Janos Acs: The 60-year-old suicide, near Emerald Street North, ended a troubled life that authorities thought they had saved. , according to Hamilton Spectator. The now infamous Domotor-Kolompar criminal organization was dismantled in 2010 and stands as the largest human trafficking case in Canadian history. Twenty-three members of the extended family were convicted of various charges between 2012 and 2013. "I feel very much betrayed and I'm pretty frustrated," Janos Acs told the Spectator In the early evening hours of June 10, Janos Acs walked onto train tracks in central Hamilton and lay down to die. Acs was among more than 20 people rescued in 2009 by from the hands of human traffickers who lured them from their native Hungary on the false promise of work. Despite the successful prosecution of his abusers and that he and other victims were given safe haven in Canada, Acs lived out his free days moving in and out of shelters, struggling to find work and drinking heavily. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

Governor Deval Patrick: It something to think about, in light of Massachusett current role in the immigration debate, when appeals for compassion collide with pronouncements about the law. Here where we stand: Governor Deval Patrick makes a passionate pitch for sheltering undocumented children who fled violence in Central America. Four major gubernatorial candidates rush to agree, which says something about Massachusetts character. , according to Hamilton Spectator. One thing they weren't called, though, was "illegal," because that term hadn't been conceived yet. What if the Irish potato famine had happened today? But public sentiment is split, resistance is vocal and strong, and the language the opponents use is telling. In the 19th century, Irish immigrants were called many of the things you hear hurled at Central American immigrants today: a scourge on public health, a drain on the economy, a threat to American culture. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

lunar module: The explosion had crippled the service module where water, food and oxygen were stored, but luckily some additional supplies were available in the lunar module, which became the crews life raft. The lunar module was needed as long as possible, but then had to be jettisoned. But how?, according to Globe and Mail. That a tragedy was averted was in large part due to a team of engineers at the university led by Bernard Etkin as the senior scientist who stepped in at the crucial moment with nothing more than their slide rules and powerful brains and It was not supposed to happen. When Apollo 13, the third manned mission intended to land on the moon, took off from the Kennedy Space Center on April 11, 1970, no one imagined that after minutely detailed planning, testing and preparation it would have to be aborted just two days later because of an exploding oxygen tank. The U.S. contractor Grumman Aerospace Corp., which had built the lunar module for put in a call for help to the University of Toronto, where they knew there was a wide range of engineering expertise. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

MacNicol Associates Asset Management: We tend to look at it from 40,000 feet, according to Globe and Mail. Mr. Baker, a senior vice-president with Toronto-based MacNicol Associates Asset Management, manages several alternative asset pools. One of those is the MacNicol 360 Degree Realty Income Fund. More Related to this Story Scott Baker has a rarefied view of Torontos real estate market. Indeed, as the manager of a private pool of real estate assets, he looks at the broader housing picture in North America from that height. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

Jaffari Community Centre: On July 21, police were called to the Jaffari Community Centre in Thornhill. The words Arab go home and other vulgarities referencing the current Gaza conflict were spray-painted in several places surrounding the community centre , which also serves as a local mosque. Two days later, hate graffiti against Israel was scrawled on a Thornhill bus shelter . I was as offended by that heinous act as I am to hear about it happening to my own community, according to The Star. Immigrants come to Canada in search of a better life, to escape this kind of conflict and to leave hateful discourse behind. We are as interested as any other segment of the population in having a peaceful society here. The notion that this is something only one segment of Canadian society should find outrageous enough to respond to is an affront to everyone who wishes for peace and My own son, born and raised in Canada, which makes him as Canadian as Wayne Gretzky, was told to go back to his country when stepping off of a school bus at the age of 8. It broke my heart to have to explain to him the concept of intolerance at such a young age. I was as offended by these ignorant words as I am to hear about what is currently happening in my community. I realize that this hate comes from a fear of the unknown; people are always uncomfortable with the unknown. If police determine that those acts were motivated by hate, it could lead to charges under the Criminal Code, which prohibits hate propaganda. Surveillance video taken from the community centre has been provided to police. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

