Tuesday, 23 September, 2014  -( 43˚F /6˚C –  & looks like a good day @ 8:30 am in Ithaca )-

{ We’ve been doing this because we believe the CBC may be more honest and more respectable than Media in the U.S.A., & not a lot of people in the U.S. may know that or have access to anyone who might point them toward the CBC & their web site. }

{ & again, these are not links. If you want to read these stories, listen to sound clips, or see any video -if there is any video- go to CBC dot CA/news.— & You can also find a link to the web cast of the most recent broadcast of “The National” the CBC’s ‘flagship nightly newscast’ under the “Must Watch” heading on their main page. — Thanks. ———djo——— }

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‘Liberal Leader Brian Gallant appears to have won the New Brunswick election amid a vote-counting “fiasco”-‘

 Discrepencies between tabulator machine-counted votes and manually entered vote tallies caused Elections New Brunswick to bring everything to a halt for a couple hours while they re-entered the votes from electronic chips from the vote counting gizmoes. The Progressive Conservatives and the People’s Alliance Party may want a recount of the physical paper ballots.  —djo—

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Lead Articles:

-Updated- Brian Gallant’s Liberals elected amidvote-counting ‘fiasco’   {   }

-Coming up Live- N.B. Liberals prepare for transition after election marred by vote-count fiasco   {  }

U.S. and 5 Arab countries bomb ISIS targets inside Syria   {  }

Ebola cases could skyrocket to 21,000 in next 6 weeks: WHO    {  }

Netflix refuses CRTC demand to hand over suscriber data   { CRTC = The Canadian version of the FCC. Netflix says it will not violate the confidentiality of its customers and so far is not bound by the same rules as a broadcast or cable television company. }

Aboriginal throat singer Tanya Tagaq wins Polaris prize   {  }

-New- Israeli PM says shooting down Surian fighter jet doesn’t mean war is widening   {  }

-Live- UN Climate Summit: 4 things to know about the talks   {  }

Do the math: How parents can fight the fear of arithmatic   {  }

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” A typical porcini (Boletus edulis var. clavipes) is shown in its natural habitat in Algonquin Provincial Park in Ontario. (Brent Dentinger/Royal Botanical Gardens, Kew) “

“Offbeat”

3 new mushroom species discovered in London grocery store   { It took me several minutes of reading and re-reading to guess that this was a grocery store in London, Ontario, Canada. -Not London, England- Photography credits to ‘Royal Botanical Gardens’ were no help, the caption to a photo showing: “A typical porcini (Boletus edulis var. clavipes) is shown in its natural habitat in Algonquin Provincial Park in Ontario.” – was a bright moment – —djo— }

City marks 200th birthday with a 61-metre bratwurst   { Gotta be Germany, right? Wrong! – It was Belleville, Illinois, USA  —djo— }

Reporter quits live on-air in support of marijuana legalization   { Charlo Greene quit her job in Anchorage, Alaska where she was a reporter for KTVA television. ‘-What many viewers didn’t realize prior to her hasty departure from the station, however, is that she is also the owner of the Alaska Cannabis Club — a medical marijuana collective that connects “patients in need to Alaskan cardholders with green.”-‘  —djo— }

Bald eagle rescue 101: how to hitch a ride on a fishing boat   { In the “Most Viewed” area the link to this article bears the headline: “Bald eagle rescue by fisherman posted on YouTube”  * And I’m really impressed with today’s ‘Offbeat’ news after several days of boring repeats- —djo— }

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“Most Viewed”

New Brunswick election 2014 results: Brian Gallant’s Liberals set for transition after win   {  }

Tim Hortons, Burger King merger fallout: US cracks down on tax inversions   {  }

How Alexander Sodiqov was freed following espionage charges   {  }

Benjamin Netanyahu cautions about interpreting Syrian fighter jet shooting   { & two links down: “Golan Heights: Israel military shoots down Syrian fighter jet” }

Raymond Lee Caissie. 43, charged with murder of Serena Vermeersch   {  }

-Repeat- -17 photo slide show- People’s Climate Marches around the world   { No- the climate doesn’t march around the world- even if it really does – this article is about the numerous marches held around the world to let banksters and other string pulling manipulators know that a lot of people are not happy with elitists poisoning their food, poisoning their water and decimating their forests   —djo— }

-Blog- Emma Watson’s U.N. speech on gender equality prompts debate over feminism, Beyoncé   {  }

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Other:

-New- How a PhD student was able to return to Canada after arrest on espionage charges   { * * They’re repeating article headlines in various spots around their page here with a slight change in wording- everybody must have been up all night waiting for the New Brunswick election returns.   —djo— }

-Updated- Barack Obama to address expanded airstrikes against ISIS targets in Syria   {  }

Inuk throat singer Tanya Tagaq takes top honours at Polaris Music Prize   { * & I haven’t mentioned lately that Canadians wonder what we do with all out ‘U’s in the ‘lower 48’- I told them U.S. citizens use them all up chanting “USA Number One!” and never stop to count all the negative number ones they qualify for, number one in the most citizens in prison for b.s. charges- #1 in testosterone-poisoned culture-  -don’t get me started- —djo— }

