I cannot buy this again, because I cannot stop eating them. Hawaii you say? Hold me back!!!

 

Thoughts of the Week

 First I want to give my sincere sympathies to the two children who were killed, the children who were shot and survived and the three adults who were shot, plus the families and community of Minneapolis.  That the church was barricaded so more children could be killed is devastating.  There is no greater suffering in grief than a parent who loses a child to death.  This type of death only compounds it.  As a society we need to protect all children.  Such innocence.  I don't think it would be fair to share these thoughts with anything else right now.  

Ford promises to stop experimental testing on cats and dogs - Some sharing

Years ago before I was a therapist, a student approached me casually and told me that she was feeling badly because she had to kill pregnant bunnie rabbits and abort the fetus for studies.  She was concerned because she was bothered by this.  I told her that when it stops bothering her, is when she should get worried.   Another person I knew also a Psychology student at a Masters level was walking her dog and of course I marvelled at the little beast.  She told me that the dog had been used for experiments and after they were done, one of the students was to euthenize the dog and dispose of her.  However, the student stitched up the dog and sneaked her out of the lab and hence the pleasant dog I was now seeing.  There are strict rules in how animals are to be treated in experiments.  Is it being done?  These are just two shared stories.  There are many more.  That Doug Ford is going to stop these experiments, are going to get a rise out of the people who are in charge of these experiments and those who support them.  They will try to get around the system.  It should prove to be interesting.  Thank you Doug for doing this.  This will stop a lot of suffering.  It will perhaps make us aware of the importance of compassion and empathy.  In the previous blog I have cut and pasted an article from the globe and mail.  I also pasted it on Facebook which can be seen more clearly.

Thank you Doug Ford!

 Ontario will ban research testing on dogs and cats, Premier Doug Ford said Monday as he called the practice “cruel.”

“You aren’t going to use pets – dogs or cats – to experiment on any longer,” Ford said at an unrelated news conference in London, Ont. 

“Simple as that. We just don’t do that, it’s cruel, and it’s unacceptable.”

Two whistleblowers came forward to Animal Justice earlier this year with concerns about dogs undergoing tests for cardiac research at the Lawson Research Institute at St. Joseph’s Health Care London.

The animal rights’ organization then put the staffers in touch with the University of Toronto’s Investigative Journalism Bureau.

That led to an article published earlier this month that found the dogs – mostly puppies – were used for tests and killed before their internal organs were removed for further examination. 

Opinion: The use of dogs in medical research is a tragedy

The research institute decided after speaking with the province earlier this month to stop all research on dogs. The hospital said it conducted the experiments under proper authorities and followed all rules and regulations.

It noted that both Health Canada and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration “require animal-tested protocols as proof-of-principle for efficacy and safety, before new treatments can be used in human patients.”

The hospital also said animal testing is only done when there are “no scientifically valid alternatives.”

St. Joseph said it has since stopped its “groundbreaking research that has resulted in major strides in cardiac care and treatment.”

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News of the dog testing kicked off a series of texts between Ford and one of the whistleblowers.

“I got to thank the whistleblower that sent me pictures and texted me and everything else,” Ford said. “That person’s a champion.”

Ford also had a warning for other scientists.

“Now I’m gonna start looking for everyone else,” he said. 

“If there’s anyone else out there that’s doing this to animals, come clean, because we’re gonna catch you.”

The whistleblower Ford described as a “champion” said Monday that they were surprised at the strength of the premier’s reaction. The Canadian Press agreed not to name them because they fear legal repercussions for speaking publicly. 

The whistleblower, who worked at the facility, said they reached out to the premier over an unrelated issue and he called back right away.

When the conversation turned to their work, they explained to Ford how puppies as young as eight months old would be brought to London from the U.S. for experimentation, the whistleblower recounted.

They said they told him how researchers would induce hours-long heart attacks as part of efforts to improve medical imaging processes for humans.

“I didn’t think we could expect somebody so high up to be on our side with this,” the whistleblower said.

“I’m very, very thankful for him, for speaking out on behalf of the animals. Because now that he’s involved, I actually, I really feel like we’re going to make a lot of changes.”

Animal Justice welcomed news of the upcoming legislation.

“Ontarians love our pets like family, and they should never be made to suffer in cruel experiments,” said Camille Labchuk, executive director of the organization. 

“But we hope this is just the beginning. Ontario currently allows lost and abandoned cats and dogs in shelters to be sold to experimenters. It’s important to close that loophole, and to pass laws making sure animals get a second chance and can be adopted after experiments.”

York University - Retiree speaker provided notes for an event I missed. It should be ok to share.

 CURITY

GATEKEEPER

Authentication

Passwords. Achieve maximum complexity while retaining your ability to remember it by de-

vising a ‘root’ password. It should contain a minimum of twelve characters comprised of up-

per and lower case letters, numbers, symbols and a variable that corresponds to, for exam-

ple, the first letter of the website to be signed into: Lock500$File would become Lowk500

$File for ‘website.com’.

