Bumper Sticker Prophecy (courtesy of my dear Yos)
Celebrate National Celibacy day this November 2nd!
There will be no Dick. There will be no Bush.
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Celebrate National Celibacy day this November 2nd!
There will be no Dick. There will be no Bush.
Wakey Wakey Corny Flakey
"The president's condition is stable; this morning he bathed, he prayed, and he had his breakfast of milk and cornflakes." ~ A Palestinian minister who visited Arafat today, speaking to the media outside the PLO compound.
And here I thought Wheaties was the breakfast cereal of champions.
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"The president's condition is stable; this morning he bathed, he prayed, and he had his breakfast of milk and cornflakes." ~ A Palestinian minister who visited Arafat today, speaking to the media outside the PLO compound.
And here I thought Wheaties was the breakfast cereal of champions.
The View from the Top
In his new exposé, Ego and Ink, veteran journo Chris Cobb details Canada's national newspaper war of the late nineties (the Post turns 6 this week), and how Conrad Black re-jigged the country's broadsheet landscape. I haven't read the book yet, but I've read the reviews -- and particularly enjoyed the following excerpt from a Black memo to the EICs of the chain's metro dailies.
Lord Black writes: "We're a national newspaper company about to lauinch a national newspaper, and although you are not on the team, we expect your full cooperation and we reserve the right to hire who we want from any of your newspapers, and to take any of your news stories if we decide thay are good enough to make your front page. Oh yes, and the newspaper will be funded from the profits made by your newspapers and there's a good chance readers will stop buying your newspaper and buy the new one."
Whoa.
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In his new exposé, Ego and Ink, veteran journo Chris Cobb details Canada's national newspaper war of the late nineties (the Post turns 6 this week), and how Conrad Black re-jigged the country's broadsheet landscape. I haven't read the book yet, but I've read the reviews -- and particularly enjoyed the following excerpt from a Black memo to the EICs of the chain's metro dailies.
Lord Black writes: "We're a national newspaper company about to lauinch a national newspaper, and although you are not on the team, we expect your full cooperation and we reserve the right to hire who we want from any of your newspapers, and to take any of your news stories if we decide thay are good enough to make your front page. Oh yes, and the newspaper will be funded from the profits made by your newspapers and there's a good chance readers will stop buying your newspaper and buy the new one."
Whoa.
Not your average G.I. Joe
Holocaust survivor calls Nazi doll 'painful,' wants it removed from stores
JEREMY HAINSWORTH
VANCOUVER (CP)
Dolls depicting members of a Nazi SS combat division originally created to guard concentration camps are now available in Canadian stores.
Auschwitz death camp survivor Sid Cyngiser is saddened by the toy. He doesn't think it should be on store shelves. "It's a painful thing to see that. It's not necessary," the 80-year-old Calgary man said. "It's 60 years after the war and people are still busy with hatred."
The 'Totenkopf Division' doll, sporting military fatigues and the trademark death's head insignia on the cap, comes with a Walther pistol, gas mask and grenades.
The packaging infers that the division fought in Normandy in 1944 as a tank unit - which part of the division did.
The Totenkopf was, however, a group originally formed at Dachau, site of the first concentration camp outside Munich. It opened in 1934.
Martin Kitchen, professor emeritus of history at B.C.'s Simon Fraser University, said the sale of the dolls is "most extraordinary."
Kitchen said it was a "fanatically ideological group" numbering about 40,000 members at its peak.
"They were a nasty bunch," Kitchen said. "They were responsible for a number of atrocities on the Eastern Front."
The figure is part of a Second World War series from Plan-B Toys of Groveport, Ohio.
Other figures in the doll series include several Waffen SS figures and a variety of U.S. airborne soldier figures as well as regular Wehrmacht troops.
The Waffen SS sniper comes with a recruitment poster.
The SS was the elite private army initially formed as a bodyguard for Nazi leader Adolf Hitler which was eventually commanded by Heinrich Himmler. Members had to meet Nazi racial purity standards.