Canadian arrested at JFK airport after 15 kg of marijuana found in checked bag  { I think they also said she had handguns and ammunition in her luggage or on her. If this happened on a domestic flight inside of Canada, my friends up there tell me, there would be a very good chance that a person with a gun, especially a realistic looking toy gun, or a phoney grenade, and maybe a package of loose tea suspiciously packaged – might actually be an inspector testing the security screening of any airline anywhere inside the country.  —djo— }

Vancouver Aquarium uses drone to track killer whales   { *** They’re ‘Orcas’ not killer whales- —djo— }

High-risk sex offender charged with murder of B.C. teen   { * And Fear-mongering headlines are still in style, even in relatively intelligent media?  —djo— }

Canadian wireless costs still among highest in world   { This is only a symptom of a much larger problem. * Okay, everybody go to Coast to Coast am, click on ‘become a member’ and listen to last night’s (September 22, 2014) 3 hour interview with Former Canadian Minister of National Defence Paul Hellyer. He will tell you, with authority, that an elitist cabal of greedy bankers have been trying to run the world from behind the scenes since the end of World War II -possibly longer- and part of their agenda has been to cut buying power, disempower the middle class, make everybody believe that trade unions are full of criminals and communists – And the elitist cabal members might even be plotting to kill off millions or billions of us if they can get away with it, to make the survivors more manageable – They believe in running the world on the model of The Bank Of England – Lending twenty times the amount of money they have actual assets for and enslaving by means of debt – countless billions on the planet – until after the revolution when they’re all wearing orange jump suits and working on chain gangs to make up for their crimes against humanity. If you tried to get away with what banks do all the time, you’d be heading to prison for a very long time, but they blackmailed most of the governments in what we used to think of as ‘the free world’ into granting them charters/licenses to get away with fraud and maybe worse.  —djo— }

-Storify- Calgary MP responds to ISIS threat with ‘secure bedroom selfie’   { She just might be the blond who stands behind Stephen Harper in most shots from ‘Question Time’ –  trying to look disgusted at what we’re supposed to interpret as ‘inane comments’ from anybody but a Conservative Party of Canada member.  [—gag—]   —djo— }

Ebola cases could quadruple in the next 6 weeks, WHO warns, but not all experts agree   {  }

Israel says it’s killed 2 Hamas suspects that helped spark weeks of fighting   {  }

Driver fined $162 after stopping police for illegal left turn   { “Duh- we only enforce the laws, we don’t have to abide by them-” ?   —djo— }

3 missing Afghan Army oficers in custoday at Canada-US border   {  }

-Must Watch- Toothpaste portrait of Robin Williams   {  Everything is beginning to sound like offbeat news – well, almost everything  —djo— }

-Must Watch- Elephant baby’s public debut   { If I’d gone to sleep last night instead of working all night, I’d swear I woke up in a parallel universe – but this one is more fun than the one I woke up in yesterday- —djo— }

-Editor’s Pick- Mission to Mars   { Did we move into a much more positive area of the material universe? Somebody go check Starfire Tor’s website, facebook page or whatever to see if she has a clue- Or am I just over tired and in that wonderful zone where everything almost makes sense and people almost seem a magnitude warmer and friendlier than they did a couple hours ago?  —djo— }

-Editor’s Pick- The story behind Liberal leader’s abortion strategy   { “The Liberals hope the policy distances them from socially conservative ex-MPs” & there’s a thumbnail photo of Justin Trudeau that makes him look like he’s full of himself – which he could be- but we need really impartial coverage here, guys. —djo— }

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“Local / New Brunswick”

– A lot of the above election coverage is repeated under ‘New Brunswick’-

David Coon makes history with seat for Green Party   { David Coon won a seat to the provincial legislature from Fredericton South – Becoming the second green party candidate to win a seat in any provincial legislature. The Green Party received 6.6% of yesterday’s vote. —djo— }

Liberal wave ousts 9 cabinet ministers   { *** On the provincial level, a lot of the sitting premier’s top officials were sent packing- premier David Alward put a lot of stress on shale gas development, claiming ‘energy jobs’ could save the economy and keep New Brunswickers from seeking jobs out west.  Green Party Leader David Coon said something like “It’s not just the fracking issue- it’s the PC party’s record.” The PC candidates may have gotten a bit of a boost when “Say Yes” buttons began appearing on their road side posters and David Alward’s smug Conservative expression sneered out at everyone in television spots that felt like ‘say yes to jobs, say yes to fracking, say yes to four more years of conservative majority rule-‘ But what might have been one of the most telling arguments against the conservatives’ return to mandate level power was the number of jobs that disappeared while they were promising prosperity through fracking and they probably cut thier own throats with ‘pension reform’- Or did they actually believe that all the provincial government job retirees they had just screwed out of large chunks of earned pension money were going to smile and vote them back into power for another round of such tomfoolery?  —————Jim W }

