The middle of the CFL season is upon us, and, as always there are plenty of storylines that have been building and should keep fans of the three-down loop entertained for the second half.
With that in mind, here is our hurry-up version of a mid-season report:
— The main story on the field, if you can forget about all the coaches’ challenges for a moment, has been the parity. Aside from the juggernaut Stampeders and lowly Roughriders, the other seven teams are all within six points of each other. That means the crossover is in play and the playoff races are going to go down to the wire.
— The other notable story on the field is how well the visiting teams have played. Road teams are a ridiculous 24-15-1 this season, but for how much longer can they keep it up? And will it be in a team’s best interest to finish third in its division so it can play its two playoff games on the road? Good luck convincing a head coach of that, no matter how many road teams end up winning the rest of the way.
— Now, about those coaches’ challenges. Unfortunately, that has been a significant storyline this season. The league made a move last week, taking away the “freebie” challenge and putting a team’s first timeout on the line. Fans need to remember that the CFL is being innovative when it comes to coaches’ challenges, and there will be growing pains.
— The biggest problem now with challenges are the ones that are supposedly happening “away from the play.” That happened on Sunday night, when the Stampeders had Tommie Campbell’s 115-yard interception return touchdown wiped off the board due to Joe Burnett’s bump of Matt Coates past the five-yard buffer zone. I realize and understand everyone’s frustration, but why aren’t the players being held more accountable in this? STOP TAKING PENALTIES.
— Another big story so far has been the woes of Chris Jones, who guided the Eskimos to the Grey Cup and then left for the Roughriders eight days later. Some believe he has taken on too much in the Saskatchewan capital, where he serves as general manager, head coach and even defensive co-ordinator. The Riders are 1-8 following a massive roster overhaul that began in the winter and has yet to stop. The franchise is moving into its brand new stadium next year and there better be some progress before this season ends.
— Who’s the league’s most outstanding player so far? Stampeders quarterback Bo Levi Mitchell has to be the front-runner considering how he’s guided his team. Edmonton’s Mike Reilly is on pace to top the 6,000 yard passing mark, which would be quite the feat. Ottawa’s Trevor Harris could rally in the second half and make a run considering how well he has played when not injured. Edmonton’s Adarius Bowman is almost at 1,000 receiving yards, and the season is only half over. Ottawa’s Chris Williams, meanwhile, isn’t far behind. And don’t forget about Hamilton’s Brandon Banks, who already has three return touchdowns.
— Will anyone be riding to the rescue? The first NFL cut deadline was on Tuesday and players with CFL ties have and will become free over the next week. Most players cut this week will look for other opportunities south of the border, but if a team can convince one of its former players or draft picks to come north immediately it could have a big impact on the standings.
INSIDERS SAY
CFL coaches and managers give their anonymous thoughts on what they’re talking about behind closed doors:
OK, I’m biased, because we needed Calgary to lose in our division. Them winning is bad for us. But if I was Hamilton, I would be (bleeping) pissed about the officiating in that game. I saw the stats and Hamilton had three times as many penalties as Calgary. Three (bleeping) times more. Look, we know they can justify throwing flags on every play. There’s always something. But to call 15 or 16 on one club with only three or four on another. That’s (bleep) ... Edmonton’s going to sweep Calgary ... What did I think about those live mics? I hated it. Too much information can get out. I’m just a dumb coach, but I can tell you how to market our game better. Throw fewer flags and let’s get rid of all of this challenge delay (bleep) ... Most underrated players in our league? (Ian) Wild is one for sure. He has great football instincts. (Luke) Tasker down in Hamilton is another one. He’s really a great route runner ... I don’t do much with the neg list, but my guy told me he thinks Montreal has the worst group of prospects if you look at all nine teams ... So, I can only pick four? The best four receivers in our league, including one Canadian? (Adarius) Bowman and (Duron) Carter. Those two are the hardest for us to defend against. Then I’ll go with (Naaman) Roosevelt in Saskatchewan. My Canadian would be Shawn Gore. He really jumps out on film this year ... If B.C. doesn’t do something about their field-goal kicking, they won’t get a home playoff game in our division ... CFL.ca has too many milleniannls, or whatever they call themselves, from Toronto writing about our league. Most of them think the world stops at the Ontario border. They think being controversial makes them smart. Well, who gives a (bleep) if Matthew Cauz isn’t sold on the Bombers? How many times has he worn a jock strap?
LATE HITS
TSN finally got its wish to put live microphones on the field, which is something it has wanted to do since the new broadcast agreement was signed several years ago. There were a few funny moments during the Stampeders-Ticats clash on Sunday night and fans definitely learned just how complicated play calls are. There were concerns following the contest that too much was given away and Mitchell said every team should have to do it to make it a level playing field. That’s fair and it would be fun for the fans to see how their favourite team calls a game. All in all, it was a good look inside the huddle. Let’s have more of it ... It was either sour grapes or the most coincidentally timed tweet in Twitter history. Just moments after Redblacks GM Marcel Desjardins got hit while standing on the sidelines last Thursday night, former Ottawa defensive end Shawn Lemon, who had a public spat with Desjardins following his off-season release, basically wrote that he just got a good birthday present. Lemon said he was out for his birthday supper and didn’t know what had happened. Lemon wasn’t happy that Ottawa Sun scribe Tim Baines wrote about the coincidence because he proceeded to block him on Twitter ... Thank goodness the Duron Carter saga is over. It’s too bad he got suspended for something that should have been a fine and it sure is interesting the arbitrator finally made his decision the week the Alouettes are playing the Redblacks. The whole thing was a mess.
PENTON’S PREDICTION
Illegal contact will not be reviewable next season. The coaches have gone and ruined the spirit of the rule, and fans have had enough of the long delays. The league, therefore, will likely act in the off-season and eliminate this challenge, which is too bad.
TWEET OF THE WEEK
“Hey @JustinTrudeau do you need tickets for tomorrow’s @BCLions @REDBLACKS @CFL game? DM me.”
– Lions receiver Marco Iannuzzi (@iannuzzimarco) is always thinking of Canadian politicians
BY THE NUMBERS
97 – Coaches’ challenges so far this season
102 – Coaches’ challenges during the entire 2015 season
4-0 – Calgary’s home record
11-24-1 – Combined home record of the league’s other eight teams
BOSS BLUNDER
(The following paragraph appeared in the Aug. 3 CFL Blitz)
“It didn’t matter in the end, but Anthony Calvillo needs to eliminate one play from his playbook.
It happened in the middle of the third quarter of the Alouettes’ 41-3 demolition of the Roughriders on Friday night. Montreal was looking at second-and-one from its own 44 yard line, and Calvillo, the offensive co-ordinator, had quarterback Kevin Glenn line up in the shotgun.
Glenn then handed off to Brandon Rutley, but Roughriders defensive end Justin Capicciotti was there to bring down the ball carrier before he had a chance to think about getting a first down. The result was a one yard loss and a punt.”
Well, the Alouettes did it again on Friday night against the Bombers, handing off out of the shotgun, and they turned it over. When are they going to learn?
SMOOTH MOVE
In an “only in the CFL moment” relayed by Bombers communications boss Darren Cameron, a couple of Bomber fans were waiting to shake head coach Mike O’Shea’s hand after last Friday’s game in Montreal.
When O’Shea found out the two men were waiting outside the locker-room, he instead invited them into the locker-room, where he was meeting with quarterbacks coach Buck Pierce. O’Shea offered the fans a couple of beers, and they shot the breeze for an hour.
Can you imagine something like that happening in the NFL? Not a chance. That’s what makes the CFL so great, and kudos to O’Shea for giving those two Bombers fans an experience they won’t soon forget.
POWER RANKINGS
1. (1) Calgary
Weren’t they supposed to get a little worse with a rookie head coach and the losses of several key players? Guess not.
2. (3) B.C.
Those in the know starting noticing this from the start of the season. The Lions play with grit and determination.
3. (2) Hamilton
It was a valiant effort against the Stamps that ultimately came up just short, but the Ticats need to get a run game going.
4. (5) Winnipeg
That’s four in a row for the league’s second hottest team and for Matt Nichols, who was thrown only one interception in that time.
5. (4) Ottawa
Something’s rotten in the nation’s capital, where they’ve lost two straight. Canadian depth and many defensive changes are problems.
6. (6) Edmonton
That wasn’t exactly a commanding victory over the Green and White. They needed more momentum than that going into their Calgary battles.
7. (7) Montreal
The Alouettes were unable to follow up their fine performance in Ottawa and have now gone more than a year without back-to-back wins.
8. (8) Toronto
Ricky Ray returns and the offence is mostly healthy, but now they have to play two games in six days against two physical teams.
9. (9) Saskatchewan
There were signs of life from the Riders in the second half against the Eskimos, and some new players look good.
THE WEEK AHEAD
B.C. at Toronto — Wednesday, 7:30 p.m. EDT
Ricky Ray is back, but the Lions are for real and playing some physical football right now. Lions by 6.
Ottawa at Montreal — Thursday, 7:30 p.m. EDT
The Alouettes are 2-9 in their last 11 games, while the RedBlacks are 3-1 on the road. RedBlacks by 9.
Winnipeg at Saskatchewan — Sunday, 3 p.m. EDT
Riders have won 11 straight Labour Day Classics, but all good streaks must come to an end. Bombers by 12.
Edmonton at Calgary — Monday, 3 p.m. EDT
The Stampeders are a much better team right now than their colleagues to the north. Stampeders by 13.
Toronto at Hamilton — Monday, 6:30 p.m. EDT
The tired Argos will be playing their second game in six days, which will make it easy for Zach Collaros and Co. Ticats by 10.
Last week: 2-2
Overall: 19-21

CFL Blitz: Parity reigns at halfway point of 2016 season


The middle of the CFL season is upon us, and, as always there are plenty of storylines that have been building and should keep fans of the three-down loop entertained for the second half.


