Atlantic Superstore, Quinpool Centre, Halifax, 31 October 2009. Bah!...

31 October, 2009

To the dismay of insomniacs and shift workers across the country, CBC Radio One has quietly dropped an unassuming but prized corner of its schedule: the carousel of highlights from public broadcasters around the world that ran from 1 to 5:30 am. CBC Radio Overnight offered listeners welcome—and rare—insight into the perspective on other countries on world news. A  few remnants remain, including a half hour of the BBC at 4 am, and something called The World, at 1 am. Contrarian counts this a big loss....

31 October, 2009

Contrarian reader Cliff White writes: I'm in Quebec at the moment and, as you can imagine, the deal with New Brunswick is playing very well here.  I can't see how this won't turn out to be a very bad deal for New Brunswick in the long term, similar to, but eventually worse then, the one Newfoundland agreed to under Smallwood. At the time Smallwood signed the Churchill Falls deal, it looked pretty good, given the cost of energy at the time.  The problem arose when energy prices went up dramatically and Quebec refused to renegotiate. The length of the agreement meant that...

30 October, 2009

As Contrarian has noted, the Hydro Quebec-NB Power deal poses huge for problems Nova Scotia. What's more surprising is how shabby the deal seems to be for New Brunswick: NB sheds $4.8 billion in debt, but also loses critical long-term strategic assets, including its transmission grid and a potentially lucrative energy portal into the insatiable New England electricity market. NB remains saddled with the ballooning costs for refurbishing the aging Pt. Lepreau power plant, but Quebec Hydro gets the plant. NB does get some relief in the cost of replacement energy while Lepreau is offline. NB remains stuck with NB Power's thermal stinkers—one...

30 October, 2009

A source tells Contrarian the Globe and Mail had the Hydro Quebec-NB Power  story six weeks ago, but didn't get around to running it until last weekend. Speaks volumes about how much Atlantic Canada has slipped off the national press corps radar. Initial man-on-the-street reaction in NB seems negative; one can only wonder at the outcome had the Globe alerted its readers before negotiators sorted out all the details....

30 October, 2009

[caption id="attachment_2855" align="alignleft" width="320" caption="Kempt Head, Nova Scotia"][/caption]...

30 October, 2009

Friday's Globe and Mail carries an extraordinarily brave and wise letter from Emily Mitchell, mother of Taylor Mitchell, the talented 19-year-old folksinger who died Wednesday Morning from injuries sustained in an extremely unusual coywolf attack on the Skyline Trail. This passage bears special note: I've noticed that the media have often mentioned that Taylor was hiking alone when the coyote attack occurred. I want people to know that Taylor was a seasoned naturalist and well versed in wilderness camping. She loved the woods and had a deep affinity for their beauty and serenity. Tragically it was her time to be taken from...

29 October, 2009

[caption id="attachment_2847" align="alignright" width="350" caption="Inter-provincial power grid diagram shows the startling degree to which Nova Scotia is an energy island. This is a big obstacle to the development of local renewable energy supplies like wind and tidal, which are intermittent and therefore require robust interconnection with nearby power porducers and users. The Hydro Quebecwick deal means that any increase in our connectivity with the rest of the world will be at the mercy of the new monopoly owner of the grid, the Government of Quebec."][/caption] Premiers Shawn Graham (NB) and Jean Charest (QC) have unveiled the details of the Hydro Quebecwick...

29 October, 2009

A health worker who reads Contrarian weighs in: You can add to your post that the line-ups should have been triaged—the elderly, frail or disabled, and those with infants or children under five, should have been  moved to the front.  Or, if you smartly use the polling stations, set up a few specifically for these groups. I am appalled at the description of anyone carrying an infant or using a walker having to stand in the same line I would be expected to stand in. Poor planning indeed....

29 October, 2009

Who said this? There is no piece of land in Afghanistan that has not been occupied by one of our soldiers at some time or another. Nevertheless much of the territory stays in the hands of the terrorists. We control the provincial centers, but we cannot maintain political control over the territory we seize. Our soldiers are not to blame. They’ve fought incredibly bravely in adverse conditions. But to occupy towns and villages temporarily has little value in such a vast land where the insurgents can just disappear into the hills...

29 October, 2009
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