So princess pauline is finally calling her election. As anyone who has lived in Quebec knows, our election campaigns are not polite, calm and kiss-the-baby in the crowd types. They are down and dirty and stomach-turning. This one in particular could be the mother of all election campaigns.
If the PQ can state (with a straight face) that no Anglos have left Quebec in the past 30 years and then retract when confronted with facts but say that was in the past, then hold onto your hat. There is no limit to their imagination.
Marois has already refused to debate in English and will only do one French debate. Seems she doesn’t have a very good command of the English language. Zut alors! Da madame, da premier doesn’t speak english? Quel horreur. Is there no one who can teach an old dog new tricks? But we digress.
Blanche, time for everyone to go for a walk along Park Avenue and follow the dudes – very closely – smoking something other than cigarettes. Then you won’t care what the princess and her little missives are saying.
Unless you’ve been mired in the weather channel, one could not help but notice the crisis in Russia, Ukraine and Crimea. In a nutshell here’s the issue: In November 2013, the Ukrainian government announced that the EU Association Agreement, a long standing effort at integration with Europe had been dumped in favor of stronger ties with Russia. The people did not like this and they took to the streets for months, escalating to the worst day a couple of weeks ago when 77 people were killed. At that moment, their president, Viktor Yanukovych ran to Russia to be with his friend Putin, probably the mastermind behind the pulling out of the EU deal. A pro western dude was appointed to run the country for the time being, something that Putin cannot stomach.
Don’t roll your eyes. There’s more to this story: In 1991 when the Soviet Union fell, the Crimean peninsula became part of the Ukraine. Nonetheless, 60% of the population of the Crimea is Russian. So why is the Crimea so important to Russia? It is an important base for the Russian navy. The Black Sea Fleet has been based on the peninsula since it was 1783. As we speak, Putin is giving everyone – including the once mighty US – the middle finger and getting away with it.
How cold is it? So cold that Niagara Falls froze. Oy. Enough already.
Rob Ford’s back in the news. The man is a walking embarrassment. One can only imagine Toronto ‘the good’ dealing with their mayor. He went on the Jimmy Kimmel show after Kimmel personally called the Ford bros and invited them. Once he got them on air Kimmel pummeled them with questions and videos of Ford dead drunk with all that goes with being in that state. Is this guy really running for mayor again? Is there no one in the whole city of Toronto that can come forward to run against him?
Can someone please explain why the price of gas is rising again? By six cents a litre no less. And why the prices are exactly the same at every gas station? Never mind the construction corruption. We are taxed to death here and it seems that the government – at a whim – raises the gas prices. It’s the biggest corruption around and we need someone to go after them. Oh wait, those in power will have to pick that person as it will be a government inquiry. Blanche, you’re dreaming in technicolor. Why would they ever take their hand out of your pocket?
The paralympics are beginning this Friday in Sochi and both the US and Canada have pulled out their formal delegations. The athletes are going. Can we talk? Does anyone think that there will be any security? At all? With Putin focused on the Ukraine and Crimea those games are not on his top ten list. As far as he is concerned, he did his bit and showed the world what he had to. If I were those athletes I would stay home. Aside from the lack of security they are a mere 500 km from a very short fuse in the Ukraine.
We’ll talk…