Super intern Maeghan Smulders lands 47 job offers after 112-day speed interning spree

Maeghan Smulders, at age 24, went to Mount Royal University last June and when she graduated, she had 29 job offers. She searched from Calgary to Toronto to San Jose. Her desire to find the perfect position persuaded the business major to launch ProjectONE12. What this really was was a speed interning initiative. It resulted in unpaid periods ranging from a week to a month at 10 different companies across the continent over 112 days.
“Being in all the different places you get a taste for culture and you get a taste for not just the work that you’re doing, but the people that are there and I really wanted to find an environment that I could really grow in,” said the knowledgeable job seeker who was back home in Calgary packing for next week’s move to Montreal. She also said, “You invest a ton of money into an education; you should be able to invest it into your future job too. If you’re taking a job for the next five to 10 years of your life, you want to make sure it’s the right one. Be persistent and really search for what you want to do.”

This is crazy knowing that she got 47 job offers in 112 days. About 13% of Canadian youth don't even have a job when she can accomplish this? As impressive as this sounds, I don't think that I would be able to handle what she does with her ProjectONE12 creation. Her having the effort and the motivation to be travelling all over the continent as an intern and having a lot of success does say a lot of great things about her. If I were in her position, I wouldn't go as far as she did as to go across the continent. At $10.25 an hour, minimum wage is too high for Ontario and that results in low employment and higher prices. New York State has minimum wage of 7.25 an hour which means minimum wage is 41% higher in Ontario. The system works against small businesses who could hire more folks if the minimum wage and payroll tax burdens were reduced. I think that this is the reason why Beyond the Rack can accommodate 300 employees.

Link:

http://www.thestar.com/business/article/1201971--super-intern-maeghan-smulders-lands-47-job-offers-and-one-job-after-112-day-speed-interning-spree

Sherpas recover body of Canadian climber who died on Everest

The body of Shriya Shah-Klorfine has been found 7,800 meters high from Mt. Everest but it was later brought down to 6,500 meters by Sherpas (a member of the Himalayan people living in Nepal who are famous for their skill as mountaineers). They reached a height where a helicopter can pick them up. Bruce Klorfine, Shriya's husband, was obviously distressed about this happening and he decided to get her cremated there.
“It was important to bring closure to this tragedy,” said Bikram Lamba, a mentor and friend. “She conquered Mount Everest, but Mount Everest is a cruel opponent and it took her.”
Many people later said that where Shriya passed is not such a bad place to die.
“I know it’s risky but we didn’t force anybody,” Ms. Ahuja said. “We didn’t make them. We said only ‘if it is possible’.”

I think that all of things that people had to say were true. That how people who want to climb Mt. Everest are doing it at their own risk and that nobody is forcing them but it is a great experience. It is a crazy accomplishment to be able to say that you climbed Mt. Everest. I know people who have climbed Mt. Everest and at the time, they felt like they wanted to die and that they just wanted to turn back but when they finished, they couldn't think of a better experience that ever had in their lives. One thing that I can't understand is why her husband wasn't there climbing with her. He might have changed the difference between life and death for his wife.

Link:

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/world/sherpas-recover-body-of-canadian-climber-who-died-on-everest/article2445093/

SickKids: Dad and all four children share rare genetic disorder

A family of six head to sick kids hospital in Bradford where the parents and their four children are bringing their children's breathing kits back in for a tune-up. The four children of this family have a rare mutation of the Phox2b gene that can cause a variety of life-threatening conditions, from cancer to heart disease. The father has this same problem and the chances of getting it was 50/50. The chances for all of them getting it was 16/1.
“I think there are only 15 people in the world with it,” says Dave Phillips. “Five of them are right here.”
This mutation leads to severe breathing troubles and this makes physical activities difficult, especially for the young children who just want to run and play all the time. The Phillips family say that they will have to take a lot of common sense into mind; like not going for swims, especially underwater because their body might not recognize when to come back up.

