Slim pickings for NDP cabinet; Kelcey hammers out truth about crime and downtown cheerleaders

The Thursday podcast starts off with a brief tribute to my mentor, Yoram Hamizrachi East on the first anniversary of his passing.



Part one of the show is all about provincial politics, as we recount an interesting opinion piece from the publisher of the Neepawa Banner, Ken Waddell, and then explore an issue only TGCTS addressed during the election campaign - the wafer-thin depth of the NDP backbenches with 2 cabinet posts to be filled.

Blogger Brian Gilchrist looked at the poor crop of Finance candidates,
http://bgilchrist.wordpress.com/2011/10/12/matt-wiebe-for-finance-minister/

FP reportrix Mary Agnes Welch focused on the rudderless Conservation department which even Bill Blaikie didn't bother to fix

http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/opinion/blogs/welch/Conservation-speculation-131619163.html

Part two continues the Air Canada/downtown safety controversy, utilizing not only the op-ed analysis of Brian Kelcey "Downtown spinners in crime denial"

http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/opinion/westview/downtown-spinners-in-crime-denial-131575468.html

but also his excellent and revealing blog post with a first hand account of harassment of AC employees and other vulnerable (potential) victims of habitual drunks

http://www.stateofthecity.ca/front-page/2011/10/13/added-op-ed-on-crime-in-downtown-winnipeg.html

And we ask, how can the police brass be expected to develop strategy to deal with the bums, when they can't even figure out how to use internal security cameras to protect their own cops from false claims of assault?

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/story/2011/10/12/winnipeg-police-station-cameras-iteam.html

And in the last segment, imagine the nerve of the defence attorney asking for leniency for a Native Syndicate member who broke into his own cousins' house in Lake St. Martin, mistakenly thinking a drug dealer lived there, and robbed the family anyways before firing a shotgun into the air to scare the little kids even more ?

http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/local/gangster-off-to-prison-for-chilling-break-in-that-scars-kids-131772638.html

Shout-outs today to our new followers on Twitter,
Illegal Curve's Richard Pollock @ICrichyp
and, The Pony Corral @ponycorralwpg

(And let's all welcome FP editor Margo Goodhand @margogoodhand to social media)

Here is the link for the Thursday podcast:
http://tgctspod.podbean.com/2011/10/13/slim-pickings-for-ndp-cabinet-kelcey-hammers-out-truth-about-crime-and-downtown-cheerleaders/

TGCTS PODCASTS RESUME ON MONDAY.