New Brunswick election may see manual recount amid vote-machine glitches   {  }

Grand Manan fatal plane crash GPS fails to offer clues   { An air ambulance returning home after delivering a patient somewhere crashed and killed the philanthropic pilot and a much loved and respected EMT on Grand Manan Island last month-  —djo— }

N.B. election sees 8 female MLAs elected in 49 ridings   {  }

Minto voters say jobs are a top election concern   { *** But Minto is one of the places where the “Jobs” mongering PC received only 26 more votes than the non jobs mongering 2nd place People’s Alliance candidate who will almost certainly ask for, and get a recount. —————Jim W }

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“Aboriginal”

-Opinion- Canada’s lack of leadership on climate issues alarming   { * Let me butt in and say that when a politician speaks about ‘leadership’ they mean, ‘I get up and dictate and you do what I say – and like it!’ – not the kind of leadership where somebody stands up and acts out of conscience because they know in their heart and mind that that’s the right thing to do. Real leaders walk a difficult path and do not demand that anybody follow their example, but they are happily surprised when others try to live up to higher standards. —djo— }

-Don’t Miss- Manitoba judges reserve decision in Brian Sinclair appeal   { Brian Sinclair was a double amputee who died of a treatable bladder infection while he was waiting for 34 hours in a Winnipeg emergency room. His family filed a lawsuit against a health authority- claiming his charter rights were violated when he died in that hospital waiting room in 2008. – A lower court struck the lawsuit down, saying Brian Sinclair’s charter rights died with him. – But the family lawyer said it’s absurd that a man who died because he didn’t receive the care due him under the Charter of Rights and Freedoms isn’t allowed to sue because he’s dead.  The three judges hearing this appeal are thinking about it.  —djo— }

Pennsylvania teacher suspended over ‘Redskins’ newspaper flap   {  “Redskins” is the nickname of Neshaminy’s sports teams. Newspaper staff at the Bensalem school in Pennsylvania decided last year they would no longer use the term, which they say is offensive. – The faculty adviser for the student newspaper embroiled in a battle over the word “Redskins” has been suspended for two days without pay. –  The Philadelphia Inquirer reports Neshaminy High School teacher Tara Huber was disciplined for “willful neglect of duty and insubordination.” –  The suspension came three months after students published the June edition, in which they disobeyed an order by administrators to print an op-ed containing the word “Redskin.” The newspaper is also having $1,200 docked from its funds.  —djo— }

-Don’t Miss- Bridge Builders: Lucy Fowler combat Metis stereotypes   { Metis have battled for- and recently been awarded the same rights and considerations of other First Nations Tribes. Their origins are usually believed to be a combination of original French settlers and various First Nations Tribes. —djo— }

Councillor urges Winnipeg to back inquiry into murdered, missing women   {  }

Attawapiskatt Chief Theresa Spence may face motion of non-confidence   {  }

Judge orders election translation for Alaskan aboriginals   { *This is in Alaska – A federal judge ordered the state to take additional steps to provide voting materials to Alaska’s aboriginal voters with limited English ahead of the upcoming state election. – “Buttons for poll workers will say ‘Can I help?’ translated into Yup’ik or Gwich’in.”  —djo— }

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{ 11:26 am – after a couple distractions, ready to check for typos and colourize the headlines.  12:10 pm mouse-ing toward the ‘Publish’ button   ———djo——— }

{ Copied & Pasted from Radio Free Earth News   ———jda—— }

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Saturday, 06 September, 2014  -( 72˚F / 22˚C & Mostly Cloudy in Ithaca @ 8:41 am )-

{ I’ve been doing this because I believe that the CBC may be more honest and more respectable than Media here in the U.S.A., AND not a lot of people in the U.S. may know that or have access to anyone who might point them toward the CBC & their web site. }

{ & again, these are not links. If you want to read these stories, listen to sound clips, or see any video -if there is any video- go to CBC dot CA/news. —Thanks. ———djo——— }

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Canada Leads The World in degrading Pristine, Intact Forests. This pipleine carries steam to well heads and heavy oil back to a processing plant. This section cuts through boreal forest 120 km south of Fort McMurray, Alberta.

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Lead Articles:

B.C. cool to idea of arbitration to end teachers’ strike { -More like, The B.C. government and the Minister of Education are cool on the idea of allowing an impartial 3rd party decide how this should be worked out. —djo— }

Results of Alberta Tory leadership vote due later today   {  }

Sierra Leone to ‘lockdown’ areas infected with Ebola   {  }

Fighting in Ukraine subsides as ceasefire takes hold   {  }

Donetsk residents doubt truce would create lasting peace   {   }

“U.S. President Barack Obama vowed in June that he would act without Congress to reform the immigration system. But a debate appears to be underway at the White House over the timing of any immigration announcements. Will he or won’t he act before the midterm elections?”

-Analysis- Obama’s immigration dilemma: Act now or after midterms?   {   }

NATO faces 1st test, as Estonia accuses Russia of abduction   { According to the Estonian government, Russian agents crossed the border of Estonia and detained a police officer. Estonia and Canada are calling this a provocation.   —djo— }

Disney thinks this image is too much like Mickey Mouse Ears.

