NHL lockout a 'danger' to the league, according to Stephen Harper

   Prime Minister Stephen Harper speaks to TVA during a year-end interview at Rideau Hall December 18, 2012 in Ottawa. (ANDRE FORGET/QMI AGENCY)


OTTAWA  - Prime Minister Stephen Harper says the NHL lockout is placing the league in "danger."
"For the NHL, this is a dangerous situation," he said in an interview Tuesday with TVA's Pierre Bruneau. "It's sad to see the relationship so broken."

Harper said at the end of the day, the NHL is a business and repeat lockouts will only alienate fans.
The prime minister, who's an avid hockey fan, called the ongoing lockout "very sad" but said he's accepted the situation over the past few weeks.

Harper has instead turned his attention to the upcoming Junior World Championship, starting next week in Ufa, Russia.

The 2012-2013 NHL lockout is moving closer to its fourth month, and talks between the NHL and the NHL Players' Association (NHLPA) appear to have faltered.

Last Sunday, the NHLPA membership began voting on whether to proceed with a legal manoeuvre that would open the door for the players to file antitrust suits against the league.

Poll

Was Harper too wishy-washy?

• 38%
• Yes, Obama has been sterner.

• 26 votes
• 
  

• 62%
• No, he sees both sides of the fight.

• 43 votes
• 
  

Reuters Photos of the Year...Just a few.

  Space Shuttle Endeavour is transported on Manchester Avenue while being moved from Los Angeles International Airport to its retirement home at the California Science Center in Exposition Park in Los Angeles, California October 12, 2012. REUTERS/Jonathan Alcorn

    Artist Pyotr Pavlensky, a supporter of jailed members of female punk band "Pussy Riot", looks on with his mouth sewed up as he protests outside the Kazan Cathedral in St. Petersburg, July 23, 2012. REUTERS/Trend Photo Agency/Handout

    The Orvillecopter by Dutch artist Bart Jansen (R) flies in central Amsterdam as part of the KunstRAI art festival June 3, 2012. Jansen said the Orvillecopter is part of a visual art project which pays tribute to his cat Orville, by making it fly after it was killed by a car. He built the Orvillecopter together with radio control helicopter flyer Arjen Beltman (L). REUTERS/Cris Toala Olivares
 (poohoo, that's funny....ENJ)

   Lightning strikes over a pier during a storm in Atlit, near the northern Israeli city of Haifa October 25, 2012. REUTERS/Baz Ratner (ISRAEL - Tags: ENVIRONMENT TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY)

   Burned houses are seen next to those which survived in Breezy Point, a neighborhood located in the New York City borough of Queens, after they were devastated by Hurricane Sandy October 31, 2012. REUTERS/Adrees Latif

    Rescuers and relatives stop a woman from committing suicide by jumping off a building in Zhanjiang, Guangdong province August 14, 2012. The woman was rescued as she tried to commit suicide after killing her nephew following a family dispute, local media reported. Picture taken August 14, 2012. REUTERS/Stringer


   RNPS IMAGES OF THE YEAR 2012 - A full moon as seen from West Orange, New Jersey, rises over the skyline of Lower Manhattan and One World Trade Center (L) in New York, May 6, 2012. REUTERS/Gary Hershorn (UNITED STATES - Tags: CITYSPACE ENVIRONMENT SOCIETY TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY)

There are more, to see go to:
http://www.ottawasun.com/2012/12/17/photos-of-the-year

Alta. man's frozen body found in his yard after drinking heavily at office party

  
EDMONTON — A Slave Lake, Alta., man's frozen body was found in his backyard 18 hours after he'd been dropped off following a night of heavy drinking at his office Christmas party.

The mercury plunged to about -21 C early Saturday, when the 29-year-old man arrived home.
A friend later found his frozen body in the yard.

“The death of this young man is a tragedy for his family and this community," RCMP Staff Sgt. Roberta McKale said.

“This is the second accidental death in a week related to alcohol consumption in Slave Lake. The frustrating thing is that these deaths could have been prevented."

On Friday, a man died after he fell down stairs while drunk.

Slave Lake is located 250 km north of Edmonton.

(ummmmmm, ok............)

French psychiatrist found guilty of manslaughter after patient commits murder

  (Shutterstock)

  
MARSEILLES, France - A French psychiatrist whose patient hacked an elderly man to death was found guilty of manslaughter on Tuesday in a groundbreaking case that could affect the way patients are treated.

A court in Marseilles said Daniele Canarelli, 58, had committed a “grave error” by failing to recognize the public danger posed by Joel Gaillard, her patient of four years.

Gaillard hacked to death 80-year-old Germain Trabuc with an axe in March 2004 in Gap, in the Alps region of southeastern France, 20 days after fleeing a consultation with Canarelli at Marseilles’s Edouard Toulouse hospital.

http://www.ottawasun.com/2012/12/18/french-psychiatrist-found-guilty-of-manslaughter-after-patient-commits-murder
                                                                  

Adam Lanza smashed computer's hard drive Newtown students return to class

NEWTOWN, CONN. - Students returned to school in the shattered Connecticut town of Newtown on Tuesday for the first time since a gunman’s rampage killed 26 people in an elementary school, reviving the gun control debate in Washington and prompting a retailer to pull guns from shelves.

Sandy Hook Elementary, where 20-year-old Adam Lanza gunned down a score of 6- and 7-year-olds and six adults on Friday, will remain closed. It was an active crime scene, with police coming and going past a line of 26 Christmas trees, one for each victim, decorated with ornaments, stuffed animals and balloons in the school colors of green and white.

The rest of Newtown’s schools reopened with grief counselors and police present.

The massacre of young children shocked Americans who had grown accustomed to mass shootings, prompting some U.S. lawmakers to call for tighter gun restrictions and pressuring one private equity firm to sell its investment in a gunmaker.

http://www.ottawasun.com/2012/12/18/newtown-students-to-return-to-classes-in-wake-of-school-massacre

Three arrests in $20M Quebec maple syrup heist

 
MONTREAL — Quebec provincial police say they've solved a massive maple syrup heist.
Police say they arrested three people and are looking for five others after 10,000 barrels of maple gold, valued at $20 million, were pilfered from a warehouse east of Montreal between August 2011 and this past July.
"Two-thirds of the stolen syrup has been found," police said in a statement.
Richard Vallieres, 34, Avik Caron, 39, and a third unnamed suspect were to appear in court in Trois-Rivieres, Que., on Tuesday.
They face charges of theft, conspiracy to commit theft, handling of stolen goods and fraud.

 http://www.ottawasun.com/2012/12/18/three-arrests-in-20m-maple-syrup-heist
                                                                                                                                                                                                          

Security expert says Canada should keep eye out for 'Islamist' immigrants

  Chris Roussakis/QMI AGENCY FILE


A security expert says Canada needs to go beyond screening for terrorists landing on our shores and consider the religious beliefs of some prospective immigrants.

