Camioneros siguen a la espera en los patios de Conferry
Esta es la realidad que se est viviendo en Conferry. El colapso del terminal sigue luego de que hace tres meses solicitamos investigar el caso. Atracan a los choferes en las colas, hay transporti...
By: Carlos Andres Michelangeli
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Camioneros siguen a la espera en los patios de Conferry - Video
MONTREALThe attack Wednesday on Parliament Hill cast a tragic pall over the country but also overshadowed what appears to be a much clearer case of homegrown radical terrorism that played out just 48 hours earlier south of Montreal.
The actions of the Ottawa gunman, longtime drug addict and petty criminal Michael Zehaf-Bibeau, have garnered the lions share of worldwide jihadi celebration this week for having breached the heart of Canadian democracy and killing Cpl. Nathan Cirillo.
But it was the progression of Martin Ahmad Couture-Rouleau from struggling entrepreneur to aspiring Islamic State fighter over the last 18 months that followed the more classical path of radicalization.
After his power washing business foundered, 25-year-old Couture-Rouleau filled the void with a new-found religion that appears to have been nurtured and ultimately perverted by Internet propaganda about Islamic State fighters in Iraq and Syria, according to his Facebook and Twitter accounts, which he registered under the names Ahmed Rouleau and Abu Ibrahim AlCanadi.
That fact fuels one of the tougher battles that Canadian Muslim leaders are facing in their bid to defend their religion against violent stereotypes and prejudice that risk growing in the wake of a deadly week.
At the end of the day, individuals that are bad are bad, said Samer Mazjoub, president of the Canadian Muslim Forum in Montreal. Why cant Muslims have insane individuals? When these actions are done by others, they say he is insane . . . Why, as a Muslim Canadian, do we always say right away it was a terrorist act?
Couture-Rouleaus friends in his hometown of St-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Que., say he discovered Islam after a dark period in his life, but they have denied that he was mentally ill. They described him this week to the Star and other media as having the converts religious fervour, but an undeniable persuasion.
Radio-Canada has reported that a half-dozen of Couture-Rouleaus friends were also convinced to convert to Islam and that he also offered to pay their airfare to travel with him to Afghanistan in recent months, which they declined.
A young man in Pakistan who said he was friends with Couture-Rouleau told the Star Friday that the Quebecer had attempted to travel to Pakistan last February but was prevented from boarding the airplane. Later he became determined to travel to Iraq. Why?
To fight for ISIS, the Pakistani man, who requested anonymity, said in a Facebook exchange. Its simple.
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How Martin Couture-Rouleau became an aspiring Islamic State fighter
She noticed the rings first.
Annie crawled in between Rob and Carl in the back of her parents pickup. The two families neighbors, but family had just finished a big meal at Red Lobster. It was a perfect evening in Casper in the summer of 2012, the late-setting sun dipping below the prairie horizon.
As Carl buckled 5-year-old Annie into her seat, she couldnt keep her little hands and big green eyes off the diamonds set in his platinum ring.
You guys have the same rings, she said. Are you married?
Rob and Carl had spent the better part of two decades considering the right way to talk about their relationship, but the curiosity of a child was something new, something different.
Yes, Carl told Annie, he and Rob were married.
She paused.
Whos the wife?
***
You could start their story any number of ways.
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Casper couple sets aside quiet life to help lead Wyoming to marriage equality
By Katie Aberbach October 26 at 8:15 AM
In his 15 years of working as a home contractor, Michael Holmes has heard it all including the tale of a homeowner who was blindsided when a basement renovation she had submitted an $8,000 down payment for turned out to be a scam.
The contractor dropped off his tools and never came back, says Holmes, the owner of Northeast Washington-based Holmes Handyman. In his toolbox were a brick and a rusty hammer.
Theres always risk involved when you hire a stranger to work in your home. Residential contractors individuals who do repairs and renovations to properties, often with a special focus such as electrical work or plumbing are hired on a job-by-job basis, so its sometimes difficult to predict what the experience might be like. When selecting someone new, a few key considerations will help you choose the right person for the right purpose.
Research and plan
Unless its a simple repair or appliance fix, figure out exactly what type of work you want and need, before you contact any professional, says Joe Normandy, executive director of the Metro D.C. chapter of the National Association of the Remodeling Industry. A plan in your head wont cut it (nor will a collection of Pinterest photos). You have to sit down and sculpt out the project on paper, Normandy says.
