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Thirty summers ago I chose to make Canada my home.
I came to this country not as an economic immigrant, like the many generations of Europeans who came here before me, but as a social immigrant. I hadn’t grown up poor and I wasn’t looking for a place where I could just prosper quickly. I was looking for the best society on the planet — and I found it here.
My Canada, a generation ago, was the most inclusive, most diverse and most just society in the world — and that, alone, made us the coolest and most desirable

Last week, Bob Rae named me the Liberal Party ‘critic’ for Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development. I have always preferred the title in French, ‘porte-parole’ — the word for ‘spokesperson’ instead of ‘critic.’
I thought being the spokesperson for the party and stakeholders was more positive. I had always thought that the job of Opposition members is to occasionally admit when the government of the day is caught doing something right!
So as the new critic/porte-parole/spokesperson for Aboriginal Affairs, my job was to scrutinize the Speech from the Throne last Friday like a Talmudic scholar. Every line relating to my portfolio was highlighted and

If you take a step back, and think about it, you’ll realize that the world we live in is actually encouraging us to consume more in order to reduce our impact. Buy green. Try this. Throw this

Please don’t refer to Pentecost as “the birthday of the church.” The day is much more interesting — and risky — than that.
Because Pentecost is a time for Christians to be reminded that we’re a bunch of dreamers. All of us are, whether we prefer to worship with our hands at our sides (as I do) or with a little more fervor.
I’m not talking about individual “dreamers” who insist they’ve “got a gift” or claim some special access to God. I’m talking about communities of faith that discover they — together — can be a vehicle for manifesting God’s vision for the world.
In Christian tradition, Pentecost brings the 50-day Easter season to a close. But it also points forward toward new beginnings, for it’s when Christians celebrate the coming of the Holy Spirit and the new horizons this opens up in the story of God’s commitment to the world.
When the Acts of the Apostles (in chapter 2) describes the imparting of the Holy Spirit upon Jesus’ followers on Pentecost, dreams and visionary experiences are part of the

My good friend Fay Lewis died last September, and I’ve been mulling her passing the last many months. For years, I had grown used to Fay calling me up and shaking me out of my self-importance and a schedule that I thought couldn’t bear any more meetings.
Lewis had become America’s super-agent for placing foreign visitors that the Department of State had targeted as prospects for serving as better bridges between their countries and the U.S. Through her demands issued to me from her perch at the Meridian International Center, directing the Center’s work with the State Department”s International Visitor Leadership Program, I met somewhere around 1,000 people since she first put me to work for her.
Now when I travel around the world — almost anywhere in the world — I know a prominent journalist, or someone who has become a mayor, or Ambassador, or even head of government, as in the case of Australia’s Prime Minister Julia Gillard who visited the US in this very same leadership program years ago. We talked a lot when Gillard visited about DC’s lucrative think tank

US Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords has released the first pictures of herself since she was shot in the head in January.

Two pictures appeared on her Facebook page.

Ms Giffords, 41, was seriously injured during a shooting spree by a gunman in Tucson, Arizona, that killed six people and wounded 13 others.

She is being treated at a clinic in Houston, Texas. Doctors say she has been recovering

As a former protg of Andy Warhol, photographer David LaChapellehas enjoyed enormous commercial success andregardless ofwhat critics may say about his work –everyone pays attention.I was lucky enough to catch up with the reclusive artist (along with his longtime muses Daphne Guinness and Amanda Lepore) for a rare interview at his new installation at the Lever House in New York City.
read full news from www.huffingtonpost.com

So your pooch is your best bud. Your kitty is the cat’s meow. Your horse defies the lyrics of the “Mr. Ed” theme song and communicates his innermost thoughts directly to

Every day while crafting hair and beauty at my studio or on the set of a film, television show or commercial, my clients expose their innermost thoughts and feelings about their looks — often dissecting themselves from from head to toe.
They often critique themselves (and others from the tabloids) as they strive to be a bigger, better version of themselves. Sometimes they dish. Sometimes they share their personal

