Meet the World’s First Baby Born With an Assist from Stem Cells

TIME

Is Ted Cruz Allowed To Run Since He Was Born In Canada?: It's All Politics

NPR/ Domenico Montanaro

Rafael & Ted Cruz/ thelapine.ca

There will be a question from some about Texas Sen. Ted Cruz's eligibility to run for president.

That's because even though Cruz grew up in Texas, he was born in Canada. (He renounced his Canadian citizenship in 2013.)

Democrats are sure to remind voters of Cruz's Canadian birth since some on the right have questioned where President Obama was born. The president is a native of Hawaii.

Sen. Ted Cruz says because his mother was born in the United States that makes him a "natural born citizen" and eligible to run for president.

The U.S. Constitution says presidential candidates have to be "natural-born citizens." But the Supreme Court has never weighed in with a definition, leaving it open to interpretation.

It's a question that has come up before. In 2008, senators passed a resolution, making it clear, for example, that John McCain was allowed to run given that he was born on a U.S. military base in the Panama Canal Zone. Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton, both senators then, voted for it.

Barry Goldwater, the 1964 GOP nominee, was born in Arizona when it was a territory – not a state. And some questioned George Romney's eligibility to run in 1968, because he was born in Mexico. Romney's parents were U.S. residents.

Cruz's parents worked in the oil industry in Calgary, Canada, when he was born. His mother was born in the United States. His father was born in Cuba, but later became a U.S. resident. Cruz argues that because his mother was born in Delaware, he is, in fact, a "natural-born citizen."

Article II, Section 1 of the U.S. Constitution states, "No Person except a natural born Citizen...shall be eligible to the Office of President."

U.S. Constitution

And most legal scholars agree. In fact, two of the best-known Supreme Court lawyers – who are not normally on the same side – make the case that Cruz – as well as McCain, George Romney and Goldwater – is eligible to run.

Neal Katyal, who served as acting solicitor general in the Obama administration, and Paul Clement, who was solicitor general under George W. Bush, wrote earlier this month in the Harvard Law Review that "there is no question" Cruz is eligible.

They cite that because Cruz's mother was a U.S. citizen and his father was a U.S. resident, "Cruz has been a citizen from birth and is thus a 'natural born Citizen' within the meaning of the Constitution" and the "Naturalization Act of 1790."

They also point to British common law and enactments by the First Congress, both of which have been cited by the Supreme Court.

Both confirm that the original meaning of the phrase "natural born Citizen" includes persons born abroad who are citizens from birth based on the citizenship of a parent. As to the British practice, laws in force in the 1700s recognized that children born outside of the British Empire to subjects of the Crown were subjects themselves and explicitly used "natural born" to encompass such children. These statutes provided that children born abroad to subjects of the British Empire were "natural-born Subjects . . . to all Intents, Constructions, and Purposes whatsoever."
The Framers, of course, would have been intimately familiar with these statutes and the way they used terms like "natural born," since the statutes were binding law in the colonies before the Revolutionary War. They were also well documented in Blackstone's Commentaries, a text widely circulated and read by the Framers and routinely invoked in interpreting the Constitution.
No doubt informed by this longstanding tradition, just three years after the drafting of the Constitution, the First Congress established that children born abroad to U.S. citizens were U.S. citizens at birth, and explicitly recognized that such children were "natural born Citizens." The Naturalization Act of 1790 provided that "the children of citizens of the United States, that may be born beyond sea, or out of the limits of the United States, shall be considered as natural born citizens: Provided, That the right of citizenship shall not descend to persons whose fathers have never been resident in the United States ... ."
The actions and understandings of the First Congress are particularly persuasive because so many of the Framers of the Constitution were also members of the First Congress. That is particularly true in this instance, as eight of the eleven members of the committee that proposed the natural born eligibility requirement to the Convention served in the First Congress and none objected to a definition of "natural born Citizen" that included persons born abroad to citizen parents.

