Canadians file U.S. class action against automakers

A Canadian couple filed a class-action lawsuit in U.S. District Court claiming they are being illegally discriminated against by car companies that turn down their business because they're from Canada.

It seems dealers in the U.S. have been told they are not allowed to sell cars to Canadians. Prices in the U.S. are currently about 20% lower although the Canadian dollar is above the American dollar.

An action like this takes years to get through the system. That's not going to auto makers to reduces prices in Canada any time soon. However, if Canadians held off buying new cars for a few months to allow for a build up of inventory, you would see prices tumble very quickly. I know I'm waiting.

Potter yanked from Catholic school library

A Catholic pastor at a Massachusetts parochial school has made all the Harry Potter books there disappear, saying they are spiritually dangerous for children and could encourage them to engage in witchcraft.

I guess Harry Potter and Jesus aren't a good mix. Book buring scheduled for 2:00 pm on Sunday following the bible reading class.

Brit cleaning up for her next visitation

Why don't we have a zero-tolerance for stupidity?

DENNIS TOWNSHIP, N.J. (AP) ― A hard lesson for a second-grader in Cape May County. Seven-year-old Kyle Walker was suspended for one day this month because he drew a stick figure shooting a gun. His mother, Shirley McDevitt, says officials at the Dennis Township Primary School told her the drawing violated a zero-tolerance policy for guns.McDevitt says her son told her the drawing showed a water gun and not a firearm. But school officials won't comment on the matter.

This isn't the first time a New Jersey students has been suspended for depictions of weapons. Four kindergarten boys were suspended in 2000 for playing cops and robbers, even though they were using their fingers as guns.

It makes sense to have a zero-tolerance policy for guns, but when you start having zero tolerance policies on imagination and expression, you're crossing the line. Why can't kids be allowed to act like kids?

What's Dennis Rodman up to these days?

...hmmm hopefully he is dressed for a Halloween party.

Toronto Star Hates the Toronto Maple Leafs

It's always been my belief that the Toronto Star is unlike other newspaper in that it is one of the biggest critics of the local sports teams. The usually reserve the biggest attacks for the Maple Leafs. Now some of it is well deserved. The team has not even come close to a championship in 41 years. But they often go over the top. Here is a sample of just this week.

There was an article on the Leaf board of directors complete with photo that suggested that fans boo the owners of the team not the players.

There was an article on the confidential financial files of the organization. It included a story about how after Mats Sundin collected his 500th NHL goal last season, the nylon mesh used in the goal net was removed and shipped to a factory where workers cut it into 2,000 pieces to sell off as souvenirs.

There was also an article that suggested that the team could only get better if there was a second NHL franchise in the region to force the Leafs to compete for fans and revenue.

There was an article on why the Leafs are going after John Tavares. Why of course it's another cynical, MLSE revenue-generating scheme.

And finally there was an article suggesting that the Leafs were underspending on hockey operations (includes scouting) which is why they are not competitive.

Not bad for one week.

McDonald’s Bathroom Attendant

The Improv Everywhere crew came up with a great idea which was to deck out a fast food joint with some of the trappings of a five star restaurant, specifally an attendant in the bathroom. The Times Square Mcdonald's was chosen because it had a larger than normal bathroom. The attendant had it all: cologne, deodorant, mints, gum, dental floss, Tylenol, Advil, condoms, shaving cream, disposable razors, Q-tips, baby powder, Gold Bond, Band-Aids, cough drops, mouthwash, plastic cups, hair gel, Kleenex, and our crown jewel–a “Barbicide” canister filled with actual Barbicide and several combs.

Customers and staff come and go interacting with the attendant. Eventually the manager comes in and is convinced that this was a promotion from head office.

See the entire stunt here.

WTF? Makeup by Doo Doo the Clown?

A model presents a creation by Portuguese designer Dino Alves as part of his Spring/Summer 2008 collection during Lisbon Fashion Week in Cascais October 12, 2007.

Photos show cleansing of suspect Syrian nuclear site

New commercial satellite photos show that a Syrian site believed to have been attacked by Israel last month no longer bears any obvious traces of what some analysts said appeared to have been a partly built nuclear reactor.

