Hugo Chavez Died in Surgery??? Some reports would have you believe.

The Internet and political circles around the world are buzzing with rumours of the Death of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez.


"PRAY FOR HUGO CHAVEZ' RECOVERY" requests Hugo Chavez Government Officials Awhile back, during a meeting with Fidel Castro in Havana Cuba, Hugo Chavez began suffering from abdominal pain. As a result, Hugo Chavez was rushed to hospital where he underwent emergency surgery to remove what is being described as a "non malignant Pelvic Abscess." Hugo Chavez is known for his hours of televised speeches, has been suspiciously absent from public life since being rushed to the hospital. The conspiracy theorists are speculating Hugo Chavez as having died, however, Venezuelan government officials are quick to contradict these claims with requests for Venezuelan's to pray for the health of Hugo Chavez. Nicolas Maduro, the foreign


Minister within the Hugo Chavez regime, is reported as requesting “human, heartfelt” support and “the most authentic love that ends with the reestablishment of his health so we can have him in Venezuela.”

Many political pundits are questioning whether Hugo Chavez will return to leading Venezuela, or of the Government is simply struggling to find an appropriate replacement for Hugo Chavez, who has successfully led Venezuela for over 12 years.

Former Venezuelan Diplomat, Demetrio Boersner, is reported as stating there is no suitable replacement within the governing party to replace the either ailing or deceased Venezuelan President, Hugo Chavez, should it become necessary to replace Hugo Chavez as the leader of the oil rich South American Country.

WIKILEAKS ARGENTINA TWEETS "HUGO CHAVEZ DEAD"
Reports of the Death of Hugo Chavez are rampant and coming from various non-official sources including Facebook, various new Media as well as a Twitter group known as the South American Wikileaks.

Hugo Chavez, Alive on Twitter On Friday, Hugo Chavez apparently broke his long time silence with a post on his Twitter page @chavezcandanga “On this very special day I’m here next to you working. Victory for ever; we are winning and we will be victorious” Friday was the day the Venezuelan army celebrated the 190 anniversary of victory in the Battle of Carabobo, which definitively put an end to Spanish colonialism and opened the way for Venezuela's independence.


"MY BROTHER IS ALIVE" Reports HUGO CHAVEZ' Brother, Adán Chavez
Hugo Chavez' brother Adán Chavez said his Brother, Hugo, would be back in ten/twelve days, which would be just on time for the Latin America and Caribbean summit sheduled in the island of Margarita on July 5th to 6th. “We don’t know exactly when he will be coming back. We have to wait for the doctors evaluation but in a few days, ten, twelve days, the president will be back here with us”, said Hugo Chavez eldest brother and governor of the state Barinas.

Hugo Chavez is known for his often colourful and offhanded very public remarks and negative opinions of George W. Bush, during his reign. Hugo Chavez has often referred to George W Bush as a Dog, among other negative commentary.

Vancouver BC Stanley Cup Riot Capital of the World

So Vancouver lost the 2011 Stanley Cup. This is not a big surprise. Now don't hate me because I do not really care about Hockey or the Stanley cup. I know it is not very Canadian to not be a hockey fan. The thing is, it is hard to like a sport which incites so much violence. I am not saying all hockey fans were responsible for the 2011 Stanley Cup Riots in Vancouver BC Canada. Nor am I saying that Hockey in itself incited that particular public display of stupidity. It is just that Hockey in itself has been known as a violent sport. Just check out any junior Hockey game and watch the Hockey Mom's and Dads in Action. Now thinking of that, do the Riots in Downtown Vancouver really come off as a surprise? Especially whn you consider how Vancouver seems to be the protester capital of the world.

Congratulations Vancouver, we are now the centre of worldwide media attention. Not for the beautiful scenery, the wildlife, the great weather we've been having or even for how our economy is still managing to do well alongside what is now a global financial crisis. Yes, the real estate market is still nuts but houses are still being built and people are still working. All that aside, none of those are why Vancouver, BC Canada is at the top of Internet searches all over the world. So much are we in demand, there is a Facebook group looking for pictures of the on-goings in Vancouver last night. So why all this hype? Well, in case you didn't know.

