The South Bayview Bulldog

Marriott International has swallowed up its rival Starwood Hotels and Resorts making it the owner of such famous brand names at Sheraton, Westin and St. Regis. It is a $12.2 billion deal that makes Marriott the world’s largest hotelier by a wide margin. The stock-and-cash deal will add 50 percent more rooms to Marriott’s portfolio which includes such names Marriott Courtyard, Ritz-Carlton and Fairfield Inn. The new company would have 5,500 properties with more than 1.1 million rooms around the world. Below, some discussion of the deal by those on the BNN anchor desk.

Ian Rankin

The Scottish novelist Ian Rankin will be at the Sleuth of Baker Street on Wednesday November 18, from 2 to 3 p.m. as part of the launch of his latest work Even Dogs in the Wild. This is the 20th story featuring Detective Inspector John Rebus, the character on which Mr. Rankin has built his career. Sleuth of Baker Street is at 907 Millwood Road at Sutherland Drive. (416) 483-3111. Ian Rankin lives in Edinburgh with his wife Miranda and their two sons Jack and Kit near the authors JK Rowling, Alexander McCall Smith and Kate Atkinson. He appears as a character in McCall Smith’s 2004 novel, 44 Scotland Street. In 2011 a group of ten book sculptures were deposited around Edinburgh as gifts to cultural institutions and the people of the city. Many of the sculptures made reference to the work of Rankin, and an eleventh sculpture was a personal gift to him.

The push by the new owners of Tim Hortons to cut costs has revealed a plan to get rid of china mugs and plates at certain outlets. The information is written about by Globe and Mail retailing maven Marina Strauss in an article today. Other evidence of Tims new tightening of the ship is seen in the form of temporary foreign workers in B.C. (and possibly elsewhere). Some may suspect that the new snug location at Bayview Ave and Eglinton Ave. E. was chosen for the smaller square footage than that of the building in the Metro parking lot which was built for Tim Hortons, but deserted by the firm before it took possession. The coffee chain has also posted notices says Strauss which thank “valued guests” for “joining our efforts to reduce water usage and improve our recycling program.”  As this happens Tim Hortons spokeswoman Michelle Robichaud assured the Globe and Mail that it was not considering removing china from its outlets chain-wide. The pilot plan is primarily at “non-traditional” sites where in-restaurant dining is less common, she said. (Non-traditional locations include universities and hospitals). Tim Horton was acquired last year by 3G Capital Partners LP of Brazil,

The book attributed to the execrable Paul Bernardo is gone from the listings of Amazon Canada  where it was being hawked for seven or eight dollars. But the question remains: How in the name of God did it get there at all? What miserable weasel at Amazon actually entertained this outrage?  Bernardo is locked up and will die in prison for his unspeakable crimes. Does Amazon have absolutely no decency?

The chance of a terrible coordinated attack by terrorists seems much less likely in Canada than it is in France — but it is certainly not impossible. The linked CBC story has some thoughts on this but the most critical element in such a mass killing surely must be the number of those who take part in the plan. That is what made the Paris attack so lethal. But it is also the thing which might make it possible for authorities to learn about it in advance. The more people involved in the conspiracy, the more likely someone will tell the police, the more likely it will be broken up.

WILL SOMEONE TELL?

Authorities have to hope that the composition of the population in Canada is such that it is more difficult to gather eight or ten young men into such a scheme without word leaking out.  But if such a group could be formed, and if it could gain access to automatic weapons and explosives (another point where the cops can find out) then it is fairly easy to see how a number of “soft targets” could be identified in one of Canada’s big cities. No matter what our sensitivities, it  seems so important that intelligence agents like the RCMP and CSIS stay close to radical elements and sources of such possible outrages. It seems quite clear that the French government was in the dark about what was happening as this group put together its evil plan. CBC

Three of Canada’s largest pension fund managers said on Friday that they would acquire the operator of the Chicago Skyway toll road for $2.8 billion. The Canada Pension Plan Investment Board, Ontario Municipal Employees Retirement System (OMERS) and Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan will each own a one-third interest in Skyway Concession Co LLC, which has an agreement to operate the road until 2104. Reuters 

Many Canadian leaders are saying the new Liberal government should be supporting allies in the war against ISIS.  Toronto Star   If you don’t want to bomb a group as ghastly as ISIS, when would you ever support military action

A man who is apparently focused on the garbage of a specific Burlington family is acting in an unusual way but he has not broken any laws, according to the local police.  The family noticed the garbage vanishing before the regular collection truck arrived and then realized that it was being taken each week by one man. Resident Natalya Smardon says she feels violated. Over a period of weeks, Smardon has obtained video of the man. She now has his license number and video of his face. His demeanor as he takes the garbage is like that of a cat burglar, looking all around and quickly moving to stash the bags in his trunk before hurriedly driving off. The family contacted Halton police, but were told there’s nothing they can do. “Although unusual, it does not constitute the offence of theft under the Criminal Code,” Halton police told a CBC reporter in a statement. But why this family’s garbage and not other refuse? And why general garbage? Junk men do their work before dawn in an open fashion and pick through discarded items to see what might be re-sold or useful. This man is taking bags of household garbage. Strange indeed.

The Junior Wildcats of the Provincial Women’s Hockey League eked out a 1-1 tie in an afternoon tilt against the Kingston Ice Wolves Saturday in Kingston. It may have surprised the Wildcats to find the Kingston team so prepared defensively considering their record of 11 losses and four ties. Boxscore

AP