Two photos, taken Wednesday from space by rival companies, show the site near the Euphrates River to have been wiped clean since August, when imagery showed a tall square building there measuring about 150 feet on a side.

The Syrians reported an attack by Israel in early September; the Israelis have not confirmed that. Senior Syrian officials continue to deny that a nuclear reactor was under construction, insisting that Israel hit a largely empty military warehouse.

But the images, federal and private analysts say, suggest that the Syrian authorities rushed to dismantle the facility after the strike, calling it a tacit admission of guilt.

Any attempt by Syrian authorities to clean up the site would make it difficult, if not impossible, for international weapons inspectors to determine the exact nature of the activity there.

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Bill Introduce Banning Veiled Voting

Last month a controversy blew up during the Quebec by-elections involving voters with veils. Marc Mayrand, the country's chief electoral officer, opened a political storm when he said the law did not require byelection voters to uncover their faces. Led by Prime Minister Stephen Harper, MPs in all parties ganged up on Mayrand. They accused him of thwarting the will of Parliament, which had passed a bill last spring aimed at beefing up voter identification requirements.

However, Mayrand pointed out that the bill did not specifically require visual identification. If that's what MPs had intended, Mayrand challenged them to change the law.

The issue of veiled voters first came up during the Quebec provincial election last spring, adding fuel to an already heated debate over how far the province should go in accommodating newcomers. Action démocratique du Québec Leader Mario Dumont's popularity surged after he suggested Quebec has gone too far in catering to immigrants.

The Harper government today introduced legislation requiring all voters – including veiled Muslim women – to show their faces before being allowed to cast ballots in federal elections. The Conservatives are hoping the bill will put this issue to rest but it may give a national podium to the heated debate that has provoked some ugly anti-immigrant sentiment in Quebec.

Woman Gets 10 Years For Stabbing Her Boyfriend and Drinking His Blood During Kinky Sex

A woman who stabbed her tied-up lover so she could drink his blood has been sentenced to 10 years in prison. Tiffany Sutton told Maricopa County Superior Court Judge David Udall that she was sorry for the incident and said she never meant to hurt anyone, but received the stiff sentence anyway after he called the crime especially heinous. Sutton, 24, pleaded guilty to aggravated assault in August. She was arrested by Tempe police in February after she repeatedly stabbed her lover during an alcohol- and drug-fueled sexual tryst. According to police reports, the victim, 46-year-old Robert McDaniel, agreed to be tied up during sex but became alarmed and asked to be untied when Sutton pulled out a knife and said she liked to drink blood. Sutton then attacked him, slicing his leg, puncturing his arm, shoulder and back and cutting his neck and stomach. When he escaped, she chased him with a pickax.

OK. She might have gone a little too far, I just wonder how many twisted guys will be writing her in prison wanting to know when she gets out.

Great Home Depot Ad

A Vote Giuliani Lost

A top echelon mob informant told the FBI that the Mafia's ruling commission once discussed killing Rudolph Giuliani, but that despite support for the hit from John Gotti and Carmine "The Snake" Persico, the proposal was voted down. The vote was 3-2 against the hit.

Story on The Smoking Gun

Photos of San Diego Fires

by Jerrold Litwinenko.

I am offended!

The U.S. Postal Service has released a new stamp with Yoda. He is a creepy little senile alien. It should have been Lord Vadar that was selected for that stamp. It's obvious that the American public has stereotyped me.

Below is the stamp that should have been released.

Burglar-in-a-box thieves are caught

Glass cutters? Check! Gloves? Check! Cardboard box? Check!



Toronto Police have arrested two suspected burglars who they say were outfitted with all the gear worthy of a scene out of "Mission Impossible" and who allegedly broke into fast food restaurants across Toronto and the GTA from inside a cardboard box.

These guys were really busy boys. They were arrested on September 1, after allegedly breaking into a Taco Bell on Markham Road, in Scarborough. Investigators say the sophisticated team has targeted 200 locations in Toronto, Peel, York Region and as far away as Kitchener since November of last year.

