tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6484348675772262069Tue, 09 Feb 2010 12:25:18 +0000Peter resides in St. John’s, NL with his wife Kristine and their three boys Aidan, Liam &amp; Conor. A former journalist, broadcaster, political staffer and policy adviser, he currently pays the bills working in public relations and special event planning. A political animal by nature, Peter has studied political science, journalism, public administration and Canadian politics. He has grown weary of partisan politics but remains committed to public policy issues and community activism.http://www.polemicandparadox.com/whittlep@nf.sympatico.ca (Peter L. Whittle)Blogger4408125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6484348675772262069.post-6321060882345157061Tue, 09 Feb 2010 11:26:00 +00002010-02-09T08:55:19.043-03:30I had a little fun last night. I happened into a little birthday celebration with a group of retired couples (65 +). Over a couple of rum and cokes, and a few hands of 120s, the conversation turned to the MHAs spending scandal, and then to the Premier's heart surgery. No one in the room had any idea of my past politics, or my blog. I was interested in listening to what they had to say. They http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/PolemicParadox/~3/Si7QnpjbKNM/man-for-people.htmlwhittlep@nf.sympatico.ca (Peter L. Whittle)0<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/PolemicParadox/~4/Si7QnpjbKNM" height="1" width="1"/>http://www.polemicandparadox.com/2010/02/man-for-people.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6484348675772262069.post-2673278988826154545Tue, 09 Feb 2010 11:19:00 +00002010-02-09T07:49:00.416-03:30Responsible drinking in local pubs has been a cornerstone of British society for centuries, but binge drinking is costing taxpayers billions. In the UK there are an estimated 87,000 glass attacks in Britain every year, costing about $4 billion (US) in health care. Glass attacks are violent assaults by drinkers who've lifted too many pints—and used a broken one as a weapon. British Home http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/PolemicParadox/~3/u33flP5aNAs/making-drunken-pub-brawls-safe.htmlwhittlep@nf.sympatico.ca (Peter L. Whittle)0<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/PolemicParadox/~4/u33flP5aNAs" height="1" width="1"/>http://www.polemicandparadox.com/2010/02/making-drunken-pub-brawls-safe.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6484348675772262069.post-5105427062136897832Tue, 09 Feb 2010 05:46:00 +00002010-02-09T02:16:00.126-03:30Redesign and change must be the buzzwords in corporate America these days.Heinz has changed their ketchup packages and now Hasbro has unveiled a new board and digital interface for Monopoly.The "Revolution Edition" features no more paper money and the board looks like a pizza. The square board has been replaced by a round board, the iconic pewter chacters have been replaced by plastic tokens. andhttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/PolemicParadox/~3/Qryv-8vswuE/monopoly-redesign-does-nothing-for-me.htmlwhittlep@nf.sympatico.ca (Peter L. Whittle)0<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/PolemicParadox/~4/Qryv-8vswuE" height="1" width="1"/>http://www.polemicandparadox.com/2010/02/monopoly-redesign-does-nothing-for-me.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6484348675772262069.post-2880119427937244938Tue, 09 Feb 2010 04:34:00 +00002010-02-09T01:06:13.609-03:30Prime Minister Harper is asking MP's to give up scheduled breaks in March and April to make up for lost time from the prorogation period. Apparently, only the New Democrats are questioning the request which will need the unanimous support of the House of Commons.The NDP say Parliament should be opened immediately. The BQ are reportedly prepared to give the Prime Minister his wish, but House http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/PolemicParadox/~3/dxR8kREja0Y/pause-and-restart-harper-acting-like-he.htmlwhittlep@nf.sympatico.ca (Peter L. Whittle)2<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/PolemicParadox/~4/dxR8kREja0Y" height="1" width="1"/>http://www.polemicandparadox.com/2010/02/pause-and-restart-harper-acting-like-he.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6484348675772262069.post-5814933347404881204Tue, 09 Feb 2010 04:03:00 +00002010-02-09T00:33:08.001-03:30Liberal LeadershipDale KirbyIs the Provincial Liberal Party Leadership doomed to be a farce? Dale Kirby over at the Tickling Blog provides some thoughts on the process and its likely outcome.http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/PolemicParadox/~3/mkW2PtEnWcw/does-anybody-want-job.htmlwhittlep@nf.sympatico.ca (Peter L. Whittle)1<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/PolemicParadox/~4/mkW2PtEnWcw" height="1" width="1"/>http://www.polemicandparadox.com/2010/02/does-anybody-want-job.