HARDAN, Iraq -- Surrounded by smoke and flames, the sound of gunshots echoing around him, the young man crouched in the creek for hours, listening to the men in his family die.
On the other side of the mountain, another survivor peered through binoculars as the handcuffed men of neighbouring villages were shot and then buried by a waiting bulldozer. For six days he watched as the extremists filled one grave after another with his friends and relatives.
Between them, the two scenes of horror on Sinjar mountain contain six burial sites and the bodies of more than 100 people, just a small fraction of the mass graves Islamic State extremists have scattered across Iraq and Syria.
In exclusive interviews, photos and research, The Associated Press has documented and mapped 72 of the mass graves, the most comprehensive survey so far, with many more expected to be uncovered as the Islamic State group's territory shrinks. In Syria, AP has obtained locations for 17 mass graves, including one with the bodies of hundreds of members of a single tribe all but exterminated when IS extremists took over their region. For at least 16 of the Iraqi graves, most in territory too dangerous to excavate, officials do not even guess the number of dead. In others, the estimates are based on memories of traumatized survivors, Islamic State propaganda and what can be gleaned from a cursory look at the earth.
Still, even the known numbers of victims buried are staggering -- from 5,200 to more than 15,000.
Sinjar mountain is dotted with mass graves, some in territory clawed back from IS after the group's onslaught against the Yazidi minority in August 2014; others in the deadly no man's land that has yet to be secured.
The bodies of Talal Murat's father, uncles and cousins lie beneath the rubble of the family farm, awaiting a time when it is safe for surviving relatives to return to the place where the men were gunned down. On Sinjar's other flank, Rasho Qassim drives daily past the graves holding the bodies of his two sons. The road is in territory long since seized back, but the five sites are untouched, roped off and awaiting the money or the political will for excavation, as the evidence they contain is scoured away by the wind and baked by the sun.
"We want to take them out of here. There are only bones left. But they said 'No, they have to stay there, a committee will come and exhume them later,'" said Qassim, standing at the edge of the flimsy fence surrounding one site, where his two sons are buried. "It has been two years but nobody has come."
IS made no attempt to hide its atrocities. In fact it boasted of them. But proving what United Nations officials and others have described as an ongoing genocide -- and prosecuting those behind it -- will be complicated as the graves deteriorate.
"We see clear evidence of the intent to destroy the Yazidi people," said Naomi Kikoler, who recently visited the region for the Holocaust Museum in Washington, D.C. "There's been virtually no effort to systematically document the crimes perpetrated, to preserve the evidence, and to ensure that mass graves are identified and protected."
Then there are the graves still out of reach. The Islamic State group's atrocities extend well outside the Yazidi region in northern Iraq.
Satellites offer the clearest look at massacres such as the one at Badoush Prison in June 2014 that left 600 male inmates dead. A patch of scraped earth and tire tracks show the likely killing site, according to exclusive photos obtained by the imagery intelligence firm AllSource Analysis.
Of the 72 mass graves documented by AP, the smallest contains three bodies; the largest is believed to hold thousands, but no one knows for sure.
------
ALL THEY COULD DO WAS WATCH THE SLAUGHTER
On the northern flank of Sinjar mountain, five grave sites ring a desert crossroads. It is here that the young men of Hardan village are buried, under thistles and piles of cracked earth. They were killed in the bloody IS offensive of August 2014.
Through his binoculars, Arkan Qassem watched it all. His village, Gurmiz, is just up the slope from Hardan, giving a clear view over the plain below. When the jihadis swept over the area, everyone in Gurmiz fled up the mountaintop for refuge. Then Arkan and nine other men returned to their village with light weapons to try to defend their homes.
Instead, all they could do was watch the slaughter below. Arkan witnessed the militants set up checkpoints, preventing residents from leaving. Women and children were taken away.
Then the killings began. The first night, Arkan saw the militants line up a group of handcuffed men in the headlights of a bulldozer at an intersection, less than a kilometre (half mile) down the slope from Gurmiz. They gunned the men down, then the bulldozer plowed the earth over their bodies.
Over six days, Arkan and his comrades watched helplessly as the fighters brought out three more groups of men -- several dozen each, usually with hands bound -- to the crossroads and killed them. He didn't always see what they did with the bodies. One time, he saw them lighting a bonfire, but he couldn't see why.
Finally, the jihadis brought in artillery and prepared to make an assault on Gurmiz. Arkan and his comrades fled up the mountain to where their families had taken refuge.
Now, since IS fighters were driven out of the area, the 32-year-old has returned to his home. But he's haunted by the site. As documented by the aid group Yazda, which has mapped the Sinjar sites, the graves are in a rough pentagon flanking the crossroads, largely unprotected. Around one of them is a mesh fence and a wind-battered sign. As Arkan spoke at the site, a shepherd herded his flock nearby.
"I have lots of people I know there. Mostly friends and neighbours," he said. "It's very difficult to look at them every day."
------
"THIS BODY IS WEARING MY FATHER'S CLOTHES"
As IS fighters swarmed into the Sinjar area in early August 2014, Talal fled his town along with his father, mother, four sisters and younger brother. They and dozens of other men, women and children from his extended clan converged on an uncle's farm outside the town of Tel Azer. They prayed it was remote enough to escape the killings that were already engulfing so many Yazidis.
It wasn't.
The jihadis fired at the house from a distance. Then they rolled up in their vehicles and shot one man in the head as they stood in the yard. They surrounded the farmhouse, ordered everyone outside and demanded the impossible: Convert.
The Yazidi faith, one of the region's oldest, has elements of Christianity and Islam but is distinct. Yazidis worship the Peacock Angel, fallen and forgiven by God under their tradition, and their shrines feature carved images of the birds and references to the sun. Muslim extremists condemned them as "devil worshippers" and over the centuries have subjected them to multiple massacres -- 72, by the Yazidis' count.
In its own propaganda, the Islamic State group made clear its intention to wipe out the Yazidi community. In an issue of its online English-language magazine Dabiq, it scolded Muslims for allowing the Yazidis to continue existing, calling their ancient religion a form of paganism. It quoted Quranic verses to justify killing the Yazidis unless they become Muslim.
Thwarted in their halfhearted attempt at conversions, the fighters separated about 35 teenage girls and young women from the rest, crammed them into a few cars and drove away. The militants herded the older women and young children into the farmhouse and locked the door.
Then they lined the men and teenaged boys against the wall of the stables -- around 40 in all, including Talal.
There were too many of them, too bunched up, to efficiently mow down, so the fighters then ordered them to lie on the ground in a row, Talal said. That was when his uncle told him to make a run for it. Talal bolted into his uncle's hayfield, as did several other men. The militants fired at them, and the bullets ignited the hay, dry from the summer sun. The fire covered Talal's escape, and he took shelter in a nearby creek.
There he hid, listening as the gunmen shot his family to death. He eventually fled toward the mountain, joined by three others who had survived the massacre. Four out of 40.
Back at the farm, the gunmen eventually left and the women and children emerged, looking around with growing horror.
Nouri Murat, Talal's mother, found her husband. His body was untouched, but his head was shattered. Her daughters, she said, were confused at first. "This is strange, this body is wearing my father's clothes," one of them said. As Nouri frantically searched around the property for any surviving menfolk, her 9-year-old daughter Rukhan lay down beside her father's corpse.
Finally, other women persuaded the family to head to the mountain before the Islamic State fighters returned.
As they began the long walk north, Nouri noticed Rukhan's bloody fist. Fearing her daughter was wounded, she pried open the girl's clenched fingers. Inside were a handful of her father's teeth.
------
"THEY DON'T EVEN TRY TO HIDE THEIR CRIMES"
Nearly every area freed from IS control has unmasked new mass graves, like one found by the sports stadium in the Iraqi city of Ramadi. Many of the graves themselves are easy enough to find, most covered with just a thin coating of earth.
"They don't even try to hide their crimes," said Sirwan Jalal, the director of Iraqi Kurdistan's agency in charge of mass graves. "They are beheading them, shooting them, running them over in cars, all kinds of killing techniques, and they don't even try to hide it."
No one outside IS has seen the Iraqi ravine where hundreds of Shiite prison inmates were killed point blank and then torched. Satellite images of scraped dirt along the river point to its location, according to Steve Wood of AllSource. His analysts triangulated survivors' accounts and began to systematically search the desert according to their descriptions of that day, June 10, 2014.
The inmates were separated out by religion, and Shiites were loaded onto trucks, driven for a few kilometres (miles) and forced to line up and count off, according to accounts by 15 survivors gathered by Human Rights Watch. Then they knelt along the edge of the crescent-shaped ravine, according to a report cited by AllSource.
"I was number 43. I heard them say '615,' and then one ISIS guy said, 'We're going to eat well tonight.' A man behind us asked, 'Are you ready?' Another person answered 'Yes,' and began shooting at us with a machine-gun. Then they all started to shoot us from behind, going down the row," according to the Human Rights Watch account of a survivor identified only as A.S.
The men survived by pretending to be dead.
Using their accounts and others, AllSource examined an image from July 17, 2014, that appeared to show the location as described, between a main road and the railway outside Mosul. The bodies are believed to be packed tightly together, side by side in a space approximately the length of two football fields end to end, in what the AllSource analysis described as a "sardine trench." Tire tracks lead to and from the site.
"There's actually earth that has been pushed over and actually moved to cover parts of the ravine. As we look across the entire ravine we only see that in this one location," said Wood. "Ultimately there are many, many more sites across Iraq and Syria that have yet to be either forensically exhumed or be able to be detailed and there's quite a bit more research that needs to take place."
The key, Wood said, is having photos to indicate a grave's location taken soon after its creation.
Justice has been done in at least one IS mass killing -- that of about 1,700 Iraqi soldiers who were forced to lie face-down in a ditch and then machine-gunned at Camp Speicher. On Aug. 21, 36 men convicted in those killings were hanged at Iraq's Nasiriyah prison.
But justice is likely to be elusive in areas still firmly under IS control, even though the extremists have filmed themselves committing the atrocities. That's the case for a deep natural sinkhole outside Mosul that is now a pit of corpses. In Syria's Raqqa province, thousands of bodies are believed to have been thrown into the giant al-Houta crevasse.
Conditions in much of Syria remain a mystery. Activists believe there are hundreds of mass graves in IS-controlled areas that can only be explored when fighting stops. By that time, they fear any effort to document the massacres, exhume and identify the remains will become infinitely more complicated.
Working behind IS lines, local residents have informally documented some mass graves, even partially digging some up. Some of the worst have been found in the eastern province of Deir el-Zour. There, 400 members of the Shueitat tribe were found in one grave, just some of the up to 1,000 members of the tribe believed to have been massacred by IS when the militants took over the area, said Ziad Awad, the editor of an online publication on Deir el-Zour called The Eye of the City who is trying to document the graves.
In Raqqa province, the bodies of 160 Syrian soldiers, killed when IS overran their base, were found in seven large pits.
So far, at least 17 mass graves are known, though largely unreachable, in a list put together from AP interviews with activists from Syrian provinces still under IS rule as well as fighters and residents in former IS strongholds.
"This is a drop in an ocean of mass graves expected to be discovered in the future in Syria," said Awad.