Vimy Ridge: Its a subtle difference few backyard gardeners would recognize even if they stumbled on the European oaks hidden in a Scarborough woodlot, a living tribute to Canadian soldiers who fought at Vimy Ridge nearly a century ago, according to The Star. His friend Monty McDonald, 69, who spent his summers on the farm as a boy, wants Millers legacy repatriated to somewhere near the Vimy monument in France and The leaves are shaped a little differently than the white and red oaks commonly planted in Ontario. The trees were grown near McNicoll Ave. and Kennedy Rd., from acorns gathered at Vimy by a late Canadian war hero. Leslie Miller planted the seeds when he returned from the First World War on his farm at what is now a bustling corner of Scarborough. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

Israel: That photo has been burning a hole in my inbox ever since. I feel helpless in the face of all the carnage raining down on Gaza. I, too, want Israel to stop killing babies in Gaza. I want Israel to end its indiscriminate killing of all Palestinian civilians full stop, according to Rabble. But it gave me an opportunity to reflect on the horrific events happening in the Middle East under the full glare of the lights of International Justice Day. As of this writing, the death toll in Gaza has surpassed the 350 mark. The UN pronounced that 80 perc ent of those killed have been civilians. Under the Geneva Conventions, this is known as a war crime -- the deliberate targeting and killing of civilians. And now, at 60,000 Gazans have had to seek shelter at UN camps and Shortly after Israel began its bombing campaign of Gaza, a fellow Jew emailed me a photo of a guy holding a large sign that read: "I am a Jew. Stop Killing Babies in Gaza." The subject line in my friend email stated, "the photo says it all." Last week was International Justice Day. It commemorates the anniversary of the adoption of the Rome Statute -- the treaty that established the International Criminal Court ICC . The Court is a mechanism for bringing to justice those who commit war crimes, and people around the world use the day to promote awareness of international criminal justice and highlight related issues such as genocide in Darfur and sexual violence in the Congo. Not a day most people would mark on their calendars but an event nonetheless. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Working Group: The inability of a state party to carry out the expulsion of an individual does not justify detention beyond the shortest period of time or where there are alternatives to detention, and under no circumstances indefinite detention, said the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Working Group on Arbitrary Detentions, according to The Star. Although the Canadian government is not bound by the UN opinion to release Mvogo, the End Immigration Detention Network hopes it can pressure Ottawa to change its current immigration detention policy and align with other countries by limiting the detention to 90 days and Canada should immediately release a man who has been imprisoned for eight years over immigration violations, says a United Nations human rights monitoring body. The opinion, released this week, is in response to a complaint by advocates on behalf of the immigration detainee, Michael Mvogo, who has been held since his arrest in 2006 at a Toronto homeless shelter. It is the first such opinion issued in a case involving Canada since 1994, when records started. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

Putin: Now that several months have elapsed since Putin unleashed his "hybrid" war on Ukraine -- first annexing Crimea and then destabilizing eastern Ukraine -- it worthwhile examining Putin objectives and the degree to which they have been realized, according to Rabble. In military campaigns against Georgia to occupy Abhkazia and South Ossetia in 2008, Vladimir Putin introduced elements of a what Russian analyst Julia Latynina has called a strategy of " new war ." In truth, little of this is actually new, although the constellation of irregular conflict elements are a Putin innovation and A dark horse is stalking the Eurasian continent, casting a shadow over all that crosses its path. For 16 years Vladimir Putin was a career officer in the KGB, the infamous Soviet security agency created in 1917 as the Cheka and once headed by Polish aristocrat turned Marxist, Felix Dzerzhinsky before retiring as a Lieutenant Colonel to take up a political career, Putin has blazed a trail across the Russian political landscape like no one since Joseph Stalin. Hybrid War: Feints, subterfuge and disinformation (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

human trafficking: Public safety minister Steven Blaney announced Canada has deported 20 criminals convicted in the country largest human trafficking case. He took the unusual step of releasing the names of nine convicted of the most serious of crimes. , according to Hamilton Spectator. The Domotor-Kolompar criminal organization is made up of an extended Hungarian Roma family who recruited their countrymen on the promise of work in their family construction businesses. The families lived in lavish Ancaster homes, where they forced their victims to live in their basements, work for free and eat scraps. The federal government wants the world to know the names of Hamilton human traffickers they've deported to send a message that Canada will not tolerate modern day slavery. "There is no room in Canada" for this type of criminal organization, he said in Hamilton Tuesday morning. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

