Sunday, December 20, 2015
Tuesday, December 15, 2015
Beer Sold In Ontario Retail Stores Here Is The List On A Map
Beer Sold In Ontario Retail Stores Here Is The List On A Map
Tax Scammers stealing millions... the next victim of the CRA scam
“Dear Ellen, I am the next victim of the CRA scam,” the man’s email said. “If it is of your interest, we can talk. Maybe you will be able to protect others.”
“Did you actually pay money to the fraudulent CRA people?” I asked.
“I have sent them over $60,000,” the man replied.
Canadians are receiving a deluge of calls from fake Canada Revenue Agency collectors, warning that police would show up to arrest them, after an audit showed they had a whopping tax bill to pay.
The scam, which has circulated since January 2014, involves not just fraud but harassment.
“You feel very threatened and frightful. The callers don’t give you time to think,” says Jeffrey Thomson, a spokesman for the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre.
The non-profit centre, a clearing house for fraud intelligence, says the callers are extremely aggressive in a way that does not represent Canada or the way that government agencies do business.
So, why do victims fall for the pitch? Here’s the story of one CRA scam victim, who wants to share information without using his name.
A 56-year-old born in Russia, the man has lived in Canada for 20 years and works as a consultant. One day last month, he received a recorded phone message telling him to call a toll-free number immediately or face arrest for tax evasion.
“Stupidly, I called back. I use a chartered accountant to file my taxes and I thought there could be a problem. I had no doubt I was dealing with the CRA,” he told me.
He might have resisted the shakedown if he were single.
But he felt vulnerable after recently bringing his new wife — who speaks no English — and 3-year-old daughter to Canada. “They pushed me very hard. They called every five minutes. They said if I wouldn’t co-operate with them, I would be arrested. My accounts would be frozen. My family wouldn’t survive.”
A few things made him suspicious. The callers had English names but spoke with Indian accents. He heard many voices in the background, also with Indian accents, telling people to do the things he was being told to do.
He was instructed to send money to the United States, using Money Gram to wire up to $3,000 (U.S.) at a time to named individuals at post office box numbers across the country.
Why the U.S.? His case was already in the courts and had been transferred to a U.S. collection office, he was told.
And he had to send the money in batches MoneyGram’s daily limits.term, weeks closed.
His friends helped out with short-term, interest-free loans. A few weeks later, he learned his case was closed. Then the scammers made a mistake. They asked for more money.
“I was told to deposit three years’ worth of income taxes in advanceand send an extra $57,000 to the U.S.” he said of the second demand.
“But I couldn’t do it again without putting a second mortgage on the house.”
This tipped him off to the fact that he had been played by criminals. He did some online research and contacted me after seeing my two recent columns about the CRA scam (on Oct. 24 and Oct. 31).
“I know the money is all gone. It’s a big deal, but I have a good job and I can get over it. I was lucky I didn’t send any more money at a critical moment,” he said. “Now I know how common this scam is. Many people are in the same boat.”
He filed a complaint with the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre, offering to use information he had to catch the fraudsters, but was turned down.
The scammers operate from all over the world, using computer phone technology and caller ID spoofing to cover their tracks, Thomson says. Investigations into such scams pose challenges, such as gathering evidence in foreign countries and extraditing criminals to Canada.
The anti-fraud centre did share details of the man’s complaint with police and government agencies — especially the convoluted payment scheme, which shows that Canadian banks are making it harder to send money to U.S. banks through wire transfers. Here is what I want to know: Why is the CRA scam still news after two years of persistent calls to potential victims?
Why haven’t we seen major public awareness campaigns about this menace to public safety?
Why can’t the government protect us from pretenders using its name to shake down vulnerable people?
Its Money For Jehovah- Right Keep Believing In The Lies
Religious group is leaving its Watchtower headquarters for town north of the city
NEW YORK— The Jehovah’s Witnesses, the door-knocking religious group that’s been based in Brooklyn for a century, is selling its headquarters and other properties for an expected price tag of $1 billion (U.S.) or more.
The Witnesses’ move to a town about an hour north of New York City will likely mean the end of the complex’s most well-known feature, the neon “Watchtower” sign advertising the church’s flagship publication.
But it will free up hundreds of thousands of square feet for businesses and apartments in a now-trendy neighbourhood at the foot of the Brooklyn Bridge.
“It’s going to be incredibly transformative,” said Alexandria Sica, executive director of the DUMBO Improvement District, a business group.
