-Christ, murders son

A woman in Florida shot her son and then herself on Sunday at Shoot Straight shooting range in Casselberry. She left behind recorded messages saying that she was the anti-Christ and that she needed to save her son.

Security cameras caught the moment the woman took aim behind her son, Mitchell at point blank range. She then shot herself in the mouth.

Marie Moore, 44, left a suicide message:“I had to send my son to Heaven and myself to Hell.”

Moore died at hospital.

The Sun reports that Moore left a recorded message.

She said: “God’s turned me into the Anti-Christ. I’m a good person, but the Devil and God turned me into the worst person in the world.”

Moore left the recordings for her boyfriend and the authorities.

Authorities are saying despite the recordings that they do not have a motive for the murders.

“We have no clue. I don’t even want to begin to speculate,” said Deputy Chief Bill McNeil of the Casselberry Police Department.

The security video clearly shows Moore behind her son as he aims at a target unaware. The next still shows the young man falling to the ground as another patron is alerting others.

The gun used to kill the man was rented at the shooting range.

Charles Moore, father of Mitchell, told the police that in 2002 Marie Moore was in a mental hospital under the Baker Act. In the recordings left for the police by Moore, she referred to that time but stated she was not sick. Two of the notes were signed “Failed Queen.” Late Monday family found three suicide notes and audio tapes. They gave them to the police.

Moore said on one of the tapes that she wanted to ’save’ her son and do it in a public way so that the world could be saved. “Hopefully when I die, there will 1,000 years of peace.”

She also stated that she could not tell her boyfriend because he would have had her committed to the hospital and would have been unable to ’save’ Mitch.

Charles Moore said that Moore had a history of mental illness. She had been barred from the same shooting range when she attempted to commit suicide there seven years ago according to Mr. Moore.

That differs from what the manager at Shoot Straight is saying. He said that the Moore’s were not regular clients of the range. All clients fill out a form of questions, including whether they have ever been convicted of a felony or been declared mentally unstable. That information though is not verified though.

Just News reports:

Anderson defended the range’s policies, saying: “If someone acts right, we have to assume they are right.”

Based on the writings and audio recordings that he’s seen in the media, Anderson said, it’s clear that Marie Moore was “bent on doing it.”

“Sometimes, like what happens Sunday, you have no control,” Anderson said. “There’s nothing you can do to prevent it.”

That information is online for $24 though. Ranges are not required to run the background checks on their clients. Mental health histories are not online because of patient privacy laws.

Lakeland, Florida Middle School Student Tasered

A student at a Florida school was Tasered and arrested on a charge of battery on a law officer. The thirteen-year-old girl physically resisted the school’s resource officer’s attempts to take her to the school office.

The Southwest Middle School student was shot with a Taser by the school official Lori Edwards in an effort to control the girl.

The Lakeland Ledger reports:

“(Young) is not a normal sized 13 year old child,” Edwards wrote in a report. “She is 5’4 weighing 185 pounds and very strong.”

The Lakeland, Florida youth has been charged with battery on a law enforcement officer and resisting an officer.

The Lakeland Police Department says that Edwards followed department policy in the manner she handled the incident.

Facebook Is Now 200 Million Strong

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced on Wednesday that Facebook is now up to 200 million active users. Not bad for a social network that was started just five years ago by a young man.

In 2004 Zuckerberg built Facebook hoping to create a faster way for people to share information about what was happening around them. Share they have. Today a common question people ask is “Are you on Facebook?”

Facebook has been used by both U.S. President Barack Obama and French President Nicholas Sarkozy as a means to organize their supporters. Facebook is now often a tool for community and global groups to stay in connect and spread their word.

As Facebook has grown in members the tech team has worked to make the interface fast and easy to navigate.

Facebook is creating a page to celebrate their growth for people to share with others how Facebook has been able to help them give back to their communities.

Facebook also has a gift shop that 16 charitable and advocacy organizations have been able to create products to help with donations. When you buy something at the gift shop the full amount minus 50 credits to cover transactional fees will go to that organization to support its efforts.

There are still many more people and groups in the world whose voices we want to connect with everyone who wants to hear them. So even as we celebrate the 200 millionth person and all of you using Facebook today, we are working to bring the power of sharing to everyone in the world.-Mark Zuckerberg

It’s Time For Toronto’s Daily Bread’s Spring Food Drive

special for Digital Journal:

Toronto’s CityTv is kicking off it’s Spring Food Drive at a time when the Daily Bread Food Bank needs help more than ever.

On Wednesday the CityTV Spring Food Drive started collecting donations and offering people a chance to win 10,000 Airmiles and other prizes.

This morning at 6 a.m., Breakfast Television hosts Frank Ferragine and Jennifer Valentyne were at the Metro at 3003 Danforth Avenue to start receiving donations of non-perishable foods and monetary donations from the public. The early morning effort brought in $7,600 and more than 6,000 pounds of food.

Cash of course is always welcome but for those who would rather give food the most needed items are:

* peanut butter
* macaroni and cheese
* canned fruit and vegetables
* white or brown rice
* dried pasta and pasta sauce
* canned fish or meat
* baby food and formula

Those who want to contribute can do so by clicking on the Daily Bread Food Bank website or by calling 416-203-0050.

I spoke with Gabrielle Chackal, Communications & Marketing Officer of the GTA Daily Bread office, about the need for donations. Every month across the GTA The Daily Bread helps about 80,000 people have enough food to make it through the month. This spring the need for donations is even greater as the Daily Bread has started to see an increase at some locations in the GTA of up to twenty percent due to the recession.

Ms. Chackal said the charity is hoping that when people do their grocery shopping this weekend that they will take the time to plan out a few extras to drop in the collection boxes at most area grocery stores. Those who would prefer to make donations elsewhere can drop off food and money donations at their local fire hall.

While non-food items such as diapers and toothpaste are accepted the need at this time for healthy non-perishable food is greatest. Often commercial sponsors provide larger quantities of non-food products that are distributed to families in need.

“We tend to focus on food and financial donations,” Ms. Chackal said.

Those who are in need can call the Daily Bread at 416-203-0050 to get a referral for the Neighbourhood Food Bank closest to you.

You need to bring with you identification for all family members, proof of income and expenditures and proof of your current address. You will only need to bring this information with you the first time you visit a food bank and at times when updates are needed. You always will need to bring your ID with you. Once every six months to a year your information is updated.

The food banks can help you with a two to three day supply of food based on the number of people that are in your family.

Some of the monetary donations go into research. The Daily Bread is currently doing a survey of the amount of visitors to their food banks. Those results will be out in June.

“The Daily Bread works on the roots causes of poverty and hunger. They use statistics to help make change and to get to the root of the problems. Using the statistics the Daily Bread is able to educate the government on how to make realistic policy changes that can help rid the city of poverty and hunger,” Ms. Chackal told Digital Journal during a telephone interview.

The Daily Bread is a registered charitable organization. It’s registered charity number is:11888 1549 RR0001.

Harry Potter actor busted for growing cannabis

Jamie Waylett, 19, has been arrested by police in the UK after they allegedly found marijuana in his car. The actor was stopped by officers in Westminister, central London.

After searching the man’s car they found eight bags of marijuana. He and another 19-year-old were taken to a police station.

After questioning the actor, a raid took place at his mother’s home in Camden. The police say they found a cannabis farm and expensive cultivation equipment.

The police took at least 10 mature cannabis plants.

Sky News quotes a spokesman as saying:

“We stopped a vehicle at 7pm on Thursday April 2, in Lodge Road, NW8.Officers discovered a quantity of around eight bags of what we believe to be cannabis in the vehicle. The two occupants of the car, both 19-year-old men, were arrested and taken to a central London police station. While they were there, at 10.40pm on the same evening, we attended an address in Messina Avenue, NW6. Officers found a number of plants believed to be cannabis and equipment for the cultivation of plants. Both men have been bailed until a date in July pending further inquiries while we await tests on the substances and plants recovered.”

Anyone convicted of cannabis production faces a maximum of 14 years in jail.

The men have been bailed out of prison until July.

Earlier this year cannabis was reclassified from a Class C drug to a Class B substance in the United Kingdom. The reclassification makes this a much more serious crime.

Warner Brothers has refused to comment about the arrest.

Carmelita Durio, sister of O.J. Simpson, dead at age 60

Carmelita Durio, 60, died Monday morning at Sutter Medical Center in Sacramento. Durio was the sister of O.J. Simpson. She had been ill since collapsing in a Las Vegas courtroom in October after O.J. was convicted of robbery and kidnapping.

Six specialists were unable to diagnose what was wrong with Durio after the collapse. The cause of death has been declared complications of diabetes and kidney failure.

Family friend Tom Scotto told the LA Times:

“I think it was the stress. She just couldn’t take it,” Scotto said, noting that she had declined since October, when she last saw her brother. “Ever since the trial she just hasn’t been well,” said Scotto, who said he spoke to her every few days.

O.J. Simpson is serving a nine to 33 year sentence in a Nevada state prison in Lovelock. He is not expected to be able to attend the funeral of his sister. Suzanne Pardee, a spokeswoman for the Nevada Department of Corrections, told the LA Times that there were no plans to allow Simpson, 61, to attend the funeral. The issue was discussed with the warden at Simpson’s facility.

Simpson “is in a medium-security facility,” Pardee said. “We get requests from time to time when a mother dies for an inmate to attend the funeral, but those are for minimum-security or community trustees.”

Durio attended both of her brother O.J.’s trials. The first trial dealt with the murders of his former wife Nicole Simpson and her friend Ronald Goldman. He was acquitted of that crime but later was found liable and ordered to pay the families of the victims $33.5 million at a civil court trial.

Rador Online reports:

“Since Simpson was sent to prison Carmelita’s health deteriorated,” a source told RadarOnline.com. “He blames his Las Vegas legal woes and prison sentence for his sister’s death. He believes sending him to prison broke her heart and she’s dead because of it.”

Simpson and his sister were extremely close. She was a year younger than her famous brother.

The Pod and The Jane In NYC Offers Small Rooms At A Discount

Finding lodging in New York City can cost an arm and a leg for out of town guest. visitors are now getting a break with The Pod where small rooms can be had for $89 or less if you share a bunk room.

The average cost of a hotel room in the heart of New York City is about $300. That price can be a little too much for the pocketbook these days. Enter in The Pod in the center of midtown.

The Pod has the look of other boutique hotels with much steeper costs. It has it’s own cafe, a terrace and a concierge just like the high price inns.

David Bernstein is the managing director of The Pod. The building used to be a single-room occupancy hotel. When the owners came in they decided to leave the room sizes small and create a place for young travelers that was hip and less expensive.

That must have been a good move as their occupancy rates range from 85 to 90 percent.

The tiny rooms have bunk beds, a TV at each bed, an iPod docking station and a light. The bathroom is just down the hall.

NPR reports:

“The room is comfortable,” says Ingrid Roseborough, a Pod guest who was visiting from Iowa. “And like everything so far, I feel like all my needs are taken care of.” Those needs include getting advice on where she can get her eyebrows done: In response to Roseborough’s inquiry, Pod concierge Kara Klueber whips out not one, but three different business cards.

If the $89 is too much for your budget then you could check out The Jane in Greenwich Village. The rooms used to go to sailors for just a quarter a night. Times have changed bringing the price up to $75 a night or for the 60 long term guests a mere $700 a month.

At The Jane there are bellhops, huge keys, flat-screen televisions and iPod docking stations. There is also a backward clock.

NPR reports:

“I call it the hotel at the end of the world,” says Samuel Gaedke, who has lived at The Jane for four years. “If you want to disappear off the face of the Earth for a little while, it is a good place to come to.”

The rooms are the size of a train cabin but it’s not size but price that some are after in the city that doesn’t sleep.

Sean McPherson is one of the owners of The Jane. He calls the rooms micro-chic. The hotel in McPherson’s words harkens back to the 1980’s when New York City was grittier, more exotic and more adventurous. As he says The Pod is “a place for travelers with more dash than cash.”

Long time tenants of the hotel have feared that they will be pushed out but the management insists that they will remain part of the guest list.

Family Shooting In Alabama Leaves 5 Dead

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A man facing divorce has alleged to have killed his wife, their teenage daughter and two other relatives before returning to his home and committing suicide.

Domestic violence seems to be the motive behind a shooting that has left five family members dead in Alabama.

Kevin Garner’s body was found at his Priceville, Alabama home. The home had been burnt to the ground. the sheriff’s office reports that he was shot in the chest by his own hand.

The divorce hearing was set to start on Wednesday.

Earlier on Tuesday four bodies discovered near the Tennessee line. They have been identified as wife Tammy, 40; their 16-year-old daughter, Chelsie; Garner’s sister, Karen Beaty of Illinois; and Beaty’s 11-year-old son, whose name was not released. Garner is the top suspect in the murders.

It is believed that the victims were killed on Monday with a handgun.

Tammy Garner was seeking a divorce on grounds of abuse, she was trying to obtain sole custody and alleged that her husband had been physically and emotionally abusive.

Kevin Garner countered that she had been unfaithful and taken $38,000 out of their joint bank account when they separated on May 27.

Newser reports:

“Now that we know the final end of it all it’s just going back and putting the pieces together,” Corley said. “We feel like this was solely a homicide, that he killed them, then went to the home. He used some type of accelerant that caused the home to burn very, very quickly, then walked about 200 yards back into a wooded area behind the house and took his life.”

The couple had been in court on Monday. Nothing at that time seemed out of place.

It is believed that Beaty and her son may have been on the witness list for the divorce case.

Garner had worked for a chemical company in Decatur. Tammy Garner worked at a department store in Huntsville.

MSNBC reports:

Jerry Knight, an attorney who represented Kevin Garner in the divorce case, said in an e-mail to The Associated Press that Garner “had a terrific work ethic and value system. I was terribly shocked and saddened by this unexpected tragedy.”

Shooting leaves one dead at retreat camp in California

One person was killed Tuesday night and three others wounded when a gunman opened fire at a Korean Christian retreat center in Southern California. The shooter is described as a Korean man in his 70s.

Police say that the language barrier is preventing them from getting all of the facts at this time about the case.

The LA Times reports:

“Because of the language barrier, we don’t know who the shooter is yet. But we feel there is no one out in the community who is armed,” Gutierrez said.

At least two of the victims are in critical conditions. The gunman is reported to be one of the people that was injured. Reports say that surviving victims are in hospital. The police are continuing to search the camp for more possible victims.

Reports of assault with a deadly weapon were received by police at 7:23 p.m. Tuesday evening.

Reports say that the woman killed is the wife of the gunman.

All of the victims appear to be over 40 years old.

The retreat is one of four branches in the United States for the Kkottongnae Brothers and Sisters of Jesus. The Catholic organization serves the poor and the homeless. It was founded in Cheongju, South Korea, by Father Oh Woong Jin in 1976.

The mission of the retreat is to provide the “homeless and the abandoned with care and love in the hope that they will realize the love of God and find peace as the children of God” according to their website.