Their surreptitious methods were reflected in the clothing - they wore all black, had on balaclavas and ear pieces to communicate with one another. They also had police scanners, so they could escape as soon as they heard police were on to them. They removed a glass pane in the front of each restaurant realizing that often alarm systems are hooked up to a door frame, but not the actual window.

The box, which was about one metre square, was open on one end, so the robbers could actually work on removing the glass while inside the box. He noted that the accused have a background in “glass removal.

Police allege that about $250,000 was stolen, mostly cash. Gordon Michael Edwards, 27, and Jason Richard Phillips, 25, both of Toronto, face more than 300 charges, including break and enter, disguise with intent and prowl by night. Police also charged Donna Hofscheier, 23, described as one of the accused’s partner, with conspiracy to commit an indictable offence and break and enter.

DO NOT FIGHT ZDENO CHARO

The man is 6'9" and 260 lbs.

Glorious Time to Make Sue Borat

Five more unwitting stars of "Borat" have filed a federal lawsuit against the hit comedy's creators, claiming that they were duped into appearing in what they thought was an "educational documentary for Belarus Television."

In the movie, the "victims" are seen dining with comedian Sacha Baron Cohen in an Alabama home in October 2005. During the meal, Cohen, as the clueless Borat, refers to one man as a "retard," wonders whether his hosts own slaves, and, following a bathroom trip, returns to the dinner table with a plastic bag containing what appears to be feces. According to a complaint filed Friday in U.S. District Court in Birmingham, Cohen and his codefendants sought to portray the Alabamans as "racially intolerant" and distributed a film "memorializing the mockery, humiliation, and degradation of unsuspecting participants." The plaintiffs charge that Cohen's film, which has grossed hundreds of million of dollars, caused them emotional distress, placed them in a false light, and resulted in an invasion of privacy.

The lawsuit, which does not specify monetary damages, seeks an injunction barring further use of the embarrassing "dinner scene" from "Borat."

What's Happened to Eric Lindros?

When Paul Kelly was being introduced as the new executive director of the NHL Players' Association Eric Lindros in the room listening closely. The Big E put in countless hours over the last few months in helping the players' union turn the page and hire its new leader. He was a member of the five-player search committee for the executive director and also a key cog on the constitutional review committee that helped reshape the union from top to bottom.

Now Lindros would dearly love to play another year. After all he is only 34. But all those injuries have taken their toll. His first seven seasons were of superstar caliber. But the last six have been ravaged by injury and controversy.

He will likely announce his retirement at some point. The new NHLPA constitution will have a newly created ombudsman position and Lindros is the favourite to get that job.

Jesica Biel is Not a Lover of the Paparazzi

Microsoft Buys a Piece of Facebook

It's hard to believe a company with less than $200 million in annual revenue could be worth so much but Microsoft just purchased 1.6% of Facebook for $240 million. That would suggest that the value of Facebook is in the neighbourhood of $15 billion. Not bad for what start up as an online social network for Harvard students in 2004.

23 year old Mark Zuckerberg, now looks pretty smart for rejecting a $1 billion takeover offer from Yahoo Inc. last year. And Facebook should have more than enough money to pay for its expansion until it is ready to go public.

Try explaining this to the insurance company

WARNING: Harper Wants an Election

If you look at the latest polling numbers from Ipsos Reid. You will understand why the federal Conservative government is so eager to call an election.

Conservatives: 40%
Liberals: 27%
New Democrats: 14%
Greens: 10%
Bloc Quebecois: 8%

It has been Prime Minister Harper's mission since the 2006 election to win a majority in Parliament. Although he has been able to govern with a minority, most governments feel it is too much work and effort without that majority. Too often you have to share the spot light with one of the opposition parties or make compromises. I may be wrong but in Harper's case there may also be ego at work.

