Year End Message From Robert Reich About The Worst Congress In History The 2013 Congress

The Fabric Of The Universe

The Concept Of Time And The Moment We Call "Now"

How to avoid being a victim of the scam says RCMP ask for $100.00 to unlock computer DONT PAY IT!

When Pasqualino De Sanctis got a pop-up on his computer from the RCMP asking him to pay a $100 fine, he figured it was a legitimate request.

Just prior to it, he’d unknowingly clicked on a site infected with a virus while doing research for work, causing nearly 200 pop-up windows featuring pornography to flood his screen.

"As I’m shutting [the windows] down, this pop-up comes up. It says ‘RCMP Internet investigation, you’ve been caught dealing with pornography,’" he said.

"It says you have 12 hours to pay a $100 fine. This is your first offence."

The telecommunications employee was surprised, but according to Daniel Williams of the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre, it happens a lot more than many Canadians would think.

"Once that warning pops up on your screen, you’re infected," he said.

Williams said his office began receiving calls about this back in February 2012, and has logged at least 2,000 complaints since.

He said between just one and five per cent of people on the receiving end of Internet scams actually report them, so he estimates the actual number of people affected is much higher.

The virus, thought to originate in Eastern Europe, picks up Internet users’ location to make it look as though it’s their local police who have frozen their screens, Williams said.

It was enough to fool De Sanctis.

"It looked legal," he said, referring to the pop-up’s use of the RCMP logo and images of both a male and female officer.

The RCMP is warning Canadians about the scam. (CBC)

He was instructed to go a local Esso gas station and buy a $100 pre-paid card, whose numbers were to be punched into the payment window on the pop-up.

He complied, since he was in the middle of his work day and he was told he would be locked out of his computer until he paid.

He said it threatened to erase his hard drive if he didn’t pay.

But once De Sanctis typed in the number to make the payment, another pop-up appeared prompting him to make a second $100 payment.

That’s when he knew something was up. So he called the RCMP and was transferred to its Internet fraud department.

He was informed he’d been the victim of a malware scam.

How to avoid being a victim of the scam

 Williams of the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre said by paying the $100 "fine," victims are playing right into the hands of the scammers.

"The number one thing that we beg that consumers do is to not send the money," he said.

"If they do, all they’re doing is making organized crime $100 or $200 richer, and of course the scammers are going to do nothing to remove the virus from your computer."

And to remove it, victims of the scam will have to pay a technician to clean out the virus. Williams said much of the information online about how to remove the malware can actually lead to more malware, not to mention fake solutions.

"Unless you’re really computer savvy, the safest bet would be to bite the bullet and disconnect your computer and have a local technician clean it out thoroughly," he said.

Computer expert and Microbytes franchise owner Joel Cobrin echoed Williams.

"We just saw it two days ago," he said.

"Somebody came in with the exact same screenshot that they got, that the RCMP, quote-unquote, was asking for $100 in order to unlock their computer."

"That person took out the plug, shut down the computer and brought it here, and we took out the virus for her. And several others, because rarely do they come as just one virus," he continued.

He said making sure your computer’s virus protection and operating system are up-to-date is one defence against malware in general, but that isn’t enough.

"Stay away from anybody asking you for money. If you buy something and want to pay, that’s fine, but if anybody asks for money for whatever reason, no no no," he said.

"It’s most probably a virus, or it’s malicious."

Merry Xmas To All!

$25-million Star Trek-inspired medical device scam

Fraudster guilty in $25-million Star Trek-inspired medical device scam

Howard Leventhal of Illinois claimed to be a Canadian deputy health minister to get investments in a tablet that could instantaneously deliver patient information to doctors.

“In Leventhal’s world, the truth was cloaked by his web of lies and impersonation,” U.S. Attorney Loretta Lynch said in a news release. “His actions were the stuff of fantasy and science fiction, valid only in another dimension.”

Under his company’s name, Neovision USA Inc., Leventhal told prospective clients he had a large contract with Health Canada, according to the release.

