It’s over and the digging out has begun. Above is a medley of Toronto snow pictures off Twitter. Left a benevolent “Red Cross” type of shoveller. Centre, this is the laziest snowman we have ever seen. Right, a lady measured the nearly 20 cm of snow in her garden. Good luck all.
China becomes the third country to land an exploratory vehicle on the surface of the moon after the U.S. and the former Soviet Union. It is a remarkable accomplishment for a nation which was utterly impoverished merely 40 years ago. And while it is no doubt cause for pride China should ponder the vast poverty that still exists amid the riches of the new middle class. AFP
Nelson Mandela was taken home to his boyhood village Qunu today for burial. The South African Broadcasting Corporation presented all-day live coverage of events.
A court date set for next Monday (December 16, 2013) has been abandoned by the Mount Pleasant Group of Cemeteries in the game of legal chess that goes on between it and the citizen’s group known as Friends of Mount Pleasant Cemetery (Friends). The occasion was intended to set a date to challenge the Friends right to “standing” in their claim that the cemeteries are a public trust owned by the province. The citizen’s group claims the cemeteries have been essentially appropriated by MPGC. A move by the Friends seems to have dodged the possibility of such a challenge when they moved their case under the The Charities Accounting Act. That act permits legal standing, stating that two people (in this case. Councillor Kristyn Wong-Tam and Friends of Toronto Public Cemeteries) may bring such an action forward. The Friends want a public inquiry into the ownership of the cemeteries. At the last minute MPGC said it was not going to bring the motion forward so it let the court date go. Now MPGC wants the Friends to put up $20,000 for the cost of the cancelled motion plus an additional $50,000 for security. Friends has already placed $70,000 with the court. All of this is the type of rear-guard action to be expected in a battle of this kind. It does raise the question however as to why a review cannot be done in a timely way.
Vito Pilieci writing in the Ottawa Citizen asks the question that comes intuitively to the tongues of your ordinary taxpayer in South Bayview. What are we really going to get for the $190 million in the peoples money that is being given to Cisco Systems Inc. Some independent academics are struggling to figure it out. Vito Pilieci
Amy Dempsey of the Toronto Star has a look at the legal action taken by diet guru Dr. Stanley Bernstein against Norma and Ronauld Walton, formerly his friends. Dr. B has a history of more than $100 million invested and 31 projects with the Waltons but according to Ms. Dempsey’s reporting, it has all gone bad. Here
With the YouTube viewing clock closing in on an astounding 2,000,000 lookies, WestJet must be well satisfied wtih its Christmas promotion stunt. Briefly, airplane loads of Calgary-bound passengers were asked electronically what they wanted for Christmas as they prepared to board their flights. While the planes were in the air some 175 employees and agents were hitting the stores to find the correct present and match them up with the boarding passes of the WestJet fliers. On landing, the disbelief, delight and in some cases tearful emotion of being handed your most-wanted gift by the company’s head office staff made for a promotion that it is hard to put a price on.
Those present for the performance of Canadian singer and musician Jeanine Noyes and a band of entertainers give the evening a thumbs up. The concert took place Friday night at Road United Church. The lineup included Jeanine on keyboard and guitar the band includes Fergus Marsh, bass, Chapman Stick and vocals, Al Cross, drums, Carol Olson, keyboard and vocals, Dale Yim, vocals and stories.
The auditorium at Northlea Elementary and Middle School rang with cheers and applause this morning (Friday, December 13, 2013) to thank and congratulate crossing guard Jake Apacible (centre above). Jake is the diminutive but powerfully caring and conscientious guard who for more than ten years has been shepherding Northlea kids safely across the street. The occasion was Jake’s winning of the “Canada’s Favourite Crossing Guard” contest sponsored by Parachute and FedEx Canada. More on that in this previous post Today Jake was first thanked personally by school and police officials (above he is seen with Trustee Gerri Gershon and PC Wai Lau, the 53 Division School Crossing Guard Coordinator). Then it was on to the auditorium where assembled Grade 3 and 4 classes gave Jake a heart warming reception (pictures inset). It was nice for Jake for sure but also a useful lesson for the children about the importance of ordinary people.
The predicted snow is expected to begin this evening across central Toronto. The amounts estimated vary between 10 to 15 centimetres during the overnight period and Saturday. A special weather statement updated this morning predicts a “widespread snowfall event” beginning tonight for Toronto, Windsor, Kitchener-Waterloo and Hamilton.
The world is witnessing a shocking Stalinist-like purge in North Korea. As it unfolds, the ruthless character of the country’s little dictator, Kim Jung un, is being revealed. Kim has had his own uncle, Jang Song-Thaek tried and then executed as an enemy of the state. Jang was arrested three days ago and has been systematically been condemned and humiliated for so-called failures. His actual killing however seems stunning. It is said that the once powerful Jang had become increasingly resented by his nephew, who at 30 years of age, is 37 years younger than Jang. The execution has been made public in North Korea, where as in the past, fear seems to be the main diet of an impoverished and cowed people. The tyrant Kim has used all the tricks of terror politics. It is a device employed by Stalin, Hitler, Saddam Hussein and other dictators to have their victims dragged out of important public gatherings, all the better to frighten the rest of their followers in the audience. The state broadcaster KCNA branded Jang a “traitor for all ages”. Jang was executed on Thursday shortly after a special military trial, KCNA reported, after committing such a “hideous crime as attempting to overthrow the state by all sorts of intrigues and despicable methods with a wild ambition to grab the supreme power of our party and state”. In a viciously-worded attack, the regime accused Jang of betraying the trust of both Kim Jong-Un and his father Kim Jong-Il, saying he had received “deeper trust” from the younger leader in particular. Branding Jang “despicable human scum… worse than a dog”, the regime accused him of attempting to stand in the way of Kim Jong-Un’s succession, according to KCNA. Jang, who was married to the sister of the late Kim Jong-Il, played a key role in cementing the leadership of the inexperienced Kim. But analysts say the 67-year-old’s power and influence had become increasingly resented by his nephew, who is aged around 30. And China, the power broker that could put an end to the Kim regime sits and looks on. BBC Friday, December 12, 2013
