The Solution To Child Poverty?

It's a no-brainer, says Ed Broadbent. Tax the wealthiest of us more. (Globe And Mail)

I got Nothin'. Nothin.'

Harper praises press freedom in a speech, then refuses to speak to reporters. (CTV)

Six In The Morning

1 SARAH PALIN SAYS WE SHOULD SCRAP MEDICARE The self-described common-sense conservative tells Marg Delahunty (AKA Mary Walsh) that Canadians deserve a free-market healthcare system (Canoe). Like the U.S. one, which leaves somewhere around 46 million Americans without coverage (Gallup poll) and is responsible for an estimated 62.1 per cent of 1.5 million U.S. bankruptcies (CNN).

2 MAYBE POLITICIANS DID KNOW ABOUT THE TORTURE Canada's Foreign Affairs office was sent details on transfered Afghanistan prisoners being tortured. But did Minister Peter Mackay know? That is the question. Meanwhile, e-mails show that Ottawa was worried about the torture question back in 2007 (Globe And Mail). Finally, over half of Canadians believe prisoners were tortured. Reality isn't something we get to vote on--it doesn't matter what people believe, what matters is what the evidence shows--but this does suggest there's a PR problem for the Conservative government. (CBC)

3 SASKATCHEWAN INTRODUCES TICKET LEGISLATION The new rules are meant to cut down on companies and people reselling tickets to major events at huge profits. But they don't outlaw reselling tickets at a profit. (Leader-Post)

4 OBAMA'S GOING TO COPENHAGEN! Just announced, tickets to go on sale soon I'm sure. (New York Times)

5 HOW TO TELL YOU'RE A CONSERVATIVE The Republican Party has a list (New York Times, again). How do you score? I got zero out of 10. Sounds like energy corporation Shell might fail #3. (Guardian)

6 BABOON BANDITS! My opposition to monkeys is reinforced by this report on the scoundrels' organized criminal activities. Down with all monkeys. Feed 'em to the cute cuddly cougars, I say.(MSNBC)

Pick of the Day: As You Like It

All the world's a stage

And all the men and women merely players

They have their exits and their entrances

And one man in his time plays many parts.

Thus begins one of Shakespeare's most famous monologues. If you attend this Do-It-With-Class production of this popular pastoral comedy by the Bard, which closes a two-night run at the Conexus Arts Centre tonight, be on the lookout for it in Act II. It's spoken by Jacques, who's described in the play's synopsis as a melancholy companion to Duke Senior who's been exiled from his Duchy by his devious younger brother Frederick and is now living in the Arcadian Forest of Arden. His daughter Rosalind, who had been permitted by her uncle to remain at court because she was close friends with his only child Celia, is eventually banished herself and Celia decides to flee with her.

Both girls adopt false identities (Rosalind as a young man named Ganymede, Celia as a young woman named Aliena), and in the company of the jester Touchstone they head into the forest, where they encounter the Duke and his men. Much romantic confusion and all-round general hilarity ensues, and by the end of the play no less than four different couples are wed, and the Duke has even regained his Duchy from his recalcitrant brother.

To give you a taste, here's the trailer for a HBO version of the play directed by noted Shakespeareophile Kenneth Branaugh. (YouTube)