Scott Newark says Canada should be concerned about "Islamist" immigrants.

Newark served as executive officer of the Canadian Police Association and also worked as a security and policy advisor to both the Ontario and federal Ministers of Public Safety.

"We need to think hard about what I would call 'Islamism', the political Islam that has absolutely no interest whatsoever in integration, that is intolerant and unyielding and absolutely committed to eradicating Western values," he said in an interview.

Newark says if Canada did a better job screening prospective immigrants, Omar Khadr might not be household name.

Canada knew of Omar Khadr's father's fundraising activities for al-Qaida, for example, and of his father's taking his children to spend time with Osama Bin Laden in Afghanistan, Newark says.

"But we ignored that," he said. "And that is contrary to what's in our own national security interest."
Newark, unsurprisingly, is a fan of Immigration Minister Jason Kenney, who has made significant changes to the immigration system to keep more undesirables out.

"We're bringing in biometric visas on January 2nd and information sharing with the U.S. so that we can screen out the people who represent a security threat," Kenney recently told reporters.

Dr. Salim Mansur, a political science professor at London's Western University, wants Kenney to go a step further and introduce a moratorium on immigration from Muslim nations.

"This is not racist," Mansur said, referring to Newark's comments. "Their values, ideologies, politics and culture is completely incompatible with the values of Canada as a liberal democracy."

Poll

Does Canada do a good job at screening prospective immigrants?

• 6%
• Yes

• 5 votes
• 
  

• 4%
• I don't know

• 3 votes
• 
  

• 90%
• No, it could be better

• 73 votes
• 
  

Gun restrictions won’t stop killing

  (Shutterstock)


As a father ­— a father who was fortunate enough to have a job that made it possible to drop our kids off at school nearly every day from elementary through to high school — I grieve for the parents who lost six- and seven-year-olds in the horrible shootings last week in Newtown, Conn.

So it is with the deepest regret that I even raise this subject while the little victims of that mass killing are being laid to rest. I wish with all my heart I didn’t have to talk politics in the shadow of this tragedy.

But the forces that would regulate personal freedom in the name of public safety are already using the raw emotions generated by this horrific event to call for restrictions on law-abiding citizens’ rights in the name of preventing a repeat.

http://www.torontosun.com/2012/12/18/gun-restrictions-wont-stop-killing

Ontario gun laws make mass shootings less likely: OPP commish

  OPP Commissioner Chris Lewis. (STAN BEHAL/Toronto Sun files)


TORONTO - Gun laws in this province make mass shootings such as what happened in Connecticut less likely, says OPP Commissioner Chris Lewis.

All the same, he’s worried by rumblings from Ottawa about an easing of regulations surrounding the ban on prohibited weapons such as assault weapons.

A firearms advisory committee appointed by federal Public Safety Minister Vic Toews came up with the recommendations recently. They were quickly slapped down by Prime Minister Stephen Harper, but Lewis is worried by the discussion.

http://www.torontosun.com/2012/12/18/ontario-gun-laws-make-mass-shootings-less-likely-opp-commish

NRA breaks silence, pledges to help prevent future U.S. massacres

WASHINGTON - The National Rifle Association said on Tuesday it wanted to contribute meaningfully to prevent another massacre like the Connecticut shooting, suggesting a sharp change in tone for the largest U.S. gun rights group.

“The National Rifle Association of America is made up of four million moms and dads, sons and daughters - and we were shocked, saddened and heartbroken by the news of the horrific and senseless murders in Newtown,” the organization said in a statement.

It said it plans a news conference on Friday after staying silent as a matter of common decency and out of respect for families in Newtown, Connecticut, where a gunman killed 20 children and six adults at a school last Friday.

“The NRA is prepared to offer meaningful contributions to help make sure this never happens again,” the statement said. An NRA spokesman did not immediately respond when asked to elaborate on what the contributions might entail.

Giving breasts a squeeze could hinder cancer growth

Women suffering from breast cancer may benefit from giving their breasts an extra squeeze – literally.
According to researchers from the University of California at Berkeley and the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, placing mechanical force on malignant mammary cells can actually reverse their irregular growth process and put them back on track for a normal growth pattern.

“We are showing that tissue organization is sensitive to mechanical inputs from the environment at the beginning stages of growth and development,” said Daniel Fletcher, professor of bioengineering at Berkeley and faculty scientist at the Berkeley Lab, as well as the study’s lead investigator.

http://www.foxnews.com/health/2012/12/18/giving-breasts-squeeze-could-hinder-cancer-growth/

Canada's wait-and-see approach on Syria coalition right way to go 6

  Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird. (Reuters)


In Monday’s column I made an error when I said Canada wasn’t following suit with the U.S., Britain, France and something like 100 other countries in recognizing the Syrian National Coalition (SNC) as the “legitimate” replacement for the Bashar al-Assad dictatorship.
What I should have said is that Canada is “prepared” to recognize the SNC as the legitimate government — but not until we, Canada, are sure that whatever gang replaces the existing regime practices a modicum of democracy and respects the rights of minority groups, independents and women.

Foreign Minister John Baird made this clear in a speech delivered in Morocco to a Friends of Syria convention.

http://www.torontosun.com/2012/12/17/canadas-wait-and-see-approach-on-syria-coalition-right-way-to-go

MMA fighter Ray Elbe suffers fractured penis

'Keeping it safe during sex isn't just wearing a condom'

 

    A photo posted to Twitter shows mixed martial artist Ray Elbe in hospital.

 

Mixed martial artist Ray Elbe likely suffered the worst injury of his career earlier this month.
This one, however, occurred outside the octagon.

Elbe, who announced he's currently on a training tour in southeast Asia, took to his personal website over the weekend to confirm he sustained a penile fracture during intense intercourse with his girlfriend.

“Keeping it safe during sex isn’t just wearing a condom,” Elbe said in an online video message. “As it happened you can imagine the shock and the horror that was going on. Obviously my girlfriend was frantic. We’re in a foreign country that doesn’t speak English."

http://www.torontosun.com/2012/12/17/mma-fighter-ray-elbe-suffers-horrifying-injury-away-from-ring

Torturer 'easily-controlled' victim's wife, court hears

   A woman who helped her boyfriend torture her ex-husband was a “gullible" and "easily-controlled,” a court has heard.


TORONTO - A woman who helped her boyfriend inflict unimaginable sexual and physical torture on her ex-husband was a “gullible, easily-controlled” simpleton who couldn’t save him, a sentencing hearing was told.
Psychiatrist Derek Pallandi testified Monday that the woman’s low intelligence, naivete and stress handcuffed her from sparing her former husband from a litany of abuse at the sadistic hands of her boyfriend, John Siscoe.
The woman, 31, has admitted she was an accomplice as Siscoe perpetrated three months of torture against her ex-husband, 40, while the trio shared an Eglinton Ave. W. apartment in the fall of 2009.
The trio met in B.C. and moved together to Toronto in September 2009.