Aside from being one of the most beautiful cities in the world, Vancouver is also home to some of the dumbest a$5h0les in the world. You know, those professional protestors. Losers and hooligans with nothing better to do than to search for things to protest about and incite violence. Yes, I am talking about the Stanley Cup Riots. Now don't get confused, I know Stanley Cup Riots happened back in 1994 after a Canucks win. There have also been riots and vandalism throughout the Vancouver area as a result of many things including the 2010 Olympics, housing issues, and various other topics which apparently justify violence in the minds of the pea brained unemployed 5h!t for brains looser professional protestor crowds.

So what was the reason for the latest Riot in Vancouver? Why is the world media plastered with pictures of burning cards and broken windows in Downtown Vancouver? Well, you see, there is this thing called the Stanley Cup. Apparently, not winning the Stanley cup, or in the case of 1994, almost winning the Stanley Cup is cause for violence. Oh my god, the tragedy in the world when the Vancouver Canucks loose a game. This is awful, lets flip over some cars and set them on fire.
Come on people, get a fvck!ng clue. IT IS A GAME. There are plenty of other things happening in the world. People are starving, governments are suppressing their citizens. The biggest concern in Vancouver right now, well aside from housing prices, is the length of the Starbucks line-up or maybe traffic. Not that many of these loosers and bums who rioted are concerned about housing prices or traffic.

Honestly, I really don't know what to say about the Stanley Cup Riots in Vancouver or all those pictures of burning cars and Broken Windows plastering the world wide media. I don't understand the mentality of those losers involved in the 2011 Stanley Cup Riots of Vancouver. This does not mean I am at all surprised there was a Riot after Vancouver lost the Stanley Cup to Boston last night. After all, this is Vancouver, the protest and idiot capital of the world. Oh ya, I'm a proud Canadian today. Fvck!ing A$$h0les!!!

Canada Post Strike Update

So the big news for us 'nucks north of the 49th is the impending Canada Post Postal strike. You see, CUPW, the union representing the Canadian postal workers is in the process of negotiating a new postal worker collective agreement.

Collective agreement negotiations are nothing new, nor are strike votes in Canada, in particular with Canada Post. It seems even in this modern age of Email, Canadians continue to rely on Canada Post to deliver important documents, invoices and most importantly, old age security and welfare benefits. Not that the later of the two concern me.

As a business owner, and pretty much a right wing hypocrite, I rely on Canada Post to deliver cheques from my clients, as my clients rely on Canada Post to receive the invoices I send out. So what does a potential Canada Post strike mean to me? Well, that answer is fairly obvious.

I guess the solution to all of this mess is automated payments and online payment processing. The only problem with that is the end cost. Of course some of this can be offset with the evergrowing cost of a postage stamp in Canada. By the way, did you hear the cost of mailing a letter in Canada is also going up by a couple of cents? So if you send alot of letters, you may want to stop by the local Costco and stock up on those discount fixed price postal stamps they sell.

So back to the CUPW collective agreement and postal union negotiations. Like I said, postal strikes and postal lockouts are nothing new in Canada. In fact, it was only a few years ago that we had a similar problem. Union negotiations and strike votes tend to take place in mid spring or early summer. The apparent reason being, if the Union members have a strike vote and it determines they are going out on strike, at least they do not have to suffer through the rain and snow.

For your information, here are some of the recent CUPW posts on the whole Canada Post strike situation.

May 18, 2011 - 14:15

RSMC Negotiations 2009 / Bulletin

RSMC Negotiations Bulletin No. 30

During the last two arbitration dates (April 21 & 27, 2011) the Union and the employer participated in mediation efforts in order to come to an agreement concerning changes to the RSMC collective agreement.

