The Canadian economy added just 2,300 jobs last month and the unemployment rate hit a nine-month high, which are more signs that Canada's labour market remains tepid.
Canada's jobless rate increased a "notch" to 7.6% in January, Statistics Canada said on Friday. Economists had forecast 22,000 new jobs in the month, with the unemployment rate staying at 7.5%.
Canada has added 129,000 jobs over the past year. However, the bulk of them were in the first six months of that period. Since last summer, job creation has been sluggish and the unemployment rate has ticked higher, reflecting cautiousness of employers in an uncertain economic climate.
The report "reinforces the point that Canada's job creation engine is cooling markedly," said Douglas Porter, deputy chief economist at BMO Nesbitt Burns in a note. "With domestic drivers now gearing down, the job market needs the U.S. economy to gather some serious momentum."
The U.S. jobs market, however, is finally looking up. American employers created 243,000 jobs last month (outstripping expectations and sending the unemployment rate to a near three-year low of 8.3%, the U.S. Department of Labor said today).
In Canada, part-time positions rose by 5,900 while full-time jobs fell by 3,600. Both the private sector and the public sector added to head count, while self-employment fell.
The Toronto Stock Exchange registered a modest gain yesterday as traders took in some encouraging employment data a day ahead of the key U.S. non-farm payrolls report for January.
The S&P/TSX composite index gained 35.82 points to 12,553.48, lifted in part by earnings news from the tech sector and major deal-making in the resource sector, while the TSX Venture Exchange added 23.26 points to 1,660.57.
The Canadian dollar slipped 0.05 of a cent to 100.04 cents (U.S.) after the loonie closed above parity with the U.S. dollar on Wednesday for the first time since late October.
New York markets were mixed as traders also took in testimony by U.S. Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke on the health of the U.S. economy.
New York's Dow Jones industrial average declined 11.12 points to 12,705.34. The NASDAQ composite index gained 11.41 points to 2,859.68 while the S&P 500 index edged 1.45 points higher to 1,325.54.
The U.S. Department of Labor said that weekly unemployment applications fell by 12,000 to a seasonally adjusted rate of 367,000. The four-week average, a less volatile measure, dropped for the third straight week to 375,750.
That's the second-lowest level for the four-week average since June 2008.
"The trend remains friendly and supportive of further gains in hiring," said BMO Capital Markets senior economist Jennifer Lee. "U.S. employers have been operating on a lean and mean scale over the past four years and are starting to boost their payrolls slowly but steadily."
Adding to optimism about U.S. employment was a report from payroll firm ADP that suggests the American private sector created 170,000 jobs last month. Economists have been expecting a total of 150,000 new U.S. jobs in January.
Employment figures for Canada also come out today. Stay tuned...
Republican frontrunner Mitt Romney has taken a big lead in Nevada, the next state to vote for a Republican candidate to run against U.S. President Barack Obama in November, a new poll showed yesterday.
Fresh from a decisive victory in Florida, Mr. Romney was polling 45% to nearest rival Newt Gingrich's 25% in the survey of likely Republican caucus-goers by the Las Vegas Review-Journal and 8NewsNow.
Nevada Republicans hold caucuses on Saturday to pick 28 delegates to the Republican national convention, the first nominating contest in the western United States.
Trailing in the Nevada poll were former senator Rick Santorum with 11% and Texas congressman Ron Paul with 9%.
Powering Mr. Gingrich's bid in Nevada are conservative Republicans who say they are strong Tea Party supporters, 37% of whom said they would vote for the former House speaker to 27% for Romney.
Fellow Mormons opt for Romney by an overwhelming 85.5%, the poll found. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, its official name, was organized in the United States in 1830 and represents 2% of the U.S. population.
Although only 7% of Nevada's population are Mormons, they accounted for a quarter of Republican caucus-goers in 2008, in which Mr. Romney won with 51% of the vote.
The telephone poll was conducted Friday through Tuesday by the Cannon Survey Center at the University of Nevada, which interviewed 426 Republicans who said they planned to attend the caucuses.
When it comes to NDP MP Pat Martin from Winnipeg Centre, civility doesn't seem to be his style.
Earlier this week, Senator Pierre-Hugues Boisvenu suggested that Canada's worst murderers be given a rope so that they can choose to kill themselves. This is important, as he has lost a daughter to a repeat-offender before.
Mr. Martin then proceeded to call him an "asshole." When an apology from him was demanded, the "un-classy" member from Winnipeg Centre refused to apologize.
"Nobody elected this son of a bitch, he should keep his comments to himself," Mr. Martin told the Winnipeg Free Press.
Mr. Boisvenu is an outspoken victims' rights advocate. His daughter was raped and murdered by a repeat offender in Quebec in 2002. He was appointed to the senate in 2009.
After his original statement, Mr. Boisvenu retracted his remarks later in the day and said he was sorry if he offended anyone whose relatives had committed suicide. On Thursday, however, he noted he received hundreds of emails supporting his call.
Manitoba Senior Minister and Public Safety Minister Vic Toews demanded that Mr. Martin apologize Thursday.
"Pat Martin's constituents, and indeed all Canadians, would be better served if the MP and his soft-on-crime party, would direct their outrage and vitriol at the criminals who victimize innocent, law-abiding Canadians rather than at a senator whose family has suffered a terrible loss at the hands of a repeat offender," Mr. Toews said in a letter to the editor.
This is the second time in recent months that Mr. Martin has been called to apologize for cursing. In November, he went on a profanity-laced tirade on Twitter when the Conservative government moved to close debate on a budget bill that had already been debated.
"This is a fucking disgrace... closure again. And on the Budget! There's not a democracy in the world that would tolerate this jackboot shit," he wrote. When someone on Twitter then called Martin a "foul mouth socialist," Mr. Martin responded with "fuck you." He told another critic to "eat my shorts."
Mr. Martin, who had pledged to bring civility back to the House of Commons, refused to apologize then as well.
To celebrate the famous animated program's 500th episode, FOX is planning to run a marathon viewing for fans of The Simpsons to watch 500 episodes in order to break the world record.
Fans will come together to watch up to 500 continuous episodes of The Simpsons in an impressive attempt to break the current Guinness World Record of 86 hours, 6 minutes and 41 seconds (set by fans of 24) for the longest ever continuous television viewing, Hollywood News reports.
According to the Los Angeles Times, it will take place February 8, 2012 and it is predicted that it will take around 200 hours to make it through all the episodes, with the average episode running for 24 minutes.
At the end of it all, the very tired winner will walk away with the grand prize of $10,500.
If you're looking for a one-night stand, you might want to target someone tall, dark and packing an Android phone. If you want to date a co-worker, you should hope she has an iPhone. As for drinks, you'll want to invite someone with a BlackBerry.
Those are the conclusions of a survey conducted for the dating website Match.com by Zoomerang, an online polling and survey site. The online survey of 1,068 single Canadians found that 62% of Android users said they've had sex on the first date, compared to 57% of iPhone users and 48% of BlackBerry fans.
Android fans are also most likely to have a one-night stand (55%) and be more active on dating websites. In all, 72% of Android users had visited an online dating site, compared to 58% of iPhone users and 50% of BlackBerry users.
Meanwhile, iPhone addicts are office romantics. Nearly 25% of single iPhone owners have had an office romance in the last five years, and they are mostly likely to wait just one day to call after a date. Android or Blackberry users will wait until after two or three dates.
BlackBerry users are most likely to drink alcohol on a first date (72%will have a drink on a first night out, which may explain why an interesting 67% of BlackBerry users also said they have experienced love at first sight).
So, based on this study, if I wanted my next girlfriend (if anyone is willing to date someone like me, who loves politics and driving a Toyota) to be the "the one," I should be getting a BlackBerry. That seems a little twisted...
For now, I'll stick to Android for the foreseeable future. As much as I'd like to say that I trust my life with Google's Android operating system, I can't... yet.
Manufacturing data Wednesday suggested the global economy is strengthening, which increased risk appetite and helped the Canadian dollar close above par with its U.S. counterpart for the first time since October 31, 2011.
The dollar pared some of its earlier gains but ended the day at US$1.0009, up 37 basis points.
"The loonie's doing a bit better on the general positive outlook," Michael O'Neill, vice-president of foreign-exchange trading at RJOFX Canada, a unit of RJ O'Brien & Associates Inc., told Bloomberg. "That's partly from the China (PMI) data last night and also in part because Europe hasn't cratered. There's also a bit more optimism surrounding the U.S. economy. What's good for the U.S. is good for global growth; Canada is along for the ride."
