1819...Thee Quote Of The Olympics

From the March 1, 2010 edition of Sports Illustrated comes this gem:

"Bjorn Ferry, the Swedish Biathlon gold medalist, on his preferred disposition for athletes caught using performance enhancing drugs: 'I would dish out the death penalty in doping cases. Or at least lots of kicks in the balls.'"

Beauty, eh?

WFDS

1818...Thee Story Of The Olympics

From the March 1, 2010 edition of Sports Illustrated comes this gem:

"Luge silver medalist David Moeller, from Germany, broke an incisor after a photographer asked him to bite his medal for a picture."

Beauty, eh?

WFDS

1817...Quebec, Truly A World Leader

The Canadian Press has a piece that states that "Quebec ranks only below Japan, Italy, Greece and Iceland in terms of public debt as a percentage of GDP."

La Belle's finances are in worse shape than mine for crying out loud.

"An analysis by the Quebec Ministry of Finance suggests the province has one of the most heavily indebted economies in the industrialized world. The 44-page document calculates the province's total debt as 94 per cent of GDP, employing methods used by the Organization of Economic Co-operation and Development. "

Still, the beer is cheap and you can touch strippers.

WFDS

1816...What A Country

Own The Podium was the theme for our Canada during this Olympics and, despite the hand wringing by the chattering classes and the elites and in our more prestigious media outlets, that goal has been achieved.

If the men's hockey team beats the States today, and they are favoured to do so by bookmakers world wide, Canada will have won the most gold in the history of history.

Worst case scenario would be to tie the Russians in '76 and the Norways in '02 with thirteen; win hockey and we are the champions re the gold with fourteen.

Canadian Press also reports that "Canada seems certain to end the Games with 26 medals. Lyndon Rush's sled won a bronze Saturday in four-man bobsleigh. That's a record, two more than the 24 won in Turin four years ago."

WFDS

1815...I Told You He Cared

This morning's Canadian Press runs a piece about our beloved Prime Minister and his love of our national sport, le hockey.

"The prime minister, a self-professed hockey nut, said he'll be attending the game and he expects Canada to win. 'Man for man, our team is the superior team but let's not kid ourselves, the most consistent team in this tournament to date has been Team USA,' Harper said in an interview on CTV."

Game time is, ah, you know when game time is.

WFDS

1814...Honey,Were You Expecting Pot From FedEx

35 pounds of the bud that is.

MyFoxDC reports that Melanie Sloan, a former prosecutor who works for the watchdog group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics, got surprised by what she and her husband that was a routine Fed Ex delivery. The box they received contained $120,000 worth of pot.

Apparently it is a regular scam in the Washington, DC area. Dealers ship pot to an address where they know the occupant won't be home, make sure the package doesn't have to be signed for and scoop the goods up before the addressees get home.

When it works it is golden; when it doesn't you are out 35 pounds of pot.

WFDS

1813...Fun, Fun And More Fun In Ottawa Sunday

Well, not quite Ottawa.

Northern suburban exurban kind of far away but not really that far away from town Ottawa.

Pontiac Federal Liberal Association
Is pleased to invite you to

Supper
and Satire with
The Honourable Sheila Copps
and
Cindy Duncan McMillan,
Liberal candidate
Sunday February 28 at 7:30 pm
The Black Sheep Inn
420
Riverside Drive, Wakefield
$20/ticket
Cash bar Silent auction

WFDS

1812...Ravens Split

In front of two partial sell outs the Carleton Ravens split.

The women were vanquished.

The men were the vanquishers.

Kanata beckons.

WFDS

1811...I Heard A Rumour

A coffee fueled rumour at Second Cup on Elgin.

The rumour is that Alex Cullen, the pompous city councillor in Ottawa who is running a no chance campaign for mayor against Jim Watson and [probably] the current hizzonner, Larry O'Brien, is running for mayor to raise his profile so he can runn for Member of Provincial Parliament in Ottawa Centre for the NDP against the current Liberal MPP Yasir Naqvi.

Like, doh.

How is getting your head handed to you on a plate in the municipal election, finishing, at best, a miserable third, going to help you beat Mr. Naqvi?

You be overthinking things. Again.

WFDS

1810...More Ravens Today

The men, defending national champeens, play York, never national champions, tonite at the U of K, Carleton.

It is an OUA quarter final game and will be presumably the final game for York coach Bob Bain, who has coached at York for 30 plus years [zero national championships; as in none, nada].

For some reason his thirty plus years of not being successful is something that we are supposed to revere so I am sure that there will be a ceremony honouring his inability to win.

I will be there, of course, with my black Carleton sombrero on, red and white trim doncha know.

WFDS

1809...Own The Podium

Apparently we are collectively pissed off in Canada coz we didn't win all the medals at the Vancouver Olympics.

F*ck off Canada.

Front page of the Globe and Mail today talks about that and tells all that Olympian Alex Baumann is slated to take over the program as soon as the dust settles from this Olympiad.

Personally I think my country did pretty good [pretty well?...my Carleton roots betray me] at the Olympics. I think most of the hoi polloi would concur. I like the idea of being competitve and putting money where it garners the most effect.

WFDS

1808...Ravens Today At Carleton

It is the girly girls at 3 this afternoon playing the University of Ottawa Gee Gees.

Winner of this OUA East final game most likely will go to Hamilton [not a punishment, this is a good thing actually, it is for the Nationals]; loser gets extra time to study for finals.

Look for me in my black sombrero with red and white trim underneath the west end hoop.

WFDS

1807...The United States

Of Africa.

We do have the United States of Europe, that seems to be working out.

No United States of America yet but y'never know.

And now this for your erudition:

The United States of Africa: Is a Reality or Myth?

The Honorable Dr. Abraham Nkomo, M.D;

South African High Commissioner
to Canada
Location: 57 Louis Pasteur, FTX 147, uOttawa
Time:
5:00-7:00 p.m. Date: March 1, 2010
Open to Public-Free Admission

WFDS

1806...Stephen Harper Must Have Been Plotzing

Last night, near the end of the Canada/Slovakia game; OMFG.

His election plans are verily contingent on the Canucks getting the Gold. I am sure like most of us in Canuckistan he felt it was in the bag when Canada was up 3/0 in the middle of the third.

And then.

The wheels.

Fell off.

Not all of them though.

The dream is still alive, for both Canada's Olympic team and the Stephen Harpers.

WFDS

1805...Here We Go Again, Again

Canada.

Slovakia.

I still contend a Gold Medal for Canada is worth a nice bump for the Stephen Harper's.

WFDS

1804...Leaving On A Jet Plane

Times be tough for Helena Guergis, the junior cabinet minister for something
or other in Stephen Harper, he is the Prime Minister, in Stephen Harper's
cabinet.

First off her anti mary jane crusading husband and former, as in not anymore,
MP, Rahim Jaffer, who, in a reverse Machiavelli, figured out how to lose,
as a Conservative,in Alberta, is going
to court for possession of cocaine and allegedly
being drunk while driving.  At least he wasn't smoking pot, eh?

Now this.

