Wednesday, November 22, 2006

The 1999 and 2000 year model Honda Civic SiR tops the list of Canada’s most stolen cars.

Consumer popularity also assures the cars will be popular with thieves. Its the second year in a row the Honda SiR has topped the list.

Rick Dubin Vice President of Investigations for the Insurance Bureau of Canada said “The Civics are easy targets.”

Dubin said that once stolen, the cars are most often sold to “chop shops” where thieves completely dismantle the vehicles. The automobile’s individual parts are worth more than the entire car.

The sheer numbers of the cars and their lack of theft deterrent systems make them thieves’ preferred choices.

1999 and 2000 Honda Civics do not come with an electronic immobilizer, however all Hondas from 2001 and onward are equipped with an immobilizer. Immobilizers will be mandatory on all new cars sold beginning September 2007. The devices enable an engine computer to recognize an electronic code in the key. If the code in the key and the engine don’t match exactly, the vehicle can’t be started.

In third place was the 2004 Subaru Impreza, while the 1999 Acura Integra came in fourth, with the 1994 Honda Civic rounding out the top five.

In sixth place, the 1998 Acura Integra, and the 1993 Dodge Shadow completed seventh.

When asked why early model vehicles are selected, he said that, “auto thieves continue to find it easier to steal older vehicles lacking an IBC-approved immobilizer. We’ve seen this trend developing for several years, and these results confirm it.”

Another Honda automobile, the 1996 year model Civic filled eighth place, with the 2000 German Audi TT Quattro in ninth.

The American 1996 Chevrolet/GMC Blazer rounded out the top ten.

None of the above cars had an electronic immobilizer.

Wednesday, October 27, 2010

Paul the Octopus, the octopus who became famous for correctly predicting the winner of Germany’s seven matches at the 2010 FIFA World Cup, as well as the final, has died of natural causes. During the football tournament in South Africa earlier this year, Paul, who lived in an aquarium in Oberhausen, Germany, chose between two glass boxes placed in his tank, which would have a German flag and the flag of the country which the country would be playing against. Both boxes would contain food, and the box which Paul chose to eat out of would be the winners. The octopus correctly predicted the result of all of Germany’s games, and hypothesised that Spain would beat the Netherlands in the final — which they duly did. Paul became internationally famous for his correct predictions, and was dubbed by some as the “oracle octopus”. All his predictions were filmed and broadcast across the world, and he became a hit on the video sharing website YouTube.

During the World Cup, Rupert Adams of William Hill, one of Britain’s largest bookmakers, said that the octopus’s success rate was remarkable. “If you had had ten pounds on each and every prediction then re-invested your winnings you would currently have over 1,450 pounds,” he said. “It’s an astonishing feat to get six predictions in a row. I am told people are walking into our shops and saying ‘I will have what the Octopus predicted.'” After the World Cup this year, it was announced Paul would retire. “He won’t give any more oracle predictions — either in football, nor in politics, lifestyle or economy,” a spokesperson for the aquarium said at the time. “Paul will get back to his former job, namely making children laugh.” Paul’s life was not without controversy. During the tournament Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said that the media storm was a sign of decay in Western culture. “Those who believe in this type of thing cannot be the leaders of the global nations that aspire, like Iran, to human perfection, basing themselves in the love of all sacred values,” he said.

Paul’s death was announced by the aquarium on Tuesday, when a spokesperson said that he had died of natural causes during the night. “We are consoled by the knowledge that he enjoyed a good life here and that the care provided for him by our dedicated displays team could not have been bettered,” he said. He added that common octopuses live for only a few years. Paul’s final prediction was that England would host the World Cup in 2018. A special clothing line and a mobile phone application are to be released, along with a documentary tracking his life. “His success made him almost a bigger story than the World Cup itself,” the spokesperson said. “We may decide to give Paul his own small burial plot within our grounds and erect a modest permanent shrine. While this may seem a curious thing to do for a sea creature, Paul achieved such popularity during his short life that it may be deemed the most appropriate course of action.”

Thursday, February 12, 2009

An article in the February 12 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine reports on an unusual cause for an outbreak of low blood sugar among men in Singapore: illegal use of sexual performance enhancement drugs that were contaminated with a diabetes drug.

Between January and May 2008, 149 men and one woman between 19 and 97 (mean age 51) were admitted to five public hospitals for unexplained low blood sugar. Similar cases were reported in media reports from Hong Kong. Seven Singaporean patients remained in a coma because of prolonged sugar starvation of the brain, and four subsequently died. The diabetes drug glyburide was found in blood and/or urine samples in 85% of cases; 30% admitted having used illegal sexual performance enhancers.