Katyal and Clement conclude, "There are plenty of serious issues to debate in the upcoming presidential election cycle. The less time spent dealing with specious objections to candidate eligibility, the better. Fortunately, the Constitution is refreshingly clear on these eligibility issues."

Canadian farmer fined because Muslims slaughtered sheep on his property

AlohaSnackbar01

Sleeper Cells In Canada: Islamic State recruiter to Canadian Embassy in Jordan

Mary Greeley

Spy Working In/With Canada Embassy Arrested Over Three London Girls Who Went To Syria

torontosun

ANKARA — An alleged spy detained in Turkey for helping three British girls cross into Syria is a Syrian national working for a country in the U.S.-led coalition against Islamic State, the Turkish foreign minister said on Friday.

He has been named by one Turkish newspaper as Mohammad Al Rashid.

Several Turkish media, citing government sources, have said the detained spy was on contract for Canada but working for the Israeli spy agency, the Mossad.

Tahera Mufti, spokeswoman for CSIS, did not respond to a written request for comment and the federal government refused to comment, claiming it was a matter "of national security."

Islamic State seized swathes of land last June, cementing their rule with a militant interpretation of Islamic law, and is drawing sympathizers from many countries to support their fight.

The U.S.-led coalition, that includes Canada, is using mostly air power in an attempt to push the Sunni militant group back.

"The person who helped the three British girls into Syria is a Syrian national working for another country within the coalition. The situation is so complicated," foreign minister Mevlut Cavusoglu told reporters in Ankara.

The three girls, two aged 15 and one 16, flew to Istanbul from London on Feb. 17 and then onwards to Syria, where more than 200,000 have been killed in a civil war. Their families have appealed to them to return.

- with QMI Agency files
----------------
Mary Greeley

 

Pakistani man allegedly plotted Toronto attacks

Toronto Sun

SHAWN JEFFORDS and ANDREW MCINTOSHI, QMI Agency

A Pakistani man arrested Monday on allegations he plotted to blow up several Toronto buildings including the U.S. Consulate was interviewed several times by officials from Canada Border Services Agency and the Canadian Security Intelligence Service, QMI Agency has learned.

The authorities interest in Jhanzab Malik, 34, grew substantially after he returned to Toronto’s Pearson International Airport in April 2013.

Malik came to Canada on a student visa in 2004 and became a permanent resident five years later after a marriage that has now ended.

The authorities gathered evidence that links Malik directly to violent extremism, its promotion and further evidence emerged that he was planning a violent terrorist attack on the U.S. Consulate building in Toronto.

According to a statement issued by the Immigration and Refugee Board Wednesday afternoon, Malik was allegedly a self-proclaimed supporter of the Islamic State and al Qaida. He allegedly planned to attack the U.S. consulate in Toronto and other targets in the city's financial district, an immigration review body heard on Wednesday.

He allegedly planned to carry out the attack using remote controlled bombs.

The Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) is seeking his continued detention until he can be deported. The IRB ordered Malik's continued detention at a hearing Wednesday because he is considered a security and flight risk.

The CBSA said Malik told an undercover police officer he had attended weapons, combat and landmine training in Libya, and sought to build an explosive device for use in Toronto, the reports said.

He also claimed to have been a personal friend of Anwar al-Awlaki, a U.S.-born spokesman for al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula, who was killed in a CIA drone strike in 2011.

The accusations have not been proven. A CBSA investigation into the matter is still on-going.

Court records confirm Malik has faced assault and fraud charges in the past.

Those charges have been dealt with, according to a court clerk at Old City Hall, but the outcome was not immediately known.

Malik has no criminal matters currently before the courts.

The Canadian government is seeking to deport Malik as a security threat and the hearing at the Immigration and Refugee Board on Wednesday was held to determine whether he should be detained during the deportation process, which can take months.

Another Pakistani man suspected of militant links, Muhammad Aqeeq Ansari, is being held awaiting possible deportation.

Malik is expected to appear before the IRB next on March 16.