The parties have also agreed to additional dates to continue their mediation efforts. The additional dates are June 10, 25 & 26, 2011. The parties now have six dates of mediation scheduled for June, the three aforementioned dates plus June 11, 12 & 30, 2011.

The Negotiating Committee is hopeful that the use of these six dates, and employer responses that are reasonable, well-thought out and beneficial to the membership, will allow the parties to make significant headway in the resolution of the differences that now exist.

In the meantime members should stay active in activities coordinated by their Local leadership in support of both the RSMC and Urban Operation negotiations.



New CEO – Same CPC
As reported in bulletin # 13 the Union, on December 22, 2009, wrote to the employer requesting that a certain portion of the $15,000,000.00 available in 2010 be distributed to the membership on an interim basis in areas where both parties had negotiation demands and where there was therefore a reasonable possibility of agreed upon changes to the collective agreement. These areas included wages and various health care plans (including a new drug plan). The employer response at the time was totally unreasonable as it indicated that it would only agree with the Union proposal if the Union, in turn, agreed to accept the employer’s proposals concerning a short term disability plan, wage increases based on regional disparities and an undefined amount of money to be placed in an “escrow” account.

Reflecting a belief commonly held within the Union, that the membership should not be penalized due to the lengthy negotiations necessitated by the uncompromising and unreasonable positions taken by the employer, Brother Denis Lemelin, National President, recently wrote to the newly appointed Chief Executive Officer of Canada Post requesting that the parties meet in order to discuss two issues: i) the use of some of the $38,000,000.00 available in the negotiations for an interim and partial payment of the retroactive wage increase that RSMCs will receive and ii) the expeditious establishment of a drug plan. Brother Lemelin made it clear in his letter that such a meeting between the parties would not prejudice the positions being taken by the parties in front of the mediator/arbitrator.

Unfortunately, it appears that the new CEO is intent on implementing the same practices followed by his predecessor. In a letter dated April 19, 2011, he informed the Union that he would not agree to meet with the Union to discuss the two issues. This means that although the employer recognizes that a wage increase and a drug plan will form part of the amended collective agreement the employer continues to punish its workforce by unnecessarily delaying the implementation of such benefits.

Here is another CUPW Bulletin, keep in mind, these are the words of the Union and definately not my words.

May 17, 2011 - 23:59
Urban Postal Unit Negotiations
(2011) / Bulletin
Negotiations Bulletin no. 42
This evening CPC
negotiators presented a new offer to the Union. It contains several major
rollbacks and meets very few of our demands.
CUPW does not consider this
“Offer” as the basis for a negotiated settlement. However we are determined to
continue the negotiations and obtain a collective agreement that provides for
Respect, Equality and a Share of the Benefits of New Technology.
Here are the
major features of CPC’s offer.

