A couple of times out on set, I've been asked if I knew any quick and easy ways to prepare a personal income tax that didn't cost. This last point is expecially crucial considering we "background actors" work in special circumstances.
Extras and actors are considered by Revenue Canada as self employed, and are therefore entitled to some unique perks. Such as the ability to deduct much of their professional fees, utilities, and travel expenses. Many of whom I have talked to do not realize that we were entitled to these deductions or just the percentage of the gross sum on the T4A that was allowable.
Before 2004 I did my income tax the old fashioned method, trying to figure out all the calculations with my trusty HB pencil, ending up with a tax form that looked like swiss cheese. Last year I found out about a FREE online service designed for people in my position, short of funds and short on patience.
QuickTaxWeb is the convenient online solution for preparing and filing your personal taxes with accurate calculations. If you prefer the freedom of preparing your tax return from any computer connected to the Internet, QuickTaxWeb is the perfect choice.
QuickTaxWeb is designed to maximize your tax savings, and minimize the time you spend on tax preparation. QuickTaxWeb is an online tax preparation product from the makers of QuickTax, Canada's #1 best-selling software.1 Unlike software products that you purchase in a store and install on your computer, QuickTaxWeb resides on Intuit's secure Web servers and works without downloading the software onto your computer.
QuickTaxWeb is very user-friendly and net filing my return was simple and quick.
Marian Wong
Simplify tax preparation. Answer simple questions in plain language - QuickTaxWeb places your answers in the right forms and performs all the calculations automatically!
Save time. There's no software to download and on average QuickTaxWeb takes less than half the time to prepare your taxes than with pencil and paper.2
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Avoid hassles. FREE technical support means there's always help when you need it, 7 days a week.
Speed up your refund. Get your money in as little as 8 days with NETFILE (Please Note: For the 2005 tax year the Canadian Revenue Agency's on-line transmission process, NETFILE, will be available February 13, 2006.) 3
Maximize your Refund. The average refund for online tax preparers is 20% higher than the refund received by pencil and paper preparers.4
Online preparers: 83% received a refund; Average refund = $700
Manual preparers: 68% received a refund; Average refund = $585
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Getting started with QuickTaxWeb couldn't be easier. Here's how it works:
1. Set up your account with a username and password that you choose, so it's easy to remember! Come back as often as you'd like to complete, review or change your tax return. Your information is securely stored on Intuit's servers, operating under strict security guidelines to protect your information and comply with CRA requirements.
2. Enter your tax information with the same EasyStepTM Interview in QuickTax CD-ROM products. Valuable tax tips will help you maximize your deductions as you work through your return.
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4. File your return. File electronically using NETFILE, over the phone using TELEFILE, or print your return and mail it. Just $19.95 for an individual return created with the same account, and $10.00 for any additional individual returns, including a spouse. You may qualify for the QuickTax Freedom program if your individual gross income is $25,000, or less per year.
1 NPD data as of month ending July, 2005.
2 Ipsos-Reid Customer Satisfaction Study 2001.
3 Some restrictions apply. Visit www.netfile.gc.ca for details.
4 Tax Year 2004 Commins Wingrove Usage & Attitude Study, July 2005.
Account sign up
I am also including a sample step by step 2005 Canadian income tax return for the typical persons in the acting and background field, including the typical types of deductions one would have. All figures and names are purely made up, but are similar to one might have.
INTRO
Mr/Mrs Joe Average Canadian
Single filer in Ontario
no dependants
Personal Profile
self employed(extra work)
part time job
some RRSP'S
INCOME
Net employment earnings-------------------------11900.00
Pension income--------------------------------------0.00
EI benefits-----------------------------------------0.00
Dividends, interest and investment----------------100.00
--------------T5 - A Bank in Canada 100.00
Rental income---------------------------------------0.00
Taxable capital gains-------------------------------0.00
Taxable support payments received-------------------0.00
RRSP income-----------------------------------------0.00
Other income------------------------------------8,000.00
--(box 28)T4A - ABC Entertainment------1,500.00
----------T4A - DEF Entertainment------5,000.00
----------T4A - Pick Me Entertainment--1,000.00
----------T4A - ZEN Entertainment--------500.00
Net self-employment income--------------------------0.00
Social assistance income----------------------------0.00
Total Income---------------20,000.00
RRSP CONTRIBUTION SUMMARY
Some Canadian Bank (see maximum limit on your 2004 statement of return)
--------------------------------------------------500.00
DEDUCTIONS SUMMARY
Total Income----------------------------------- 20,000.00
Deductions
RPP/RRSP------------------------------------------500.00
Union or professional dues--------------------------0.00
Child and disability supports deductions------------0.00
Moving expenses-------------------------------------0.00
Carrying charges, support and OTHER-------------4,000.00
(all supported with receipts, a safe figure is between 30-50% of self-employment income although you can deduct up to 100% in special circumstances)
---------------Agent Fees-------------------------800.00
---utilities(gas,hydro,water)--------------------1200.00
---------------clothing---------------------------300.00
--------------telephone-------------------------- 500.00
other expenses(personal,home and auto insurances),1200.00
Deduction for CPP/QPP (self-empl.)---------------1000.00
Employment expenses---------------------------------0.00
Social benefits repayment---------------------------0.00
Net Income--------------------------------------14500.00
Other deductions------------------------------------0.00
Losses of other years-------------------------------0.00
Capital gains deduction-----------------------------0.00
Northern residents/additional ded.------------------0.00
Taxable Income----------------------------------14500.00
Federal Non-Refundable Tax Credits
Personal amounts--------------------------------8,648.00
CPP and EI----------------------------------------500.00
Other amounts---------------------------------------0.00
Allowable medical expenses--------------------------0.00
Amounts multiplied by 15%------------------------3000.00
Charitable donation credit--------------------------0.00
Total Federal Non-Refundable Credits-------------3500.00
Federal Credits
Federal political contribution tax credit-----------0.00
Labour-sponsored funds tax credit-------------------0.00
Federal logging tax credit--------------------------0.00
Total Federal Credits-------------------------------0.00
Refundable Tax Credits
Canada Pension Plan overpayment---------------------0.00
Employment insurance overpayment--------------------0.00
Refundable medical expense supplement---------------0.00
Employee & partner GST/HST rebate-------------------0.00
Tax deducted----------------------------------------0.00
Tax paid by instalments-----------------------------0.00
Total Refundable Tax Credits------------------------0.00
Ontario Tax and Credits Summary
Ontario Propertt Tax and Rental Credit----2000.00
the rest of your provincial tax credits are automatically calculated based on the rest of your calculations.
Total Refund $200-$500 average
Later,
Kenaz
Tuesday, February 28, 2006
The loss of two small screen ledgends
Actor Dennis Weaver, a regular on the television series Gunsmoke and McCloud, has died at age 81. Weaver died of cancer last Friday at his home in Ridgway, Colo. The actor was most memorable for his portrayal of slow-witted Deputy Chester Goode in the long-running western Gunsmoke, and a cowboy detective in New York City in McCloud.
Weaver was born in June 1924 in Joplin, Mo., where he performed in high school productions. He served in the U.S. navy during the Second World War and then enrolled at the University of Oklahoma. A gifted athlete, he placed sixth in the decathlon at the 1948 U.S. Olympic trials.
The budding performer studied at the Actors Studio in New York City and appeared in plays such as A Streetcar Named Desire. He headed to Hollywood during the 1950s, delivering flowers to survive when he was offered the Gunsmoke spot on CBS.
Weaver revealed in his 2001 autobiography that he found the Chester role "inane."
“With all my Actors Studio training, I’ll correct this character by using my own experiences and drawing from myself,” said Weaver, who gave his character a bad leg and a limp out of fear that he would not be noticed when playing scenes with the 6' 9" James Arness unless his character had an unusual trait that would call attention to him..
The role, which he played for nine years, won him an Emmy in the 1958/1959 season. In 1966, Weaver starred in another series, Gentle Ben, about a family that adopts a black bear as a pet. It lasted two seasons. He was later offered the character of Sam McCloud, calling it “the most satisfying role of my career.”
McCloud ran from 1970 to 1977, with Weaver playing the fish-out-of-water role of a New Mexico detective who brings his unique crime-fighting tactics to the streets of New York.
His film credits include Dragnet (1954), Seven Angry Men (1955), Touch of Evil (1958), and Way … Way Out (1966). He has more than 100 film and TV credits, making TV appearances until 2005. Most notably, he appeared as the lead character of David Mann in the 1971 television movie Duel, about a commuter who is terrorized by the driver of a tractor-trailer. The movie was one of the first ever directed by Steven Spielberg. Weaver's other TV series include Kentucky Jones, Emerald Point N.A.S., Stone and Buck James.
Weaver also was a committed environmentalist and combated world hunger. He headed Love is Feeding Everyone, which served meals to 150,000 needy people every week in Los Angeles. He also founded the Institute of Ecolonomics, focusing on solutions to economic and environmental problems. Weaver and his wife Gerry once built a solar-powered home out of recycled tires and cans dubbed “Earthship.”
Also passing away on Friday was Don Knotts, who won TV immortality and five Emmys for playing the bumbling Deputy Barney Fife on 'The Andy Griffith Show' with self-deprecating humor, was remembered by his friend and co-star as a comedic genius who wrote some of the show's best scenes.
''Don was a small man ... but everything else about him was large: his mind, his expressions,'' Griffith told The Associated Press on Saturday. ''Don was special. There's nobody like him.''
Knotts, 81, died Friday of pulmonary and respiratory complications at the University of California, Los Angeles Medical Center, said Sherwin Bash, his friend and manager.
His half-century career included more than 25 films and seven TV series, most notably playing the bug-eyed deputy who carried in his shirt pocket the one bullet he was allowed after shooting himself in the foot. The constant fumbling, a recurring sight gag, was typical of his self-deprecating humor.
The show ran from 1960-68, and was in the top 10 of the Nielsen ratings each season, including a No. 1 ranking its final year. It is one of only three series in TV history to bow out at the top: The others are ''I Love Lucy'' and ''Seinfeld.'' The 249 episodes have appeared frequently in reruns and spawned a large, active network of fan clubs.
Knotts, whose shy, soft-spoken manner was unlike his high-strung characters, once said he was most proud of the Fife character and didn't mind being remembered that way. He also played the would-be swinger landlord Ralph Furley on ''Three's Company,'' which he joined in 1979, and was an original cast member of ''The Steve Allen Show,'' the comedy-variety show that ran from 1956-61.