Kal Penn Leaves ‘House’ for the White House

When Kal Penn left the show House on Monday night it wasn’t because he had been fired. Penn is on his way to another House to work, the White House.

During the Obama Campaign the actor volunteered. He and the President got along so well he was offered a job with the administration. Penn whose real name is Kalpen Modi, will serve as a liaison connecting the Obama administration with arts and entertainment groups.Kal Penn will officially be the associate director in the White House office of public liaison.

His new job will allow him to be an outreach to the American public and with different groups. He will be helping remove the red tape for the general public and the White House.

His new office is in the executive building.

Penn has been interested in politics for quite some time. While he loves acting he is also a huge fan of those political science classes. He studied international studies at Stanford in 2006.

He was given the blessing of the producers, David Shore and Katie Jacobs to pursue this new phase in his life.

Entertainment Weekly quotes the actor’s explanation for leaving the hit television show.

I was incredibly honored a couple of months ago to get the opportunity to go work in the White House. I got to know the President and some of the staff during the campaign and had expressed interest in working there, so I’m going to be the associate director in the White House office of public liaison. They do outreach with the American public and with different organizations. They’re basically the front door of the White House. They take out all of the red tape that falls between the general public and the White House. It’s similar to what I was doing on the campaign.

Biggest Tornado Ever Research Project Set For This Year

How do tornadoes work? That has been a question for decades for the storm chasers and researchers that probe the funnel beasts. From May 10 until June 13 a massive research project will take place in the US tornado belt.

The project named Verification Of Rotation in Tornadoes EXperiment 2 (VORTEX2) is being funded by National Science Foundation (NSF) and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). Ten universities are on board as well as scientists from NOAA and three non-profit groups.

Scientists do understand the basics of tornado formation. Basically when warm and cold air masses clash the funnel clouds can form. But what goes on inside those funnels remains a huge mystery.

The researchers are planning on sampling the super-cell thunderstorms that form over the Great Plains in the United States.

In Science reports:

“An important finding from the original VORTEX experiment was that tornadoes happen on smaller time and space scales than scientists had thought,” said Stephan Nelson, NSF program director for physical and dynamic meteorology.

“New advances from VORTEX2 will allow for a more detailed sampling of a storm’s wind, temperature and moisture environment, and lead to a better understanding of why tornadoes form–and how they can be more accurately predicted.”

The goal of Vortex2 is to understand the whys and hows of how tornadoes form. This information would save lives as predicting them would improve.

KTUL.com reports:

“Data collected from V2 will help researchers understand how tornadoes form and how the large-scale environment of thunderstorms is related to tornado formation,” said National Severe Storms Laboratory research meteorologist Louis Wicker.

The fifty researchers will be in research vehicles in order to get as close as possible to the twisters. The researchers will be using radars, mobile vehicles equipped with instruments, instrumented weather balloons, and research aircraft to get the most accurate measurements possible.

The first Vortex program took place during 1994 and 1995 in the central Great Plains. The research was the first time that the entire life cycle of a tornado was documented.

NOAA reports:

“VORTEX1 made a significant difference,” says NSSL researcher Lou Wicker, “But now we have a lot more technology to make real-time predictions, which can increase warning times.”

For more than 30 years researchers at NSSL have been working on understanding the complexities of tornadoes.

Courtroom Shooting Leaves 2 Dead In Germany

A man opened fire in a German courtroom killing his sister-in-law and wounding two others before killing himself. There was not a single police gun fired in the incident witnesses say came out of the blue.

The drama took place in Landshut which is about 47 miles north-east of Munich.

The dispute happened outside of the courtroom. Reports say that a 60-year-old man drew a revolver shooting the woman in the head. He also shot another woman and a man. They have serious but not life-threatening injuries.

The man went to another room killing himself before emergency workers could get to the scene.

The relatives were in court dealing with an inheritance dispute. The dispute between seven siblings has been a long-running one.

The wounded were another sister-in-law and one of the lawyers that is involved with the case.

A suicide note was given to the police from one of the brothers of the shooter, identified only as Franz N.

Times Online reports:

he apparently wrote of punishing his family for ‘terrorising’ him over many years. “I will pay the highest price for it – with my life,” the note read.

There are no weapon searches in Germany for civil cases.

The justice ministry has said that they will be reviewing their security arrangements in the wake of the shootings. There could be recommendations for the installation of x-ray machines to prevent such actions from occurring again.

Vermont legalizes gay marriage

The minimum vote needed passed the bill that overrides Governor Jim Douglas’ veto on gay marriage in Vermont Tuesday. That vote was followed by the Senate’s vote of 23-5 in favor of the bill.

Vermont is the latest state to legalize gay marriage. It is also the first state to do so with a legislature’s vote.

Vermont was the first state to allow for same-sex couples to have legal civil unions. It follows Connecticut, Massachusetts and Iowa in giving gays the right to marry.

AP reports:

“What really disappoints me is that we have spent some time on an issue during which another thousand Vermonters have lost their jobs,” the governor said Tuesday. “We need to turn out attention to balancing a budget without raising taxes, growing the economy, putting more people to work.”

As the bill becomes law one former Representative is especially happy. Robert Dostis and his partner Chuck Kletecka has been trying since 1992 to change the laws.

AP reports:

“It’s been a very long battle. It’s been almost 20 years to get to this point,” Dostis said. “I think finally, most people in Vermont understand that we’re a couple like any other couple. We’re as good and as bad as any other group of people. And now I think we have a chance to prove ourselves here on forward that we’re good members of our community.”

The couple will have been together for 25 years in September.

Kletecka asked his partner if his statements was a proposal. The reply was a positive one.

“Yeah,” Dostis replied. “Twenty-five years together, I think it’s time we finally got married.”

Bowel Cancer Stem Cell Discovery

Scientists have identified the rogue stem cells in the intestines that cause bowel cancer. That discovery should make it possible to find this type of cancer in the earliest stages when a cure is most possible.

Knowing which cells cause the cancer researchers hope that if they can be killed tumours that threaten life will never be able to form.

Professor Malcolm Alison, from Barts and The London School of Medicine, says that normally stem cells line the inside of the gut. The cells repair and replace tissue that digestion wears away. For an unknown reason those stem cells can mutate and produce cancer cells.

Sky News reports:

“Early detection would make treatment much easier, less invasive and much more effective,” Professor Alison said.

“It may be possible to kill these abnormal stem cells by triggering them to self destruct.”

It is expected that within three years drug trials will begin to destroy the abnormal cells.

More than 100 people a day are diagnosed in the UK with bowel cancer. Almost half of those will die from the disease.

In Canada colorectal cancer kills about 163 Canadians a week.

CIHR reports:

“It is estimated that 20,000 men and women will be diagnosed with colorectal cancer this year, and an estimated 8,500 will die from the disease” states Dr. Philip Branton, Scientific Director of the CIHR Institute of Cancer (ICR) based in Montreal. “We need more research to improve colorectal cancer screening in Canada.”

One of the priorities of CIHR-ICR is to make early detection of cancer one of its strategic research priorities.

Canada has two Atheist ministers

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In Canada there are quite a few people who say they are persons of no religion. Atheist beliefs have risen lately. Who takes care of their spiritual needs? In Canada there are two Atheist ministers.

In Canada in 2001 there were over 4.9 million people that have no religious affiliation. Of those 18,605 said that they are Atheist. Most atheists have studied religious material thoroughly and have concluded that for them there is no true evidence of the existence of gods or goddesses. The universe, Earth and life came about from a natural process not by the hand of a superior being. Because many Atheists say that they are Humanists, Free thinkers, Unitarian Universalists, Ethical Culturalists, persons of no religion, etc. when questioned by census takers the true number that reside in Canada is not clear.

Canadian atheists have an online magazine, loads of web sites and everything else that other Canadians may have. Heck The Canadian Atheist is even sending a rep to the Center for Inquiry World Congress 2009 later this month.

The one thing they don’t have many of is a minister who can perform ceremonies like marriages and funeral services.

That is changing with a Toronto journalist named Mike Krachan (aka “Phree”). Mr. Krachan recently was granted documents, letter of good standing, and I.D naming him as a minister.

Mike is well known in his circles as being Atheist. He’s rather public and proud of that. Curious about why Mike would want to take on the role of minister I interviewed him via email.

KM: Why would a Atheist want a minister considering the religious implications of the term?

MK: “I often tell my friends that I became ordained for just the parking privileges! Although the term is associated with religion by the majority of people, there are actually many different meanings to the word. Basically, a Minister is just someone who has been authorized to “administer” a service, such as an oath or pledge, or a duty. This could be a Minister of a particular religion, or a person appointed into a high government office, such as the Minister of Transportation, or the Prime Minister of Canada. Those legally ordained by the First Church of Atheism, as a “Minister of Ceremonies”, are able to perform many services including weddings, funerals, or “commitment” ceremonies. Of course, we can also charge a fee for these services. The FCA believes it is every Atheists right to perform these functions, and to have them available for those who desire them.”

KM: Exactly how did you obtain your minister status?

MK: By signing up and becoming a member of The First Church of Atheism, you are ordained automatically, free of charge. In order to perform ceremonies, or open a church, you need to obtain some documentation and Ministers identification card.

KJ: Where did you get your number of Canadians who are Atheist? Do you believe that number is correct as in past censuses those who say they are Atheist can also use different wording such as Humanists, Free thinkers, Unitarian Universalists, Ethical Culturalists, persons of no religion, etc.

MK: A recent Canadian Press Harris-Decima survey showed that 23% of Canadians have indicated that they do not believe in a god or gods.–(I also covered this on DJ)–Although these numbers are higher then ever before, and similar polls in the United States also indicate a rise in Atheism, I do believe that the actual numbers are much higher when we account the other non-believers. the problem lies with the definition I think. Some- erroneously in my opinion- like to define Atheism as a “belief that god does not exist”, whereas its proper definition “no belief, or a lack of belief in a god or gods” should be used to avoid this misconception of Atheists. By the latter definition, Agnostics, Humanists, Free thinkers,(some) persons of no religion,and yes even babies, all fall under the Atheists umbrella. When we compare our beliefs with other religions, all of us are Atheists to hundreds of gods that we don’t believe in…if you want to get really technical. If we decide to be even more technical and define Atheism as simply “without god”, then we are all Atheists period, as we are all certainly without god, by way of his physical absence in the universe.

KM: Do you believe those with a different religious world view should still be treated with respect? How as a minister would you guide others in dealing with those who believe?

MK: Yes and no. It really depends on if they’re an asshole or not! My personal opinion is that religious believers are more like victims that need to be helped, loved and forgiven for their mistakes, not scolded, but educated. I think the best approach for an Atheist Minister, is to teach other Atheists to forget about debunking religion so much, and lead by example. It is more important to show others that even an Atheist church can raise money for charity, feed the hungry, and shelter the poor. Leave the debunking for the pro’s, and start doing something good to set an example.

KM: What was your motivation to become an Atheist minister?

MK: Well I wasn’t motivated actually. I was in the middle of a debate and someone posted the link to the FCA, whilst trying to prove his point that Atheism was a so-called religion. Once I read about the special parking privileges, I was hooked!

KM: How do plan on using this new title? Are you planning on forming your own church?

MK: I plan on using my title as a Minister to its full effect. Whether it is parking privileges, tax breaks, or making a few bucks, I aim to take full advantage. I would like to form a church where Science is taught on Sundays, and where reason and logic is used with passion, and where music, art, and fun are encouraged at all times.

As I started to search for Atheist ministers I found only two in Canada. Mike Krachan and Rev. Lydia Holden of Saskatoon, SK.

2 Canada.com gives a definition of Atheism.

“Arguments for atheism can be divided into two main categories: those that dispute the existence of god, and those that demonstrate the ill effects of religion. It might be better if I broadened this somewhat, and said those that dispute the existence of an intervening god. Religion is, after all, more than the belief in a supreme being. It is the cult of that supreme being and the belief that his or her wishes have been made known or can be determined.”–Christopher Hitchens, in his introduction to The Portable Atheist.

Reg Bibby, an University of Lethbridge sociologist who has been studying Canadian religions and societal trend for thirty years conducted a national survey in 2005. He found that seven per cent of those who responded to his questions were atheists, a figure that was comparable to a 1975 study. His survey shows Canadians who personally don’t believe in God are not necessarily antagonistic toward organized religion.

Bibby says 46 per cent of atheist respondents agreed with the statement that, “religious groups still have a role to play in Canadian lives” while 19 per cent say they’d be open to greater involvement in religious groups. “If they could find it worthwhile for themselves or their families.” He believes that the responses are typical for most Canadians.

Canada.com reports:

“You may be a non-believer but that doesn’t mean you’re going to trash your grandma’s long-held beliefs when you get together for a family reunion,” Bibby says.

The First Church of Atheism, where Mike Kranchan got his minister papers only requires members to click on an “Ordain Me” link. Within 24 hours a confirmation email is sent. To remain ordained a new minister only has to visit the site from time to time.

They claim to have ordained 724 ministers world-wide. Only one Canadian minister is listed on their site at this time.

According to their FAQ those ordained are legally ordained ministers. They are able to perform every task any other clergy member is allowed.

To prove that they are ordained one simply purchases an Ordainment Certificate and receives a free ID card with that purchase. The certificate costs $14.95 and a Letter of Good Standing costs $5.95. Other items available are parking placards, marriage certificates and commitment certificates. It does cost money though to be listed as a minister on their web page so other ordained Canadian ministers may exist.

The church itself is located in Levittown, Pennsylvania.

Two violent brothers raise questions in UK

As the two child victims of a horrific attack that took place in the UK this weekend recover in hospital questions about their child attackers are surfacing. The attacks are just 10 and 11, brothers that are part of the nation’s foster care program.

Two brothers hurt two other boys in the UK this weekend. They are part of the foster care program. They have a mother who has washed her hands of them. They are just ten and eleven years old. What went wrong along the way and why were these boys allowed to roam the streets when social workers knew they were dangerous?

The boys mother told The Sun newspapers that ‘It’s got nowt to do with me – they weren’t even in my care.’

The boys have been charged with attempted murder and robbery. They have been described as ‘chaotic and dangerous’.

Relatives of the injured boys are outraged that the brothers were allowed to be roaming the area when it was known that they were dangerous.

The Daily Mail reports:

The aunt of the 11-year-old thrown in the ravine said: ‘They knew what the two attackers were capable of, but they did nothing.

‘Social services should have taken them into more secure care, not just let them roam the streets. If he had been found just half an hour later my poor nephew would have died.

‘Now the worry is that the people responsible won’t be put away. They will go to a detention centre with a nice X-Box. That’s not punishment if you ask me.’

The boys aren’t the brothers first victims. The Daily Mail reports that just a week earlier Callam Flett, an 11-year-old choirboy at St John’s Church in Edlington was beaten by the boys at the same spot. Callam’s parents reported the attack immediately. The police according to Mrs. Flett wasn’t that interested, in fact the parents were warned that they could get in trouble if the bandied around the brothers names.