Short Term Disability Plan: CPC is
keeping its demand to eliminate paid sick leave and replace it with a Short Term
Disability Plan.
Multiple Bundle Delivery: CPC has not addressed the Union’s
demand that a one bundle delivery method be used for points of call other than
stop and go and centralized points of delivery.
Duration: 4 year
agreement.
Cost of Living Allowance (COLA) A COLA that triggers at
8%.
Wages for current employees: 1.75%, 1.75%, 1.9% and 2.0%.
Wages,
Benefits and Pension for New Employees:
For employees hired after the date of
signing in Groups 1 and 2 the starting rate will be $18.00 and it will take7
years to reach the maximum rate. New employees will be eligible for COLA.
4
weeks vacation after 10 years of service, 5 weeks after 18 years and6 weeks
after 28 years.
Defined benefit pension with full indexation but with early
retirement eligibility of 60 years of age and30 years of service without
penalty.
Payment in lieu of benefits for temporary employees: Increase to 5%
up from 4%.
Retiree Benefits: CPC has dropped its proposal for a health care
spending account for retirees.
PO2’s and PO4’s to be reclassified as
PO5s: All current PO2s and PO4s shall be reclassified as PO5s
full-time and part-time with the PO5 wage rate.
Pension: CPC refuses to
include the pension in the collective agreement.
Job Security: Current
regular employees will have 40 km protection. Those hired after the date of
signing will be entitled to the 40 km protection after five years of employment
as a regular employee.
Human Rights Training: Expand the mandate of the human
rights training and provide $2 million fund.
Health and Safety Training: CPC
agrees to renew the health and safety training under Appendix DD but has tied
this to guidelines that permit the Corporation to unilaterally prohibit specific
union designated trainers from providing training.
Health and Safety: CPC
does not address the Union’s demand to have ergonomic studies prior to the
introduction of new work methods or new machines. Nor does it address the issue
of stools at the oversize sorting cases despite the recommendations of the study
conducted under the current collective agreement. CPC has not responded to the
Union’s demand to improve rotation of duties.
Childcare Fund and Education
Fund: CPC has not responded to the Union’s proposals to increase these
funds.
Dental Plan: Elimination of the six-month eligibility waiting period
and update the fee guide with a one year lag.
Injury on Duty Pay: Reduce from
100% of pay to 75% but permit employees to use accumulated sick leave credits to
top up to 100%.
Unaddressed Admail: CPC wants to eliminate the householder
time values for the 17 offices which have time values as of the first set. The
per piece payment will be reduced from 2.3 to 2.2 cents and letter carriers will
be required to deliver all householders within a three day span. CPC wants to
replace the current system of determining time allowances for householder
preparation and weight with engineered standards. They want to increase the
maximum delivery size to 12 X 11 inches. CPC proposes to provide a delivery time
credit when householder mail exceeds 18 minutes per day. CPC’s proposal
would provide a relay box or mail mobile stop based on a calculation that would
include the weight of admail.
Birth and Adoption Leave: Increase from 1 to 2
days.
Interpreter for Deaf and Hard of Hearing Employees: Upon request CPC
shall provide interpretation when an employee is requested to attend an
interview, grievance hearing or an arbitration hearing.
Pregnant Employees:
Provide pregnant employees with a process for accommodation if their working
conditions endanger their health or that of their
foetus.
Aboriginal Hiring: The Joint National Human
Rights Advisory Committee will develop affirmative action plans to promote and
encourage the hiring of aboriginal people.
Gender Expression and
Discrimination: CPC has agreed to add “gender expression” to clause 5.01 to
prohibit discrimination.
Bilingual Retail Positions: CPC will require
employees applying for bilingual retail positions to be bilingual and eliminate
the obligation to provide training. Should no bilingual candidates be available
CPC will have the right to hire employees of the street.
Part-time Employees
at Retail Counters: The proportion of part-time employees at wickets will
increase from 10% to 15% with no guarantees of extended services.
Group 1
Staffing: When a temporary employee works 1000 hours or more during a 12 month
period, CPC will create a part-time regular position in one of the locations
where the call-in list is used. When a part-time employee works at least 30
hours or more each week for 30 consecutive weeks in an installation CPC will
create a full-time regular position in that installation. CPC will provide
better information to the Union.
Group 1 Ratio: Starting in 2013 CPC wants to
reduce the current full-time ratio of 78% by 1% per year until it reaches
75%. Their proposal does not address the Union’s demands to include overtime
hours in the calculation of the ratio and to correct the adjustment factor that
gives the corporation the ability to undermine the ratio by approximately
5%.
Forced Overtime: CPC is not providing any response to the Unions demand
to minimize forced overtime.
Compensatory Time Off: CPC is agreeing to
compensatory time for Group 1 but the provisions will place new restrictions on
Group 2 (which will also apply to Group 1) to limit the carry over to five days
per year and eliminate the right to be paid out upon request.
Not
Filling Vacant Positions: During the four month assessment phase of a
restructure the Corporation will not be obliged to fill a vacant position if the
review process forecasts a reduction of positions within the post
office.
Appendix T: Job Creation: No new services or job creation. CPC
commits to complete the mandatory projects negotiated in the 2007 collective
agreement with the exception of the building maintenance project. The Union and
management will establish a sales training program for retail
clerks.
Grievance Arbitration: CPC is proposing a pilot project to deal with
grievances on duty to accommodate. This project will take place in two regions,
with each party choosing one region.
List of Arbitrators: CPC wants to remove
two arbitrators from the list of arbitrators.
Contracting Out: CPC will amend
the current protections to include the new packet and bundle sorters which are
being introduced and exclude the Bar Code Sorters (BCS). They are saying
no to all of CUPW’s demands for contracting in and for greater protections
from contracting out. Also CPC wants to create separate work centres for
VES.
Bar Charts:. All absences will be recorded except for relief employees,
temporary employees, and local and regional union leave paid by the corporation.
This is tied to CPC’s proposal to combine the vacation and other absences relief
into one list and automate the system into SAP. Relief letter carriers will have
to remain on the replacement assignment for the duration of the original absence
but can exercise their seniority to choose another assignment should the nature
of the absence change and the absence extends beyond the initial
period.
Access to Information and Transparency: CPC will provide the Union
with access to GeoRoute to facilitate the validation of letter carrier
routes. However CPC proposes to have the union pay to have access to this
necessary information. CPC has not addressed the Union’s proposal to receive
data in a workable and stable format.
Depot Support: CPC provided no proposal
to resolve the issue of which Group will perform the inside duties within the
modern post depots.
Parcel Delivery by Letter Carriers: Nothing in the offer
addresses the Union’s proposal to find a solution to overburdening of letter
carriers caused by parcel delivery.
Letter Carrier and MSC Work
Measurement Systems: CPC language in Appendixes V and CC only addresses their
demand to provide for time certainty but fails to address the Union’s demand to
introduce values for working methods that currently do not have values such as
taxi waiting time. CPC has eliminated the expiry date for Appendix
CC.
Drivers License Abstract: Employees to be required to provide a drivers
license abstract on demand. Employees shall have the obligation to have a valid
drivers license that qualifies them for a CPC Vehicle Operators Permit (VOP) if
they want to obtain an assignment in a depot that is more than 50%
motorized.
Isolated Post Allowances: CPC agrees to update the Isolated Post
Allowances and include Fort McMurray with the same rate as High
Prairie.