David vs. Goliath trademark battles: Giants don’t always win   { The electronic DJ known as Deadmau5, is being sued by Disney for incorporating giant ears as part of his costume. }

-Photos- Bad weather soaks stars, fans on second night of TIFF   { It was Bill Murray Day at the Toronto International Film Festival. }

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“Offbeat”

Robot milkers gaining in popularity at dairy farms in N.B.   {  }

An Ocean Sunfish, like the one in this photo , washed up on the beach at Cape Disappointment, near the mouth of the Columbia River in Washington state, USA. The fish was 6 feet long and weight almost 300 pounds.

‘It’s really an odd-looking fish’:  Rare 2-metre sunfish washes ashore   { Some West Coast friends of mine are very worried that radiation from the Fukushima Nuclear Power plant disaster -after the earthquake and Tsunami- might poison vast stretches of the Pacific Ocean and make living on the west coast of North America not so pleasant in the near future- We get updates from Coast to Coast am (<—-<< Link-) every so often that are not encouraging. —djo— }

Tim Hortons coffee cups: XL claims put to the test   { Somebody tested the capacities of Timmy’s large and Extra-Large paper cups- & contrary to the Conspiracy Theory that both cups hold the same amount of coffee- found that when filled to the line that Tim Hortons  Employees fill these cups to- There are 4 more ounces in the Extra-Large cup than the Large one.  —djo— }

Toronto Festival goers — and the world — celebrate #BillMurrayDay   { I heard an interview yesterday with the producer behind some of Bill Murray’s more memorable movies – Bill does his homework and deserves the accolades he received.  —djo— }

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“Most Viewed”

Pictures of storm clouds, downed trees as storm passes through   { This article includes several ‘tweeted’ photos taken in the Ottawa-Gatineau Ontario-Quebec area yesterday- The storm was quite impressive.  —djo—  }

Alex Stone arrested after U.S. teen wrote about shooting pet dinosaur   { Link This one really is worth reading. A 16-year-old student in South Carolina had an assignment to write about himself as if he was updating his status on facebook. He wrote that he shot his neighbor’s pet dinosaur with a gun he’d bought. His teacher notified the authorities and the police were called in. The student had his book bag and locker searched – and, when he objected to the way he was being treated was called, ‘irate’ and taken out of school in handcuffs. The school did not inform his mother. She is quoted as having said, ‘I mean first of all, we don’t have dinosaurs anymore. Second of all, he’s not even old enough to buy a gun.’  – And I would add that if the teacher believed that everything any teenaged kid would write as a status update on facebook was politically correct – that teacher is not connected to anything like ‘Reality’.   —djo— }

Busting Bill Murray: 10 believe-it-or-not stories   {  }

[Dutch dentist] Jacobus van Nierop’s patient: ‘Everything was infected’   { The Dutch dentist, arrested in New Brunswick and wanted by interpol on warrants from France claiming he mutilated patients- allegedly told somebody in an immigrations hearing/interview that he’d killed his wife in the Netherlands in 2006. A woman who lives in France said the dentist insisted she have all her fillings replaced even though she was unaware of any problems with them. After the dentists did the oral surgery she did have problems. She says he used dirty, infected instruments when he operated on her. The woman said her eldest child was also a victim of this dentist. —djo— }

Two dead, eight injured after moose collision on Highway 11   {   }

-Blog- Spirit Airlines slips up by trying to cash in on nude celebrity photo leak   { The Airline sent email ads to customers saying “Our Bare Fare was Hacked!” and featured a line drawing of a woman covering her chest with her arm.  —djo— }

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Other:

Fragile Ukraine ceasefire seems to be holding   {  }

-Audio- The celebrity nude selfie leak and why we care   {  }

5 memorable marketing blunders   {  }

Education Minister cool to arbitration to end B.C. teachers’ strike    { If the Education Minister is afraid than an impartial arbitrator would find against the government and in favor of the teachers- that should tell you something. —djo— }

Indigenous women ask, ‘Am I next/’ in push for inquiry into deaths   {  }

-Photos- 4th biennial Stand Up To Cancer live benefit   {  }

Unresponsive plane crashes of Jamaica killing U.S. couple   {  }

Adopted brothers reunited in Ottawa after decades apart   { There is also a video. “Two brothers who didn’t know they were related have reunited in Ottawa” }

-Must Watch- ‘Stories of our lives’: being gay in Kenya { “Kenyan filmmakers risk everything to tell the story of what it’s like to be gay in Africa”  —djo— }

-World- Pakistan, India flooding kills more than 200   {  }

-World- Nicholas Henin, French journalist, says Brussels museum shooter tortured him in Syria   {  }