-- With files from Chris Doucette, Reuters​

Famous Canadian Astronaut's spacesuit turns up in Toronto thrift shop for $40

CBC News

A flight suit once worn by astronaut Chris Hadfield is apparently now the property of a Toronto doctor who found it in — of all places — a local thrift store. 

"I thought, wow, what is a flight suit like that doing up there?" Dr. Julielynn Wong told CBC News, recalling how she stumbled upon the bright blue jumpsuit in one of the many second-hand stores on Queen Street West. 

Then she saw the name stitched on the left-hand side: Chris Hadfield.  

"My jaw just dropped. I said, 'I can't believe it.'" 

She says she bought it for $40, marked down from $80.

The suit looks just like the one the former commander of the International Space Station is seen wearing on the back cover of his book, An Astronaut's Guide to Life on Earth. 

More >>

Canada: Two Brampton [ON] girls caught on tape assaulting police officer

Quebec man 7 seconds too late for share of $27M lotto jackpot: Supreme Court

torontosun

OTTAWA — A Quebec man who bought a Lotto Super 7 ticket seven seconds after the deadline won't be able to collect half the $27-million jackpot and will also have to cover the court costs after the Supreme Court dismissed his case Thursday.

Joel Ifergan sued Loto-Quebec for $13.5 million, but Canada's top court wouldn't hear his arguments.

Ifergan went to the convenience store to buy two lottery tickets on May 23, 2008. The clerk told him he had to act quickly because the 9 p.m. deadline was quickly approaching.

The first quick pick was printed in time, but the second was printed seven seconds after the deadline and indicated it was for next week's draw.

Unfortunately for Ifergan, the winning numbers for the $27-milion jackpot appeared on the second ticket.

Another person had the winning numbers for the May 23 draw, which is why Ifergan sued for half the winnings.

Ifergan claims that once his order for the two tickets was placed in the terminal for the May 23 draw, the lottery provider was obligated to provide them for that date.

In May 2014, a Quebec Court of Appeal also rejected his case.

Loose screw from Air Canada propeller smashes into passenger's window mid-flight (PHOTOS)

Vancity Buzz

By Jill Slattery

On a recent flight from Penticton to Vancouver, an Air Canada passenger was startled by a loud pop outside his passenger window. A bolt had broken off the plane and burst through the outer pane of the window glass.

Reddit user Skips_LegDay posted his story earlier this week. “So about halfway through my flight I heard a loud POP, looked out my window at a bolt that flew off the prop and broke through the outer pane.”

“People around me heard it and seemed nervous once they saw the source of the sound. I got up and went to the flight attendant and quietly told her what happened, she came over to see it then called the pilot. He said it will be fine until we land as the cabin’s pressurised.”

“Once we landed and people stopped snapping pics, the pilot talked to me for a while. Said he’s never seen this happen in over 25 years of flying,” he added as comments piled up on his Reddit post.

Air Canada has confirmed the rare incident.

“While on descent into Vancouver on Nov. 25/14, (from Penticton, BC) flight #8353 had one of those twelve one-inch (2.5 cm) bolts come loose and strike one of the aircraft windows. The bolt struck the exterior pane (of two acrylic window panes) which resulted in a small hole in the exterior window pane – the interior pane was not impacted,” a spokesperson for the airline told MailOnline.

The aircraft safely landed in Vancouver. Air Canada admits the incident was highly unusual and maintenance personnel are inspecting the plane and making any necessary repairs. They have also apologized for any stress or concern the issue may have caused.

This follows an earlier Air Canada incident this month when a propeller smashed through a passenger’s window during an emergency landing in Edmonton and four passengers were sent to hospital.

--------------------
Featured Image: Skips_LegDay via Imgur

Who are the most wanted extremists in Canada?

CBC News

The government rarely offers details about Canadian extremists it believes pose a threat, but with the help of terrorism experts and using open sources of information, CBC News has pieced together a list of 18 Canadians accused of dangerous terrorist connections.

The same information is not publicly available from the RCMP or the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS), raising questions about why Canadian law enforcement agencies aren’t more transparent about who is a threat to Canada and why.