I am appalled and shocked,’ said Mrs Flett. ‘The attack on my son was horrific and he could quite easily have been very seriously injured.’

Just hours before the brothers attacked the children that are still in hospital they were questioned by the police concerning Callam’s attack.

The oldest boy was the most seriously injured Saturday. He had to be airlifted to Sheffield Children’s Hospital. Yesterday he improved from critical to stable and the ventilator keeping him alive was finally able to be removed.

His 16-year-old brother said: ‘He could hardly open his eyes in hospital. They were swollen shut with a slice cut running along the bottom of one eye. His face is covered in bruises and cuts. He looks like he has been battered in a boxing match. None of us can believe what’s happened. Kids get into little fights but this is something different. It’s horrible.’

The boy’s parents released a press statement thanking those who have prayed for their son reports The Telegraph.

His parents said: “We would like to thank all the community for their help in finding our son and for all their continued support through what is a very traumatic time. We are hoping that our son will continue to recover from his ordeal and ask that the media would please respect our privacy and not approach our family or friends.”

Because of their ages the brothers can not be named. The Daily Mail though has discovered that they spent time in the care of Doncaster council. Detectives have been granted an additional 36 hours to question them.

Since the incident the brothers have been in custody. The Telegraph reports:

Chris Hartley, Head of the CPS’s Crown Court unit, said: “South Yorkshire Police have been investigating an incident in Edlington during which two young boys aged nine and eleven received significant injuries. They arrested two boys aged ten and eleven in connection with this incident.

“South Yorkshire CPS has been advising the Police during the last few days as their investigations continued. We have now authorised the police to charge a boy aged ten and a boy aged eleven.

“Each boy will be charged with an offence of attempted murder of each victim and each boy will also be charged with an offence of robbery against each victim. This gives a total for four charges for each boy.”

Neighbours of the foster family that was trying to care for them say that the boys claimed ownership of the street.

The Daily Mail reports:

Charles Dunn, 52, said: ‘They were tearaways who were completely out of control.

‘They were strutting around like cocks of the walk and seen wandering barefoot and dirty, trespassing, lighting fires and being rowdy.

‘I saw them smoking and wouldn’t have been surprised if they weren’t drunk.’

Philip Metcalf, 45, an odd-job man, said: ‘Their behaviour was shocking. They were running riot and it didn’t look like the foster parents could exert any control.’

The event has been deemed shocking by Home Secretary Jacqui Smith and Downing Street.

Teletext.co.uk reports:

Paul Hart, managing director of Doncaster Council, said: “This is a truly shocking and upsetting incident and we are working closely with our partners to assist the investigation. We can confirm that the two boys in custody have recently been placed into foster care. As this is an ongoing criminal investigation we cannot add anything further at this time.”

The Doncaster Council department is already being looked at as investigations are underway about the deaths of seven children in the borough since 2004. This year Children’s Secretary Ed Balls replaced the management team of the children’s service at the authority.

Opinion: Did Mother Nature Forget It’s Spring in Ontario?

Southern Ontario residents woke this morning to a coating of wintry white on their lawns. Didn’t anyone page Mother Nature that it was time for flowers?

Toronto has a dusting of white this morning covering lawns that had trees beginning to bud. It’s spring in the city but someone forgot to tell Mother Nature. Up to five centimetres of snow has fallen around the Greater Toronto Area since Monday. That is giving the city a springtime slippery nightmare on the roads.

From Barrie to Orillia to Toronto the white stuff has come back to haunt those living in southern Ontario. By late Monday night some spots were being warned that 20 centimetres of snow would be settling on the lawns.

In Toronto it’s expected that one last hurrah for Mother Nature will come in April. She’s like that, you start to believe that the spring is completely here and then she dumps a few centimetres of her white stuff down on you.

Dave Phillips, Environment Canada’s senior climatologist, said there have only been two Aprils in the past 30 years that didn’t have any snow.

“Getting snow in April is a sure thing,” he said.

Rest assured Toronto, the weekend is expected to reach 8 C to 11 C. It’s just that is the weekend. Ontario residents will be seeing more of the white stuff until then. Snow is expected for Wednesday and Thursday.

Stolen Canadian Cessna Lands In Missouri

A Cessna stolen from a flight school in Canada has landed in Missouri after being trailed by two jet fighters from Wisconsin. Reports say that the pilot was a naturalized Canadian. His home country has not been released.

The Cessna was taken from Confederation College Flight School at Thunder Bay International Airport.in Thunder Bay, Ontario at about 2:30 p.m. Monday. The pilot is thought to have been a student. When the plane was intercepted at the Michigan-Wisconsin border the pilot was behaving erratically and did not communicate to the fighter pilots.

The pilot is a naturalized Canadian. He had only clocked a few hours of flight time.

CNN reports:

Canadian officials have received some information that the pilot is “not a happy individual,” the official said.

The Wisconsin Air National Guard sent the F-16 jets to track the event listed as a “fight safety issue.” There was not a fear of a terrorist threat.

As a precaution the state Capitol building in Madison was evacuated shortly after 5 p.m. Monday evening. Governor Jim Doyle was in Chicago at the time. An hour later people were allowed to return to the building.

The Cessna landed on a dirt road in Ellsinore, population 360, late Monday. The pilot fled the area on foot.

CNN reports:

“We don’t want to suppose the motive of the individual,” NORAD spokesman, Mike Kucharek told CNN’s “Anderson Cooper 360″ after the landing. “But it certainly made a day for the professional pilots that were flying these missions and a very serious situation from a NORAD perspective.”

Authorities know the identity of the pilot. Laura Brown, a spokeswoman for the Federal Aviation Administration, refused to release the man’s age or name.

Local law enforcement officials are responding to the incident.

update-Monday night that authorities took 31-year-old Adam Dylan Leon into custody near Ellsinore in the southeastern part of the state.

Denied her fortune Mary McCarthy died in Cuba Friday

For fifty years Mary McCarthy, 108, lived in poverty even though she had a fortune in the bank. That account was frozen though during the US embargo against Cuba in 1962.

In 1924 Mary moved to Cuba when she married a Spanish business man, Pedro Gomez Cueto. The two had met while Mary was studying music in Boston. For a year the two dated, Mary teaching music in St. John’s at her father’s request. The Newfoundland native quickly became part of the high society in Cuba helping to found the Havana Philharmonic Orchestra and an orphanage for boys. He made boots, selling them to the Americans during World War II. They became rich.

In 1951 her husband died. She was 51 and decided to stay in Cuba.

While Mary wasn’t always a fan of about Fidel and his revolution she did concede that poverty and illiteracy ended with his rule. She saw Castro at the annual Canadian embassy party where he would greet her with: “I know your face, I know your face – but I don’t remember who you are.”

Castro had confiscated her holdings after husband Pedro passed away. At the time the fortune was worth $4 million. She was given a monthly pension of 200 pesos.

Then came the US imposed a trade embargo against Cuba in 1962. All of the money that her husband had left her was in an American bank. Unable to touch the money the native Canadian lived in poverty. Finally in 2007 intervention came in the form of a Canadian diplomat. Washington finally allowed her an allowance from her inheritance, $96 a month.

Americans would tell Mary that her money problems would be solved if she went back to Newfoundland. She said the weather was just too cold for her.

Because of the small amount of money she was drawing Mary was not able to get medical help. The US refused to transfer extra money needed for treatment for respiratory problems in time.

Mary died on Friday. A humble coffin was lowered into the ground beside her husband.

Reuters reports:

“Mary McCarthy was perhaps the best welder of the friendship between the people of Cuba and Canada,” said the Canadian consul, Mark Burger.

Steve Bierfeldt of Ron Paul Group Detained At St. Louis Airport

An official with Ron Paul has been detained and harassed by the Transportation Security Administration. Steve Bierfeldt, director of development for Campaign for Liberty, was filmed in St. Louis being selected for additional screening.

Bierfeldt was carrying a metal box in his luggage that had checks and cash made out to the campaign.

Bierfeldt had been attending his organization’s regional conference in St. Louis when he went to the airport on March 29.

The director was aware that the Missouri law enforcement officials intended to ID members of radical militia members.

The Washington Times reports:

Militia members most commonly associate with third-party political groups,” said the report, issued Feb. 20 by the Missouri Information Analysis Center. “It is not uncommon for militia members to display Constitution Party, Campaign for Liberty or Libertarian material. These members are usually supporters of former presidential candidates Ron Paul, Chuck Baldwin and Bob Barr.”

After being interrogated for almost thirty minutes Bierfeldt was allowed to get on his flight to Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport.

Bierfeldt used his Iphone to record the event and gave a copy of the recording to the Washington Times for review.

Bierfeldt asked the officials after every question if he was legally required to the questions. The officials accused him of “doublespeak” during the questioning because he continued to refuse to answer questions.

The Washington Times reports:

“I was not refusing to answer the questions. I was only saying, as per the law, ‘Am I legally required to answer the questions?’” Mr. Bierfeldt later said in an interview with The Times.

“We are becoming far too eager to give away our liberties in the face of false security. We want to make our plane and we don’t want a five-minute hassle so we are eager to give up our freedom, and that is unfortunate,” Mr. Bierfeldt said.

The officials were angered when Bierfeldt refused to answer questions asking him if “Are you from this planet?” and “You want to play smartass, and I’m not going to play your fucking game.”

The New American interviewed Bierfeldt after the incident about his feelings.

In an interview with The New American, Steve recalled his experience: “I headed over to the airport and had gone through all the different levels of security.”

“One of the agents monitoring the screener called over her supervisor, who took my bag out of the line and brought it over to a side table. He told me he had to look at it. He pulled out the cash box and said he had to look through it. My response was ‘am I being detained, sir, or am I free to go?’”

Mr. Paul, a member of the U.S. House was shocked by the incident.

The TSA stands firm that they were in rights to question Bierfeldt about his employment and why he was carrying such a large amount of money.

Chris Brown Pleads Not Guilty In Court Today

In Los Angeles Monday singer Chris Brown told the court that he was not guilty of assault charges that have been filed against him. Brown’s mother was in the courtroom listening to her son.

Chris Brown has told the judge he’s not guilty of assaulting or threatening his girlfriend Rihanna.

Brown, 19, appeared in Los Angeles Superior Court with his lawyer on Monday. Prosecutors have said that the R&B singer attacked Rihanna, 21, during a fight last February.

Photographs of the woman were leaked to the media showing her bruised and battered.

Another court date has been set for April 29.

If Brown is convicted of the charges he could be sentenced to probation or close to five years in prison.

Since the incident Brown has lost several sponsors. Some radio stations are no longer playing his music.

Morgan Tsvangirai’s grandson drowned this weekend

Zimbabwean prime minister, Morgan Tsvangirai, is dealing with another family tragedy in just weeks. Wife Susan was killed on March 6 from injuries in a car accident. This weekend his grandson, 3, died in a swimming pool accident.

Sean was found drowned in the family’s pool at Tsvangirai’s house in Strathaven. The Canadian toddler’s family was in Zimbabwe for the funeral of Garikai Tsvangirai’s mother.

Garikai Tsvangirai and his wife had been due to return to Canada on Sunday. They will now stay until the burial of their child who is being laid to rest beside his grandmother in her home village of Buhera.

There are concerns that Tsvangirai is not prepared to push reforms through the government in Zimbabwe as he deals with his grief. Tsvangirai will be expected to be a key player in the writing of a new constitution,implementing a land audit, attempting to stop land invasions and organising fresh elections within the next 18 months.

The Prime Minister returned to his home quickly from a World Bank-sponsored retreat for the Zimbawean Cabinet in Victoria Falls to be with his family.

Tsvangirai had just returned to work last Thursday after mourning his wife’s death. He shares power with President Robert Mugabe.

Times Online reports:

A senior aide said: “It was amazing. When he came back, Morgan was really on top of things, probably more than I have seen him before. He was strong, energetic, decisive. He didn’t need a gradual re-entry.”

Bangladesh arrest head of Green Crescent Charity orphanage

A British citizen who has twice before been cleared of terrorist bomb charges in the UK was detained in Bangladesh on Monday.

Police in Bangladesh have detained the head of a British-based charity after authorities seized weapons and explosives at the school. Faisal Mostafa runs the Green Crescent charity based out of London. He and an aide are being held for questioning.

Officials are rejecting the claims of Mostafa’s relatives that he was held for a number of day saying that he was arrested in Gazipur on Monday.

Golam Mostafa, father of the man being detained, said his son phoned him last Wednesday saying that he was in detention. The family reported that Mostafa was missing since March 26 to the media. Two days prior to his disappearance the Green Crescent Madrassah and Orphanage had been raided by the police. Mostafa’s location has been unclear since two days after the raid.

Dr. Mostafa, 45, was presented at a press conference in Dhaka on Monday according to the BBC. He has yet to be charged with any crime.

During the raid on the school police found a large cache of guns, bullets and bomb-making materials as well as books on jihad, or holy war. At that time they arrested four employees including a religious teacher.

The BBC reports:

Col Rezaur Rahman Khan of the Rapid Action Battalion told the AFP news agency: “Faisal and the local co-ordinator of the charity were arrested early Monday morning. They are suspected of using the Green Crescent-owned madrassa for militant training and making bombs.”

The school is home to orphans. It opened up just a few months ago in a remote area using funds from the Green Crescent charity.

Earth Times reports:

“We captured Faisal based on confession statements of one of the suspected militants detained earlier from the madrasa (religious school) in Bhola,” Rezanur said.

Bangladesh has had attacks by Islamic radicals at political rallies, courts and cultural venues for the past few years. The government is largely secular which goes against the ideals of those who want strict Islamic rulings.

In the UK the Charity Commission, the independent regulator of charities in England and Wales, is very concerned about the reports of a weapons cache at the Islamic school. The commission is working with relevant law enforcement and other agencies investigating the allegations of any connection with the Green Crescent charity.

The Daily Star reports:

A spokesman for counter-terrorism think-tank Quilliam Foundation told Mail Online, “If Green Crescent has been involved in militant activity, this will reflect very poorly on the Charity Commission, particularly given that Mostafa, the head of the charity, had previously been put on trial twice for terrorist offences.”

“Ineffectiveness by the Charity Commission in identifying and tackling extremist charities leads to the British taxpayer directly subsiding militancy,” he said.

In November 2008 Mostafa was found guilty in Manchester of possession of dangerous weapons and making a false statement about baggage cargo at the city’s airport.

The Daily Star reports:

Saeed Mahmood of Stockport-based charity Human Appeal International yesterday told Mail Online, “Faisal comes in every few months about mainland projects in Bangladesh. We only work with organisations that are registered with the Charity Commission so we had no idea about these allegations.”

Mostafa’s father says his son is innocent. The Guardian quotes the 73-year-old retired accountant.

“He runs a small orphanage for children aged eight to 11 and a medical centre and he is not a terrorist,” he said.

“The equipment they found is not for bomb-making. He’s a hunter and has a licensed gun. The cartridges are expensive and he makes his own.” He said Faisal had been accused of being a terrorist in the past and had been cleared of all charges by British courts.