Knotts' G-rated films were family fun, not box-office blockbusters. In most, he ends up the hero and gets the girl -- a girl who can see through his nervousness to the heart of gold. In the part-animated 1964 film ''The Incredible Mr. Limpet,'' Knotts played a meek clerk who turns into a fish after he is rejected by the Navy and The Ghost and Mr. Chicken (1966) in which he plays a quirky typesetter for the town paper who aspires to move up from his basement office to be a full-fledged reporter. He also pines for town babe Alma.
Both of these films I remember seeing a decade later in a small single screen cinema here in Hamilton, and being thoroughly entertained. More than I can say for today's 'G' rated fare which rely on 'toilet humour and rarely develop any new comedic talent.
In 1998, he had a key role in the back-to-the-past movie ''Pleasantville,'' playing a folksy television repairman whose supercharged remote control sends a teen boy and his sister into a TV sitcom past.
film facts courtesy, IMDB, CBC Entertainment and the NY Times.
Later,
Kenaz
Monday, February 27, 2006
Rune Reading For The Week Of February 27-March 5, 2006
Introduction to Rune Readings
Rune readings are arrangements of the 24 runes (letters) of the old Futhark alphabet. The layout of the runes is known as a spread, and determines what each rune refers to. For example, in the Three Norns spread, the first rune represents the past, the second the present, and the third the future.
Sets: In addition to each rune having a meaning, the material in which the runes are carved can color the reading. Most people consistently use runes made of ceramic, stone, or wood. In order to broaden your experience, we offer readings with Gold Runes (for questions about business, career, and property), Jade Runes (for questions about love, friendship, and relationships), Ice Runes (for questions about struggle, conflict, and achievement), Spirit Runes (for questions about mysticism, spirituality, and religion), and Stone Runes (for questions about the natural world and things beyond human control).
The question will remain the same: "Will this week be a successful one?"
Rune Alphabet
Spread:Cross(in order of reading)
The Cross spread is used to plot the arc of your life and the forces acting on it. It is the most popular spread, giving a very complete view of the situation. Ice Runes are most commonly used for questions about struggle, conflict, and achievement.
Here is the Reading Using the Ice Set.
1.
The left rune represents an important element of the past. Berkana represents the birch tree. The birch is frequently symbolic of renewal, rebirth, birth, growth and fertility. This rune is a joyous one, representing good outcomes from ventures undertaken. It is the rune of the family and of a good household.
2.
The middle rune represents a deciding element of the present. Eoh refers to the Yew tree. The Yew does not go dormant and therefore represents endurance. Even the wood of the tree is strong, resilient, and pliable - the Yew bends, but does not break. The evergreen nature of the Yew is present even in the rune itself, as it cannot be changed even by reversal. This rune is historically symbolic of death, but, as in the Tarot and as suggested by the nature of the Yew tree itself, death is seen only as a transmutation of something eternal and unchanging - the spirit.
3.
The right rune represents the critical element of the future, at the core of the final outcome. Nyd represents many things, most of them unpleasant - heed it well. Constraint, delay, loss, need, and sorrow are all frequently seen in this rune. Nyd speaks most strongly of pause, the hallmark of the both the timid and the patient, and is often interpreted as foretelling a delay in the effect of other runes that it accompanies. Fortunately, even where there is misery and danger there are valuable lessons to be learned - the trick is to learn them before you are overtaken by despair.
4.
The top rune represents a force that works for you. Raido means to ride. In this rune, the image is not so much the riding of a horse as in riding in a cart or as cargo. As such Raido may suggest a journey, but is much more indicative of communication. Alternate interpretations based on the use of Raido as a cognate in other words give it the meaning of council, judgment, and moral correctness. Therefore, this rune is the rune of wise advice and good leadership.
5.
The bottom Rune represents a force that works against you. Thurisaz the thorn represents barriers and senseless violence. Here we see the thorn overturned. This could mean that erected barriers will not hold, or that senseless violence can be avoided. Also, remember where thorns are found - perhaps this rune portends that a goal can be obtained easily and without interference. Grasp for the rose...
If you are further interested in Rune stones, please check out a script I wrote about three years ago. The story tells of a women's chance encounter with the towns rune reader and physcic. Her reading leads to a terrible discovery about her ex-husband.Click here to read 'Evil Of A Different Kind'
Later,
Kenaz
Rune readings are arrangements of the 24 runes (letters) of the old Futhark alphabet. The layout of the runes is known as a spread, and determines what each rune refers to. For example, in the Three Norns spread, the first rune represents the past, the second the present, and the third the future.
Sets: In addition to each rune having a meaning, the material in which the runes are carved can color the reading. Most people consistently use runes made of ceramic, stone, or wood. In order to broaden your experience, we offer readings with Gold Runes (for questions about business, career, and property), Jade Runes (for questions about love, friendship, and relationships), Ice Runes (for questions about struggle, conflict, and achievement), Spirit Runes (for questions about mysticism, spirituality, and religion), and Stone Runes (for questions about the natural world and things beyond human control).
The question will remain the same: "Will this week be a successful one?"
Rune Alphabet
Spread:Cross(in order of reading)
The Cross spread is used to plot the arc of your life and the forces acting on it. It is the most popular spread, giving a very complete view of the situation. Ice Runes are most commonly used for questions about struggle, conflict, and achievement.
Here is the Reading Using the Ice Set.
1.
The left rune represents an important element of the past. Berkana represents the birch tree. The birch is frequently symbolic of renewal, rebirth, birth, growth and fertility. This rune is a joyous one, representing good outcomes from ventures undertaken. It is the rune of the family and of a good household.
2.
The middle rune represents a deciding element of the present. Eoh refers to the Yew tree. The Yew does not go dormant and therefore represents endurance. Even the wood of the tree is strong, resilient, and pliable - the Yew bends, but does not break. The evergreen nature of the Yew is present even in the rune itself, as it cannot be changed even by reversal. This rune is historically symbolic of death, but, as in the Tarot and as suggested by the nature of the Yew tree itself, death is seen only as a transmutation of something eternal and unchanging - the spirit.
3.
The right rune represents the critical element of the future, at the core of the final outcome. Nyd represents many things, most of them unpleasant - heed it well. Constraint, delay, loss, need, and sorrow are all frequently seen in this rune. Nyd speaks most strongly of pause, the hallmark of the both the timid and the patient, and is often interpreted as foretelling a delay in the effect of other runes that it accompanies. Fortunately, even where there is misery and danger there are valuable lessons to be learned - the trick is to learn them before you are overtaken by despair.
4.
The top rune represents a force that works for you. Raido means to ride. In this rune, the image is not so much the riding of a horse as in riding in a cart or as cargo. As such Raido may suggest a journey, but is much more indicative of communication. Alternate interpretations based on the use of Raido as a cognate in other words give it the meaning of council, judgment, and moral correctness. Therefore, this rune is the rune of wise advice and good leadership.
5.
The bottom Rune represents a force that works against you. Thurisaz the thorn represents barriers and senseless violence. Here we see the thorn overturned. This could mean that erected barriers will not hold, or that senseless violence can be avoided. Also, remember where thorns are found - perhaps this rune portends that a goal can be obtained easily and without interference. Grasp for the rose...
If you are further interested in Rune stones, please check out a script I wrote about three years ago. The story tells of a women's chance encounter with the towns rune reader and physcic. Her reading leads to a terrible discovery about her ex-husband.Click here to read 'Evil Of A Different Kind'
Later,
Kenaz
Sunday, February 26, 2006
Did Canada live up to their expectations at the Olympics?
Day 16I couldn't help shake my head when the Canadian Olympic Committee brazingly predicted a top-three finish and a minimum 25 medals at Turin. Like many, I too thought this expectation was to high and raised unrealistic expectations.
"The 2006 Olympic Winter Games have been a great success for Canada," COC president Mike Chambers said Sunday. "We set an aggressive goal of a top-three finish at these Games and we will leave Turin having achieved that goal."
Canada won 24 medals – seven gold, 10 silver, seven bronze – to shatter the previous record of 17 set at Salt Lake City in 2002. Only Germany (29) and the United States (25) had more in Turin, but 11 Canadians posted fourth-place finishes with seven others coming fifth.
For the first time in a long time, Americans feel Canadians breathing down their necks. A Sunday headline on the ABC News website noted: "Canada is emerging as an Olympic powerhouse."
"All of Canada's athletes turned in an exceptional performance at these Games and they've made all Canadians proud," Chambers said.
Canada would have reached its goal of 25 medals had:
* Short-track speed skater Eric Bedard not been denied by 4-1,000ths of a second in the men's 500.
* Skier Kelly VanderBeek not finished 3-100ths behind the bronze medallist in the women's super-G.
* Francois Bourque not missed the podium by 76-100ths in the men's giant slalom.
* Pierre Lueders not lost out on a medal by 9-100ths of a second in four-man bobsleigh.
*The biggest disappointment was the Canada's men's hockey who failed even to make it into the medal round.
A blink of an eye and who knows what could have been. Truth be told, Canadian's should be proud of the accomplishments of their athletes that represented them in Turin.
"The new program of the Canadian Olympic Committee 'Own the Podium,' which is supported on one hand by the government, but on the other hand the corporate world, has yielded already unbelievable results," said International Olympic Committee president Jacques Rogge.
Winnipeg's Cindy Klassen achieved unprecedented results, capturing five medals to give her six overall, both Canadian records. It also marked the highest total by a female speed skater, surpassing the four gold medals won by Lidiya Skoblikova of Russia at the 1964 Innsbruck Winter Games.
Klassen is all class. Eighteen years ago, Canada held high hopes heading into Calgary, only to suffer the indignity of failing to win a single gold medal – a rarity for a host nation. But a shift in attitude and focus by the COC, namely a commitment to win medals, and the inclusion of extreme sports such as freestyle skiing and snowboard in the Olympics, is reaping positive results.
Fast forward ahead to 2006, not only did we achieve our goal of a top-three finish, but we also increased our medal total and had a significant number of top-eight finishes by athletes who have their best years ahead of them. This bodes well for Vancouver 2010. The Vancouver Olympics will be the first in Canada since 1988, when Calgary hosted the Winter Games.
To answer the question, simply and then some. Oh, and last but least congradulations to Mat Sundin and the Swedish Men's hockey team on their gold medal win. Now hopefully Mat can crest the wave of emotion all the way back to Toronto and ride the Leafs into the playoffs.