The chances of this happening are unbelievably low but it happened to this family. They are a positive family where they found good sides and bad sides to this mutation. This mutation is especially difficult for the children who want to go swimming or play at home or school or who even want to join a sports team. They will not have that opportunity, but the way that their thinking of it is that the absence of physical activity gives them time to do more productive things like finish homework or read a book. I think that these children will be very intelligent with the help of their parents and this mutation that they have.

Link:

http://www.thestar.com/specialsections/sickkids/article/1175104--sickkids-dad-and-all-four-children-share-rare-genetic-disorder#article

Taxi Panel May Raise Fares Up to 20%

New York City’s Taxi and Limousine Commission agreed on Monday to formally consider a proposal from the yellow cab industry that they would raise taxi fares by 20 percent, a significant increase to a pricing structure that has been virtually unchanged since 2006. It is said to take effect in mid-July. This is especially because of the raise in gas prices. The average taxi ride in January cost $11.82, for a trip of slightly less than three miles. A 20 percent increase would bring that fare to $14.18.
“The fare hasn’t changed since 2006, so it is reasonable for taxi drivers and fleet owners to put this on the table,” David S. Yassky, the taxi and limousine commissioner, said in a statement on Monday.

I think that this is just too much. The demand for money increases everyday and transportation is starting to get in the way of income. It does make sense for the taxi companies though, with gas prices raising, they will need more income for gas and a 20 percent increase in income keeps them safe. It is the customers that in trouble now. I think that there is not really a way out of this. While the demand for gas rises, the natural resource decreases so it becomes more valuable and expensive. The price of things are raising but so is minimum wage. To finalize, this 20 percent increase benefits the workers and the

Link:

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/05/22/nyregion/new-york-taxi-fares-may-soon-go-up.html?_r=1&ref=todayspaper

Sugar may make you stupid: Study

At University of California, Los Angeles, researchers discovered that sugar isn't only bad for your body but it also slows the brain and reduces ability in memory and learning. According to Fernando Gomez-Pinilla, a professor of neurosurgery, "what you eat affects how you think". He says that too much sugar can weaken the brains ability of memory and learning but you can change this. By eating omega-3 fatty acids, such as flaxseed oil, you can avoid this happening to your brain. This is the first study every to discover this significant fact. There was a test conducted to prove this. Scientists fed two groups of rats. The first group got fed corn syrup, which is found in soda, condiments,etc. The second group were fed the same thing but were also given flaxseed oil, which is rich in omega-3 fatty acids and docosahexaenoic acid (this specifically helps the body with memory and learning. This routine lasted six weeks. At the end of the six weeks, each group were sent to go through a maze. It turned out that the group with the flaxseed oil got out much faster than the other group who were getting fed corn syrup for six weeks. The average Canadian consumed about 26 teaspoons of sugar per day in 2004, according to Statistics Canada. It was said that the findings suggest consuming DHA regularly protects the brain against fructose's harmful effects.

I think that this is bad news for candy companies but good news for us so now we know to cut down on the sugar not only because of how unhealthy it is but to prevent your brain from getting damaged. It is also good to know a cure to this. Flaxseed oil is a great product and should be in more foods today.

Link:

http://www.torontosun.com/2012/05/16/sugar-may-make-you-stupid-study

Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms Big 3-0 (#12)

The Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedom has recently (Tuesday, April 17, 2012) celebrated their thirtieth year. The Charter guarantees certain political rights to Canadian citizens and civil rights of everyone in Canada from the actions of all areas and levels of government. The Charter was signed by Queen Elizabeth II of Canada on April, 17, 1982 to a law. The Charter has done far more good than bad. This Charter built Canada and raised us to grow up as a nation. One of the effects of the Charter was to magnificently expand the scope of judicial review. Since the Charter was signed, legislatures still have the right to pass laws but because of this Charter, we have to construct laws so that they do not curtail our rights and freedoms.

I think that this changed us as a country greatly and that it made us look more independent and stronger than we ever were. The Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedom unified Canada and it is a very important part of Canada. It also shows equality.

