Newsweeklies: the apocalypse cometh…
By Paul Wells - Monday, January 19, 2009 - 4 Comments
… south of the border. Personally, I blame the Aspers. Social tip: Never invite Jon Meacham from Newsweek to your bridge game.
“I think a weekly magazine is a standing dinner date, or the fourth person in your bridge game,” said Jon Meacham, editor of Newsweek. “Sometimes they’re the most delightful person in the world, sometimes they get drunk and throw up on you. But enough times in a year, when something happens, that’s the first place you want to go to hear what they have to say.”
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Is Battlestar Galactica great TV, or its opposite?
By macleans.ca - Monday, January 19, 2009 at 8:20 AM - 0 Comments
Outer space, the meaning of life, and that sexy red dress
James Parker of The Atlantic has fun delving into the sci-fi series Battlestar Galactica, which is now airing the last episodes of its fourth and final season. Along with examining the meaning of life and whether humans are man or machine, he explores whether the often cryptically complex plots of the critically-acclaimed show make it worthy of “space opera” status or whether BsG is, in fact, proof that it¹s impossible to create a masterful sci-fi drama.
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Fully loaded tankers are on a journey to nowhere
By macleans.ca - Monday, January 19, 2009 at 8:15 AM - 2 Comments
Waiting for a price hike, investors are paying US$68,000 a day to stockpile crude oil
Ever on the lookout for ways to make money on commodities, Morgan Stanley has hired the Argenta, a supertanker capable of carrying two million barrels of oil. But the Argenta won’t be carrying it anywhere, it’s going to stay anchored–until oil prices rise, an expectation for later this year. Using supertankers to store oil until a better market comes along is at an historic high–80 million barrels of oil are now on board ships and not going anywhere.
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Obama has four years to save the world
By macleans.ca - Monday, January 19, 2009 at 8:10 AM - 0 Comments
Scientist warns of eco-disaster if Obama doesn’t take charge on climate change
Forget that nagging economic crisis, or niche issues like, say, health care or the war in Afghanistan. A high-profile NASA scientist says Barack Obama has only four years to take the lead on combating climate change and save the earth. Jim Hansen, head of the Goddard Institute of Space Studies, is among a group of respected scientists who argue global warming’s effects – especially rising sea levels – are accelerating faster than was expected, and will lead to more catastrophic results by the end of the century.
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Can you really blame the banks?
By macleans.ca - Monday, January 19, 2009 at 8:10 AM - 0 Comments
Bank of Canada keeps cutting rates, but big banks aren’t passing along the savings
Mark Carney, the Governor of the Bank of Canada, is expected to cut the Bank’s key rate by half a percentage point tomorrow to help stimulate the economy. But there’s a problem: Lately, the banks haven’t passing along these rate cuts to consumers. Economists say it’s like ‘pushing on a string,’ with the central bank cutting rates, but all the slack is bunching up in the charter banks. In a way you can’t blame them, because trying to force interest rates to an all time low right now doesn’t make sense in some ways. The truth is, money to lend is in short supply, and banks have never been more concerned about defaults. So why would they keep lowering the interest rates they charge borrowers? How are they being compensated for the risk they’re taking by lending out money? Anyway, it will be a moot point soon. If the key rate is cut to 1.0 per cent tomorrow as expected, there won’t be a lot of cutting room left.
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Harry Potter user’s manual hits bookstores
By macleans.ca - Monday, January 19, 2009 at 8:00 AM - 0 Comments
Did the controversial guide gain from Rowling’s lawsuit?
When Steve Vander Ark, a Michigan librarian and highly regarded Harry Potter expert, wrote his guide to Harry’s fictional universe, publisher RDR Books planned a modest print run. But after Vander Ark and RDR lost a widely publicized lawsuit launched by Potter author J.K. Rowling, who claimed the book had “virtually no original commentary of its own,” Vander Ark revamped it until it met with Rowling’s approval, and RDR quadrupled its first printing of The Lexicon: An Unauthorized Guide to Harry Potter Fiction and Related Materials to 40,000. The first copies hit bookshops today.
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UPDATED: Was this the kind of story he had in mind?
By kadyomalley - Monday, January 19, 2009 at 8:00 AM - 29 Comments
UPDATE: Liberal leader Michael Ignatieff weighs in on the controversy during his post-caucus scrum- very, very carefully and likely mindful of the fact that parliamentary privilege does not extend to the Hall of Honour:
“Serious questions have been raised by Mr. Brazeau. Every person in Canada is entitled to be considered innocent until proven guilty, particularly in relation to sexual harassment allegations, which I understand have been dealt with by a tribunal. So I don’t want to make any presumptions of guilt in respect of Mr. Brazeau. But I think it’s fair to say that there’s an accumulation of doubt as to whether Mr. Brazeau meets the criteria for a senate appointment. And I’ll just leave it at that.”
