Not (4)

Pettersson has long been one of the PGA Tour's almost-there stars, a guy who has the talent to win but not necessarily break away from the pack. He's also part of a long lineage of portly golf champions, from Craig Stadler to Mark Calcavecchia to John Daly. He's listed at 5-11, 195 pounds, which seems like someone might be shaving a few strokes off that figure. And to hear him tell it, getting fit was the worst thing that could happen to him.

In 2008, his game came together, as he won once, made 25 of 29 cuts, and earned a tidy $2.5 million in prize money. And then he did the unthinkable: He decided to lose a little weight and come back even stronger in 2009.

"I was thinking: What can I do to get better?" he said over the weekend. "Obviously I was a little overweight and I thought, well, I’ll get fit. I actually lost 30 pounds and my game completely left me. I guess the timing of the swing and everything was thrown out and I really struggled in '09."

That's like saying country-fried steak and gravy might be a tad unhealthy. In 2009, Pettersson made only 15 of 29 cuts with but a single top 10, and earned "only" $564,000. But, once off the fitness bandwagon and back on the Krispy Kreme truck, or whatever his poison of choice may be, Pettersson found his game again. He's already got four top-10 finishes and he's nearly quadrupled his 2009 earnings.

He's also of a much calmer mindset. He was looking at missing the cut on Friday afternoon at the RBC. So to ease his nerves, he headed to the St. George clubhouse. "And I walked in the locker room and Jay Williamson had all the scenarios written out, and he’s like, ‘Grab a beer.’ Before you know it I’d had seven beers (and) made the cut." Two days later, he was the champ.

"I’d love to be fitter," Pettersson said, "but I’m not going to go down that road again."

Hey, whatever works. He's already a millionaire. And if he can figure a way to teach a gut-momentum golf swing, he'll be a billionaire.

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Crime statistics not accurate, Day suggests

Treasury Board President Stockwell Day speaks during a news conference at the National Press Theatre in Ottawa on Tuesday. (Sean Kilpatrick/Canadian Press)

August 3, 2010 ; CBC NEWS: Treasury Board President Stockwell Day says the government will go ahead with its plan to spend billions for new prisons, suggesting statistics that show crime is declining in Canada are not accurate.

During a news conference on Tuesday in Ottawa, Day said the government has received indications that more and more people are not reporting crimes committed against them.

"It shows we can't take a Liberal view to crime which is, some would suggest, that it is barely happening at all," Day said. "Still, there are too many situations of criminal activity that are alarming to our citizens, and we intend to deal with that."

When questioned by perplexed reporters, Day did not elaborate on what information source he was basing his claims, but said he would provide figures to them later.

P.O.V.:

Have you ever been the victim of a crime you didn't report to authorities? Take our poll. [http://www.cbc.ca/news/pointofview/2010/08/crime-have-you-ever-declined-to-report-one.html]

Speaking shortly after Day, Liberal MP Mark Holland said his comments show Prime Minister Stephen Harper's government "doesn't have any respect for facts."

"You don't make up statistics to try to scare people and use crime as a wedge issue," Holland told reporters in Ottawa.

In a statement to CBC News on Tuesday afternoon, Justice Minister Rob Nicholson's office cited Statistics Canada's report of its last general social survey conducted in 2004, which found an estimated 34 per cent of Canadians who are victims of crime still aren't reporting the crime to police.

The statement said Day was "correct in his assertion that many crimes go unreported in Canada" and "[t]he amount of unreported victimization can be substantial."

According to the Statistics Canada survey, conducted every five years, an estimated 88 per cent of sexual assaults go unreported, as well as an estimated 69 per cent of household thefts, the minister's office said.

The information gathered from the 2009 survey on unreported crimes has yet to be released.

Freezes, census changes staying

In the meantime, the federal government will not ease off on plans for fiscal restraint in other departments, despite indications Canada could eliminate its deficit a year earlier than predicted, Day said.

Last week, the Conference Board of Canada said the federal government should be able to eliminate the annual budget deficit by 2015. The business think-tank said in a report it depends on the government sticking to its promises to constrain spending.

Day said that while the global economic recovery is still "somewhat fragile," the government will continue with its freezes on spending, as well as departmental reviews to look for savings.

"We will be sticking to our fiscal plan," Day said.

In its February budget, the federal government projected a budgetary shortfall of $54 billion in 2010 but said annual deficits should be eliminated through spending cuts by 2016.

The Treasury Board president also was adamant that the Conservative government will stick with its controversial plan to scrap the mandatory long-form census.

The government has faced a month of turmoil ever since it announced in late June it would end the mandatory survey and replace it with a voluntary form. Opposition parties, statisticians' groups, provinces, municipalities and social agencies have condemned the move, saying it would lower the quality of data gathered by Statistics Canada and used by a wide array of policy makers.