Plan-B co-president Chris Borman said the company did not set out to offend anyone but was just portraying the Totenkopf troops which fought in Normandy.
"Everyone knows the Germans were Nazis in World War Two," Borman said. "We picked them because they've got the coolest gear. It makes for a cool figure.
"There's really no harm in it," he adds. "We won the war. We already know the outcome.
"That division was involved in some terrible things but wasn't everyone during World War Two? It's just history."
Leigh Poirier, executive director of the Canadian Toy Testing Council, said her group wouldn't even look at a toy like this "due to its negative nature."
"It doesn't promote positive play for children. Our mandate it to encourage that."
Cyngiser saw his grandmother, mother, father and sister vanish in the camps.
On arrival at the Nazi's Auschwitz death camp in Poland, Cyngiser was selected for slave labour rather than the gas chambers. He later discovered the man doing the selection was the so-called SS Angel of Death, Dr. Josef Mengele.
"Why can't they sell decent things, nice things to gladden people's hearts and bring joy and something instead of something like that to remind them of hatred and everything else," he said, quiet exasperation apparent in his voice.
Cyngiser wants the dolls removed.
"What are they trying to accomplish?" he said. "Is it just to make a dollar or create hatred? Or do both?"
Borman said he understands Cyngiser being upset but added: "My grandfathers went over there and they fought for my right to make whatever I want.
"It's kind of a double-edged sword."
Borman said the figures are rated for ages 13 and up. By that age, he said, youngsters have learned about history in school and can understand the dolls in context.
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Holocaust survivor calls Nazi doll 'painful,' wants it removed from stores
JEREMY HAINSWORTH
VANCOUVER (CP)
Dolls depicting members of a Nazi SS combat division originally created to guard concentration camps are now available in Canadian stores.
Auschwitz death camp survivor Sid Cyngiser is saddened by the toy. He doesn't think it should be on store shelves. "It's a painful thing to see that. It's not necessary," the 80-year-old Calgary man said. "It's 60 years after the war and people are still busy with hatred."
The 'Totenkopf Division' doll, sporting military fatigues and the trademark death's head insignia on the cap, comes with a Walther pistol, gas mask and grenades.
The packaging infers that the division fought in Normandy in 1944 as a tank unit - which part of the division did.
The Totenkopf was, however, a group originally formed at Dachau, site of the first concentration camp outside Munich. It opened in 1934.
Martin Kitchen, professor emeritus of history at B.C.'s Simon Fraser University, said the sale of the dolls is "most extraordinary."
Kitchen said it was a "fanatically ideological group" numbering about 40,000 members at its peak.
"They were a nasty bunch," Kitchen said. "They were responsible for a number of atrocities on the Eastern Front."
The figure is part of a Second World War series from Plan-B Toys of Groveport, Ohio.
Other figures in the doll series include several Waffen SS figures and a variety of U.S. airborne soldier figures as well as regular Wehrmacht troops.
The Waffen SS sniper comes with a recruitment poster.
The SS was the elite private army initially formed as a bodyguard for Nazi leader Adolf Hitler which was eventually commanded by Heinrich Himmler. Members had to meet Nazi racial purity standards.
Plan-B co-president Chris Borman said the company did not set out to offend anyone but was just portraying the Totenkopf troops which fought in Normandy.
"Everyone knows the Germans were Nazis in World War Two," Borman said. "We picked them because they've got the coolest gear. It makes for a cool figure.
"There's really no harm in it," he adds. "We won the war. We already know the outcome.
"That division was involved in some terrible things but wasn't everyone during World War Two? It's just history."
Leigh Poirier, executive director of the Canadian Toy Testing Council, said her group wouldn't even look at a toy like this "due to its negative nature."
"It doesn't promote positive play for children. Our mandate it to encourage that."
Cyngiser saw his grandmother, mother, father and sister vanish in the camps.