As she laid sleeping Paris Whitehead-Hamilton was killed Sunday

As she lay sleeping in her bed Paris Whitehead-Hamilton was taken from this world with a bullet shot outside of her home. An eighteen-year-old suspect opened fire piercing the home with more than 50 bullets.

At about 2:20 AM Sunday young Paris was ripped from life as a single bullet hit her upper torso.

The Lakeland Ledger reports:

“It’s shocking to see that baby get hurt,” said Twynette Green, 37, a six-year resident of the street whose 2-year-old grandchild was among the nine people in the house during the shooting. “At first, we thought it was firecrackers, but then it just locked in and all we heard was shooting.”

Paris’ father, Robert E. Hamilton has yet to be contacted. He’s serving his country in the military.

The child’s mother died from a fall in 2006.

She lived at the house at 771 Preston Avenue South with her aunt, Shenita Joseph, 42. Paris’ aunt is staying at a hotel now. Her grief is too strong to be around family.

The man that stands accused of killing her began his criminal history at just a year older than the life that was taken last night. At nine he was charged with disrupting a school environment. More charges followed him at age 11 and then again at age 12.

By 2006 he was charged with possession of cocaine. This year in February he was charged with aggravated fleeing and eluding, marijuana possession and operating a vehicle without a license. He now sits in a cell at Pinella County Jail. Police say they have other suspects in the case.

Investigators have discovered that there was an on-going dispute between a male that lived at the home and the suspect. A fight, retaliation. A child is killed.

News-Press.com reports:

“I’m not going to say this is gang-related but we know there was a neighborhood dispute,” said Chief Chuck Harmon of the St. Petersburg Police Department.

It’s being said that was the motive for this senseless killing.

Detectives seized three assault rifles, two shotguns and one bullet-proof vest from an apartment at Citrus Grove Apartments at 711 15th Street South.

ABC Action News reports:

Chief Harmon said he wanted like to reassure the citizens of St. Petersburg that “the St. Petersburg Police Department will aggressively pursue any criminal who uses an assault rifle to commit acts of violence against innocent victims in our community.”

Police have charged Stephan C. Harper of St. Petersburg with first-degree murder. They say he planned and then participated in the shooting.

Today as the children that knew little Paris return to school they will be greeted by grief counselors. The 360 children at Imagine School of St. Petersburg are returning from Spring Break this morning. Today they will have to learn a harsh lesson, a child died, their friend will not return.

Some lessons should never have to be taught.

‘Change Begins Within’ Concert Reunites McCartney and Starr

The Beatles hit the stage in New York City Saturday night, at least the last two surviving members of the group. Paul McCartney introduced “Bill Shears” to the stage after performing a set that included hit Beatles songs.

The Shears mention was a salute to the imaginary singer from the Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Bandalbum. With the intro in place Ringo Starr drummed his way into a version of With a Little Help From My Friends sharing the mic with McCartney. The pair embraced after the song that had the crowd drowning them out.

Starr then performed It Don’t Come Easy, Yellow Submarine and Boys.

It was the first time the two had shared a stage since 2002 when they played a tribute concert to honour the late George Harrison. The duo had not confirmed that they would perform last night together even though they were both due on the stage.

The concert at the Radio City Music Hall was filled with notables starring for David Lynch Foundation’s “Change Begins Within” benefit concert. The concert raised awareness and funds for Lynch’s charity that works to promote the late Maharishi Mahesh Yogi’s Transcendental Meditation technique.

Also among those on tap to sing to the crowd were Moby, Donavan, Sheryl Crow, Ben Harper and Mike Love.

Jerry Seinfeld was on hand to discuss relaxation and how relaxed the American public now are as Newsday reports:

Seinfeld kept going with the relaxation theme – right into the rest room – and the automatic urinals and no-handle sinks, though he rightly observed that the sinks aren’t quite as good at detections. “Hey toilet, aren’t you two working together?” he said. “Tell him, it’s me.”

Child Critically Wounded In Attack, Two Children Are Suspects

One child is cut from head to toe and another in critical condition after being attacked by two other children demanding their shoes, money and mobile phones. The crime is breaking the heart of those that reside in Edlington, Doncaster, South Yorkshire.

An eleven-year-old is fighting for his life in Edlington, Doncaster, South Yorkshire after and his friend is struggling to deal with a knife attack. Two other children are suspected of crime.

The crime has shocked the community with the horrific tale of two children being brutalized by other children. The younger of the boys attacked wandered the streets coated in his own blood from numerous stab wounds until a man brought him into his home and called an ambulance.The Daily News reports that Derek Wright rescued the child.

Mrs Wright, 68, said: ‘My husband saw him walking past the outside of our house and he was covered in what my husband thought was red paint. When he went out he saw it was blood.

‘We brought him in and my husband calmed him down. He had a big gash on his arm and he was covered in blood on his head. He was shaking very badly and going into shock.

‘He had no shoes or socks on and he was wet through. To me I thought he had been in water, that’s what it looked like from the waist down, he was just wet through.

‘My husband got a few words out of him, what his name was and that two boys had attacked him.’

It’s being reported that the two young boys were confronted by the other children while bike riding.

The two suspects demanded that the children hand over their cell phones, money and shoes. When the two resisted the attackers tortured them with burning cigarettes, stabbed them from head to toe and beat them with bricks according to witnesses.

The child now in critical condition was pushed down a 30ft embankment. He was found at the bottom of the embankment semi-conscious. He was then air-lifted to hospital. The younger child is being treated at at Doncaster Royal Infirmary.

The Daily Mail reports:

A spokesman for South Yorkshire Police said: ‘An 11-year-old boy was found partially conscious with life-threatening injuries to his head.

‘He was airlifted to Sheffield Children’s Hospital and placed in intensive care. His condition was described as critical but stable.’

The police have arrested two boys, aged 10 and 11 in connection with the attack.

Teenage suicide bomber the third Pakistan attack in 24 hours

At least thirty people were killed in an attack on the Shia community in Pakistan today. It was the third such attack in the past twenty-four hours.

Earlier attacks targeted near the UN office in Islamabad and Waziristan where 17 people lost their lives.

A teenager is behind the third attack in Pakistan within 24 hours. The suicide bomber detonated himself at a religious gathering of the Shia community.

The bomber is said to have been between 16 and 17 years of age. He detonated himself near the gate of a prayer hall in Chakwal. The town is about 90 km from Islamabad.

The teen had been barred from entering the complex by those guarding the entrance. There were about 2,000 worshipers in the prayer hall at the time of the attack. In addition to the 30 dead, 200 people were wounded.

Shanghai Daily reports:

“Had he succeeded in exploding inside it could have caused a much bigger loss because there were hundreds of people inside,” Nasir Khan Durrani said.

Local media showed video of the carnage. Pools of blood were seen in front of the mosque.

The attack has been condemned by Pakistan’s Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani who reminded people that those behind such violence want to give Islam a bad name.

Farrah Fawcett In Hospital

Fawcett is said to be in critical condition. Long-time love Ryan O’Neal is reported to be at her bedside. Their son Redmond left a drug treatment center in order to be with his mother.

News reports say that Farrah Fawcett is in critical-but-stable condition at a Los Angeles-area hospital.

Fawcett was diagnosed with anal cancer in 2006. In 2007 she announced at a press conference that she was cancer free. The cancer returned shortly after the conference.

Earlier this year she flew to Germany for stem-cell treatment.

Sources told RadarOnline.com that she was unconscious and that been in hospital since Thursday.

The New York Daily News reports;

“In the face of excruciating pain and uncertainly, I never lost hope and it never occurred to me to stop fighting – not ever,” she said in a statement to fans.

Anal cancer is rare. Symptoms include bleeding, pain or lumps in the anal area.

911 Call Over Dog Urinating Lead To Pittsburgh Police Killings

The 911 call that lead to 3 police officers being killed in Pittsburgh on Saturday was over a pet. The mother called the police when a fight about a dog escalated to where she requested police assistance to remove her son from the home.

Margaret Poplawski opened the door to the police welcoming them into her home unaware her son was standing behind her armed with a rifle. When she heard the first gunshot she ran to the basement for her own safety.

Officers Paul Sciullo III was shot in the head and torso and Stephen Mayhle was shot in the head. They both died at the scene.

Officer Eric Kelly was on his way home when he responded to the call. He was gunned down in the street.

Richard Poplawski and the police then started a standoff. During the four hours that passed Poplawski allegedly attempted to kill at least nine other police officers according to the police. From a bedroom window the suspect fired onto the police.

There was at least one other domestic incident on police files concerning the suspect. In 2005 a former girlfriend of the suspect filed a protection from abuse order against him. She claimed that the man had threatened to kill her.

Friends who talked to the suspect during the standoff said that they had plans for the weekend.

KDKA reports:

“I got a call whenever I was at my job at Children’s Hospital and I heard gunfire and he said ‘Eddie, I’m gonna die today and he said tell your family I love them. Tell your mother I love her’ and he hung up the phone and I heard gunfire in the background right before he hung up,” said Perkovic. “He always told me if something like that ever happened he would commit suicide before he would give himself up and I came here immediately to negotiate… He sounded like he was in pain like he got shot.”

Friends are expressing shock about the young man they say is brilliant.

“Brilliant, though, smart. The brain on this kid,” said Jeff Loeffler. “He could have done anything he wanted I believe if he would have applied himself and really pushed himself. God only knows what twisted his mind so bad. I don’t know.”

Poplawski has been three counts of criminal homicide and nine counts of attempted homicide. He is also being charged with possessing an instrument of crime. That instrument was the bulletproof vest that he donned while in the gun battle with the police. It is not clear how the man obtained the vest. The 23-year-old man is also charged with firing weapons into two occupied neighboring homes and with recklessly endangering four civilians with gunfire.

That vest stopped an untold number of bullets keeping the man from being more seriously wounded. He is currently being held at UPMC Presbyterian Hospital for gun wounds to his legs. He is expected to survive.

Antarctic ice bridge has shattered

An Antarctic ice bridge that connected two islands has shattered. The event happened on Saturday. Satellite images from the European Space Agency have shown the location of the ice bridge snap.

The location is a 40-kilometre area that links the Charcot and Latady islands to the Wilkins Ice Shelf.

There is a fear in the scientific community that the collapse will allow currents from the ocean to wash away even more of the ice shelf. Some have speculated that the northern half of the shelf, which is about the size of Jamaica could become a giant iceberg.

Since the 1990’s the Wilkins Ice Shelf has been moving. Experts say though this is the first time that one of the links that keeps the shelf in place has crumbled.

CBC reports:

David Vaughan, an expert in glaciers with the British Antarctic Survey (BAS), said the bridge was intact two days ago.

“It’s amazing how the ice has ruptured,” he told the Reuters news agency. “We’ve waited a long time to see this.”

Toronto Wants To Be North American Leader In Electric Cars

Electric plug-in cars makes sense for North Americans. The vehicles are better for the environment than conventional cars. That’s one of the reasons that Toronto is hoping to be a leader in North America in the plug-in movement.

Toronto is racing to become one of the first cities in North America to be ready for wide-scale use of electric plug-in vehicles.

Teaming up with Colorado-based “Project Get Ready” Toronto is laying the ground work for the plug-in cars.

Part of that process is putting together an action plan, considering new pilot projects, and consulting with stakeholders to prepare the city for the coming years of the use of the cars.

CTV reports:

“The end goal is to be ready for more electric vehicles when they become available,” Ben Marins, the manager of special projects at the city-run Toronto Atmospheric Fund, tells CTV.ca.

“When those three things come together, what they do is encourage vehicle manufacturers to sell here. You are not going to sell to a market that is not ready,” he explains.

“The plug-in market is growing. GM is coming out with the Volt in 2010 and other manufacturers are also coming out with plug-in hybrids … What we’re seeing now is the technology is coming forward,” he says.

Toronto can’t go electric over night. The infrastructure is not set up for several cars charging up on a block yet. Nor is the product ready to move out. In order to be ready Toronto has show the manufacturers that the citizens will buy the product or at least commit the city to a certain number of the plug-ins.

The car industry also isn’t going to be motivated to sell to Toronto if there isn’t a plan in action. Automobile manufactures have started to be committed to producing “plug-in” hybrids and all-electric vehicles by next year. There are already some electric cars out there in fact almost every auto manufacturer has a model either scheduled for production or in concept.

BMW has the Mini-E for instance.

Zenn sells their electric cars in Quebec. Not only do they sell an electric car but they have a Zenn conversion kit that can replace a combustion engine with a ZENN electric drivetrain properly married to an EEStor storage unit.

Ben Marins told CTV that the plug-in cars will help Canada with environmental goals in the future as long as the city is prepared in time.

“Transportation accounts for 25 per cent of Toronto’s greenhouse gas emissions and that’s significant. If we are going to hit our reduction goals the reality is you’re going to have to take cars off the road. Is that going to happen? Probably not on large scale,” he says.

“What we’re doing is presenting vehicle electrification as one solution to tackle this and meet those reduction goals.”

Kidnapped UN Worker Freed In Pakistan

John Solecki was kidnapped more than two months ago near the Afghan border. He was freed Saturday according to a police official.

Solecki was found Saturday evening with his hands and feet bound pleading for help about 30 miles south of Quetta. The kidnappers are reported to have called a local news agency with directions to locate the man.

Solecki was found by Mohammed Anwar, an area restaurant owner.

Agence France-Presse reports:

“I’m very pleased that John Solecki … has been released today. I’m very happy,” said Secretary General Ban Ki-moon soon after the American, who headed the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) office in Quetta, was freed.

Ban expressed his “sincere appreciation” to Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari, Afghan head of state Hamid Karzai and “many other people” for “working tirelessly” to secure Solecki’s release.

Solecki will be reunited with his family as soon as possible. He headed the U.N. refugee agency’s operations in Quetta.

Solecki was taken on February 2. His driver was killed during his abduction. His kidnappers had demanded the release of hundreds of people from alleged detention by the Pakistani security agencies.

Kids being raised by their grandparents and the recession

Grandparents raising their children’s children are having a tough time during the current recession. While the unemployment rate is lower for those who are older once they lose their jobs it is more difficult for them to find work.

Adults who are raising their grandchildren already have enough on their plate without having to deal with the recession as well. With pink slips flying the recession can hit hard for those just making ends met at an age where finding a good job is close to impossible.The unemployment rate for those 55 and over have risen to 6.2% as of March. That is the highest figure since September 1949.

At the same tome the unemployment rates rise more grandparents have had to take on raising their grandchildren. In 2007 there were about 4.7 million children living in homes headed by at least one of their grandparents. The shift to grandparents raising their children’s offspring has risen due to several factors including more parents into drugs, AIDS, cancer and when struck by tragedy single adults leaving their children behind.

While not all grandparents are the sole providers most make significant contributions.

The Wall Street Journal reports:

Not all of these grandparents are sole caregivers, says Kenneth Bryson, a director at Generations United, a Washington nonprofit, “but most are making important contributions,” providing “substantial care so that the parents can work or go to school.”

