Saturday, July 27, 2013

Justin Bieber spits over his hotel balcony onto a crowd of fans in Toronto

And the child thinks it's funny. Justin Bieber was photographed on Thursday July 25th spitting over his hotel balcony in Toronto onto a crowd of fans that came to catch a glimpse of him.

47 year old grandma wants cosmetic surgery to make her look older

This woman is the mother of former Channel O VJ Nonhle Thema's baby daddy, Arthur Bolton. Grandmother Anne Bolton wants to have cosmetics surgery to make her look older because at 47 years old, she hasn't seen any sign of aging; no wrinkles, no greying hair, no sagging etc.

UK Daily Mail  reports:
The mother-of-four says she is constantly being mistaken for a woman half her age, and says looking like a 20-year-old is actually ruining her life - and now she's thinking about having cosmetic surgery to make herself look older. Anne says that her youthful looks have ruined a marriage and two long-term relationships, as younger men constantly chat her up
You think she looks way younger than her age? Continue to read her story...

Coffee-gifting bug strikes Canadians

Tim Hortons employees sample various coffees from around the world. A coffee-giving bug has gripped Canadians this week, causing them to spontaneously buy coffee for large groups of people. (David Friend/The Canadian Press)
Over 5,500 Canadian coffee drinkers got more than a little kick out of their cup this week when they found out their daily caffeine fix had already been paid for.
The coffee-kindness trend started Monday when a mystery man walked into a downtown Edmonton Tim Hortons and paid for 500 cups of coffee — for no apparent reason.

Coffee-cats spread the love

Monday:
  • A mystery man walks into a Tim Hortons in downtown Edmonton and pays for his own, plus 500 cups of coffee.
Wednesday:
  • An anonymous Calgary donor pays almost $900 to buy coffee for everyone behind him in queue at the Crowfoot Crossing Tim Hortons.
Thursday:
  • An Ottawa bus driver buys $850 worth of coffee to pep up his peers around the Ottawa Trainyards location.
  • A man buys 500 cups for others at the Tim Hortons in the Easthill Centre in Red Deer, Alberta.
  • A man picks up the tab for 500 cups at Edmonton’s Royal Alexandra Hospital.
  • Later that afternoon, a Monica Kavanagh, whose father is admitted in the same hospital, buys 800 more cups on hearing about the earlier act of generosity.
  • A Saskatoon coffee-philanthropist buys 500 coffees for customers behind him in queue
Friday:
  • Saskatoon radio station Rock 102 buys 500 coffee gifts.
  • Another customer buys 285 more cups just after the station staff leave, making a total of $1,375 worth of free coffee at that venue.
  • A patron at Northern Alberta Institute of Technology gives $500 worth of coffee to customers at the school.
  • A donor buys 500 cups in Chestermere suburb of Calgary.
  • Three anonymous patrons buy their fellow coffee drinkers hundreds of dollars worth of coffee at the same High River, Alta., coffee shop. CBC

Friday, July 26, 2013

Céline Dion elevated to highest Order of Canada honour

Céline Dion and her manager husband, René Angélil (seen here in 2010), are being honoured with the Order of Canada in Quebec City on Friday. (Lynne Sladky/Associated Press)
Céline Dion and her manager husband, René Angélil, will be honoured with the Order of Canada in Quebec City today.

Dion, who was promoted to the order's highest level — companion — in 2008, will be officially invested this afternoon at a ceremony at the Citadel of Quebec.

A citation from the office of the Governor General praises the famed singer as "an extraordinary ambassador for Canada" and lauds both her "unique voice" and stage presence as well as her "compassion, generosity and commitment to a number of social and humanitarian causes."

Meanwhile, Angélil will become a member of the order after being appointed last November.

"With determination and extraordinary flair, he propelled the careers of Québécois singers, whose successes now reach well beyond our borders," reads his citation.

The couple is in Quebec City for Dion's concert Une Seule Fois, featuring largely French material, on the Plains of Abraham on Saturday evening.

It is a one-time-only show for the singer, who is in the midst of her second major Las Vegas residency at Caesars Palace Colosseum and prepping a new album for fall release.

