Hostages held by ‘Islamists’ in Sydney cafe siege

Link to all leads related to the hostage siege in Sydney Australia.

Flames 12U AA champs in 5-2 final over West Hill

The Leaside Flames 12U AA are 2014-2015 champions after defeating West Hill Golden Hawks 5 to 2 this afternoon.  Nice going guys.  

New pictures show prince looking like his dad

Those who recall say he looks a lot like his Dad as a toddler. Maybe that should be no surprise. Mail Online

Shots fired in the night at Thorncliffe apartment

Shots were fired overnight outside at an apartment building on Thorncliffe Park Drive early Sunday (December 14, 2014) . It happened about 12:30 a.m.  Police said several vehicles were damaged but no one was caught and there were no apparent victims. 

Man’s proposal a disaster as crane falls on house

It happened in the town of Ijsselstein in Holland when a man thought up a thrilling way to propose marriage to his girlfriend. It all went dramatically wrong, even though the woman in question did  say yes.  The Dutchman’s plan was to lower himself by mobile crane into his beloved’s backyard. But the unsecured crane he used toppled into a neighbour’s house. Following the initial impact, more damage was done when the crane fell again during an attempt to right it. No word on who is paying for the mess.  Dutch media report the couple are now celebrating in Paris. 

Tory and wife Barbara join The Nutcracker fun

Mayor Tory and his wife Barbara Hackett do their part for the National Ballet of Canada by appearing in The Nutcracker. The Torys made complimentary appearances today as Cannon Dolls characters. It is customary for the mayor and other notable citizens to perform small parts in The Nutcracker. In 2011 Mayor Ford played a similar role. The Toronto Star   The Toronto Sun  The Nutcracker has lived up its billing for generations of families. This year the ballet company guarantees pure pleasure both for children and adults. “Bursting with humour, surprise, emotion and best of all, brilliant choreography, the ballet glides effortlessly from whimsy to bumptious comedy to awe-inspiring extravaganza to touching sentiment. It is a feast for the senses and the imagination. Tickets start at $26 ” 

Air Canada flying down to Rio three times a week

Air Canada has begun non-stop service between Toronto and Rio de Janeiro with the departure of flight AC098. The experience will be much less giddy and more secure than the legendary movie fantasy of the 30s. That Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers epic depicted chorus lines performing on the wings of biplanes. It is to laugh. (See below). Air Canada’s new Rio service will fly three times a week operated with a Boeing 767-300ER aircraft with 24 International Business Class and 187 Economy seats.

Heard the news? Well here’s the news (Part 2)

The prime minister refuses to meet with Premier Wynne. Actually, he hasn’t exactly refused to meet with her, he just won’t say when. The rocky relationship is an easy massage for the public mind. The Toronto Star says the premier’s loose-lipped tattling that the PM “smirked” when she promoted her Ontario pension scheme really got Harper’s goat. One can see that. Party designation aside the premier and PM are profoundly different people. Woman, Man. Social Activist, Economist  You want harsh?  Haranguing Renegade Spender versus Heartless Hater of the poor, elderly and native women. Not much there to form a working relationship. 

Cram-a-cruiser for Daily Bread Food Bank

The Cram-a-Cruiser food collection for the Daily Bread Food Bank was generously supported by residents shopping at the Redway Road Loblaws Saturday (December 12, 2014). Here are PCs Rahim Kassam (left) and Gordon Bridge on the job. Thanks Guys. As someone said, all it take to cram a cruiser is food-STUFF. Um, sorry  

Frozen in fear, dog rescued from river’s thin ice

Every dog lover can relate to the dilemma of this beautiful animal, stuck out on thin ice where animals love to venture until they finally catch the scent of fear. This guy was on the Credit River when Global News took and tweeted these pictures.  The dog could have been on ice right in South Bayview. We have lots. In this case residents spotted the dog and called Brampton rescue. It happened at Creditview Rd. and James Potter Rd. Firefighters were dispatched to the scene and the dog was safely rescued.  Wearing water suits and using safety ropes, two men carefully slid on the river’s icy surface until they were able to reach the dog. Once rescuers reached the dog, they wrapped the pet in a green blanket and pulled him to safety. The dog was taken to a local animal clinic and after a quick check-up, veterinarians determined the canine did not suffered any injuries. So far, the dog’s owner has not come forward to claim the pet, but authorities hope a happy reunion will soon take place.

Cram a Cruiser at Redway Rd. Loblaws Saturday

The large parking lot of the Redway Road Loblaws will be the scene of 53 Division’s Cram a Cruiser event tomorrow (Saturday, December 13, 2014) The idea is that you buy the food and the police cram it into one (or more) of their cruisers. Sounds like fun. This Cram a Cruiser runs from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. and is in aid of the Daily Bread Food Bank. See you there. 

Scribe’s sarcasm for PanAmGames gravy dump

CTV Queen’s Park reporter Paul Bliss is a tireless observer of the provincial government. Today (Friday, December 12, 2014) his account of a huge late-in-the-day pre-weekend dump of unsavory expense records was the lead story on the CTV Toronto News at 6 p.m. The largess with public money includes everything from personal shirts to trips to Europe. Oh yeah, the House rose yesterday. It all caused Bliss to bristle with sarcasm in a tweet reproduced above. “Liberal transparency”, Bliss snarled. In his report on the arrival of another embarrassing pile of expense documents on another Friday afternoon he said it made him feel like Ground Hog Day. Culture of entitlement runs deep at TO2015