-Politics- Brian Mulroney says Supreme Court criticism ‘sends the wrong signal’   { “Former Progressive Conservative prime minister Brian Mulroney says it was “unhelpful” for Prime Minister Stephen Harper to publicly criticize Chief Justice Beverly McLachlin. Mulroney is credited with winning the biggest landslide victory in Canadian election history – then turning the government over to Kim Campbell -the 1st and only woman Prime Minister of Canada so far- The people I’ve talked to in Canada blame Mulroney for the biggest loss the Conservatives ever suffered. He came in with the biggest pro-conservative vote ever and after he left, the conservatives only won 2 seats – out of 295 —djo— }

-Politics- Canadian special ops soldiers to be part of anti-ISIS team in Iraq   {  }

-Politics- ISIS recruits in Canada spark Liberal call for parliamentary probe   {  }

-Business- Apple’s not talking but tech lovers anticipate iWatch release   {  }

-Business- Canada loses 11,000 jobs in August   {   }

-Technology & Science- House sized asteroid flies near Earth this Sunday   { A newly discovered asteroid – 20 meters wide -that’s about 65 feet & change-  will pass a ‘safe’  40,000 kilometers / 25,000 miles above New Zealand – The article goes on to say that the asteroid will be farther from Earth than any of our communications or weather satellites.  —djo— }

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“Local / New Brunswick”

-Opinion- Michael Camp: Campaigns marked by political allegations  { Michael Camp is a journalism professor at St Thomas University  in Fredericton. “Two allegations against David Alward’s Progressive Conservatives caught my attention this week. – One was colourful and direct. The other was by innuendo, one of the darker arts in the world of political persuasion. – The first came on Thursday when Dominic Cardy laid out the NDP’s platform. – Cardy is doing his best to shake off the perception that the NDP is a party devoted to taxing, spending and racking up big deficits. – He said he didn’t buy the idea that there was anything left wing about driving New Brunswick into bankruptcy. – So before the bank arrives to repossess the car and the furniture, we better straighten things out. – That’s the ‘new’ NDP message. – But I think Cardy’s attack on patronage should connect with a lot of voters — if he can get them to listen. – Who would disagree with this little gem from the party platform? – “Whether it’s a Conservative minister getting the road to a friend’s fishing camp paved while your car bangs over potholes that never seem to get fixed, or your neighbour, a prominent Liberal supporter, who always finds a summer job grant for his children — too often knowing the right people seems to matter more than working hard.” – Cardy didn’t name names. His examples were generic rather than specific. But every voter knows it’s the way things have always worked in this province. – If you want a nice job, start by making friends with a politician in power ”  && “The other notable allegation, if you can call it that, was made by Liberal Brian Gallant. – On the same day Cardy was unveiling his platform, Gallant took a little time off from his usual campaign routines to offer some comfort and support to Andy Harvey. – Gallant suspended Harvey as the Liberal candidate for Carleton-Victoria when it was revealed that he was facing fraud charges. – We don’t know much about the case, other than it involves the Harvey family business and the sale of some wood. – Harvey says he’s innocent. Fair enough. The courts will decide. – But in the meantime, Harvey and the Liberal leader are raising questions about the timing of the charges. – With the cameras rolling, Gallant told reporters they should ask the attorney general of New Brunswick why a Liberal candidate would be charged in July, three years after an alleged offence took place, just as the election campaign was getting into gear. – And if voters hadn’t given this much thought, Gallant apparently thought a little nudge would be in order. – “You’d have to ask the Attorney General as to why it’s been done now,” Gallant said. – “And I’ll certainly allow New Brunswickers to come to their own conclusions as to why it would have popped up now.” – ”  —djo— }

David Alward unveils full ‘Say ‘Yes’ platform for PCs   { Jim W’s assessment of television commercials for this ‘Say “Yes” to jobs etc.’ campaign: >>—-> “David Alward comes across as a mean-spirited high school bully looking down from behind a political pulpit, sneering at voters with a message that feels like “Only a god -bleeped- idiot would vote for [the opposition] – He’s got that smug “my-daddy-could-afford-to send-me-to-the-most-expensive-educational-institutions. So I clearly know better than you do-” look. He claims that fracking is safe and will provide loads of magic jobs for everybody- And that is just not true. Scientists whose jobs depend on money from the fracking industry are the only ones I’ve heard claim that fracking is safe. When the protective layer of stone that keeps natural gas down -and keeps the gas from seeping into well water- is shattered- there is no way they can protect the water supply from gas and other harmful chemicals. Their suggested band-aid solutions are laughable- metal pipes rust- concrete slabs crumble and crack. There is no safe way to repair an area that has been fracked. & Hey, run the poster again-“—Jim Wellington. — Okay, I’ll do that. —djo— }

Jobs Per Million Dollars invested. Oil & Gas = 2 jobs. Building Efficiency = 14 jobs. Clean Energy = 15 jobs. “Do The Math!”

Liberals request judicial ruling over campaign transparency law   {  }

& There’s more New Brunswick news at (Link >>—->)  http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/new-brunswick  — or, if you want to see local news from any other province, you can find it  at the cbc.ca/news/ site.