It's as bad as SeaWorld and a sign of moral decline on a daytime TV staple loved by grannies and dream-seekers alike. The Calgary Stampede, that is. And retired host of The Price is Right, Bob Barker is appalled.
On yesterday's episode, a contestant won a showcase showdown including airfare to Calgary, five days at a hotel with car rental, two days at the Stampede and tickets to the rodeo and chuck-wagon races.
The prize, valued at $25,329, also included six pairs of leather boots and a Toyota Tacoma truck. That Toyota Tacoma truck part is the best part.
However, Bob Barker was anything but thrilled by the win.
"I'm concerned about the Calgary Stampede's history of animals dying and animals being abused on a regular basis, not unlike every rodeo here in the U.S. They're all cruel," he said from his home in Los Angeles. "They don't represent the glory of the Old West, or the glory of the Canadian West, they are just cruel and unsavoury forms of entertainment that should be stopped altogether."
Mr. Barker, who retired from the show in 2007, said he first became concerned about the direction of The Price is Right when the show gave away tickets to SeaWorld in Florida last month. He said he called the executive producer to complain, but never got a call back.
When Mr. Barker headed the long-time program beloved by canny consumers, "we didn't do anything that could be described as harmful for animals. We didn't have fur coats on the show, we didn't give away leather on the show. We didn't give away anything objectionable, we were very careful."
Mr. Barker hosted the price-guessing game show since it was revamped in 1972. He passed the microphone on to its new host, comedian Drew Carey, shortly after retirement.
"I don't blame Drew Carey, I don't know if he had anything to do with the selection of the prizes, or if he is able to reject the prize," Mr. Barker said. "I think Drew does have a concern for animals. He may not understand or may not be well-informed on what the Calgary Stampede is and he may not be in a position to do anything about it... but someone should know and somebody should have frowned on this immediately."
The Calgary Stampede is preparing for its centennial celebration this year and recently made the list of CNN's top places to visit in 2012. Last year, two horses died during the chuck-wagon races. In 2010, a particularly bad year for the event, the show lost six horses.
However, spokesman Doug Fraser said that the Stampede does everything it can to care for the lives of its animals.
"During the Stampede, we have 7,500 animals that will take part in our exhibition in education and competition events," he said. "We take the care of these animals very seriously."
Several independent groups, including the Alberta SPCA and the Calgary Humane Society, oversee the event, he added. Rodeo animals are bred for the event.
Mr. Fraser said that the Stampede has a record for a "progressive and responsible approach to animal care." Mr. Barker has advocated for animal rights for decades, a passion born of a childhood love of strays and injured creatures, he said.
"I'd like to see the Stampede disappear completely, I'd like to see rodeos in the U.S. disappear. I'd like to see circuses disappear, I'd like to see all forms of animal cruelty disappear," he said.
As for The Price is Right, "I hope the people who select the prizes for the show become much, much more careful."
He also added: "Help control the pet population. Have your pet spayed or neutered. I close everything with that."
Canada's groundhog weathermen are calling for an early spring. Ontario's Wiarton Willie and Nova Scotia's rodent Shubenacadie Sam didn't see their shadows when they emerged on Thursday morning.
However, the predictions by the Canadian groundhogs are at odds with Pennsylvania's Punxsutawney Phil, who is calling for six more weeks of winter. Folklore has it that if a groundhog sees his shadow on Groundhog Day, he'll flee to his burrow, heralding six more weeks of winter, and if he doesn't, it means spring's around the corner.
The forecasts come in the middle of an unusually mild winter that has taken even seasoned meteorologists by surprise. Environment Canada warned this fall to expect colder-than-normal temperatures in the north and west.
However, the past few months have brought balmy weather peppered with a few cold snaps in most of Canada. Last year, several of the groundhogs, including Willie, predicted an early spring while a raging snowstorm battered Ontario.
About 150 people cheered Sam's forecast on an overcast day at Shubenacadie Wildlife Park shortly after dawn.
"I don't think we are going to have balmy spring weather tomorrow, but there is a light at the end of the tunnel," said Susan Penney, a station co-ordinator at the park, about 60 kilometres north of Halifax.
In Wiarton, a crowd in the hundreds, some dressed as groundhogs, waited as Mayor John Close listened to Willie's prediction.
Mr. Close's announcement of "hello summer, it's an early spring," drew wild cheers after Willie failed to see his shadow.
If only these groundhogs were actually right... but either way, warm or cold weather is fine with me. I just don't like when the snow falls, as I dislike shovelling the most.
Being told that you have a "nice personality" is nice to hear, right? Well, for the most part, it's usually a backhanded compliment, which usually means "You stink up the joint."
In a recent poll asking more than 1,000 Canadians, a sense of humour emerged as a top desired quality in a partner, with women wanting a funny Valentine significantly more than men: 40%, versus 26%.
The online survey was conducted for Dentyne in January and is considered to be accurate within 3.09 percentage points, 19 times out of 20. A public discussion will be hosted by Dentyne Canada's Facebook page on Valentine's Day.
Facebook Inc. today made a much-anticipated status update: the Internet social network is going public eight years after its CEO Mark Zuckerberg started the service at Harvard University.
That means anyone with the right amount of cash will be able to own part of a Silicon Valley icon that quickly transformed from dorm-room start-up to cultural touchstone.
If its initial public offering of stock makes enough friends on Wall Street, Facebook will probably make its stock-market debut in three or four months as one of the world's most valuable companies. Facebook, which is now based in Menlo Park, California, hopes to list its stock under the ticker symbol, FB, on the New York Stock Exchange or NASDAQ Stock Market.
In its regulatory filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, Facebook indicated that it hopes to raise $5-billion (U.S.) in its IPO. That would be the most for an Internet IPO since Google Inc. and its early backers raised $1.9-billion in 2004. The final amount will likely change as Facebook's bankers gauge the investor demand.
Joining corporate America's elite would give Facebook new-found financial clout as it tries to make its service even more pervasive and expand its audience of 845 million users. It also could help Facebook fend off an intensifying challenge from Google, which is looking to solidify its status as the Internet's most powerful company with a rival social network called Google+.
Mr. Zuckerberg, 27, has emerged as the latest in a lineage of Silicon Valley prodigies who are alternately hailed for pushing the world in new directions and reviled for overstepping their bounds. In Mr. Zuckerberg's case, a lawsuit alleging that he stole the idea for Facebook from some Harvard classmates became the grist for a book and a movie that was nominated for an Academy Award last year.
Following the model of Google co-founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin, Mr. Zuckerberg set up two classes of stock that will ensure he retains control as the sometimes conflicting demands of Wall Street exert new pressures on the company. He will have the final say on how nearly 57% of Facebook's stock votes, according to the filing.
WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange on Wednesday launched a final attempt to persuade British officials not to force him to go to Sweden to face sex crimes allegations. A lawyer for the 40-year-old Australian told Britain's highest court that age-old legal tradition would be compromised if it endorsed a European Arrest Warrant written up by Swedish prosecutors.
The Supreme Court hearing is the latest chapter in Mr. Assange's months-long fight against allegations of molestation and rape lodged by two women he met during a trip to Sweden in 2010, just as his website was grabbing worldwide attention with its spectacular leaks of sensitive U.S. government documents.
Mr. Assange denies the allegations, arguing that the sex was consensual, and has refused to return to Sweden, saying he fears the case against him is being manipulated to political ends.
Although Mr. Assange's saga has been shot through with international diplomacy, cyber-activism and scandal, the case now before the United Kingdom's Supreme Court hinges on a dry technicality: whether Sweden's public prosecutor was qualified to issue a warrant for Mr. Assange's arrest.
In Britain as in the United States, judges can only generally issue arrest warrants, and U.K. courts only honour European arrest warrants issued by what they describe as judicial authorities. So far, British courts have upheld the Swedish warrant on the grounds that prosecutors there, like elsewhere in Europe, play a quasi-judicial role.
Mr. Assange's lawyer Dinah Rose tried to tear that argument apart today, telling the seven justices gathered in wood-panelled Courtroom 1 that a prosecutor "does not, and indeed cannot as a matter of principle, exercise judicial authority."
Ms. Rose spoke confidently and with few interruptions, unlike Sweden's lawyer Clare Montgomery, who was repeatedly questioned by judges about her assertion that impartiality wasn't a prerequisite for issuing an arrest warrant.
"The decision whether to arrest somebody might be made by somebody who is partisan," Ms. Montgomery insisted. "That happens throughout Europe."