From a post to then-national chief Patrick Brazeau’s blog ”No Reservations” (May 20, 2o08):
In the midst of the increasing amount of stories pertaining to accountability or lack thereof and CAP’s call for greater accountability, I’ve decided to post stories that justifies the need to deal with this issue for the benefit of grassroots Aboriginal people all across Canada.
If you have stories you would like to share, which could include governance, accountability, discrimination, election procedures/issues, mismanagement, fearmongering, intimidation and bullying, please forward these stories so they could be shared to highlight the day-to-day activities that many people are faced with each day.
Please forward any news or information links regarding the subject matter.
From today’s Globe and Mail:
Health Canada is demanding the Congress of Aboriginal Peoples return up to $260,000 in ineligible expenses after an audit found directors of the native advocacy group divvied up thousands of dollars in federal cash with insufficient evidence of where the money went.
The federal department has suspended all funding to the organization, led until recently by new Conservative Senator Patrick Brazeau, until the group comes up with a plan to pay back the money and respond to the government’s concerns. [...]
Mr. Brazeau, 34, was vice-chief of the organization in 2005 and rose to president and national chief in February of 2006. During his nearly three years in charge of the advocacy group for off-reserve aboriginals, he attracted attention with his blunt calls for native leaders to be more transparent and accountable with taxpayers’ money.
The draft Health Canada audit disputes $16,050 in payments to the congress president and vice-president, but the organization said the salaries of those two office-holders are usually adjusted based on the number of programs in which they participate.
Auditors took issue with a practice whereby thousands of dollars in cash would be handed out at board meetings.
“The audit found that large amounts of money (varying between $11,000 and $18,000 – exceptionally $65,000 for the Annual General Assembly) were sometimes disbursed to the Finance Officer to enable the distribution of cash allocation to the CAP Directors when they attended meetings. It was also noted that the accounting records only showed ‘Miscellaneous’ instead of showing the payees’ names on some of the cheques issued.” [...]
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The downside of being an Obama
By macleans.ca - Monday, January 19, 2009 at 7:58 AM - 0 Comments
Change, good and bad, comes to the President’s relatives in a distant village in Kenya
Obama’s cousin, Hussein Onyango, offers tours of a mat on the dirt floor marking the spot Obama slept when he visited Kenya in 1987. Jimmy Hays Obama, 18, a distant relative, says his teachers now expect him to be more capable and his classmates expect him to buy them Fanta. His grandfather said he tells people, “Look at me, do I look like someone who has money?,” and points out his frayed pants and chronic unemployment. “The African way is that if your relative rises, he’s supposed to help all his family. I try to explain to people that in America, it’s not that way. In America, you can’t give your relatives jobs. There are laws. But they are not convinced.” Life has changed for Obama’s Kenyan relatives. On the upside, his step-grandmother has had her house spiffed up-blue trim, running water, electricity, and 24-hour-a-day security guards-part of the “Presidential Heritage Tourist Circuit.” On the other hand, who wants to live in a shrine?
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Why can't Robert Redford get any respect?
By macleans.ca - Monday, January 19, 2009 at 7:55 AM - 0 Comments
The Sundance Kid shoots back at critics
A quarter century after founding the Sundance Film Festival, Robert Redford still defends its role as a haven for indie mavericks, firing back at critics who claim it has sold out to commercial interests. As luminaries like Mike Tyson, Jack White and Anna Wintour descend on Park City to promote documentaries about them, Redford, 72, hit the slopes then argues over lunch that film, not glitz, is what makes Sundance continue to be relevant.
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Fewer international students in B.C. schools
By macleans.ca - Monday, January 19, 2009 at 7:50 AM - 0 Comments
Global recession to blame
The global economic downturn has led to fewer international students enrolling in B.C. schools. Vancouver and Surrey, the province’s largest school districts, have experienced a five to seven per cent decrease. Korea has been a main source of international students in the past, but the recent plunge in the country’s currency has raised the cost of tuition, which is about $12,000 annually. The most significant dip is at the elementary level, where students typically enroll for a few months to improve their English.
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Because confusion and doubletalk worked so well for Martin and Dion
By Paul Wells - Monday, January 19, 2009 at 7:47 AM - 28 Comments
OTTAWA–Arguing that a recession is not the time to cut income taxes, the federal Liberals yesterday served notice on Prime Minister Stephen Harper that he risks defeat if he goes ahead with across-the-board cuts.
While Mr. Ignatieff did not directly threaten to defeat the government over the budget, Toronto MP John McCallum, the party’s economic policy critic, told reporters that Mr. Ignatieff has frequently said a Liberal vote against the Jan. 27th budget “is still very much a possibility.”
