680News - Lisa Brandt

Helpless. That’s how we start to feel after days and days of depressing details come out of Myanmar and the sometimes futile efforts to help those whose lives and worlds have been devastated by the cyclone, or hurricane, more than a week ago. It’s not a typical disaster, if there is such a thing. Often, in times of great human crises, there are few questions about whether to help. A donation to the Red Cross or another organization can ease that feeling of “what can I do?” But the situation in Myanmar is deterring many generous hearts from opening up too far.

Many nations don’t recognize the name Myanmar officially. It was changed from Burma by the military-led government nearly 20 years ago. The ruling junta initially refused to allow foreign aid workers into the nation to help save the lives of the millions of people who are in real danger of dying, despite surviving the cyclone’s devastation. They wouldn’t even accept aid goods at first, but then said they’d take the stuff, just not the people. There’s something terribly amiss about that and it certainly makes one wary of giving money because it truly does not seem impossible that it might not end up where it’s supposed to — with the people.

Echoes of the tragedy in Myanmar hadn’t even begun to fade when China suffered its worst earthquake in 30 years. As I write this, officials expect 20,000 to have been killed. Myanmar’s neighbour though, threw open its skies to help immediately. Cynics might say that’s because China’s working hard to improve its image ahead of the Beijing Olympics. But whatever the reason, help arrived quickly to many quake victims, although getting aid to any disaster is slow, frustrating and painful work. The donation process for China has been highly organized as well.

Ernest Hemingway wrote, “Ask not for whom the bell tolls. It tolls for thee”. Each man’s (or woman’s) death diminishes me. I know I feel that way in the wake of such massive tragedies as those in Myanmar and China. The question is, what do we do to make a difference, for those directly affected and, frankly, to be honest, for ourselves?

If you so choose, you can find links to donate to the people of Myanmar or China by clicking on the 680News Cares icon on this website.

Just how much technology do you need - I mean really need to carry with you?

I love my BlackBerry. I am considering purchasing an upgrade to the Curve, so I can have a mouse instead of a trackwheel and a camera, which my model does not have. But I’m about three or four models behind the latest and greatest and for now, that’s quite alright.

But for those who absolutely must have the brand new, hottest and most powerful version, RIM has a new version coming out. The BlackBerry Bold is aimed to head off the Apple iPhone.

The Bold features more audio and video features and a more vivid video screen. It has GPS and WiFi, and can support the high-speed 3G cell network. If you have any questions about those features, you probably don’t need it!

There is something addictive about the peer-to-peer service. You know you can reach someone in the network instantly, if you need to. The trick is to know when it’s appropriate and to hold back from this type of contact when it’s not.

The trouble with this technology, and with cell phones, is the etiquette and lack thereof. I’ll admit I have, on occasion, been that annoying person in the cereal aisle of the grocery store with her head down, pecking away on the tiny keyboard. But some folks go pretty hard core and seem to forget others are present. Perhaps if you have a cellphone or BlackBerry with a camera in it, you could take a picture of them and e-mail it to them, just to show them how rude they look! It’s just a thought.

So, Toronto is losing tourists because it doesn’t have the “Wow” factor anymore.

A tourism project finds our fellow Canadians dismiss Toronto as a vacation destination because, in order, of crime, traffic and the expense.

Americans say they’re put off by passport requirements, delays at the border and bad weather.

Just a few years ago, three-quarters of tourists polled said they were satisfied with their experiences here. Now that number has fallen to less than half.

But there are some positives in the report. Toronto is still this country’s top place to visit. More tourists have been coming to visit from overseas in recent years and more visitors overall are staying overnight.

Councillor Michael Thompson reminds us that we all have a role to play in attracting tourists and making sure they go back home with positive things to say about coming here. It’s true. If you stop someone in Paris you’re likely to get a shrug and no help at all but the attractions make up for it! Tourists are willing to put up with some stuff as long as the overall experience is a good one.

But what do we wow them with? I’d suggest to visitors that they plan to arrive during one of our excellent festivals: Beaches Jazz, Caribana and so many others. This city has a lot to offer, there’s nowhere on earth quite like it and we simply have to do a better job of promoting it.

Have you poked around this website much?

If you’re like me, sometimes you come back to a bookmarked site and tend to just check out the same stuff. It’s a routine. It’s a habit. But here on 680News.com we’re adding new things all the time.

For example, there are now photos up of the David Bloom Memorial Spring Sprint that I emceed on Sunday. Richard Bloom, David’s older brother, used to be on our morning show team.

One of our Internet experts, Patricia D’Cunha, is now writing a blog on the arts. Every day we upload photos taken by our reporters on the scene of breaking news stories and entire interviews with newsmakers. There are blogs by our political affairs specialist, John Stall, and our traffic experts, and biographies of our staff. And of course, all the latest news updated throughout each and every day.

We have also added a way for you to donate to victims of the cyclone in Myanmar. Just click on the icon, 680News Cares.

You only have so much time to spend consuming information and we’re trying to gather it all together for you at one URL. We welcome your comments and suggestions and thank you for dropping by!

So, how does it feel to make someone $25,400 richer? It feels great!

We gave away the accumulated 680 Weather Guarantee jackpot this morning to 680News Insider Club member Elson Manzo of Scarborough. He’s a warehouse coordinator for IBM, who was understandably stunned when our reporter Jaime Pulfer woke him up and broke the news to him at his home.

Brian Hill, Jill Taylor, Harold Hosein and John Wilson had a 205-day winning streak going with predicting the correct daytime high temperature. Everyone was hoping we would get to a new record jackpot. The one to beat is $26, 500. But it was not meant to be, and Brian missed the guarantee last Friday.

Elson has plans for the money, which he shared with us live on 680News this morning. When he got married two and a half years ago, Elson and his wife couldn’t afford to go on a honeymoon. Now they will. He also says they’ll pay some bills.

