A final note

... on the power of the internet.

If you search the words "jesus vs nazis" on google, I am the number one response.

What a great comic. It is usually the high point of my Friday.

Blood of The Lamb, Mother fuckers.

Hooray for Google.

Like Dr. Dre

Lloyd Robertson just said my name... I kinda feel like Dr. Dre.

Don't believe me: Look Here

If you really like to analyse the difference in media, have a look at the twice as long version we ran.

WATCH IT HERE

Someone smart once told me, "You didn't have the time to tell the shorter story."

I like the CTV version better, although the 3:50 plus version on APTN (plus an additional 4 minutes of me talking with Todd through a camera) is full of much more Nunavut Political Inside Baseball.

Want to hear a newspaper editor talk about dead bodies? Is one quote of The Premier not enough for you, do you need three? Nunavummiut, click link two

If you just want to see what people in the south saw, click link ONE.

Following rising stars

Well, Leona Aglukkaq's meteoric rise to the top of Canada's political food chain is pulling a few people along in it's wake.

Namely, me.

If everything goes as planned, tune in tonight to CTV National News to see a shorter version of my "Local Reaction" story about Ms Aglukkaq.

See all our Nunavut regulars (Jim Bell, Premier Okalik, Hunter Tootoo) on the big news.

If it doesn't work out tonight, it will air sometime on the weekend.

Also, a scoop for you. Aglukkaq's first major interview, Question Period this Sunday. I hope she comes ready, Craig Oliver sharpens his teeth on federal rookies.

It will be very nice to hear "For CTV News, I'm Kent Driscoll of APTN National News, in Iqaluit".

Mike Duffy isn't their only former Islander now.

Of 10 point plans and politics

Everybody knows that Tagak Curley wants to be the Premier, and under Nunavut's consensus system of government, he has a chance to be. The MLA's meet in a few weeks, to elect a Premier, a Speaker and a cabinet.

The Premiership (soccer reference ;) ) battle is going to be interesting, especially since it looks like Mr Curley from Rankin Inlet is running publically. He released a 10 point plan which outlines what his administration would do.

I like 10 point plans, they are long enough to contain policy but short enough to be digestable. Here is his, with my comments in ITALICS AND CAPS


In the next Legislative Assembly, Tagak confirmed his priorities, among others, will include to:

1. examine the feasibility of establishing a breakfast program for all schools in Nunavut;

NUMBER ONE FOR A REASON. SOME SCHOOLS HAVE TRIED THIS ALREADY, WITH GREAT RESULTS

2. improve health care including better and more reliable air travel for the ill and their families;

NO SURPRISE, IF I HAD A NICKEL FOR EVERYTIME I HAVE HEARD MR CURLEY OR ONE OF THE REGULAR MEMBERS BRING UP MEDICAL TRAVEL, I WOULD HAVE A SHIT LOAD OF NICKELS

3. double the number of new housing units to be built;

EASIER SAID THAN DONE

4. encourage more local Inuit training and employment opportunities;

WHY FLY PEOPLE OUT TO TRAIN, WHEN YOU CAN FLY PEOPLE IN TO TRAIN THEM

5. improve government contracting practices allowing more local business to benefit from government business;

KEEPING BUSINESS LOCAL IS A GOOD IDEA, BUT THERE ARE ALREADY BONUSES AND QUOTAS IN PLACE, EITHER THEY AREN'T WORKING AND NEED TO BE RE-EXAMINED, OR ARE WORKING AND THIS STATEMENT IS JUST POLITICS... GOOD POLITICS BUT POLITICS

6. more roads, and a harbour or a wharf for all communities;

A+ FOR THE IDEA, PROBLEM IS THAT WHARVES ARE A FEDERAL RESPONSABILITY. EITHER THAT TAKES A LOT OF TERRITORIAL MONEY BEING SPENT OF A FEDERAL RESPONSABILITY, OR IT TAKES CRACKING SKULLS WITH THE FEDS TO MAKE IT HAPPEN.

