Two people died from a fire caused by a hookah in Victoria, BC.

It seems a group of university students were experimenting with a hookah (also known as waterpipe, sheesha, nargilah).

Smoking can kill you, in many more ways than one.

Via CBC.

A Kitchener Ontario 84 year old retired mechanic caught a 121.5 kilogram halibut in Queen Charlotte Island British Columbia.

After fighting for an hour, two guides took over to land the huge fish.

Via CBC. 

The Chinese government has begun a concerted campaign of economic threats against the United States, hinting that it may liquidate its vast holding of US treasuries if Washington imposes trade sanctions to force a yuan revaluation.

Two officials at leading Communist Party bodies have given interviews in recent days warning - for the first time - that Beijing may use its $1.33 trillion (£658bn) of foreign reserves as a political weapon to counter pressure from the US Congress.

Nearly two-thirds of the Canada's households were online in 2006,
with more Canadians turning to high-speed internet subscriptions.

The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission
(CRTC) released its eighth annual Broadcasting Monitoring Report on
Tuesday, which analyzed the country's radio, television, broadcasting
distribution and new media sectors.

The report illustrates how Canadians are increasingly turning to new media for both entertainment and other activities.

The number of Americans admitted to Canada in 2006 reached a 30 year high, with a 20% increase over 2005 and almost double the number in 2000.

Via the CBC.

A new report by the Iraqi NGO coordination committee and Oxfam concludes that 4 million Iraqis have been displaced since the invasion by the US began in 2003.

A recent survey concludes that 57% of adult US internet users watch videos online.

It is interesting to see that News (37%), Comedy (31%), Music (22%) and Educational (22%) top the list, while adult content amounts for only 6%.

No wonder Youtube is so popular.

Over the years, I have seen many people getting "accused" of having Jewish ancestry by their political adversaries. This tactic is used to discredit the person, throw doubts on their loyalty, and attribute undefined ulterior motives for their often controvertial actions.

These rumors are appealing to the masses because it offers a simple (wrong) answer to complex questions (actions of leaders).

People that I have seen in the Arab region and the Middle East accused of this include:

This is another form of scam, asking for charity (Zakat in Arabic) for the month of Ramadan (fasting in the Muslim calendar).

Nothing like the prospect of helping orphans and widows to milk people for money.

Subject: Ramadan zakat for poor ophan & widows women
From: Dr. Mrs. Shireen Mujtaba <dr.shireenwcch@gmail.com>
Date: Aug 2, 2007

Dear,
Salam Alai Kum Wa Rahmat Ullah Wa Bara Katu Hu