Justin Bieber

Monday, December 30, 2013

Monday, December 30, 2013By Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Monday, December 30, 2013

The Worst of 2013

Miley Cyrus, Rob Ford top Yahoo Canada searches in 2013

Yahoo Canada is out with its ninth annual list of top searches and twerking pop star Miley Cyrus tops the list for 2013 ahead of Toronto mayor Rob Ford.

Cyrus garnered attention at this year’s MTV Video Music Awards for her provocative performance while Ford remains embroiled in a crack cocaine scandal.

Yahoo Canada says Blackberry took the No. 3 spot in overall searches ahead of Kim Kardashian and the book ”Fifty Shades of Grey.”

As for the top news story searches on Yahoo Canada, the search engine says the murder of Hamilton, Ont., man Tim Bosma was No. 1 on the list in 2013.

The Boston Marathon explosions were second, the selection of a new pope was third, followed by the Cleveland kidnappings and the flooding in southern Alberta.

Yahoo Canada says the ongoing Senate spending scandal led all searches in the Economic and Political issues category ahead of the Liberal leadership race.

In searches for newsmakers, Yahoo Canada says most of the queries were for Pakistan schoolgirl Malala Yousafzai, followed by NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden.

Drug-related suspensions in Major League Baseball topped the sports-related searches on Yahoo Canada, with stories about gay athletes coming out in second place. (Source: Globe & Mail)

Thursday, January 24, 2013

Thursday, January 24, 2013By Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Thursday, January 24, 2013

Being drawn inexorably, inexplicably into Mali’s war

Slowly, inexorably, Canada and the world are being drawn into Mali.

The wise people say intervention is necessary. They say we must prevent the West African nation from becoming a springboard for terrorist attacks on Europe.

The wise people almost always say intervention is necessary. Fifty years ago, equally wise people urged intervention in Vietnam to prevent what was then called the “domino effect” — the fall of Southeast Asia to Communism.

We all know where that went.

Today, the dominoes of North Africa are said to be in danger from Islamic terrorists.

For practical politicians, all of this is a nightmare. After Iraq and Afghanistan, the American public is loath to involve itself in another war. As a result, Washington speaks softly and carefully.

Canadians, too, have been made weary by the Afghan experience. Prime Minister Stephen Harper knows that. That’s why his office has been so reluctant to admit that Canada’s very, very limited commitment to the war in Mali is gradually expanding.

Ottawa originally agreed to send one cargo plane for one week to help French troops in Mali. The French have now publicly asked for more. Mali’s ambassador to Canada says Harper agreed to expand its commitment. The prime minister almost certainly has. As the head of a government allied to France, he doesn’t have much choice. (Source: KW Record)

Tuesday November 13, 2012

By Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator, Tuesday November 13, 2012 Some Light Reading Canadians are slowly losing trust in Parliament and political parties,Êand share some of the toughest views in the American hemisphereÊabout their national leader, according to a new 26-country survey. The survey by The Environics Institute, part of an investigation intoÊpolitical attitudes in 26 countries in the Americas, found thatÊCanadians have been shedding some of their optimistic and positiveÊviews on politics and government The survey found only 16 per cent of Canadians place Òa lot of trustÓÊin their Prime Minister, putting Stephen Harper near the bottomÊamong all leaders in the Americas. ÒIn an international context, Harper has a lower level of trust thanÊalmost every other national leader in the hemisphere,Ó Mr. NeumanÊsaid. The levels of trust are also low for the Canadian Parliament (17 perÊcent), political parties (10 per cent) and mass media (6 per cent). TheÊfindings come after Canada lived under a series of minorityÊgovernments from 2004 to 2011, fuelling a sense of growing partisanÊbickering in Ottawa.Ê(Source: Globe & Mail)Êhttp://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/politics/harper-among-least-trusted-leaders-poll-shows/article5187774/ Meanwhile, less than two years after lovelorn fans were first forcedÊto accept that young pop superstars Justin Bieber and Selena GomezÊwere a romantic couple, their followers are reeling at news the pairÊare no more. After weeks of rumours the couple was on the outs, E! NewsÊreported Friday that the teen pop stars broke up in recent days. TheÊAssociated Press confirmed the split on Saturday, citing anÊanonymous source not officially authorized to speak about theÊcouple's relationship status.(Source: CTV News) http://www.ctvnews.ca/entertainment/justin-bieber-and-selena-gomez-have-split-reports-1.1032730#ixzz2C7420f8p Canada, poll, trust, Stephen Harper, newspaper, tenet, bar, tavern, milk, Justin Bieber, Selena Gomez, Justin Tr

By Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator, Tuesday November 13, 2012

Some Light Reading

Canadians are slowly losing trust in Parliament and political parties, and share some of the toughest views in the American hemisphere about their national leader, according to a new 26-country survey.

The survey by The Environics Institute, part of an investigation into political attitudes in 26 countries in the Americas, found that Canadians have been shedding some of their optimistic and positive views on politics and government

The survey found only 16 per cent of Canadians place “a lot of trust” in their Prime Minister, putting Stephen Harper near the bottom among all leaders in the Americas.

“In an international context, Harper has a lower level of trust than almost every other national leader in the hemisphere,” Mr. Neuman said.

The levels of trust are also low for the Canadian Parliament (17 per cent), political parties (10 per cent) and mass media (6 per cent). The findings come after Canada lived under a series of minority governments from 2004 to 2011, fuelling a sense of growing partisan bickering in Ottawa. (Source: Globe & Mail)

Meanwhile, less than two years after lovelorn fans were first forced to accept that young pop superstars Justin Bieber and Selena Gomez were a romantic couple, their followers are reeling at news the pair are no more.

After weeks of rumours the couple was on the outs, E! News reported Friday that the teen pop stars broke up in recent days. The Associated Press confirmed the split on Saturday, citing an anonymous source not officially authorized to speak about the couple’s relationship status.(Source: CTV News)