[DiSaidSo]

Americans didn't flock to Canada after Bush win

By David Ljunggren

46 minutes ago



OTTAWA (Reuters) - Canadians can put away those extra welcome mats -- it seems Americans unhappy about the result of last November's presidential election have decided to stay at home after all.

In the days after President Bush won a second term, the number of U.S. citizens visiting Canada's main immigration Web site shot up sixfold, prompting speculation that unhappy Democrats would flock north.

But official statistics show the number of Americans actually applying to live permanently in Canada fell in the six months after the election.

On the face of it this is not good news -- Canada is one of the few major nations seeking to attract immigrants -- but Immigration Minister Joe Volpe was philosophical.

"We'll take talent from wherever it is resident in the world. I was absolutely elated to see the number of hits and then my staff said 'You know what? A hit on the Internet is after all just a hit'," he told Reuters on Thursday.

"I guess I'm happy Republicans and Democrats have found a way to live together in peace and in harmony," he said.

Canada generally tilts more to the social and political left than the United States.

Data from the main Canadian processing center in Buffalo, NY shows that in the six months up to the U.S. election there were 16,266 applications from people seeking to live in Canada, a figure that fell to 14,666 for the half year after the vote.

A spokeswoman for Canada's federal immigration ministry declined to speculate on the reasons for the drop.

Toby Condliffe, who heads the Canadian chapter of Democrats Abroad, did have an explanation of sorts.

"I can only assume the Americans who checked out the Web site subsequently checked out our winter temperatures and further took note that the National Hockey League was being locked out and had second thoughts," he told Reuters. [ROFL ]

Last year, Canada, which has a population of about 32 million, accepted 235,808 immigrants from all over the world.

[teengeekgrrl]

Originally Posted by DiSaidSo

lol hehehe... I was one of those hits. I looked it up to see what all the hoopla was about.

[teengeekgrrl]

Originally Posted by eggplant43

Bigfoot -- Imminent Capture Anticipated
By MarketWire

BURLINGAME, CA -- (MARKET WIRE) -- "The elusive creature known as Bigfoot may not be elusive for very much longer," according to C. Thomas Biscardi, a Bigfoot explorer and founder of the Great American Bigfoot Research Organization.

In the next few days, Biscardi will begin an investigation into a cavernousarea near Happy Camp, California, in which he expects to find evidence of Bigfoot inhabitation and hopefully be able to contain and capture a live creature.

This particular location has been chosen based on two very recent sightingsfrom very credible witnesses. When Biscardi was contacted to follow up on these sightings, his investigation led to finding footprints indicative of a large primate. An account of this investigation is available in an article by Linda Martin datelined June 27, 2005 in the Happy Camp News at www.happycampnews.com.

Since the public is skeptical of any Bigfoot sightings, Biscardi has invited news organizations and a team of documentary filmmakers from Sweden to join him on this investigation. Joining him will be Megan Landers, a reporter from The Medford News, Medford, Oregon, and filmmakers from Sweden, led by producer, David Sayer. The filmmakers are currently doing a movie about Bigfoot.

In the event that Biscardi and his team will be able to contain and capturea creature, further scientific study is slated to be coordinated under the supervision of Dr. George W. Gill, Ph.D., a professor of Anthropology at the University of Wyoming in Laramie, Wyoming.

"This is a high stakes, high risk, scientific and commercial expedition," according to Biscardi. A recent two-and-a-half minute videotape of a Bigfoot sighting in Manitoba, Canada, was recently sold for an undisclosed sum to the television program "A Current Affair." The undisclosed sum, according to Biscardi's sources, "is purported to be in the high six figures."

The findings and materials forthcoming from this investigation will also beoffered for commercial sale and distribution. Organizations interested in acquiring the rights for projects such as publishing, television, film, merchandising, lectures and exhibits based on Biscardi's expeditions can submit their inquiries to Robert Barrows, President of R.M. Barrows, Inc. Advertising and Public Relations at 205 Park Rd., 208, Burlingame, California, 94010, Tel: 650-344-1951. Barrows will be reviewing initial requests and submissions and will be coordinating publicity for the expedition.