On her f'ing birthday Minister Guergis showed up a wee bit late for her flight
from Charlottetown to Montreal, well, actually she showed up about ten minutes
before take off; Air Canada likes you in the house 120 minutes before.  But, she
is a minister, er, Minister, eh? and they, the workies at the airport in the PEI
capital had the audacity to ask her to take off her shoes.

The gall.

And go thru the screening thingy.

OMG.

It is widely reported that she took a royal sh*t fit.

Jane Taber in the Globe and Mail, this morning's edition, wrote that
"One anonymous source says that she spoke disparagingly of the island,
fearing that she was going to miss the flight."

Busted, the Minister apologized yesterday, telling all how much she loves
PEI and the people there and a whole pile of other crap.

WFDS 

1803...Mark Hebscher Has Big Ears

OMG.

I was watching the CHCH talking head on the sorta Hamilton kinda Niagara a bit of Toronto and Brantford local news last night during his Mark's Rant segment. He was ranting about the fact that editorials are praising Canadian women on the fact that they are winning medals and how he finds that wrong [confused? I sure was].

But all I could look at was his ears.

Man, they are like satellite dishes attached to the side of his head.

Huge.

WFDS

1802...Adam Lambert, The Next Edd Byrnes?

Edd Byrnes.

That is what Google is for kids.

And Adam Lambert is set to be the next Edd Byrnes.

Making friends where ever he goes the runner up to what's his name on American Idol has insulted Susan Boyle and her cover of the Rolling Stones Wild Horses. He said that her cover was so bad it made him cry with laughter. He told Britain's Gay Times that he would be on the top of the pops in the United Kingdom if it wasn't for Susan Boyle.

Smooth move Ex Lax, gratuitously insulting Britain's darling, interesting move.

WFDS

1801...Canadian Women Make It Golden

And then spoil it all by drinking beer, champagne and smoking cigars!

Imagine my horror when I read in the National Post this morning that the Canuckistanian girly girl hockey team, after winning the Gold Medal over their arch rivals, the Americans, celebrated.

By drinking.

Alcohol.

OMG.

The horror.

From the National Post's Vancouver Now page:

The International Olympic Committee will investigate the behaviour of the Canadian women's hockey players who celebrated their gold medal at the Vancouver Games by drinking alcohol on the ice.

Several Canadian players returned to the ice surface at Canada Hockey Place roughly 30 minutes after their 2-0 win over the U.S. on Thursday night.

The players drank cans of beer and bottles of champagne, and smoked cigars with their gold medals draped around their necks.

Hockey players, drinking, what is this world coming to?

WFDS

1800...Hooker Price War In Vancouver

QMI agency, quoted in yesterday's Ottawa Sun, tells of a hooker price war.

They quote a woman named Misty Moonlight, a professional name to be sure, as saying that the prices have dropped to the 200/300 dollar range for an hour.

Bullsh*t of course is divided by half; since it is bullsh*t from a ho, cut it in half yet again.

50/100 for an hour. Cheaper than an auto mechanic.

WFDS

1799...Bubba And I Have A Bet

And I am going to win.

WFDS

1798...Bubba, Here's The Goods

In response to WFDS Post 1795...I Told You So

bubba said...

If canada gets 2 golds in hockey and 2 golds in curling where do you see the polls settling . Before we get back to the real world. If you can call what goes on in ottawa the real world?

February 25, 2010 12:55 PM

I have said this before and will say it yet again; if Canada does well at the Olympics, and by doing well I mean win Gold in men's hockey, Harper will get a three point bump in the poll, minimum, and will call an election after he manipulates the opposition into defeating the budget.

Or something like that.

Gold in hockey = election before the snow melts in Ottawa.

WFDS

1797...Jack Layton Spins

He spins the Danny Williams story and spins it the right way.

Mr. Williams of course is the Premier of Newfoundland and Labrador who got out of Dodge toute and suite and went to Florida to have his ticker repaired earlier in the month.

He said that no one in this country had the chops to fix his heart and what's the point of being a billionaire if you cannot get out of the hinterlands when you need to get real work done.

Jack Layton was in the Toronto Sun today saying that Mr. Williams trip and the reaction to it by cardiac surgeons in this country, surgeons who were pissed that he dissed them, has shown Canadians that we are good at medicine.

Mr. Layton wants public health care to be a focus for Canadians and, in my view, Mr. William's going to FLA for his operation has done so.

WFDS

1796...So Young, So Beautiful, So Bigoted

That would be Miss Beverly Hills 2010, Lauren Ashley who Fox News quotes as saying that "The Bible says that marriage is between a man and a woman. In Leviticus it says: 'If man lies with mankind as he would lie with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination. They shall surely be put to death and their blood shall be upon them.'"

She don't like the gays coz God wants to smote the gays.

"I feel like God himself created mankind and he loves everyone, and he has the best for everyone."

Getting smoted ain't the best, at least for the smotee.

The City of Beverly Hills is not a fan of their representative:

"The City of Beverly Hills today denounced statements made by Miss California USA contestant Lauren Ashley, the self-described Miss Beverly Hills. Ms. Ashley resides in Pasadena and is currently a contestant for the Miss California USA title. She does not represent Beverly Hills in any capacity," the city said in a news release issued Wednesday. "The City of Beverly Hills strongly condemns Ms. Ashley's recent statements and has contacted pageant officials to determine ways to formally prevent any beauty contestants claiming the title of Miss Beverly Hills in the future."

She lives in Pasedena!!! OMG. The horror. The shame.

WFDS

1795...Told You So

I told you that if we, Canada, did well at the Olympics, they, the Conservatives, would get a bump.

Lookie, lookie: Team Stephen Harper has opened up a small three-point lead after weeks of being in a virtual tie with the Liberals, a new EKOS poll, taken from CBC.ca, suggests.

When asked which party they would support if an election were held tomorrow, 33.4 per cent of those polled chose the Conservatives and 30.3 per cent backed the Liberals.

The poll found 15.8 per cent of respondents supporting the NDP, 10.4 per cent the Green Party and 8.2 per cent the Bloc Québécois.

Although the Liberals have benefited from Canadians' dissatisfaction with the government's handling of recent issues such as the Afghan detainees, Copenhagen and prorogation, they have not been able to build any sustained momentum.

Overall, the Liberals have not lost ground compared to previous weeks, but the Conservatives have gained back some of the support that they lost in recent weeks.

Support for the Conservatives was strongest in Alberta, Manitoba and Saskatchewan, while the party was still neck and neck with the Liberals in Ontario.

Canadians continue to be split as to whether the government of Canada is moving in the right direction. A total of 44.5 per cent of Canadians feel that the government is moving in the right direction while 45.4 per cent feel it is moving in the wrong direction.

Quebec residents and those with university-level education are more likely to think the government is moving in the wrong direction.

And, as I have said repeatedly, half the country running around with stylized C's on their chests and our athletes kicking it in Van is only good news for Stephen and the Harpers.

WFDS

1794...Killer Whale Kills

And yet people seem surprised by this turn of events.

It is a killer whale folks, a Killer Whale. And this Killer Whale is a three time killer.