Best Wee Club: The Scottish social group that bills itself as the Best Wee Club in the city has been struggling in recent years with a declining and aging membership. , according to Hamilton Spectator. The club has 280 members, down from more than 600 decades ago. Most are well over the age of 60. Members of the Tartan Club of Hamilton are wondering where all their "auld acquaintances" have gone. "Our membership is getting older, people are moving on and we are trying to attract new people," says Terry McGurk, a member who is heading up a "task force" to bring in new members. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

Guillermo Rishchynski: The indiscriminate rocket attacks from Gaza on Israel are terrorist acts, for which there can be no justification, Guillermo Rishchynski, Canadas representative to the UN, said in a debate before the Security Council, according to The Star. The Israel Defense Forces have continued to demonstrate a commitment to minimize civilian casualties in response to the relentless rocket attacks, he added. Rishchynskis comments were in contrast to remarks by a number of countries that expressed dire concerns about the mounting civilian casualties from Israels offensive in Gaza and pressed Israel to do more to lessen the carnage. The United Nations Security Council debated the crisis in Gaza on Tuesday as Secretary General Ban Ki-moon pressed on with a mission to secure a ceasefire and Canada used a chance to speak at the United Nations to issue a strong defence of Israel in the Israeli-Hamas conflict and blamed militants in the Gaza Strip for a death toll that has now climbed above 600. Hamas, the militant group that controls Gaza, has sought to deliberately put civilians, from both sides, in mortal danger. We mourn the resulting death and suffering , Rishchynski said during Canadas turn in a day of national statements on the Middle East crisis. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

Prime Minister Stephen Harpers: Bolstered by a Federal Court decision earlier this month that said Prime Minister Stephen Harpers cuts to coverage were cruel and unusual, the province is stepping up its fight with the federal government, according to The Star. This isnt about better care for our refugees, this is about the most basic services, he said, noting pregnant claimants have suffered because of Ottawas move two years ago to slash medical benefits for newcomers and Ontario is sending Ottawa the bill for the $2 million the province will spend this year on basic medical services for refugees, says Health Minister Eric Hoskins. We have a responsibility to care for all those that reside here particularly those that are the most vulnerable, Hoskins said Wednesday at the Crossroads Clinic at Womens College Hospital, which serves about 1,200 refugee patients a year. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

Oscar Vigil: I think its very helpful, said Lorne Waldman, a Toronto immigration lawyer representing Oscar Vigil , the former executive director of the Canadian Hispanic Congress. Vigil has been declared inadmissible to Canada over his ties to the leftist Farabundo Marti National Liberation Front that now governs El Salvador, according to The Star. Mosley aimed some harsh language at Karine Roy-Tremblay, a senior bureaucrat in the Immigration Ministry, who in March 2013 denied an application by Jose Luis Figueroa of Vancouver to be allowed to remain in Canada on compassionate grounds and A recent Federal Court ruling spells potential good news for two men who face deportation from Canada as terrorists because they once supported a rebel organization that is now the democratically elected government of their former land. Waldman was referring to a ruling handed down this month by Federal Court Justice Richard G. Mosley, ordering the Ministry of Citizenship and Immigration to take a second look at a case involving another Salvadoran man who has also been deemed inadmissible to Canada, for reasons very similar to those affecting Vigil. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

Su Bin: Su Bin, 48, a Beijing businessman with a home in Vancouver, will find out in a B.C. court on Wednesday whether he will get bail. U.S. officials allege he gave instructions to hackers in China that helped them zero in on which secrets to steal from the computers of Boeing Co. and other firms for the benefit of Chinese aviation companies. More Related to this Story, according to Globe and Mail. China takes anger over spying claims out on U.S. firms A Chinese man accused of being the directing mind behind a corporate-espionage conspiracy to steal jet-fighter secrets from Pentagon contractors is a Canadian immigrant who is being stripped of his residency status. Read the 50-page FBI criminal complaint against Su Bin (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

Canada Border Services Agency: The Canada Border Services Agency discovered the old notices earlier this year following the review of about 117,000 active lookouts to ensure each contained up-to-date information, says a new federal report, according to The Star. An outdated or inaccurate lookout could also mean a traveller is stopped at the border and subjected to unnecessary scrutiny and An internal review has revealed that Canadas border agency had more than 19,000 outdated electronic notices warning officers to be on the lookout for suspicious travellers. Accuracy and timeliness are vital because the border agency is supposed to use lookouts to intercept suspected terrorists, organized criminals and others of concern attempting to enter Canada . (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

