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

Oldest water on Earth found deep underground

Science

B. Sherwood Lollar et al.

A scientist takes a sample of water from a mine deep
 underground in Ontario, Canada. The water turned 
out to be 2.6 billion years old, the oldest known
 water on Earth.

By Charles Q. Choi
LiveScience
A pocket of water some 2.6 billion years old — the most ancient pocket of water known by far, older even than the dawn of multicellular life — has now been discovered in a mine 2 miles below the Earth's surface.
The finding, announced in the May 16 issue of the journal Nature, raises the tantalizing possibility that ancient life might be found deep underground not only within Earth, but in similar oases that may exist on Mars, the scientists who studied the water said.
Geoscientist Barbara Sherwood Lollar at the University of Toronto and her colleagues have investigated deep mines across the world since the 1980s. Water can flow into fractures in rocks and become isolated deep in the crust for many years, serving as a time capsule of what their environments were like at the time they were sealed off.
In gold mines in South Africa 1.7 miles (2.8 kilometers) deep, the scientists previously discovered microbes could survive in pockets of waterisolated for tens of millions of years. These reservoirs were many times saltier than seawater, "and had chemistry in many ways similar to hydrothermal vents on the bottom of the ocean, full of dissolved hydrogen and other chemicals capable of supporting life," Sherwood Lollar said. [Strangest Places Where Life Is Found on Earth]
To see what other ancient pockets of water might exist, Sherwood Lollar and her colleagues investigated copper and zinc mines near the city of Timmins in Ontario, Canada. "As the prices of copper, zinc and gold have gone up, mines now go deeper, which has helped our search for long-isolated reservoirs of water hidden underground," Sherwood Lollar said.
'Mind-blowing' find"Sometimes we went down in cages — they're not called elevators underground — that dropped us to the levels we wanted to go," Sherwood Lollar told OurAmazingPlanet. "Other times, we went down ramp mines, which have curling spiral roadways, so we could actually drive all the way down."
The scientists analyzed water they found 2 miles (2.4 km) deep. They focused on noble gases such as helium, neon, argon and xenon. Past studies analyzing bubbles of air trapped within ancient rocks found that these rare gases could occur in distinct ratios linked with certain eras of Earth's history. As such, by analyzing the ratios of noble gases seen in this water, the researchers could deduce the age of the water.
The scientists discovered the fluids were trapped in the rocks between 1.5 billion and 2.64 billion years ago.
"It was absolutely mind-blowing," Sherwood Lollar said. "These weren't tens of millions of years old like we might have expected, or even hundreds of millions of years old. They were billions of years old."
The site was formed by geological activity similar to that seen in hydrothermal vents. "We walked along what used to be ocean floor 2.7 billion years ago," Sherwood Lollar said. "You could still see some of the same pillow lava structures now seen on the bottom of the ocean."
Signs of life?This ancient water poured out of the boreholes the team drilled in the mine at the rate of nearly a half-gallon (2 liters) per minute. It remains uncertain precisely how large this reservoir of water is.
"This is an extremely important question and one that we want to pursue in our future work," Sherwood Lollar said. "We also want to see if there are habitable reservoirs of similar age around the world."
Sherwood Lollar emphasized they have not yet found any signs of life in the water from Timmins. "We're working on that right now," she said. "It'd be fascinating to us if we did, since it'd push back the frontiers of how long life could survive in isolation."
And the implications of such a finding would extend beyond the extremes of life on Earth.
"Finding life in this energy-rich water is especially exciting if one thinks of Mars, where there might be water of similar age and mineralogy under the surface," Sherwood Lollar said.
If any life once arose on Mars billions of years ago as it did on Earth, "then it is likely in the subsurface," Sherwood Lollar said. "If we find the water in Timmins can support life, maybe the same might hold true for Mars as well."

Time to fire Premier Kathleen Wynne’s fools | Editorial Toronto Sun

Editorial | Toronto Sun

Voters need to have an “adult conversation” with Premier Kathleen Wynne and her sorry collection of “revenue fools” known as Ontario’s Liberal government.

In other words, it’s time to throw these bums out of office, with a swift kick delivered to their money-squandering keisters.

