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Written by Al Hollingsworth
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Saturday, 15 March 2008 |
I didn’t know the members of Halifax Commonwealth Games Committee were street people. They must have been, because we bought them clothes and even luggage for travelling. Freddie MacGillivary a squeegie kid? Maybe so, for as we know, some of them do wear hoodies, making it hard to see their faces.
How else do you explain the suits of Argyle Street spending $8,350.80 of our precious tax dollars on clothing from Vogue Men’s Wear and $821.37 story on luggage from Kelly’s?. These and other more startling figures became public last week thanks to an outstanding piece of journalism by Tim Bousquet of The Coast. According to Bousquet, committee members even wrote 26 cheques to some outfit named Quickies. I’ll wager disgraced New York Governor Eliot Spitzer didn’t have that many quickies. |
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Written by Alex J. Walling
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Sunday, 09 March 2008 |
By Alex J.Walling
 It’s time to cue up the old Gerry and the Pacemakers 45 called 'I like it'. That's my sentiment on the nearly six-months-old new suppertime news hour with Jim Nunn and Peter Coade. The show is working because of two simple reasons; the second is the content and first is Nunn, Jim Nunn, sounds a bit like, Bond, James Bond.
There was nothing wrong with Norma Lee McLeod who did the program in the past, she is good, competent and professional and I’m delighted that as the show’s producer she is often on the program but Nunn, like the late Tom Snyder, was born for Television. There's a mix of confidence, part vanity, knowledge, earned at many levels of the business, and part showman. |
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Written by Al Hollingsworth
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Saturday, 08 March 2008 |
When Liberal Leader Stephen McNeil sat down on Thursday night for a chat with CTV’s Steve Murphy, he looked relaxed and rather poised for someone who has only been on the job for 10 short months. Only once, near the end, did he seem a bit uncomfortable.
He didn’t squirm or stammer when Steve Murphy raised the issue of sex changes. Last weekend, as I addressed in my most recent rendering, the Young Liberals pushed through their silly motion whereby, if the Grits become the next government, we (the over -burdened taxpayers) will have to foot the bill for sex change operations. |
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Written by Al Hollingsworth
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Sunday, 02 March 2008 |
If looking at some of the individuals who sit at the Liberal caucus table isn’t enough to make you run for the hills, then the latest by the Young Liberals and the party’s policy committee will probably scare away the handful of Nova Scotians who still support the once proud party.
In fairness, a serious vetting of all opposition members is a must. After all, they could very well be the next cabinet ministers, and determine our fate over the ensuing four years. All too often we get caught up in the hype of a leader, or want to punish a sitting government, and forget to look at the other potential decision makers. |
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Written by Al Hollingsworth
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Saturday, 23 February 2008 |
It seems, to paraphrase Will Rogers, that these days our federal government opens with a prayer and closes with an investigation. Lately, they pray for whatever and then turn their guns on Brian Mulroney. Heck, he only got a few thousands, the Liberals handed out millions of sponsorship dollars to their pals in Quebec. That one is still stuck in my craw.
The legendary American humorist also said, “The 1928 Republican Convention opened with a prayer. If the Lord can see His way clear to bless the Republican Party the way it's been carrying on, then the rest of us ought to get it without even asking.” |
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Written by Alex J. Walling
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Wednesday, 20 February 2008 |
By Alex J. Walling
Harry Flemming, he may have been the most unique media person that I have had the privilege to meet. First, it was on TV where we saw him for years as part of the political panel, then in a column in the Daily News, and finally over the past three-four years he was a daily 'must listen' to 97.9, the information radio station, as run by retired broadcaster Jack McGaw and business person Bob Stapells.
Harry Flemming passed away this pass weekend he was 74. I first met the crusty curmudgeon in the late 80's- early 90's when someone at a Nova Scotia Hall of Fame function suggested that Harry and I should talk about baseball. Someone told Harry, that I might know a thing or two about the sport. Since I was on MITV at the time he knew who I was and we talked a bit, the subject, baseball. |
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Written by Al Hollingsworth
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Saturday, 16 February 2008 |
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Monday’s shocking announcement of the closing of the Halifax Daily News sent me reeling. I was there from day one in 1979 until I left in 1988 to become Vince MacLean’s press secretary. Okay, I’ve never professed to being smart.
After the shock abated, I began to reflect on those early days and maybe the nine greatest years of my life. With more days behind me than ahead, I don’t envision a new and dazzling career …. |
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Written by Al Hollingsworth
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Sunday, 10 February 2008 |
Peter Christie is leading the 200 or so residents who attended “the start of a recreation revolution” down a very slippery slope. Given his background in civic and provincial politics, I am aghast at his posture. However, as I read the account of the February 7th meeting, it suddenly became clear why he preferred a “revolution” to a compromise solution.
“In Bedford, in politics, you have to come in front of people, let them yell at you and then they’ll vote for you. If you don’t let them yell at you, they won’t vote for you. It’s a simple rule out here. I know the rule and I play it,” Christie is quoted as saying. This came after he used his position as chairman to prod and goad the crowd for support of his position. “When you are going to start a revolution you can’t be wishy-washy,” he hollered to a throng of now whooping and cheering zealots. Christie gives new meaning to mean-spiritedness.
Then there was the treatment afforded Mayor Peter Kelly. Kelly, a lifelong resident of the community, was booed and shouted down when he tried to explain the permit delays for the three ice sheet arena planned for the Rocky Lake area. |
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Written by Al Hollingsworth
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Sunday, 03 February 2008 |
On Saturday night, when they paused for the cause, and some 19,000-plus hockey fans rose to their feet and lustily cheered General Rick Hillier and representatives of various Canadian military units, I was proud to be a Canuck. For those who missed it, it occurred just prior to the dropping of the puck to start the game between Ottawa and Toronto.
If my reaction mirrored the average viewer, then the positive energy that flowed through the Air Canada Centre could be felt in the million or so homes tuned in from sea, to sea, to sea. It was, in a word, special. |
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Written by Al Hollingsworth
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Sunday, 27 January 2008 |
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Most Americans, and those of us who like to watch presidential elections from afar, are zeroed in on the battle for the Democratic nomination. The race between Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama and John Edwards, is now heading towards February 4th, and the so-called showdown on Super Tuesday. It is generally thought that the victor on that day should carry the convention and head the ticket for the November vote, the one that counts. Except if you’re Al Gore and have a million or so votes more that George W. Bush. Oops, sorry, the devil made me do it! |
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