However, all parties are well aware that the electorate see no reason to go to the polls again so soon. There are no pressing issues where the government requires a new mandate from voters. In fact, the Conservative government delivered on their thin election platform in the first 12 months and can't seem to find a wedge issue to latch on to. So what we have is a Parliamentary game of chicken. The Prime Minister daring the opposition to defeat the government on a confidence motion so that they can be blamed for the election he so badly wants. The Liberals who need more time to rebuild their party are in no rush to go to the polls.

So score one at last for Stéphane Dion. What he has done by refusing to bring down the government on the throne speech is restore some sanity to the increasingly frivolous way we talk about politics.

He had said no election on the throne speech, because that would be rank silliness of the highest order that would sink public confidence in our politics even lower. For one thing, defeating a government on its throne speech has never been done in Canada, mainly because throne speeches are ceremonial events with no importance in substance. It’s just a government’s statement of philosophical direction. So the Liberals decided to abstain on the the throne speech vote which allowed it to pass without having to support it.

But this isn't over yet. The Conservatives will find other creative ways to manufacture a defeat of the government because the polls (see top of this post) suggest a majority is a possibility.

Privacy Commissioner to Investigate TTC Cameras

I was pleased to hear that Ontario's privacy commissioner is launching an investigation into the proposed installation of thousands of security cameras in the TTC. The announced was the result of a complaint by an international privacy watchdog that the system would violate the privacy of Toronto commuters.

It's not that I am opposed to security cameras but I would like some assurance that personal privacy will be protected. It is unfortunate that efforts to increase community safety and security always comes as a cost to honest and law-abiding citizens.

Scranton to host 'Office' party

The city of Scranton, Pa., is hosting the inaugural "Office Convention" this weekend in honour of NBC's hit show "The Office."

Highlights will include an Office Olympics (Dunderball, anyone?), a character lookalike contest, appearances by cast and crew and performances by the Scrantones, the band that recorded the show's theme music.

About 2,000 tickets ranging from $25 to $250 have been sold so far — 70 percent of them to out-of-town fans.

Fourteen cast members, along with the show's writers and executive producer, are scheduled to appear. None of the actors who play the main characters — Carell, Rainn Wilson, John Krasinski and Jenna Fischer — have signed on.

Models Replace Ball Boys/Girls at Madrid Tennis Tournament

There was a storm of protest recently when organizers of the recent Madrid Masters tournament employed 19- to 28-year-old models instead of volunteer young tennis fans to pick up stray balls and hand towels to the players.

After a match in which the umpire had to remind a confused ball-girl to return to the side of the net, Andre Agassi said he was less than impressed.

Hey it's tennis. Why else did Anna K become such a big star.

Will John Tory Survive?

With the election disaster behind him, John Tory has publicly stated his desire to say on as provincial Conservative leader to continue rebuilding the party. So how likely is it that he will be given the opportunity?

Surprisingly, John Tory has support within the party and his caucus. In fact, caucus meets today for the first time since the election. We may know more by the end of the day. The Toronto Star tried contacting the caucus members over the past 2 days to gauge support. About half returned calls voicing support. Some indicated a willingness to resign their seat to create a by-election to provide Tory with a riding to run in. It can be assumed that the half that did not return the Star's call are "less supportive".

Other factors for the party to consider is the excellent job Tory did to restore the party's finances. He has excellent organizational and leaderships skills and it is likely that the party will not find a better leader at this time. He may have a hard time convincing people like John O'Toole that he should stay on. If he can win over his detractors, he might be able to survive.

In the meantime, veteran MPP Bob Runciman will be lead the Conservative caucus in the Legislature until the leadership issue is straightened out.

UPDATE: John Tory emerged from the caucus meeting stating that contentious issue of funding religious schools is dead. Caucus members leaving the meeting suggested that Tory has the full support of his caucus. Tory wants to hear from the party executive and failed Conservative candidates in the next week before he will say definitively whether he will stay.

Sundin can no longer carry the Leafs

In a scenario that has long been typical of the Leafs, Mats Sundin may be the best player in the NHL through the first three weeks of the schedule, with little to show for it. Having compiled 17 points in 10 games (including a league-leading 11 assists), Sundin is tied for the NHL scoring lead with Henrik Zetterberg of Detroit, and is on pace for a career year. Like usual, however, his exceptional performance is not translating into team success.