DJ Khaled proposes to Nicki Minaj on MTV with a $500k diamond ring

Publicity stunt or is he for real? 37 year old record producer, rapper, DJ and record label executive, Khaled bin Abdul Khaled, better known by his stage name DJ Khaled, asked Nicki Minaj to marry him via a video posted online and he explained why he wants Nicki as his wife...
"I want to be honest with you. I love you. I like you. I want you to be mine. The only reason I'm not telling you this face to face is because I know that you're busy. You need a man like me in your life that’s gonna take care of you and respect you. You gotta take your time and think about it, I understand... but I know I have to be here today to let you know how serious I am and about how serious this is to me. I want to let your fans know, my fans know, my family, your family, that I wanna marry you. I been working hard to get this ring... Nicki Minaj... will you marry me?'
DJ Khaled popped the question with a $500,000 diamond ring and with help from MTV. Nicki hasn't responded yet. The two recently worked together on Busta Rhymes and Nicki's collaboration 'Twerk It'. See his proposal video 

Canada is 7th most innovative country according to The Economist




A new way to measure innovation: Quality not Quantity
MANY attempts to rank countries by their susceptibility to, and achievements in, innovation fall flat. Places like Switzerland come out on top when things like literacy are lauded; Japan dominates when patents are prized. A new innovation index by Cornell, the French business school INSEAD and the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO) itself innovates in how it measures innovation. Instead of objectively counting the inputs and outputs, it relies on nuance. For example, rather than ranking overall education, it looks at the top three universities, since elite institutions may be more important than the average. Instead of counting each patent, it tracks only those filed in at least three countries, which suggests it is a more valuable technology. And rather than look at scientific journal articles en masse, the index includes how often they are actually cited. Among the interesting findings are how Japan and South Korea differ in cited articles. And mon Dieu!, France falls below Canada in university ranking. China makes a strong showing—and leads Russia. Last year we questioned WIPO's overall ranking, based on a less refined methodology. This year's metric does better at tracking the ins and outs of new ideas. See above

GRAMMYs Biggest Winners By Decade

GRAMMYs Biggest Winners By Decade

1950s - Ella Fitzgerald (4)
1960s - Henry Mancini (16)
1970s - Stevie Wonder (15)
1980s - Quincy Jones (14)
1990s - Vince Gill (14)
2000s - Alison Krauss (16) & Beyoncé (16) [tie]
2010s - Adele (7), Jay Z (7), Kanye West (7) [so far]

1950s - Ella Fitzgerald (4)

1960s - Henry Mancini (16)

1970s - Stevie Wonder (15)

1980s - Quincy Jones (14)

1990s - Vince Gill (14)

2000s - Alison Krauss (16) & Beyoncé (16) [tie]

2010s - Adele (7), Jay Z (7), Kanye West (7) [so far]

The Great Deceleration

The emerging-market slowdown is not the beginning of a bust. But it is a turning-point for the world economy
WHEN a champion sprinter falls short of his best speeds, it takes a while to determine whether he is temporarily on poor form or has permanently lost his edge. The same is true with emerging markets, the world economy’s 21st-century sprinters. After a decade of surging growth, in which they led a global boom and then helped pull the world economy forwards in the face of the financial crisis, the emerging giants have slowed sharply.
China will be lucky if it manages to hit its official target of 7.5% growth in 2013, a far cry from the double-digit rates that the country had come to expect in the 2000s. Growth in India (around 5%), Brazil and Russia (around 2.5%) is barely half what it was at the height of the boom. Collectively, emerging markets may (just) match last year’s pace of 5%. That sounds fast compared with the sluggish rich world, but it is the slowest emerging-economy expansion in a decade, barring 2009 when the rich world slumped.

Photo of the Week: Baby Bird

BABY BIRD: A parrot hatchling was fed by hand Wednesday in Dimapur, India, after a hunter found it in a forest and offered it for sale—despite a ban on the trade of wild birds.

Post baby body: Kate Middleton vs Kim Kardashian

The Duchess of Cambridge Kate Middleton did something most women in the limelight don't usually do. She appeared in public just a day after giving birth and showed off her post childbirth body...with a bump still visible for the world to see, unlike many celebrity women who hide after giving birth and appear a few weeks later with a flat stomach, looking fit and flawless.

