We are sure you are aware that oil prices have gone from $115 a barrel in June to below $70 this week. Of course you also know that you are still paying a serious fuel surcharge for your airline ticket. If you travel long distances, those charges can be pretty hefty, like $500. But wait. If the price of oil jumps, the airline jumps even faster to up the surcharge. Why can’t they lower the price now that a barrel of oil is half the price it was in June?
Here’s the party line: Fuel accounts for nearly half an airline’s costs. But airline executives are unsure where oil prices will settle or how sustained the downturn in the oil market will be. So ladies and gents, ya ain’t gettin a break on those extra charges. Blanche, pass the barf bag.
Here in Quebec the National Assembly shut down last week until the end of January. Not a bad vacation, eh? The politicians say they are going back to their ridings to visit their ‘constituents’. That may last two days and then they can officially say they are on vacation.
Just to put things into perspective, the US Senate resumes sitting on January 6. Why our politicians need almost a two month break is mind-boggling. We would say your tax dollars at work, but in fact it’s your tax dollars as a present.
You are going to love this: Although these stats are from England, we would venture a guess that the same, if not more applies to North America: A quarter of a million dogs are experiencing ‘behavioral meltdown’ because their owners never take them for a walk. In other words, the dogs are bored and to find some excitement, are attacking people. It gets better. Dog obesity is also becoming a huge issue as their owners are feeding them way more than their doggy food.
Can we talk? It’s the owners who have the behavior and obesity problem. We’ll bet that fat dogs belong to, shall we say, pudgy owners. Hehehehehe. And dogs who don’t get enough exercise belong to couch potatoes. No shortage on brainwaves who buy dogs.
London is heading for a city they may not recognize soon. It seems that Qatar is buying up the best of the best in the city. They just added a 200 million pound (over $3 million US) place called Regent’s Palace to the rest of their acquisitions, the list of which is getting lengthy.
Along the way they have acquired a 20% slice of Camden market; posh department store Harrods; 95% of the Shard (87-storey skyscraper in London that forms part of the London Bridge Quarter development the EU’s tallest building); the Olympic village; half of the world’s most expensive apartment block at One Hyde Park; the Chelsea Barracks site, and the US embassy building in Grosvenor Square. Guess England is desperate for money.
Michelle and Barack are not happy campers these days. Their chef, close friend and as it turns out, political adviser is leaving them and moving to New York. Here’s what the prez had to say about Sam Kass’s imminent departure: “Over the years, Sam has grown from a close friend to a critical member of my team”. Now how scary is that and what’s wrong with this picture? Only in America.
Canadian police can now conduct a limited search of a suspect’s mobile phone when they are arrested without getting a search warrant, but they must follow strict rules. The search must be directly related to the circumstances of a person’s arrest and police must keep detailed records of the search.
We can see where this might be an issue for bleeding heart liberals. However, the key word here is arrested. Getting a ticket does not give the police a warrant to check your phone. Robbing a bank does. Dealing drugs also does. Turning left at 8:30 when you could only turn left from 9 won’t get your phone searched. Move on.