Premier Dalton McGuinty has fired off a whiny letter to the PM complaining about Finance Minister Jim Flaherty's public criticism of Ontario and its tax laws. Flaherty, who apparently counts all time lost when he's not psychologically bitch-slapping his governmental inferiors, responded by calling McGuinty a "big stupid crybaby."

Time to start prying out grandma's fillings—the price of gold hit a record high of US$984.95 an ounce in London this morning, and experts predict it will soon top $1,000. No worries, though—the price surge probably doesn't indicate the imminent collapse of the world economy and advent of a savage new society where brute strength and access to scarce commodities are the keys to survival.

The Ontario minimum wage will go from $8 to $8.75 at of March, making it the highest in Canada. Minimum wage earners, who will now have the potential to pull down a cool $18,200 annually, are expected to celebrate by being replaced by machines and undocumented workers.

The Russian "election" proceeded as expected this weekend, with Vladimir Putin's handpicked successor Dmitry Medvedev beating the non-competition to become the new president. Medvedev is notable for his youth, matinee idol good looks, and slavish devotion to all things Putin.

And Conrad Black reports to prison in Florida today to begin serving his six-and-a-half-year sentence for being rich, arrogant, and using way too many big words. Lord Black intends to appeal, and is quoted in the National Post as saying that "A moron who actually seriously looks at this case sees that it is a crock..." Hmm, you might want to rephrase that, Your Highness.

Photo by Jessica C from the Torontoist Flickr Pool.