As you can see there has been movement following our
strong strike vote but we still have far to go to reach a collective agreement
that meets our needs. In the days ahead we will keep you informed of any
developments as they occur.

As you can imagine, there is going to be some increased search traffic on the whole issue of Canada Post, CUPW, CUPW Collective agreement as well as pretty much anything else to do with Canada Post and the potential of a Postal Strike in Canada. The good news is, it looks like CUPW and Canada Post will have some special provisions in place to ensure Old age security and Pension Cheques are delivered. For those Americans in the crowd, yes, that is how we spell Cheque. or in your case Check.

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TSA Under Fire over Anna Drexal Security Pat Down Youtube Video

The Internet and news media in general is buzzing with various opinions over the airport pat down of 6 year old girl Anna Drexel at New Orleans Airport today. Anna Drexel's parents, Todd and Selena Drexel of Bowling Green, KY were so upset over the New Orleans Airport security pat down of their 6 year old daughter, Anna Drexel, they shot a video of the ordeal and posted the New Orleans Pat Down Video on YouTube.

Here is the Youtube Video of the new Orleans Airport Pat Down of 6 Year Old girl Anna Drexal



The release of the YouTube Airport Security Pat Down of 6 year old girl Anna Drexal has also gotten the attention of the TSA who are now reviewing their Security Pat Down procedures for low risk passengers.

On the other side of the coin, there are many who say there is nothing wrong with a security pat down of a child as many terrorists will not stop at using children as mules to carry out their mission.

