leskovarlm.com

Thursday, April 14, 2005

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang told reporters that China is protesting Japan’s plan to allow drilling for gas and oil in disputed waters in the East China Sea, characterizing the move as “a serious provocation”.

On Wednesday, Japan announced that they would begin processing applications to allow oil and gas drilling firms to explore in the disputed area, east of the “demarcation line” which has held up applications to drill in the area for decades.

“The Chinese and Japanese positions differ on that matter, but we need to continue talks from a big point of view, without inflaming conflicts, and to turn the sea of conflict into a sea of coordination,” Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi told a news conference.

Qin Gang said that China reserved “the right to take further reaction,” according to Xinhua.

“China has never ever recognized and will never recognize the demarcation line,” Qin told reporters.

Japan’s exploration of the disputed zone could start early next month, and will be defended by Japanese military vessels, according to the Sydney Morning Herald.

Wednesday, August 30, 2006

Tuesday, Prime Minister Stephen Harper was filming a cameo appearance on the popular sitcom Corner Gas. Corner Gas is filmed about 40 km south of Regina in the tiny farming community of Rouleau.

Harper was filmed in a scene where he was surrounded by a large group of actors playing reporters and photographers. After completing the scene, he got back into his car and a motorcade left the town, which is called Dog River on the show.

“We can’t say much about cameo appearances, because they’re supposed to be a surprise for the viewers, but yes, there was press scrum,” Corner Gas executive producer Virginia Thompson said. “That’s all I can reveal.” “It works well for the show, actually … We were told by the Prime Minister’s Office that he had a sense of humour, but we thought we would wait and see and sure enough, yeah, he delivered.”

When Paul Martin was the leader of the government, he had a cameo on the show last season. Saskatchewan Premier Lorne Calvert has also made an appearance on the show last season.

“The prime minister was not paid for his appearance and had other reasons for coming to Saskatchewan beyond being part of the show”, said Thompson.

Reporters were kept back and not allowed to see how he performed in front of the cameras.

Harper waved goodbye to small town of Rouleau while travelling down Highway 39 away from the set after spending about 1 1/2 hours there. After, Harper planned to meet with members of his Saskatchewan caucus at a barbeque at Sherwood Forest Country Club Tuesday night. Harper is scheduled to tour the RCMP training academy in Regina today.

The episode featuring Harper will air sometime next spring.

Sunday, February 13, 2005

LONDON – The big-budget Hollywood movie The Aviator and the low-budget Brit flick Vera Drake have scooped the main prizes at the 2005 Orange BAFTA Film Awards. Four gongs went to The Aviator with the top ones being Best Film and Cate Blanchett for Best Supporting Actress. Vera Drake got three gongs with Best Director, Best Actress & Costume Design. Jamie Foxx got Best Actor with Ray and Clive Owen got Best Supporting Actor with Closer.

Wednesday, September 14, 2005

A class-action suit has been filed with the Superior court of the state of California accusing Wal-Mart of failing to ensure their suppliers’ employees work in acceptable conditions.

The suit, representing workers from six countries across four continents, conceals the identities of 17 workers from China, Bangladesh, Indonesia, Swaziland and Nicaragua in addition to four Californians cited as also representing others from the state.

The complaint accuses Wal-Mart of failing to adequately police garment suppliers and ensure that workers are not kept in sweatshop conditions, and that this is in breach of their own Code of Conduct for foreign suppliers. Wal-Mart counters that they have an extensive programme to ensure suppliers adhere to their Code of Conduct; that 200 full-time inspectors are employed to check supplier factories, and 108 factories have been permanently banned as suppliers. However, this is mainly for child labor violations.

This is part of an ongoing campaign against Wal-Mart by the International Labor Rights Fund [1]; a labor rights group opposed to many of the business practices of Wal-Mart that they claim encourage unacceptable working conditions and salaries in developing countries.

Thursday, October 5, 2006

A US federal appeals court has ruled that the US government can continue wiretapping without warrants until its appeal against an earlier ruling has been heard.

When the case was brought to federal judge Anna Diggs Taylor by civil liberties campaigners, specifically the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) in August last year, she ruled the practice unconstitutional, a ruling which the federal government had appealed against. The 6th US Circuit Court has since suspended that ruling.

The Terrorist Surveillance Program, as the program is known, was approved by President Bush after the September 11 attacks. It allows the monitoring of telephone and email traffic in and out of the US.

The Bush administration has welcomed the ruling.

In a statement, White House press secretary Dana Perino said that “We are pleased to see that it will be allowed to continue while the Court of Appeals examines the trial court’s decision, with which we strongly disagree”. Washington has also said that the interception of such traffic is legal and is necessary in what President Bush describes as the “war on terror”.

Thursday, February 8, 2007

Birks was recently announced as the “Official Supplier of Jewelery” for the 2010 Vancouver-Whistler Olympics. The company will create licensed products with the logos of the 2010 Olympic Games, 2010 Paralympic Games, and the Canadian Olympic team emblem, including necklaces, earrings, pendants and rings.