And, the burden of carrying his underachieving club is once again likely to cause a flame-out in the late stages of the season, as it did a year ago. Mats is almost 37 years old. He's playing like a 27-year-old right now, but the lack of offensive support other than Antropov will turn him into a 57-year-old by February. A healthy Wellwood and Tucker would help but their return is not likely anytime soon.

Incidently, there is a rumour going around that the Leafs have been talking to Atlanta about trading for Marion Hossa in exchange for Kaberle and Raycroft. I have no way of knowing whether there is any truth to this rumour but the deal makes some sense. Leafs have an excess of offensive defensemen, no heir apparent for Sundin and 2 starting goalies (although some might argue 2 back up goalies). Hossa becomes a free agent at the end of the year and Atlanta may not be able to sign him. As well, the only offensive defenseman in their line up is Zhitnik who is 35 and slowing down. Their #1 goalie Lehtonen is out with a groin injury.

I'd think this would be better protection than a pitbull

This Always Worked in the Movies

A 25 year old man tried to break into a CVS pharmacy last night ... and he thought he had it all planned out. He had a rope and was going to drop himself in through the store's ventilation shaft. Jeffery Mumani climbed onto the roof of the CVS store and removed the vent, allowing access into the store. He tied the rope around himself, when the plan was suddenly ruined.

Either the rope broke, or came loose from what it was tied to , and ended up dropping him 9 to 10 feet straight down. Straight down into the ceiling of the ladies' room.

Ten hours later fire rescue pulled Mumani out ... he had been wedged in with his arms over his head. Charges are pending.

Satellite Image of California Fires

source

California Fire Map

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Citytv is Moving To Dundas Square

After decades of being situated as an icon of Queen Street West, it has been revealed that Citytv will be moving to a new high-profile location: Dundas Square.

Since Rogers Communications announced plans to acquire Citytv, there has been much speculation about what would happen to the legendary Queen Street studios. The solution became the former Olympic Spirit complex at the south-east corner of Dundas Square.

A great location but Rogers Media hasn't indicated whether it plans to emulate the iconic "storefront" studio format that Citytv is known for.

This has the potential to be the Game of the Year

In two weeks the Colts and Patriots meet which has the makings of a great game. Unless something weird happens this Sunday, both team will be going into this game undefeated and with the potential to go 17-0 for the season. Except only one team can come out of the game undefeated.

I can't wait!

This is what happens to comb overs in windy weather

No doubt about it. Larry King will not need a costume for Halloween.

Buffalo Bills are Coming to Toronto (twice a year)

In an attempt to tap into the huge Toronto market (relative to Buffalo), the Buffalo Bills plan to play one preseason and one regular season game each year in Toronto.

NFL fans in Toronto will likely look at this move as a first step in acquiring a franchise for the city. In fact, if the Bill's plan succeeds, I see the opposite happening. The Bills see Southern Ontario as part of their market but have not been very successful in penetrating it. The Toronto games are intended to sell Canadians on NFL football so that they will travel down the QEW to Buffalo to see more games.

If the NFL agrees with the Bill's plan then it is confirming that Toronto is just part of the Buffalo market and not a potential new market. They would be reluctant to place a franchise here and poach into the Bill's market.

In fact, the only hope for Toronto football fans is when Bill's owner Ralph Wilson dies (he just turned 89). He has stated that he wants the team sold to the highest bidder. A couple of Toronto bidding teams are forming to prepare for that day. They have the potential to outbid any local Buffalo group because of the Toronto market is so much larger.

905 Region Just Got More Popular

Months of lobbying, politicking and gamesmanship surrounding the controversial land transfer tax and vehicle registration tax came to an end last night as Toronto council narrowly voted in favour of both new taxes. The final version of the land transfer tax, however, represents a significant compromise over the plan first put forward by Mayor David Miller back in July.

