robbybob

i really want to read this book by Cathy Crowe called Dying for a Home. It's out this month and i ordered it from mcnally, so i hope they get it soon.

http://www.tdrc.net/dying_for_a_home.htm

Fred Marriott is my uncle.

French honour Canadian vets
Six Winnipeggers awarded chevalier de la Légion d'honneur

Tue Apr 10 2007

By Jen Skerritt

SECOND World War veteran Harold Prout never complained about eating blended food for more than 50 years, undergoing 25 plastic surgeries and spending nearly five years in a Toronto hospital.

But his sacrifice will be recognized by the French government in Winnipeg today, when he and five other Winnipeggers will receive chevalier de la Légion d'honneur -- the highest national order given out by the French government.

After five years of fighting on the frontlines at Juno Beach, Carpiquet airport and Normandy, flying shrapnel from an 88 mm shell sliced off Prout's jaw near the end of the war in 1945 -- knocking him out and nearly killing him.

Prout stumbled to a nearby first-aid station where doctors listed him in dangerous condition.

By all accounts, Prout is lucky to be alive.

"As far as we're concerned, it's a miracle," said Gwendoleen Prout, Harold's wife.

"(The reminder) is always with you but one thing about Harold he's not a complainer. He just accepted it."

French Ambassador Daniel Jouanneau will present the vets and their families with the award tonight at Minto Armouries for their outstanding bravery in France during the Second World War. A total of 55 Canadians across Canada will receive the order.

Colin Malstrom, president of the Royal Winnipeg Rifles, said the medal is not associated with Monday's rededication in Vimy Ridge but is the highest honour bestowed to war vets from the French government. The timing, he said, is purely coincidental.

Napoleon created the order in 1802 to reward soldiers of the "Great Army", and is given out today to foreign soldiers who gave exceptional service in France.

Prout, along with Albert E. Cook, William Brian Lynch, Fred D. Marriott, Frank Paul Forness and Joseph Fedorak, are set to receive the order.

"It's a great honour," Gwendoleen said, noting Tuesday's ceremony will add another honour to Harold's collection of 10 medals.

From the hospital on the frontlines, Prout was transported to medical units in France, England, and eventually Toronto. Prout married in 1949, but struggled to adjust to life without part of his face.

Gwendoleen said it took time before Harold felt comfortable going out in public and for others to understand his sometimes jumbled speech.

Determined to go on, Prout took a job at what is now Sunnybrook Hospital making prosthetic hands and legs before the couple relocated in Winnipeg to be closer to family in 1987.

Today, Prout covers his obvious battle scars. While there are things he can't do because of his jaw -- including attending the ceremony at Vimy Ridge -- Gwendoleen said he speaks openly about his experiences in the war and how it changed his life forever.

"It is very restrictive," she said, noting travel is difficult since Harold can only eat certain blended foods. "There are places we'd like to go but we just can't go to."


jen.skerritt@freepress.mb.ca


Vets receiving medals


Harold Prout

Joined the Winnipeg Rifles in 1940. Fought on frontlines at Juno Beach, liberation of Caen, battle of Carpiquet airport and Normandy.


Albert E. Cook

A member of the Royal Winnipeg Rifles who was sent to England in 1941. Cook was badly wounded in an air attack at Normandy and spent weeks in hospital before returning to Canada in 1944.


William Brian Lynch

Landed in Normandy in 1944. Months later, he was severely wounded in a bombing near Falaise and evacuated.


Fred D. Marriott

Marriott was trained as a sniper and was sent to Dieppe where he fought in major battles from Belgium to Holland. Although he was wounded three times, he requested to return to the frontlines as soon as possible.


Frank Paul Forness

Forness was wounded at Dieppe in 1942, but returned to help liberate France in battles in 1944.


Joseph Fedorak

Sent to Britain in 1944 and fought in Normandy and Holland, where he was badly wounded.

System creates broken families


Mon Jan 22 2007

Colleen Simard


This is the second of a two-part series on a mother's struggle to regain custody of her children from Child and Family Services. In last week's column, the mom was trying to figure out why her children had been seized.




Dec. 21:

The meeting goes better than expected. Six of us -- family and friends -- support Betty and her husband. Two provincial Child and Family Services (CFS) workers are here to explain why they apprehended Betty's kids and how we can get them back.

Here what the social worker told us: The house was dirty, a health risk for the kids. The kids had lice and were dirty. The oldest wasn't going to school. Betty (not her real name) told a support worker she'd been depressed. There were complaints from community members.

Then there's the other side.

Betty and her mother-in-law cleaned the house in two hours. A child's birthday party was held there the night before the apprehension, with roughly 20 guests.

The two children with the flu stayed home from school but never missed more than two days in the last few months. She'd told a support worker she'd been depressed months ago when she and her soon-to-be husband broke up for a few weeks.

We asked how Betty got involved with provincial CFS in the first place. The social worker gave us some answers.

Betty signed up for a free provincial support program a year ago. They'd been making reports to the social worker. Betty never knew.

Plans for Betty to have us help keep her house clean are discussed. Betty and husband won't get their children back right away. The social worker asks if any of us can take the children temporarily.

Like the old ways, those of us who can, offer to care for a child. But first, there are forms and background checks. I've thought of foster parenting once my life was more settled. Now it's sooner than expected.