"This is exactly how they operate," says Mubin Shaikh, an undercover operative for CSIS in the Toronto 18 terror case. "This is their style. You really have to squeeze it out of them to get any information."

See the list of Canadians with alleged terrorist links >>

More >>

Hamilton Hoax in play day before Dead Soldier’s funeral

canadafreepress

Is self-described YouTube “filmmaker” Omar Albach,whose ‘social experiment’  going viral today over the Internet and whose story is being picked up by major television networks in both Canada and the U.S., a Palestinian propagandist at heart?

Albach, who with two other filmmakers contrived a scenario in Hamilton, hometown of murdered War Memorial Honour Guard Corporal Nathan Cirillo,and posted it on the Internet one day before Cirillo’s funeral, is the same filmmaker who posted a July 22, 2014 YouTube of two little girls, one wearing the Palestinian keffiyeh, holding ‘Hug a Terrorist’ signs in downtown Toronto.

“For the past two weeks Israel has been killing terrorists just like the ones standing next to me.” “These two girls will be holding up this sign to see how people will react when they are labelled this way,”  Albach states in the beginning of his ‘Hug a Terrorist’ YouTube.  

Albach, a self-described resident of Mississauga, couldn’t wait until after the Cirillo funeral led by his 5-year-old son Marco, to conduct his ‘social experiment’?

‘This is what happens to racists in Canada…Filmmaker left bleeding after playing role of Islamophobe in ‘social experiment’, Britain’s Daily Mail headlines trumpet from today’s front page.

“This is based on the events that happened in Ottawa,’ said Albach, referring to recent bloodshed in the Canadian capital.

‘We’re going to see if people feel safe to be around Muslims or people that look like Muslims.’ (Daily Mail, Oct. 28, 2014)

How can a handful of people at a bus stop in Hamilton Ontario, tricked into believing that a man dressed in Muslim clothes, but was in reality a filmmaker be based on “the events that happened in Ottawa”?

“There was no shortage of people willing to stand up to racism and bullying.  Eventually the filmmaker playing (the) part of the racist got punched in the face.” (Daily Mail)

And there in the picture is the proof of the sucker punch, an unidentified filmmaker with a visibly bleeding nose.

It all went down at a bus stop complete with a filmmaker turned out in Muslim-style clothes.

The Daily Mail conclusion is that “a video experiment has shown most urban Canadians will leap to the defence of a Muslim person singled out for abuse even in the wake of the country’s recent Islamist terror attack.”

Yet no one in the video was told that the filmmakers were trying to prove a connection between their video shoot and Ottawa events. Never were they informed they were innocently taking part in a hoax, if those shown in the video really were random citizens.

“Within seconds of the filmmakers beginning their first charade - which involved a one (sic) telling another one wearing Muslim-style clothes he can’t board a bus - a middle-aged man objects to the apparent racism. (Daily Mail, Oct. 28, 2014)

‘You know what? You can’t stereotype and judge people by their clothes,’ the casually dressed, silver-haired white man objects. ‘Or their nationalities or anything else, you know what I mean?’

Unfortunately, many folk know exactly what this could-be actor means.

“The filmmakers repeat their play in several different locations, to get a range of responses. Although the footage is edited and not continuous, it seems they found difficulty finding anyone to go along with the racist behaviour.
“Asked to think of the recent shooting of Corporal Nathan Cirillo at Canada’s national war memorial, a woman responds: ‘It was awful and tragic, but I don’t think that’s any reason to persecute some just because of what they’re wearing.’
“Asked to think of the recent shooting of Corporal Nathan Cirillo at Canada’s national war memorial?”  Most Canadians did not have to be asked to think about it, but were in deep mourning on the very day the video was shot.
“The video, published yesterday, has already attracted nearly 200,000 views and a storm of comment. The location was poignant, Hamilton is the hometown of Corporal Cirillo and it was today the emotional scene of his funeral procession, led by his five-year-old son Marco. (Daily Mail)
“Burnishing Canada’s credentials as a tolerant, multicultural nation, the video shows Canadians of a range of ethnicities and walks of life objecting to vocal racism and Islamophobia.
“Finally, a hot-headed man in a baseball cap decides he’s had enough of the haranguing being dished out to the Muslim man.
“He sneaks up next to the ‘racist’ and sucker punches him in the face.
“Speaking to camera, the man who played the role of the racist concluded: ‘So err.. the social experiment had a negative ending to it but, you know what? It’s positive because he stood up for him and I appreciate that.
‘It’s good.’

