The Black Rod

Everybody can use a good laugh by the weekend, but Winnipeg Free Press National Reporter Paul Samyn had us rolling on the floor with his open letter to readers on Sunday. Samyn is a member of the Parliamentary Press Gallery which is openly at war with Prime Minister Stephen Harper. This week they decided to boycott a press conference on additional funding to Darfur by turning their backs on the P.M. and walking out en masse, Darfur be damned. The FP's boy in Ottawa has been a happy soldier in the battle yet he can't shake a nagging suspicion that people are laughing at him. Putting on his best folksy airs, he asked his hometown audience to, maybe, show a little appreciation. The War on Harper is a fight for the very soul of journalism, Samyn pleaded. "... Harper only wants to talk to use if we first put our names on a list he controls. We don't want to give him that control over us ." Fight. Paul. Fight. Fight the list. Fight the list, Paul. " Don't look

There was an unreported ambulance shortage this week when almost every available emergency vehicle was rushed to the Winnipeg Free Press. What they found there was shocking. Columnist Frances Russell was reportedly passed out cold in a faint on the floor. Columnist Bill Neville was being revived with a cold compress at his neck. Columnist Val Werier was complaining of feeling dizzy and disoriented. Columnist Gordon Sinclair was almost catatonic, staring into a mirror and mumbling something or other to himself ( is that unusual?-ed ). The liberal press corps had read the terrible news on the front page. Harper would get majority: new poll Highest level of support for Conservatives in 20 years OTTAWA -- Prime Minister Stephen Harper's Conservative government is so popular with Canadians that it would be swept back into power with a majority if an election was held now, a new poll has found. After weeks of telling everyone that the Conservatives were alienating voters every single day

Sometimes bad reporting is so bad it crosses a line and becomes despicable. That's the only way to describe Global Television's coverage of the return of soldier Nichola Goddard's body to Canada. There wasn't even a pretence of being fair or unbiased because how can you be unbiased when the story is all about you. Reporter Mike Drolet decided that the most important part of the story of Goddard's return to Canadian soil was the Mainstream Media's whine about not being allowed to stick cameras in the face of her grieving parents. So that's all he talked about. Me me me me. The MSM Story. Here's the Global National intro, as read by anchor Tara Nelson. Under the cover of darkness, a Canadian Forces plane landed at CFB Trenton, Ontario, last night. Capt. Nicola Goddard's body was repatriated to Canada as her family looked on. Once again, however, the media was locked off. Her family is adamant that will not be the case at her funeral later this week. N

And the winner of the Pinocchio nose-stretcher award is.....The Seven Oaks School Division, aided and abetted by Education Minister Peter Bjornson. The Seven Oaks School Division has issued another financial statement, audited no less, regarding its less-than-legal Swinford Park land development. And guess what? It's less credible than the first one. The Black Rod crunched the numbers and discovered that Seven Oaks S.D.: * has lost more than $300,000 -- and counting--- on its ill-fated land deal just as REPORTED IN THE BLACK ROD 11 MONTHS AGO. * has spent $819,000 on a school that's not being built * is buying land for a new high school despite having bought land for a new high school five years ago, then selling most of it off to land developers -- and claiming that what was left was too small for a high school. Oh, and, of course, Seven Oaks says it's made a profit on Swinford Park Parts One through Four. For the uninitiated, this saga is known as O'Learygate , so nam

MTC's artistic director Stephen Shipper was wistful when he talked to theatre reporter Kevin Prokosh about staging Phantom of the Paradise in the not too distant future. He'd like to, he said. But chances are slim because of a problem with securing all the rights. That's the spirit. Winnipeg's can't-do spirit in spades. Haven't we learned anything from the City Summit? About action instead of words. About taking risks to make Winnipeg a more exciting city? If there was ever a time to hop onto the Phantom bandwagon, this is it. Paul Williams, who wrote all the songs for Phantom of the Paradise, was the feature guest at Phantompalooza II, the second annual lovefest for the movie that was a hit only in Winnipeg and Paris. In the middle of his performance, he stopped and confessed to being overwhelmed by the response he was getting from fans at Phantompalooza. He said he was currently working on a play headed for Broadway, and that he still hoped to see Phantom of t

Decades from today, a little boy will ask his father: "What did you do in the War, daddy?" Iraq? Uh uh. Afghanistan? Nope. Darfur? Not bloody likely. The War on Harper? Now you're talking, son. It was a titanic struggle, boy. Never forget that the evil Harper started it with a sneak attack on the Parliamentary Press Gallery. The day we were stopped from going to the third floor of Parliament will live in infamy. We tried diplomacy, but there was no talking sense to him. We had to fight. We didn't want to. The Press are peacekeepers. But he forced our hand. We had to become peacemakers almost overnight. - Did, did you kill anyone, daddy? Shhhh. I can't talk about it any more. It's too painful. But someday, son, you'll know why they call us the Greatest Generation of J-School. It wasn't pretty. But it had to be done. God and Supreme Court Justice forgive us. - This kid at school says... I know, son, I know. I've heard it for years. Go