Leventhal also gave clients a written agreement apparently signed by former Deputy Minister Glenda Yeates, who retired this August.

He created a fake cover website mimicking the actual Health Canada website and URL — healthcanada.com.co and hc-sg-gc.ca instead of hc-sc.gc.ca.

The Star

Canada's highest court struck down the country's anti-prostitution laws

TORONTO (AP) — Canada's highest court struck down the country's anti-prostitution laws in their entirety Friday, including against keeping a brothel.

The 9-0 Supreme Court ruling is a victory for sex workers seeking safer working conditions because it found that the laws violated the guarantee to life, liberty and security of the person. But the ruling won't take effect immediately because it gave Parliament a one-year reprieve to respond with new legislation.

Prostitution isn't illegal in Canada, but many of the activities associated with prostitution are classified as criminal offences.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/12/20/canada-anti-prostitution-law_n_4480105.html

Beatles 59 iTunes tracks released today for short window..and I scored!

Apple records, via the Universal Music Group, were widely rumoured to be reluctantly releasing a cache of rare Beatle tracks via iTunes today in order to comply with copyright law. But scour the site for the mythical Beatles Bootleg Recordings 1963 and they are nowhere to be found.

Early reports suggest that 2 hours and 29 minutes' worth of Beatles archive recordings appeared on iTunes sites in the early hours of Tuesday morning around the world before being taken down shortly afterwards. The staged release seems to have started in Asia, Australia and New Zealand with further reports of appearances in Russia, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Lebanon. CNN reports that the recordings briefly surfaced at midnight in the UK. None of these iTunes sites currently host the tracks. If fans didn’t download them in that brief and unadvertised window, it is already too late.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/music/the-beatles/10522503/The-case-of-iTunes-and-the-missing-Beatles-tracks.html

Rob Ford served with a libel suit by The Star Reporter Daniel Dale

On Thursday I served Rob Ford with a libel notice, the first step in the process of pursuing a defamation lawsuit. I also served Vision TV, which twice broadcast Ford’s vile and defamatory remarks to Conrad Black even though their interview was filmed days before it aired. It had become clear to me that, if I had done nothing, the mayor would make his smears some sort of political talking point.

His comments to Black were no one-time slip; they seemed to be the first shots in a bewildering campaign against my good name. At a Tuesday news conference, he pointedly said he stands by “every word.” Today, he repeated many of his false claims on American radio. No matter how much stress a legal battle might add to my personal and professional life, it is, simply, now necessary.

More Video Mayor Rob Ford served libel noticeVideo: Mayor Rob Ford served libel notice Rob Ford stands by his commentsVideo: Rob Ford stands by his comments As my libel notice says,

I’m asking Ford to immediately retract the false insinuation that I am a pedophile and all of his false statements about my conduct on May 2, 2012. I’m also asking Ford and Vision owner ZoomerMedia to apologize immediately “publicly, abjectly, unreservedly and completely.”

http://www.thestar.com/news/city_hall/2013/12/12/rob_ford_daniel_dale_tells_us_why_hes_taking_legal_action.html

Alureon Trojan Virus Warning - Trojan Infecting Computers last seen 2012, its active again.

Alureon is a trojan and bootkit which is designed, amongst other things, to steal data by intercepting a system's network traffic and searching it for usernames, passwords and credit card data.^[1]Following a series of customer complaints, Microsoft determined that Alureon was the cause of a series of BSoD problems on some 32-bit Microsoft Windows systems which were triggered when some assumptions made by the malware author(s) were broken by update MS10-015.^[2][3]

According to research by Microsoft, Alureon was the second most active botnet in the second quarter of 2010.^[4]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alureon

Trojan Looks Like :Microsoft Security Essentials 

(pop-up alert about trojan, virus, in win32)