'There are only bones left'; ISIS buried thousands in 72 mass graves


Surrounded by smoke and flames, the
sound of gunshots echoing around him,
the young man crouched in the creek for
hours, listening to the men in his
family die.


Nearly five years ago today, in one of my first meetings with Stephen Harper as his newly appointed director of policy, we were leafing through cabinet binders containing hundreds of pages of policy analysis and briefing material. We were preparing for an upcoming cabinet retreat to help plot the course for the new majority government's mandate.
The agenda was heavy, but I was sure that I'd combed through every last presentation and that nothing was missing.
As the prime minister paged through a lengthy memorandum to cabinet, he paused midway through page 64 where he'd placed a flag. He then proceeded to ask a particularly obscure question of fact.
I stammered out a reply, hoping it was the right one. Alas, he turned to page 126 of the document, and informed me that my answer was different than the one contained in footnote 37, asking if I was sure whether I was correct.
I knew then that I was in the presence of a leader whose attention to detail, capacity for hard work, and insistence on excellence was unmatched. He was determined to do the best possible job at his job, and he expected no less from his staff.
Our many subsequent interactions only served to confirm that impression, as Harper proceeded to follow through on nearly every commitment he had made to voters while steering the country through turbulent international waters.
And what a legacy he left for Canada.
Harper's Conservative government lowered taxes, resulting in the lowest federal tax burden in 50 years.
Harper guided Canada's economy through the worst global recession since the Great Depression, adding more 1.3 million new jobs since 2009.
New free trade agreements opened doors.
Harper's careful stewardship of finances resulted in the largest and longest infrastructure plan in Canadian history, making record investments in research, innovation and skills training - all while balancing the budget.
The Conservative government created new support for families, and the disabled, though the tax system. It rebalanced the justice system and implemented measures to protect children. It gave authorities new tools to fight terrorism here and abroad.
While enhancing support for the military and veterans, he spoke out against Russia's illegal occupation of Ukraine and staunchly defending Israel's right to exist.
Harper never lost focus on what mattered most to him - standing up for ordinary Canadians who work hard, pay their taxes, and play by the rules.
There was certainly no shortage of people who quibbled with Harper's style, or his unwillingness to cater to media demands, or his inability to project a sunny, carefree disposition.
But here's what I know from experience: Stephen Harper spent every minute of his political career working to make our country stronger and the best place in the world to live. When he left office, Canada had the wealthiest middle class in the world. We were the envy of the developed world.
In the end, that's Harper's legacy - a better, stronger Canada.
- @reicurran


Nearly five years ago today, in one of my first meetings with Stephen Harper as his newly appointed director of policy, we were leafing through cabinet binders containing hundreds of pages of policy analysis and briefing material. We were preparing for an upcoming cabinet retreat to help plot the course for the new majority government's mandate.


Selena Gomez is taking an indefinite break from her world tour in order to focus on getting well while she continues to fight her lupus battle.
The Come & Get It singer was diagnosed with the autoimmune disease in 2014 and subsequently checked into a rehab facility to receive treatments and undergo chemotherapy.
Gomez didn't reveal her secret until last October when she released her album Revival, and the 24 year old has been promoting the record since May by performing concerts as part of her Revival Tour.
Although she just wrapped up a leg in Australia earlier this month and is slated to head back onstage in Canada this weekend, the pop star announced on Tuesday she is taking time off from the concert series and other professional commitments to refocus on her health, specifically treating her anxiety, panic attacks and depression, which are all side effects of having the disease.
"As many of you know, around a year ago I revealed that I have lupus, an illness that can affect people in different ways," Gomez tells People in a statement. "I've discovered that anxiety, panic attacks and depression can be side effects of lupus, which can present their own challenges. I want to be proactive and focus on maintaining my health and happiness and have decided that the best way forward is to take some time off.
"Thank you to all my fans for your support. You know how special you are to me, but I need to face this head on to ensure I am doing everything possible to be my best. I know I am not alone by sharing this, I hope others will be encouraged to address their own issues."
Kenneth M. Farber, the co-CEO and co-president of the Alliance for Lupus Research, praised the singer for coming forward with her battle, telling the publication, "it is not commonly known that depression, anxiety and panic attacks can be side effects of lupus. We are so proud of Selena for taking care of herself and bringing awareness to this sometimes very misunderstood illness."
When Gomez was initially fighting lupus in 2014, she cancelled a number of tour dates for what her team then cited as "personal issues", and her subsequent rehab stay prompted her representative to deny suggestions she had a substance abuse problem.
A source close to the star insists that same speculation is untrue in this case yet again, telling People magazine her break from the Revival Tour is "absolutely not related to alcohol or substance abuse" and she was prompted to take a hiatus after she "hadn't felt like herself" over the last couple of months.
"She decided to clear her calendar for the year in order to have this be her priority for future happiness and didn't want to leave any promoters at bay," the insider adds. "She feels relieved that she can now make more sense of why she was feeling the way she was and is optimistic about the future."
It is unclear how long Gomez will be out of the spotlight. She was originally scheduled for three dates in North America in September, a few stops in Europe throughout October and there were even more shows planned in Asia and Latin America until right through the middle of December.

Selena Gomez breaks from tour due to lupus


Selena Gomez is taking an indefinite break from her world tour in order to focus on getting well while she continues to fight her lupus battle.


Much ink will be spilled in the coming days to describe Canada’s sixth longest serving prime minister, Stephen Harper. My reflections on having served with him in Parliament and as a member of his cabinet are of course biased but also very personal.
Our early interactions were guarded, but gave way to a common cause and mutual respect.
His leadership in unifying the Conservative movement after more than a decade of bitter internecine political civil war was transformative for Canadian politics.
It was at times a difficult period for us both and there was much to overcome.
I was proud to work with him to restore a competitive democracy in our country delivering balance and true choice for voters.
Upon forming government as PM in 2006 his singular focus on reining in waste and corruption in the aftermath of the Liberal sponsorship scandal set us on a clear course.
Smaller, more efficient government was a laudable goal not fully realized and a mistrust of bureaucracy was ever present.
Notable was his stewardship through the recession that allowed Canada to emerge better placed than any other G7 country. This was no small accomplishment. He governed like an economist with steely determination aided by the late, great finance minister, Jim Flaherty, to reach a balanced budget prior to the last election.
I witnessed a style steeped in pragmatism and a deep sense of commitment to building a better, more united Canada.
Complex like Canada itself, Harper was never one to seek the limelight, yet was comfortable and confident in what he believed to be the right course. It takes talent and grit to be PM, tough decisions must be made against a tide of criticism.
He lowered taxes over 180 times to help working Canadians; ended the failed long-gun registry; toughened the laws against gun crimes and violent offenders; took away the wheat pool monopoly; and boosted our Armed Forces budget to record levels.
His pursuit of world attention on the need to improve maternal health often goes unnoticed, but he pushed other world leaders hard to achieve consensus and action on this important matter.
He loved the North and an annual trip he cherished brought out a passion and a deep appreciation of our country’s vast and diverse land.
Having travelled with him, sat in countless meetings and observed him from a privileged vantage point, I can say his work ethic was legendary. He read incessantly, pressed ministers and bureaucrats on the material presented after reading every word. He held the respect of world leaders and spoke with a principle and clarity, often rare at international gatherings.
Harper much preferred substance to style but had a flair for music and an encyclopedic memory for politics, history, sport and movie trivia.
Sometimes impatient due to a desire to simply get things done, fiercely partisan but equally patriotic.
Stubborn and sometimes unyielding to be sure, but surprisingly open behind the scenes to good ideas if presented well and argued with logic over emotion.
On occasion, I also saw another side. He was the first to visit my wife and I at the hospital after the birth of our son. While often accused of being “stiff” he had a side seldom revealed that belied that public image. He was more compassionate and light-hearted than he cared to show.
He has a soft spot for animals, something he shared with his wife and daughter. Charlie the Chinchilla, among the cats, was a favourite. His sense of humour and ability to imitate voices often had the caucus in stitches. This much more human side was perhaps only revealed to those “on the inside” who he trusted.
His love for family and a deep commitment to public service define the man I worked with.
During my six years at Defence I also recognized his deep affection and appreciation for our Canadian Forces, veterans and their families.
His commitment to them never wavered. Afghanistan and its toll affected him deeply. He knew that soldiers defined past and present greatness for Canada.
A driven man of many talents and pursuits, it’s with gratitude I say that I am certain Canada is better for Stephen Harper’s public service and time as prime minister.
Peter MacKay is a partner at Baker Mckenzie and a former MP and Conservative Cabinet Minister.

Peter MacKay on Stephen Harper: 'His work ethic was legendary'


Much ink will be spilled in the coming days to describe Canada’s sixth longest serving prime minister, Stephen Harper. My reflections on having served with him in Parliament and as a member of his cabinet are of course biased but also very personal.


Drake has stunned his rumoured girlfriend Rihanna by buying a Los Angeles billboard to congratulate the singer on her MTV Video Music Awards honour.
The Umbrella hitmaker is slated to open the ceremony on Sunday, and will also receive the prestigious Michael Jackson Video Vanguard Award, and Drake wanted to let everyone know how proud he was of her achievement by having the billboard unveiled on Friday.
“Congratulations to Rihanna from Drake and Everyone at OVO (his record label),” it read.
Rihanna proudly shared a photo of Drake’s over-the-top gift on Instagram on Friday, with the caption, “When he extra”, alongside a heart and trophy emoji.
The Hotline Bling hitmaker’s grand gesture has further fuelled rumours the pair is secretly dating. The couple was romantically linked for a brief period in 2010, but the stars have been spending more time together over the last few months, and have shared several steamy sessions on stage together as they performed their collaboration Work during Rihanna’s ANTI World Tour. The singer even bared her breasts for the risque video shoot for the track, in which she danced seductively against Drake wearing a sheer mesh top, leaving little to the imagination.
Meanwhile, Drake, who is continuing his Summer Sixteen tour with fellow rapper Future, is reportedly looking to cash in on the success of musicians releasing short films to accompany their albums, following in the footsteps of Beyonce and Frank Ocean.
A project called Please Forgive Me will feature music from his recent album Views, as well as an original soundtrack by his longtime producer Noah Shebib, reports PageSix.com.

