News that isn't quite fit to print

This morning I received a CBC News Alert with the following text:

U.S. sources say Mubarak may step down today

Talk about an informative and substantive news alert. What better source is there for what's going down in Egypt than a speculative US government.

This thing could have been plausibly issued on any day since about January 25, 2011. Maybe next time they could try waiting to issue the News Alert until something actually happens or the source is at least from the government in question.

Update: The most recent CBC News Alert seems to be telling a story a little different than the one they posted earlier today. This one suggests that:

Egyptian President says he's staying until Sept. election

Maybe this is why it isn't wise to use sources who aren't really related to the story at hand?

Score
Cameron 28
Neil 0

Big news year so far

Is it just me or does 2011 seem to be disproportionately newsworthy?

In Newfoundland and Alberta their have been and will be party leadership battles. In both cases the outcomes of the winner of these battles with be the provinces' new premiers.

On the weather front many parts of North America seem to be getting a disproportionate amount of snow and stormy weather.

Of late there has been quite a brouhaha about the CRTC's UBB ruling and its eventual reversal (via Twitter) by the Harper government.

Then, of course, you have the mass demonstrations presently taking place in police/authoritarian states throughout the middle east and Northern Africa, the most prominent example being the anti-Mubarak protests in Cairo and Egypt generally. Oh yeah, and in response to these protests the Egyptian government closed down the internet in their country! What?

Oh yeah, and former members of the Tunisian regime showed up on Canada with their ill-gotten billions and were then stripped of their status as permanent residents (this otherwise major story has been completely overshadowed by the events going on in Egypt).

I am sure I am missing other major stories, but this year just seems to be been intense from the get go. I kind of hope that this level of intensity doesn't dog us throughout the year, I don't know if I will be able to handle it.

Score
Cameron 12
Neil 0

A Few Quick Notes 504

-Though we had about 30 centimeters of snow yesterday, today turned out to be a pretty nice day. The main problem that I encountered was slush puddles around intersections.

-I forgot to mention that Neil, Rebecca, Peter, Jeannette, and I joined Jeannette's father for a pre-Chinese New Year meal.

-I had my eyes checked yesterday and I ordered some new glasses today. Hopefully I will be in possession of my new glasses in about four days.

-Today I attended a informal talk/discussion about the current situation in Egypt and the middle-east. While the two history professors and one political science professor didn't have much specific information, they were able to provide some context and background information on Egypt. I was particularly impressed with the quality of the audience questions, I suspect that most of them were of interest to basically everybody in attendance.

-While walking around downtown Halifax I happened to run into a few different acquaintances, two of whom I know through the Poli Sci department. One of these guys told me about his recent media exposure regarding his family being refused entry to a bus. It seems that his story even made the Globe and Mail.

This whole experience reminded me of the recent Metrobus strike and just completely disgusted me.

-Last night at about 3:30 AM the fire alarm began to sound. After a few minutes people began to gather in the front lobby while we waited for the fire department to arrive. After the alarm had been sounding for about 10 minutes a guy in a t-shirt and sweat pants slowly and alertly sauntered in to the lobby, looked at a building employee and asked "what's happening?"

I really thought it was obvious, but apparently not.

-This evening I attended a talk by former Harper cabinet minister Maxime Bernier about being a small government conservative. Though he wasn't quite a Ron/Rand/RuPaul type, he was definitely to the right of many Canadians.

Anyway, while the talk was somewhat underwhelming, I did learn that Bernier really knows how to wear a suit. Man, he is one of the best dress politicians I have ever seen.

Score
Cameron 9
Neil 0