New revelations made public in the death of Rehtaeh Parsons guilelessly make the incidents that led to her suicide seem more complicated than previously believed, and the masses ready to lay guilt at the feet of those who were said to have sexually assaulted her have not reacted kindly.

Indeed, Parsons’ father has come out to protest some of the claims made by the National Post’s ChristieBlatchford on Friday,in an oeuvre being panned as “victim blaming” by many people online.

Blatchford’s story includes new details about the supposed sex assault that challenged the current consensus – that Parsons got drunk at a party on Nov. 12, 2011, and was raped by as many as four boys, wholater released a photo that led to Rehtaeh being bullied and hanging herself.

Supporters of those boys came out last week and demanded that judgment be delayed until the full story came out. If charges are never laid, the full story never will. But these are some of the details those people have been hoping for. The

Read More »from Father reacts to new details in Rehtaeh Parsons case

When it comes to forming opinions, I generally like to keep my own counsel. But I have to go with the crowd-sourced consensus when it comes to the two Baby Boomers who were caught cheating at last weekend's Vancouver Sun Run. Why?

Neena Cheema, who won the 50-54 age-group category for women, and Mohammed Razak, who took the 55-59 men's category, were banned for life from the annual 10-kilometre run after taking shortcuts along the course, the Vancouver Sun reported.

This YouTube video purports to show Cheema jogging in behind an older couple at the 34:44 mark before popping out again at 36:11.

I can sort of understand someone justifying cheating on an exam to short-cut their education and get better grades, or fudging a CV to get a career leg-up. Don't approve of it, but understand it. If you cheat, your accomplishments are built on air.

But why cheat on a 10k fun run? What exactly is the payoff?

Seriously people cheat to win the #Vancouver sun run?? What the hell is wrong with you?? It's

Read More »from Vancouver Sun Run cheaters banned for life from annual 10k race

The Post noted it's less than two blocks from a YMCA that in 2006 was pressured to install frosted windows so boys from a nearby Hasidic school would not see women exercising in form-fitting gym clothes the sect considers immodest.Members of Montreal's Hasidic Jewish community have won a victory in their simmering battle with some of their neighbours in the district of Outremont.

The Quebec Superior Court has ruled a technically "illegal" synagogue in a converted duplex home can stay, despite violating municipal zoning bylaws, the National Post reports.

The Congregation Munchas Elozer Munkas house of worship has been in the red brick building for 35 years and its use as a synagogue was well known.

In a decision issued April 18, Justice Andre Prevost dismissed the city's application to end "activities of worship and religion," there. The building may not be sanctioned as a synagogue under zoning rules, but closing it down under a "strick, rigorous and blind application of the bylaw" would create an injustice, the judge concluded, according to the Post.

“It means the individual victory for this particular synagogue, which has been harassed — and that’s the only word I can use — for close to 35 years,” Alex Werzberger,

Read More »from Opponents of ‘illegal’ Montreal Hasidic synagogue lose battle to close it down

One of the two men charged in an alleged al-Qaida supported plot to attack a Via Rail train denies the allegations against him, according to his lawyer. Raed Jaser's Toronto lawyer claims his client has been demonized.Four days after two Canadian residents were arrested in connection to an alleged terrorist plot to derail a train on Canadian soil, disturbing details of their checkered pasts continue to be revealed – including revelations that Canada tried to deport one of the men nine years ago.

Raed Jaser and Chiheb Esseghaier were arrested on Monday and have made primary court appearances, but remain in custody.

Esseghaier told a judge on Wednesday that Canada's criminal code was not a "holy book" and therefore not perfect.

[ Related: Boston suspects discussed setting off bombs in New York: sources ]

Sources told the Toronto Star that Esseghaier met with an al-Qaeda operative before moving to Canada in 2009, under a student visa. Jaser, meantime, has been living in Canada for 20 years after his family moved here as refugees.

But as the National Post reported, the Canadian government attempted to deport Jaser in 2004, but was unable to remove him from the country because there was nowhere to send him.

Read More »from Canada’s ‘stateless’ terror suspect couldn’t be deported nine years ago

Tootill was running for the B.C. Conservative Party in the May 14 election in the downtown riding of Vancouver-False Creek, that is until he dropped the H-bomb on Twitter.Perhaps Ian Tootill never heard of Godwin's Law.