Jehovah’s Witnesses spokesman Richard Devine said the move will allow the organization to operate more efficiently. The church had owned 36 separate Brooklyn properties before it began selling them off in preparation for the move upstate to Warwick, N.Y.
The printing plant where the Witnesses produce Bibles and religious tracts moved from Brooklyn to the town of Wallkill, N.Y., in 2004.
“As we’ve grown as an organization we’ve had to buy scattered properties wherever we could find them,” Devine said. “With a big, scattered campus like that it’s challenging to administer and to maintain.”
The Witnesses bought their 68,100sq. metre headquarters from Squibb Pharmaceuticals for $3 million in 1969. It was placed on the market this month along with a nearby apartment building and a12,540-sq. metre lot.
Despite the prominent “Watchtower” sign, the building has no historical designations that would place restrictions on the buyer.
The church has not announced an asking price but Tucker Reed, president of the Downtown Brooklyn Partnership, called $1 billion “a conservative estimate” for the Witnesses’ real estate portfolio.
A partnership including Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner purchased a nearby 130,000-sq. metre complex from the Witnesses in 2013 for $375 million and is developing it as a tech hub, while smaller buildings have sold for varying amounts.
In upstate New York, the Witnesses have purchased hotels and other properties for volunteers building the church’s new headquarters. The Witnesses have more than eight million active members worldwide and about 11 million more who attend some services, according to church officials.
Witnesses are required to spread their message door to door and are not allowed to vote, receive blood transfusions or serve in the military.
The organization has been in Brooklyn since 1908, but seems culturally distinct from its gritty-meets-yuppie surroundings.
Devine said 100,000 people a year visit the Brooklyn headquarters but the Warwick facility an hour north of the city will get more visitors when it opens in 2017.
“To be honest with you,” he said, “many people find New York City intimidating.”
Sica said she is looking forward to the Witnesses’ move in part because the church’s properties seem offlimits to non-members, with fencedin parking lots and no street-level retail.
“It’s closed off,” she said. “You get that sense of ‘This place is not for the public.’ ”
But both Sica and Reed said that before they leave, the Witnesses should follow through on a promise to redevelop a neighbourhood park, which they agreed to do in exchange for a zoning change.
Devine said the Witnesses will fulfil the commitment to build the park “either through our efforts or through the efforts of the new owner. We won’t walk away from it.”
Wednesday, November 18, 2015
Stephen Colbert Vs Bill Maher Dual Genius Battles ...FULL INTERVIEW
Bill Maher Jabs Stephen Colbert Over Religion: ‘Silly Stories’ Don’t Dictate My Faith
by Andrew Husband | 10:23 am, November 17th, 2015" You Can't Say Shit But You Can Say Fuck" Bill Maher Ask Stephen Colbert
Late Show host Stephen Colbert may have followed Friday’s speechless sign-off with a rousing show of support for France on Monday, but his playful back-and-forth with guest Bill Maher over religion was the highlight of the night.
“At a dinner party, you should never talk about sex, politics or religion. Have you ever been invited to a dinner party in your life?” Colbert joked.
Maher enjoyed the mild banter enough to banter back, noting that he wouldn’t be invited to Colbert’s dinner party because the two men are “very opposite.”
“Really?” asked Colbert with an obvious air of sarcasm. “How so?”
Maher pointed out how, despite their both being raised Catholic, he was an atheist whereas Colbert was a practitioner of his religion. Or as Colbert subsequently corrected him, “I am, but that doesn’t mean I’m good at it.”
Cue Colbert’s half-serious, mostly-jokey attempt to convert Maher back to Catholicism and welcome his troubled soul into the arms of organized religion once more.
“Come on back, Bill. The door is always open. Golden ticket right before you. All you have to do is humble yourself before the presence of the lord, admit there are things greater than you in the universe that you don’t understand and salvation awaits you.”
“I do admit there are things in the universe I do not understand,” said Maher. “But my response to that is not to make up silly stories.”
It’s all fun and games, to be honest. Yet judging by Maher’s initial surprise, it seems Colbert’s willingness to stretch the line of questioning as far as he did wasn’t necessarily planned in advance.
Stephen Colbert Reminds Us About Megiddo , The Bible & Armageddon Fears
On Monday's Late Show, Stephen Colbert asked Medal of Honor recipient Col. Jack Jacobs what the world had done to punish the Islamic State after its terrorist attack in Paris on Friday. Jacobs, now a military analyst for NBC News, said not much, adding that if the really world wanted to stop ISIS, it would take "several hundreds of thousands" of troops and 10 to 20 years. "And we're not going to do it, and we can't get the people in the region to do it," he added, "even though they have an interest in making sure these guys are gone."