In the United States about twenty percent of grandparents or other relatives raising children other than their own receive grants. In New York that grant money comes to roughly $5,000 a year. That means the majority of those raising the kids are not getting any help.

Children who reside in foster care programs on average cost New York $22,000 per year for their care.

3 Police Officers Dead In Pittsburg Domestic Disturbance

A shooting at a residence in Pittsburg has left three police officers reported dead and two more wounded. They had responded to a domestic disturbance call.

A man opened fire Saturday morning on police officers investigating a domestic disturbance call. Three of the officers were killed and two more were wounded.

The man was arrested after a standoff took place for several hours.

The New York Times reports:

One friend, Edward Perkovic, said the gunman feared ”the Obama gun ban that’s on the way” and ”didn’t like our rights being infringed upon.” Another longtime friend, Aaron Vire, said he feared that President Obama was going to take away his rights, though he said he ”wasn’t violently against Obama.”

Perkovic said that the gunman had an unsuccessful Internet talk show. He also stated that the suspect had an AK-47 rifle and other powerful handguns.

Neighbours report hearing several incidents of multiple gunfire.

The suspect has yet to be named.

AP reports on the incident that started at 7:00 AM Saturday morning.

“When I looked down I saw two police officers laying in the street,” said Don Sand, who lives across the street and was awoken by the sound of gunfire.

A short time later, more officers, SWAT teams and other law enforcement arrived and a third officer was shot, Sand said.

“They couldn’t get the scene secure enough to get to them. They were just lying there bleeding,” Sand said. “By the time they secured the scene enough to get to them it was way too late.”[/quote[

Housing The Alcoholic Homeless May Make Dollar Sense

The program, 1811 Eastlake, a Seattle shelter allows their clients to drink on the premises it has been controversial. It was part of a study that shows housing alcoholics can reduce costs.

According to a new study published in the April 1 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association
health care costs can be reduced when homeless people with severe alcohol problems are given housing without having to give up drinking.

Psysorg reports:

“Our study suggests that homeless alcoholics who qualify to take part in Housing First can stay out of jails and emergency rooms, and cost the taxpayer a lot less money as a result,” said Mary E. Larimer, PhD, professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences and adjunct professor of psychology at the University of Washington and lead author of the study. “We also found that these benefits increase over time and that they are possible without requiring that participants stop drinking. And yet, the longer the participants stay in the housing program, the less they drink.”

Mary E. Larimer, Ph.D., of the University of Washington in Seattle, and colleagues studied 95 homeless people with severe alcohol problems that had been given housing under the Housing First program. They were compared with 39 persons that were on the waiting list as controls.

The cost of those being housed dropped from $4,066 a month to $1,462 in six months and then to $958 within a year of housing. The investigation showed the the housed subjects have lower costs of 53 percent over the first six months compared to those in the control study.

Modern Medicine reports:

“These findings support the basic premise of Housing First: providing housing to individuals who remain actively addicted to alcohol, without conditions such as abstinence or treatment attendance, can reduce the public burden associated with overuse of crisis services and reduce alcohol consumption,” the authors write. “Findings support strategies to retain these individuals in housing, including offering on-site medical and mental health services, supportive case managers, and minimal rules and regulations pertaining to their housing.”

The total cost for all 95 participants over one year was $8,175,922. This is cost of alcohol and drug detoxification and treatment, emergency medical services, Medicaid-funded services, jail bookings and days in jail.

After the one year mark the cost went down to $4,094,291 for the 95 participants members of the study.

Compared to those on the waiting list those in housing also decreased their daily drinking by 2 percent.

Seattle PI reports that the Housing First program has proved to be very successful.

“This is an extraordinarily successful program,” said Ron Sims, the outgoing King County Executive. He admitted Tuesday that he was among the many initial skeptics of the program, and that he had been concerned about it “enabling” alcoholism. He reluctantly allowed the county to fund it, with an initial investment of $2 million, followed by $240,000 a year in operational support.

“It was a doggone good thing to do,” he said. “Our return on investment has exceeded any expectation.”

Guy Ritchie Gives Public Support To Former Wife Madonna

Guy Ritchie has spoken out in defense of former wife Madonna. The singer was denied the right to adopt Mercy James, 4, of Malawi earlier this week by Judge Esmie Chondo.

In a statement Ritchie said that Madonna was a loving mother who cares about her children deeply. She also cares about children who need additional help and support.

The Telegraph reports:

“I fully supported Madonna in her decision to apply for this adoption, and I am saddened that her application has been rejected. She is motivated only by being a caring parent who seeks to share some of the advantages and opportunities that her life has given her. This time it did not work out, but there will be other opportunities and I wish her well in them. She is a great mum.”

The adoption laws in Malawi require that prospective parents reside in the nation for 18-24 months before an adoption can be granted. That rule was waived in the case of Madonna’s son David Banda, 3.

The judge also stated that if he allowed Madonna to adopt the child Mercy it could place other children at risk by opening the door for child traffickers.

Madonna is said to be appealing the court’s decision.

50 Dead Immigrants Found In Container in SW Pakistan

As many as 50 people were discovered dead in a container used to smuggle people into Europe. Another 110 people were alive when they were recovered from the container in the south western Pakistan town of Hazar Ganji area of Quetta.

Police and doctors say that the dead died from suffocation. Reports say that the people were from Afghanistan and were on route to Iran. The driver escaped to avoid being arrested.

The authorities investigated the container after local people reported sensing the smell of bodies. The container had entered Pakistan on Friday through the Chaman border.

Emergency was declared at all hospitals in Quetta.

Poisonous Spiders Spotted On Store Bought Organic Grapes

When you are buying organic grapes at the grocery you may want to make sure that spiders aren’t attached to fruit. The spiders are not that nice guys either, their bite could kill.

While it may sound like an urban legend poisonous spiders have been spotted in store bought clusters of grapes in Ohio, Boston, South Africa, and the U.K.

As the demand for organic products grows so does the use of natural predators like spiders as a kind of biological pest control. The grapes aren’t harmed by the spiders who prey on insects.

Gourmet reports:

“IPM (integrated pest management) is very mainstream in the table-grape industry and has been for a while now,” Kathleen Nave, president of the California Table Grape Commission, says. “It’s just a smart, logical way to grow grapes, and spiders are a beneficial part of that.”

In vineyards spiders account for 95 percent of predators used in IPM. Some of the vines have 10-50 spiders on them. Increasing percentages of black widows are being used. This is posing a serious problem though for the humans who love the grapes.

Not only do black widows thrive in organically farmed grape orchards where insects of all types abound, but they’re also thought to be resistant to many of the newer, less toxic insecticides and pesticides currently used by conventional growers.

Grapes aren’t the only fruit that carries spiders at times. Bananas have been known to have large brown spiders attached to. Last month a store manager at a Tulsa, Oklahoma Whole Foods found one of the spiders. It was feared that the furry beast was the Brazilian wandering spider which is one of the world’s more venomous spiders. It turned out to be a huntsman spider who just looks like a killer.

While most of the spiders are cleared from the fruit during the packing stage some do manage to take a free ride from the vineyard to a grocery story.

In Australia and New Zealand grapes are gassed before they are brought into the country.

“Organic growers don’t have a lot of proven options for controlling spiders,” Dr. Devin Carroll, an IPM consultant who has spent more than 20 years observing spiders in vineyards, says. “Care during packing is important, but it’s hard to avoid missing a few.”

Suspect Identified In New York Shooting

The man suspected of killing 13 people at the American Civic Association in upstate New York has been identified as a Vietnamese immigrant who was angry over losing his job and not being able to speak English well.

The suspect carried a hunting knife and two handguns into the citizenship center massacring 13 people before he turned the gun on himself.

Those who were killed were on the main floor of the American Civic Association in Binghamton.

The local media has named the man as Jiverly Voong, 42, who also went by the name of Wong and Linh Voong of Johnson City. Voong was recently laid off from a job said U.S. Rep. Maurice Hinchey, D-Hurley Friday.

SMH.com reports:

Police chief Joseph Zikuski said there were “14 confirmed dead in the building. We removed safely 37 people. Four people we removed are wounded. All four are listed in critical condition. “A lone gunman entered the building and immediately shot her and another receptionist,” Mr Zikuski said. “Unfortunately that [second] receptionist is now deceased. Then he went into another room and shot several more people.”

The police are saying that the suspect had ties to the center.

The police were able to tell what was going on in the building because of a wounded receptionist who played dead called 911 to get the police to the scene. She talked on her cell phone for 90 minutes feeding information to the police. She is being called a hero for the information she was able to give to the police despite being seriously injured with a wound to her abdomen.

The center was filled with people who were taking a class to gain their U.S. citizenship.

AP reports:

“I heard the shots, every shot. I heard no screams, just silence, shooting,” said Zhanar Tokhtabayeva, a 30-year-old from Kazakhstan who was in an English class when her teacher screamed for everyone to go to the storage room. “I heard shooting, very long time, and I was thinking, when will this stop? I was thinking that my life was finished.”

Experts are saying that the attack was premeditated. CBS reports:

“It obviously was premeditated,” said Binghamton Police Chief Joseph Zikuski, noting the gunman blocked the rear exit with his car. “He made sure nobody could escape.”

A senior law enforcement agent has said that the authorities have spoken to the suspect’s mother. While his sister has claimed disbelief that her brother could be the shooter the car that was blocking the back entrance to the building was registered to the suspect’s father. Voong and his family immigrated to the U.S. when he was young.

Press Connects is reporting the authorities left the home of the suspect carrying computer equipment, bags and two long rifle boxes. Voong had two handguns registered under his name reports say.

The suspect was a naturalized U.S. citizen who was unemployed at the time of the shooting. The Vietnamese immigrant was recently employed by a vacuum repair shop. He was an engineer who at one time worked at Endicott Interconnect Technologies, a high-tech electronics company in Endicott, New York. At Endicott the man went by the name Vaughn.

CNN reports:

“He was quiet — not a violent person,” said former co-worker Christine Guy, who now lives in Wellington, Colorado. “I can’t believe he would do something like this.

While some co-workers and neighbors are painting the picture of a quiet man Kevin Greene, 41, who worked with the suspect at the Shop Vac assembly plant in Binghamton prior to the shop’s closure in November remembers the man differently.

The New York Daily News reports:

“He went to target practice on Saturday. He said he had two guns, one in his glove compartment. He was always talking about his guns.”

Greene told FBI investigators he and a buddy used to joke about how they thought Voong “would come in mad one day and shoot people. He seemed like that kind of guy.”

That sentiment has been carried by another worker, Donald Ackley who said that his co-worker made comments like he wanted to kill the President. It’s unclear whether it was President Obama or President Bush the suspect wanted to kill.

AP reports:

Gov. David Paterson said the massacre was probably “the worst tragedy and senseless crime in the history of this city.” Noting mass killings in Alabama and Oakland, Calif., last month, he said: “When are we going to be able to curb the kind of violence that is so fraught and so rapid that we can’t even keep track of the incidents?”

The center was holding class “for those who want to become citizens of the United States of America, who wanted to be part of the American Dream, and so tragically may have had that hope thwarted today,” the governor said. “But there still is an American dream, and all of us who are Americans will try to heal this very, very deep wound in the city of Binghamton.”

CNN reports that President Obama also expressed his sadness about the event.

“Michelle and I were shocked and deeply saddened to learn about the act of senseless violence in Binghamton, New York, today,” he said. “Our thoughts and prayers go out to the victims, their families and the people of Binghamton.”

Did Ebola Vaccine Protect German Researcher?

Three weeks after accidentally being exposed to the Ebola virus a German researcher is considered in the clear. The scientist had nicked herself with a needle containing the lethal virus.

On March 12 the virologist at Bernhard Nocht Institute for Tropical Medicine in Hamburg, Germany accidentally jabbed herself with a syringe containing the virus while studying new tests for the virus infection with mice.

As soon as the woman reported the incident she was taken to hospital and placed into an isolated room. Visitors by doctors and nurses were conducted with extreme caution and protective clothing.

Ebola hemorrhagic fever kills up to 90 percent of its victims. The symptoms are fever, body aches, diarrhea, vomiting, red eyes, and internal and external bleeding.

Stephan Gunther, head of the Bernhard Nocht Institute for Tropical Medicine’s virology department, discussed the cases that evening with scientists from Canada and the United States. Together it was decided that a vaccine that had promising results in monkeys should be used on the woman. Within two days of the needle accident the woman received the vaccine from Winnipeg’s National Microbiology Lab.

The process for human trials of the vaccine could take years even though the researchers working at the Zoonotic Diseases and Special Pathogens at the Level 4 virus lab were confident that it would work on humans.

The Toronto Star reports:

[quote"We all perceived it to be a high enough risk to recommend the vaccine," Harvey Artsob, director of the Winnipeg lab said.

"The Winnipeg one was specifically targeted, so we were asked if we would supply the vaccine," Artsob said. It was sent on ice via Fed-Ex and arrived in time for the woman to be vaccinated two days after the possible exposure.

The woman came down with a fever fourteen hours after the vaccine.

Scientific American reports:

"At that moment, when she developed the fever, it wasn't clear if it was due to the Ebola virus," or to the vaccine, Günther says. But now that the virus' three-week incubation period has passed and no other Ebola symptoms have surfaced, Günther believes the vaccine – not the Ebola virus – was responsible.

"We are very confident the game is over," he says, noting that the woman was released from the hospital yesterday and is physically and psychologically stable. But how the woman evaded the disease remains a mystery – either she never became infected in the first place or the vaccine worked, Günther says. The good news, he says, "[is that] there were no serious side effects associated with the vaccine.”

The woman has now left the hospital with no lingering effects from the vaccine.

TBI and Domestic Violence

The healing process of a Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) is difficult in the best of times. One of the aspects of the injury can be aggressive behaviors that the patient brings on to their family.

Trauma to the brain can lead to repeated incidents of violent behavior in individuals without a previous history of aggression prior to the injury

Patients will TBI tend to be more dependent on their spouses. That tendency also appears to be related to higher levels of aggression towards spouses post-injury. Because of several factors patients often lash out at the one who is caring for them, in many cases this is the spouse.

Because patients can forget day to day incidents they can feel that they are being lied to. The frustration and anger from this process can be taken out on their family members when they are reminded of an event as this reporter has experienced.

In 1981 McKinley found that there was a a 70% incidence of post traumatic irritability of which 20% was defined as violent behavior that could persist for at least 5 years after injury. Furthermore that following head trauma aggression is often poorly directed, unrelated to any specific trigger, and can occur with minimal or no provocation. Because there has been damage to the orbital and ventro-medial structures behavioral self-control is damaged. This can also cause problems in rehabilitation and community reintegration.

Rodger L. Wood, Ph.D. and Christina Liossi, D.Psych. authored a study (Neuropsychological and Neurobehavioral Correlates of Aggression Following Traumatic Brain Injury ) that took place over a seven year period from March 1997 until June 2004 studying 287 severely head-injured patients referred for neuropsychological examination and rehabilitation advice were selected from 361 consecutive referrals.