Star magazine claims the pic on their cover is the first photo of Kim K since she gave birth on June 15th. (Not sure I believe it though) But Kim hasn't made a public appearance since welcoming baby North and many believe she wants to shed the baby weight and look perfect again before appearing in public.

Kate has shown the world what most women look like after giving birth, a more realistic image of a post baby body...and not the lightning-speed weight loss most Hollywood celebs experience after child birth.

A doctor explains why Kate still looked pregnant after giving birth. See that after the cut..

Wednesday, July 24, 2013

Canadians should have to 'opt in' to internet porn, MP says

A Tory MP from Winnipeg wants to see Canadians "opt in" before they’re allowed to view pornography online.
Conservative MP Joy Smith says she wants to see Canada adopt legislation that requires residents to request access to pornography from their internet service providers or have all pornographic material preemptively blocked.
Earlier this week, British Prime Minister David Cameron announced ISPswill begin blocking access to online pornography unless customers specifically ask to see it.
The legislation would also involve search engines — requiring them to block certain phrases and types of pornography.
Smith thinks Canada should do the same.

What Inspires Me: Game-Changing People Everywhere by Richard Branson

My professional inspiration has no separation from my personal inspiration: it is people who will stop at nothing to make a positive difference to other people’s lives. I am fortunate to come across quite a few of these game-changing people, and the desire to help (and keep up with them!) is what drives me.

As Steve Jobs famously said:
The ones who are crazy enough to think that they can change the world, are the ones who do.”
There are lots of these crazy ones hard at work today trying to make the world a better place, but there is always room for more! Nowadays I spend most of my time working with our not-for-profit foundation, Virgin Unite, and am honoured to work alongside inspirational people taking on challenges from climate change with the Carbon War Room to conflict-resolution with The Elders.

In The B Team, we are stimulated by the desire to ensure business has a purpose beyond profit, also focusing upon people and the planet. I think it is all of our responsibility to try and leave the planet in a better condition than we found it. A good way to find inspiration — and to have a positive impact — is to think about your grandchildren (whether you have any yet or not). What type of world do you want them to inherit?

Tuesday, July 23, 2013

The Royal Family Tree



Here comes the Royal baby. Kate and William welcome son



Excitement for the arrival of the United Kingdom’s future heir to the throne has reached new highs in the past few weeks. Every new arrival warrants jubilation and since the announcement of the Duchess of Cambridge’s pregnancy her due date has become one of the most hotly anticipated in the world. Kate Middleton gave birth to the future king of England at St Mary's Hospital in Paddington around 4.24pm  afternoon Monday July 22nd with her husband, Prince William by her side.






The new royal baby is Britain’s third king in waiting, in line behind his father and grandfather. Congrats to them!

Forbes' 2013 list of highest earning US celebrities under 30

Forbes yesterday released their annual 'list of top-earning celebrities under 30' and Lady Gaga topped the list. Forbes calculated their earnings between June 2012 and June 2013. See the top 10 below...

1. Lady Gaga (age 27) $80 million
2. Justin Bieber (age 19) $58 million
3. Taylor Swift (age 23) $55 million
4. Calvin Harris (age 29) $46 million
5.Rihanna (age 25) $43 million
6. Katy Perry (age 28) $39 million
7. Jennifer Lawrence (age 22) $26 million
8. Adele (age 25) $25 million
9. Kristen Stewart (age 23) $22 million
10.Taylor Lautner (age 21) $22 million

Monday, July 22, 2013

Norwegian raped in Dubai gets jail sentence

Norwegian woman sentenced to 16 months in jail in Dubai for having sex outside marriage after she reported an alleged rape says she's speaking out in hopes of drawing attention to the risks of outsiders misunderstanding the Islamic-influenced legal codes in this cosmopolitan city.
The case has drawn outrage from rights groups and others in the West since the 24-year-old interior designer was sentenced Wednesday. It also highlights the increasingly frequent tensions between the United Arab Emirates' international atmosphere and its legal system, which is strongly influenced by Islamic traditions in a nation where foreign workers and visitors greatly outnumber locals.
"I have to spread the word. ... After my sentence we thought, 'How can it get worse?"' Marte Deborah Dalelv told The Associated Press in an interview at a Norwegian aid compound in Dubai where she is preparing her appeal scheduled for early September.
Dalelv, who worked for an interior design firm in Qatar since 2011, claims she was sexually assaulted by a co-worker in March while she was attending a business meeting in Dubai.
She said she fled to the hotel lobby and asked for the police to be called. The hotel staff asked if she was sure she wanted to involve the police, Dalelv said.
"Of course I want to call the police," she said. "That is the natural reaction where I am from."

