Global Warming is Irreversible, study suggests

By Alex Shimo - Thursday, January 29, 2009 at 6:28 PM - 41 Comments

Climate change is essentially irreversible, according to a sobering study from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). Once the ocean has heated up, it will warm the planet for thousands of years, according to lead author Susan Solomon. If carbon dioxide is allowed to peak at 450-600 parts per million, it will take millenia for the excess CO2 to dissipate, according to Solomon, with NOAA. The current level of carbon dioxide is 385 parts per million. Currently the oceans are absorbing the excess heat and carbon dioxide, but they will reach a saturation point, according to the study.

Ms. Soloman says the permanence of the predicted changes is not a reason to do very little, but a reason to take immediate action right now.

“If it’s irreversible, it seems all the more reason to do something about it,” she told NPR.

It's FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS Meets Ron Howard – What Could Go Wrong?

By Jaime Weinman - Thursday, January 29, 2009 at 5:36 PM - 3 Comments

It’s a barometer of changes in the TV business that when the movie Parenthood was last turned into a TV show, it was a half-hour single-camera comedy/drama (one of the writers was Joss Whedon). Now the same network, NBC, is making the same movie into another show, but it’s totally different because this version is an hour-long single-camera comedy/drama. The writer of the new version will be Friday Night Lights producer Jason Katims.

Jokes about NBC’s total lack of creativity aside — okay, we can never put them completely aside — I never get why Parenthood is considered such a great prospect for TV adaptation. Yeah, it’s a big-screen sitcom, as Ken Tucker pointed out in his (favourable) review of the 1990 flop TV version, but that’s the thing — it was a pleasant enough movie, but has nothing to distinguish it from many other TV shows about families. You could literally make a new show with the exact same premise without ripping off Parenthood, because the premise is just, well, here’s a family. It may have made sense to turn it into a show in 1990 because the movie was fresh in people’s minds, but why now, except that somebody at NBC remembers the movie?

The intro for the original TV version of Parenthood is available in this batch of 1990 intros. It starts at around 5:05. But also check out what’s right before it: the intro for Going Places, a Miller-Boyett show starring Alan Ruck, Heather Locklear, Hallie Todd, Staci Keanan and Holland Taylor. And it ends with the whole cast riding in a freakin’ boat. Ah, 1990.

UPDATED "… And the buses will run on time! Well, they'll run, at least."

By kadyomalley - Thursday, January 29, 2009 at 4:13 PM - 33 Comments

I know nobody outside Ottawa cares about our weird little transit strike, other than to idly wonder why the federal government has to get involved in a spat between the city and the union, but apparently, the end may be nigh: both the Liberals and the NDP have tentatively agreed to support back-to-work legislation, although it’s likely that it would be in the form of binding arbitration, as opposed to a forced settlement. Anyway, we’ll find out during the emergency debate later tonight.

UPDATE:

And it’s over! The city and the union agreed to binding arbitration, so the rest of the country can feel free to resume not caring about our sad little Ottawan lives. Oh, and I hope we all thoroughly enjoyed Rona Ambrose’s fleeting moment in the spotlight, since that’s probably the last time we’ll see her on the news.

Week In Pictures: Jan. 23rd – Jan. 29th, 2009

By macleans.ca - Thursday, January 29, 2009 at 3:41 PM - 0 Comments

UPDATED: It came from the floor of the Commons: The Bloc Quebecois Subamendment

By kadyomalley - Thursday, January 29, 2009 at 3:02 PM - 26 Comments

Not that it has much chance of being passed, mind you, but since the first vote takes place later today, I figured we should at least know the substance of the motion itself, aside from the political optics of it being the First Vote on the Budget:

That the amendment be amended by deleting all the words after the words “on condition that the Government” and substituting the following:

“maintain the right of women to settle pay equity issues in court, and abandon its preference for tax cuts for the well off, instead redistributing this revenue to the neediest members of our society, particularly by responding to the unanimous demands of the National Assembly of Quebec as formulated in the motion adopted on January 15, 2009, to assist workers, communities and businesses hit by the economic slowdown, support at-risk sectors, particularly manufacturing and forestry, in the same way as the automobile industry, and enhance the employment insurance program by making the eligibility criteria more flexible, and on condition that it maintain the equalization program in its current form and relinquish the idea of setting up a pan-Canadian securities commission.”.

