CNN's Richard
Quest talks to filmmaker U. Roberto Romano, whose documentary "The Dark
Side of Chocolate" investigates child labor and cocoa fields in the Ivory
Coast.
But before you bite into a
chocolate bar or take a sip of hot cocoa, consider, where did it come from?
It may be that the treat is the
product of someone else's hard labor. The person who may have sold it or who
may have made it may not even be an adult.
The International Labour
Organization estimates between 56 and 72 million African children work in
agriculture, many in their own family farms. The seven largest cocoa-producing
countries are Indonesia, Nigeria, Cameron, Brazil, Ecuador, the Ivory Coast and
Ghana. Those last two together account for nearly 60 percent of global cocoa
production.
And right now, you can still find
children working in the cocoa fields as Romano and his crew did to film
"The Dark Side of Chocolate."
So, what should you as a consumer
do?
"I'd like you to buy either
a fair trade chocolate or a direct trade chocolate," Romano says.
"I'd like you to buy something where you, as a consumer, can vote
responsibly for better treatment of these farmers. And also with fair trade,
you know that they're going to be at least on the road to being paid a decent
wage. And with the inspections that go on, you know that their children aren't
working and are getting an education."
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Barrie teen killed in Dominican Republic was coming to aid of a friend
A young Barrie man was killed after coming to the aid of a friend at a bar in the Dominican Republic, witnesses said.
Jordan Morrison, 19, had been vacationing with family when he came to the defence of a Guelph woman who was being harassed by a man in the bar, according to Citytv.
He had been staying at the Grand Paradise Bavaro resort in Punta Cana.
Foreign Affairs spokesperson Lisa Monette said four Canadians were detained by Dominican police in connection to the death. She said her department is working with authorities in Santo Domingo and Punta Cana on the investigation.
Neighbours of the Morrison family reached in Barrie on Saturday expressed shock at the young man’s death.
Nazih Ali lives a few doors down from the Morrisons.
“It didn’t click in my mind right away,” said Ali, who knows Morrison through his 15-year-old daughter. When they were younger they’d skateboard on Laidlaw Dr. where both families live.
“He taught her how to skateboard actually,” Ali said, adding he was a skilled teacher. “He’s a master at it, a pro.”
As he got older, Morrison got more passionate about skateboarding, said Ali, who often saw him going back and forth on the street.
Ali said no one has been home at the Morrison residence since news of Jordan’s death spread.
A next door neighbour said the Morrisons are great people and he’s shaken by their loss.
“Jordan’s a very nice young man. It’s unfortunate it happened that way,” said the neighbour, who didn’t give his name.
Morrison had Asperger’s syndrome, a mild form of autism, according to Citytv.
A witness told the station that Morrison and another man had a brief confrontation before being attacked by a group of men in Punta Cana.
“Four guys came up to this lady . . . and this guy, he's from Montreal, Quebec, he spit in the girl's face and then (the victim) reacted,” the witness said.
“The guy threw the first punch . . . kicked him in the face and pretty much beat him to death with three other guys.”
With files from the Canadian Press
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'Weeping' Virgin Mary statue draws hundreds of worshippers to Windsor residence
WINDSOR, Ont. -- A statue of the Virgin Mary said to weep tears of healing oil is attracting the worship of hundreds of Catholics, raising the ire of neighbours and drawing the attention of city bureaucrats.
Located in the front yard of a Garvey Crescent home, the statue is said to smile during the day and weep tears of oil at night. Homeowner Fadia Ibrahim calls the supposed happenings a "miracle," and believes the statue is delivering a message. "I think it's a work of God and she wants the people to go back to church," said Ibrahim, 48.
For the past three months, Catholics who have heard of the statue's supposed powers have been gathering at the home nightly to pray. The grass on the front lawn has been trampled into the soil by worshippers, and the street -- located in a normally quiet area -- is constantly lined with cars that have stopped, slowed or parked so residents can catch a glimpse of the Madonna.
Janet Mendez, 37, took her two young children to take a look. "We're a very faith-filled family, so we thought we would come over and look at what is taking place this evening, just for our own eyes."
She said she wasn't disappointed. "Seeing is believing, and definitely we do see her weeping -- weeping for the world, weeping because there's no love left in this world."
Pam Martin, 43, said she was in awe of the statue. "This is just incredible," she said. "I watch the news and I can't help but be saddened by what I see, but how much more for this woman? This is a woman who watched her own son die on a cross. Now she's weeping for us because we're killing this world."
Ibrahim's son, Shady, said while the statue normally seems serene or happy during the day, the statue was "weeping" all day Monday. Worshippers say "tears" are visible on the face and hands of the statue, and can often be seen dripping from the Virgin Mary's chin.
Shady speculated that the statue had begun to weep during the day Monday because worshippers hadn't gathered the previous evening -- Halloween night -- to pray at her feet.