With Monday’s finding by Auditor General Jim McCarter the real cost of the Liberals’ political decision to cancel the Mississauga gas plant two weeks before the 2011 election was $275 million, not the $190 million the Liberals claimed, enough is enough.

They lied coming into power in 2003, when then premier Dalton McGuinty brought in one of the largest tax grabs in Ontario history, after promising not to do so during the campaign.

And they’re still lying today, given McCarter’s finding the cost of closing the Mississauga plant is 44.7% higher than the $190 million the Liberals claimed.

According to McCarter, the $190 million cost of moving the plant to Sarnia only accounts for how much extra Ontarians will pay as taxpayers.

But it doesn’t include the fact Ontarians will have an additional $85 million tacked on to their electricity bills because of the Liberal “seat saver” program.

“The circumstances surrounding the cancellation decision weakened the Ontario Power Authority’s (OPA) negotiating position,” McCarter concluded.

“We found that the OPA was under significant pressure to get the construction of the plant stopped as quickly as possible, and this likely resulted in the final cancellation costs being higher than they would otherwise have been.”

McCarter will report this summer on the cost of the Liberals’ 2010 decision to cancel another unpopular gas plant in Oakville and move it to Napanee.

The Liberals claim it’s $40 million, but an independent energy expert has testified before a legislative committee the real price could be up to $638 million, 16 times higher than what the Liberals are saying.

In any event, it’s past time for NDP Leader Andrea Horwath to stop condemning the Liberals out of one side of her mouth, while supporting their politically corrupt minority government out of the other.

She should join forces with Progressive Conservative Leader Tim Hudak and bring down the Liberals now.

They don’t deserve to be in office another day.

Big-Time Major League Pitcher Refuses to Move Family to Canada After Traded to Toronto Blue Jays Because Ontario Has Banned His Dog

theblaze
By Jonathon M. Seidl

Buehrle and his family of dogs, including the pit bull mix Slater. (Photo: Mark Buehrle via Christian Post)

DUNEDIN, Fla. (AP) — Mark Buehrle won’t be experiencing the dog days of summer.

While the pitcher is headed to Toronto, his family will split the season between Broward County in Florida and their home in St. Louis. One of their four dogs, Slater, is a mix of bulldog and American Staffordshire Terrier – which is of pit bull lineage. Pit bulls are banned in the province of Ontario.

“He’s an awesome dog,” Buehrle said Saturday. “That’s what’s a shame; just the way he looks is why we have to get separated.”

Sent to Toronto as part of the Miami Marlins’ payroll purge, Buehrle had a few options. He could have left Slater with friends or placed him in a kennel. The Buehrle family also could have moved to Buffalo or somewhere else on the U.S. side of the border, forcing the pitcher to commute 90 minutes each way to Toronto.

Buehrle’s wife, Jamie, 5-year-old Braden and 3-year-old daughter Brooklyn will spend time with the 33-year-old left-hander during spring training, as will Slater and their three vizslas.

“It’s something we’re going to deal with,” Buehrle said. “It’s going to be tough at the beginning, not seeing your kids, but people deal with it and we’ll make it work.”

Buehrle concluded responsible pet owners should not delegate to others the task of caring for a dog. And he said he wouldn’t break a law by taking a dog where it is prohibited.

“We’ve had people say, `Oh, you can bring them up here. Knowing you have money, no one’s going to take your dog because they know you’re going to fight against it,’” Buehrle said. “But the thing is, Slater will have to sit in a cage until that court date gets there, and that could be two weeks, it could be three months. If people don’t own dogs, they’re not going to understand you’re leaving your family and your kids behind over a dog.”

Buehrle said his family will travel to Toronto for occasional visits.

“It’s not like we’re not going to see each other,” he said. “But we just feel like with all the training and all the stuff that we’ve done with the dogs, it’s better that they stay with my wife.”

After going 161-119 during 12 seasons with the Chicago White Sox, Buehrle agreed in December 2011 to a $58 million, four-year contract with the Marlins. The team went on a spending spree as it prepared to move into a new ballpark, but a terrible season caused owner Jeffrey Loria to shed stars.