Later,
Kenaz
Saturday, February 25, 2006
Canada wins a gold, 2 sliver and a bronze on the track
Day 15Medal Count
#---Country----------Gold---Silver---Bronze-----Total
1---Germany-----------11-----12---------6-------29
2---United States------9------9---------7-------25
3---Canada-------------7-----10---------7-------24
4---Austria------------9------7---------6-------22
5---Russia-------------8------5---------8-------21
6---Norway-------------2------8---------9-------19
Canadian Women Win Gold and Bronze in 5,000
Canada's Clara Hughes poured on the speed over the final lap to snatch the gold medal away from teammate Cindy Klassen in the women's 5,000 metres at the Torino Olympic Winter Games. With Klassen having set the time to beat, Hughes, 33, pulled away from three-time defending champion Claudia Pechstein to win Saturday's final pairing in six minutes, 59.07 seconds – and her first-ever gold medal.
"I just believed in myself until the last stride," a beaming Hughes told CBC Sports. "It almost killed me, but that's what it took to win the Olympics today."
It was a remarkably display of determination as Hughes trailed by nearly four seconds midway through the 12 1/2 lap marathon.
"The race started with five laps to go and that's when I knew it was going to hurt and that's when I knew I could fight," she said. "I just believed in myself and knew that my strength would be in the finish."
Hughes looked remarkably strong on the bell lap, powering her way around the Oval Lingotto to erase a 1.86-second deficit and win by 1.01 seconds.
"I just bided my time," she explained. "Every lap, I fought to keep my good technique and I knew the last lap I could outpace anyone."
Pechstein, from Germany, settled for the silver medal and bumped Klassen to bronze.
Interesting footnote: Hughes also nudged out Klassen to clinch the bronze in the 5,000 at the 2002 Salt Lake City Olympics.
"It was the same as in Salt Lake City, where I just felt like my body and brain went to a whole other planetary system," said Hughes.
Klassen set Canadian records with five medals at Turin and six all told, but so did Hughes as the first multiple-medallist in both the Summer and Winter Olympics.
Hughes claimed silver in last week's team pursuit, to go with two bronze she won in cycling at the 1996 Atlanta Summer Games.
"My whole time here, I had to remind myself that I am a speed skater now," Hughes said. "And I should not be afraid to be the best in the world.
"If you dream and you allow yourself to dream, you truly can do anything. And that's what this gold medal represents."
Kristina Groves wound up sixth overall, but still leaves Turin with silvers medals in the 1,500 and team pursuit. Klassen, who clocked 7:00.57 was, unquestionably, the story of the Games, departing Turin as Canada's most prolific Olympian ever. She also won gold in the 1,500, silvers in the 1,000 and the inaugural team pursuit, and bronze in the 3,000. Klassen is the first Canadian athlete to win five medals in a single Olympics and the first with six overall. Her career total surpasses that of runner Phil Edwards and speed skater Marc Gagnon, who won five apiece over three Olympics. Klassen eclipsed the career mark over two Olympics and, only 27 years old, could add to her haul at the 2010 Vancouver Winter Games.
Canadians have won silver medals in the men's 5,000-metre relay and the men's 500-metre sprint.
The relay team finished second with a time of six minutes, 43.707 seconds on Saturday.
The powerful South Korean squad (6:43.376) won the gold and the Americans (6:47.990) claimed the bronze. When the Koreans and Canadians crossed the line, the Americans and Italians were trailing by a half-lap.
The Canadians set a world record (6:39.990) en route to victory at the world championships last March. The team has some of the world's strongest skaters, including Eric Bedard, Charles Hamelin, Francois-Louis Tremblay and Mathieu Turcotte, who is ranked sixth overall in the world. Jonathan Guilmette is also on the team but didn't skate in the final.
"We are six days a week all together, 11 months," Bedard said. "We do everything together – the parties, the dinners, the training, the travel, the competitions. Everybody wanted to be proud of themselves."
The Canadian men set an Olympic record (6:45.455) at the 2002 Salt Lake City Games and came home with the gold medal. South Korean team member Ahn Hyun-Soo collected his third gold medal of the Torino Games. He also won the 1,000 and the 1,500.
Men's 500
Earlier, Tremblay won the silver medal in the men's 500. Tremblay finished in a time of 42.002 seconds, just back of gold-medal winner Apolo Anton Ohno (41.935) of the United States. South Korean Ahn (42.089) was third, narrowly edging Canadian Bedard (42.093), who finished fourth.
"This is my own medal and I'm really, really happy to have it," said Tremblay. "The other one feels just as great but it's different. It's a team medal. I'm happy with both, I guess."
"When I won the 1,000 and the 1,500, I was very happy," said Ahn. "I felt the expectations from people for me to aim to be a quadruple champion, but in the 500, it's my weakest race. To have won the bronze gives me very much joy."
The race was expected to be a showdown between Ahn and China's Li JiaJun. Ahn is now ranked first overall in this event, while Li is ranked second. But Li was disqualified in the semifinal. Tremblay is the reigning world champion and is ranked fourth in the world, one spot behind Bedard. Ohno is ranked fifth in this distance.
Canadian speedskaters spurred to victory by 'lucky leaf'
Canada's athletic superstitions have once again paid off, with the lucky loonie giving way to the lucky leaf at Oval Lingotto in Turin, site of several speed skating medals for the national team at the Winter Games.
Canadian icemaker Mark Messer buried the solid gold maple leaf near the finish line in the oval ice, borrowing on the tradition that came to prominence after it was revealed a dollar coin was buried beneath centre ice for Canada's hockey teams at the 2002 Salt Lake City Olympics.
The maple leaf was dug up and presented to Clara Hughes after the Winnipeg skater raced to gold in Saturday's women's 5,000 metres. "I didn't know, but a couple of weeks ago my sports psychologist [Dr.] Kimberley Amirault and my coach Xiuli Wang had the ice technician, our master icemaker from Calgary, Mark Messer, put a little gold maple leaf in the ice for me," Hughes told CBC Sports after her victory.
"We knew about the loonie from the last time and what it brought for Canadian hockey, so we buried a solid gold maple leaf in the ice for the speed skaters here. . . hopefully it helped," Messer said.
Well it did, Canadians have raced to eight medals in long-track speedskating, with Winnipeg's Cindy Klassen in on five of them. The loonie has also made an appearance in Turin, a Canadian icemaker burying a pair of the coins in the championship ice sheet at curling, where Brad Gushue's rink won gold for Canada.
Later,
Kenaz
'Hortons looking to bring Tim Bits to Afghanistan
operation TimbitCanadian soldiers serving in Afghanistan may soon be able to get their morning coffee and doughnut at a Tim Hortons coffee shop. The company, co-founded in Hamilton in 1964 by the famous NHL hockey player and local police officer Roy Joyce, is in talks with the military about setting up a store to serve soldiers on the front line of the war on terror in Kandahar.
General Rick Hillier, head of the Canadian Armed Forces, stepped up the negotiations yesterday by offering to personally take Tim Hortons president and CEO Paul House of Stoney Creek to visit soldiers in Afghanistan to help convince him the idea has merit. Hillier says soldiers pester him about when they might see one of the coffee shops open at the Kandahar base and he believes it would boost morale to have a Tim Hortons in the Afghan city that gave birth to the radically militant Taliban regime.
American troops serving in Kandahar have their own Subway, Pizza Hut and Burger King outlets.
Captain Tim Fletcher of the 31 Canadian Brigade Group in Hamilton, which oversees the operation of 14 army units in southwestern Ontario, said a Tim Hortons coffee shop in Kandahar would be well received by the troops. more from the Captain
"Ah, I love the smell of a 'fruit explosion' muffin in the Kandahar morning!"
If that story gave you the warm and fuzzies, than this cookie caper will make you sick. Not in the good way, like when as a kid you downed a dozen of moms home baked goodies and then layed on the couch groaning in a sugar induced happy coma. No, this story will leave you foaming at the mouth like the time your dog ate all your Christmas chocolates and pooped thunder for a week.
The defendant, Kathleen Rockingham, accused of illegal baking 
The plantiff, the Hamilton cookie police
Exhibit A, the cookieAND NOW THE CASE OF 'THE HALF BAKED COOKIE LAW' (cue 'The Peoples Court' music)
Mary Whitwell won't be baking for the Binbrook Fair this fall for the first time in nearly 60 years. The cookie police have already given her a warning. The city's public health inspectors cracked down on the 82-year-old's church table at last year's event. Her homemade cookies -- chocolate, spice and raisin -- aren't allowed at special events anymore. It's a matter of public safety.
City officials recently sent a notice to all church groups to clarify the rules around bake sales. It's fine for homemade goods to be sold at churches, service clubs or fraternal organizations because of an exemption in the health regulations. But if a group takes part in a special event away from their facility, like a festival, fair or carnival, the food must be made in an inspected kitchen -- and grandma's doesn't count.
"It's just to lower incidents of food poisoning," explained George Rice of the city's public health food safety program.
"We don't know what their kitchens are like because we haven't inspected them.
A public health official inspecting the event took exception to the homemade cookies being sold for a dollar with coffee at Knox Presbyterian Church booth. Local Councillor Dave Mitchell got a call and intervened, suggesting officials should educate first and enforce next year. He understands the rules, but wishes the city would use common sense to measure the risk to public health.
The Whitwell family has been part of the local church for six generations and every one of them has made sweets for the bake sales. Kathleen Rockingham, 85, has been making her famous shortbread -- 10 to 15 dozen a time -- for the sale in her own kitchen for years.
"I haven't had anyone die from one," she said chuckling. "This is absolutely ridiculous. Haven't they got anything else to do down at City Hall?"
Apparently not, I guess busting a cookie sale that brings in much needed revenue for this organization, so it can provide the services it does for the community is what the 'cookie monsters' at city hall concern themselves with today.
full story
Later,
Kenaz
Friday, February 24, 2006
Pride of the 'rock' wins curling gold for Canada
Day 14Another day has dawn meaning more wall to wall coverage of this years Olympics. It`s been an Olympiad full of highs and lows for Canada. From the heartfelt story of Lascelles Brown journey to Olympic silver for Canada, to the Canadian men`s implosion in hockey, we have seen it all.
But one thing I will be happy about when it the games are all over is that I will never have to watch that damn annoying ad that depicts a grocery store shopper imploring other customers, in a cartoon-like voice, to pick up some Yoplait yogurt.
The TV ad have been running, and running, and running, during CBC's wall-to-wall Turin Olympics coverage, prompting me on several occasions to want to throw something through the television. This commercial is almost as popular as a bad rash, you take notice of it when it`s there and damn glad when it`s gone. Anyway, here is a look at what Canada accomplished today.