On an average home purchase in Toronto of $400,000, the land transfer tax portion of your closing costs just jumped from $4,500 to $9,000. The Mayor says the city has no choice because of program downloading by the Harris provincial government 10 years ago. In other words, higher taxes but no new or improved services. The downside to the land transfer tax is that it impacts only 5% of it's residents (home buyers make up about 5% of the city's residents in any given year).

However, as a Thornhill resident, I am safe from the new tax unless I move back into Toronto. This is only going to make home ownership even more attractive in the 905 region (York, Durham, Peel, and Halton).

I am deeply offended by this report

Pedophiles are significantly shorter on average than men who are attracted to adults, according to a new study out of Toronto's Centre for Addiction and Mental Health.

Hey, I like tall willowy ladies! And I'm 5'6"

Only models can go shirtless in Ambercrombie & Fitch

As part of a stunt, 111 men of all shapes and sizes shopped shirtless in the Abercrombie and Fitch store on 5th Avenue in New York. The store uses shirtless models for promotions and has pictures all over the store of men without shirts. But the store doesn't like shirtless customers.

Watch the video below and read a full description of the stunt.

For the runners out there

...the day after the Marathon

Toronto Registers 70th Murder

The man shot to death outside the Toronto’s Don Jail on Sunday was one of 25 people swept up in the Jane Creba murder investigation last year.

Eric Boateng, 21, had left Don Jail on Sunday just before 4 p.m. and was returning to his car when he was confronted outside by a man and shot. Boateng pleaded guilty to possession of cocaine for the purpose of trafficking in Old City Hall provincial court on Aug. 7 and was sentenced to the equivalent of 28 months in jail. He was released from custody at that time for time served, plus put on probation for a year.

Police arrested and charged 25 people in the murder investigation of Creba, the popular 15-year-old high school student who was fatally shot while shopping on Yonge Street on Boxing Day 2005.

Boateng is Toronto’s 70th homicide victim of 2007, one more than the 69 people killed in the city last year. Although not high compared to other North American cities of this size, the murder rate is clearly on the rise.

Though i have no evidence, this doesn't sound like a random shooting and appears similar to the Jason Pellimore shooting. But I don't want all of Boateng's friends and family members posting endless comments about his great character. I'm sure he was a great guy too.

Hey JT! I'm ready for the rebound when she dumps your ass

Commenting on this Blog

I don't want to begin moderating and censoring posts but I get some creepy messages placed on this site. So I'm trying a different approach. You must have a registered name to leave a comment. No anonymous comments can be posted.

Lets see how that works out.

EDIT: I'VE ALREADY BEEN PERSUADED TO GO BACK TO THE PREVIOUS FREE-FOR-ALL. HEY LIFE IS TOO SHORT.

Big Brother Comes to the TTC

Yikes! Plans are officially underway to ensure almost every person using Toronto's transit system will be photographed as of June 2008, with reports of as many as 12,000 mini cameras to be installed on every bus, streetcar, subway car and inside each station.

This isn't the first encounter Torontonians have had with authorities monitoring public space. Toronto Police have had surveillance cameras up at several city intersections for almost a year.

Does anyone else have privacy concerns?

Toronto's Trump Tower Construction Begins

Donald Trump's "gold shovel" has finally made its mark on downtown Toronto when he broke ground at the future site of Toronto's Trump International Hotel and Tower recently.

The 900-foot building will be located at the southeast corner of Bay and Adelaide streets according to the building's website.

Tower suites cost between $1.6 million and $19 million. Penthouses carry a $19-million price tag.

The building was originally slated to be 70-storeys high, but the planned height was recently dropped down to 57 storeys supposedly because of weak sales. Trump said elevator construction was the issue. Trump says 70 per cent of the building is already sold out.

When completed in 2010, the five-star tower will boast 261 guest hotel suites and 118 residential condos.

Maybe the winner of Celebrity Apprentice will come to Toronto to hold open the door of Trump's limo when he comes to town to check on the project. There are some really big names lined up for the next Apprentice season: Jim Cramer, Carmen Electra, Joan Rivers, Naomi Judd, George Foreman, original "Apprentice" villain Amorosa, Kimora Lee Simmons, Pete Rose, Dana Patrick, Tony Hawk and Jeff Gordon.

