daveberta.ca - Alberta Politics and Elections

…this is what our blog would look like.

Unfortunately, the “$7 Billion” surplus we thought we had turned out to be a measly $2.8 Billion.

It seems the patronage gods are having a hard time quenching their thirst…

…two new Senate appointments today…

Yoine Goldstein (Quebec-Liberal): A Montreal Lawyer

Francis Fox (Quebec-Liberal): Corporate Executive; Martin Confidant; Former Trudeau Cabinet Minister who was forced to resign from cabinet in 1978, when it was revealed that he had forged the signature of his girlfriend’s husband on a form granting permission for her to have an abortion. (At the time, the husband’s consent was needed for the procedure.)

There are now three vacancies in the Senate: two in New Bruswick, and one in Prince Edward Island (Stompin’ Tom still has a chance!).

The current party standings in the Senate are…

Liberal – 67
Conservative – 24
Progressive Conservative – 5
New Democratic – 1
Independent – 5
Vacant – 3
TOTAL – 105

We had a fire at our house this weekend. An electrical cord shorted out and set the couch on fire.

Thankfully (or luckly), a buddy of our housemate was too un-sober to drive home that night and was sleeping on the couch when it started burning. He put it out before it burnt our house down.

No one was hurt.

Crazy.

Mainly for the benefit of Socialist Swine, who apparently likes online quizzes. 🙂

how jedi are you? :: by lawrie malen

As of October 3rd, Premier Klein will a new chief enforcer.

The (twice, third time?) resignation of the perennial Chief of Staff of the Premier’s Office, Mr. Rod Love, has happened again.

Mr. Love, who recently announced his departure from the Premier’s office, will be returning to the private sector.

Mr. Love, who served as Klein’s Chief of Staff from 1992 to 1997, replaced Peter Elzinga as Chief of Staff earlier this year (Elzinga, who served as the PC MP for Pembina from 1974 to 1986 and the PC MLA for Sherwood Park from 1986 to 1993, replaced Steve West as Chief of Staff following the 2004 Election and later replaced defeated Tory MLA Drew Hutton as the Executive Director of the Alberta PC Party – a position he currently holds).

Mr. Peter Kruselnicki will replace Mr. Love.

According to a press release from the Premier’s Office:

“Peter Kruselnicki, a former deputy minister and long-time public servant, will assume the duties of Premier Ralph Klein’s Chief of Staff effective Monday, October 3.

…

Mr. Kruselnicki is currently on secondment from the government of Alberta to the University of Victoria, Wellington, New Zealand, Faculty of Public Administration.”

Mr. Kruselnicki was Alberta’s Deputy Minister of Labour under former Minister Murray Smith (now Alberta’s “Ambassador” to Washington DC) and Deputy Minister of Finance under former Finance Minister’s Stockwell Day (before Day’s jump into the Canadian Alliance leadership race), Steve West (who didn’t seek re-election in 2001 and was Klein’s Chief of Staff before Elzinga), and Pat Nelson (Nelson did not seek re-election in 2004). Mr. Kruselnicki left for New Zealand following the November 2004 election.

Just as interesting as the incestuous nature of Alberta PC politics is that this seems to be the first “non-politico” to fill the Chief of Staff position in as far back as we can remember… (props to Duncan for pointing this out to us).

Through the miracle of google, we’ve been able to discover the secret to Evangelical Christian rock star, Pat Robertson’s longevity!

Mr. Robertson, born in the early 1800’s, has been preaching the good word of forgivness and charity since 1830 and he’s still going! Here’s the secret to his immortality: Pat Robertson’s Age-Defying Protein Shake!

To make one of these holier than thou shakes and be just like Pat Robertson, follow these directions…

“In a blender, mix 10 to 12 ounces (1 1/2 glasses) of water with:
• 1/2 scoop Lindberg Protein Blend (11g protein, 55 calories)
• 1 scoop Optimum Nutrition Pro Complex (27g protein, 130 calories)
• 5 grams Fitness Labs L-Glutamine Powder (20 calories)
• 1 Tbsp. Lindberg Organic Flax Oil (130 calories)
• 1 Tbsp. Bragg Apple Cider Vinegar (0 calories)
• 1/2 Tbsp. Safflower Oil (65 calories)
• 1 Tsp. Lindberg MSM Powder (15 calories)
• 1 packet Now Foods Stevia Extract (0 calories)

Total nutrients are: Protein 38g, Carbs 3g, Fat 23g, Calories 412g. (These calculations do not take into account carbs or calories from the fruit you may optionally add. Recipe is for a medium sized man or a large woman.)