On arrival at the Nazi's Auschwitz death camp in Poland, Cyngiser was selected for slave labour rather than the gas chambers. He later discovered the man doing the selection was the so-called SS Angel of Death, Dr. Josef Mengele.
"Why can't they sell decent things, nice things to gladden people's hearts and bring joy and something instead of something like that to remind them of hatred and everything else," he said, quiet exasperation apparent in his voice.
Cyngiser wants the dolls removed.
"What are they trying to accomplish?" he said. "Is it just to make a dollar or create hatred? Or do both?"
Borman said he understands Cyngiser being upset but added: "My grandfathers went over there and they fought for my right to make whatever I want.
"It's kind of a double-edged sword."
Borman said the figures are rated for ages 13 and up. By that age, he said, youngsters have learned about history in school and can understand the dolls in context.
Postcard from Baghdad
Here is text from the email sent by Wall Street Journal correspondent Farnaz Fassihi to friends explaining the difficult living situation she is enduring in Iraq. The email, which was sent as a personal correspondence, was subsequently circulated on the internet, raising questions about Fassihi's objectivity and ability to keep reporting from the war zone.
It reads:
Being a foreign correspondent in Baghdad these days is like being under virtual house arrest.
Forget about the reasons that lured me to this job: a chance to see the world, explore the exotic, meet new people in far away lands, discover their ways and tell stories that could make a difference. Little by little, day-by-day, being based in Iraq has defied all those reasons.
I am house bound.
I leave when I have a very good reason to and a scheduled interview. I avoid going to people's homes and never walk in the streets. I can't go grocery shopping any more, can't eat in restaurants, can't strike a conversation with strangers, can't look for stories, can't drive in any thing but a full armored car, can't go to scenes of breaking news stories, can't be stuck in traffic, can't speak English outside, can't take a road trip, can't say I'm an American, can't linger at checkpoints, can't be curious about what people are saying, doing, feeling. And can't and can't.
There has been one too many close calls, including a car bomb so near our house that it blew out all the windows. So now my most pressing concern every day is not to write a kick-ass story but to stay alive and make sure our Iraqi employees stay alive. In Baghdad I am a security personnel first, a reporter second.
It's hard to pinpoint when the 'turning point' exactly began. Was it April when the Fallujah fell out of the grasp of the Americans? Was it when Moqtada and Jish Mahdi declared war on the U.S. military? Was it when Sadr City, home to ten percent of Iraq's population, became a nightly battlefield for the Americans? Or was it when the insurgency began spreading from isolated pockets in the Sunni triangle to include most of Iraq?
Despite President Bush's rosy assessments, Iraq remains a disaster. If under Saddam it was a 'potential' threat, under the Americans it has been transformed to 'imminent and active threat,' a foreign policy failure bound to haunt the United States for decades to come. Iraqis like to call this mess 'the situation.' When asked 'how are thing?' they reply: 'the situation is very bad." What they mean by situation is this: the Iraqi government doesn't control most Iraqi cities, there are several car bombs going off each day around the country killing and injuring scores of innocent people, the country's roads are becoming impassable and littered by hundreds of landmines and explosive devices aimed to kill American soldiers, there are assassinations, kidnappings and beheadings. The situation, basically, means a raging barbaric guerilla war. In four days, 110 people died and over 300 got injured in Baghdad alone. The numbers are so shocking that the ministry of health -- which was attempting an exercise of public transparency by releasing the numbers -- has now stopped disclosing them. Insurgents now attack Americans 87 times a day. A friend drove thru the Shiite slum of Sadr City yesterday. He said young men were openly placing improvised explosive devices into the ground. They melt a shallow hole into the asphalt, dig the explosive, cover it with dirt and put an old tire or plastic can over it to signal to the locals this is booby-trapped. He said on the main roads of Sadr City, there were a dozen landmines per every ten yards. His car snaked and swirled to avoid driving over them. Behind the walls sits an angry Iraqi ready to detonate them as soon as an American convoy gets near.