Twice I've had a pop-up small window looking exactly like a Microsoft Security Essentials warning about 3 threats to my computer.  One was a trojan,  another was a virus,  and I cannot recall the 3rd,  but all had to do with files (Ithink) in win 32 and needed to be scanned and cleaned immediately. As I approached my search box to check the warning's validity,  the little window disappeared entirely,  but I tried to see where the infection were before they were gone.  Both yesterday and today,  that same alert appeared on the same site of a forum I belong to.  I did a complete scan of more than 1 million areas of my laptop and it found nothing. I'm assuming something is trying to infect my computer,  but is it already infected? If it shows up again,  I'll write down the files it claims are infected,  but where is that alert coming from, other than already having an infection that is not being picked up by MSE?  There was one word that jumped out at me for being incorrectly spelled.  Where do I go from here?

I have  Internet Explorer 8...v. 9.0.8

            Vista Home Premium...32 bit system...service pack 2

            Microsoft Security Essentials

            Auto-Update

Techie Says:

Unfortunately, these type of malware attacks are difficult to keep up with because they trick you into letting them install. They usually come from an infected web site, and usually through an advertisement. You get a pop-up from the infection and you click it to close the pop-up - which allows the infection to install.  They can also be delivered in a "drive-by" fashion with no action needed by the user due to the system being unpatched, no matter what security software is running.

http://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/protect/forum/mse-protect_scanning/look-alike-microsoft-security-essentials-pop-up/a1c1a31f-88c3-4526-892d-7b7896825d1e?msgId=55053c08-2dda-4edb-bd4c-ca6d7ef5fdd4

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alureon#Removal

While the rootkit is generally able to hide itself very effectively, circumstantial evidence of the infection may be found by examination of network traffic with a packet analyzer or of outbound connections (netstat). Sometimes the existing security software on the computer will report it, but mostly not.

 It may be useful to perform an offline scan of the infected system after booting an alternative operating system 

such as WinPE, as the malware will attempt to prevent security software from updating.

 The "FixMbr" command of the Windows Recovery Console and manual replacement of atapi.sys may be required to disable the rootkit functionality before anti-virus tools are able to find and clean an infection.^{[citation needed]}

Various companies have created standalone tools that attempt to remove Alureon. Two popular ones are Microsoft Windows Defender Offline and Kaspersky TDSSKiller.

Arrests[edit]

On November 9, 2011, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York announced charges against 6 Estonian nationals and 1 Russian national in conjunction with Operation GhostClick. The U.S. is currently^[when?] seeking to extradite them for running a sophisticated operation that used Alureon to infect millions of computers worldwide.<sup>[citation needed]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alureon#Removal</sup>

Trojan:win32/alureon scanner

http://www.microsoft.com/security/scanner/en-ca/default.aspx

The Mandela memorial sign language interpreter fake or legit...admits he hears voices in his head

The Mandela memorial sign language interpreter admits 

"Patient receiving a treatment in schizophrenia." 

(CNN) -- The sign language interpreter widely ridiculed for his performance at the Nelson Mandela memorial stands by his work. Thamsanqa Jantjie told CNN affiliate Radio 702 in Johannesburg that he is a fully qualified interpreter and has been trusted in the past with other big events. "I've interpreted in many press conferences, including the presidential conference," he said. "There was no one at all that said I interpreted wrong." Not so, says the head of the South Africa Translators' Institute. There were complaints last year after Jantjie interpreted the proceedings at the ruling African National Conference elective conference, the institute's chairman Johan Blaauw told the South African Press Association.

And this...'Fake interpreter' The national director of the Deaf Federation of South Africa sees it differently. He called Jantjie a "fake interpreter." "The deaf community is in outrage," said Bruno Druchen. "He is not known by the Deaf Community in South Africa nor by the South African Sign Language interpreters working in the field." The man showed no facial expressions, which are key in South African sign language, and his hand signals were meaningless, Druchen said. "It is a total mockery of the language," he added. The service to commemorate Mandela, who died last week at 95, was broadcast to millions of viewers.

Read Full Article At The CNN Source

"Walmart is now harder to get into than Harvard,"

"Walmart is now harder to get into than Harvard," 

Walmart recently opened with 600 job openings -- and 23,000 applicants. 