Buehrle was traded in November along with shortstop Jose Reyes, right-hander Josh Johnson, catcher John Buck and outfielder Emilio Bonifacio to the Blue Jays.

None of the Marlins’ players had contractual provisions allowing them to block trades. Buehrle issued a statement in November, saying “I was lied to on multiple occasions” by the Marlins.

“I let it be known how I felt, and I wasn’t happy,” he said. “I felt like we took a leap of faith there, coming there without a no-trade clause, and we felt like we’d be there a long time.”

Buehrle said Marlins President David Samson reached out to him.

“I had nothing to say. I told them I wasn’t in much of a mood, and that they wouldn’t like to hear what I had to say,” Buehrle explained. “I didn’t have much interest in talking to them, and I don’t have any plans now to ever talk to them again.”

Gerard Kennedy campaigns in Toronto

Video: http://www.cp24.com/video?clipId=837734&binId=1.814368

Ontario Premier's resignation and the prorrogation of Ontario legislature

Capital Read/ Mark D. Jarvis*

Last evening, after 16 years as Leader of the Ontario Liberal Party and nine years as the Premier of Ontario, Dalton McGuinty resigned unexpectedly. Partisans, pundits, journalists and other observers have already started, and will continue to, pick apart McGuinty’s record as he serves his remaining days.

It was also newsworthy that at the same time as he announced his resignation, McGuinty prorogued the Ontario legislature.

While some will find this of little interest or just merely a distraction from the broader political fall out and machinations, I would suggest the decision to prorogue deserves considerable attention.

Prorogation has a legitimate – and valuable – function within the parliamentary system.

Parliament is prorogued so that the government can efficiently organize sessions, allowing it to conclude one session when its legislative program has come to an end and it wishes to introduce a new legislative program. Each session begins with the Speech from the Throne, when the governor general, or lieutenant governor in Ontario’s case, reads the government’s new legislative program. Prorogation is a mechanism for ensuring effective governing and government.

But prorogation can also be abused.

Prorogation is not a mechanism designed to afford the current government a political advantage in the exercise of power.

Yet, in recent years we have seen first ministers misuse the power of prorogation to avoid confidence votes, delay reporting by officers of parliament, escape questioning and scrutiny, and side-step accountability for matters of public policy and administration.

This most recent prorogation terminates an ongoing investigation of contempt against one of McGuinty’s ministers  and effectively precludes anticipated motions of contempt against an additional minister and McGuinty himself until a new session of the legislature, when McGuinty will no longer be premier.

This alone renders this prorogation an abuse. Where it fits alongside past abusive prorogations will be debated (This excellent Peter Loewen piece is a good start).

Also troubling is that there are no clear timelines for when the legislature will be called back into session.

But there is something even more disconcerting afoot.

Across the country prime ministers and premiers are making it clear that they see legislatures – our elected representatives – as an undue burden. Whether as a means of managing legislative impasses or risks of losing confidence or simply to escape scrutiny, first ministers have demonstrated a predilection for simply shutting down the respective legislative assemblies in their jurisdictions.

It is worth examining the premier’s own words in explaining the prorogation. In an email sent to Liberal supporters McGuinty said: “I’ve asked the Lieutenant Governor to prorogue the legislature to allow those discussions with our labour partners and the opposition to occur in an atmosphere that is free of the heightened rancour of politics in the legislature…”

The “rancour” that Premier McGuinty is so dismissive of is an essential dynamic of public accountability within our democratic system, which sees partisan politics – institutionalized adversarialism – as the best means of securing democracy.

The premier’s tone and message is reminiscent of Premier Christy Clark, who earlier this fall cancelled the fall term of the British Columbian legislature, leaving an open question as to whether or not it would sit at all before the scheduled provincial election in May. On the opposite coast, the Newfoundland and Labrador legislature reopened this March after having only sat for a total of just 33 days in the previous 14 months.

These actions violate the basic premise of responsible government: that the house or legislature, as the case may be, is actually in session in order to fulfill its fundamental responsibilities: to review government legislation, to scrutinize government administration and to extend or withdraw confidence as it deems fit.

These developments should be disconcerting to us all.