The social workers move fast. The next day the newborn is placed minutes from home, on the reserve. The licenced foster mom is Betty's sister-in-law. Betty's mother-in-law also has foster care training.

The second youngest -- almost two -- stays with me. I'm offered $17 a day. I turn it down but I can see how foster care rates should be raised. How much do they spend on hotel rooms?

She will sleep with me, since her mom says she likes sleeping with her siblings. She wakes up several times in the night and calls for her mom. I rock her to sleep. How do foster parents do it?

Dec. 25:

Two of Betty's kids are closer to home, one with me, one with the sister-in-law. But paperwork and holidays have held up placement of the last three with family. They are together in a foster placement at some undisclosed location. The oldest could have gone home, but refused to leave her two siblings.

Betty's supposed to come to our Christmas gathering, but calls to say she doesn't want to traumatize the toddler with me. She doesn't know if she can handle it. The mood is somber.

Suddenly Betty's here, hugging her one baby while we women cry.

The child falls asleep in Betty's arms. Betty closes her eyes too. We shuffle around the house, talking in whispers. The mother and child reunion: if only this night with the smell of the wood stove and the glow of Christmas lights could last forever.

As evening darkens most of us huddle around the kitchen table drinking tea. We reminisce. We remember. We laugh. We are Indians, after all; we make the best of things. And then the spell is broken. Betty has to go. Baby still sleeps while she slips out the door. Christmas is over.

Jan. 5:

The social worker called both Betty and me yesterday. The investigation is over.

"I don't want to keep the children any longer," she says.

I ask Betty about her call. No apologies there. CFS feels justified.

I drove the little one to the CFS office this morning and watched the family reunion. I take her to her mom. I've never seen such a big smile from her. All of them are shy and timid. It's like they don't trust themselves to believe it's real. They're going home.

This was supposed to be a happy ending. But it isn't over.


* * *


There are so many questions.

Maybe this might have been a different story if the CFS agency that came into Betty's life was aboriginal. Shouldn't a First Nation or Metis agency have been at least partially involved considering the entire family was aboriginal? Why was a breastfeeding newborn taken from its home?

Betty's 'problems' were minor, or 'low risk' in CFS lingo. A failure in communication and service contributed to Betty losing her children.

For some reason, a social worker came to visit Betty and told her about a support program for mothers. Betty welcomed the program's help. She expected aid with some light housework, maybe an hour of respite, a sympathetic ear, and some sound advice.

Betty got little housekeeping help, but the same three support workers often took notes. They'd play with the kids too. Oddly, in one year of these weekly visits, one of Betty's support workers never once accepted an offer to sit down on her couch or chairs. Not once.

Their three-hour visits usually only lasted 30 minutes. Betty never knew these young white women were filing weekly reports about her to CFS. They didn't identify themselves as being part of CFS.

They never told Betty they thought her house was dirty, or that she could lose her children.

For all its talk about devotion to family, CFS doesn't seem that different from the 1960s. In this case, a program designed to support people like Betty failed her miserably.

There are gaping holes within our child-care system that create broken families and broken children. They're not supposed to pull apart our families, but strengthen them.


colleen.simard@gmail.com

did anyone watch the finale of american's next top model last night????? it was amazing!!!!! A-M-A-Z-I-N-G!!!!!!!!!!!

i think this is funny.

Boisclair blasted for appearing in Brokeback parody
RHÉAL SÉGUIN

From Thursday's Globe and Mail

QUEBEC — Call it poor judgment or just bad taste, Parti Québécois Leader André Boisclair's appearance in a TV parody of Brokeback Mountain is drawing fire from all sides, including members of his own party.

Mr. Boisclair appeared in a comedy sketch to be aired next month on MusiMax channel featuring caricatures of Prime Minister Stephen Harper and U.S. President George W. Bush seen naked from the waist up in a tent.

As the playful Bush character throws cherries at Harper's nipples covered with whipped cream, the real André Boisclair peeps his head through an opening in the tent. "Quebec won't get mixed up in something like that," an awkward Mr. Boisclair says, drawing on his limited talents as an actor to deliver his line.

The parody, based on the critically acclaimed movie about the relationship between two homosexual cowboys, draws attention to Mr. Boisclair's homosexuality, a key element in the sketch's punch line.

Critics argue that a Leader of the Opposition, whose ambition is to become premier and eventually lead the province to political sovereignty, should have known better than to appear in an outrageous sketch intended to openly ridicule the President of the United States and the Prime Minister of Canada.

"I did it in good faith and people will judge for themselves. But now that I see how much of a debate all of this has triggered, it's quite obvious I wouldn't do it again," Mr. Boisclair said yesterday, noting that it wasn't intended to be part of newscasts.

His regrets were too late to stop the damage. A portion of the sketch appeared throughout the day on the all-news TV networks causing embarrassment for some caucus members and party supporters.

"I don't want to comment" an exasperated François Gendron said before attending yesterday's PQ caucus meeting.

"A lot of the caucus members were ill at ease with the whole thing. We don't need this," said another PQ member of the National Assembly who asked to remain anonymous.

Those who admire Mr. Boisclair were convinced the incident would have no impact on the party but others criticized the incompetence of his advisers for allowing the leader to appear on such a frivolous show.

