This is one of my favourite Christmas movies. I saw this commercial yesterday for the U.S. phone company, Cingular. I thought it was very well done, so here it is for you...
Environment . Human Rights . Politics . Atheism . Food . Toronto . Ontario . Canada
12.10.2006
1981: Mystery disease kills homosexuals
A mysterious epidemic, which has been discovered in homosexual men, is causing increasing concern in the United States.
The unknown condition, which consists of two separate diseases - a form of pneumonia and skin cancer, has been found in 180 patients in 15 states since last July.
It has claimed around 75 lives so far in the US and up to 92% of the victims are homosexual men.
One death has been reported from the virus in London.
Although doctors have identified what appears to be a new disease, they have yet to devise a cure.
The epidemic is being investigated by the Centre for Disease Control in Atlanta.
The specialist unit has already discovered the causes of two other diseases, the toxic shock syndrome and Legionnaires' disease.
The unknown condition, which consists of two separate diseases - a form of pneumonia and skin cancer, has been found in 180 patients in 15 states since last July.
It has claimed around 75 lives so far in the US and up to 92% of the victims are homosexual men.
One death has been reported from the virus in London.
Although doctors have identified what appears to be a new disease, they have yet to devise a cure.
The epidemic is being investigated by the Centre for Disease Control in Atlanta.
The specialist unit has already discovered the causes of two other diseases, the toxic shock syndrome and Legionnaires' disease.
It seems surreal to read a report of 75 deaths in the United States, when now an estimated 28 million people around the world have died and millions are infected with HIV.
12.09.2006
Coronation Street, Britain's longest-running television soap opera and its consistently highest-rating programme, was first broadcast on Friday December 9, 1960 on ITV, where it continues to be scheduled.
Visit the official ITV Coronation Street Website here. *SPOILER ALERT* - If you watch Corrie on CBC, episodes are about six months behind ITV.
12.07.2006
Report: Iraq police abduct gay men at gunpoint
Wednesday, December 6, 2006
Ten gay men who were taken by the Iraqi police are feared to be dead, five from the activist group Iraqi LGBT, the group reported December 1. The activists were held at gunpoint while holding a secret meeting in the al-Shaab district of Baghdad on November 9, their Web site said.
Ali Hili, a gay Iraqi Muslim living in Britain, said that gays in Iraq have been the target of threats and executions. He was on the phone with the men during the abduction.
"Suddenly, there was a lot of noise and then the connection ended," he reported on Iraqi LGBT's Web site.
The site also reported that another man, Haydar Kamel, 35, was taken near his home in Sadr City. The alleged kidnappers are members of the Mahdi army, a militia loyal to Muqtada al-Sadr.
The other four men were employees of the gay-popular Jar al-Qamar barber shop in Baghdad's al-Karada district, said Tris Reid-Smith on the same site.
None of the men who have been abducted have been heard from since. It is assumed, the site said, that they are all dead.
Peter Tatchell, from Hili's group Outrage, said Iraqi LGBT has establishes a network of activists working in Baghdad, Najaf, Karbala, Hilla and Basra.
"These courageous activists are helping gay people on the run escape to Syria, Jordan and Lebanon," Tatchell said. "The world ignores the fate of gay Iraqis at its peril. Their fate today is the fate of all Iraqis tomorrow." (The Advocate)
Ten gay men who were taken by the Iraqi police are feared to be dead, five from the activist group Iraqi LGBT, the group reported December 1. The activists were held at gunpoint while holding a secret meeting in the al-Shaab district of Baghdad on November 9, their Web site said.
Ali Hili, a gay Iraqi Muslim living in Britain, said that gays in Iraq have been the target of threats and executions. He was on the phone with the men during the abduction.
"Suddenly, there was a lot of noise and then the connection ended," he reported on Iraqi LGBT's Web site.
The site also reported that another man, Haydar Kamel, 35, was taken near his home in Sadr City. The alleged kidnappers are members of the Mahdi army, a militia loyal to Muqtada al-Sadr.
The other four men were employees of the gay-popular Jar al-Qamar barber shop in Baghdad's al-Karada district, said Tris Reid-Smith on the same site.
None of the men who have been abducted have been heard from since. It is assumed, the site said, that they are all dead.
Peter Tatchell, from Hili's group Outrage, said Iraqi LGBT has establishes a network of activists working in Baghdad, Najaf, Karbala, Hilla and Basra.
"These courageous activists are helping gay people on the run escape to Syria, Jordan and Lebanon," Tatchell said. "The world ignores the fate of gay Iraqis at its peril. Their fate today is the fate of all Iraqis tomorrow." (The Advocate)
11.28.2006
Safer Streets or Big Brother?
Over the past year, the Toronto Police Services has installed numerous cameras along Yonge Street and elsewhere in the city. These cameras monitor our public spaces 24/7. Is there a problem with this? Are we concered that our public spaces are no longer as open as they used to be? Or are cameras nothing to worry about from a public space standpoint?This week we are planning to start answering these questions. The kickoff meeting of the Cameras in Public Sapces Campaign is this Thusday, November 30th at 6pm in Metro Hall, Room 313.
If you are at all intersted or concerned about the growing number of police and government cameras in public spaces, come out to meeting. We will be discussing this growing issue, and what, if any, our reaction should be to it.Please bring with you any information you may have regarding the state of cameras in the city. Where you've seen them, and how/why they're used in that space. Are they monitored or recorded? Setup for sepcial events or running 24/7?
For more information, or to leave your comments if you can't attend, please contact Daniel Quinn at dan@publicspace.ca
Metro Hall is located at King and John. The nearest subway station is St. Andrew. It is easily accessible via the PATH system from the station or via the King streetcar.
