It’s amazing, The Canadian Prime Minister, Stephen Harper, has decided that, since Parliament has worked so hard this year, he will again given them a couple of months off, but the opposition parties are upset. The CBC reports: PM seeks Parliament shutdown until March

The Conservative government plans to shut down Parliament for two months, until after the Vancouver Winter Olympics, the Prime Minister’s Office announced Wednesday.

The announcement triggered immediate condemnation from opposition MPs who labelled the Conservative government’s move an “almost despotic” attempt to muzzle parliamentarians amid controversy over the Afghan detainees affair.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s spokesman, Dimitri Soudas, said the government sought the suspension to consult with Canadians, stakeholders and businesses as it moves into the “next phase” of its economic action plan amid signs of economic recovery.

“This is quite routine but it is also important to give Canadians an overview of where we will be taking the country over the next little while,” Soudas told CBC News from Ottawa.

Come on guys, he does this every Christmas, and you know you want to watch the Olympics, so what’s the problem? Sure, it gives him time to add more of his people to the Canadian Senate; sure, it cancels some investigations that he didn’t want going on; and it certainly limits any embarrassing questions about the Olympics; but it’s time off and you can go home and listen to your constituents kvetch, up close and personal.

If you have the time, scan the comments. They have Canadian wingnuts. Who knew?

If you have heart problems, your cardiologist may prescribe a vasodilator like pentaerythritol tetranitrate [C₅H₈N₄O₁₂] or glyceryl trinitrate [C₃H₅N₃O₉]. They both do a competent job, and save lives in emergency situations.

The two have something else in common – they explode. The first, PETN, is used in C4, Semtex, and the shorts of the sons of Nigerian bankers. The second, nitroglycerin, is the active ingredient in Dynamite.

Any system that accurately detects PETN is going to flag heart patients carrying their Lentonitrat pills, as they are almost pure PETN. This also means that you can buy/steal PETN from pharmacies. I’m sure everyone remembers that the number two man in al Qaeda, Ayman al-Zawahiri, is a surgeon, as are a number of Islamic whackos.

Isn’t chemistry wonderful?

Michelle Cottle of The New Republic has an opinion piece, Obama’s (Politically) Risky Golf Obsession, that misses the obvious – all Republicans golf.

Eisenhower had a putting green built at the White House. Nixon, Ford, Reagan, the Bushes – all golfers. As a frequent attendee of the “Let’s All Park On Interstate 5, So Dan Quayle Can Play Golf At Torrey Pines” meetings in San Diego, even Vice Presidents golf.

There was no reason to assume Obama would be any different, just because he calls himself a Democrat – you elect a Republican, you get a golfer.

Golfing is the only time Republicans get to meet their bosses, the corporate CEOs.