"People are appalled at how ridiculous he looked," one Montreal-area party member said. "He certainly didn't look like a statesman."

Even Premier Jean Charest said there were limits to what a politician should do in the media to attract attention.

"I often like to say to colleagues: You know it's nice to say what's on your mind but there's a difference between saying what's on you mind and saying everything that runs through your head. The same is true of other things," Mr. Charest said.

Yet more and more politicians are attempting to be seen in unconventional situations to change perceptions the public may have of them. Liberal leadership candidate Bob Rae, for instance, stunned some viewers when he recently appeared on camera skinny-dipping with CBC comedy show host Rick Mercer.

For Yves Boisvert, who teaches ethics and governance at Montreal's École nationale d'administration publique, the Boisclair incident underscores a growing trend where politics is being turned into a spectacle, which only fuels the public's cynicism toward politicians.

"A politician's role is to debate public policy, not to become a television comedian. If the only objective for a politician in appearing on variety shows is to be as much as possible on television, then they should consider taking early retirement from politics," Mr. Boisvert said.

He also recalled how the PQ Leader was adamant about protecting his private life during last year's leadership race, saying his appearance in the sketch puts him in complete contradiction with what he defended last year."

Accused sex offender's lawyer asks court: Is dead deer an animal?

Thu Nov 16 2006

DULUTH, Minn. -- Prosecution of a case involving alleged sexual contact with a dead deer may hinge on the legal definition of the word "animal."

Bryan James Hathaway, 20, of Superior, Wis., faces a misdemeanor charge of sexual gratification with an animal. He is accused of having sex with a dead deer he saw beside a road on Oct. 11.

A motion filed last week by his attorney, public defender Fredric Anderson, argued that since the deer was dead, it was not considered an animal and the charge should be dismissed.

"The statute does not prohibit one from having sex with a carcass," Anderson wrote.

Judge Michael Lucci heard the motion Tuesday. "I'm a little surprised this issue hasn't been tackled before in another case," Lucci said.

The Webster's dictionary defines "animal" as "any of a kingdom of living beings," Anderson said.

If you include carcasses in that definition, he said, "you really go down a slippery slope with absurd results."

A judge should decide what the legislature intended "animal" to mean in the statute, he said. "And the only clear point to draw the line in that definition, I believe, is the point of death."

Assistant District Attorney James Boughner said the court can use a dictionary to determine the meaning of the word, but it doesn't have to.

"The common and ordinary meaning of a word can be found in how people actually use the word," Boughner wrote in his response to the motion.

When a person's pet dog dies, he told Lucci, the person still refers to the dog as his or her dog, not a carcass.

"It stays a dog for some time," Boughner said.

Anderson argued that the statute, which falls under the heading "crimes against sexual morality," was meant to protect animals. That would be unnecessary in the case of a dead animal.

Boughner said the focus of the statute was on punishing the human behavior, not protecting animals.

Lucci said he would render a decision by Hathaway's next court appearance on Dec. 1.

The misdemeanor charge carries a maximum penalty of nine months in jail and a fine of up to $10,000. If convicted, Hathaway could serve a prison term of up to two years because of a previous conviction.

In April 2005, Hathaway pleaded no contest to one felony charge of mistreatment of an animal for the shooting death of Bambrick, a 26-year-old horse, to have sex with the animal.


-- Duluth News Tribune (Duluth, Minn.).

ok, so this is my favourite part of this story:

The school sent parents a two-sided letter about various school activities on Aug. 21. On the back was a reference to hazing and a minimum five-day suspension and possible police involvement.

"Who thinks of turning a letter over to see if there is writing on the back?" Gordon Feener asked.

who thinks of turning over a letter??? ummmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm, that's fucking hilarious! stupid people!


Hazing rite earns suspensions
4 College Beliveau students punished for paddling

Tue Nov 14 2006

By Nick Martin

FOUR high school students have been suspended for at least six weeks after they paddled Grade 9 students on the buttocks in a hazing ritual.
One suspended student says a total of 15 boys from Grades 11 and 12 at College Beliveau ordered seven Grade 9 boys to a Windsor Park field on Sept. 6, where four of them hit the younger students with a skateboard and a hockey goalie's stick.

Louis Riel School Division superintendent Terry Borys has suspended those four boys, and trustees will decide Nov. 21 if any will be expelled.

Kids call it hazing, and some claim it's a widespread tradition for the start of school and a rite of passage. But education officials call it assault and humiliation, and they treat the hazers severely.

"I do not tolerate hazing. I do not believe people can hurt other people," said Borys, who did not identify the school involved. "It is not acceptable in 2006 to hurt someone's feelings or body.

"There is often this code of silence. They're afraid to go to teachers. This must be stopped," said Borys, who also suspended students at Dakota Collegiate in 2005 for hazing younger kids.
Christopher Feener, a 16-year-old Grade 11 student at College Beliveau, said Monday that he was surprised he was suspended for something he says happens every year at College Beliveau.

It happened to him in 2004 in Grade 9, and it happened to his sister six years ago, Christopher and his father, Gordon Feener, said. But nothing happened then because victims do not come forward for fear of retribution.

When Christopher was in Grade 9, older students, including some he knew, ordered him into a car.