Tootill was running for the B.C. Conservative Party in the May 14 election in the downtown riding of Vancouver-False Creek, that is until he dropped the H-bomb on Twitter.

Well, it was more of a time bomb, really. Toothill is an avid tweeter and last October, apparently in some half-forgotten exchange about bullying, he responded to a comment about the impact of Adolf Hitler's infamous Mein Kampf with this:

"Who's really to blame, Hitler or the people who acted on his words?"

The remark, reported in a Vancouver Sun article on Wednesday along with other potentially controversial tweets, brought an instant reaction from the Conservatives. You're out!

“We are a party that believes in a respectful airing of views,” Conservative leader John Cummins said in a news release, according to the Vancouver Province.

“Mr. Tootill’s statements are unacceptable and downright shameful. He has been fired as a candidate.”

Twitter, naturally, went

Read More »from Turfed B.C. Conservative candidate Ian Tootill ran afoul of Internet law: don’t bring up Hitler

The Ice BlackBox app the camera turns the camera on immediately establishing a connection to the ICE BlackBox servers, sending all video, audio and GPS information picked up from that moment on. (Screengrab courtesy iceblackbox.com)Try explaining to a student that an app will save them from bullying.

Schools are now turning to anti-bullying apps to try to control online harassment, as issues such as the Rehtaeh Parsons and Amanda Todd cases caused the teenage bullying debate to rear its ugly head.

The way these apps work differ, but most operate by the same premise. Take the app Ice BlackBox, for instance. Once launched, the camera turns on immediately establishing a connection to the ICE BlackBox servers, sending all video, audio and GPS information picked up from that moment on. This allows the user to identify and capture vital information about their situation and/or the confrontation. It also enables the user to call 911 and, at the same time, text message their contacts with links to the recordings.

[ Related: N.S. cyberbullying investigative unit a 1st in Canada ]

Other apps, such as InTouch’s TipOff app work a little differently. Introduced by the Hamilton-Wentworth District School Board in Ontario, it is

Read More »from Schools turn to smartphone apps in bid to identify bullies and help victims

Prime Minister Stephen Harper says Canada is committed to fighting such threats.This is a tricky question to consider: Just how soon should we jump into action ahead of a terror plot? Should we be ready to move against a suspect before we hold irrefutable proof that a plot even exists?

Or should we consider acting early enough to stop would-be suspects from considering those plans at all?

Canada’s government seems to have the answer. Yes, be ready to act the moment we have a sneaking suspicion. No, don’t bother trying to understand what would lead someone to consider an act of terror in the first place.

One day after passing a bill that will give law enforcement agencies the right to detain people suspected of terrorist connections, Prime Minister Stephen Harper again shot down idea of considering the matter on a wider scale.

Harper said the recent string of terrorist events did not make it time to “commit sociology.” That is a quote-worthy way of saying, “don’t start looking for the ‘root causes’ that lead to terrorism.”

"I think, though, this is not a time to commit

Read More »from Harper turns ‘sociology’ into dirty word after passing anti-terrorism bill

Griffiths suffers from multiple system atrophy, a rare degenerative neurological disease that robs victims of movement and bodily functions such as eating and bladder control.Susan Griffiths kept her appointment with death on Thursday.

The 72-year-old Winnipeg woman who went to Zurich, Switzerland to seek final relief from a horrifying disease that was slowly enveloping her like a shroud, died after drinking a drug cocktail prescribed by a Swiss doctor under the country's guidelines for assisted suicide, CBC News said..

Griffiths suffered from multiple system atrophy, a rare degenerative neurological disease that robs victims of movement and bodily functions such as eating and bladder control. The disease mainly strikes men and women in their fifties. The cause is unknown and there is no cure, no treatment even to delay its progress.

It made life increasingly hard to bear, Griffiths told CBC News. She used a wheelchair much of the time and had trouble eating because the muscles in her mouth are weakening. She was in constant pain.

"It hurts to wear my clothes," she said. "Against my skin, wherever it touches me, it hurts."

Griffiths did not want to ride her

Read More »from Susan Griffiths’ appointment with death: Ailing Winnipeg woman commits assisted suicide in Switzerland