11.24.2006
Broadway, NY, NY, USA
Name the highlighted street.
Hints:
1. It is in a major North American City.
1951 - The Broadway play Gigi opens with a then unknown actress by the name of Audrey Hepburn in the title role.
11.23.2006
11.22.2006
On This Daye...
- 1617 Quebec Quebec - Anne Hébert marries Étienne Jonquet; first marriage on record in the colony.
- 1904 St Louis, Missouri - Third Olympic games close. Canada did not send an official team, but Canadians bring back four golds, in golf (George Lyon), lacrosse (Winnipeg Shamrocks), soccer and the 56 lb. weight throw (Etienne Desmarteau).
- 1962 Nashville Tennessee - Nova Scotia's Hank Snow has a #1 country music hit single with 'I've Been Everywhere'.
- 1995 Ottawa Ontario - Jean Chretien unveils federal unity plan; Prime Minister suggests distinct society thrust
- 1988 Edmonton Alberta - Oiler Wayne Gretzky scores his 600th career NHL goal.
- 1965 My brother, Brian was born. Happy Birthday!
History Lesson...
- 1993 - Toronto Ontario - Justice Horace Krever starts his public hearings into Canada's blood supply, and the AIDS tainted blood and blood products given to Canadians in the 1980's, before the Canadian Red Cross began testing for HIV.
- 1963 - Toronto Ontario - John Fitzgerald Kennedy's assassination leads to closing of Toronto Stock Exchange in mid session for first time.
- 1943 - England - RAF and RCAF crews start air bombing of Berlin.
- 1594 - London England - Martin Frobisher dies; Arctic explorer, discoverer of Frobisher Bay for England.
- 1957 - Cornwall Ontario - First ship passes through Iroquois Lock, first lock of new St. Lawrence Seaway.
Iroquois Lock on the St. Lawrence Seaway, Cornwall, ON
1957 Cornwall Ontario - First ship passes through Iroquois Lock, first lock of new St. Lawrence Seaway.Hints:
1. This place is in Canada.
2. It is in the Eastern half of the country.
11.21.2006
South Fork Ranch & Convention Centre, Plano, TX
Hints:1. The Place is in North America
1980 - Who Shot JR? - The Dallas Episode "Who Done It?" aired on US television today. It was one of the highest-rated episodes of a TV show ever aired.
11.18.2006
Odescalchi Castle, Italy
Today we are looking for the name of the building. I think this one is pretty easy so the only hints are that the place is not in Scandinavia or Antarctica. Good Luck! Here is a better picture of the castle: 
11.17.2006
St. Vincent de Paul Hospital, Brockville, ON
For todays POTD I am looking for the name of a building or site, not the town/city. Sorry the Google Earth image for this area is not all in high resolution so it made it difficult to zoom in on the actual site, as I normally would have done.HINTS:
1. The POTD is part of a larger post today, so you can most likely deduce that the POTD is related to the theme of the rest of the post
2. It is in Canada
3. Today is my birthday. (Gifts are nice, but a smile and a hundred dollar bill is even nicer).
All you ever wanted to know about the song, and so much more!Today is my birthday (just in case you didn't already know), along with these other fabulous people;
9 - Vespasian, Roman Emperor (d. 79)
1502 - Atahualpa, last emperor of the Inca (d. 1533)
1905 - Queen Astrid of the Belgians (d. 1935)
1925 - Rock Hudson, American actor (d. 1985)
1938 - Gordon Lightfoot, Canadian singer
1942 - Martin Scorsese, American film director
1943 - Lauren Hutton, American actress
1944 - Danny DeVito, American actor
1944 - Lorne Michaels, Canadian producer
1951 - Dean Paul Martin, American singer and actor (d. 1987)
1954 - Mark Brandon Read, Australian criminal
1960 - RuPaul, American drag entertainer
1968 - Amber Michaels, German porn actress
9 - Vespasian, Roman Emperor (d. 79)
1502 - Atahualpa, last emperor of the Inca (d. 1533)
1905 - Queen Astrid of the Belgians (d. 1935)
1925 - Rock Hudson, American actor (d. 1985)
1938 - Gordon Lightfoot, Canadian singer
1942 - Martin Scorsese, American film director
1943 - Lauren Hutton, American actress
1944 - Danny DeVito, American actor
1944 - Lorne Michaels, Canadian producer
1951 - Dean Paul Martin, American singer and actor (d. 1987)
1954 - Mark Brandon Read, Australian criminal
1960 - RuPaul, American drag entertainer
1968 - Amber Michaels, German porn actress
11.16.2006
Warsaw Ghetto, Poland
HINTS:11.13.2006
11.12.2006
San Quentin Prison, CA, USA
HINTS
1. It is in the United States.
On this day Scott Peterson was found guilty of murdering his wife Lacy and their unborn child Connor. Peterson, who was later sentenced to death now resides in San Quentin Prison.
On This Day- 1838
Prescott Ontario - Republican Colonel Nils von Schoultz leads 200 Canadian exiles and US sympathizers in an attack against Prescott; fights the four-day Battle of the Windmill against British regulars and the local Canadian militia. Von Schoultz, a Finn, runs his schooner Charlotte aground below Prescott, and takes up position in a 6-storey stone windmill and several stone houses nearby; Canadians send a small vessel, the Experiment, to cut Schoultz off from the US, while 700 militia start arriving from the surrounding counties and a force of 70 British marines comes downriver by steamer from Kingston; the militia drive the Hunters from the houses into the windmill the following day; on the 14th Col Henry Dundas arrives with 4 companies of the 83rd Regiment, 2 eighteen-pounders and a howitzer; the rebels surrender on the 16th.
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