ikcmrrohly: March 2013

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OTTAWA - Federal politicos are slamming the Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW) for its March newsletter that states Canada "plays a key part in perpetuating war crimes" and terrorism by Israel.

Interim Liberal Leader Bob Rae calls CUPW's comments ridiculous and marginal to the interests of union members.

"I continue to be astonished by the extent to which ideas which should be on the 'loony tunes' margins of politics have now been adopted by a union which represents thousands of its members," Rae said Wednesday, adding that union bosses have gone "off the rails."

NDP MP Peter Stoffer also says CUPW is offside.

"If they're accusing any government or anyone of war crimes in terms of Israel, I think their position would be very wrong on that and I would ask them to carefully reflect upon that," Stoffer said.

The union simply bushed off the criticism in a statement issued Wednesday afternoon.

"We want to pressure the Israeli government to respect international law in order to create a lasting and just peace," it said. "This position reflects the democratic will of CUPW's membership and the union remains committed to it."

The anti-Israel comments came in an article about a union-funded junket a union member took to Israel last year to meet with women who "challenge and resist the Israeli occupation."

Shimon Fogel, with the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs, said CUPW has failed its 54,000 members.

"They're taking membership dues and frittering it away on things that are so destructive," Fogel said.

Source: http://www.torontosun.com/2013/03/06/postal-union-cupw-slammed-for-anti-israel-newsletter

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The dog team of Mike Ellis round the corner at 4th Avenue and Cordova Street during the ceremonial start of the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race on Saturday, March 2, 2013, in Anchorage, Alaska. The competitive portion of the 1,000-mile race is scheduled to begin Sunday in Willow, Alaska. (AP Photo/Anchorage Daily News, Bill Roth)

Matt Giblin (64) leads Mikhail Telpin (63) of Russia, as they near the Cordova Street hill during the ceremonial start of the ceremonial start of the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race on Saturday, March 2, 2013, in Anchorage, Alaska. The competitive portion of the 1,000-mile race is scheduled to begin Sunday in Willow, Alaska. (AP Photo/Anchorage Daily News, )

Michael Williams, Jr., greets fans along Cordova Street during the ceremonial start of the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race on Saturday, March 2, 2013, in Anchorage, Alaska. The competitive portion of the 1,000-mile race is scheduled to begin Sunday in Willow, Alaska. (AP Photo/Anchorage Daily News, Bill Roth)

Jan Steves of Edmonds, Wash. greets a fan on the trail adjacent to Wesleyan Drive during the ceremonial start of the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race on Saturday, March 2, 2013, in Anchorage, Alaska. The competitive portion of the 1,000-mile race is scheduled to begin Sunday in Willow, Alaska. (AP Photo/Anchorage Daily News, Erik Hill)

WILLOW, Alaska (AP) ? Dogs aching to run bolted out of the chute Sunday to launch the 41st running of Alaska's Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race.

Now 65 teams will be making their way through punishing wilderness toward the finish line in Nome on Alaska's western coast 1,000 miles away.

The Iditarod kicked off Saturday with an 11-mile jaunt through Anchorage, 50 miles south of the real starting line in the town of Willow. Sunday's event marked the competitive portion of the race.

Saturday's ceremonial start took place amid a party-like atmosphere. But Sunday's mood was charged with tension as mushers switched to the business of racing ? at least among top mushers like defending champion Dallas Seavey and four-time winners Lance Mackey, Jeff King and Martin Buser.

They are among six past Iditarod winners in the running. Mackey, of Fairbanks, is the only musher to win the Yukon Quest and the Iditarod races the same year ? accomplishing dual championships not once, but two years in a row. Mackey, a throat cancer survivor, has won both races four times and was hoping for a comeback to his last Iditarod championship in 2010.

Others are in the race for the adventure and never come close to winning, yet there they are, year after year. Among them was Cindy Gallea, of Wykoff, Minn., whose best finish was 33rd among 10 Iditarods so far.

"I love running the dogs, working with the dogs," she said before the start of her 11th race. "I love being in Alaska, being around the beauty."

But even past middle-of-the-packers felt the pull of competition.

Musher and Anchorage funeral director Scott Janssen, known as The Mushing Mortician, said, "Today's game time. Today we're going to rock 'n' roll."

To reach the finish line in the old gold rush town of Nome, the teams will encounter mountains to climb, and forests and frozen rivers to cross. They'll possibly do battle with fierce winds and temperatures that can plunge to 50 below.

Along the way, they'll stop at village checkpoints for a hot meal, to drop an ailing dog or to sit out mandatory rest periods. Sometimes they'll blow right through after a hasty check-in.

As always, by the time the first musher reaches Nome, some participants will have dropped out of the race. Even the last place finisher knows that getting to Nome is a feat in itself.

The winner gets a new truck and a cash prize of $50,400. The rest of the $600,000 purse will be split between the next 29 mushers to cross the finish line.

___

Follow Rachel D'Oro on Twitter at https://twitter.com/rdoro

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/347875155d53465d95cec892aeb06419/Article_2013-03-03-US-Iditarod/id-adabb313c46b4d7f9afb8abdd2d776ff

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ikcmrrohly

Thursday, March 7, 2013

Postal union CUPW slammed for anti-Israel newsletter [Video]

Monday, March 4, 2013

Sleds off as 41st Iditarod race begins in Alaska