Well, I’m back from my vacation abroad, so let’s start up again with some short, but welcome news! New York officially started issuing same-sex marriage licenses yesterday, just days after President Barack Obama certified the end of the military’s silly “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy that banned openly gay citizens from serving in the country. […]
Continue readingAuthor: Mark
The Skwib: Glory vs. Effort
Hmm . . . this seems depressingly accurate.
Alltop is all glory, man. You could even say it’s a hole full of it! a href=”http://www.flickr.com/photos/lunchbreath/5956858216/”>glory v. effort, a photo by lunchbreath on Flickr.
Updated with hyperlinks
A previous version of this post is the most Googled thing I’ve ever written, so I’ll keep re-posting it with updates as the busy electoral season approaches. It’s a calendar of upcoming dates and deadlines for political junkies/candidates/hacks across …
Continue reading"…and the more you can become the face of government…"
James MacLeod’s weekend piece on a day-in-the-life of a typical backbench MHA is a pretty good read.It probably isn’t much of an eye-opener to folks who view their Member’s role in the same manner as Tom Osborne, Kevin Hutchings or Marshall Dean (the t…
Continue readingNoticed
My gosh but today’s Telegram editorial today has a few very, very familiar elements to it.
Continue readingSlap Upside The Head: Des Nouvelles De L’Avenir
Good day to you, gentlemen, gentleladies and other various gentlepeople. It is I, Professor Flamingo Jones of the University of Oxbridgeshire, writing to you once again. For the next week or so, Mark, the author of Slap Upside the Head, has graciously agreed to accompany me on a research expedition to France. Our primary goal […]
Continue readingVeracity from Vermont
You can follow this link to CBC Radio’s Radio Noon interview with Vermont Governor Peter Shumlin, talking about the proposed Lower Churchill hydro development at Muskrat Falls, and discussion around the project at a recent meeting of New England Govern…
Continue readingThibodeau v Air Canada
The Federal Court decision in Thibodeau v Air Canada is here. But you can get a sense of the outcome via just about any major national media outlet this afternoon.As Canadian Press reported:”Air Canada must pay $12,000 and apologize to an Ottawa coupl…
Continue readingDisconnected from Connecticut
Tuesday’s papers will undoubtedly be picking up on this CP story in which the topic of discussion flowing from the New England Governors and Eastern Premiers was the delay in exporting long promised Canadian hydroelectric power to the Eastern seaboard …
Continue readingNew Dawn II
Is nobody curious about this?From a column in today’s Telegram by Michael Johansen (emphasis added):The details of the New Dawn pact were finally released and, although they confused many voters before the referendum, leading to a situation described a…
Continue readingJune (un)employment numbers
This is quite something. 7400 fewer Newfoundlanders and Labradorians working this month compared to last. More info here.Graphic source: Statistics Canada
Continue readingFree strategic advice
One very bad way to kill a rumour is to broadcast it, put it in print, on the evening news and online complete with a comments section.
Continue readingSlap Upside The Head: Dr. Flamingo Jones And The Tome Of Wonders
I’m very happy to present today’s Guest Slap. The author, Dr. Flamingo Jones, is a world-renowned archaeologist and researcher at the University of Oxbridgeshire. While I know little about his reclusive past and current whereabouts, he has kindly agreed to share with us, occasionally, his knowledge, discoveries, and insights. A hardy hello to you, readers! […]
Continue readingSlap Upside The Head: Ontario Catholic Schools To Get GSAs
Great news! Thanks to pressure from students, the Ontario government has announced that all schools receiving public funding, including Catholic schools, must allow GLBT support groups starting this September. “The choice to have an LGBTQ group will be the choice of students, not the choice of principals and school boards,” MPP Glen Murray announced to […]
Continue readingThe good district man
One of my longstanding pet peeves as an on-again off-again political hack and observer of Newfoundland politics is the proliferation of the term “a good district man” in reference to our elected officials, particularly MHAs. (Leaving aside the fact tha…
Continue readingNew Dawn
Excerpted below is the portion of the Elections Act 1991, SNL 1992, c E-3.1 which essentially makes relevant portions of that Act applicable to public consultation of electors by way of plebiscite:217. (1) Where it appears to the Lieutenant-Governor in…
Continue readingSlap Upside The Head: Toronto Councillor Tapes Parade, Tries To De-Fund Pride
I hope all my friends in Toronto partied it up at Pride over the weekend, because it could be seriously jeopardized if a Toronto city councillor gets his way! Giorgio Mammoliti—along with his bestest friend in the whole-wide-world, mayor Rob Ford—wants to take Toronto Pride off the books and into the gutter. I guess he’s […]
Continue readingMeanwhile, elsewhere…
June was a bleak month on the world democracy stage. Saudi Arabia cracked down on women protesting for the right to drive, while relatively more progressive* Libya showered its female citizens with machine guns and shooting lessons. Syria remains an o…
Continue readingHappy Canada Day!
Not only does Canada Day start in Newfoundland ahead of everywhere else, but in at least one other statistically-proven department, it appears the rest of the country has some catching up to do…(Graphic from today’s Globe and Mail Report on Business)
Continue readingPredictability
A quote from Maclean’s, about six weeks ago:”Jack Layton’s biggest management problem when the House of Commons reconvenes may well be the newly elected MP from St. John’s South-Mount Pearl.”Ya don’t say…
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