Whether you’re trying to eat healthier, lose weight or incorporate more plant-based foods into your diet or reduce the amount of refined carbohydrates, these tips will be helpful in making a positive dietary shift.
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For people who eat sugary snacks more than once per day, choosing healthier snacks, such as fresh fruits and vegetables, represents a monumental shift in behavior. Keep track of how many fruits and veggies you’re eating a day, and gradually add more to your diet — build from a small, positive change. After a few days, make another change. Remember, getting started is the hardest

50 years ago, President John F. Kennedy ignited Americans with his vision of sending a man to the moon within one decade. Skeptics considered the challenge impossible to achieve until reality intervened. On July 20, 1969, Commander Neil Armstrong stepped outside Apollo 11 and took a small step for himself and a giant leap for mankind.
Here’s a suggestion for the next great

My patient, six months pregnant, came to see me for an ultrasound. I diagnosed her with shortening of her cervix, which put her at significant risk of preterm delivery. Three months before her due date, with her fetus’ chance of survival outside her womb dismal, this was reason for concern.
I laid out the risks, I prescribed progesterone and I recommended bed

Representative Anthony Weiner of New York is asking for a “short” leave of absence from Congress and he is entering rehab to deal with his problem. But with the leadership of his own party calling for him to resign it is unlikely that he will ever be able to effectively represent his district. It is time for him to step down.
What was he thinking each time he sent obscene text messages and explicit pictures to women around the country? Did it not occur to him that it was wrong? He must have known that his actions were inappropriate. He must have realized that he was risking everything if he was caught.
By his own admission, if one believes him, he was “sexting” for three

Commitment and discipline — specifically the decided lack thereof — were front and center this week, thanks to the teary press conference crescendo of Weinergate and the sudden departure of Newt Gingrich’s top campaign advisers. Team Gingrich was frustrated by their candidate’s unwillingness to commit to an all-out effort in the early primary states, and the nonstop fundraising a presidential run requires. Newt’s commitment issues were brought home when, just as his opponents were focusing on Iowa and New Hampshire, he took off on a two-week cruise in Greece.
read full news from www.huffingtonpost.com

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) says it has been targeted by a sophisticated cyber attack.

Officials at the fund gave few details but said the attack earlier this year had been "a very major breach" of its systems, the New York Times reports.

Cyber security officials said the hack was designed to install software to create a "digital insider presence".

The IMF, which holds sensitive economic data about many countries, said its operations were fully functional.

The cyber attack took place over several months, and happened before former IMF chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn was arrested over sexual assault charges.

"I can confirm that we are investigating an incident," said spokesman David

A "peace caravan" which has spent a week travelling through Mexico to protest against drugs-related violence has crossed the border in the US.

Mexican poet Javier Sicilia, who led the convoy, said the US bore a "grave responsibility" for failing to tackle the drugs crisis.

He told supporters in El Paso, Texas that US citizens who used drugs were also partly to blame for the violence.

Mexico's drugs gangs are battling for control of the lucrative US market.

Mr Sicilia and his convoy of about 20 coaches began their 2,500km (1,550 miles) journey in Cuernavaca, south of Mexico City, last week and have criss-crossed the

Canada confirmed this week that it will not take on a target under an extension of the Kyoto Protocol following the completion of the first commitment period, 2008–2012. Given that Canada is likely to miss by a wide margin its current target under the first commitment period, this decision may not be surprising, but it is nevertheless important. More striking, it may actually turn out to be a positive and constructive step forward in the drive to address global climate change through meaningful international cooperation. Why do I say that?
The Current Situation
The Kyoto Protocol, which essentially expires at the end of 2012, divides the world into two competing economic