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/12/11/colbert-college-walmart_n_4425524.html?ncid=edlinkusaolp00000003

Uruguay becomes first country to legalize marijuana trade

Uruguay becomes first country to legalize marijuana trade
When the law is implemented in 120 days, Uruguayans will be able to grow six marijuana plants in their homes a year, or as much as 480 grams (about 17 ounces), and form smoking clubs of 15 to 45 members that can grow up to 99 plants per year. 

By Malena Castaldi and Felipe Llambias, Reuters

Uruguay became the first country to legalize the growing, sale and smoking of marijuana on Tuesday, a pioneering social experiment that will be closely watched by other nations debating drug liberalization. 

A government-sponsored bill approved by 16-13 votes in the Senate provides for regulation of the cultivation, distribution and consumption of marijuana and is aimed at wresting the business from criminals in the small South American nation. 

Backers of the law, some smoking joints, gathered near Congress holding green balloons, Jamaican flags in homage to Bob Marley and a sign saying: "Cultivating freedom, Uruguay grows." 

Cannabis consumers will be able to buy a maximum of 40 grams (1.4 ounces) each month from licensed pharmacies as long as they are Uruguayan residents over the age of 18 and registered on a government database that will monitor their monthly purchases. 

When the law is implemented in 120 days, Uruguayans will be able to grow six marijuana plants in their homes a year, or as much as 480 grams (about 17 ounces), and form smoking clubs of 15 to 45 members that can grow up to 99 plants per year. 

Registered drug users should be able to start buying marijuana over the counter from licensed pharmacies in April. 

"We begin a new experience in April. It involves a big cultural change that focuses on public health and the fight against drug trafficking," Uruguay's first lady, Senator Lucía Topolansky, told Reuters. 

Uruguay's attempt to quell drug trafficking is being followed closely in Latin America where the legalization of some narcotics is being increasingly seen by regional leaders as a possible way to end the violence spawned by the cocaine trade. 

Rich countries debating legalization of pot are also watching the bill, which philanthropist George Soros has supported as an "experiment" that could provide an alternative to the failed U.S.-led policies of the long "war on drugs." 

The bill gives authorities 120 days to set up a drug control board that will regulate cultivation standards, fix the price and monitor consumption. 

The use of marijuana is legal in Uruguay, a country of 3.3 million that is one of the most liberal in Latin America, but cultivation and sale of the drug are not. 

Other countries have decriminalized marijuana possession and the Netherlands allows its sale in coffee shops, but Uruguay will be the first nation to legalize the whole chain from growing the plant to buying and selling its leaves. 

Several countries such as Canada, the Netherlands and Israel have legal programs for growing medical cannabis but do not allow cultivation of marijuana for recreational use. 

Last year, the U.S. states of Colorado and Washington passed ballot initiatives that legalize and regulate the recreational use of marijuana. 

Uruguay's leftist president, Jose Mujica, defends his initiative as a bid to regulate and tax a market that already exists but is run by criminals. 

"We've given this market as a gift to the drug traffickers and that is more destructive socially than the drug itself, because it rots the whole of society," the 78-year-old former guerrilla fighter told Argentine news agency Telam. 

But Not ALL Are Convinced Read The Full Article

Obamacare Enrollments Surpass 1 Million - GOP Hate This

"Everybody talks about how horrible this website is and all the glitches and stuff, but I tell you, it was the best experience I ever had shopping for insurance," said Rawlings, who owns an architectural design firm. Rawlings chose the highest level of coverage, a Platinum plan that includes dental benefits, for $550 a month, or about $50 more than he pays for a medical-only policy for just himself this year. He earns too much to qualify for tax credits to reduce his premiums.

WASHINGTON -- More than two months after Obamacare's ugly debut, the number of Americans using the system is starting to grow: Nearly 1.2 million people are on track to have health coverage in place next year from the law's health insurance exchanges, the Department of Health and Human Services announced Wednesday.

