Interesting role for Gere, but it’s not a likable one

Furby Street residents fed up with inaction on drug houses

Anxious Furby Street residents contacted the city and their elected officials Friday to — once again — report people coming and going from a boarded-up house they call a dangerous “drug centre” and “den of thieves” that’s just steps away from a house under construction.

Linda Zak, who was holding a yard sale with a group of neighbours Friday morning, described the trouble the home attracts, while a woman slumped on the front steps and a man standing in the yard yelled to someone inside it.

“It is a drug centre,” said Zak, 77. “We know that. A couple of days ago, a person lit the front on fire. Now, as you look at it, you can see where the facade was burning and they were trying to harm people inside.”

“We’re very concerned about it being next to the home this man is building,” she said, pointing to the two-storey that’s nearly completed. The boarded-up house is in the 500 block of Furby.

Jets defenceman spent whole summer working on getting to the next level

Tyrel Bauer makes no apologies for the pugilistic piece of his path.

The Winnipeg Jets defenceman is ready to drop the gloves and throw down when the situation calls for it and he takes great pride in protecting his teammates.

It’s a big part of the reason Bauer will be among the 23 players submitted by the Jets on the opening-day roster on Monday.

“I’ve fought and clawed, both metaphorically and literally and now I just want to show that I can play as well,” Bauer said during a chat with the Free Press during training camp. “(Toughness) is always something that I have, it’s always something in my back pocket and something that I take a lot of pride in doing, for my teammates, for the city and the people who invest in this hockey club. That will never change.

Manitoba PCs choose Narth as interim leader; Khan blasts former caucus colleagues

Manitoba’s Progressive Conservatives have chosen Konrad Narth as their interim party leader after the sudden resignation of Obby Khan.

Narth, who represents La Vérendrye in the province’s southeast, was chosen in a closed-door caucus meeting Tuesday morning.

Khan announced late Monday afternoon that he was quitting caucus and will sit in the legislature as an independent MLA.

“We’re not fractured,” Narth said shortly after being selected and just hours before the legislature resumed sitting after a summer break of nearly four months.

Wab Kinew as ‘communicator in chief’

Premier Wab Kinew and his party have been riding high in the polls longer than normal for a government one year or less away from its first re-election contest. One reason is his ubiquitous, dominating communications presence as NDP leader and premier.

The argument here is that Kinew has supplemented his prerogatives as premier and party leader (such as appointing cabinet ministers and approving party nominations) with the skilful use of communications to advance his policy agenda, boost his personal popularity and maintain the competitive advantage of his party over the opposition Progressive Conservatives.

Communications has always been a significant part of politics and policy making. However, in the contemporary political and media environments, communications considerations have moved from the background to the foreground of decision-making by political parties, including when they are performing in the role of government. Campaigning and governing now overlap in what has been described as a permanent election campaign.

Political parties use communications strategies for several purposes: to establish an image of the leader which makes a positive emotional connection with voters; to promote a coherent message and to keep party members on message; and to gain favourable media coverage for its policies and other actions on almost a daily basis.

The Brazilian election

“Flávio Bolsonaro is Trump’s candidate and what Trump wants is to colonize Brazil, take our riches, steal our future and leave us in the dust,” claims the latest video released by President Luiz Inácio ‘Lula’ da Silva’s re-election campaign. The weird thing is about half of Brazil’s voters would be okay with Trump running the country (through Bolsonaro).