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6484348675772262069.post-6771320179753642403Mon, 08 Feb 2010 21:04:00 +00002010-02-08T22:35:56.967-03:30 __________________________________The news of Williams’ illness was barely out before the entrenched interests rallied to predictable positions. You know the drill: Publicly funded and operated health care is a sacred trust that can’t be modified in any way, or it’s a trust that has been kidnapped by special interests and needs reform.               -Dan Leger _________________________________ http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/PolemicParadox/~3/VW5nhDkK_Tw/news-of-williams-illness-was-barely-out.htmlwhittlep@nf.sympatico.ca (Peter L. Whittle)7<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/PolemicParadox/~4/VW5nhDkK_Tw" height="1" width="1"/>http://www.polemicandparadox.com/2010/02/news-of-williams-illness-was-barely-out.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6484348675772262069.post-3996654222712229997Mon, 08 Feb 2010 18:01:00 +00002010-02-08T14:31:23.248-03:30Sarah Palin is being ridiculed by political commentators after she consulted crib notes written on her hand during an an interview following a speech at the Tea Party  in Nashville on Saturday. It was a tough break for Palin who delivered a decent speech.  She had some harsh criticism for President Obama and how he's handled some major issues since he took office. She was doing fine in the http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/PolemicParadox/~3/WAcm58DoEIc/palins-crib-notes.htmlwhittlep@nf.sympatico.ca (Peter L. Whittle)1<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/PolemicParadox/~4/WAcm58DoEIc" height="1" width="1"/>http://www.polemicandparadox.com/2010/02/palins-crib-notes.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6484348675772262069.post-2647094772230244488Mon, 08 Feb 2010 13:59:00 +00002010-02-08T10:29:00.803-03:30 <!-- /* Font Definitions */ @font-face {font-family:Cambria; panose-1:2 4 5 3 5 4 6 3 2 4; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:auto; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:3 0 0 0 1 0;} /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-parent:""; margin:0cm; margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/PolemicParadox/~3/SBowawmWgFw/building-close-family-one-block-at-time.htmlwhittlep@nf.sympatico.ca (Peter L. Whittle)2<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/PolemicParadox/~4/SBowawmWgFw" height="1" width="1"/>http://www.polemicandparadox.com/2010/02/building-close-family-one-block-at-time.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6484348675772262069.post-345476110782426667Mon, 08 Feb 2010 12:30:00 +00002010-02-08T10:36:08.392-03:30A picked up a little flak for yesterday's post in which I speculated that, in light of his recent heart surgery, Danny William's must be re-considering his public commitment to seek a third term as premier. The cult of personality was quick to jump on me, accusing me of partisanship and being disrespectful. I think it is fair to say we are all concerned about the health of the premier, and we http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/PolemicParadox/~3/QVNMg_10PmI/public-life.htmlwhittlep@nf.sympatico.ca (Peter L. Whittle)6<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/PolemicParadox/~4/QVNMg_10PmI" height="1" width="1"/>http://www.polemicandparadox.com/2010/02/public-life.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6484348675772262069.post-1982382005545075411Mon, 08 Feb 2010 12:20:00 +00002010-02-08T09:39:58.106-03:30Has the Fortis proposal to develop a new 15-storey building on Water Street and Harbour Drive piqued your interest in the future development of the St. John's Water front? What about the new proposal for the former Woolworths property in the west end of Water Street? The first month of 2010 has proven that there is a great deal of interest in redeveloping the city's downtown.There is a public http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/PolemicParadox/~3/8A9TZijN2ic/downtown-development-will-be-focus-of.htmlwhittlep@nf.sympatico.ca (Peter L. Whittle)1<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/PolemicParadox/~4/8A9TZijN2ic" height="1" width="1"/>http://www.polemicandparadox.com/2010/02/downtown-development-will-be-focus-of.