2-Factor Authentication. To further reduce the risk of unauthorized access to your accounts,

simply enable this feature, if offered, and provide your cell #. At each subsequent sign-in, a

text containing a one-time, temporary passcode will be sent to your phone. Enter it at the

sign-in screen to proceed with accessing your account.

Additional methods. Biometrics, security keys, password managers and authentication apps

all offer additional methods for protecting accounts and devices from unauthorized access.

Time spent developing a general understanding of their functions and adoption will signifi-

cantly improve security of personal information.

Hazards

Phishing Email. Their primary objective is to lure the recipient into clicking on a hyperlink,

resulting in any of four outcomes: Previous usernames and passwords captured from brows-

er cache, keystrokes captured going forward, direction to website featuring genuine-looking

but false account sign-in page, or ransomware that locks your hard drive ahead of an extor-

tion attempt. These risks can be minimized by opening the email on a desktop computer,

then carefully hovering the mouse pointer over each embedded hyperlink or hyperlinked

button. If any of the revealed URLs don’t precisely match the actual organizations domain, ie

‘website.com’, it is likely a hoax and should be deleted immediately.

Spear phishing. A ruse whereby the perpetrator has targeted a specific organization member

with an email, ostensibly from a senior employee, instructing them to undertake an urgent,

financial task. New employees are prime targets, who, once onboarded, should be informed

to report all similar requests to their manager.

(continued)

1Hazards (continued)

Public Wifi. Logging into accounts via public wifi should be avoided. When urgently required,

a VPN session should first be activated on the device in order to encrypt the user’s wifi traffic

so it cannot be captured by nearby eavesdropping.

Finance

E-Transfers. The majority of funds misappropriated from e-Transfers are a result of a compro-

mised email account. Do not send the question and answer to the recipient via the same ad-

dress as the e-transfer link. Also, be certain of the recipient’s email address or cell #, as a mis-

type for a Direct Deposit/Electronic Funds Transfer may send the payment to the wrong re-

cipient.

Online purchases. Ensure that the vendor for purchases being considered has a demonstrat-

ed reputation and is not merely the lowest price. Also, secure websites have an authority-

issued certificate that can be verified for authenticity. Click the padlock icon to the left of the

URL, then (slightly varied between browser types) click ‘Connection is Secure’, follow

‘Certificate is valid’ and note the website beside ‘Issued To’; it should match the vendor’s

website URL.

Cryptocurrency. A grasp of the transaction security process is crucial. Crypto keys can be

stored at multiple locations within two storage types: 1. A custodial ‘hot wallet’ at either a

crypto exchange, cloud storage, personal computer or mobile device. These are all online to

the internet. 2. A non-custodial ‘cold wallet’, either a specific physical device similar to a USB

flash drive, or a ‘paper wallet’ - simply a physical paper copy of your keys. Additionally, should

a wallet or device become unavailable, access to its cryptocurrency can resumed if its owner

possesses the generated ‘Seed phrase’, a 12 or 24 word collection.

Information in this handout is intended for general guidance only. Any reliance you place on the information in this handout is strictly at your own risk.

Steve Chapelle has been providing information privacy and security education to

Canadian professional, parent, student and retiree organizations since 2006. Prior to

that he spent over 20 years in information technology management, analysis and

customer service, primarily in the financial services sector. Experience has included

security, availability and disaster recovery planning. He is also an instructor and

developer at the Udemy online course platform, and the author of ‘No Deci

Botanical Gardens - Close to Burlington/Hamilton

 The Botanical Gardens almost went bankrupt and a business man donated one million to save it successfully.   It has changed since I last went there.   Before there were a series of locations and a bus would take you from one area to another.  There was a lovely Rose Garden which I adored and another location where I had lunch with friends.  There was also a manor's house to explore - all gone.  However, the one saved which is the main location is still worth visiting.  I have more pictures to post at a later time.

Shipping to USA for my books is no longer practical - Sorry. Too expensive.

From Canada Post Office 

What's changing 

"Goods valued at US$800 or less that are shipped to the United States through the postal network will be subject to an ad valorem duty. This duty will be equal to the effective tariff rate applicable to the product's country of origin under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA). For Canada, the current IEEPA rate is 35% for most goods." 

      I was asked not too long ago if I am still wiling to send my books to the States.  I replied of course, why not?  Well, I am afraid 35% is too much and it was expensive before and now well .................Toronto is a great destination as well as Niagara Falls for American tourists.  I would recommend buying my books when you visit.   You may buy directly from me.  It is unfortunate that this is the situation.  Just last night I was talking to a neighbour who is American but has decided to live here.  She said that Americans contacting her are telling her they are so sorry of what is happening to us because of Trump.  They had voted for him, not expecting this attack against Canada.  Americans  I don't blame you for what is happening, this round.  Anyhow, I am glad you are still coming to Toronto and Niagara Falls because I see you and welcome you.  I will be selling my books at Word On The Street, Saturday and Sunday, 27 & 28 September on King Street this year.  Depending on whether I sell my house or not, this may be my last time at Word On the Street.  It is now a two day event each year and locations seem to change which is not always ideal for me.  So please come and if you American, I shall give you a free copy of "Hey Guy Buy Me" as a token of no hard feelings.