The identities of the woman and the victim are covered by a publication ban.

http://www.torontosun.com/2012/12/17/torturer-an-easily-controlled-simpleton-court-hears

ScarJo hacker jailed for 10 years

   Actress Scarlett Johansson addresses delegates during the final session of the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, North Carolina September 6, 2012. (REUTERS/Jason Reed)


A man who hacked into Scarlett Johansson's private computer files and leaked nude photos of the actress online has been sentenced to 10 years behind bars.

Christopher Chaney, 35, from Florida, was arrested in connection with the scandal and charged with 25 counts of identity theft last year.

It is believed he accessed the private email and phone accounts of a string of celebrities, including Johansson, Christina Aguilera and Mila Kunis.

He pleaded guilty to nine cyber hacking-related felonies in March and was sentenced to 10 years in prison in a Los Angeles court on Monday.

U.S. District Judge S. James Otero passed down the sentence after watching a videotaped statement from a tearful Johansson.

He told the defendant, "It's hard to fathom the mindset of a person who would accomplish all of this. These types of crimes are as pernicious and serious as physical stalking."
Chaney hacked into Johnasson's private accounts and stole naked pictures of the actress intended for her then-husband Ryan Reynolds, before publishing the images on the Internet.

Two dead in two separate Northern Alberta crashes Mounties say both crashes still under investigation

Mounties are continuing to investigate tw
o unrelated fatal collisions that happened within an hour of each other Friday in northern Alberta.
The fist wreck happened near Legal where Morinville RCMP say a vehicle crossed the centre line and struck a southbound vehicle head-on along a stretch of Highway 2 sometime around 6:30 p.m.

The man of the northbound vehicle was pronounced dead on scene south of Legal — about 55 km north of Edmonton. The investigation into the crash still continues, say Mounties who have ruled out booze as a factor in the crash.

 http://www.edmontonsun.com/2012/12/15/two-dead-in-two-separate-northern-alberta-crashes

Ineffective leadership hampers America

    U.S. President Barack Obama gestures as he delivers remarks on the economy to employees at the Daimler Detroit Diesel plant in Redford, Michigan, December 10, 2012. (REUTERS/Jason Reed)


This Christmas, as we roast our chestnuts by that open fire, it’s important to spare a thought for our American cousins.

After all, they are still clinging to the edge of the fiscal cliff and the nights are getting ever colder. Oh yes, they’re also being pushed up against the debt ceiling at the same time. It’s like a never-ending Indiana Jones movie but with no leading men.

It’s constant drama. Will they scramble up off the cliff by Jan. 1? Will they raise their debt ceiling and avoid defaulting on their bonds? Tune in next week to find out.

But perhaps we’re no better. Yes, we’re on top of the mountain these days, staying warm by the fire and probably feeling a little bit pleased with ourselves with our good jobs and relative prosperity.

How easy it is to forget that over the decades we’ve chained ourselves to those poor suckers down south and if they go over the cliff we’ll be right behind them.

http://www.torontosun.com/2012/12/14/ineffective-leadership-hampers-america

McGuinty Libs blow another $1.4 billion

Apparently the Dalton McGuinty government is a lot better at raising taxes than collecting them.
Among the horror stories in outgoing Ontario Auditor General Jim McCarter’s final annual report last week was word the finance ministry expects it will never collect up to $1.4 billion of the $2.4 billion it’s owed in back taxes.
In other words, the same Liberal government that broke its promise not to raise taxes through three election campaigns and nine years in office, was simultaneously leaking tax revenues like a sieve.

While it may be human nature to see it as good news when a tax-and-spend government like McGuinty’s doesn’t collect all the money it’s owed, in reality it’s another fiscal disaster.

Think of all the things $1.4 billion could have bought, assuming the government had collected it.

http://www.torontosun.com/2012/12/14/mcguinty-libs-blow-another-14-billion

Fashion Island shooting: Gunman fires shots outside California mall

  
LOS ANGELES - A gunman caused panic at a southern California mall on Saturday when he fired at least 50 shots in a parking lot outside a department store, but hit no one and was taken into custody, police said.
The incident at the Fashion Island mall in Newport Beach - which came a day after a man killed 27 people and then himself in a shooting rampage in Connecticut - caused shoppers to flee into store dressing rooms, according to local broadcast reports.

“A male was shooting a weapon in the air and at the ground, standing by a vehicle,” Newport Beach police spokeswoman Kathy Lowe said.

Police said they had taken the man, 42, into custody. They did not immediately release his name or say what charges he might face for the incident

http://www.torontosun.com/2012/12/16/fashion-island-shooting-gunman-fires-shots-outside-california-mall

Obama to join mourning Connecticut families in search for answers 23

NEWTOWN, CONN. - President Barack Obama arrives in Connecticut on Sunday to join in the mourning for 20 children, all 6 and 7 years old, who were slaughtered by a gunman who forced his way into their school and shot them with a rifle at close range.

Obama’s appearance at an interfaith vigil in the once-tranquil town of Newtown will be watched closely for clues as to what he meant when he called for “meaningful action” to prevent such tragedies in the wake of the massacre on Friday.

http://www.torontosun.com/2012/12/16/obama-to-join-mourning-connecticut-families-in-search-for-answers

Shooting suspect's mother was avid gun collector

NEWTOWN, CONN - NEWTOWN, Conn. - Twelve girls and eight boys. One had celebrated her seventh birthday just four days before her death. They were Charlotte and Jack, Noah and Grace.

Dressed in “cute kid stuff,” all 20 died when a heavily armed 20-year-old gunman forced his way into their school, Sandy Hook Elementary, and shot them and six women in an act of violence that has shattered their once-tranquil suburban town.

“They were first-graders,” said Connecticut Chief Medical Examiner Dr. H. Wayne Carver II, before releasing the names of all the victims of the school shootings on Saturday.

Asked to describe the attack, Carver, who oversaw the autopsies of all the victims and conducted many himself, called it “the worst I have seen.”

http://www.torontosun.com/2012/12/15/search-for-answers-begins-after-newtown-conn-school-massacre

How will Newtown shootings change the US gun debate?

         

The Connecticut school shootings have horrified America. But what impact, if any, will they have on the nation's gun laws?

Even in a nation with a roll call of gun massacres so long and familiar - Columbine, Virginia Tech, Aurora, Jonesboro and many others - the killings at Sandy Hook Elementary have a singular capacity to shock.

Twenty children and six adults lie dead. A gunman who forced his way into the school took their lives and his own.
The tragedy has re-opened the debate over the nation's gun laws as long-term supporters of reform have issued calls for tighter controls.

After the shootings, an emotional President Barack Obama promised "meaningful action", adding: "As a country, we have been through this too many times."

