sa国际传媒

In case you missed it, Friday was supposed to be the end of the world. Dec. 21, 2012, marked the end of the Mayan 鈥渓ong count鈥� calendar. Various astrologers and hand-wringers took this as a portent that Armageddon was at hand.

There will be a lot of smiling and nodding and happy faces at the news that federal Health Minister Leona Aglukkaq is taking aim at marijuana growers who are hiding behind current laws to operate illegal drug businesses.

Anyone who wants to watch the hearings into the Enbridge Northern Gateway pipeline when they come to Victoria in January will have to do it from far away.

They chase the thrills and we pay the bills. It鈥檚 time that changed. We are competely in favour of rescuing people in trouble. And when lives are hanging in the balance, that鈥檚 not the time to lay blame.

If Vancouver Islanders needed another reason to reject the idea of a bridge to the mainland, they only had to look at the news reports from Vancouver on Wednesday.

People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals is an organization that has done much good and continues to do so, but trying to intimidate children into believing having a turkey dinner is the same as eating your pet cat goes too far.

If you were looking to name a school in someone鈥檚 honour, you鈥檇 be hard pressed to find anyone more deserving than Malala Yousufzai.

Wally Oppal鈥檚 report on the Missing Women鈥檚 Inquiry holds lessons, but few surprises. After the trial of Robert Pickton, years of news coverage and two years of inquiry, most of the mistakes are well-known.

End-of-year lists are being frantically revised this month following the meteoric rise of Darwin, the Ikea monkey, in the public consciousness.

Victoria鈥檚 police board failed the public on two counts last week. First, members did not take effective action on the sa国际传媒 privacy鈥檚 commissioner鈥檚 finding that the police department鈥檚 computerized surveillance of drivers is breaking the law.