The old versus the new and the influence of money

The first real meeting of Council has produced a real split of opinion about the heart of the election - planning and heritage issues. In vote of 4 to 2 the new attitude was voted down. That attitude was a change in the way developers requests are received. It is interesting to note the most vociferous of the opponents of questioning developers intentions are the people who have received large election donations from developers in the past elections. Whether the developer of the Plaza gave money to councillors is not known and will not be known until the election financial reports are filed in April. But it does illustrate the need for realistic election financing disclosure rules. Read this account from the Cobourg Daily Star of the issue

Is this toilet humour?

Urinal Pinched From Pub Toilets

See what I have received in the mail, very interesting

Hello Friend.

Its me Wendy King, i want to donate what I have to the needy.
You Could be surprised why i picked you. But someone has to do it. I am
old and living with HIV AIDS, my husband also died of HIV AIDS and gave me
all that he had. I have been touched to donate from what I have inherited
from my late husband to charity through you for the good work of humanity,
rather than allow my relatives to use my husband's hard earned funds
inappropriately.

I hope to be fogiven for all my sins and I believe he has, because He is
merciful. I have been living with HIV AIDS for years. and i know that the
disease has no cure therefore i will surely die. I have made up my mind to
give out (Five Million Five Hundred Thousand Dollars) towards the fight
against HIV AIDS, and other human related diseases. I want this to be done
through you. Part of the money would also be used to help the motherless,
less privileged and also for the assistance of the widows. Presently, i
can not answer calls due to the fact that my relatives are around me and I
have been restricted by my doctor from taking telephone calls because I
deserve all the rest I can get.

Presently,I have informed my lawyer about my decision in donating the
funds. I wish you all the best, and please use the money well and always
extend the good work to others. If you are able to carry out this task,i
will inform my legal adviser so that he can arrange the release of the
funds to you. I know i have never met you but my mind tells me to do
this,and I hope you act sincerely.I will pay you a handsome amount of this
money if you will assist me because I am now weak to do things myself
because of my HIV AIDS.

NB: I will appreciate your utmost secrecy in this matter until the task is
carried out,as I don't want anything that will halter this my last wish
Love,

Wendy King.

This one speaks for itself

U.S. Army sorry for asking deceased to re-enlist

Does anybody else find this offensive?

Air passengers face having credit card transactions and email messages inspected by the American authorities here:

Looking at "Gift Horses"

And what a gift horse we have just received in Northumberland County. Last week our local MPP raised himself to his full height of five foot nothing, beat his chest and proclaimed, "That I have never been prouder than today to announce that the Provincial government has awarded the local hospital $800,000 in annual operating funds to operate an MRI machine."

Whoa Nellie! just who is going to pay for the machine? That is the two and a half million dollar question. Perhaps the MPP is being premature as a NHH Board member told me, "We haven't even discussed this at the Board level yet." And even more insidious the concept is to hire a private company to operate this department. So much for the savings of public health.

The problem I have is that as municipal taxpayers we have been subjected to the guilt trip of not donating to such a worthy cause as hospital equipment already. Next year we will be donating (I call it being blackmailed into) the equivalent of a 3% tax increase to the hospital to fund a CT scanner. If the Provincial government wants us to have top of the line and necessary diagnostic equipment it must pony up, they are responsible for health funding after all.

the definition of a gift horse by the word detective:
"Of course, if the horse in question is presented as a gift, it would be rudeness in the extreme to pry the creature's mouth open to gape at its choppers, a bit of social etiquette summed up since the 16th century in the adage "Never look a gift horse in the mouth." " The word detective can be found here

Our phallic symbols

As one drives down Division South, from the 401, one can notice from the lights at Veronica St. three phallic symbols of the automobile industry. Each one bigger than the last one erected. First Vandermeer Toyota had a standard sign, then McKeen Motors has a new sign erected, a bit higher than Vandermeer's and now the Nissan guy has erected a bigger one than both the others. What next?

Shame, shame and more shame

Howcum I feel so badly for a bad guy (Saddam), perhaps its because our much vaunted society has reduced itself to a level of barbarism. Next time we hear pols and do-gooders rant on about the civilization of man shout back as hard as you can - Bollocks!

For a cellphone video of the event click here, now for a story about the investigation into the filming click here

The first story of the year and what a stinker!

If the rest of the year is going to be like this it will be a wacky world of oddball reading and commentary. Flatulence Allegedly Sparks Jail Fight

I've been away for a few days

As you can see I wasn't just on holiday there was a touch of work, I even got to interview this guy. He wouldn't answer any questions about the war but he did warn me not to go hunting with Dick!

Back to normal and I see that the Cobourg Council has divvied up the work, that is for everybody but Cllr. MacCaughey, I guess seniority does count for something.......less work. With only two committees to attend when everybody else is getting 8 - 10 he was telling the truth when he said that the job is not fulltime!