Hockey's "Boomer" passes away

Bernard “Boom Boom” Geoffrion passes away

Bernard “Boom Boom” Geoffrion was one of many hockey players to claim the invention of the slapshot, but whoever it was, he was definitely the one who made it famous.

Geoffrion, who played 16 seasons in the NHL between 1950 and 1968 and spent 14 with his hometown Montreal Canadiens, died Saturday of stomach cancer at an Atlanta hospital. He was 75. The man nicknamed for his thunderous slapper registered 393 goals and 428 assists in his NHL career. Ironically, he will have his number 5 jersey retired by the Habs at a ceremony before Saturday night’s game against the New York Rangers, with whom he spent his final two seasons.

Geoffrion was one of the most feared goal scorers of his era and was named to the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1972. But off the ice, he was also known for his practical jokes and outgoing personality. But as good as he was, Geoffrion could’ve been even better were it not for a string of injuries and illness that defined his late career and followed him into retirement. He battled ulcers that cut short coaching stints with the Atlanta Flames and the Rangers and forced him to have part of his stomach removed. In the 1990s, he wrestled with prostate cancer and the loss of vision in his right eye.

Still, there’s no denying in his youth Geoffrion was as talented as they come and an integral part of a Canadiens dynasty that won five consecutive Stanley Cups between 1956-1960. Geoffrion won the Calder Trophy as the league's top rookie in 1952. During his career he also won two Art Ross Trophies as the league’s top scorer and the 1961 Hart Memorial Trophy as most valuable player.

Later,
Kenaz

Butcher of the Balkans meets his maker

The man who was dubbed "the butcher of the Balkans" after he led a series of brutal military campaigns that were followed by charges of war crimes, including genocide, will never face judgment for his alleged offences.

Former Yugoslav leader Slobodan Milosevic was found dead in his cell at a United Nations detention centre in the Netherlands Saturday morning.

A representative of the international war crimes tribunal said the former Serbian president, who orchestrated the Balkan wars of the 1990s, apparently died of natural causes. His health troubles, including a heart condition and high blood pressure, had interrupted the court proceedings several times.

"Milosevic was found lifeless on his bed in his cell at the United Nations detention unit," the tribunal said in a statement.

"The guard immediately alerted the detention unit officer in command and the medical officer. The latter confirmed that Slobodan Milosevic was dead."

Milosevic, 64, had been standing trial in The Hague since 2002 for war crimes, including crimes against humanity and genocide in Croatia, Bosnia and Kosovo during the bloody breakup of Yugoslavia.

history of Milosevic's reign of terror

Later.
Kenaz

"What we feared most has happened"

Tom Fox murdered

The torture and murder of an American hostage in Iraq has increased the concern for three others seized along with Tom Fox, including two Canadians. All four men – Fox, Canadians Harmeet Sooden and James Loney, and Briton Norman Kember – were kidnapped on Nov. 26 after going to Iraq as members of Christian Peacemaker Teams (CPT), an organization devoted to helping people in war zones.

"What we feared most has happened," said Jane Pritchard, a CPT member in Toronto.

She said she felt dread, "and then kind of suspended animation and focused prayer, I guess, for our three remaining colleagues."

The BBC reported that in Britain, CPT backer Bruce Kent said the news of Fox's death "is a very bad setback."

Sooden's family said they were shocked and shaken by Fox's death. Loney's family is not speaking publicly now.

Fox's body was found in western Baghdad on Thursday. On Saturday, Iraqi police said he had been tortured and shot.

His hands and feet were bound and he had gunshot wounds to the head and chest, police said. There were also bruises on his head and cuts on his body, which was wrapped in a blanket.

There has been no news on the fate of fellow activists.

Fox, a Quaker and father of two, was notably absent from a video that aired earlier in the week showing three of the men.

The Christian Peacemaker Teams, which still has five people in Iraq, said it will continue its work despite the risks.

"We reject kidnapping and hostage-taking wholesale," CPT spokeswoman Isabella Bates said on Saturday. "If any of us are taken hostage, absolutely no ransom will be paid."

Later,
Kenaz