From Oct. 1 through Nov. 30, almost 365,000 people enrolled into private health insurance via the federal and state marketplaces and more than 803,000 were deemed eligible for Medicaid or the Children's Health Insurance Program, according to the department.

The federally run exchanges in more than 30 states accounted for 137,000 of the enrollments in private coverage, and the remaining states signed up 227,000. About 1.9 million more people had been determined eligible for coverage through the marketplaces, but hadn't yet chosen a health plan. The new data don't include an apparent flurry of enrollments in the early days of December.

Read Full Article Here

"Save Me" last words of a Toronto woman who died after reaching the summit of Mount Everest

Shriya Shah-Klorfine (33) died on Mt Everest 

(a candidate for Mississauga East-Cooksville in the last Ontario election)

The last words of a Toronto woman who died after reaching the summit of Mount Everest were "save me," says a close friend.

Climbers normally are advised not to try for the summit after 11 a.m. The area above the last camp at the South Col is nicknamed the "death zone" because of the steep icy slope, treacherous conditions and low oxygen level.

Shriya Shah-Klorfine of Toronto was one of four people who died while descending from the summit Saturday in what are being described as overcrowded conditions.

An estimated 150 climbers tried to reach the top Friday and Saturday as they rushed to use a brief window of good weather in an otherwise troubled climbing season. Many had been waiting at a staging camp for several days for their chance to head to the summit.

"There was a traffic jam on the mountain on Saturday. Climbers were still heading to the summit as late as 2:30 p.m., which is quite dangerous," Shrestha said.

Shah-Klorfine was born in Kathmandu, Nepal, grew up in Mumbai, India and then moved to Canada to be with her husband and start an import business, SOS Splash of Style Inc. Last year, Shah-Klorfine was a candidate for Mississauga East-Cooksville in the last Ontario election as a member of the Paramount Canadians Party.

"It was her lifelong dream" to reach the summit of the world's tallest peak, said Siddoo. She said Shah-Klorfine and her parents had taken a helicopter to Everest when she was a nine-year old girl, and she had been fixated on climbing the mountain ever since.

It was Shah-Klorfine's first trek to the 8,850-metre peak. Her godfather, Bikram Lamba, said she mortgaged her house to pay for the expedition, at a cost of nearly $100,000.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/save-me-last-words-of-mount-everest-climber-1.1182656

Dog Arrested After Video Catches Him Stealing Food From General Dollar Store SC,USA

Cato, a dog caught on camera sneaking in and out of the store's sliding doors and stealing items whenever opportunity knocked. Store manager Anastasia Polson told Fox Carolina they were aware of several thefts but weren't sure what to make of the situation until they checked the security cameras. Once they realized they were up against one bad dog, Polson says they called the police.

In hindsight (or is that houndsight?) it should have been obvious, based on the items that went missing: pig ears, beef bones, dog food and assorted other treats. (Burying them in the backyard)

The Huffington Post

A census taker once tried to test me. I ate his liver with some fava beans and a nice chianti. [slurps]

And now for the real life Hannibal Lector... Meet Detlef G

BERLIN—The would-be "chef" freely admits that he killed his human "long pig."

The killer, known only as Detlef G, a 55-year-old chief inspector with the Saxon Germany state police, reportedly has told investigators that he met his victim through a cannibalism website that hooks up those who want to dine on human flesh with those hoping to be eaten. He's reportedly confessed to stabbing the 59-year-old German businessman in the neck. He admits he butchered the body and buried the pieces around his rustic bed and breakfast in the Ore Mountains, along the German border with the Czech Republic.

But, in his defence, he says he didn't eat his victim—not any part of the man Dresden police have identified as Wojciech S.

Detlef G. goes on to note that he didn't use his victim sexually, either.

He just killed him. And, he's told police, he killed him only because Wojciech S. came to him asking to be killed, in just the manner he carried out the act.