UPDATE:
According to Gilles Duceppe, this motion “basically repeats the motion passed unanimously in the National Assembly, along with a few other elements.” Further, “when the time comes to vote on it, all the members from Quebec will face a very clear choice: a choice for or against Quebec. All Quebec members who vote against this amendment to the amendment and in favour of the Conservative budget will be choosing Canada over Quebec.”

Just call him Iggy

By Aaron Wherry - Thursday, January 29, 2009 at 1:14 PM - 108 Comments

As noted elsewhere, the NDP have released two radio ads—in keeping with personal policy, they won’t be posted here—that attack the Liberal decision to let the federal budget pass.

Around the Ottawa bureau though, we are currently debating whether the ads mispronounce the Liberal leader’s surname.

In the opinion of John and I it’s pronounced “Ig-Na-Ti-Uff.”

In the opinion of the NDP it’s “Ig-Na-Chuf.”

A request for clarification has been filed with the opposition leader’s office. Stay tuned for further developments.

Fun with media relations

By Michael Petrou - Thursday, January 29, 2009 at 1:01 PM - 4 Comments

Here’s an interesting question: Why is it that when the office of Lawrence Cannon, the minister of foreign affairs, sends an email to journalists telling them that Cannon will be meeting with Tooryalai Wesa, the new governor of Kandahar province, and when another journalist, i.e. this one, calls Foreign Affairs, the department Cannon allegedly runs, the media relations folks refuse to answer any questions about the visit or even confirm that it is taking place? All this, it should be pointed out, while the governor was meeting with Cannon elsewhere in the same building.

What a Creative Consultant Does

By Jaime Weinman - Thursday, January 29, 2009 at 12:58 PM - 0 Comments

Yes, I’m linking to Earl Pomerantz again, because in his latest “Story of a Writer” post he explains something I’ve been wondering about ever since I started noticing the credits on TV shows: what a “consultant” or “creative consultant” or “consulting producer” actually does. On TV shows, the title is usually given to a writer who won’t or can’t work on the show full-time. Some consultants mainly write scripts (the reclusive John Swartzwelder took a “consultant” credit on The Simpsons and spent years simply writing five scripts a season for the show, without coming into the office). Others don’t write individual scripts but offer suggestions and punch-ups on the ones that have been written. Others do a combination of both. But part of the idea behind the job of the consultant is that it helps the writing of a show to have someone who isn’t full-time come in and look at the show with fresh eyes, as Pomerantz explains.

To me, the internal structure of a story is like the natural progression that you find in music. You may not be able to articulate it, but when the chord structure deviates from its inevitable path, the final arrangement sounds “off.” It’s the same with a script. The consultant’s job is to listen for the “off” parts, and “fine tune” them, so they’re harmoniously back on track. (My music analogy’s admittedly shaky, but hopefully you get what I’m drivin’ at.)

The objective is clarity. (The ultimate objective, of course, is comedy, but fuzzy storytelling can inhibit the “ha-ha.”) “Clarifying” can mean noticing the inconsistency between two jokes, which, although both funny, undermine the credibility of character who’s delivering both. “Clarifying” also means eliminating the “wrong turns”, streamlining the storyline so it more smoothly travels to where its theme indicates it wants to go.

Obama and the Muslim World

By John Parisella - Thursday, January 29, 2009 at 12:52 PM - 5 Comments

It is quite revealing that President Obama chose the Al Arabiya network for his first international interview. The messages he delivered were in line with his inaugural address of last week: They were measured, deliberative and were aimed at setting a new tone. A few weeks ago I argued for Obama to be more of a peace broker than an advocate of one side in the Middle East. His thoughtful remarks this week were a refreshing contrast to the cowboy diplomacy of George W. Bush. They also revealed a desire to be engaged early, like Jimmy Carter was with the Camp David Accords and Bill Clinton was with a peace process that ended tragically with the murder of Yitzhak Rabin. Early engagement by an American president is far better than intervention in the lame-duck portion of a mandate.

