Passenger stabbed and decapitated on Greyhound bus; passengers question bus safety

by Iva Skoch on

Another story to be filed under “What’s wrong with people?”

Wednesday night, a 40-year old man aboard a Canadian Greyhound bus traveling from Edmonton, Alberta, to Winnipeg stabbed and then decapitated a fellow passenger, USA Today reports. He was arrested at the end of the whole thing, in case you were wondering.

This story has gotten extensive coverage all over the world. People have been quoted as saying they’ll never take the bus ever again, until safety regulations on buses are in place. I don’t know. Can you really draw conclusions from one weird case?

In case you haven’t heard exactly what happened, here is a glimpse, according to fellow passengers interviewed by Associated Press:

The victim, who appeared to be about 19, was sleeping with headphones on when his seat mate suddenly began stabbing him as the bus traveled a desolate stretch of the TransCanada Highway, a dozen miles from Portage La Prairie. He stabbed him about 40-50 times.

The bus stopped and the passengers tried to get away while the attacker allegedly began calmly and methodically carving up the man’s body. Unbelievable.

Passengers disembarked and braced themselves against the door to prevent the attacker from leaving while they waited for police to arrive. The attacker went back and brought the head to the front and dropped it on the ground in front of the passengers.

Well, this is a good time to ask the question, I guess. Would you take a Greyhound anytime soon?

Happy 400th birthday Quebec

by Jamie Rhein on

Four hundred years ago on July 3, 1608 Samuel de Champlain established the first French settlement in Canada giving Québec City its start. Here’s a shout out, even though the party began the first of the year, according to this CBC news report.

There’s still plenty of time to participate since the celebration will continue until October 19 with Cirque de Soleil as the final act.

The article, written December 31, 2007 also mentioned that 80% of Canadians had no idea Quebec is 400 this year. I hope by now they do or they’ve missed out on good times already. The government has put $90 million towards the festivities.

Of all the events still to come, the one that piqued my interest is “Le chemin que marche: A glowing tribute to the St. Lawrence River.” On the night of August 15 the river and its banks will be lit up and turned into a stage for “acrobatics, dance and megaprojections.” The other events sound spectacular as well, but there’s something extra special about river activities at night, particularly in the summer.

With 400 years under its belt, there are historical sites a-plenty to savor. Start off with the Historic District of Old Québec. The whole district is a UNESCO World Heritage site. According to the UNESCO Web site, this is one of the best examples of a fortified colonial city.

If I were going to Québec, one place I would take in the Henry-Stewart House. Generations of the same family occupied the house from 1918 to 1988. To me that translates to a more intimate perspective of this city through the lives of Stewart family members. Whenever I can attach real people to places I visit, I’m drawn in. Tea is included in the guided tour. How civilized is that?

Here’s a link to other historic sites. There are so many worthy of note, it’s hard to chose among them.

Other facts about Québec:

  • The original name was Kébec
  • Kébec is an Algonquin word that means “place where the river narrows”

Photo of the Day (06/17/08)

by Grant Martin on


When summertime rolls around I always get a hankering to go sailing again and borderfilm‘s Climb photo takes me straight back to my days tooling around Strawberry Lake in college. This shot, taken on the English Bay in Vancouver, perfectly lines up the trailing edge of the sail with the edge of the photo creating a false border, as the lines from the sand and skyline head towards each other in a slanted distance. A great shot.

***To have your photo considered for the Gadling Photo of the Day, go over to the Gadling Flickr Pool and post it. Make sure it is not copyrighted, otherwise we can’t post it here.***

New York City to Toronto for $1. Free Wi-Fi included.

by Iva Skoch on

Run! Starting today, you can purchase tickets between New York to Toronto for as low as $1 at Trailwaysny.com or Greyhound.com. NeOn, short for New York-Ontario, has two round-trip express schedules each day between New York and Toronto.

NeOn tickets are available for purchase in advance at Trailwaysny.com, Greyhound.com or from a driver before boarding. One-way fares start at $1, plus a booking fee. The highest fare will adjust based on market demand. The earlier passengers purchase their tickets, the lower the fare they receive.

The best part? They offer free Wi-Fi, power outlets and video. Yay! I am convinced it won’t be long before even riding a bus is more comfortable than flying.

Parents forget baby at airport and fly to destination

by Abha Malpani on

I’m still trying to get my head around how this was possible: a couple and two grandparents FORGOT their 2-year old whilst trying to catch a flight from Vancouver to Winniepeg in Canada.

With only 10-minutes left for boarding, the family was running towards the gate, and apparently each of the 4 adults thought that the baby was with one of the other three.

HOW IS THIS POSSIBLE? Were they running so far from each other not to notice the absence a child? Also, their child is 2-years old, if you are adults running to catch a flight, surely you’d take him in your arms — couldn’t they see that no-one was running with a baby!? AND, even if you are not sitting together on the flight, how can you not realize that one of you is missing!? What world are you in!? This stuff is only allowed to happen in movies!

Anyway, the good news is that Air Canada took control of the situation well: they found the child, figured out who he belonged to, and put him onto another flight to regroup him with his family.

I think this is inexcusable and such families shouldn’t have children at all.