Canada Border Services Agency: The Canada Border Services Agency discovered the old notices earlier this year following the review of approximately 117,000 active lookouts to ensure each contained up-to-date information, says a new federal report. , according to Winnipeg Free Press. An outdated or inaccurate lookout could also mean a traveller is stopped at the border and subjected to unnecessary scrutiny. An internal review has revealed that Canada border agency had more than 19,000 outdated electronic notices warning officers to be on the lookout for suspicious travellers. Accuracy and timeliness are vital because the border agency is supposed to use lookouts to intercept suspected terrorists, organized criminals and others of concern attempting to enter Canada. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

human trafficking: He said the victims were forced to work illegally, live in deplorable conditions without adequate food, and were intimidated or attacked repeatedly. More Related to this Story, according to Globe and Mail. Ottawa man sought in human-trafficking probe Twenty members of a Hungarian human trafficking ring that brought people from eastern Europe with promises of a better life in Canada have been deported, Public Safety Minister Steven Blaney said Tuesday. 8 arrested on human trafficking charges (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

Public Safety Minister Steven Blaney: He said the victims were forced to work illegally, live in deplorable conditions without adequate food and were intimidated or attacked repeatedly, according to The Star. The has previously said the victims were mostly poor Hungarians who were duped into coming to Canada and forced to work for free in a case of modern-day slavery and Twenty members of a Hungarian human trafficking ring that brought people from eastern Europe with promises of a better life in Canada have been deported, Public Safety Minister Steven Blaney said Tuesday. The removal of these foreign criminals convicted of human trafficking demonstrates how our government is keeping Canadians safe, Blaney said during a news conference in Hamilton, where the gang had operated. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

Chris Sorio: Critics of the governments approach, including some Conservative loyalists, warn that the growing Filipino Canadian vote could also be at stake in next years federal election if the government removes access to immigration from the live-in caregiver program LCP 90 per cent of those participating are from the Philippines, according to The Star. This is a defining issue for the Filipino Canadian community, said Chris Sorio of Migrante Canada, an international advocacy group for Filipino migrants and Ottawas recent rhetoric about an out-of-control live-in caregiver program has prompted outrage in some quarters and fear that the days of a pathway to permanent residency for foreign nannies are numbered. Family separation, lost skills the biggest challenges for immigrant nannies (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

human trafficking: The Domotor-Kolompar criminal organization brought as many as 19 victims from Hungary to the Hamilton area, forced them to work against their will from dawn to dusk, held them in basements and fed them food scraps. 'We are sending a clear signal that there is no room in Canada for those who are committing the heinous and despicable crime of human trafficking.' Steven Blaney, public safety minister , according to CBC. "We are sending a clear signal that there is no room in Canada for those who are committing the heinous and despicable crime of human trafficking." Hamilton human trafficking kingpin sentenced to 9 years Hamilton human-trafficking investigators arrest 3 Twenty members of what has been called the largest human trafficking ring in Canadian history are being sent back to Hungary, after the minister of public safety announced Tuesday in Hamilton the deportation of all but two convicted in the case. "These individuals were part of the extended Domotor-Kolompar criminal ring, and were convicted under the Criminal Code of Canada of one of the most despicable crimes human trafficking," said Public Safety Minister Steven Blaney at Tuesday morning deportation announcement. "This flagrant abuse of persons in our immigration system demanded a strong response." (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

Bill Ackman: During a presentation in New York that lasted more than three hours, Mr. Ackman detailed the findings from his lengthy investigation into Herbalifes business practices. His firm, Pershing Square Capital Management LP, has placed a $1-billion U.S. bet that Herbalife is destined to collapse. More Related to this Story, according to Globe and Mail. Herbalife plunges as Ackman says he can prove fraud Hedge fund manager Bill Ackman unleashed a new salvo of accusations against Herbalife International Inc., the purveyor of dietary supplements that he calls a pyramid scheme, but failed to persuade investors to ditch the companys shares. Why you should thank a short seller (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

new immigrants: The legacy garden was established this year at the old experimental farm as part of 2014 celebrations. There are 100 plots, and new immigrants have taken charge of about 20 of them , according to CBC. "It a really great opportunity to engage and connect with established Islanders - the Island community - there a lot of back and forth that happens here," said Farm Centre legacy garden coordinator Adam McLean. Charlottetown new legacy garden is attracting a lot of new immigrants, who are getting the opportunity to mix with established Islanders working the plot next door. The P.E.I. Association for Newcomers has been encouraging immigrants to participate. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

