Bronson Pinchot Project Dept: HARFORD, Pa. - For more than a decade, Bronson Pinchot has spent much of his downtime in the picture-book Pennsylvania hamlet where he found a dream home far from the stressful clamour of New York or L.A, according to Winnipeg Free Press. Still, he has decided to open his doors to America via "The Bronson Pinchot Project," which premiered Feb. 11 on the DIY Network. In all, eight episodes were shot over 13 weeks at the end of last year in Harford, a village founded in 1790 and nestled in the Endless Mountains of Susquehanna County near the New York state line and this photo taken Feb. 1, 2012 shows a Greek revival home, one of six properties Bronson Pinchot owns in Harford, Pa. Pinchot, best known for his starring role on the 1980's sitcom "Perfect Strangers," is back on TV with a new show about restoring his historic Pennsylvania homes. The show, The Bronson Pinchot Project, premiered this month on the DIY cable network. AP Photo/Heather Ainsworth Pinchot likely remains best known as the endearingly na ve, quasi-Mediterranean immigrant Balki Bartokomous from the TV sitcom "Perfect Strangers." But unlike Balki, Pinchot is by his own admission "fiercely private" and an "introvert that does a pretty convincing performance as an extrovert." (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

Gregory House Dept: The series, which airs on Fox and Global, has seen a dip in ratings this season, but still ranks as a top show for both networks. Of course, now that we all know House is closing, how will it all end? But creator-producer David Shore made it clear that House "isn't going to ride off into the sunset with love." So, it's not unfathomable for House to end up back in jail, according to Vancouver Sun and it's been eight years since we first checked into Princeton-Plainsboro Teaching Hospital for a diagnosis by Dr. House - the infamous doctor with the terrible bedside manner. And come May 21, Hugh Laurie's Dr. Gregory House will hang up his stethoscope for good. On tonight's episode, House faces going back to prison for violating his parole. Remember his Russian bride Dominika? House married her last season so she wouldn't be deported. Tonight, the "couple" have to prove their marriage is legit to immigration. If they fail, House goes back to the big house. FOX, Global - 8 p.m. div (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

Libya Dept: Indeed there are, chiefly the fact there is no peace to keep in Syria. And there is little evidence the international community has the influence over Assad to stop what looks like a civil war in Syria without taking out his regime militarily, much as NATO created the conditions for the Libyan resistance to topple the Gadhafi regime last year, according to The Star. An international military force on the ground in Syria is highly unlikely to be a peacekeeping operation by any honest definition of that concept even though the term is already being bandied about internationally. What we are really talking about is regime change, which was NATO s and the UN s unstated goal in Libya, but one they could fudge because they were dealing with the Libyan military from 30,000 feet, not ground level and the international community has been digesting the Arab League s proposal for a peacekeeping force to stop the Assad regime from massacring Syrian citizens. The British are showing openness to the notion. And the U.S. state department has expressed qualified support for the idea, with the caveat: There are a number of challenges with regard to this proposal. But there is one big difference between Libya last year and Syria in 2012. In Libya, the international military intervention was limited to air power and special forces. That is not what the Arab League and others now envision in Syria. They are talking boots on the ground, a qualitatively and quantitatively different proposition. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

Prenatal Testing Dept: But the former Pennsylvania senator has always been a culture warrior at heart. Santorum's weekend musings about limiting access to prenatal testing for pregnant women, and his accusations that President Barack Obama adheres to a "phoney theology," gave Americans a fresh glimpse of the polarizing style of politics that has long been central to his career, according to Montreal Gazette. Speaking to Tea Party activists in Columbus, Ohio, Santorum suggested Obama favoured increased abortions of disabled babies because of requirements in his new health care law that women receive free prenatal testing and rick Santorum climbed to the top of the GOP presidential heap on a ladder forged from blue-collar conservatism - wooing working-class Republicans with tales of his own family's coal-mining history and an economic message rooted in the need to revive American manufacturing. The sudden pivot to social issues also underscores Santorum's calculation that the GOP nomination can be won by appealing to "guns and Bible" Republicans who feel economically disenfranchised and culturally alienated from East Coast elites. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

Incendies Dept: True, Incendies didn't win the Oscar. And only the voting academy members know how Monsieur Lazhar, which was produced by the same company micro scope , will fare. But this second-in-a-row nomination is bound to draw some extra attention to Montreal's vibrant francophone theatre scene in general, and de la Cheneli re in particular, according to Montreal Gazette. This Governor General's Award-winning playwright for D sordre public, in 2006 seemed remarkably unfazed about this development in her 15-year career when I spoke with her recently in a St. Denis St. restaurant and stage-to-screen adaptations are becoming a must for successful filmmaking in Quebec. Monsieur Lazhar, based on the play Bashir Lazhar by velyne de la Cheneli re, is about to make its way to the Academy Awards as a foreignfilm nominee, the year after Incendies, based on the play of the same name by Wajdi Mouawad, followed the same route. Next week she'll be making her first trip to Los Angeles to attend the Academy Awards on Feb. 26. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

