Pro Wrestling: Pain. Drugs. Abuse.
CBC News: the fifth estate >> THE Dynamite Kid Anyone who saw Tom Billington’s very humble origins would have thought his nickname a cruel joke. Born in a room without heat in Wigan, a small mining town in Northern England, he was, nevertheless, likely to become a fighter. His father and uncle were professional boxers. He came from a tough family where a minor misdemeanor... Read More
A Fight to the Death: Concussions in Wrestling
CBC News: the fifth estate >> Doctors point to “tangible evidence” that ex-wrestler Chris Benoit suffered from a dementia that so impaired his judgement, as to compel him to kill his wife and son before taking his own life. The hunt for clues linking damage Benoit had done to his brain in the ring, and his last, ghastly acts, began with a phone call from the... Read More
Threat Posed to Groovy Colony
Toronto Star, COPENHAGEN >> The only vehicle in sight on this quiet morning is a small garbage truck easing its way over the cobblestone paths. An unharried Dirg Schwartz is employed by the self-governing “colony” of Christiania. Throwing rubbish from the truck into a compressor, he stops to explain the philosophy behind the community as he sees it, after 25 years... Read More
Groovy Colony could be doomed
COPENHAGEN–The only vehicle in sight on this quiet morning is a small garbage truck easing its way over the cobblestone paths. An unharried Dirg Schwartz is employed by the self-governing “colony” of Christiania. Throwing rubbish from the truck into a compressor, he stops to explain the philosophy behind the community as he sees it, after 25 years here.  Read More Read More
Trust and Betrayal in the Golden Years
GLOBE AND MAIL Saturday, January 27, 2007 Just when they’re needed most, a growing number of children are turning on aging parents — taking away their nest eggs and their independence. But as KYLE G. BROWN reports, getting justice is no easy task. Concerned about her mother’s mental health, Sarah took decisive action. She helped 82-year-old Celia move to a retirement... Read More
Crusading Mom
A shrill alarm wakes Roxie Malone-Richards every day around 4 a.m., indicating the machine that feeds her daughter is out of food. The machine pumps a mixture of milk and formula through a tube that runs into 7-month-old Jessie’s nostril, down her throat and into her stomach. Until recently, she had tubes in both nostrils: the second was attached to a ventilator, which helped... Read More
When the Canadian Dream Dies
Toronto Star >> CALGARY, ALBERTA – Two gangly men in their early 20s walk Calgary’s suburban streets carrying large plastic bags. Luis shakes a Coke can empty before chucking it in, then looks for another. It’s not what he and his cousin Pedro planned to do when they left Saltillo, a city of 600,000 in northeastern Mexico. They were told they would be able... Read More
