ancient

Friday December 21, 2012

By Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator, Friday December 21, 2012

Doomsday didn’t come

Mayans squabble over post doomsday sales

It almost looks like a toy. In the darkness before dawn Friday, spiritualists prepared white clothes, drums, conch shells and incense ahead of the sunrise they believe will herald the birth of a new and better age as a vast, 5,125-year cycle in the Mayan calendar comes to an end.

No one was quite sure at what time the Mayas’ 13th Baktun would officially end on this Dec. 21. Some think it already ended at midnight Thursday. Others looked to Friday’s dawn here in the Maya heartland. Some had later times in mind.

“Wait until the dawn on the 22nd; that is when we Maya will speak,” Nobel Peace Prize laureate Rigoberta Menchu said earlier in Guatemala, another Maya area.

Mexico’s National Institute of Anthropology and History even suggested that historical calculations to synchronize the Mayan and Western calendars might be off a few days. It said the Mayan Long Count calendar cycle might not really end until Sunday.

Whatever the details, the chance to welcome a new time seemed to be the main concern among celebrants drawn to the Yucatan peninsula.

Many people who came to Yucatan for the occasion were already calling it “a new sun” and “a new era.”

What nobody was calling it is the end of the world, as some people in recent years have interpreted the meaning of the end of the 13th Baktun – despite the insistence of archeologists and the Maya themselves it meant no such thing. (Source: CTV News) 

 

Wednesday February 22, 2012

By Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator, Wednesday February 22, 2012

McGuinty steers into troubled, unnavigated waters

When the legislature opens for business on Tuesday, Dalton McGuinty will confront one of the most troubled periods in provincial history.

With a $16-billion deficit, a debt of about $250 billion, a sputtering economy, a weak job market and the danger of a credit rating downgrade, the 40th Provincial Parliament couldn’t be sitting at a more important time.

The challenges facing Ontario would be daunting for a majority government. Throw a minority government into that volatile mix, with the Drummond report hanging over his head, and McGuinty’s task becomes herculean.

Analysts say McGuinty’s situation is unique. What voters conjured up last Oct. 6 last year, is not the minority of 1985 when Liberals and New Democrats signed an accord and took power from Conservative Frank Miller, giving government to David Peterson. Nor is it 1975 and 1977 when Bill Davis led two Conservative minorities with relative ease in the face of a divided opposition.

The political environment today is more fractured and more partisan, with the Opposition Progressive Conservatives and the NDP united in their determination to give the Liberals no breathing room.

Worse still, worries about the economy have left cranky Ontarians in no mood to cut the government any slack. McGuinty not only has to walk a political tightrope in the legislature, he has to make sure whatever tough medicine he prescribes to revive the economy doesn’t lead to social unrest.

With 53 seats to the PC’s 37 and 17 for the NDP, McGuinty may have a “strong minority,” but it is not enough to give him control of his own destiny. (Source: Ottawa Citizen)

 

Saturday February 12, 2011

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Saturday February 12, 2011

Egyptian protesters rejoice at Mubarak’s ouster

Cairo’s Tahrir Square has erupted in an impromptu cacophony of cheering and fireworks as Egyptians celebrate the ouster of President Hosni Mubarak after a historic 18-day wave of pro-democracy demonstrations.

Several hundred thousand protesters packed into the central square screamed for joy Friday, waving Egyptian flags, blowing car horns, jumping up and down and chanting slogans such as: “Egypt is free,” “God is great,” “The people have brought down the regime.”

February 8, 2011

“It’s absolutely incredible … for 18 days these protesters have been involved effectively in an uprising that has turned into a revolution. A stunning development, particularly in this part of the world. Sober thought about what it all means comes tomorrow. A lot of fireworks, people dancing with fireworks, big spotlights being used on the crowd … it’s turned very much into a party atmosphere. And still, thousands of people are pouring into Tahrir Square trying to grab on to this piece of history.”

Egyptians wept and hugged each other. Others clambered on the tanks that have surrounded Tahrir Square.

After 29 years in power, Mubarak reluctantly resigned and handed over power to the military.

The terse announcement was made live on state TV by a grim Vice-President Omar Suleiman at about 6 p.m. local time Friday.

“In the name of God the merciful, the compassionate, citizens, during these very difficult circumstances Egypt is going through, President Hosni Mubarak has decided to step down from the office of president of the republic and has charged the high council of the armed forces to administer the affairs of the country,” Suleiman said in a five-minute address translated into English. “May God help everybody. (CBC) 

 

Thursday August 5, 2004

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator Ð Thursday August 5, 2004 Union Bribery Just Before Olympics Start Hotel workers in and around this Greek capital staged a strike Wednesday to demand double wages and an Olympic bonus as has been promised to security personnel for this month's games, Xinhua reports. It was the sixth strike in the past month by the union, which includes cleaning staff and kitchen personnel.Ê The hotel workers' union is demanding that monthly minimum pay rise for workers in hotels to compensate longer working hours and shorter holidays. The government has already promised bonuses to other personnel providing security for the Aug 13-29 Olympic Games. Despite the Olympics, tourism in Greece has dropped sharply, prompting government officials to call for an overhaul of vital services. The government, however, is trying to keep costs down as Olympic spending has skyrocketed. A total of 14,670 hotel workers are employed in greater Athens. (Source: Hamilton Spectator) Athens, Greece, Olympics, ancient, greek, urn, vase, history, pentathlon, javelin, discus, labour, strike, union

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Thursday August 5, 2004

Union Bribery Just Before Olympics Start

Hotel workers in and around this Greek capital staged a strike Wednesday to demand double wages and an Olympic bonus as has been promised to security personnel for this month’s games, Xinhua reports. It was the sixth strike in the past month by the union, which includes cleaning staff and kitchen personnel.

The hotel workers’ union is demanding that monthly minimum pay rise for workers in hotels to compensate longer working hours and shorter holidays. The government has already promised bonuses to other personnel providing security for the Aug 13-29 Olympic Games.

Despite the Olympics, tourism in Greece has dropped sharply, prompting government officials to call for an overhaul of vital services.

The government, however, is trying to keep costs down as Olympic spending has skyrocketed.

A total of 14,670 hotel workers are employed in greater Athens. (Source: Hamilton Spectator)