The U.K. justices will hear more from Ms. Montgomery tomorrow. Their ruling isn't expected for another few weeks.
Experts interviewed before the hearing said the advantage was with the Swedish side.
British judges "absolutely defer" to their European counterparts' justice systems, she said, adding that she would be "very surprised" if Mr. Assange's team triumphed.
If they rule against Mr. Assange, the 40-year-old Australian is expected to be on a flight to Sweden within two weeks. Ms. Assange could conceivably appeal to the European Court of Human Rights, but because Sweden is a fellow European country that would not stop his extradition.
Once in Sweden, he would be arrested and a detention hearing would be held within four days. Prosecutors could decide to release him after questioning, but the court could also extend his period of detention. Such hearings must be held every two weeks until a suspect is charged or released. There is no such thing as bail in Sweden.
It's still not clear whether charges will be brought against Mr. Assange if he's brought to Sweden. If he were convicted, the penalties for the types of crime he's accused of range from fines to as much as six years in prison.
Ryan Bater has stepped down as leader of the Saskatchewan Liberals three months after the party earned less than 1% of the popular vote in the provincial election.
Calling it a "very difficult" decision, Mr. Bater said he can no longer make the personal and professional sacrifices needed to lead the effort to regain a Liberal presence in the legislature.
"The amount of commitment required from an individual to do that is very great," Mr. Bater said in an interview Tuesday. "It's important for me to sort of get my life on track professionally and personally, and it's impossible to do while leading a political party."
Mr. Bater, who is 33, has been at the helm of the party since the summer of 2008 and formally became the leader in February 2009.
Only nine candidates ran under the Liberal banner in the November 7, 2011 election. Mr. Bater spent most of his time trying to win his home constituency of The Battlefords, but came in a distant third as the Saskatchewan Party's Herb Cox defeated NDP incumbent Len Taylor.
The Saskatchewan Party formed a second and even stronger majority with 49 seats, while the NDP's seat total fell to nine. It was the third consecutive election in which the once-mighty Liberal party failed to elect any MLAs.
Mr. Bater said that he doesn't know what the party's future in Saskatchewan will be, saying that decision is up to the party membership and voters.
"Part of my decision, quite frankly, is looking at the very clear message that voters gave us. They do not want a third party. They do not want that Liberal voice. That much is clear," Mr. Bater said.
Mr. Bater said that the Liberals put forward important ideas during the campaign and chalked up part of the election outcome to "bad luck," citing a Saskatchewan Party wave of support.
His resignation came as the Liberals announced a series of meetings to review the results of the election. The first session is scheduled for February 11, 2012 in Saskatoon, and there will likely be discussion about selecting an interim party leader, said Gerry Hiebert, an official agent for the Saskatchewan Liberals.
Mr. Hiebert said the party has to look at all the options. But when asked about the idea of the Liberal party going on hiatus, Mr. Hiebert said he doesn't think that's one of them.
However, Ken Rasmussen of the Johnson-Shoyama Graduate School of Public Policy said that Liberal prospects are "moribund."
He said that the Liberal party could have built itself into the opposition to the NDP with the collapse of Saskatchewan's Progressive Conservatives, but the party failed to capitalize on the opportunity. The Saskatchewan Party eventually formed as a coalition of former Progressive Conservative and Liberal members.
"(The Liberal party) didn't get the right-of-centre vote coalesced around them or anything," Mr. Rasmussen said. "It was a historic blunder."
State representative Dr. Matt Heinz of Tucson has become the first Democrat to officially announce his candidacy for the Congressional seat vacated by Gabrielle Giffords.
Dr. Heinz said he will be running in both the special election and the November general election. Touting his experience problem solving and creating consensus across party lines in the Legislature and as a doctor at the Tucson Medical Center, Dr. Heinz said he's the best person to fill Ms. Giffords' position. Dr. Heinz has served four years over two terms in the state legislature.
"I've been thinking a lot about how we can move forward and how we can best honor Gabby's strength, conviction and leadership," Dr. Heinz said Tuesday morning. "One of the best ways we can do that is by moving quickly and making sure that, in this very short time frame, we get somebody in there to fill that vacancy that is going to carry forward her tradition of common sense, moderate, consensus-building and problem solving."
Many are expecting Ms. Giffords to endorse a candidate, but she has yet to do that. Dr. Heinz has notified Ms. Giffords' husband, Mark Kelly, and her team that he's going to run and said that he would be honored to earn the endorsement. However, Dr. Heinz said he has no knowledge of her plans. He chose not to wait on her decision due to the looming deadlines in this unique special election.
"With such a compressed time frame, there just isn't any time to delay," Dr. Heinz said.
Ms. Giffords' announcement on January 22, 2012 that she would resign triggered the special election. She chose to step down to focus on her recovery from being shot in the head in an assassination attempt on January 8, 2011, in Tucson, Arizona.
The special election primary is April 17, 2012, and the general election is on June 12, 2012.
In the Republican primary, state Senator Frank Antenori has officially announced his campaign and Jesse Kelly, who lost to Ms. Giffords in 2010, is expected to announce this week.
Dr. Heinz foresees the economy and healthcare as two of the most vital issues in the upcoming race.
In the general election, Dr. Heinz confirmed he will run in what's now called Congressional District 2. Many of the voters in what is now Congressional District 8 will see two rounds of primary and general elections this year. The special election will be in the existing district of CD8, in which Republicans have an advantage in registered voters. The regular election will be in the new district lines of what's now called CD2, where the gap between Democrats and Republicans is minimal. That means two different campaign-finance reports and potentially two different campaign strategies.
The primary for the new congressional district will occur in August, with the general election in November.
While he's committed to all four elections, Dr. Heinz said that if Ron Barber, Ms. Giffords' long-time district director, chooses to fill her seat for the rest of the term, he would modify his plans and run only in the general election.
Dr. Heinz does not plan to resign from the state Legislature. Because he is in the final year of his term, he does not have to resign from the Legislature to run for the Congress.
Dr. Heinz was born and raised in Midland, Michigan. His mother is a daughter of a Lebanese immigrant and his father is of German descent. After graduating from the Wayne State University School of Medicine in Detroit, Dr. Heinz moved to Tucson in 2003 to join the University of Arizona's Internal Medicine Residency Program.
A Toronto man who found out nearly eight years ago that his Thai stripper wife had infected him with HIV has no one to blame but himself, the Ontario Superior Court of Justice heard yesterday.
It is not reasonable for Canadian citizens to expect the government to be an "insurance" if they contract a disease after engaging in "risky" unprotected sex with an immigrant, argued Crown lawyer Marina Stefanovic in the Toronto court.
"The federal government and Immigration Canada has no room in people's bedrooms," she told Ontario Justice Carole Brown.
Percy Wilbert Whiteman is suing his ex-wife, Suwalee Iamkhong, the Government of Canada, an immigration doctor and a popular Toronto strip club for $30 million, claiming negligence on the part of those parties led to his infection.
Mr. Whiteman, 36, claims the defendants did not take the necessary steps to find out that Ms. Iamkhong was HIV positive.
He also alleges that immigration officials put him at risk by not testing the 42-year-old Ms. Iamkhong for the human immunodeficiency virus when she immigrated to Canada in May 1995 on a special four-month work visa.
Ms. Stefanovic told the court that Ms. Iamkhong, who once worked as a prostitute, had "intentionally and criminally concealed her condition" from Citizenship and Immigration Canada. But even if she didn't, her having the disease did not preclude her eligibility to immigrate to Canada.
Even if they knew her status, officials would still have no "duty of care" obligation to notify Mr. Whiteman, said Ms. Stefanovic.
Citizenship and Immigration Canada only began mandatory HIV testing of all applicants 15 years and older in 2002.
Mitt Romney handily won Florida's Republican primary last night, riding a new, combative campaign style to a victory that returns him to his role as the favourite to win his party's presidential nomination.
Fueled by a nearly 5-1 spending advantage over his top rival, Mr. Romney outpaced former House Speaker Newt Gingrich among conservatives and tea-party supporters and drew nearly even with him among evangelical Christians, according to surveys of voters leaving polling sites. Those voters had gravitated to Mr. Romney's opponents in some prior contests.
With 100% of returns in, Mr. Romney was leading Mr. Gingrich, 46% to 32%. Former Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum was running a distant third at 13%, with Texas Representative Ron Paul far behind at 7%.