Drake congratulates Rihanna on MTV Video Music Awards honour with billboard


Drake has stunned his rumoured girlfriend Rihanna by buying a Los Angeles billboard to congratulate the singer on her MTV Video Music Awards honour.


A pic Anthony Weiner took and texted of his bulging drawers, with his four-year-old son lying next to him asleep in bed, has finally felled his marriage.
Wife Huma Abedin announced Monday that, after repeated sexual scandals, she’s leaving him.
The longtime Hillary Clinton aide issued the statement hours after the New York Post hit the streets with the headline: “Pop Goes The Weiner,” and featuring the photo evidence of her husband’s latest sexual slip.
Huma Adebin announced split from Weiner after he was busted sexting this snap with their son https://t.co/dn5zuBmcqp pic.twitter.com/5T0zFtfD3r — New York Post (@nypost) August 29, 2016
“After long and painful consideration and work on my marriage, I have made the decision to separate from my husband,” Abedin said in a statement. “Anthony and I remain devoted to doing what is best for our son, who is the light of our life. During this difficult time, I ask for respect for our privacy.”
She is currently on the road with Clinton’s campaign.
The Post report features conversations and photo exchanges between 51-year-old Weiner and a busty woman identified only as a “40-something divorcee.”
She said she’s been chatting over the phone with Weiner since January 2015, and they’d sent photos back and forth since that time.
Although the former congressman insisted to the Post that their conversations were “always appropriate,” many of the photos featured him shirtless or focused on his crotch. According to some of the released transcripts, he also steered the general conversation regularly to sex.
Weiner, a Democrat, quit Congress in 2011 after it discovered that he was sending women sexually explicit messages. Weiner ran for mayor of New York in 2013, but that bid collapsed after it was reported that he was continuing to sext women under the handle “Carlos Danger.”
Since then, Weiner has remained in the public eye, commenting on politics on a local cable news show. A documentary offering a cringe-inducing inside view of his mayoral campaign and its unraveling played in theatres earlier this year and is set to air on Showtime this fall.
Weiner deleted his Twitter account Monday.
Abedin, 40, is a longtime aide and confidante to Clinton and is often referred to as Clinton’s second daughter. She is widely expected to play an important role in Clinton’s administration if the candidate is elected president.
Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump was quick to react Monday, saying Abedin is “far better off without (Weiner).” But he also used it as an opportunity to take a jab at Clinton’s judgment for keeping Abedin close to begin with.
“I only worry for the country in that Hillary Clinton was careless and negligent in allowing Weiner to have such close proximity to highly classified information,” he said. “Who knows what he learned and who he told? It’s just another example of Hillary Clinton’s bad judgment. It is possible that our country and its security have been greatly compromised by this.”
Where that Weiner has been:
May 27, 2011 - New York City congressman Anthony Weiner accidentally posts a crotch-shot photo of himself on his Twitter account. He removes it quickly, but not before it’s noticed.
May 30, 2011 - He tells reporters his account was hacked and to “move on.”
June 6, 2011 - After questions persist on whether the photo was of him, he tearfully apologizes for lying and admits he’s sexted with several women, though said he won’t resign his congress seat.
June 16, 2011 - After promising to attend therapy, and after TMZ publishes photos of Weiner half-naked in a locker room that he had apparently taken and sent to others, Weiner announces his resignation.
May 21, 2013 - Weiner mounts a comeback and announces he will run for mayor of New York City.
July 23 - More photos surface that he sent under the pseudonym Carlos Danger. Huma promises to stand by him.
September 10, 2013 - Weiner is crushed in the mayoral primaries, finishing with 4.9% of the vote.

Weiner down: Huma Abedin announces split with sext-happy husband


A pic Anthony Weiner took of his
bulging drawers, with his young son
lying next to him asleep in bed, and
texted to a busty brunette friend
appears to have been the last straw
for wife Huma Abedin.


Mel C has officially ruled herself out of the Spice Girls reunion due to take place next year.
The 42-year-old, along with Victoria Beckham, have both declined to take part in the Wannabe hitmakers' 20th anniversary reunion in 2017, organized by Emma Bunton, Geri Horner and Melanie Brown.
Now Sporty Spice, real name Melanie Chisholm, has penned an essay for Love magazine explaining her difficult decision to bow out of the lucrative reunion.
Insisting the reunion shouldn't take place without all five members on board, Mel added she believes the band should have called it a day following their performance at the closing ceremony for the London Olympic Games in 2012.
"I'd love to play huge arenas across the world, sing our brilliantly bonkers pop songs and relive our former glory," Mel wrote. "It is of course a very lucrative opportunity too. But we were a five-piece band. Didn't we reach a peak with the Olympics? There's a lot to be said for bowing out on a high note.
"For me, the absolute pinnacle of my Spice existence was being watched by a billion people around the globe belting out Spice Up Your Life on top of a black cab at the 2012 London Olympics. Anything less than the full line-up just didn't feel like we'd be doing justice to the band or the fans."
It was after numerous meetings with Emma, Geri and Mel B she made her difficult decision. "The hardest part for me was letting people down, the girls, the fans, civilisation?! Unfortunately something didn't feel quite right and I had to follow my gut," she added.
The mother-of-one had a brief solo career after the Spice Girls split for good in 2000, but is well aware that her success on her own will never match up to her Spice Girls fame.
"I am under no illusion that my solo work will ever come close to a fraction of the impact that we make as the Spice Girls. I love the band, I am beyond proud of my past and will always embrace and celebrate being a Spice Girl, it's what I am," she wrote.
There have been countless bands who have reunited in recent years following success in the 90s, including Take That. But Mel is of the opinion that the Spice Girls shouldn't be pressured into reforming and should instead be remembered by fans for their incredible achievements.
"I will be a Spice Girl until I die. But the continuous speculation on whether we will reform to celebrate 20 years of Wannabe has been particularly exhausting. But is it a new rule that bands have to reform? Why can't we just be remembered for our incredible achievements in the nineties," she shared.
However, she will support her fellow bandmates, no matter what.
"I love the girls dearly. We have a very unique bond that will never be broken and I will continue to support them all as much as I can," Mel concluded.

Mel C reveals why she won't do a Spice Girls reunion


Mel C has officially ruled herself out of the Spice Girls reunion due to take place next year.


Two senior North Korean officials were executed with an anti-aircraft gun in early August on the orders of Kim Jong Un, South Korea's JoongAng Ilbo newspaper reported, citing people it did not identify.
Ri Yong Jin, a senior official in the education ministry -- possibly the minister -- was arrested for dozing off during a meeting with Kim and charged with corruption before being killed, the paper said. Former Agriculture Minister Hwang Min was purged over a proposed project seen as a direct challenge to Kim's leadership, it said.
If true, it would mark the first executions ordered by Kim from outside his party or the military, the paper said. A spokesman at South Korea's Unification Ministry said he couldn't immediately confirm the JoongAng report.
Kim has carried out a series of executions since taking power in 2011 after his father's death as he puts his mark on the leadership of the isolated nuclear-armed nation. The most high profile was the killing three years ago of his uncle and one-time deputy Jang Song Thaek. He had about 50 officials executed in 2014 on charges ranging from graft to watching South Korean soap operas.
"Kim is continuing to replace the old guard of his father's regime with loyalists," said Robert Kelly, a political science professor at South Korea's Pusan National University. "The charges are obviously trumped up, and this is how promotion or demotion often works in totalitarian states without legitimate venues for opposition."
Kim had his military chief Ri Yong Gil executed in February on charges including corruption, Yonhap News reported at the time. In January last year he executed General Pyon In Son, head of operations in the army, for disagreeing with him; and in May of that year he purged his defense minister Hyon Yong Chol for dozing off at a rally.
Still, reports of purges of senior North Korean officials are not uncommon and at times have proven to be unreliable.
Earlier this month, Seoul announced that a senior North Korean diplomat based in the U.K. had defected to South Korea. The man was among seven diplomats who have defected this year, according to JoongAng Ilbo.
South Korean President Park Geun-hye said on Monday the defections signal a "serious fracture" within the North Korean regime and raise the prospects of fresh provocations as Kim seeks to maintain control. Her comments came as South Korea and the U.S. hold annual military drills that North Korea calls a prelude to an invasion.
Even so, Kelly at Pusan University said that the isolated state is probably more stable than many people think or want it to be.
"I don't think there has been a fracture," he said. "So long as China keeps the goodies flowing into Pyongyang, which is like a city-state in an ocean of deprivation, the elites won't turn on each other."

North Korean official killed for dozing off during meeting with Kim Jong Un: Rep


Two senior North Korean officials were
executed with an anti-aircraft gun in
early August on the orders of Kim Jong
Un, South Korea's JoongAng Ilbo
newspaper reported, citing people it
did not identify.


Embattled star Chris Brown was arrested late Tuesday afternoon on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon.
Police Lt. Chris Ramirez confirms to The Hollywood Reporter that the Forever singer is currently in custody at a police station in downtown Los Angeles, following a lengthy search at Brown’s Tarzana, California home.
The drama began early Tuesday, when beauty queen Baylee Curran called the police and accused the singer of pulling a gun on her during a heated argument at his Tarzana house.
She told TMZ.com Brown flew into a rage after noticing her admiring a piece of jewellery. She and a friend managed to escape unharmed, and when cops arrived on the scene to investigate, they were denied entry into Brown’s mansion to look for the alleged weapon.
Detectives filed papers for a search warrant, which was granted hours later, allowing them to enter the R&B star’s home around 1pm local time, following a stand-off Los Angeles Police Department Deputy Chief Bob Green described as “long and protracted”.
At least six members of the star’s entourage exited the property as cops gained entry, and Brown’s attorney, Mark Geragos, arrived just before the warrant was served, according to the Los Angeles Times.
The 27-year-old eventually surrendered peacefully and was spotted talking to authorities outside his home, and hours later, Brown was officially taken into LAPD custody on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon, which is a felony.
Brown, who took to Instagram prior to his arrest to insist he had done nothing wrong, has had a myriad of legal troubles over the years.
Among the long list of charges is his infamous conviction of felony assault in 2009 after violently attacking then-girlfriend Rihanna.
He received five years probation, which finally ended in 2015 after a number of violations for drugs and altercations prompted officials to extend the sentence.

Chris Brown arrested on on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon


Embattled star Chris Brown was arrested late Tuesday afternoon on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon.


