In the news...

Well, I'm behind again, so here's my take on last week's news.

I'm glad I already have my ticket for my trip home this summer:

AIR CANADA HIKES FARES TO PAY FOR FUEL
As the price of crude oil touched a new high, Canada's dominant airline said it's raising domestic fares by $8 to $15 each way to offset what it called record prices of aviation fuel.
FULL STORY:
http://www.cbc.ca/story/business/national/2005/06/20/air-canada-fares050620.html

Uh-oh... we're turning into Americans:

DEBT FUELLED CANADIANS' SPENDING BINGE: STATSCAN
Almost half of Canadian households spend more money than they earn, with much of that spending financed by debt, a Statistics Canada study suggests.
FULL STORY:
http://www.cbc.ca/story/canada/national/2005/06/20/spenders-savers050620.html

One step forward:

1ST KUWAITI WOMAN MP SWORN IN
Islamist and conservative politicians shouted in protest as Massouma al-Mubarak, Kuwait's first woman member of parliament, was sworn in on Monday.
FULL STORY:
http://www.cbc.ca/story/world/national/2005/06/20/kuwait050620.html

Those Newfies aren't so stupid after all:

NEWFOUNDLAND STUDENTS WIN U.S. ROBOTICS CONTEST
A group of high school and university students from eastern Newfoundland has won a robotics competition at the NASA Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas.
FULL STORY:
http://www.cbc.ca/story/science/national/2005/06/20/robot-contest050620.html

(I want to take a tour of Atlantic Canada one of these days... when I actually have money and vacation time. ;) )

Maybe of those surveyed, but they didn't include Winnipeg:

OTTAWA CHEAPEST CITY IN NORTH AMERICA: SURVEY
Ottawa is the cheapest North American city in which to live, according to research released on Monday by a global employment consultancy.
FULL STORY:
http://www.cbc.ca/story/canada/national/2005/06/20/city050620.html

On my eventual tour of Atlantic Canada, I think I'll skip this:

HOME-DELIVERY CRACK RING BUSTED IN HALIFAX
Police in Halifax have busted an operation that sent dealers to people's homes to deliver telephone orders of crack cocaine, magic mushrooms and other drugs.
FULL STORY:
http://www.cbc.ca/story/canada/national/2005/06/20/phone-drugs050620.html

Wish I were there... it's hot and muggy here:

40,000 WATER BALLOONS TOSSED IN B.C. FIGHT
People in Fort Nelson, B.C., are hoping for an entry in the record books after staging what they believe to be the world's largest water balloon fight.
FULL STORY:
http://www.cbc.ca/story/canada/national/2005/06/20/water-balloons050620.html

I wonder how much stupidity would have been prevented had Guiness never started that book...

Yeah, right... even Hitler did a few good things... when he wasn't busy committing murder:

KU KLUX KLAN A 'PEACEFUL' GROUP: MURDER TRIAL WITNESS
The Ku Klux Klan is a "peaceful organization" that did a lot of good in Mississippi over the years, a defence witness said Monday as testimony wrapped up in a triple-murder trial dating back to 1964.
FULL STORY:
http://www.cbc.ca/story/world/national/2005/06/20/klan-witness-killen050620.html

Hey potato-head, that's not how dictionaries work:

BAN 'COUCH POTATO' FROM DICTIONARY: SPUD FARMERS
British spud farmers protested outside Parliament Monday to demand that the term "couch potato" be taken out of the Oxford English Dictionary, saying the description is harmful to the vegetable's image.
FULL STORY:
http://www.cbc.ca/story/world/national/2005/06/20/spud-protest0506.html

You are not allowed to infect others with horrible diseases... take your meds, or else:

COURT ORDERS TB PATIENT JAILED
A court in Ottawa has ordered a man with a highly infectious form of tuberculosis to be held in custody while doctors treat him.
FULL STORY:
http://www.cbc.ca/story/canada/national/2005/06/22/tb050622.html

This is just stupid:

GIANT SNAPPLE FLOODS NEW YORK SQUARE
An attempt to erect a 16-tonne ice pop in a New York square froze traffic and created a sticky situation for the company behind the stunt.
FULL STORY:
http://www.cbc.ca/story/world/national/2005/06/22/popsicle-050622.html

Tip to lost kids... if you've been gone for a really long time, perhaps some of those people are there to HELP you find your way home? Parents... remember to teach your kids to *THINK*:

RESCUED SCOUT FEARED 'SOMEONE WOULD STEAL HIM'
An 11-year-old Utah boy who spent four nights lost in the woods is doing "remarkably well" and catching up on his sleep, his visibly relieved parents said on Wednesday.
FULL STORY:
http://www.cbc.ca/story/world/national/2005/06/22/boy-found050622.html

Neato:

VENOMOUS MAMMAL FIND A FIRST: ALBERTA PALEONTOLOGIST
A small, fossilized mammal had what appears to be poisonous fangs that allowed it to bite like a snake – the first such find in an extinct mammal, Canadian researchers say.
FULL STORY:
http://www.cbc.ca/story/science/national/2005/06/22/venom-mammal050622.html

Non sequitur:

GAS-GUZZLER TOP PRIZE IN N.B. ECO-CENTRE RAFFLE
A New Brunswick rotary club is drawing criticism over a plan to raise money for a new eco-centre by raffling off one of the largest gas-guzzling vehicles on the market.
FULL STORY:
http://www.cbc.ca/story/canada/national/2005/06/23/nb-hummer050623.html

Now if it were a nice little hybrid, I'd be buying a raffle ticket.

Another neato... those tiny little birds sure are smart:

CHICKADEE CALL CONVEYS DEGREE OF THREAT FROM PREDATORS
The warning call of a chickadee packs more information than previously thought, say scientists who found the songbirds can communicate what type of predator is lurking.
FULL STORY:
http://www.cbc.ca/story/science/national/2005/06/23/chickadee-calls050623.html

I wonder who's downwind:

NARCOTIC FIRES BURN IN AFGHANISTAN
Afghan officials burned about 60 tonnes of narcotics Saturday in huge bonfires throughout the country.
FULL STORY:
http://www.cbc.ca/story/world/national/2005/06/26/afghanistan-drugs050626.html