This is in Shiite land, the population that was supposed to love America for liberating Iraq.
For journalists the significant turning point came with the wave of abduction and kidnappings. Only two weeks ago we felt safe around Baghdad because foreigners were being abducted on the roads and highways between towns. Then came a frantic phone call from a journalist female friend at 11 p.m. telling me two Italian women had been abducted from their homes in broad daylight. Then the two Americans, who got beheaded this week and the Brit, were abducted from their homes in a residential neighborhood. They were supplying the entire block with round the clock electricity from their generator to win friends. The abductors grabbed one of them at 6 a.m. when he came out to switch on the generator; his beheaded body was thrown back near the neighborhoods.
The insurgency, we are told, is rampant with no signs of calming down. If any thing, it is growing stronger, organized and more sophisticated every day. The various elements within it-baathists, criminals, nationalists and Al Qaeda-are cooperating and coordinating. I went to an emergency meeting for foreign correspondents with the military and embassy to discuss the kidnappings. We were somberly told our fate would largely depend on where we were in the kidnapping chain once it was determined we were missing. Here is how it goes: criminal gangs grab you and sell you up to Baathists in Fallujah, who will in turn sell you to Al Qaeda. In turn, cash and weapons flow the other way from Al Qaeda to the Baathisst to the criminals. My friend Georges, the French journalist snatched on the road to Najaf, has been missing for a month with no word on release or whether he is still alive.
America's last hope for a quick exit? The Iraqi police and National Guard units we are spending billions of dollars to train. The cops are being murdered by the dozens every day-over 700 to date -- and the insurgents are infiltrating their ranks. The problem is so serious that the U.S. military has allocated $6 million dollars to buy out 30,000 cops they just trained to get rid of them quietly.
As for reconstruction: firstly it's so unsafe for foreigners to operate that almost all projects have come to a halt. After two years, of the $18 billion Congress appropriated for Iraq reconstruction only about $1 billion or so has been spent and a chuck has now been reallocated for improving security, a sign of just how bad things are going here.
Oil dreams? Insurgents disrupt oil flow routinely as a result of sabotage and oil prices have hit record high of $49 a barrel. Who did this war exactly benefit? Was it worth it? Are we safer because Saddam is holed up and Al Qaeda is running around in Iraq? Iraqis say that thanks to America they got freedom in exchange for insecurity. Guess what? They say they'd take security over freedom any day, even if it means having a dictator ruler.
I heard an educated Iraqi say today that if Saddam Hussein were allowed to run for elections he would get the majority of the vote. This is truly sad. Then I went to see an Iraqi scholar this week to talk to him about elections here. He has been trying to educate the public on the importance of voting. He said, "President Bush wanted to turn Iraq into a democracy that would be an example for the Middle East. Forget about democracy, forget about being a model for the region, we have to salvage Iraq before all is lost."
One could argue that Iraq is already lost beyond salvation. For those of us on the ground it's hard to imagine what if any thing could salvage it from its violent downward spiral. The genie of terrorism, chaos and mayhem has been unleashed onto this country as a result of American mistakes and it can't be put back into a bottle. The Iraqi government is talking about having elections in three months while half of the country remains a 'no go zone'-out of the hands of the government and the Americans and out of reach of journalists.
In the other half, the disenchanted population is too terrified to show up at polling stations. The Sunnis have already said they'd boycott elections, leaving the stage open for polarized government of Kurds and Shiites that will not be deemed as legitimate and will most certainly lead to civil war. I asked a 28-year-old engineer if he and his family would participate in the Iraqi elections since it was the first time Iraqis could to some degree elect a leadership. His response summed it all: "Go and vote and risk being blown into pieces or followed by the insurgents and murdered for cooperating with the Americans? For what? To practice democracy? Are you joking?" -Farnaz
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Here is text from the email sent by Wall Street Journal correspondent Farnaz Fassihi to friends explaining the difficult living situation she is enduring in Iraq. The email, which was sent as a personal correspondence, was subsequently circulated on the internet, raising questions about Fassihi's objectivity and ability to keep reporting from the war zone.