The results re-establish Mr. Romney as a formidable front-runner and undercut his opponents' claims that he can't rally the party behind him. Mr. Gingrich in particular has pointed to support from the more restive, conservative factions of the GOP as the fuel driving his campaign. Despite the loss, Mr. Gingrich vowed to continue his campaign.
In his victory speech, Mr. Romney looked beyond the bitter infighting of the last week and predicted victory in November. "A competitive primary does not divide us," he said. "It prepares us. And we will win."
Tragedy has struck the Carter household. Leslie Carter, sister of the Backstreet Boys' Nick Carter and singer Aaron Carter, has died, reports Access Hollywood. She was 25 years old.
No details have been given about cause of death, other than she died in Upstate New York on Tuesday.
"Our family is grieving right now and it's a private matter. We are deeply saddened for the loss of our beloved sister, daughter, and granddaughter, Leslie Carter," the family said in a statement. "We request the utmost privacy during this difficult time."
Aaron, who is starring in the off-Broadway production of The Fantasticks, will be temporarily leaving his performing duties to his understudy, reports E!. As for Nick, he still plans to tour with the Backstreet Boys in the spring.
"Nick Carter is thankful to the many people and the fans who have shared their wishes and prayers during this tragic time," his publicist, Jack Ketsoyan, told E! News. "We want to let the fans know the tour will go on as promised."
Although he is under house arrest in Britain, WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange will nevertheless have a cameo in an upcoming episode of The Simpsons.
The controversial figure will voice the "Simpson-ized" version of himself in the 500th episode of the long-running series, which will air on February 19, 2012.
Entertainment Weekly reports that Mr. Assange will serve as a sort of "new Flanders" for the animated family after they "go off the grid" once Marge and Homer learn that Springfield's residents have been holding secret meetings to try to kick them out of town.
There was a rumor floating around that Assange had been interested in a Simpsons guest spot, and after creator Matt Groening caught wind of it, he asked casting director Bonnie Pietila to track him down, "and she did," Mr. Groening told EW.
Mr. Assange managed to record his guest spot at an unknown location as executive producer Al Jean directed him from Los Angeles.
"He's a controversial figure," Mr. Jean admits, "and there's a good reason he's controversial. There was discussion internally about whether or not to have him on the show, but ultimately we went ahead and did it."
As Mr. Assange prepares to appeal extradition to Sweden this week in connection to allegations of sexual assault, Mr. Jean notes that show steers clear of "anything to do with the legal situation he's in...We wanted to make sure it was satirical, and he was willing to do that."
Robbie Williams is planning to splash out on a life-size sculpture of his wife. The singer, who had that controversial "Rock DJ" music video in 2000, wants a statue of actress Ayda Field for the garden of his Mulholland Drive home in Los Angeles and has even made plans to follow it up with sculptures of the couple's beloved dogs.
A source told the Sun newspaper: "Robbie likes the idea of a tour of his gardens telling the story of his life since moving to L.A. Ayda is a big part of that, along with his reunion with the band. It's a wacky idea but, knowing Rob, will be something he gets stuck into. He's even thinking of having copies of their dogs made. Some people have garden gnomes, Robbie wants copies of his real life family."
Mr. Williams isn't the only person to spend cash money on expensive art. Mark Owen has reportedly spent $31,000 on a painting by a British artist to celebrate his 40th birthday.
The source added: "Mark bought a painting by a London street artist called Bambi. It's of an 80-year-old woman called Mrs. Welsh, who is a character in a trendy part of London. Mark is really into urban art and has some other pieces from top UK talent. He's become a serious collector."
Does anyone really listen to the Spice Girls anymore? Some people still have their CDs from the late 90s.
The Spice Girls look set to reunite for the Queen's Diamond Jubilee. The 'Wannabe' group, who were formed in 1994 and went on a hiatus in 2000 before reforming again for a comeback tour in 2007, look like they're set to get back together to mark the British monarch's 60th year on the throne later this summer after band member Melanie Brown revealed some "top secret" information.
When asked if the group, who are made up of Victoria Beckham, Emma Bunton, Mel Chisholm, Geri Halliwell and Melanie Brown, were going to reform for the 2012 London Olympics, she said in an interview on Australian TV: "I think the Queen's Jubilee concert is the event I'd be looking at more closely for that to happen."
However, she quickly changed the subject after realizing she had made the omission and after the show she admitted it was all "top-secret" information still.
According to The Sun newspaper, Ms. Brown told the TV crew off-air: "I am going to be in such strife for saying that. It's all so totally bloody top-secret still."
She also recently admitted she would "love it" if the Spice Girls went on tour again and wouldn't rule out the possibility of the 'Spice Up Your Life' hit-makers performing at the 2012 Olympics.
That would be... interesting.
When asked if the group would be keen to play at the sporting spectacle, she replied: "I would never say never. I think it's possible. I'd love it if we got back together and got to go on tour."
The Edmonton Police Service has ticketed nearly 780 people for distracted driving in their first four months enforcing Alberta's new law. Almost all of those tickets, at 94%, were for inappropriate cellphone use behind the wheel.
Acting Staff Sergeant Barry Maron said that motorists can expect to see a crackdown in February on drivers trying to text, groom themselves or eat snacks while they navigate city streets or idle at red lights.
Up until now, Sergeant Maron said, police were not actively looking for distracted drivers. If they noticed distracted driving in addition to another offence or an egregious case of inattention, officers would issue a ticket. But they were not specifically looking for multi-tasking drivers.
"We believe it was one of those things that the public needed time to get their head around," Maron said. "It takes a long time to change your habits. Even myself, four months later, when the phone rings, you feel like you want to answer it."
Under legislation that came into effect on September 1, 2011, drivers are prohibited from talking or texting on a hand-held cellphone, personal grooming, reading or writing. Drivers are still allowed to use a cellphone if it is hands-free.
The fine distracted driving is $172. Revenue from those tickets is split between the city and the Government of Alberta.
From September to December, Edmonton police also issued 884 tickets for careless driving, which carries $402 fine and six demerit points.
Two senior Credit Union Centre managers have been fired over a trip to Arizona where there was more than $7,000 of "inappropriate" spending, the chair of the organization's board says.
The former employees, Brian Swidrovich, who was Director of Business Development, and Will Antonishyn, who was Director of Finance and Ticketing, have filed lawsuits in which they claim an October trip to Phoenix was one of several trips that included looking into sponsorship, event production, relationship building and the possibility of a Canadian Football League franchise and stadium for Saskatoon.
In separate statements of claim filed Monday, the gentleman both say that the trip was approved by the executive director at the time, Ken Wood, who retired before he went on the Arizona trip.
The trip, which was taken with two others not identified in the statements of claim, was also to "provide recognition" and "solidify the relationship with these individuals," says Mr. Swidrovich's statement of claim against defendants Credit Union Centre and board chair Rich Gabruch.
"The trip taken was consistent with past trips with the same individuals," the statement of claims indicates.
The trip was used to "deal with issues that were of direct value and importance" to the Credit Union Centre, the plaintiffs have indicated.
The Credit Union Centre, formerly Saskatchewan Place, is owned by the City of Saskatoon.
The centre is overseen by a board of directors that includes the mayor, two city councillors and members of the community.
The October trip included flights, meals and "club seats" to a National Football League game, says Mr. Gabruch, chair of the CUC board of directors, in an interview yesterday morning before the suits were filed. There was more than $7,000 spent, he says.
"There was some inappropriate spending that had occurred," Mr. Gabruch says. "Once (a review) was completed, it was determined that termination was reasonable."
The review showed the expenses, charged to a Credit Union Centre credit card, "were not for Credit Union Centre business or City of Saskatoon business," Mr. Gabruch says.
Larry Seiferling, the lawyer for the two terminated gentleman, said that the trip was approved by the executive director at the time, Mr. Wood, who retired in September and was replaced by Will Lofdahl.
"They were just following all the past practices," Mr. Seiferling says. "The approval came from the executive director (who) had been approving this exact same trip for two years. This was not a trip that was first taken this year. The court will decide whether the trip was appropriate or not, and I have no doubt they will find that these guys, the guys that went on the trip, were just doing what they've always done. So why were they let go for it? I understand that a new guy can change rules, but you have to tell these people. You can't fire them for it. That's really the issue."
In the claim, the plaintiffs say that Mr. Gabruch knew about the trip and there were "at least two occasions" to tell the employees it was "inappropriate" prior their leaving.
Mr. Gabruch said he was not aware of the trip until afterwards.
Mr. Antonishyn and Mr. Swidrovich, employees of the Credit Union Centre since 1988 and 1994, respectively, were never disciplined during their tenure with the organization, the statements of claim say.