---------------------------------------

*Mark D. Jarvis is a doctoral candidate at the University of Victoria. His 2011 book, Democratizing the Constitution: Reforming Responsible Government co-authored with Lori Turnbull and the late Peter Aucoin, was awarded both the Donner and Smiley book prizes. Mark adapted some of the book’s proposals for a contribution to our series on the House last year. You can find more information about the book here: http://www.emp.ca/democratizing-the-constitution-reforming-responsible-government.html

Ontario Power plant scandal continues

dance of the millions with taxpayers' money. politicians and bureaucrats have to answer for  it legally. 

-------------------------------------- 

GlobalToronto Mon, Oct 15: Liberal cabinet members are saying they never meant to mislead the public while the opposition leaders claim the government leaders were not telling the truth. Alan Carter reports.

Mafia's Ontario reach

Toronto Star/

Quebecers have been getting daily lessons in how deeply organized crime has become embedded in their province’s construction industry. At the Charbonneau commission hearings into the industry, they’ve heard allegations that the Mafia routinely took a cut of municipal contracts. Even the mayor of Montreal has been tarnished by testimony that kickbacks were paid to his party. The scandal threatens to spread throughout the province — and possibly to Ottawa.

Ontarians watching this unseemly spectacle should not be complacent — especially those tempted to assume that Quebec is somehow more prone than other provinces to this sort of thing. The evidence is quickly mounting that we have a bigger problem than we thought right under our own noses.

At the Quebec inquiry, a police Mafia expert let it drop that Peel Regional Police may be investigating government contracts awarded to organized crime groups. More disturbing still, an ongoing investigation by the Star and Radio-Canada finds that police here and in Italy are concerned that Ontario has become a haven — a comfortable “penal colony,” according to some — for alleged Italian crime figures associated with the Calabrian syndicate known as the ’Ndrangheta. Senior RCMP investigators and Mafia hunters in Italy tell Star reporters that the ’Ndrangheta uses the province as a major base for money laundering and, possibly, political corruption.

That’s certainly alarming. But it also appears that Canadian and Italian police are stuck in a pattern of finger-pointing and mutual distrust that has let this situation fester for far too long. The Italians complain they have sent information about wanted criminals who have taken refuge in Canada, but get no action from Canadian police. The Canadians, in turn, say they can’t act on charges under Italy’s sweeping law forbidding “Mafia association,” but need evidence of specific crimes under Canadian law.

Italy has been fighting the Mafia under its various guises for generations, so it’s understandable that it has special laws targeting those linked to these outfits. Canada isn’t about to go down that path, but it could do better with the laws already on the books. The Canadian law on criminal organizations has been used against biker gangs, but not against Mafia groups. That should change.

Police forces also need to keep their focus on the Mafia. Kevin Harrison, superintendent of the RCMP’s Combined Special Forces Enforcement Unit in Toronto, acknowledged to the Star’s investigative team that at one point police let their attention drift away from what they officially call “traditional organized crime.” Their intelligence got “stale,” he said, and “it’s a big hill to climb to get back to where we need to be.”

That can’t happen again, given the troubling new evidence of how pervasive mob influence may well be in this province. At this point there’s no smoking gun we know of in the form of evidence about specific crimes or corruption. But that should be cold comfort, given the pattern of events next door in Quebec.

For a long time, the crime headlines there were dominated by wars among rival biker gangs. But as testimony at the Charbonneau commission is showing, old-style Mafia groups were burrowing deeper into the life of the province and quite likely corrupting public officials. Ontario must not stand by and risk the same thing happening here.

Vito Rizzuto, "Former" Mob boss released from U.S. prison [coming back to Canada]

CBC.ca 

Vito Rizzuto, the erstwhile head of the Sicilian Mafia in Canada and once the most powerful figure in Montreal's underworld, has been released from a U.S. prison in Colorado and is thought to be on his way home, possibly to Toronto.

He was released around 10 a.m. and taken into custody by U.S. immigration agents, who will be deporting him from the country, presumably back to Canada.

Rizzuto completed his sentence for his role in the 1981 murders of three captains of the Bonanno crime family, one of New York's five big Sicilian Mafia clans.

