Thursday, 19 February, 2015  -( +7˚F / -14˚C  w/’Blowing Snow’ @ 9:30 am near Ithaca )-  -( +16˚F / -9°C   w/Light Snow  @ 10:30 am Closer to Halifax —jim w—)-   —  { Headlines compiled by douglas j otterson & jim wellington, with help from —jda— } { Some things change, some articles remain. Do you know where your survival kit is?  —djo— }

{ CBC is forecasting 2 – 5 cm/ less than 2 inches of snow for our area today. The Weather Network is forecasting 10 – 15 cm/4-6 inches over the next 24 hours. At a little after 10 am I let the boof out to romp in the snow and make some of it yellow. There were two or three flakes per cubic foot in the air. Ten minutes later I had a hungry dog with a wide stripe of wide across his back and it was probably snowing in the ‘moderate’ range. —jim w— }

{ & I thought I could get some novel writing done, but when I sat down there were notices of tweets and I made the mistake of checking them out and they are way too ‘interesting’ – I have to get busy here and tell y’all about them. —djo— }

{ Today’s Birthdays : — You can find all this and more at http://www.historyorb.com/today/birthdays.php 

February 17th: 1781- René-Theophile-Hyacinthe Lannec, France, inventor (stethoscope). 1837- Sam[uel] van Houten, Dutch (lib) minister (child labor laws). 1844- A Montgomery Ward, found mail-order business (Montgomery Ward).  1874- Thomas J Watson, US, representative/founder (IBM). 1908 – Walter L “Red” Barber, Miss, sports announcer (Bkln Dodgers, NY Yanks). 1925 – Hal Holbrook, actor (All the President’s Men, Mark Twain), born in Cleveland, Ohio. 1929- Chaim Potok, novelist (Promise), born in NYC, New York. 1936- Jim Brown, St. Simons Georgia, NFL running back (Cleveland Browns). 1939 – Mary Ann Mobley, Biloxi Ms, Miss America-1959/actress (Diff’rent Strokes). 1941 – Gene Pitney, Hartford Ct, vocalist/songwriter (Town Without Pity).  1942- Huey Newton, Black Panther leader. 1957 – Loreena McKennitt, Canadian vocalist & musician. 1962- Lou Diamond Phillips, Philippines, actor (La Bamba, Stand & Deliver). 1963 – Michael Jordan, NBA guard/forward (Chicago Bulls) and sports superstar. 1974-Jerry O’Connell, actor (Scream 2, Andrew-My Secret Identity), born in NYC, New York.

February 18th: 1374- Saint Jadwiga of Poland, Queen of Poland (d. 1399). 1486- Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, Bengali saint, bhakti yoga developer. 1516- Mary I Tudor, [Bloody Mary], Greenwich, queen of England (1553-58).  1745- Alessandro Volta, Italian physicist and inventor of the 1st [modern] battery, born in Como, Italy (d. 1827). 1836 – Swami Ramakrishna [Gadadhar Chatterji], Hooghly Bengal, Indian mystic/hindu leader (preached unity of religions). 1887 – Nikos Kasandsakis, Heraklion, Crete, Greek writer and philosopher (Zorba the Greek, The Last Temptation of Christ). 1906-Hans Asperger, Austrian pediatrician (d. 1980). 1920- Jack Palance, [Walter Palanuik], Lattimer Pa, actor (City Slickers). 1922 – Helen Gurley Brown, Portland Maine, US author/publisher and editor-in-chief of Cosmopolitan, (d. 2012). 1925 – George Kennedy, actor (Cool Hand Luke, Airport, Blue Knight), born in NYC, New York.  1927- Luis Arroyo, Puerto Rican baseball player. 1930 – Gahan Wilson, American cartoonist. 1932- Milos Forman, Czech/US director (Cuckoos Nest, Amadeus). 1933 –Yoko Ono Lennon, [Mrs John Lennon], Tokyo Japan, singer and artist. 1950- Cybill Shepherd, Memphis Tn, actress (Moonlighting, Last Picture Show). 1952- Juice Newton, [Judy Cohen], Virginia, vocalist (Angel of the Morning). 1953- Robin Bachman, Winnipeg, guitarist (BTO-You Aint Seen Nothing Yet). 1954- John Travolta, Englewood NJ, actor (Welcome Back Kotter, Pulp Fiction). 1957- Vanna White, [Rosich], N Myrtle Beach SC, TV host (Wheel of Fortune). 1964- Matt Dillon, New Rochelle NY, actor (Flamingo Kid, Tex, Kansas). 1968- Molly Ringwald, Roseville California, actress (16 Candles, Pretty in Pink).

February 19th: 1473- Nicolaus Copernicus, Toruń Royal Prussia, Polish mathematician and astronomer (d. 1543). 1881- Evert Gorter, founder of Dutch medical child care. 1912- Stan Kenton, [Newcomb], Wichita Ks, jazz musician (Music 55).  1916- Eddie Arcaro, jockey (1958 Racing Hall of Fame, 2 triple crowns). 1924 – Lee Marvin, actor (Paint Your Wagon, Cat Ballou), born in NYC, New York. 1930 – John Frankenheimer, director (Birdman of Alcatraz), born in NYC, New York. 1940- William “Smokey” Robinson, Det, American R&B and soul singer-songwriter (The Miracles-Tears of a Clown). 1943- “Mama” Cass Elliot, actress (Mamas & Papas-Monday Monday) & Lou Christie [Lugee Sacco], Glenwillard, Pennsylvania, American singer-songwriter (Lightning Striking Again) . 1951 – Shaykh-ul-Islam Dr Muhammad Tahir-ul-Qadri (Db), Pakistani Islamic Sufi Scholar. 1955 – Jeff Daniels, GA, actor (Something Wild, Dumb & Dumber, Speed, The News Room).  1960- Prince Andrew, Albert Christian Edward, of Britain/Duke of York. 1930 – Gahan Wilson, American cartoonist. 1932- Milos Forman, Czech/US director (Cuckoos Nest, Amadeus). & I’m not sure of the year, a friend and writer/poet in Vermont- Jeff Bender.  }