Next, add in frozen strawberries and blueberries or your favorite fruit, natural sweetener (if desired), ice cubes and blend. Makes one delicious shake.”

Rumour has it that he and Rasputin shared one in 1916!

God Bless and Enjoy!

We thought this was a little funny.

As expected, Mr. Cherniak has the official Ottawa politburo spin on his blog.

The good people at Our Public Airwaves have fixed up the above button. You may have noticed it on our sidebar and you can find the html code for the button here.

As long-time listeners of CBC Radio, we are getting more and more annoyed with the message “due to labour distruption…”

We want our CBC back. We want our As It Happens and Sounds Like Canada. We miss listening to Edmonton AM and the Current. We miss Global Village.

We miss the quality, and are really learning to dislike the new suplementary “national programing” that the CBC is using since the strike began.

It’s time for this strike to end.

We believe it’s time for the Liberal Government to seriously start funding the CBC.

It’s raining again today.

Well, it’s been a busy couple of days for us here in daveberta.

Here’s a quick recap…

Saturday…

Fringe! Saturday afternoon, we made our way to the International Fringe Theatre Festival in Old Strathcona with our friends Dan and Ryan.

For the first time in what seemed like 9 years, it wasn’t raining in our fair municipality. Though we all suffered from severe moisture deprivation from the lack of rain, it was extremely pleasant to enjoy what was know to generations past as “sunshine” and “summer.”

As luck would have it, we spent most of the afternoon and evening in the beer gardens, though we did break to see a show. We enjoyed a splendid rendition of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat by Alberta Lyric Theatre, which was held in the basement of the Strathcona Presbyterian Church. It was fun. It was youth theatre, but it was fun.

We also had a nice chat with our favorite MLA, Laurie Blakeman, who was also enjoying the Fringe-festivities.

Following Mr. Joseph and his Amazing Dreamcoat, we excused ourselves back to the beer gardens for another round of refreshments. Our night finished itself off with…

1. An impromptu techno session on Whyte.
2. Randomly getting invited to a rave and a frat party within 5 minutes of each other.
3. A nearly lost car.
4. A donair.
5. EH-OH!

Sunday….

After waking up at 1:30 in the afternoon, we slowly made my way back to the Fringe to enjoy some shows (after stopping for coffee at the Sugar Bowl of course!).

After chillin’ wit some of our peeps for a bit, we took in some of the free shows. This included the half-naked torch juggling lady, Australian “mating” rituals, and two Yanks who did some more juggling. We also saw one guy do 100 push-ups in 1 minute! It was crazy!

Later hooked up with the Boggmaster and Ms. Catrin. We again ended up in the beer gardens. Intellectual discussions ensued. All is well.

Indeed.

The three of us ended up going to one of the best Fringe shows we’ve seen in quite a while: ANTOINE FEVAL (we added the caps for effect). Seriously folks, if you get the chance to see this show this week, TOTALLY GO. It was awesome funny.

Following Mr. Feval’s production, we seem to remember returning to the beer gardens…

(FADES TO BLACK)

Monday…

Following a restless night of severe “rain withdrawal,” we made our usual 5 minute walk to work in typical Monday morning fashion… slowly but surely.

Monday afternoon progressed into a Tuition Policy Seminar at University Hall with Dr. Dan Lang from the University of Toronto. Dr. Lang is working on a study with the United Nations on tuition models in G-8 Countries. We try not to comment on work stuff here on our blog, but seeing as how it seems we’ve already broken that rule, we’re just going to say that it was an interesting seminar and not quite what we expected…

Monday evening, we progressed to what was known as the Prime Minister’s BBQ in Edmonton.

Yes, that is correct, the one and only Right Honourable Paul Martin, PC was in Edmonton and at a BBQ (600 people and sold out).

We were joined by the lovely Misses Sarah and Samantha, along with the always hip Misters Adam and Dan. There were alot more people at the BBQ than we expected, including the striking CBC Workers/Telus Workers/Prison Guards outside the event. Though we felt a little dirty “crossing the line,” we felt redeemed after signing their petitions and posing for some pictures (see below).

Ms. Sarah, Mr. Adam, and daveberta’s editor-in-chief in solidarity with the striking workers.

We attempted to bring one of the prison guard union flags into the event, but unfortunately, one of the RCMP goons thought otherwise. He grabbed it from us and proceeded to put it “where it belongs”- which turned out to be the garbage. Fortunately, my level-headed intellectual friend, Dan, snatched the flag from the goonish cop and returned it to the workers.

Shame on that RCMP officer. Shame.

Even the entire membership of the Alberta Separatist Party showed up!