Someone should enlighten Omar Albach and Company that propaganda, especially when carried by the mainstream media, is anything but “good”.

Ottawa Police Reach out to Islamist Groups After Terrorist Attack

The Investigative Project on Terrorism (IPT) 

Just after last week's terrorist attacks in Ottawa, the city's police chief Charles Bordeleau reached out to various Muslim leaders and organizations with questionable ties to radical organizations including the Muslim Brotherhood and Hamas, according to a report produced by the Canadian website Point De Bascule.

Sikhander Hashmi, the imam at the Kanata Muslim Association (KMA), acknowledged that Bordeleau contacted him to reassure the Muslim community in case of "backlash" from the terrorist attack. This perceived "backlash" remains to be seen. More significantly, the Ottawa Police Service overlooks connections between Hahsmi's organization and the Muslim Brotherhood infrastructure in Ottawa. That includes money it transferred to the Hamas-linked IRFAN-Canada in 2010, according to the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA).

IRFAN-Canada lost its charity status in 2011 following a CRA audit that exposed the organization as an "integral part" in Hamas' international fundraising infrastructure. The donations in question were sent between 2005 and 2009. Canadian authoritiesdesignated IRFAN-Canada as a terrorist organization earlier this year after determining the charity served as a front for Hamas, transferring close to $15 million to the terrorist organization.

The KMA also transferred money to the Islamic Circle of North America (ICNA), an organization linked to the Pakistani Jammat-e-Islami.

Moreover, Chief Bordeleau previously met with other controversial Muslim leaders in Ottawa. In January 2013, he met with Jalil Marhnouj, vice president of the Assunnah Muslims Association and other leaders affiliated with the Muslim Brotherhood network in Canada. The Assunnah Muslims Association transferred $29,880 to IRFAN.

Despite the Canadian government's acknowledged link between the National Council of Canadian Muslims (NCCM) and Hamas, the Ottawa Police Service maintains an extensive relationship with the controversial group. The NCCM, formerly known as CAIR-CAN, has trained Ottawa Police officers since February 2002, according to a Senate Committee testimony provided by a former Ottawa police chief. The NCCM is a recognized affiliate of CAIR, which has been identified by the FBI as part of a Hamas-support network in the United States.

Click here for the full Point De Bascule.

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Ottawa gunman's movements caught on camera

Jihad: Photo of Shooter from Canadian Parliament Building

Pastorius

Canadian Soldier Shot in Attack at Parliament Hill in Ottawa

NYTimes.com

By IAN AUSTEN and RICK GLADSTONEOCT. 22, 2014

Paramedics transported a victim of the shooting. Credit Adrian Wyld/The Canadian Press, via Associated Press

Continue reading the main story

OTTAWA — At least two gunmen traumatized the heart of the Canadian government on Wednesday, with one shooting a soldier guarding the National War Memorial and then entering the adjacent Parliament building, where multiple rounds were fired. Shooting also was reported at a nearby shopping mall.

Police officers rushed to secure the Parliament building and move occupants to safety as they hunted for what Canadian news reports said were possibly two or three assailants, in what had the appearance of a coordinated attack.

The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation reported that one assailant was killed. The condition of the soldier who was shot was not immediately clear.

The shootings began about 10 a.m., just as the leaders of Parliament were holding their weekly meetings, suggesting the possibility of deliberate timing. Many of the lawmakers were rushed into secure rooms in the basement by guards.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper had been inside Parliament at the time of the shooting but was evacuated safely, Canadian news reports said. The entire area, known as Parliament Hill, was placed on lockdown as police reinforcements arrived.