Mr. McCallum said, however, Liberals want to see the budget before declaring whether they will vote for defeat, a move that would trigger another federal election or a request by the Governor General that the Liberals and New Democratic Party coalition, supported by the Bloc Québécois, be given a chance to govern.
Liberal insiders say Michael Ignatieff would prefer more time to rebuild the party and prepare for an election, rather than possibly topple the government next week by refusing to support the budget.
Of course, the statements in every case are so exquisitely couched in maybes and possiblys that none of them can really be held to mean anything. If you’re an Ignatieff fan you’ll argue that makes it all even more clever. Bit of trivia: the Citizen story is filed under “Entertainment,” not national news. Fair enough: I’m entertained.
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Charest to Harper: We're Done
By macleans.ca - Monday, January 19, 2009 at 7:30 AM - 0 Comments
The level of animosity between the two has reached a new high
Toronto Star national affairs columnist Chantal Hébert charts out the political fallout of Quebec Premier Jean Charest’s quick change from diehard federalist to Bourassa quasi-nationalist, and how this transformation has
helped him at home but hurt him in Ottawa.”To make a long story short, the level of animosity between the two governments has reached a new high,” Hébert writes. “Bad blood had been accumulating between Charest and Harper for a while and it was probably inevitable that some would spill out in public.” Though left unmentioned in the column, Charest’s gambit might yet pay off should the federal Liberals, lead by Michael “Quebec Nation” Ignatieff return to power. -
Feeling blue? Here’s why
By macleans.ca - Monday, January 19, 2009 at 7:20 AM - 0 Comments
Experts report today is the most depressing day EVER!
The third Monday of January is known as “Blue Monday,” the most depressing day of the year. But British experts say today, Monday January 19, 2009, is the most dismal day in human history due to the convergence of six depressive factors, including winter weather, Christmas credit card bills and abandoned New Year’s resolutions. Add to that fears stoked by economic recession–job security, mounting debt and the house price collapse—and you’ve got the kind of day not worth getting out of bed for.
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60-million Indians have gene for early heart disease
By macleans.ca - Monday, January 19, 2009 at 7:20 AM - 0 Comments
Mutated gene effects those in 40s and 50s
Heart disease is a leading killer throughout the world, but it is of particularly grave concern in Indian where 60-million people are estimated to carry a gene that codes for a protein, cardiac myosin-binding protein C. It was found among families with a high incidence of cardiomyopathy, an inflammation of the heart muscle. New research shows that people with one copy of the gene have seven times the chance of developing heart disease, even though they may appear healthy throughout their lives—until age 45, when an abundance of the protein triggers catastrophic results.
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An armed refuge from the economic storm
By macleans.ca - Monday, January 19, 2009 at 7:00 AM - 0 Comments
The military is becoming an increasingly attractive option in tough job market
For the first time in years, the U.S. military has been exceeding its recruitment goals, and it has the economy to thank. As jobs (and steady paychecks) become scarce, the military is becoming an increasingly attractive option. One recruiter notes that many applicants are either out of work construction workers and older recruits (in 2006, the Army raised its age limit to 42 from 35). Students who are having trouble getting loans and financing to go to college are also looking to sign on as soldiers. Even with the country at war, serving in the military seems to beat life in an increasingly brutal economy.
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"Mad Men" creator isn't mad anymore
By macleans.ca - Monday, January 19, 2009 at 7:00 AM - 0 Comments
A third season—plus a movie deal—for Weiner
After months of negotiations and threats, “Mad Men” creator/producer Matthew Weiner has finally signed a deal to come back for the upcoming third season of the show. His deal, financed jointly by the studio and the network, gives him a seven-figure income and a movie deal. But now he can go back to criticizing American materialism and greed.
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Lower your costs, or else…
By macleans.ca - Monday, January 19, 2009 at 6:55 AM - 0 Comments
Ottawa won’t help automakers until they cut back on wages and benefits
GM and Chrysler have yet to draw a penny out the federal government’s $4-billion bailout fund – and, says Industry Minister Tony Clement, they will have to lower their labour costs if they hope to do so in the near future. The companies have until February 20 to meet the conditions laid out by Ottawa. But matching the labour costs of Japanese manufacturers, a concession to which U.S. auto workers have already reluctantly agreed, is among the biggest hurdles remaining between them and the taxpayer dollars that are expected to keep them afloat. In the end, the rollbacks could amount to cuts worth up to $20 an hour in wages and benefits doled out to employees.
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What's next for Omar Khadr?