The contaminated products were a counterfeit version of the drug Cialis (meant for the treatment of genuine erectile dysfunction), and three purported herbal preparation (the affected brands included Power 1 Walnut and Santi Bovine Penis Erecting Capsule). All four preparations additionally contained Viagra in varying concentrations. Two herbal products contained traces of the weight loss drug sibutramine, a compound related to amphetamines.

The drug packaging mentioned names of non-existent overseas production facilities, so the source of the contamination with the diabetes drug could not be established.

The authors underline the risks that is known to be associated with purchasing drugs from unreliable providers or from online resellers. The clandestine use of impotence drugs as sexual performance enhancers seems to have provided a good illustration of this problem. They further call for more efforts by national and international health and law enforcement agencies to curb the manufacturing, international transport and sales of untrustworthy medication.

Saturday, April 14, 2007

June Callwood, Canadian Journalist, humanitarian, and activist, died today of cancer at age 82.

Callwood, born June 2, 1924 in Chatham-Kent, Ontario, first became a journalist for Brantford Expositor and later for The Globe and Mail, she began doing freelance journalism for magazines including Maclean’s, hosted several television shows for the CBC and Vision TV, and wrote 30 books. In 2003, she was diagnosed with cancer and refused treatment so she could continue her activism, but just this month the disease began to worsen until her death this morning at Toronto‘s Princess Margaret Hospital. Just last month a biography entitled June Callwood: A Life of Action was written by author Anne Dublin.

Callwood left a significant legacy of activism and community service. She helped to found the Toronto AIDS hospice Casey House, the youth hostel Digger House, Nellie’s hostel for women, PEN Canada, and the Canadian Civil Liberties Foundation. Callwood was also a past spokesperson for the Campaign Against Child Poverty.

Casey House (June Callwood) is named after her son, Casey Frayne, who was killed in a motorcycle accident involving a drunk driver, in 1982 at the age of 20.

In 1978, she was made a member of the Order of Canada, she became an Officer with the Order of Canada in 1985, and became Companion in the year 2000. In 1988, the Order of Ontario was awarded to her and in 2004 a street in Toronto was named after her. Her last interview was on CBC’s The Hour hosted by George Stroumboulopoulos in 2005.

Callwood is survived by her husband, Trent Frayne, her two daughters, Jessie Frayne, Jill Frayne, and her son, Brant Frayne.

Friday, March 20, 2009

The United States House of Representatives approved a measure on Thursday to impose a heavy tax on bonuses to executives from companies that have been bailed out by the government. The bill was passed by a margin of 328-93.

Under the bill, executives making over US$250,000 a year would be charged a 90% tax on bonuses. The tax would apply to firms that have been given at least $5 billion in aid from the government.

The move comes after recent outrage at American International Group (AIG), which gave out $165 million in bonuses to its top executives after receiving no more than $180 billion in government bailouts. AIG has said that the bonuses had to be given out, as the company was legally required by contract to do so.

Nancy Pelosi, the Speaker of the House, said that the bill was necessary because of the bad judgment shown by firms who received bailouts from the government.

“We must stabilize the financial system in order to strengthen our economy and create jobs. We must also protect the American taxpayer from executives who would use their companies’ second chances as opportunities for private gain. Because they could not use sound judgment in the use of taxpayer funds, these AIG executives will pay the Treasury in the form of this tax,” said Pelosi to reporters following the House vote.

The Senate is expected to vote upon a similar version of the bill. If approved, the differences between the two versions would have to be bridged before it could be signed into law.

Tuesday, April 5, 2005Terry Vo, the 10-year old Australian boy who had two hands and a foot reattached by surgeons after losing them in an accident, has had to have the foot re-amputated. He will be given a prosthetic foot in its place.

The operation to re-attach three limbs was thought to have been a first – but was ultimately unsuccessful, with the foot having died inside, and receiving insufficient blood supply following the surgery to reattach it.

“That would lead to the small muscles in the foot actually constricting, the toes bending over and a deformed …. foot that is sort of clawed over and doesn’t have good sensation,” said plastic surgeon, Mr Robert Love today, on Australia’s ABC Radio.

“Even if you can get all of that to survive, he [would be] worse off than having had an amputation.”

“What is very disappointing is that for the first two days after [the operation] the foot looked absolutely magnificent,” he said.

Terry’s hands were healing well, said the surgeon. The prosthetic foot would allow him to walk normally, since his knee was intact.

Saturday, December 10, 2005

While this wasn’t Interview with the Vampire, getting a live interview with Jimmy Wales of the Wikimedia Foundation is requiring more work and planning than ever. Four contributors to four different Wikinews language editions (with Swedish, Netherlands, and Polish) arranged to interview “Jimbo” in the Wikinews IRC channel, squeezed in before interviews with a periodical and a cable news source.