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6484348675772262069.post-505237708700489189Mon, 08 Feb 2010 11:30:00 +00002010-02-08T23:57:45.660-03:30The unauthorized use of a picture has ignited a potential firestorm on the local blog scene. Local photojournalist Greg Locke has taken exception to the unauthorized publication of one of his photos on the blog Tickling Bight. I am as guilty as sin when it comes to copyright infringement. I often try to give the artists of the many political cartoons reproduced here, some form of attribution. Ashttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/PolemicParadox/~3/0EkQu6wr57I/local-blogger-calls-copyright-foul.htmlwhittlep@nf.sympatico.ca (Peter L. Whittle)1<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/PolemicParadox/~4/0EkQu6wr57I" height="1" width="1"/>http://www.polemicandparadox.com/2010/02/local-blogger-calls-copyright-foul.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6484348675772262069.post-5865914311990066193Mon, 08 Feb 2010 11:20:00 +00002010-02-08T07:50:00.738-03:30 REUTERS / Greg Locke © 2010http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/PolemicParadox/~3/J6NiXqYRh8M/photo-in-contention.htmlwhittlep@nf.sympatico.ca (Peter L. Whittle)0<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/PolemicParadox/~4/J6NiXqYRh8M" height="1" width="1"/>http://www.polemicandparadox.com/2010/02/photo-in-contention.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6484348675772262069.post-653992780339975553Mon, 08 Feb 2010 05:15:00 +00002010-02-08T02:13:25.611-03:30It just seems like yesterday that New York Governor Eliot Spitzer, or Client-9, resigned in humiliation after his record of liaisons with prostitutes was unveiled. His successor, David Paterson, is reportedly set to resign as the New York Times is about to print an expose involving the governor and another sex scandal.  The story did not run in today's edition, but it is in the works. http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/PolemicParadox/~3/Qs7NcrP0bAo/spitzerized.htmlwhittlep@nf.sympatico.ca (Peter L. Whittle)1<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/PolemicParadox/~4/Qs7NcrP0bAo" height="1" width="1"/>http://www.polemicandparadox.com/2010/02/spitzerized.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6484348675772262069.post-2796743980418293693Sun, 07 Feb 2010 23:30:00 +00002010-02-07T20:34:15.963-03:30http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/PolemicParadox/~3/ymtDdUCkF38/hypocrisy-darn-those-literal.htmlwhittlep@nf.sympatico.ca (Peter L. Whittle)0<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/PolemicParadox/~4/ymtDdUCkF38" height="1" width="1"/>http://www.polemicandparadox.com/2010/02/hypocrisy-darn-those-literal.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6484348675772262069.post-6691810615619883385Sun, 07 Feb 2010 23:26:00 +00002010-02-07T19:56:43.518-03:30Friday's snow day was justifiable! The high winds and heavy snowfall made driving dangerous. Tucked away in my little cul-de-sac in the city's east end, I had no idea of just how violent this storm was. At the end of the two days it would appear that 35 centimeters of snow fell and there are mountains of snow piled up along the main roads and side streets. The warmer temperatures have made the http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/PolemicParadox/~3/JF2-3qVtRJ4/winter-strms-damage-coastal.htmlwhittlep@nf.sympatico.ca (Peter L. Whittle)0<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/PolemicParadox/~4/JF2-3qVtRJ4" height="1" width="1"/>http://www.polemicandparadox.com/2010/02/winter-strms-damage-coastal.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6484348675772262069.post-7354212613063486583Sun, 07 Feb 2010 17:49:00 +00002010-02-07T14:19:47.995-03:30http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/PolemicParadox/~3/Ksht4xnJwGE/they-save-lives.htmlwhittlep@nf.sympatico.ca (Peter L. Whittle)2<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/PolemicParadox/~4/Ksht4xnJwGE" height="1" width="1"/>http://www.polemicandparadox.com/2010/02/they-save-lives.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6484348675772262069.post-4190537881934602277Sat, 06 Feb 2010 21:04:00 +00002010-02-06T17:34:53.081-03:30With a decade of partisan service as an MHA, Opposition Leader and  Premier under his belt, is the stress and frustration of the job taking a terrible personal toll on Danny Williams? Much has changed for Danny William's since he left his private life as a cable mogul and leading lawyer to enter the partisan frey as leader of the fledgling Progressive Conservative Party.  