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-20742508

Nelson Mandela undergoes operation to remove gallstones

                                                                                                             

South Africa's first black president, Nelson Mandela, has had an operation to remove gallstones, according to a government statement.

The operation was successful and Mr Mandela is recovering.
Mr Mandela, who is 94, was admitted to hospital last Saturday after suffering a recurrence of a lung infection.

Tests revealed the presence of gallstones and doctors treating Mr Mandela decided to remove them once he had recovered from the infection.

The statement said: "This morning, 15 December 2012, the former president underwent a procedure via endoscopy to have the gall stones removed. The procedure was successful and (Mr Mandela) is recovering."

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-20739780

ICC Says Libya Must Prove It Is Investigating Seif Al-Islam's Case 12/12/2012 13:34:00

   Seif al Islam, being held in Zintan...also wanted by ICC

  

The International Criminal Court, iCC, has given Libya until January 23 to prove that it is conducting investigations in the case of Seif Al-Islam Gaddafi. In A December 7 decision, ICC judges thus gave Tripoli more time to try and take back the case. Seif Al-Islam was arrested in Libya on October 30, last year, and is being held in the southwestern town of Zintan. The ICC has issued an arrest warrant for him for crimes against humanity committed after February 2011 in Tripoli, Misurata and Benghazi. On May 1, Tripoli asked the Court to allow it to try him. At the invitation of the ICC, Libya presented its arguments to the Court in The Hague on October 10 and 11, but seems not to have convinced the judges that it is investigating Gaddafi. So they are now asking for evidence. The judges say the Libyan authorities must provide "concrete, tangible and pertinent evidence to demonstrate to this Chamber that proper investigations are currently ongoing and proper and concrete preparations for the trial are ongoing". They ask for evidence that authorities have issued judicial investigation orders. In written exchanges with the Court, Libya mentioned witness testimonies and intercepted telephone calls but said the content of these was confidential. ICC judges want to see evidence, notably elements mentioned by Tripoli allegedly showing that Gaddafi paid mercenaries. During the hearings in October, Libya said that witness testimonies had been collected by "committees of volunteers" who then gave them to various authorities throughout the country. The ICC wants to see that these statements have been duly signed, dated and submitted to the public prosecutor. The ICC judges are also asking Libya to say if witness protection measures have been put in place, whether Gaddafi has appeared before a judge and whether it has made progress on designating him a lawyer. In addition, they question Libya about legal reforms under way and the arrangements for transferring Gaddafi from Zintan to Tripoli.

Kelly McParland: A dissenting opinion on the F-35 fallout

I may be alone in this (which wouldn’t be the first time), but I don’t believe the federal Conservatives will suffer as much fallout from their mishandling of the F-35 jet fighter purchase as is presently being forecast.
There is no question that they botched it. Royally.
 They bought into the military’s argument that no other plane could possibly deliver the capabilities of the F-35, and that Canada couldn’t get by with anything less.
Whether they were duped in this by the F-35′s fans in the military and the bureaucracy, or willingly went along is up for debate …

Still, the notion that the damage to the government will be deep and long-lasting strikes me as unlikely.

 
 Defence and Minister Peter MacKay checks out the cockpit of the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter in Ottawa, in 2010.

I may be alone in this (which wouldn’t be the first time), but I don’t believe the federal Conservatives will suffer as much fallout from their mishandling of the F-35 jet fighter purchase as is presently being forecast.
There is no question that they botched it. Royally. They bought into the military’s argument that no other plane could possibly deliver the capabilities of the F-35, and that Canada couldn’t get by with anything less. Whether they were duped in this by the F-35′s fans in the military and the bureaucracy, or willingly went along is up for debate.

They insisted the price would be lower than appeared likely, and stuck by that price even as evidence mounted that it was large part fantasy, mixed with a healthy dose of pure stubbornness. They adamantly refused to share even the most meagre information related to the purchase. Rather than share responsibility for the decision with the military, they claimed it all for themselves, insisting again and again that the F-35 was the right plane, that that there was no chance the government would change its mind, that critics were unpatriotic wretches with no respect for the needs of the country’s fighting men and women. If you’d like a list of the damning quotes in that respect, the opposition parties will be happy to supply one.
Still, the notion that the damage to the government will be deep and long-lasting strikes me as unlikely. For several reasons.

1. It assumes Canadians were deeply engaged in the issue, which I doubt they were. It’s a big deal in Ottawa, but hardly the focus of chatter in the coffee shops of the land. The economy, taxes, the job situation, health care – those are top-of-mind issues. A plan to buy new fighters over a 30- or 40-year period is deep down the list. I’d be surprised in most voters know what an F-35 is… some next tax form, perhaps, to go with the T-4?

2. It presumes Canadians expect prudence and efficiency when it comes to large military acquisitions, when the opposite is more likely the case. Voters have been conditioned by experience to assume that any large-scale purchase of boats or planes will be a disaster. The term Sea King has become a national joke. The four submarines the Liberals bought used from Britain in 1998 might as well be stuffed with flowers and used as planters. Jean Chretien cancelled the Mulroney government’s helicopter purchase 20 years ago out of pure pique, paying $500 million in cancellation fees, and won two more majority governments. I expect, for most Canadians, the shock would have been if the F-35 purchase had gone ahead smoothly, on budget, and without incident.

3. While the Tories look foolish for shooting their mouths off about the merits of the F-35 and their determination to press ahead with the purchase, the actual financial cost has been minimal. The figures named in reports critical of the purchase – suggesting the final bill would be $45 billion – triple anything the Tories were willing to own up to — are all projected costs. That is: what the price would have been if the purchase had been made. But the purchase hasn’t been made. Although much bureaucratic time and expense has been taken up, bureaucrats are paid one way or the other. In the end, the extra cost to the budget of the Tories’ fling with the F-35 is minimal, certainly nothing as egregious as Chretien’s $500 million in cancellation fees.
4. Canadians care when the government wastes money, but all the Tories have really wasted in this instance is time and their own credibility. Their refusal to entertain the slightest notion that they might be chasing the wrong plane, and their habitual rubbishing of any opinions to the contrary, has become a hallmark of the way this government does business. If voters had harboured the illusion that the Harper government was open, cooperative and respectful of its opponents, the F-35 cancellation might come as a shock. But it has been in power seven years; Canadians know how it acts. At most, this latest episode may reinforce existing impressions.

5. As for the government’s reputation as economic managers. Again – it didn’t buy the planes. It didn’t spend the money. Even the worst figure unveiled yesterday — $45 billion over $42 years – works out to slightly more than the annual CBC budget. If the money had been spent, which it hasn’t. “The economy”, to most voters, means their tax bill and price inflation. If those remain in check, a non-purchase involving X billions over X years becomes pretty much ephemeral.