Brad Gushue used steady play and one spectacular end to win Canada's first-ever Olympic gold medal in men's curling. The 25-year-old skip and his St. John's-based rink of third Mark Nichols, second Russ Howard and lead Jamie Korab scored six in the sixth end to propel themselves to a 10-4 win over Finland in the gold medal game on Friday in Pinerolo, Italy.
Immediately after the win, Gushue was on the phone with his mother, Maureen, who underwent chemotherapy a few weeks ago and was unable to travel to Italy. Gushue fought off tears when asked what she had said.
"She's proud and I'm proud of the guys," he told CBC Sports.
The win gave Canada its second-ever Olympic curling gold medal. The women's team led by the late Sandra Schmirler finished first at the 1998 Nagano Games. It was also the second medal for Canadian curlers at the Torino Games. On Thursday, Shannon Kleibrink's Calgary rink captured bronze in women's curling with a convincing 11-5 victory over Norway's Dordi Nordby, also in eight ends.
Gushue, Nichols and Korab became the first Newfoundlanders to win a medal at the Winter Olympics since Dwayne Norris of St. John's won silver with Canada's men's hockey team at the 1994 Lillehammer Games. Howard was born in Midland, Ont., and now resides in Moncton, N.B.
Clinging to a 4-3 going into the sixth, Gushue counted six after Finish skip Markku Uusipaavalniemi's final shot of the end rubbed a guard, leaving Gushue a free draw for seven. Gushue sailed his stone through the house and had to settle for six, but the game was essentially over at that point.
Nichols, who curled a brilliant 97% in the game, set up the big score with a dazzling run-back takeout with his first stone of the end. Canada and Finland traded two-point ends to open the game. Uusipaavalniemi, who had last-rock advantage in the first, made a take-out to score two, though he was trying for three. Gushue evened the game in the second by drawing to the four-foot for two. Gushue went up 4-2 with steals in the next two ends.
With Canada lying four in the third, Uusipaavalniemi attempted a delicate angled tap-back put couldn't bump his stone close enough to the button, giving Gushue a steal of one. Uusipaavalniemi then missed on a draw attempt to close the fourth, handing another point to Gushue.
Uusipaavalniemi got one back in the fifth. He converted a tricky takeout with his first stone of the end, scraping by a Canadian guard to knock out Canada's shot stone on the eight-foot. Uusipaavalniemi then had a chance to count two but came up short on a draw, leaving Gushue with a 4-3 lead.
Canada all but wrapped up the game with its six-point sixth end. Finland blanked the next end, then scored one in the eight to make the score 10-4 before conceding the game. Olympic rules stipulate that a game can not be called until after the eighth end.
Gushue and his rink had plenty of supporters behind them, including thousands of school kids who were given the afternoon off by Newfoundland and Labrador Education Minister Joan Burke. She called Friday's match a historic moment for Newfoundland and Labrador. In St. John's, a crowd of about 6,000 was expected to gather at Mile One Stadium to watch the final.
Gushue, favoured to win gold when he arrived at these Olympics, fashioned a 6-3 record in the round robin that included an 8-7 loss to Finland on Feb. 17.
Later,
Kenaz
Local film shoots produced about $15 million in revenue for Hamilton in 2005
Courtesy Doug Foley, The Hamilton Spectator
(Jan 21, 2006)
Hamilton was home to 91 productions in 2005 ranging from big-budget Hollywood films to TV commercials involving cows at Main and James streets. Film liaison officer Jacqueline McNeilly estimated the productions spent as much as $15.6 million in the city for expenses ranging from food to car rentals to local salaries to hotel accommodations to set decorations.
McNeilly said film work in 2004 involved only 48 productions in comparison.
She cited the Hollywood films Silent Hill and Four Brothers as the biggest productions to shoot in Hamilton last year.
Silent Hill, based on a video game and starring Sean Bean and Radha Mitchell, is scheduled for release in April.
Four Brothers with Mark Wahlberg, which filmed for a week in the Wentworth Street North area last February, was a healthy box-office hit and has been released to the home video market. (note: I spent a day at this location, playing a forensics officer)
Dundas and Hamilton's north end played host to Robin Williams and Christopher Walken and their new movie, The Best Man(Man of the Year), last December and fantasy comedy The Return of Zoom, with Tim Allen and Courtney Cox, filmed in various locations in September 2005 and will be released in August.
Other productions that were in Hamilton for lengthy periods included It's a Boy Girl Thing, the first film from Elton John's production company and produced by his partner David Furnish; Caw, a made-for-pay-TV film starring Rod Taylor; an untitled TV series about events leading up to the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks and Above and Beyond, a TV movie about the Second World War.
Some more production's that were in Hamilton, and I had the opportunity to be part of include, Shades of Black, and Regenesis
Some of the reason's for Hamilton's success as a location had to do with the 30% provincial tax breaks on film production. Plus an extra 10% for productions working outside the Greater Toronto Area. Location managers like Hamilton because it is that it's easy to shoot here, they can get in and out quickly. Businesses are very accommodating and the scenery and locations are incredibly diverse. Toronto has torn down or renovated a lot of its old buildings, so a lot of that landscape is gone but we still have it, places like Liuna Station,The Old Mill and our many beautiful Gothic churches.
Toronto is still the hub of filmmaking in Canada, about 95 per cent of the people who work in Hamilton on film shoots are from Toronto, but a growing talent pool and a awareness will put "The Hammer" on the radar.
Later,
Kenaz
(Jan 21, 2006)
Hamilton was home to 91 productions in 2005 ranging from big-budget Hollywood films to TV commercials involving cows at Main and James streets. Film liaison officer Jacqueline McNeilly estimated the productions spent as much as $15.6 million in the city for expenses ranging from food to car rentals to local salaries to hotel accommodations to set decorations.
McNeilly said film work in 2004 involved only 48 productions in comparison.
She cited the Hollywood films Silent Hill and Four Brothers as the biggest productions to shoot in Hamilton last year.
Silent Hill, based on a video game and starring Sean Bean and Radha Mitchell, is scheduled for release in April.
Four Brothers with Mark Wahlberg, which filmed for a week in the Wentworth Street North area last February, was a healthy box-office hit and has been released to the home video market. (note: I spent a day at this location, playing a forensics officer)
Dundas and Hamilton's north end played host to Robin Williams and Christopher Walken and their new movie, The Best Man(Man of the Year), last December and fantasy comedy The Return of Zoom, with Tim Allen and Courtney Cox, filmed in various locations in September 2005 and will be released in August.
Other productions that were in Hamilton for lengthy periods included It's a Boy Girl Thing, the first film from Elton John's production company and produced by his partner David Furnish; Caw, a made-for-pay-TV film starring Rod Taylor; an untitled TV series about events leading up to the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks and Above and Beyond, a TV movie about the Second World War.
Some more production's that were in Hamilton, and I had the opportunity to be part of include, Shades of Black, and Regenesis
Some of the reason's for Hamilton's success as a location had to do with the 30% provincial tax breaks on film production. Plus an extra 10% for productions working outside the Greater Toronto Area. Location managers like Hamilton because it is that it's easy to shoot here, they can get in and out quickly. Businesses are very accommodating and the scenery and locations are incredibly diverse. Toronto has torn down or renovated a lot of its old buildings, so a lot of that landscape is gone but we still have it, places like Liuna Station,The Old Mill and our many beautiful Gothic churches.
Toronto is still the hub of filmmaking in Canada, about 95 per cent of the people who work in Hamilton on film shoots are from Toronto, but a growing talent pool and a awareness will put "The Hammer" on the radar.
Later,
Kenaz
CBC puts another nail into Canadian culture's coffin
Posted Mon, 13 Feb 2006 CBC Arts
CBC Television has announced it is cancelling three prime-time dramas, Da Vinci's City Hall, The Tournament and This is Wonderland.
Despite critical acclaim for the long-running Da Vinci series and slightly kooky This is Wonderland, audiences had not responded to the programs, said Ruth-Ellen Soles, a CBC spokesperson.
"These are three programs that CBC believed in and attached significant resources to," Soles said on Monday. "Unfortunately the audiences for all three have been in steady decline and did not resonate with Canadians. These decisions are always difficult but they had to be made."
This is just another excuse from Soles, click on her link to read her reasons why the CBC doesn't participate in Canada's Amber Alert program if you need further proof of her outrages oppinions.
Wonderland, starring Cara Pifko as a young defence lawyer struggling with the confusing, often sad, side of criminal law at the Old City Hall courts in Toronto, was in its third season. Created by George F. Walker, Dani Romain and Bernard Zukerman and produced by Muse Entertainment and Indian Grove, it had been hailed for its insightful writing and for avoiding the stock law drama format. The final show is to air March 15.
Da Vinci's Inquest had been a highly rated prime-time drama for CBC, but when crusading coroner Dominic Da Vinci, played by Nicholas Campbell, won the election and moved to city hall to become mayor of Vancouver, viewers did not go with him. The Gemini-winning show, created by Chris Haddock, will have its final air date Feb. 28. It is in its eighth season.
Da Vinci had been averaging 394,000 viewers, Wonderland 376,000 and The Tournament 268,000. Da Vinci had lost about 40 per cent of its audience from its high point a few years ago.
The kicker is the fact that CBC has no plans yet to replace these shows. Hopefully CBC's newly hired executive director of programming Kirstine Layfield, isn't as incompinant has her predessor, or all the Canadian's who say "Canadian television is boring" will get their way .Our tube will be inindated with import 'clone' crap. Great another drama about talking ghosts or maybe CSI:Boise?
ACTRA, Canada's actors union, called the cancellations "a startling display of incompetence by irresponsible CBC brass" and blamed the CBC lockout last fall for causing declining ratings for all three shows.
"It was just a year ago that CBC's executive vice president Richard Stursberg proclaimed that 'only the CBC can be the cornerstone of a solution' to the crisis in Canadian drama. I'd like to know how Mr. Stursberg feels his cancellation of three acclaimed series without naming replacements is going to end the drama crisis," said Stephen Waddell, ACTRA's national executive director.
So would I love to hear Mr. Stursberg defend his myopic `vision`for the CBC.
Soles said CBC has a continuing commitment to Canadian drama and will be airing an increased number of hours of English-language drama next season. At this stage in the year, producers whose shows won't be renewed are notified, but the full schedule of programming to replace the cancelled shows won't be announced until later in the year, she said.