Information about previous Bigfoot sightings by Biscardi is available on the web site of the Great American Bigfoot Research Organization at www.greatamericanbigfoot.com.

One of my teachers swore he saw Bigfoot when he was twelve or thirteen.

[eggplant43]

Yahoo! News
Woman Charged With Kidnapping Lawn Boys

Wed Aug 17,10:14 PM ET

A woman faces two counts of kidnapping after allegedly paying two boys for a lawn job with a fake $50 bill, then holding them hostage when they caught on.

Tracy Lynn Clinton, 39, remained in the Eastern Regional Jail on Wednesday, where she has been held on $12,500 bail since her arrest Monday. Police say she has no known address.

Martinsburg Patrolman E.C. Neely said Wednesday the victims were two slightly built boys, ages 12 and 13, who told investigators they were terrorized by Clinton. She allegedly screamed at them, threatened physical violence and exhibited bizarre behavior that included publicly urinating on a fence.

The boys told police they had been cutting lawns around Martinsburg when they saw Clinton sitting on a porch. She offered to pay $30 but said she needed change for what turned out to be a fake $50 bill.

The boys did the job, but questioned the currency. Clinton allegedly talked them into going with her to another location, then made them wait for more than an hour and threatened to harm them if they tried to leave.

Neely said Clinton punched one child in the back when he finally ran away, but neither boy was seriously injured.

If convicted, Clinton could get life in prison on the kidnapping charges and as much as a year in prison on the counterfeit bill charge.

She also faces two counts of failing to appear in court for unrelated incidents.

___

Information from: The Journal, http://journal-news.net/

[angelize56]

^ What a witch!!!

[teengeekgrrl]

^definitely!

[~Candy~]

Miller family opts for history over furniture for 'Phil!' No. 13

Updated: Friday, August 19, 2005



PUNXSUTAWNEY - A Punxsutawney family's heritage and a town's rich history are reflected in the latest "Phantastic Phil!" unveiled Thursday at Miller Brothers Furniture downtown.

"Philtuminous, The Heritage Hog," the 13th statue, is a miner complete with light-bearing hard-hat, a coal pick and a miner's lamp, with tunnels and miniature railroad coal cars literally running through the piece. Painted on Phil's backside are coke ovens, just like the ones that are still embedded in the earth on the outskirts of Punxsutawney.

The Heritage Hog stands on a mound of bituminous coal, a symbol of Punxsutawney's mining era, as well as a reminder of the Miller family tradition of coal mining dating back through the turn of the century.

Miller Brothers owner Jesse Miller told the crowd that this new "Phil!" was an ongoing project for two years.

"We just couldn't come up with a theme or title," he said.

It was Jesse's wife Babette who suggested forgetting about a furniture theme and going with the heritage of Punxsutawney - and the family.

It happens that the mining history of Punxsutawney parallels the mining tradition of the Miller family.

Patriarch Jess Miller, father of Jesse, Duane and Jim, started working in the Rossiter mines when he was only 17. His father had worked in the local mines of Rossiter and Anita all of his life.

Dorothy, Jess' wife, lost her father in the mines May 21, 1925, in Madera, when she was only five years old.

But Jess acknowledged that he liked working in the mines.

"I enjoyed it," he said. "Back when I went into the coal mines, you really worked hard. It was more than just a job; it was a livelihood."

All three of Jess and Dorothy's sons went to work in the coal mines shortly after high school.

Duane was 22, Jesse was 18, and Jim - who earned an associate's degree in mining engineering before he started - was 20 when they embarked on their coal mining careers.

According to Jesse, the last mine their father and his three sons worked was the Greenwich Colliers mine in Barnesboro.

Jess retired in 1975, and his sons left the mining business in 1985.

Dorothy was asked about how she felt about her husband and sons being out of the coal mines for good.

"I'm very happy," she said. "I never wanted them to go in at all."

Jesse introduced his parents, both 86, and said, "They are the backbone in all that we do.

"If you look back through the history of Punxsutawney, many families here represent that mining history," he said. "I'm proud to say that we were all coal miners."