Anna Drexel's parents, Todd and Selena Drexel, disagree, stating Anna Drexal was confused and scared by the TSA Security Pat down at New Orleans Airport security. Anna Drexel's parents, Todd and Selena Drexel, further went on to say the TSA Security Pat Down at New Orleans Airport made little Anna Drexal cry.

In the security pat down video, posted on Youtube, a security officer at New Orleans Airport security is seen running her hands across Anna Drexal's shirt and pants, checking in her waistband and collar.

In an interview with ABC News, Selena Drexel said she considered the airport security pat down of her daughter, Anna Drexal, as inappropriate.

Personally, I do not see the big deal. I remember going through a security screening when I was a small child. I had one of those souvenir canes with those silly little emblems on it. The security screener took it, knocked on it a bit and examined it quite closely to see if it was hollow and possibly had anything hidden in it. At least that is what my parents calmly told me when my natural curiosity got the best of me. Of course, that makes sense. Sure, that was not an actual security pat down, but looking back, I do not think I would have had a problem with an attractive airport security guard patting me down. Not that the airport security guard in this particular picture was attractive. Maybe that is what made Anna Drexal so upset... or maybe it was her parents making a big deal over what should be seen as a routine security check intended to protect the lives of everyone on that flight.... Ummm Duh!!!

Come on people get real. Why don't parents get a clue. To me this seems like nothing more than parents using their child to get some media attention, can you say Balloon Boy... Just my opinion.



Airport pat down enhanced pat down new pat down pat down TSA pat down video security pat down TSA video pat you down

Epsilon Katie Couric and Southwest Airlines in top spot today

So Epsilon is on the top of search trends today... well almost Katie Couric is number 1 followed by southwest airlines.

Katie Couric is on top as rumours about her quiting CBS Evening news to host a daytime talk show continue to circulate

Katie Couric Quits

Rumors have been swirling for weeks about what Katie Couric will do when her CBS contract expires this summer. Now, The Associated Press reports that she is heading to fill the Oprah-sized hole in the daytime talk show lineup.

According to The AP, Katie Couric will step down from her role as anchor of the 'CBS Evening News' after almost five years in the job. The AP says a CBS executive, who spoke on condition of anonymity because Katie Couric has not officially announced her plans, reported the move Sunday night.

No departure date has been set, but Katie Couric's contract expires June 4. Katie Couric is now expected to launch a syndicated talk show in 2012, and several companies -- including CBS -- are reportedly vying for Katie Couric's services.

The New York Post reports that CBS offered Katie Couric a new package including both a daytime talk show and a prestigious regular slot on Sunday night news magazine, '60 Minutes.' Although Katie Couric's current contract stipulates that Katie Couric contribute to '60 Minutes' at least six times a year, Katie Couric still hasn't received any assignments from the producers.

Until recently, Katie Couric was expected to stay on as anchor of the 'CBS Evening News' through the 2012 presidential elections. According to the Post, however, the appointment in February of '60 Minutes' chief Jeff Fager as CBS News chairman effectively ended any plans Katie Couric had of extending her stay as nightly anchor.

Katie Couric became the first woman to helm a nightly news broadcast when Katie Couric took over from Dan Rather in 2006. Katie Couric's move from NBC's 'Today' show made headlines, but after a strong start, using a new format, ratings began to fall, and the broadcast quickly reverted to a more traditional style.

The 'CBS Evening News' settled into third place in the ratings and remains well behind Brian Williams at NBC's 'Nightly News' and Diane Sawyer at ABC's 'World News.' Insiders say that Katie Couric's $15 million salary has become increasingly hard to justify for a third-place broadcast.

Rome Hartman, Katie Couric's first executive producer at the 'CBS Evening News,' told The AP that, while Katie Couric's tenure clearly didn't work out as well as CBS hoped, "I don't think it's right to think of it as, or call it, a failure. ... There are people who love Katie and those who don't love her and that was a factor," he said. "But it was the overall dynamics. There was a rock that we couldn't move and I don't think it would have mattered who we would have put in there."