It reads:
Being a foreign correspondent in Baghdad these days is like being under virtual house arrest.
Forget about the reasons that lured me to this job: a chance to see the world, explore the exotic, meet new people in far away lands, discover their ways and tell stories that could make a difference. Little by little, day-by-day, being based in Iraq has defied all those reasons.
I am house bound.
I leave when I have a very good reason to and a scheduled interview. I avoid going to people's homes and never walk in the streets. I can't go grocery shopping any more, can't eat in restaurants, can't strike a conversation with strangers, can't look for stories, can't drive in any thing but a full armored car, can't go to scenes of breaking news stories, can't be stuck in traffic, can't speak English outside, can't take a road trip, can't say I'm an American, can't linger at checkpoints, can't be curious about what people are saying, doing, feeling. And can't and can't.
There has been one too many close calls, including a car bomb so near our house that it blew out all the windows. So now my most pressing concern every day is not to write a kick-ass story but to stay alive and make sure our Iraqi employees stay alive. In Baghdad I am a security personnel first, a reporter second.
It's hard to pinpoint when the 'turning point' exactly began. Was it April when the Fallujah fell out of the grasp of the Americans? Was it when Moqtada and Jish Mahdi declared war on the U.S. military? Was it when Sadr City, home to ten percent of Iraq's population, became a nightly battlefield for the Americans? Or was it when the insurgency began spreading from isolated pockets in the Sunni triangle to include most of Iraq?
Despite President Bush's rosy assessments, Iraq remains a disaster. If under Saddam it was a 'potential' threat, under the Americans it has been transformed to 'imminent and active threat,' a foreign policy failure bound to haunt the United States for decades to come. Iraqis like to call this mess 'the situation.' When asked 'how are thing?' they reply: 'the situation is very bad." What they mean by situation is this: the Iraqi government doesn't control most Iraqi cities, there are several car bombs going off each day around the country killing and injuring scores of innocent people, the country's roads are becoming impassable and littered by hundreds of landmines and explosive devices aimed to kill American soldiers, there are assassinations, kidnappings and beheadings. The situation, basically, means a raging barbaric guerilla war. In four days, 110 people died and over 300 got injured in Baghdad alone. The numbers are so shocking that the ministry of health -- which was attempting an exercise of public transparency by releasing the numbers -- has now stopped disclosing them. Insurgents now attack Americans 87 times a day. A friend drove thru the Shiite slum of Sadr City yesterday. He said young men were openly placing improvised explosive devices into the ground. They melt a shallow hole into the asphalt, dig the explosive, cover it with dirt and put an old tire or plastic can over it to signal to the locals this is booby-trapped. He said on the main roads of Sadr City, there were a dozen landmines per every ten yards. His car snaked and swirled to avoid driving over them. Behind the walls sits an angry Iraqi ready to detonate them as soon as an American convoy gets near.
This is in Shiite land, the population that was supposed to love America for liberating Iraq.
For journalists the significant turning point came with the wave of abduction and kidnappings. Only two weeks ago we felt safe around Baghdad because foreigners were being abducted on the roads and highways between towns. Then came a frantic phone call from a journalist female friend at 11 p.m. telling me two Italian women had been abducted from their homes in broad daylight. Then the two Americans, who got beheaded this week and the Brit, were abducted from their homes in a residential neighborhood. They were supplying the entire block with round the clock electricity from their generator to win friends. The abductors grabbed one of them at 6 a.m. when he came out to switch on the generator; his beheaded body was thrown back near the neighborhoods.
