Dispel the Illusion

A 45-year-old man who died in the Health Sciences Centre emergency department after sitting there for 34 hours was known to medical staff, health officials confirmed this morning. Wright said it’s possible the man had been dead for several hours. He was discovered in the waiting room by a non-staff member who alerted medical staff the man was unresponsive.

A study of abortion trends in the U.S. claims that the abortion rate is now at its lowest level since 1974, though minority groups did see as large of a drop in abortions. One critic of the study suggests it ignores both the “purposeful” placement of abortion clinics in African-American areas and the manner in which abortion is promoted to black women ... The abortion rate among black women was also found to be disproportionate to the general population. Though their abortion rate declined between 1994 and 2004, it declined by only 15 percent from 59 to 50 abortions per 1,000 women.

Outspoken conservative Taro Aso took power as Japan's prime minister on Wednesday after he overcame opposition forces in a split parliament, tasked with rejuvenating the ailing ruling party ahead of elections ... Aso, known for his rightist leanings and acerbic wisecracks, will lead a country wracked by political divisions and spiking concerns over the economy, which has stalled amid the ballooning financial crisis in the United States.

The campaigns for and against Proposition 8 have raised a combined $30 million, with donations given in support of the proposed ban on gay marriage running considerably ahead of those to the opposition. So far, the main group promoting the Constitutional amendment, which would overturn a recent California Supreme Court ruling that legalized same-sex marriage, has raised $17.8 million. The main No-on-8 campaign has raised $12.4 million.

Steven Spielberg and his wife, Kate Capshaw, are the latest celebrity donors to the fight against California's November ballot initiative that would overturn the state Supreme Court decision legalizing same-sex marriage. Spielberg and Capshaw have donated $100,000 to fight Proposition 8, they announced in a statement Monday ... Brad Pitt gave the same amount to the cause last week.

A pro-family law organization is praising an appeals court decision in Kentucky that blasted a lower court for literally ignoring state law and creating an "adoption" for two lesbian women in violation of expressed state law. "Judicial activism is a cancer that eats away at the rule of law and undermines the confidence of the people in the legal system," said Mathew D. Staver, founder of Liberty Counsel and dean of Liberty University School of Law. "There is a clear distinction between the role of a judge and the role of a legislator."

Hindu crowds angry at the shooting by police of a protester over attacks on Christians in India's east burned more Christian homes and rioted with police, officials said on Thursday. Police said they came under attack through Wednesday night in Orissa's Kandhamal district. Hindus have been have been demanding the release of their leaders arrested on charges of attacks on Christians. The violence is the latest in a string of attacks on Christians in three Indian states that has left at least 20 people, mostly Christians, dead and dozens of churches damaged.