Northern Echo #29

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Published monthly and distributed thru out the communities of northern Manitoba *(plus) March 2014

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Issue # 29

Circulation 12,000

Hells Angels marked as criminals

by Manitoba Justice

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212 Larose Ave. The Pas, MB

Toll Free: 1.888.799.0000

page 2

Manitoba RCMP News

being 5’9” tall and approximately 177 pounds with multiple tattoos on his arms, chest and face.

With any information of the whereabouts of this individual, please contact: Lynn Lake RCMP at 204-356-8862 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477. *** The Pas/OCN RCMP is seeking the public’s assistance in locating LARRY MICHAEL CONSTANT, 19 years old.

RCMP need your help in locating the top five wanted persons in Northern Manitoba These individuals can be violent. Police caution the public not to approach them, but contact the detachment listed or Crime Stoppers at:

1-800-222-8477 Lynn Lake RCMP is seeking the public’s assistance in locating DERYLE RICHARD JOHNSON, 39 years old.

Two Manitoba wide Warrants for Arrest have been issued for the arrest of Deryle Richard JOHNSON for assault causing bodily harm, assault with a weapon, uttering threats and overcoming resistance in the commission of an offence.

Deryle Richard JOHNSON is described as

Multiple Manitoba wide Warrants for Arrest have been issued for the arrest of Larry Michael CONSTANT for aggravated assault, assault with a weapon, carrying a concealed weapon and possession of a weapon for a dangerous purpose.

Larry Michael CONSTANT is described as being 5’10” tall and approximately 161 pounds with a tattoo near his right eye of a tear drop, a tattoo on his right hand “west” and a tattoo on his left hand “side”.

Larry Michael CONSTANT is believed to be travelling back and forth between Winnipeg and The Pas. With any information of the whereabouts of this individual, please contact: The Pas/OCN RCMP at 204-627-6242 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477. *** Two Manitoba wide Warrants for Arrest and one Alberta wide Warrant for Arrest have been issued for the arrest of Aaron Wayne AZURE for assault and failing to comply with the conditions of a Probation Order.

Update - Aaron Wayne Azure has been arrested without incident. We thank the public and media for their assistance. The Pas RCMP and Leaf Rapids RCMP *** Thompson RCMP is seeking the public’s assistance in locating KENNETH CHRISTOPHER COOK, 33 years old.

Manitoba Warrants for Arrest have been issued for the arrest of Kenneth COOK for assault, overcoming resistance in the commission in an offence, possession for the purpose of trafficking, possession of marihuana, and multiple counts of failing to comply with conditions of probation and undertaking.

Kenneth COOK has been wanted since 2010.

Kenneth COOK is described as being 5’11” and approximately 220 pounds.

With any information of the whereabouts of this individual, please contact: Thompson RCMP at 204-677-6909 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477

Wanted:

STANfORD LESTER PARENTEAU Winnipegosis RCMP are seeking public assistance in locating a wanted man, 42-year-old Stanford Lester Parenteau.

Parenteau is wanted on three separate warrants, including possession of a weapon for a dangerous purpose, assault, utter-

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ing threats and pointing a firearm, and failing to attend court.

Anyone with information related to Parenteau’s whereabouts is asked to contact the Winnipegosis RCMP Detachment at 204-656-7003 or their local police station. If you would like to remain anonymous, call Crime Stoppers at 1800-222-8477, submit a secure tip online at www.manitobacrimestoppers.com or text TIPMAN plus your message to CRIMES (274637). *** Cross Lake RCMP is seeking the public’s assistance in locating ALEXANDRA JANE MILLER, 19 years old.

Update - Alexandra Miller has been arrested without incident. We thank the public and media for their assistance. Cross Lake RCMP.

Norway House RCMP make large drug seizure On February 3, just before 10pm, Norway House RCMP executed a Controlled Drugs and Substances Act warrant at a residence in Norway House Cree Nation.

During the search, RCMP officers seized more than 200 grams of cocaine, 2 pounds of marijuana, alcohol, a prohibited weapon and a large sum of cash.

As a result of the search, police made several arrests. Arrested and now facing numerous drugrelated charges are Kyle Balfour, 21, Kenneth Muswagon, 30, Cody Scribe, 23 and Sheldon Mumminawatum, 30.

RCMP report that all four individuals have

Northern Echo Printed at Winnipeg Sun 1700 Church Avenue Winnipeg, MB R2X 3A2 Telephone: 1.204.694.2022

page 3 been remanded into custody and are to appear in Thompson Court.

Scene of residence in Norway House Cree Nation where RCMP made a large drug seizure.

Thompson RCMP investigate home invasion Thompson RCMP are currently investigating a recent home invasion and are asking the public to help identify a suspect involved in the incident.

Assisting in the investigation are RCMP D Division Crime Reduction Enforcement Support Team, D Division Forensic Identification Section and RCMP D Division Major Crime Services from Thompson.

advised that the male subject, who had brandished a knife, was chased from the apartment by other occupants. He fled from the scene on foot. A search of the area was conducted using a police dog, however the male was not located.

The suspect is described as tall, slim-built, Aboriginal male with teardrop-shaped tattoo at the corner of his right eye. He was wearing dark blue jeans with lighter material on the front of the thighs, dark gray winter jacket with fur around the hood, black hooded sweatshirt, grey baseball cap and a black neck warmer up to his cheekbones.

Thompson RCMP are requesting assistance from the public in identifying the suspect as well as any tips regarding this investigation. Anyone with information in relation to this robbery are asked to contact the Thompson RCMP at 204677-6909 or Manitoba Crime Stoppers at 1-800222-8477(TIPS). You can also submit a tip online at www.manitobacrimestoppers.com, or text TIPMAN plus your message to Crimes(274637).

Selkirk RCMP looking for public assistance in identifying individuals Two individuals with possible information regarding a hit and run incident.

Selkirk RCMP are looking to the public for help in identifying two individuals with possible information regarding a hit and run incident that occurred last summer in the RM of St. Andrews.

On August 31, 2013, a 23-year-old male from Petersfield, Manitoba was found lying on Petersfield Road in the RM of St. Andrews with injuries consistent with being hit by a vehicle.

Composite sketch of male subject, provided by a member of the RCMP Forensic IdentiďŹ cation Section.

On January 30, 2014, shortly after 5:30pm, Thompson RCMP responded to a call of a male who broke into an apartment in the Eastwood area of Thompson, demanding cash and assaulting one of the occupants with a weapon. A male youth in the apartment at the time, reported sustaining non-life threatening injuries. Police were

Police say that the male and female in the picture may have been witnesses or involved with

the pedestrian hit and run. If you have any information about the identity or whereabouts of these individuals, please contact Selkirk RCMP at: 204-482-1222.

RCMP respond to single vehicle collision north of Swan River On February 9, 2014, at about 5pm, Swan River RCMP, EMS from Mafeking and EMS from Swan River were dispatched via 911 to a single motor vehicle collision at the bridge in Mafeking, approximately 70km north of Swan River.

Police say that a 2011 Ford Escape had gone through the community at excessive speed, lost control, went air borne and landed in a creek. Of the three occupants, two received non-life threatening injury (the driver and one of the passengers), and were transported to hospital.

RCMP report that a 32-year-old female from the RM of Swan River has been charged with driving carelessly under the Highway Traffic Act. Alcohol is not believed to be a factor in this incident, but speed is believed to be a contributing factor.

RCMP and Manitoba Finance make large seizure of contraband tobacco and ďŹ rearms during Project Debit Dakota Plains First Nation, Manitoba - On January 22, 2014, a joint enforcement operation, known as Project Debit, consisting of RCMP Serious and Organized Crime, RCMP Portage la Prairie and Manitoba Finance, with the assistance of the Dakota Ojibway Police Service, made a large seizure of contraband tobacco and firearms as well as several arrests at Dakota Plains First Nation, southwest of Portage la Prairie.

Police arrested Matthew Audi, 26, and Christopher Wilkins, 30, both of Quebec, after they had made a delivery of contraband tobacco to a smoke shop at Dakota Plains First Nation.

The owner of the shop, Craig Blacksmith, 51, was arrested shortly after.

A search warrant was executed, and during the search of the property, 4800 cartons of cigarettes were seized as well as 3 firearms. The lone employee of the shop, Tammy Walters, 42, was also arrested. During the search, police became aware of a rental locker paid for by Blacksmith. When that was searched, further seizures were made, including 2 cases of tobacco and 3 more firearms.

In total, 951,225 cigarettes were seized, 1845 tins of chew, 6 firearms, cash and 1 vehicle. The Manitoba tax avoided is $292,572.68. If convicted of the provincial offences, each accused can face a tax penalty of triple the amount avoided, amounting to $877,718.04.

Matthew Audi faces charges of: Possess or Sell Unstamped Tobacco under the Excise Act 2001 Possession of Property Obtained

by Crime under the Criminal Code Sell Non-Manitoba marked Tobacco under the Manitoba Tobacco Tax Act and the Tax Administration & Miscellaneous Taxes Act He will appear in court in Winnipeg Court on May 12.

Christopher Wilkins faces charges of: Possess or Sell Unstamped Tobacco under the Excise Act 2001 Possession of Property Obtained by Crime under the Criminal Code Sell Non-Manitoba marked Tobacco under the Manitoba Tobacco Tax Act and the Tax Administration & Miscellaneous Taxes Act He will appear in court in Winnipeg Court on May 12.

Tammy Walters faces charges of: Possess or Sell Unstamped Tobacco under the Excise Act 2001 x3 Possess and Sell Non-Manitoba marked Cigcontinued on page 4

page 4 continued from page 3 arettes under the Manitoba Tobacco Tax Act and the Tax Administration & Miscellaneous Taxes Act x 2 Possess and Sell other tobacco products (snuff) under the Manitoba Tobacco Tax Act and the Tax Administration & Miscellaneous Taxes Act x 2 She will appear in court in Winnipeg Court on May 12.

Craig Blacksmith faces charges of: Possess or Sell Unstamped Tobacco under the Excise Act 2001 x4 Possess and Sell Non-Manitoba marked Cigarettes under the Manitoba Tobacco Tax Act and the Tax Administration & Miscellaneous Taxes Act x 2 Possess and Sell other tobacco products (snuff) under the Manitoba Tobacco Tax Act and the Tax Administration & Miscellaneous Taxes Act x 2 Wilfully Evade Payment of Tax under the Manitoba Tobacco Tax Act and the Manitoba Tax Administration & Miscellaneous Taxes Act Possession of Property Obtained by Crime under the Criminal Code Careless Storage of a Firearm x 6 Unauthorized Possession of a Firearm x 7 He will appear in court in Winnipeg Court on May 12.

858,800 contraband cigarettes seized Members of the Manitoba Finance Special Investigation Unit and RCMP officers seized 858,800 contraband cigarettes, a vehicle and a trailer on Friday, February 7, 2014.

At approximately 4:30 a.m., Manitoba Finance investigators along with RCMP officers from the “D” Division Traffic Services Roving Unit and the Falcon Lake detachment stopped a vehicle pulling a trailer westbound on PTH 1 near the junction of PR 207.

As the vehicle and trailer were suspected to be transporting contraband cigarettes into Manitoba, they were seized and towed to a safe compound in Winnipeg. The two male occupants of the vehicle were not held in custody.

Search warrants for the vehicle and trailer were obtained by Manitoba Finance and 858,800 cigarettes of mixed brands not marked or stamped for Manitoba tax purposes were located and seized. As a result of finding the contraband tobacco products, the vehicle and trailer are subject to a 30-day impoundment period.

Charges of possession of non-Manitoba marked cigarettes under the Manitoba Tobacco Tax Act and the Tax Administration and Miscellaneous Taxes Act are pending against a 67-year old male and a 32-year old male, both of Fort Alexander.

They each may face fines of $1,000 to $10,000 and/or up to six months in jail, as well as a triple tax penalty of $747,156. Manitoba stood to lose $249,052 in tax revenues should this tobacco have reached the black market.

The individuals may also face charges under the federal Excise Act (2001), as none of the product seized complied with the required federal marking regulations.

Intersections don’t have to be deadly

RCMP said 951,225 cigarettes in total were seized from a smoke shop on Dakota Plains First Nation in Manitoba on Jan. 22, 2014.

By law, all cigarettes and tobacco must have a Health Canada warning along with a stamp indicating that the required duties and taxes have been paid on them. Packages of cigarettes in Manitoba are required to display a stamp indicating taxes have been paid to Manitoba.

Manitoba taxes must be paid on other tobacco products, such as chew, when imported into Manitoba. Millions of dollars that could fund social programs, education, employment programs and health care is lost when tax revenue to federal and provincial governments is not paid.

Intersections, by their very design, are planned points of conflict. Drivers approaching intersections have a flurry of factors to consider in a split second and someone always has to yield.

The RCMP sees an average of 16 deaths each year in intersection-related collisions.

This is 16 deaths too many, yet it is common practice to roll through a stop sign or to try and beat an oncoming vehicle.

Those extra few seconds taken

to come to a complete stop, assess the intersection thoroughly and proceed only when safe to do so could mean a lifetime of moments will still get to be lived.

In Manitoba, about 70% of rural intersection fatalities happen at locations where side roads meet up with major highways. In the past three years, 17.5% of rural intersection fatalities occurred at junctions along the Trans-Canada Highway alone, and 20% of those involved commercial vehicles, such as semi trucks. These vehicles are not able to come to an immediate stop and carry a lot of weight behind them. All drivers at an intersection need to pay attention and yield to oncoming traffic.