Books, stacks of books waiting to be read, are piled high in my office. Most of these books were sent to me by publicists or the attributed authors, all with the expectation that I’d review their works. Unfortunately, many of these books are dusty with age and any review I’d now write would seem like an afterthought.
There’s a feeling of guilt on my part that I’ve let someone down because I didn’t follow through, so I’ve gotten to the point where I usually demur when I’m queried if I’d be willing to “take a look” at such and such a title by such and such an author, even though some of these pitches are tempting and I think I could manage to fit in some time to read and review the

As President Obama prepares to announce his intentions for how many troops to withdraw from Afghanistan this year, public opinion polls show the ground is moving under him. Over the past few days, several new surveys show a significant spike in the number of people who want to see big numbers of troops brought home. The war isn’t making us safer and it’s not worth the costs, and following bin Laden’s death, it’s become impossible for the American people to make sense of keeping troops fighting and dying in Afghanistan.
Two separate polls taken on June 3-7 by different firms show a significant shift in public opinion:
A CBS News poll shows a 16 percent increase in the number of people who think troops levels should be decreased (64 percent, vs. 48 percent last month in the same poll).
A survey by CNN shows a 9 percent jump compared to last month in the number of people who say the

A New York congressman who admitted sending lewd photos of himself to women says he wants a leave of absence to seek professional treatment.

The announcement came hours after senior US Democrats called for Anthony Weiner to resign.

Mr Weiner has admitted "inappropriate" communications including sending a photo of his crotch to an admirer.

He has been regarded as a rising star in the Democratic Party and a strong candidate for New York City mayor.

He has previously said he will not resign over the

The Dow ended the week below 12,000 for the first time since March. This is the sixth straight week of downs for the Dow. It’s almost as bad over at the Nasdaq. All the gains racked up in 2011 have now been erased.
What’s going on?
The real economy is catching up with the financial economy, as it always does

In my last post, I highlighted an amazing dad who supports his transgender teen daughter. Sadly, parental support is not common. Few parents have heard about transgender issues, and some react so strongly to their child’s gender nonconformity that they force their child to leave home.
I’ve wanted to know more about what life is like for these rejected children, and so I finally cracked open my copy of Cris Beam’s Transparent: Love, Family, and Living the T with Transgender Teenagers. It’s an eye-opening peek at an experience quite different from my own.
Beam met over 50 transsexual kids during the five years she worked at a small high school for gay and transgender teenagers in Los

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has said the death of top African al-Qaeda militant Fazul Abdullah Mohammed is a "significant blow" to the group.

He and another militant were killed earlier this week in a shootout with police at a checkpoint in Somalia's capital, Mogadishu, officials said.

Mr Mohammed was the most wanted man in Africa, with a $5m bounty on his head.

He was suspected having played a key role in the 1998 US embassy bombings in East Africa, which killed 224 people.

He was also accused of attacking Israeli targets on the Kenyan coast in 2002, and was recently believed to have been working with the Islamist militant group, al-Shabab, which controls much of southern Somalia.
‘Victory for the world’
Mr Mohammed was shot dead by Somali Transitional Federal Government (TFG) forces in north-western Mogadishu overnight on Tuesday, Somali security officials said.

"Our forces fired on two men who refused to stop at a roadblock. They tried to defend themselves when they were surrounded by our men," TFG commander Abdikarim Yusuf told the AFP news agency.

"We took their ID documents, one of which was a foreign passport," he said, adding that medicine, mobile phones and laptops were also

Everybody knows that undercooked ground beef is risky. But there is one innocent looking food that is probably riskier: Raw sprouts. Mike Doyle, director of the Center for Food Safety at the University of Georgia has been quoted as saying “I consider sprouts to be among the most risky foods sold at retail”.
How could this be? How could innocent crunchy, juicy, delicious sprouts, full of nutrients and beneficial compounds, be dangerous? Because they are grown differently than any other vegetable, in an environment practically ideal for bacteria. Let’s get a close look at the problem and consider solutions.
In June 2011 vegetable sprouts from Germany contaminated with bacteria killed more than 30 people and sickened more than 3,000, and the outbreak has still not run its course.
The survivors had more than tummy