Dawn Brancheau, 40, was killed after the 30-year-old, 12,300-pound bull orca named Tilikum, jumped out of a tank, grabbed her around the waist and pulled her underwater. This happened at the SeaWorld amusement park in Orlando, Florida, as visitors looked on.

As the CBC reported, this particular Killer Whale has been involved in two previous deaths, including one in Victoria.

Just doing his thing I guess.

It is a Killer Whale after all.

WFDS

1793...Harper Wins 7 - 3 Over Russia

You saw it with your own eyes; Canada beat Russia like a rented mule last night at the Vancouver Olympics.

The team is now in the final four along with Finland, USA and Slovakia. Canada plays Slovakia on Friday; the Yanks have the toughter Finns.

If form follows, the Americans and the Canadians will rematch Sunday.

WFDS

1792...Tonite Canada Versus Russia Versus Harper

Really.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper needs Canada to run the table and win the Gold in hockey.

Four games in a row.

It can be done.

In my view, a view stated previously, if Canada does well at the Olympics, and by well I mean win the men's hockey Gold, the PM and his gang will use the bump that they will get from face time on the telly to launch themselves into an election.

No Gold, no election .

Gold, election.

Our beloved Prime Minister neeeeeeeeds this one.

And the next three.

WFDS

1791...What Is 3'7" And 245 Pounds?

According the Guinness Book of Records it is Arizona resident Giant George.

Giant George is the tallest and biggest dog ever according to the book.

A Great Dane, GG is four years old and eats 110 pounds a month of food.

WFDS

1790..."You Aren't Foreclosing On Me"

The Associated Press reports this story about an Ohio man who had had it with his bank and the IRS.

So...

An Ohio man says he bulldozed his US$350,000 home to keep a bank from foreclosing on it.

Terry Hoskins says he has struggled with the RiverHills Bank over his home in Moscow for years and had problems with the Internal Revenue Service. He says the IRS placed liens on his carpet store and commercial property and the bank claimed his house as collateral.

Hoskins says he owes US$160,000 on the house. He says he spent a lot of money on attorneys and finally had enough. About two weeks ago he bulldozed the home 40km southeast of Cincinnati.

Messages were left for the bank and its attorney.

IRS spokeswoman Jodie Reynolds said individual taxpayer information is private and federal law prevents her from commenting.

Methinks that he still owes everyone everything he owed before but now has no house.

A thinker he is not.

WFDS

1789...Being Fat Is A Life Saver

Not for you.

Step away from the buffet.

But fat was a lifesaver Saturday night for Samantha Lynn Frazier who said she heard two pops when she walked into Herman's Place for a drink early Saturday morning. The 35-year-old then felt pain and saw blood on her hand after she grabbed her left side. who tells The Press of Atlantic City that "I could have been dead. They said my love handles saved my life."

Detective Lt Charles Love of the Atlantic City Police Department said the gunman, as yet to be found, was aiming for a man who escaped with a bullet hole in his down jacket.

WFDS

1788...Sal Tessio Turns 89

"Tell Michael I always liked him. It was nothing but business."

Abe Vigoda turns 89 today.

WFDS

1787...Speaking Of Danny Williams

CBC News out of his home province, the one he is Premier of, Newfoundland [and Labrador], tells that "... there was no need for the premier of Newfoundland and Labrador to cross the border for world-class health care."

The treatment that the Premier received is avail in Toronto, Ottawa, Vancouver and Montreal. In Montreal cardiac surgeon Dr. Hugues Jeanmart told the CBC that "I was very surprised, especially for the reason he [Williams] advanced, saying that we didn't have this kind of expertise in Canada, which I completely disagree with."

He repairs heart valves using the latest in robotic technology. Instead of open-heart surgery, the operation is performed through an incision under the arm, so there is no large chest scar and there are other benefits as well.

Dr. Alan Menkis, a Winnipeg cardiac surgeon, Winnipeg is a Canadian fyi Mr. Williams, was a pioneer in using the technology.

WFDS

1786...Ooops I Did It Again

Or before.

It is cutting off a breast that did not need to be cut off; the cutter is Dr. Barbara Heartwell of Windsor, Ontario's Hôtel-Dieu Grace Hospital.

In WFDS Post 1758...Oooops I told you about her first oopsie last fall; as it turns out it was, at minimum, her second. The fall of '09 error was when, CBC News reports, "Laurie Johnston, 44, of Leamington, underwent a mastectomy at the hands of Heartwell in November 2009. It was only in a followup appointment that Heartwell told Johnston she had never had cancer to begin with. The hospital revealed Heartwell had misread the initial pathology report."

Her first was back in '01. "Hôtel-Dieu Grace Hospital said Dr. Barbara Heartwell removed Janice Laporte's breast in 2001, though a post-surgery pathology report showed the woman did not have cancer."

May be Danny Williams was on to something.

WFDS

1785...Louis Riel Day

Apparently there is such a thing.

My friend in Winnipeg told me that he got last Monday off for Louis Riel Day.

I think that is cool, to celebrate local icons in such a way.

I am just surprised that Saskatchewan doesn't celebrate Mr. Riel in the same fashion.

WFDS

1784...Utah's Teacher Of The Year

KSL TV, Salt Lake City, runs this little tidbit:

Jillene Elliott, 41, the band teacher at Spanish Fork Junior High, was taken into custody around 9:30 a.m. last Tuesday in Springville after another driver on Main Street reported her to officers. Springville police Lt. Dave Caron says police made a stop for a traffic violation on Center Street and Elliott appeared "out of it." "You'd say something to her, she'd open her eyes, maybe answer, then she'd sit and close her eyes, then you'd ask her to do whatever it was again, she'd open her eyes," Caron told KSL Newsradio Monday. "You had to keep going, trying to get her to talk."

Officers say Elliott wasn't able to walk alone. "When she did finally get out [of the car] she had to hang on to the door to keep her balance," Caron said. "The officer actually had to help her over to the sidewalk to keep her from falling."

That's the morning 9:30 a. m. by the way.

I think it was Sheryl Crow that wrote "I like a good beer buzz in the morning."

Sheryl, meet Jillene; Jillene, meet Sheryl.

WFDS

1783...Rob Nicholson Is A Scary Monster

Newspeak: The Truth In Sentencing Act which the new Senate will rubber stamp, eliminates the long held two for one sentencing provisions.

What that was courts often applied time waiting for trial on a two for one basis to the sentence of a newly convicted prisoner. The reasoning is that, for starters, holding jails tend to be just that: no programs, no rehab, no rec, just warehousing. Also the fact is that by offering two for one the prosecutors are encouraged to speed up the process, giving the accused his day in court at the earliest possible time.

Now the police can arrest you and you can be warehoused indefinitely with no penalty as it were to the state.

Oh, yeah, by the way, as Minister Nicholson writes in this morning's National Post, the Act received unanimous approval in the House of Commons.

Everybody was onside.

The only thing holding it back was the hard work of the liberal Liberal Senators in the Red Chamber.

Prime Minister Harper stacked his way out of that one.

Beauty, eh?

WFDS

1782...Trading Mike Duffy, Senator Duffy For This

This being Senator Colin Kenny.

