Happily, we clean out drawers on Family Day

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Most of us will enjoy well enough this sixth Family Day. At the South Bayview Bulldog, we will be cleaning out drawers and be cheerful for the chance.  News organizations, sensing the challenge of the weather, have been busy asking people what they will do. Young bloods out on the skating rinks promise solemnly to spend time with mom and dad. This is really not fair. No one, not even Premier Dad (now exiled to Ottawa) expected this to be much more than another day off.  Mr. McGuinty was a near caricature of himself when he announced this holiday in 2008 and then waxed on about how he had always wished that he had spent more time with his father. The idea of a mid-winter long weekend was not new when the Liberals cooked up Family Day. Having run out of warm weather long weekends with which to gift voters, governments had long pondered a mid-winter break. Then they thought about the weather and perhaps the lost productivity  and decided to forget it. 

When will China stop the horror in North Korea?

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The release today (Monday, February 17, 2014) of a damning United Nations report on the hideous reality that is North Korea should direct pressure on China to lead the way in bringing an end to this evil place. It is China which has protected and sustained the obscene North Korean regime since the earliest days of Mao Tse Tung. Today’s report catalogues all the well-known barbaric conditions that have long marked this rogue state — starvation, executions, repression and thought control, prison camps, kidnapping of foreign citizens. None of it could go on if the Chinese did not accommodate it. BBC

$72,000 bill to move a few blocks across Ottawa

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It’s being called a smear, but if it’s true that it cost the National Defense Department $72,000 to move the Liberal Party’s defense adviser a few block across Ottawa  — you be the judge.  Defence Minister Rob Nicholson will investigate reports that Andrew Leslie, a retired general, charged taxpayers that sum to move homes within the same city. Leslie joined the Liberals as an adviser in September. He is expected to run for the party in the 2015 federal elections and is scheduled to be a keynote speaker at the Liberal policy convention next week in Montreal.

Tesla Model S catches fire in a Toronto garage

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Bloomberg News says that Tesla Motors in California is investigating a fire involving a Model S in Toronto on Valentine’s Day. The fire happened in a Toronto garage after the car’s owner returned from a drive, and the vehicle wasn’t plugged in to recharge when it occurred. “After a few moments, the owner’s fire detector went off and the fire department was called,” the publication Business Insider says. Telsa is a pure electric car run powered by ion lithium batteries, a technology that has not been without trouble. There were three Model S fires reported in the U.S. last year, but always either in the context of an accident or while plugged in. Tesla has released a statement saying it has definitively determined that the fire did not originate in the battery, the charging system, the adapter or the electrical receptacle, as these components were untouched by the fire.

Doughty gets OT goal to grab victory from Finns

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Canada wins 2-1 in overtime as London’s Drew Doughty scores the critical goal. Here the 24-year old defenseman high fives teammates. It was a hard-fought game that drove fans mad with anxiety — nervous, heart attack, going insane — all were invoked by Canadian supporters. Here is CBC explanation of the complex Olympic ranking system.

Canada moved on to the quarter-finals of the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics, but it won’t be as the No. 1 seed. Drew Doughty scored two goals, including the overtime winner, as Team Canada earned a hard-fought 2-1 victory over Finland at Bolshoy Ice Dome Sunday, securing the third seed and a bye into the quarter-finals. Canada will play the qualification-round winner between Latvia and Switzerland. Finland goaltender Tuukka Rask was spectacular, turning aside 25 shots in the losing effort but Canadian counterpart Carey Price was equally up to the task, although much less busy. Price, getting the start in place of Roberto Luongo, made 14 saves. The Canadians needed a regulation win (and the accompanying three points) to clinch the top spot but finished atop Group B with eight points, while Finland was second with seven. With the overtime win Sweden officially clinched the top seed, and will face the winner of with the U.S. sliding into the second spot.       

Twitter   Globe and Mail   TSN audio  Drew Doughty 

Juicy Heenan Blaikie tale rivets lawyers, scribes

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The breathtaking National Post account of what went wrong at the now fallen law practice of Heenan Blaikie is getting the most sincere form of review from lawyers and writers across the country. They can’t stop talking about it.  Who knew that Heenan Blaikie retirement recruit Jean Chretien and Heenan partner Jacques Bouchard set out in 2010 to do business with African dictators. Mining, arms — it seems like a rich field. The story, written by Staff Writers Theresa Tedesco and Brian Hutchinson, quotes many sources as saying the venture was so distasteful to the Straight John attorneys in charge of the Toronto office that it led to a crisis of confidence among partners there. Ultimately, some of them quit.  In the end, say the Post’s sources, it caused the collapse of the firm. “Wow,” was the one-word plaudit handed to his Post colleagues by Globe and Mail  reporter Adam Radwanski in a tweet Saturday. The Twitter chitter chatter goes on and on about the Tedesco-Hutchinson spellbinder. National Post (may requjire subscriptjion)

3 cars in Mt. Pleasant wreck as driver flees Merc

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This multi-car accident Saturday morning at Mt. Pleasant Rd. and Blythwood featured high speed and a fleeing driver. He deserted what was a rather nice Mercedes (left). The other cars were a red mini sitting high on the pile of junk and maybe a Mazda, as seen in these captures from CP24 on air. Apparently there were no reported injuries. 

St. Anselm kids send love, friendship to Uganda

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Here are the faces of three of the young spirits at St. Anselm Catholic School on Bessborough Drive who grew a little today as they took part in a moving exchange by Skype of Valentine messages with 17 children in Uganda. Teacher Michele Whyte organized the assembly and communication in a program called C.H.A.T. to the Future. C.H.A.T. stands for “Care and Hope through Adoption and Technology”. a registered charity started by a teacher in New Brunswick. Ms. Whyte told CTV that St. Anselm’s wants its pupils to become “global learners” and to know about different ways of life. She has arranged other Skype visits by her class to far off places. Students at the school sold candy grams and raised $500 for the 17 orphans who reside at C.H.A.T. House, ages 5 to 17 years, in Uganda. The St. Anselm students sent messages to their Ugandan friends and, as reported by the school’s website, were deeply touched by the stories of their counterparts who live in Uganda.  CTV Naomi Parness.

Lawrence and Bridle Path hit by sinkhole

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Jaye Robinson (Ward 25) mailed out the first warning yesterday about a pothole that had trapped a city truck this morning. The problem had closed Lawrence Avenue from Post Road to Leslie Street. Today the blockage continues with City staff estimating it will take a couple more days to fix both the water main and road.  Stay clear of this area and the sinkhole that blocks Bayview Ave. south of Finch Ave.The word is that emergency services, including the Toronto Water and Enbridge are there. It will be necessary to re-direct the gas line. Once that’s done, city staff will work to remove the truck safely from the sinkhole. When the truck has been removed, city staff will inspect and repair the water main and the road. Staff estimates the work will take two-three days.