Mariah Carey's estranged sister has been arrested and charged with solicitation in New York.
Alison Carey, a former prostitute who is HIV positive, reportedly returned to her old ways on Friday, when she was busted in Saugerties as part of an undercover operation.
According to The Daily Freeman paper, Alison had been using a local hotel for the past week while working as a prostitute, allegedly posting her information online.
Authorities received a tip off about the sex ads, which referenced her superstar sister's hit song Fantasy, and launched an investigation, which resulted in the sting.
A Friday night ad reportedly posted by Alison read: "Im (sic) a pretty lady looking for guys who are looking to have some fun and get into a world of pleasure that other woman just cant provide two (sic) you, woman with the ability to make the earth move for you and to get you to see stars."
"Oh yea with me its (sic), 'ITS SUCH A SWEET, SWEET FANTASY BABY, WHEN I CLOSE MY EYES I COME AND TAKE YOU ON AND ON,'" she added.
lison Carey. (Handout: Saugerties Police Department)
The 55-year-old was busted after approaching an undercover police officer, who had posed as a customer, and offering up sexual favours in exchange for cash.
She was arraigned in Saugerties Town Court and is currently being held on $1,000 bail at Ulster County Jail, ahead of a court hearing on Tuesday.
Alison reportedly told arresting officers she was Mariah's sibling as she was being taken into custody, and her identity was confirmed with an Internet search by Saugerties police chief Joseph Sinagra.
Cops have appealed to anyone who may have had sexual contact with Alison to seek medical testing.
Mariah has yet to comment on her sibling's arrest. She has been estranged from Alison and their brother Morgan for some time, and didn't respond earlier this year when they launched a desperate appeal for the singer to reach out, amid claims Alison was dying. She was reportedly in need of brain and spinal surgery, while she was diagnosed with liver cancer in 2012.

Mariah Carey's sister arrested for prostitution


Mariah Carey's estranged sister has been arrested and charged with solicitation in New York.


Dear Amy: I am a 24-year-old woman. My 18-year-old boyfriend doesn't make enough money and won't save.
The age difference between us doesn't bother me, but his money management does.
We split all the shared bills, but he lost his job and in the three-week gap before getting a new one he managed to borrow $1,200 from me (which he wants to pay back).
He says he wants a second job, but just comes up with excuses. I hate feeling like I'm nagging him to make more money.
He's an amazing and sweet guy that I love, but I've started resenting him.
I have taken him out and paid for movies, dates, etc., but I want to feel financially stable. I want a man who can take care of me (more than just emotionally).
I want to talk to him about this, but he gets so defensive. Am I being ridiculous?
He did nothing for me on my birthday last month, and when I confronted him that it hurt that he couldn't even write me a love note, or buy a $1 card, or do anything cheap (or free), he just made excuses.
I told him I knew he spent money on weed instead of on me. Normally it doesn't bother me when he smokes weed, but it hurts to know he's spending money he doesn't have on pot, rather than paying my money back, or celebrating my birthday.
Am I becoming my boyfriend's sugar mama? -- Disappointed
Dear Disappointed: It is shocking that -- knowing how you feel about money and what you know about your boyfriend -- you would give him $1,200. You will NEVER see that money again.
Your boyfriend should not have to "take care of you" financially. You are obviously capable of taking care of yourself. If you resent bankrolling him, then you shouldn't do it.
He is 18. He is handling his money the way many 18-year-old people do, and making choices that immature people make. If he is a heavy pot user, it will naturally soak up a fair amount of his income, as well as affect his initiative. Maybe he will grow out of this phase -- maybe not.
You are 24. If you want someone who is more mature, financially stable and grown-up, you should probably find someone who matches your maturity and initiative. Stability is obviously an important value to you, so choose to be with someone who fulfills this value.
Also -- I highly recommend being on your own for a while. Being alone is much more preferable to baby-sitting and bankrolling your romantic partner's weed habit.
Dear Amy: As a smartphone user, I have been guilty of using my phone at inappropriate times, but the more I am around people on their phones the more I am seeing the rudeness of people using them.
I was with some family members and an older friend when two of the family members, (both over 60) were talking on their phones and texting while at dinner.
It was embarrassing! They were upset and defensive when I made a comment about it. -- Sick of Cells
Dear Sick: Would these family members go out to dinner and then invite another person to come over and sit in the middle of the table to converse with them during the meal? Probably not. But this is what they are doing when they talk and text during the meal.
My casual observation is that adolescents do this, and then the distraction wanes until people hit the age of 60 or so. Older people seem to be very heavy smartphone users, and also oblivious to the impact on others.
The next time you go out with them, ask your companions if they would be willing to play a game: The first person to reach for their phone pays for dessert.
Dear Amy: Regarding "T," who said his wife was having secret chats with an old flame after many years of marriage ... family members should please consider that she might have early onset dementia.
Frontotemporal dementia (FTD), which can strike when people are young (in their 40s and 50s), has a few variants. The behavioral variant causes people who have it to exhibit behaviors like T described, including the apathy for his emotional distress.
It is an awful disease. -- Been There
Dear Been There: FTD is relatively rare. Hooking up with a former flame is relatively common. But I agree with you that dementia is a possibility, and thank you for the suggestion.

Age gap and wage gap frustrate girlfriend


Dear Amy: I am a 24-year-old woman. My 18-year-old boyfriend doesn't make enough money and won't save.


A vain jailbird on the lam asked an Australian TV station to use a more flattering photo of her.
Amy Sharp triggered a social media brouhaha with her hilarious request.
The teenager broke out of a Sydney correctional facility on Aug. 19. Cops released a bulletin along with two photos of the wayward 18-year-old.
But when the alert and photos were uploaded to the city's Channel 7 Facebook page, Sharp took exception to the rather plain pix where she donned a glum expression, the Sydney Morning Herald reports.
And on the Facebook page, the first person to comment was, ta da, Amy Sharp who added a new photo with her post.
She wrote: "Can you use this photo please, and thank you. Yours truly Amy Sharp XX"
Her post was liked an astonishing 47,000 times and was accompanied by a smiling emoji sporting a halo.
Bec Sackville posted on the page: "Haha that's a classic. Think the cops have found a new way to catch crims. Just put out an ugly photo and the crim will be in touch to give you a better one lol."
Sharp was jailed for property offences and was not a danger to the public. She has been recaptured.

Teen fugitive disapproves of mug shot, gives TV station new pic


A vain jailbird on the lam asked an Australian TV station to use a more flattering photo of her.


Moody Blues: Classic rockers The Moody Blues held a celebrity cruise in April 2014 with Roger Daltrey. The five-night Moody Blues Cruise II around the Bahamas recreated the vibe of the 1970 Isle of Wight Festival. The band will also set sail on a New Year's Eve theme cruise in 2018. (WENN.com) Mandatory Credit: WENN.com
Star Trek: William Shatner - a.k.a. Captain James T. Kirk -- and his Star Trek castmates will set sail on a theme cruise to celebrate the franchise's 50th anniversary. Jonathan Frakes, Denise Crosby and Robert Picardo will also be aboard. The six-day cruise with Norwegian Cruise Line departs Miami on Jan. 9, 2017, and will make stops in Cozumel, Mexico and the Bahamas. Read the full story here. (WENN.com)
MasterChef: The itinerary for the week-long MasterChef cruise of the Caribbean includes plenty of opportunities to interact with fan favourite contestants like Luca Manfe. The seven-day voyage sails from Fort Lauderdale, Fla. on Nov. 6, 2016 and past winners from MasterChef and MasterChef Junior will be aborad. Click here for more details. (Courtesy Bell Media)
Property Brothers: Canadian twins Jonathan and Drew Scott — better known as the Property Brothers for their W Network reality real estate show — are setting sail on the “Ultimate Design Cruise” aboard the Carnival Ecstasy. Their cruise, formally called “Sailing with the Scotts: The Ultimate Design Cruise,” will sail from Miami to Cozumel, Mexico from Nov. 16 to 20, 2015. The Scott brothers have a number of surprises in store for fans who join them on the cruise, including trivia night challenges, dance parties and DIY decorating challenges. Click here for more information. (Handout)
Dancing with the Stars: Fans of TV dance competition Dancing with the Stars can pretend they're one of the stars while cruising the Caribbean or Alaska on Holland America's MS Nieuw Amsterdam. With several sail dates throughout 2015 and 2016, the cruise features dance classes, competitions and the change to mingle with stars like Kym Johnson (pictured), Tristan MacManus and Carson Kressley. Click here for more details. (WENN.com) Daniel Tanner/WENN.com
KISS: Set sail with classic rock band KISS on their fifth annual Caribbean "kruise" from Oct. 30 to Nov. 3, 2015. On your round-trip cruise aboard the Norwegian Pearl from Miami to Jamaica, you'll enjoy gourmet dining, ob-board amenities, plus an indoor rock show with KISS. (WENN.com)
Maxwell: R&B star Maxwell has recruited his famous friends and is setting sail for a Caribbean cruise. The singer is launching the Maxwell + The 7 Seas Caribbean cruise, sailing May 3 - 10, 2015, and is bringing fellow musicians including Erykah Badu, Anthony Hamilton, Ledisi, Robert Glasper and comedian DL Hughley for the seven-day trip. Click here for more details. (WENN.com) WENN.com
Game of Thrones: Crystal Cruises has created an excursion for Game of Thrones fans that takes guests to filming locations in Northern Ireland as part of a cruise along the British Isles. The half-day excursion with the seven and 14-day cruise packages will offer guests a behind-the-scenes tour into the making of the mythical worlds of Westeros and Essos. Click here for more details. (WENN.com) WENN.com
The Hobbit/Lord of the Rings: Fans of The Hobbit, Lord of the Rings and author J.R.R. Tolkien can take to the high seas on a Tolkien fan cruise with cast members from the films, including Jed Brophy (pictured) (Nori the dwarf,) Sarah McLeod (Samwise Gamgee's wife Rosie Cotton,) and Bruce Hopkins (Gamling in the LOTR film trilogy.) Click here for full details. (WENN.com) WENN.com
Grand Budapest Hotel: Fans of the Wes Anderson film The Grand Budapest Hotel were offered the chance to set sail with Anderson and members of the cast in a star-studded lineup aboard the Queen Mary 2 cruise liner in June 2014. Actors Tilda Swinton, Jason Schwartzman and writer/producer Roman Coppola sailed with Cunard's flagship liner during a seven-day transatlantic crossing. Read the full story here. (WENN.com) WENN.com
Backstreet Boys: The Backstreet Boys cruise sailed from Miami for Half Moon Cay in the Bahamas on Oct. 24 to 27, 2014. The boy band's cruise was so popular in past years, the band had to turn to Carnival's Ecstasy ship, which has more balcony cabins for guests. Guests enjoyed pool parties on deck with Brian, Nick, A.J., Howie and Kevin, disembarked at Half Moon Cay for a beach party with the Boys, plus enjoyed all the luxury amenities and gourmet dining the Carnival Ecstasy ship offers. (WENN.com) WENN.com
Frozen: Hit the seas with Anna, Elsa and all their Frozen friends on the new Disney Cruises 'Frozen' theme cruise. The ship - to be transformed into a wintry wonderland overnight - will sail in 2015 to destinations in Europe and to Alaska. Click here for more information. (Handout)

Set sail with the Moody Blues on New Year's cruise


Classic rockers the Moody Blues are setting sail on a fan cruise to Mexico to ring in 2018.