Packard Dept: But two decades after her conversion while a college student in the U.S., the 43-year-old Packard finds herself on a new mission: defeating Mitt Romney and any Mormon politician who betrays what she sees as a basic Mormon principle of protecting immigrants, according to CTV. "Yes, we are happy that we have a Mormon running for president," said Packard, a Utah resident and member of Somos We are Republicans. "But a lot of us aren't supporting him because of his stance against immigrants." The Catholic-educated Packard, who grew up in "the middle of Mayan ruins," appreciated the faith's strong sense of family and conservative values. She also saw her own history in the Book of Mormon with stories of migrations, tragedies and triumphs of a people many Mormons believe are the ancestors of some present-day Latinos. As Romney continues to seek the Republican presidential nomination while rarely discussing his faith, a growing number of vocal Hispanic Mormons say they intend to use Mormon teachings as a reason to convince others not to vote for him. They have held firesides equivalent to a tent revival on immigration, protested outside of Romney campaign events and have travelled across state lines to help defeat other Mormon politicians with similar harsh immigration stances. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

U.K. Border Force Dept: She said lapses included failing to check half a million Europeans arriving on Eurostar trains against a government watch list, according to CTV. May said the risk to Britain had been small since "no one was waved through, everyone had their passports checked" -- but the lapses were nonetheless unacceptable and home Secretary Theresa May said an investigation had found that the U.K. Border Force, which staffs border posts at airports and ports, had "suspended important checks without permission." May said the border force had also suspended fingerprint checks on visa holders without government approval, spent millions on new technologies it did not use and sent reports to the government "that were inaccurate, unbalanced and excluded key information." (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

Respect Respeto Dept: The group Respect Respeto on Monday sent a request to the U.S. Department of Justice for a probe into Pinal County Sheriff Paul Babeu for abuse of power, according to Winnipeg Free Press. KNXV-TV reports Respect Respeto wants the sheriff investigated on behalf of every immigrant who has been threatened with deportation and pHOENIX - A Latino rights organization has asked for a federal investigation into an Arizona sheriff seeking the Republican nomination for a congressional seat who was forced to confirm he is gay amid allegations of misconduct made by a Mexican immigrant with whom he had a relationship. Babeu confirmed he is gay Saturday and resigned from presidential hopeful Mitt Romney's Arizona committee amid the man's allegations. He denied claims he tried to threaten the man, a former campaign volunteer, with deportation if their past relationship was made public. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

Sonoco Products Dept: Over the past five to six years, many manufacturing companies have closed shop in Ontario as the province lost competitiveness due to a dollar trading at approximate parity with the U.S. companies like Collins & Aikman in Guelph 500 jobs , Interforest in Durham 120 jobs , Crane Valves in Brantford 88 jobs , Sonoco Products in Cambridge 100 jobs , Siemens in Hamilton 550 jobs , FRAM in Stratford 300 jobs and many more across the province. As companies consolidate operations in North America, Ontario has a tough time making the case to keep operations here, according to The Star. The high dollar, by hitting manufacturing hard, is eroding Ontario s tax base and contributing to the deficit and to Ontario s high unemployment rate and blame it on Alberta s oilsands. Last month, Ontario s premier pickle company, Bick s Pickles, closed its production facilities in southern Ontario and moved its operations to the U.S. The high value of the Canadian dollar was an important factor in a corporate decision that cost 150 regular jobs here. Bick s is not alone feeling the impact of what some are calling the Alberta dollar. In other instances Ontario has lost out to the U.S. or Mexico when investment decisions were being made. The tourist industry has suffered as well. A U.S. visitor to Toronto, Stratford, Niagara-on-the-Lake or Muskoka would have paid $127.40 U.S. in 2002 for a hotel room that cost 200 Canadian dollars. Last year the American visitor would have paid $202 U.S. , or almost 60 per cent more. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

Corporate Tax Policy Dept: How can an analysis of the contributing factors to Ontario s deficit/debt be valid when the loss of billions of dollars to the province s coffers from Dalton McGuinty s failed corporate tax policy are ignored? The answer is simple: the analysis is not valid, according to The Star. Starving government of revenue and the resulting reduced role of government plays well with the same crowd that benefits most from Mr. McGuinty s failed corporate tax policy and re: How we got into this mess, Feb. 18 Don Drummond stays true to the parameters set out by Mr. McGuinty and frames the problem as strictly an expenditure problem. Ignoring the revenue side of the equation provides adequate political cover for Mr. McGunity to push forward with a predetermined privatization and deregulation agenda. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.