“Intersections are dangerous, plain and simple, but they don’t have to be deadly,” said Inspector Joanne Keeping, Officer in Charge of RCMP “D” Division Traffic Services. “Each and every driver needs to take responsibility and drive with caution.”

Points to consider when approaching an intersection: Stay alert – you have a lot of choices to make Complete a full stop at stop signs Use your signals to make other drivers aware of your intentions Watch for pedestrians Maintain a safe stopping distance from the vehicle in front of you – 4 seconds spacing between vehicles on the highway Do not speed up at amber lights. Instead, proceed with caution and stop if you can do so safely Finish your turn in the correct lane. Do not turn wide into a farther lane or veer in to a closer lane. Complete your turn and then make a safe lane change Do not try to “beat” oncoming traffic. Highway speeds are easily misjudged. Wait until the road is clear Remember the “rule of the right”: At an uncontrolled intersection, vehicles arriving at the same time will yield to the car to the right Even if you have the right of way, be aware of the other vehicles and be prepared Only proceed when it is completely safe to do so Under the Highway Traffic Act, the fine for failing to stop at a stop sign or red light is $203.80.

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Province announces upgrades to The Pas health facilities that will enhance patient care The province is funding several renovations and upgrades at the hospital and personal care home in The Pas including a major upgrade to the laboratory which will improve services and support quality patient care for families in this area, Health Minister Erin Selby announced on Thursday.

“There’s nothing more important than getting the health care you need, when you need it, close to home,” Minister Selby said.

The province is investing more than $1.8 million in a number of capital upgrades at the hospital and St. Paul’s Personal Care Home including passenger elevator upgrades, renovations to the decontamination shower area and air conditioning. The province is also investing in a new fetal monitor at the facility.

This includes $650,000 for laboratory upgrades at the The Pas Health Complex. The work includes the redesign of benches to improve work flow, mechanical and electrical improvements, new flooring, a dedicated ventilation system and an expanded blood testing room.

Funds will also be invested in new laboratory equipment.

“By upgrading these facilities, we’re ensuring families have access to this safe, quality medical care for many years to come,” said Frank Whitehead, MLA for the The Pas, who was at an event at the hospital on behalf of Minister Selby.

In addition, the St. Paul’s Personal Care Home built in 2001 will receive upgrades including the installation of ceiling lifts and heating, ventilation and air conditioning control system upgrades.

“This ongoing commitment to maintaining the infrastructure within the region means we can focus on delivering the clinical services our residents need, when and where they need them,” said Helga Bryant, chief executive officer of the Northern Regional Health Authority.

“Investments like this support the region in delivering on our commitment of healthy people in a healthy north.”

Work has already begun on the laboratory site, which is expected to be completed this spring, the minister said.

This announcement builds on past investments that have improved health services in The Pas including building a new emergency department and special care unit, which opened in 2007.

The province also purchased a CT scanner, which performs more than 3,000 scans per year.

New Senior’s Housing in The Pas Safe, Affordable Homes Help Seniors Live Independently: Minister Bjornson More seniors will soon call Pineview Manor home, as the province invests in building a 15-suite expansion, Housing and Community Development Minister Peter Bjornson announced on Thursday.

“Good quality housing helps seniors continue to live independently in their own communities where they have the support of family and friends,” said Bjornson. “This expansion will give more seniors access to safe, affordable housing.”

Pineview Manor is a 30-suite housing facility with 21 one-bedroom and nine two-bedroom suites. The new wing will include eight one-bedroom and seven two-bedroom suites. Once the new wing is completed, the existing property will be fully renovated including: new drywall and doors as required, window and bathroom renovations, new accessible kitchens, kitchen cabinet replacements, flooring, paint, heat recovery ventilation installations, mechanical and electrical upgrades and new finishes and millwork; and new stucco, painting, landscaping, grading and lighting for the exterior of the building.

ernment’s pledge to commit funding for 1,500 affordable housing units by March 31 of this year. As of January 31, the province had committed funding for 1,443 new affordable housing units.

In 2004, the province announced that aging in place would be adopted as a principle in the planning of all provincial government housing and long-term care initiatives. Aging in place means that people should not have to leave their homes to get the support services they need to cope with changing health and life-management needs.

“The Age-Friendly Manitoba initiative reflects this government’s commitment to creating housing that supports independence and a high quality of life for seniors,” said Aboriginal and Northern Affairs Minister Eric Robinson, speaking at an event at Pineview Manor today.

“Seniors value ties to their families and communities and want to be active in community life as participants and volunteers.”

Over the next three years, the Manitoba government will invest $100 million annually to restore and redevelop housing units in its portfolio with an additional $34 million dedicated annually to repair existing stock and provide quality home environments for tenants, said Minister Bjornson. These investments to build more affordable housing are in addition to increased benefits for employment income assistance recipients and other low-income Manitobans announced in Budget 2013 through an annual increase of $6.3 million in RentAid shelter benefits. For more information go to www.gov.mb.ca/housing.

Manitoba cracks down on drunk drivers defying new rules Manitoba is cracking down even further on drunk drivers who disregard court orders to install and use ignition interlock devices for at least a year following their conviction.

The province is cracking down even more on Manitoba drivers convicted of impaired driving.

Since last spring, anyone convicted of impaired driving must use an ignition interlock device in their vehicle for at least a year after their driving suspension is lifted.

Manitoba targets street racers with tougher penalties Construction is expected to begin this fall, with occupancy to follow next summer. A tender for construction is expected to be released later this month.

“I was happy to hear about plans to expand and renovate Pineview Manor so that more people will be able to take advantage of the opportunity to live independently in the community,” said Pineview Manor resident Linda Paul.

The expansion of Pineview Manor is part of the Manitoba gov-

Now, drivers who disregard those court orders will face harsher penalties.

Justice Minister Andrew Swan said starting Saturday, if such a driver is caught, his or her vehicle will be impounded and the driver fined up to $5,000.

"We're going to treat you the same as anyone who is driving while disqualified," he said. "Not only is it going to give you ancontinued on page 6

page 6 continued from page 5

other suspension and [you'll have to] start everything over again, it's going to cost you a lot more money, too."

Swan said exceptions will be made for people with a restricted license who have to drive for their jobs.

Cattle check-off increase will help sustain the future of Manitoba’s beef industry A resolution to increase the provincial check-off producers pay when they sell cattle was passed at Manitoba Beef Producers’ (MBP) Approval from the AGM completes the requirements to change the regulations under the Cattle Producers Association Act to increase the provincial check-off by $1 per head of cattle. The current provincial check-off is $2. This check-off was last increased in 2006.

“Beef producers have been expressing the need for additional financial resources for their organization for some time,” said Heinz Reimer, MBP president. “Producers made it clear that increased investment in MBP is needed when they brought forward and approved resolutions to increase the check-off at MBP’s 2013 district meetings and when they passed the check-off increase at the annual meeting. The check-off increase will help us sustain our future as we work to promote and defend beef producers’ interests and livelihoods.”

Effective July 1, 2014, $3 per head of cattle will be collected to fund the activities of MBP on behalf of beef producers in the province.

This coincides with the beginning of MBP’s fiscal year. Producers also pay Canada’s national beef levy, which is $1 per head.

The national levy funds the market development work of Canada Beef Inc. and the research funded through the Beef Cattle Research Centre.

There were 22 resolutions debated by beef producers at the recent AGM. Sixteen resolutions were carried and six resolutions

were defeated. MBP members passed resolutions on the administration of the check-off, the Manitoba Cattle Enhancement Council, production management, community pastures, animal health, government programming and the ongoing impact of the 2011 flood.

Questions regarding the check-off increase can be directed to MBP at info@mbbeef.ca or by calling 1-800-772-0458. Producers can also visit www.mbbeef.ca for a review of the outcome of the vote on each of the resolutions brought forward from MBP’s district meetings.

Flu outbreak hits northern Manitoba First Nation About 30 H1N1 cases reported in Garden Hill first Nation.

The First Nations community of Garden Hill is located about 600 kilometres north of Winnipeg.

Leaders with a northern Manitoba First Nation say they're dealing with an H1N1 influenza outbreak, with dozens of cases reported to date.

About 30 H1N1 influenza cases have been reported in the Garden Hill First Nation, says David Harper, grand chief of Manitoba Keewatinowi Okimakanak (MKO), the organization representing northern chiefs.

Harper, a former Garden Hill chief, told CBC News the community ran out of flu vaccines on Tuesday and it did not receive an anticipated shipment on Thursday.

The grand chief confirmed that three people with H1N1 were airlifted from Garden Hill to Winnipeg earlier this week for treatment.

Band Coun. Gabby Munroe said current flu numbers in the community are worse than last year, when officials closed schools, daycares and the hockey arena to slow down the spread of the flu.

"Any community would be very concerned, especially with something as serious as H1N1," he said.

Munroe said other communities would not send any of their flu vaccines to Garden Hill.

Garden Hill, located about 600 kilometres north of Winnipeg, had 50 confirmed H1N1 flu cases during an outbreak in 2009.

Three people died.

Cat soaked in oil pops out of engine at Winnipeg garage Car brought in for servicing at Winnipeg SuperLube yields feline surprise A Winnipeg cat is lucky to be alive after crawling under a hood of a car and turning up at a local garage — much to the surprise of several employees.

The car was brought into Winnipeg SuperLube to be serviced, but when a technician lifted the hood of the car, out popped a motor-oil-soaked cat.

Garfield gets a bath at the Winnipeg Humane Society. Motor oil had to be scrubbed from his fur after he stowed away under a car's hood.

SuperLube manager John Meadows said cats turning up under car hoods isn’t that strange — but they rarely make their way to the garage.

“It happens, even in the city,” he said. “They get cold. They feel something warm, and they go and crawl into it. You go home, and guess what? You’ve got a new cat.”

Flu season underway in Manitoba Manitoba health officials said Thursday that 45 cases of labconfirmed influenza have been reported to date.

Chief provincial public health officer Dr. Michael Routledge said there is no indication of widespread transmission of the illness.

No fatalities have been confirmed, although one case is being reviewed for the possibility it may have been a contributing factor in someone's death, he said.

This season's flu vaccine protects against the H1N1 influenza A strain as well as two other strains of the flu, according to the province.

Garfield popped out of a car brought in for servicing at Winnipeg SuperLube. The cat was soaked in motor-oil. He's now recovering from his ordeal at the Winnipeg Humane Society.

Garfield the oil-soaked cat gets a bath.

No one knew who the cat belonged to, so one of the employees called the Winnipeg Humane Society.

There, staff cleaned up the kitty, gave him a new name and are now nursing him back to health.

Once Garfield has been given a clean bill of health, he’ll be put up for adoption.

page 7

Canada approves production of GM salmon eggs on commercial scale

Canada has given the go-ahead to commercial production of genetically modified salmon eggs, bringing the world's first GM food animal closer to supermarkets and dinner tables.

In a decision buried in routine business in the Canada Gazette, Environment Canada said it had granted a US biotechnology firm, AquaBounty Technologies Inc, permission to export up to 100,000 GM fish eggs a year from a hatchery in Prince Edward Island to a site high in the Panamanian rainforest.

The decision marked the first time any government had given the go-ahead to commercial scale production involving a GM food animal.

The move clears the way for AquaBounty to scale up production of the salmon at its sites in PEI and Panama in anticipation of eventual approval by American authorities.

The Food and Drug Administration is expected to render a decision in the near future on the sale of GM salmon, and in due course some 30 other species of GM fish currently under development, campaigners and industry figures said.

The Canadian government said in its decision that the GM fish presented a high risk to Atlantic salmon, in the event of an escape, and a spokesman was adamant there would be no immediate sale or consumption of GM salmon eggs in Canada.

“There are strict measures in place to prevent the release of this fish into the food chain,” an Environment Canada spokesman said by email. “In Canada, no genetically modified fish or eggs are currently approved for the purposes of human consumption.”

But the limited approval still represents a big win for

AquaBounty which has fought for 20 years to bring GM salmon to American dinner tables.“This is a significant milestone in our efforts to make AquAdvantage® salmon available for commercial production,” Ron Stotish, the company's chief executive, said in a statement.

AquaBounty has been raising GM salmon for several years on an experimental basis, growing fish eggs at a lab in PEI and then flying them to a ramshackle test site at a secretive inland location in the Panamanian rainforest, where they were grown to full size, and then ultimately destroyed.

The GM fish splices growth genes from a Chinook salmon and a seal eel onto an Atlantic salmon – which AquaBounty claims enables the altered animal to grow twice as fast as a regular fish.

Lucy Sharratt of the Canadian Biotechnology Action Network said last week's decision made it easier for the FDA to contemplate approval, so clearing a potential obstacle in AquaBounty moving towards full-scale commercial production.

“This is one concrete step closer to the reality of GM fish on our plates, and unfortunately it is a really dramatic step,” she said. “It's a global first, and it has a significant global potential impact for our environment. It starts a chain of decisions that could be just disastrous for our aquatic ecosystems.”

The move by the Canadian authorities follows a run of setbacks for AquaBounty – and growing scrutiny of its operations from campaign groups.

An environmental group in Panama last week wrote to the authorities with concerns that the AquaBounty site was operating without the necessary permits and inspections.