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{ 12:12 pm  —> Had one nasty browser crash and suffered the kind of lag lag lag I haven’t seen in years – >>—> but, ready to check for typos and paint the headlines pretty colours   >>—-> Pushing the “Publish” Button @ 12:55 pm     ———djo———  }

{ & again, these are not links. If you want to read these stories, listen to sound clips, or see any video -if there is any video- go to CBC dot CA/news. —Thanks. ———djo——— }

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“Lead Stories”

How a police tactical shift can calm tensions after Missouri protests   { There’s a photo of an African-American police officer in a uniform with captain’s bars on his shoulder hugging an African-American woman and a caption that says experts in police and race relations are outlining ways new police tactics can calm tensions- }

Iraq’s al-Maliki goves up PM post to Halder al-Abadi  {   }

Ebola outbreak ‘vastly underestimated’ in West Africa: WHO  { I’m beginning to smell something weird in the way we keep getting battered with Ebola stories and then stuff that sounds like it was made up by a propaganda team to try to scare you all to death here. }

Missouri state troopers taking over security in Ferguson   { One of my favourite personalities on Coast to Coast am, who has moved on to try to make it on his own, -John B Wells- brought up this point quite often: Remember when the police were there to ‘preserve and protect’? What happened? Now they show up looking very much lie storm troopers, or an invading army- in black or camouflaged uniforms, wearing armor and carrying very large guns, }

Robin Williams in early stages of Parkinson’s Disease when he died   { Up until I heard this announcement, I thought there was a movement afoot, with people all around the country -and probably both countries here- U.S. & Canada- being sensitized to the point where they were wondering what could be done to make life less stressful and less horrifying to people we might never suspect are having a hard time of it. I mean Robin Williams, in our younger days, I would have thought of him as a best friend, somebody I would hope would show up at a party I couldn’t get out of attending- Seeing him age and not noticing the same in myself, I thought he would have been a really cool neighbor to have while growing up- An awful lot of people lately are finding their lives unbearable and ‘doing themselves in’ -We all lose when anybody does that- it’s a knife in all of our hearts at once. Especially this guy- So now they come out and say he had a degenerative, incurable disease, and I get the feeling that too many people will dismiss this as, an occasion to go, ‘okay, we don’t heave to be sensitive to the needs of our war Veterans and other people whose depressions might be exasperated by the insane pressures we live under in this country- This is a case of his number was up anyway and he didn’t want to stick around and suffer through the worst that he knew was coming’- No! Do not turn your backs on people you know are vulnerable. We need to ‘upgrade’ our culture with a whole lot of compassion and empathy here- you can quote me on that-  -djo- }

Amazon’s aggressive tactics put off authors, publishers   { Last week the first volley in this battle was heard. Stephen King and 900 other authors signed a letter saying ‘shame on Amazon!’ Time for a boycott? Support your local mom and pop bookstores, if there are any left. }

Canada’s military expected to anticipate war in post-9/11 world, retiring general says   { Lieutenant General Stuart Beare said, “The world could use some diplomacy-” and “No one wants to get into an unnecessary and avoidable fight.” -with so many regional conflicts looking like they’re heading toward armed conflict and the pace shows no sign of slowing- I hope we’re not losing a voice of sanity within the military. Do we have any U.S. officers saying things like that? -Probably not in public.  }

Pilot’s prosthetic arm detaches during rocky landing in U.K.   {  }

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“Offbeat”

Alaskan mom, son find wooly mammoth tusks 22 years apart   { -Talking to one of the Jims who covered for me the last couple days, he told me he heard the news this morning and because he has relatives in Alaska, he paid attention to this one. The son found his tusk in almost the same spot his mother found hers 22 years earlier. He also mentioned that a doctor he had the occasion to talk with while he was visiting his relatives up there told him that every once in a while lately something that’s been frozen for 3,000 year would thaw out and release bacteria that cause diseases that we have no record of and might not be able to cure or contain very easily. “That’s where our frontiers of medicine lie-”   }

Historic church moved for highway   { – Jim again, lived in a town where a road went up through a more sparsely populated part of town and circled around a small church- after several slightly inebriated drivers tried to make that the area’s first drive through church, they moved the church and straightened the road there. }

Skunk with head stuck in jar rescued by B.C. woman   { Now this has to be one brave lady. Last week’s cat with a bird feeder on its head was bad enough. Somebody should award her some kind of accolade. }

Humpback whale’s hour-long visit with B.C. boat caught on Camera   { -it’s totally irrelevant, but I always did like dolphins and whales. }

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“Most Viewed”

Community gardens ripped up up along Arbutus corridor   { A Canadian Pacific Rail police officer is shown in a series of photos ‘directing’ local residents to get off Railroad property near Vancouver, B.C. where the locals had nurtured community gardens for years along a ‘disused’ section of railroad tracks there. “No Trespassing”  signs went up Wednesday and Railroad workers showed up yesterday and began tearing down buildings and digging up the gardens and had railroad cops on hands to chase away the people who came rushing in to try to save their crops. }

Kahnawake seeks to remove non-Mohawks from territory   { A similar story, maybe the same one with a different link, says: “Reserve removes those who marry non-Mohawks” -eep- “Why can’t we just all get along?”}