He was arrested in Montreal in 2004 and extradited to the United States, then sentenced to 10 years after pleading guilty to racketeering charges in 2007 stemming from the crime. With credit for time served during his extradition process, Rizzuto was eligible for statutory early release on Friday.

It is believed he will head to Toronto, where he has family.

Police uncover 50 explosive devices and chemicals north of Toronto

Jessica McDiarmid
www.thestar.com/ Staff Reporter

BARRIE, ONT.—Police have uncovered at least 50 improvised explosive devices and possible booby traps at a home investigators have been scouring for days that belongs to suspects in an old murder case.

Residents of the usually tranquil neighbourhood are in shock.

“It’s never going to be normal here again,” said one resident who, like most around the house at 30 Virgilwood Cres., did not want to have her name published for fear of retaliation. “You’re not going to want to walk on that side of the road again.”

The quiet, tree-lined street was ribboned with police tape on Sunday and police cruisers blocked access to the area around the house where investigators have uncovered homemade bombs, chemicals, possible booby traps and a backyard bunker.

“It just goes to show you don’t know your neighbours,” said another resident. “You really don’t know.”

Last Thursday, about 60 residents from surrounding homes were evacuated after investigators found the first explosives.

The search — and the discoveries that have left neighbours reeling — began Thursday after police arrested two men who live at the house on Virgilwood. The two now face charges in connection with a homicide case dating back to 1978.

Initially, police said residents would likely return home Saturday. But as the investigation drags on, it will be at least Wednesday before anyone can go home, Const. Angela Butler of Barrie Police Service said.

“The total of what we’re doing seems to heighten every day,” Butler said. “As officers go through the home, they’re finding more and more improvised explosives.”

On Sunday, the RCMP sent electrical specialists to the scene to help Barrie police and OPP officers figure out the purpose of wires found “everywhere” that may be booby traps, said Butler adding, “It’s not a simple task.”

Investigators, she said, have found chemicals that are “extremely unstable and dangerous,” used for making explosives, some of which appear to have been there for 20 years or more.

Police expect to lay a number of charges in connection with the explosives found at the house.

On Sunday, neighbours milled around watching as police officers continued to remove items from the home, including several large blue tanks.

Some explosives were taken to the City of Barrie’s operations centre, where they were detonated on Sunday, while others have been exploded at the property, sending booms throughout the neighbourhood.

Police “said it was going to sound like shotgun blasts,” an area resident said. “But they sound like shotgun blasts in your ear.”

John Picken, who lives nearby, said he’d never noticed anything strange about the house where members of the bomb squad are now combing the property.

“This is totally off the wall for this neighbourhood. It’s a total shock,” Picken said. “It could have been my kid that tossed a ball over the fence.”

Late Sunday afternoon, police were escorting residents to their houses to gather personal items. Residents who have been evacuated are staying with friends, at hotels or in accommodations arranged by the Red Cross.

Barrie Mayor Jeff Lehman said the city is working with police to assist the investigation and take care of those who have been forced from their homes.

“We want to make sure the evacuated folks get what they need,” said Lehman, who visited the scene Sunday afternoon. “We certainly recognize this is very inconvenient for people.”

Police have charged Donald Feldhoff, 54, in connection with the 1978 murder of Michael Traynor. According to newspapers at the time, Traynor’s death was described as a “gangland slaying.”

Charged with being an accessory after the fact is Feldhoff’s 75-year-old father, William Feldhoff.

Toronto school board pulls controversial Che Guevara lesson plan

James Armstrong, Global News/

TORONTO – A page dedicated to the teaching of Ernesto ‘Che’ Guevara as a hero of Latin American literacy has been taken down by the Toronto District School Board (TDSB) after complaints.

Guevara, an infamous revolutionary figure who helped institute regime change in Cuba along with Fidel Castro, was being used as part of a resource to teach young Toronto students about the importance of literacy – though making no mention of his alleged crimes.

According to the resource guide, posted publicly on the Toronto District School Board (TDSB) website until Thursday, Che Guevara was “a leader in Latin America,” who was “saddened by how poor people were wherever he visited,” and “decided that he would give all his time and energy to work to change that.”