Jesse also thanked project artist Megan Fetzer, saying that the Miller family felt she had gone over and above what was expected.

Jesse also thanked Miller Brothers Furniture staff members, who helped with naming the new "Phantastic Phil!"

This piece is the first "Phil!" that has lighting. A light is located on the miner's hard-hat and the other on the lamp that the character holds in its left paw.

Jack Heist of Punxsutawney was instrumental in doing the electrical work on the statue. He hooked up the lamps that will burn all the time, Jesse said.

"I can't wait to see it at night," Fetzer said.

Fetzer, an artist, teacher, wife and mother of a new baby boy, said the Millers wanted this project to be historically accurate.

"Jesse gave me a miner's lantern and a helmet," she said.

She said she traced the helmet and then reproduced it exactly.

"The helmet is an actual replica, but it's 240 times the normal size," Fetzer said.

Fetzer said she researched the lanterns on the Internet and designed the lamp after an older-style lantern from about 1910. She then added the Rossiter mining logo to the side of the lamp, as requested by the Millers.

She also went to the Valier Coal Company and talked to an engineer, who enlightened Fetzer about some of the details. Ultimately, she changed her original sketches.

"He told me the coal starts out rolling, and then it ends up going straight," she said.

Fetzer said she learned quite a lot while researching for the design.

"One of the biggest challenges was working with so many new materials," Fetzer said. "The painting took only eight hours."

But other aspects of the project were time-consuming and even a bit risky, she said.

Another unique thing about Heritage Hog is that it has four fingers. All the other "Phantastic Phils!" have only three fingers, Fetzer said. During her research, she discovered that groundhogs actually have four digits and a fifth, thumb-like digit.

She cut off the original hand in order to create a new four-fingered paw to hold the miner's lamp.

"It was so scary, cutting off that hand," Fetzer said. "I made the new hand out hardware cloth and Bondo fiberglass."

The Heritage Hog is also wearing a hard-hat that is really hard.

"The helmet is made out of steel," Fetzer said. "It weighs 50 pounds. It will be protected if anything were to fall on it."

The helmet light is made from items that you wouldn't imagine by looking at it, such as a Chinese food container, a piece of wood, part of a flashlight and a metal camping cup.

"It was really fun doing this," Fetzer said. "I used all these new materials - it was definitely a learning experience for me."

Punxsutawney Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Marlene Lellock thanked the Miller Brothers staff for their help with the project and also Brian Smith and his staff at Smith Auto Body for their ongoing assistance with the projects.

Lellock added that the Chamber is no longer taking "Phantastic Phil!" sponsorships.

There are 20 "Phils!" set for future unveilings.

[eggplant43]

http://desmoinesregister.com/apps/pb...54/1003/SPORTS

[DiSaidSo]

Hehehe... That's kind of awesome, Eggplant!

Here, have another....
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20050823/...p_synching_ban

[angelize56]

Something's not kosher here....sounds very odd!! The strange way he was acting...how do they know he didn't suffocate the daughter BEFORE he allegedly fell on top of her....odd!

Coroner: Hollywood Producer, Daughter Die

Wednesday, August 24, 2005 2:49 p.m. ET

CLEARLAKE OAKS, Calif. (AP) -- A Hollywood producer who was found dead in a car with his young daughter had apparently suffered a heart attack and fallen on top of the girl, suffocating her, according to a coroner's report.

The body of Terry Carr, 62, toppled onto his 9-year-old daughter as she slept in the cargo area of their SUV, leaving her unable to escape or breathe, according to Lake County Sheriff's Chief Deputy Russ Perdock. Carr and his daughter, Arieka, were found Aug. 1.

Carr weighed about 212 pounds and his daughter was about 53 pounds, Perdock said Tuesday.

The vehicle was found parked at a convenience store in Clearlake Oaks a day after Carr abandoned his wife at a grocery store in Ashland, Ore. Clearlake Oaks is about 280 miles south of Ashland.

