Three stories, all from Canada.
First, you'd think the computers at the stock exchange would have backups, and those backups would be back-up as well. Instead, the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX) is completely shut down and can't handle any trades. This is 2008, people!
This reminds me of a 22 Minutes joke from around 1997 or 1998. With the migration to electronic trading, the TSE (as it was then known) said that stock brokerages needed to improve communications with the exchange's computers so that the latter's terminals wouldn't crash. Greg Thomey said something like that the brokers replied, "We'll improve our systems when the TSE upgrades to Windows 3.1!" This was a sly reference to the fact the TSE was still using the CATS system, which dated back to 1977. (By that time, as many pointed out, most of the world had already migrated to Windows 4.1 -- ahem, 98 -- or whatever version number the Mac was on in those days.)
Second, the Rev. Bill Blaikie, the very popular former ND MP from Winnipeg Transcona, has said he'll collect his MPs' pension ($155k+ per year) in addition to what he would get for salary as an MLA if he wins a seat in the upcoming Manitoba election.
Sorry, Rev, but Canadians really don't have tolerance for double dippers, even an unrepentant progressive like you. Come on, you're still an ordained minister! Not that you should take a vow of poverty, but can't you donate either the pension or the MLA salary to your church's development fund?
Third, Calgary Robot and Pointy Head (i.e. Stephen Harper and Dalton McGuinty) have agreed that Ontario will get a seat allocation on the same proportion as British Columbia and Alberta -- which means 21 more seats instead of 10 (or just 4 if the status quo had been applied).
It would be nice if instead of 21 more FPTP seats they could be allocated on a PR basis. I'd like the choice of being able to split the ticket; most people here would. It would also be nice if Dalt agreed to an elected Senate -- by a real constitutional amendment, not the sham (and completely unconstitutional method) that PMS has been proposing.
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