The insurgency, we are told, is rampant with no signs of calming down. If any thing, it is growing stronger, organized and more sophisticated every day. The various elements within it-baathists, criminals, nationalists and Al Qaeda-are cooperating and coordinating. I went to an emergency meeting for foreign correspondents with the military and embassy to discuss the kidnappings. We were somberly told our fate would largely depend on where we were in the kidnapping chain once it was determined we were missing. Here is how it goes: criminal gangs grab you and sell you up to Baathists in Fallujah, who will in turn sell you to Al Qaeda. In turn, cash and weapons flow the other way from Al Qaeda to the Baathisst to the criminals. My friend Georges, the French journalist snatched on the road to Najaf, has been missing for a month with no word on release or whether he is still alive.
America's last hope for a quick exit? The Iraqi police and National Guard units we are spending billions of dollars to train. The cops are being murdered by the dozens every day-over 700 to date -- and the insurgents are infiltrating their ranks. The problem is so serious that the U.S. military has allocated $6 million dollars to buy out 30,000 cops they just trained to get rid of them quietly.
As for reconstruction: firstly it's so unsafe for foreigners to operate that almost all projects have come to a halt. After two years, of the $18 billion Congress appropriated for Iraq reconstruction only about $1 billion or so has been spent and a chuck has now been reallocated for improving security, a sign of just how bad things are going here.
Oil dreams? Insurgents disrupt oil flow routinely as a result of sabotage and oil prices have hit record high of $49 a barrel. Who did this war exactly benefit? Was it worth it? Are we safer because Saddam is holed up and Al Qaeda is running around in Iraq? Iraqis say that thanks to America they got freedom in exchange for insecurity. Guess what? They say they'd take security over freedom any day, even if it means having a dictator ruler.
I heard an educated Iraqi say today that if Saddam Hussein were allowed to run for elections he would get the majority of the vote. This is truly sad. Then I went to see an Iraqi scholar this week to talk to him about elections here. He has been trying to educate the public on the importance of voting. He said, "President Bush wanted to turn Iraq into a democracy that would be an example for the Middle East. Forget about democracy, forget about being a model for the region, we have to salvage Iraq before all is lost."
One could argue that Iraq is already lost beyond salvation. For those of us on the ground it's hard to imagine what if any thing could salvage it from its violent downward spiral. The genie of terrorism, chaos and mayhem has been unleashed onto this country as a result of American mistakes and it can't be put back into a bottle. The Iraqi government is talking about having elections in three months while half of the country remains a 'no go zone'-out of the hands of the government and the Americans and out of reach of journalists.
In the other half, the disenchanted population is too terrified to show up at polling stations. The Sunnis have already said they'd boycott elections, leaving the stage open for polarized government of Kurds and Shiites that will not be deemed as legitimate and will most certainly lead to civil war. I asked a 28-year-old engineer if he and his family would participate in the Iraqi elections since it was the first time Iraqis could to some degree elect a leadership. His response summed it all: "Go and vote and risk being blown into pieces or followed by the insurgents and murdered for cooperating with the Americans? For what? To practice democracy? Are you joking?" -Farnaz
Vincera!
As Calaf booms in the final lyric of Puccini's most stirring love anthem, Nessun Dorma, a triumph indeed for L'Opéra de Montréal in its staging of Turandot.
Soprano Marie-Josée Lord was magnificent as Liu, the slave girl so overcome with love for Calaf that she takes her own life so as to protect his. I dare say she outshone the opera's namesake - and not only because she is an infinitely more sympathetic character.
The bar has been set. If the rest of the season is remotely this fabulous, my subscription will prove a wise investment.
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As Calaf booms in the final lyric of Puccini's most stirring love anthem, Nessun Dorma, a triumph indeed for L'Opéra de Montréal in its staging of Turandot.
Soprano Marie-Josée Lord was magnificent as Liu, the slave girl so overcome with love for Calaf that she takes her own life so as to protect his. I dare say she outshone the opera's namesake - and not only because she is an infinitely more sympathetic character.
The bar has been set. If the rest of the season is remotely this fabulous, my subscription will prove a wise investment.
