A $6-million libel lawsuit against Mayor Rob Ford has been dismissed. The Toronto Sun reported Thursday that in a decision from Justice John Macdonald lawyers for Boardwalk Cafe owner George Foulidis failed to prove that comments Ford made alleging corruption damaged Foulidis’s reputation. “I welcome today’d decision by the Court to dismiss the Foulidis lawsuit against me. I will continue fighting to represent the best interests of Toronto taxpayers at City Hall. There is still a lot of work to be done and I will continue to focus on this,” said Ford in a statement. 680 News
Nomophobia is fear of smart phone deprivation
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Rogers has produced a survey of smart phone use that indicates our reliance on these devices is just intense. We like to sleep with them apparently. Not too cuddly but what the heck. The whole phenomenon has a name — Nomophobia — according to Rogers. Nomophobia is the state of stress caused by being away room your smart phone. The survey says as many as 65 per cent of users feel naked without their smart phone and Internet access. A little over half sleep with their device next to them, and 82 per cent use their smart phone in the bathroom. Over half say they check their mobile device before brushing their teeth in the morning.
Hey, we feel good about our money in 2013
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Cliff Shmiff, you might say. According to a poll Canadians have put aside the babble about the U.S. financial abyss and say they feel good about their money in 2013. The survey was done by Harris/Decima and shows collectively some 70 percent of us feel generally positive about their current financial situation, an increase of 6 per cent from a year ago. Canadians are also confident about achieving their future financial goals – a trend that was most prevalent among those who have met with an advisor in the last year. National Post
Toronto digs out of first snow of the season
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4 Click Video Pick for December 26, 2012
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The Four Pick today, going clockwise, marks the opening of the Beijing to Guangzhou high-speed rail line which slices the 2,298 km route in half. It now takes about eight hours to travel the distance, all being well. Next, the Open Mic series tests Japanese public opinion on U.S. gun laws. Stand clear because these folks don’t old back. Below that, going clockwise, the news conference in which previously conjoined twins Allison and Amelia meet the press in Philadelphia. Finally, from Amy Poehler’s Smart Girls YouTube Channel, a feature on Jessica, a 15-year-old smart girl who is a glass blower.
Minister asks aboriginal chief to end hunger strike
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Aboriginal Affairs Minister John Duncan has expressed concern for the health of Attawapiskat Chief Theresa Spence, who has been on a hunger strike since Dec. 11 to bring attention to aboriginal issues. In a letter released Tuesday, Duncan urged Spence to end her hunger strike and said his office has made attempts to set up a meeting with her but received no response. Spence says she will starve herself to death if Prime Minister Harper negogiates with her. This is about the not very well understood issue of “aboriginal treaty rights”. CBC
Memories of the Days With Juliet blog
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This wonderful picture from April shows South Bayview dad Leo and daughter Juliet taking a stroll past Passion Fruit. We publish the picture because it is just great, but also because it’s been a long time since there have been any new postings to the enjoyable blog known as Days With Juliet, published by Juliet’s mom, Elise. Parents are, heaven knows, pretty busy so it’s not always possible to keep a blog up to date. But it would be nice for all those who know Juliet to see how she is coming along these many months later.
Snow expected across Toronto through tomorrow
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Toronto is expected to get an accumulation of snow which might total 10 cm by Thursday morning. The snow is expected to fall later in the day (Wednesday).
Trying to make paper books sell better
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Retailer Indigo Books has responded to the challenge of selling paper books in the day of the Kobo and Kindle with brave talk this Christmas season. “I don’t believe anybody believes that the physical format is ever going to go away and we’ve put a lot of effort into making some truly unique, beautiful books,” is a quote in the linked story from Bahram Olfati, vice president of trade books at Indigo Books and Music Inc. CP24
Residents elect “trustee” to Mt. Pleasant board
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An ad hoc group of residents living in proximity to Mt. Pleasant Cemetery has elected Margot Boyd to act as a trustee of the Mount Pleasant Group of Cemeteries (MPGC) at a meeting attended by about 20 persons on Dec. 18. The election is not recognized by the cemetery board. The action is part of the running battle based on the insistence by some Torontonians that the cemetery is really an Ontario Crown Corporation and subject to public review. The cemetery board says however that its status was converted to that of a simple corporation in 1871 and has followed the Ontario Corporations Act since it came into being in 1907. Story by Justin Skinner
Sporting Life malicious attacks on fur garments
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Police have released a video picture of a woman they suspect may have been involved in the malicious damage to coats at several Toronto businesses. On December 10, 2012, we posted news about damage to fur trimmed coats running to $45,000 at the Sporting Life store at 2665 Yonge Street (between Blythwood Rd. and Sheldrake Blvd.) On December 21, 2012, an attack occurred on fur-trimmed coats at Holt Renfrew The woman (inset) was captured on video at HR. Several other shops have also complained about someone smearing fur garments with petroleum jelly. Police say they believe these incidents are connected. The Vaseline or similar jelly renders the garment unusable. Police said the suspect walks into the store and pretends to browse. She surreptitiously dips her hand into a jar of jelly hidden in her bag and touches the garments. The damage goes unnoticed until the next customer handles the merchandise. “She’s not wiping a ton of the stuff on the jackets,” Toronto Police Staff- Sgt. Shawn Meloche told the Toronto Star.. “But it’s enough to completely ruin the product.”Sing Tao picks up Sunnybrook OB/Gyne story
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Interest in the OB/Gyne Style video produced by maternity staff at Sunnybrook Hospital has spread around the world. The international publication Sing Tao Daily has picked up the story. It recounts how the Toronto organization Empower Birth has complained that the video is offensive. OB/Gyne Style is a take-off of Psy’s Gangnam Style mega-hit and was first posted on the hospital’s YouTube channel but has since been pulled down. Others, however, have re-posted the video saying that it is all in good fun and that to repress it is an attack on free speech. Sing Tao is read throughout the Far East including South Korea where there are many Mandarin speakers. Comment of readers both on YouTube and in the Toronto Star, which broke the story, has been running largely in favour of the video. A comment from Steve_YYZ ran as follows: “You can’t make everybody happy….. But it seems that all it takes is ONE person without a sense of humour to complain and the hospital bends over backwards to take the video down. I mean, geez…. 90,000 views and one noted complaint mentioned in this article. Truly we’re now living in a pablum, tasteless world where life is expected to be plain vanilla only.” Video is three posts down.