"I just got put up against the fence and paddled, five or six guys in Grade 12. I didn't resist. The bruises lasted for about a week."

Said his father: "He got paddled so bad, he had welts on his butt. He couldn't sit for a week, but that was Freshie Week."

This year, Christopher was among 15 older students who rounded up seven Grade 9 students and ordered them to follow the older guys' cars to a nearby park.

Gordon Feener said the Grade 9 students did what they were told because the older kids told them: "If you don't follow us, you'll get it worse." Christopher said he and three other boys paddled while the rest watched. Some other senior students hazed other groups of kids, but only his group got caught, Christopher said.

"Basically, we told them to go and stand up against the fence. There was a hockey stick, a goalie stick, and a skateboard with no wheels on it," said Christopher, who went easy on the kid he paddled, whom he knew. "I'm sure some of the other kids hit decently hard."

Gordon Feener said girls get hit with eggs, have lipstick smeared across their faces and have ketchup and mustard rubbed in their hair.

Kids don't report it, said Feener: "There's a fear there. The older students, if you fink on them, if you're a rat, they'll come after you."

Christopher said he got called into principal Alain Nault's office Oct. 23 and learned he was suspended. A neighbour had called the police, who investigated and went to the school.

Gordon Feener said the paddlers maybe deserved a one-week suspension, but not six weeks.

The Feener family blames College Beliveau: If Christopher had known the consequences, he would not have paddled anyone, they said.

The school sent parents a two-sided letter about various school activities on Aug. 21. On the back was a reference to hazing and a minimum five-day suspension and possible police involvement.

"Who thinks of turning a letter over to see if there is writing on the back?" Gordon Feener asked. Christopher's mother, Pauline Feener, said that when Nault asked Christopher if he felt remorse, her son indicated that "if he had known the consequences (for himself, not his victim), he would never have done something like this."

Christopher said he'll be back in class Dec. 4, but Borys cautioned that "it's not been decided when they can go back to school. The board can choose to expel a student from Louis Riel School Division."

Christopher said his grades "are not the greatest," and it's hurting his year to miss six weeks of school. He can't learn online or with materials sent home, his father said.

Christopher said he won't haze when he's in Grade 12 next fall. "If this (suspension) happened again, I couldn't catch up, and then I'm screwed" for graduation.

Pauline Feener was unhappy that College Beliveau has not allowed the Feeners to "confront" the victims and find out how badly they were paddled.

"He wasn't out there to hurt him. Maybe it frightened the kid, I don't know. It's just something they do, year after year," she said.


nick.martin@freepress.mb.ca

On the web:


* Louis Riel School Division superintendent Terry Borys has posted a warning about bullying and hazing on the division's website at:

http://www.lrsd.net/AboutUs/SuperintendentsBulletin.asp?MessageID=106


Says Borys:

"We are all responsible for what's right and what's wrong. We're really proud of the majority of young people in our system who understand what's right and what's wrong."


* This is National Anti-Bullying Week.

Safe Schools Manitoba is at:

http://www.safeschoolsmanitoba.ca/


* The department of education's safe schools website is: http://www.edu.gov.mb.ca/k12/safe_schools/index.html


How school divisions handle hazing:


* Steinbach Regional Secondary School suspended eight Grade 12 students for a week in the fall of 2005 for beating Grade 10 boys with paddles on the first day of school. "These guys did a stupid thing," Hanover School Division superintendent John Peters said. They had never been in trouble before, Peters said, and a longer suspension would have jeopardized their education.


* In 2004, Margaret Barbour Collegiate in The Pas ended years of ritualized beatings of first-year students when authorities called in police and parents to beef up security.

Four students were caught in the act of a hazing assault and were suspended for a full semester. Parents in The Pas have said that students were threatened with years of high school misery if they reported their beatings.


* The last substantiated cases of hazing in Winnipeg had been in 1998, when Garden City Collegiate suspended five students, West Kildonan Collegiate four students, and Shaftesbury High School one student -- all for paddling younger students outside school property.

Anti-homosexuality brochure held up at Canada Post
Last Updated: Thursday, October 26, 2006 | 12:23 PM PT
CBC News
Canada Post says a controversial religious brochure that condemns homosexuality will be delivered to hundreds of homes in East Vancouver, despite the objections of letter carriers.

The 28-page pamphlet is published by a fundamentalist Baptist group based in Ontario, and condemns homosexuality as ungodly, unhealthy and unnatural.

Vancouver mail sorter Andy Henderson was the first person at his postal station to notice the pamphlet, and was shocked by what he read.

"The first words I saw when I picked it up were: 'The plague of this 21st Century: the consequences of the sin of homosexuality (AIDS).' "

He and the other postal employees say they consider it hate mail and have refused to handle it.

"You wouldn't be able to find one television station that would accept this ad mail as a 30-second advertising spot," said Henderson. "And yet Canada Post will take it. And their point is, 'If it's legal, we'll deliver it.' "

Canada Post management told the workers on Wednesday that it's not in the business of censorship, and said the letters would be delivered.

That stance prompted about 60 postal workers at the Canada Post plant in downtown Vancouver to hold a short protest Thursday morning.

"So the employees walked out of this facility because most people are deeply offended by the nature of the literature," said union local president Ken Mooney.

He told CBC News that the workers have since returned to their jobs, waiting to see what management is going to do next.