Not a fair trade for Canadians.

Read this inspired piece by the Senator, Kenny that is, in today's Ottawa Citizen. I don't think Senator Michael Duffy could read this piece let alone write it. Or something similar.

That is what we are getting, have got, with the new Tory stacked Senate.

A multitude of Duffys.

RCMP reform is headed for a brick wall


By Colin Kenny, Citizen Special February 23, 2010 3:09 AM

I t would be comforting to say simple changes in attitude within the RCMP
will be enough to both strengthen the service's policing capabilities and
restore its status as a trusted national treasure.

But that would be a big, fat lie. Attitude change is certainly needed to
jumpstart RCMP transformation, and there are at least a few signs that the
service's leadership understands this. Unfortunately, you can preach all you
want about attitude, but eventually you have to come up with the people
and resources to create a better police force.

The federal government has given the RCMP what sometimes seems like
a million jobs to do. Canada needs these jobs done, and the RCMP is the
best agency to do them. But it doesn't have the resources to do all
of them right, all the time. The Mounties are stretched way too thin, and
that keeps showing up on the front lines.

I don't have to point to the list of distressing incidents the RCMP
has been involved in over the past decade.

Many of them are etched indelibly in our national psyche.

Commissioner William Elliott, pulled from the federal bureaucracy with a
mandate to right the RCMP ship, says he is attempting to steer the service
in a more human, less rigid, direction. That would be all for the good.
Top cops need to listen to beat cops, and all cops need to listen to
the public.

To police effectively these days, you have to care about people -- and
show you care. Barking orders and banging heads may always be part of policing,
but increasingly it's becoming the exception rather than the rule.

Which brings us back to resources: you aren't going to have an intelligent,
effective police service if officers are overworked and overstressed much
of the time.

The overall shortfall of employees at the RCMP last year was six per cent.
That figure doesn't come close to reflecting actual vacancies when routine
absences for things like sickness, maternity and paternity leave,
education upgrades and the like are taken into account.
There are huge holes in detachments everywhere, particularly
at the federal level and to a lesser extent in contract policing
for the provinces and territories.

Hiring more people costs money. Will it be forthcoming? My best guess is
that the RCMP reform process that is supposed to be well underway right
now is about to run into a brick wall that will soon be all the rage
on Parliament Hill: federal deficit reduction.

Deficit reduction nearly destroyed the Canadian military when the
Liberals took a sword to federal spending in the 1990s. Now the Conservatives
will be hacking away at the military, the RCMP and every other federal
institution and program financed by non-statutory funding, partially
because they've spent a lot of money on stimulus spending to promote
economic recovery.

There's another reason the government is running short of money -- it cut the
GST by two percentage points. Most Canadians treated the tax as little more
than a nuisance, but paring it from seven per cent to five per cent is
costing the federal treasury $12 billion a year. Good politics? Probably.
Good economics? Terrible.

The current deficit hovers around $56 billion.
Twelve billion dollars a year would go a long way toward paying
it off once the stimulus program is wrapped up.
Twelve billion dollars a year could allow for investments rather than cutbacks. It would keep the Canadian Forces and the RCMP and other vulnerable federal institutions in respectable shape. But unless somebody has the guts to undo the damage, that money won't be there.

The Harper government loves to talk about law and order.
The smartest way to improve law and order is not to stuff
our already overstuffed jails with more people -- jails are places
people go to learn how to be better criminals.

The best way to restore law and order is to provide citizens with
the educational and social services they need, and to invest in the kind
of national police force Canadians want.
How much smarter to prevent crime rather than trying to
deal with it after it's happened.

David McAusland, head of the RCMP Reform Implementation Council, observed
in the second of his three reports:
"While the reform process is still assessing the costs of reform,
it is evident that many of the necessary initiatives cannot be
completed within existing resource levels ..."

More bluntly, McAusland told the Senate Committee on National Security
and Defence, "... no matter how you slice it and dice it, the force needs
more people, and, unfortunately, that means more money. It is undeniable."

There are no signs that the government is listening to McAusland.
In fact, the committee heard testimony that the RCMP are considering
cutting back on what has been a successful recruitment campaign
well before vacancies in detachments all across the country are filled, and
well before RCMP officers can expect to deal with sane workloads and
reduced stress.

Those who have revered the RCMP over many decades have been
embarrassed by revelations of its weaknesses in recent years.
It would be comforting to say that investments are being
made to ensure that those embarrassments are behind us.

But that would also be a big, fat lie.

Colin Kenny was chair of the standing senate committee
on national security and defence during the last parliament.

WFDS

1781...Can You Say Hypocrite?

Hypocrite.

Heather Scofield of the Canadian Press leads with this nugget: "Almost all the remaining MPs from the old Reform Party - including Stephen Harper - stand to collect more than $100,000 a year in pension benefits once they retire." The Canadian Taxpayers Federation estimates our beloved leader will be up for a 150,244$ per year pension.

In 1995, in the Commons, he called the pension package a "monstrosity" and "obscene."

"My wife and I just purchased our first home and we are planning for our future, but I could not go home and look my wife or my constituents in the eye if I opted into a plan like the one offered in Bill C-85. Instead, I will put my own money into an RRSP," he said.

May be hypocrite is the wrong word. Liar may be more appropriate.

Iffen you remember, the 52 Reformers who got elected back in '93, got a lot of pub back in the day with their rants against the gold plated pensions that Members of Parliament got.

Flash forward to 2010 and it is revealed that of the eleven, ten have opted in to the pension plan and if they retired today they "...would receive well over $100,000 a year in benefits if they were to retire by the end of the year..."

The Prime Minister's Office and Stockwell Day's Treasury board people are not returning Miss Scofield's calls.

WFDS

1780...President Obama's Five Year Plan

To clean up the Great Lakes.

First off, he is going to do nuclear testing on Cleveland, Toledo and Detroit.

That should about do it.

WFDS

1779...England: More Lap Dancing, Less Reading

And to think a century ago the sun never sank on the Union Jack.

Daily Mail, a London broadsheet, reports that the amount of lap dancing clubs in Britain is up 1,150 per cent since 1997; there are six per cent less libraries than there were thirteen years ago.

Geez, may be they should re name Britain "Quebec".

WFDS

1778...Wedding Dos And Don'ts

Well, actually, this is just a don't.

Don't shoot the groom in the head.

Seriously.

The Telegraph's Dean Nelson tells that newly married New Dehli man Pankaj Kishore Karotia's bride was waiting in the car for him to take her from a wedding reception to her family home when his uncle drew his licensed handgun to fire a final shot in celebration.

Ooops.

Gun slipped out of his hand, groom is dead, uncle arrested.

WFDS

1777...Ironically

Re Post 1776, about our lack of Internet access and whatever, the light being shone on this problem by the Globe and Mail, ironically I am at an office about an hour from the Hill, and the access is non Wi Fi, Blackberry's are pointless and it cost time and my time and the time of others in small communities in our country that don't have access to this important work tool, the World Wide Web, are costing our economy huge.

Where I am we have to share computers, like, hello, what country is this?

