I smell a stainless steel rat

That $1.1 billion had to be going somewhere and now we know where a chunk of it is going -- to a security firm that isn't even licenced in Ontario and is offering about double the going rate for its glorified bouncers. I'm sure the firm in question - Contemporary Security Canada - has absolutely no ties to the Conservative Party of Canada and that everything was strictly on the up and up in granting them the massive contract for providing about 1,000 security screeners, many of whom were hired last month so I'm sure they will be trained to a razor's edge.

“We’ve had some intense discussions about this at APSA in the last few days,” says Ross McLeod, president of the Association of Professional Security Agencies based in Toronto. “I’ve been doing RFPs and tenders for 30 years in this business, and it doesn’t pass the smell test.”

(snip)

On May 31, Contemporary Security set up a hiring office at Humber College in Toronto and was taking applications up until today.

Contemporary held the $97-million security contract for the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics. On its website Contemporary says they will be "Supervised by the RCMP and Integrated Security Unit" and will be responsible for providing "airport-type pedestrian security screening, including inspection of persons and items at  the G8 and G20 sites."

According to its own website, CSC has received its licence to operate in Ontario and since I can't determine the exact publication date of the article quoted above except to narrow it down to sometime this month, I suppose it is possible CSC has been licenced in Ontario for as long a two whole weeks.

(With apologies to Slippery Jim DiGriz for this post's title)

The return of the son of the bride of Friday Ukulele blogging

The original


by  Bob Dylan and some guy on guitar






The covers

the lovely and talented Sophie Madeline


the winsome and witty Molly Lewis




Bonus track: Not ukulele, but this kid could go places with the right management

That woman is a crooked idiot

She still thinks she's presidential material, but the snowbilly grifter can't even manage to set up a legal defense fund for herself without breaking the law.

My inspiration as a clergyman

The Colbert Report	Mon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c
Prophet Glenn Beck - Father Guido Sarducci
www.colbertnation.com
Colbert Report Full Episodes Political Humor Fox News

the dog daze of bloggerdom

It is hot and wet in Tokyo and I have almost nothing to say about anything except to note that setting the air conditioner to 25+ degrees Celcius is not only inappropriate, it could be considered grounds for divorce and/or justifiable homicide. Screw the enviroment, damn the expenses, I want it cold enough in the living room that the ice in my glass doesn't completely melt before I add the gin -- It was 33 degrees here the other day with a humidity level of holyfreakingshityougottabekidding and a yellow sand & smog level that required an aqualung -- and this is only June. Thank Jebus, Mohammed and Buddha we are leaving before it get really hot in August.

In the meantime - go amuse and enlighten yourself.

Fox anchorblonde's job "just like the being president"

Fox fans on Facebook

Driftglass does the usual up-one-side-and-down-the-other-with-a-pickax-handle on the babbling Babbitt  of the bourgoisie and brings to mind what we talk about when we talk about snark

This just in, 40% of poll respondents certifiably goofy

I'd love to see God prove he exists by doing some smiting. I'd also love to see the pretzel logic used to admit Karl Rove to the country while trying to keep so many others out.

A great photo of the courageous G20 security forces in action

Finally, if you read nothing else all week, go and have a look at this excellent piece by Skipper Dave - a man who knows the complexities of command -  on why Stanley McCrystal is lucky just to have been fired for his insubordination and not put against a wall and offered a cigarette -- and he doesn't even mention that the man is a war criminal .