What's up with you Canadians? It snows in London [Ontario] yesterday, the earliest snowfall in forty years,
and you treat gays fairly and with respect, your prescription drug prices are lower than ours, you put gravy and other odd
stuff on your fries, and now this?
Canadian PM Mulls Smoking Marijuana When He Retires
Fri
October 3, 2003 10:26 AM ET
OTTAWA (Reuters) - Now Canada can understand why Prime Minister Jean Chretien
seems to be in such a hurry to push through a law decriminalizing marijuana.
Chretien, 69, said in an interview published on Friday that he might give pot a try once it is no longer a criminal
offense - presumably after he retires in February. Under the new law, pot users would only pay a fine if caught with
small amounts.
"I don't know what is marijuana. Perhaps I will try it when it will no longer be criminal. I will have my money
for my fine and a joint in the other hand," he said in an interview with the Winnipeg Free Press.
Over the objections of the U.S. administration, Chretien's government has introduced a bill which would end criminal
penalties for possession of 15 grams (half an ounce, or 15 to 30 joints) of marijuana. It would remain illegal, however, but
only tickets would be handed out.
Some members of Chretien's Liberal Party oppose the bill, however, and it was uncertain whether it would pass in
time for his retirement.
The reply from London, Ontario:
Gravy AND cheese on the fries. And I think this may have something to with
the marijuana consumption... :-)
From Montreal:
There were icy crystals falling on rooftops in Montreal too yesterday,
but it didnt much get in the news.
Fatty fries is a derivative of an old Inuit diet to keep warm.
Maybe the trip that was once seal fat smoke and northern lights is now just poutine, joints and city lights. I think
he's moving here. I remember seeing Trudeau walking wintery downtown, looking like an "enlightened" Innu, complete with
furs and snow swirl. Another Canadian ex-prime minister on his iceberg. You'd need something to enjoy that.
I wonder what Brian Mulroney's retirement perversion is?
From Atlanta:
...is that my bourbon listening or is it actual political poetry?
I read it three times! You should publish that!
From Paris (the one in France, not the one in Ontario):
Canada is well-known for its elderly prime ministers. If Chrétien is 69,
he should consider himself already retired and light one up before it's too late. While doing do, he could also consider a
retroactive pardon for everybody in the country who has ever been busted for being caught red-handed with a roach, lit or
not. The only question remaining will be what to do with the unemployed horsemen.
Who is Brian Mulroney?
...not snowing yet in Paris, but having a 'Nuit Blanche' all the same
From Hollywood:
[Paris] asks who this Brian Mulroney person is. Heck, one more former
Canadian PM (1984 to 1993) - earnest but a bit dull. Conservative in the Canadian sense of the word (Tory?), and to
some who observed him a bit dense, or at least a little slow on the uptake. In the words of Douglas Adams, mostly harmless
(see Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy).
As for the last Paris comment (just black coffee and another paperback novel
here in Hollywood tomorrow night) -
Paris ready for all-night party
03/10/2003 21:38
- (SA)
Paris - The lights will be on and the museums, churches and monuments of Paris open through the night
Saturday as the French capital holds the second edition of its "Nuit Blanche" nocturnal extravaganza.
"We hope the event will go on year after year," said Christophe Girard, who is in charge of cultural affairs
at Paris Town Hall. "This year the spotlight will be on contemporary art, which is only right for Paris, a city of creation
and modernity."
The event will see the city staying awake to dawn the next day and taking in 110 exhibitions, including giant video
happenings, light shows and sculptures, book and poetry readings and free breakfast outside the town hall on Sunday.
Swimmers can do laps in pools while listening to music, the curious can walk into a room filled with thousands of
white balloons and municipal electronic billboards will be turned into bearers of unusual messages, including interactive
video performances by choreographer William Forsythe.
Last year's first edition was a huge success, barring a knife attack by a deranged man on Mayor Bertrand Delanoë,
causing serious wounds.
Rome last weekend also organised a "Notte Bianca" that ended in chaos when most of Italy suffered a power failure.
Extra police will be on hand in Paris to ensure security at the sites, while supplementary buses will be put on,
and electronic billboards will inform the public about the waiting time to get in at each site.
Indeed, we here in Hollywood did not have a "Nuit Blanche" - at least we didn't have an official one.
