1 WHO’S BUYING? A Statistics Canada report says that Saskatchewan’s wages have been getting higher quicker than anywhere else in Canada, the CBC reports. There are some duckets floating around that some employers are willing to share. I wouldn’t know; I’m still trying to convince my sister that grocery store gift cards are an appropriate Christmas gift.

2 A VOTE FOR PUTIN IS A VOTE FOR THAT SEXY PUTIN CHEST How many people will be voting for the man or his chest is another question. According to the Guardian, Russians will have the chance to vote in March of next year. The article cites a recent poll stating that “just 31% of respondents would vote for Putin – a higher number than for any other candidate, but far from the majority.” Expect Putin to form a hunting trip to track down the Kraken to boost his popularity.

3 SOME NEWS FROM RELIGIONTOWN First, the Catholic mass has undergone some changes. Some aren’t happy with the new style, as you’ll see in this NPR piece. As a kid who was raised Catholic, some of the changes they talk about seem super weird, but maybe I’m just afraid of change and I’d be one of the guys back in the day who was irked when they stopped doing the whole mass in Latin. Other Godville news today: a Wisconsin atheist group wants a fifty-year-old Jesus statue taken off a property owned by the U.S. Forestry Service. The New York Times article gets a bunch of perspectives on it. Real talk: atheist activists have better places to be using their resources than fighting the Knights of Columbus about a Jesus statue on a ski run.

4 THE U.S. PRIMARY PROFILE WE’VE ALL BEEN WAITING FOR Finally, someone talks to the man behind the hair: Mitt Romney’s stylist. I envy the New York Times reporter who had the privilege of writing this gem of a line: “Nobody has a more complicated and intimate relationship with Mr. Romney’s hair than the man who has styled it for more than two decades, a barrel-chested, bald Italian immigrant named Leon de Magistris.” So, so many more gems in this piece.

5 EDMONTON DE-OCCUPIED Take it away, Globe and Mail:

About 45 or 50 officers arrived at 4 a.m. to evict approximately 9 protesters gathered at the site, a downtown park owned by a private development company.

Three people were arrested on provincial trespassing charges, while the rest went peacefully.

It must’ve been awkward for the cops. There’s only so many people who can take down a tent at one time. Inevitably, someone’s gotta be standing around with their hands in their pockets, looking for something to do.

6 I SEE A COLLECTION OF CONSERVATIVE ESSAYS ON DISNEY IN THE FUTURE A writer over at Big Hollywood wrote a quick post about parallels he saw between the bad guys in The Lion King and Occupy protesters. “Maybe Disney should’ve started ‘Be Prepared’ with ‘Mic Check!'” he writes. I guess this makes Simba a member of the one percent? He is royalty and all, but I always thought he was in touch with the common man regardless.

And your Puppy of the Day is Callie, who “loves to steal socks, undies, and slippers.”