Karma (and the law) catches up

The chickens have come home to roost. Peter Pocklington may die in prison if he's convicted of the fraud charges filed against him in Palm Springs, California stemming from a personal bankruptcy filing in 2008. If the name doesn't ring any bells, "Peter Puck" is the former owner of the Edmonton Oilers of the National Hockey League who was vilified by the entire country of Canada for selling Wayne Gretzky, the greatest hockey player who ever lived, for about $18 million to the Los Angeles Kings.

The man collected enemies like kids collect hockey cards. He brought in strike breakers to settle a company dispute with workers at a company he owned which eventually closed. He had another company bailed out by the Canadian government to the tune of hundreds of millions of dollars.

In his personal bankruptcy papers, he claimed he was worth $2,900. He um, forgot to mention the luxurious home he has, the contents of a storage locker, the investment companies he owns offshore and last but not least two bank accounts. This man used to boast a wine collection worth $750,000 and a house full of Renoir sketches.

At some point he left Canada because he was displeased with its socialist leanings. He preferred to be among "people who are impressed with those who get up early and make things happen." He made things happen, alright--mostly disasters left in his wake. He has had more failed companies than Michael Jackson has had surgeries.

He has a United States citizenship application currently being reviewed, but now, at 67, he is a broken man with $20 million in debts and possibly facing prison time. I'm not so sure that the Americans are as enamoured with him as he is with them. Good riddance to bad rubbish.

Fraser Institute report

According to an Edmonton, Alberta teacher, an annual report ranking all the schools in the province "is doing more harm than good." Mr. Peter Shipley, who has a daughter in grade seven, went on to say "What comes out of it is a lot of frustration for schools that are low on the list, but it’s not going to end anytime soon because that’s the nature of our society — always compare, compare, compare."

What I'd like to know, is how are school administrators to know if changes are needed if comparisons aren't made? I wonder if he's also against testing students since exams just "compare, compare, compare." Perhaps, they shouldn't keep score at sporting events, either--it's so hard on the...er...um...team with the lower score. (I'm sure Shipley would object to referring to it as the "losing team". ) Okay, one last shot at this guy: It's probably teachers with views like Shipley that are dragging down some schools.

Ripped from the headlines

Bob Barker, well-known and popular ex-game show host is angry with Edmonton, Alberta, Canada for keeping Lucy the elephant in an inappropriate environment. He claims that she is sick and should be transferred to an elephant sanctuary in California citing the harsh, cold winters in Edmonton as one of the reasons the pachyderm is not doing well. but city fathers and zoo officials say that Lucy is healthy except for a tooth problem and insist that an extended trip may kill the elephant.

After being pressured by Zoocheck Canada, a Toronto-based animal rights group, the Edmonton zoo released the following photo which it says demonstrates that Lucy is well cared for and is provided the same highly effective protection from the cold that most Canadians use:


The story.