The trip was planned in 2010, one of the statements of claim says. It "carried many of the same business objectives as the approved client appreciation trips taken in prior years and was based on previously approved sponsorship objectives and plans."
Investigating the possibility of a CFL team and stadium for Saskatoon was a "secondary objective" of the trip, the claims say. In Mr. Antonishyn's statement of claim, he says he still believed looking into a CFL franchise for Saskatoon was viable because he was asked about it when he interviewed for the CUC executive director position in September.
"(Venue) observations pertained to the possibility of a CFL franchise and stadium project," for Saskatoon, the plaintiffs say.
Do you live in Love, Saskatchewan or Saint-Valentin, Quebec? Well, if you do, your local post office offers unique postmarks for your outgoing mail. So, if you sent someone a letter to someone in Saskatoon, or anywhere in the world, the local post office/postmaster will apply a unique postmark to your mail consisting of Cupid, or hearts.
Canada Post says that the Love and Saint-Valentin post offices will usually postmark twice as much mail as usual at this time year. This is similar to Christmas Island during the holidays.
Sweet deal... if only I had someone to send a Valentine too, then I'd take advantage of this cool service.
For the first time in about 20 years, Canadian singer Bryan Adams will be touring his home country.
The singer, best known for hits like "Straight from the Heart," and "(Everything I do) I Do It for You," hasn't toured Canada since 1992, when he went on that "Waking Up the World" tour.
Mr. Adams will be performing 20 shows in 20 different cities beginning April 11, 2012. This will be his first full-blown arena tour in 20 years.
Mr. Adams has toured six continents and has reached #1 in over 40 countries.
I bet Mr. Adams would be an interesting political opponent to the Conservative government... they could use the being-away-from-Canada-for-XX-years thing against him too!
A former justice minister is considering a run for mayor as speculation surrounding Saskatoon's 2012 civic election begins to build nine months before the vote is called.
"If I decide that I'm going to do something, I'll decide within the next month or two," said former NDP cabinet minister Frank Quennell, who was defeated in Saskatoon-Meewasin in last year's provincial election after serving eight years.
Mr. Quennell said he's considering a run for the mayor's chair or a seat on city council and says he has been approached by a number of backers to consider municipal politics. The election is on October 24, 2012.
"I haven't ruled anything out," Mr. Quennell said in a brief interview recently. "I've talked to a lot of people on the doorstep and you hear a lot about people's concerns about municipal issues. It's had me thinking about what can be done differently and better."
Mr. Quennell joins a growing list of potential candidates. Retired NDP stalwart Pat Atkinson, twice-defeated mayoral candidate Lenore Swystun and former mayor Henry Dayday, who was defeated after 12 years in office in 2000, continue to weigh the possibility. Mr. Dayday has been building support for a potential campaign focused around improving core services such as road maintenance and has questioned city financing in opinion pieces and letters to council since last year.
Mayor Don Atchison was elected for a third term in November 2009 with 58% of the vote, while runner-up Lenore Swystun took 38%. If re-elected for a fourth term, Mr. Atchison would be in line to break Mr. Dayday and Cliff Wright's record as longest-serving mayor in Saskatoon's history because of a legislative move to four-year terms.
Councillor Darren Hill said he will run in the election, but declined to say if he was running for mayor or to retain his Ward 1 council seat. Mr. Hill was defeated running for the Liberals in Saskatoon-Humboldt in last year's last federal election, finishing in third with eight per cent of the vote.
"I'm running for Saskatoon city council," he said. "All I'm saying is I'm running."
Mr. Hill said that the opposition to those seeking re-election will come from people pushing a back-to-basics platform with the Mendel Art Gallery move and opposition to the $84-million Remai Art Gallery of Saskatchewan coming to the fore again.
"The community is more than just pot holes and garbage and snow removal, all of which we've improved. You have to have an arts and culture program," Mr. Hill said.
A number of incumbent councillors have indicated they will seek re-election, including Tiffany Paulsen, Randy Donauer, Ann Iwanchuk, Mairin Loewen, Pat Lorje and Bev Dubois. Mr. Atchison said in his year-end interview in December he would seek-re-election.
Councillor Charlie Clark said that he is still weighing his options, as is Councillor Myles Heidt, who would face off again against Sean Shaw in what was the closest ward race in the 2009 civic election.
"I'll know by Easter," Mr. Heidt said.
At least four candidates are lining up in Ward 8, where Councillor Glen Penner is considering retirement, and 10 candidates have confirmed to The StarPhoenix they are running in ward races.
The high level of interest this early could reverse a trend toward declining participation evident in the last municipal elections. In total, 28 candidates ran in 2009 and three councillors were acclaimed. By comparison, 75 people ran in the 1988 election, 67 in 1994, a record-low 27 in 1997, 32 in 2000, 44 in 2003 and 32 in 2006.
Mr. Penner would retire as the second-longest serving councillor in Saskatoon's history, roughly 50 days shy of John Cairns' record 26 years. He said the iron-man streak has no bearing on his decision.
"I feel as though I need to make a final decision within the next month or so," Mr. Penner said. "But I have not yet made a final decision. (The longest-serving councillor record) would be the last reason why a person should seek re-election. A person's health and enthusiasm, whether you still feel the way you can represent the citizens."
Mr. Quennell, a lawyer, would not yet comment on what his platform could centre around.
"I don't want to start a debate I'm not willing to finish," he said.
Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney's surge ahead of rival Newt Gingrich continues in the polls, one day before Florida's primary election. The former Massachusetts governor has an average lead of almost 12 points on the ex-House speaker in opinion polls.
The other hopefuls, Ron Paul and Rick Santorum, have abandoned campaigning in Florida, making it in effect a two-man race. The contenders are vying to oust Barack Obama from the White House in November.
Primaries and caucuses will be held in every U.S. state to pick a Republican candidate until the eventual winner is crowned at the party's convention in August. Mr. Gingrich scored a resounding victory in South Carolina's primary earlier this month, but his momentum has since been stymied in the face of a Romney fight-back.
Both candidates are crisscrossing Florida in a final hunt for votes. A Quinnipiac University opinion poll published on Monday found that Mr. Romney had a 14-point lead over Mr. Gingrich, by 43% to Mr. Gingrich's 29%.
"If this margin holds up tomorrow, it's hard to see where Gingrich goes from here," Quinnipiac pollster Peter Brown told the Reuters news agency.
Several surveys released on Sunday gave Mr. Romney a lead of between 5-16 points.
However, Mr. Gingrich vowed to continue his campaign in the "Sunshine State" and beyond, attacking Mr. Romney's conservative credentials.
"On big philosophical issues, he is for all practical purposes a liberal and I am a conservative and that's what this fight is going to be about all the way to the convention," he told CBS News on Monday.
At least 1,114 delegates are needed to win the Republican nomination at the August convention. In Florida, there are 50 delegates are at stake.
"This race is just getting started," Martin Baker, Mr. Gingrich's national political director, told reporters, saying there was "a long way to go" before the nomination was decided.
The former House speaker also campaigned with former President Ronald Reagan's son Michael on Monday, hoping to strengthen his campaign's ties to the revered Republican leader's legacy. But talking to reporters on Monday, Mr. Romney cast doubt on the Mr. Gingrich campaign's talk of staying in the race for the long haul.
"That's usually an indication that you think you're gonna lose," said Mr. Romney. "When you say 'I'm gonna go on no matter what happens', that's usually not a good sign."
Former Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum left Florida over the weekend to be at the hospital bedside of his three-year-old daughter, who has a rare genetic condition. Rather than return to Florida, he will campaign in Colorado, Minnesota, Missouri and Nevada over the next two days.
Libertarian Texas congressman Ron Paul, meanwhile, is already focusing on Nevada.
Mr. Gingrich picked up the endorsement on Saturday night of former rival Herman Cain, who dropped out of the Republican race in December. The former House speaker is portraying himself as the only viable conservative in the race.
Mr. Romney has struggled to dispel misgivings among some Republicans about his political record as governor of the liberal state of Massachusetts and his Mormon faith.
In the past, Mr. Romney has adopted a pro-choice stance on abortion, switched positions on gay rights and pushed through a healthcare reform in Massachusetts that was the template for President Obama's overhaul of the system nationally.
The next contest after Florida will be Nevada on Saturday.
Well-known anti-drunk driving speaker Norbert Georget died last Tuesday from a stroke. Mr. Georget was known for his ability to reach schoolchildren and teens in motivational presentations under his banner of 'Smart Youth Power Assembly.'