The resource continues: “He is called a ‘revolutionary’ because he wanted to change the way people worked and viewed the world. He travelled to do political work in many countries until he helped to win a battle in Cuba, called the Cuban Revolution. He worked in the government there for a few years and then travelled to other countries to do similar work.”

While the lesson plan for primary students focuses on the importance of literacy, it also leaves out much detail about Guevara – including his involvement in a number of executions.

“This webpage was created as a resource should they choose to use it as a resource for them to teach their kids about literacy in Cuba,” said Ryan Bird, a spokesperson for the TDSB.

“Che Guevara was integral in raising the literacy rate in Cuba and this was a resource for them to use… It was by no means a mandated piece of curriculum.”

But were Guevara’s accomplishments in literacy noteworthy enough to be included in a primary education resource plan celebrating Latin American history?

While literacy rates in Cuba did grow post-revolution, David Parker, a Queen’s University professor who teaches Latin American history argues that the growth in literacy rates came at a cost for Cuba. Before the revolution, Parker suggests, illiteracy rates hovered around 25 per cent, "which at the time put Cuba's literacy rate well into the top half of Latin America," rather than the 50 per cent claimed by the TDSB report.

Currently, Cuba has among the highest literacy rates in the world, at 99.8 per cent.

But at what cost did Cuba achieve the significant growth in literacy rates? Parker claims that while post-revolution life may have been better for many people in rural areas, there was a significant economic sacrifice to the entire country.

"Cuba sacrificed a huge amount of economic potential in the name of a radical equality and an impressive education and healthcare safety net for all. The rural poor in Cuba live far better than before the revolution in countless ways. But the average Havana dweller can't necessarily say the same thing. It all depends what you use as your "before" and "after" comparisons," Parker said.

The Toronto District School Board now says that after concerns from the public, the page was taken down and may not have been the best example of Latin American history to use in promoting literacy.

“We’ve heard people’s concerns about this webpage and we have taken it down from our website. We understand that perhaps this example was not the best way to explain the situation in Cuba,” Bird said. “We all know historical figures can be controversial in themselves, but we have heard people’s concerns and we’ve taken it down off the website.”

The TDSB also made a concerted effort not to include the so-called “darker parts” of Guevara’s past, including his alleged responsibility for hundreds of executions.

“This was just for elementary students. There were certain elements of Che Guevara’s ‘darker past’ were not necessarily appropriate for this context, as we were truly focusing on the literacy rate in Cuba,” Bird said.

“This is not a mandated part of the curriculum. If older students, or high school students were learning about Che Guevara, of course his more complete history would be told.”

An expert in Latin American politics doesn’t think Guevara’s so-called “darker” actions are anything to shy away from, saying any executions ordered by Che Guevara were merely a part of the guerrilla war in which he was involved.

“The government was trying hard to infiltrate the revolutionary cells,” Dr. Judith Teichman from the University of Toronto said. “There were some allegations that he had some people executed. Not many.”

He was not a mass murderer according to Teichman, but rather a person forced into a situation where violence was the only option. She suggests that his situation can be compared to other violent struggles across the world.

“War always produces moral dilemmas and behaviour that you would rather not have to engage in, and injustices,” Teichman said. “But you have to understand that was in the context that people are living in… why do we go to war? Why did we go to war in the First and Second World War?... In most people’s schemas, there are justifications for war under certain circumstances.”

Around the world, Guevara is known by many as an inspiring figure, having led a revolution in Cuba which overthrew the Batista government, a regime that killed thousands of people - though he is clearly not perfect.

“He is an individual who single-handedly changed history, and millions around the world came to the conclusion that they could transform their own countries if they could only "be like Che" and emulate his sacrifice,” Parker said. "It's also true that his vision of worldwide revolution failed almost everywhere, and arguably caused great suffering."  

