Telekinetic breakthrough
A new technology is said to give people the rare ability to move objects with their minds. Mind Flex is a game designed by Mattel to read electrical brain impulses while a person is thinking. Children use their thoughts to manoeuvre a small foam ball through a table-top obstacle course. The device, which looks like headphones, is expected to reach store shelves in North America later this year.
Calgarian deported for gang links
Antonio Joel Findlater, who has a long history of violence, was ordered to leave the country after an Immigration and Refugee Board member discovered his connections to a Calgary street gang. Police said Findlater was a member of a violent gang known for cocaine dealing, intimidation and violence called the Clippers. After a 10-month investigation that targeted the Clippers in 2007, Findlater and 18 others were arrested. The 20-year-old was a permanent Canadian resident since 1997 and was deported to Jamaica on Jan. 7.
Ransom demanded for BC journalist kidnapped in Pakistan
Many are hopeful that controversial West Vancouver journalist Khadija Abdul Qahaar is still alive after a ransom demand was made by her captors. Last Thursday, an English-language Pakistani newspaper called The News reported that Qahaar’s captors demanded their associates at the U.S. air base in Bagram, Afghanistan be released. The ransom equals $150,000 Cdn. There is no word as to whether anyone is willing to meet that request.
‘Good samaritan’ charged with public mischief
Since the beginning, Jason Brunelle’s story about helping a driver in distress raised police eyebrows. The 35-year-old man told RCMP he pulled over his car to lend a hand to a stranded driver and was beaten by three people. Brunelle said the experience left him feeling so disturbed that he wouldn’t pull over for a stranger again, regardless of circumstance. Suspicions that Brunelle’s story was fabricated arose when police questioned how a kind citizen could be the target of a violent attack. He was charged with public mischief Jan. 13.
Nortel in need of help
Nortel Networks Corp. filed for bankruptcy Wednesday after a long but steady financial decline. One of the few Canadian technology giants left, Nortel plans to release a survival plan in the next few months. It is still debated whether the company will remain or have to sell off all of its assets.