At least ten buildings have been turned into infernos in Athens near the Greek Parliament. Inside, Greek lawmakers finally voted to implement austerity measures designed to avoid national bankruptcy. A three-storey corner building believed to be a home appliances store was severely damaged by fire. Among other buildings damaged were a cinema, a bank, a mobile phone dealership, a glassware shop and a Starbucks coffee shop, the Associated Press says citing the fire department. State television reported the violence spread to the tourist islands of Corfu and Crete, the northern city of Thessaloniki and towns in central Greece. Police said 150 shops were looted in the capital and 34 buildings set ablaze. Altogether 199 of the 300 lawmakers backed the bill, but 43 deputies from the two parties in the government of Prime Minister Lucas Papademos, the socialists and conservatives, rebelled by voting against. They were immediately expelled by their parties. YouTube.

Winter is making a comeback in parts of Ontario this weekend, courtesy of a low pressure system. A drastic drop in temperatures is forecast as a cold front swings through. In some cases, lows into the minus teens are forecast, feeling even colder with the wind chill. The city of Toronto has issued an extreme cold weather alert to help get homeless people into shelters. In northern sections of the province, snow began falling Friday morning. Parts of southern Ontario are expected to get a dusting as well.”We’ll see snow in southern Ontario start to accumulate through the overnight hours,” says Rob Davis, a meteorologist at The Weather Network. “The centre of the low will be over southwestern Ontario, so we could see higher amounts in places like Windsor, London, Kitchener-Waterloo and Hamilton.”Up to 15 cm of snow could fall in those areas through Saturday. Toronto and the Greater Toronto Area are expected to receive 3-5 cm of snow, while the Hamilton and Niagara regions will see 5-10 cm. Still, snow isn’t the only concern.”As the cold front passes, we’re anticipating a flash freeze overnight,” explains Davis. “That could make for some icy driving conditions.”  Weather Channel

Prime Minister Stephen Harper delivered a speech before a business audience in Guangzhou, China Friday. He told his listeners that Canada wishes “to sell our energy to those who wish to buy our energy.” He warned that Canada will not be deterred by “foreign money” from  “unstable places” from pursuing this program. It was a clear warning to middle east oil producers, most notably Saudi Arabia, to stop meddling in Canada’s energy marketing. Harper touted trade and cultural ties between the China and Canada and the importance of “Canadian values” such as human rights within the growing relationship between the two countries. See  the full speech at our sister blog, Mostly Media, embedded courtesy of the CBC. 

Tell us again why this place is smart? The architecture of the SmartCentres outdoor commercial site at Laird Drive and and Wicksteed Ave. has been much criticized. Now SmartCentres is applying to develop the land it owns north of Wicksteed and is promising to do a much better job of making the new development attractive and livable.  Many will be skeptical. The feeling is widespread that Toronto bought a turkey when it approved the present centre. The architecture is neo-Soviet. Altogether it has as much charm as a prison yard.  The city should tell SmartCentres to start over . 

The major parties have now nominated their candidates for the by election in Toronto-Danforth set for March 19, 2012.  The election will pick a successor to the late Jack Layton. The Liberals tonight picked advertising executive Grant Gordon (left)  as their candidate. He has been seen as a lacklustre choice as has been the Conservative nominee Andrew Keyes (right). The conventional view, which may be wrong, is that local affection for the late Mr. Layton will work to get  NDP candidate Craig Scott (centre) elected.  In winning the Liberal nomination, Mr Gordon  trounced Trifon Haitas, a Greek-Canadian journalist who describes himself as pro-life. There were concerns that the Liberals might be seen in this riding as a one issue party if Mr. Haitas has, by some chance, been nominated. 

Over at Bayview Ave and Moore Ave that prime billboard owned by CBS has exploded with a comic book ad for yogurt. It’s eye catching. Our limited knowledge of this graphic form suggests that the two red blips to the right of the young lady’s head are fairly standard comic book code for emotion or love. The things we write about.