TeamBuy customer raises warning after spa coupon not honoured   { This is from Halifax, N.S. “TeamBuy” is a ‘group buying’ website. A customer/group buying member bought a coupon for $199.00 that was advertized would save her  over $2,200.00 for a year’s membership in a laser hair removal spa – “$2,480 Value” – and when she tried to use it at the spa she was told the website owed the spa money and they were not going to honour that coupon. Then the ‘group buying website’ refused to refund her money. “They were rude, and they hung up on me, I had to chase them for my money,” she says. It’s not over- instead of getting her money back, after several calls and email messages, they gave her ‘team bucks’ coupons. The woman wants her money back and wants an apology for the way she was treated. A person at the spa told the CBC reporter that they have tried to contact the website buying club dozens of times through email and made several calls. They honoured several coupons they were supposed to be reimbursed for and had to stop because they couldn’t afford to go on doing that. }

NDP’s summer slump deepened by House spending woes   { Pardon me, but I don’t like the way this headline is worded. It sounds like an attempt to make a political party look bad. Like printing something along the lines of, “Loser political party jerks looking worse all the time.” The NDP is the party that Tommy Douglas (The ‘father of the Canadian Health Care System’- and a Baptist Minister) was the first leader of when two earlier parties merged. He was the Premier of Saskatchewan from 1944 to 1961 under one of the parties that merged. -anyway- that headline just rubbed me the wrong way. It sounded like it was written by a bully affiliated with a rival party going “ha-ha- lookit those stupid losers over there-” I hope I would feel just as bad if somebody posted a nasty bullying headline aimed at making a party I don’t like look worse than they’re already making themselves look-  }

ISIS child recruitment push hints at long-term ambitions   { Another headline calls this story the ‘Family-friendly jihad’. This story has me worried. We’ve learned that al-Qaeda means “The List” and refers to the list of anti Russian partisans the C.I.A. recruited and gave weapons to in Afghanistan. We’ve heard that agent-provacateurs were probably stirring up hatred between tribes in the middle east to manipulate chaos so western governments could be seen as coming to the rescue when they sent in their armies to take over and install western-friendly governments- Who benefits the most from having a lot of evangelical jihadists terrorizing a whole wide area, threatening to behead not just the western devils, but members of a rival sect within their own religion? }

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“Other”

Ukraine inspects aid convoy as Russian military vehicles spotted near border   { Here’s a scenario for you: a neo fascist movement springs up in the next state or the next county from you. Television reporters announce that clever neo fascist propagandists have been spreading rumours that you and your neighbours are torturing and raping the children of the friends of nice people who moved from that county into yours seeking better jobs. You hear that the neo fascists have recruited the wildest and most violent biker gangs in several states to come to their aid and ‘clean your clocks’. A natural disaster (flooding? earthquake?) or an un-natural disaster, ( a jet falls out of the sky, kills hundreds of passengers, sets acres of corn and wheat fields on fire, stampedes beef cattle who run all over your county-) First you hear that the neo fascists are sending you aid- food relief and veterinarians, and doctors and nurses who specialize in grief counseling- then you hear that the grief counselors are being escorted by bikers who are armed to the teeth and wearing uniforms with the logo of the neo fascists blazing across their jackets. Would you want to have your state’s national guard there, just in case? Now suppose both sides in the Russian-Ukrainian tensions believe the other side is spreading the kinds of lies about them that caused World War I to explode and involve just about everyone in Europe in the bloodiest conflict that continent had ever seen? Do you hear something going “Tick- tick- tick-“? }

Charitable donations spike following death of Robin Williams   {  }

Rallies to honour teen killed by Missouri police held across U.S.   { }

Window-smashing tool a lifesaver, says mom who drove into pond   {  }

Veteran mediator Vince Ready agrees to help end B.C. teachers’ dispute   {  }

Ice Bucket Challenge: Charity success story of damaging fad?   { An accompanying photo looks like athletic guys get a bucket of cold water dumped over their heads while they kneel in a farm field. Mark Zuckerberg -of facebook fame- took part in this challenge. “Once Challenged, you either dump a bucket of ice water over your head or donate $100.00 to the ALS association (ALS =  “Lew Gehrig’s disease”) And then the bucket dumpee has to nominate 3 other people to take the challenge & meet the conditions within 24 hours. }

Pterosaur fossil graveyard reveals striking new species   { They look really strange. Fashion Dinosaurs? The news story calls them flying reptiles. I hope they had really strong necks. Think maybe our racial memory wanted to have captains and admirals in the olde navies look like these guys? I wonder if they insisted that their children respond to their orders with “Aye Aye! Admiral, Sir!”  }

Tim Hortons introduces dark roast coffee   { Tim Hortons is to Canada what Dunkin Donuts is around here- and then some- it’s almost a religion up there. I met one gentleman who was born in Africa and moved to England before falling in love with a Canadian woman -lot of that going around these days- who stood near me and gazed at the long lines of cars going through a Tim Hortons drive through and said, “They must put something in that coffee, some kind of addictive drug- I don’t understand it-” & I didn’t either, not at first. I’m also a big fan of iced coffee- on my first few visits up there there was no such thing as iced coffee anywhere for sale. They had an oversweetened ‘ice-cap’ iced cappuccino- but a hot extra large cup of Tim Hortons coffee left in a refrigerator over night really floats my boat. }