Not the first time Junjie 's Story:

The German newspaper Bild published an interview with a 31-year-old sewage mechanic from Baden Wurttemberg who goes by the online name "Junjie." Junjie had met Detlef G on the cannibal website after posting that he "wanted to be grilled alive ... whether on the grill or on a spit, I don't care."

Junjie told Bild that he wanted to disappear without a trace after a fight with his parents and he'd met with Detlef G and had spent two weeks at the bed and breakfast. Detlef G cooked for him every day, preparing Asian and East German dishes, but ultimately decided against the requested grilling death because, he told the volunteer victim, Junjie was too young.

Junjie told the newspaper, "I went there to be eaten."

Full Article At The Star

Doug Ford says Rob Ford has not used heroin or associated with gang members since he was elected...

Speaking again for his silent brother, Councillor Doug Ford said Thursday that Mayor Rob Ford has not used heroin or associated with gang members since he was elected...

Doug Ford made his comments during an acrimonious media scrum in which he offered a series of non-sequiturs in response to questions about his brother’s behaviour. Ford accused the media of “Stalin-era Pravda journalism,” praised his brother’s dieting efforts, attacked the provincial Liberals as “crooks,” claimed his brother is more popular with average police officers than Chief Bill Blair, and suggested that there was a conspiracy to ruin his brother’s career among judges, the police, and political opponents.

“Isn’t that amazing? How all this timing took place? In my opinion, folks, this is a clear, clear agenda, very well-organized agenda, from some of our competitors, and in my opinion, they don’t want Rob Ford here,” Doug Ford said.

The Toronto Star Full Article

Top Ontario court has ruled that a woman cannot claim a $97,500 life insurance policy

A top Ontario court has ruled that a woman cannot claim a $97,500 life insurance policy because the application by her late partner contained inaccurate information about his health.
This decision by the Ontario Superior Court again highlights the importance of correctly answering health-related questions on insurance applications. You may think you are protected once a policy is issued, but that is not the case. This is because the insurance company might only check the details when you make a claim. 

...The application also asked whether in the same period Foreman had been denied life or critical illness insurance, or had to pay a higher premium because of his health. Again, he answered no. But a later investigation by TD Canada Trust revealed that Transamerica had issued a life insurance policy at higher than normal premiums because of his health problems.

Foreman died from brain cancer on October 12, 2007, which was unrelated to any of the incorrectly answered health questions. However, TD Canada Trust refused to pay the policy proceeds because his death occurred within the 24 month “contestability period” after he completed the application.

http://www.thestar.com/business/personal_finance/insurance/2013/12/05/one_couples_97500_life_insurance_mistake.html

$50 Million Dollar Lottery Ticket Winner Loses Ticket BUT OLG Tracks Her Down She Wins Bigtime!

But for the first time in history, the OLG approached the winner instead of the other way around.

Through a months-long investigation, the lottery corporation determined Hamilton resident Kathryn Jones was the rightful winner, after searching transaction history and security camera footage from a Shoppers Drug Mart in Cambridge.

By: Kim Magi Staff Reporter, Published on Tue Dec 03 2013

The Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation have announced the winner of a $50 million Lotto Max prize that went unclaimed for a year.

But for the first time in history, the OLG approached the winner instead of the other way around.

Through a months-long investigation, the lottery corporation determined Hamilton resident Kathryn Jones was the rightful winner, after searching transaction history and security camera footage from a Shoppers Drug Mart in Cambridge.

“As you can imagine this has been both a very weird and wonderful journey,” Jones said at a press conference Tuesday morning.

Related: How the OLG tracked down rightful lottery winners seven years later

• 
  Man Finds $98K in Desk Bought Off Craigslist

$12.5M lottery ticket stolen; police seeking rightful winner

Lottery fraud victims claim $12.5M prize — plus interest

Since the announcement of the winning ticket on Nov. 30 of last year, 435 people inquired about the prize, but Jones never did.

A self-described “random” lottery player, Jones admits she lost the ticket and still has no idea where it is.