"I'm now told they're not going to force us to handle this mail. So they've backed off a little bit. So we're just waiting to see how this plays out."

Brochures 'deemed appropriate'

Canada Post spokeswoman Colleen Frick says the company has a contract to deliver the brochure and it will do just that.

She notes that it was "deemed acceptable and appropriate for mailing under the Canada postal guide.

"The criteria is very specific. And if something is not deemed obscene in nature, then the item will be acceptable for mailing. And this particular item was deemed appropriate. So it will be delivered."

The union says management has now indicated that the brochures will be put in envelopes and delivered by management personnel.

Métis hunting case returns to court
Last Updated: Tuesday, October 24, 2006 | 6:08 PM CT
CBC News
A Métis hunter resumed his legal battle with the Manitoba government Tuesday over the right of the Métis to hunt without a provincial licence.

Will Goodon was charged two years ago, after he shot a duck without a provincial licence. He possessed a Métis "harvester" card, which was issued by the Manitoba Métis Federation, but the province has refused to recognize those cards. He pleaded not guilty to the charge, alleging that hunting is his birthright.

The trial started in May and resumed last week in a Brandon, Man., courtroom. There will be another week set aside in November to continue the trial, and lawyers are now talking about setting aside a few weeks early next year.

Goodon said Tuesday the trial has disrupted his family's life, but the case is not about him or his family.

Battle about Metis way of life: Goodon

"It's about the Métis and the constitutionally protected rights that we have, that we've already fought for and won once, at the Supreme Court," Goodon said Tuesday.

Continue Article

"We've got to do it all over again here in Manitoba because our premier and our minister of conservation doesn't believe that we have these rights. We just want to continue the fight. Historially, the Métis have been known as fighters who battle for what they perceive to be right, and that's exactly what we're doing here today."

Goodon was referring to a 2003 Supreme Court ruling, known as the Powley decision, which gave full status-Indian hunting rights — the right to hunt and fish for food out of season and without a provincial licence — to Métis who can prove a connection to a stable, continuous community.

Jean Teillet, Goodon's lawyer, said Tuesday that her client's hunting rights have been demonstrated through the Powley decision, and she hasn't heard anything different so far in the trial.

"I'm hearing very little opposition from the Crown to this whole part of proving the right, which is a little frustrating because it leads me to the reluctant conclusion that we shouldn't be here on proving the right."

The Manitoba government has said there is disagreement about the implications of that case.

Current Mood: annoyed
Current Music: good bye to you - scandal

Designer cats are nothing to sniff at


Mon Oct 23 2006

By Meghan Daum



IT is a truth universally acknowledged that cats make some people sick. As a person who would no sooner pet a cat than stick her hand in a tree shredder, I consider this a law of nature.
But it seems that cats may be going nature one better. Starting early next year, a San Diego company called Allerca will introduce the world's first hypoallergenic cat.

Dubbed the Allerca GD (for genetically divergent), this cat is the result of scientists isolating the feline gene that produces the protein that causes many human allergies. In ongoing trials led by allergist Dr. Sheldon Spector at the University of California, Los Angeles, appropriately altered cats proved non-bothersome to people with clinically diagnosed cat allergies.

Allerca is not a biotech company but, according to chief executive Megan Young, a "lifestyle pet company" that is "taking breeding to the next level."

According to Allerca's website, the cats -- which have medium-length hair and come in the same colours and patterns as normal cats -- are the result of using "sophisticated bioinformatics to manage feline breeding programs."

The price?
US $3,950 each.

Don't get excited yet. There's already a long waiting list.

"If you ordered today, you'd have a kitten in about 15 months," Young told me recently. Although the company isn't sure exactly when the first cats will be ready -- "It's up to Mother Nature," Young said -- it expects to make deliveries in the first quarter of 2007 and to build up the breeding pool to several dozen by next summer. All Allerca cats will be delivered when they are 12 weeks old and will be spayed or neutered. They come with a year of veterinary insurance, nail caps called Soft Paws -- "We want to discourage declawing," Young said -- and a "certificate of authenticity" that bears an image of the divergent gene sequence.

Is this creepy or miraculous?

Like a lot of animal-loving allergy sufferers, I'm intrigued by the idea of having a cat that won't send me to the emergency room, even if that cat costs more than a used Toyota. But like a lot of animal-loving rational human beings, I'm philosophically opposed to the deliberate breeding of already plentiful animals (OK when it comes to pandas, not OK for dogs and cats).

The Humane Society of the United States estimates that three million to four million cats go into shelters every year, about half of which will be euthanized. Although HSUS has no stated policy on breeding and doesn't know much about Allerca beyond what's on the website, outreach director Stephanie Shain says the organization plans to keep an eye on the company.

"Any time we hear about someone tinkering with animals in a laboratory setting, we think we should know more about it," Shain said. "Our immediate concern is how are they creating these animals and what are the conditions the cats are kept in."

Young says Allerca's breeding facilities are "barrier-free" and staffed by experienced animal husbandry experts as well as "professional animal socializers" who play with the cats and get them accustomed to children as well as other pets. Moreover, customers must submit to environmental and body allergy testing before they can buy an Allerca cat. If allergen levels in the home are above a certain threshold, they have to steam clean and retest. If body levels are too high, as is the case in a small minority, they won't get a kitten. "Our product is more important than our customers," Young said. "We want to make sure the cats are going to a loving home. These are not the latest designer handbags that you show off to your friends."