7. improve cargo handling at community airports and improved food mail for more affordable healthy food choices;

MORE FEDERAL AREAS, ALTHOUGH EVERYONE CAN AGREE THAT THEY NEED TO BE REVISITED

8. increase capacity for the local administration of justice, including more local court houses;

LOCAL OFFICIALS, SURE. LOCAL COURTHOUSES, I DON'T KNOW, DO WE NEED A BUILDING JUST FOR THAT? WHY NOT BUILD MULTIPURPOSE COMMUNITY HALLS, THAT COULD BE OF USE MORE THAN JUST ON COURT DAYS. WHY BUILD TWO BUILDINGS, WHEN ONE COULD DO TWO THINGS?

9. increase in number of local police; and

NO ONE IS GOING TO DISAGREE WITH THAT ONE

10. more reliance on elders and traditional knowledge for regulating local hunting.

AGAIN, IF YOU LISTEN TO MR CURLEY IN THE LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY, USING MORE ELDERS IN WILDLIFE STUDIES IS A PET ISSUE OF HIS. SMART SCIENTISTS WILL TELL YOU, EYEWITNESSES TO LONG TERM CHANGE ARE INVALUABLE.

So, this sounds like the stuff he has been talking about all along. Gives it a ring of truth, don't you think, that consistant message.

I think Mr Curley's biggest challenge is going to be outrunning his reputation, as he has been known to speak his mind to his own detriment. That is a trait I know all too well, being one of those "talk first, think later" types myself.

I don't think that is always such a bad thing, but people here seem to prefer the strong silent type over leading with your chin. If people see this as a time where there needs to be a louder voice in Iqaluit, that could help as much as hurt.... we'll have to wait and see like everyone else.

His region kicked out all their cabinet ministers, the thirst for change is being fueled by the Kivalliq. Could be an interesting forum on leadership, and Mr Curley can't be discounted.

No matter who wins, please steal the breakfast plan idea from him, if it is not him who wins.

Me, I'm still wondering who will be the Speaker... I'll worry about Premier after a few days of post election non-political thinking.

For example, Friday's story.... SEAL SKINS!!! NO politics of any type, I feel like it is Christmas.

"Oh, I thought she said she was loose"

See more Ron Howard videos at Funny or Die

FONZIE, RICHIE AND OPIE.

JUST WATCH IT!!

So, you think you can fight?

I love getting messages from our programming department, and here is one I think some readers may be interested in.

Think you can fight? Give Warriors TKO a shot. Why do I think they would get a kick out of having an Inuk on the show this time out. Check out the poster:



It sure would give me an excuse to do a story about any Inuk who qualified for the show... and a better reason for Inuit to tune in.

I hope they sit together

From today's National Post:

That breakthrough alone clinches Ms. Shea a cabinet gig as the province's government insider. But her apparently scandal-free performance as a P.E.I. cabinet minister makes Ms. Shea the surest bet as a rookie MP becoming a minister.

Runner-up for that claim is Leona Aglukkaq, the first Conservative MP elected for Nunavut. She might not be ready for a stand-alone portfolio --a one-term cabinet-equivalent gig in the territorial government is simply not in the same league as leading a large federal department -- but she has roots in a variety of public service roles that appear solid enough to rate being tested in a junior job.

It sounds about right. After Ms Aglukkaq came to our office for her "over the satellite" interview with one of our anchors, I used the chance to get in a personal message.

When you get to Ottawa look up Gail Shea.

Both of you are women coming from areas without strong Tory history, and are the only person in the party to represent a large group, Northerners for Leona and PEImiut for Gail, and both have served in a cabinet.

The other reason I suggested it, is because I know both of them professionally. I worked in Western PEI before coming here, and reported extensively on Ms Shea. The two have many personaility traits in common (both positive and negative, but they do match up nicely).

Turns out, the two know each other already, from Status of Women meetings. Ms Aglukkaq was quite pleased when she heard that Gail had won. Gail was also the only person I knew who had been to Nunavut before I moved here, and was effusive in her praise of -- as the Premier is wont to say -- "the good people of Nunavut".

The description of Gail as "scandal free" has at least one newspaper editor I know jumping up and down in rage... see, there was this thing called Polar Foods, where a bunch of fish plant owners collapsed the lobster processing industry on PEI, and ripped off the government for more than $20 million.

