Anglais

Canadians who fell ill in Cuba have brain-injury symptoms, doctor says

Published

6 années ago

janvier 26, 2019

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OTTAWA—Canadian diplomats suffering health woes after time in Cuba have symptoms consistent with a brain injury, according to an Ottawa doctor who has assessed them, turning aside speculation that the problems are psychosomatic.

“Do I believe that these people have presentations consistent with someone who has had a concussion or brain injury? Yes,” said Dr. Shawn Marshall, medical director for acquired brain injury rehabilitation at the Ottawa Hospital Rehabilitation Centre.

Canadians and American diplomats and dependants began reporting mysterious health problems in late 2016 and into 2017, setting off an international investigation.

Marshall started seeing the Canadians in mid-2017 at the request of Global Affairs. Marshall, a specialist in brain injuries, said he assessed the patients using a protocol similar to one used to screen people who have suffered a concussion.

“Most of them present with difficulties with physical symptoms,” Marshall told the Star in an interview.

Marshall said that at the outset, there was little known about the potential cause of the symptoms. While the symptoms were similar to those of a concussion, none of these patients had suffered a blunt force blow that might explain it.

But Marshall said there can be a number of causes for such injuries in addition to an external force.

“But those forces or injury to the brain can be from physical forces that aren’t necessarily traumatic strikes or blows. For example, we know that a blast … can cause brain injury,” Marshall said.

“There are different forms of energy that can cause it. Infection can definitely cause it … I don’t have any evidence of that at all or any suggestion of that. But I’m just saying that there are multiple different causes.”

Even now after his assessments, Marshall said the cause remains a puzzle. “The only connection I have is that these patients were associated with a government posting in Havana.”

Global Affairs officials also say that a multi-agency investigation has not yet been able to pinpoint a cause. An examination of potential environmental factors at Havana properties occupied by the Canadians ruled out air or water as the cause.

Some of the diplomats and family members associated the onset of the symptoms with strange noises heard at the time, like grinding noises or the sound of warping metal. However experts aren’t convinced there is a link.

In the absence of clear causes, there’s been speculation the ailment might be mass hysteria or conversion disorder, where a person suffers symptoms that can’t be explained by a physical cause, sometimes triggered by stress. It was a theory most recently advanced in a Vanity Fair feature, titled, “The Real Story Behind the Havana Embassy Mystery.”

But Marshall disagrees. He has also treated patients with such disorders and that’s not what he saw in the Canadians.

“I’m less inclined to believe that. Having seen these patients, that was not my overall impression,” he said.

“I have actually seen a number of patients with conversion disorder, factitious disorder over the years. These patients I’m seeing don’t seem to be like that,” he said.

For starters, Marshall said that some of the Canadians experienced symptoms before they became aware of a broader problem, discounting the possibility that they were influenced by reports of illness among their colleagues.

“Before they even knew something was going on, they were describing some pretty remarkable symptoms that would be hard to explain as it being due to other causes, like social influence or fear, anxiety,” Marshall said.

The union representing foreign service workers has also pushed back against suggestions that the mass hysteria is the cause.

The Professional Association of Foreign Service Officers (PAFSO) wrote to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland a year ago to flag “serious concern” about the government’s handling of the case.

In that letter, obtained by the Star, the association accused Global Affairs of downplaying the impact of the incidents on Canadian personnel, “even going so far as to question whether or not the issues our members were psychosomatic in nature.

“PAFSO consider that the collective hysteria hypothesis is not rigorous and impossible,” stated the letter, dated Jan. 22, 2018.

It said that “repeated suggestions that health issues are imagined or the ‘symptoms of extreme stress’” were only adding to the duress felt by diplomats and family members already struggling with health ailments.

In a statement to the Star earlier this month, Global Affairs said the cause of the health woes was still not known.

“We are investigating any and all possible causes, and we will continue to take the measures necessary to protect our diplomats and their families,” the department said.

“Canada has an evidence-based approach to addressing this situation, and our response is guided by the advice of medical experts and treating physicians. At the current time, the cause of these health problems remains unknown.”

The U.S. State Department is sticking by its claim that its personnel were deliberately targeted. To date, 26 Americans have been identified with “otherwise-unexplained medically confirmed symptoms and clinical findings” and the department isn’t ruling out that there may be more cases yet.

