And I don’t even believe in the absolutes of good and evil. My complete lack of belief in things spiritual prevents such thoughts.
But I cannot explain the following without thinking that evil may really and truly exist.
And it resides in Ottawa.
Out for a drive on the Rockcliffe Parkway yesterday with C and 2 of the subunits. We get to the roundabout outside Rideau Hall (if you’re from O-Town, you’ll know where I mean). And I was going a little quickly as I pulled up to a stop to allow a black Chevy Tahoe to go through. The SUV came to an almost complete stop and the two guys in the front gave us a really good look over… like our little Malibu was gonna ram them or something.
The back windows were blacked out and the two big guys in the front wore ear pieces and dark sunglasses. They carried on, and then I felt it.
A tingle up the spine. A feeling of foreboding… like I was in the presence of real evil… kind of how I would imagine Harry Potter feeling when running up against he-who-shall-not-be named. The truly weird thing is that at this moment, C turns to me and ask “did you just get a tingle up your spine? I bet that was Harper.”
From his Twitter account @Larry_OBrien1, O’Brien tweeted “#cnndebate The spics are getting way to much airtime!”
At a ceremony Monday evening in which his portrait was being unveiled at Ottawa City Hall, O’Brien admitted the tweet, which he later deleted, had come from him.
“That was obviously a tweet that was ill thought through and I did the mea culpa and certainly I regret it,” said O’Brien. “There is no excuses.”
“…is no exuses”? I hope that’s a typo!
And I’m serious about the Tweeting (or Facebooking or blogging) while impaired. Never, ever do it. But I can’t help but think that this is a possible explanation for the former Mayor’s behaviour. He should most definitely know better… he’s a pretty sharp guy.
I can picture the setting. Mayor Larry is sitting in his La-Z-Boy, watching the GOP debate on his 72 inch 3D LED TV, cradling his third tumbler of 30 yr old single malt on the table beside him. When, through that old single malt fog, he hears something in the debate that spurs him to pull out his Blackberry (I don’t see him as an iPhone kinda guy) and hurriedly pounds out his Tweet before he forgets the moment.
Can’t you picture it too?From the holy-crap-it-must-be-a-slow-news-day file…
On this very same CBC page is a story that we, as responsible and thinking citizens of the world should be on thew edges of our seats over!
Economic crisis in Europe? Petty issue!
Upcoming American election? Who cares?
Climate change? Meh.
The question that Canadians and others on this wee, blue planet are REALLY so fricking anxious to know the answer to is….
So Harper is acting all smug and tough in Davos, isn’t he?
Although short on details, Mr. Harper’s speech to the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, on Thursday made clear the sweep of his ambition. He will change how Canadians finance their retirement. He will overhaul the immigration system. He will make oil and gas exports to Asia a “national priority” and aggressively pursue free trade in India and Europe.
Sigh. I agree with most of that but too bad no one in Davos is calling him on the G8 slush fund, the In and Out scandal, abandoning the environment to oil companies, corporate welfare enhancements, etc., etc.
Message to the Cons – the pendulum will swing back one day – and it will smack you right in the forehead!
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ It’s All Star weekend in Ottawa! So why aren’t I smitten? I dunno, but I guess I’m getting more cynical as I get older and see these things more as money-making circuses and less like celebrations of the game.
Good to see that the OC Trashpo head, Alain Mercier has backed down from his “you’ll get GPS data when I say you can” stance -,albeit under enormous political pressure from both some Transit Commissioners (thank you Councillor Tierney!) and the public at large.
Hens in the backyard? Why not, as long as there are strict controls in place and enforced. I grew up on a hobby farm where we had fresh eggs every day. Nothing like them.
There is a movement building in O Town to convince Council into changing the City Bylaw that prohibits the keeping of backyard hens. Keeping hens in an urban setting is not exactly an unusual practice and provides food for a household and education for the little ones. If done properly, there is little noise and no smell.
@JimWatsonOttawa: Rink of Dreams looks amazing with sens and #ottcity logo – grand opening at 530 pm Wednesday night! Come by for a skate and hot chocolate!
I’m sorry, but I cannot be the only Ottawan who his scratching their head over the wisdom of the City spending a cool quarter million on an outdoor rink! The total costs have doubled but the Mayor assures us that the City won’t pick up the cost overrun.
