Tuesday, August 18, 2009

Stupid staff harpoons Canadian PM...again

Canadian Press has Walt LOL today, with a report of yet another blunder by the advisors (fart-catchers? ed.) to Canadian Prime Minister "Call Me Steve" Harper.

Mr. Harpoon has set out on a grand tour of Canada's three northern territories (pop quiz: name them!) to "reassert Canada's soverignty over the Arctic". Exactly how that will be done remains a mystery, but anyway...

The Prime Minister's Office (PMO) sent out a news release yesterday, with details of Mr. Harpoon's itinerary. The release repeatedly spelled the capital of Nunavut as "Iqualuit". As any fule no, the correct spelling is actually "Iqaluit".

The PMO staffer who wrote the release must have a face as red as his neck, because the extra "u" makes a world of difference in Inuktitut. "Iqaluit" means "many fish". (You know the one about how a Newfie counts fish?) But according to the Nunavut language commissioner's office, "Iqualuit" translates as "people with unwiped bums".

Today, a new news release from the PMO spells "Iqaluit" correctly.

It has also been announced that sometime during his visit to the Great White North, the PM will eat seal. Whether he will eat it raw, as did Governor-General Michaelle Jean, remains to be seen. Walt just hopes that he doesn't put it in his pocket to be consumed later.

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