They took it off for equality.
Women in major cities, including Toronto and New York, bared their breasts Sunday as part of GoTopless Day.
The annual international day of protest is a call for women to have the same right as men to bare their chests in public. In Ontario, the law already gives women that right.
Still, several women marked the day in Toronto’s High Park.
Diane Brisebois, coordinator of the Toronto event, said women everywhere should be able to go topless without having to worry about being judged.
“It’s still a big deal for our society to see women topless,” she said. “Still, the moment a woman shows her breast, people are surprised.”
The event began nine years ago, and takes place on the Sunday closest to Women’s Equality Day (Aug. 26), marking the day American women earned the right to vote.
A few dozen women, and some men, went topless Sunday afternoon as they walked down Broadway in New York City.
The march was led by some women carrying a banner, followed by others in a convertible, with the top down, of course.
Coming up at the end was a pair of giant inflatable breasts. Onlookers gawked and took photos as the parade participants went by.
A group of about 50 women and men walked topless in the oceanside Los Angeles neighbourhood of Venice.
Marchers walked behind an inflatable pink breast with the phrase “equal topless rights” written on it. One marcher carried a sign reading: “My Body Is Not A Crime.”
Cities and states have varying laws regarding whether it’s legal for women to go topless in public.
— With files from the Associated Press


It's summertime and the living is easy, especially for the celebrities who are taking to Instagram to share photos from their beach vacations. Check out where the stars are getting some R&R this summer. (Instagram)
Kim Kardashian flaunts her famous curves while on vacation in Punta Mita, Mexico. (Instagram/Kim Kardashian)
Britney Spears shared this photo of her summer Hawaiian vacation on Instagram with the caption "Still dreaming a mile a minute..." (Britney Spears/Instagram)
Toronto's own Drake relaxes in a beach-side infinity pool. (ChampagnePapi/Instagram)
Kylie Jenner shared this photo of her spending summer days by the beach in Malibu. (KylieJenner/Instagram)
Rihanna cheers on LeBron James in the NBA finals during her summer holiday. (BadGalRiRi/Instagram)
Justin Bieber tries paddleboarding in this photo shared on Instagram. (JustinBieber/Instagram)
Sofia Vergara prefers the pool to the beach. She shared this photo on Instagram with the caption #ilovesummer. (SofiaVergara/Instagram)
Zayn Malik toasts the arrival of summer in this holiday photo shared on Instagram. (Zayn/Instagram)
Jenna Dewan Tatum gets adventurous on her summer holiday. (JennaLDewan/Instagram)
Beyonce, Jay Z and their daughter Blue Ivy enjoy summer on the beach in this photo the singer shared on Instagram. (Beyonce/Instagram)
Shania Twain shared this beach photo on Instagram. "Taking a break from the studio, need to recharge!" she wrote. (ShaniaTwain/Instagram)
Britney Spears shared this sunny beach photo on her Instagram. (BritneySpears/Instagram)
Model Bella Hadid relaxes in a pool by the beach. (BellaHadid/Instagram)

Celebrities share hot summer pics from cool beach trips


It's summertime and the living is easy, especially for the celebrities who are taking to Instagram to share photos from their beach vacations.


BRUSSELS — Apple will have to pay up to 13 billion euros ($18.9 billion) plus interest in back taxes to Ireland after the European Union found Tuesday that the U.S. technology giant received illegal tax benefits over 11 years.
The ruling is the biggest salvo in the EU executive Commission’s battle to have multinationals pay their fair share in the region. The EU alleges that many big companies struck deals with EU countries to pay unusually low tax in exchange for basing their EU operations there.
EU Competition Commissioner Margrethe Vestager said that a three-year investigation found Ireland granted such lavish tax breaks to Apple that the multinational’s effective corporate tax rate on its European profits dropped from 1% in 2003 to a mere 0.005% in 2014.
That last tax rate meant that for each million euros in profits, Apple paid just 50 euros in taxes, Vestager told a news conference.
“Member states cannot give tax benefits to selected companies—this is illegal under EU state aid rules,” Vestager said.
“Ireland must now recover the unpaid taxes in Ireland from Apple for the years 2003 to 2014 of up to 13 billion euros ($18.9 billion), plus interest,” the Commission said in a statement.
Apple said in a statement that it had followed the law and paid every cent of the taxes it owed. It said it would challenge the EU action in the European courts, and predicted it would be vindicated.
The Irish government denied granting favourable fiscal treatment to the maker of the iPhone and other consumer electronics products, computer software and online services. “Ireland’s position remains that the full amount of tax was paid in this case and no state aid was provided,” the Irish statement said. “Ireland does not do deals with taxpayers.”
Apple accused the EU executive body of engaging in efforts “to rewrite Apple’s history in Europe, ignore Ireland’s tax laws and upend the international tax system in the process.”
“The Commission’s case is not about how much Apple pays in taxes, it’s about which government collects the money,” the company said in a statement. “It will have a profound and harmful effect on investment and job creation in Europe. Apple follows the law and pays all of the taxes we owe wherever we operate. We will appeal and we are confident the decision will be overturned.”
The Irish finance minister, Michael Noonan, said he would seek approval from the Irish Cabinet to legally challenge the EU Commission’s ruling.
“It is important that we send a strong message that Ireland remains an attractive and stable location of choice for long-term substantive investment,” Noonan said. “Apple has been in Ireland since the 1980s and employs thousands of people in Cork.”
A statement from the U.S. government was expected later Tuesday.
In a white paper made public last week, the U.S. Treasury Department accused the European Union of using a different set of criteria to judge cases involving American companies, calling the potential penalties “deeply troubling.”

Apple owes up to $18.9 billion in back taxes in Europe: EU


Apple will have to pay up to 13 billion euros ($18.9 billion) plus interest in back taxes to Ireland after the European Union found Tuesday that the U.S. technology giant received illegal tax benefits over 11 years.


OTTAWA -- Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has left for his first official visit to China, with both countries expressing hope they can improve their economic connection.
Trudeau, who is accompanied by his wife Sophie Gregoire Trudeau, said last week that he hopes the visit will be a reset in the relationship between the two countries.
Trudeau will be kept busy, with a host of business-related meetings during stops in Beijing, Shanghai and Hong Kong.
He'll also attend the G20 leaders' summit in Hangzhou.
The Chinese government moved last week to take the sting out of a potential irritant during the visit, the issue of human rights.
China's ambassador to Canada said in an interview with The Canadian Press that his country has made progress in addressing international concerns in recent years.
Luo Zhaohui acknowledged China has a long way to go to further improve the situation.
Trudeau has said he will continue voicing Canada's human rights concerns to China's leadership.

Justin Trudeau leaves for first official visit to China


Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has left
for his first official visit to China,
with both countries expressing hope they
can improve their economic connection.