It hurt Gail's riding pretty badly. Some would call it a scandal. I would have at the time. Upon reflection, I feel more like all Islanders got mugged by some fish plant owners, due to a pretty lax loan guarantee system on PEI. She has to wear at least some of it, her government guaranteed the loans.

Watch me drop a name here. When I was travelling to Alert with Def. Min. Peter McKay, I interviewed him in front of the weather station up there. We are doing the bit where you take a long shot of the two people talking, for cutaways -- a two shot for TV geeks. McKay was the Minister responsible for PEI, since they didn't elect any Torys.

I usually make small talk, or crack a joke. For McKay, I simply said, "Do you think Gail has a shot in Egmont?" I figured a PEI Inside Baseball question would be a good way to break the ice.

He did laugh, and told a great story about driving through snowstorm from Pictou to Tignish for a fundraiser, going to the Legion in Tignish, and ending up on stage with Ms Shea in some sort of skit, where she was in costume and cracking jokes.

I thoguht to myself, "Wow, you really have been to Tignish."

I hope they both get into cabinet, mostly because I don't perceive either of them as being Reform Party based right wing lunatics. They may just be sneaking two Progressive Conservatives into cabinet... couldn't hurt.

Coming in two parts

Wow.... three hours of tape is a whole lot of tape.

So, here is what I did. I broke it into two parts:

Tonight in Part 1 -- lots of Sheutiapik and Okalik, with a dash of Glenn Williams and Madeleine Redfern. Good clips always force their way in.

Tomorrow in Part 2 -- everybody else

Basically, I couldn't get all the candidates into Part 1, and wanted to make sure everyone is in the story.

If you only listened on radio, you missed half of the show. Body language, demeanor and attentiveness go a long way to showing someone's views.

Tonight at 7 EST for our Northern viewers, 6 EST for those in the South. For Express-Vu customers, 7 EST on Channel 270, 6 EST on Channel 269.

I just looked at the line-up for the rest of the show, and it looks like we have a good one tonight (we have a good one every night, some good is just better than other good).

Buffy St. Marie, Chief Phil Fontaine, Part III of our Yellowknife Bureau's fantastic look at NWT Foster Care, an all-aboriginal Junior B hockey team, and why the heck did the Justice in change of the Truth and Reconcilliation Commission quit yesterday?

Tune in, turn on, and save your criticisms until after you have seen both parts ;)

What I asked

I love the AFN for giving me a chance to ask some good questions, and for being all around generally good people.

Also, I am going into the business of concrete steps, as almost question asked for them. Driscoll's Concrete Steps, coming soon to a location near you.

Almost four fours in the building, three for the debate, I have a lot of tape to look at, so with no further delay, here are the qusetions I asked, and of whom:

Iqaluit West: Sheutiapik and Okalik

1 – One of Premier Okalik’s platform planks is taking credit for Nunavut’s “successful” economy. According to Statistics Canada, the average income for a family in Nunavut is 49,270, the Canadian average is 63,866. StatsCan also said that in 2005, two-thirds of Nunavummiut reported not having enough food during the previous year due to lack of money, nearly four times the national average. My question, do you think Nunavut’s economy is doing well, and what can be done to help those who do not benefit from it?

Iqaluit Center: Sageatook, Redfern and Tootoo

2 – The Auditor General of Canada said this of Nunavut government, “"We found numerous cases of non-compliance with Nunavut's financial laws, including seeking the legislative assembly's approval to spend money after it had already been spent.” She also said , “"Current financial management is weak and fragile. Six years after Nunavut's creation, I am surprised how slowly financial management has improved." The report even included a section about the GN titled “A History of Breaking the Rules.” What would you do to make the Government of Nunavut meet it’s basic, legislated, fiscal responsibility to Nunavummiut?

Iqaluit East: Peter, Williams and Ariak

3 – Iqaluit is growing rapidly. Overcrowding is a huge issue here in the capital. So is crime, between the now frequent notices from RCMP of untreated violent criminals choosing to live in Iqaluit, to the Nunavut wide fact that a person is 12 times more likely to be a victim of sexual assault here, compared to the rest of the Canada. The RCMP are paid to police this community, yet haven’t delivered a report to City Council in eight months. Since you are all running to represent Iqaluit, what concrete steps would you take to make Iqaluit safer, healthier and all in all a better place to live?