Of course, being the political Casanova’s that we are, as we entered, we smoothly put our “schmoozing hats” on and delved into the crowd.

Hot Dogs and wine had the pleasure to grace out palate that evening. We had a nice chat with a number of people and we even got to sit at the same table as the amazing Todd Babiak! We thought he was a pretty cool guy (which we discovered he is).

Some other notables at the event included Senators Claudette Tardif and Grant Mitchell, Minister Lucienne Robillard, Alberta Liberal Leader Kevin Taft, Liberal MLA’s Rick Miler, Bruce Miller, Dan Backs, the lovely Nic, and the blogging hipster himself, Mr. Sheamus Murphy.

The PM entered, people cheered. Our favorite Liberal MP, Anne McLellan, introduced him and the reception was fairly warm (for Alberta). The Prime Minister said “tremendous” at least 8 times in his speech (6 times in the first minute). He spoke about foreign policy, training, etc….? Fairly decent speech overall. Props for campaign style delivery, but not so much for the overusage of the word “tremendous.”

We continued to schmooze and drink as the evening continued.

As the evening ended, we were reminded that it is supposed to start raining again tomorrow.

Ah, summer in Alberta.

(Exit Stage Left)

(END SCENE)

We’re assuming that Mr. Bear and friends over at Blank Out Times have…

1. …unfortunately decided to pack it in.

2. …decided to get in touch with their inner kink.

You decide.

My life has been rated:
See what your rating is!

No-one younger than 15 may see a ‘15’ film in a cinema. No-one younger than 15 may rent or buy a ‘15’ rated video or DVD.

Theme
No theme is prohibited, provided the treatment is appropriate to 15 year olds.

Language
There may be frequent use of strong language (eg ‘fuck’). But the strongest terms (eg ‘cunt’) will be acceptable only where justified by the context. Continued aggressive use of the strongest language is unlikely to be acceptable.

Nudity
Nudity may be allowed in a sexual context but without strong detail. There are no constraints on nudity in a non-sexual or educational context.

Sex
Sexual activity may be portrayed but without strong detail. There may be strong verbal references to sexual behaviour.

Violence
Violence may be strong but may not dwell on the infliction of pain or injury. Scenes of sexual violence must be discreet and brief.

Imitable techniques
Dangerous techniques (eg combat techniques, hanging, suicide and self-harming) should not dwell on imitable detail. Easily accessible weapons should not be glamorised.

Horror
Strong threat and menace are permitted. The strongest gory images are unlikely to be acceptable.

Drugs
Drug taking may be shown but the film as a whole must not promote or encourage drug misuse.

Good Saturday morning (afternoon?) to you all! Saturday, our favorite day of the week is upon us and we couldn’t be happier!

This week, we had wireless internet hooked up in our house, it’s great. For a while, we were leaching off the signal from the U of A Law Centre, but seeing as how slow it was, this is even better.

This week, we bided a temporary adieu to a good friend of ours who is spending the next 9 months in India. She’ll be working for an NGO in a central Indian city. We would be lying if we didn’t say we are enormously envious of her endeavors and that we’ll miss her while she’s gone. But alas, at this moment she is doing better stuff than we (lounging around my house drinking coffee).

It has been 13 months since we’ve stepped foot out of the province of Alberta. This is the longest we have EVER gone without at least making a weeklong expedition to the BC Rockies or the Saskatchewan side of Cypress Hills. We are getting extremely antsy as it looks like we may have to wait until next May to go on our next expedition. Last summer, we spent a month piggy backing, hitch hiking, and hostelling it across the great Canadian Maritimes. It was well worth it, but we thirst for more travel. It’s in our blood. It’s a thirst we have found hard to quench.

Well, spent a good chunk of our evening with some totally radical awesome dudes at the Powerplant. Where the patio is in the shade from 5pm to 5am! (new slogan?)

Anyway… it’s the week of International Fringing here in (it’s finally stopped raining) Edmonton, Alberta.

We’re quite looking forward to checking out a bunch of the new plays this year. Bought our Fringe programs a couple of weekends ago and have been slowly perusing through, seeing which plays look cool enough for an awesome posse such as ours to go to. 😉

If it makes you uncultured daveberta readers who aren’t theatre lovers any better, we’ll also be spending a decent amount of time in the beer gardens over the next couple of days. Sweet.

Totally check out the Fringe in Old Strathcona if you get the chance. It’s one of our favorite Edmonton festivals. It’s awesome.

BTW. Did anyone else read the Edmonton Sun Editorial today?

Question: What the hell kind of rag starts an editorial piece with “Un-FREAKING-belieable!?!?!?!

Answer: Not a very good one.

We think the world needs more poet laureates.