The Panamanian test site has had a history of mishaps. In 2008, a storm destroyed part of the facility, according to a filing to the FDA. In 2010, an entire batch of fingerlings died in transit, according to Panamanian officials.

All the while, AquaBounty fought to navigate the US regulatory process and to stay afloat. The company has run through more than $60m waiting for approval.

The company has also fought to win over the public to the idea of GM fish. Within the last year, supermarket chains such as Whole Foods and Trader Joes, have said they will not stock GM salmon.

AquaBounty must still win approval to raise the fish on commercial scale from the authorities in Panama – and the site so far consists of just a few tanks at the end of an unpaved road.

The company will also have to apply anew to the Canadian government if it wants to raise the fish commercially at any other site. AquaBounty must still obtain approval from the FDA before it can begin to try to bring the fish to market in America.

But Stotish said in the statement the company planned to go into commercial production once those other approvals are in place.

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page 8

from

across CANADA Rescuer dies, another is in critical condition after search for missing man WOLLASTON LAKE, Sask. - The brother of a man who died in the frigid wilderness of northern Saskatchewan during a search for a missing man says alcohol was involved.

Alphonse Denechezhe, Canadian Ranger from Lac Brochet MB who died on a search and rescue mission in Saskatchewan, in February 2014

Benji Denechezhe said he found his brother Alphonse's body, and his barely conscious search companion, Tuesday afternoon — two days after the pair had set out to look for a missing man from Lac Brochet, Man., just across the boundary in Saskatchewan.

Police say the two searchers, part of the Lac Brochet Search and Rescue Rangers group, left on Sunday. The man they were looking for was found safe by searchers from Wollaston Lake, Sask., but the two searchers from Manitoba didn't return.

"They got stuck on the slush and they were also drinking," Denechezhe said in an interview from Lac Brochet. "Somehow my brother fell asleep. When the other guy got up, my brother was already gone.

"It's devastating. When it's cold and you're drinking out in the bush and there is nothing around, there are consequences."

The 40-year-old searcher who survived the frigid temperatures was taken to hospital in critical condition.

The Rangers fall under the umbrella of the Department of National Defence. They provide patrols and run search-and-rescue

missions in sparsely populated areas of Western Canada that cannot be conveniently or economically covered by the Canadian Armed Forces.

Capt. Steven Parker, spokesman for the 4th Canadian Ranger Patrol Group, said Wednesday that the searchers were off duty at the time, adding no request was received to do the mission.

"Our deepest condolences go out to the family and friends of Alphonse M. Denechezhe, a Canadian Ranger with the Lac Brochet patrol of the 4th Canadian Ranger Patrol Group, who has recently and tragically died in Northern Manitoba in connection with a local search and rescue mission.

"We also hope for a quick and full recovery for the injured Canadian Ranger currently being treated for injuries."

RCMP Sgt. Craig Cleary said it appears the snowmobile the two men were using might have broken down.

"There was some indication that the snowmobile was experiencing some mechanical issues," Cleary said. "There is no doubt in my mind that the elements ... did definitely factor into how things turned out, unfortunately."

RCMP couldn't comment on whether alcohol was involved, but Cleary did say foul play is not suspected. An autopsy will be performed to determine the exact cause of death.

Benji Denechezhe said his brother was well-known and liked in the community. The 47-year-old father of five had recently toured with musician Neil Young, opening for him along with other Dene drummers as Young held a series of concerts to raise money for an Alberta First Nation.

Alphonse Denechezhe had been a Ranger for 10 years and knew how to survive in the wild, his brother said.

"He was very humorous," Denechezhe said. "He always had a smile and a joke to share with anybody. That's the kind of person he was. That's what I'm going to miss. Our family is very close.

It's a great loss to us."

Regardless of training, Cleary said there are risks for anyone involved in a search-and-rescue mission.

"There are always ... those chances that, while you are trying to provide assistance to somebody else, you yourself could unfortunately be facing a similar situation as these two individuals did on their rescue mission."

N.W.T.’s chief doctor in the dark about beluga cat parasite found in Western Arctic belugas Dr. André Corriveau says he has no advice for people eating beluga that may contain a new, infectious parasite, because he hasn’t yet seen the study that identified it.

“At this point, it's one study, perhaps one animal out of all the ones they tested,” Corriveau said. “We need to see the study before we make an advisory and we will do that as soon as we can."

South Naknek residents Janice and Alice Hodgdon harvesting a beluga whale to share with friends and family.

Last month, researchers from the University of British Columbia presented their findings at a conference for the American Association for the Advancement of Science.

The researchers say beluga in the Western Arctic tested positive for a parasite called toxoplasma gondii.

The parasite doesn’t usually make healthy people sick, but it can cause serious health issues for pregnant women and people with an already weakened immune system.

That has some people in the N.W.T.'s Delta region concerned about whether it's safe to eat beluga muktuk. So far, no advisories have been issued.

Corriveau says he was aware of the research but expected to be notified once it was complete.

Second World War soldier reunited with helmet after 70 years Collector tracked down N.B. owner of helmet with soldier's name, rank number scratched in it.

Jordan Chiasson bought an old military helmet in an army surplus store in Moncton, N.B., for $30 last August, but only recently discovered the name GW Johnston and a number scratched into the inside of it, so he set out to find the owner.

War memorabilia collector Jordan Chiasson reunited George Johnston, a 93-year-old veteran, with the helmet found in an army surplus store in Moncton, N.B. "The fact that he cared enough about it to write his stuff inside — his name and the ID number — it wasn't mine to keep," said Chiasson. "If he cared so much he wrote his own info inside, it was up to a matter of time." continued on page 10

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Chiasson, 21, contacted Royal Canadian Legion Command in Saint John and the Canadian War Museum. He was led to Pte. George Johnston, a member of the North Shore Regiment in the Second World War. This week, after a three-day search, the soldier and his helmet were reunited for the first time in 70 years when Chiasson took it to Johnston and his wife, Annie, at their home in Norton, N.B. "They came to the door," recalled Chiasson. "He rolled right into the entrance area, just looked at me and said, `22694.' That's the first thing he said.

"I looked inside and that's the exact number it had written on it, so I knew I had the guy," said Chiasson. "It was just really nice to give something back."

Woman accused of smuggling more than 10,000 diamonds inside her body TORONTO - Border officials say they have charged a woman they allege tried to smuggle more than 10,000 rough diamonds inside her body.

meat and cheese from grocery stores around the city and then selling that to restaurants and unaware consumers.

A police unit has been set up specifically to deal with the trend but want bargain-hunting consumers to be wary of too-good-tobe-true food prices.

"When you go to a restaurant, you expect the food that ends up on your plate to have come from an appropriate, lawful and legitimate source," said Const. Andrew Critchley, who works with the new Retail Industry Crime Initiative.

"From A to Z, you expect that product to have been cared for — and it's not being cared for."

While some of the people stealing food are trying to feed their families, Critchley says many are actually stealing to sell the food to organized rings or feed a drug addiction.

Veteran overjoyed Johnston and that helmet spent six years together on the battlefields of Europe, serving in England, France, Belgium and Germany during the Second World War.

The last time he wore the helmet was on the outskirts of Berlin in 1945. The war was over.

"I could have kissed it," said Johnston, 93, who struggles with speech due to a stroke a few years ago. "That's what it felt like.

George Johnston, a Second World War veteran living in New Brunswick, last wore his helmet outside Berlin in 1945.

"I can't explain it the way I feel … what it's done for me," he said with a smile.

"He just kept looking at it," said Johnston's wife, Annie. "I don't think he could hardly believe he did have it until Jordan showed him the name.

"But he told Jordan his rank number right away. He always remembered that. He's quite pleased to have it."

Johnston doesn't remember writing his name in the helmet and can't remember how it disappeared. He doesn't remember bringing it back to Canada after the war.

Chiasson says it "feels great" to have reunited Johnson with his helmet.

"I've been smiling ever since," he said. "My girlfriend says she's never seen my eyes light up so much.

"And it's nice to see an old fella with his eyes bright, looking at the thing he held 70 years ago and hasn't seen since."

The Canada Border Services Agency says Helena Freida Bodner was arrested Feb. 3 at Toronto's Pearson airport, but she appeared in court Friday.

Spokeswoman Antonella DiGirolamo says Bodner carried the gems — about 1,500 carats worth — "internally," though she would not elaborate.

Bodner is described as a "foreign national" and the agency says it is still investigating the diamonds' provenance.

CBSA Regional Director Goran Vragovic says the seizure bolsters the agency's "ongoing efforts to combat smuggling and fight global conflict."

DiGirolamo says the evidence has been turned over to the RCMP. Bodner is charged under the Customs Act with making false statements, unlawful possession of prohibited goods and smuggling.

She is due back in court in March.

Calgary restaurants knowingly serving stolen food, say police Organized criminals are selling stolen food to Calgary restaurants and police say it's becoming a major health concern.

According to police, a growing number of people are stealing

Over the past few weeks, police have seen people make off with up to $300 from a single store — then go on to hit several more stores in one day.

In many cases, entire shopping carts full of food are snuck out of the store through fire exits or even through front entrances.

"These individuals sometimes can be very motivated to exit the store, sometimes because they have an addiction and they need to convert the merchandise that they're stealing into drugs or into cash so that they can buy drugs," said Critchley.

Police say often times the food is stored in a garage or in the back of a truck before being sold to restaurants and consumers.

None of the restaurants believed to be involved are being named by police but Critchley says the ones buying the stolen food are not ignorant of where it's coming from.

The investigation is still ongoing but police say charges will come when their investigation finishes.

In the meantime, bargain-hungry consumers are being advised to take a second look at that cheap offer of steak or seafood.

"With food, don't take the chance," said Critchley.

"If you can buy a $50 steak, piece of meat, for $20 from somebody selling it at a strip mall, don't do it."

page 11

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USA Wild bees catch deadly diseases from honeybees

What the study shows is that "the spillover for bees is turning into a boilover," University of Illinois entomology professor May Berenbaum, who wasn't part of the study, said in an email.

Study co-author Matthias Furst of the University of London said the team's research does not definitely prove the diseases go from honeybees to bumblebees. But the evidence points heavily in that direction because virus levels and infection rates are higher in the honeybees, he said.

Diseases likely spread through flowers Bumblebees probably pick up diseases when they go to flowers after infected honeybees, Furst said. And sometimes bumblebees invade honeybee hives and steal nectar, getting diseases that way, he added.

Robocoin rolling out first bitcoin ATM in the US In Austin, Texas, on Thursday, Robocoin is unveiling the first of what it intends to be many bitcoin ATMs around the world, including at least seven in the United States by May. "We will be all over the world before end of spring," CEO Jordan Kelley told CNBC. The ATMs are being manufactured in Arizona, and the company has the ability to make 200 to 250 units per month.

Bitcoin is the cryptocurrency that's not backed by the U.S. or other governments, isn't backed by banks, and has no physical assets backing it. Since its introduction in 2009, the value of a bitcoin has fluctuated, but it was priced as high as $1,000 in December.

Currently, one bitcoin is worth around $600 Robocoin's first bitcoin kiosk was in Vancouver, Canada, and Kelley says the company has processed over $1 million in total transactions in less than a month. That kiosk is averaging 50-60 transactions per day, Kelley said.

For most consumers, security and reliability are big issues, and Robocoin aims to provide high-quality security.

"We actually do palm vein scanning, which we think is far more secure, private and accurate than fingerprint. The palm vein scan is actually an infrared image of the customer's palm vein patter—the second most unique form of biometric authentication.

This biometric data is stored by our partner, Fujitsu," Kelley said.

"Each customer has to go through the verification sign-up process once. After they have been signed up and verified, they never have to sign up again," Kelley added. Potential customers are crossed-checked with various government watchlists to prevent criminals or terrorists from participating, Kelley said.

Wild bumblebees in decline in Americas, Europe and Asia Wild bumblebees worldwide are in trouble, likely contracting deadly diseases from their commercialized honeybee cousins, a new study shows.

That's a problem even though bumblebees aren't trucked from farm to farm like honeybees. They provide a significant chunk of the world's pollination of flowers and food, especially greenhouse tomatoes, insect experts said. And the ailments are hurting bumblebees even more, according to a study published Wednesday in the journal Nature.

A bumblebee worker and honeybee worker forage on the same flower species. Diseases are thought to be spread between bees when they visit the same flower.

"Wild populations of bumblebees appear to be in significant decline across Europe, North America, South America and also in Asia," said study author Mark Brown of the University of London.

He said his study confirmed that a major source of the decline was "the spillover of parasites and pathogens and disease" from managed honeybee hives.

Smaller studies have shown disease going back and forth between the two kinds of bees. Brown said his is the first to look at the problem in a larger country-wide scale and include three diseases and parasites. The study tracked nearly 750 bees in 26 sites throughout Great Britain. And it also did lab work on captive bees to show disease spread.

Bumblebees can be nearly twice as big as honeybees, can sting multiple times and don't produce surplus honey, like honeybees.

The latest research shows bumblebees are hurt more by disease, Brown said. In general, the average wild bumblebee lives 21 days, but the infected ones live closer to 15 days, he said. And while honeybee hives have tens of thousands of workers and can afford to lose some, bumblebee hives only have hundreds at the most.

"It's like Wal-Mart versus a mom-and-pop store," Berenbaum said in an interview.

