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Columnist - Al Hollingsworth
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Written by Al Hollingsworth
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Sunday, 23 August 2009 |
I knew Bill Gillis for nearly 40 years. Three of those years we worked on the same team, he as the Liberal member for Antigonish, and I as the Director of Communications for the Leader of the Opposition, and his then boss, Vince MacLean.
It was during those 36 months that I got to know and appreciate the man they called Billy in the Little Vatican and the surrounding communities that made up his constituency.
His passing this week, after a short battle with brain cancer, brought back many memories. Each reflection centered on his honesty and his devotion to those he represented and served. That and his frugality. |
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Columnist - Al Hollingsworth
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Written by Al Hollingsworth
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Thursday, 13 August 2009 |
I wish I could take credit for the title of this week’s column, because it describes Peter Kelly to a “T”. However the credit for the quote must go to the late Will Rogers.
HRM’s mayor is, to be kind, confused. Or so it seems. His performance in relation to the malfunctioning sewage treatment plant borders on the pathetic.
This week he was upset with the Halifax members of the Canadian Restaurant and Foodservices Association and in particular the Association’s vice-president Luc Erjavec, who said Halifax Harbour “is putrid, it stinks.” Guess what, Peter, he’s right. And so is every upset citizen of HRM who is footing the bill for this fiasco. |
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Columnist - Al Hollingsworth
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Written by Al Hollingsworth
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Saturday, 08 August 2009 |
Hundreds gathered on Saturday, August 8th, to say good bye to Darrell Robinson, one of the most decent individuals to have ever trod this earth. Darrell had lost his battle with cancer on August 4th.
A native of rural New Brunswick, he and wife Marilyn called Halifax home for the last 40 years. In 1970, he bought Alf Hamshaw’s garage in Rockingham and opened Scotia Tire. Through his hard work and dedication, the business thrived and today consists of four outlets. Both of his sons, John and Bill joined him in the business as did his grandson, Phillip. |
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Columnist - Al Hollingsworth
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Written by Al Hollingsworth
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Thursday, 30 July 2009 |
The steady hand and calm approach of Darrell Dexter is rubbing off on his cabinet, his caucus. Unlike the Liberal government headed by the late John Savage, who began their mandate like bulls in a china shop, upsetting just about every Nova Scotian within their first six months in office, the NDP approach is the complete opposite.
Savage, a decent man, was a victim of poor advice from a small cadre ( four or five ministers) within his cabinet, individuals who listened to no one, marching briskly to the beat of their own drum. A march that eventually took them from a landslide victory to third party status.
How bad was it? In 1993 Nova Scotians elected 43 Liberals and all but wiped out the Tories who had run up a horrendous debt, not to mention our collective disgust with the toilet seat covers affair. Yet six short years later the Progressive Conservatives were back on top, as even they looked better than the ruling Grits. |
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Columnist - Al Hollingsworth
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Written by Al Hollingsworth
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Saturday, 25 July 2009 |
My euphoria was short lived on Friday morning as I had only partially read a headline in the Chronicle-Herald. What my eye caught was “jail term for bus shelter damage.” What it missed was “man fights jail term ….”.
In that brief moment, my heart raced as I felt that finally the law was dealing with one of these punks who take delight in ruining our community.
In case you missed it, Michael Jose Barbosa Mason, a 23-year-old from Evans Avenue in Fairview, was sentenced on July 13 in a Halifax Provincial Court, after pleading guilty to charges of mischief and breaching a recognizance. The latter was for failing to keep the peace and be of good behaviour. |
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Columnist - Al Hollingsworth
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Written by Al Hollingsworth
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Sunday, 19 July 2009 |
The Little Guy from Shawinigan continues to amaze. The youthful 75-year-old’s most recent accomplishment was Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II’s decision to name him to one of the world’s most prestigious groups, the Order of Merit.
Established by King Edward VII in 1902, the group includes the reigning monarch and 24 members. The correct definition of the award is “a “Gift from the Sovereign,” the “gift” comprising a lifetime appointment to this exclusive group. Future appointments can only be made when one or more of the members pass away.