Read it on Global News: Global Toronto | Toronto school board pulls controversial Che Guevara lesson plan

Canada tactical squad killed a bear...nothing better to do

why they couldn't tranquilice the bear/ why they need special forces for it / why wildlife services wasn't in charge

Doing the Edge Walk - CN Tower, Toronto

Brothels and pimping legalized in Ontario

Aaron Vincent Elkaim / AP

Terri-Jean Bedford, center, makes a victory sign during a press conference in Toronto on Monday, March 26, 2012 with Nikki Thomas, left, and Valerie Scott, right, after the Ontario's Court of Appeal struck down a ban on brothels, saying a ban on brothels puts prostitutes at risk and is unconstitutional. Bedford, a dominatrix, has argued that Canada's sex trade laws force workers from the safety of their homes to face violence on the streets. More >>

Only Canadians: Couple misread $50M lotto ticket as $50,000

Canadian Press 

An Ontario couple say they didn't initially realize their winning lottery ticket featured so many zeros. JoAnn Champagne had to steady herself on a counter after learning she and her husband won the $50-million Lotto Max jackpot.

Mysterious noise 'rocking' Windsor, Ontario

Residents of Windsor, Ont., shown here with a view of Detroit, Mich., in the background, are rattled by mysterious reverberations. (Jacques Boissinot/Canadian Press)

Yahoo News/

An unexplained rumbling disturbed hundreds of Windsor, Ont., residents this weekend to the extent that some thought it was an earthquake, prompting calls for Ottawa to step in.

City Coun. Al Maghnieh said he was inundated with telephone calls, emails and Facebook messages this weekend after the so-called "hum" returned, louder than ever.

"Between the sound and the vibration, it was just very, very bad," Maghnieh said. "A lot of people are frustrated and to a point ... demoralized."

Residents across Windsor and neighbouring LaSalle began reporting a noise they describe as similar to an idling train or semi-trailer in February 2011.

Maghnieh said a "low-frequency rumble" seemed to peak early Sunday morning, calling it "really harsh."

He wasn't alone in this complaint.

"It was a rocking weekend. We actually thought an earthquake was happening," said Gary Grosse, administrator for the Windsor-Essex County Hum Facebook group.

There are approximately 800 members on Grosse's Facebook page, and he said he's aware of several more people who haven't come forward for fear of lowering their property values if they identify themselves as living within earshot of the hum.

"We need help and closure to put an end to this problem," Maghnieh said.

Seismic testing conducted by Natural Resources Canada last summer pinpointed a one-square kilometre area of Zug Island in River Rouge, Mich.

Grosse is now encouraging people to call the corporate headquarters of several steel companies with facilities on Zug Island.

"Don't be quiet. Don't be silent about the issue. You're not alone. Only through numbers can we get the issue resolved," Grosse said. More >>

#Canada - Ontario couple wins $50 millions jackpot but...must first obtain photo ID

Read >

Ontario Police taking a tour with stolen tracto-trailer on highwyas

stolen truck going back to toronto. what are the high paid police officers doing a tour on ontarios highways? fired all of them!!!

after almost 9 hours they don't know who is the driver yet!!!!!!

Watch our live stream of the police chase

#Radioactivity : Port Hope, Ontario: What lies beneath

Waste Facility Operations Manager, David Boyce, locks the gate leading into the Welcome Waste Management Facility near Port Hope.

Yvonne Berg/FOR THE TORONTO STAR

In mid-November, when the weather was still gorgeous and tourists were still meandering through its picturesque downtown streets, Helen Caldicott sentenced Port Hope to death.

“It's a disaster,” the renowned doctor and anti-nuclear activist told a gathering of Port Hopers and a crush of reporters crammed into a hotel in Oshawa.

The mess can't be cleaned up, Caldicott said flatly of the low-level radioactive waste sprinkled around Port Hope.

“The entire town should be relocated and the Cameco refinery should be shut down.”

More  Here  >>

The Welland Canal- Timelapse

The Welland Canal is part of the St. Lawrence Seaway which allows large ships to navigate from the Atlantic through all of the Great Lakes. The Canal is 42 km. (27 miles), and is a system of 8 locks which by passes Niagara Falls.

The current canal is the fourth one that has been built.

Its interesting that clouds are going in both directions in these clips. The ones at the back are over Lake Erie.

The Welland Canal- Timelapse from Harold Stiver on Vimeo.