The Open 2013: Phil Mickelson cards superb 66 to win at Muirfield

Phil Mickelson came from five strokes back to clinch his first Open title and fifth major on a dizzying final day at Muirfield.

The 43-year-old American triumphed by three shots from Sweden's Henrik Stenson, with English pair Ian Poulter and Lee Westwood four back, alongside Australia's Masters champion Adam Scott.
Mickelson surged to the third leg of a career Grand Slam of all four majors with a stunning five-under 66 to finish three under.

The left-hander, who won the Scottish Open last week, birdied four of the last six holes and was in tears on the final green as he hugged caddie Jim 'Bones' Mackay.

The mercurial Mickelson's Open record had been modest up to now, despite a third place at Troon in 2004 and second at Royal St George's in 2011, as he slowly got to grips with a style of the game he initially "hated".

THE OPEN: FINAL-ROUND LEADER BOARD
-3: Mickelson (US) Par: Stenson (Swe) +1: Scott (Aus), Poulter (Eng), Westwood (Eng) +2: Matsuyama (Jpn), Z Johnson (US), Woods (US) Selected: +3: Mahan (US) +4: Cabrera (Spa) +5: Jimenez (Spa) +7: Garcia (Spa), Clarke (NI)

Mother's Love

IT HAPPENED IN CHINA
After the Earthquake had
subsided, when the
rescuers reached the ruins
of a young woman’s
house, they saw her dead
body through the cracks.
But her pose was
somehow strange that she
knelt on her knees like a
person was worshiping;
her body was leaning
forward and her two
hands were supporting an
object. The collapsed
house had crashed her
back and her head.
With many difficulties, the
leader of the rescuer team
put his hand through a
narrow gap on the wall to
reach the woman’s body.
He was hoping that this
woman could still be alive.
However, the cold and stiff
body told him that she
had passed away. He and
the rest of the team left
this house and went to
search the next collapsed
building.
For some reasons, the
team leader was driven by
a compelling force to go
back to the ruin house of
the dead woman. Again,
he knelt down and used
his hand through the
narrow cracks to search
the little space under the
dead body.
Suddenly, he screamed, “A
child! There is a child!”
The whole team worked
together, carefully they
removed the piles of
ruined objects around the
dead woman. There was a
3 months old little boy
wrapped in a flowery
blanket under his mother’s
dead body. Obviously, the
woman had made an
ultimate sacrifice to save
her son. When her house
was falling, she used her
body to make a cover to
protect her son.
The medical doctor came
quickly to exam the little
boy. After he opened the
blanket, he saw a cell
phone inside. There was a
text message on the
screen, it said: ”Dear baby,
if you can live, always
remember that I love
you.”
This story was claimed to
be a true story. Whether it
is true or not, we can’t be
wrong with mothers’ love
and their sacrifices. We
love you mothers!!!

Thursday, July 18, 2013

J.K. Rowling’s Secret: A Forensic Linguist Explains How He Figured It Out

One of the experts who analyzed 'The Cuckoo's Calling' to uncover Rowling's authorship speaks to TIME

A man looks at the cover photo of the book "The Cuckoo's Calling" by Robert Galbraith, a pseudonym for J.K. Rowling, on a computer screen at an office in London 



As explained by the New York Times, a writer for the British paper received an anonymous tip via Twitter, in which a now deleted user claimed that Rowling was the real author of The Cuckoo’s Calling. (Is it possible that the anonymous user was the book’s publisher? As the New York Times notes, there’s no way to rule it out.) Sunday Times editor Richard Brooks eventually confronted the publisher, but not before he investigated the similarities between Galbraith and Rowling.