I should say not. Still, no matter how thoughtful the process and how protective Allerca is of the cats, the phenomenon bothers me. Why? Because I want a GD cat even though I don't know if I -- or anyone -- should have one. If the laws of nature say no, does technology have the right to say yes?

Fortunately, I don't have $4,000 to spare, so this is not a dilemma I'll be facing any time soon. But that could change. Allerca is planning to make a major announcement next year about a new lifestyle pet.

"I can't say much," Young said, "but I can tell you it's exciting and it's beautiful."

Finally! A koala that uses a litter box and will fetch the newspaper! I'm signing up right now.


Meghan Daum is an essayist

and novelist in Los Angeles.

-- Los Angeles Times

Canadian researcher hopes to test HIV vaccine


Wed Oct 18 2006

By Tom Spears



OTTAWA--A University of Western Ontario virus researcher has a potential vaccine against HIV and AIDS that could be tested in humans next year if he can win approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
Yong Kang is being supported by a Korean biotech company, Curocom Co. Ltd., which announced yesterday it will manufacture the potential vaccine.

Kang says FDA approval should follow shortly, and adds that the vaccine has boosted the defences of macaque monkeys in the lab. No HIV vaccine has ever worked in humans.

Macaques can't catch HIV, so the experiments so far don't deal with actual infection. But the vaccine has been effective in stimulating the macaques' immune systems to recognize HIV.

The next step is clinical trials -- a three-stage series of tests in humans to show whether a drug is safe and effective. Kang says Phase 1 could begin in a year.

He says the unique feature of his vaccine is that it has two parts -- a whole, dead HIV-1 virus and a genetic fragment that is the part of the virus that stimulates an immune response.
Most previous vaccines have used just a small part of HIV's genetic material, he said.

"If it works as what we see (in) the immune responses in animals, I think we have a fairly good chance" of developing a vaccine that works, he said in an interview.

Curocom has committed to the first two levels of human trials, at an estimated cost of $15 million. If those work well, he said, the full cost of three phases could reach $50 million.

-- CanWest News Service

Unhappy at work?
Well, you're not alone

Wed Oct 18 2006

By Meagan Fitzpatrick and Lindsey Wiebe

MORE than one million Canadians --or about one in 12 -- aren't happy at work, according to a new national study, and one local research group said that number is even higher in Manitoba.
While the vast majority of Canadians are satisfied at work, more than eight per cent expressed dissatisfaction with their jobs, according to the Statistics Canada study.

Just over six per cent of workers were "not too satisfied" and two per cent were "not at all satisfied," said the report, which used data from the 2002 Canadian Community Health Survey.

In Manitoba, the survey found that just under eight per cent of people were dissatisfied at work. But a separate study by a local market research firm found the province's numbers were even higher.

Probe Research said 12 per cent of full- and part-time workers in Manitoba -- roughly 66,000 people -- aren't satisfied with their jobs, according to their most recent numbers.

Probe researchers said they regularly track job satisfaction, but don't typically publish the results.
Job stress, shift work and lower incomes are all factors associated with job dissatisfaction, says the Statistics Canada article Unhappy on the Job, released yesterday.

Evening and night shift workers were more likely to be dissatisfied than those who work 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Salaries also made a difference when it came to job satisfaction, although money brought happiness for more men than women.

While 15 per cent of men whose annual incomes were less than $20,000 were not happy at work, this was true for less than five per cent of men who pulled in incomes of $60,000 or more.

The report revealed the most unhappy employees worked in sales or service, processing, manufacturing or utilities and men specifically were not happy in their administrative, financial or clerical jobs.

A substantial number of workers reported feeling stress on and off the job and the study said stress can be a precursor to depression.

lindsey.wiebe@freepress.mb.ca

RCMP officer won't face sex charges
Force waited too long for hearing

Thu Oct 5 2006

By Terri Theodore

VANCOUVER -- RCMP Const. Justin Harris wept and hugged his wife after learning yesterday a disciplinary panel would not go ahead with allegations that he had sex with underage prostitutes. The panel decided the force waited too long to launch the hearing against Harris.
He was accused of behaving in a "disgraceful manner" by buying sex from three women under the age of 18 in Prince George, B.C., between 1993 and 2001. An investigator testified earlier this week that one teenage prostitute alleged Harris paid her for oral sex and hit her when she refused to perform the act without a condom. RCMP Supt. Robert Codere, who was hearing the matter, agreed with Harris's lawyer the proceedings are more than two years overdue.

"Consequently, this board does not have jurisdiction to hear this matter," Codere said.

Under the RCMP Act, a commanding officer has to launch a disciplinary hearing within a year of being notified of an allegation against an officer.

Codere found that limitation period started running no later than Jan. 24, 2003.

"In our view, a reasonable person would find that the information available to (the investigating officer) was sufficient to know about the existence of alleged contraventions," Codere said at the hearing.
Harris was accused after investigators began interviewing young prostitutes involved in a case against a Prince George judge in 2002. The judge, David Ramsay, eventually pleaded guilty to sex-related charges.