Link:

http://www.raisethehammer.org/blog/2419/canadian_charter_of_rights_and_freedoms_turns_30

80 year old woman lands plane with one engine

An 80-year old woman lands a Cessna twin-engine plane after her husband died at the controls. She had very little flying experience and she landed it at a northeastern Wisconsin airport. Her husband just fell unconscious and died at the controls and it was reported that earlier that day, there was minimal gas and one of the engines died out. Another pilot also went up in his plane to guide the 80-year old woman down to safety about 240 kilometers north of Milwaukee. Her son said that she took lessons to take off and land 30 years before this incident and her husband forced her to do it just in case something were to happen. She flied hours by his side. It was also said that she was calmer than the people on the ground communicating with her and she was responding to them by saying, "Don’t you guys think I could do this on my own? Don’t you have confidence in me?" The pilot who helped her was Robert Vuksanovic. Before this woman's husband died, she tried to get her husband in his seat belt but he didn't listen and he fell over after he passed out obviously. Maybe that was the reason to his death.

I think that this is crazy. An 80-year old woman landing a Cessna plane with one engine. She hasn't tried landing a plane since 30 years before this incident. She was put on the spot and she saved her own life. The one thing that really blows my mind is that she remained completely calm the whole time while she was taking over and the people trying to direct her to a safe landing place were freaking out. At that point, she just wanted someone to have some confidence in her and she did it. She was flying the plane with her dead husband on her side and I think that is what gave her the confidence and the strength to help her bring the plane down. Her son must have been scared to death already knowing that his father was dead and that his 80-year old mother is in a plane with nobody flying it. If I was in either her place or her sons place at the time, I would be freaking out.

Link:

http://www.thestar.com/news/world/article/1156297--woman-80-lands-plane-safely-on-one-engine-after-husband-dies-at-controls?bn=1

Dharun Ravi Drives his Roommate to Suicide

Dharun Ravi decided to stream a video of his gay roommate, Tyler Clementi and the end result was him committing suicide. Dharun was 20 years old and he thought it would be funny to spying on his roommate's sexual encounters. Tyler was 18 years old and he attended Rutgers University while Dharun was a former student. After Clementi found out about this video, he decided to jump off the George Washington Bridge into the Hudson River on September 22, 2010. Tyler's last facebook post read, "Jumping off the gw bridge sorry." Dharun was found guilty on all major counts and faces 10 years in prison. It was also said that Ravi had some hatred for gay people. There were a few people who admitted to watching the video with Ravi and felt sorry because that lead to suicide but Ravi didn't seem too sorry. These people were charged for two counts of invasion of privacy. One of the witnesses made a deal on May 2011. The deal required her to testify against her former classmate and complete a three-year program on cyberbullying and do 300 hours of community service. Obama also got involved in this act because it was such a disgrace towards America's beliefs.

This was a big deal and I don't think that Ravi could defend himself at all because of what he did. There were some serious consequences and I think it was a good thing that that girl did, giving in and accepting the shorter term consequences. Invasion of privacy is a huge thing, even with the smallest things like putting a hidden camera in a bathroom and showing it to everyone. Even if you think you know the person well and think that they won't get mad, you might end up as the person doing 10 years in prison. One bad decision and one sick mind can get other people in trouble like the other witnesses and the people commenting on the video making Clementi feel even worse about himself causing him to kill himself. The crazy thing is that people still continue this act today.

Link:

http://www.radaronline.com/exclusives/2012/03/tyler-clementi-roommate-found-guilty-dharun-ravi

Why do people hate food at SAC?

Whitney Houston's Unfortunate Death

Whitney Houston took over the 1980's soul and r&b music until the use of drugs. People say that it was the influence that Bobby Brown had on her when they got married at the age of 48. The police said that her body was found in her room at the Beverly Hills Hilton. She was one of the world's best-selling artists. Her music was big in the black churches especially and when she died, many people got hit by the news and it was a stressful moment for even the fans. Whitney Houston was an influence to Christina Aguilera and Mariah Carey and apparently, Mariah Carey sounded just like Whitney Houston when she first came out. Whitney confessed taking cocaine, marijuana, pills and this made her voice sound bad; it was all raspy and hoarse.

