Thursday Post

The death toll Lac Megantic has now risen to twenty-four. Its archives have also been destroyed:

In addition to the hearbreaking loss of life in Lac-Mégantic, the community is mourning the destruction of its collective history — the town library that housed its archives.

And yet, their oil is considered preferable to Canadian oil:

A Saudi princess was charged Wednesday with human trafficking for allegedly holding a domestic worker against her will and forcing her to work at a California condominium, prosecutors said.

Orange County District Attorney Tony Rackauckas identified 42-year-old Meshael Alayban as a Saudi princess who was charged with one count of human trafficking. If convicted, she faces up to 12 years in prison.

Alayban was arrested after a Kenyan woman carrying a suitcase flagged down a bus Tuesday and told a passenger she believed she was a human trafficking victim. The passenger helped her contact police, who searched the Irvine condo where Alayban and her family were staying, authorities said.

The 30-year-old woman told authorities she was hired in Kenya in 2012 and her passport was taken from her on arrival in Saudi Arabia. She was forced to work excessive hours and was paid less than she was promised and not allowed to leave, authorities said.

Well, this must be embarrassing:

In a new twist to the tale of the gas plant cancellations and government email deletions, Ontario Information and Privacy Commissioner Ann Cavoukian said Wednesday that some of the relevant emails still exist after all, despite what she was told by the provincial government.

In a statement, Cavoukian said that she learned earlier this week that she had been misinformed by Ministry of Government Services staff, whose information she relied upon in writing her scathing report last month about the deletion of emails surrounding the decision to cancel two gas plants in Oakville and Mississauga.

“I am appalled that we were provided with incorrect information during the course of my investigation, that was misleading. I am, however, very pleased that these records have now been found,” she said.

Noting that “the ministry has acknowledged that this information was inaccurate and has accepted full responsibility for this mistake,” she said the ministry will be providing a “full accounting of exactly what happened, within the next two weeks.”

 And this:

Ben Levin, the former adviser to Premier Kathleen Wynne accused of making and distributing child porn, was hit with two more charges during his bail hearing Wednesday. That brings the number to seven counts.

Thank you!

Adam Carolla gives Hollywood a dollop of credit regarding its cozy new ties to the repressive Chinese film market.

It reeks of hypocrisy for an industry built on free expression to cater to the country's whims, but at least it's consistent, the podcast king says. After all, industry types routinely extol the virtues of citizens paying their fair share in taxes while moving heaven and earth to grab the latest tax break.

Honesty: it sounds so good.


Of course he's going to be Man of the Year; he's the Pope:

Vanity Fair Italy named Pope Francis its “Man of the Year” Wednesday, saying that the Roman Catholic leader’s first 100 days as pontiff had already made him one of the world’s top leaders.