“I have obviously, as you can imagine, I have looked in my house very thoroughly and it’s not there.”

Jones, an engineer, said she has two children in university who are taking the news in stride.

“My oldest son lectured us on being responsible,” she said. “[He told us,] ‘I don’t care about the money I just want to get through these exams.’”

Previously, Jones had only won $20 through gaming. She said her family has no plans for the money yet.

Through the investigation, the OLG determined Jones purchased the only $16 ticket sold at the Shoppers Drug Mart location that day, and her answers were consistent with their questions regarding the purchase.

The corporation also conducted an independent review after learning Jones’ sister owns a retail outlet in Ottawa that sells lottery tickets.

“I feel very grateful . . . no one had to take that initiative [to find the winner],” she said.

As per their policy, the OLG will hold the prize for another 30 days to make sure no one else comes forward, although they are positive Jones is the rightful winner.

The largest unclaimed prize through the OLG prior to this was $5 million.

Rob Ford The Movie

Rob Ford Faces Border Troubles...

Ford’s admission that he smoked crack cocaine in the last two years leaves him with a border problem. While he might still be granted entry into the United States — applications are handled on a case-by-case basis — he could also be rejected, according to the U.S. government and a Toronto immigration lawyer.


WASHINGTON—Toronto Mayor Rob Ford says he wants to attend the Winter Classic hockey game near Detroit. He may not get past Windsor.

Ford’s admission that he smoked crack cocaine in the last two years leaves him with a border problem. While he might still be granted entry into the United States — applications are handled on a case-by-case basis — he could also be rejected, according to the U.S. government and a Toronto immigration lawyer.

Under U.S. law, the mere admission of illegal drug use — in Ford’s case, an admission broadcast far and wide on American television — is grounds for a Canadian to be turned away at a crossing. The absence of criminal charges, let alone a conviction, doesn’t matter.

U.S. officials declined to discuss the specifics of Ford’s case, citing privacy laws. But they readily addressed the question of whether a hypothetical Canadian citizen would be welcome in the U.S. after speaking publicly about consuming crack cocaine.

Source

Where to get the cheapest $0.56 cents ThanksGiving Dinner...Arizona and it comes

Joe Arpaio 

Thanksgiving menu is all set! Hope the inmates give thanks for this special meal being served in the jails tomorrow.

Maricopa County, Arizona, Sheriff Joe Arpaio has planned a particularly economical meal for the roughly 7,500 to 10,000 inmates in his jail system this Thanksgiving.

The meal comes in at a cost of just 56 cents per inmate, and its main entrée will be 24-cent vegetarian turkey soy casserole. Arpaio tweeted the Thanksgiving menu Wednesday morning.

“Hope the inmates give thanks for this special meal being served in the jails tomorrow," Arpaio's tweet said.

The official Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office website features a bio of Arpaio that touts his accomplishments in providing inmates with “the cheapest meals in the U.S.” by feeding inmates “only twice daily, to cut the labor costs of meal delivery." Arpaio has “even stopped serving them salt and pepper” to save taxpayer money, according to the bio.

The average meal for an inmate in a Maricopa County jail costs between 15 and 40 cents, according to the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office website.

In September, Arpaio implemented a vegetarian diet for inmates in an effort to save $100,000 on food costs for prisoners. He also announced in March a plan to charge inmates $1 for their meals, according to ABC15.

"Everybody else has to pay for their food, why should [inmates] get freebies?" Arpaio said in an ABC15 news video.

Last Thanksgiving, the controversial sheriff complained about the cost of providing a Thanksgiving meal to each inmate in a press release, calling the “whopping 68 cents” paid for every meal an “astronomical increase" from the cost of previous Thanksgiving dinners.

A 2012 East Oregonian article about a Thanksgiving dinner for inmates that cost 98 cents per prisoner quoted an assistant prison superintendent, who noted that treating inmates with a sense of humanity at the holidays helps prepare them for life after prison and may reduce recidivism rates. "We don't want to release angry inmates," the assistant noted. The Oregon meal included 634 pounds of sliced turkey breast, cranberry sauce and gravy.

