Wednesday, June 25, 2008

Dogs poisoned from at least 2 sources: Toronto police

Just Horrible .....



Christie MacCallum spends some last moments with her dog Henna-Rose


At least two sources of poison may have been used to kill two dogs and sicken four others in a Toronto city park, police said Tuesday, as they warned dog owners to keep their dogs leashed in the area.

Toronto police Det. Suzanne Pinto said that a soggy pile of bread found in the park may have been soaked in antifreeze, the same substance believed to have contaminated a drinking bowl for pets.

"Some liquid substance was poured and soaked all over the bread and it's probably been there for a couple of days and various animals probably got into it," Pinto told reporters.

Pinto said the bread will be analyzed but that most likely it was soaked in antifreeze.

"At this time it is not safe at all for any dog owner to have their dog off-leash in the park where they could easily gulp this off the ground within a second," she said.

Pinto said veterinarians treating two other dogs initially thought to have been poisoned determined they were made sick by other unrelated sources.

Toronto police are continuing their investigation into the incidents.

Christie MacCallum's dog, Henna-Rose, was one of the ones that died.

MacCallum said the two-year-old golden retriever began throwing up after her regular romp through the park on Sunday.

The dog's "kidney functions have deteriorated very significantly overnight and she's not able to pee even with a catheter; it's empty. So her kidneys are shutting down," McCallum told CBC News on Monday afternoon.

The animal became ill after drinking from a suspected contaminated water container in the off-leash area of the park.

Police said the off-leash area called Dog Hill will remain closed for the time being.

They found some antifreeze in water containers, but they're continuing to examine the entire area in case of other possible sources of poison.

Tuesday, June 24, 2008

NHL suspends Ducks owner Henry Samueli

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Henry and Susan Samueli bought the Ducks from Disney Co., on June 20, 2005.

The NHL confirmed Tuesday that Anaheim Ducks owner Henry Samueli is suspended indefinitely for lying to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

Samueli pleaded guilty Monday in a Santa Ana, Calif., court to one count of making a false statement to the SEC.

The 53-year-old billionaire will be sentenced Aug. 18, at which time the NHL will determine the exact length of Samueli's suspension and whether he should be punished further.

"We hold NHL personnel to the highest standards, and this plea requires the imposition of discipline under league rules," NHL commissioner Gary Bettman said.

"I respect the decision … and will abide by the terms of the suspension," Samueli responded. "I'm confident the team will be in great hands in my absence."

Samueli's wife, Susan, will relinquish her role as Ducks co-owner to "avoid any improper appearance."

Alternate governor Michael Schulman will replace Henry Samueli as team governor on an interim basis and oversee the Ducks for the duration of the suspension.

"As an organization, we continue to support Henry 100 per cent," Schulman said. "Our goals and day-to-day operational structure remain the same."

Financial issues requiring ownership approval will be handled by Bettman, while hockey matters will remain the responsibility of general manager Brian Burke.

"My admiration and respect for Henry Samueli is in no way reduced or dimished," Burke said. "I have great respect for him."

Samueli's plea agreement was negotiated following a criminal investigation into illegal stock-option backdating at Broadcom Corp., the computer chip business he co-founded with Henry Nicholas in 1991.

Under the terms of the agreement, Samueli reportedly will receive five years of probation and pay $12 million US to the U.S. Treasury and a $250,000 US fine.

He will not face prosecution on further allegations of stock-option backdating.

Nicholas, who was Broadcom's chief executive officer, was indicted on conspiracy, securities fraud and drug charges, as was William Ruehle, Broadcom's former chief financial officer.

Bettman blindsided by backdoor dealings

Even the smug man in charge at NHL headquarters would surely agree last week was an especially bad one.

As he addressed the league's board of governors in New York, Gary Bettman admitted he had no clue that two of his closest NHL confidants - L.A.'s Philip Anschutz and Minnesota's Craig Leipold - had lent San Jose banker Boots Del Biaggio a combined $17 million (U.S.) to help him pay for a $25 million stake in the Nashville Predators.

NHL owners were speechless, according to a source who attended the meeting, as Bettman grumbled he had been in the dark. Neither Anschutz nor Leipold had made him aware of the cozy back-door deal.

Del Biaggio, of course, has become the NHL's most famous owner. He's the target of a criminal investigation, faces at least a half dozen lawsuits, and has been filed with divorce papers for allegedly lying about his financial wherewithal.

Although Leipold's motivations are murky, Anschutz likely lent Del Biaggio the money because his company owns an arena in Kansas City and Del Biaggio wanted to move the Predators there.

"Anschutz and Leipold are on Gary's executive committee," says one high-ranking NHL source. "These are guys who are at the power centre of the league, close to Gary, and supposed to be his best allies. And here they were lending Del Biaggio money, and not telling Gary, at a time when they were supposed to be reviewing his offer to become an owner.

"It stinks."

And now, with some of his owners viewing the NHL's front office as nothing short of a banana republic, Bettman's month gets worse.

Ducks owner Henry Samueli is a long-time California philanthropist turned perjurer and felon. Yesterday, he beat Del Baggio to the punch by pleading guilty to lying to federal authorities.

The model of the modern-day NHL owner who bought the Ducks in 2005, Samueli faces five years probation and $12.2 million (all figures U.S.) in fines after admitting he lied last year when U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission officials asked him about a stock options scandal at his company Broadcom.

Will the NHL force Samueli to sell the club? It's uncertain. The league offered no comment yesterday. But then what could it say?

After all, here's what deputy commissioner Bill Daly offered last month when the SEC first charged Samueli with scheming to defraud Broadcom shareholders: "Today's announcement has no impact on Henry's status as an NHL owner or on his ownership of the Ducks. Civil litigation happens all the time. That doesn't disqualify anybody from owning a franchise, much less an NHL franchise."

Bettman added: "The Samuelis have been terrific owners. They're perhaps the most community-minded and charitable people in all of Orange County," Bettman said. "I am not going to fret about something that may or may not be substantiated at the end of the day."

Right. No sense fretting. Maybe Bettman and Daly couldn't have predicted yesterday's news but certainly "this matter's before the courts, so we decline comment" would have been a shrewder move.

Trouble is, Bettman and Daly think they're the smartest guys in any room. It won't be a shock if the league sticks by Samueli instead of making what amounts to a no-brainer. There should be no room in the ranks of NHL ownership for felons and perjurers - even if they are philanthropists.

Friday, June 13, 2008

Yael Naïm (Hebrew: יעל נעים)







Yael Naïm (Hebrew: יעל נעים) is a French-Israeli singer and songwriter who rose to fame in 2008, after her song "New Soul" was used by Apple in an advertising campaign for its MacBook Air. The success of this song made her the first Israeli solo artist to have a top ten hit in the United States. The song peaked at #7 on the Billboard Hot 100.