Blogging's gone to pot
Has anyone been reading Marc Emery's blog from jail? The BC Marijuana Party chief has been in a Saskatoon jail since August, when he was convicted of trafficking for passing a joint during a pro-pot rally.
Emery is slated to be released next Monday. Meanwhile, he's busy slamming NDP leader Jack Layton for not vocalizing support for him while incarcerated.
"Jack Layton came to my home," Emery claimed. "I think there is a special obligation when you come to somebody's house. You ask him for a favour, and then they deliver. And then you remain silent when they get incarcerated for the very thing the leader pledges that he is addressing, and that he himself has done."
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Has anyone been reading Marc Emery's blog from jail? The BC Marijuana Party chief has been in a Saskatoon jail since August, when he was convicted of trafficking for passing a joint during a pro-pot rally.
Emery is slated to be released next Monday. Meanwhile, he's busy slamming NDP leader Jack Layton for not vocalizing support for him while incarcerated.
"Jack Layton came to my home," Emery claimed. "I think there is a special obligation when you come to somebody's house. You ask him for a favour, and then they deliver. And then you remain silent when they get incarcerated for the very thing the leader pledges that he is addressing, and that he himself has done."
Turandot countdown
T minus 23 hours 'til curtain time.
I know nobody cares, I'm just giddy. Deal with it.
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T minus 23 hours 'til curtain time.
I know nobody cares, I'm just giddy. Deal with it.
Tiiiiiiime, is on my side, yes it is!
Wondering whether it's an appropriate time to ring your friend on exchange in Brisbane?
Have trouble with simple addition?
Enter the World Clock. The exact time of the world's major (and some minor) cities. Brilliant.
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Wondering whether it's an appropriate time to ring your friend on exchange in Brisbane?
Have trouble with simple addition?
Enter the World Clock. The exact time of the world's major (and some minor) cities. Brilliant.
Mr. Rice-man, bring me a dream...
I've been listening to him since last spring, but my obsession with Damien Rice has recently hit epic proportions.
Here's a review of the new Rice B-Sides release, which underscores how fabulous a songwriter Rice is but also lashes out with one sharp critique -- the dearth of new material. It's a legitimate complaint, and one that I echo. But until then, wow, get your hands on "O", his only full-length studio album.
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I've been listening to him since last spring, but my obsession with Damien Rice has recently hit epic proportions.
Here's a review of the new Rice B-Sides release, which underscores how fabulous a songwriter Rice is but also lashes out with one sharp critique -- the dearth of new material. It's a legitimate complaint, and one that I echo. But until then, wow, get your hands on "O", his only full-length studio album.
Buzz from the Mother Corp.
(From the "Our Public Airwaves October newsletter)
Bob Rabinovitch’s 5-year term as CBC president ends next month, so media and government circles are buzzing with speculation about who’s going to get the job.
Insiders say Rabinovitch has been campaigning for re-appointment, but the name with the greatest buzz so far is Francis Fox, who recently stepped down as the Prime Minister’s principal secretary.Fox is a former federal minister of Communications. More recently he was an executive at Rogers Wireless.
Montreal’s La Presse reported recently that Heritage Minister Liza Frulla has recommended Fox for the appointment. That same report says Martin is favorably inclined towards Fox, but hesitant to be seen to be giving top government jobs to his pals.
Stay tuned.
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(From the "Our Public Airwaves October newsletter)
Bob Rabinovitch’s 5-year term as CBC president ends next month, so media and government circles are buzzing with speculation about who’s going to get the job.
Insiders say Rabinovitch has been campaigning for re-appointment, but the name with the greatest buzz so far is Francis Fox, who recently stepped down as the Prime Minister’s principal secretary.Fox is a former federal minister of Communications. More recently he was an executive at Rogers Wireless.
Montreal’s La Presse reported recently that Heritage Minister Liza Frulla has recommended Fox for the appointment. That same report says Martin is favorably inclined towards Fox, but hesitant to be seen to be giving top government jobs to his pals.
