by Sean Orr | Intro: Ship crashes into dock at Westshore Terminals, spilling coal into water. After which I deftly segué into a story on the Nexen deal…

Trying not to poke the panda: how Harper came around on the Nexen deal. “So I think our prime minister has been very successful in striking a balance that the Canadians are looking for.” Yeah, and Doctor Faustus made a wicked deal, too. Even the Yanks know better. Via The Tyee:

“We can stop listening to those who proclaim the promise of the current boom and ignore the volatility that is part and parcel of staking our future primarily on natural resources. Developing our natural resources in an environmentally and socially sustainable way makes good sense. Betting the farm on them does not,”

Money, drugs and violence: the evolution of White Boy Posse. Yeah? Well, it’s money, drugs, and violence that make the world go around so stop trying to pretend that you guys in the media are separated from it in some way.

W2 restructuring finances after Woodward’s eviction notice. Oh, messy micro-politics! You are trying to trick me into giving an opinion but I won’t except to say that the place was doomed from the start.

Violence: Potential for diminished F-35 benefits to industry a time bomb for Conservatives. That’s not an awkward headline at all. Diminishing industry benefits a live hand grenade thrown into enemy lines a problem for war-weary Conservatives battling in the trenches. Better?

Remove Canada’s feeding tube: Canada’s top court to decide who lives and who dies. Oh, awesome! It’s like a Logan’s Run-type scenario! Are we to expect a letter in the mail saying wether or not we made the cut? Or is it going to be a lottery system? Best of luck either way.

Abbotsford police send offenders Christmas cards urging them to reform. On the one hand this is really creepy but on the other hand it underscores the failures we have had in our approach to justice. I mean, why aren’t we always talking to criminals? Why not make them feel wanted in our society?

I’ll show you my Christmas, you show me your Ramadan. Why are we afraid of holidays born of history? Oh, I dunno maybe every single act of religious violence ever perpetrated might have something to do with it. “I am a lapsed Christian, still groping for answers”. Ooh, that’s an unfortunate choice of words there, Rafe.