After discussing why the region's power players won't step up, and who's to blame for ISIS, Jacobs said that the U.S. could destroy the apocalyptic terrorist "caliphate," even though "they want you to die, and they want to die themselves." But "you're not going to do it by dropping conventional bombs on people," he explained. "Militarily, the only purpose for bombs is to pave the way for people on the ground to seize and hold terrain long enough to create an environment in which there can be a real government to take out the trash and do all the rest. And we're not doing it, and it takes a quarter of a million people to do it, probably just in Syria." That's something to keep in mind. Peter Weber Source
After discussing why the region's power players won't step up, and who's to blame for ISIS, Jacobs said that the U.S. could destroy the apocalyptic terrorist "caliphate," even though "they want you to die, and they want to die themselves." But "you're not going to do it by dropping conventional bombs on people," he explained. "Militarily, the only purpose for bombs is to pave the way for people on the ground to seize and hold terrain long enough to create an environment in which there can be a real government to take out the trash and do all the rest. And we're not doing it, and it takes a quarter of a million people to do it, probably just in Syria." That's something to keep in mind. Peter Weber
Published on Nov 17, 2015
Stephen discusses what we can do to defeat ISIS with Medal Of Honor recipient Colonel Jack Jacobs.
On Monday's Late Show, Stephen Colbert asked Medal of Honor recipient Col. Jack Jacobs what the world had done to punish the Islamic State after its terrorist attack in Paris on Friday. Jacobs, now a military analyst. News, said not much, adding that if the really world wanted to stop ISIS, it would take "several hundreds of thousands" of troops and 10 to 20 years. "And we're not going to do it, and we can't get the people in the region to do it," he added, "even though they have an interest in making sure these guys are gone."
After discussing why the region's power players won't step up, and who's to blame for ISIS, Jacobs said that the U.S. could destroy the apocalyptic terrorist "caliphate," even though "they want you to die, and they want to die themselves." But "you're not going to do it by dropping conventional bombs on people," he explained. "Militarily, the only purpose for bombs is to pave the way for people on the ground to seize and hold terrain long enough to create an environment in which there can be a real government to take out the trash and do all the rest. And we're not doing it, and it takes a quarter of a million people to do it, probably just in Syria." That's something to keep in mind. Peter Weber
On Monday's Late Show, Stephen Colbert asked Medal of Honor recipient Col. Jack Jacobs what the world had done to punish the Islamic State after its terrorist attack in Paris on Friday. Jacobs, now a military analyst. News, said not much, adding that if the really world wanted to stop ISIS, it would take "several hundreds of thousands" of troops and 10 to 20 years. "And we're not going to do it, and we can't get the people in the region to do it," he added, "even though they have an interest in making sure these guys are gone."
After discussing why the region's power players won't step up, and who's to blame for ISIS, Jacobs said that the U.S. could destroy the apocalyptic terrorist "caliphate," even though "they want you to die, and they want to die themselves." But "you're not going to do it by dropping conventional bombs on people," he explained. "Militarily, the only purpose for bombs is to pave the way for people on the ground to seize and hold terrain long enough to create an environment in which there can be a real government to take out the trash and do all the rest. And we're not doing it, and it takes a quarter of a million people to do it, probably just in Syria." That's something to keep in mind. Peter Weber
And This Commentary by Peter Weber
On Monday's Late Show, Stephen Colbert asked Medal of Honor recipient Col. Jack Jacobs what the world had done to punish the Islamic State after its terrorist attack in Paris on Friday. Jacobs, now a military analyst for NBC News, said not much, adding that if the really world wanted to stop ISIS, it would take "several hundreds of thousands" of troops and 10 to 20 years. "And we're not going to do it, and we can't get the people in the region to do it," he added, "even though they have an interest in making sure these guys are gone."
After discussing why the region's power players won't step up, and who's to blame for ISIS, Jacobs said that the U.S. could destroy the apocalyptic terrorist "caliphate," even though "they want you to die, and they want to die themselves." But "you're not going to do it by dropping conventional bombs on people," he explained. "Militarily, the only purpose for bombs is to pave the way for people on the ground to seize and hold terrain long enough to create an environment in which there can be a real government to take out the trash and do all the rest. And we're not doing it, and it takes a quarter of a million people to do it, probably just in Syria." That's something to keep in mind. Peter Weber
Canadian Snowbird Association (CSA) - A Win For Snow Bird Seniors In Saskatchawan
In October 2014, we asked our Saskatchewan members to engage in an email and letter writing campaign requesting that the Government of Saskatchewan amend its temporary absence policy in order to increase the amount of time residents may spend outside of the province and still remain eligible for their provincial health coverage, from six months to seven months.