From Kanye West's rant, to Britney's return and Beyonce's epic entrance and performance, here are photos from the 2016 MTV Video Music Awards.
Lance Bass, left, and Robert Sepulveda Jr. arrive at the MTV Video Music Awards at Madison Square Garden on Sunday, Aug. 28, 2016, in New York. (Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP) Evan Agostini/Invision/AP
Nicki Minaj, left, and Meek Mill arrive at the MTV Video Music Awards at Madison Square Garden on Sunday, Aug. 28, 2016, in New York. (Photo by Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP) Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP
Amber Rose arrives at the MTV Video Music Awards at Madison Square Garden on Sunday, Aug. 28, 2016, in New York. (Photo by Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP) Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP
DJ Khaled, left, and Nicole Tuck arrive at the MTV Video Music Awards at Madison Square Garden on Sunday, Aug. 28, 2016, in New York. (Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP) Evan Agostini/Invision/AP
Desiigner arrives at the MTV Video Music Awards at Madison Square Garden on Sunday, Aug. 28, 2016, in New York. (Photo by Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP) Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP
Beyonce, left, and her daughter Blue Ivy arrive at the MTV Video Music Awards at Madison Square Garden on Sunday, Aug. 28, 2016, in New York. (Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP) Evan Agostini/Invision/AP
Farrah Abraham arrives at the MTV Video Music Awards at Madison Square Garden on Sunday, Aug. 28, 2016, in New York. (Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP) Evan Agostini/Invision/AP
Contestants from "RuPaul's Drag Race" TV show arrive at the MTV Video Music Awards at Madison Square Garden on Sunday, Aug. 28, 2016, in New York. (Photo by Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP) Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP
Lance Bass wears a jacket with the slogan "Love Trumps Hate" as he arrives at the MTV Video Music Awards at Madison Square Garden on Sunday, Aug. 28, 2016, in New York. (Photo by Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP) Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP
Hailey Baldwin arrives at the MTV Video Music Awards at Madison Square Garden on Sunday, Aug. 28, 2016, in New York. (Photo by Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP) Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP
Nev Schulman, right, and Laura Perlongo arrive at the MTV Video Music Awards at Madison Square Garden on Sunday, Aug. 28, 2016, in New York. (Photo by Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP) Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP
Jeremy Scott, left, and Stella Maxwell arrive at the MTV Video Music Awards at Madison Square Garden on Sunday, Aug. 28, 2016, in New York. (Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP) Evan Agostini/Invision/AP
NEW YORK, NY - AUGUST 28: Alicia Keys attends the 2016 MTV Video Music Awards at Madison Square Garden on August 28, 2016 in New York City. (Photo by Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images) Getty Images
NEW YORK, NY - AUGUST 28: Kanye West and Kim Kardashian West attend the 2016 MTV Video Music Awards at Madison Square Garden on August 28, 2016 in New York City. (Photo by Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images) Getty Images
NEW YORK, NY - AUGUST 28: Beyonce (C) attends the 2016 MTV Video Music Awards at Madison Square Garden on August 28, 2016 in New York City. (Photo by Larry Busacca/Getty Images for MTV) Getty Images for MTV
Ariana Grande performs at the MTV Video Music Awards at Madison Square Garden on Sunday, Aug. 28, 2016, in New York. (Photo by Charles Sykes/Invision/AP) Charles Sykes/Invision/AP
Rihanna, center, performs at the MTV Video Music Awards at Madison Square Garden on Sunday, Aug. 28, 2016, in New York. (Photo by Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP) Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP
Ariana Grande, left, and Nicki Minaj perform at the MTV Video Music Awards at Madison Square Garden on Sunday, Aug. 28, 2016, in New York. (Photo by Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP) Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP
NEW YORK, NY - AUGUST 28: Britney Spears performs onstage during the 2016 MTV Video Music Awards at Madison Square Garden on August 28, 2016 in New York City. (Photo by Michael Loccisano/Getty Images) Getty Images
Michael Phelps, left, and Nicole Johnson arrive at the MTV Video Music Awards at Madison Square Garden on Sunday, Aug. 28, 2016, in New York. (Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP) Evan Agostini/Invision/AP
NEW YORK, NY - AUGUST 28: Madison Kocian, Aly Raisman, Simone Biles and Laurie Hernandez present Best Female Video onstage during the 2016 MTV Video Music Awards at Madison Square Garden on August 28, 2016 in New York City. (Photo by Michael Loccisano/Getty Images) Getty Images
NEW YORK, NY - AUGUST 28: Britney Spears and G Eazy perform onstage during the 2016 MTV Video Music Awards at Madison Square Garden on August 28, 2016 in New York City. (Photo by Michael Loccisano/Getty Images) Getty Images
NEW YORK, NY - AUGUST 28: Kanye West performs onstage during the 2016 MTV Video Music Awards at Madison Square Garden on August 28, 2016 in New York City. (Photo by Michael Loccisano/Getty Images) Getty Images
NEW YORK, NY - AUGUST 28: Beyonce accepts the Best Female Video award presented by Madison Kocian, Aly Raisman, and Simone Biles onstage during the 2016 MTV Video Music Awards at Madison Square Garden on August 28, 2016 in New York City. (Photo by Michael Loccisano/Getty Images) Getty Images
NEW YORK, NY - AUGUST 28: Keegan-Michael Key and Jordan Peele perform onstage during the 2016 MTV Video Music Awards at Madison Square Garden on August 28, 2016 in New York City. (Photo by Michael Loccisano/Getty Images) Getty Images
NEW YORK, NY - AUGUST 28: Michael Phelps presents onstage during the 2016 MTV Video Music Awards at Madison Square Garden on August 28, 2016 in New York City. (Photo by Michael Loccisano/Getty Images) Getty Images
NEW YORK, NY - AUGUST 28: Rihanna performs onstage during the 2016 MTV Video Music Awards at Madison Square Garden on August 28, 2016 in New York City. (Photo by Michael Loccisano/Getty Images) Getty Images
NEW YORK, NY - AUGUST 28: Beyonce and mothers of gun violence attend the 2016 MTV Video Music Awards at Madison Square Garden on August 28, 2016 in New York City. (Photo by Larry Busacca/Getty Images for MTV) Getty Images for MTV
NEW YORK, NY - AUGUST 28: Britney Spears performs onstage during the 2016 MTV Video Music Awards at Madison Square Garden on August 28, 2016 in New York City. (Photo by Michael Loccisano/Getty Images) Getty Images
G-Eazy, and Britney Spears perform at the MTV Video Music Awards at Madison Square Garden on Sunday, Aug. 28, 2016, in New York. (Photo by Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP) Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP
NEW YORK, NY - AUGUST 28: Jimmy Fallon presents the Video of the Year award during the 2016 MTV Video Music Awards at Madison Square Garden on August 28, 2016 in New York City. (Photo by Michael Loccisano/Getty Images) Getty Images
NEW YORK, NY - AUGUST 28: Rihanna performs onstage during the 2016 MTV Music Video Awards at Madison Square Gareden on August 28, 2016 in New York City. (Photo by Michael Loccisano/Getty Images) Getty Images
Fifth Harmony and Ty Dolla $ign (C) accept the award for Best Collaboration during the 2016 MTV Video Music Awards August 28, 2016 at Madison Square Garden in New York. / AFP PHOTO / Jewel SAMADJEWEL SAMAD/AFP/Getty Images AFP/Getty Images
NEW YORK, NY - AUGUST 28: Drake presents Rihanna with the The Video Vanguard Award during the 2016 MTV Video Music Awards at Madison Square Garden on August 28, 2016 in New York City. (Photo by Michael Loccisano/Getty Images) Getty Images
NEW YORK, NY - AUGUST 28: Andrew Taggart of The Chainsmokers and Halsey perform onstage during the 2016 MTV Video Music Awards at Madison Square Garden on August 28, 2016 in New York City. (Photo by Jason Kempin/Getty Images) Getty Images
NEW YORK, NY - AUGUST 28: Drake presents Rihanna with the The Video Vanguard Award during the 2016 MTV Video Music Awards at Madison Square Garden on August 28, 2016 in New York City. (Photo by Michael Loccisano/Getty Images) Getty Images
NEW YORK, NY - AUGUST 28: Jimmy Fallon presents Beyonce with "Video of the Year" for "Formation" onstage during the 2016 MTV Video Music Awards at Madison Square Garden on August 28, 2016 in New York City. (Photo by Michael Loccisano/Getty Images) Getty Images

Drake: I’ve been in love with Rihanna since I was 22


Drake professed his love for rumoured
girlfriend Rihanna at the MTV Video
Music Awards on Sunday night.


TORONTO -
Even now, Pierre-Luc Dubois still gets goosebumps.
It’s been two months since the 18-year-old leapfrogged into the No. 3 spot at the NHL Entry Draft — a surprise no one, not even Dubois, saw coming — and yet just thinking about that fateful day gives the Columbus Blue Jackets forward prospect the shivers.
A similar effect occurred when Dubois was asked to handicap the upcoming Calder Trophy debate. At first, he sort of blushed. Then he spent a second or two searching for the right answer.
For others, it’s a bit more obvious. Most assume the award will come down to Auston Matthews and Patrik Laine, who were the No. 1 and No. 2 picks in the draft. But as someone who already came out of nowhere, Dubois believes the rookie race could get crowded — that is, if he isn’t back playing in junior next season.
“Well, we’ll see,” said Dubois, a 6-foot-3, 212-pound centre. “I think if I’m in Columbus I might have a shot for that. We’ll see. It’s a different level, so it’s new. But if I’m in there, I’ll have a shot.”
The key word was “if.”
With Matthews and Laine, there are no ifs. While nearly 30 prospects had their photos taken for Upper Deck trading cards at the NHLPA Rookie Showcase on Monday, most will probably have to wait another year or two before they’re actually NHL rookies.
Not so with Matthews and Laine. Both players skipped Monday’s event because they are preparing for the upcoming World Cup of Hockey, with Matthews representing Team North America and Laine playing for Finland. As such, both are not only expected to make their respective NHL teams, but could be counted on for significant contributions right out of the gate.
“They’re special players,” said Ottawa Senators defence prospect Thomas Chabot, the 18th overall pick in 2015. “When I played against them it’s like when I played in the prospects game two years ago against (Connor) McDavid. I don’t think they should have any trouble playing in the NHL next year.”
Unlike most rookies, who sometimes struggle with the jump from junior to the pros, Matthews and Laine have already played professionally against grown men. And not just played against, but dominated.
Matthews, who was raised in Arizona, spent last season in the Swiss league, where he scored 24 goals and 46 points in 36 games. Laine, meanwhile, won a Finnish league championship where he was named playoff MVP with 10 goals in 18 games.
Both played in the world championship, with Matthews leading the U.S. in scoring and Laine claiming tournament MVP honours again. Expecting them to continue that success in the NHL shouldn’t be a stretch.
“Obviously they’re both really good players,” said New York Islanders forward prospect Mathew Barzal, who was the 16th overall pick in 2015. “I’m actually pretty good friends with Auston Matthews. I know him pretty well. He’s pretty unreal. Hopefully, I’m a rookie this year and I can be in that conversation. But both guys are exceptional. It should be fun to watch this season.”
That Barzal and Dubois would put themselves in the rookie discussion with Matthews and Laine is not exactly a case of misplaced confidence. As we saw last season, where an undrafted 24-year-old from Russia won the award, anything can happen.
Tyler Myers, who was the 12th overall pick in 2008, beat out John Tavares and Victor Hedman — the top-two picks in 2009 — to win the Calder Trophy in 2010. A year later, seventh-overall pick Jeff Skinner won the award ahead of top picks Taylor Hall and Tyler Seguin.
At this time a year ago, most assumed that the Calder Trophy would come down to McDavid and Jack Eichel, who were the No. 1 and No. 2 picks in the draft. But with McDavid missing half the year with injury, Chicago’s Artemi Panarin ended up winning after he finished in the top-10 in overall scoring with 77 points.
A similar result could happen this year, especially if Dubois and fellow top picks such as Edmonton’s Jesse Puljujarvi (fourth overall), Vancouver’s Olli Juolevi (fifth overall) and Calgary’s Matthew Tkachuk (sixth overall) can crack their NHL rosters.
“That’s going to be a tight race,” said Blue Jackets defence prospect Zach Werenski, the eighth-overall pick in 2015. “Both are fantastic players. Even outside guys like Puljujarvi and Dubois can make cases for it. It will be interesting to see.”
It is not just this year’s draft class that Matthews and Laine have to worry about. Whether it is Toronto’s William Nylander (eighth overall, 2014) and Mitch Marner (fourth overall, 2015), Arizona’s Dylan Strome (third overall, 2015) or Colorado’s Mikko Rantanen (10th overall, 2015), the Calder Trophy could be up for grabs.
“Every year there’s someone who surprises, so maybe next year there’s going to be a surprise,” said Dubois. “Maybe it’s going to be Auston, maybe it’s going to be Patrik or Jesse.
“Or me also.”
mtraikos@postmedia.com
twitter.com/Michael_Traikos

Calder Trophy favourites Matthews, Laine will have lots of competition


Even now, Pierre-Luc Dubois still gets goosebumps. It’s been two months since the 18-year-old leapfrogged into the No. 3 spot at the NHL Entry Draft.