The partnership was announced at an employee celebration in Vancouver, to mark the centenary of Mayors Jewelers Inc., an American company Birks acquired in 2002.

The six-year sponsorship includes the rights to the Canadian Olympic team logo during the Beijing 2008 and London 2012 Olympic Games.

Thomas A. Andruskevich, president and CEO, Birks & Mayors stated in a press release:

The products will be launched in early 2008.

Also released today is information that Jackson-Triggs Esprit will be a special line of wines, created to celebrate the athletic event. The Vincor Canada wine is named in relevance to “spirit”, both the spirit of the Olympians, and alcoholic beverage usage of the word.

President and CEO of Vincor Canada Jay Wright said, “We are thrilled to have this opportunity to honor our Canadian athletes while affirming our role as Canada’s wine industry leader. Like our Olympic and Paralympic athletes, Vincor Canada shares a passion and determination towards excellence. This agreement is by far Vincor Canada’s most ambitious and broad-reaching sponsorship and will be great for the Canadian wine industry. I hope Canada will join us in the excitement that we feel regarding this exceptional opportunity to position Canadian wine brands on the world stage.”

The wines, featuring Olympic logo, will be distributed to liquor stores and restaurants across the country this summer. Proceeds from each bottle will go towards the Canadian Olympic Team.

Both the Chardonnay and Merlot will retail for CDN$11.95 MSRP. Inniskillin Wines’ vineyards, harvested since 1975, in either the Niagara Peninsula in Ontario pr the Okanagan Valley in British Columbia will create the wine.

Within the past few weeks, the Vancouver Organizing Committee for the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games (VANOC) has announced a Omega-brand countdown clock that will tour British Columbia events, as the company is the “Official Olympic Timekeeper”. Canadian Pacific was named official rail freight services provider, and the Royal Canadian Mint announced they will create circulation and collector coins to mark the occasion.

There are 1099 days until the XXI Olympiad, according to the official website of the event.

Sunday, April 26, 2009

Scoring five goals in 22:44, Manchester United came back from a 0–2 deficit at the half to run out comfortable 5–2 winners over Tottenham Saturday in English Premier League action. With the victory, United moved three points clear of second-place Liverpool, with United having a game-in-hand. Liverpool earned a 3–1 victory over Hull City earlier in the day, allowing the Reds to hold the top position in the table for about two hours, before United reclaimed the top spot. Third-place Chelsea earned a narrow victory and fourth-place Arsenal is off until Sunday.

At Old Trafford, Darren Bent opened the scoring in the 29th minute and Luka Modri? added another three minutes later to put visitors two up over the champions. In the second half, United turned the tables quickly, scoring four goals in the first 25 minutes of the half. Cristiano Ronaldo put United on the board after Spurs keeper Heurelho Gomes unfairly challenged Michael Carrick inside the box. Wayne Rooney equalised for United in the 67th minute and added an assist a minute later when Ronaldo hit a diving header past Gomes. Rooney added an assurance goal three minutes later, before Dimitar Berbatov closed the scoring in the 79th minute after Gomes allowed a shot to slip out of his reach.

For Liverpool, Dirk Kuyt scored the winning goal in the 63rd minute to give the Reds a much needed three points in their quest for the Premier League title. Xabi Alonso opened the scoring for Liverpool, giving the visitors the lead for good. After Kuyt’s goal, Hull pulled a goal back on a smash by Geovanni. Kuyt later added another in the 89 minute. The 3–1 victory game Liverpool a precious three points, enough to go ahead of United in the table on goal difference. The lead was short as United regained the spot with their victory in the late game.

Chelsea’s narrow victory come when Salomon Kalou converted a Frank Lampard cross in the 55th minute. West Ham United had a chance to equalise with the Blues, but Chelsea keeper Petr ?ech saved a Mark Noble penalty kick. The penalty was awarded when Kalou fouled Hérita Ilunga. Chelsea is now six points behind United and three back of Liverpool.

Fifth-place Aston Villa drew 1–1 at Bolton and sixth-place Everton fell 1–2 at home to Manchester City. Ashley Young scored for the Villians just before half-time and Tamir Cohen equalised on sixty minutes for Bolton. For Everton, Dan Gosling 90th minute goal would not be enough as goals from Robinho and Stephen Ireland put City over the top for good. The point for Villa put them two points clear of Everton. The victory moved Manchester City into the 9th spot in the table.

In other action, Fulham earned a 1–0 victory over Stoke City, enough to bump them up to the seventh spot in the table. West Bromwich Albion gained a convincing 3–0 victory over Sunderland, with goals from Jonas Olsson, Chris Brunt and Juan Carlos Menseguez.

Two games will be played Sunday as Arsenal hosts Middlesbrough in the afternoon and Blackburn Rovers hosts Wigan in the night game. One game will be played on Monday as Newcastle hosts Portsmouth.