Continue reading the main story

Footage from Globe reporter captures exchange of gun fire in Parliament Hill building Video by The Globe and Mail

The Ottawa Police and Royal Canadian Mounted Police warned the public in a Twitter post to “stay away from the downtown Ottawa area.”

Continue reading the main story

Witnesses reported seeing the gunman who shot the soldier running into the House of Commons, firing dozens of rounds. The assailant’s identity and motive were not clear.

It also was unclear whether any other people were hurt, but a Ottawa City bus converted to a medical treatment unit was seen moving to the area.

Journalists covering Parliament were ordered by police officers at gunpoint to lie on the floor in the foyer in front of the House of Commons, The Globe and Mail reported on its website. The Globe and Mail’s correspondent, Josh Wingrove, said in a series of Twitter posts that the hallways were filled with the smell of gunpowder.

Continue reading the main story

At least 10 Royal Canadian Mounted Police squad cars converged on Parliament Hill’s Centre Block, as heavily armed officers wearing bulletproof vests went into the complex.

Continue reading the main story

The shootings in the heart of the normally placid Canadian capital came two days after a hit-and-run crash in a small Quebec city that killed one Canadian soldier and injured another. The authorities considered it an act of terrorism.

Canada: Shots fired on Parliament Hill, soldier injured at National War Memorial

CP24.com

OTTAWA -- A soldier standing guard at the National War Memorial in Ottawa has been shot by an unknown gunman and people report hearing gunfire inside the halls of Parliament.

Tory MP Bob Zimmer has tweeted that the gunman was shot and killed, but that report could not be immediately verified.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper was rushed away from the building to an undisclosed location, officials in his office said.

Paramedics and police pull a shooting victim away from the Canadian War Memorial in Ottawa on Wednesday Oct.22, 2014. A Canadian soldier standing guard at the National War Memorial in Ottawa has been shot by an unknown gunman and there are reports of gunfire inside the halls of Parliament. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld

Police are shown at the scene of a reported shooting on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on Wednesday morning. (Richard Madan/CTV News)

Ottawa police confirmed they had a call at 9:52 a.m. with a report of shots fired.

The gunman reportedly ran towards Parliament Hill, which is currently under lockdown and surrounded by security.

A witness reported that a man drove up in a black vehicle, got out carrying a rifle and ran into the Centre Block.

Witnesses reported hearing shots fired in several different corridors. Some people fled the building by scrambling down scaffolding erected for renovations.

It is caucus morning on the Hill, meaning most MPs are in the Centre Block.

Police cars and emergency vehicles are clustered at the foot of the Peace Tower and the Centre Block has been evacuated.

Chuck Bronley of Ottawa said he was near the memorial when he heard four shots and saw a man running away carrying a rifle.

A tourist from the Netherlands was also nearby when he heard four shots, and saw an armed man with long, dark hair fleeing.

Police were yelling at bystanders, shouting that there was still a shooter on the loose.

"DND member is down," one officer was overheard saying.

Bronley was fairly certain the victim was one of the ceremonial guards at the War Memorial.

Two people vigorously pumped the victim's chest on the stairs of the War Memorial, until the victim was finally placed on a stretcher and ushered into an ambulance shortly after 10 a.m.

Paramedics performed CPR on the soldier before he was taken away by ambulance.

The incident comes just two days after two Canadian soldiers were run over -- and one of them killed -- in Quebec by a man with jihadist sympathies.

Read more: http://www.cp24.com/news/shots-fired-on-parliament-hill-soldier-injured-at-national-war-memorial-1.2065446#ixzz3GswbMkcD

Famous Canadian war photo brings back memories

CLAUDE P. DETTLOFF / THE CANADIAN PRESS FILE PHOTO

This incredible photograph from the Second World War, known as Wait for me, Daddy, has prompted a monument set to debut Saturday.

Read on Toronto Star >>