Tuesday, July 22, 2014

Rob Ford/ blood donor/ Neighbor Centre



Jul. 4 Rob Ford: I was reading in the Metro on Jun. 30, 2014 that Toronto mayor Rob Ford is out of rehab.  On Jul. 2, 2014, I read in the Metro that Ford was in the Canada Day parade.  There were some cheers and some boos for him.

Blood donor: I was reading in the Metro on Jun. 30, 2014 “Canada Day affecting blood-donor turnout.”  The most common blood types are A and O.  They profiled Shaun Doyle, 59 who gives his blood every 7 weeks.  I read a Globe and Mail article about blood donations recently.

Metro: “The Edmonton blood donor clinic is located at 8429 114 St. and is open Mon- Fri.”

School closures: I’m sure all of you heard about schools are closing down in Edmonton.  I read in the Metro on Jun. 30, 2014 “Bricklayer remembers building St. Brendan School.”  Richard Hartley is 79 yrs old and he built the St. Brendan School.  As he was talking about, he got teary-eyed.

Cannibal cop: I read in the Metro on Jul. 2, 2014 called “‘Cannibal cop’ released from jail.”  I remember writing about it on my blog:


Judge Paul Gardephe ruled that Gilberto Valle, 40 who was planning to kill, kidnap and eat women was insufficient evidence.  Valle’s lawyers said it was all fantasy and that he didn’t plan on actually committing murder.

Djamshid Popal: I read in the Metro on Jun. 30, 2014 “Afghan man sorry he left Canada after heart surgery.”  Djamshid Popal was 9 yrs in 2004 when he made headlines in Canada because he got heart surgery here.  Popal is now 19 yrs old and gets constant nosebleeds as he struggles to get an education in his village outside of Kabul.

His family is also gets death threats from the Taliban because Popal got surgery in Canada.  Major Americo Rodrgiues, the army doctor who treated him.

After surgery, Popal got homesick for his family.  There were a lot of supporters like Saddique Khan of Hamilton who financed the journey.  Popal’s father Shafiullah respected Popal’s wish to go back home and they went back to Afghanistan.

Popal gets nosebleeds because he takes warfarin, the blood-thinning medication that he needs to stay alive.  Popal’s father gets threats from the Taliban, so he has to find work by breaking rocks to sell from the mountains around his village.

Popal: “If I knew this would be my situation, I would never come back to Afghanistan again and would stay (in Canada) to continue my studies.  I can’t go to school regularly because it’s almost two hours’ walk up and down the hills.  And my nose bleeds and I feel so scared because the bleeding doesn’t stop very easily.”

My opinion: I hope his supporters out there could help pay so he and his family could come back to Canada.  He should start trying to get back to Canada by filing for refugee status or something.  At least this is in the national news.

It does make you appreciate living in Canada and your health. 

Min. wage: I thought this could be in my job email, but I feel like it’s happening all over the world, so it should be in my news email.

Ikea: In the Metro on Jun. 27, 2014, “Ikea hikes hourly pay by 17% in the US.”

“The pay increase will take effect Jan. 1.  It will translate to an average wage of $10.76 US an hour, a $1.59 increase from the previous $9.17.  About half of Ikea’s 11,000 hourly store workers will get a raise.” 

Montreal: I read in the Metro on Jun. 30, 2014 “Montreal forum on minimum income aims to raise interest.”  “Rob Rainer, a campaign direct for the Basic Income Canada Network envisions a country where everyone is assured a minimum of $20,000 annually to make ends meet.” 

Germany: I read in the Edmonton Journal and the Globe and Mail about Germany is going to raise the min. wage.

CBC: This could fit in my media or job email, but CBC is very Canadian and is national news.  They’re planning to lay off 20% of their staff and will be going from radio and TV to more digital and mobile services.  1000- 1,5000 positions will be ended.  There is 7,500 employees right now.  A lot of these positions will end by retirement.

Jul. 11 India gang rape: I read the Metro article “Women alleges village council ordered gang rape” on Jan. 24, 2014.  She said the rape was ordered because she fell in love with a man from a different ethnic group.  She had lost count of how many men raped her and is now in the hospital in serious condition.  12 suspects have been arrested.     

 

The village council ordered the man to pay 25,000 rupees and the man’s family did.  The woman’s family was too poor so the council ordered the gang rape.  This is called the West Bengal case.

“In Oct, a teen was gang raped on two consecutive days in a Kolkata suburb.  She was later set on fire when she refused to withdraw a police complaint against the men who had raped her.  She died in a hospital last month leading to widespread protests in the city.”

“Earlier this month, a Danish tourist was gang raped in New Delhi by a group of men when she stopped to ask them for directions to her hotel.”

Annie Raja, general secretary of the National Federation of Indian Women (discuss local councils): “They are dead set against giving basic human rights to women.  These are non-constitutional bodies and the West Bengal government should take stringent action against them.”

India’s supreme court has discussed this before and several legal organizations are trying to get Parliament to pass laws that make edicts by local councils illegal.

India budget: In the Metro on Jul. 11, 2014 “Plans to build colossal, costly statue causes uproar.”  India is planning to build a 182-metre tall Indian independent leader Vallabhbhai Patel.  It costs more than the $25 million for women’s safety nationwide and $16.5 million for girls’ education.

Thailand rape: In the Metro on Jul. 11, 2014 “Junta fires railway chief after furor over rape, killing of girl.”  The head of Thailand’s state railway was fired by the country’s military govt. over the rape and murder of a 13 yr old girl in her berth on an overnight train.

State Railway of Thailand governor Prapas Chongas-nguan to leave his post because he didn’t make his railway more orderly.  Police arrested a railway worker for the rape and murder.  He had confessed to it and that he tossed the body from the car.  There was a public outcry for capital punishment for rape. 

Neighbor Centre: I cut out this Edmonton Journal article “Campaign aims to shine lights on poverty” on Dec. 14, 2013.  It’s about charity and inspirational.  Here are some excerpts:

All proceeds from the $10 kits will be donated to the Neighbour Centre, a small resource centre for homeless and at risk adults in Old Strathcona.

"For Christians, this whole season before Christmas is all about waiting, the light of hope for the world is shining," said Pastor Rebecca Craver. "It makes a lot of sense that we would put out lights to remind everyone that there is hope for a world that's full of better things for all of us ... that we can make it a reality right now."

"It's really an awareness of the fact that we do have people in Edmonton who are living homeless, who are at risk of being homeless, who live at the tipping point ... and they're living and struggling with issues of poverty," Knutson said.

"I really feel it's much bigger than us. It's bringing awareness to an issue that continually needs to be brought to the forefront."

"We've always been, one way or another, community-minded. The idea is that God is not known simply through the high and holy act of worship, but really through the everyday ordinary life of living and working beside the people we live with," she said.

"The more we do, the more energy we have for it. I think there's a passion building because of the connection we have with our neighbours and with the work that's going on here," Craver said.

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