Soles denied the declining ratings were related to the lockout. "If you look at audience numbers, these shows had been declining before the lockout," she said.
This is complete bull doo-doo. The reasons why Canadian drama series have difficulty in getting comparable ratings to simulcast U.S. series is because they aren`t scheduled properly and they lack promotion. If you put a Canadian drama up against U.S juggernaught `Survivor` without any promotion except the occasional insert leading into a barrage of junk food ads, then of course the show doesn`t stand a chance.
Later,
Kenaz
CBC Television has announced it is cancelling three prime-time dramas, Da Vinci's City Hall, The Tournament and This is Wonderland.
Despite critical acclaim for the long-running Da Vinci series and slightly kooky This is Wonderland, audiences had not responded to the programs, said Ruth-Ellen Soles, a CBC spokesperson.
"These are three programs that CBC believed in and attached significant resources to," Soles said on Monday. "Unfortunately the audiences for all three have been in steady decline and did not resonate with Canadians. These decisions are always difficult but they had to be made."
This is just another excuse from Soles, click on her link to read her reasons why the CBC doesn't participate in Canada's Amber Alert program if you need further proof of her outrages oppinions.
Wonderland, starring Cara Pifko as a young defence lawyer struggling with the confusing, often sad, side of criminal law at the Old City Hall courts in Toronto, was in its third season. Created by George F. Walker, Dani Romain and Bernard Zukerman and produced by Muse Entertainment and Indian Grove, it had been hailed for its insightful writing and for avoiding the stock law drama format. The final show is to air March 15.
Da Vinci's Inquest had been a highly rated prime-time drama for CBC, but when crusading coroner Dominic Da Vinci, played by Nicholas Campbell, won the election and moved to city hall to become mayor of Vancouver, viewers did not go with him. The Gemini-winning show, created by Chris Haddock, will have its final air date Feb. 28. It is in its eighth season.
Da Vinci had been averaging 394,000 viewers, Wonderland 376,000 and The Tournament 268,000. Da Vinci had lost about 40 per cent of its audience from its high point a few years ago.
The kicker is the fact that CBC has no plans yet to replace these shows. Hopefully CBC's newly hired executive director of programming Kirstine Layfield, isn't as incompinant has her predessor, or all the Canadian's who say "Canadian television is boring" will get their way .Our tube will be inindated with import 'clone' crap. Great another drama about talking ghosts or maybe CSI:Boise?
ACTRA, Canada's actors union, called the cancellations "a startling display of incompetence by irresponsible CBC brass" and blamed the CBC lockout last fall for causing declining ratings for all three shows.
"It was just a year ago that CBC's executive vice president Richard Stursberg proclaimed that 'only the CBC can be the cornerstone of a solution' to the crisis in Canadian drama. I'd like to know how Mr. Stursberg feels his cancellation of three acclaimed series without naming replacements is going to end the drama crisis," said Stephen Waddell, ACTRA's national executive director.
So would I love to hear Mr. Stursberg defend his myopic `vision`for the CBC.
Soles said CBC has a continuing commitment to Canadian drama and will be airing an increased number of hours of English-language drama next season. At this stage in the year, producers whose shows won't be renewed are notified, but the full schedule of programming to replace the cancelled shows won't be announced until later in the year, she said.
Soles denied the declining ratings were related to the lockout. "If you look at audience numbers, these shows had been declining before the lockout," she said.
This is complete bull doo-doo. The reasons why Canadian drama series have difficulty in getting comparable ratings to simulcast U.S. series is because they aren`t scheduled properly and they lack promotion. If you put a Canadian drama up against U.S juggernaught `Survivor` without any promotion except the occasional insert leading into a barrage of junk food ads, then of course the show doesn`t stand a chance.
Later,
Kenaz
Thursday, February 23, 2006
Kleibrink delivers the goods, while Canadian men's hockey couldn't
Day 13Kleibrink wins curling bronze
Canada's Shannon Kleibrink regrouped from a tough semifinal loss to win the bronze medal in women's curling on Thursday at the Torino Olympics.
Kleibrink defeated Norway's Dordi Nordby 11-4 in eight ends to earn the bronze, a day after seeing her gold-medal chances evaporate with a loss to Switzerland's Mirjam Ott.
"You just think of everybody back home, all the fans here that supported us," an emotional Kleibrink said after the bronze medal game. "Thanks to everybody for your support."
Kleibrink, who was born in Norquay, Sask., now curls out of Calgary along with third Amy Nixon, second Glenys Bakker, lead Christine Keshen and alternate Sandra Jenkins. It was Canada's second consecutive bronze medal in Olympic women's curling, after Kelley Law of British Columbia won bronze at the 2002 Salt Lake City Games.
The late Sandra Schmirler of Regina remains the only Canadian skip, male or female, to win an Olympic title. She won gold at the 1998 Nagano Games, the first time in the modern era that curling appeared as an official Olympic event.
Kleibrink jumped on Nordby immediately on Thursday, scoring four in the first end and picking up a steal of one in the second. Nordby got one back in the third and stole one more in the fourth before Kleibrink all but wrapped up the game in the fifth end.
With Kleibrink lying four, Nordby sailed a draw attempt through the house. That allowed Kleibrink to put another stone in the rings and score her second four-point end of the game to go up 9-2. Nordby recovered from her gaffe in the next end, making good on a draw to the four-foot to count two and cut Kleibrink's lead to five.
Klebrink regained her seven-point lead in the seventh, converting a free draw for two to go up 11-4. Nordby picked up one to make the score 11-5 and the teams shook hands after the eighth end, the earliest a game can be conceded.
Early exit for Canada's men a disgrace
When the Canadians fell 2-0 to Russia in a sudden-death quarter-final, their third shutout loss in six games, the excuses started to flow like Italian red wine. Canda's early demise from the tournament was blamed on the size of the ice and injuries to key players, the reality this group of individuals played with no heart.
"We know we have to win the gold," Team Canada executive director Wayne Gretzky told Sun Media before the Olympics. "We don't have anything else on our minds."
I don't think it was a simple matter of over looking oppenants as Chris Pronger and others suggested, the facts are, Team Canada was stock piled with great individuals, but few team players.
The Canadian outfit was stock-piled with NHL scorers but, they didn't even have a true checking line. They couldn't beat Finland's Antero Niittymaki, Switzerland's Martin Gerber and Russia's Evgeni Nabokov. The first two weren't even No. 1 goalies in the NHL before this season. Another disappointment was Canada's undisciplined play. Too often, players took penalties that proved costly.
Pronger said his team had a tough time adjusting to the new rules early on, believing the game would be called to NHL standards. This is a cop out, Pronger has problems playing by the rules period, no matter how the officials call a game.
How about Canada's power play? It was horrific, going 0-for-8 against Russia and converting just five of 40 chances in the tournament.
"We'll probably think about it a lot," Quinn said of his team's lack of offence. "We have a talented group that does score in the National Hockey League, but the bottom line was that we had to come together as a team and we didn't do it as well as we needed to."
I don't want to criticize another Hamiltonian and great coach, but Quinn sounded like a broken record with every passing day, saying his team didn't play as five-man units. No kidding, Canada put together a roster that didn't have a chance to develop the required chemistry in such a short tournament, in fact there's more chemistry going on in the average grade eight lab.
Gretzky and his executive committee chose to pat their buddies on the back. Reuniting a bunch of players who won the 2002 Olympic tournament in Salt Lake City and 2004 World Cup, while young up-and-comers like Eric Staal and Jason Spezza were relegated to the taxi squad. Pittsburgh Penguins rookie standout Sidney Crosby was ignored completely, despite sitting 12th in NHL scoring with 65 points in 58 games. Fellow speedsters like Jonathan Cheechoo and Patrick Marleau, both having career seasons with the San Jose Sharks, also couldn't make the cut.
Instead, guys like Todd Bertuzzi, Rick Nash, Kris Draper, Vincent Lecavalier and Ryan Smyth got the call. None of them will leave Turin having scored a goal. The Great One fed the media another understatement when he said,
"People are going to question who was on the ice and who was on the team and that's OK," Gretzky told CBC Sports. "I'm a pretty big boy. I can stand up [to any criticism].
"[But] obviously we have to do something different for 2010."
Sending Bertuzzi, coming off a one-year suspension for an incident involving Colorado's Steve Moore, was sending the wrong message. As far as what could have been? Canada would have been far superior if we could have sent players like Nash, who was brilliant at the 2005 world championships playing on a line with Joe Thornton, but has spent the bulk of this season battling injuries, or top defencemen Ed Jovanovski and Scott Niedermayer. Both had to withdraw from the team after undergoing abdominal and knee surgery, respectively. It also hurt Team Canada in the leadership department when Steve Yzerman and Mario Lemieux withdrew their names from consideration. Lemieux went on to retire, citing health concerns.
If may be only a game, but I don't think that saying applies this time . When any team puts the maple leaf on their sweater and they go into an Olympic tournament and get knocked out in the quarter finals, get shut out on three occassions, and had 37 minutes of power plays during which they failed to score in those three shutout losses, that is an epic disaster.
(quotes, courtesy of the CBC)
Later,
Kenaz
Polley's road leads to director's chair
Canadian actress Sarah Polley is directing her first feature-length film, based on a short story by Canadian writer Alice Munro.
The film, Away from Her, will star Julie Christie, Gordon Pinsent, Olympia Dukakis, Wendy Crewson, Alberta Watson and Michael Murphy.
Sarah Polley- Northern Stars wrote the script based on Munro's short story The Bear Came Over the Mountain.
Christie plays a woman married to a philanderer, played by Pinsent. She develops Alzheimer's and is placed in a nursing home, where she begins to forget him and falls for another man, played by Murphy.
Filming will start in Ontario on April 7. Atom Egoyan, who directed Polley in The Sweet Hereafter, is executive producer.
Polley has written and directed two short films, The Best Day of My Life and Don't Think Twice.
Polley first came to attention as a child actress in Road to Avonlea but successfully made the transition to more mature roles, starring recently in The Secret Life of Words.
On Friday the actors' union will recognize her work and her contribution to Canadian cultural life by awarding her the 2006 ACTRA Award of Excellence.
Later,
Kenaz
The film, Away from Her, will star Julie Christie, Gordon Pinsent, Olympia Dukakis, Wendy Crewson, Alberta Watson and Michael Murphy.
Sarah Polley- Northern Stars wrote the script based on Munro's short story The Bear Came Over the Mountain.
Christie plays a woman married to a philanderer, played by Pinsent. She develops Alzheimer's and is placed in a nursing home, where she begins to forget him and falls for another man, played by Murphy.