Political Free For All

For Iqaluit based voters, we have an interesting proposition for you. At 7:30 Monday night at the always accomadating Francophone Center, there will be an All Iqaluit Canadidates Forum.

The questions will be provided by local journalists, three of whom you can see right here:


Photo (as well as my bad ass new header photo) Courtesy of Kate Nova

Would you want to face off against a panel like that? I guess that the candidates do.

My question for you, dear readers, is: What do you want me to ask them about?

I'm never at a shortage for questions, but I am interested in what you would ask them. When you spend too much looking at the small strokes, sometimes the bigger picture can get blurry.

I get three questions, and the other two clowns in that picture each get two. I have a pretty good idea what my first one will be, but I have all weekend to come up with bulletproof questions that can not be ignored, talked around or otherwise politicked. Help a brother out.

Come on down. Monday, Francophone Center. 7:30 PM. Punch and Pie

EDITOR'S NOTE: There likely will not be punch and pie.

Why the election blackout is stupid

Fact: Polls close at 9:30 Eastern in Iqaluit

Fact: I'm sitting in my office in Iqaluit, watching many channels

Fact: On Iqaluit cable, you get NTV from Newfoundland

Fact: If I was home, I would have local channels from all over the country on satellite

Fact: Even though the polls are open here, I'm getting the results from Atlantic Canada, on regular old cable

Fact: If I posted said results here, I'd be breaking a law

Opinion: That is a pretty stupid system

My electronic TOWER OF BABEL

Since polls don't close until 9:30 EST, I had some time on my hands at the office today.

I hooked up three TV's, an internet terminal, a white board and the radio to my ELECTRONIC TOWER OF BABEL.

Then I get a phone call from the show.

"Hey Kent, want to do a 2 minute de-brief about the time zone thing with the Nunavut election?"

"Sure I do, and boy oh boy, do I have a background."

When Master Control shouted out "Holy S*%^", I knew I had it made :)

Tonight, 6 Eastern, see what i made :)

Watch our show tonight

If you want to see what a record number of Take Back the Night marchers look like...

Plus, see the poor guy with the cute little girl, who was roped into commenting for my camera, because of the lovely pack of women he was travelling with.

"We need a man to comment."

"Oh, he'll do it."

:)

It was a good night.

In the first eight minutes of the show, guaranteed.

Tonight 6 pm

Iqaluit Take Back The Night March. Starts up by the High School and ends by the Parish Hall. I'll be the guy with the microphone asking questions. Say hi when you see me.

Say it ain't so Sam

I have been a Toronto Raptors through all of the bad, and the semi-sweet. Come up to me and say, "Vince Carter Rules" and you are likely to catch a swat from me. Being a Raptors fan is like being a Cubs fan, without the tragic shame of history crumbling around you.... mostly.

Being a Raps fan requires a colourful vocabulary. You might as well swear, because they aren't going to get any better overnight. If Andrea Bargnani could hear what I have to say he might, I don't know, leave town or pick his 7 foot ass up off the court and hustle for his $$$.

SAm Mitchell has been my favourite coach to handle the squad. He is no nonsense, and when his car commercial is on TV, The Boy says, "Look, he is smiling now."... because he doesn't in games.

Plus, really sharp dresser, which actually counts in the NBA.

Which is why I was so disappointed to read THIS.

Sam gave up cursing.... cold turkey.... what the fuck?

How can you coach the Toronto Raptors and not curse.. even a little bit?

"It's something to let (the players and public) know that, one, I'm growing and maturing every day," he said. "Two, I'm trying to get better not only as a coach but as a person; and, three, who wants to be screamed and yelled at and cursed at every day?"

I DON'T CARE IF THEY WANT IT, THOSE GUYS NEED TO BE CURSED AT EVERY DAY... ESPECIALLY THAT LANKY EUROPEAN FUCKSTICK WITH THE DULL GLARE OF AN UNDERACHEIVER IN HIS OVERPAID EYES. RED AUERBACH WOULD HAVE BURNED HIM WITH A CIGAR BY NOW!