Although Carr had not worked on a film for several years, he remained a well-known producer and screenplay writer. His movie credit list included "The Boost," a 1988 drama starring James Woods and Sean Young; "Yes, Giorgio," a 1982 musical comedy starring opera great Luciano Pavarotti; and the 1980 romantic comedy "Coast to Coast," starring Dyan Cannon and Robert Blake.

He and his family recently had left Los Angeles in search of a more tranquil lifestyle in Oregon, family members told The (Santa Rosa) Press Democrat.

Carr's wife, Chikako Carr, 50, said she still has no idea why her husband took off while she was in a grocery store restroom. He also dumped a box of belongings, including important personal papers and photos, in a pasture on the outskirts of Ashland a few days before he disappeared.

Authorities also don't know why Carr drove to Clearlake Oaks. His brother, John, lives there but said he had not heard from Carr, Perdock said.

http://wireservice.wired.com/wired/s...toryId=1080055

[eggplant43]

http://www.thnt.com/apps/pbcs.dll/ar...508230380/1001

[DiSaidSo]

What power? He wasn't even a cop! What was he doing "arresting" anyone!? What a jerk.....

[eggplant43]

Man, 19, accused of desecrating Civil War corpse

By Cristina Silva, Globe Correspondent | August 25, 2005

NEWBURYPORT -- A 19-year-old man from Salisbury was supposed to be cleaning up a cemetery last week as part of court-ordered community work after he broke into an apartment building last fall.

Instead, officials said, Neil J. Goodwin Jr. invaded the tomb of a Civil War veteran, pulled apart the 142-year-old skeleton, and then played with the bones, balancing the skull on his shoulder and posing for pictures.

''It's bizarre, absolutely bizarre," said Lieutenant Richard Siemasko of the Newburyport police. ''I can't even imagine what was in his head. This is just a whole new level of weird for me."

Goodwin pleaded not guilty yesterday in Newburyport District Court to a charge of desecrating a corpse and breaking into a tomb, both felonies. Prosecutors said he was doing community service in the Old Hill Burying Ground on Aug. 17 when he kicked in the thin marble entrance to a tomb marked ''1863 Pierce" and twisted off the spine, collarbone, and skull.

''Every time you think you have seen it all, something like this happens," Siemasko said. ''We just can't understand why anyone would do this."

Goodwin was held on $10,000 bail for breaking the terms of his probation by being arrested, said John T. Dawley, the first assistant Essex district attorney.

The Pierce tomb sits on a hill near Greenleaf Street in the cemetery, which was established in 1729. Many of the tombstones in the cemetery are so old that inscriptions are no longer legible.

Officials have not yet identified the Civil War veteran, Siemasko said, but according to court documents those interred in the crypt had died of tuberculosis, which is why they were placed in the tomb. Town officials could not say how many bodies were buried inside.

The city plans to hire a funeral home to piece the skeleton back together, so it can be replaced in its casket, Siemasko said.

Police said they were told about the incident in an anonymous phone call on Saturday. Someone later sent police three pictures of Goodwin and the bones, including one in which he is holding up the skull, according to court documents. Officials would not say who took the pictures or identified Goodwin, and police do not expect any more arrests.

Goodwin was taken in for questioning yesterday, as he waited for his probation officer for an unrelated meeting, the court documents show. He told police the tomb was open when he entered it and that he saw the skull hanging out of a casket, a police report stated. Goodwin said he showed the skull to a group of other community service workers, several of whom ran away upon seeing the skull. Goodwin went back to work, leaving the skull on the ground, when a supervisor returned to the area, the police report said.

When police went to the cemetery Sunday, officers found the skull in a hole about 15 yards from the entrance to the crypt. The upper part of the skeleton looked as if it had been twisted away from the lower half, police said.

Goodwin's recent problems with the law began in September 2004, when he was charged with breaking into and entering an ice cream shop in Salisbury. That October, he was arrested on charges of breaking into and entering an apartment building in Newburyport with the intent to steal. Goodwin was placed on probation after both arrests. He broke the terms of his probation earlier this year by neglecting to appear for a court date. He then tested positive for marijuana on a drug test a few months later, again breaking his probation, court records said.

A man who answered the door at Goodwin's house in Salisbury refused to talk with a reporter. Phone calls placed to the Goodwin household were not returned. His lawyer also refused to comment on the case.