Studies have shown that bumblebees provide $3 billion worth of fruit and flower pollination in the United States, while honeybees are closer to $20 billion, Berenbaum said.

The new study did not look at colony collapse disorder, which is more of a mysterious problem in North America than elsewhere.

Other diseases and parasites have killed even more honeybees than the more recent colony collapse disorder.

Studies have shown that bumblebees provide $3 billion worth of fruit and flower pollination in the United States.

A user scans a QR code on their smart phone, allowing bitcoins to be transferred into their digital wallet, using the bitcoin ATM.

page 13

Winner Draws $425 Million Powerball in California

California - Federal bill to require a smartphone “kill switch”

At least one person picked all six winning numbers in Wednesday night's $425 million Powerball jackpot, California lottery officials said.

The winning numbers — 1, 17, 35, 49 and 54, with a Powerball of 34 — were worth $425.3 million after no one hit pay dirt during Saturday's drawing. That makes it the sixth-largest jackpot in U.S. lottery history.

Following on the heels of a California bill, four Democratic senators on Thursday proposed a federal law that would require those that make cellular devices to equip them with the ability to be permanently deactivated if stolen.

The winning ticket was sold at a Chevron station in Milpitas in Santa Clara County, the state lottery said. The store will get a $1 million bonus for selling the ticket.

The top prize amount has been swelling since the last jackpot on Christmas Day, and it has rolled over 15 times, increasing in value after each drawing since then, Powerball officials said.

The biggest winner in Powerball history took home $590 million before taxes in a drawing last May.

Unlike the extremely broad California proposal, the Senate bill appears to target only devices with a cellular connection, though it is still likely to encounter stiff resistance from portions of the cellular and electronics industries, many of whom oppose mandatory kill-switch laws or have significant reservations.

The bill would require smartphones to be equipped with both a kill switch and the ability for consumers to remotely wipe their personal data from a lost or stolen device.

Police trying to trace owner of bag of marijuana found in pants donated to Pa. Salvation Army SUGARCREEK, Pa. - An act of charity may end badly for one donor to a Pennsylvania Salvation Army outlet.

Sugarcreek Borough police say they were called when workers found a large plastic bag of marijuana among some donated clothes.

Police Chief Matt Carlson tells the (Oil City) Derrick he suspects the owner of the drugs has noticed them missing by now, if only because the bag contained a "substantial quantity" of pot.

Police were working with store employees to determine who donated the clothes and when.

The chief says this isn't the first time officers have investigated an unusual item among donated clothing saying, "we've had guns ... cash ... rings, and now marijuana."

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NEWS

the latest step in the yuan's development as a global currency.

China is Australia's biggest trading partner and Australian firms have increasingly been settling their Chinese trade in yuan rather than U.S. dollars, according to local media reports.

The new yuan settlement service will allow Australian firms to make trade and investments with China through the ASX, which has a "proven market infrastructure," the ASX said in a statement.

"What today is about is a milestone in the journey Australia and China are taking together," Australia's Assistant Treasurer Arthur Sinodinos told CNBC's Asia Squawk Box. Chinese authorities have been stepping up efforts to improve the use of the yuan, which remains tightly controlled by Beijing.

In October 2013 for instance, China launched a currency swap deal with the euro zone.

Iranian bank sues UK government for $4 bln over sanctions

Iran's largest private bank is suing the British government for almost $4 billion in damages after the Supreme Court quashed sanctions imposed against it over alleged links to Tehran's nuclear programme.

Bank Mellat wants compensation for the "significant pecuniary loss" it sustained as a result of the sanctions, according to a claim filed in London's High Court and seen by Reuters on Monday.

Britain's Supreme Court ruled last June that the government was wrong to have imposed sanctions in 2009, arguing that the government had been "irrational" to single out Bank Mellat.

Yuan takes another step forward as a World Currency Australia to launch yuan payment service.

Australia's stock exchange operator ASX and Bank of China said on Tuesday that they will provide a yuan settlement service to Australian and Chinese financial markets by mid-year, marking

The yuan, also known as the renminbi, is now one of the world's ten most frequently traded currencies, the Bank of International Settlements said last September.

Sinodinos told CNBC that Australia was not perturbed by recent signs that China's economy is losing its momentum.

"Australia takes a long-term view of the China relationship.

China is going through a transition. Their transition will lead to consumption-led growth, it will lead to increased demand for a diversified group of products and services," Sinodinos said.

"Australia's economy is also going through a transition where we've had growth based on record levels of resource investment.

We're diversifying our economy as well and we're well placed to service many of these emerging needs from China," he added.

How to protect reindeer from car accidents: glow-in-the-dark antlers Rudolph is no longer the only reindeer to light up the night sky.

In Finland, reindeer breeders are spraying antlers with florescent paint to help prevent the thousands of reindeer-related car accidents that occur each year.

Between 3,000 and 5,000 accidents involve reindeer each year, incidents which are "much deadlier for the reindeer than for drivers."

"Reindeer graze free in nature and are quite often hit by cars," Anne Ollila, head of the Reindeer Herders' Association, told Mashable. "We want to find solutions to avoid this."

Finland's Reindeer Herders' Association is currently testing two reflective sprays on 20 of the animals: a more permanent spray for antlers and a washable one for fur.

The spray will glow when a car's headlights shine on it.

"The spray is being tried on their fur, but it is maybe more effective on their antlers because the reflection can be seen in every direction," Ollila told Finnish broadcaster YLE. If successful — the dyes need to withstand a harsh Arctic climate — the association plans to give more reindeer the glowing-antler makeover next fall during the annual roundup in Laplan, a northern region of Finland where herders tend to about 200,000 reindeer.

"We are hoping that it is so useful that we can use the spray in the entire region and on all reindeer, from young to old."

Previous attempts to protect reindeer — reflectors and reflector tape — were unsuccessful, as the animals were able to tear them off.

Humans don't help the situation, either. Tourists often steal road signs warning drivers of roaming reindeer.

A man is suing McDonald’s for $1.5m in a dispute allegedly sparked off by the fact that he was given only one napkin with his meal.

Webster Lucas claimed he is “unable to work” due to the “emotional distress” caused by the incident at the outlet in Pacoima, California, TMZ reported.

Lucas launched the lawsuit following the confrontation on 29 January.

He claimed he was given one serviette when he ordered a quarter pounder deluxe, but when he went to the counter to ask for more, the manager refused to give him any.

Lucas, who is African-American, alleged that the MexicanAmerican manager was racist towards him and mumbled some-

page 15 thing that sounded like “you people”.

He subsequently emailed the fast-food chain to complain, saying has had suffered “undue mental anguish” as a result of the incident.

According to TMZ, he was offered free burgers, but is now seeking $1.5m in compensation.

Legendary driver still in coma after brain injury Nearly two months after Michael Schumacher suffered serious head injuries in a skiing accident and was placed in a drug-induced coma, some neurologists say the seven-time Formula One champion seems unlikely to make a full recovery.

The 45-year-old Schumacher fell while skiing in France and hit the right side of his head on a rock, cracking his helmet. Doctors operated to remove blood clots from his brain but some were left because they were too deeply embedded.

Schumacher's condition stabilized after he was placed in the coma. Late last month, doctors began the process of withdrawing sedatives to try to wake him up.

His agent, Sabine Kehm, said in an email on Friday that "Michael is still in the wake-up phase" and that "this phase can be long." Schumacher's family has released few details of his condition to protect his privacy.

"It does not bode well," said Dr. Tipu Aziz, professor of neurosurgery at Oxford University who is not connected to Schumacher's care. "The fact that he hasn't woken up implies that the injury has been extremely severe and that a full recovery is improbable."

Patients who have had major head injuries are sometimes put in a drug-induced coma to give the brain a chance to heal; a coma reduces the need for blood flow and may help the swelling go down.

Aziz said doctors typically try every few days to bring someone out of a coma.

"If you don't start getting any positive signs, that becomes very worrisome," he said, adding that Schumacher's doctors are probably doing regular brain scans to look for signs of activity — though such signs may be difficult to detect if he is still being sedated.

Other experts said it was premature to make an accurate prognosis.

"About 90 per cent of the recovery is made within nine to 12

months, so this is still early days," said Dr. Anthony Strong, an emeritus chair in neurosurgery at King's College London. "The longer someone is in a coma, the worse their recovery tends to be."

Now that several weeks have passed since the accident, doctors may also have a better idea of how the rest of Schumacher's brain is doing.

"MRI scans can show any secondary deterioration in the brain structure," said Dr. Colin Shieff, a neurosurgeon at the National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery in London and a trustee for Headway, a British brain injury charity.

He said other parts of Schumacher's brain that weren't directly affected by the accident might now be starting to show worrying signs that may not have been visible before.

Shieff said that if Schumacher does eventually come out of the coma, he probably would face significant disabilities because of the length of time he has already spent comatose.

While there have been rare instances of people emerging from comas months and years later with the ability to communicate, Shieff was doubtful that would be the case with Schumacher. He said the cases where comatose people made a surprising recovery had mostly suffered things like poisoning, strokes or failed resuscitation attempts.

Fukushima radiation scare in Pacific pales compared to acidification A plume of radioactive contamination from the damaged Fukushima Nuclear plant in Japan has reached the coast of North America earlier than expected. But while concerns for the plume are making headlines, a far more serious effect of human activity is already having dire consequences for West Coast fisheries.

Last August, about 250 tonnes of contaminated water - that

had been sprayed onto the damaged reactors to keep them cool leaked out of storage tanks into the ocean. This added to the contamination from the original disaster, when the plant was damaged by a tsunami in 2011, and from ground water that has flowed through the site since.

The amount of radioactive material released into the ocean is unprecedented. Now, that plume has been carried by ocean currents across the Pacific to North American shores.

But thanks to the immense size of the Pacific, radiation levels measured so far on this side of the ocean are extremely low trace amounts - well within safety guidelines for drinking water. Those levels are not expected to rise significantly, because of the dilution effect of the plume crossing thousands of kilometers of open ocean.

This is not to say the problem has been solved; the ocean is just giving us some time while the source of contamination is fixed.

As part of the monitoring of the contamination, as well as an effort to reassure the public, the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute is offering testing kits to people living along the west coast of the U.S. and Canada so they can test the water themselves. Samples of seawater taken while strolling on beaches can be sent back to Woods Hole for analysis.

The kits are not cheap, at $600 U.S. each, so it is suggested that the project should be crowd-sourced through a community of volunteers. This is a good way to do research over a wide area through "citizen science" during these times of funding cutbacks.

But while testing the ocean for radiation levels is important, there is another invisible contaminant in the water that is being overlooked and which is already doing much more harm to the fisheries: ocean acidification.

Since the industrial revolution, about one-third of the carbon dioxide produced by burning fossil fuels has been absorbed by the oceans, making the water more acidic.

When carbon dioxide is absorbed, it reacts with sea water to produce carbonic acid. If you remember back to high school chemistry class, acids and bases are opposites and will react with each other. Sea shells and corals are made of calcium carbonate, which is basic. As the oceans become more acidic, coral reefs, oysters, clams, scallops, sea urchins, and even some plankton suffer.

This was reported this week by fishers in B.C. who are seeing yet another season of dramatic declines in the number of scallops, as well as a lower quality to their shells. In acidic waters, shells grow thinner, providing less protection for the animals against predators. It also lowers the immune systems, so more are killed off by disease.

These effects of ocean acidification and rising seawater temperatures due to climate change are showing up in all parts of the globe. Half of the Earth's coral reefs have been bleached out because the algae that live in symbiosis with the corals, and give it its colour, cannot tolerate the changing conditions.

These ocean creatures that are affected by acidification are at the bottom of the food chain, so we are eroding the very foundation of life in the sea during a time when we are depending more and more on the oceans as a source of food.

Ocean acidification is an invisible menace that threatens the entire ecosystem and it's only getting worse. Carbon emissions worldwide, and especially in Canada, continue to rise.

Without diminishing the significance of several hundred tonnes of radioactive water released from Fukushima into the ocean, its effect on sea life is dwarfed by the billions of tonnes of carbon dioxide being absorbed by sea water every day.

It's ironic that people will pay to test ocean water, to be reassured that they will not be poisoned from almost non-existent radiation, yet they'll not consider the impact of their much more damaging fossil-fuel-burning vehicles that they drove to the beach to do the test.

page 16

What would the iCar look like? It's fun to dream

bly talking about a lease that includes a hefty breakup fee if you try to end it early, not to mention the mother-of-all overage charges for driving more minutes than you’re allowed. ***

New York — Rumors have been swirling since news broke this week of a possible meeting between Apple’s top executive for acquisitions and the CEO of electric car maker Tesla.

Citing a person familiar with the matter, The San Francisco Chronicle reported Sunday that the get-together between Adrian Perica and Elon Musk took place last spring. The companies haven’t commented on the report.

With $158.8 billion in cash on its balance sheet, Apple certainly has the money to buy Tesla, which has a market cap of about $24 billion.

Although a pairing of the two companies is a likely long shot and far off at best, it’s kind of fun to think about a car made the company that brought us the iPhone and iPad. Here are a few ideas:

Name — There’s no question it would be called the iCar. With iPads, iPods and iPhones on the market, do they really have a choice? New models to follow could be called the iCar 2, iCar3, etc. Or the company could just make an iCarS if it didn’t feel like making any real changes to the product.