He began giving the talks in his spare time more than 20 years ago and the demand became so great that he gave up his career as one of the first paramedics in Saskatchewan, said Dave Dutchak, owner of MD Ambulance, where Mr. Georget had worked.
Mr. Georget travelled extensively in Canada and the United States where he spoke with thousands of students, many of whom sent him emails expressing the change in attitude they experienced toward drinking and drug use.
A group of 44 senators, all but one Republican, have signed on to proposed legislation that would authorize the Canada-to-Texas Keystone XL oil pipeline despite the refusal of U.S. President Barack Obama to advance the project.
Republican Senator John Hoeven is set to introduce the bill today that, if passed into law, would allow work to begin immediately on all but the sensitive Nebraska portion of TransCanada's $7 billion controversial project.
It's not yet clear how the bill will advance in the Democratic-controlled Senate. Senator Joe Manchin of West Virginia was the lone Democrat to sign on as a co-sponsor of the bill, but other Democratic senators have in the past expressed support for the project.
Mr. Obama put the pipeline on the backburner earlier in January, saying the administration needed more time to review the environmental impact in Nebraska, where the state government is evaluating a new route after rejecting an initial plan that sent the line through a sensitive aquifer region. The bill, led by Mr. Hoeven, Richard Lugar and David Vitter, incorporates an environmental review done by the U.S. Department of State, and allows Nebraska time to find a new route.
"It will create thousands of jobs, help control fuel prices at the pump and reduce our reliance on Middle East oil," Mr. Hoeven said in a statement.
Environmentalists pushed for Mr. Obama to block the pipeline because they believe oil-sands crude is a bigger polluter than other grades of oil. They have also accused TransCanada and its supporters of inflating job creation numbers from the project.
Mr. Obama has not rejected the project altogether, and TransCanada has said it plans to apply for another presidential permit. However, that process would stretch beyond the 2012 election.
The new Senate bill, which would require Mr. Obama's signature to become law, would bypass Mr. Obama and instead allow Congress approve the project. A study by the nonpartisan Congressional Research Service said Congress has the constitutional right to legislate permits for cross-border pipelines.
The Department of State has said authority for the pipeline should stay with the administration because of the foreign policy, economic, environmental and safety issues involved.
Lawmakers in the Republican-controlled House of Representatives also are considering legislation to advance the project. House Speaker John Boehner said on Sunday that Keystone legislation could be included in a highway and infrastructure bill that Congress will consider in February.
If Congress were in the same parliamentary system as Canada, the bill would be passed by now.
The Canadian Radio-Television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) has approved a rate increase for SaskTel customers in high cost served areas. Those are areas serviced by SaskTel outside of the Saskatchewan's nine largest urban areas.
The decision affects approximately 144,000 customers.
"The rate increase was essentially required by the CRTC decision that mandated high cost serving area (HCS) rates need to increase to $30 per month across the country by June 30, 2013, in order to reduce the amount these rates are subsidized from the National Contribution Fund," SaskTel president and CEO Ron Styles said in a press release.
In 2007, the CRTC reduced the amount of subsidy SaskTel received to provide local service in HCSA and in 2011, released a decision allowing the rates to increase to $30 per month in three equal installments.
Rates will increase from seven cents to $2.03 per month on February 1, 2012, depending on the customer's current rate and will be applied retroactively to a customer's bill beginning on May 1, 2012.
There will be two additional increases after that (on June 1, 2012 and June 1, 2013). The third increase will bring the rate up to $30 per month.
After the third increase, rates may be increased by inflation starting in 2014. SaskTel claims the increase will be revenue neutral for the company.
Ian Ambercrombie, the classically trained British stage actor best known to American TV audiences as Elaine Benes' nutty boss Mr. Pitt on Seinfeld, died of a heart attack on Thursday in Los Angeles. He was 77 years old.
Mr. Abercrombie appeared on several other U.S. TV shows. He played the 800-year-old Professor Crumbs on Wizards of Waverly Place and a butler on Desperate Housewives, and made guest appearances on Twin Peaks, Dynasty and Days of Our Lives.
He appeared in a number of movies, including Stalag 17, The Lost World: Jurassic Park and The Prisoner of Zenda, with Peter Sellers.
He did voiceover work in Star Wars: The Clone Wars, Garfield: A Tale of Two Kitties and Rango, and had completed Green Lantern for the Cartoon Network just before he died.
As Mr. Pitt in Seinfeld, he was known for his obsession with socks and quirky habits like eating candy bars with a knife and fork.
Former GOP (Republican) presidential candidate Herman Cain has decided to endorse the thrice-married Newt Gingrich after dropping out of the race for the party's presidential nomination. This development occurs after Rick Perry dropped out of the race and also endorsed Newt Gingrich.
Since then, polls have shown that he is losing ground against former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney in Florida, even as Mr. Gingrich has gained a lead in national surveys.
"I had it in my heart and mind a long time," Mr. Cain said of his endorsement, appearing with Mr. Gingrich at a Republican fundraiser. "Speaker Gingrich is a patriot. Speaker Gingrich is not afraid of bold ideas."
Mr. Gingrich joked, "I had no idea it would be this interesting an evening."
Mr. Cain is the latest in a series of popular conservative figures to back the former House speaker, while much of the GOP establishment is marshaling against him. Among Mr. Gingrich's other recent supporters are former Alaska governor Sarah Palin; his onetime presidential rival, Texas Governor Rick Perry; and former senator Fred Thompson from Tennessee.
Mr. Cain's own presidential bid ended in November amid allegations of sexual harassment and marital infidelity. However, the former Godfather's Pizza executive had ridden a wave of popularity prior to that scandal with his signature "9-9-9" tax reform plan and a charismatic and confident conservatism that found broad appeal among tea party-friendly activists. At the peak of his popularity, Mr. Cain was attracting thousands of supporters to his rallies and earning cheers and applause in his folksy debate performances.
He remains popular today among grassroots conservatives. He demonstrated particular popularity in Florida, where he earned a surprising win of a straw poll last summer (and launched his dramatic, if short-lived, rise to the top of the field).
Since he left the race, Mr. Cain has been quiet about whom he would endorse; last week, he said he was planning to endorse "We The People."
Although Mr. Gingrich needs any boost he can get in Florida, the timing of the endorsement was odd (too late to make the evening television newscasts, and sandwiched before the release of a new NBC/Marist poll showing a widening lead for Mr. Romney).
Mr. Gingrich said he hopes Mr. Cain will co-chair a commission to lead the policy discussion on the economy and taxes. He compared the idea to his request that Mr. Perry lead a commission on the 10th Amendment, which he proposed when Mr. Perry endorsed him in advance of last weekend's South Carolina primary.
"I realize that as a co-chair of a commission like that, there would be a little thing called 9-9-9 that would be brought in and put on the table. So I fully expect that," Mr. Gingrich said.
Are you looking for a piece of pre-presidential history? Do you have $1 million sitting around? Well, if you do, someone's got a deal for you.
A 2005 Chrysler 300C that was once leased by U.S. President Barack Obama when he was a U.S. Senator is up for sale on eBay.com. The opening bid is $1 million, and no less, apparently.
CNN reports that Chicago-area resident Lisa Czibor, who describes herself as a "life-long Ronald Reagan old-school conservative" is selling the car. She did not disclose how she managed to acquire the car that currently has just 20,800 miles (around 34,000 kilometres) on it.
Despite her best efforts, experts don't believe Ms. Czibor will get any near the $1 million she seeks at auction. For example, the hearse that John F. Kennedy following his 1963 assassination recently sold for $160,000. And the Kelly Blue Book value for a comparable car is only around $15,000.
Craig Jackson, president of Barrett-Jackson Auto Auction Company in Scottsdale, Arizona told CNN: "Maybe this car would be worth $50,000 to $100,000."
This kind of shows you how lame Mr. Obama's tastes in cars is...
Effective Wednesday, February 1, 2012, Alaska Airlines passengers who need a moment of prayer will have to bring their own materials. The airline announced on January 25, 2012 that they will stop serving a side of Psalms via a trio of prayer cards with their first-class meal trays.
"This difficult decision was not made lightly. We believe it's the right thing to do in order to respect the diverse religious beliefs and cultural attitudes of all our customers and employees," reads an email sent to customers from Alaska Air Group Chairman and CEO Bill Ayer and Alaska Airlines President Brad Tilden. "Some of you enjoy the cards and associate them with our service. At the same time, we've heard from many of you who believe religion is inappropriate on an airplane."