I have two laptops with Wi Fi and turbo sticks with me but they are merely doorstops in this venue.

WFDS

1776...Today's Globe And Mail Editorial

Is all about how we, Canucks, are falling behind in the realm of broadband accessibility and speed.

In the economic race among nations, widespread Internet access, and its fast, reliable and cheap provision to the most people, is a prerequisite for success. And Canada is falling behind. If we are to compete, it will take new policies, new vision from corporations, the federal government and its regulators, and a national collective will to compete.

The wake-up call comes from a new study on broadband practices and policy around the world. It was conducted by Harvard University's Berkman Center for the U.S. Federal Communications Commission, which is releasing a national plan to ensure high-speed Internet access is available throughout that country.

One passage should puncture Canada's complacency: "Canada ... is often thought of as a very high performer, based on the most commonly used benchmark of penetration per 100 inhabitants. Because our analysis includes important measures on which Canada has had weaker outcomes - prices, speeds and 3G mobile broadband penetration ... it shows up as quite a weak performer, overall."

Almost no Canadian home can tap the ultra-fast speeds offered by, say, fibre- to-the-home services, which are available in 44 per cent of Japanese households. Canada ranks with Poland, Hungary and Mexico as laggards in the availability of 3G, which allows the distribution of video content over mobile phones and to new devices such as Apple's iPad. Canadians are already familiar with the expense of most Internet access services.

As a result of these shortcomings, the study ranks Canada 19th worldwide in overall Internet access.

There is no magic recipe, but some prescriptions are worth heeding as Canada develops its Internet strategy. The report recommends open access policies, in which companies that build infrastructure for mobile and fixed broadband access are encouraged or required to lease that infrastructure to the competition.

But in Canada, limits on foreign ownership and inconsistent CRTC decisions have lowered the amount of competition needed to spur new and better offerings. There was less stimulus spending on projects to support more widespread Internet access in Canada than there was elsewhere. Decisions on related policy issues, such as copyright reform, have been delayed. A national conference on the digital economy generated buzz - ministers Tony Clement and James Moore are reputed to "get it" - but yielded few results. Our best hope to lead on Internet innovation, the Long-Term Evolution platform being developed by Nortel as a successor to 3G, is now largely in foreign hands.

If we do not act with haste, the innovations that could employ our future work force could well pass us by.

Let me add to the above that I am writing this from a town less than an hour from Parliament Hill, Renfrew, Ontario, where, at best, cell phone and wi fi and high speed are hit and miss with the emphasis on miss.

Competition is key. We were leaders in radio and let that slip away with our non competitive protectionist ways. Ditto cable TV and let that slip away with our oligarchies. Hopefully three times won't be the charm.

WFDS

1775...Who Left The Mascot In The Dryer Too Long?

Seriously.

Rodney the Raven, who is the Carleton University mascot and goes to all games [by the way, their cheerleaders, the worst on the planet but incredibly entertaining coz of their lack of competence], has shrunk.

Previously I, a towering five nine ish, was dwarfed by the mascot.

Yesterday he was about 5 feet tall so I thunked...

Not hating; just stating.

WFDS

1774...IfYouWereThere,And You Probably Were Not

You saw a blowout and a great game.

The blowout was the women's game, and I am talking Carleton basketball, the women killed the University of Toronto by about 20 in the afternoon playoff game at the U of K [where the "K" stands for Quality]; in the evening game the boys were up 18 and poised to blow the crosstown Gee Gees from the U of Zero and then the wheels fell off.

Two inexplicable errors in the last ten seconds of regulation by the usually flawless Carleton team allowed Ottawa to force it to overtime. Close games are where Coach D from the University of Ottawa weaves his magic, the magic of turning victory into defeat and he did not disappoint. His squad had the ball with about nine ticks on the clock and, word of the day, inexplicably did not get a shot off, losing by a point.

What a game.

WFDS

1773...I Am In Charge Here

Ah, the question to a Jeopardy! answer in the category Ronald Reagan Gets Shot.

Alexander Haig, General Haig, has passed.

Here is what the Associated Press has to say about it:

Former Secretary of State Alexander
Haig, a four-star general who served as a top adviser to three presidents
and had presidential ambitions of his own, died Saturday of complications from
an infection, his family said. He was 85.

Haig's long and decorated military
career launched the Washington career for which he is better known, including
top posts in the Nixon,
Ford and Reagan administrations.

He never lived down his televised response to
the 1981 assassination attempt on President Ronald
Reagan.

Hours after the shooting, then Secretary of State Haig went
before the cameras intending, he said later, to reassure Americans that the White
House was functioning.

"As of now, I am in control here in the White
House, pending the return of the vice president," Haig said.

Some saw the
comment as an inappropriate power grab in the absence of Vice President George
H.W. Bush, who was flying back to Washington from Texas.

Haig
died at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, where he was surrounded by his
family, according to two of his children, Alexander and Barbara. A hospital
spokesman, Gary Stephenson, said Haig died at about 1:30 a.m.

In his book,
"Caveat," Haig later wrote that he had been "guilty of a poor choice of words
and optimistic if I had imagined I would be forgiven the imprecision out of
respect for the tragedy of the occasion."

Haig ran unsuccessfully for
president in 1988.

"I think of him as a patriot's patriot," said George P.
Shultz, who succeeded Haig as the country's top diplomat in 1982.
"No matter
how you sliced him it came out red, white and blue. He was always willing to
serve."

Born Dec. 2, 1924, in the Philadelphia suburb of Bala Cynwyd,
Alexander Meigs Haig spent his boyhood days dreaming about a career in the
military. With the help of an uncle who had congressional contacts, he secured
an appointment to the U.S. Military Academy at West Point in 1943.

After
seeing combat in Korea and Vietnam,
Haig — an Army colonel at the time — was tapped by Henry
Kissinger to be his military adviser on the National Security Council under
Nixon. Haig "soon became indispensable," Kissinger later said of his
protege.

Nixon promoted Haig in 1972 from a two-star general to a four-star
rank, passing over 240 high-ranking officers with greater seniority.
The next
year, as the Watergate scandal deepened, Nixon turned to Haig and appointed him
to succeed H.R. Haldeman
as White House chief of staff. He helped the president prepare his impeachment
defense — and as Nixon was preoccupied with Watergate, Haig handled many of the
day-to-day decisions normally made by the chief executive.

On Nixon's behalf,
Haig also helped arrange the wiretaps of government officials and reporters, as
the president tried to plug the sources of news leaks.
About a year after
assuming his new post as Nixon's right-hand man, Haig was said to have played a
key role in persuading the president to resign. He also suggested to Gerald
Ford that he pardon his predecessor for any crimes committed while in office
— a pardon that is widely believed to have cost Ford the presidency in
1976.

Years after serving as one of Nixon's closest aides, Haig would be
dogged by speculation that he was "Deep Throat" —
the shadowy source who helped Washington
Post reporters Bob
Woodward and Carl
Bernstein break the Watergate story. Haig denied it, repeatedly, and the FBI's Mark Felt was
eventually revealed as the secret source.