The patients in the study had exclusion criteria of a) a previous history of head injury, neurological or psychiatric disorder; b) alcohol or drug abuse; c) neurological or neuropsychological disability, such as speech, motor or perceptual deficit, likely to interfere with neuropsychological assessment; and d) a pre-accident history of aggressive behavior.

These of the exclusion criteria 29 cases were dropped from the study. Patients were seen between one and three years post-injury. All patients in the study were living in the community but were having persisting employment and relationship difficulties as a result of the cognitive and behavioral legacies of their head injuries.

The authors assessed the study subjects through semi-structured clinical interview about the incidence and nature of aggressive behavior. Reports from family members and patients were corroborated by case records.

The authors found 134 cases of post-accident histories of verbally abusive and threatening behavior, or actual physical violence. Most of the violence had not involved the police. The majority of partners found that their relationship with their spouse with TBI had become extremely fragile as a result of impulsive aggression or unpredictable and volatile changes in mood and temperament after the brain injury occurred.

The researchers found that there was a relationship between low IQ, socioeconomic status, male sex, and aggression.

Domestic violence is in some ways different when dealing with a person with TBI. Because of the damage to the frontal lobe during a TBI a patient will often lose their social judgment capabilities. This can cause the person to not be able to reason the appropriateness of either their own behavior or the behavior they expect from others.

In the case of the family, the patient does not often understand the amount of patience the family has to have in dealing with him or her. The person with TBI also often may have little insight into their impact on the family.

While it is very difficult to do Brian Injury Org. reminds family members not to take the abuse personally. Each incident needs to be treated as an isolated one, even though it can be difficult.

Do not allow yourself to live in a reign of terror. If problems persist, you may need to consider professional support with a programme geared at behavioural management. Your local Brain Injury Association should be able to refer you to specialists in this area.

If at anytime the abusive behavior becomes physical do not stay. Your life can depend upon this.

Rocket Fuel Chemical Found in Some Baby Formulas

Perchlorate, a chemical in rocket fuel, has been found in samples of powdered baby formulas tested by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The threat to infants is not known. In the United States formulas must contain iodine which counteracts perchlorate’s effects. The chemical is not listed on the ingredients on formula labels.

The small study tested 15 powdered formulas and all were found to have the chemical in them. The formulas ranged from milk-based, soy-based, lactose-free or “elemental,” which are made with synthetic amino acids for babies who can’t digest standard formulas. Formulas derived from cow’s milk had the largest amounts of perchlorate. The researchers would not release the brand names of the formulas to the Associated Press.

The study did not measure the levels of perchlorate in infants. That study is considered essential because it would tell if infants are absorbing the perchlorate to which they may be exposed.

UPI reports:

“Perchlorate contamination of drinking water is a very serious concern, particularly for infants,” Dr. Anila Jacob, a senior scientist with Environmental Working Group, said in a statement. “As this unprecedented study demonstrates, infants fed cow’s milk-based powdered formula could be exposed to perchlorate from two sources — tap water and formula.”

Researchers say that when the formula is mixed with water containing trace amounts of perchlorate there could be potentially dangerous levels. According to the scientists significant amounts of the chemical can affect thyroid function. Fetal and infant brain development can also be affected by thyroid problems.

Lisa Jackson, the new administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, has pledged to act quickly to reduce perchlorate contamination in drinking water. Perchlorate has been found in drinking water in 28 states and territories, according to the Environmental Working Group.

Some Bagram Prisoners Have Same Rights As Those At Gitmo

It’s getting more complicated with the legal issues of detainees from the War against Terror. A federal judge has now ruled that some of the long-term prisoners at Bagram Air Base in Afghanistan have the same rights as the ones at Gitmo.

Appointed by former President George W. Bush, U.S. District Judge John Bates ruled that prisoners who were shipped to Bagram from outside of Afghanistan are legally “virtually identical” to those being held at Guantanamo Bay.

Al Jazeera reports:

“Bagram detainees who are not Afghan citizens, who were not captured in Afghanistan and who have been held for an unreasonable amount of time” may invoke the right to trial, John Bates, a US district judge, ruled in Washington on Thursday.

Citing the Supreme Court’s ruling of the right to habeas corpus that has been extended to Gitmo, Justice Bates ruled that the prisoners that fit the classification at Bagram also have the right to challenge their detention in front of a judge. This ruling is at odds with the Obama Administration. In February President Obama said that those at Bagram have no right to sue in federal court.

Judge Bates applied a six-part test set out by the Supreme Court in its decision in the case Boumediene v. Bush.

The Christian Science Monitor reports:

“It is one thing to detain those captured on the surrounding battlefield at a place like Bagram, which [government lawyers] correctly maintain is in a theater of war,” Bates said. “It is quite another thing to apprehend people in foreign countries – far from any Afghan battlefield – and then bring them to a theater of war, where the Constitution arguably may not reach.”

It is not clear how many of the prisoners at Bagram were captured aboard. Government lawyers say that the number of those detainees is classified. Because of that status portions of Judge Bates’ 53-page opinion had to be redacted with notations that they relate to classified information.

UPI reports:

“This is a great day for American justice,” said Ramzi Kassem, a lawyer for one of the detainees. “Today, a U.S. federal judge ruled that our government cannot simply kidnap people and hold them beyond the law.”

The case before Judge Bates centered on two Yemenis, a Tunisian and also an Afghan national. Bates ruled in favor for the all but Haji Wazir, the Afghan national. Bates wrote that releasing Wazir could create “practical obstacles in the form of friction with the host country.”

Bates said that the detainees at Bagram have even fewer rights than those at Gitmo when it comes to legal issues. Bagram detainees must represent themselves while those at Guantanamo are allowed a personal representative to assist them in reviewing their detention status.

“Obvious obstacles, including language and cultural differences, obstruct effective self-representation,” the judge said. “Detainees cannot even speak for themselves; they are only permitted to submit a written statement. But in submitting that statement, detainees do not know what evidence the United States relies upon to justify an ‘enemy combatant’ designation – so they lack meaningful opportunity to rebut that evidence,” the opinion said.

This ruling could mean hundreds of additional prisoners could seek a hearing in court to challenge the government’s basis for detaining them.

There are about 240 prisoners remaining at Gitmo. There are more than 600 prisoners at Bagram.

Mother Accused of Drugging Daughter to Impregnate Her

A western Pennsylvania mother is accused of drugging her 13-year-old daughter so that her boyfriend could get her pregnant without the child’s knowledge.

It is being reported that the mother was no longer able to have children yet wanted to have another child with her current boyfriend, Duane Calloway. She hatched onto a plan to allow the man have sex with her child in order to achieve that goal.

The mother, Shana Brown, 32, turned herself in on Thursday after being charged with endangering the welfare of a child. The boyfriend was arrested on Wednesday. He is facing several counts of attempted rape.

The child told the police about the plot to impregnate her. Her mother had approached her about the idea of the child carrying the man’s baby in December. The teen refused. At that point the boyfriend attempted to rape the child three separate times.

The police found an empty rum bottle, Tylenol PM and a pill crusher at the residence.

Canadian women facing four year for smoking joint in Indonesia

Two Canadian women who smoked a marijuana joint while on holiday in Indonesia are facing a four year prison term. In Indonesia marijuana and heroin are in the same drug class.

The two, Kathleen Ann Elisabeth, 31, and Christa Mary, 30, were arrested in February on the island of Lombok. They remain in police custody.

AFP reports:

“The two women were arrested in February while they were smoking cannabis,” Central Lombok police chief Suryanto told AFP.

The two kindergarten teachers went to Indonesia on their winter break. They were found to be in possession of 3.6 grams of cannabis when they were arrested at the hotel they were staying at.

The Jakarta Post reports:

“It’s an order from the top, as long as the case is being processed, the two Canadians remain in custody. Since their case is being handled by the Lombok police station, that’s where they are being held,” West Nusa Tenggara regional police spokesman Tribudi Pangestuti said.

The police had reportedly followed the pair for days before the arrest. In Indonesia marijuana is classified the same as heroin.

The Canadian embassy cannot arrange for release from prison when Canadians are arrested aboard nor can the embassy post bail, pay for lawyers or pay your fines. They are not allowed to seek preferential treatment for you nor have Canadians exempted from the due process of local laws.

What the embassy can do is conduct prison visits and ensure treatment consistent with what would be expected by the host country’s own citizens and contact your next of kin about the situation you are in. They can give you a list of English speaking lawyers and direct you to information about local laws.

Canadian citizens arrested aboard should inform the arresting authorities that you wish to have the nearest Canadian government office abroad notified immediately of your arrest.

Always remember when traveling aboard that you have to obey the laws of the land. If you break the law in another country, you are subject to that country’s judicial system.

Rubina Ali, Nicole Kidman to Film Beverage Commercial In India

Young Slumdog Millionaire star Rubina Ali, 9, has been picked to appear with Nicole Kidman in a drink commercial. She was paid more for the three-day shot than for her appearance in the Oscar winning movie.

The young Indian star is being paid more than the Oscar winning Kidman for the drinks commercial. Her father has stated that the fee is larger than the money she made for the multiple award winning “Slumdog Millionaire.” Rubina and her family still live in the slums of Mumbai.

Indian Express reports:

“The Slumdog Millionaire people haven’t kept all their promises despite all the media attention. We have no information about the supposed trust fund and the 21pound-a-month that they were giving for her studies has stopped coming,” the ‘Telegraph’ quoted Rafiq Ali as saying.

“The money she is receiving for doing this ad is more than the total she got for Slumdog,” he added.

Slumdog execs have said that they set up a trust fund for the child stars of the movie.

Filmy Friday reports:

“We are very proud of her and hope she continues to become a big star. Maybe then we will be able to live in a proper house. She was paid more for the ad than the movie.”

The commercial took three days to shoot. Blade Runner director Ridley Scott produced the ad and directed by Shekhar Kapur .

Tobacco Law Passes The US House By Wide Margin

On Thursday the House of Representatives passed legislation by a wide margin to give the Food and Drug Administration more power over tobacco products.

Smokers will be having to decide if they can afford to continue smoking after the U.S. House passed a massive tobacco bill. The vote in the House at 298-112 may have been a huge victory for the FDA but the Senate is expected to have a harder battle between public health advocates and the tobacco industry fighting their cause.

Senator Ted Kennedy is behind the new bill. He plans to introduce a version of the House bill after Congress returns from a two-week recess. He is hoping that there will be a speedy passage.

Kennedy may not get that wish. Senator Richard M. Burr, Republican of North Carolina is promising a filibuster. His state’s economy needs the tobacco industry as it’s the leading tobacco producing state.

Kennedy has the President in his pocket on this one. President Obama according to the Office of Management and Budget strongly supports the legislation.

The New York Times reports:

“Cigarette smoking is the leading preventable cause of death in the United States and is a contributing factor to scores of diseases and conditions inflicting misery upon millions of our citizens,” the administration statement said. “Further, tobacco use is a major factor driving the increasing costs of health care in the U.S. and accounts for over a hundred billion dollars annually in financial costs to the economy.”

The House bill would set up a F.D.A. office. The costs of that office would be supplied by the industry. One of the proposed higher powers that the agency would possess would be the ability to approve or reject new tobacco products and to expand marketing restrictions and warning labels. The office would also be able to do more studies on nicotine and menthol. If the bill(HR 1256) passes the Senate the FDA would also have the power to enforce new marketing and advertising restrictions. Another provision of the new federal tobacco tax is helping fund health insurance programs for uninsured children.

Public Health Advocates are praising the House’s passage of the bill. CQ Politics reports:

“The tobacco industry has proved that it cannot be trusted to regulate itself and protect children from the deadly effects of tobacco use,” said American Heart Association chief executive Nancy Brown. “Shameful attempts to addict children and young adults with misleading advertising campaigns must come to an end. This legislation will save lives, help break the cycle of addiction, reduce health care costs and force tobacco companies to educate consumers about the true health hazards associated with tobacco products.”

A separate bill introduced by Rep. Steve Buyer, R-Ind. would have eliminated the FDA provisions and created a department within the Department of Health and Human Services called “Tobacco Harm Reduction Center.” That bill was defeated 142-284.

Meanwhile another bill in Hawaii is set to raise the state’s tax on smokes.

KHON reports:

“That is just not right tax somebody else leave us alone we’re already taxed, the most taxed product on the planet,” said Kawika Crowley of the Hawaii Smokers Alliance.

What’s at stake is $0.40 to a pack of cigarettes in additional to the $0.62 hike that went into effect on Wednesday from a federal tax hike. The bill isn’t limited to cigarette smokers, cigar enthusiasts will see the tax increase also.

Brian Redondo told KHNL that not even the higher cost is going to stop his habit.

“I’m not ready to quit yet and I guess it’s going to good use,” he said. “I’m willing to pay the extra 60 cents.”

Gene Park who was recently laid off, on the other hand has decided that he is on his last pack.

“It’ll be tough to wake up in the morning and go to work without my morning cigarette,” he said. “Before the tax increase, I estimated that I spent about $2,400 a year on cigarettes and that’s not including the lighters I buy, so I’ll look at this as a $2,400 raise.

“It does feel like the government does kind of pick on smokers sometimes, especially these hard times, it’s really hard to quit, but then again you can look at it another way, say it’s hard times right now, so we should start cutting out things we don’t really need,” Park said.

Sex Line Given For Clinton Phone Conference With Journalists

The White House have been tripping over themselves to send a corrected release when journalists connected with a sex line instead of Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

When journalists called to get into a White House conference call the line was a bit steamy with an operator telling the press if they wanted anything nasty to supply their credit card number. The journalists were expecting to hear listen to an “on-the-record briefing call with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and National Security Advisor Jim Jones to discuss the NATO summit” but instead listened to a sexy voice asking if they had any hidden desires.

Nines MSN reports:

“A corrected phone number on a press release is probably one of the stupider things FOX News has covered lately,” Deputy White House Press Secretary Bill was reported as saying.

The conference call was well underway when a corrected press release was issued giving an international line that had been included for foreign reporters to dial.

Ward Closed At Hamilton’s St. Joseph’s Healthcare Due To A Strep

special to Digital Journal:

Hamilton, Ontario’s Mountain Campus of St. Joseph’s Healthcare has closed one of its psychiatric wards due to an outbreak of Invasive Group A Streptococcus. The unit which is normally locked down houses elderly mentally ill patients.

One patient, an elderly person, died of the infection in early March. It has been confirmed that the patient contracted a bacterial infection that in rare cases can cause septic shock and flesh-eating disease. One other case is that of a staff member who has been treated with antibiotics. That case happened at the end of March. The staff person has completed a course of antibiotics and has returned to work. Until typing of the staff person has been completed it is not known if the two cases are related.

During a telephone interview, Manager of Public Affairs Kyla Kumar said that the typing should be completed by the end of the week.

At this time none of the 35 patients nor the 30-35 staff members who work on the ward are showing symptoms according to Kumar. The testing of the staff has yet to be completed. It is expected that by the end of the week all of the staff will have been screened. All of the patients within the unit have already undergone the screening process. Until the results have returned the unit will not be accepting new patients.