Jean Chrétien is only the fourth Canadian to be so honored by British royalty. Former Prime Ministers William Lyon Mackenzie King and Lester B Pearson were given the “gift” as was neurosurgeon Wilder Penfield. |
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Columnist - Al Hollingsworth
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Written by Al Hollingsworth
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Thursday, 09 July 2009 |
Stephen Harper’s federal Conservative Party has hit a new low with their attack ads on the Bloc Québecois. Their latest fantasy, an attack on the Gilles Duceppe-led party, is a tactic designed to appeal to the gun-toting loonies in the country, the simple-minded souls who stand to the right of Attila The Hun.
And give Liberal leader Michael Ignatieff full marks for having the guts to take issue with Harper and the Conservatives on this matter in the heartland of the right wing nation, Calgary.
Attending the Calgary Stampede, he climbed up on a stump and challenged the Conservative trash ad that suggests the Bloc, by voting against a law imposing minimum sentences in child traficking cases, are soft on pedophiles. The Grit general correctly stated that it is a dirty tactic, and completely unworthy of Canadian politics. |
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Columnist - Al Hollingsworth
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Written by Al Hollingsworth
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Thursday, 02 July 2009 |
I have always believed there should have been an eleventh commandment; “Thou shalt not committee.” Far too much time, especially within governments and their bureaucracies, is spent in meetings and committees, with little or nothing being accomplished. The mayor’s recent Round table on Crime Committee is a case in point.
It looked good on paper. So does my budgie. And he makes better use of it.
Halifax is going to hell in a hand basket - and we do studies? Meanwhile the lawbreakers get more brazen – and more dangerous - by the day. It is just a matter of time before some innocent bystander is gunned down by these mindless, gun-toting, drug-addled idiots.
What’s the old saying? They hang wallpaper and let these nitwits live. |
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Columnist - Al Hollingsworth
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Written by Al Hollingsworth
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Thursday, 25 June 2009 |
So the smokers and the shopkeepers, those who sell the cancer sticks, have their knickers in a knot after the new NDP government followed through on a Rodney MacDonald initiative and raised the taxes on tobacco products. My only criticism is that the tax increase was too low.
For years I struggled with the addiction, burning away thousands of dollars on cigarettes and, probably slowly destroying my body with each puff. I would justify it by glibly saying “Might as well smoke here as in the hereafter.”
I grew up in an age when just about everybody smoked. The cost of a package of 20 cigarettes was thirty-three cents.
There were no health warnings - hell, my doctor smoked during medical appointments! When I was 12 years of age, I was offered a cigarette to see if it would “make me sick.” This wasn’t out behind the barn, it was in my home. I smoked that butt and tens of thousands more over the next 49 years.
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Columnist - Al Hollingsworth
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Written by Al Hollingsworth
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Thursday, 18 June 2009 |
“Lighthouse shines beacon on culture of defeat”
A middle aged mother was sitting outside a telephone both, sobbing uncontrollably. A man approach, put his hand on her shoulder and said, “what’s the matter, your husband leave you?
“No, it’s much worse than that,” she blubbered.
“Worse than that. Is there a serious illness in your family?” he offered
“Noooo,” she bawled.
“Oh no, a death in the family?” he pressed. |
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Columnist - Al Hollingsworth
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Written by Al Hollingsworth
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Thursday, 11 June 2009 |
You don’t vote, you don’t have a say. It is as simple as that. It’s my humble belief. Always has been, always will be.
In our province, following the June 9th Provincial Election, over 40 per cent of our residents did not cast a ballot – and from now until the next provincial election, should remain absolutely mute on matters political and things controlled by our government. No vote – no voice.
How seriously do I take this civic duty? I rate non-voting right up there with draft dodging.
In the “War to end all wars”, World War 1, Canada sent 600,000 troops to Europe to fight the Germans, and 60,000 of them, one in ten, never came home. World War II saw 42,789 Canadians left behind in shallow graves, with an additional 97,988 wounded, many of them losing one or more limbs.
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