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{ Canadian Headlines : From :  http://www.cbc.ca/news  <— Link }

Boy, 3, who left Toronto apartment at 4 a.m., dies after spending hours outside   { 🙁 }

‘This is not a bomb’: Why school strip searches for drugs are legally troubling   {* “Police officers and corrections staff across Canada can do strip searches in limited circumstances, but legal experts see little or no justification for school staff strip searching students suspected of carrying drugs, as happened recently with a Quebec teen.” – There is a major controversy brewing over this one. The young woman is 15 years old, was suspended even though no drugs were found. Her parents are suing the school. & I added the linked article to this headline below this section. * —djo— }

Mother of 2 says complaining got her kicked off kidney transplant list   { * The 45 year old mother believes she was kicked off the waiting list because she complained about her hemodialsis. Doctors say they decided she is mentally ill. * —djo— }

Niagara Falls a spectacular sight in sub-freezing temperatures   {  }

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De la Capitale School Board says it suspects 15-year-old of trafficking drugs

CBC News Posted: Feb 19, 2015 9:46 AM ET Last Updated: Feb 19, 2015 5:12 PM ET

A Quebec City school board says that the 15-year-old girl who was strip-searched by her female high school principal and another female staff member has been suspended and transferred to another school.

Nadine Genest, the principal at Neufchâtel High School, said in a statement Thursday the school had reason to believe the student “was trafficking drugs in our school for several months.”

The De la Capitale School Board, which released the statement, did not explain the exact reason for her suspension.

• Why school strip searches for drugs are legally troubling
• Education minister backtracks on school strip search policy
• CBCNews.ca readers rail against Quebec education minister’s strip search defence

In the strip search, the girl was asked to remove all her clothing, including her underwear. No drugs were found.

The school board defended the practice, saying it followed strict guidelines drafted in 2010 by the province with the help of police.

Genest said there was no “visual or physical contact with the student” during the search, and it was only done so that they could search her clothes.

Girl’s family planning lawsuit

Meanwhile, the girl’s mother said the family has felt traumatized by the incident and has hired a lawyer.

The mother said she was particularly upset about not being called before — or after — her daughter was strip-searched.

She said her daughter’s requests to call home were twice denied.

The school board said that is not true.

“Contrary to what the mother said, we did offer the student the chance to call her mother, but she refused to make the call,” said Marie-Elaine Dion of the De la Capitale School Board.

The family’s lawyer said he will file a lawsuit alleging the province misinterpreted a 1998 Supreme Court decision involving the drug search of a student in Nova Scotia when it formulated its search policy.

Premier limits strip searches

In response to the controversy, Premier Philippe Couillard announced Thursday there would be no more strip searches in schools, except in extreme cases where police deem it necessary.​

The decision comes after Quebec Education Minister Yves Bolduc initially defended the school and existing policy around strip searches, setting off a firestorm of criticism.

After taking heat from the public, however, Bolduc altered his stance and said he was concerned by the turn of events.

​Bolduc said Wednesday the government has asked an independent person from outside the school board to look into what happened.

In the statement released Thursday, the De la Capitale School Board said it would co-operate fully with the investigation.

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Offbeat News:

Nestle and Hershey pledge to make their candy bars healthier   { * I can see them now, Chocolate company executives waking up the candy bars at 4:30 in the morning, screaming at them like drill sergeants, and making them run around abandoned World War II boot camps with useless old too-heavy world war one rifles held over their heads, screaming out stupid songs that are supposed to make them feel patriotic instead of idiotic? *  —djo— }

Snowpiercing train bowls over rail fains with the white stuff   {  }

Bison surprises Dryden, Ont. couple in their home, scares cats   {   }

Happy lunar new year, but is it the Year of the Sheep or the Goat?  {  }

 

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Local / New Brunswick / Maritime News:

Larry’s Gulch review findings will ‘absolutely’ be made public   { * This is a New Brunswick ‘scandal’ that sounds way too much like a slight of hand distraction to take your attention away from something else. The Province owns a multi-million dollar fishing lodge where they entertained visiting politicians and invited newspaper reporters who were fired for conflict of interest violations. There also seems to be some confusion over when the lodge went from being ‘private’ to ‘publicly owned’ & where the line between private and public functions was drawn. The new Liberal government has decided that the lodge can only be used for functions designed to bring jobs to New Brunswick.  *** “Any time I hear a politician utter words like ‘jobs’ or ‘Leadership’ I know my ears are about to be assaulted by pure and utter b.s.” — Douglas Jay Otterson *** *  —djo— }

Energy East Pipeline construction training premature, David Coon says.  { * The Energy East Pipeline is a project that is being bitterly contested in Quebec. Activists cite dangers to wildlife, and say the claims of loads of jobs for local people is highly over-estimated and point out that New Brunswick will lose money in this deal unless they re-write the agreement with the corporations that will own the pipeline. And instead of refining and distributing the gas/oil the pipeline is supposed to deliver, here, they claim the resources would be exported, benefiting foreign interests at our expense. Oh, and Irving Oil stands to save and reap loads of money if this goes through. *  —djo— }

Cause of death of Moncton man found outside still unclear   {   }

Dairy farm losses from snowstorm more than a little spilled milk   {  }

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— We should quit here and publish this fiasco before we look at the clock and realize it’s next week already and we haven’t gotten anything done in our ‘real lives’  —djo—