“It is public health protocol that when two cases of Invasive Group A Streptococcus are identified on one unit within a 30 day period, an outbreak is declared,” Ms. Kumar said.

The unit that has been closed to new admissions is a locked unit. The patients have been allowed to continue activities such as occupational therapy that are part of their therapy off of the unit according to Ms. Kumar.

Visitors are allowed on the unit but must follow strict hand washing guidelines.

“The staff, patients and their family members have been more than understanding during this time,” says Kumar.

What is Group A Streptococcus?

Group A Streptococcus – (GAS) is a bacteria that is normally found in the nose and throat of 10 per cent of children and 1 per cent of adults, without causing illness. When they do cause illness, the resulting diseases is classified into one of two categories; Invasive or Non‐Invasive.

Invasive Group A Streptococcus infections are systemic and occur in the blood stream while Non‐invasive Group A Streptococcus infections are localized at the wound site.

The Group A Streptococcus bacteria is spread by direct contact with large droplet secretions from the nose and throat of an infected person, or from contact of mucous membranes or broken skin secretions from infected sores on the skin. It is rarely spread by casual contact or by contact with objects or through the air.

Microsoft working with Facebook to kill Koobface virus

Jeff Williams, a principle group program manager for the Microsoft Malware Protection Center (MMPC), has been working with the Facebook Security team to protect users of the social network against the Koobface virus.

The Koobface virus first appeared in May 2008. It spreads by delivering fraudulent messages from those who have had their computers infected. The Facebook Security team was able to quickly detect the virus and reset people’s accounts. Still some people’s computers remained infected and were able to spread Facebook messages that seemed harmless with subject headers like “Check out this video” or “LOL.”

Those who clicked on the linked without the latest up-to-date anti-virus software were finding that their Facebook account information and passwords were being stolen. That information was then used to continue the spread of the Koobface virus.

The Microsoft Malware Protection Center (MMPC) was able to come into Facebook and add detection to Koobface to their Malicious Software Removal Tool (MSRT). Adding this protection the two teams are protecting hundreds of millions of people.

Since the latest version of MSRT was installed Facebook has been able to remove Koobface nearly 200,000 times from over 133,677 computers in more than 140 different locales around the world.

The MMPC has not finished their work at Facebook. Koobface is a tricky virus, constantly changing to avoid the best anti-virus software. It has over 20,000 variations to date.

Those with Windows operating systems and using the Automatic Updates feature should already have received the MSRT each month as part of standard security updates.

Those who fear that Koobface has attacked their computer can use the Microsoft’s free online virus scanner.

Taliban leader makes threats against Washington

On March 31, 2009 Baitullah Mehsud, the leader of the Pakistani Taliban, made a direct threat on Washington that in his words would “amaze everyone in the world.”

At the same time the militant leader claimed the responsibility for the raid at the police academy in Lahore where at least 20 were killed on Monday. He further bragged about a new regional militant alliance.

On Monday the Mehsud said that the raid in Lahore was retaliation for US drone attacks on tribal areas in northern Pakistan.

The boasts were made in a telephone interview. It is said that Mehsud called Western news organizations from an undisclosed location.

Times Online reports:

“Soon we will launch an attack in Washington that will amaze everyone in the world … The maximum they can do is martyr me. But we will exact our revenge on them from inside America.”

The threats appear to be a direct response to President Barack Obama’s “Afpak” strategy announced last Friday. The U.S. will be sending 21,000 more troops into Afghanistan and will spend $7.5 billion in Pakistan as to treat the two countries as a single military theater.

Mehsud said during the interview that he has set up a “Council of Mujahidin” by uniting different “to step up attacks on US and Nato forces in Afghanistan”.

The United States has offered an award of $5 million for the capture of Mehsud.

Toronto’s Distress Centres Taking More Distress Calls

special to Digital Journal:

Toronto Distress Centres are seeing an increase of suicide calls as the recession worsens. Volunteers are being trained to deal with more depressed called who are suffering the effects of the recession. Calls have been up 30 per cent since last October.

Toronto Distress Centres are seeing an increase of suicide calls as the recession worsens.

Volunteers are being trained to deal with more distressed callers who are suffering the effects of the recession. Calls have been up 30 per cent since last October and they’re steadily increasing every month since.

During a phone interview, Karen Letofsky, Executive Director of the Toronto Distress Centres, said they are amping up the number of volunteers on the Hotline. They are also educating the volunteers on the issues that the recession are bringing and arming them with more resources to help callers. Callers can now receive more referral numbers because of this information.

In areas where the auto industry is increasing the ranks of unemployment suicide calls have risen dramatically. Ms. Letofsky said that in the areas hardest hit by the recession calls have increased. In these times many people first try to carry their problems alone which is why more calls are starting to come into the centre.

Distress Centres is dealing with more relationship issues and suicides than in the past as well as more distress calls in general. They are also seeing an increase in newer needs from people who have never called crisis centres before.

“This is just the tip of the iceberg,” says Letofsky.

Distress Centres is an anonymous safe haven for those that are in crisis. The only time that outside help is called into play is when there is a high risk and intervention is needed.

In Toronto, if you are needing to talk with someone the Distress Centres number is 416-408-HELP. There are volunteers manning the phone lines 24 hours a day. Also in Ontario 211 is a number to call if you have needs for social service programs.

Sweden gives the go-ahead for gay marriage

On Wednesday Swedish Parliament voted 226 to 22 in favor of allowing same-sex marriages. In May, the nation will join Netherlands, Belgium, Spain and Norway allowing gay couples to wed. Canada and South Africa also allow gay marriages.

The Parliament has spoken, making Sweden the fifth European country to allow same-sex marriages.

The BBC reports:

“The decision means that gender no longer has an impact on the ability to marry and that the law on registered partnership is repealed,” the government said on its website.

Not everyone in Sweden is happy about the Parliament’s decision. The Christian Democrats were the only party to oppose the law. The party had instead proposed the word of marriage be removed from Swedish law and replaced with a legally binding union between two persons. This would have made ‘marriage’ separate from the government and only a Christian ceremony that the church would conduct.

CNN reports:

“Unfortunately this is not an April Fool’s Day joke, this is reality,” Yvonne Andersson, member of the Swedish parliament for the Christian Democrats, wrote on the party’s Web site following the vote.

Sweden has backed gay couples being one of the first nations in the world to give gay couples legal “partnership” rights in 1994.

Since January 2007 the Lutheran Church, Sweden’s largest church, has offered to bless gay partnerships. They have not given formal back to the term “marriage” and if a pastor is against same-sex marriage they are allowed to refuse to officiate such ceremonies.

Gay couples have been allowed to adopt children since 2002.

Korea Threatens Japan Over Missile Launch

Japan is being warned that missiles will be sent by Korea in a “thunderbolt of fire” to the island nation if Japan fights missile launch. North Korea reportedly has set up jet fighters to guard the site of the rocket launch.

Japan is being threatened with a ‘major attack’ if Tokyo tries to shot down a satellite Korea intends to launch. The launch is expected to happen as soon as this weekend.

AFP reports:

“If Japan recklessly ‘intercepts’ the DPRK’s (North’s) satellite for peaceful purposes, the KPA will mercilessly deal deadly blows not only at the already deployed intercepting means but at major targets,” said a statement from the Korean People’s Army (KPA).

The planned launch by North Korea of a communications satellite is being viewed by South Korea, Japan and the United States as a test of the Taepodong-2 ballistic missile. That missile in theory could reach Alaska or Hawaii.

The communications satellite has begun to be fueled.

According to the United States and its regional partners the launch would violate a United Nations prohibition on North Korean ballistic missile tests. This was passed after North Korea tested a nuclear weapon.

By packaging the planned satellite launch as a space research mission North Korea has been able to underplay the risk to the U.N. Security Council.

VOA News English reports:

“They know, in the end, there’s no appetite for meaningful sanctions on the part of the Chinese and the Russians. Without the Chinese and the Russians, any calls by Japan, South Korea, or the U.S. aren’t going to go very far,” said Mike Chinoy, a senior fellow at the Pacific Council on International Relations.

“If the United States, after this launch, decides to move back toward negotiation – which I think is a sensible and logical thing to do – the optics are going to look very much like the North coerced Washington into coming back to the table, after its display of muscle flexing,” said Chinoy.

Both Japan and the United States have deployed Aegis destroyers to monitor the expected North Korean launch. Japan has also deployed Patriot guided-missile units on land to bring down the rocket if it should look to be falling towards the Japanese territory.

“An interception would be made only if the flying object directly threatens the lives and assets of Japanese people,” a defence ministry spokeswoman told AFP.

President Obama and South Korean President Lee Myung-bak have been discussing the issue in London where they are attending the G20 Summit.

BBC reports:

“They agreed on the need for a stern, united response from the international community if North Korea launches a long-range rocket, and to work together in the course of that,” the South Korean presidential office said in a statement.

While there is no official word from the White House reporters were told by Obama that South Korea is one of “America’s closest allies and greatest friends”.

Lemon Soda Used By Priest For Baptism

It may seem like an April Fool’s joke but a priest really baptized a baby with lemon soda in Norway when the church’s taps froze.

Norwegian priest Paal Dale had to do some fast thinking when there was no holy water on tap in Stord, Norway. Using some lemon soda that had gone flat the holy man daubed a newborn’s head in order to perform the religious ceremony.

Dale only felt the need to tell the parents after the lemony smell lingered.

The Mirror reports:

“They didn’t say much but I assumed they smelled the aroma as well,” Father Paal said.

Baptism is not only a symbolic ceremony in many Christian religions but a means into heaven. That is the reasoning behind infant baptism for Catholic, Eastern Orthodox Church and Oriental Orthodoxy.

In some religions not using water would render the baptism illicit. There is no word if this is a concern with lemon soda.

Pawnee Elementary School Introduces The ‘Walking School Bus’

special to digital journal:

A new program at Pawnee Elementary School in Overland Park, Kansas is getting kids outside and walking with the ‘Walking School Bus’ program. The school’s principal explains why it’s a good idea.

The ‘Walking School Bus’ program is part of a national effort to get kids exercising and fight childhood obesity. Adult volunteers walk the children to and from school. The volunteers are called “bus drivers.”

There are now 10 walking buses at the school and 28 children and 18 adult volunteers are signed up for the program.

The program is being funded with $25,000 in grants. The Kansas Department of Transportation has given $15,000 of that grant money. Part of the Safe Routes to School, the walking school bus is a national effort begun by the Department of Health and Human Services.

Last year, the city was given the grant money for the program and searched for the right school to start a pilot program. Pawnee Elementary School was chosen, in part because of the short distances that children had to travel and because the school itself does not have school bus service. They approached the school’s principal to ask for his participation last year. For whatever reason it was put on hold until this year. In an interview with this Digital Journalist, first-year Principal Justin Green said that he was approached this year and thought it was a wonderful idea.

Green then worked with the coordinator hired by the Safe Routes To School, Janice Bode. Ms. Bode oversees the program while Green does promotion within the school setting and provides the kids. Green and Bode took time to plan the start of the program making sure that there were enough adult volunteers to cover the children. By using morning announcements and PTA meetings that goal was met and on Monday complete with a clown on stilts the ‘walking school bus’ program was underway.

In 1969 it was very rare that a child would be suffering childhood obesity. That is not the case in today’s world. The childhood obesity rate has risen times higher than the 5 per cent figure in 1969.

Forty years ago almost half of all students used their legs to get to school. In 2008 only 16 per cent of students were still walking to school. It’s not just the kids fault today though. Parents have legitimate fears for allowing their children to make their way to school on their own. Traffic, crime, weather conditions and bullies are some of the concerns along with the sheer distance that some kids have to travel.

88 per cent of Pawnee Elementary students live within a 15 minute walk to school. Most parents though drive their kids to and from school. That has created problems with traffic, car exhausts and parking.

With five to 10 children on board the adult volunteers walk the children to school and back home again at the end of the school day. Green said he hopes the program grows but it will take more parents volunteering their time to do so.

“I think this program is great for the kids,” he said. “They can make friends while walking to school safely. Everyone is a winner with the program.”

Green also said because of the program there will be fewer cars on the roads, making it much safer for the children to walk to and from school.

‘Guiding Light’ soap opera gets the curtain call

The 72-year history of the Guiding Light is about to end. The announcement came April 1 that the soap opera was not renewed by CBS for the fall.

The Guiding Light will end this September after a 72-year run, 57 of those years at CBS Television.
The show is listed by the Guinness Book of World Records as the longest-running television drama.

The soap opera has been a front runner in storytelling and launched some of Hollywood’s biggest names like Kevin Bacon, Calista Flockhart, Allison Janney, James Earl Jones, Cicely Tyson, Taye Diggs, Hayden Panettiere and Brittany Snow.

PR Newswire reports:

“Being on the air for more than seven decades is truly remarkable, and it will be difficult for all of us at the show to say goodbye,” said Executive Producer Ellen Wheeler. “I’m proud of everything we’ve been able to do, including outstanding storytelling, our community service around the country with Find Your Light and the launch of our new production model. This show has such a rich history, wonderful fans, and I’m honored to have been a part of the GL legacy.”

In 1937 Guiding Light debuted as a 15-minute radio show. In 1952 it moved to the small screen. The show started colour broadcasts in 1967 and grew to an hour from it’s thirty minute format in 1977. In 1966 it was the first soap opera to have leading African-American characters.

The LA Times reports:

“Guiding Light” has achieved a piece of television history that will never be matched; it has crossed mediums, adapted its stories to decades of social change and woven its way through generations of audiences like no other,” said Nancy Tellem, president of CBS Paramount Network Television Entertainment Group. “This daytime icon will always be an indelible part of CBS’ history.”

In recent years the ratings have declined. The final episode will air on September 18.

Joe Mihevc and the Caravan of Hope 2009

special to digital journal:

The Caravan of Hope 2009 is a community-based project of Toronto. The group has taken five ambulances in the past two years to the poor city of Soyapango, El Salvador.

Father Hernan Astudillo lead the team of volunteers of “The Caravan of Hope” from Toronto, Canada to Soyapango, El Salvador to deliver two decommissioned Toronto EMS ambulances to the poor town in March.

Father Astudillo heads the San Lorenzo Church in Toronto. During the latest trip in March to the impoverished city the Father and his group of volunteers encountered mordida, bride money demanded from the Mexican border all the way to Soyapango. The Toronto Star reports the religious man noted on an email sent back home that a fellow volunteer said on the trip :

“Father we are going to arrive in El Salvador very well mordido (bitten), probably only with one leg.”

The ambulances will be given new life as mobile medical facilities for a city whose population is close to one million. In a city with no medical clinics the ambulances are a godsend. El Salvador has a total of 5 ambulances, all located in the town of Soyapango and all brought in through Caravan of Hope.

Soyapango is the growth of shantytowns of people who were displaced by the 12-year civil war in El Salvador. In the mid-1990’s Toronto formed a relationship with the city. Since that time there have been several missions ongoing ranging from sanitation to public health.