In a Veteran’s Day press release earlier this month, Arpaio announced another questionable jailhouse initiative called “Patriotic Jails,” which introduced an exclusively “bread and water" diet for 30-day periods of time as punishment for allegedly unpatriotic acts.

“Any defacement or vandalism of the flags by inmates comes with the penalty of bread and water. Ten inmates are currently on bread and water for this infraction,” Arpaio said in the press release.

$15 Minimum Wage Passes In Washington state

Squeaking by with a mere 77-vote margin, the ballot measure known as Proposition 1 will set a $15 wage floor for an estimated 6,000 airport and hotel workers in SeaTac, Wash., a suburb of 27,000 residents south of Seattle.

It appears the ayes have it.

After weeks of careful ballot counting, officials in Washington state on Tuesday certified the results in a potentially historic vote that will create far and away the highest minimum wage in America.

Squeaking by with a mere 77-vote margin, the ballot measure known as Proposition 1 will set a $15 wage floor for an estimated 6,000 airport and hotel workers in SeaTac, Wash., a suburb of 27,000 residents south of Seattle.

While the vote count had been too close to call in the days following the Nov. 5 election, the King County Elections commission posted the official results on its website late Tuesday: 3,040 in favor of the measure, 2,963 against. There were 12,108 registered voters eligible to cast ballots.

Although the results have been certified, they can still be challenged by anyone willing to foot the bill for a recount, according to Kim van Ekstrom, spokeswoman for the elections commission. Van Ekstrom said ballot signatures had continued to trickle in during the days leading up to certification, but no more ballots would be counted.

The ballot campaign was closely watched -- and funded, to the tune of about $2 million -- by business and labor groups, who viewed it as a potential bellwether voteon similar wage measures throughout the country. The $15 wage floor in SeaTac will be more than double the federal minimum wage of $7.25 per hour, and it will likely serve as a rallying cry for labor unions and low-wage worker advocates as they try to raise minimum wages on the federal, state and local levels.

Given the money originally dumped into the campaign by the business community, backers of the measure shouldn't be surprised if opponents file for a recount. An umbrella group that lobbied against Proposition 1, called Common Sense SeaTac, told NBC News Tuesday it would challenge the results. Van Ekstrom said challengers would need to put down a deposit of 25 cents per ballot for a hand recount, or 15 cents for a machine recount. That's a small sum for a business advocacy group, though van Ekstrom said the final price tag of the recount would be much higher.

Along with setting the $15 minimum wage, the new SeaTac law will also tie the minimum wage to an inflation index; guarantee that tipped workers don't have to share their gratuities; and allow workers to accrue up to 6.5 days of guaranteed paid sick leave per year. Smaller businesses were carved out of the legislation, and the law would only apply to certain employers in and around Seattle–Tacoma International Airport.

The ballot measure's provisional success is an unmitigated victory for labor groups, particularly the Service Employees International Union, which played a lead role in pushing Proposition 1. Not only does the legislation include the kind of employer mandates championed by organized labor, it also allows for those mandates to bewaived in a collective bargaining contract, possibly giving companies an incentive to enter into one.

As in almost any minimum wage fight, backers of the proposal said it would improve the lives of thousands of low-wage workers, while the business community said it would raise costs on employers and force them to cut back on hiring.

Abdirahman Abdullahi, an employee of the airport's Hertz rental car location, told HuffPost earlier this month that he took a leave of absence from his job to campaign in support of the measure. "The workers at the airport work hard but don't get what they deserve," Abdullahi said. "They're juggling two or three jobs just to pay the bills, let alone to save money. This initiative ... it's going to improve their lives."

Backers of the proposition had declared victory on election night, but their edge gradually eroded as more ballots were counted in the days that followed. At one point, their lead had dwindled to just 19 votes.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/11/26/seatac-15-minimum-wage-passes_n_4339492.html?ir=Politics