Continue…

Oh, come on!

By Paul Wells - Thursday, January 29, 2009 at 12:30 PM - 11 Comments

Arrested Development movie: Green-lit, says Jeffrey Tambor. For a while there, I thought they were chicken.

Stephen the Builder

By Aaron Wherry - Thursday, January 29, 2009 at 11:18 AM - 6 Comments

Short excerpt from the pool report for the Prime Minister’s latest photo op.

Day Two of Harper’s construction-site tour consists of the prime minister and John Baird greeting and chatting with about a dozen construction workers at what would ordinarily be the vehicle entrance to the congress centre property…

Following the previous day’s drama involving the nail gun, photographers lobbied PMO officials — with no success — to have the prime minister play with the hydraulic shovel.

Cruise the majestic Saguenay fjord! Quickly….

By Paul Wells - Thursday, January 29, 2009 at 11:06 AM - 7 Comments

The natural beauty of emerald waters that cut through winnable ridings awaits! Unless they’re not winnable: you’ll want to book your summer cruise without delay, before shifting currents turn some of Canada’s other great rivers — I’m betting on the Bow — into your federal government’s strategically-chosen darlings!

Grounded: Ministers forced into steerage class

By macleans.ca - Thursday, January 29, 2009 at 10:50 AM - 2 Comments

In this time of global economic instability, there will be no more $3,383 jaunts to New York City—not for Finance Minister Jim Flaherty, or any other minister for the foreseeable future. Under the strict new guidelines for government-funded travel that came out as part of this week’s budget. Cabinet ministers and senior civil servants will no longer be allowed to rack up air miles in business class—at least, not on flights of less than two hours. Instead, they’ll be required to fly economy. The enforced parsimony will also continue once they’ve hit solid ground: the meal expense allowance will be frozen at 2008 levels. That’s still not enough for the Canadian Taxpayers Federation, however, which dismisses the attempt at belt-tightening as “ironic, given how much they’re about to add to the debt.”

The Toronto Star

Nation in Crisis – Day 4 – A Special Report: Jessica Simpson… Fat or What?

By Scott Feschuk - Thursday, January 29, 2009 at 10:47 AM - 19 Comments

The Interweb, and presumably at least one luckless chair at Arby’s, is straining under the weight of Jessica Simpson’s, uhh, weight. Snarky comments are being typed. Blogs are being posted. Tweeters are being twirped, or whatever. And the Dallas Cowboys are preparing for the worst and consulting the NFL’s collective bargaining agreement for the salary cap implications of their starting quarterback having been eaten.

Seriously, I haven’t seen gossip sites latch on to a story like this since Tom Cruise came out of the closet (the closet of crazy – what did you think I meant?) or Scarlett Johansson married me.*

The crisis – highlighted by the above photo of the singer/actress respecting Hollywood’s two-belt minimum for women over 115 pounds – has reached Continue…

Rae on Khadr

By Aaron Wherry - Thursday, January 29, 2009 at 10:45 AM - 11 Comments

The shadow foreign affairs minister in an op-ed for the Post.

Prime Minister Harper seems determined to go down in history as the last defender of Guantanamo on the world stage. He is letting us down in the process. Canada was the first country to sign the Optional Protocol on child soldiers. The treaty still binds Canada, and we agreed at that time, among other things, that “armed groups that are distinct from the armed forces of a State cannot recruit or use in hostilities persons under the age of 18 years.” Canada agreed to rehabilitate and reintegrate these children.

Rae and the Bloc’s Paul Crete combined to throw four questions on the matter at Lawrence Cannon on Tuesday. Mr. Cannon notably avoided addressing Khadr’s status as a child soldier.