RCMP Assistant Commissioner Gary Bass argued earlier this week that many sex workers were reluctant to testify against Harris in 2002 and the case at that point wasn't strong enough to initiate disciplinary action.

But the force had second thoughts about the reliability of some of the witnesses against Harris after Ramsay pleaded guilty in June 2004 and was sentenced to seven years in jail.

The girls were mostly aboriginal teens and some of them had appeared in Ramsay's courtroom.

Harris's lawyer, Reginald Harris, said his client is relieved but saddened there wasn't a full hearing on merits of the case.

"He's maintained from the moment he was confronted with these that he's absolutely innocent. He has voluntarily given all his bank records to the RCMP, he's voluntarily exposed his body parts for photographing by the RCMP, he has voluntarily submitted all his medical records to the RCMP."

Harris said his client went forward with the technical argument regarding the time limit instead of arguing the case because he wanted to set a precedent for other officers.

"This decision will reinforce that and ensure other members that go forth will get fair hearings and that time limitations will be respected." The RCMP has 14 days to appeal the board's findings and the Mounties' lawyer, Brian Radford, said he'll look at the decision to determine if there are avenues of appeal.

"For the time being we accept the board's findings," Radford said. "We knew going into this that we would be facing some difficult issues; in fact, we wanted those issues to be debated."

-- Canadian Press

George Michael arrested in London
Last Updated: Monday, October 2, 2006 | 10:47 AM ET
CBC Arts
Police have arrested pop star George Michael after finding him slumped over in a car in the early hours of Sunday morning, British authorities said Monday.

Officers responded to a complaint about a car blocking a north London intersection at 3:22 a.m. local time and arrested the singer on suspicion of possessing marijuana.

The weekend arrest marked the second time this year police have found pop star George Michael passed out in his car on a London street and in possession of drugs.
(AP)
It is the second time the police have arrested Michael under these conditions.

After briefly taking him to hospital to be checked out, police issued Michael a caution for possessing cannabis and released him on bail pending an inquiry of being unfit to drive.

His latest run-in with police comes about a week after the former Wham! singer performed in his first solo concert in 15 years. The show, held in Spain, was the opening performance in his new 25 Live European tour this fall.

In February, police found the 43-year-old singer slumped over in his car near London's Hyde Park and arrested him for drug possession.

Two months later, he was involved in a car accident, when he hit several parked cars with his sport utility vehicle. He later claimed to an interviewer that he was a "terrible driver" and said he had been trying to get out of a parking spot.

Michael, who has sold more than 80 million records as both the frontman for 1980s duo Wham! and as a solo artist, was arrested in 1998 in Los Angeles for engaging in a "lewd act" in a public restroom.

His hits includeWake Me Up Before You Go Go, Kissing a Fool, Freedom 90, Careless Whisper, Faith and I'm Your Man.

With files from the Associated Press

i took the bus to the u of m this morning and totally saw some person get hit by a car on university cres & bison dr (or chancellor matheson, whatever it is called). the person almost got pulled under the truck but managed to kind of roll away. their bike was super bent up, and the truck just kept on driving. stupid drivers! that's not the first time i've seen someone get hit by a car on uni cres.

$1-M winner has all the luck
City man's lotto win just his latest jackpot

Thu Sep 21 2006

By Jason Bell

BRUCE Diduck is three times lucky. The Winnipeg construction worker is the city's newest millionaire, winning $1 million on the Set for Life scratch-and-win lottery game.
Diduck, a father and grandfather, picked up his winning ticket at the North Main Mohawk service station at 1656 Main St.

It's not the first time the 49-year-old resident of West Kildonan has hit the jackpot.

Diduck won Lotto 6/49 prizes of $56,000 about 20 years ago and $58,643.81 six years ago.

"People have told me that I'm pretty lucky... now I do (believe them)," he said. "It's awesome... just incredible. It's a wonderful feeling."

Diduck is the third Manitoban in four months to win $1 million on the popular $5 lotto. A Brandon woman won the game's top prize in June and a couple from Deloraine hit the jackpot in July.
This past Saturday, Diduck redeemed a free scratch ticket at the service station, took it home and let his girlfriend, Margaret Boppre-Kusyk, scratch the second ticket for him.

She scratched off the play area, revealing three Set for Life logos for an instant win.

"I think I was about six feet off the ground," he said, laughing. "I've played Set for Life for a couple of months and I knew what I was looking for. And when I saw the three Set for Lifes... the dents might still be in the ceiling."

Diduck said the first thing he's going to do with the money is buy his mother a brand-new car. The family is also planning a big winter vacation.

But he's not giving up his job as a shop foreman at Con-Pro Industries.

"I just told them I'd be taking a week off, just to settle in," he said. "I've only been there for about a year and two weeks, I really enjoy it and I won't be quitting."

And he won't quit playing the lottery, either.

"I've got a Lotto 6/49 ticket in my pocket (for last night's draw)," he said. The couple was still riding the wave of emotion yesterday during a Western Canada Lottery Corporation press conference.

"They should be playing the Barenaked Ladies' song... If I Had a Million Dollars," said Boppre-Kusyk. "We have no voices left. We've kind of been screaming."

Debbie Gooden was working at the Mohawk when Diduck came in to redeem his free ticket Saturday. About three hours later, he returned -- looking like he'd just seen a ghost.

