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Columnist - Al Hollingsworth
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Written by Al Hollingsworth
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Friday, 05 September 2008 |
My wife, an astute judge of character, thinks Stephen Harper is a tyrant, and that for him to win a majority would be devastating for our country. I tend to agree, although I will say I like his stand on tougher criminal laws.
That aside, I do concur that a Harper-led majority government would probably drastically change Canada forever. A lot of damage can be done over a four year period. Any doubts? Have a chat with the folks in the arts community. He slashed $44.8 million in federal funding to the arts without batting an eye. |
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Columnist - Al Hollingsworth
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Written by Al Hollingsworth
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Saturday, 30 August 2008 |
Watching Stephen Harper and Stephane Dion spar reminds me of my playground years when a couple of the big boys would strap boxing gloves on a couple of toddlers and we would be reduced to belly laughs as neither could master the gloves, let alone throw a punch.
This statement borders on the politically incorrect, but those two are the classic sissies. Neither inspires me, giving me the urge to jump in line and follow them to Parliament Hill. Years ago, there was a local boxer who said he had a “peek-a-boo” style. Every time he peeked, he would get hit and the fans would boo. Could be Harper, could be Dion. As my old departed friend Breen Driscoll would say, “Here’s two shovels - take your pick.” |
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Columnist - Al Hollingsworth
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Written by Al Hollingsworth
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Friday, 22 August 2008 |
A couple of years ago, the new Cobequid Health Centre in Lower Sackville opened, a facility that serves residents not only in the Bedford-Sackville district but over a catchment area that spans a great part of East Hants and St. Margaret’s Bay within HRM. It is a state-of the-art facility and should be a point of pride for all who use it.
There are some, to phrase it as kindly as possible, who have no idea how fortunate they are to have this institution literally in their own back yard. They simply don’t ‘get it.’ and through their thoughtless and miserly actions, abuse the privilege of being able to access the services offered in this facility.
Let me explain. |
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Columnist - Al Hollingsworth
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Written by Al Hollingsworth
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Friday, 15 August 2008 |
History is history, warts and all. It cannot be changed or cleansed. Or, as I see it, swept under the carpet. I understand the agony the past invokes on some but it cannot be altered to ease this agony. The existence of Lord Edward Cornwallis a case in point.
If references to the founder of Halifax cause discomfort to some, that is unfortunate. Cornwallis was here, he planted the flag and lived according to the social and political morés of the day. Was it right? Of course not. Killing can never be condoned. But we cannot apply the rich hues that represent today’s social attitudes and our acceptance of cultural and religious diversity to an historical canvas painted two hundred years ago. To do so only trivializes the long road traveled by our indigenous peoples and other minorities over generations, in their courageous struggle to gain this acceptance that should have been theirs from the beginning. |
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Columnist - Al Hollingsworth
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Written by Al Hollingsworth
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Saturday, 09 August 2008 |
The carbon tax lie
As the baby boomers retire, seniors in this country are about to hold the balance of power, a scary thought if you are a Liberal. This week an item popped into my email box with a message to “Pass this on to everyone in Canada.” A near impossible task but, with an Internet platform I can post it for all to see. |
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Columnist - Al Hollingsworth
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Written by Al Hollingsworth
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Saturday, 02 August 2008 |
The government of Nova Scotia continues to stick it to us with their regulated gas prices. At the end of this dissertation, I have attached a link to the Weekly Gas Price Survey compiled by MJ Ervin & Associates Inc. It makes for interesting reading. Maybe someone should forward a copy to Jamie Muir, the minister in charge of the debacle.
It boggles the mind that a resident of Campbellton, a hoot and a holler from the Quebec border, who has their gas trucked from Saint John, about five hours away, pays two cents less a liter than the residents of HRM who have a major refinery in their backyard. |
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Columnist - Al Hollingsworth
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Written by Al Ho
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Saturday, 26 July 2008 |
There was a time when the Herald’s Director of New Content, Dan Leger would have sent Amy Smith back out to ask the right questions of her “globetrotting” MLAs. Smith, if you missed it, had a story that dominated the front page of the July 24th edition of the Chronicle-Herald. It had all the potential of a blockbuster. Instead, it bordered on being a complete bust.
Leger, who cut his journalistic teeth at the Fourth Estate and later the Dartmouth Free Press, would have blown the whole lot out of the water had he been assigned to the story.
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Columnist - Al Hollingsworth
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Written by Al Hollingsworth
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Saturday, 19 July 2008 |
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On March 15, 1999, I smoked my last cigarette. At that point I had smoked for 49 years and had hit the two-pack-a-day plateau. It wasn’t a level I wanted to achieve, not in the least. For years I had wanted to quit, but I simply could not. Like everyone else who lit up the weed, I was hooked.
Like millions of other Canadians, nicotine had a death (in more ways than one) grip on me. I knew it was killing me, but I lacked the will power to stop. Then along came a miracle drug called Zyban. In my case, it was the assist I needed, and after a week or so on the medication, I suddenly lost my desire, no, make that my intense craving, for tobacco. |
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Columnist - Alex J Walling
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Written by Alex J. Walling
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Sunday, 13 July 2008 |
 Can you believe that in six-weeks time it will be 20-years since MITV hit the airwaves?
20 years!
Amazing.
One of the audio gods of that period, a chap by the name of Doug Murray, is heading an unofficial MITV reunion. Doug who worked for many years of the early years is coming into town, from Vancouver or some westward port, and wants as many of ‘the gang’ to either touch base with him or make it down. The date is September 5th which could be the exact date of the 1988 launch of the station. |
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Columnist - Al Hollingsworth
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Written by Al Hollingsworth
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Saturday, 12 July 2008 |
I am not picking on all terrain vehicle owners/drivers. Not in the least. Driven in a responsible manner, with total respect for the environment, the vehicles can be, I am told, most pleasurable. My concern, and that of many, is the lack of an age control for young drivers. It seems if they can straddle the machines, then, in today’s lingo, it’s “good to go.”
My friend Alan Weeks, who now resides in Ottawa (Stephen Harper beware), sent me an article from the Ottawa Sun. It told of an accident on June 26, that came at the height of the local debate on the mini ATVs, purchased by Barry Barnett without Rodney MacDonald’s knowledge. As my departed stepfather liked to say, “Don’t eat that, Elmer, that’s horseshit!” |
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Columnist - Al Hollingsworth
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Written by Al Hollingsworth
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Sunday, 06 July 2008 |
Is there a disturbing conflict of interest within the halls of the provincial civil service? Since the debacle about the purchase of mini ATVs, I am hearing that a great number of those who develop and help to enforce policy are devoted all terrain vehicle enthusiasts.
Whether these provincial civil servants allow their personal preferences to influence their decisions matters not, it is the perception that counts.
For this reason, and strictly in the interest of fairness, the Auditor General should launch an immediate investigation into everything surrounding ATVs. The taxpayers of this province, those on both sides of this issue, must have confidence and faith in the system. |
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