The cards have been a part of Alaska Airlines flights since the 1970s (and were a feature that they swiped from Continental). However, they have only been a first-class perk since 2006 after meal service was cut for passengers traveling in coach.
Former Alaska governor Sarah Palin took to Facebook to express her displeasure with this turn of events.
"It feels so odd that some may be offended by a little card with an encouraging non-denominational verse from the Psalms, but how often do we hear complaints about tawdry ads or billboard images flashing at us everywhere we turn?," Ms. Palin writes, seemingly unaware that being "from the Psalms" actually makes them Judeo-Christian specific. "People of faith and common decency just shrug and move on from the constant assault on their sensibilities; we don't call for censorship -- at least I don't.
"So, why in this day and age must every reference to faith in God be censored from the public square? Why must a private company buckle under pressure from a handful of people who find a little card saying 'the Lord is my shepherd' offensive? I'm sure there are many more people who appreciate the cards, or at least are ambivalent about them."
The former vice presidential candidate also sent an email to Alaska Airlines, asking for them to reverse their decision:
"It's come to my attention that the cards may be discontinued due to a few who are offended. I really hope this is just a rumor. Please remain strong and courageous in the face of a cultural trend that wants to wage war on any positive thing that a few may construe as offensive. The Alaska Airlines tradition should be looked upon as an all-American, hopeful, encouraging gesture. Please don't discontinue the cards."
Last week, Alaska Airlines announced a frequent-flier partnership with the Dubai-based airline Emirates, but deny that the discontinuation of the prayer cards is in any way related.
"Religious beliefs are deeply personal and sharing them with others is an individual choice," say Mr. Ayer and Mr. Tilden.
Starbucks aims to open 50 outlets in India by the end of 2012, through a 50-50 joint venture with Tata Global Beverages, the companies said Monday. Tata Starbucks Ltd., as their venture is known, hopes to capitalize on the rising aspirations (and fattening wallets) of many Indians, who are eager to partake of the global latte life.
"What we are seeing is an evolution in lifestyles," said R.K. Krishnakumar, vice chairman of Tata Global Beverages. "In some ways the distinctions between the developed world and the developing world are blurring."
He said the partners would initially invest 4 billion rupees ($80 million), with the first outlet to open in Mumbai or New Delhi by September. Long known as a nation of tea drinkers (despite a rich tradition of coffee in the south), India has embraced coffee house culture with a vengeance.
Last year, India had 1,600 cafes, up from just 700 in 2007, according to Technopak Advisors, which expects India's $170 million cafe market to grow 30% a year, adding up to 2,700 more outlets over the next five years.
"We're going to move as fast as possible in opening as many stores as we can so long as we are successful and so long as we are embraced by the Indian consumers," said John Culver, president of Starbucks China and Asia Pacific.
Unusually, the stores will be cobranded "Starbucks Coffee: A Tata Alliance."
The companies will also develop a tea for the Indian market under the Tata Tazo brand.
Last January, Starbucks signed an agreement with Tata Coffee, a unit of Tata Global Beverages, to source and roast coffee beans in India. The alliance with Tata could help ease one of the main burdens for retailers in India: the high cost of real estate.
Mr. Krishnakumar said that the joint venture would open outlets at properties owned by group companies, for example at the Taj chain of luxury hotels.
Mr. Culver said the company would also look at opening outlets in shopping malls, office parks, universities, airports and train stations.
The alliance will also help Tata Global Beverages expand its international footprint. All coffee beans for the cafes in India will be sourced from Tata Coffee, which also hopes to ramp up exports to regional Starbucks outlets, Mr. Krishnakumar said. He said other Tata Beverage brands, like Himalayan water, should also find their way into Starbucks outlets globally.
Mr. Culver said that Starbucks did not consider trying to open stores itself in India, despite the government's recent decision to allow foreign companies to operate single-brand retail outlets without a local partner. A storm of populist fury forced Parliament to pull back a parallel proposal that would have allowed multi-brand retailers, like Wal-Mart, to open retail outlets with local partners.
"We never considered 51%," Mr. Culver said. "When we looked at the opportunity to enter India, understanding the complexities of the market and the uniqueness that is India, we wanted to find a local business partner."
Starbucks currently operates over 17,000 stores in 57 countries.
Its India venture will face competition from existing players like Cafe Coffee Day, which dominates the market.
Technopak founder Arvind Singhal said India's flourishing cafe culture has less to do with coffee than a social need for clean, safe gathering places for young and old alike, who often live in cramped quarters.
"India doesn't have too many places for people of any age to just go out," he said. "It's not about a coffee culture. It's a gathering place where people can sit and meet."
He added that Starbucks' entry, however much delayed, is likely to fan competition and speed the proliferation of coffee shops. It could also help boost flagging investor confidence in India. "It's almost like an endorsement that India's still a good story," he said.
Three members of a Montreal family have been imprisoned for life after a jury found them guilty of murdering four other family members in a crime the judge called "cold-blooded, shameful murders" based on a "twisted notion of honour."
Mohammad Shafia, 58, his second wife Tooba Mohammad Yahya, 42, and their son Hamed, 21, were each found guilty of four counts of first-degree murder after a jury deliberated for 15 hours. The verdicts came after a three-month-long trial that heard from 58 witnesses.
Hamed appeared to collapse onto the front railing of the prisoner's box as the verdicts were announced. His father, standing next to him, put his hand on his shoulder and then on top of his head. Ms. Yahya appeared to begin crying.
"You have each been convicted of the planned and deliberate murder of four members of your family," Judge Robert Maranger, of the Ontario Superior Court of Justice said before he passed sentence. "It's a verdict clearly supported by the evidence presented at this trial. It is difficult to conceive of a more despicable, more heinous crime.
"There is nothing more honourless than the deliberate murder of, in the case of Mohammad Shafia, three of his daughters and his wife, in the case of Tooba Yahya, three of her daughters and a stepmother to all her children, in the case of Hamed Shafia three of sisters and a mother.
"The apparent reason behind these cold-blooded, shameful murders was that the four completely innocent victims offended your twisted notion of honour, a notion of honour that is founded upon the domination and control of women, a sick notion of honour that has absolutely no place in any civilized society."
Judge Maranger imposed the mandatory sentences of life in prison with no chance of parole for 25 years.
All three accused protested innocence when given a chance to speak in the courtroom.
Coincidentally, their relatives support the notion of "honour killings," according to this report.
It could be a monumental week for Facebook, the wildly successful social network, which may file for its initial public offering in the coming days (rumour has it that it will be Wednesday). The IPO, which is expected for the second quarter, could raise as much as $10 billion and could value the social network between $75 billion and $100 billion, the Wall Street Journal is reporting (anything less than $75 billion would be seen as a disappointment).
Such sky-high expectations will make the challenges for Facebook's CEO and founder, Mark Zuckerberg, that much harder. Anytime a start-up grows up and goes public, it means a host of extraordinary leadership demands, from wrestling with how to incent and reward employees so the stock price doesn't take on too much weight, to struggling with retaining overnight millionaires who have been critical to the company's success thus far.
Facebook's IPO is on such a grand scale (if it raises $10 billion, it will be the fourth largest in U.S. history), dwarfing the $1.9 million Google raised in 2004. This could very well exacerbate the challenges for Mr. Zuckerberg and his team.
Mr. Zuckerberg recently said that he worries about the short-term focus of Silicon Valley enough that if he were to start Facebook again, he'd consider doing so in Boston. In recent years, he has brought in executives like Sheryl Sandberg from Google and Ted Ullyot from AOL Time Warner to help with the company's maturation while keeping it from losing its start-up feel. When he hired contractors to renovate a 57-acre campus for the company's employees to move into, he retained the company's no-office, un-partitioned spaces and chose architects and designers who could give the space a "casual eclectic," "random," and "idiosyncratic" feel.
At the same time, Mr. Zuckerberg appears to be readying himself with a realistic outlook for what he faces as a public company. Company executives have been practicing with dummy scripts for earnings conference calls. Its CFO has been professionally auditing its financial statements, and Mr. Zuckerberg is shifting his own focus as CEO toward the much longer term.
As he told The Wall Street Journal, "We want to be operating in a way that we're working towards this longer vision of where we think the world should be."
With just 3,000 employees, Facebook is relatively small for the $4 billion in revenues it brings in, and the new campus can only scale to 3,600 without getting approval from the local city council. If Mr. Zuckerberg is forced to scale (at least in headcount at headquarters) just a little more slowly, that could help Facebook retain a smaller feel. There is nothing quite like extra layers of management and needless levels of hierarchies to make a place feel corporate and slow.
