Many news agencies are reporting today (Friday, May 16, 2014) that a judge in Khartoum, Soudan, has sentenced a pregnant 27 year old, Mariam Yahya Ibrahim, to death because she is a Christian. The technical term is apostasy and his honour added 100 lashings for “adultery.” In the Soudan, adultery is a little different than here. You are an adulterer if you marry anyone who isn’t Muslim. Heavily pregnant and the mother of a 2 year old, Mariam has been in prison, with her young son, for months. She was initially accused of adultery because she is married to a non-Muslim of South Sudanese origin — a marriage the court did not recognize. The court added the apostasy charge after the woman told the court she is Christian, according to reports by rights groups and lawyers involved in the case. These convictions and harsh sentences are said to defy Sudanese law but it’s clear they have got a problem. Actually, it’s clear that we have a problem too.
Ontario Election polls: Do doctors read x-rays?
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With respect to our friends at Toronto Life, the science of polling is not a game of charades. Oh ( they lament) pre-election polls are tricky. “C’est la vie.” Well, here’s a flash. There is nothing tricky about election polls except when someone is being intentionally tricky or is hopelessly inept. When polls produce wildly different results from the same period of time in the same jurisdiction it is because one of the pollsters is wrong. Do doctors read x-rays? The easy-going folks at TL have responded to the stranger-than-strange contradiction in Ontario election polling with a shrug as if to say “Oh well, that’s polling for you.” The two firms now providing entirely opposite information about public support for the Liberals and PCs are Forum Research (Libs ahead) and Ipsos Reid (PCs out front). Now we are sure that neither of these organizations is being “tricky”. But you know what? One of them should go back to polling school. It’s true that election day is the poll that counts and that people change their loyalty as the campaign goes along. But when polls taken in the same period show completely different results, voters have a right to demand an explanation. Toronto Life
Mobile device theft industry at work downtown
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In the farthest corner of 53 Division a distance from South Bayview, an 18 year old woman was mugged at about 10.30p.m. on Friday, April 25, 2014. It’s not clear why the report is coming forward three weeks after the event. She was in the area of Queen Street West and Spadina Road when she was approached by a man. He grabbed her ipod and a struggle ensued. She was pushed to the ground and the man escaped with the ipod into an awaiting vehicle. No injuries were sustained by the victim. Police are requesting the assistance of the public in identifying the following described person in connection with this offence. Description of Suspect: Male, black, 17 to 18 years, 5’7”, 150 pounds, brown eyes, black hair, thin build. This is another example to all those with mobile devices that there is a criminal industry of considerable scope made up of people cruising the streets in the evenings looking for potential victims who are alone.
A decade later Sandra Oh departs Grey’s Anatomy
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We’re not much for show business but we like longevity. Sandra Oh (Christina Yang) has now said goodbye to Grey’s Anatomy after ten seasons. A landmark by any measure. Hollywood Life #GreysFinale
Honey the Golden Retriever back safe at home
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Honey, the Golden Retriever who was found on Hanna Rd. yesterday, is back with her family. The dog was found by a friendly dog-owner in the Bessborough School playground. This kind person placed an ad online and alerted local pet establishments including the Petsmart store at 835 Eglinton Ave. E. The owners checked in and were re-united with Honey.
Tory sees “Canary Wharf” on East Don Lands
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John Tory has set out an ambitious plan for the East Don Lands, which among other things would see Bayview Ave. connect with Lake Shore Boulevard. Mr. Tory’s plan would create a second business district in the city modelled after Canary Wharf in the British capital. He made the announcement on Thursday (May 15, 2014) in the old industrial Don Lands. He said the plan would create 70,000 jobs and a new transit hub and involve private investment. “These are the moments we must seize as a city,” Tory said. “As your mayor, I will form a unique partnership with developers and investors, and work with city council to help maximize transit to create a new business hub. It’s time we start saying yes, as a city, to bold and ambitious projects.” The proposal hinges on a rerouting of the Gardiner Expressway’s eastern section and building more transit links. The Gardiner east of Cherry Street would be realigned south of the GO Transit tracks, continue east and loop up to the Don Valley Parkway. The elevated part east of Cherry would be taken down and Lake Shore Boulevard would be connected to new streets, including an extended Broadview Avenue.
Aish Jewellers on Bayview Avenue robbed
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Aish Jewellers at 1559 Bayview Ave. just north of the Scotiabank has been attacked and robbed overnight. Thieves smashed the front door. The attack occurred about 4 a.m.
Crossing guard judged and found sadly tasteless
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| From the video |
Kathleen Byers, the dancing school crossing guard, has been effectively dismissed from her job. This after the 65-year-old woman made a video with a local rap group dressed in her school-guard gear. Nominally, at least, that’s the part that the police officials who administer the guard program said they didn’t like. But we suspect it was all just too much — the pre-occupation of Ms Byers with dancing and then the very tasteless lyrics which have now been rolled out on YouTube for other guards and every pupil in Toronto to savour. (Yes, we know the standard for such things these days is down in the sewer) But every day hundreds of crossing guards focus only on making sure the children are safe as they cross the street. That’s the way the police service and school board want it done and honestly, who can disagree with them? We can be sure they don’t want to attract anymore aspiring dancers or performers of any kind to their ranks. God bless Ms. Byers. She seems to be at peace with her situation. We wish her well.
Are these two pollsters on the same planet?
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It’s as if Lorne Bozinoff of Forum Research and John Wright of Ipsos Reid (inset left and right) were in different provinces talking about different election campaigns. Polls released by these two organizations earlier this week are entirely opposite in their findings. Forum says the Liberals have 38 percent of the popular support, the PCs 35 percent. The Forum release is full of bright information about the likelihood that the Liberals will win. The Ipsos Reid poll says the Conservatives have 39% of the popular support and the Liberals 30%. The poll says the PCs are poised on the basis of these results to win a majority. It isn’t enough to say that there is a margin of error in polling which might account for this strange contradiction. Any statistician would have to admit that one of these two operations is just hopelessly wrong and inept, or something. The public really deserves better. Read Twitter chatter about “weighting” etc. Editor fired for demanding equal pay, pension
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| Jill Abrahamson |
Jill Abrahamson, the executive editor of the New York who was fired yesterday, had been demanding that she be paid as much as her predecessor in the job. “She confronted the top brass,” says a associate quoted by New Yorker Magazine and this may have fed into the management’s narrative that she was “pushy,” a characterization that, for many, has an inescapably gendered tone. Great fun to read about the travails of the privileged and famous. New Yorker Magazine
Ipsos Reid latest Ontario election poll results
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Five weeks out from Ontario’s June 20, 2014 general election, Ipsos Reid has concluded that the Conservatives continue to lead in public support (39%). The poll, done for CTV, suggests support for the NDP has slipped further (24%) while support for the Wynne Liberals is unchanged (30%). It’s a rough numbers game so some curiosities may appear. The last Ipsos poll showed the Liberals at 31%, which would not leave them unchanged. But no matter. The PCs continue to evidence voters who are committed to vote, a good sign for them. But Ipsos says the Liberals also have traction with Liberal intended voters at 31% compared to PC intended voters support at 43%. It’s not really possible for laypersons to analyse just what this means but the general idea is there. The poll was done within the past 72 hours.
New York Times editor fired, no explanation given
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Jill Abramson has been fired as executive editor of the New York Times. The reasons are vague and statements by the Times shed no light. Managing editor Dean Baquet will take over as executive editor, effective immediately.