Pregnant former Olympian suddenly collapses and dies in restaurant

Heavily pregnant former Olympian, 26 year old Meskerem Legesse, suddenly collapsed and died while having lunch with her two year old son in a restaurant in Connecticut on Monday July 15th.

The Ethiopia runner, who was three weeks from her due date (pictured above minutes before collapsing) was given CPR at the restaurant before an ambulance rushed her to a hospital where she was declared dead. Fortunately the doctors were able to save her baby.

The cause of death was unclear but her friend told reporters that the professional runner had suffered heart problems in the past and that's why she retired early from sports. So sad! RIP, Meskerem! 

Lost wallet returned 42 years later

Freeman Hall's driver's license, birth certificate and a photo of hid then infant son were still in his wallet when it was found in the ceiling of a Nova Scotia high school












It’s taken more than four decades, but a lost, dusty wallet has finally been returned to its owner after it was discovered in the roof of a Nova Scotia high school.
Construction foreman Neil Northrop said he was surprised last week when he found a wallet in the ceiling at Prince Andrew High School in Dartmouth, N.S. during renovations.
“It was just completely covered in dust,” he said.
But it was no surprise to Freeman Hall who lost the wallet 42 years ago.
Freeman Hall used to work for CBC on the show Countrytime.Freeman Hall used to work for CBC on the show Countrytime. (CBC)
Back in 1971, CBC taped a national show called Countrytime in the school's auditorium. Hall often climbed inside the ceiling to run cables and hang lights.
Hall remembers losing the wallet. "We were going out for lunch and I went to grab my wallet and I didn't have it. I said 'Oh, it's up there, way back in the corner.’ I went to look for it for a couple times and never found it,” he said.
Northrop turned the wallet over to Natasha Erskine, the custodial manager at the high school, and she went to work trying to track down Hall, using his CBC identification card as a clue.
On Monday Northrop, who wasn't even born when the wallet was lost, returned it to its owner.
Hall’s driver’s license, birth certificate, health card, and a Simpson's credit card were all still intact. There was also a photo of his three-month-old son, who is now 42 years old with a son of his own.
Hall said he is grateful for the efforts of Erskine and Northrop — who say they're as happy to have returned it as Hall is to receive it.
“'It’s the way it should be,” said Northrop. 

Nelson Mandela spends 95th birthday in hospital


Children waved South African flags at the Milton Mbekela school in the village of Qunu, Mr Mandela's boyhood home.
Nelson Mandela is spending his 95th birthday in hospital in Pretoria, as events take place around the world and in South Africa in his honour.

The former president and anti-apartheid leader has been critically ill with a recurring lung infection since 8 June.

South African President Jacob Zuma, who visited Mr Mandela in hospital, said he was "encouraged" by his progress.

South Africans have been urged to mark Mr Mandela's 67 years of public service with 67 minutes of charitable acts.

"When I visited him today... I was able to say 'happy birthday' and he was able to smile," Mr Zuma said in a statement.

"Mandela's struggle for freedom and justice in our country and his values of promoting a fair, just and equitable world continues to inspire and motivate us," he told a visiting EU delegation.

Well-wishers cut up birthday cake outside Mr Mandela's hospital in Pretoria (18 July)There was even birthday cake for those gathered outside the hospital.
Activities throughout the day included:

  • School-children across the country singing a synchronised Happy Birthday to the former president
  • Mandela family members handing out gifts to Mamelodi township residents before holding a birthday lunch with Nelson Mandela. They have prepared 95 cupcakes in his honour
  • President Zuma visiting Mr Mandela in hospital and overseeing the donation of houses to poor white families in the Pretoria area
  • Volunteers spending 67 minutes each renovating schools and orphanages, cleaning hospitals and distributing food to the poor to mark the former statesman's 67 years as a lawyer, activist, prisoner and president
  • Mr Mandela becoming the first recipient of South Africa's new Smart ID Card, introduced on Thursday. His card will be collected on his behalf by his daughter Zindzi
  • The forming of a human chain from Johannesburg's Fashion District into the heart of the city