Full exchange after the jump. Continue…

Wall Street crumbles, but bonuses don’t

By macleans.ca - Thursday, January 29, 2009 at 10:40 AM - 2 Comments

In the year that saw Wall Street lose billions and saw historic financial firms collapse, bankers and brokers still collected some of the biggest bonuses in history. Last year $18.4 billion was paid out as bonuses, according to the New York State comptroller. That’s the same amount collected in the high-flying, boom times of 2004.  The burning question now is whether or not banks used taxpayer bailout money to pay out bonuses. Officials say it’s an issue that needs to be closely examined. Bonuses did fall from last year (by over 35 per cent, on average), but the lesson is clear: on Wall Street, you can reward failure.

The New York Times

Who did the budget serve?

By macleans.ca - Thursday, January 29, 2009 at 10:30 AM - 2 Comments

Two members of the Finance Minister’s expert advisory panel stand to benefit from the budget it helped craft. Among the most ballyhooed of budget measures, for instance, was the home renovations tax credit, a break the government expects millions of Canadians to take advantage of. Jim Flaherty’s panel includes Annette Verschuren, the president of Home Depot Canada. Meanwhile, Quantum Computing, a Waterloo research centre founded by RIM president Mike Lazaridis, will receive $50 million in funding. Flaherty’s office says nothing untoward has occurred. “The key thing is the minister asked them, they did not ask the minister. They did not lobby the minister.”

The Ottawa Citizen

UPDATED: A glaring hole in the fiscal genome map?

By kadyomalley - Thursday, January 29, 2009 at 10:12 AM - 73 Comments

While we wait to find out whether Genome Canada’s conspicuous – and apparently entirely unexpected – absence from the budget was a clumsy, but inadvertant omission or a deliberate decision to pull the financial rug out from under the agency, ITQ can’t help but wonder whether it might not have been a good idea to set up more than one single, solitary pre-budget meeting with a mid-level Finance official to make the case for continued federal support.  (If that link is rendered inoperable by the cruel and capricious LRB lobby database, just go here, click your way through to “Search Monthly Communications Reports” and punch in “Genome Canada”.)

Seriously, y’all – I’m not unsympathetic to Genome Canada’s plight, and I think it sends an absolutely terrible message to arbitrarily and without warning withdraw millions of dollars in funding to support cutting edge scientific research – directly, or indirectly, as is apparently the case here –  but you can’t just assume that the money will show up simply because you got it last year, and the year before, and the year before that. Out of sight, out of mind and all that stuff.

UPDATE:

According to the Globe story, Genome Canada did make a recent funding pitch to Industry Canada officials:

Dr. Godbout said he recently met with Industry Canada staff, who attend their board meetings, and made a pitch to receive $370-million over five years, or about $70-million a year. The request seemed to be warmly received, he said, but during Tuesday’s budget lockup, he found no reference to Genome Canada whatsoever.

“There are a lot of consequences,” Dr. Godbout said. “Scientists will have to tell their teams and technicians and staff that in a year from now we will run out of funds.”

If that’s the case, it may have been Tony Clement who dropped the ball at cabinet, in which case I will temper my frustration towards Genome Canada at its apparent lack of lobby fervour, and put the blame on the minister for failing to sell his colleagues on the need to invest in infrastructure that doesn’t involve shovels in the ground.

PETER MACKAYESQUE CLARIFICATION:
I’ve posted this a number of times in the comments, but for those readers who don’t follow every twist and turn of the conversation, I just want to point out that I am in no way defending the decision to pull funding from Genome Canada, if that is, in fact, what has transpired, and this isn’t a hideous and embarrassing budget text blooper. I just would have expected to see a whole mess of meetings over the last six months, particularly given the nasty surprise that the arts and cultural community got over the summer. This is really not the time for an organization that relies on public funding to take the passive approach.