We’re building a new jackpot now, and to be eligible to win it, you need to sign up become a 680News Insider Club member through this website. Be sure to actually enter the Weather Guarantee contest, and you’ll be good to go.

Brenda Martin is back home and predictions are that she will not be behind bars in Waterloo very long before she is paroled.

The 51-year-old Trenton woman was held without trial for more than two years in a Mexican jail on fraud charges. Intervention from our politicians because of an outcry from Martin’s family, friends and supporters finally lit a fire under the Mexican judicial system and her case was heard.

It wasn’t the outcome some had hoped for though. She was found guilty of either aiding or knowing about a $60-million Internet scam carried out by her former boss, who is serving a 10-year term in a U.S. prison. Martin has always maintained her innocence and her ex-boss even delivered a sworn statement that she was not involved. The Mexican judge seemed to think Martin, who was working as a cook, knowingly took money from the proceeds of fraud.

So for all intents and purposes, speaking purely factually, Martin is a convicted criminal. The law — even though it’s Mexican law — has said so. She continues to protest, but a lot of convicted criminals say they’re innocent. In the eyes of the law, she is guilty.

Our government brought Brenda Martin back to Canada last night. They chartered a private jet for the pick-up. This is where I have questions.

Whether she’s guilty or innocent, Brenda Martin is not a violent woman. She is not a danger to anyone. Why in the world would our government feel the need to spend big bucks on a jet to bring her home? She could have been flown first class on the next commercial flight. That would be understandable. But this massive expense, is not.

There was no need to segregate her from everyone in this wholly expensive manner. She still could have been brought back in virtual secret and once the plane was in the air, there was no way media or anyone else could get to her as she flew with Corrections officers.

That’s where I stand. How do you feel about this government expense of your money?

Think you’ve heard everything when it comes to what some women will do for beauty and eternal youth? Not until you’ve heard about the bird poop solution.

In Japan, geishas have apparently been tightening their pores with Nightingale droppings, for centuries. Now a spa in New York City has started offering to pack on the poo, which has had its bacteria removed in a heating process. Women are paying big bucks to get avian crap slapped on their visages, in hopes of looking younger.

So how does it smell to have bird pucky layered so close to your nasal cavity? Like hay, apparently. Not poopy at all. So they say. I’m not about to find out, thank you.

I suppose injections and cuts are a lot worse than ladling birdy guano on your mug, but the idea of it is just a little more than I could stomach, thank you. Give me a good old fashioned mud pack. Or better yet, give me my Biore cleanser and a mild toner. Somehow I don’t think the fountain of youth can be found in the poop on a fountain.

Where were you when the TTC stopped rolling?

Several would-be transit riders sent me passionate emails about getting stranded by the surprise strike at midnight Friday. They walked long distances. They hoped in vain for cabs to come along and if they did see a taxi, they paid dearly for a ride.

Perhaps the worst part of the situation was the confusion it caused. Many people were caught totally unaware and stood out on the streets waiting in vain for red rockets that never launched. It must have been a very eerie feeling. The last they had heard, the union would give 48 hours notice before any strike action and predictions that the three-year deal would be ratified. Neither proved to be the case.

Now they’re back to work. Transit rolled as usual this morning, albeit with concerns about worker safety. Some feared they would be held responsible by angry riders, and spit on, or worse. It’s pretty disgusting that people would actually have to be reminded to be nice to drivers. Holding an individual responsible for the actions of a union isn’t just foolhardy, it’s wrong and it’s futile.

If you were inconvenienced, write a letter to union head Bob Kinnear or TTC chair, Adam Giambrone, who says he will have details on a Metropass rebate later in the week. Meantime we’ll watch the talks closely as they continue with an arbitrator.

Sometimes you just need a little good news, you know?

In a week of increasingly frayed nerves over the TTC contract offer, predictions of violence at this summer’s Olympic Games in Beijing, a well-meaning Priest lost at sea while tied to helium balloons, murders, attacks, and everything else that people do to themselves and each other in this world, it was nice to see ONE story turn out well.

Some fool stole a baby monkey from a Zoo in New Brunswick. Whether a baby monkey out east survives or not won’t have an impact on your life or mine. But a baby anything is vulnerable and it’s awful to think that a thief who likely knew nothing about caring for an infant monkey might let it die from neglect.

Whoever took the little one, named April, had to jump a fence, kick in a door and take the monkey from its enclosure before getting away from the zoo without getting caught.

However, three days after the theft and following pleas from police that included an explanation about how hard it is to keep a fragile little life like this alive, the monkey was found after an anonymous tip to police. April is said to be in good health and has been reunited with its Mother. No one has been caught or arrested. But I’m happy to share a happy bit of news for a change!

Once you’ve been on the planet for some time, it’s easy to say “nothing surprises me anymore” but things still do surprise us. What happened yesterday is a classic example of an unpredictable news day.

First, we in the breaking news game got an alert that the crown in Robert Baltovich’s second, second-degree murder trial for the death of his then-girlfriend Elizabeth Bain, would not be presenting any evidence or calling any witnesses. The next alert came quickly: saying the jury was allowed to deliberate only a “not guilty” verdict, as directed by the judge. Shortly afterward we learned that Robert Baltovich was, indeed, found “not guilty” and could walk out a free man.

Then after more than two years of waiting in a Mexican jail without a trial, Brenda Martin of Trenton finally got her verdict in a fraud case: Guilty. Her sentence: five years in jail. Now she works along with Canadian officials for a transfer back home to serve her sentence and, likely, go free, when time served comes into account.

Many people thought Baltovich was guilty. Many people thought Martin was innocent. The courts have decided otherwise. And so it goes. As we say, the news is always changing!