Toronto city councilor Joe Mihevc, Ward 21, St. Paul’s West, has given his support to the project. In 2008 he was behind effort in getting the first ambulance donated. That vehicle was so well received that the he helped obtain two more.

The Caravan of Hope takes older ambulances donated by the city of Toronto and gives them to countries that that in desperate need of the emergency vehicles. Generally ambulances in Toronto are auctioned off once they hit 160,000 kilometers or 54 months in service.

Mihevc has had to battle it out with fellow councilors Rob Ford, (Ward 2, Etobicoke North), and (Doug Holyday, Ward 3, Etobicoke Centre) who think that the price that the ambulances garner at auction would be better used on Canadian Streets according to the media. When Digital Journal asked about this the councilor laughed and said it wasn’t such a battle, just business as usual.

Astudillo takes about 10 days to travel to El Salvador. He has made eight trips before to the country on missions. The first trip was ten years ago to bring aid after the destruction caused by Hurricane Mitch.

in an interview with DigitalJournal.com Joe Mihevc said that not only is the city helping the poor city in El Salvador but building bonds with the Latino community. Toronto has a community of 50,000 El Salvadorians. This project has been very positive in Toronto in showing the Latino population that the city cares about their homeland and the lives of their relatives.

The Toronto Star reports:

“Basically, a marginalized, new-immigrant community comes to understand and learn how to work city hall … how to apply for grants, how to apply for housing, how to use city services,” he said, noting Astudillo is a frequent visitor at councilors’ offices.

On March 11 Mihevc and Councilor Adam Vaughan flew to El Salvador to act as international observers for the country’s presidential election the following Sunday. Astudillo and his colleagues were also observers for the election. Mihevc was very impressed with observing the recent elections held in El Salvador. He said during a telephone interview it was very exciting to see change happen before his eyes. It was a great learning experience. It brought home the realities how lucky we are in Canada to have a democracy and how in other nations that goal is a hard fought struggle.

In Toronto on April 4 Joe Mihevc, Father Hernan Astudillo and Councillor Adam Vaughan will be co-hosting a community meeting about the Caravan of Hope at the Artscape Wychwood Barns.

The meeting will feature photos and videos from the trip in March to El Salvador as well as planning opportunities to expand the Caravan of Hope for 2010.

The event on Saturday is a two part meeting. First will be a report on the most recent trip to El Salvador. The second and most important part of the meeting will be the fund raising ideas that Mihevc told Digital Journal he hopes the community will help come up with.

The goal is to raise enough funds to buy some of the 30 ambulances that the city of Toronto has to dispose of every year. While it is expected the city will continue to donate a few ambulances each year after seeing first hand the need of these emergency vehicles first hand on the streets in Soyapango and how positively received they are Caravan of Hope is hoping to buy more ambulances to take to the Central American country.

One of the side projects this year was the delivery of 149 pairs of eyeglasses that Mihevc and Vaughan brought with them on their trip to the city.

Mr. Mihevc said during a telephone interview with Digital Journal that the response to the eyeglasses in El Salvador was unbelievable. It was amazing to see how much of a difference it made for the community, considering it would cost about $500 to us in Canada. The Caravan of Hope has built child and community health services in a way that could not have been fathomed before.

Facebook Group Wants to Help Poverty Issues But Is It Legal?

When an enterprising young woman teams up with a Salvation Army Church the results could be wonderful. That was the goal of Jane with a Facebook group, now defunct, in support of the fight against poverty’.

A Facebook group said it wanted to take a stab against poverty. This Web design group wanted to use Salvation Army Agincourt Community Church as the group that the group will benefit. But the problem though is that the church was in the dark.

Jane has since closed the group and partnered with another church.

Young Jane runs an international web design company dedicated to promoting the growth of businesses.

The Agincourt Community Church is a member of the Ontario Central Division of the Salvation Army.

The Facebook group wanted to support of the fight against poverty’ has two goals. The first is the welfare of adults and children living in poverty around the world. The second is to help a young woman with her business.

The premise of the group wanted to place an ad at the company’s website in any province and in any category of your choice. A contribution of $10 will be taken from each ad purchased and all ad contributions will be donated at the end of every month to the Salvation Army.

Individuals not needing an ad can still contribute to the mission by selecting add listing category and writing the description of ad as contribution.

Jane talks to potential clients to see what their website needs and goals are. she then gets with her web designer to put out a web site that reflects those goals. As for the Facebook group Jane’s main goal was to raise awareness of the struggles families are facing in these tough economic times. When deciding on a charity to work with she first considered World Vision but in the end choose a local Salvation Army Church. As Jane says: ” I want to reach people in my own community and knew that this group could work well with people’s own community.”

As I talked to Jane I could tell she was very committed to the cause but wondered if everything was completely on the level. She hadn’t been in contact with the church herself and that left me curious.

Those are worthy goals but when I spoke to Captain Darlene Anderson of the Agincourt Community Church she was in the dark about this Facebook group. Anderson said that she will be investigating the group further. Jane said she still had to contact Agincourt, but when she did, she instead decided to partner with Cedarbrae Community Church in Toronto.

Jane said the Church is embracing the idea of partnering with her cause.

17 votes

Domestic Violence or the Recession- Murder In North Carolina

The wife of the suspected gunman from Sunday’s murder spree at a North Carolina nursing home hid in a washroom in fear of her life.

On Sunday the gun man entered Pinelake at around 10 a.m. with more than one weapon. Witnesses report that he used both a deer gun and a shotgun as he blasted through the hallways. Several calls went out from inside the home to 911 operators saying that a man with a double barrel shotgun was shooting people.

Wanda Stewart hid out in a secured washroom while her estranged husband Robert Stewart allegedly went through the nursing home will a gun.

The password protected doors inside a locked area for the Alzheimer’s patients that resided at Pinkelake Health and Rehab may be why Ms. Stewart is alive tonight.

Her mother, Margaret Neal believes that her son-in-law was after her daughter. A month ago the woman left her husband and moved back to a home on her parent’s property. The couple had been married once before as teenagers divorcing a few years later. After several other marriages to others they remarried in June 2002.

AP reports:

“We’re certainly looking into the fact that it may be domestic-related,” said Carthage Police Chief Chris McKenzie.

Stewart’s former ex-wife has confirmed that her ex-husband had violent tendencies. Sue Griffin told reporters that although she had no contract with him since their divorce she had heard that Stewart had told family members that he had cancer and was planning a long trip to get away.

“He did have some violent tendencies from time to time,” Griffin said. “I wouldn’t put it past him. I hate to say it, but it is true.”

Stewart made his first court appearance on Monday. He was formally charged with eight counts of first-degree murder and a single charge of felony assault of a law enforcement officer. He is scheduled to return to court in April. He was sent back to the Central Prison in Raleigh where he is receiving medical care for the injuries he received at the scene.

The victims have been identified as Pinelake residents Tessie Garner, 75; Lillian Dunn, 89; Jesse Musser, 88; Bessie Hedrick, 78; John Goldston, 78; Margaret Johnson, 89; Louise DeKler, 98; and nurse Jerry Avant, 39.

While the motive of the shooting in North Carolina may never be fully understood it is fitting a pattern becoming all to familiar for law enforcement.

Last month four Oakland, California police men were gunned down. In Alabama a man went on a shooting spree in four separate locations. In Santa Clara, California six people died in an apparent murder-suicide on Sunday.

Could these murders all be linked to the recession? That is one theory that criminologists are leaning towards.

The Christian Science Monitor reports:

“Most of these mass killings are precipitated by some catastrophic loss, and when the economy goes south, there are simply more of these losses,” says Jack Levin, a noted criminologist at Northeastern University in Boston.

In past economically hard times violence increased. Domestic violence shelters have had an increase in demand for beds according to the Florida Department of Children and Families.

As the economic pressures increase will we be seeing even more of these horrible crimes? If the past is gauge sadly the answer may be yes.

The potential link between murder-suicides and the economy is an area of study for the Violence Policy Center in Washington. “We’ve been looking at this issue of whether there are more murder-suicides … [and] a pattern is starting to develop that may point in that direction,” says Kristen Rand, legislative director at the center. “Between the Texas Tower shootings in the 1960s until the McDonald’s massacre in 1984, it was extremely rare to see these types of mass shootings. Now we’re seeing them much more often, and they do seem to happen in spurts.”

The Recession Is Even Hitting Fall Television Programming

The television world is about to get less glitzy as the networks tighten their belts. From big name stars to set location Hollywood is having to keep on a tighter budget in order to entertain the masses.

One very visible change that the public will see this fall is the lack of big name stars. The heavy hitters will not be on tap as often because of the salaries that they demand. Case in point, the new show Big D was set to star Candice Bergen but when push came to shove her need for a huge salary gave a break for Deanna Dunagan. The Broadway actress doesn’t have the same asking price as the Murphy Brownstar.

To start on the small screen stars are having to see their paychecks reduced by 10% to 50%. Those who decide it’s not worth it can easily be replaced by newcomers who don’t mind a smaller paycheck at all.

Canada will be winning with the television networks battle with the buck. Filming in the Great White North can save networks as much as $500,000 an episode.

In the states local sites like Atlanta and Boston will be seeing more film sets as well. Gone are the days of splashy sets. Realism is now getting to be actually real.

Producers may be seeing a pink slip in their future as Hollywood tones down to a mean, lean only pay the working machine. The mega layers of producers who do little more than smile pretty are getting kicked to the curb.

Film quality may be going down to save on costs too.

So there you have it kiddies, even Hollywood has to deal with the real world in times of recession. But don’t worry as soon as the money train is back in gear the wallets will come out again.

Canadian Hit Man Admits To 28 Deaths

Quebec resident Gerald Gallant has pleaded guilty to a total of 28 counts of first-degree murder and 12 charges of attempted murder. Gallant is already serving a life sentence for a 2001 murder.

Last week ten people were arrested using information given by the hit man turned police informer on dozens of murders linked to outlaw biker gangs. The case is being touted as a case that will go down in history.

The Canadian Press reports:

Crown prosecutor Martine Berube said she believes the case “will possibly go down in history.”

“We have rarely seen in the annals of history this many murders and attempted murders committed by one person and which resulted in guilty pleas,” Berube said outside the courtroom.

The contract killer often targeted bikers and alleged members of crime groups. He also killed bystanders who were not the targets. One of those victims was waitress Helene Brunet who was not part of the criminal underbelly. Brunet was used as a human shield by Robert Savard, an associate of the Hells Angels kingpin. The murders were often part of the bike wars that plagued Quebec between 1994 and 2002 between the Hells Angels and the Rock Machine gangs. All of Gallant’s murders took place between 1978 and 2003.

Quebec reporter Michel Auger has an unique perspective of Gallant. He survived one of Gallant’s bullets when he was wounded in September 2000 outside the Le Journal de Montreal’s office. The Toronto Star reports:

“In the criminal world, nobody knew him well.

“But he had good connections.”He was a small fish, he was known as a small fish,” Auger said Tuesday. “Nobody knew he was a contract killer of such importance.”

Gallant lived in the village of Donnacona when he wasn’t pulling the trigger. HIs home was a two-story cottage painted a sunny yellow.

Donnacona Mayor Andre Marcoux, a provincial police investigator during the biker wars of the 1990s remembers the man known in town as an avid cyclist. The police however were aware of the athletic man.

“He was very unassuming,” said Marcoux, who, coincidentally, worked as a provincial police investigator during the biker wars of the 1990s.

“He wasn’t somebody who mixed with other citizens, he was someone who took care of his affairs by himself.”

“(Residents) are extremely surprised to see what’s happening,” he said. “There’s a lot of disbelief.”

A statement released to the court in Quebec City on Tuesday Gallant said that he had helped the police in an effort to repair the damage he has caused and was seeking forgiveness. The Canadian Press quotes Gallant:

“I regret the hurt I have caused the victims and their families,” Gallant said. “I understand that forgiving will be difficult, maybe even impossible. I accept that.

“I agreed to co-operate with police in order to repair the damage I caused and to seek forgiveness.”

Gallant had fled to Switzerland to escape for a murder in Ste-Adele, in the Laurentians, in 2001. after he discovered that the police were closing in on him. In 2006 he was arrested during a sweep of cloned credit cards.

Gallant will not have time added to his life sentence as part of his plea deal. He is eligible for parole in 25 years. He has been forbidden to write a book or film about his crimes. The court has given Gallant $50 a month to spend in the prison canteen for his pleas according to Canoe News.

Insurance Companies Deny New Customers Who Take Certain Drugs

Does the prescription medicines you have taken in the past make for a possible future denial when it comes to getting insurance?

Certain medicines can indeed get you on a blacklist when it comes to insurance.

Those looking for private insurance in Florida are finding that the medicines that they have picked up before at the drug store have made it impossible to get coverage.

Truth Out reports:

“This is absolutely the standard way of doing business,” said Santiago Leon, a health insurance broker in Miami. Being denied for preexisting conditions is well known, but when a person sees the usually confidential list of automatic denials for himself, “that’s a eureka moment. That shows you how harsh the system is.”

Most insurance companies have what they call a guide to Medical Underwriting and often marked “confidential and proprietary.”

One such company is Sunrise-based Vista. Their 35-page guide is hidden inside its website.

“The medical underwriting guidelines used by VISTA are based on industry standards, comply with all regulations and are subject to review by the Florida Department of Insurance. VISTA’s Guide to Medical Underwriting is an educational tool intended to assist agents and brokers who are selling VISTA individual plans. We do not comment on our specific underwriting processes and practices.”

The insurance companies don’t want to take a known risk from the get-go. Certain medications indicate that they will be paying out more than they will be taking in from the very start with a new client.

The guides for Coventry Health Care, which owns Vista; Wellpoint; Assurant Health; and Blue Cross Blue Shield of Nebraska all say those with diabetes, hepatitis C, multiple sclerosis, schizophrenia, quadriplegia, Parkinson’s disease and AIDS/HIV should be rejected.

When it comes to cancer the denial response depends on how long a potential client has been cancer free. For breast and prostate cancer at Wellpoint the remission time has to be over five years. Other types of cancer require a ten year remission period. Assurant Health out of Milwaukee requires all former cancer patients to have been in remission for at least eight years.

Intelliscript and Medpoint do computer searches for all new potential client’s drug use. The companies maintain that they are within privacy laws.

“Ingenix requires each Medpoint client to obtain the authorization of the individual applicant or insured person,” said Ingenix spokeswoman Karin Olson.

Legally companies have to inform you the information that they have in your file.
To ask for your file the Lakeland Ledger gives the following contact information:

Ingenix MedPoint Compliance

Write: 2525 Lake Park Blvd., West Valley City, UT 84120

E-mail: MedpointComplianceingenix.com

Milliman Intelliscript

Call: 877-211-4816

E-mail: IntelliScriptSupportmilliman.com

Medical Information Bureau

Call: 866-692-6901

Milliman and Medical Information Bureau only have files on persons that have applied for individual coverage.