Filming will start in Ontario on April 7. Atom Egoyan, who directed Polley in The Sweet Hereafter, is executive producer.
Polley has written and directed two short films, The Best Day of My Life and Don't Think Twice.
Polley first came to attention as a child actress in Road to Avonlea but successfully made the transition to more mature roles, starring recently in The Secret Life of Words.
On Friday the actors' union will recognize her work and her contribution to Canadian cultural life by awarding her the 2006 ACTRA Award of Excellence.
Later,
Kenaz
Wednesday, February 22, 2006
Canada's golden girls do it again!
Day 12Medal Count
# Country-----------Gold--Silver--Bronze--Total
1 Germany-----------9------8-------5--------22
2 Austria-----------8------6-------5--------19
3 United States-----7------7-------4--------18
4 Canada------------5------8-------5--------18
5 Norway------------2------8-------8--------18
6 Russia------------7------3-------6--------16
Canada's Crawford wins sprint gold!
Canada's Chandra Crawford stunned the women's cross-country field as she captured the gold medal in the 1.1-kilometre sprint at the Torino Winter Games Wednesday. In her Olympic debut, Crawford stormed to the lead early in the race on Pragelato Plan course. She held her lead over Germany's Claudia Kuenzel and pulled away to win in a time of two minutes, 12.3 seconds. Kuenzel edged out Russian Alena Sidko to earn the silver in 2:13.0. Sidko won the bronze medal in a time 2:13.2 while Beckie Scott of Vermilon, Alta., (2:14.7 ) finished fourth in the four-woman final.
Crawford may be the surprise gold medallist, but her performance was dominant. While the other three competitors laboured, Crawford broke out with a smile a few metres before she crossed the finish line. The race showed how much endurance the 22-year-old had over her opponents.
"She was clearly the class of the group, used the same strategy she used in the quarter-finals and bolted up that last hill," CBC cross-country ski analyst Jack Sasseville said of Crawford.
Crawford is only in her second year on the national team and her best finish prior to the Olympics was a 10th-place showing on the World Cup circuit earlier this season. She was 46th at the world championships last year. What makes this win so surprising is that Crawford only took up the sport of cross-country skiing at 16 after five years as a biathlete.
"I don't think in her wildest dreams [she thought she] would be standing on the top step," said Sasseville.
Scott posted the fastest time of the 66-athlete field in the qualification round. Then in the quarter-final race, Scott's powerful skate-skiing technique propelled her to a comfortable lead. However, she used bad judgment in her lane changes and couldn't catch the leaders.
Klassen gold, Groves silver in 1,500
Cindy Klassen's fourth medal of the Torino Olympic Winter Games was pure gold as she and teammate Kristina Groves placed 1-2 in Wednesday's women's 1,500 metre long-track speed skating event.
"This is awesome, it's awesome for Canada," Klassen told CBC Sports. "Both of us skated amazing races."
It was Canada's second whoop-up of the day as skier Chandra Crawford of Canmore, Alta., won gold in the women's cross-country sprint in a dazzling Olympic debut. Klassen blitzed German rival and defending champion Anni Friesinger in the penultimate pairing, pulling ahead with 400 metres left and crossing the finish line in one minute, 55.27 seconds.
"She is so strong," CBC Sports analyst Catriona Le May Doan said of the Winnipeg native, who set a world record of 1:51.79 in World Cup competition last Nov. 20.
Klassen has won a Canadian record four medals at Turin – gold in the 1,500, silvers in the 1,000 and team pursuit, and bronze in the 3,000 – with the 5,000 still to come on Saturday.
Swimmers Elaine Tanner and Anne Ottenbrite won three medals apiece in the 1968 and 1984 Summer Olympics, respectively.
"I came into the Games wanting to just enjoy every moment and that is what I've done," Klassen said. "I think that's what has made me relax during the races and perform well."
Groves, from Ottawa, skated brilliantly in the 15th of 18 pairings, tactically pacing herself to win the silver medal in 1:56.74.
"I knew I had a really good one and I was so happy with that, no matter the outcome," Groves said.
"I just had a clean race and never really had a big drop-off. Finishing 1-2, it's just the best."
Canadian women win short-track silver
Canadians have won the silver medal in the women's short-track relay event. The South Korean team won the gold medal while the Italians claimed the bronze. The strong Chinese team was disqualified.
The Canadian team of Alanna Kraus, Anouk Leblanc-Boucher, Kalyna Roberge and Tania Vicent headed into the competition as strong contenders. The team is the reigning world champion. It also captured one gold medal, one silver and two bronze during 2005-2006 World Cup competition, and is ranked second in the world. Canadians won the bronze medal in this event at the 2002 Salt Lake City Olympics. Kraus is the only member of that Canadian relay team who competed Wednesday.
More curse of the 4th place
Helen Upperton (pilot), Calgary, and Heather Moyse, Summerside, P.E.I., finished fourth with a combined time of 3:51.06 for four runs just 0.05 seconds behind the bronze medallists in Women's two Bobsled on Tuesday. This makes nine fourth place finishes for Canada, eight with an average margin of less than .30 seconds.
Gushue curls into final
Canada's Brad Gushue will play for Olympic gold after an 11-5 semifinal win in nine ends over American Pete Fenson on Wednesday at the Torino Winter Games. Gushue takes on Markku Uusipaavalniemi of Finland in the gold medal game Friday.
Uusipaavalniemi, the 2000 European champion and a two-time bronze medallist at the world championships, defeated David Murdoch of Great Britain 4-3 in the other semifinal. Murdoch will play Fenson on Friday (7:00 a.m. EST) for the bronze medal.
Gushue put pressure on Fenson from the outset Wednesday. With Canada lying three in the first end, Fenson was forced to execute a delicate tap-back to score one. Gushue took the lead in the second, making a nice take-out amid a crowded house to count two. After Fenson evened the score with a draw for one in the third, Gushue jumped to a 4-2 lead after four ends by knocking his own stone into Fenson's and sending it toward the outside of the house. With Canada lying two on the button in the fifth, Fenson escaped trouble by knocking Canada's shot stone just far enough away from the pinhole to rescue a point. But Gushue went up by three in the next end when, lying one, he tapped his guard back just enough to edge an American stone and pick up two. Fenson blanked the seventh end, then cut Gushue's lead to 6-5 with a draw for two to close the eighth. After Gushue took out the only American stone in the house to score five with the final shot of the ninth end, the teams shook hands.
Disappointment for Kleibrink
Canada's Shannon Kleibrink can win nothing better than a bronze medal following Wednesday's 7-5 semifinal loss to Switzerland at the Torino Olympic Winter Games. Kleibrink battles Norway's Dordi Norby for the bronze Thursday at Pinerolo, located 50 kilometres outside Turin.
Norby, winner of consecutive world titles in 1990-91, lost the other semifinal 5-4 to reigning world champion Anette Norberg, who goes for gold against Swiss skip Mirjam Ott. Canada claimed medals in each of the two previous Olympic competitions, with the late Sandra Schmirler winning gold at Nagano in 1998 and Kelley Law bronze at Salt Lake City four years ago.
Kleibrink took a 1-0 lead on Ott in the second end but struggled to regain the upper hand after that. Ott surged ahead in the third, splitting her guards to count three after Kleibrink was long on a freeze. Kleibrink drew against two to score one in the fourth, but relinquished singles over the next two ends to fall behind 5-2. Kleibrink nearly pulled off a sensational runback in the sixth, barely missing Switzerland's shot rock, which was grazing the pinhole. Kleibrink cut the deficit to 5-4 in the seventh, drawing last rock to the button with opposite stones nestled to its right to score two on a measurement. But her wayward draw to the eight-foot in the eighth permitted Ott to tap back for two and a 7-4 lead. Kleibrink was forced to draw for one in the ninth following a pair of remarkably accurate takeouts by Ott, the first a double that removed Canadian shot rocks sandwiched between Swiss stones.
Kleibrink, who curls out of Calgary, posted a 6-3 record during round-robin play, but needed a last-rock victory in the final draw to clinch a playoff berth.
Russia ousts Canada from Olympics
Canada's men won't repeat as Olympic hockey champions after suffering a 2-0 loss to Russia in a quarter-final game on Wednesday. Alexander Ovechkin's power-play goal 90 seconds into the third period stood as the winner, while Evgeni Nabokov made 27 saves for his third shutout of the tournament in Turin, Italy. Ovechkin, who leads all NHL rookies in scoring this season, took a pass from Viktor Kozlov and lifted the puck over fallen Canadian goalie Martin Brodeur. Alex Kovalev added a power-play goal for good measure with 23 seconds left.
The Russians will have to find an answer for Finnish winger Teemu Selanne, who has six goals and nine points in the tourney. But the Anaheim Mighty Ducks sniper will have to face a red-hot Nabokov. Hot and cold this season with the San Jose Sharks, he has been brilliant in Turin. Nabokov stood tall late in the third period, preserving a 1-0 lead while facing a barrage of shots by the Canadians, who went scoreless in 11 of their last 12 periods.
Brodeur turned aside 31 shots while playing with a brace on his left knee that was injured Tuesday when Czech forward Petr Cajanek fell on the New Jersey Devils goaltender in the crease. It was the third consecutive 2-0 loss for the Canada at Torino Esposizioni, following setbacks against Switzerland and Finland. Canada's power play, which struggled throughout the tournament, went 0-for-8. Captain Joe Sakic said his team didn't create enough scoring chances when up a man and didn't do the little things to get the puck in the net.
"It's a different game here," Sakic said, "but I never thought scoring would have been a problem.
"On the big [Olympic-size] ice surface, I think we were trying to be too cute and not playing our [forechecking and physical] game."
Canada played the third period without forward Simon Gagne, who took a hard hit from Darius Kasparaitis in the opening 20 minutes.
Austrian drug scandal update
The president of the Austrian ski federation revealed that two athletes "may have used illegal methods" at the Torino Olympic Winter Games. Federation president Peter Schroecksnadel told reporters Tuesday that Wolfgang Perner and Wolfgang Rottman, both of whom fled Italy when the team's Olympic residences were raided by local police last Sunday evening, confessed to sports director Markus Gandler.
Schroecksnadel did not elaborate, noting only that the skiers have been kicked off the national team and that a commission is being set up to investigate.
"Team Austria is a small group and we live in close proximity to each other," said biathlete Ludwig Gredler, who has competed in five Olympics. "But naturally, I cannot know what happens in other rooms.