Mandela's key dates
1918 - Born in the Eastern Cape
1944 - Joined African National Congress
1956 - Charged with high treason, but charges dropped
1962 - Arrested, convicted of sabotage, sentenced to five years in prison
1964 - Charged again, sentenced to life
1990 - Freed from prison
1993 - Wins Nobel Peace Prize
1994 - Elected first black president
1999 - Steps down as leader
2001 - Diagnosed with prostate cancer
2004 - Retires from public life
2005 - Announces his son has died of an HIV/Aids-related illness
2007 - Forms The Elders group
2010 - Appears at closing ceremony of World Cup
BBC

Wednesday, July 17, 2013

Cory Monteith died from heroin & alcohol overdose, coroner reveals

Glee actor Cory Monteith's autopsy result has been released. The British Columbia Coroners Service revealed that an autopsy and toxicological analysis show that 31-year-old Cory, who has struggled with addiction since he was a young teenager, died from a lethal combination of heroin and alcohol.

Cory was found dead in his room at the Fairmont Pacific Rim hotel in Vancouver, Canada on Saturday July 13th. He had been scheduled to check out earlier that day, but when he failed to do so, hotel staff entered his room and discovered his body.

In March this year Cory admitted himself into a treatment facility for substance addiction. Guess he didn't get the help he needed. May his soul rest in peace...amen.

CoverGirl Talia Castellano dies at 13 after six year battle with cancer


Talia Joy Castellano, the young girl who inspired thousands with her YouTube make-up tutorials and became an honorary face of CoverGirl, has died at the age of 13 following a 6 year battle with cancer.

Talia's family announced her death on her Facebook page last night. They wrote:
'It is with a heavy heart that we share with all of you that Talia has earned her wings at 11:22am. Please lift her beautiful soul, her beautiful light to heaven.'

Talia was diagnosed with with stage four neuroblastoma cancer in February 2007, and later diagnosed with leukemia. The young girl, who was so full of life, was told by her doctors mid last year that she had four to 1 year to live. May her soul rest in peace. 

You can read more about Talia on her Facebook page

see more pictures

Tuesday, July 16, 2013

Hospital where women are charged $5 every time they scream during childbirth

Poor women have been exploited at their most vulnerable time by a hospital that charged them $5 every time they screamed during child birth. 

The shocking discovery was made by a U.S. group that campaigns against corruption, as it released its annual Global Corruption Barometer. 

At the hospital in Zimbabwe, one of the poorest countries in the world, the fine was said to be for 'raising a false alarm', according to Transparency International.
A survey of Zimbabweans found 65 per cent believed the country's medical services to be corrupt.

The campaign group has now set up workshops in Zimbabwe to raise awareness about corruption and show citizens how to record officials demanding bribes so they can provide evidence to the courts.

Women who were unable to pay the fine were allegedly kept in the hospital until their families could pay. Interest was also added to the fines, according to the Washington Post.

Many mothers already avoid hospital deliveries in the African nation because of the $50 cost, which is about the third of the average $150 income.

In a country where nearly 95 per cent of the population is unemployed after years of economic turmoil and corruption under President Mugabe, and where one in eight women die in childbirth every day, the fines could rob a woman of a year's salary. 

When Transparency International contacted Zimbabwe's deputy prime minister, he ordered an investigation and since then no further reports of fines have been made. However, the $50 delivery charge remains.  UK Daily Mail  

10,000 people sign petition to stop Chris Brown concert

More than 10,000 people have signed a petition to stop American R&B singer Chris Brown from performing in Dartmouth, N.S., next month.
Nichole Snow launched the petition on Saturday urging promoter Drop Entertainment group and radio station Energy 103.5 to drop Brown, who pleaded guilty to assaulting singer and then-girlfriend Rihanna in 2009.
"If Chris Brown performs and we give him our money, and literally put him up on pedestal on our stage, then we're guilty of glamorizing an abuser," she said in a release.
News of Brown's upcoming performance has rippled through social media, and four corporate sponsors withdrew their support for the show once he was confirmed as the headliner.
Molson Coors Brewing Co., esthetics company Touch of Radiance and the Halifax campus of the Centre for Arts and Technology joined Rogers on Monday in distancing themselves from the Energy Rush summer music festival at Alderney Landing on August 31.
Even Halifax Mayor Mike Savage vocalized his disapproval of this singer.