No replacement for Katie Couric has yet been announced, but names linked with the role include Harry Smith, Scott Pelley and Russ Mitchell. Jeff Fager is also said to be looking for candidates outside of CBS. If Katie Couric signs a talk show syndication deal with CBS it's possible that she could continue as evening news anchor on a temporary basis past June, if Katie Couric were to agree to stay on during an extended search for her successor.

SOUTHWEST AIRLINES Grounds Planes over Leak fears.

Southwest Airlines is in the news because Southwest Airlines is expected to cancel 70 more flights, or 2 percent of Southwest Airlines Monday schedule, as it inspected older planes for cracks in the fuselage.

Southwest Airlines canceled about 600 flights and grounded 79 planes over the weekend after a Boeing 737-300 jet sprang a 5-foot hole in the roof shortly after takeoff from Phoenix on Friday. The plane made an emergency landing. Southwest Airlines said no one was seriously injured.

Southwest Airlines Spokeswoman Brandy King said Monday morning that Southwest Airlines had inspected 33 similar planes in the Southwest Airlines fleet and returned them to service and expected to complete checks on remaining grounded planes by late Tuesday.

King said two planes had cracks similar to those in the Phoenix jet and would be repaired before they fly again. A National Transportation Safety Board member told The Associated Press that a third plane was also found to have cracks developing.

The Southwest Airlines jet with the torn roof had made more than 39,000 takeoff and landing cycles.

Now for Epsilon. So who is this Epsilon you say? Well, I found out about Epsilon through an Email from Best Buy which stated the following:

We have been informed by our email service provider, Epsilon, that your name and email address have been exposed by unauthorized entry into their system. Epsilon deploys emails on our behalf to our Reward Zone members. Click here to read Epsilon's statement.

We have been assured by Epsilon that the only information that has been exposed was your name and email address. A rigorous assessment by Epsilon has determined that account details, passwords or any other personal information were not at risk.

It is possible that you may receive spam email messages as a result and we would advise you to be very cautious when opening links or attachments from unknown senders. More information on spam and protecting yourself from email fraud can be found here.

In keeping with security industry best practices, Best Buy will never ask you to provide or confirm any information, including credit card numbers, unless you are on our secure e-commerce site, www.bestbuy.ca. If you receive an email asking for personal information, delete it. It did not come from Best Buy. The next scheduled email from Reward Zone about our Trade In Event will arrive to your inbox on April 15, 2011.

Our service provider has reported this incident to the appropriate authorities.

We regret this has taken place and any inconvenience this may have caused you. We take your privacy very seriously, and we are working diligently to fully investigate this situation and continue to protect your personal information. If you have further concerns or questions please contact us: 1-866-BEST-BUY (238-7289) or customercare@bestbuycanada.ca.

Sincerely,

Angela Scardillo
Vice President of Marketing
Best Buy Canada

I did a little digging, and as it turns out Computer hackers have stolen the names and email addresses of millions of people in one of the largest internet security breaches in US history.

The names and email addresses of customers of Barclaycard US, Capital One and other large firms were taken in an attack on the marketing email provider Epsilon last week. British customers of Barclays Bank, which owns Barclaycard US, were not affected. A spokesman for Barclaycard US confirmed it would continue to work with Epsilon despite the breach.

Other information, such as passwords or credit card details in the Epsilon database, are not thought to have been exposed. However, some banks have warned customers to expect fraudulent emails attempting to solicit further login details.

Epsilon, which provides marketing services via email to about 2,500 companies, put a warning on the Epsilon website on Thursday March 31st stating that the Epsilon systems had been "exposed by an unauthorised entry" into its email system. It is not yet known who perpetrated the attack on Epsilon, which US law enforcement agencies have begun investigating.

Epsilon said in their online statement "The information obtained was limited to email addresses and or customer names Only, a rigorous assessment determined that no other personal identifiable information associated with those names was at risk. A full investigation is currently underway."