Be as specific in writing down your plan (or even sketching it) as you can. Get answers ready for the questions youll inevitably be asked, says John Biechman, an Alexandria homeowner who is currently in the middle of a home addition.
The size of your windows, the size of your doors, which wall you want the shower head on, Biechman says. The contractors not going to make it up. Hes going to ask you.
Having everything written down on paper and agreed-upon in advance is also crucial when putting together a contract the more details you have outlined, the less chance of disappointment (and the better protected youll be if things dont go as planned).
You can use online resources to estimate the amount of materials that will be needed and their cost; itll be helpful as you compare bids.
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Confidently pick home contractors with these tips
Architects - "Naysayer" (Vocal cover by Doppler )
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Architects - "Naysayer" (Vocal cover by Doppler ) - Video
A Tribeca condo board threatened to stop Ground Zero mosque worshipers from renting space in its tony building, sparking charges of discrimination.
Park51, the organization behind the controversial Islamic prayer space and community center proposed for Park Place, leased the condos 49-51 Warren St. storefront in August.
But by Sept. 18, before any prayer services were even conducted there, the condo where apartments sell for $1 million and up and one features a bowling alley posted a legal notice telling Park51 to get out by months end.
Park51 needs the space because its planned mosque near Ground Zero is under construction.
Christophe Cornaire, the owner of the Warren Street retail space and a former Cantor Fitzgerald managing director, has hired a lawyer to make sure the condo board does not evict the mosque.
The unit owner is rattling sabers at us, said Richard Menaker, a lawyer for the condo board. Hes been accusing the board of misbehaving here ... [of being] discriminatory.
Menaker says bigotry has nothing to do with it that the condo is simply holding Cornaire accountable for failing to fully disclose how the space would be used and how many people would use it.
The key thing is, theyre talking about using the basement space which is not allowed to be used by people, Menaker said.
Developer Sharif El-Gamals Ground Zero mosque has been shrouded in controversy since it was unveiled in 2010.Photo: Splash News
In the past, hundreds of Muslim worshipers crowded a makeshift prayer space on Park Place for Friday services, many spilling over into the basement of the building.
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Condo board trying to evict Ground Zero mosque tenants
By MARILYNN MARCHIONE AP Chief Medical Writer
Starting Monday, millions of people who have avoided colon cancer screening can get a new home test that's noninvasive and doesn't require the icky preparation most other methods do.
The test is the first to look for cancer-related DNA in stool. But deciding whether to get it is a more complex choice than ads for "the breakthrough test ... that's as easy as going to the bathroom" make it seem.
On one hand, the test could greatly boost screening for a deadly disease that too few people get checked for now.
On the other hand, it could lure people away from colonoscopies and other tests that, unlike the new one, have been shown to save lives.
It might even do both.
"It looks promising," but its impact on cancer risk and survival isn't known, said Dr. Barnett Kramer, a National Cancer Institute screening expert.
David Smith, 67, a retired teacher from Northfield, Minnesota, shows the test's potential. He has never been screened for colon cancer and his doctor ran through the options, including a barium enema or a scope exam.
"He pulled out one of those really colorful brochures they have for all those procedures," Smith said, but he had suffered an infection from a prostate biopsy years ago and didn't want another invasive test. When the doctor mentioned the new DNA test, "I said, well, sign me up."
The test was approved by the Food and Drug Administration last month and will be offered by prescription at the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota, where it was developed, and soon nationwide. It's called Cologuard and is sold by Exact Sciences Corp. of Madison, Wisconsin. Mayo Clinic and one of its doctors get royalties from the test.
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New home test shakes up colon cancer screening
(Reuters) - Public approval of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's government slumped after the resignation of two high-profile cabinet ministers last week, according to a poll published on Sunday, adding more pressure on Abe as he struggles to turn around the Japanese economy.
Japan's biggest daily the Yomiuri surveyed 1,059 people by telephone on Friday and Saturday and found support for Abe's government had fallen to 53 percent from 62 percent in less than a month.
Of those surveyed, 37 percent said they disapproved of the government, up from a 30 percent disapproval rating in a previous poll on Oct 10.