Many in the community were outraged by the crypt desecration. ''It is a beautiful cemetery," said Fred Siegal, who lives across the street from the cemetery. ''I'm sorry it happened."

Jennifer Williams, 16, said it was the talk of the city. ''Everyone has been talking about it," she said. ''It's so gross. Why would you want to play with old bones?"

David L. Smith, president of the Civil War Round Table of Greater Boston, said crypt vandalism is becoming more common. The historical society is lobbying the state to strengthen laws involving vandalism of gravesites.

''It's a terrible thing, whether it is a Civil War soldier or not," Smith said. ''In effect, what this is is hurting someone who is already dead. . . . And if it is a soldier, then this shows a tremendous amount of disrespect for the people who have gone off to war and died for this country."

[coderitr]

http://portal.telegraph.co.uk/global...15/ndead15.xml

When Sheila Lane was told by her late father's bank that it could not close his account without his signature, she took his ashes to the local branch, slammed them on the counter and told staff:

"If you think you can get a signature out of him then you are a better person than me."

It had taken Barclays bank a month to respond to a request to close down the account, containing £30,000, belonging to Norman Curtis, who died aged 82.

Mrs Lane, 61, found the bank's letter addressed to her father - which said he would have to call into his local branch and provide a signature or identification - when she collected post from his former home in Basingstoke, Hants.

She said: "I was at my wits' end. So I went down there and I showed them all the letters and asked if they understood.

"I did take dad with me. I put the casket - a nice red box with his name on - up on the counter. He weighs quite a lot so it made a thud. The lad behind the counter looked quite startled."

Barclays has apologised for the distress caused by the "clerical error" and sent Mrs Lane, a shop worker from Hook, Hants, a bouquet.

[~Candy~]

FAA STAFFING CRISIS LEAVES ONE CONTROLLER OVERBURDENED BY CRUSH OF TRAFFIC IN OAKLAND

8/25/2005



CONTACT: Jeff Tilley
510-673-1398

FREMONT, Calif. – The critical condition of air traffic controller staffing levels at Oakland Air Route Traffic Control Center was exposed in a dramatic and unsafe way early this morning when the Federal Aviation Administration was forced to combine two busy sectors that handle trans-oceanic traffic due to lack of staffing. The resulting traffic crush left one air traffic controller in charge of 50 planes, most of them Boeing 747s and DC-10s en route to Asia. This is twice the normal traffic load controllers are accustomed to handling on separate sectors that the FAA is supposed to staff with multiple personnel.

At 5 a.m. Pacific Daylight Time, the controller told a co-worker in an adjacent part of the facility that she was told there was not another controller coming in to relieve her until 6 a.m. Her sector was full of outstanding and unprocessed messages that needed to be relayed to oceanic flights. When she asked for help, the FAA supervisor was not in the control room. When the supervisor finally showed up, he told the controller there was nobody to open up a second sector. At 6 a.m., the combined sector was finally split when another controller came in for a regular shift.

“One person working 50 airplanes is like a juggler keeping about 50 balls in the air at once,” said Bob Marks, Western Pacific regional vice president of the National Air Traffic Controllers Association. “Staffing levels are at their lowest level in nearly 25 years at Oakland Center at the peak of the summer travel season. This is gross irresponsibility and mismanagement on the part of the FAA to fail to take care of the staffing shortages plaguing both Oakland Center and the entire system.”

Oakland Center is authorized by the FAA to have 268 controllers, but currently, only 176 certified controllers are working. Fourteen of those are leaving the facility within the next month to work at Northern California TRACON. Five others are scheduled to leave for other facilities within six months.

Oakland Center NATCA Facility Representative Jeff Tilley said new hires are just starting to arrive at the facility but they provide no short term relief due to the fact they must complete a lengthy period of training. “They were hired far too late to help out this summer,” Tilley said. “We’ve been sounding the alarm for several years now about understaffing here and today was probably the most outrageous and mind-boggling example yet of how the system is being stretched to the limit due to a lack of eyes on the skies.”

###