Over the weekend, dozens of Epsilon clients (Including Best Buy) began to warn their clients that their email addresses may have been stolen. Some of the largest financial institutions in the US, such as JPMorgan and Citigroup, are among the companies affected. Disney Destinations also began warning its customers about the Epsilon security breach. The list of companies affected by the Epsilon security breach is expected to continue to grow.

TiVo wrote to their clients on Sunday morning stating "Please note, it is possible you may receive spam email messages as a result. We want to urge you to be cautious when opening links or attachments from unknown third parties."

A list of millions of email addresses with their source is likely to be incredibly lucrative for "phishing" scams, where seamingly credible emails are sent to live Email addresses soliciting further sensitive information, such as bank account details. Usually these phishing scams involve warnings about account status and threats of accounts being revoked unless the reader logs into what is in essence a fake site. The private information is then collected and the scammers use it to bilk unsuspecting people of money.

The attack on Epsilon has drawn parallels with other large-scale computer infiltrations, most notably the Heartland Payment Systems breach of 2008. More than 40million bank account details were stolen in that attack, conducted by a criminal gang led by notorious hacker Albert Gonzalez. Gonzalez was later sentenced to 20 years in prison.

Last month an Iranian hacker claimed he stole digital security certificates used for online transactions by some of the web's largest sites, including Google, Yahoo, Microsoft and Skype.

LAURA SZENDREI MURDER / FATAL ATTACK SUSPECT ARRESTED

It was not unlike any other September day, but September 25th 2010 changed the life of many as the life of 15 year old North Delta teen Laura Szendrei was cut short.

Laura Szendrei was a popular teen, very active in sports and known to her friends as outgoing and funloving. The broad daylight fatal attack of Laura Szendrei was even more shocking as it took place almost on the door steps of the local police detachment in North Delta.

Laura Szendrei was walking though a partially wooded area when her attacker came at her striking what would be a fatal blow to her head. Several witnesses heard her screams and it has taken the Delta Police and the Integrated Homicide squad were quick to solve the murder of Laura Szendrei.

The call to IHIT interrogators came out in the morning hours yesterday that the murder of Laura Szendrei was about to come to a close. Careful reviews of evidence and police interviews pointed authorities towards one person, the killer of Laura Szendrei. Today, North Delta Police arrested an 18 year old suspect in the fatal attack on Laura Szendrei. The name of the 18 year old male arrested in connection with the 2010 murder of Laura Szendrei is not being released, although it he is from the North Delta area. He was 17 at the time of the attack, therefor his name cannot be released.

IHIT investigators have been working closely with the North Delta Police Department since the untimely death of Laura Szendrei in September of 2010. Investigators have carefully reviewed evidence and witness testimony to come up with the 18 year old suspect arrested in connection with the fatal attack of Laura Szendrei

Since the brutal attack on North Delta teen Laura Szendrei, her friends and family have united with the community to create a Laura Szendrei Memorial Scholarship in honour of Laura Szendrei. The Laura Szendrei Scholorship is being managed by the Laura Szendrei Memorial Scholarship Foundation Society. The plan is to present two annual sport scholarships to students from the North Delta Secondary schools. According to the Laura Szendrei Memorial Scholarship Foundation Society website, “This initiative will serve as a key part of a broader campaign to support the families of innocent victims of violent crime. We are all aware of individuals and families around us that have suffered through the loss of a loved one in a senseless act of violence and we are committed to supporting those who want to seek change.”

The 2010 Fatal attack that resulted in the death of 15 year old Laura Szendrei took place in a lightly wooded area of Mackie Park in Delta British Columbia, an area popular with local joggers and walkers alike. In October, city workers cleared the brush in Mackie Park to create better sightlines for joggers and walkers.

North Delta citizens are now asking who killed Laura Szendrei. Some guesses point towards an individual named Wyatt, however these are just speculations based on search trends for Laura Szendrei killer name Wyatt. Anything beyond speculation on the name of the Laura Szendrei killer would be counter-productive in this pre trial state.