“Given the seeming exclusive focus on U.S. government personnel and their families in Havana, as well as the scope and duration of incidents, the department has categorized the events in Havana as attacks,” the department said in an email to the Star. “The investigation is ongoing to determine the source and cause of the health attacks.”

Marshall said that the Canadians affected by the health problems are improving, thanks to therapy and in some cases medication but cautioned that recovery from brain injuries can take time.

“Life is complicated and other factors affect your function. So if you ask too much of your brain, you may not recover as expected or if you’re asking it to function at high level, you can have other complications, like your mood can change if you can’t do what you need to do and symptoms can persist,” he said.

Meanwhile, Global Affairs refuses to comment on the fate of Canada’s embassy in Havana after a high-level visit by officials last month.

In December, the department revealed that medical testing had confirmed yet another diplomat who had served in Cuba was suffering health problems. That brought to 13 the number of confirmed cases, including dependants.

The discovery of another case prompted the federal government to send a high-level team to Havana to evaluate diplomatic operations in the country to ensure the protection of embassy staff.

But since that visit the department has been tight-lipped on the outcome of that visit or what, if any, changes were made to Canada’s diplomatic footprint in Cuba, despite repeated questions from the Star.

Bruce Campion-Smith is an Ottawa-based reporter covering national politics. Follow him on Twitter: @yowflier

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Anglais

Nostalgia and much more with Starburst XXXtreme

Published

3 années ago

août 10, 2021

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Get a taste of adventure with Starburst XXXtreme based on the legendary NetEnt Game. The nostalgic themes are sure to capture fans of the classic version as they get treated to higher intensity, better visuals, and features. The most significant element of the game is its volatility. Patience will not be an essential virtue considering the insane gameplay, and there is a lot of win potential involved. It retains the original makeup of the previous game while adding a healthy dose of adrenaline.

Starburst Visuals and Symbols

The game is definitely more conspicuous than before. The setting happens over a 5-reel, 3-row game grid with nine fixed win lines, which function if a succession from the left to the right reel is present. Only those players that that attain the highest win per bet line are paid. From a visual standpoint, the Starburst XXXtreme slots illustrates lightning effects behind the reels, which is not surprising as it is inherited from the original version. Available themes include Classic, Jewels, and Space. The game is also available in both desktop and mobile versions, which is advantageous for players considering the global pandemic. According to Techguide, American gamers are increasingly having more engaging gaming experiences to socialize to fill the gap of in-person interaction. Starburst XXXtreme allows them to fill the social void at a time when there is so much time to be had indoors.

Starburst XXXTreme Features

Players get to alternate on three features which are Starburst Wilds, XXXtreme Spins, and Random Wilds. The first appears on reels 2,3, or 4. When these land, they expand to cover all positions while also calculating the wins. They are also locked for a respin. If a new one hits, it also becomes locked while awarding another respin. Starburst XXXtreme offers a choice between two scenarios for a higher stake. In one scenario with a ten times stake, the Starburst Wild is set on random on reels 2,3, or 4, and a multiplier starts the respin. The second scenario, which has a 95 times stake, starts with two guaranteed starburst wilds on reels 2,3, or 4. it also plays out using respin game sequence and features. The game also increases the potential with the Random Wilds feature to add Starburst Wilds to a vacant reel at the end of a spin. Every Starburst Wild gives a random multiplier with potential wins of x2, x3, x5, x10, x25, x50, x100, or even x150.

The new feature is sure to be a big hit with the gaming market as online gambling has shown significant growth during the lockdown. AdAge indicates the current casino customer base is an estimated one in five Americans, so Starburst XXXtreme’s additional features will achieve considerable popularity.

What We Think About The Game

The gambling market has continued to diversify post-pandemic, so it is one of the most opportune times to release an online casino-based game. Thankfully Starburst XXXtreme features eye-catching visuals, including the jewels and space themes. These attract audience participation and make the gameplay inviting. The game also has a nostalgic edge. The previous NetEnt iteration featured similar visuals and gameplay, so the audience has some familiarity with it. The producers have revamped this version by tweaking the features to improve the volatility and engagement.

That is characterized by the potential win cap of 200,000 times the bet. Starburst XXXtreme does not just give betting alternatives for players that want to go big. The increase of multipliers also provides a great experience. If the respins in the previous version were great, knowing that multipliers can go hundreds of times overtakes the game to a new level.

