Eideard

News that a Roman Catholic priest has been charged in western Newfoundland with dozens of sex-related offences over two decades shook the church Wednesday.

Rev. George Ansel Smith appeared in provincial court in Corner Brook in connection with alleged incidents between 1969 and 1989. He faces 38 charges including several counts of gross indecency, sexual assault and indecent assault on a male.

The RCMP say the charges stem from a 16-month investigation and that Smith turned himself in to police…

Bishop Peter Hundt of the Diocese of Corner Brook and Labrador said news of the charges hit hard. “It’s always difficult and it brings a lot of emotions to the surface for everybody,” he said in an interview…

It’s “always” difficult when it happens again and again.

Hundt said church officials are especially mindful of the alleged victims in this case, the latest to rock an institution that has repeatedly grappled with sex abuse involving clergy…

Police would not release details on the ages of the alleged victims as a matter of confidentiality…

He was removed in May 2010 from his duties at St. Malachy’s Church in Kinkora, P.E.I., after Bishop Richard Grecco got a call from the diocese of Corner Brook and Labrador about an abuse allegation.

Ain’t much of anything new to say about such cases. Smith will be presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty. He’s being tried in a country with more civilized and modern rules than the priesthood to which he belongs.

Canada had its warmest year on record in 2010, according to the country’s environmental agency, with the biggest impact seen in the Arctic region.

The national average temperature for the year was 3 degrees Celsius above normal, based on preliminary data, according to a report put on Environment Canada’s website on Monday. That made it the warmest year since nationwide records began in 1948.

Most areas of the northern territory of Nunavut and of northern Quebec were at least 4 degrees above normal, while the Arctic tundra region was 4.3 degrees above normal. Along with the Arctic tundra, the Arctic mountains and fiords, the northeastern forest and Atlantic regions also had the warmest year on record.

Scientists link the higher temperatures in the Arctic to the greenhouse gas emissions blamed for global warming. Global warming is gradually melting the Arctic ice cap, raising the possibility of increased shipping and mining in the environmentally sensitive region…

The previous warmest year was 1998, which was 2.5 degrees above normal, according to the data. Annual temperatures have been above normal since 1997.

“Although any one year’s temperature anomaly isn’t proof of any long-term trend, having a year this much warmer than any previous year is significant,” Environment Canada spokesman Mark Johnson said in an e-mailed statement.

Don’t worry. Anyone with snow on the ground outside of the GWN this winter will ignore what’s happened to anyone else, anywhere else. Especially if they are invested psychologically or fiscally in Big Oil politics.

Should’ve dunked him in the water, first

Air travelers already have to deal with unruly passengers, excessively talkative ones and many other types who make flying miserable.

But a new low may just have been reached for weary road warriors: The overwhelmingly smelly passenger.

A man on Jazz Air, a regional airline in Canada that also serves U.S. cities, was reportedly kicked off a plane earlier this month because of his strong body odor.

“People were just mumbling and staring at him,” said a woman who sat near the man, according to The Guardian, a newspaper in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, where the flight originated on February 6. It was a very uncomfortable situation, she added.

Another passenger described the smell as “brutal.”

The man was an American visiting Prince Edward Island, the CBC reported.

Jazz Air spokeswoman Manon Stuart confirmed that a passenger was “deplaned” from the flight, but she could not provide specific information about the person involved or the reason why he was asked to leave because of privacy issues.

“It’s important to understand that our crew members make every effort to resolve a situation before it becomes an issue. Unfortunately, in some circumstances, it may become necessary for our crew to remove passengers.”

Har!

A Happy New Year from the few of us you see up front on this blog, and lurking in the background with encouragement and suggestions…all our mates and family and friends.

A happy holiday to my kin up on PEI, family back in New England…all the folks who drop by and reflect upon our opinions.

Sith gun robh so…