Color — Two words: Space Grey. Of course, there also would be a hard-to-find gold-tone version and a slightly cheaper model featuring a shiny plastic exterior that could come in an array of eye-popping colors.

Plug — Whatever it looks like, it’s sure to differ from the one Tesla currently uses. After all, Apple can’t have drivers re-using their current accessories.

Apps — The dashboard of a Tesla already looks like a giant iPad. But in addition to the latest version of iOS and Retina display, an Apple version could include apps for podcasts, photos and of course iTunes and iTunes Radio. Want to let your passengers binge watch the second season of “House of Cards” as you blow down the freeway? Just fire up the Netflix app. And Candy Crush Saga would come preinstalled to give you something to do while waiting out traffic jams.

Navigation — Google Maps? Forget about it. Apple Maps, all the way.

Price — Probably a cut above what a Tesla currently sells for, but cheaper with a two-year agreement. In this case, we’re proba-

Tesla quarterly results beat analyst estimates on Model S growth Tesla Motors Inc. reported a fourth-quarter profit that beat analysts’ estimates and projected a 55 percent increase in vehicle deliveries as the carmaker led by Elon Musk had its best year of premium all-electric auto sales.

Excluding some items, Tesla earned 33 cents a share in the fourth quarter, the company said in a statement on its website. That compares with a loss of 65 cents per share a year earlier. Analysts had estimated profit of 26 cents a share on average, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

Shares jumped to $207.77. Tesla slid 4.9 percent to $193.64 at the close in New York after finishing at $203.70 last month, a record high for the maker of Model S sedans. Tesla, the youngest and smallest publicly traded U.S. automaker, now has a market value of $23.7 billion. That compares with about $57 billion for General Motors Co.

Tesla sold 6,892 Model S cars in the fourth quarter and plans to deliver more than 35,000 vehicles this year, the company said in the statement.

Maybe you should consider a set of ThermalBlades, windshield wipers with a built-in heating element.

No surprise: The inventor lived in Manitoba, Canada, where every winter is like the oh-so-frigid, oh-so-snowy one in Michigan this year. The inventor patented his system, went to Asia to have 35,000 blades produced and got back boxes of blades that had to be scrapped, said Harry Kleinsasser, ThermalBlades chief executive.

The inventor started talking with North American manufacturers and met Kleinsasser’s brother, George, who introduced him to Harry.

“I have a lot of experience in manufacturing,” Harry said, noting, however, that ThermalBlades are his first automotive product.

“We took his design and ran it for a while — that was Generation 1 — but it needed some pretty major help. We came up with our own ideas and patents,” and thus the current generation, Gen2, of ThermalBlades, based on both the original and the updated patents. Kleinsasser said a Gen-3 blade is going through the patent process and, he hopes, will be in production by the end of this year.

Gen-2 ThermalBlades are available in lengths from 12 inches to 28 inches. They’re priced at $59.99 on www.thethermalblade.com.

They mount just as any other blade on the wiper arm, but have a wire that you (or your friendly mechanic) need to run down and clip to the arm and then under the hood, where you use an Add-ACircuit device to connect it to a fuse that turns on and off with the ignition switch (an instructional video is on the website, and instructions come with the blades).

Kleinsasser said each blade draws only 3 amps of power. A thermostat triggers the blades to heat when the ambient temperature is around 35 degrees. The blade heats to between 70 and 90 degrees where it contacts the windshield, he added, thus melting away snow and ice — and also preventing snow and ice from building up on the blade while you drive through inclement weather.

The blades are made from silicone, Kleinsassser said, explaining that rubber blades could deform at the temperatures produced by the heating element.

The company also makes non-heated replacement blades, which he said are very effective for people who live in hot climates where sun and heat can shorten the life span of rubber blades.

ThermalBlades are produced in Muncy Valley, Pa. USA

Read more about Tesla electric car - page 28

Heated wipers melt winter off windshield ThermalBlades' thermostat triggers built-in element when mercury approaches freezing ThermalBlades look like other wipers, but have a built-in heating element to melt away snow and ice.

Are you tired yet of having to scrape snow and ice from your windshield? Or how about having to start your car 20 minutes before leaving for work in the morning so the engine heats up and the defrosters start to melt last night’s frigid accumulation?

ThermalBlades look like other wipers, but have a built-in heating element to melt away snow and ice.

page 17

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page 18

How much can police lie to suspects? N.Y. rulings suggest there's a limit Two decisions from New York State’s highest court suggest that there is a limit, if still a vague one, on how much police can deceive suspects during interrogations – including lying to a suspect that someone else’s life hinges on his or her confession.

In a unanimous ruling, the New York State Court of Appeals tossed out the 2009 conviction of Adrian Thomas for the murder of his infant son, finding that Troy, N.Y., police had overstepped their prerogative to use artifice when they told Mr. Thomas that his son, who was brain-dead, was alive and could be saved with his confession, among numerous other falsehoods.

Thomas confessed to slamming the baby against a mattress before the child was taken to the hospital with brain injuries. He was sentenced to 25 years to life in prison.

In the ruling, Chief Judge Jonathan Lippman called the numerous ruses in the interrogation “highly coercive deceptions.” He singled out the ruse to stake the child’s life on Thomas’s confession as one likely to “prompt any ordinarily caring parent to provide whatever information they thought might be helpful, even if it was incriminating.”

In another decision, the court also upheld a lower court’s ruling to overturn the conviction of Paul Aveni for criminally negligent homicide in his girlfriend’s heroin overdose death. The court agreed with the earlier ruling that police had coerced Mr. Aveni into confessing, telling him that his girlfriend was still alive, but could die if he did not tell them what drugs he had given her, so that she could receive proper treatment.

The two rulings come amid mounting national sensitivity to the fact that wrongful convictions are more common than once thought and that interrogation practices designed to draw out confessions might not always produce true ones.

“There’s a perception that people don’t confess to crimes they didn’t commit,” says Laurie Shanks, clinical professor of law at Albany Law School in Albany, N.Y. “But the science is that absolutely they do.”

Bluffing is a common – and legal – tool in police interrogation rooms, and the art of artifice in obtaining confessions is a standard part of police training. The parameters for what police can lie about are broad, and lies can range from claiming to have evidence that does not exist to fibbing that a witness was at the scene.

Still, per US Supreme Court rulings, confessions must also be “voluntary,” introducing a possible point of contention between an officer’s right to lie to a suspect and his or her obligation to serve justice.

“The question is, at what point does the amount of lying make the confession involuntary?” Professor Shanks says. “There’s just no bright line on it.”

The Court of Appeals’ ruling on Thomas’s case did not set any firm new rules on deception during interrogation. But the powerful court’s stance on the issue could yet have significant bearing on what amount of guile lower courts will tolerate in confessions brought before them, as well as potentially encouraging revisions of police practices, legal analysts say.

“The court did not set any hard and fast rules, but it did issue some clear warnings that these tactics will be scrutinized closely in future,” says Steven Drizin, clinical professor at Northwestern University School of Law in Chicago.

“There’s been too much deference given to police officers,” he says. “They’re accustomed to having free rein with suspects behind

In the Thomas case, that meant the court had a full chronicle of how the confession was made. ***** THOUSANDS of people plead guilty to crimes every year in the United States because they know that the odds of a jury’s believing their word over a police officer’s are slim to none. As a juror, whom are you likely to believe: the alleged criminal in an orange jumpsuit or two well-groomed police officers in uniforms who just swore to God they’re telling the truth, the whole truth and nothing but? As one of my colleagues recently put it, “Everyone knows you have to be crazy to accuse the police of lying.”

But are police officers necessarily more trustworthy than alleged criminals? I think not. Not just because the police have a special inclination toward confabulation, but because, disturbingly, they have an incentive to lie. In this era of mass incarceration, the police shouldn’t be trusted any more than any other witness, perhaps less so.

interrogation doors.”

The case at issue dates back to September 2008, when, in two interrogation sessions over nine hours, Troy police told Thomas that his 4-month-old child, Matthew, was alive, but medical professionals would not know how to save him until he told police what had happened.

“Do you want to save your baby’s life?” asked one officer, according to a transcript. When Thomas said he did, the officer countered with: “Are you sure about that? Because you don’t seem like you want to save your baby’s life right now.”

Police also assured Thomas – 67 times – that they believed the baby’s injuries were an accident and that he could go home if he told them what happened. They told him that they would “scoop up” his wife if he did not confess. And they, not Thomas, supplied all the details in his eventual confession, according to the court decision.

In his decision, Chief Judge Lippman wrote that, from the onset, the “interrogation had as its object obtaining a statement that would confirm the hypothesis that the infant had been murdered through physical abuse.”

Thomas’s case is now heading back to a lower court, where his confession will be suppressed.

Arthur Glass, acting district attorney in Rensselaer County, where Thomas was prosecuted, said that he “was disappointed” with the ruling and planned to pursue the case.

“It was typical police procedure,” he says of the Troy police.

“They were following the rules as they existed at that time.”

"They were certainly deceitful," he says, but “they used deceit when necessary."

The case also appeared to spotlight the issue of whether interrogations should be videotaped. New York State is not among the some 20 states that require police to tape interrogations, but the Troy Police Department has videotaped them since about 2008, according to Mr. Glass.

That may sound harsh, but numerous law enforcement officials have put the matter more bluntly. Peter Keane, a former San Francisco Police commissioner, wrote an article in The San Francisco Chronicle decrying a police culture that treats lying as the norm: “Police officer perjury in court to justify illegal dope searches is commonplace. One of the dirty little not-so-secret secrets of the criminal justice system is undercover narcotics officers intentionally lying under oath. It is a perversion of the American justice system that strikes directly at the rule of law. Yet it is the routine way of doing business in courtrooms everywhere in America.”

The New York City Police Department is not exempt from this critique. In 2011, hundreds of drug cases were dismissed after several police officers were accused of mishandling evidence. That year, Justice Gustin L. Reichbach of the State Supreme Court in Brooklyn condemned a widespread culture of lying and corruption in the department’s drug enforcement units. “I thought I was not naïve,” he said when announcing a guilty verdict involving a police detective who had planted crack cocaine on a pair of suspects. “But even this court was shocked, not only by the seeming pervasive scope of misconduct but even more distressingly by the seeming casualness by which such conduct is employed.”

Remarkably, New York City officers have been found to engage in patterns of deceit in cases involving charges as minor as trespass.

In September it was reported that the Bronx district attorney’s office was so alarmed by police lying that it decided to stop prosecuting people who were stopped and arrested for trespassing at public housing projects, unless prosecutors first interviewed the arresting officer to ensure the arrest was actually warranted. Jeannette Rucker, the chief of arraignments for the Bronx district attorney, explained in a letter that it had become apparent that the police were arresting people even when there was convincing evidence that they were innocent. To justify the arrests, Ms. Rucker claimed, police officers provided false written statements, and in depositions, the arresting officers gave false testimony.

page 19 The Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) is pleased to share a sample of January - February highlights from its southern Manitoba border crossings. This sampling underscores the CBSA’s commitment to keeping communities safe and ensuring our laws are respected.

BORDER REPORT

At Emerson, the largest border crossing in Manitoba, there were 82,000 travellers in 26,100 vehicles and 16,000 commercial trucks. CBSA officers issued 64 work permits, and granted permanent residency status to 222 people. They also denied entry to 52 foreign nationals for various reasons, including criminality.

In total, officers across Southern Manitoba processed 143,500 travellers in more than 73500 vehicles.

Emerson On January 13, a commercial truck was referred for secondary examination. Among the declared goods inside the truck were also six undeclared airsoft guns, which are prohibited to import into Canada. The guns were seized with no terms of release. Background checks on the driver revealed an outstanding charge for domestic battery. He was refused entry to Canada and returned to the United States.

That same day, officers were examining courier shipments and verified a parcel declared as shoes and chocolates. Inside the parcel, officers found more than $12,000 in undeclared jewelry. The goods were seized, and the importer paid more than $8,600 for their return. Had the goods been properly declared, the importer would only have paid $600 in goods and services tax (GST).

On January 19, a returning resident declared four tires valued at $100. After the individual paid the appropriate duties and taxes, officers investigated the purchase price of the tires. Officers determined that he had in fact paid $600. The vehicle was seized and returned once the individual paid a $300 fine. Had he made an honest declaration, he would have paid approximately $30 in GST.

A man was importing a vehicle purchased in the United States and declared its value at $5000. Further investigation by CBSA officers revealed that he had in fact paid $6,600. Officers seized the vehicle and returned it after a $1062 penalty was paid for its release.

Had the man been truthful, he would have only paid $330 in GST. Later, CBSA officers were conducting a secondary examination on a vehicle and found 13 bottles of beer. The driver of the vehicle was under court ordered conditions to abstain from consuming or possessing alcohol. The individual was turned over to RCMP. On February 11, a couple was importing a boat they had purchased in the United States, declared at $18,000. Upon further inspection, it was determined they had actually paid $23,500.

Officers seized the boat and returned it after the couple paid $4000.

Had they made an proper declaration, they would have only paid $1175 in taxes.

On February 17, CBSA officers did a database check on a returning Canadian resident. The check revealed the driver of the vehicle had a Canada-wide driving prohibition. The individual was turned over to RCMP custody.