"I know I am clean and have taken nothing. But I cannot speak for my teammates."
Later,
Kenaz
Canada Czech mate.
Day 11Team Canada prevails over Czechs
Wayne Gretzky, the most prolific scorer in hockey history, wanted more goals and commitment. And what Gretzky wants, he usually gets. Team Canada responded to Gretzky's edict with its most determined effort of the Torino Olympics, a 3-2 victory over the Czech Republic on Tuesday before a lively crowd of 9,126 at Turin's Palasport Olimpico.
"Every game is a stepping stone in getting better and getting to the final game," Gretzky told CBC Sports.
"I thought our guys played really hard and got our feet wet with a nice win. It's do or die now."
Canada concluded the preliminary round with a 3-2-0 record, good for third place in Group A, and plays Russia in Wednesday's quarter-finals. Gretzky, Team Canada's executive director, criticized its lack of enthusiasm in consecutive shutout losses to Switzerland and Finland, calling for the younger players to better support core veterans like captain Joe Sakic. Head coach Pat Quinn went so far as to call Canada's performance versus Finland "kind of dopey," but the youngsters responded against the Czechs with Brad Richards and Martin St. Louis counting the first two goals to ramp up the team offensively.
"We competed," Quinn claimed. "We did some good things tonight and we're going to try to remember those good things and build off it."
Call it a character win but not necessarily a convincing one as Canada sagged at times, and, if not for the alert goaltending of Martin Brodeur in the third period, might not have come out on top. The Czechs outshot Canada 12-2 in the third and 33-16 overall.
"They took it to us pretty good, give them credit," Brodeur said. "But we were able to hold on.
"We'll hopefully take some positives off this. Although there were some negatives, it's time to be positive."
Chris Pronger, fingered for failing to finish checks and taking needless cross-checking penalties in earlier outings, led the Canadians with one goal and one assist.
"Finally getting a win after a couple of (bad) games gives everyone a lift," he said.
"I have never seen anyone fall off a mountain halfway through a tournament," Gretzky said. "We've got a long way to go here."
Pavel Kubina and Petr Cajanek tallied the goals for the injury-riddled Czech Republic (2-3-0), which finished fourth in Group A. It plays Slovakia in the quarter-finals.
Richards opened the scoring 7:37 into the contest, sweeping into the Czech zone and scoring his second goal of the tournament on a weak shot that fooled Tomas Vokoun between the pads. More importantly, it ended Canada's alarming scoring drought at 129 minutes, 11 seconds – more than two games. Less than seven minutes later, Vincent Lecavalier cycled the puck down low to St. Louis, who banked it in off Vokoun's stick from an awkward angle to make it 2-0. For St. Louis, it was his second goal and came with Frantisek Kaberle serving a hooking penalty. Pronger then stepped into a slap shot and blew it by Vokoun for his first with 36 seconds left in the period.
"We tried to start better and score a couple of quick goals and it was a big plus when we did that," said Team Canada forward Simon Gagne.
Vokoun was lifted in favour of Milan Hnilicka following the first period, in which Canada counted three goals on eight shots. Hnilicka was tested early in the second period, denying St. Louis on a breakaway and with an extended pad save moments later. Brodeur was equally sharp at the other end, smothering a loose puck on the goal-line and reaching high to snare a rising slap shot off the stick of Jaromir Jagr. Skating 5-on-3, the Czechs finally hit the board as Kubina's slap shot eluded Brodeur high to the blocker side with 6:14 left in the second.
"We ended up sitting back a bit and they started to come," Sakic explained. "But there were a lot of good things and a lot of things guys did better."
The Czechs applied relentless pressure early in the third and were rewarded when Cajanek's wrist shot handcuffed Brodeur 2:41 into the period. Cajanek nearly tied it less than a minute later, but Brodeur reached back to make a splendid stick save and retain the margin of victory.
Later,
Kenaz
Tuesday, February 21, 2006
Bernardo confessed to more crimes
CBC News reported this morning that convicted child killer and devils son Paul Bernardo has confessed to at least 10 more sexual assaults, according to a published report.
Bernardo asked his lawyer to relay the confession to authorities in order to clear up some loose ends in his case, said the Toronto Star.
Convicted in 1995, Bernardo is serving a life sentence for 14 rapes and the murders of teenagers Kristin French and Leslie Mahaffy. He claims he committed the new series of rapes between 1986 and 1991.
He has been declared a dangerous offender, which will keep him in prison indefinitely.
His former wife, Karla Homolka, told police in 1993 that Bernardo told her he had raped as many as 30 women.
Homolka, who served 12 years in prison for her role in the slayings, finished her sentence in July.
* INDEPTH: Bernardo and Homolka
Later,
Kenaz
Bernardo asked his lawyer to relay the confession to authorities in order to clear up some loose ends in his case, said the Toronto Star.
Convicted in 1995, Bernardo is serving a life sentence for 14 rapes and the murders of teenagers Kristin French and Leslie Mahaffy. He claims he committed the new series of rapes between 1986 and 1991.
He has been declared a dangerous offender, which will keep him in prison indefinitely.
His former wife, Karla Homolka, told police in 1993 that Bernardo told her he had raped as many as 30 women.
Homolka, who served 12 years in prison for her role in the slayings, finished her sentence in July.
* INDEPTH: Bernardo and Homolka
Later,
Kenaz
Time Line Of Kidnapping In Iraq of Four Aid Workers
Image of Briton Norman Kember from the hostage video
Image of Thomas Fox, an American from Virginia, from the hostage video.
Image of Canadian Harmeet Singh Sooden--a resident of New Zealand. Image of James Loney, of Canada.November 26, 2005
Four Christian Peacemaker Team mebers two Canadians,an American and one British on an aid mission in Baghdad are taken at gunpoint on Saturday.
November 28, 2005
A video showing the four men sitting on the ground, and the passport belonging to one of them is aired on Iraqi News Station Al-Jazeera. A time stamp indicates the video was recorded on Nov. 27.
November 29, 2005
The hostages are identified as Harmeet Singh Sooden, a 32-year-old Canadian, 41-year-old James Loney of Toronto, Norman Kember, 74, from London, England and Tom Fox, 54, from the United States.
The four are members of Christian Peacemaker Teams, a small, international group which aims to reduce worldwide violence.
The organization has denied claims by the kidnappers, a group calling itself the Swords of Righteousness Brigade, that the four were spies working in Iraq. "All of us are praying that they will be merciful and these people will be released," said Doug Pritchard of the Christian Peacemaker Teams.
Canadian Prime Minister Paul Martin issues a statement saying that Foreign Affairs is in contact with the families of the hostages and is working on their behalf.
"I want you to know that there is no more urgent issue than ensuring the safety of our citizens," said Martin.
In a statement released Tuesday, Christian Peacemakers Teams said it was outraged that the four pacifists, including a pair of Canadians, are now suffering for a war they didn't create.
"We are angry because what has happened to our teammates is the result of the actions of the U.S. and U.K. governments due to the illegal attack on Iraq and the continuing occupation and oppression of its people," the Toronto- and Chicago-based organization wrote in the statement posted online.
December 1, 2005
In what Prime Minister Paul Martin called "a callous act of terror" a shadowy group holding two Canadian peace activists hostage threatened Friday to kill them and two other Christian aid workers if its demands for the release of detainees weren't met.
The unknown kidnappers set a deadline of Thursday December 8, for authorities to meet their demand for all prisoners in U.S. and Iraqi detention centres to be released, according to Al-Jazeera news channel, which quoted a statement delivered with videotape it aired.
December 2,2005
In an interview from Baghdad, a colleague of the two members of Christian Peacemaker Teams taken hostage on Saturday said there had been no contact from the kidnappers.
"It's still more hurry up and wait," Greg Rollins said.
"We've been getting friends to release statements in hopes they (the kidnappers) will step forward and say something or do something, but there's been nothing."
Palestinian activists have added their voices to those concerned about the four members from the Christian Peacemaker Teams - including two Canadians - kidnapped in Iraq on Sunday.
The Palestinians gathered in Ramallah's main square Thursday, where they called on the militants in Iraq to release the four men.
"Your brothers in Palestine ask the Iraqi fighters in Fallujah, who are defending their country from their enemies the Americans, to release our international brothers, who have helped us in our struggle for freedom here," said Basel Masour.
December 5
Family and friends of the four hostages held in Iraq publicly plead for the release of their loved ones.
"Harmeet … is a peace loving man," said Manjeet Kaur Sooden, whose son, Harmeet Sing Sooden, is among the four hostages. "He went to Iraq to do good. I pray those who are holding Harmeet will look into their hearts [and] see the good that is in my son."
Loney's family also spoke to his captors and pleaded for his release.
"Please release him," said his mother, Claudette Loney. "We miss him. We love him. And we want him home."
"We want him to be able to continue the work that is just so important to him with the Iraqi people," said Loney's sister, Kathleen Weir.
Tom Fox is said to have prepared his family in case he was taken hostage, something many aid workers going over to Iraq feel the need to do. The family is reluctant to speak out because they fear it will harm Fox and his co-workers.
"A number of Christian peacekeeper teams actually have prepared statements of conscience in case something should happen," Rose said. "Tom's team was developed with co-workers knowing the prevalence of threat. … They wanted to make sure that everyone knew they did not want military or a forceful group to rescue them."
The first recent American hostage to receive considerable media attention was Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl, kidnapped in Pakistan and beheaded.
Later, Nicholas Berg, American businessman kidnapped in Iraq, befell the same fate.
Military and civilians from Bulgaria, South Korea and Italy have been captured and beheaded in Iraq. Beheading has become a preferred tactic of terror for insurgent groups and al Qaeda.
Even still, Christian Peacemaker Teams refused armed protection in Iraq.
"We don't use guns, we are non-violent," Rose said. "What kind of integrity would a non-violent group have if they were guarded by men with guns? To be honest, members of our group often act as non-violent guards and in Palestine. Tom was escorting Palestinian farmers to work through border points."
December 6
A new videotape posted on the internet shows four Western hostages in Iraq, including two Canadians, as they make assurances that they are being treated well.
The tape shows the Canadians unshackled while the other two hostages – an American and a Briton – are handcuffed.
"We are being treated well. We are both well. All of us are well," Torontonian Jim Loney says on the tape.
"We're being treated well. We are sleeping OK. We'd like to thank the people holding us for that," adds Harmeet Sooden, formerly of Montreal.
It was not clear whether the men were speaking of their own volition. Neither is it clear when the tape was made, although the images are dated Dec. 2
December 7
The Iraqi group holding hostage four Christian peace activists, including two Canadians, extended their deadline for execution until Saturday, al-Jazeera repots.