I think that Whitney went from one amazing thing to one disaster. She started off singing in the church and her mother was singing in the church and at the end of the story, she supposedly died because of drug abuse. I heard that ever since Bobby Brown came into her life, it just started going downhill. That is when the drugs were introduced to her life and this was known from when they got married. I also find it sad that he had to die at the age of 48, that is a young age to die these days and she had a daughter. Apparently, she went in jail the day after she died and many members of Bobby Brown's family died. He must be having a hard time.

Link:

http://topics.nytimes.com/topics/reference/timestopics/people/h/whitney_houston/index.html?scp=1-spot&sq=whitney%20houston&st=cse

Even a royal thumbprint can bring top dollar

Prince William and Kate Middleton were at a fashion show and that's when they got serious about their relationship. Kate went to the University of St. Andrews in Scotland and it is being said that it would have been wise to look through the old boxes of "junk" and in old notebooks because it would be worth something a few years later; this was in 2005. Kate Middleton modeled a dress that took $45 to make and it was sold in an auction some time later for $125,000. Also, Prince William left his program from the fashion show and a women picked it up, went to the Antiques Roadshow and sold it for $785. Also, Kate put her 2001 Volkswagen Golf with 104,000 km on eBay and it was sold for $74,500, more than 10 times its market value. Then there’s Princess Beatrice’s hat that she wore to the royal wedding. It was sold on eBay for $128,000. There were many more incidences that are just plain ridiculous.

I think that this it ridiculous. Not the fact that people are crazy to get these thumbprints but the fact that people would pay to have it in their house in a glass case. It's crazy to know that they are human beings like anyone else but thumbprints can value hundreds of dollars. This also shows how crazy people are and what their willing to do for satisfaction. It isn't just rich people that spend their money on this stuff but people that are middle class and low class that would spend all their money on these dresses or objects or hats just to broadcast it but at the end, who does it really benefit other than the person that got the money for getting the object.

Link:

http://thestar.blogs.com/royals/2012/02/even-a-royal-thumbprint-can-bring-top-dollar.html

Bodies of mother and daughter found in Kitchener home

A mother and her daughter were found dead in their home in Kitchener yesterday night. The police weren't looking for suspects because after the killing of the mother and daughter, there were no public incidents or threats. The mother was 38 years old and her name was Joanna Nowakowska. Her daughter was four years old and named Bianca. The Waterloo Regional Police have investigated and they say that this whole situation was just suspicious. A relative of the family found the bodies at 8:30 p.m. and the police don't think that there was anyone else in the townhouse when the mother and child died. Autopsies have been scheduled for today to figure out how they died, whether it was suicide or if someone else killed them.

I think that this is a really sad story. Nobody knows who killed these two females or how, not even when it happened exactly. If I had to guess who killed these people, I would say a robber or maybe the father. That just makes me think how crazy people are getting these days and what people would do to get what they want. The four year old child would not be able to commit suicide so maybe the mother was stressed and she might have abused her child and the committed suicide because she realized that what she did was wrong. Anything could have really happened

Link:

http://www.cp24.com/servlet/an/local/CTVNews/20120214/120214_kitchener_deaths/20120214/?hub=CP24Home

Boy bullied to death

An 11 year old boy who lost his mother from cancer three years ago committed suicide because he has been bullied to that point. This child was diagnosed with muscular dystrophy the year after his mother died. Muscular dystrophy is the condition which consists of weakening of the muscles so Mitchell could not run and jump like the other kids but he was always has a smile on his face. Mitchell went for walks quite often everyday so he can use his muscles, as instructed by the doctors. He was quite popular in his neighborhood also. One day when he was going for a walk, this bully that he knows from school walks up to him and pushes him to the ground causing Mitchell to hit his face on the ground knocking off a chunk of his two front teeth. The bully then stole Mitchell's phone and ran. Luckily, Mitchell's step mom was driving around the corner to where Mitchell was lying on the ground in pain. She saw the young bully with the phone and she drove towards him, the bully then threw the phone at the car and ran. They tried to take this to court and the bully did not get in any trouble and this caused Mitchell to get very stressed and end up wrapping a plastic bag around his face to kill himself.