On January 21, a man and woman from Manitoba declared one box of goods belonging to other people. However, CBSA officers inspected the vehicle and uncovered a large quantity of undeclared purchases such as electronics, cosmetics, and clothing, many of which contained invoices for other people. In total, the two failed to declare approximately $2,350 in goods. They were issued a penalty of more than $600. Had they been truthful, they would have paid approximately $125 in GST.

On February 20, a family of four was returning to Canada after visiting the United States. During a background check, officers noticed the driver had a history of making false declarations at the border. A secondary examination revealed almost $3000 in jewelry had not been declared. The jewelry was seized and returned after a $1600 penalty had been paid. Had the individuals made a proper declaration, they would have only paid $600 in duties and taxes.

On January 29, a Manitoba man declared a bottle of spirits and US$400 in purchases, including US$200 for a puppy. However, officers confirmed the breeder had sold the puppy for US$1,300. When confronted, the traveller produced the real receipt and apologized to officers. He was issued a penalty of more than $650, but had he been truthful, would have paid approximately $65 in GST for the puppy.

The following day, a man was importing a snowmobile declared at $3000. The individual stated he had received a deal because it was damaged. Officers inspected the sled and noticed no damage. They investigated the declared value and determined that the individual had in fact paid $6000. The snowmobile was seized and returned once a $1600 penalty was paid. Had the individual made a proper declaration, he would have only paid $300 in GST.

On November 25, a 24-year-old Iowa resident was travelling to visit Winnipeg for the weekend. Background checks by the officers revealed he had multiple DUI convictions. He was refused entry and returned to the United States.

Tolstoi On February 3, two passengers were importing a vehicle part which the driver declared at $3400. A subsequent investigation revealed the driver had in fact paid $6800. The item was seized and returned once a $2230 had been paid. Had the driver made a proper declaration, they would have only paid $883 in taxes.

On February 11, a couple returning to Canada declared snowmobile parts at $450. Once taxes were paid on the parts, officers examined the vehicle to verify the declaration. Officers noticed multiple parts had not been declared. In total, more than $3500 in additional snowmobile parts had not been declared. The parts and vehicle were seized and returned once a $3750 penalty had been paid. Had the driver made a full declaration, he would have only paid $455 in taxes.

On February 15, a US resident coming to Canada with a trailer, claimed he was having repairs done by a friend in Canada, and would then return it to the US. Upon further inspection, officers determined the driver was in fact importing the vehicle to remain in Canada and was attempting to avoid duties. The trailer was seized and returned once a $760 penalty was paid.

On February 19, a man was importing a wood stove declared at $700. Officers investigated his claim, and determined he had actually paid $2500 for the item. Officers seized the stove and returned it once a $1000 penalty was paid. Had he properly declared the stove, he would have only paid $325 in taxes.

Coulter On February 24, a couple was returning to Canada and declared $300 in personal goods. When the officer inquired about the trailer they were towing, they advised that it had just been purchased in the US, but they didn’t think they had to declare it. In total, the couple failed to declare a $9,000 trailer as well as $16,000 in agriculture related goods that were inside the trailer. The items were seized and a $6800 penalty was paid for their return. Had they made a proper declaration, they would have only paid $1250 in taxes.

On February 26, two Canadian residents were returning from the United States and declared multiple snowmobiles. While verifying the price of the sleds, officers found undeclared truck rims in the box of the travellers’ truck. The $950 rims were seized and returned once the travellers paid a $230 penalty. If they had been truthful, they would have paid approximately $50 in GST.

Border Tips If you are bringing back gifts, please do not wrap them. Officers may need to unwrap them to verify their admissibility.

When shipping gifts to Canada, please remember that alcohol and tobacco do not count as gifts and duties and taxes do apply.

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Electronic spying: IntheageofFacebookandTwitter,nothingcanbeconsideredprivate

Privacy is a relatively new “right.” In 1965 the U.S. Supreme Court had to invent a right to privacy to permit access by a married couple to contraception; again, more famously, it arose in 1973 Roe v Wade to protect a woman’s right to abortion on demand.

The court pretzeled the 14th Amendment to the Constitution to create this right.

For its part, the Constitution does not mention privacy.

Indeed, the degree of privacy that today’s Americans and Canadians consider the norm would have been risible a generation ago.

Bluntly, “privacy” is a modern affectation. And one which technology now has made electronically irrelevant; the government’s protestations of adherence to law should be skeptically viewed.

Privacy, moreover, is a circumstance that appears less and less relevant to most citizens. Social media is replete with photos and videos that in days of yore would have been regarded as “soft porn." Users of social media are cautioned against postings that might come back to haunt them if they are applying for jobs and/or security clearances. Or, since the Internet lasts forever, what their children and (heaven forbid) grandchildren might get to see. But actual users appear indifferent; perhaps they implicitly conclude that when actions, such as open sexual activity or the use of mindaltering substances become universal, they are relevant only to the individuals concerned, and general society could care less. With polls indicating that more than 50 per cent of the respondents have engaged in “sexting” and/or explicit sexual language in email, Twitter or other electronic media, it has become the norm rather than the exception. When was the last prosecution in civilian courts for fornication? Adultery?

What remains important, however, are the protections conferred by the U.S. Fourth Amendment to the Constitution which ensures that “the right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.”

In our arguments over the Edward Snowden revelations, it is illegal government search and seizure, not privacy, per se, that is the concern.

One is left with the impression that the National Security Agency’s ability to accumulate “E-lint” (electronic intelligence) is open-ended in its capability and capacity. GPS chips can track every cellphone, computer, and license plate. Every phone number, every email, every electronic transaction, indeed every computer key stroke can be intercepted, stored, and available indefinitely for subsequent analysis. Likewise, every cellphone conversation (unless highly protected) can be intercepted — hence German Chancellor Merkel’s outrage over revelation that her cell phone conversations were caught.

Perhaps some of those outraged believe we are still living in an age where “gentlemen don’t read other gentlemen’s mail”?

If such actions were not being done by the governments, they would arguably be criminal conduct (akin to the hacking of Target and Neiman Marcus to obtain customer’s credit card information).

But the courts have deemed these practices legal activity in defense of national security.

Nevertheless, congressional outrage of “high dudgeon” dimension is generating galaxies of electrons. We can be confident that there will be a spate of new regulations/laws ostensibly to control government action (as well as the ongoing apologies to various foreign governments). But cynically one expects we will do what we deem necessary.

François de La Rochefoucauld’s maxim lives, “Hypocrisy is the tribute that vice pays to virtue.”

Surveillance can only be acceptable with a warrant from a judge Some dismiss concerns about security surveillance, saying that no one but spies and terrorists need worry if their phone calls and emails are monitored by government agencies.

One response to this view came recently from U.S. President Obama. “Our system of government is built on the premise that our liberty cannot depend on the good intentions of those in power,” he said. Canadians historically are more trusting of government than Americans, but Obama’s opinion no doubt applies to Canada as well in a post-Snowden world.

If the National Security Agency (NSA) in Washington would tap German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s phone for years, as it did, little appears beyond the attempted grasp of security agencies today. The otherwise beneficial security sharing and co-operation agreement among Canada, United States, Britain, Australia and France also promotes overlapping bad practices.

Recent revelations are not reassuring. One was the approval by the commissioner of our Communications Security Establishment (CSE) of monitoring smartphones using the free WiFi at Ottawa's airport.

Another occurred last autumn when the participation of technology companies in the NSA’s surveillance programs prompted the digital rights watchdog, the Electronic Frontier Foundation, to quit the Global Network Initiative, a group whose members include Microsoft, Yahoo and Facebook and the stated mission of which is to advance privacy and freedom of expression online.

Further afield, the New York Times reported last month that the Australian Signals Directorate conducted surveillance of communications between Indonesian officials and an American law firm hired by Indonesians for trade disputes with the U.S. This sent waves through the legal profession internationally as it grapples with the reality of government eavesdropping and its effects on privileged communications.

The few publicly-known practices of Canada’s security agencies, the Canadian Security and Intelligence Service (CSIS), the Security Intelligence Review Committee (SIRC), and the CSE are also troubling. continued on page 36

page 26

Polar bear numbers in Hudson Bay on verge of collapse Climate change is warming the Arctic and melting its ice cover, with grave consequences

Polar bear populations are a sensitive topic for the Canadian western Hudson Bay population, based on observations about the government, which has faced international criticism for its policies retreat of sea ice and the deteriorating condition of polar bears, eson climate change and for allowing limited hunting of bears, pecially mothers and cubs. mainly by indigenous communities.

The ice-free season in Hudson Bay has expanded by about a The Canadian environment minister provoked outrage last Oc- day every year for the past 30 years, reaching 143 days last year. tober when she discounted abundant scientific studies of polar bear Scientists have predicted polar bears will not be unable to surdecline across the Arctic, saying her brother, a hunter, was having vive once it reaches 160 days. no trouble finding bears. Leona Aglukkaq, an Inuk, spoke of a "deEarlier break-up is forcing polar bears off the ice at their peak bate" about the existence of climate change. feeding time in the spring, when bears typically pack on two-thirds "Scientists latch on to the wildlife in the north to state their case of the weight they need to survive the year. that climate change is happening and the polar bears will disappear With freeze-up occurring later each year, bears are skinnier and and whatnot," she said. "But people on the ground will say the less healthy when it comes time to return to the ice. polar bear population is quite healthy. You know, in these regions, "You can see their backbones and their hips and shoulder the population has increased, in fact. Why are you [saying it's] de- blades when they are moving and they are visibly thin," said Ian creasing?" she told a meeting. "My brother is a full-time hunter who will tell you polar bear populations have increased and scientists are wrong."

Scientists dispute this. One single polar bear population on the western shore of Hudson Bay, for example, has shrunk by nearly 10% to 850 bears in under a decade, according to the latest Canadian government estimate seen by the Guardian.

The rate of decline – and an even sharper drop in the birth and survival rate of young cubs – puts the entire population of western Hudson Bay polar bears at risk of collapse within a matter of years, scientists have warned.

"All indications are that this population could collapse in the space of a year or two if conditions got bad enough," said Andrew Derocher, a polar bear scientist at the University of Alberta.

"In 2020, I think it is still an open bet that we are going to have polar bears in western Hudson Bay." The latest Canadian government estimates, which have yet to be shared with independent scientists or the public, confirm scientists' fears that the polar bears of the western Hudson Bay Melting ice is cutting polar bears o from their food source have little chance of long-term survival.

In 1987, when the first reliable estimates of in Hudson Bay, and death rates have soared. polar bear population were made, using a technique known as mark and recapture, there were about 1,200 bears Stirling, a wildlife biologist at the University of Alberta, who has in the western Hudson Bay area; by 2004, the figure had dropped studied the population for more than 35 years. to 935.

Scientists are already seeing the effects of that extended star"Now we are somewhere in the ballpark of 850," said Nick vation on future generations of polar bears.

Lunn, an Environment Canada scientist, who is considered to be Female polar bears are now on average 88lbs lighter than they the leading expert on the polar bear population of western Hudson were in the early 1980s. They are having fewer cubs, and those Bay. cubs tend to be lighter, which means they have a lower rate of sur"This gives us a glimpse of what may be coming down the vival. road for other subpopulations."

Stirling, who conducts aerial surveys of polar bears, said he The polar bears of western Hudson Bay are at greater risk in a was struck each year by the scarcity of young cubs returning to the warming Arctic because of their relatively southern exposure. But ice in the autumn. scientists have projected two-thirds of all polar bears could disap"There is no way a population can remain stable, if the young pear by 2050 under climate change. aren't surviving," said Stirling. "If the climate continues to warm, Polar bear experts had been braced for a 10% decline in the slowly and steadily, they are on the way out."

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Tesla vehicles liberate their owners from the petroleum-burning paradigm and associated inconveniences. The idea of time-consuming and costly detours to the gas station, routine oil changes, and frequent maintenance quickly becomes rather "last century". Owners drive their Tesla all day long - to work, to errand, and on joy rides; at the end of the day, they simply return home and plug in. While the car quietly charges, the owners enjoy their evening, and wake up to a fresh, fully-charged car each morning.

Tesla's superior electric technology is designed, engineered, and built specifically for the driver. A single speed gear box means no clutch work is needed to achieve instant acceleration. Thanks to the Tesla's regenerative braking, the right speed can be achieved through simple adjustments of the accelerator pedal. Tesla's approach to vehicle technology calls into question anyone who thinks you must sacrifice premium performance to reduce your carbon footprint.

Charging Driving a Tesla becomes more about "toppingoff" than refilling from empty. At the end of each day, Tesla owners simply plug in their cars. The charger is on board the car, which means no spe-

cial permanently installed equipment is needed to plug in. Any outlet can be used to charge the car.

After just a few hours, the car is ready for a day of driving with a full charge. According to the Environmental Protection Agency, the average American commute is about 40 miles a day, and with a range of 245 miles (up to 300 for Model S), there is ample energy for many days of driving. But there's no reason to wait until the battery is completely empty before charging - with outlets everywhere, recharging doesn't mean going out of the way to the gas station.

in when convenient to maintain vehicle charge. The Roadster’s charger is incorporated into the powertrain system, enabling the use of any conventional 110volt or 220-volt power outlet for charging. The Tesla's connectors are designed to offer owners the freedom to charge whenever and wherever they want. Charging at night provides an extra financial advantage as many utility companies offer special rates during offpeak hours, when demand for electricity is low.

