Abortion debate: Irish rogue pulls MP onto lap

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An Irish MP is taking heat for his groping behaviour toward a female colleague during a most sensitive debate in the Dublin parliament, or Dail.  MP Tom Barry grabbed fellow MP Aine Collins and pulled her onto his lap as the house re-convened on debate of a contentious bill to liberalize abortion in the Catholic land. Cameras caught Barry grabbing Collins as she passed his seat. He holds her there for four or five seconds as she struggles to get up. As she does so, Barry appears to give the MP a slap on the bottom. No doubt the behaviour is egregious at any time but in the middle of the abortion debate it seemed especially outrageous. Barry apologized to Collins and called the action “disrespectful and inappropriate.” The Irish Times described the incident as “embarrassing, inappropriate and reprehensible,” calling Tom Barry a “boor.” “Barry’s actions were humiliating not just to Collins, but to women everywhere,” the Times wrote. “Is that how male politicians view women? As playthings they can grope anytime they want? … Barry should be ashamed of himself, because we are. He says he’s ‘mortified,’ but would he be so mortified if he wasn’t caught?” The abortion bill passed on Friday, legalizing limited abortions in Ireland for the first time.

Glee’s Cory Monteith found dead in BC hotel

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Glee actor Cory Monteith has died at the age 31, it has been confirmed. The Canadian actor – who played Finn Hudson on the hit Fox series – was found on Saturday in his hotel room at the Fairmont Pacific Rim hotel in Vancouver. Cory – who completed a stint of rehab in April for substance addiction – was last pictured with his girlfriend Lea Michele just last month. The news was confirmed by Vancouver Police at a press conference on Saturday night. No cause of death has been confirmed at this point, but there were said to be no implications of foul play. Medical examiners will conduct an autopsy on Monday. Moneith was born in Calgary and raised in Victoria. 

George Zimmerman found not guilty

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George Zimmerman was acquitted of all charges on Saturday for the fatal shooting of unarmed black teenager Trayvon Martin in this central Florida town in February of last year. CBC

Thriving shops destroyed in Gerrard Chinatown

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Eleven upstairs tenants have been rescued from a four-alarm fire in a 100-year-old building at the corner of Gerrard St. E. and Broadview Ave. The early morning blaze has destroyed the main corner of the Gerrard St. Chinatown.. The well-known Cai Yuan Supermarket  is the main loss. It is pictured inset above. The Toronto Fire Department arrived in a mere four minutes and organized the escape of those who had not already gotten to street level. The spirit of positive thinking was on display as merchants who had shops in the building expressed their gratitude that there had been no injuries. Triny Huynh (inset) who runs Sammi’s Gift Shop on Gerrard told CTV that after she heard everyone had escaped safely she was happy.  

Kate still at home as “delivery day” comes to close

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Kate shows bump a few weeks ago

Interest is sky-high in the United Kingdom and much of the world this weekend at Kate Middleton seems likely to give birth within hours. Newspapers in the U-K are saying the closely kept secret of the princess’s due date is out — and it’s today — July 13, 2013. Kate, the Duchess of Cambridge, is said to have let the information come out. The Mail Online has said that mystery shrouded the expected date of birth  since Kate was taken to the King Edward VII hospital with severe morning sickness in December, early in the pregnancy. Because of her illness, the Palace was forced to announce she was expecting before she had undergone her 12-week scan. It meant no one outside Kate and William’s close circle knew exactly how far the pregnancy had progressed. A friend of the pair revealed: ‘Some of Kate and William’s closest pals were at a barbecue hosted by a family friend of the Royals recently. ‘They were all discussing the fact that Kate’s baby is due to be born on July 13. As of tonight however, with Greenwich Time five hours ahead of Toronto, Kate was said to be still at home.

Agile RioCan a strong presence in South Bayview

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The dynamic real estate investment trust RioCan is an ever present force in South Bayview. With headquarters at Yonge St and Eglinton Ave., RioCan owns the property at Laird Dr. and Eglinton  E. That’s the Leaside Centre. It also owns the Sunnybrook Plaza and will shortly take over at the yet-to-be-built 1860 Bayview Ave., home of a new Whole Foods store. RioCan has been under pressure since early May as the market tanked. Still, there is advice from many informed sources that this diverse and widely-spread firm is a very good hold. This article is from the Globe and Mail.  Rio.Can prospects. A measure of RioCan’s agility is its re-making of the out-dated Blue Mountain Mall in Collingwood. RioCan has permission from town council to revitalize the mall by demolishing some of it and using the inside corridors for retail space. It sounds like more of the mall’s doors will be on the outside of the complex. RioCan says it is converting a mall into a plaza. This conjurers up storefronts on the parking lot rather than inside. It seems a smart move as retailers frequently say there is nothing so good for business as having your door on main street. 

Umbra opens retail store in Shanghai mall

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Umbra, the Canadian home accessories design firm, has opened a store in the Jinqiao Mall in Shanghai. Umbra’s picture frames and some other items could be seen recently in large amounts in the Urban Barn store in the SmartCentre at Laird Drive and Wicksteed Ave. Umbra’s history is interesting because it started as a supplier to  retail firms some 33 years ago and many of its designs were very smart. Its vertical transition has been on-going for a number of years and has led to less interest among independent shops which do not want to compete with a supplier at the retail level. Nonetheless, there is no denying the extraordinary success of Umbra.  

787 fire shows scorching near plane’s tail

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Experts appears to be puzzled about the source of yesterday’s fire on a Boeing Dreamliner at London’s Heathrow airport. Much interest is focused on this incident because of concern that the plane’s experimental ion lithium batteries have again burned. But so far evidence is directing investigators to a different area.

West end streets closed for Honda Indy

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Some west-end streets will be closed for the Honda Indy this weekend. Strachan Avenue is closed from Lake Shore Boulevard to Fleet Street. As well, Lake Shore Boulevard is closed between Strachan Avenue and British Columbia Drive. The closure is in effect until midnight Sunday. 

Canada is “full” Suzuki tells Parisian newspaper

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Environmentalist icon David Suzuki says Canada’s immigration policy is “disgusting” for contributing to a brain drain from poorer countries and that Canada doesn’t have enough room to accommodate many more newcomers. He made his remarks to French newspaper L’Express on July 1, as part of a wide-ranging interview about climate change and environmentalism.  Canada

“Taliban failed to silence us,” says brave Malala

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Malala Yousafzai, has marked her 16th birthday with an eloquent and inspiring speech to the United Nations. The Pakistani girl was shot by the Taliban last year and her message today was that their attack has only raised millions of voices in favour of education for women and girls. She said that books and pens scare extremists.  Above is an extract of the speech. The full speech may be seen here. 

Empty Dreamliner catches fire at Heathrow

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An Ethiopian Airlines 787 Dreamliner has suffered an “internal fire” while sitting empty on the tarmac at Heathrow Airport. All reports on this fire are being issued in very guarded language as if no one wants to say the word batteries. Boeing says it has people on the ground and they are trying to get to the bottom of the fire. The Dreamliner was grounded this year because of the fire potential in the newly-designed lithium batteries designed to reduce weight. In what some consider a scandalous mistake, Boeing and other certified the batteries as safe when in fact they were very prone to fire. There has since been adjustments made but this incident, if it is a battery fire, will cause great concern for the safety of the 787.