President Mahmoud Abbas: With Israeli and U.S. encouragement, Egypt has tried to get both sides to hold fire and then negotiate terms for protracted calm in the Palestinian enclave where officials said 624 people, mostly civilians, have been killed in 15 days of fighting. On mobile? Follow the story here Airlines cancel flights to Israel, citing rocket fire , according to CBC. In a move that could effectively turn Abbas into the main interlocutor for a Gaza truce, his umbrella Palestine Liberation Organization PLO on Wednesday formally supported core conditions set by the Hamas-led fighters. The Palestinian decision-making body led by U.S.-backed President Mahmoud Abbas on Wednesday endorsed demands by Hamas for halting Gaza hostilities with Israel, a closing of ranks that may help Egyptian-mediated truce efforts. Hamas, the Gaza Strip dominant Islamists, and other armed factions had balked at Cairo offer, saying they wanted assurances of relief from an Israeli-Egyptian blockade and other concessions. The dispute was further complicated by distrust between Egypt under President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi and Hamas. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

Public Safety Minister Steven Blaney: Twenty members of a Hungarian human trafficking ring that brought people from eastern Europe with promises of a better life in Canada have been deported, Public Safety Minister Steven Blaney said Tuesday. , according to Winnipeg Free Press. "The removal of these foreign criminals convicted of human trafficking demonstrates how our government is keeping Canadians safe," Blaney said during a news conference in Hamilton, where the gang had operated. Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness Steven Blaney is pictured May 6, 2014 in Ottawa. THE Adrian Wyld He said the victims were forced to work illegally, live in deplorable conditions without adequate food, and were intimidated or attacked repeatedly. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

Tasneem Jamal: If there was a poster child book for the virtues of this complex concept, it could easily be former daily newspaper editor Tasneem Jamal Where the Air is Sweet, a perfect summer read that could tempt even the most stalwart nonfiction devotee back into novel territory. The reader is immediately drawn in with a tense preview of the central conflict that will drive the narrative an Indian family in Uganda, threatened under the dictatorship of the brutal tyrant Idi Amin then further hooked with a lovely story of three generations of this family that emigrated from Gujarat northwest India in 1921. , according to Hamilton Spectator. First and foremost, Raju is shocked by the radically different family structure and gender roles he discovers in East Africa. The cultural exchange leaves its mark on him, but is even more pronounced on his children, that second generation who belong more to the new land than the old. Jamal does a brilliant job exploring the moving target of gender politics at play, at first between the two cultures, and then later, as the family walks the line between tradition and modernity all the while negotiating the complicated mess left behind by the British Empire colonial policies. But the most powerful aspect of this novel is the thoroughly human dimension of the saga. Readers are drawn into the family hard-won victories, only to share the acute disbelief and unimaginable pain people must feel when, in a heartbeat, their entire reality shifts from a firm foundation filled with everyday life to a nightmare of violence and homelessness. More spoiler alerts from history: Canada accepted a large number of Ugandan refugees second only to Britain including author Jamal own family, which settled in Kitchener. Where the Air is Sweet wraps up in Canada, where the family must rebuild its foundation anew. Although that must be a daunting prospect, there an optimism at the end of this book, thanks to the actions of a welcoming community of Southern Ontarians and a chance encounter with an awesome-sounding Canada Customs agent. In the ongoing debate as to whether or not literary fiction is dead, its champions argue that indulging in fiction is a precious chance to simultaneously immerse ourselves in an alternate reality, engage with another mind, heighten our capacity for empathy and exercise our imagination. All while soaking up the rays on the patio. A passing familiarity with African history is all the spoiler alert we need, since many will already know that, shortly after Amin came to power in 1971, he expelled 80,000 Asians as part of his vision of Africanization. He exploited existing Indophobia and made scapegoats of the Indian and Pakistani communities, initially established before the turn of the 20th century. Amin seized Asian property regardless of their birthplace and citizenship status and gave them 90 days to leave. Many considered themselves lucky to get out alive. Others risked their lives trying to liquidate remaining assets and smuggle some money out of the country. The family in Where the Air is Sweet is one such, taking a risk that might appear unthinkable without the context and history that Jamal draws with the multigenerational tale. Unsurprisingly, after 50 years, the family has come to call Africa home, despite the cultural differences that Raju, the patriarch and central protagonist, struggled with on arrival. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.