When paired with a residential solar array, the Tesla offers complete driving independence. Plug in before bed and wake up with 245 miles of driving range.

Charging Is Effortless With a Tesla, waiting until the fuel needle hits "empty" is a distant memory – owners simply plug

It Pays to Drive Electric Depending on utility rates, the Tesla costs as little as $5 to charge, equivalent to $0.02 per mile.

Ohio car dealers challenge Tesla’s business model

Tim Doran, Ohio Automobile Dealers Association president, discusses his lawsuit that aims to block auto maker Tesla from setting up shop in Ohio. Doran says Tesla has not followed proper licensing statute when it opened its motor vehicle franchise.

When Tesla Motors isn't putting out fires of the real or public relations variety, the electric-car maker contends with a steady stream of legal conflicts that have flared up across the USA. Quibbles over laws regulating car dealerships have become somewhat routine for Tesla, with past or ongoing legal conflicts in Texas, New York and Massachusetts. In December 2013, the Ohio Automobile Dealers Association and several dealerships—including Mercedes, Lexus and Ford franchises—became the latest group to challenge Tesla's direct-to-consumer business model in court.

The group filed a lawsuit on Dec. 11, 2013 accusing the Ohio Bureau of Motor Vehicles of improperly granting Tesla a motor vehicle dealer license and that the automaker does not meet the state's criteria for a car dealership. The association's president, Tim Doran, told media reporters that it's not Tesla's potentially disruptive business model or product that upsets the group.

"We're not anti-Tesla," Doran said on "Squawk on the Street."

"We just want to make sure the integrity of the law is upheld. ...

People get very concerned and skeptical over government when they kind of make the rules up when they go along or when they change the rules for different parties."

Tesla's vice president of regulatory affairs, Jim Chen, responded to the lawsuit's allegations on "Squawk on the Street" with his own allegations against the dealer-

ship organization. He said the group has tried three or four times to block Tesla's entry in the Ohio market by appealing to local and state officials.

Chen said the lawsuits against Tesla stem from dealerships seeking to protect their monopoly on car sales.

"We don't cheat," Chen said. "We don't skirt the laws. We are doing business in full compliance of Ohio law. That's exactly what our modus operandi has been and will continue to be."

Tesla fights back against Ohio James Chen of Tesla responds to the state of Ohio's assertions that Tesla skirted the law and received an invalid dealership license. Instead of allowing independent dealers to franchise their brand, Tesla operates its own storefronts and sells directly to consumers.

Some states, such as Texas, don't allow automakers to sell directly to consumers. In other states, Tesla made compromises with dealership organizations. Chen said the Ohio dealership group did not return his attempts at reaching an agreement.

"In every battle we've been in, we've tried to sit down with the dealer organization and absolutely try to get to a compromise position," Chen said.

Tesla most recently scored a legal victory in Massachusetts when a judge dismissed a dealership organization's lawsuit against them, according to Automobile magazine.

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Brain scans show that dogs respond to voices and emotions just like humans Dog owners are well aware that their canine companions not only picks up on the words, but also the feelings behind those words. A new study shows that this ability comes from dogs using brain regions similar to humans' for processing voices and emotions. Many more animal species may share this ability as well, the study hints.

The study was conducted by a team of ethologists (animal behaviour researchers) from Eötvös Loránd University in Budapest, Hungary. Using lots of treats and praise, they trained 11 dogs — a mix of golden retrievers and border collies — to lie still on the bed of a functional MRI scanner. While inside the scanner, they were exposed to sounds like dogs barking and whining, and humans laughing and crying, and the research team observed what parts of their brain were activated by the sounds. They performed the same test, with the same sounds, on 22 different people and then compared how human and dog brains reacted to those sounds.

While the human participants responded stronger to the human

sounds and the canine participants to the canine sounds (pretty much as expected), results from both showed very similar responses to the positive or negative emotions associated with the sounds.

"Dogs and humans use similar brain mechanisms to process social information," said Atilla Andics, of the MTA-ELTE Comparative Ethology Research Group that conducted the study, according to the video abstract they filmed. "This is a first step to understanding what makes vocal communication between dogs

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The dogs seemed perfectly happy to participate and only appeared a little bored during the procedure. In case anyone is worried that the dogs were forced to do this, Andics said that only dogs who actually wanted to participate were kept in the study.

"Dogs that didn't like the procedure stopped coming," he told Wired.

Previous studies have compared how the brains of humans and other primates process vocal cues and emotions, but this is the first one to directly compare the brains of humans and a non-primate mammal.

The researchers mention that the common regions of the brain for social communication may result from a common ancestor between dogs and humans on the evolutionary tree, some 100 million years ago. However, it may also represent an example of convergent evolution, where species independently evolve similar traits, usually because they're the most useful for survival, but in this case, possibly as the two species evolved together over the years of coexistence.

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Bison for Consumption The Department of Agriculture is preparing to do its first survey of the nation's commercial bison herd, assessing its size, health and production issues, and marking a validation of sorts for the small but growing industry.

The number of bison processed for consumption in the U.S. annually equals just half of one day's beef production. But as beef prices rise, bison—which is even more expensive—looks less prohibitive.

It's even being sold in Costco.

The meat, which is also much leaner than beef, has become popular for its health benefits and for those on the so-called Paleo diet, which emphasizes pasture-raised meat.

"I think there's nothing but room for expansion," said Jeff Miller, who runs Diamond Mountain Ranch in Northern California.

"Our demand is going through the roof," said his partner, Chris Silver, president of Gold Coast Bison.

Miller and Silver came to the industry from different paths.

"I was a general contractor in Southern California and looking for a greener place," Miller said.

He ended up in Greenville, Calif., where he eventually bought a rundown ranch with fewer than 60 head of bison. He thought of turning it into a subdivision but said he then decided, "This is utopia."

After the housing market collapsed, Miller moved from raising bison to selling bison meat. Now he has close to 250 head.

"The contracting business built the ranch, and now the ranch is actually carrying the contracting business," he said.

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Silver, an airline pilot, was casting about for ways to diversify his income and better prepare for retirement.Three years ago, he got an idea.

"I had come home from a trip, sitting on my couch watching CNBC, and I look up and see Jane Wells in the middle of a snowstorm in Wyoming, surrounded by bison." That was February 2011. "I seem to remember the claim was 20 percent growth year over year, over the past five years," he recalled, "I said, 'This is a dubious claim.' " But Silver was intrigued enough to begin researching.

"I found out it was a true claim," he said, "and it was actually probably a little closer to 25 percent rather than 20."

He met Miller at a meeting of the Diamond Mountain Ranch, and their partnership was born.

"I had no experience with large animals," Silver said. "I don't own any equipment; I don't own any land. So I knew I had to find somebody that was willing to take on a novice rancher and show me the ropes."

The two wish they had more than their 250 head. That's not enough to meet demand, as they sell to Southern California restaurants such as Green2Go and Pedalers Fork.

page 33 Silver and his family spend weekends selling at local farmers markets in wealthy neighborhoods, including Beverly Hills and Calabasas. He said he hadn't planned to become a salesman in addition to ranching and flying, but "then I realized it could be lucrative and help us grow faster."

Growth is hampered by two issues.

First, it costs more to raise bison—especially grass-fed, all-natural bison—than beef cattle. Silver estimates it costs him almost $1,000 a year to raise one animal, or up to $3,000 before it's processed. He sells certain cuts for $25 to $32.50 a pound, however, and profit margins are between 30 and 50 percent.

"Our normal customer is someone who is looking for a healthy

product that has a unique flavor, and they are willing to pay a little bit more in order to get that healthy product," he said.

The second obstacle is that there are not enough supply to create a market large enough to affordably put bison on menus nationwide.

The USDA considers bison a "nonamenable species," meaning it does not mandate the meat be inspected before sale. Producers such as Miller and Silver seeking USDA approval have to pay inspectors overtime to get a voluntary stamp (in the shape of a triangle).

The USDA's upcoming survey may help move the industry into the mainstream and encourage more ranchers to add bison to

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"Any time the government is looking at you, you have to be careful," he said.

Regardless, he expects to finally recoup his investment this year, as revenue has quadrupled.

"With my profession, you could literally be one flight away from your last flight," he said of being an airline pilot. "You could have health issues, or if an underwear bomber shows up and tries doing that again, it could ruin the industry."

He sees bison as a profitable and enjoyable hedge, though his wife laid down one rule: "No belt buckles and no hats."

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Hells Angels marked as criminals

by Manitoba Justice

The Hells Angels motorcycle club is now formally listed as a criminal organization in Manitoba — the first of any government in North America to make that designation.

“We’ve had successful prosecutions against the Hells Angels but that doesn’t seem to stop them. They just keep trying to get back into business,” said Insp. Rick Guyader of the Winnipeg Police Service. “As long as they continue, we’re going to continue prosecuting them.”

It means police no longer have to prove the motorcycle gang is a criminal organization at every court hearing.

Manitoba justice has identified over 30 Canadian court cases where Hells Angels were found to be a criminal organization.

“This is a milestone for Canada and a clear signal that Manitoba will continue to develop and use every tool available to fight criminal organizations and the threat they pose to Manitobans,” said Manitoba Justice Minister Andrew Swan.

“It is now law in Manitoba the Hells Angels Motorcycle Club is a criminal organization.”

This designation follows an extensive application filed by the province’s director of policing last spring to have the club designated as such. The application was based on extensive ev-

idence collected from across Canada, information from organized crime experts and court findings from across the country, according to Swan.

“The Hells Angels motorcycle club was actually given the opportunity to come forward and present some evidence to suggest they were not a criminal organization,” said Swan. “As I understand it, there was no response to that.”

On Friday, defense lawyer Jay Prober said he didn't think the change would amount to much. Prober has represented alleged

page 35 Hells Angels members in the past.

"I don't think it was necessary. It's window dressing, but it makes good politics and gets votes," said Prober.

He added, "I doubt this piece of legislation will withstand a constitutional challenge."

Prober said a criminal designation label on any group won’t trump an individual’s rights in court because the Crown will still need to prove its case.

RCMP D Division Assistant Commissioner Kevin Brosseau said while Prober is right in that it won’t affect criminal charges, it does give police and Crown prosecutors help in civil and provincial court cases.

“Rather than having to prove for civil processes that the Hells Angels are a criminal organization that will now be a given,” said Brosseau.

“Those days and weeks that will potentially be needed to gather evidence for that will not be needed for the civil side.”

To get the designation, the legal process included an independent external review panel, which is made up of at least three people who are not government employees or currently serving as police officers. They examined all of the materials and determined the motorcycle club met the test of being a criminal organization.

“Organized crime is not welcome in the province of Manitoba,” said Brosseau. "The RCMP has prioritized enforcement efforts to focus on eliminating organized crime and this announcement today provides us another tool in our tool kit to help us ensure the safety and well-being of Manitobans.”

When criminal organizations are added to Manitoba’s Schedule of Criminal Organizations, it will result in more swift and effective enforcement of provincial laws, states a news release from the Manitoba government.

It will also remove the requirement to repeatedly prove these groups are criminal organizations. As a result, it will reduce the time spent by police, justice officials and the courts to determine that groups are criminal organizations.

Profile of the Hells Angels The Hells Angels Motorcycle Club (Hells Angels or HAMC) is the largest outlaw motorcycle gang in the world, with over 5,000 members in over 400 chapters in more than 40 countries.

Canada has 35 chapters.

Hells Angels rules require chapters to have a minimum of six members on the street without any court-imposed conditions. Several Canadian chapters are inactive due to the majority of their members being incarcerated.

The following is a profile of the HAMC’s operations which identify it as a criminal organization.

Structure and rules Evidence from numerous Canadian trials reveals the Hells Angels are highly structured to ensure conformity to their rules, prevent infiltration by rivals and police, and to maintain effective criminal operations. Courts have found that chapters are not independent entities but instead conform to rules and work collectively to meet the broader objectives of the HAMC.

Membership Consists of full patch members, prospects, hang-arounds, official friends, and associates. Full patch members seek to insulate themselves from police and rivals by using subordinate members and associate gangs to commit or facilitate crimes and protect HAMC assets.

Membership is an incremental process over years to test a recruit's loyalty and prevent infiltration by police or rival gang members.

Internal Hells Angels records show that photos and information about potential new members are distributed across the country to try to identify unwanted members.

Colours The colours of the Hells Angels are formed by the term ‘Hells Angels,’ the club’s death head logo and red and white lettering. These items have been trademarked in numerous countries.

Only a full patch member can wear the Hells Angels logo and vote on club issues and strategies. Courts have noted the ‘power of the patch’ worn by the Hells Angels, since it has been used to intimidate and create fear from the public and gang rivals.

As a result, some courts have declared items displaying these identifying colours to be forfeited as offence-related property.

Clubhouses Clubhouses are the base for each Hells Angels chapter. Courts have noted they are generally fortified and equipped with strong security measures.

Courts have ordered Hells Angels clubhouses forfeited as instruments or proceeds of crime in Ontario (Toronto, Thunder Bay and Oshawa), Halifax and Quebec. Several other clubhouses, including one in Winnipeg, have been seized pending criminal property forfeiture applications.

Manitoba and Saskatchewan have also used provincial laws to order the

removal of fortifications from Hells Angels clubhouses as they are a public safety threat.

Intelligence gathering Hells Angels and their associate groups have been found with countersurveillance equipment designed to detect police listening devices, sensitive justice documents on gang rivals and information about police investigators.