I think that this is a stressful story for me because I am realizing what this world is coming to. A young guy trying to steal the belongings of a disabled eleven year old child. It isn't even like Mitchell did anything to the bully, he just wanted to take his things. This also shows what court can do to a little disabled eleven year old child. They didn't believe the child and it caused him to kill himself because of the stress they put on him. After the little boy got rejected, Mitchell still saw the bully at school walking free and this depressed him.


Link:

http://www.torontosun.com/2011/09/22/boy-bullied-to-death-dad-says

Canada’s unemployment rate rises

Canada's unemployment rate increases to 7.6% after being at 7.5% in April 2011. That might not sound like a lot but the number's big. The Canadian dollar dropped to $1.0024 to the U.S. dollar. In the second half of 2011, jobs were much easier to get and it was expected that it will stay this way through January but it so happened that it had the opposite effect. Last year to December, Canada added 129,000 jobs which is an increase of 0.7% and total numbers of hours increased by 1.4%. There has been a forecast that the central bank will keep these rates until 2013.

I think that the forecast that has been made will be true and that the rates will start to drop meaning that Canada's employment rate will rise. Either that or it will decrease because of the growing population but that is only a percentage. The number of people employed are going up it is just the number of people unemployed are going up a little bit faster. I think Canada is in great standing and that a 0.1% rate increase won't affect Canada as a whole at all.

Link:

http://www.torontosun.com/2012/02/03/canadas-unemployment-rate-rises-to-76

Wonder Dog

This article is all about service dogs being trained to live with disabled children. This Agency is called 4 Paws for Ability and located in Xenia, Ohio. One of the dogs that they talked about in a video in the New York Times website's name was Wisdom and he is in training in being a service dog (a dog that's trained to help a disabled child). At the 4 Paws for Ability Agency, there are about 200 dogs like Wisdom. These dogs learned how to open doors, turn on lights, how to alert to seizures and a lot more. These dogs were supplied for children with down syndrome or autism and more disabilities. Most of the dogs were Golden Retrievers and Labrador Retrievers. There has been a 90% success with this whole arrangement of giving dogs to disabled children with this agency.

I personally think that this is a great idea. Dogs are already very useful for blind adults to help then around on the outside world and in their houses, why not make disabled children happy and give them a dog. The children aren't only going to have fun with the dogs, but the dogs help then stay safe, help them to open doors and help them turn the lights on. The dogs will make life easier for the children and for the parents of the children. Also, according to the 90% success rate, not much can go wrong.

Link:

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/05/magazine/wonder-dog.html?_r=1#comments

For Soldier Disfigured in War, a Way to Return to the World

900 American service members have been almost burned to death since 2001 and Joey Paulk was one of them. He has been severely burned in Afghanistan and has been brought to a hospital in Texas three weeks after the incident. When he was in the hospital, his mother and his girlfriend were there and that consoled him but then he looked at his fingers and realized that they were missing. He then looked in a mirror and saw that everything was out of order; with the top part of his right ear missing and with his bottom lip drooping. After seeing this, instead of panicking, he went on to say, "This is who I am now". By 2009, he left the Army returning to California where he lived. On his way home, it seemed like he forgot something, his self-confidence. He later visited a program at U.C.L.A Medical Center called Operation Mend. This was a program that provided cosmetic surgery to veterans needing it with no charge. After getting some surgery, Joey's self-confidence jumped right back up and he is going out again to bars and beaches and even baseball games. He also took part in Veterans Daylast year , at age 26, riding on the lead car of the New York City parade.

I think that this is really inspirational because it starts off as a man fighting for his country to a man hiding in his house, wearing sweatshirts, baseball caps and dark glasses to hide the burns and the droopy eyes from the burning. After seeing the burns in the hospital, the first thing he said was,"This is who I am now" and I think that it took a lot of courage to just say that in a calm voice. After getting his surgery he told his story and inspired many people. This shows what kind of person he is. He is a strong and happy man even after what happened. He did lose some self-confidence after the burning but he came back ten times stronger.

Link to article:

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/31/us/for-soldier-disfigured-in-afghanistan-a-way-to-return-to-the-world.html