This is a selection of recent popular blog articles from VancouverIAM where you will find the best blogs from Vancouver, British Columbia as well as video uploads, social networking, rumors, and blog authoring.

Naslund Hits Career Hat Trick Number Ten

The most recent post from Canuck’s Hockey Blog gives us a quick run-down of the Canuck’s win over the Wild, in big part to Naslund’s 10th career hat trick. Due to all the pre-game hubbub, “NHL officials made their presence felt,” although aside from the “Mike Brown-Aaron Voros scrap, the game… didn't have the expected fireworks.” The players “behaved” and had a “good-paced and relatively-clean game.”

In the post, the blogger commends the Canucks offense, and in particular, Markus Naslund’s notched-up performance, “with his 10th career hat trick - tying him for most hat tricks in Canucks history.” Naslund scored all three goals within ten feet of the crease and two goals were scored in the third period, “when his team may have been feeling the effects of playing in Edmonton the night before and the long flight to Minnesota afterwards.” The Canucks are currently tied for first place in the Northwest Division.

Justice Sought for Burnaby Murder

On Chinese in Vancouver, a recent post reminds us that a murderer has gone free and a young girl’s family has gotten little help from Canada regardng their daughter’s death. Twenty-one year old Amanda Zhao was murdered in Burnaby in 2002. Her boyfriend, “Ang Li, a Chinese foreign student living in Canada, was implicated in the murder but returned to China before charges could be laid.” Yang Baoying brought her message to the Canadian public hoping that “any Canadian MPs might take on the case and help push to have something done… [and] to get help from the Chinese embassy in Canada… so that she could come to Canada and talk to the responsible government department.”

The post explains that after the death of their daughter, Yand and her husband Zhao Zisheng “were notified by Chinese authorities that the area the Zhao's had lived in for years was to be redeveloped.” They left with “minimal compensation.” The family is not rich and Amanda when had decided to study in Canada, they pulled all their savings and borrowed money. Now, they just want justice served. “Sources say the reason why Canada's department of justice has been refusing to hand over evidence…. is that Canada wants… a no-death guarantee from China… China thinks a no-death promise at such an early stage… is an intrusion of the integrity… of China's justice system.” But, Yang finally heard good news yesterday. A few months ago, “Federal NDP MPs Libby Davis and Bill Siksay launched a campaign… to collect signatures that demanded justice for Amanda… Davis and Siksay tabled the petitions in the House of Commons yesterday.”

Protesters Come Out to Support “Kill Bill 43”

Stephen Rees’s Blog reports from the front line of the Kill Bill 43 protest outside Canada Place yesterday. Bill 43 threatens to privatize Translink and the activists will have none of it. A common purpose pervaded the protest as Rees and the growing crowd braved the cold. “I did get a chance to talk to some media - including Sing Tao…and a very intelligent interviewer with a strong French accent whom I assumed must have been from Radio Canada, but turned out to be just an interested observer.”

Rees’s post hits the highlights of the demonstration and gives props to protest organizer Carmen Mills. “Good speeches from Maureen Karagianis (NDP)… [on] how the Bill keeps being put off by the introduction of new bills… [with] only 5 days left in the session - Joe Foy of the Wilderness Committee…Betty Krawczyk who as always is an object lesson in the power of civil disobedience.” The crowd count came in around 300. Rees will be on CITR 101.9fm tomorrow as well doing a speech for the Wilderness Committee TBA. “We did not make the 6 o’clock CBC news… but from their webcast I learned that with the wind chill it was down to 4C.”

Baristas Put the ART in Caffe Artigiano

Over at Chow Times, Suanne and her cake meet pal Polly sing the praises of local franchise Caffe Artigiano, “home of the Canadian Barista Championships from 2003 to 2006.” Artigiano has taken several silver and bronze championship metals. There are five Vanvouver Artigianos in all, three downtown, one in West Van, and one in Kerrisdale.

The post describes the café as “very busy” and were disappointed in the lack of cheesecake. But with scones and biscotti in hand, they were ready for the best part about the café: the coffee. The lattes are “very smooth and creamy” and they have a reputation for creative cream formation. “This is the best coffee we had ever had since our cake meet. For the true coffee lover, you must visit Caffe Artigiano.”

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