John Baird: Baird was asked by reporters during a teleconference from Rio de Janeiro about growing calls for a boycott of the 2014 Games in Sochi, according to CBC. "We've got an important opportunity for the free world to be able to put the focus on what's happening in Russia in recent weeks and months and hopefully that can yield a change," he added. Related: IOC wants more reassurance on Russian anti-gay law Related: How not to boycott the Olympic Games Related: Russian sports minister urges critics to 'calm down' Related: Twitter reacts to group's anti-Baird comments Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird said he hopes "decency will prevail" when it comes to Russia's anti-gay law, but that despite his concern about Canadians going to the Olympics there, a boycott is not the answer. "We want to see the athletes succeed, and obviously we're in close contact with the Canadian Olympic Committee," Baird said. "I was pleased to see the International Olympic Committee come out and seek further assurances from the Russian Federation in advance of the Games." (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

Lollapalooza festival: The Montreal group was spotlighted in the Band to Watch section of the magazines website, just days after the group headlined the BMI stage at Chicagos annual Lollapalooza festival. , according to Times Colonist. The members from Comox knew of each other but didnt start playing together until late 2009. Portielje was found through a Craigslist ad, and the rest is history in the making. Rolling Stone magazine tipped its readers this week to something fans in Canada have known for ages: Half Moon Run is one of the best bands in the country. The best part? Three-quarters of Half Moon Run is local. Ottawa native Devon Portielje is the only member not from Vancouver Island: Conner Molander, Dylan Phillips and Half Moon Runs newest touring member, Isaac Symonds, all hail from Comox, and have played in various Island acts over the years. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

Edward Snowden: But thats where the Cold War comparison stops. The Snowden decision reflects and is a response to Russias resentment over its post-Cold War status. , according to Times Colonist. And then came Putin. The Russian presidents intentions were obvious the restoration of Russia as a great power holding sway, if not outright domination, over its old Soviet-era empire. Analyst Leon Aron describes the Putin Doctrine in the March edition of Foreign Affairs: After his election as president in 2000, Putin added to his agenda an overarching goal: The recovery of economic, political and geostrategic assets lost by the Soviet state in 1991. The Edward Snowden affair cant help but conjure memories of the Cold War ideological struggle between Russia and the United States. Russian President Vladimir Putins willingness to thumb his nose at U.S. President Barack Obama by granting whistleblower Snowden asylum smacks of the tit-for-tat retaliations that once characterized American relations with the Soviet Union. After the implosion of the Soviet empire in the early 1990s, Russia spiralled downward. With the economy collapsing, the navy rusted out, the air force was practically grounded and even army soldiers had difficulty getting ammunition. Russias borders shrivelled to their 17th-century configuration as countries such as Latvia, Hungary and Ukraine slipped free of the imperial grip. Some joined NATO, making Russias humiliation even more acute. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

Obama: Obama's comments at a White House news conference Friday came two days after cancelling a planned summit with Putin next month. Meanwhile, Secretary of State John Kerry and Defence Secretary Chuck Hagel ended talks with their Russian counterparts to see where co-operation is possible, according to Times Colonist. Obama said Putin's return to the Kremlin last year had brought about "more rhetoric on the Russian side that was anti-American, that played into some of the old stereotypes about the Cold War contest between the United States and Russia." WASHINGTON - President Barack Obama said he was reassessing the tense U.S. relationship with Russia because of a growing number of issues on which the two countries differ, and he called on Russian leader Vladimir Putin to "think forward as opposed to backward" and abandon a Cold War mentality. Those officials said they had made some tangible results on the push for a political solution to the crisis in Syria, among other issues. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

Wongs: The name is irrelevant; the language almost always Cantonese. The victims are lone, elderly Chinese women, according to Globe and Mail. But then, a supposed passerby joins the conversation: Did you mention Dr. Wong? Hes amazing. He can exorcise demons. As a matter of fact, thats Dr. Wongs granddaughter right over there. More Related to this Story The scams all begin with some variation of the same opening line: Excuse me, grandma, do you know Dr. Wong? No, I dont know anyone by that name, is the typical response. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

unemployment rate: Nova Scotia lost 4,100 jobs in July, according to The Chronicle Herald. The province lost 1,900 full-time jobs in July and 2,200 part-time gigs and But the unemployment rate stayed at nine per cent because 4,700 people dropped out of the the job market, according to numbers released Friday by Statistics Canada. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

Thor Metkurjock: On January 25, 2012, 20-year-old Gatleak Thor Metkurjock was transported to hospital in life-threatening condition, with what police believe to be blunt force trauma injuries; he would later die in hospital, according to 660 News. Metkurjock escaped a civil war in Sudan in 2010 as a refugee, arriving in Calgary with aims to attend university for engineering and Police are calling for the publics help in a murder case from the beginning of 2012. The 20-year olds family is now joining police in appealing for witnesses. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

REAL Women of Canada: Re Right-Wing Group Chides Baird For Backing Gay Rights Aug. 8 : I was dismayed to read about the attack by REAL Women of Canada on Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird for his defence of global civil rights for gays, according to Globe and Mail. Michael Patrick Albano, Toronto REAL divided REAL Women contends that this policy is out of step with Canadian conservatives. Since the vast majority of Canadian women, conservatives included, support human rights gay rights are human rights I recommend REAL Women change their name to something less ingenuous: I suggest REAL Bigots. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

WASHINGTON President Barack Obama: Obama will answer reporters questions in the midst of a terror alert that led the government to close nearly two dozen embassies and consulates in the Middle East and North Africa, according to 660 News. The news conference scheduled for 3 p.m. EDT 1900 GMT also comes a day before Obama leaves Washington for a nine-day vacation on Marthas Vineyard, Mass and WASHINGTON President Barack Obama says he ll hold a news conference Friday afternoon at the White House. And just this week, Obama cancelled a one-on-one summit next month in Moscow with Russian President Vladimir Putin, in part because of Russias decision to grant asylum to National Security Agency leaker Edward Snowden. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

Oprah Winfrey: Billionaire media mogul Oprah Winfrey says she ran into Swiss racism when a clerk at Trois Pommes, a pricey Zurich boutique, refused to show her a $38,000 handbag, telling one of the world's richest women that she wouldn't be able to afford it. Winfrey earned $77 million in the year ending in June, according to Forbes magazine, according to Times Colonist. She brought up the incident during an interview about her new movie, "Lee Daniels' The Butler," which opens next week and focuses on civil rights and race relations in the U.S. She was asked to open up about her own experiences with discrimination and GENEVA - Switzerland is a glamorous playground of the rich and famous, filled with glitterati from princes to movie stars. It's also a land with a sometimes uneasy relationship with foreigners especially when they aren't white. "She said: 'No, no, no, you don't want to see that one. You want to see this one. Because that one will cost too much; you will not be able to afford that,'" Winfrey, appearing on the U.S. television program "Entertainment Tonight," quoted the clerk as saying. "And I said, 'Well, I did really want to see that one.' And she refused to get it." (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.