I suspect Peter MacKay’s days as a credible minister are over. He argued Wednesday that his concern for the troops got in the way of his fiscal responsibilities. “I feel passionately about my obligation to ensure the Canadian Forces have the best equipment to ensure mission success – they assume unlimited liability.” That’s all very nice, but ministers aren’t appointed to fall in love.
Other than that , I expect the opposition parties will treat the climbdown like a blunderbuss they can aim at the government from now until the next election. But the blunderbuss was never much good at hitting anything.

National Post

John Ivison: There are no cheap alternatives to the F-35s for Canada

          An F-35 takes off, like the estimated cost of replacing Canada's fleet of CF-18 fighters has.


Canadians likely reacted with either confusion or anger when they saw the $46-billion price tag for the F-35 fighter jets.
The confused, among whom I count myself, asked: How can we possibly calculate operating costs 42 years into the future when we can’t accurately predict the price of gas next week?
This is an imperfect science — if, for example, inflation exceeds the rate anticipated, billions would be added to the $46-billion price-tag.

The angry took the numbers at face value and demanded we go with a cheaper option.
The problem is, though, that a cheaper replacement for the CF-18s may be hard to find.

http://fullcomment.nationalpost.com/2012/12/13/john-ivison-there-are-no-cheap-alternatives-to-the-f-35s-for-canada/

Nuclear, Chemical, Biological, Conventional – Syria has a missile for that

John McAfee says he faked heart attack in Guatemalan jail, will wait in Miami for his two girlfriends

          John McAfee checks his watch in his room at the Beacon Hotel where he is staying after arriving last night from Guatemala on December 13, 2012 in Miami Beach, Florida. McAfee is a "person of interest" in the fatal shooting of his neighbor in Belize and turned up in Guatemala after a month on the run in Belize. 


MIAMI BEACH, Fla. — Anti-virus software founder John McAfee said Thursday that U.S. authorities have made no efforts to question him since he arrived in Miami after weeks of evading Belizean authorities who want to ask him about the death of his neighbour.
“Why would they want to question me, about what?” a tired-looking but sharply dressed McAfee said Thursday from the steps of his South Beach hotel. The multimillionaire was characteristically chatty and seemed to enjoy posing for pictures with tourists and signing autographs while talking about his two girlfriends and the alleged corruption in Belize that forced him to flee.

 http://news.nationalpost.com/2012/12/14/john-mcafee-says-he-faked-heart-attack-in-guatemalan-jail-will-wait-in-miami-for-his-two-girlfriends/

U.S. has ‘bigger fish to fry’ than going after pot smokers in states where marijuana use is now legal, Obama says

          U.S. President Barack Obama said he won't pursue the issue in the two states where voters legalized the use of marijuana in the November elections. Marijuana remains illegal under federal law.


President Barack Obama said Friday he won’t go after Washington state and Colorado for legalizing marijuana, leaving supporters of the movement cautiously optimistic that a showdown with federal law won’t happen.
In a Barbara Walters interview airing Friday on ABC, Obama was asked whether he supports making pot legal. “I wouldn’t go that far,” he said.
But the president, who has admitted smoking pot when he was younger, said his administration won’t pursue the issue in the states where voters in November legalized the use of marijuana. The drug remains illegal under federal law, but the Justice Department has been vague about what its response to the votes would be.

http://news.nationalpost.com/2012/12/14/barack-obama-marijuana/

‘Shattered’: Family of nurse who died after royal prank speaks about her death

         

LONDON — A service was held in London on Saturday to mourn the death of a nurse found hanging in her room three days after she had been duped by a hoax call from Australian DJs about the pregnant Duchess of Cambridge.

Handout / AP Jacintha Saldanha

The death of Jacintha Saldanha, 46, on Dec. 7 is being investigated as an apparent suicide.

Saldanha’s family gave an emotional tribute outside of London’s Westminster Cathedral on Saturday following a memorial Mass mourning the loss of the mother of two.

Her husband Benedict, flanked by his two children, called Jacintha “the light of my darkness,” saying through tears that “nobody can take that place in my life ever again.”

http://news.nationalpost.com/2012/12/15/shattered-family-of-nurse-who-died-after-royal-prank-speaks-about-her-death/

More than 140 dead cats found in two Windsor, Ontario apartments

WINDSOR, Ont. — Police and animal welfare officials are investigating after more than 140 dead cats were found in two downtown apartments in Windsor, Ont.

Sgt. Matt D’Asti says 124 dead cats were found in a freezer and refrigerator in one apartment, along with 50 other cats that were alive.

He says the apartment was filthy and covered in feces and urine.

 http://news.nationalpost.com/2012/12/14/more-than-140-dead-cats-found-in-two-windsor-ontario-apartments/

New border security deal has made Canadians, Americans safer and better off: U.S. ambassador

         
OTTAWA — Canadians and Americans are safer and better off as a result of the perimeter security deal signed last December by Prime Minister Stephen Harper and President Barack Obama, says the U.S. ambassador to Canada.
David Jacobson pointed to two initiatives he said have increased efficiency at the border – reduction in wait times at airports because of the NEXUS trusted traveller program and mutual recognition of air cargo that means less missing baggage on connecting flights.

 http://news.nationalpost.com/2012/12/14/new-border-security-deal-has-made-canadians-americans-safer-and-better-off-u-s-ambassador/

‘Rhetoric isn’t enough’: After Obama’s tearful call for ‘meaningful action,’ could latest tragedy be gun-control tipping point?

         
WASHINGTON — The question surfaces each time a mass murder unfolds: Will this one change the political calculus in Washington against tougher gun control?
The answer, after the Virginia Tech killings, the attempted assassination of Gabby Giffords, the Colorado movie-theater attack, the Wisconsin Sikh temple shootings, and more: No.
But now?
The massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn., the bloodiest attack against youngsters in the nation’s history, stands as a possible tipping point after Washington’s decade-long aversion even to talking about stricter gun laws.

http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3931059392211172013#editor/target=post;postID=1421328672683862549

Sirte-Benghazi Railway Mooted 12/12/2012 13:39:00

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      

Libya is indicating that it would like to resume the construction of the Sirte-Benghazi railway interrupted by hostilities in the country, Alexander Saltanov, the vice-president of Russian Railway told journalists in Moscow. Russian Railways were reportedly building the Sirte-Benghazi railroad that was to run along the Mediterranean coast and join several large cities. Later it was to become part of an international transport corridor in the north of Africa. However, due to last year's conflict in Libya that began in February 2011 and eventually ousted the former Libyan dictator, Muammar Gaddafi, Russian Railways had to suspend the construction.