Nordstrom, Marshalls prepare to battle for lucrative Calgary market   { Big U.S. chains of department stores might not have it as easy as they think they will up there. Canadians might not be as gullible as the cynical CEOs of monster discount chains believe they are. Target Stores lost money after their much hyped foray into the Canadian Great (not-so-White) North. Tell ya what- call yourself, “the great american discount store” and I bet you’ll be bankrupt in a year. }

Coffee pod prices set to jump 9%: Kuerig   { Uht-oh A certain K-cup addicted friend of mine will not be happy about this one- }

With soda sales fizzing out, Coca Cola makes huge bet on energy drinks   { And what will they do when people revolt against the sugary ‘energy drinks’? }

Canadian finds first space dust from outside solar system   { I can’t resist: Was that Canadian looking for space dust outside the solar system? And how did he get there? In truth, he spent thousands of hours ‘poring through images of samples brought back by NASA spacecraft as part of the Stardust citizen science project. He found two dust particles that tested as probably being formed around other stars, not our sun. }

Glacier melt worldwide now caused mainly by humans   { This one would be hard to prove. Convincing me might even be harder. }

Online shopping a game changer for business in India   {  }

Former Conservative Party staffer guilty in robocalls trial   { See, straight forward, no loaded words, just a relatively low key headline. No ‘Summer Slump’ or even “Scandal Woes”- }

Confusing sanctions regime irks industry, prompting plan for single list   { -Yeah, this one had me confused. But,- Banks and other financial institutions, (You know? Banksters, the guys who front for institutions that Thomas Jefferson said were”More dangerous than standing armies”? We know they’re not all that bright, but here’s their dilemma: “Businesses currently use 19 different lists from five domestic and international websites to ensure the freezing or seizure of assets linked to certain individuals and entities in countries including Iran, North Korea and, most recently, Russia and Ukraine.” and would like to have one official website where they can go and read up on what they’re not supposed to sell or buy from who and where?- }

Ottawa moving to close price gap with U.S. this fall – somehow: Chris Hall  {  }

Andy Warhol films to be digitized by museums   { If Andy was a twenty-something year old today, would he take a five minute iPhone video and turn that into a 24-hour ‘happening’? I’m trying to remember the exact details, didn’t he film a naked guy sleeping on a sofa in a Greenwich Village loft- for something like six hours and show that in a trendy movie theatre? }

Michael Cera drops new surprise album   { Oh, this is cool: Reincarnation researchers at IISIS -Not the Jihadist group, the ‘Institute for the integration of Science, Intuition and Spirit‘ <— Link – believe that Michael Cera is Harpo Marx Reincarnated. }

7 tips to prevent amputations during DIY home renos   { Apparently there are a lot of do it yourself-ers cutting themselves with power tools, losing fingers and hands and other important parts of their bodies, especially after they remove safety guards. And too many of these people have been around tools all their lives. So- the evil manipulating son of a guns who want everybody to be terrified that there might be terrorists under their beds would also like us to be afraid of any tools we might use to try to improve our surroundings and save a couple evil pieces of paper in the process. }

Ferguson reporters live-tweet their arrest   { Police may have targeted a TV news crew from Al-Jazeera with tear gas and then removed their TV News equipment after the journalists fled the tear gas attack in Ferguson, Missouri. I’m not sure they were Al-Jazeera America– but that group is one of the most diligent, un-biased group of reporters we have trying to find the truth and share it with us. }

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And:

There’s an ad in my browser: ” Find love on line / the shelter pet project adopt ” 🙂

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“Local” / “New Brunswick”

Deer management plan for Kennebecasis Valley unveiled   { I think I am beginning to have a problem with people who believe that deer need to be managed by human beings- who obviously can’t manage themselves very well- }

Car dependence hurting New Brunswick economy   { If they can prove this one, I’d like to see them prove that cars are hurting the economy of Los Angeles, California. They might be killing people and making us sick since the ice holes who control the ‘fossil fuel’ industry insisted for so long that we needed vehicles that ran on fuel that made them rich, and their dishonest ways are now trying to make us poor- oh, tell me to shut up and finish this- }

Dog owners could be fined, jailed for overnight dog tethering   { Jim told me that a woman around where he lives was facing legal troubles for digging out a dog whose dog house had been buried in one of the blizzards they lived through last winter and cutting the dog’s chain and bringing the dog home with her- The dog’s owner was out of the province and had somebody who was supposedly checking up on the animal daily. }

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{ Ack, first day back with the internet and this took me almost five hours? -Too much stuff I couldn’t just let go- & Typing on a laptop is a whole different ball game— okay if I split metaphors? 11:21 am Ithaca time – I did have to get up and let our puppy dog out a couple times etc. ———djo——— }