Victim's husband upset no criminal charges in crash

Jagjeet Sidhu lost his wife and a big chunk of his life when an unsafe van overloaded with farm workers crashed in Abbotsford in 2007.

Now, he says, he's "very upset" that the only charges to proceed today in Abbotsford Provincial Court are under the Motor Vehicle Act and not the Criminal Code.

Harwinderpal Kaur Gill, the driver of the van, is facing four counts. The registered corporate owner of the vehicle, RHA Enterprises Ltd., is also charged with four counts.

Each charge carries a maximum penalty of six months in jail and a $2,000 fine.

"I feel my wife's life was not worth anything," Sidhu said yesterday. "She was only worth $2,000."

Criminal Justice Branch spokesman Stan Lowe said the RCMP did not recommend criminal charges.

Sidhu's wife, Sarbjit Kaur Sidhu, 30, the mother of three young children, was one of three female farm workers killed in the March 7 crash.

Also killed were Amarjit Kaur Bal, 52, and Sukhvinder Kaur Punia, 46.

Fourteen others were injured when the driver lost control on the wet highway and crashed.

A WorkSafe B.C. report blamed the accident on overloading, poor tire maintenance, lack of seat-belts, inadequate driver qualification, road conditions and vehicle instability.

There were 16 passengers and Gill in the vehicle, which was allowed to carry only 14 passengers. Only the driver and the front-seat passenger had the required seat-belts.

Its a sad time for anyone losing a loved one, but the victim climbed into a loaded van and not realizing the consequences that could happen. Its like climbing into a car with someone drinking. There should have been a protest or the husband should have stepped up to the plate and asked for a second or third van to be used or drive his wife to the work place. If climbing into an overloaded vehicle one should realize the consequence that its not worth to be paid minimal wage for a life threatening situation.

Author: Frank Lubra
http://www.theprovince.com/Victim+husband+upset+criminal+charges+crash/1089633/story.html

Two boys in HOV pileup lose fight for life

A heartbroken congregation prayed last night for two brothers, aged nine and six, who died yesterday following a tragic car crash a day earlier.

Their grief-stricken parents asked the public to pray for their third son, who was clinging to life in B.C. Children's Hospital last night, suffering from a spinal injury.


The family's Toyota minivan with eight people inside was stopped in the eastbound HOV lane on the Trans-Canada Highway near United Boulevard in Coquitlam on Saturday morning when it was struck by a BMW travelling illegally in the HOV lane. The BMW was then hit by a third vehicle.

The children's grandmother and a great-aunt, aged 74 and 76, were also in hospital with life-threatening injuries last night.

"The family continues to ask for privacy at this very difficult time and asks for the public to continue to pray for their eight-year-old son," said RCMP Cpl. Peter Thiessen.

The parents and a fourth son, aged one year, were at Children's Hospital when the two brothers died yesterday afternoon.

This story was very upsetting and disturbing to me. The man who was driving by himself should have not been in the HOV lane. He should have been aware of what was ahead of him and shouldnt have been going as fast as he was. This man was not following the rules and know he is gonig to live with this the rest of his life. Also, the mom who was driving the van must feel so hurt and upset with herself. It was not her fault that this happend, but im sure it's how she feels.

Author: Andy Ivens
http://www.theprovince.com/boys+pileup+lose+fight+life/1015715/story.html

Canadians Against a Liberal/NDP Coalition Gov't

In the last 24 hours, Canada's political reality has gone chaotic. Finance Minister Jim Flaherty tabled an economic update on Thursday, November 27th. Part of the measures included tightening the belt on politicians and the civil service by freezing salary increases, and ending party subsidies.

Currently, a political party in Canada receives $1.95 for every vote they receive in a federal election. It's the position of the Conservative Government that big money should be taken out of politics, and that our political parties should earn their money through grassroots donations from individual Canadians. Barack Obama, won the U.S. election without taking a cent of public money, through inspiring people and receiving small donations from thousands of people. The political parties in Canada should have to do the same.

The opposition parties, addicted to their government welfare, declared 'war', over this measure. In a compromising tone, Finance Minister Jim Flaherty backed down and has put the vote on political party subsidies in a separate vote, which will not be a non-confidence measure.

The opposition parties claim a lack of action by the Government on an economic stimulus package. It's very clear, that Canada's Government is waiting to see the actions President-elect Barack Obama takes when he is sworn in as President in late January. Which is very smart considering over 80% of our exports go to the United States, and our economy is very much linked to our southern neighbour. The opposition is demanding impatient and reckless action.

I support the coalition because it will be more progressive than the current government. It would be great if they felt they could take on the Liberal pragmatist approach the everything now and again. The weak link in the coalition is Dion and the Liberals. Lets show them just as strong we can be!