Man charged with smuggling 70 turtles into Canada

The Canada Border Services Agency announced on Tuesday that a Windsor, Ont., man has been accused of trying to smuggle more than 70 live turtles and tortoises into Canada at the Ambassador Bridge.

The agency said that on July 6, a 22-year-old man arrived at the crossing between Windsor and Detroit. He spoke with an agent upon arriving at the border but was then referred for a secondary inspection.

While searching the man's vehicle, officers claim they discovered two boxes containing live turtles and tortoises hidden within a storage compartment normally used for stowing the vehicle’s seats.

Officers arrested and charged the man with not reporting the animals, making false statements, attempting to evade payment of duties and taxes and smuggling contrary to the Customs Act.

Environment Canada was contacted and enforcement officers took the reptiles and continue to investigate.

The CBSA says further charges are pending under the Wild Animal and Plant Protection and Regulation of International and Interprovincial Trade Act.

“The CBSA administers over 90 pieces of legislation that includes those on behalf of other Government departments and agencies that govern the admissibility of people and goods into and out of Canada, including plants and animals," Tamara Allard, Acting District Director, Ambassador Bridge Operations, said in a media release.

The Biggest Stereotypes Of 50 US Cities

venice beach los angeles california yoga
It's always sunny in Los Angeles.
NATE SHIVAR/ Business Insider- I always find it really fascinating to find out how people from different places can perceive the same things so differently.
And especially how people from other countries, regions, and cities perceive my city, region, and country – what they focus on, and what things stand out in their mind. In other words – people’s country, region, and city stereotypes.
For years – it has always been an interesting conversation to have – but finding out stereotypes has always been anecdotal. But last year – Renee DiResta had the brilliant idea to apply something that we all use everyday – Google AutoSuggest – to find out US State Stereotypes (you can see that post here).
Here’s the same methodology used on the top 50 US cities (by metro area population) to get the top 4 to 5 city stereotypes of each.
Just FYI – Google Auto Suggest works by using the most common and trending searches to auto-suggest the rest of your search. So when you go to Google and start typing in a search, Google uses other previously searched for terms to try to guess what you are looking for.
So, for this experiment, the search “why is CITYNAME so” will auto suggest the terms that people most commonly (or most recently) are using to complete that search. That search is like a window into what people are actually thinking and trying to find out about your city. Here they are in descending order of population (#50 to NYC).
Just to be clear – the images are from Google. They are not my perceptions. They are made up of what people actually search for.

50. Salt Lake City

50saltlakecity

Yes – I confirmed that Salt Lake City is the most smog-choked cities in the US. And yes, they do have absurdly wide streets.

49. Buffalo

49buffalo
Alas, I didn’t have any other pre-conceptions about Buffalo. This is going to be a theme among all the rust belt cities.

48. Birmingham

48birmingham
Apparently Birmingham is important (ie, people who slept through the Civil Rights part of history class?) – and I can totally confirm that it is quite ugly. There are definitely beautiful parts – but I-20 and I-59 really mess things up.

47. Raleigh

47raleigh
Yes – Raleigh is growing that fast. Not sure about the boring part.

46. Hartford

46hartford
I had no idea about this one.

45. New Orleans

45neworleans
Yes, New Orleans is all of those – but is coming back from what I hear.

44. Richmond

44richmond
Expensive?

43. Louisville

43louisville
That fits from what my sources say – it’s a great city, but no one knows quite why.

42. Oklahoma City

42oklahomacity
Oklahoma City is riding on the coattails of the Oklahoma City Thunder and Kevin Durant here.

41. Memphis

41memphis
This seems to be a theme among America’s third-tier cities.

40. Jacksonville

40jacksonville
Why smoky? The Okefenokee Swamp.

39. Milwaukee

39milwaukee
Apparently the last 2 actually fit. It’s cold – it’s nearly in Canada, and it is highly segregated.

38. Providence

Sorry Providence, not enough people cared enough to Google anything about you.

37. Virginia Beach

I had no idea Virginia Beach was the #37 metro area in America. Seriously. I would say they need to work on their branding, but it’s the headquarters of America’s Navy, so I don’t think they want the publicity.

36. Nashville

36nashville
Looks like the same theme as Louisville – but hotter.

35. Austin

35austin
Ok, I think Austin wants to fit in with its stereotypes.