Tag Archives: Ottawa

FRENCH WORD OF THE DAY: Envergure

Posted by gruesomegreg on

Envergure: Literally the wingspan of a bird or a plane (or the length of a sail on a sailboat), this term is used figuratively to indicate importance, scope or stature.

As seen in: « Le mouvement Idle No More, qui dénonce le manque de consultations des Premières Nations par Ottawa, continue de prendre de l’envergure dans tout le pays et commence à gagner la grande région de la Mauricie. »

(Translation: “The Idle No More movement, which denounces Ottawa’s lack of consultations with the First Nations, continues to gain in stature across the country and is starting to reach the larger Mauricie region.”)

http://www.lapresse.ca/le-nouvelliste/actualites/201301/09/01-4609678-le-mouvement-idle-no-more-atteint-la-mauricie.php

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COMMENT OF THE DAY: After Toronto’s hard-ball ban, this Ottawa school’s edict gives its students blue balls…

Posted by gruesomegreg on

From: http://news.nationalpost.com/2011/11/30/no-yoga-pants-unless-theyre-covred-up-ottawa-school-reminds-students/

In a shocking story out of the nation’s capital, the National Post is reporting that Ottawa’s St. Joseph Catholic High School is banning the use of yoga pants—or at least reaffirming said ban during a morning announcement.  This has caused one angry parent to take to Facebook in protest.  According to Kathie Cloutier, “As far as I’m concerned, if the schools keep pushing these ridiculous rules — all you will succeed in doing is pushing our children’s’ interest in school right out the door!”

I couldn’t agree more.  I fully expect the male students of St. Joe’s to be a lot less interested in school following the enactment of this edict.  Then again…

 

(Touché!)

FRENCH WORD OF THE DAY: Magouilles

Posted by gruesomegreg on

Magouilles: A series of dishonest, unscrupulous actions

As seen in: « Dans son ouvrage “L’industrie de la corruption: un entrepreneur témoigne” qui paraît jeudi, il affirme notamment qu’il est impossible de faire de la construction sur la colline parlementaire à Ottawa sans magouilles. »

(Translation: “In his book The Corruption Industry: Confessions of an Entrepreneur, which comes out Thursday, he notably confirms that it’s impossible to do construction on Parliament Hill in Ottawa without engaging in shady dealings.”)

http://www.journalmetro.com/linfo/article/1020842–l-entrepreneur-en-construction-paul-sauve-denonce-la-corruption-dans-un-livre

Parliament Hill prostest attended by 20 people–and one miniature Trojan horse!

Posted by gruesomegreg on

A sparsely-attended protest outside Parliament Hill included this Trojan Horse, meant to symbolize “the hidden evils of a Canada-European trade deal” as per the CP.  Although it’s not big enough to contain an army of Greek warriors, you could probably fit all 20 people who attended said protest inside.

Occupy Ancient Greece, anyone?

 

UPDATE 3:35 PM: Speaking of protests, the Vancouver Sun reports that Occupy Vancouver included silent mediation, future fire-spinning lessons, someone who says their real name is Mountain Lion, and this amusing sentence (heh heh): “Protesters erected about 20 tents by mid-day with the intention of indefinitely occupying the VAG’s lawn.”  Perhaps most shocking, however, was that the smell of marijuana was notably absent.