Author: Doug Ward, Vancouver Sun
http://www.igloo.org/community.igloo?r0=community&r0_script=/scripts/announcement/view.script&r0_pathinfo=%2F{d4569d73-0d1c-4195-9faf-b77a2d328e0a}%2FAnnouncements%2Finthenew%2Farethelibe&r0_output=xml

Patrick Swayze Dieing of Cancer

According to the National Enquirer, Patrick Swayze has been suffering from a form of pancreatic cancer, and as a result does not have a very good prognosis. They claim that he has been suffering from a very aggressive type of the cancer, and has been undergoing extreme treatments since the end of January. Though he still has the the chance to go through advanced forms of chemotherapy, they are reporting that his prognosis is not very good.

As with most cancers, this is a very vicious one, which is basically a malignant tumor within the pancreatic gland. It is reported that about 33,000 people within the United States are diagnosed with this type of cancer every year, and that it is a tough cancer to fight. Because it doesn't present very many early symptoms, it is very hard to detect, and hard to fight against once the patient has it. They estimate the typical life expectancy to be between 3 and 6 months if not detected quickly, and if not treated can attack the patient even faster.

If the reports are true, this would be a very sad thing for the 55 year old actor who made his mark in films such as Dirty Dancing, Ghost, and Red Dawn just to name a few. The film star has appeared in 49 films over his long career, which includes 3 golden globe nominations within those roles. Swayze met his wife 33 years ago, and they have been happily married ever since.

I think it is very upsetting that Patrick is dying of pancreatic cancer. I never would of thought a famous and popular actor would have such an awful diesease to go through. He has been successful with all of his movies he has made in the past. "Dirty Dancing" and "Ghost" were one of his huge successes that made him who he is. He is battling cancer and is still holding in. He says that he responds well to treatment which is great!

Author: Ryan Christopher DeVault
http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/640495/patrick_swayze_dieing_of_cancer_only.html?cat=40

Arrest Made In Killings Of Jennifer Hudson's Family

Chicago police said Monday they have arrested William Balfour, the estranged husband of Jennifer Hudson's sister, for the murders of three members of her family.

The mother, brother and nephew of the Oscar-winning actress were all shot in October.

Balfour, 27, has been in custody at Stateville Correctional Center on a parole violation since their deaths.

On Monday, Chicago police served a warrant for his arrest and he was transferred into their custody.

Charges are expected to be laid by the Cook County State's Attorney's Office within the next 24 hours.

Hudson won an Academy Award for best supporting actress in 2007 for her role in Dreamgirls. In an interview last year with Vogue magazine, Hudson credited her mother with encouraging her to audition for American Idol, which launched her career.

Her mother and brother were found dead on Oct. 25 and her seven-year-old nephew's body was found three days later after an intensive police search.

When I found this out about Jennifer Hudsons' mom, I thought it was very strange because there was no reason for her to be killed. The only reason I can think this man did this was because he probably felt jealous of Jennifer Hudson's fame. It is tragic that she got killed for it.

Author: CBC News
http://www.cbc.ca/arts/media/story/2008/12/01/hudson-arrest.html

Beauty Salons or Ugly Salons?

These days, there’s a good chance you could visit your salon and leave with more than just a new hairdo or manicure. You could walk away with a nasty infection, too. No matter how posh or pricey a salon is, if it isn’t keeping up with health and safety standards, it can easily become a breeding ground for harmful bacteria and germs.

FORT WORTH, Texas - Kimberly Kay Jackson loved getting pedicures each month, especially with bright pink nail polish, although as a paraplegic she couldn’t feel the massages and bubbling water on her feet.

But after her heel was cut with a pumice stone during a July pedicure, she developed an oozing wound that wouldn’t heal despite repeated rounds of antibiotics, relatives said. The 46-year-old died in February of a heart attack triggered by a staph infection, said the family’s attorney, Steven C. Laird.

Now, her three teenage children are suing Angel Nails and its owner for unspecified damages. The lawsuit, filed last week, claims the Fort Worth salon did not follow state regulations for disinfecting the whirlpool and instruments.

This story creeps me out because I sometimes go to a beauty salon to get a manicure and would think that there tools would be safe and clean. My mom got a pedicure once from this beauty salon at Park and Tilford, and a week later, there was something on her foot that looked like fungus. This was most likely caused from the salon not cleaning there tools properly. The place isnt very expensive, so I don't think they care enough for there salon. They need to start having health inspections for places like those to keep everyone safe when they go for anything done for themselves.

Author: Associated Press
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/12866053/

The Hidden Dangers of Facebook

It's the online networking phenomenon that has got millions of people poking, sending sticky notes and writing on 'fun walls'.

Facebook allows users to build their own little online communities of friends, colleagues and relatives and has attracted over 30 million users worldwide. But it could also be a feasting ground for identity fraudsters.

Users can enter details such as their address, phone number, date of birth, hometown, political views, religious views, pet's name, favourite football team, favourite bands and their marital status, in addition to uploading pictures of themselves.

It may seem safe enough but all of this information could be a goldmine for the professional ID thief. The site is already being used by employers to fire potential employees and was recently used by Oxford Dons to check whether students behaved in their post-exam celebrations.

