Montreal case first test of new anti-piracy law

The first charges ever laid under Canada's new anti-piracy law have been filed in Montreal, CTV News has learned.
The city is known among police and Hollywood studios as a hotbed of film piracy, where movie premieres are routinely recorded using digital camcorders and later sold on the black market or shared on the Internet.
At Guzzo Cinemas in the east-end of the city, management only keeps a single copy of each film they screen. During a recent premiere of "Dan in Real Life," police arrested an audience member allegedly recording the movie.

Read the full story from CTV news here.

Have your say!

Vote in this weeks ...the Daye...Poll now and share your thoughts on the piracy issue.

The Universal Library

An international consortium of universities and libraries announced Tuesday they have digitized more than 1.5 million books and made them available through a single website.
The Million Book Project, also known as the Universal Digital Library, said the collection includes books in more than 20 languages, with titles ranging from Mark Twain's A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court to The Analects of Confucius.

Read the full story at the CBC.ca Arts site.

Sherbourne Street Bridge

'Virtuous' Saudis defend 200 lashes for rape victim

Reacting to West's criticism, justice ministry says 19-year-old broke Islamic law by having an affair

Nov 25, 2007 04:30 AM
RIYADH–Saudi Arabia is defending a court's decision to sentence a woman who was gang-raped to 200 lashes, saying she was having an extramarital affair in violation of Islamic laws.

The case of the 19-year-old Shiite woman who, along with a male companion, was abducted and raped by seven men has drawn international attention. Canada has denounced the "barbaric" sentence and even the United States, a close ally of the conservative kingdom, offered mild criticism.

"The woman in the case is married and has confessed to establishing a relationship in violation of sharia law," the Saudi Justice Ministry said in a statement yesterday.

It said she and her companion were alone in a dark area outdoors when they were noticed by the men who later raped them.

Read the full story from the Toronto Star.

Wake Up

Cities for life

Reel Awareness

Amnesty International presents:
Reel Awareness - Toronto's Human Rights Film Festival, 22nd to 25th November 2007

7:30 - 10:00 pm RADIO OKAPI, THE PEACE WEAPON
Pierre Guyot / France/ 2006 / 52min
Toronto premiere

In 1994 “the thousand hills radio” in Rwanda followed minute by minute the last genocide of the 20th century when over a million people died. The Democratic Republic of Congo also experienced a devastating civil war that produced millions of victims. With the help of journalists, Radio Okapi was born from a will to do things differently: to bring people fair and balanced information and to make radio an instrument of peace.

“Autrement Vu” Award, Festival International du Grand Reportage et du Documentaire de Societe (France)
Special Jury Prize, Festival International du Film des Droits de l’Homme de Bangui (Central African Republic)
GUEST SPEAKERS: Olivia Ward, Foreign Affairs writer, Toronto Star; Daniel Baird, Arts Literature Editor,
WALRUS Magazine; Beth Berton-Hunter, Media Officer, Amnesty International

SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 25

2:30 - 4:30 pm CHILD SLAVERY
Richard Alwyn/BBC/UK /2007/ 90min


It's almost 200 years since the abolition of slavery in most countries. But across the world, the slave trade is booming like never before - a business worth billions of dollars a year. As many as 14 million children are enslaved today worldwide - more than at any time in history. Children are bought and sold like bags of sugar. They break stones in quarries, clean and cook for their owners, work the plantations and service Western sex tourists. They are beaten, abused, denied any contact with their family and often worked to death. Many of their captors do not see the practice as wrong. This film tells five extraordinary stories of children around the world, who share their experiences of slavery in their own words.

Q&A session after the film with Renee Saviour, Amnesty International

A Clever Banner Ad

Clever mac banner ad from Amit Gupta on Vimeo.

Photos From My 40th birthday

David, Patrick & Mark on the glass floor of the CN Tower

View the rest of the birthday photos here.

Snow in the city

Snow has arrived downtown, following a very soggy day yesterday. I took this photo of the Sherbourne St. bridge facing Rosedale this morning.

Toronto Cycling Union

Literally, A Web Log

About This Site
Misuse of the word “literally” gets my blood boiling (no, not literally). It started as a nit-picking distraction, grew to a frustrating obsession, and finally resulted in the creation of this blog.

What’s the problem?
According to the wonderful web site Common Errors in English:
“literally” has been so overused as a sort of vague intensifier that it is in danger of losing its literal meaning. It should be used to distinguish between a figurative and a literal meaning of a phrase. It should not be used as a synonym for “actually” or “really.”

U.S. reading skills, comprehension declining: study

The following is from CBC. CAAmericans are reading less and reading skills are deteriorating, especially among young people, according to a comprehensive U.S.-wide study of reading skills by the National Endowment for the Arts in Washington, D.C.
The study found only 52 per cent of Americans aged 18 to 24 read a book voluntarily in 2002, down from 59 per cent a decade earlier.
The slide is even sharper among younger readers — less than one-third of 13-year-olds read every day, down 14 per cent in the last 20 years.
At the same time, reading scores for American adults have deteriorated, even among well-educated people.

The study, To Read or Not to Read, is based on data collected from government, academic and foundation studies on reading and reading comprehension.
The sole bright spot was among nine-year-olds, whose reading scores have soared since the 1990s, with 54 per cent of them reporting they read every day for fun.
"I think there's been an enormous investment in teaching kids to read in elementary school," said NEA chairman Dana Gioia.
"Kids are doing better at nine and at 11. At 13, they're doing no worse, but then you see this catastrophic falloff … If kids are put into this electronic culture without any counterbalancing efforts, they will stop reading."