Fuck that Sam, fucking let them fucking have it, right between the fucking eyes. Get their fucking attention, and never fucking let go. You are in a division with Dwight Howard and Kevin Garnett. That would have me waking up at night in a cold sweat, cursing loudly.

I'll be watching the pre-season game tonight, and Sam, I don't expect to see you cursing. It is still the pre-season, you have time to work into it. BUT DON'T LET UP ON THESE FUCKERS.

You fucking know it. I fucking know it. They fucking need you to fucking stick it to them.

Except for Chris Bosh. I want him swearing at his teammates too.

During my fake Presidency

PAris Hilton is running for President, or at least putting videos up on Funny or Die.

See more Paris Hilton videos at Funny or Die

In her first video, she gave her plan to get America off of foreign fuels, and it sounded as reasonable as the actual candidates... even though she was poolside.

This one, she has history's most esteemed Fake President, Josiah Bartlett, there to help her campaign.

"During my Fake Presidency, the kitchen is often where we went to debate the fake issues of our time."

Forget Paris Hilton, Bartlett for President... he was a Fake Economist, and the economy is all fake anyway. It should be as effective as the Obama/McCain idea of a celebrity Treasury Secretary (and no, I'm not kidding, I think even suggesting appointing Warren Buffet as Treasury Secretary is low level pandering to a culture with limited attention span).

JIMMY SMITS STABBED A GUY

I am a fan of much maligned dramatic actor Jimmy Smits. He was great on LA LAw, The West Wing, the abymissal Cane and even carried it off in Star Wars.

I was really enjoying him on Dexter, until I found out, HE TRIED TO KILL A GUY.

Courtesy Contact Music.com

A TV stuntman is lucky to be alive after actor JIMMY SMITS stabbed him for real during a fight scene for TV show DEXTER.
Smits grabbed a real knife instead of a prop knife during shooting and plunged it into action man Jeff Chase.
Chase was only saved by a piece of plastic placed over his heart - which Smits miraculously hit.
He says, "For the scene, I was bound in Saran Wrap, duct tape over my mouth. I couldn't say a thing as I saw Jimmy grab at the knife. He picked up the real one by pure mistake. It was a mean looking knife.
"I heard fellow actor Michael C. Hall yelling at Jimmy to stop - but it was too late. I felt the thud in my chest. I didn't have on a metal breast plate like a lot of actors do in a scene like that.
"Instead I had a piece of acrylic clear plastic about the size of a Post-it note over my heart. It was a quarter of an inch thick and not attacked. In eight out of 10 takes with the prop knife, Jimmy had missed the plastic. But by a miracle, an act of God, the knife landed at the very edge of the plastic.
"I really thought I'd been stabbed in the heart, but I didn't have a scratch. Jimmy was devastated and couldn't stop apologising. I told him, I felt more sorry for him than me."

Buck 65

Unless you live under a rock, you have likely heard that Buck 65 himself is hosting a show on CBC Radio 2.

88.3 in Iqaluit, from 3 pm to 6. Great way to finish out the day... highlight of their schedule... feel like I'm in Halifax, listening to the campus radio, except with higher production value.

Come 3 pm, my radio is turned on. Come by the office, and enjoy.

**** Jesusie Rich, I go to recommend you to people, and you have to play fucking Spearhead.... man.

EDITED TO ADD: Kathleen Edwards singing the words "I know where the cops hang out" make up for it. You are forgiven.

Good eats

Tuesday night is the new Friday in Iqaluit. Italian buffet at The Water's Edge, all you can eat for $35. There is even a chef on the buffet line to do up custom pasta for you, along with all the lazagna, Italian sausage, and tasty tasty chocolate cake you can eat.

As for the real Friday, Jack Layton -- and presumbably his moustache -- are coming to Iqaluit to tell us all about The New Strong. All I know for sure, I know who I'm talking to on Friday.

That's two leaders so far. Mr. Dion has been here twice previously, but I wonder if he'll make a third trip.

If Elizabeth May makes it up here, I would like to know why the Green Party logo looks so much like the British Petroleum logo. Think I'm crazy, look here:





Spooky, huh?