At the same time, the Canadian Snowbird Association (CSA) remained active advocating for this policy change in meetings with the Premier, the Minister of Health as well as the Human Services Policy Caucus Committee.
The CSA is pleased to announce that the Saskatchewan Government has, effective January 1, 2016, formally increased the amount of time residents may be absent from Saskatchewan, from six to seven months (over any 12-month period), while still retaining continuous provincial health coverage.
Saskatchewan is now the eighth province to permit out-of-province absences over six months.
"This is a significant change for long-term travellers in Saskatchewan" said Bob Slack, President of the Canadian Snowbird Association. "Saskatchewan snowbirds will now be able to visit friends and family members outside of the province, after returning from their winter vacation, without fear of losing their provincial health coverage."
The CSA would like to thank Premier Brad Wall and the Honourable Dustin Duncan, Minister of Health for their support and responsiveness to this matter.
It is important to keep in mind that U.S. policy still limits the amount of time that Canadian citizens can legally spend in the United States to six months less a day, in any 12-month period.
If you have any questions or comments related to this increase, or any other issue, please contact the CSA office toll-free at 1-800-265-3200.
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Sincerely,
The Canadian Snowbird Association
The Voice of Travelling Canadians
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Saturday, November 14, 2015
ISIS Claims Responsibility For Paris Attacks - Islam A Religion of Piece - here there and everywhere
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau arrives in Turkey for G20 summit
CBC.ca-12 hours ago
"These terrorist attacks are deeply worrying and obviously unsettling to ... Catherine and I are shocked by news of the horrific attacks in #Paris.
Trudeau responds to Paris attacks: 'We have offered all of our help ...
In-Depth-National Post-14 hours ago
In-Depth-National Post-14 hours ago
Explore in depth (1,221 more articles)
Cameron warns of British casualties in wake of Paris attacks
The Guardian-4 hours ago
David Cameron has said “we must be prepared for a number of British casualties” from the Paris atrocity as he condemned the “brutal and ...
Britain's Cameron calls crisis meeting in response to Paris attacks
International-Thomson Reuters Foundation-3 hours ago
International-Thomson Reuters Foundation-3 hours ago
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Preliminary Evidence Indicates Paris Attack Was Carried Out by ...
TIME-7 hours ago
The level of planning and synchronization exhibited in Friday's terrorattacks in Paris — with six separate but near-simultaneous incidents ...
Paris attacks: Eyewitness accounts
BBC News-5 hours ago
As least 128 people have been killed in multiple gun and bombattacks in Paris. Shocked eyewitnesses caught up in the violence have been ...
Following the Paris Attacks From Benjamin Cazenoves' Facebook ...
Featured-WIRED-15 hours ago
Featured-WIRED-15 hours ago
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Videos on social media capture horrors and panic of Paris attacks in ...
National Post-12 hours ago
As a group of terrorists descended on Paris in a spate of apparently connected attacks Friday, citizens captured the horrifying moments live on ...
Celebrities rally in support as the Paris terror attack death toll ...
Daily Mail-4 hours ago
'This is an attack not just on Paris, it's an attack not just on the people of France, but this is an attack on all of humanity and the universal values ...
ISIL supporters already have a hashtag for the bloody Paris attacks
Quartz-18 hours ago
Quartz-18 hours ago
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Paris attacks: Eagles of Death Metal safe after fans killed at gig
BBC News-4 hours ago
US rock band Eagles of Death Metal were not injured in the attack on their Paris concert, it has been confirmed. At least 80 of those at the ...
At least 87 dead after attack on Bataclan music venue in Paris
International-Entertainment Weekly-4 hours ago
International-Entertainment Weekly-4 hours ago
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British Columbians express solidarity after Paris attacks
Globalnews.ca-13 hours ago
As coordinated attacks happened across Paris Friday night, resulting in the deaths of at least 100 people, British Columbians visiting the city tell ...
Paris attacks: Britain on security alert in wake of terror attacks
Telegraph.co.uk-7 hours ago
Police are tightening security at British ports and major public events in the wake of the Paris massacre as the Government is set to review the ...
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