Afghani protesters blame Canadians for death of two boys
Protesters shouted “death to Canadians” following the death of two Afghani boys in their village on Monday. The Canadian military believes the boys’ deaths were caused by an undetonated explosive in the ground, however some villagers and Afghani police believe the explosion came from a mortar round fired by Taliban or foreign troops. Many villagers are placing the blame on the Canadian troops because they practice firing arms and explosives not far from the village. The Canadian military insists they thoroughly clean the area of any undetonated artillery or other potentially dangerous materials once they are done exercises.
Faith leaders plan a response to atheist bus ads in Calgary
Calgary Muslim leader Syed Soharwardy plans to meet with religious leaders of different faiths to develop a counter to the atheist bus ads that will be appearing on local buses soon. The atheist ads were developed by the Freethought Association of Canada and will say, “There’s probably no God. Now stop worrying and enjoy your life.” Instead of a protest or backlash, Soharwardy would like to create a bus advertisement with a positive message for God. The planned advertisement would not be particularly Muslim, Jewish or Christian, but rather a reflection of the common God, he told the Globe and Mail on Feb. 20.
Calgary boasts the best chef in Canada
At the 2009 Canadian Culinary Championships in Banff, Calgary chef Hayato Okamitsu reigned supreme. The executive chef at Catch Restaurant and Oyster Bar beat out five other competitors to win the title. The chefs duelled it out for two days, completing various challenges. Judges determined Okamitsu the winner for his “delicious, creative and exciting” food and his laid-back attitude in the intense competition.
Greek robbers escape prison for a second time
Vassilis Paleokostas and Alket Rizaj escaped the Greek prison where they were held for the second time Sunday. While engaged in a gun battle with guards, the two escaped by climbing up a rope ladder into a helicopter that was hovering over the prison’s courtyard. This came a day before the pair was due to face the magistrate regarding their previous escape by helicopter a few years ago. The helicopter was found later abandoned and the helicopter’s original pilot bound and gagged inside. He stated that the helicopter had been chartered by a couple who are the alleged assailants in the prison escape.
Facebook takes back change to terms of use
After a large protest to a recent change in Facebook’s terms of use, the networking site reverted back to its previous terms. The outcry started after the website changed its terms of use a few weeks ago, which led many users to feel that the new terms stated that Facebook owned all the content that Facebook users created on their accounts, even after the user deleted the account. Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg assured users in a blog post that the people who use Facebook own their information and not the website. Instead the new terms were meant to state that the website requires a licence to help users share their content amongst themselves.
Christian activist harasses prof
Calgary Police are investigating the distribution of flyers containing graphic sexual images covered strategically by a superimposed image of U of C professor Darren Lund. These flyers are believed to be in response to a human rights case filed against a youth pastor who wrote a letter to a Red Deer newspaper. In the letter, the pastor had likened gay people to pimps, drug dealers and pedophiles. Lund won the human rights case against the pastor.
The flyers are being spread by a self-proclaimed Christian activist named Bill Whatcott, who accuses Lund of being a “homofacist.” The police warned Whatcott his flyers could be viewed as a hate crime and confiscated a number of them. So far the police have not laid any charges and are looking to the Crown for consultation on how to proceed.