Category: Uncategorized

Terrorist “casting call” for shopping mall killers

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An outlandish video of a man with his face fully wrapped in a scarf appears to be a “casting call” for radicalized persons in Canada to stage some sort of shopping mall atrocity like the one committed in Nairobi, Kenya in 2013. In the video the man asks: “What if such an attack was to occur in the Mall of America in Minnesota, or the West Edmonton Mall in Canada?” The video is purportedly issued by the al-Qaeda-linked group al-Shabaab. The RCMP have said they have no sense that such an elaborate attack is possible much less planned. As we know, such cries for ISIL-type killing parties have generated a handful of usually lone individuals. They are dangerous but usually not very well organized. The video seems to be an advertisement or casting call to such misfits as much as anything else. However it underlines the concern about the means by which people are radicalized, or perhaps more precisely co-opted into such bloodthirsty behavior. Terrorism specialists have recently tried to focus on the best way to detect such radicalization before it goes too far.

Rinks open, rinks closed — don’t get confused

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Some outdoor skating rinks across Toronto are closing this week, but a bunch of other rinks are remaining open.  Don’t get confused. The 29 rinks that are still available right through March Break are open with the assistance of two corporate donors Green for Life and MLSE. But there are 23 other rinks which are going to close for lack of municipal funds to maintain them. Rinks staying open. Rinks closing 

“Mother” Angela Merkel meets Il Papa Francesco

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German Chancellor Angela (Mother) Merkel met Pope Francis on Saturday in Rome and of course they got along just fine. Merkel and Francis are hard-headed leaders who have a common interest in the future of Europe. Incidentally she is known in Germany as “Mutti” or mother and in the Pope’s native Argentina he is Papa Francesco.  Merkel visited Rome for a few hours specifically to meet the pontiff and spoke with him privately in his library for 45 minutes, unusually long for a private papal audience.

Bill O’Reilly faces questions about “war combat”

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Bill O’Reilly is said to be scheduled to appear on Howard Kurtz’s media program Media Buzz tomorrow morning on Fox News to try to put to rest allegations that he inflated stories about his reporting career. The complaints centre on O’Reilly’s use of the terms “war zone” and his repeated assertions that he had “seen combat” in places like the Falklands War in 1982.  His colleagues from that period recall that O’Reilly, and most other reporters, were forced to cover the war from their hotels in Buenos Aires. Many of O’Reilly’s references to the period are phrased as “in Argentina, in the  Falklands.” Kurtz’s program is seen at 11 a.m. Sunday on Fox. Associated Press  Bill O’Reilly Twitter comments Erik Wemple blog

Icy road warning in South Bayview Saturday

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Police are warning area motorists to watch out for very icy conditions. The ongoing snow and delayed sanding are responsible. In particular the Bayview extension is said to be slippery. Tweets from Toronto Police Operations say there is dangerous ice on Broadview Ave. at the top of Pottery Rd. and on Bayivew at Rosedale Valley Rd.  The eastbound Leaside Bridge is closed because of a collision at Overlea and there is a  water main break at Thorncliffe Park Drive and Overlea Blvd. Toronto Police Operations on Twitter

British girls “groomed” by ISIL as jihadi brides

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Families of the ‘Syria-bound’ teen girls from London are begging them to come home The three got out of the country through Gatwick airport on Tuesday and are now believed to be in Turkey, waiting a chance to sneak into Syria. BBC Video The U-K government is also calling on the girls to call home or contact the Turkish Police. Scotland Yard is under pressure to explain how unescorted minors would be allowed through airport security. The MP for the district where the girls went to school at the Bethel Green Academy says she is deeply worried about them and fears they have been groomed in a type of child-exploitation into becoming so-called jihadi brides. The three teens are 15 and 16. The MP, Rushanara Ali, said it appears the girls were persuaded to leave Britain by someone who was talking to them on the Internet. MailOnline  Teen girls leave Britain to become jihadi brides 

GFL. MLSE donate money to keep rinks open

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Mayor Tory has announced that two private companies have agreed to donate $200,000 to keep 12 outdoor skating rinks open for another month if the weather stays cold. Green For Life (GFL) which collects the garbage west of Yonge St., and Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment will share the cost. Another 17 rinks will be be sustained by the City.This means that 29 outdoors rinks in total will continue to be valuable as long as it stays cold enough.  This includes the rink at Hodgson Jr. Public School on Davisville Ave and the Dieppe Park rink on Cosburn Ave. All 29 rinks listed here. 

Yonge-Eglinton under pressure for mega-towers

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Post City Toronto has a story by Bree Rody-Mantha on the over-sized expectations of a developer for Yonge St. and Eglinton Ave. Josh Matlow, the tireless City Hall warrior of Ward 22 promises a fight against a proposed 68 storey tower to replace the well known building on the southeast corner, familiar to all as One Eglinton. And we may wish him well but it is Yonge Street after all. No one can be surprised that developers will wish to build a “downtown” in midtown, as one might say, just as they built a downtown in North York. Post City Toronto 

Aurora Borealis dazzles in skies of England

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The Aurora Borealis or Northern Lights  have been dazzling stargazers in the skies of Northern England and parts of Scotland. The spectacular sight is caused by the interaction of charged particles and the Earth’s magnetic field and atmosphere. Photographer Ian Glendinning captured these remarkable pictures in north-east England. The narration here is not as clear as it might be. Northumberland nameplaces are elusive although the show has been good at Holy Stone and well recorded at the Kielder Observatory.