Well, that’s super. But I still don’t get the need for this. Yes, the Canal is closed some of the time, but really, are we to believe that toursists will flock to City Hall to skate on artifical ice if the Canal is unavailable? No way. They want the Canal experience and aren’t going to be convinced into “pretending”.
I have thus far been pretty supportive of most Council decisions to this point. But this isn’t one of them.
And no, it isn’t because of that ugly logo in the middle
If there’s any light at the end of this tunnel, it’s that others at City Hall are starting to speak out. A number of transit commissioners made it very clear they were not on board with OC Transpo’s protectionist views of the transit data. Kudos to councillors Marianne Wilkinson and Tim Tierney, among those who took transit management to task. Indeed, it took this issue to spur civilian-commissioner Emily Rahn to make her very first public statement.
As residents of Ottawa, we shouldn’t have to beg for access to officials, nor for the data that’s collected on our behalf with our money. On the other hand, as taxpayers we also have to be willing to pay for that access, whether it’s footing the bill for proper public consultations or forgoing a little cash in the name of open data.
C’mon Mercier! Get with the program!
And double kudos to Councillors Tierney and Wilkinson!
The head of OC Transpo told Ottawa’s transit commission the transit provider didn’t want to make information about bus locations and other data open to the public until it could determine how much money could be made using the data.
OC Transpo general manager Alain Mercier had told the transit commission the data would be made available in keeping with the city’s push to become a municipality that shares its data openly.
Um. Not meaning to be picky or anything, but… don’t we – the taxpayers and riders – pay for the operation of OC Transpo – GPS data and all?
Whatta crock. Improved location data accessed and used by an app developed by a third-party is the best and fastest way to go on this. Service improvement would be the result.
But no one can really claim Ottawa’s transit system to be the best or the fastest, have they?
So Rick Perry is out of the GOP race in the States and he has thrown his support behind the Newt-meister…
Personally, I have been cheering hard and madly for Perry, and Bachmann, Santorum, et al. All complete kooks that Obama could easily swipe aside in the upcoming election. I mean, these boneheads make even Jason Kenney look normal!
Check this out. There was a CNN hosted debate last night where the moderator asked Newt about some extramarital boo-yaws that might have been going down. Immediately,they go after the moderator.
C’mon. Let’s be realistic. The Superpowers like Russia, the U.S. and China have never, ever left espionage behind in spite of the collapse of the Soviet Union and all of the other geopolitical changes that have taken place in the past couple of decades. So this should not shock too many people. I’m actually surprised that this doesn’t happen more often!
I’ll like not having to step over the vomit while exiting the 95 at Hurdman!
OC Transpo President Gilles DuMont hails the new transit option as a breakthrough in city transit service, and hopes people will enjoy the increased commitment to comfort and superior customer satisfaction within the new buses. “The new OC1 option will give riders a chance to actually get to their destination on time and without the inconveniences of regular route service, such as staring through a window covered in head grease or side stepping over a pool of vomit.” DuMont explained. The OC1 bus service will utilize a fleet of 10 new ultra-luxurious coach class buses imported from Switzerland and feature bone china and silverware meal service, beverage options and hot towel service from a tuxedo clad OC Transpo service attendant.
Besides, I’m not even sure Double A would be successful here. This town couldn’t keep the Lynx, lost the Riders way back… and struggle to fill the Kanata Sport Centre on some nights. If Ottawa is a sports town, maybe it is just a one sport town… too bad.
… Bus version… Barbados buses versus OCTranspo. Based on recent experience.
There are 3 types of buses to take in Barbados: the full-sized buses that we have here in Ottawa (no A/C though), smaller versions of said buses… and minivans whose sole goals seem to be to cram as many peeps as possible into the van all the while tooting their customised horns and breaking land speed records. We rode on the first two but not the last. Didn’t know if my travel insurance would cover such recklessness.
Commonalities between buses here and buses there…
Lots in common, actually.
Land speed records are tested.
Timing is unreliable.
Corners and braking are for playing the “knock down the rider” game.
“Interesting” clientele
Differences:
The drivers on the island try to be helpful. Might not understand a word that they’re saying due to the accent… but they are trying. OCTranspo? Well… there ARE exceptions, but…
$2 Bajan ($1 US) will pretty much get you anywhere on the island. Might take a while… but you will get there. OC? What is the cash fare now? $3? And, most of the time, one must change buses at least once to get to where they are going to.
Help! I lost my freakin' phone and I can't get up!
Trashy in China, 3.0 – How about that full employment, eh?
Happy International Women's Day!