People who read are more likely to exercise, visit art museums, keep up with current events, vote in presidential elections and perform volunteer work, she said.

A Lifetime of Secrets: Part II

Back in October, I posted a You Tube link to an ad for a book; A Lifetime of Secrets by Frank Warren. His Postsecret blog asks readers to send him a postcard with a secret on it that they have never revealed to anyone.

Having never seen the book, I posted the clip anyway as I thought it seemed provocative and interesting. A short time later, my friend Paul told me that he had gone out and bought the book and loved it.

On Saturday, I turned 40, I received the book as a gift, and it is very, very moving. My son, Patrick was here for the weekend and read the entire book cover to cover and also loved it. It does make a great gift and a definite insight on the human condition.

Buy the book here.

Should See TV

Nova recently aired a program entitled "Judgement Day: Intelligent Design on Trial". This was an excellent program covering the court case of; Kitzmiller, et al. v. Dover School District, et al. Take a look at the Judgement Day "Links & Books" page and you can see how this program and PBS in general, is one of the few media outlets today (in the United States or elsewhere) that presents unbiased and fair journalism.

WGBH Boston Evolution Site

Nicole Testifies

SYDNEY, Australia -- Nicole Kidman told a courtroom Monday how she was reduced to tears and feared a car accident after a celebrity photographer pursued her two years ago.
Kidman, who divides her time between Los Angeles and her hometown of Sydney, Australia, was testifying in the photographer's defamation suit against a Sydney newspaper that slammed him for allegedly hounding the Oscar-winning actress.

Read the full story at CTV.CA

Leafs Site Now Even Lustier!!!!!

Here's something new on the net. Click on the image to view full size. I see that his stats have been updated.

What's with the poll on the right side of the page? Is there more going on with the Leafs than we know?

Below The Radar

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

Below the radar: Secret flights to torture and ‘disappearance’

Quintupled Goodness with Green Tea & Citrus

This good health news was something we noticed at CBC.ca
"You've likely seen the studies that argue green tea is a powerful brew of cancer-fighting antioxidants.
But new research shows that although green tea is high in catechins — antioxidants that have been shown to reduce the risk of chronic diseases like cancer and cardiovascular disorders — the amount of these substances that are available for absorption by the body are lower when they're consumed solely in tea.
Under 20 per cent of catechins, which include EGC, EGCG, EC and ECG, remain after digestion, say the authors.
Scientists have discovered that mixing green tea with other substances, such as citrus juices, vitamin C and even soy milk and rice milk, increases the amount of the antioxidants that can be absorbed by the body.
The study is published in the November issue of Molecular Nutrition and Food Research."

Lusty Leaf Speaks!

In a statement issued by Tlusty late today he says, "I used poor judgment in this instance last season and I have learned a valuable lesson. It will not happen again and I have no further comment."

Maple Leafs general manager John Ferguson issued a statement as well: "Photographs were posted recently on the Internet without Jiri's knowledge or consent. He made a naive mistake as a teenager. It's a lesson in how something private can easily become very public in the Internet age. Hopefully it's a lesson that other people will learn from as well."

Green Party Third In Polls

Today, for the first time in our 24-year history, we are polling as one of Canada's top three parties in a national survey of voter intentions.

Here are the numbers:

Liberal 32%
Conservative 32%
Green 13%
NDP... Bloc....well it doesn't matter. I will be like the media and just focus on the top three. Does this mean the NDP and Bloc won't be allowed to debate now?

I urge you to support and join the Green Party today. www.greenparty.ca

TTC Service (Oxymoron)

Please use their online form yourself the next time you have a problem. If we make noise maybe they will at some point begin to listen. Here is the link.
Or call them 8am-5pm only!!!! 416-393-3030 How lame is that? Yeah TTC service. HA!

My letter of complaint this morning:

Sherbourne St. Bus 75 South.

This bus was late. AGAIN. Just about every morning it is the same thing. LATE BUSES. I waited at Bloor/Sherbourne from 9:00 until 9:15. I began walking passing masses of others at Wellesly waiting for the late bus, AGAIN.

I finally see a bus coming. IT is so FULL there is no room. By this time I am almost to Carlton street. What is coming behind this bus? Another bus, half full, so you see the volume? This bus decides to sit behind another bus at Dundas for several minutes. I finally arrive at work at Richmond St. at 9:35 am

Now, I'm done. I am buying a bike today.

Brockville Streets Close For Mountie

Thousands of mourners are expected in the eastern Ontario city of Brockville Tuesday for the funeral of an RCMP constable killed in Nunavut last week.

Const. Douglas Scott, 20, was serving in the remote Arctic hamlet of Kimmirut on Baffin Island when he was shot while responding to a drunk driving call on Nov. 5.

Final preparations were underway Monday and early Tuesday for the full regimental service to be held at 1 p.m. in Wall Street United Church, a short distance from Scott's hometown of Lyn.

Read the full story from CBC news here.

New Site: Fabulously Poor

Fabulously Poor is a lifestyle site featuring tips and advice on living well, and doing it without a lot of money. This site is based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, and will present a new article each week with money saving ideas on decorating, gifts and really anything that helps you to live a fabulous life without tons of cash.

Please visit Fabulously Poor today. Click here.

Lady Emily Howard Photo Montage Video

Toronto Murder Map

This just in, something to show to your out of town Mom. Yes, its what everyone wants, an interactive homicide map showing the location of all 74 homicides of 2007. I presume the CBC will update it as the number increases. I'm certain it will, there is, after all another fortysome days left in the year.

Lady Emily November Portrait

Fairest Michael Ever Graces Ebony Cover

It's Easy M'Kay!