Meanwhile, the family of one of the kidnapped Canadian men in Iraq continued to hold out hope for his release Wednesday as a deadline looms to execute him and three other hostages.
Speaking from Sault Ste. Marie, Ont., Loney's family thanked all those working to free him, and expressed hope of seeing that happen soon.
"We want James home," said his brother Matthew Loney. "We want the other members home. And we want a peaceful resolution to how things are going over there," he said.
Matthew Loney also referred to a video that was released of the hostages saying, "We are grateful that Jim appeared well cared for in the last tape and we pray that will continue."
Loney's brother Ed appeared to fight back tears as he said, "At this time we would like to express our compassion and support for all families facing similar circumstances."
Editorial, by me.
Experts speculate the extention of the deadline and the unshackling of the Canadians are part of the mind games the Iraqi captors are playing. The assumption is that the message the captors wish to convey is "if you don't wish to paticipate with countries that we feel are trying to supress us (ie America and Britain) than you will be treated fairly, if you do then you will meet the same fate as they will." Hense the shackled and blindfolded American and British Aid Worker.
Neither the Canadian government nor military has never taken a proactive stance in this latest US and British led campaign to rid Iraq of the perceived terrorist threat, they have though been open supporters of their effors. Hopefully, after the election in January, the next Canadian government will wake up and provide better defense our peace keepers and aid workers.
December 9
Family and supporters around the world spent Friday in growing trepidation as a grim deadline set by kidnappers holding four Christian peace activists in Iraq loomed.
The still mysterious group of kidnappers threatened to kill the two Canadians and their fellow hostages unless the Americans released thousands of prisoners in Iraq by Saturday - International Human Rights Day.
"I really can't imagine anything worse than the scenario that myself and my family are going through right now," Ed Loney, brother of Canadian hostage Jim Loney told the Canadian Press.
Sunni clerics in Iraq issued a plea on Friday for the freedom of four Western hostages, including two Canadians.
At the Abu Hanifa Mosque in a Baghdad, Sunni cleric Imam Ahmed Taha devoted part of Friday prayers to the hostages. Speaking in Arabic he said, "We ask those who have the authority and the power to do their best to release the people who work for a Christian peace organization," he said. "They were the first who condemned the war on Iraq."
December 10
Loney's family waited in his parents' home in Sault Ste. Marie, Ont., his brothers Ed and Matthew spoke about the ordeal with CBC News.
"The whole thing is just one really gut-wrenching experience after another," Ed Loney said.
"You don't know what's going to happen and you can't get caught up in those little deadlines or those little apparently meaningful things. It's all meaningful at this point."
He said his parents, who are in their 70s, have suffered most.
"They don't need the added stress and the pressure to complicate their lives. We're a bit younger, we can deal with that a bit better – but to imagine it going on for weeks and months would be terrible."
Loney's brothers said that, in scouring the media for news, they've discovered his fight against rights violations in Iraq and Palestine touched more lives than they ever imagined.
"We know what he was like within our family," said Matthew Loney. "But we didn't know as much, nearly as much, as we could have known about his work."
He said the irony was that the peace activists' goals weren't that different from those of their captors, who are demanding that U.S. and British military authorities free all prisoners being held in Iraq.
"Anything that happens to them negatively will impact the work that can be done for human rights in Iraq and around the world, and in the Middle East."
December 12
The tense waiting continued Monday with still no word of any kind on the fate of four Western hostages, including two Canadians, being held in Iraq.
December 13
The Swords of Righteousness Brigades, the group holding four western peace activists hostage in Iraq has ties to the Islamic Army, which has in the past killed several hostages, according to a Canadian newspaper. The National Post reported Tuesday that the previously unknown hostage-takers had uploaded at least two videotaped statements onto a hidden directory of an Islamic Army website that is only accessible to those in contact with the site's administrator.
"I would say that there is a strong connection between the hostage-takers and the Islamic Army," said Rita Katz, director of the SITE Institute, a US organization that monitors Jihadist activities and made the link. Katz said she had alerted US officials.
The Islamic Army killed Italian journalist Enzo Baldoni in 2004, and a statement from the group last week claimed American contractor Ronald Allen Schulz has been executed, but Washington officials could not confirm his death.
The group was also behind the kidnapping of French journalists Christian Chesnot and Georges Malbrunot, who were freed at the end of 2004 after being held captive for four months.
December 15
A colleague of four Western hostages in Iraq told CBC News on Thursday that concerted efforts are continuing to try to reach the captors and get the four men set free.
"We're thinking that no news is good news, that maybe they're trying to figure out what their next move should be," Greg Rollins of Surrey, B.C., told CBC News on Thursday
December 24
Families of Iraq hostages advertise for help
CTV.ca
The faces of four captive Christian Peacemakers Team (CPT) members appeared on the front pages of Baghdad newspapers Saturday, along with new appeals for their safe release.
Family members have placed the ads and they are planning another appeal on Iraqi radio for Dec. 26.
The messages say that Canadians James Loney and Harmeet Singh Sooden, Briton Norman Kember and American Tom Fox are men of peace who want to help Iraq.
The ads also say: "Many clerics and religious figures from the Arab and Muslim world have spoken of the good work the men were doing."
A phone number is offered for anonymous callers to give "any information that can help."
Many people in Baghdad want to see the captives released.
"At the end of the day, we are trying to live in peace," one Iraqi told CTV News. "This is our chance to prove to the world we are a peaceful people."
Back in Canada, vigils continue to be held by friends and supporters.
In Toronto on Saturday, people gathered to sing, pray and hope for the hostages' safe return.
Meanwhile, worried family members say they will try to celebrate Christmas.
"There's only one thing that would satisfy our entire family and that's to have this thing over with," Matthew Loney, the brother of captive Jim Loney told CTV News on Friday.
The Loney family says a place will be set at the Christmas dinner table for James.
His brother Ed says the family will try to have a normal holiday celebration in their Sault Ste. Marie, Ont. home.
"Just do our typical thing, you know," Loney said. "Have dinner and share the day with my sister's family … and keep it really simple, but still keep Jim in mind."
Sooden's brother-in-law Mark Brewer says his family continues to regard the lack of news about the hostages as a positive sign.
January 29. 2006
One of four kidnapped Christian peace activist Canadian, James Loney, of Toronto is seen in this image aired by Al Jazeera TV on Saturday. (AP)Vigils struck for hostages in Iraq
Canadian Press and Associated Press
Baghdad — As they anxiously wait and hope for good news from Iraq, relatives of a Canadian hostage say they are thankful for the overwhelming support they've received over the last two months.
Matt Loney, brother of Canadian hostage James Loney, said he has been touched by events like Sunday's marches in Toronto and Vancouver, and the continued outpouring of support for his family.
The demonstrations were organized by the Christian Peacemaker Teams. Four of the group's members, including James Loney, were kidnapped Nov. 26 in Baghdad.
"As shocking as the original news of the kidnapping was, we've been even more overwhelmed as a family by the support we've been getting; and that's been locally and internationally," Mr. Loney said.
Sunday's events were planned weeks ago and followed by a day the release of a 55-second video showing Canadian hostages Mr. Loney and Harmeet Singh Sooden, along with an American and a British co-worker.
The tape, time stamped Jan. 21, was shown Saturday on the Arab all-news network al-Jazeera, seven weeks after the captors — the previously unknown Swords of Righteousness Brigades — made their last set of demands and the passing of a deadline that was met with silence.
The video — which is grey and apparently shot using the camera's night-vision function — shows the four men standing near a wall, then cuts to another shot in which the men are seated and talking but their voices are not heard.
At one point, Mr. Loney is seen close-up wearing a tuque and speaking into the camera, and he looked relatively fine, said the CPT's William Payne, a friend of Mr. Loney's.
"My immediate reaction was he looked well considering the circumstances and I was really happy," Mr. Payne said Saturday. "He seemed himself from his facial expressions."
The Loney family awoke to the news of the videotape Saturday morning and said they were encouraged to see James is still alive.
His brother Matt in Vancouver first heard about the video early Saturday and said that while it was good to see his brother, it still wasn't the best of news.
"It's a good and bad scenario. We know that he's alive and the others are alive as well, and we take great solace in that fact," he said.
"But the fact remains that this is still a delicate situation."
Mr. Loney's mother was happy to see her son again, even under the difficult circumstances, said the CPT's Rebecca Johnson.
"Mrs. Loney was also relieved to see her son is alive and happy to see that, that was one of the first things she said," according to Ms. Johnson.
"(The family) is hoping for the best and for his release, of course."
The Swords of Righteousness Brigades called the brief tape a "last chance" for the hostages. They demanded the release of all Iraqi prisoners "otherwise their fate will be death."
No deadline was set.
Government spokesman Dan McTeague said Saturday that freeing the hostages — Mr. Loney, 41, of Toronto; Mr. Sooden, 32, a former Montreal resident; Tom Fox, 54, of Clear Brook, Va., and Norman Kember, 74, of London — remains a priority.
"All the resources of the government of Canada have been co-ordinated to communicate and listen to and receive any info that would help us see the safe release of these hostages," Mr. McTeague said.
Christian Peacemaker Teams has been working in Iraq since October 2002, investigating allegations of abuse against Iraqi detainees by American and Iraqi forces. Its teams host human rights conferences in conflict zones, promoting peaceful solutions.
Humanitarian workers had been warned repeatedly by Iraqi and western security officials that they were taking a grave risk if they moved around Baghdad without bodyguards.
More than 250 foreigners have been taken hostage in Iraq since the 2003 U.S.-led invasion that toppled Saddam Hussein, and at least 39 have been killed.
Al-Jazeera editor Saad al-Dosari declined to say how the station obtained the tape but that all of the footage was aired.
Mon, 20 Feb 2006
Foreign Affairs Minister Peter MacKay 'very optimistic' about release of Canadian hostages in IraqCanada's new foreign affairs minister says he believes the two Canadians, and two other Westerners taken hostage in Iraq, are still "very much" alive.
"The most up-to-date information that we have leads us to believe that there will be -- and we remain very optimistic -- a safe release of these individuals," Peter MacKay said in an interview with Canadian Press.
On Monday, MacKay told CP the government is "pursuing all means, with our allies, to be helpful and supportive to ensure their safe return and release."
"The most recent information leads us to believe they have, on a number of occasions, been moved from one location to another."
"We remain very optimistic about their well-being," MacKay said.
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