Following Nixon's resignation, Haig
stayed with the new Ford administration for about six weeks, but then returned
to the military as commander in chief of U.S. forces in Europe and supreme
allied commander of NATO forces — a post he held for more than four years. He
quit during the Carter administration over the handling of the Iran hostage
crisis.

Haig briefly explored a run for presidency in 1979, but decided
he didn't have enough support and instead took a job as president of United
Technologies — his first job in the private sector since high school.

When
Ronald Reagan became the 40th president of the United
States, Haig returned to public service as Reagan's secretary of state, and
declared himself the "vicar of American foreign policy."
His 17-month tenure
was marked by turf wars with other top administration officials — including
Defense Secretary Caspar
Weinberger and national security adviser William
Clark.

Two months into the new administration, Haig was portrayed as
pounding a table in frustration when the chairmanship of a crisis management
team went to Bush. Despite the clashes, Haig received high praise from
professional diplomats for trying to achieve a stable relationship with the
Soviet Union.

In his book, Haig said he had concluded during a 1982 trip to
Europe with the president that the "effort to write my character out of the
script was underway with a vengeance." He resigned days later.
Describing
himself as a "dark horse," Haig sought the Republican
presidential nomination for the 1988 elections. On the campaign trail, he told
supporters about his desire to "keep the Reagan revolution alive," but he also
railed against the administration's bulging federal deficit — calling it an
embarrassment to the GOP.

Haig dropped out of the race just days before the
New Hampshire primary.

During his career in public service, Haig became known
for some of his more colorful or long-winded language. When asked by a judge to
explain an 18 1/2-minute gap in one of the Nixon tapes, Haig responded: "Perhaps
some sinister force had come in."

And later, when he criticized Reagan's
"fiscal flabbiness," Haig asserted that the "ideological religiosity" of the
administration's economic policies were to blame for doubling the national debt
to $2 trillion in 1987.

Haig is survived by his wife of 60 years, Patricia;
his children Alexander, Brian and Barbara; eight grandchildren; and his brother,
the Rev. Francis R. Haig.

WFDS

1772...Wow, Harper Can Stack The Supreme Court

According to the front page of the Citizen today, Ottawa's paper of record, if the PM can get another four years in he could stack the Supreme Court. Seven jobs will be up for grabs when seven of the nine retire in the near future.

Of course if Michael, Jack or Elizabeth become Prime Minister they will have the same opportunity.

This is an amazing/scary opportunity for whomever to stack the court with people of his/her ideological pedigree, shaping the country's future for the next half century.

WFDS

1771...RCMP Five Finger Discount

Allegedly.

Allegedly Staff Sgt. Denise Marie Martel, a 19 year veteran of the Queen's Cowboys, took a five finger discount.

Canwest's Olympic Team says that she will be appearing in court in April in the Lower Mainland.

She joins six other cops and four Canadian Forces members who have f'cked up at the Olympics. RCMP Staff Sgt. Mike Cote said that they are doing a zero tolerance thing at the Olympics and that offences range from showing up late to being drunk and disorderly. And being a thief.

WFDS

1770...Leprosy At The Olympics

Direct from the CTV Olympic site:

A crew member aboard a ship housing 2010 Olympic security forces is
bring treated for leprosy, CTV News has learned.
The crew
member has been treated and health officials stress there is no risk to the
public.
Leprosy is typically characterized by skin rashes and nerve damage.
It is easily treated with antibiotics.
Dr. Patricia Daly, chief medical
health officer for Vancouver Coastal Health, told ctvbc.ca that a crew member
aboard the Statendam tested positive on Thursday.

Contagious or not, being around a Leper would make The World Famous a tad nervous.

WFDS

1769...More March Madness In Ottawa Today

The men's basketball team play against the U of Zero at 8 o'clock tonight.

The men's team at Carleton are defending national champeens and are number three in the country.

Ottawa U's Gee Gees are not.

The Ottawa squad pretty much needs to win this game to have a shot at the nationals; the Ravens of Carleton are in, like Flynn.

Look for me, up front, in my Raven's sombrero, black with red and white trim.

WFDS

1768...March Madness In Ottawa Today

Three o'clock at Carleton University, the U of K, the Carleton women, coming off their greatest season ever, play someone else [University of Toronto] in a play off game.

Winner moves on.

Loser hits the gym.

Look for me, up front, in my Raven's sombrero, black with red and white trim.

Feel the excitement.

WFDS

1767...Hope He Can Count To 12

Today's Ottawa Sun reports that Ottawa boy and career CFL coach Jim Daley has landed back in Regina where he is going to coach special teams for the Roughriders.

Presumably the former high school teacher can count to twelve.

If the Green Riders had of had him on Grey Cup Sunday 2009 they would be sporting some pretty sharp rings today.

WFDS

1766...Apparently He Is Sorry

Tiger.

Woods.

If he said I am sorry once, he said it twenty times.

Wot a schmo.

WFDS

1765...Jack Layton Does Right

Canwest reports that in a meeting with our beloved Prime Minister, Stephen Harper, Dipper bossman Jack Layton asked the PM to cancel proposed tax cuts to corporations and funnel that money towards fighting poverty.

Mr. Layton pointed out that banks and oil companies are doing fine without the government's help; seniors and aboriginals not so much.

Last time out the Liberals supported the budget when it was brought to a vote; the Bloc Quebecois and the New Democrats were against.

WFDS

1764...Tiger Woods Odds From Backporch

Odds	Disposition	Possible Topics for Friday's Press Conference
1,000/1	Denial Tiger	"I did not have sexual relations with that woman ... or that one ... or that one ... or those three, and certainly not at the same time ... and ... okay, I'll have to get back to you about that one. Could take a while. Elin threw my iPhone into the Gulf of Mexico."
1/2	Good Time Tiger	"I will be taking on Cialis as a sponsor."
3/1	Swoosh Tiger	"You know how Nike's slogan is Just Do It? So is mine. What can I say, I'm a company man."
10,000/1	Movie Mogul Tiger	"I will produce and play the lead role in 'Crouching Tiger, Hidden Sausage'. I will star opposite Phil Mickelson. At this point I have nothing to lose."
OFF	Randy Tiger	"Anybody wanna have sex?"
200/1	Recalcitrant Tiger	"After consulting Mark McGwire, I'm here to tell you all that ... I'm not here to talk about the past ... And, whatever I may have done, it did nothing to make me a better golfer."
3/2	Comparison Tiger	"Say what you want about me, but at least I've got better taste than Steve Phillips."
10/1	Lookalike Tiger	"I vehemently deny the National Enquirer report that I cheated in rehab. They didn't let me go to any pancake houses or Perkins, and the porn star and VIP hostess selection is very very limited in Mississippi. So I sent my stunt double."
150/1	Español Tiger	After conferring with Sammy Sosa, I will pretend I don't understand English and let my attorney do all the talking. Also: I will wear this mask while I undergo skin-bleaching treatments. Starting ... now! -- er -- ¡ahora!
1,000/1	Rhetorical Tiger	"What? People back into trees and fire hydrants all the time. Hell, look what Steve Phillips' mistress did!"
4/3	Practical Tiger	"Yes, I've seen the John Wall dance. And yes, Kige Ramsey's version is fantastic. I prefer the ding-a-ling swing."
OFF	Obnoxious Fan Tiger	"GET IN THE HOLE!" [Knocks over lectern, walks off stage. The end.]
EVEN	Sing-Songy Tiger	[Tiger steps to the lectern, clears his throat]: ♫"You may find yourself..."♫

1763...He's Surfaced

Danny Williams.