On Monday evening, a crowd of more than 100 congregated on the front lawn of the house to say the rosary.
But, while believers are calling it a miracle, neighbours are calling it a nuisance.
One neighbour who was upset with the congestion on the street reported his concern to the city. The municipality's building department has now issued an order to the homeowners to remove the statue by Nov. 19, citing building code violations and a lack of a building permit.
The 1.5-metre statue is encased in an addition to the front of the house, complete with shingles on the roof of the enclosure and a flower garden along the base.
Ibrahim said if the city doesn't reverse its decision, she will comply with the order. "I don't have a choice but to remove the statue." If she is forced to remove the addition to her house, she said, she'd consider moving the statue of the Madonna to a church.
Ibrahim said she began receiving messages from the Virgin Mary about two years ago. She said she was at a nearby church when a cross and the letter M appeared in blood on her leg during mass. She said the Virgin has since inscribed other messages on her body and has even spoken to her, telling her that people must invigorate their faith and go to church.
After news of her supposed communication with the Virgin Mary spread in the Catholic community, supporters in Detroit donated the statue -- believed to have come from Los Angeles -- as well as the money to construct the enclosure.
While Ibrahim recounted her story in front of a handful of worshippers Monday, some in the small crowd began to gasp and point at Ibrahim's left hand, which was glistening with moisture that appeared oily. Ibrahim said her hands often secrete the healing oil, especially when she is speaking about the Virgin Mary.
As Ibrahim moved around the circle, marking a cross on the forehead of each spectator, several in the crowd began to weep. "When she touched me, I just felt overwhelmed and everything seemed to come out," said Rosanne Paquette. "I felt this warmth, and it was unbelievable."
Carmela Montilla, who prays in front of the statue every night, credits its healing powers with curing her 17-year-old granddaughter's leukemia. Montilla said after Ibrahim anointed the sick woman with oil, her blood counts immediately returned to a normal level and the girl was able to go to school again. "She just put the oil on her, prayed for her.... The doctor said her blood, everything was normal."
Worshippers said it would be "outrageous" if the Ibrahim family were forced to remove the statue. "We come, we pray, and we say goodnight everybody, and that's it. We go home," said Maria Desimini. "We're not disturbing nobody."
Montilla said the statue's supposed powers are a blessing for Windsor. "That's the best thing that can happen to Windsor," she said. "It's a miracle. We need this."
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First clear Facebook firing in Canada occurs in Pitt Meadows
In the first known Facebook firing in Canada, two Pitt Meadows car-detailing workers were canned for posting homophobic slurs and threats online against bosses who were their Facebook “friends.”
In an Oct. 22 ruling, the B.C. Labour Relations Board said West Coast Mazda management had proper cause to fire the two detailing-shop employees on Oct. 7, for making “disrespectful, damaging and derogatory comments on Facebook.”
The two employees, who can only be identified by the initials J.T. and A.P., had just unionized the car-detailing shop in late August, when a manager started tracking increasingly angry and aggressive Facebook posts made by the employees, about confrontations happening at work.
In a labour board hearing the union, United Food and Commercial Workers International, argued the workers were terminated because of management’s “anti-union” motivation — but the board rejected the allegation.
Don Richards, the lawyer who represented West Coast Mazda, says the firing case is the first involving Facebook in B.C. and it’s believed to be the first in Canada. Facebook, a social-networking site that has exploded in popularity, now has about 500 million users worldwide.
Manager John Clydesdale said he was pleased with the ruling and management is now working on a policy to inform workers what “is private and not private” on Facebook.
“Facebook is such a new thing for everybody,” he said.
The Pitt Meadows case had some interesting twists in addition to the alleged union-busting angle.
For one, the social network comments — which included “angry” Facebook status updates by J.T., including references to stabbing “somebody” in the face “14 or 16 times” and admiration of the “top five kills” from TV vigilante killer Dexter — were not made during work hours, or on work computers.
But the effect of the private-time comments amounted to insubordination and led to a hostile work environment, West Coast Mazda successfully argued.
“In the past if you cussed out the bosses on the shop floor it was worse because it undermines the bosses’ authority,” Richards, of the firm Farris Vaughan Wills & Murphy LLP, told The Province in an interview. “But in this case it was the cyberspace equivalent of cussing out the boss, not only in front of other employees, but a couple hundred members of the public as well.”
Also, the two employees — one who had 377 “friends” and the other about 100 — didn’t help themselves by the fact their managers had been included in their Facebook networks.
“The manager would get a buzz on his Blackberry each time a status change turned up on Facebook and he could just read the stuff, so that wasn’t the brightest thing,” Richards said.
The bottom line for the average worker is you can’t really expect any privacy on Facebook, Richards said.