In the biggest setback since he took office in December 2012, Abe lost two cabinet ministers on one day last week, complicating tough decisions on key policies, including whether to proceed with an unpopular sales tax hike and restarts of nuclear reactors shut down after the 2011 Fukushima disaster.
Japan's economy is floundering and analysts polled by Reuters have cut their annual growth forecast for a fifth straight month.
Yuko Obuchi, the daughter of a former prime minister, quit as trade and industry minister on Monday after acknowledging doubts over whether her support groups misused political funds.
The Yomiuri survey found 73 percent agreed that it was right for Obuchi to quit.
Midori Matsushima also stepped down as justice minister on the same day over allegations she violated election laws by handing out paper "uchiwa" fans to voters.
Obuchi and Matsushima were two of five women that Abe appointed in September in a move to win the backing of female voters by challenging the male domination of politics in Japan.
Abe hopes to contain the damage through swift replacements of the two, but other cabinet members including Defense Minister Akinori Eto, Agriculture Minister Koya Nishikawa and Health Minister Yasuhisa Shiozaki, also face questions over finances.
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Japanese PM Shinzo Abe's Public Support Slumps In Wake Of Scandals, Cabinet Resignations
TOKYO: Public approval of Prime Minister Shinzo Abes government slumped after the resignation of two high-profile cabinet ministers last week, according to a poll published on Sunday, adding more pressure on Abe as he struggles to turn around the Japanese economy.
Japans biggest daily the Yomiuri surveyed 1,059 people by telephone on Friday and Saturday and found support for Abes government had fallen to 53 percent from 62 percent in less than a month.
Of those surveyed, 37 percent said they disapproved of the government, up from a 30 percent disapproval rating in a previous poll on Oct 10.
In the biggest setback since he took office in December 2012, Abe lost two cabinet ministers on one day last week, complicating tough decisions on key policies, including whether to proceed with an unpopular sales tax hike and restarts of nuclear reactors shut down after the 2011 Fukushima disaster.
Japans economy is floundering and analysts polled by Reuters have cut their annual growth forecast for a fifth straight month.
Yuko Obuchi, the daughter of a former prime minister, quit as trade and industry minister on Monday after acknowledging doubts over whether her support groups misused political funds.
The Yomiuri survey found 73 percent agreed that it was right for Obuchi to quit.
Midori Matsushima also stepped down as justice minister on the same day over allegations she violated election laws by handing out paper uchiwa fans to voters.
Obuchi and Matsushima were two of five women that Abe appointed in September in a move to win the backing of female voters by challenging the male domination of politics in Japan.
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Japanese PM Abes public support slumps in wake of resignations
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. Pic: AP.
On Oct. 22, we looked at women in Japans work force. Now we look at politics writes Todd Crowell for Asia Sentinel.
In an effort to burnish his avowed policy of empowering women, sometimes known as womenomics, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe appointed five women to his cabinet in his September 3 re-shuffle.
It is not the most women in a Japanese cabinet former premier Junichiro Koizumi also had five women in one of his cabinets, but it is unusual for Japan, which also lags most every democracy in the world for female MPs.
The well-intentioned move has turned into a major embarrassment for Abe. Japan has never seen the spectacle of two cabinet members, both of them women, resigning their posts in one day.
Yoko Obuchi and Midori Matsushima both resigned their cabinet posts on Oct. 20 to take responsibility for public fund accounting mistakes made by their staff and support groups that some say verge on buying votes.
In Matsushimas case, the staff handed out free tickets to a famous singers concert. Her mistake apparently was handing out handheld fans with her profile on printed on them.
Known as uchiwa in Japanese, they are the kind of thing that stores hand out for free to advertise their wares. Since the resignation story broke, hand fans with Matsushimas profile on them have been selling for US$100 or more on eBay.
The ink was hardly dry on Obuchis resignation letter than her replacement was in trouble. Yoichi Miyazawa had to admit that some of his staff took supporters to a Hiroshima S&M bar and listed the US$170 expense as political entertainment.
The new and possibly soon to be ex- minister told reporters, It is true that such expenses were made, but I did not go there at all. He said that sadomasochism is not my hobby.
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Shinzo Abes push for women in Japanese politics