Beauty Queen Turned MP is Getting Married

Wedding bells will soon be ringing within the Conservative caucus after MPs Helena Guergis and Rahim Jaffer have announced they plan to be married.

I understand that Guergis, MP for Simcoe-Grey and Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs and International Trade and Secretary of State for Sport, was spotted wearing an engagement ring in the House of Commons while I was away last week.

Helena appears to be slumming it with Rahim who is not a Cabinet minister or even a Secretary of State. At least he is Conservative caucus chair.

However, they do have interesting backgrounds. Rahim is born in Uganda from a Pakistani background. He is a Muslim. Helena's family is from Turkey and her background is Assyrian, Swedish and Jewish. Oh yes, she also won the 1992 Miss Huronia Beauty Pageant.

Someone needs a time out

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Malibu Celebrities Evacuated from California Fire

Fires are burning up all over in Malibu on the Pacific Coast Highway because of the high Santa Ana winds and dry California brush.

James Cameron and Olivia Newton-John have been evacuated, and there are many more celebs in the Malibu area whose homes are in danger.

The Malibu County and Carbon Beach residents include: Jennifer Aniston, Sting, Bill Murray, Nick Nolte, Robin Wright Penn, Mel Brooks, Howie Mandel, Tatum O'Neal, Rob Reiner, Goldie Hawn, Linda Ronstadt, Jeff Bridges, David Arquette and Courteney Cox, David Geffen, Jeffrey Katzenberg,Tom Hanks and Rita Wilson.

Not to worry though. Britney Spears is safe!

The most promiscuous women in the world

...are to be found in New Zealand, according to the Sexual Wellbeing Global survey by condom-maker Durex. New Zealand women have an average of 20.4 sexual partners (the global average is 7.3), and New Zealand is in fact the only country in the world where women are more promiscuous than their men.

That should be good for tourism.

Crackdown on religion in Swedish education

Just over a week ago Ontario voters rejected the idea of publicly funding religious schools by voting against John Tory's Conservative Party. On Monday this week, the Swedish government expressed their view on this issue when it presented a series of proposals banning both public and independent schools "from introducing religious elements into their classes except during religion lessons."

In other words, religious beliefs can no longer be taught as true in Swedish schools (but pupils can still learn about religions, of course). Here's what Swedish Education Minister Jan Björklund had to say on the subject:

He said religion could still be studied at school as a separate subject but other classes could in no way be influenced by religious convictions. For example, the origin of human life would have to be explained from a scientific point of view and not a religious one, he said. The Swedish government also plans to allocate additional funds to carry out controls on schools, sometimes unannounced.
...
Bjoerklund said the initiative would help improve transparency about the financing of these schools. He cited the case of an independent Muslim school that had received financial aid from a fundamentalist Islamic organisation in Saudi Arabia.

And in Sweden, of all places (the land of multiculturalism, tolerance, and political correctness).

Nicest Goal So Far in the NHL This Season

Caught this goal by Jonathan Toews on the sports news the other day. Sort of reminds me of his coach Denis Savard when he was 20.

What's wrong with the Leafs?

Got back in town last night to see the latest Leaf disaster - and we will see a lot of them until there are some dramatic changes. The things that I have been harping before the season started are mostly coming true. The Leafs are the worst defensive team in the league. That's hard to believe when they have the most expensive defense in the NHL.

Toronto has allowed the most shots on goal per game of any team in the league so far — this after finishing seventh in the category last season. And the one thing that hasn't changed is the team save percentage, which after dipping to a god-awful .888 last year is down to .884. (Los Angeles is the bottom feeder at .862).

Toronto's been bad at even strength (21 goals against, better than only the Kings), and on the penalty kill (13 goals against, better than only Atlanta). They've been shorthanded a league-high 61 times, and the power play's firing at just 11.1 per cent.

The real wonder, come to think of it, is just how this team has managed to get eight points out of its first nine games. Well, that and the fact Nik Antropov leads the league in plus-minus.

At least they've got Atlanta on Tuesday.

Not sure how much longer Paul Maurice will last.