“My advice is be very careful about what you put on Facebook, because once it’s out there, you kind of lose control over it, and it can have consequences on your employment.”
According to the board ruling, the key point in the decision was whether management at West Coast Mazda effectively targeted the two in-shop union leaders and let them hang themselves by secretly tracking their controversial Facebook posts.
“The main argument by the Union ... is that the Employer started to compile a file on J.T.’s Facebook postings on Aug. 27, the date of the [union certification] application ... until [the date of his firing] Oct. 6, without making any attempt at earlier corrective action,” the ruling states.
But a reading of the online commentary by J.T. and A.P. showed comments got progressively worse over time, and the board accepted management’s arguments that it was the first time dealing with a workplace Facebook dispute, and management finally took action as comments escalated.
For example, after posting about the perceived upcoming battle with management over labour relations on Sept. 8, J.T. posted on Sept. 17: “If somebody mentally attacks you, and you stab him in the face 14 or 16 times ... that constitutes self defence doesn’t it????”
In the last relevant post on Oct. 1, J.T. wrote: “John is feeling tactical, vengefull and retaliatory.”
twitter.com/scoopercooper
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Hydro worker dies in storm accident
Last Updated: Wednesday, September 22, 2010 | 11:18 AM ET Comments50Recommend71
The Canadian Press
A lightning strike hits early Wednesday morning. The overnight storm brought down power lines and hydro poles in many parts of Toronto and to the north in Muskoka. (Tony Smyth/CBC)
A27-year-old hydro worker in Port Elgin, Ont., was electrocuted Tuesday night while working on a repair as severe thunderstorms swept southern and central Ontario.
Saugeen Shores police said the Westario Power employee was working at a hydro station when he was involved in an accident just before midnight.
Reports from the scene suggest the worker was hit with 2,400 volts of electricity.
He was taken to Southampton Hospital with a chest wound and third-degree burns to the right side of his body and pronounced dead a short time later.
The Ministry of Labour and the coroner's office are investigating the death.
In the Toronto area, the storm snapped hydro poles, felled tree branches and caused some problems in areas where traffic lights malfunctioned.
Mayfield Road in Brampton was closed for safety reasons after a number of power poles came down.
By early Wednesday morning, power had been restored in most parts of the city, except for a neighbourhood stretching from Bayview Avenue in the west, Don Mills Road in the east and from Finch Avenue in the south to Steeles Avenue in the north.
Toronto Hydro emergency repair crews have been sent, but there is no estimated time for when power will be fully restored.
There are also isolated outages across Peel, Newmarket, Aurora and as far east as Peterborough.
Also Tuesday, two people were injured when a severe storm knocked down trees and left much of the Huntsville region without power.
A woman was taken to hospital with non life-threatening injuries, and a man suffered serious injuries, after a tree fell on their car in Port Sydney.
Ontario Provincial police said the storm hit quickly, downing trees and hydro wires and leaving the detachment operating on generator power.
Hydro One has restored power to a few of the 33,000 customers affected, but some won't get their electricity back until Wednesday afternoon.
Environment Canada said a line of thunderstorms hit the region with wind gusts of up to 100 kilometres an hour and heavy downpours.
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9 arrested at anti-poverty rally after Liberal party office occupied
Action came during rally against elimination of special diet allowance for welfare recipients
Toronto
The Canadian Press Published on Thursday, Jul. 22, 2010 3:48AM EDT Last updated on Thursday, Jul. 22, 2010 3:55AM EDT
Police moved in on a small group of activists speaking against welfare cuts Wednesday, arresting nine of them after they occupied a provincial Liberal party office.
The activists marched into the office in downtown Toronto to present a fake invoice representing the cost of welfare cuts. They also hung a banner out the window of the second-floor office.
Police say nine people were arrested and charged with forcible entry and mischief interfering with property.
Those arrested included John Clarke, 56, a founding member of the Ontario Coalition Against Poverty (OCAP), and other members of the group.
The action came during a rally against the elimination of a special diet allowance for welfare recipients, which drew about 200 to 300 people.
The activists say the Liberal government's decision to scrap the allowance and replace it with a new program will lead to more hunger, poor health and homelessness in the province.
Mary Lynn Higgins, 50, relies on Ontario disability payments and said she stands to lose an additional $64 that makes a “huge difference” in her monthly budget.
“Basically, right now I go to a food bank because I have no money for food,” Ms. Higgins, who is in a wheelchair, said at the rally.
She said almost all her disability payment goes toward paying her rent, with very little left over.
“What I usually do with the special allowance is try to get healthier foods,” Ms. Higgins said. She said food banks rely heavily on canned foods and she tries to buy fresh fruits and vegetables with the extra money.
Kevin Cooke, a spokesman for the Minister of Community and Social Services, said something had to be done about the allowance, noting the cost of the program had jumped from $6-million to more than $200-million a year.