                                                               

European Union Trains Libyan Experts on Explosive Ordnance Disposal 13/12/2012 09:39:00

The European Union, jointly with the Libyan Ministry of Defence and the Libyan Armed Forces, recently organised a pilot course to train Libyan security experts on how to collect and destroy unexploded ordnance. The course, over 26 days, was run by Danish Church Aid. On December 9 the successful students received their diplomas from EU Deputy Head of Office Khaldoun Sinno, EU Defense Advisor B. Gen. Luigi Scollo, B. Gen. Mansour Abo Hjar Chief of Libyan land force, Col. Jamal Shablik, Libyan Engineering School Commanding Officer, Col. Mohammad Na'airiyah Chief of Training Department, Col. Yusuf Abd El Jawad, Libyan Armed Forces Defence General Staff LMAC, and Mr. Knut Furunes, DCA Manager, during a ceremony at Hamza Camp in Tripoli. Mr. Emad Abdulbaki from UNSMIL also attended. Handing over the diplomas to the successful participants, EU Deputy Head of Office Sinno underlined that: “The European Union is deeply committed to creating a safe environment for all Libyans. You should be proud of your efforts and your newly gained skills, which will contribute to a safer Libya.” Background The recent conflict has left many areas in Libya scattered with unexploded ammunition, creating a serious risk for civilians on a daily basis. The Libyan army has started to collect and destroy these unexploded ordnances with the financial support from the European Union. This project is part of the wider effort by the EU and its Member States to contribute to a more secure environment for Libyan people. In partnership with the Libyan authorities and other international partners, the European Union is seeking to provide more than EUR 10 million over the next years to deal with remnants of war and unexploded ordnances. These efforts will assist in building a national capacity to clear unexploded ordnances through hands-on training and mentoring

Libyans in Malta Demand Removal of 'Gaddafi Loyalists' from Government 12/12/2012 18:04:00

For the umpteenth time, a number of Libyans living in Malta Wednesday organised a protest in front of the Libyan Embassy and the Maltese capital, Valletta demanding demanding the removal of people with strong ties to the Gadaffi regime from the Libyan government, and changes in the Libyan embassy personnel in Malta.

They said that the only changes in the Libyan embassy in Malta since the end of last year's conflict have been cosmetic. The only real change in the embassy, they said, was the the flag.

The Libyan community in Malta was also protesting over the way violent militias are governing and terrorising the country since the February 17 Revolution saying that Libya is being run by the military militias based in Misurata and other parts of the country.

Libyans in Malta, other protesters in the main cities of Libya and throughout most of the European countries insist that if militias and Gaddafi loyalists are not removed from places of authority in Libya, last year's revolution would have been in vain and people would have shed their blood for nothing.

At the end of the protest, the Libyan community in Malta presented Mohammed M A Elghirani, the Libyan Charge d'Affairs in Malta a letter in order for him to forward to the Libyan government, now being led as Prime Minister Dr Ali Zidan.

http://www.tripolipost.com/articledetail.asp?c=1&i=9618

Libya Urges Niger to Extradie Son of Former Dictator, Saadi

     Saadi, the former Libyan dictator's second son, currently taking refuge in Niger

  

Libya has reiterated its call for the extradition of the former dictator Gaddaf'is second son, Saadi from Niger, which has granted him asylum since September last year on so-called humanitarian grounds.” A Libyan government statement issued after a visit to Niamey by Libyan Prime Minister Dr Ali Zidan noted “the threat posed by the presence in Niger of members of the former Libyan regime,” and “renewed its request for the extradition of those wanted people” The statement said Libya had insisted that the former regime officials should not be extradited to any third country, and stressed in the statement that “their trial in Libya would comply with international law.” Meanwhile, Niger’s Foreign Minister Mohammad Bazoum told AFP.has been reported saying, that so far they have not decided anything, and that consultations should continue, based on the terms of the Libyan request and existing provisions in international law. Three of Gaddafi’s sons were reported killed in the 2011 uprising that eventually overthrew the former dictator from power after more than four decades of iron-fit rule. Several key members of the Gaddafi clan managed to escape from Libya during the conflict, while heir apparent Seif al-Islam, who is wanted by the International Criminal Court has been detained in Libya. The dictator's wife Safiya are believed to be in Algeria where she was given a safe haven along with Gaddafi's oldest son, Mohammad, her son Hannibal, and his daughter Ayesha. Saadi found shelter in neighbouring Niger when his father’s regime was crumbli

                 

Conference On Truth and Reconciliation in Tripoli 14/12/2012 11:26:00

A two-day conference on truth-seeking and reconciliation in Libya rounds up today in Tripoli, bringing together Libyan officials and activists as well as experts from both Libya and abroad rounds up Friday in Tripoli The conference, “Truth and Reconciliation in Libya: the Way Forward”, was organised by the Fact- Finding and Reconciliation Commission and the Human Rights Committee of the General National Congress, in partnership with the United Nations Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) and the UN Development Programme (UNDP). The participants have been discussing the relevance and challenges of truth-seeking, the role of victim groups as well as the legal and institutional framework required for truth-seeking. The conference has also been looking at the role of the Fact-Finding and Reconciliation Commission and that of tribal leaders in reconciliation. Libyan Justice Minister Salah Marghani, Deputy Head of the Fact-Finding and Reconciliation Commission Hussein Yaseer, GNC member Amina Al-Megheirbi, and Libyan activists as well as experts from countries such as South Africa, Peru and Tunisia attended the opening session. The special representative of the Secretary-General for Libya Tarek Mitri noted in his address the increased interest of the new authorities in national reconciliation and the civil society’s eagerness for launching the process without delay. “Reconciliation is necessary for establishing security and launching human development,” Mr. Mitri said. “This process, if managed well and without haste or partisanship, can set the broad lines of a new social contract, which is the cornerstone of the new constitution.” He stressed that seeking the truth and justice and moving down the path of reconciliation is not a call for amnesty for past crimes and does not morally equate between the aggressor and the victim, but rather it is a call to combat the tendency towards revenge and collective punishment. The Special Representative said Libyans can benefit from experiences of other countries that hve gone through similar circumstances, and encouraged dialogue and broadening of its scope to various sectors of society. Mr. Mitri said the United Nations will continue to offer assistance at the Libyans’ request. “Continuously reminding of the importance of reconciliation and contributing to providing favourable conditions for it are at the heart of our duties as a United Nations mission tasked with providing support for Libya in its democratic transition,” he said.

Susan Rice Withdraws from Race for US Secretary of State Becoming an Indirect Victim of Attack on Benghazi US Consulate 14/12/2012 09:40:00

     Susan Rice, the US ambassador to UN who has withdrawn her name for consideration as US Secretary of State

Susan Rice, 48, the US ambassador to the United Nations, has withdrawn her name for consideration for the position of US secretary of state to become yet another indirect victim of the September 11 attack on the US consulate in Benghazi that killed former US ambassador Christopher Stevens and three other Americans.

Rice, 48, has been the US Permanent Representative to the UN since 2009. Her decision to withdraw her name for consideration of becoming America's top diplomat replacing current Hillary Clinton who will step down from her post in January, is seen as having dealt a political blow to President Barack Obama.   