"He said he won a million dollars. I knew he wasn't joking because I could see his face... he was pale," Gooden said. "I think he knew he'd won, but he just wanted to make sure."

Gooden said she ran the ticket through a lottery terminal to confirm the huge jackpot.

"I gave him the validation slip and he just ran outside and screamed," she said, with a laugh. "I gave him a high-five. He's a regular customer, he comes in all the time.

"He's such a nice, friendly man. I'm so happy for him."


jason.bell@freepress.mb.ca

Cowboys Are Frequently, Secretly (Stoned)

by 365Gay.com Entertainment
(Lafayette, Louisiana) Country great Willie Nelson has never made a secret of liking his weed. But it seems he likes "magic mushrooms" too.

The 73-year old Nelson and four others were issued misdemeanor citations for possession of illegal mushrooms and marijuana after a traffic stop Monday morning on a Louisiana highway.

The citations were issued after a commercial vehicle inspection of the country music star's tour bus, state police said in a news release.

"When the door was opened and the trooper began to speak to the driver, he smelled the strong odor of marijuana," the news release said. A search of the bus produced 1 1/2 pounds of marijuana and slightly more than three ounces of illegal mushrooms.

There were enough drugs to merit a felony charge of distribution if they had been found in one person's possession, state police spokesman Willie Williams said. But all five claimed the drugs as their own and the drugs were not packaged for resale, so each was charged with misdemeanors, he said.

All were released after the citations were issued.

On Valentine's Day Willie released an ode to gay cowboys called 'Cowboys Are Frequently, Secretly (Fond Of Each Other)'. He said the song was inspired by Brokeback Mountain.

His other hits include "On the Road Again" and "City of New Orleans."

©365Gay.com 2006

Current Mood: amused

Penis transplanted


CHINESE doctors say they successfully transplanted a penis on a man who lost his own in an accident, but had to remove it two weeks later because of psychological problems experienced by the man and his wife.

The case appears to be the first such transplant reported in a medical journal: European Urology, published by the European Association of Urology.

The penis came from a 22-year-old brain-dead man whose parents agreed to donate his organ.

when did livejournal change? it looks funny. look how i can see everyone's birtday now.

here's a story from the freep that amused me. people are so crazy! i wanna get appointed to the cbc when i'm old and make crazy comments. CRAZY!!!!!!

CBC chief resigns after odd remarks
Conservatives have chance to mould public broadcaster

Wed Sep 20 2006

By Elizabeth Thompson

TOM HANSON / CANADIAN PRESS ARCHIVES
Guy Fournier’s exit was welcomed by politicians of all stripes yesterday.

OTTAWA -- Well-known Quebec author, playwright and producer Guy Fournier resigned yesterday as chairman of the board of the Canadian Broadcasting Corp. amid controversy over comments he made about bestiality in Lebanon and the joys of bowel movements.
"Mr. Fournier was appointed as chair of CBC Radio-Canada by the previous Liberal government," Heritage Minister Bev Oda said during question period yesterday in response to a question posed by a Conservative backbencher.

"He has increasingly lost the confidence of Canada's new government. I inform this House that I have received the voluntary resignation of Mr. Fournier effective today."

Fournier's departure provides the Conservatives with an opportunity to begin putting their own stamp on Canada's public broadcaster.

"This will enable this new government to make an appointment that reflects the importance that we put on the role of the chair of CBC Radio-Canada," Oda said.

Fournier's appointment by Liberal heritage minister Liza Frulla in September 2005 was widely welcomed.
With a successful 50-year career to his credit, Fournier came into the job with dynamic plans for everything from increasing the presence of visible minorities on the airwaves of Radio Canada to increasing the level of co-operation between CBC and Radio Canada.

However, Fournier raised eyebrows recently with an article in the popular magazine Sept Jours in which he suggested that bestiality was accepted in Lebanon as long as it was with a female animal. Fournier subsequently apologized for the comments, saying he had been mistaken.

Fournier once again raised eyebrows when a lengthy interview he granted to a Toronto community radio station, CHOQ-FM, last May came to light in which he extolled the pleasures of defecating.

"The most extraordinary thing is that, in the end, as you grow older, you continue to go poop once a day if you are in good health, while it is not easy to make love every day. So finally, the pleasure is longer-lasting and more frequent than the other."

The resignation came only a day after a spokeswoman for Oda told the National Post the minister was satisfied Fournier had retracted his comments about Lebanon.

Veronique Bruneau refused all comment, sticking stubbornly to Oda's four-sentence response in the House and refusing to even confirm or deny reports that the two spoke yesterday morning.

Politicians of all political stripes were quick to react, saying Fournier had chosen the right course.

"I think he was the victim of his own turpitude," Liberal MP Denis Coderre said. "He flushed himself." Bloc Québécois Leader Gilles Duceppe, who had called for Fournier's resignation after the comments on Lebanon, welcomed Fournier's resignation.

"At least, he took one good decision."

New Democratic Party Leader Jack Layton said there were a number of reasons for Fournier to resign -- not just his recent comments but also concerns over local CBC coverage and a long labour lockout.

-- CanWest News Service

Current Location: ivory towers
Current Mood: okay
Current Music: Zombie-the cranberries