“Baby bump” watch at the White House

By macleans.ca - Thursday, January 29, 2009 at 10:10 AM - 2 Comments

A rumour that First Lady Michelle Obama is pregnant based on Washington buzz that was reported yesterday on PerezHilton.com has made it to the (once) venerable Telegraph. There has been no confirmation of a pregnancy, the paper reports, noting that the 45-year-old “would be leaving it late in life to have a third child” and has also stated in the past that she and her husband have no plans to have more children.

Telegraph.co.uk

“We will perform the jihad”

By macleans.ca - Thursday, January 29, 2009 at 10:05 AM - 3 Comments

Two former Guantanamo Bay prisoners who have now taken leadership positions in Al Qaeda’s Arabian Peninsula branch have released several statements on a jihadi Internet forum. “By God, we assert to our leaders and shaykhs – Shaykh Osama bin Laden, God preserve him, and Dr. Ayman Zawahiri—that we will fulfill our promise, and that we will perform the jihad,” said Shaykh Abu Sufyan al-Azdi Saed al-Shahri, formerly prisoner number 372. “By God, our detention only made us more insistent and committed to our principles, which we strove for and were detained for.”

The Jamestown Foundation

Excellent progress in France!

By Paul Wells - Thursday, January 29, 2009 at 10:01 AM - 8 Comments

Biggest strikes ever today. Because even a really good government would have been buffeted by this economic crisis, and Sarko has been running a really bad government. At least you can read Le Monde for free online, because the newsstands were closed.

Trouble at the CIA

By macleans.ca - Thursday, January 29, 2009 at 10:00 AM - 0 Comments

The White House is bracing for a backlash from the Muslim world after allegations surfaced that a senior CIA officer in Algeria drugged and raped two local women. “This will be seen as the typical ugly American,” said former CIA officer Bob Baer. But Andrew Warren, the agent at the centre of the accusations, is not just American. He’s Muslim. The 41-year-old is a convert to Islam, and fellow officers describe him as a valuable asset who could blend in among Muslim communities in several countries. “He is exactly the guy we need out in the field,” said one senior official, who had met Warren in Algiers last summer before. “He’s African American. He’s Muslim. He speaks the language. He seemed well put together, sharp and experienced.” Another former CIA official said Warren had “done great works in the mosques” in Afghanistan after the U.S.-led invasion of 2001. “He was able to go into the mosque for Friday prayers, could recite the Koran, and wasn’t afraid to mix it up. It’s so disappointing because he’s someone who had so much potential.”

Los Angeles Times

The U.S. war on cheese

By macleans.ca - Thursday, January 29, 2009 at 9:50 AM - 1 Comment

Apparently, the Bush administration never did get over its beef with France. The outgoing president used the final days of his presidency to impose an impossibly high 300 per cent tariff on—wait for it—Roquefort cheese, the French delicacy the Washington Post describes as a “creamy concoction that, in its authentic, most glorious form, comes with an odor of wet sheep and veins of blue mold.” U.S. officials have described the ban as retaliation for the European Union’s ban on American beef that’s been treated with hormones. And indeed, its list of tariffs includes many European luxury products such as French truffles, Irish oatmeal, Italian sparkling water and foie gras. But Roquefort cheese producers say only their product got hit with such a high tariff that it will be impossible to export.

WashingtonPost.com

The End of Solitude

By macleans.ca - Thursday, January 29, 2009 at 9:40 AM - 0 Comments

We blog, Twitter and gather Facebook friends like children once collected marbles, all in an effort to share ourselves and stay hyper-connected. In an era when we are never alone, the great contemporary terror is anonymity. But at what cost, asks William Deresiewicz in the Chronicle Review. Technology is driving the ideal of solitude out of existence, and with it, our capacity for introspection. Without solitude, Deresiewicz argues, it is impossible to really excel in any realm, be it personal, social, artistic, philosophical, scientific or moral. Solitude isn’t completely out of reach, mind you. It just takes a willingness to be unpopular, he says. Of course, anyone who’s tried to fend off those Facebook friend requests already knows that.

The Chronicle Review