 Citing "lengthy and disruptive" process, for her decision, Rice, who is very close to the US President pulled out of the running to avoid a revival of the bitter row over the death of America's ambassador to Libya.

The envoy had been the target of Republican attacks on the administration's handling of the raid on the US consulate in Benghazi.

"Those of you who know me know that I'm a fighter, but not at the cost of what's right for our country," Rice wrote on Twitter Thursday.

In her letter to the US President, Rice said: "If nominated, I am now convinced that the confirmation process would be lengthy, disruptive and costly to you and to our most pressing national and international priorities".

Rice, who seems to have become "a huge political liability for the Obama administration" said she was saddened by the partisan politics surrounding her prospects.

Meanwhile, reacting to Rice's decision, President Obama said in a statement: "Today, I spoke to Ambassador Susan Rice, and accepted her decision to remove her name from consideration for Secretary of State. For two decades, Susan has proven to be an extraordinarily capable, patriotic, and passionate public servant."

He went on to say that Rice's decision to withdraw her name had reflected her strength of character and an ability to rise above politics.

   



                                                                                                                               

Egyptians vote into the night in divisive referendum

                                                         Lyse Doucet reports on the long queues at Egyptian polling stations

 

Voting has been extended by four hours in Egypt's controversial referendum on a new constitution, due to the strength of the turnout.

President Mohammed Morsi and his Muslim Brotherhood have endorsed the draft document, which may define Egypt for years to come.

Opponents say it is poorly drafted and overly favours Islamists.

The opposition National Salvation Front coalition has accused the Muslim Brotherhood of trying to rig the vote.

However, the ballot, which is staggered over Saturday and a second day of voting in a week's time, appears to be going smoothly.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-20737073
                                      

Two killed by rockets fired at Peshawar airport

At least two people have been killed after militants fired rockets at Peshawar airport in north-west Pakistan, officials say.

      

More than 20 others were injured after the rockets landed in residential areas close to the airport.
Security forces at the airport are reported to have fired back.

Peshawar is located on the edge of Pakistan's tribal region, the major sanctuary for al-Qaida and Taliban militants.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-20742260
                                                                                     

Obama calls for 'meaningful action' after gunman kills 26 including 20 children at Connecticut school (with video)

The suspect, 20-year-old Adam Lanza, was dead from a self-inflicted gunshot wound

NEWTOWN, Conn. — A man killed his mother at their home and then opened fire Friday inside an elementary school, massacring 26 people, including 20 children, as youngsters cowered in fear to the sound of gunshots reverberating through the building and screams echoing over the intercom.

The 20-year-old killer, carrying at least two handguns, committed suicide at the school, bringing the death toll to 28, authorities said.

The rampage, coming less than two weeks before Christmas, was the nation's second-deadliest school shooting, exceeded only by the Virginia Tech massacre that claimed 33 lives in 2007.

"Our hearts are broken today," a tearful President Barack Obama, struggling to maintain his composure, said at the White House. He called for "meaningful action" to prevent such shootings, saying, "As a country, we have been through this too many times."

http://www.vancouversun.com/news/Obama+calls+meaningful+action+after+gunman+kills+including+children/7700137/story.html

Talk with kids about school massacre, make them feel safe, limit exposure to media: Experts.

    

School children wait for their parents at the Sandy Hook firehouse following a mass shooting at the Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn. on Friday, Dec. 14, 2012. (AP Photo/The Journal News, Frank Becerra Jr.)

 

The killings at a Connecticut elementary school left parents struggling to figure out what, if anything, to tell their children.
President Barack Obama said he and his wife, Michelle, would tell their daughters that they love them and hug them a little tighter. Experts say that's a good example to follow. Parents also should allow children to talk about their feelings in the coming days while sheltering them from the 24/7 media coverage of the event, they say.
A man gunned down more than two dozen people Friday, most of them kids at a Newtown, Conn., elementary school. The shooter was among the 28 people left dead, apparently from a self-inflicted wound.

http://www.vancouversun.com/life/School+massacre+Talk+with+kids+about+Connecticut+shooting+make+them/7705130/story.html

Mountie was speeding without siren or emergency lights before fatal crash

     

Const. Adrian Oliver was killed after his cruiser collided with a truck at the intersection of 64th Avenue and 148th Street in Surrey.

Photograph by: Wayne Leidenfrost, PNG , PNG

 

Const. Adrian Oliver was speeding without his sirens or emergency lights on at the time of a head-on collision that killed him last month, according to an ongoing Surrey RCMP investigation.
Oliver, whose funeral was attended by more than 2,000 RCMP officers and thousands of mourners, was trying to find a recently stolen pickup truck, according to the GPS and video data uncovered in the preliminary investigation.
The Surrey RCMP’s Criminal Collision Investigation Team will continue to try to “clearly establish what may have been occurring just prior to the collision,” Surrey’s top Mountie Supt. Bill Fordy said in a news release Friday evening.

http://www.vancouversun.com/news/Surrey+mountie+speeding+without+siren+emergency+lights+before/7702661/story.html

Photos: 28 dead in Connecticut school shooting, including 20 children

Twenty-year-old gunman Adam Lanza killed 26 people, including 20 young children, at a U.S. school where his mother worked Friday in one of the worst school shootings in the country’s history.

         

People are comforted near Sandy Hook Elementary School, Friday, Dec. 14, 2012 in Newtown, Conn. A man killed his mother at home and then opened fire Friday inside the elementary school where she taught, massacring 26 people, including 20 children, as youngsters cowered in fear to the sound of gunshots echoing through the building and screams coming over the intercom.

Photograph by: Alex von Kleydorff, AP Photo/The Hour

http://www.vancouversun.com/news/Updated+photos+Newtown+Connecticut+school+shooting+dead+including/7700572/story.html

Newtown gunman forced way into school, authorities say

NEWTOWN, Conn. - Connecticut state police say they have found evidence that will likely lead to an explanation as to why Adam Lanza, 20, killed his mother Friday then drove to his childhood school in the sleepy town of Newtown and shot dead 20 children and six adults.

Asked if investigators had discovered any notes or messages that might point to the reason behind the killings, State Police Lt. Paul Vance told a news conference Saturday that police have produced at the school and the killer's home "some very good evidence in this investigation that our investigators will be able to use and hopefully will give a compete picture as to how and more importantly why this occurred." He would not elaborate.

Authorities further confirmed Saturday that Adam Lanza forced his way into Sandy Hook elementary before starting his deadly rampage Friday.

http://www.vancouversun.com/news/School+massacre+Newtown+Connecticut+school+shooter+forced+into/7705095/story.html

CAS_Sponsor_SunPlus_12042012 Canada officially becomes first country to withdraw from Kyoto agreement

  
OTTAWA — Canada has officially withdrawn from the Kyoto climate agreement.