Associates The Hells Angels use subordinate criminal organizations to commit or facilitate crimes and advance their interests. This also helps to identify potential new members of the Hells Angels.

For example, several members of one of the Manitoba Hells Angels’ support clubs, the Zig Zag Crew, have moved up to become full members. Gang wars in Quebec, Manitoba and Ontario have highlighted the roles played by these associate groups.

Manitoba’s Zig Zag Crew and Redlined gangs have been convicted for drug and other crimes in support of the Hells Angels.

Criminal activities Courts in Quebec, Ontario and Manitoba have found the Hells Angels to be a criminal organization in dozens of individual criminal prosecutions.

Hells Angels have a long record of violence in Canada including the murder of two justice officials in Quebec in 1997, a gang war with the Rock Machine in Quebec that resulted in an estimated 150 murders over the course of a decade, and extensive drug trafficking and related crimes in Manitoba.

SOURCE: RCMP and Manitoba Justice

page 36 continued from page 25

Ann Cavourian, Ontario’s privacy commissioner, recently noted that agencies in the U.S. are at least required to obtain consent for surveillance operations from a court, whereas the CSE simply asks our Minister of Defence for permission. Two congressional committees oversee the NSA, she adds, but only a semi-retired judge as commissioner and small staff do so for the CSE. The report of the CSE commissioner is sent to Parliament after it is reviewed by the same minister who approved its activities. This is inadequate by any standard of independent oversight.

Only following Edward Snowden’s revelations about the vast range of NSA data collection did the CSE commissioner reveal that it intercepts, retains and uses the private communications of a ‘small’ number of Canadians.

For Canadians to have confidence in their security and intelligence organizations, they need to know that government agencies and departments maintain a balance between protecting the privacy of citizens and ensuring national security.”

Reviewing the legislation governing the CSE and CSIS to ensure that it covers what is actually going on in today’s cyber world it might be necessary. Prohibiting interception of the content of ‘private communications’ is legislatively sound for any open society, but, as we now know, surveillance agencies are capturing what’s known as ‘metadata’. This does not reveal the specifics of conversations, but still has enormous privacy implications, which is why surveillance agencies gather it.

The silence of our various agencies to date on this legislative gap speaks volumes on the need for independent analysis and recommendations to ensure our laws are adequate to deal with today’s

cyber capabilities so that security and privacy are appropriately balanced and protected.

The view of the much-respected former Auditor General Sheila Fraser in 2009 seems indisputable today: “for Canadians to have confidence in their security and intelligence organizations, they

The NSA and FBI tap directly into the central servers of the companies, obtaining audio, video, photographs, emails, documents and connection logs that "enable analysts to track a person’s movements and contacts over time," according to the Washington Post.

President Obama's most senior intelligence official admitted that the US Government had been directly accessing the servers of internet companies such as Google, Facebook and Apple to spy on foreigners overseas. The spying programme, known as 'Prism', was disclosed in a leak of a top-secret document to the Washington Post by Mr. Snowden who was horrified at its capabilities. "They quite literally can watch your ideas form as you type," said Snowden, described as a career intelligence officer.

The program was not disclosed publicly, and is only being disclosed after Mr. Snowden revealed the program to the Washington Post because of "horror" at its capabilities.

need to know that government agencies and departments maintain a balance between protecting the privacy of citizens and ensuring national security.”

This probably means that telephone and Internet data about Canadians should not be available to governments unless a judge is first satisfied that a significant security risk will probably occur if specified data is not obtained and orders its electronic capture.

This is similar to search warrants, which are granted by judges only if they are convinced that there are reasonable and probable reasons that a crime has or will be committed.

On the basis of methodology derived from the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, a Freedom House report recently voiced major concern about the tracking of democracy advocates by authoritarian government monitoring of social media and cell phones.

“Central to modern authoritarians is the capture of institutions that undergird political pluralism. They seek to dominate not only the executive and legislative branches, but also the media, judiciary, civil society, economy, and security forces,” says the report.

Many of us in the roughly 40 per cent of the world’s population living in countries Freedom House judges ‘free’ are also concerned about monitoring of private telephone and internet communications by agencies of governments, which claim to practise the rule of law.

If Pierre Trudeau’s most remembered quotation is that the “state has no business in the bedrooms of the nation,” many of us would today say that the update should be, “The state has no business in the cellphone and internet communications of its citizens without first obtaining a search warrant from a judge.”

Who can disagree?

page 37 Late for work Tom had this problem of getting up late in the morning and was always late for work. His boss was mad at him and threatened to fire him if he didn't do something about it.

So Tom went to his doctor who gave him a pill and told him to take it before he went to bed. Tom slept well and in fact beat, the alarm in the morning. He had a leisurely breakfast and drove cheerfully to work.

"Boss", he said, "The pill actually worked!"

"That's all fine" said the boss, "But where were you yesterday?"

Beware of dog!

Upon entering the little country store, the stranger noticed a sign saying DANGER! BEWARE OF DOG! posted on the glass door.

Inside he noticed a harmless old hound dog asleep on the floor beside the cash register.

He asked the store manager, "Is THAT the dog folks are supposed to beware of?"

"Yep, that's him," he replied.

The stranger couldn't help but be amused.

"That certainly doesn't look like a dangerous dog to me. Why in the world would you post that sign?"

"Because", the owner replied, "before I posted that sign, people kept tripping over him."

Two guys go hunting...

Two guys go hunting. Jerry has never gone hunting while Joe has hunted all his life.When they get to the northern Ontario woods, Joe tells Jerry to sit by a tree and not make a sound while Joe checks out a deer stand. After he gets about a quarter of a mile away, Joe hears a blood-curdling scream. He rushes back to Jerry and yells, "I thought I told you to be quiet!"

Jerry says, "Hey, I tried. I really did. When those snakes crawled over me, I didn't make a sound. When that bear was breathing down my neck, I didn't make a peep. But when those two chipmunks crawled up my pants leg and said, 'Should we take them with us or eat them here?' I couldn't keep quiet any more!"

Traveling by train

Three engineers and three accountants are traveling by train to a conference. At the station, the three accountants each buy tickets and watch as the three engineers buy only a single ticket.

"How are three people going to travel on only one ticket?" asks an accountant.

"Watch and you'll see," answers an engineer. They all board the train. The accountants take their respective seats but all three engineers cram into a restroom and close the door behind them.

Shortly after the train has departed, the conductor comes around collecting tickets.

He knocks on the restroom door and says, "Ticket, please." The door opens just a crack and a single arm emerges with a ticket in hand.

The conductor takes it and moves on.

The accountants saw this and agreed it was quite a clever idea.

So after the conference, the accountants decide to copy the engi-

neers on the return trip and save some money (being clever with money, and all).

When they get to the station they buy a single ticket for the return trip.

To their astonishment, the engineers don't buy a ticket at all.

"How are you going to travel without a ticket?" says one perplexed accountant.

"Watch and you'll see," answers an engineer. When they board the train the three accountants cram into a restroom and the three engineers cram into another one nearby. The train departs.

Shortly afterward, one of the engineers leaves his restroom and walks over to the restroom where the accountants are hiding.

He knocks on the door and says, "Ticket, please."

Settling a cow case

A big-city lawyer was representing the railroad in a lawsuit filed by an old rancher. The rancher's prize bull was missing from the section through which the railroad passed. The rancher only wanted to be paid the fair value of the bull. The case was scheduled to be tried before the justice of the peace in the back room of the general store.

The attorney for the railroad immediately cornered the rancher and tried to get him to settle out of court. The lawyer did his best selling job, and finally the rancher agreed to take half of what he was asking.

After the rancher had signed the release and took the check, the young lawyer couldn't resist gloating a little over his success, telling the rancher, "You know, I hate to tell you this, old man, but I put one over on you in there. I couldn't have won the case. The engineer was asleep and the fireman was in the caboose when the train went through your ranch that morning. I didn't have one witness to put on the stand.

I bluffed you!"

The old rancher replied, "Well, I'll tell you, young feller, I was a little worried about winning that case myself, because that durned bull came home this morning."

FROM USA Just a warning sign

“Two Americans are driving a truck in Canada and arrive at a bridge with a warning sign: maximum height 4 meters. They get off and measure their truck. It’s 5 meters high. “What shall we do?” asks the one. “I don’t see any police” says the other one “so let’s drive on”

Translation

“-How do you say ‘genius’ in USA?” “- A tourist”

Diaper XXL “-Why is that in USA young mothers change their children’s diaper only once a day?” “-Because there is a note written on the packet: up to 10 lbs.”

Speed

“- What’s the fastest thing in Brooklyn?” “- An Puerto Rican with your TV” “- And what’s the second fastest thing in Brooklyn?” “- His cousin with your VCR”.

Languages

What do you call someone who speaks three languages?

"Multilingual".

What do you call someone who speaks two languages?

"Bilingual".

What do you call someone who speaks one language?

"An American".

Knock, knock...

“-What is small, dark, and knocking at the door?” “- The USA future”

Horoscope Aries

(March 21 - April 19) Use your time constructively this month by working out ways of making your life less complicated. Its hard at times to look on the bright side, but give it your best shot and you’ll reap what you sow. Stop and think about decisions you’ve made, about what you want, about where you go from here. Reflect, regroup and move on. There’s much to be said for being among family and friends in March.

Leo

Taurus

(April 20 - May 20) It’s a great month for working with others on practical projects. You have the scope to tap into a great deal of helpful input, and you merely need to listen to what family and friends are saying in order to benefit. Don’t assume you have all the answers yourself.

Chances don’t come along often, so find some luxury and indulge.

There’s nothing wrong with treating yourself now and again. Don’t feel guilty.

Virgo

February Gemini

(May 21 - June 21) You’re now in a good position to influence the way others are thinking, even if you’re not ready to take the plunge into projects yourself just yet. Don’t speak before you think, and try to use tact and diplomacy when dealing with delicate issues. It’ll save you having to apologise so much. Capitalise on positive social trends to stay popular. Follow your heart, and take your time. Travel if you can and meet new people from an array of different backgrounds.

Libra

(July 23 - August 22)

(August 23 - Sep. 22)

It’s a good month to focus on money matters and even to take the odd chance. You can tap into a good deal of skill and ingenuity right now, and this will help you judge what looks and feels right.

Going on a shopping spree? Keep your eyes open for a bargain. Also, stop worrying about keeping up with the Joneses. What you are is good enough for you, and for most of the people you know. You may have to put personal projects on hold.

People from different cultural backgrounds have the potential to make a significant difference to you. The more variation you can bring into your life the better, so try to gain some practical experience from those who can be convinced to lend a hand. As your confidence grows you’ll start taking more chances, but try to consolidate old plans with new ones as you’ll keep everyone happy. Be happy in your own skin, going at your own pace.

You know what you want and you have a good idea how you’re going to get it, so if partners and friends dilly dally or don’t take things as seriously as you do, there could be fireworks.

Maybe its time to branch out and proceed at your own speed. They can catch up. Domestic matters have the potential to keep you smiling, the horizon looks positive.

Show others that you believe in yourself.

Capricorn

Aquarius

Sagittarius

(Nov. 22 - Dec. 21) Some careful planning would be no bad thing this month.

Look out for the people in your circle who can help you make important decisions. Routines are unlikely to appeal at this stage, so if you can manage to do things that interest you, then so much the better. Get routines done then focus on fun. Lucrative opportunities in the financial field should be grabbed with both hands. Don’t let your irritation turn to anger.

(Dec. 22 - Jan. 19) When it comes to money matters, you need to ask yourself whether you’re looking at things quite as carefully as would usually be the case. Wishing to shield family and friends from worry is fine, but it could cause you some stress along the way. Think and analyse. Is everyone in your circle behind you?

If not, register that fact and keep an eye on them. Plan your strategies in plenty of time. Leave specific unfinished issues until later.

(Sep. 23 - Oct. 23)

(Jan. 20 - Feb. 18) You could be distracted from what’s truly important, by things that seem to sparkle on the horizon. Keep your mind focused and concentrate on the matters at hand. Enlist the help and support of friends to ensure you stay on the right track. Move forward cautiously but do be willing to take the odd calculated risk. Whatever it is you are after, get it stared and make it happen this month. Don’t burn your bridges.

Cancer

(June 22 - July 22) The period you’re now experiencing continues to offer some fairly lucrative opportunities from a financial point of view, and should offer a chance to give your popularity a boost. Don’t crowd your professional schedule and if you get stuck, ask for help. You’re in the market for enjoyment, so join forces with those who share your views. Just don’t forget family responsibilities. Look for ways to incorporate both.

Scorpio

(Oct. 24 - Nov. 21) There are lots of ideas and communications flying around at the start of the month that’ll help you realise your potential. Get your message across where it matters most. You’ve got a good sense of what comes next. Keep your eye on the main chance. Also, if you can get away for a few days this month it would do you the world of good. A change is as good as a rest they say and you’re living proof of this.

Pisces

(Feb. 19 - March 20) A little confusion is possible when you’re dealing with matters you don’t understand very well.

The best way forward is to ask someone who does know, as their responses will be gratifying. People seem to be repaying some of the favours they’ve had from you. Use tact and diplomacy at all times.

There’s much to be gained by mixing with newcomers. Try it. Before you lose your temper count to ten.

Positive trends continue.

*

TM

1

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