The government has maintained Canadians should not be coerced through threat of jail time or fines to fill out information they don't want to disclose.

When questioned by reporters over the opposition parties' suggestions to amend the Statistics Act to remove the threat of jail time for those who refuse to fill out long-form census, Day said the government is "open to discussion" on any move to stop "criminalizing Canadians" who don't want to answer "intrusive" questions.

Day maintained the mandatory long-form survey will be abandoned in the spring 2011 census, but said the short-form census will remain compulsory because the government requires "some basic data."

He also questioned the value of information gathered by the census, suggesting data older than a year is "untenable in today's information age."

Day also acknowledged he has only heard directly from three people on the census issue in his constituency.

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He’s an aspiring author


Everyone knows the Prime Minister loves hockey. A consummate hockey dad, he can often be seen cheering Ben on at local rinks or joining his son in the stands for the occasional NHL match-up. But his passion for the game goes much further – right into the pages of a book he’s currently writing on the early history of professional hockey.

Conservative Party of Canada / Parti conservateur du Canada
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The Toronto Professionals made their debut on Dec. 28, 1906. The team initially played exhibition matches against the best clubs in Canada and the United States

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Also see:

OPP probes ministry staff

A soldier’s code of honour

A Canadian philanthropist's bold bid to help orphans

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He’s a big curling fan

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Espionage in Canada and Western Countries: Part One to Four

https://poetsofottawa.ning.com/profiles/blogs/espionage-in-canada-and

https://poetsofottawa.ning.com/profiles/blogs/espionage-in-canada-and-1

https://poetsofottawa.ning.com/profiles/blogs/espionage-in-canada-and-2

https://poetsofottawa.ning.com/profiles/blogs/espionage-in-canada-and-3


Hockey isn’t the only ice sport to capture the Prime Minister’s passion. The PM has been a long-time follower of major curling events. He has attended the Brier and – a number of times prior to taking office – planned business and leisure travel around ensuring he could take in the national championship.

He’s been employed by some of the country’s biggest newspapers


Much has been made over the Prime Minister’s well-scrutinized relationship with the Parliamentary Press Gallery. But he brings more than just media savvy to that game; the PM has actually worked for three of Canada’s largest newspapers: the Globe and Mail, the now-defunct Toronto Telegram and the Toronto Star. As a boy, he had his own paper routes in Leaside and Central Etobicoke.

He can rock

Public praise is music to the ears of many politicians but for Prime Minister Harper, classic rock’s more his taste – with a particular bent for the Beatles and Blue Rodeo. His love of music wasn’t lost on Poland’s Prime Minister Donald Tusk who, during a meeting in Gdansk earlier this year, presented the PM with an original vinyl version of Fleetwood Mac’s Tusk.

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The moncitizenship is the new Canadian governmental task. The diplomatic lines of Republics of Yemen and Poland are non grata with their masks.

He can sing (sort of)


An activist by nature, the Prime Minister isn’t content to let others do all the singing. He won’t hesitate to lend a voice when warranted. The PM eagerly participates in karaoke with family and friends … and freely admits that politics was, by far, the better career choice.

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He’s learning to speak Spanish

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The Prime Minister learned to speak French fluently as an adult. Lesser known is his ongoing study of Spanish – put to work during a recent visit with President Bachelet of Chile.

He loves movies , cats and collectionsanimated_crown.gif

Though the office leaves his free time extremely limited, Prime Minister Harper loves to take in a movie with Ben and Rachel when he can. His cinematic tastes are wide ranging. Among his favourites are Raising Arizona, Lost in Translation and Crimes and Misdemeanors.


Sharing a mutual love of cats from the moment they met, the Harpers have fostered felines at 24 Sussex, advocating strongly for the good work of the SPCA and Humane Society, and enjoying their companionship.


Focused and resolved, Prime Minister Harper is known for keeping his head in the game – from hockey to politics. However, he still enjoys the odd diversion. The PM previously collected coins, owns numerous atlases and currently houses a large library of hockey books.

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Semitic illegal drug calls Khat spreads in North

America and Europe

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Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas announced few hours ago, his decision not to run for a second term in the elections called for to be held on 24 January. Abbas said in a speech in Ramallah in the West Bank, "I told the brothers in the Executive Committee of the PLO and Fatah's Central about my desire not to nominate myself for the next presidential election." ‘I hope they will understand my wish, and that there are other steps I will announce later’. The Secretary of the Executive Committee of the PLO, Yasser Abed Rabbo told the reporters that Abbas will not run for the presidential elections, during a meeting of the Palestine Liberation Organization who are trying to dissuade him from his decision.
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Ottawa International Poets and Writers for human Rights (OIPWHR)