The death notice comes years after the Stephen Harper government made clear it rejected the terms that were negotiated by the Jean Chretien government in 1997.

According to the agreement, Canada would reduce its greenhouse gases 6% below 1990 levels by 2012.
Environment Minister Peter Kent pointed to the fact the United States and China - the two largest carbon emitters - never signed on as reason to abandon the agreement. And one year ago Canada officially announced its repudiation of it, becoming the first country in the world to do so.
Green Party Leader Elizabeth May - an environmentalist and fiscal conservative - called it a "day of shame".

 http://www.calgarysun.com/2012/12/14/canada-officially-becomes-first-country-to-withdraw-from-kyoto-agreement

Supply teacher tells Ottawa children there's no Santa 4

  
OTTAWA - Angry parents were forced into serious damage control Tuesday night and Wednesday morning after a group of children were told by their teacher that Santa is “a myth.”

The travesty took place in a Grade 4 classroom at St. Andrew Catholic School in Barrhaven.
According to parent Troy MacFarlane, his 9-year-old daughter explained the confusing news at breakfast Wednesday.

http://www.calgarysun.com/2012/12/14/supply-teacher-tells-ottawa-children-theres-no-santa

Top court upholds Canada's anti-terror laws

  
OTTAWA - Canada's top court has upheld this country's anti-terror laws as constitutional.
In two 7-0 decisions, the Supreme Court dismissed the arguments of three men who were ensnared in counterterrorism investigations.

The men argued Canada's definition of "terrorist activity" is unconstitutional and contravenes the rights to life, liberty and security of the person and freedom of religion and expression.

In the first ruling, dealing mainly with the case of convicted terrorist Momin Khawaja, the judges rejected the argument that Canada's definition of terrorism is too broad, saying the definition is clear enough someone would have to knowingly contribute to terrorist activity to be convicted under the provision.

The appellants argued it could net innocent individuals on the periphery of terrorist groups, from family members of alleged terrorists to lawyers defending them in court.

http://www.calgarysun.com/2012/12/14/top-court-upholds-canadas-anti-terror-laws

Girl raised in Winnipeg among Newtown shooting victims

                                                                              
NIPEG - A Winnipeg girl is among the victims of Friday's shooting rampage in Connecticut.

Ana Marquez-Greene, 6, and her older brother Isaiah attended Linden Christian School in Linden Woods, before moving with their parents to Newtown in July and enrolling at Sandy Hook Elementary School in the fall. Both children were inside the school when the shooter opened fire.

Ana was among the 20 children killed in the mass shooting. Her brother, reportedly a Grade 3 student, escaped without physical harm.

http://www.ottawasun.com/2012/12/14/girl-raised-in-winnipeg-among-newtown-shooting-victims

Ottawa parents reeling after mass shooting at Connecticut elementary school

   People take part in a candlelight vigil in Times Square, for the victims of the Sandy Hook School shooting, in New York, December 14, 2012. A heavily armed gunman opened fire on school children and staff at a Connecticut elementary school on Friday, killing at least 26 people, including 20 children, in the latest in a series of shooting rampages that have tormented the United States this year. REUTERS/Carlo Allegri

Sharon Ianni-Luci broke into tears when she heard of the young, innocent lives lost in a small Connecticut elementary school Friday morning.
Right away, her thoughts turned to her own small children, safely sequestered at Frank Ryan Catholic Senior Elementary School in Ottawa.

“I felt for the parents of the children and I was trying to imagine how I would react if something like that happened here,” she said.

She decided to pick her kids up after school so she could hold them close without having to wait for them to get off the bus.

Ianni-Luci said every time she preps her kids for school there’s the lingering fear that such a tragedy could be wrought on them — a fear shared by all parents — but she tries to keep it in the back of her mind.
“This is something that usually happens in the United States,” she said. “I feel that we’re pretty safe here in Ottawa, I try not to worry.”

 http://www.ottawasun.com/2012/12/14/ottawa-parents-reeling-after-mass-shooting-at-connecticut-elementary-school

Sun+ News Sponsorship Adam Lanza returned to Sandy Hook as mass killer

In the aftermath of Friday’s elementary school shooting, a shattered New England town searched for clues to why a young man would commit so heinous an act.

The life of Adam Lanza will be dissected, analyzed and re-analyzed in the days to come as investigators dig into the background of the 20-year-old, who law enforcement sources say returned to his elementary school and opened fire.

Thus far, there are clues, but no answers.

Police have not even publicly confirmed Lanza as the assailant who killed 20 young children between the ages of 5 and 10, plus six adults and himself at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut.

      
http://www.torontosun.com/2012/12/15/adam-lanza-returned-to-sandy-hook-as-mass-killer

Connecticut school shooting: Police find 'good evidence' on motive for massacre

Names of shooting victims not yet disclosed

 

NEWTOWN, CONN - Investigators have found "some very good evidence" to explain what drove a 20-year-old gunman to slaughter 20 children and six adults at an elementary school in the small Connecticut town of Newtown, the site of one of the worst mass shootings in U.S. history, an official said on Saturday.

The attacker, identified by law enforcement sources as Adam Lanza, opened fire on Friday morning at Sandy Hook Elementary School, which teaches children aged 5 to 10. He is suspected of killing 26 people at the school before turning the gun on himself, as well as killing one other person at another nearby site.

"Our investigators at the crime scene ... did produce some very good evidence in this investigation that our investigators will be able to use in, hopefully, painting the complete picture as to how - and more importantly why - this occurred," Connecticut State Police Lieutenant Paul Vance told a news conference.

Vance did not describe the evidence but did say the shooter forced his way into the school, as opposed to being let in.

 http://www.torontosun.com/2012/12/15/search-for-answers-begins-after-newtown-conn-school-massacre

Newtown shooting shows enough is enough with gun violence

   People pray and stand outside the overflow area of a vigil at the Saint Rose of Lima church in Newtown, Conn. December 14, 2012. The peace and security of the suburban Connecticut community of Newtown lay shattered on Friday after a gunman attacked a primary school in one of the worst mass shootings in U.S. history. Tearful parents and children gathered around Sandy Hook Elementary School by midday on Friday, surrounded by police vehicles, as young and old alike struggled to make sense of a shooting rampage that killed at least 28 people, including 20 children. (Shannon Stapleton/Reuters)


NEWTOWN, CONN. - Acrimony, animosity, annoyance.
Exasperation, indignation, vexation.

Where the hell do you start to describe the mood here?

They are not even close to the right words to capture just how angry people are.
There is nothing worse a human being can do than randomly open fire and murder innocent kids in cold blood at a school.

Except, perhaps, not do anything to prevent it from happening again.
The infuriation here is not just over the needless death of so many innocent children and adults but that another school shooting has rocked America.

http://www.torontosun.com/2012/12/14/newtown-shooting-shows-enough-is-enough-with-gun-violence