James Jones of credit reference agency Experian said: 'I actually joined Facebook myself recently and realised that I'd put far too much information on there and had to go and take it all off again.'

'It's great fun, but you do have to be careful with the level of information you put on there. You're meant to be protecting this type of information, not putting it in the public domain.'

This story made me want to delete my facebook account I have. It scares me that putting pictures up of yourself and friends could ruin your future for a job you want. I deleted most of my pictures that weren't appropriate for the website, but it could be too late because someone can just as easily copy the picture in there computer and black mail it for you if they wanted to.

Author: Michael Clarke, This is Money
http://www.thisismoney.co.uk/credit-and-loans/idfraud/article.html?in_article_id=422517&in_page_id=&ito=1565

Kick a Ginger Day

When Nanaimo high school student Aaron Mishkin appeared for classes Thursday, he heard his classmates talking about "kick-a-ginger day."

It was the first the 13-year-old redhead had heard about the online phenomenon, and initially he thought nothing of it.

"But then I left the class, and we have seven minutes to get to the next class, and I was amazed by the amount of people that kicked me along the way," said Mishkin. Over the course of the day, Mishkin figures he was kicked or hit about 80 times, all because of a Facebook group, apparently inspired by an episode of the satirical cartoon South Park that urged members to "kick a ginger" on Nov. 20.

In Sooke, west of Victoria, more than 20 students at Journey Middle School were suspended after shocked teachers received complaints they were kicking redheads.

This story made me sick to hear that they had a special day for redheads. The influence of a television show made that day to "kick a ginger". It is very upsetting to hear redheads being bullied just because the colour of there hair. I am glad that the kids who were involved got punished for this because this should have never happened. I feel really bad about the boy who was bruised on his legs from being kicked.

Author: Catherine Rolfsen, Vancouver Sun
http://www.cbc.ca/canada/british-columbia/story/2008/11/23/bc-kick-ginger-anti-bullying.html?ref=rss

Twilight- The Smashing Hit of the Year!

Stephanie Meyer’s Twilight series is the new phenomenon for teens everywhere and has taken the world by storm with its action packed love story topping best sellers lists. The Book Twilight was written by Stephenie Meyer. It is a young adult romance/vampire novel that is a huge hit and though Meyer wrote it aimed towards young adults the book is a huge hit with people of all ages and now has quite a cult following. Twilight is the first novel in the Twilight Series of Books and introduces us to Isabella "Bella" Swan who has moved from Phoenix Arizona to a small town in Washington State called Forks Washington. She finds her life in danger when she falls in love with a Vampire. This is a movie you won't want to miss!

The acting was very well done and each character was cast exactly like the descriptions in the books. i couldnt have pictured them any better myself. Twilight seemed to be a very different book to translate into a movie, worrying many people that would ruin the series. However, we were all proved wrong when it turned out to be phenomenal. The film and the books are directed towards teenage girls and young woman, but many men were interested in the forbidden love story between Bella Swan and Edward Cullen. Twilight is a definite two thumbs up.

Author: crazyhorseghost
http://hubpages.com/hub/Twilight-Information-Photos-And-Videos.

Kelowna Couple Stay Put in Room

Veteran travellers Larry and Bernie Koftinoff did their best to stay calm when their 16th-floor Mumbai hotel room began filling with smoke as the streets below turned to chaos. After barricading the door, Larry smashed the Oberoi-Trident Hotel room window, allowing the terrified Kelowna couple to breathe fresh air. "They were in their room when it all happened -- they were lucky," daughter Maya Koftinoff, 24, said yesterday from Kelowna after a reassuring call from her parents.

"They just sat in their room, blockaded the door and were doing meditation when my mom looked up and saw smoke coming in so my dad smashed a window to let the smoke out.

"They looked down and could see all the people in the street and the militia with machine-guns were waving up at them. They were shocked and surprised but kept calm.

At least 125 people were killed and more than 300 wounded when terrorists fanned out across Mumbai, in a series of co-ordinated attacks Wednesday night. They struck at sites that are popular with tourists and business people, including the Oberoi and another luxury hotel.

Today's so call terrorist has no geographical and and borders, they can never be called Patriot.

When Britain was ruling India, it was a term (terrorist/rebels)used for those who tried to oppose the Britain Govt in India-Even today Americans are known as little rebel by the Britishers.

It is very different when it apply to the present Islamic fundamentalist militants. For me they are not human, and they are wagging a war with whole mankind.

I don't hear any group or people taking revenge for the past colonialism of the British or the Roman Empire.

Some say they are fighting for the cause of the Palestinian. Then why they are terrorizing with someone and somewhere else.

Terrorist are sick and ignorant peoples. They believe that (taught by Cleric in Madrasa) they will get 12 virgins in heaven if they die in Jihad.

http://www.cbc.ca/world/story/2008/11/28/mumbai-canadians.html