By macleans.ca - Monday, January 19, 2009 at 6:50 AM - 0 Comments
The only Canadian at Guantanamo Bay in court today, future is as murky as ever
Barack Obama isn’t expected to waste much time before putting a stop to the secretive military tribunals taking place at Guantanamo Bay. An executive order ordering a halt to the proceedings could come within his first few days in office. However, until Tuesday, the Bush administration is still in charge and it’s pressing ahead with two high-profile cases. The first involves five men accused of planning the attacks of 9/11; the second is that of Omar Khadr, the Canadian citizen against whom charges related to the death of a U.S. soldier have been repeatedly dropped only to be re-instated again. Depending on the outcome of Monday’s pre-trial hearings, Khadr’s case could make it to trial as early as next week. But Obama is already being called upon to drop the charges against Khadr, after which he could face a trial in a U.S. criminal or military court, or be returned to Canada.
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Schools for girls attacked in Pakistan
By macleans.ca - Monday, January 19, 2009 at 6:40 AM - 0 Comments
Government official says teachers are afraid to come to work
Pakistani Taliban have blown up five girls’ schools in the town of Mingora in northwest Pakistan. A government official said that teachers are afraid to come to work: “I try to convince them but they’re scared. They doubt the government’s ability to protect them.” The Taliban believe that education for girls is un-Islamic.
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'It took a comedian'
By Aaron Wherry - Monday, January 19, 2009 at 2:18 AM - 10 Comments
The complete box set of Canwest’s series on the decline of Canadian politics—Part I, Part II, Part III, Part IV, Part V.
That last story recalls Jon Stewart’s semi-legendary appearance on CNN’s late Crossfire—a moment I’ve been secretly waiting to see repeated here for some time now.
In the meantime, here’s Richard Foot’s summation of the media situation. Continue…
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Compare/contrast
By Aaron Wherry - Monday, January 19, 2009 at 12:50 AM - 15 Comments
Damien Corsetti, former U.S. Army interrogator. “I firmly believe it was torture and unfortunately I took part in it. I was a believer at one time, I was. I guess this is just me trying to make it a little bit right. You know? Maybe get some closure to it. We’ll see.”
Bill Kuebler, Navy Lt.-Cmdr. and Pentagon-appointed lawyer for Omar Khadr. “The ball is really in (Harper’s) court now to take this issue up and work out some sort of an arrangement with the U.S. government and with us that would bring Omar Khadr back to Canada under conditions that are good for Omar and would make Canadians comfortable about bringing him back.”
Radhika Coomaraswamy, the United Nations’ Special Representative for Children in Armed Conflict. “We agree that the trial of Omar Khadr will be a bad precedent and will undermine international legal protection for children.”
Jamil Dakwar, lawyer with the American Civil Liberties Union. “This system is discredited and flawed and should not exist one day more, and certainly the signals that we hear from Washington, from the Obama transition team, are that he will act on it as soon as he is in office.”
In other news, Lawrence Cannon spent seven minutes on a Sunday TV chat show without commenting on or being asked about Mr. Khadr.
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Changishness
By Aaron Wherry - Sunday, January 18, 2009 at 10:05 PM - 12 Comments
Michael Ignatieff’s Liberals managed this weekend to announce both a “renewal committee” and a “change comission.”
Barack Obama’s transition team is said to be quite worried that Tuesday’s inauguration may now be seen as moot.
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Ted Menzies will not be silenced
By Aaron Wherry - Sunday, January 18, 2009 at 7:29 PM - 4 Comments
The lo-fi, but immensely helpful, HowdTheyVote.ca appears to have been updated through the current sitting of Parliament.
The most verbose member of parliament (aside from Speaker Peter Milliken) during fall’s abbreviated session? Ted Menzies, who, as parliamentary secretary to the Minister of Finance, has already managed an impressive 10,361 words.
Paul Szabo, Paul Crete and Jack Layton were the most talkative members of the Liberal, Bloc and New Democrat sides respectively.
Gordon O’Connor (chief government whip) and Rona Ambrose (Minister of Labour) have so far gotten by on a combined 122 words. Thirty-eight MPs, including Michael Ignatieff, have so far yet to speak.
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And this is what he said. This is what Barry Obama said.
By Paul Wells - Sunday, January 18, 2009 at 6:20 PM - 14 Comments
Via Alex Ross and countless others, this one’s designed to make Obamamania dissenters’ heads blow right up: The lanky state legislator from Illinois reading Aaron Copland’s Lincoln Portrait:
Conductor Bill Eddins’ butt will be familiar to Edmontonians. Readers unfamiliar with Copland’s Lincoln ode, as ludicrous and stirring as a visit to the Hall of Presidents at Disney World, can hear the whole thing here, featuring that lanky lawyer Atticus Finch. Many of us prefer PDQ Bach’s version.
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Sign here, minister
By Aaron Wherry - Sunday, January 18, 2009 at 4:16 PM - 10 Comments
Is Mr. Harper’s cabinet so stifled that his ministers are down to signing petitions in order to express themselves?