Premier of Newfoundland and Labrador.

In Florida.

Not dead.

At his condo.

So says the Globe and Mail.

WFDS

1762...Gordon Lightfoot Still Alive

A Twitter out of Ottawa yesterday afternoon caused headlines in papers such as the Ottawa Citizen, Calgary Herald and Vancouver Sun, the headlines mourning the death of the 71 year old folk singer and big time top 40 chart topper back in the '60s, '70s and '80s.

Not true.

Gordon Lightfoot his ownself went on CP24, the 24 hour news channel that serves Tronna to refute the rumours.

Imagine, someone in O T T A W A spreading falsehoods?

Never happened before.

WFDS

1761...Atlanta Thrashers To Winnipeg?

Them's the rumours and they are being disseminated widely and it may happen but if it does I will tell you this.

The team will not thrive.

Unless the owners Green Bay the franchise.

It comes down to location, location, location.

Would you want to live in Winnipeg?

Didn't think so.

Why would you think NHL players would?

Sure, they will be able to get the guys that are thankful for having a job to live there but they will run into the same difficulty that Quebec City did in the NHL, 'member the 'diques? and Vancouver ran into in the NBA with the Grizz. Total shelf players, players with an option will avoid the town like Eric Lindros avoided Quebec and Steve Francis and Stephon Marbury avoided Van.

The Packers of Green Bay are the only team that I can think of in a crap town to hold players and that is coz they cater to their core employees.

If Winnipeg's management has the foresight to kiss the star's asses then they will succeed; the fan base is there for sure. If they don't, I give it fifteen years, max.

WFDS

1760...End Of An Era

It is reported widely that John Babcock, the last Canuck vet of World War One, the War To End All Wars, is dead.

Mr. Babcock was 109 and passed away in Spokane, Washington, his home since 1932.

Our Prime Minister is quoted on the CBC website as saying that "As a nation, we honour his service and mourn his passing. The passing of Mr. Babcock marks the end of an era."

Mr. Babcock was the last link to the 650,000 Canadian men and women who served in the First World War.

WFDS

1759...Fat Is As Fat Does

And what fat does is nothing.

Sure, it is your genes.

Your genes are why you canna fit into your jeans.

The sad part is, while we, the Western world, gets fatter so do our puppies and kittens. News out of the United Kingdom's People's Dispensary for Sick Animals, as reported in today's Telegraph, is that one third of the dogs and one quarter of the cats in that country are overweight.

Pourquoi?

Because they are being, like, doh, overfed and under exercised.

Just like you.

And me.

Now pass the beer nuts.

WFDS

1758...Oooops

It is reported in this morning's Globe and Mail that a Windsor surgeon, a renowned Windsor surgeon, cutting out of the Hotel Dieu hospital in that Ontario town, had a big ooopsie last fall.

Dr. Barbara Heartwell misread a chart and performed a mastectomy on an unidentified patient.

I am certain lawyers will and have been consulted and sums of money will flow from the hospital to the erstwhile patient.

WFDS

1757...Agree/Disagree

We Canucks are pretty split on everything.

Le Journal de Montreal is reporting that Quebeconians are pretty much split on how they feel about former Pequiste Premier Lucien Bouchard's remark yesterday. He said that the Parti Quebecois should stop thinking and doing stuff that will ensure Quebec's independence because it ain't gonna happen.

Sixty seven per cent of Quebeckers agree that the PQ should put its quest for sovereignty aside and get on with dealing with more urgent problems. Still support for sovereignty is at forty two points, stretching to fifty per cent among francophones.

WFDS

1756...Hookers Get Defibrillators

Not in Ottawa; our street hos would have trouble figuring out how to use a ball point pen; the learning curve for a defibrillator would be wayyyyyyyyyyyy beyond them.

No, it is in Switzerland where, apparently, the hos be smarter.

Corriere della Sera, the Italian daily, reports that there are thirty eight ho houses in the Lugano district, near Italy, catering to the elderly and horny Italian men who sometimes pop their clogs while getting serviced. Therefore "Brothel owners in the Lugano area say electric shock treatment to restart customer's hearts is needed because so many elderly customers are using their services."

"Local health experts are said to have backed the plans to stock defibrillators in sex clubs and brothels. Defibrillators work by delivering a controlled electric shock to the heart to restore a normal heartbeat, after it has stopped. According to the British Heart Foundation: 'Modern defibrillators are becoming increasingly quick and easy for the lay person to use, which can mean the difference between life and death'."

If they passed them out the girls in Hintonburg and Vanier they, the Hintonburg-Vanier hookers, would probably try to eat them.

WFDS

1755...Tiger Woods Spotlight Hog

I don't know if you heard but the Olympics are on. A once in four years chance for lugers and skeltoners and skiers to be on the world stage.

Serial adulterer Tiger Woods on the other hand is on the world stage pretty much whenever he wants.

Still the little putz has decided that after two plus months of no talkie to the press Friday, the first Friday of the Vancouver Olympic Games, is the time for him to make his big mea culpa statement which will, of course, put him on the front pages of papers around the planet.

This couldn't have waited, could it have?

WFDS

1754...Russell Barth: Black Helicopters

My fave conspiracy freak and Facebook friend, Russell Barth, has posted this on his FB page regarding the security breach last Friday that allowed some clown to get within a few feet of Vice President Joe Biden:

Inside Job. They were gonna whack Biden and then use that as a reason to invade/occupy Canada. Oh well.... still a week left...

And, why would the Yanks want to invade us again?

WFDS

1753...This Week's Poll: The Logjam Continues

Looks a lot like last week's poll.

The EKOS poll, released through/to the CBC, has the Tories and the Liberals pretty much even steven.

The Tories are at 32.1. The Liberals at 29.

WFDS

1752...We're Number Ten

On www.OnePoll.com's list of countries that have the best looking people.

The Daily Telegraph reports that "The United States, home to George Clooney and Jessica Simpson, came top in a poll of more than 5,000 globe-trotting Britons. In second place was Brazil while Spain, which boasts Hollywood actress Penelope Cruz as one of its natives, was third."

Canada finished tenth.

It's the snow, I tell you, the snow.

WFDS

1751...Is This Paris? Or Bagdad?

I always get those two mixed up.

The women.

The nightlife.

Their love for foreign armies.

Showtime's Penn and Teller's Bullshit inspired me to do some research on Dick Armey, the former Republican Congressional leader and this is a cute quote that I uncovered:

Robert Draper's Dead Certain: The Presidency of George W. Bush recounts a conversation in late summer 2002 between Armey and Cheney. Armey insisted that American forces would get "mired down" in Iraq if they invaded, but Cheney offered this assurance: "They're going to welcome us. It'll be like the American army going through the streets of Paris. They're sitting there ready to form a new government. The people will be so happy with their freedoms that we'll probably back ourselves out of there within a month or two."