Still, the most critical thing that Mr. Zuckerberg will need to do to keep Facebook from feeling too big too fast will be setting up the right incentives and retaining some of his best veteran employees. Some will leave, without question, emboldened by their massive riches and ready to take on new challenges or start their own future "Facebooks of the world." Those who are motivated to stay will do so because they continue to feel challenged, appreciated and motivated by a culture that remains focused on innovative products rather than the whatever-the-price profits.
The companies that store the data of millions of MegaUpload users plan to start deleting their accounts as early as Thursday. The site was shut down on January 19, 2012 following the arrest of seven men, including the company's founder Kim Dotcom, in New Zealand on U.S. accusations that they facilitated millions of illegal downloads of films, music and other content, costing copyright holders at least $500 million in lost revenue.
MegaUpload employs Virginia-based storage companies Carpathia Hosting Inc. and Cogent Communications Group Inc. to store data uploaded by its users for a fee, but has not met its payment obligations because the government has frozen the firm's assets.
Both companies filed a letter in U.S. court on Friday stating they will likely begin wiping data on Thursday.
MegaUpload attorney Ira Rothken said that the company is working with prosecutors to try to keep the data of at least 50 million users from being erased.
Aside from its value to customers, the data is critical to MegaUpload's defence in the legal case, he said.
"We're cautiously optimistic at this point that because the United States, as well as MegaUpload, should have a common desire to protect consumers, that this type of agreement will get done."
The FBI is seeking to extradite founder Kim Dotcom and three other men from New Zealand to the United States to face charges of conspiring to commit racketeering, conspiring to commit money laundering, copyright infringement, and aiding and abetting copyright infringement over the internet through the website MegaUpload.
Now that the website is shut down, was there really a need to hold on to the user information? Similarly, the personal information of customers that Blockbuster Canada Co. had before, is likely gone, according to court documents I remember reading during their receivership proceedings.
Cell phones really can be distracting. A lot of accidents have occurred because someone was talking on their cell phone while they were driving, and the RCMP here in Saskatchewan has recently expressed anger/frustration with those who are distracted behind the wheel.
A number of studies have looked into whether or not hands-free devices are a safer alternative. There are many systems available, from headsets to speakerphones, but are they any safer?
Recent research is showing that the conversation itself, is just as dangerous as using a handset.
Ray Klein, a psychology professor at Dalhousie University in Halifax, has studied reviews of the available research.
"When people are using a hands-free phone they tend not to make that compensatory adjustment in speed," Dr. Klein told the CBC. "They go at least as fast if not faster than an individual simply carrying on no conversation on a phone.
"So, they're distracted. Their reaction times are slower," he added.
Dr. Klein explained that many drivers believe they can multi-task, but talking and driving at the same time is not like walking and chewing gum at the same time.
Obviously, it's just better not to talk at all when driving.
The Canadian economy added just 2,300 jobs last month and the unemployment rate hit a nine-month high, which are more signs that Canada's labour market remains tepid.
Republican frontrunner Mitt Romney has taken a big lead in Nevada, the next state to vote for a Republican candidate to run against U.S. President Barack Obama in November, a new poll showed yesterday.
When it comes to NDP MP Pat Martin from Winnipeg Centre, civility doesn't seem to be his style.
If you're looking for a one-night stand, you might want to target someone tall, dark and packing an Android phone. If you want to date a co-worker, you should hope she has an iPhone. As for drinks, you'll want to invite someone with a BlackBerry.
Manufacturing data Wednesday suggested the global economy is strengthening, which increased risk appetite and helped the Canadian dollar close above par with its U.S. counterpart for the first time since October 31, 2011.
It's as bad as SeaWorld and a sign of moral decline on a daytime TV staple loved by grannies and dream-seekers alike. The Calgary Stampede, that is. And retired host of The Price is Right, Bob Barker is appalled.
Canada's groundhog weathermen are calling for an early spring. Ontario's Wiarton Willie and Nova Scotia's rodent Shubenacadie Sam didn't see their shadows when they emerged on Thursday morning.
Being told that you have a "nice personality" is nice to hear, right? Well, for the most part, it's usually a backhanded compliment, which usually means "You stink up the joint."
Facebook Inc. today made a much-anticipated status update: the Internet social network is going public eight years after its CEO Mark Zuckerberg started the service at Harvard University.
WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange on Wednesday launched a final attempt to persuade British officials not to force him to go to Sweden to face sex crimes allegations. A lawyer for the 40-year-old Australian told Britain's highest court that age-old legal tradition would be compromised if it endorsed a European Arrest Warrant written up by Swedish prosecutors.
Ryan Bater has stepped down as leader of the Saskatchewan Liberals three months after the party earned less than 1% of the popular vote in the provincial election.
State representative Dr. Matt Heinz of Tucson has become the first Democrat to officially announce his candidacy for the Congressional seat vacated by Gabrielle Giffords.
A Toronto man who found out nearly eight years ago that his Thai stripper wife had infected him with HIV has no one to blame but himself, the Ontario Superior Court of Justice heard yesterday.
Tragedy has struck the Carter household. Leslie Carter, sister of the Backstreet Boys' Nick Carter and singer Aaron Carter, has died, reports Access Hollywood. She was 25 years old.
Robbie Williams is planning to splash out on a life-size sculpture of his wife. The singer, who had that controversial "Rock DJ" music video in 2000, wants a statue of actress Ayda Field for the garden of his Mulholland Drive home in Los Angeles and has even made plans to follow it up with sculptures of the couple's beloved dogs.
Does anyone really listen to the Spice Girls anymore? Some people still have their CDs from the late 90s.
The Edmonton Police Service has ticketed nearly 780 people for distracted driving in their first four months enforcing Alberta's new law. Almost all of those tickets, at 94%, were for inappropriate cellphone use behind the wheel.
Two senior Credit Union Centre managers have been fired over a trip to Arizona where there was more than $7,000 of "inappropriate" spending, the chair of the organization's board says.
Well-known anti-drunk driving speaker Norbert Georget died last Tuesday from a stroke. Mr. Georget was known for his ability to reach schoolchildren and teens in motivational presentations under his banner of 'Smart Youth Power Assembly.'
A group of 44 senators, all but one Republican, have signed on to proposed legislation that would authorize the Canada-to-Texas Keystone XL oil pipeline despite the refusal of U.S. President Barack Obama to advance the project.
The Canadian Radio-Television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) has approved a rate increase for SaskTel customers in high cost served areas. Those are areas serviced by SaskTel outside of the Saskatchewan's nine largest urban areas.
Ian Ambercrombie, the classically trained British stage actor best known to American TV audiences as Elaine Benes' nutty boss Mr. Pitt on Seinfeld, died of a heart attack on Thursday in Los Angeles. He was 77 years old.
Former GOP (Republican) presidential candidate Herman Cain has decided to endorse the thrice-married Newt Gingrich after dropping out of the race for the party's presidential nomination. This development occurs after Rick Perry dropped out of the race and also endorsed Newt Gingrich.
Effective Wednesday, February 1, 2012, Alaska Airlines passengers who need a moment of prayer will have to bring their own materials. The airline announced on January 25, 2012 that they will stop serving a side of Psalms via a trio of prayer cards with their first-class meal trays.
Starbucks aims to open 50 outlets in India by the end of 2012, through a 50-50 joint venture with Tata Global Beverages, the companies said Monday. Tata Starbucks Ltd., as their venture is known, hopes to capitalize on the rising aspirations (and fattening wallets) of many Indians, who are eager to partake of the global latte life.
Not long ago, Toronto Mayor Rob Ford launched a "Cut the Waist" challenge, with him and his brother Doug pledging to lose 50 pounds by June 18, 2012.
Three members of a Montreal family have been imprisoned for life after a jury found them guilty of murdering four other family members in a crime the judge called "cold-blooded, shameful murders" based on a "twisted notion of honour."
The companies that store the data of millions of MegaUpload users plan to start deleting their accounts as early as Thursday. The site was shut down on January 19, 2012 following the arrest of seven men, including the company's founder Kim Dotcom, in New Zealand on U.S. accusations that they facilitated millions of illegal downloads of films, music and other content, costing copyright holders at least $500 million in lost revenue.
Cell phones really can be distracting. A lot of accidents have occurred because someone was talking on their cell phone while they were driving, and the RCMP here in Saskatchewan has recently expressed anger/frustration with those who are distracted behind the wheel.