He said the government is developing a new “medically based nutritional supplement program” for people on social assistance who have severe medical needs, to replace the Special Diet Allowance.
Mr. Cooke said the decision to scrap the allowance was “difficult” but had to be made to “restore fairness and protect the integrity of the system.”
Details of the new government program should be released soon, he said.
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TV's dashing, debonair and dynamic duos
By Adam Nayman, July 15, 2010
USA
Matt Bomer and Tim DeKay, "White Collar"
This week brings the summer premieres of the fifth season of "Psych" and the second season of "White Collar," two shows built around dynamic crime-solving duos: alleged psychic Shawn Spencer (James Roday) and his strait-laced partner "Gus" (Dule Hill) on "Pysch," and conman-tuned-police-aide Neal Caffrey (Matt Borner) and his dubious FBI handler Peter Burke (Tim DeKay) on "White Collar." In honour of these unique pairings here's a list of some of the greatest duos in television history
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Swedish princess Madeleine breaks off engagement
By Louise Nordstrom, The Associated Press
STOCKHOLM - (AP) — Princess Madeleine of Sweden has broken off her engagement with attorney Jonas Bergstrom, the Royal Court announced Saturday.
"They have decided that the best for them is to go their separate ways," the palace said in a brief statement.
The court asked for the media to leave the princess and her former fiance alone.
"They need peace and quiet in this difficult situation. The heavy coverage does not ease the situation for them," it said, adding it would not comment further on the issue.
The couple announced their engagement in August last year, but a date had not yet been set for the wedding.
The reasons for the break up were not disclosed, but Norwegian magazine Se og Hoer published an interview this week with a woman named Tora Uppstroem Berg who claimed she had spent a night with the princess' fiance at a popular Swedish skiing resort last year.
The court has not commented on the report.
According to the Royal Court calendar, the princess is set to spend the next few weeks in the U.S. to work with the World Childhood Foundation.
Madeleine, 27, is third in line to the Swedish throne, after her sister Crown Princess Victoria and brother Prince Carl Philip. After completing an undergraduate degree in art, history and ethnology in 2006, she has combined studies in social affairs with work for the World Childhood Foundation in Stockholm.
Bergstrom, 31, has a master's degree in law and has worked as an associate lawyer at a firm in Stockholm since 2006.
Madeleine Therese Amelie Josephine — the Princess of Sweden, Duchess of Halsingland and Gastrikland — is the youngest child of King Carl XVI Gustaf and Queen Silvia.
She has two older siblings, Crown Princess Victoria who is getting married to her fiance Daniel Westling in June and Prince Carl Philip.
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Money Woes Plague Pamela Anderson
 What's that saying about all that glitters? News of Pamela Anderson's ever-worsening financial situation is upstaging news of a possible "Dancing With the Stars" comeback, as details about her tax bill have come to light.
In one of the most alarming reports yet for the blond bombshell (and that's saying something), the state of California announced yesterday that Anderson owes a whopping $493,000 in delinquent income taxes.
Rumors about Anderson's financial woes are nothing new. About six months ago, reports surfaced claiming that Anderson owed over $1 million to contractors she'd hired to renovate her Malibu home.
She countered by saying her lawyers were "reviewing the work done" to investigate the possibility of unfair bills, and that while she was indeed the subject of tax liens to the tune of several hundred thousand dollars, she was still "financially secure." She even waxed rhapsodic about her temporary digs, a double-wide trailer at the beach.
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Demi Moore admits to surgery and extreme body obsession
When it comes to Demi Moore, one topic seems to be the focus of public conversation: how does the mother of three still look so good at 47 years old? If you listen to tabloids, it's because she has had hundreds of thousands of dollars of plastic surgery on just about every part of her body and is constantly photoshopped to death. Finally Moore is setting the record straight in the May issue of UK Elle.
 "In truth, I wish there was a little bit less curiosity and fascination with how I look, whether it's good or bad," says the actress, who is pictured in a corset and lingerie.
"It feels like school-yard name-calling a lot of the time. It hurts. You know what? Maybe one day I'll go under the knife. It just irritates me that people are constantly saying how much I've spent on plastic surgery." In another breath, however, she contradicts herself saying, "I have had something done but it's not on my face."
People love discussing which celebrities may or may not have had work done, and we're not quite sure why. Perhaps it's because we don't want to believe that they can look amazing without the work of talented stylists, makeup artists and plastic surgeons.
Maybe we feel a bit of jealousy that we don't look like movie stars. But sometimes it's hard to pity an actress who chose to enter Hollywood and thrust herself into the public eye. After all, when you become an actress or a model, physical upkeep isn't so much an industry request as it is a major job requirement.
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Find the Truth about the lethal cause from H1N1 vaccinations,
watch the first two videos especially the second
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News & Events
Swedish princess Madeleine breaks off engagement