Stay tuned.
Correction
In an October 2nd posting, the Unitarian Church and the United Church were wrongly interchanged. These churches are, of course, not the same. Section 2 regrets the error.
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In an October 2nd posting, the Unitarian Church and the United Church were wrongly interchanged. These churches are, of course, not the same. Section 2 regrets the error.
We know who wears the pants at Rideau Hall
Great misspeak by Mansbridge just now, commenting on the opening of Parliament... when referring to the decision to extend the Governor General's mandate, he concluded that, "the Clarksons, err, Adrienne Clarkson and John Ralston Saul, will have another year at Rideau Hall."
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Great misspeak by Mansbridge just now, commenting on the opening of Parliament... when referring to the decision to extend the Governor General's mandate, he concluded that, "the Clarksons, err, Adrienne Clarkson and John Ralston Saul, will have another year at Rideau Hall."
Rosalie farklempt
The protestors on the front steps of the Supreme Court this morning might argue that tearing up during your Supreme Court swear-in is proof that women, especially emotionally volatile women, have no place on the highest bench. They classify Rosalie Abella as one such emotional disgrace to the justice system, as she routinely pushes an aggressive, radical feminist agenda.
I would argue that there could be no purer, no truer, response to the honour of being named to the Supreme Court. And regarding her qualifications, well, the proof is in the pudding.
Madam Justice Abella, may you continue to follow your heart, to muster the courage to adhere to your convictions, and to impart just wisdom to benefit us all.
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The protestors on the front steps of the Supreme Court this morning might argue that tearing up during your Supreme Court swear-in is proof that women, especially emotionally volatile women, have no place on the highest bench. They classify Rosalie Abella as one such emotional disgrace to the justice system, as she routinely pushes an aggressive, radical feminist agenda.
I would argue that there could be no purer, no truer, response to the honour of being named to the Supreme Court. And regarding her qualifications, well, the proof is in the pudding.
Madam Justice Abella, may you continue to follow your heart, to muster the courage to adhere to your convictions, and to impart just wisdom to benefit us all.
God Bless the Unitarians
If I ever was going to become a Christian (and we all know what a fan I am of organized religion), it would only be to join the United Church. Their ad in this morning's paper reads:
"Are you a heretic? Heretics are welcome at the Unitarian Church."
Love it.
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If I ever was going to become a Christian (and we all know what a fan I am of organized religion), it would only be to join the United Church. Their ad in this morning's paper reads:
"Are you a heretic? Heretics are welcome at the Unitarian Church."
Love it.
Missed Connection: St. Louis Edition
You liked my cheeks... - w4m
Reply to: anon-41244627@craigslist.orgDate: 2004-09-02, 4:09AM CDT
Monday, August 23rd, late afternoon.
Me...wearing white shirt and tan shorts (carrying black umbrella) walking down Fourth Street, heading towards the Gateway Arch.
You...hesitantly approached me, stated you thought I was pretty, started to give me your number, then changed your mind when you learned that I was an out-of-towner. Darn, I liked what I saw! You, that is.
I live out west, but might be heading to St. Louis again soon.
Might we be good for each other?
It's a small world, really.
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You liked my cheeks... - w4m
Reply to: anon-41244627@craigslist.orgDate: 2004-09-02, 4:09AM CDT
Monday, August 23rd, late afternoon.
Me...wearing white shirt and tan shorts (carrying black umbrella) walking down Fourth Street, heading towards the Gateway Arch.
You...hesitantly approached me, stated you thought I was pretty, started to give me your number, then changed your mind when you learned that I was an out-of-towner. Darn, I liked what I saw! You, that is.
I live out west, but might be heading to St. Louis again soon.
Might we be good for each other?
It's a small world, really.
![[Click for official biography]](http://ansuz.sooke.bc.ca/justices/photo-De.jpg?1299748013-0.1-974446364)