Browsing: February

A Brief History On February 3, 2020, we stand on the edge of the 2020 Presidential election season, the evening that the Iowa Caucuses that will kick off the start of the major party nomination process for the Republican and Democratic Parties candidates for President finally begin.  Tonight, the 2020 Presidential campaign begins in earnest.  On the Republican side, barring some sort of catastrophe or tragedy, President Donald Trump and Vice President Mike Pence will be once again nominated, virtually without opposition as the people that run the party have seen to it that there will be no meaningful process…

A Brief History On February 2, 2020, we celebrate yet another Groundhog Day, a day in which Winter weary people find out if we are in for 6 more weeks of Winter or if we are facing the joy of an early Spring.  As implied by the name of the day, an actual Groundhog is “consulted” for his (or her) “prediction.”  But…. This year the animal rights organization, PETA, is recommending we immediately end this act of animal cruelty (?) and replace our beloved Marmots with (gasp!) animatronic replicas of Groundhogs!  A discussion of why this plan is “stupid” is…

A Brief History On February 23, 1998, The Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario was established in the Canadian province of Ontario to regulate the alcohol, gaming, and horse racing sectors in Ontario.  Gambling is one of the oldest activities in Canada. According to history, Canadians learned the art of gambling from settlers and it is believed that the earliest gamblers in Canada used sticks to gamble. Playing cards were introduced in 1497 when John Cabot arrived at Canadian shores.  As a result, Canadians learned how to play a variety of card games including poker and blackjack.  Poker grew popularity…

A Brief History On February 23, 2007, during the 2007 Dubai Tennis Championship, Jelena Janković (born 1985) retired from an ankle injury during the match against Amélie Mauresmo (born 1979).  We all know how important it is to be active and include regular exercise into our schedules, but it is also essential that we know our stuff when it comes to training and engaging in a sport so that we know how to prevent any injuries from occurring. Sports injuries are very common, and they can occur when you engage in any type of sporting activity, from dancing to running,…

A Brief History On February 25, 1980, Yes Minister, a political satire British sitcom written by Antony Jay and Jonathan Lynn, was first transmitted on BBC2.  This list of fictional places in Yes Minister elaborates on the details provided in Yes Minister and The Complete Yes Minister, the diary-based novelisation of the series. Digging Deeper Buranda Buranda is a fictional West African less developed country, later known as a developing country, that features in the second episode of Yes Minister (“The Official Visit”) and (briefly) in Yes, Prime Minister (“A Conflict of Interest”). Formerly British Equatorial Africa, it is referred to privately by James Hacker as a “TPLAC” (tin-pot little African country), much to Sir Humphrey’s consternation. Buranda’s leader in both episodes is Colonel Selim…