He worked hard to http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/PolemicParadox/~3/LwTiXmP9KlE/2010-could-be-interesting-year.htmlwhittlep@nf.sympatico.ca (Peter L. Whittle)18<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/PolemicParadox/~4/LwTiXmP9KlE" height="1" width="1"/>http://www.polemicandparadox.com/2010/02/2010-could-be-interesting-year.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6484348675772262069.post-1759484207299032485Sat, 06 Feb 2010 16:49:00 +00002010-02-06T13:19:23.271-03:30A New Brunswick Cabinet Minister has been turfed for suggesting that the Premier put the sale of parts of NB Power to Hydro-Quebec to a referendum. Tourism and Parks Minister, Stuart Jamieson's resignation was demanded by the autocratic Premier Shawn Graham. Jamieson, 60, was first elected to the New Brunswick legislature as the member for Saint John Fundy in 1987. He says he doesn't regret http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/PolemicParadox/~3/hsUrnAryuf8/graham-fires-minister-over-hydro-deal.htmlwhittlep@nf.sympatico.ca (Peter L. Whittle)0<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/PolemicParadox/~4/hsUrnAryuf8" height="1" width="1"/>http://www.polemicandparadox.com/2010/02/graham-fires-minister-over-hydro-deal.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6484348675772262069.post-8954336289549622137Sat, 06 Feb 2010 15:31:00 +00002010-02-06T12:21:19.740-03:30The five foot wall of compacted icy snow, hurled into my drive way by the plow this morning, turned out to be a much tougher job to clear than I had anticipated. The winds had pushed most of the snow on this cul-de-sac on top of my vehicles, sculpting one large drift from the corner of my house to the street. All that was missing this morning was the Sphinx and a pyramid. Fortunately for me, an http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/PolemicParadox/~3/ksVq0VyNYHE/brotherhood-of-snow-blower.htmlwhittlep@nf.sympatico.ca (Peter L. Whittle)3<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/PolemicParadox/~4/ksVq0VyNYHE" height="1" width="1"/>http://www.polemicandparadox.com/2010/02/brotherhood-of-snow-blower.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6484348675772262069.post-3690792153978253328Sat, 06 Feb 2010 12:17:00 +00002010-02-06T13:12:45.483-03:30I have been working my way through the pile of books that I so graciously received as gifts this past Christmas.  One of the them is Malcolm Gladwell's latest offering, What the Dog Saw. It is a collection of essays that had been previously published in the New Yorker. This is the third Gladwell book I've read and, as usual, the essays are thought-provoking. I had just finished reading the http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/PolemicParadox/~3/8V-lfOLHYz8/rethinking-food-packaging-ketchup-gets.htmlwhittlep@nf.sympatico.ca (Peter L. Whittle)1<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/PolemicParadox/~4/8V-lfOLHYz8" height="1" width="1"/>http://www.polemicandparadox.com/2010/02/rethinking-food-packaging-ketchup-gets.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6484348675772262069.post-2885263268249647115Sat, 06 Feb 2010 11:16:00 +00002010-02-06T07:46:35.656-03:30If anyone had any doubt in the Premier's faith in the Newfoundland and Labrador health care system, they need only visit Labradore where the chronicles of his last major health are on display. In the spring of 2003, Danny Williams, than opposition leader,  underwent back surgery in this province.  He obviously has confidence in our doctors, surgeons and nurses to carry out a very complicated andhttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/PolemicParadox/~3/avw7efiKo08/premier-has-shown-confidence-in-our.htmlwhittlep@nf.sympatico.ca (Peter L. Whittle)22<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/PolemicParadox/~4/avw7efiKo08" height="1" width="1"/>http://www.polemicandparadox.com/2010/02/premier-has-shown-confidence-in-our.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6484348675772262069.post-1527067064350813462Sat, 06 Feb 2010 10:53:00 +00002010-02-06T07:23:01.988-03:30It is 6:25 in the morning, and it is still snowing. The powdery snow, of yesterday, is a thing of the past. It is the heavy wet stuff, that makes for sore backs, that the snow plow is pushing into my driveway.  The plow has been cleaning our little Cul-de-sac for about twenty minutes now. I have been up all night. A sleepless night that I can credit to a sore throat and a congested head. When Ihttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/PolemicParadox/~3/VQYQJi53gf4/clean-up.htmlwhittlep@nf.sympatico.ca (Peter L. Whittle)0<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/PolemicParadox/~4/VQYQJi53gf4" height="1" width="1"/>http://www.polemicandparadox.com/2010/02/clean-up.html