Beauty, eh?

WFDS

1750...What Would You Do If You Won The Lotto?

Not just a free ticket either.

Or ten bones.

No, a big chunk.

Say 88,000,000.00 pounds.

Well, the Associated Press says that "Britain's richest-ever lottery winners say they celebrated their 56 million pound ($88 million) jackpot in modest style — with breakfast in a grocery store. Nigel Page, a 43-year-old janitor, said Monday that he, his partner and their children ate bacon sandwiches at a Waitrose superstore to take in the news."

Mmmmmmmm, bacon.

WFDS

1749... This Is Why We Don't Kill Each Other

Ferget about gun control and policing that is efficient and all that rot.

It is the snow.

S N O W.

Snow.

Snow, which comes with cold weather, is the key to keeping Our Home And Native Land with a significantly lower rate of violence than, well, say, America.

Let's take Baltimore for example.

Just yesterday, [The Baltimore Sun] police reporter Justin Fenton tweeted:

2/15 at 10:56 am: I'm told this morning's shooting victim survived; we're working on our eighth murder-free day in a row. 17 compared w/ 30 this time last yr

Last week, during the second of two snow storms on Tuesday and Wednesday, we [The Baltimore Sun]reported:

Baltimore Police Commissioner Frederick H. Bealefeld III just said at a city news conference that the most serious calls handled by police over the past day were two street robberies and a commercial burglary. "In the entire city, this is, like, incredible," Bealefeld said.

The city that spawned Homicide: Life On The Street, The Wire and The Corner turned into Ottawa for a spell.

The spell is over: "This morning, we learn of two more shootings, in Northwest and West Baltimore, one of them fatal. Our murder-free week is over. A 21-year-old man was shot and killed on Woodland Avenue in Park Heights and a 30-year-old man was shot in the shoulder at a carryout on Frederick Avenue in West Baltimore. Police have identified the homicide victim as Daron Howard and said he was at his girlfriend's house when he received a call to come outside. When he stepped out, he was shot."

WFDS

1748...NDP Sends IOU To The Tories

The New Democrats, who propped up the Tories while the next Prime Minister of Canada was trying to take down the Stephen Harpers, have, Bill Curry of the Globe and Mail writes in this morning's bird cage liner, sent a wish list to Jim Flaherty.

You may have heard of Mr. Flaherty. He is the Minister of Money.

Reviewing, the NDP kept the Tories in biz when the Liberals were hot for an election. Now it is time to get paid.

Today the NDP's finance critic, Thomas Mulcair of Outremont, wrote a letter to Mr. Flaherty outlining what the Dippers want for keeping his regime in power. They want, among other things, corporate tax rate cuts to slow down, the credit for fixing your house re instated and the EI, Employment Insurance program, to continue to be beefed up.

Good luck on that and if you don't get what you want Mr. Mulcair may be you and Jack Layton and your 35 other MPs could prop up the more progressive mainstream party.

The one in Red.

WFDS

1747...David Irving's Roommate Gets Out Of Jail

His future roomie in hell that is.

Ernst Zundel, former Torontonian [so that's what makes it a great city] and ongoing Holocaust denier, author of the Mother's Day gift giving classics "The Hitler We Loved and Why" and "Did Six Million Really Die?"is getting out of jail March 1.

Reported widely by many sources including the Associated Press is the word from Mannheim prosecutor Andreas Grossman, that's Mannheim as in Germany not as in Steamroller by the way. Mr. Zundel, 70, was convicted in February 2007 of 14 counts of incitement for years of anti-Semitic activities, including contributing to a website dedicated to denying the Holocaust, which is a crime in Germany.

WFDS

1746...Cows In The Capital A No No

At least not plastic bovines perched on a roof.

Cheddar Et Cetera on Watters Road in the Ottawa suburb of Orleans has been ordered by city officials to take down the plastic cow that has been sitting on their roof for a couple of years.

The manager of the shop, Jacques Leury, told Jon Willing of the Ottawa Sun that he as been told to take down both the cow and the Canadian flags surrounding the ersatz heifer.

He is looking at a 50,000.00 dollar fine if he doesn't comply.

The complaint was made by, you guessed it, Anonymous.

WFDS

1745...Another Day; Another Poll

A new poll suggests Conservatives and Liberals are locked in a
tug-of-war for voter support. 
 
The Canadian Press Harris-Decima survey gives the Tories a slight edge
at 32 per cent to the Liberals' 30 per cent. 
 
The NDP were at 16 per cent and the Greens at 10 per cent
while the Bloc Quebecois was dominant in Quebec with 41 per cent. 
 
The results suggest Tory support has stabilized while the
Liberals have dipped two points since the end of January. 
 
The telephone survey of just over 4,000 Canadians was
conducted Feb. 4-14 as is considered accurate within
1.5 percentage points, 19 times in 20.

WFDS

1744...MayBeVan School Board Could Tackle This

Instead of worrying about symbols of racism they could tackle the real thing. If yer lost check out WFDS Post 1642, about the Van School Board and its quest to free our schools from teams with nicknames like Indians and Redskins and Chiefs.

But they gave the Mohawk racists who are evicting the twenty five non Mohawks who are living on the Montreal area reserve of Kahnawake a pass. See WFDS Posts 1783 and 1685 to get up to speed.

Political correctness, the new racism, is so difficult.

WFDS

1743...Steal Fifty Million/Get Twenty Two Months

Effectively that is what Earl Jones got as a sentence for stealing fifty [50 000 000 . 00] million dollars from his brother and 149 other friends.

I mean, he got eleven years but, as La Presse reports, he will be out in time for Christmas 2012.

Now, if he had of been caught with illegal drugs, like the evil drug marijuana, well, Christmas 2112 would have been more probable as his next Christmas with the fam'.

What a country!

WFDS

1742...Vancouver School Board Wastes Time/$

While the rest of the Lower Mainland was doing the right thing and watching Canada medal and/or celebrate such at the Vancouver Olympics the mamby pamby political correct losers that make up the Vancouver Board of Education voted last night to encourage school boards province-wide place a ban on aboriginal-themed mascots.

No more Redskins, Redmen, Braves, Seminoles.

The high-school grad rate, quoted in this morning's article in the Globe and Mail, among aboriginal students in B. C. sits around fifty per cent.

The above is, of course, a non sequitor.

Native kids don't flunk out coz their sports teams are called the Braves; they flunk out for a myriad of reasons but that ain't one of them.

A question I have is why don't the school boards, in their quest for political correctness and non racialism in sports mascots, also go after the schools that call themselves the Irish or, worse, the Fighting Irish?

Fighting Irish is a negative stereotype if there ever was. The tiny leprechaun in the green suit that is often used as a mascot is a double negative. Further, unlike native nicknames, I would posit that there is not a city with more than 100,000 people in Canada and the United States that doesn't have a school that styles its self in that manner.

Work on that, why doncha?

WFDS