Players should get excited about this offering. All of the features can be triggered within a single spin. Whether one plays the standard game or takes the XXXtreme spin route, it is possible to activate all of the features. Of course, the potential 200,000 times potential is a huge carrot. However, the bet size is probably going to be restricted and vary depending on the casino. It is also worth pointing out that a malfunction during the gameplay will void all of the payouts and progress. Overall, the game itself has been designed to provide a capped win of 200,000 times the original bet.

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Anglais

‘We’re back’: Montreal festival promoters happy to return but looking to next year

Published

3 années ago

juillet 23, 2021

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In downtown Montreal, it’s festival season.

In the city’s entertainment district, a musical act was conducting a sound check on stage Friday evening — the second day of the French-language version of the renowned Just For Laughs comedy festival. Tickets for many of the festival’s free outdoor shows — limited by COVID-19 regulations — were sold out.

Two blocks away, more than 100 people were watching an acoustic performance by the Isaac Neto Trio — part of the last weekend of the Festival International Nuits d’Afrique, a celebration of music from the African continent and the African diaspora.

With COVID-19 restrictions continuing to limit capacity, festival organizers say they’re glad to be back but looking forward to next year when they hope border restrictions and capacity limits won’t affect their plans.

Charles Décarie, Just For Laughs’ CEO and president, said this is a “transition year.”

“Even though we have major constraints from the public health group in Montreal, we’ve managed to design a festival that can navigate through those constraints,” Décarie said.

The French-language Juste pour rire festival began on July 15 and is followed by the English-language festival until July 31.

When planning began in February and March, Décarie said, organizers came up with a variety of scenarios for different crowd sizes, ranging from no spectators to 50 per cent of usual capacity.

“You’ve got to build scenarios,” he said. “You do have to plan a little bit more than usual because you have to have alternatives.”

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Anglais

MELS new major movie studio to be built in Montreal

Published

3 années ago

juillet 23, 2021

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MONTREAL — MELS Studios will build a new film studio in Montreal, filling some of the gap in supply to meet the demand of Hollywood productions.

MELS president Martin Carrier said on Friday that MELS 4 studio construction will begin « as soon as possible », either in the fall or winter of next year. The studio could host productions as early as spring 2023.

The total investment for the project is $76 million, with the Quebec government contributing a $25 million loan. The project will create 110 jobs, according to the company.

The TVA Group subsidiary’s project will enable it to stand out « even more » internationally, according to Quebecor president and CEO Pierre Karl Péladeau. In the past, MELS Studios has hosted several major productions, including chapters of the X-Men franchise. The next Transformers movie is shooting this summer in Montreal.

Péladeau insisted that local cultural productions would also benefit from the new facility, adding that the studio ensures foreign revenues and to showcase talent and maintain an industry of Quebec producers.

STUDIO SHORTAGE

The film industry is cramped in Montreal.

According to a report published last May by the Bureau du cinéma et de la télévision du Québec (BCTQ), there is a shortage of nearly 400,000 square feet of studio space.

With the addition of MELS 4, which will be 160,000 square feet, the company is filling part of the gap.

Carrier admitted that he has had to turn down contracts because of the lack of space, representing missed opportunities of « tens of millions of dollars, not only for MELS, but also for the Quebec economy. »

« Montreal’s expertise is in high demand, » said Montreal Mayor Valérie Plante, who was present at the announcement.

She said she received great testimonials from « Netflix, Disney, HBO and company » during an economic mission to Los Angeles in 2019.

« What stands out is that they love Montreal because of its expertise, knowledge and beauty. We need more space, like MELS 4, » she said.

There is still not enough capacity in Quebec, acknowledged Minister of Finance, the Economy and Innovation Eric Girard.

« It is certain that the government is concerned about fairness and balance, so if other requests come in, we will study them with the same seriousness as we have studied this one, » he said.

Grandé Studios is the second-largest player in the industry. Last May, the company said it had expansion plans that should begin in 2022. Investissement Québec and Bell are minority shareholders in the company.

For its part, MELS will have 400,000 square feet of production space once MELS 4 is completed. The company employs 450 people in Quebec and offers a range of services including studio and equipment rentals, image and sound postproduction, visual effects and a virtual production platform.