MONTREAL -- A Quebec mother says she was shocked that two Grade 3 teachers were wearing aboriginal headdresses and handing them out to students on the first day of classes Monday.
Jennifer Dorner said she found the scene in the Montreal schoolyard distressing and offensive and posted a photo and commentary on Facebook, where it began making the rounds.
"I was pretty horrified, I was hoping that this kind of thing stopped happening a long time ago, but apparently it continues so I took a picture and posted about it," she said in an interview.
Dorner, whose daughter and niece are both Grade 3 students, said her niece Zoe was particularly upset by the headdress and wanted to rip it up.
School board spokeswoman Gina Guillemette says the headdresses -- fashioned from cardboard and coloured feathers -- were distributed to students at Ecole Lajoie as part of a focus on teaching about native communities in Quebec.
Dorner said that explanation is even more upsetting given the very people introducing the topic don't seem to grasp the disrespect of portraying the headdress in this way.
"How can they possibly be teaching an authentic understanding of indigenous culture?" she asked. "It doesn't help their cause to say that. If anything, it makes it even more distressing."
Such headdresses are generally only worn by elders or those who've earned the right to do so.
Non-natives donning them is seen as disrespectful as there is a spiritual and cultural significance attached to them.
Many concert promoters and sporting venues have banned the wearing of such First Nations headdresses as a costume or fashion accessory.
Dorner said a friend who is native has offered to attend a meeting she's requested with the principal at the elementary school in Montreal's Outremont borough.
Zoe's mother, Sarah Dorner, said her daughter refused to wear the headdress.
"My daughter is very sensitive to these things, we lived in New Zealand for most of 2015 so we've had a lot of conversations with her about when it's OK to be invited and to wear a costume or participate in song and dance," she said, referring to Maori culture in New Zealand.
Sarah Dorner said she just wanted her daughter to enjoy her first day of school.
Some of the recommendations from the Truth and Reconciliation Commission focus on education and she said the need to implement them is clear.
"I'm hoping that maybe, because this has hit a nerve, they'll consider more appropriate ways of introducing that curriculum," she said.

Montreal mother 'horrified' after aboriginal headdresses given to students


A Quebec mother says she was shocked
that two Grade 3 teachers were wearing
aboriginal headdresses and handing them
out to students on the first day of
classes Monday.


OTTAWA — Veterans Affairs officials are ready to recommend that the federal government give rental subsidies to veterans who are homeless or nearly so in order to combat what they describe as an unacceptable situation in Canada.
A draft of the new federal strategy to combat homelessness among veterans also recommends the government build new affordable housing units specifically for veterans, suggesting Canada doesn’t have enough units to handle the unique needs of former military members who can have addiction and mental health issues related to their service.
The strategy says that what homeless veterans require is access to immediate housing, peer support and outreach to get them off the street, and months or even years of intensive case management with a broad range of services.
The draft strategy, dated Aug. 4 and obtained by The Canadian Press under the Access to Information Act, says the government has an obligation to help the potentially thousands of veterans who are homeless in Canada.
A final draft of the strategy isn’t expected to be completed and made public until later this year.
The document doesn’t suggest that a veteran will ever go homeless again, but aims to reduce the numbers to a point where “homelessness is rare, brief and non-recurring, and no veteran is forced to live on the street.”
“As a department, we’ve got a mandate for the care, treatment and re-establishment to civilian life of veterans in general, and clearly somebody who is homeless is not successfully re-established in civilian society,” said Tim Kerr, director of the veterans priority programs secretariat at Veterans Affairs Canada, which is heading up work on the strategy.
“Because of that, our minister, and our deputy minister and I and my team believe that we have an obligation to address this issue of veteran homelessness.”
The recommendations, if implemented, would mark a shift in veterans benefits programs that leave no room to provide things like housing subsidies that have been successful in the United States at keeping veterans off the street.
Benefits only flow to Canadian veterans who show a link between their military service and their injury or disease, a difficult task for a veteran who becomes homeless a decade after his or her service, said Jim Lowther, president of Veterans Emergency Transition Services (VETS) Canada, a volunteer-based group that has helped about 1,200 veterans off the streets in the last six years.
Veterans affairs workers can get emergency funds from charitable trusts to help homeless veterans pay for rent or food, but the process can sometimes be lengthy, the document says. Instead, groups like VETS Canada and the Royal Canadian Legion step in to help pay for housing and supports.
“We need housing in every province designated housing for vets. We need transition homes in every province to help them get back on their feet,” Lowther said.
The strategy calls on the government to expand the eligibility criteria for benefits and services to help homeless veterans, give local offices the flexibility to quickly get emergency cash for a veteran in need, and better connect those local offices with local service providers to reach more homeless veterans.
Kerr, who spent 28 years in the navy, said the recommendations are based on years of research and months of work by the departmental task force. The strategy itself is a high-level document with the details of how to implement it to be worked out at a later date, he said.
It’s difficult to get an exact count on the number of veterans who are homeless in Canada.
A federal shelter study estimated about 2,250 veterans use shelters annually, but cautioned the actual number may be much higher. Point-in-time counts of homeless populations in cities show veteran form between five and seven per cent of the homeless population, which would put their number over 11,000.
Many homeless veterans in Canada avoid shelters, unlike their American counterparts, because the shelters lack the structure they were used to in the military, said Cheryl Forchuk, a professor of nursing at Western University in London, Ont.
The document says the average homeless veteran is over age 50, became homeless about 10 years after being released from service, and abuse alcohol or drugs.
There are cases of veterans two or three years out of the military who are homeless with some even sooner than that as they burn through savings while waiting for their military pensions to kick in, Lowther said.
Forchuk said research suggests post-traumatic stress disorder doesn’t appear to be a central factor in them becoming homeless.
The military could reduce the risk of a veteran becoming homeless by identifying early on whether they need help with things like money management, or substance use that left unchecked could manifest into addiction in a decade and push someone onto the street, Forchuk said.
“It’s just a matter of where your eyes are. The trauma issues and the PTSD are the obvious things at the top and they’re doing a relatively good job of at least paying some attention in addressing that, but substance use takes a long time to get really full-fledged, particularly alcoholism,” she said.
The document doesn’t call for the establishment of harm reduction programs where, for example, participants receive small amounts of alcohol at regular intervals to help them manage their addiction. The practice is politically contentious, but has been shown to have positive results.
Kerr said his group is looking into how to harm reduction programs could work in the overall strategy.
BY-THE-NUMBERS
A by-the-numbers look at the state of homelessness among Canadian military veterans:
2,250: Estimated number of veterans who use shelters annually.
639: Homeless veterans registered in Veteran Affairs Canada’s database as of June 30.
232: Homeless veterans in the database who are between age 50 and 59.
138: Homeless veterans in the database who are over age 65.
235,000: Canadians who experience homelessness annually.
5-7: Range, in percentage points, of the homeless population who are veterans, based on municipal point-in-time homeless counts.
12,000: Estimated number of veterans experiencing homelessness in Canada, based on that spread.
40,000: Approximate number of veterans who experience homelessness in the United States annually.
47: Percent by which the United States has decreased veterans homelessness since 2010 using measures being considered by Veterans Affairs Canada.
(Sources: Employment and Social Development Canada, Veterans Affairs Canada, Canadian Observatory on Homelessness)

Give rental subsidies to homeless vets: Veterans Affairs draft report


Veterans Affairs officials are ready to recommend that the federal government give rental subsidies to veterans who are homeless or nearly so in order to combat what they describe as an unacceptable situation in Canada.


OTTAWA — Contract talks continued between Canada Post and its largest union Sunday afternoon, with neither side hinting as to whether any progress had been made.
A federally appointed mediator began meeting with the two sides on Friday to try to reach a deal.
The Canadian Union of Postal Workers said if there was no deal by midnight, it would begin job action on Monday by having its members refuse to work overtime on a rotating basis, starting in Alberta and the Northwest Territories.
CUPW served 72 hour strike notice Thursday night, accusing Canada Post of forcing a labour disruption by refusing to bargain in good faith.
The two sides have been deadlocked for months on the issues of pay scales for rural letter carriers and proposed changes to pensions for future employees.
On Sunday, the union said its initial plans for job action would have little effect on Canada Post customers.
“Our action will cause little to no disruption to the public,” national president Mike Palecek said in a statement. “We’ll still be delivering mail every day.”
But a spokesman for Canada Post said the union’s threat of job action was still creating uncertainty for customers.
“Anyone who is trying to plan their usage of the postal system in the coming days is questioning whether or not it will be able to get there, and that is going to have a huge impact on the business whether the union likes it or not,” Jon Hamilton said in a phone interview.

Postal workers union give details of job action if no deal is reached Sunday


Contract talks continued between Canada Post and its largest union Sunday afternoon, with neither side hinting as to whether any progress had been made.


Singer Miranda Lambert is set to meet the soldier who brought her to tears at a concert in Connecticut last week.
The country star had just started singing her hit The House That Built Me at the Xfinity Center when she spotted Jeff Tudisca’s handmade sign in the crowd and had to stop the show.
The U.S. serviceman’s placard read: “3 combat tours. (Your) voice was the last thing I listened to EVERY NIGHT! THANK YOU!!!”
Many fans assumed the soldier was invited backstage to meet Miranda after the show, but when a local radio DJ discovered that didn’t happen, he decided to set up a meet-and-greet between the pair. It will take place on Friday night, before Lambert’s show at Gillette Stadium in New England.
In an interview with Broadway’s Electric Barnyard, Tudisca admitted he’s very excited to meet the country music superstar, but he’s not quite sure what he’ll say to her.
He also lost it during his emotional connection with Miranda at the Xfinity Center.
In footage from last week’s gig, the singer took Tudisca’s powerful sign and propped it up near her microphone stand while attempting to finish The House That Built Me. She eventually gave up and told fans, “I gotta get a drink. Y’all, I gotta do it!”
She then asked fans to take over and complete the song for her.
Her emotions were also tested the following night in East Rutherford, New Jersey when a cute six-year-old fan named Sebastian asked Miranda to marry him.
“I got engaged today!” Miranda, 32, told the audience at the MetLife Stadium, where she was opening for Kenny Chesney. “There’s a little six-year-old boy here named Sebastian. He asked me to marry him. I said yes - in 25 years.”
The singer then showed off a pink ring on her finger, adding, “Look at this beautiful ring! He got on one knee. He was such a gentleman. It may be my favourite proposal ever.”

Miranda Lambert to meet soldier she sang to sleep


Singer Miranda Lambert is set to meet the soldier who brought her to tears at a concert in Connecticut last week.