Faces of Douche

Meet Monty.
Monty is a Mountie.
More specifically, Monty is one of the Mounties who killed Polish immigrant Robert Dziekanski at Vancouver airport last March.
Apparently he also killed a guy while driving drunk. But he's not getting charged, because he pulled some bullshit prank.
Naturally. Why? Well, because he's a cop, of course, though naturally they'll put some sort of spin on it. Which we'll all believe. Because the police always tell the truth at all times, right?

Pussy Galore!

They've got a whole mess o' cats over at People For Animals, ranging from baby-cutie-pie-who's-a-good-baby variety to ultimately satisfying stuck-under-the-bed-because-I-know-you're-going-to-hurt-me type. Check-em all out at People for Animals. More partial to the living-in-a-cage-desperate-for-love kind? Has the RHS got a deal for you!

I'd love to say "Get them while they last," but, well... Remember: pets for Christmas is a no-no, but if you're going to get a creature, for God's sake, buy a used one.

Six in the Morning

1. AMBASSADOR ASKED FOR CUTS FROM AFGHAN DETAINEE REPORT: Former Canadian ambassador to Afghanistan, Arif Lalani, ordered diplomat Richard Colvin to cut out incriminating information from a report about treatment of Afghan detainees. (Globe and Mail)

2. OUR PATHETIC CLIMATE COMMITMENT: The Pew Centre is reporting that carbon emission reduction commitments made by developed nations are half what scientists say we need to avoid climate catastrophe. And Canada's commitments are the weakest of all the nations studied. We've mentioned it twice before on the blog, but it seems now is a good time to recall what George Monbiot has to say about Canada becoming a corrupt petrostate. (Globe and Mail, monbiot.com)

3. CRU DIRECTOR STEPS DOWN AMID E-MAIL SCANDAL. The director of the University of East Anglia's Climate Research Unit, Phil Jones, has stepped down as climate liars and hooligans continue to scream for blood. This is probably a good move optics-wise, but, holy typhoon in a teacup, the CRU e-mails are being spun into a big-news event by a group of very suspicious right-wing ne'er-do-wells. (DeSmog blog)

4. U.S. TROOP PUSH PLEASES CANUCKS: Canada's foreign affairs minister says he's pleased as punch that the US has committed 30,000 more troops to the Afghanistan mission. (CBC)

5. SASK PARTY DELAYS SCHOOL FUNDING FORMULA: Further hamstringing the ability of school boards to plan for the future, the Sask Party has announced it will likely take longer than two years to put together a new funding formula for Saskatchewan schools. (Leader Post)

6. EVERYTHING I KNOW ABOUT THE TIGER WOODS AFFAIR I LEARNED FROM THE TAIWANESE NEWS: Media outlets have been having a hey day speculating about Tiger Wood's car accident despite having little information to go on. That hasn't stopped one Taiwanese news outfit from assembling a CGI recreation of the event based on the scraps of info available. Truly bizarre footage. And yet strangely amusing. (TheWeek.com)

Pick of the Day: Fruitcakes

Not going to be a popular pick, I know. But if you check out this Regina Little Theatre production of Julian Wiles' comedy about a boy who runs away from home shortly before Christmas and ends up in a small South Carolina town where the inhabitants are decidedly eccentric which opens a four-night run at the Performing Arts Centre tonight it's not as if you'll receive an actual slice of fruitcake as part of the admission price -- although now that I think about it, that would be a neat marketing gimmick for the RLT to consider.

I, for one, wouldn't be put off by the prospect. But a lot of other people probably would. For them, receiving fruitcake as a gift, or being offered a slice as a snack, inspires true revulsion on par with the most heinous phobias that plague humankind. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if a term's actually been coined to describe this fear -- fruitcakeophobia? Regardless, it's not anything I suffer from. Of course, most of the fruitcake that I've consumed in my life has been of the homemade variety courtesy of my grandmother, mother and sister.

Storebought fruitcakes are another matter entirely. And if that has been your primary vector of exposure you have my sympathy. But don't despair. Even if you aren't able to bring yourself to see this play there's still plenty of holiday fun to be had tonight. At the MacKenzie Gallery, for example, Saskatchewan Express kicks off its latest musical revue Blue Champagne (which runs Dec. 2-6 and 9-13). As well, John Huston is presenting his one-person fringe-style performance of Dickens' A Christmas Carol at St. Mary's Anglican Church (Montague & 15th Ave.).

And for those of you who will not be denied when it comes this tasty Christmas comestible, here's video for the Eraserheads' 1996 song "Fruitcake" (YouTube)