Kindle Killer

By macleans.ca - Wednesday, April 29, 2009 at 2:39 PM - 1 Comment

The tech industry rumour mill is buzzing about a ready-to-release Apple netbook might actually turn out to be a a “mediapad,” which means some current Kindle owners may end up wishing they had waited on their purchase. Described as having a larger touch-screen than the Kindle’s 6-inch display, while being physically smaller than the Amazon device, Apple’s baby could do everything an iPod does and everything a Kindle does too—only in colour. A presumably higher price—$500 to the Amazon product’s $350—may be all that keeps the Kindle from becoming kindling. At least for a while.

PC World

Our weak identity isn’t an immigrant problem

By From the Editors - Wednesday, April 29, 2009 at 1:17 PM - 14 Comments

In an interview in last week’s magazine, Jason Kenney, minister of citizenship, immigration and multiculturalism, ably defended his plans to strengthen the bonds of citizenship in Canada by encouraging immigrants to learn more of the history, values, and languages of our country.

Kenney, one of the bolder members of the Harper cabinet, objects to the notion of Canada as a hotel where people come and go with no abiding commitment to understanding and participating in our national life. He would add some rigour to our citizenship test; dump multicultural programs that subsidize cultural separateness; enhance the employability of newcomers through quicker recognition of foreign credentials. Continue…

Maclean's Interview: Jason Kenney

By Kenneth Whyte - Wednesday, April 29, 2009 at 1:15 PM - 25 Comments

Q: When you’re speaking at citizenship ceremonies, you tell new Canadians our history is now their history, that you don’t want Canada to be viewed as a hotel where people come and go with no abiding commitment to our past, or to citizenship. What is the meaning of our citizenship?

A: Legally speaking it gives people status in Canada and certain rights like voting, but I think we need to reclaim a deeper sense of citizenship, a sense of shared obligations to one another, to our past, as well as to the future. In that I mean a kind of civic nationalism where people understand the institutions, values and symbols that are rooted in our history.

Q: They don’t understand those things now?

A: Well, heck, if you look at polling data—there’s a massive historical amnesia about the Canadian past, and massive gaps of knowledge about our parliamentary institutions, our democratic procedures. There’s a massive civic illiteracy. Continue…

Milk, still does a body good

By macleans.ca - Wednesday, April 29, 2009 at 12:40 PM - 2 Comments

Researchers at Purdue University have found that the calcium that exists in milk is more beneficial for bones than the calcium carbonate that’s in supplements such as vitamin tablets or fortified foods. Their study, which was funded by the National Dairy Council in the U.S., compared the bones of rats fed milk or calcium carbonate. It revealed that the rats who took milk had longer, wider, stronger and more dense bones that the other group. They say that drinking milk is especially important during childhood, when bones are forming and growing, and that those benefits carry on into adulthood. They suspect milk helps the bones retain calcium better than supplements.

Science Daily

Concern about swine flu mounts

By macleans.ca - Wednesday, April 29, 2009 at 12:35 PM - 0 Comments

Worldwide concern about swine flu is ramping up after the U.S. reported its first death from the virus Wednesday. A Mexican boy of about two years old, who first showed signs of flu symptoms four days after arriving in Texas on April 4, died in a Houston hospital. In Canada, the number of confirmed H1N1 cases has climed to 13, and several airlines, including WestJet and Air Canada have suspended flights to Mexico. Meanwhile, despite efforts to quell panic about livestock (U.S. Agriculture minister said, “It is perfectly safe to consume pork and pork products from America”) Egypt has announced plans to destroy its entire population of 300,000 pigs.

Associated Press

Associated Press

USA Today

Calgary Herald

UPI

Mel Gibson’s red carpet PDA

By macleans.ca - Wednesday, April 29, 2009 at 12:27 PM - 0 Comments

Mel Gibson used last night’s premiere of X -Men Origins: Wolverine in Los Angeles to premiere his new girlfriend, 39-year old Russian singer Oksana Grigorieva. The 53-year-old actor, who’s in the midst of a divorce from his wife of 28 years with whom he has seven children, has been linked to four different women named Oksana since his divorce was announced two weeks ago. At that time, the actor asked for privacy, a request at decided odds with showing up on the red carpet holding hands with a woman who is rumoured to be pregnant with his child. Then again, the actor, a devout, conservative Roman Catholic, is known for his erratic behaviour. He is also one of Hollywood’s richest stars: with a net worth rumored to be some US$900 million, Gibson’s divorce is expected to be one of Hollywood’s most expensive.

The Times

The Importance of Being Cool

By John Parisella - Wednesday, April 29, 2009 at 12:27 PM - 8 Comments

Barack Obama’s temperament has been the subject of much analysis throughout his first 100 days on the job. On Saturday Night Live, there are recurring skits about Obama and how cool he seems to be. Throughout the primaries and in the campaign, Obama regularly displayed what used to be called “grace under pressure” during the Kennedy years. A close study of Obama shows a consistency of habit, a discipline and a general disposition to be reflective and not impulsive in moments of stress. His performance following the discovery of Reverend Wright’s diatribes against white America stand as sterling proof of his calm in the face of adversity. His ‘coolness’ has characterized the early stages of his presidency more than any other trait. But how important is it to be ‘cool’?

The president’s job is undoubtedly the most demanding and stressful in the world. Adversity, controversy, and conflict can occur at a moment’s notice. Approval ratings can change overnight. The president’s temperament becomes vital in these circumstances. History dictates that presidents who connect with their electorate do it because of their temperament and their likeability. Temperament can usually go a long way in reinforcing the likeability factor. I submit that the major reason for the positive report cards for the first 100 days has a lot to do with the fact that an increasing number like their new president, not so much because of his policies but mostly because they see a man of character and authenticity. They see this reflected in his temperament and they like it. Simple as that.

Continue…

Vatican expresses sorrow for residential school victims

By macleans.ca - Wednesday, April 29, 2009 at 12:26 PM - 2 Comments

Pope Benedict has expressed sorrow and sympathy to a delegation of Aboriginal leaders for the abuses suffered at residential schools. The meeting, including representatives of the Canadian catholic church and residential school advisors, produced an official statement of “sympathy and prayerful solidarity,” as well as a declaration from the Pope that “acts of abuse cannot be tolerated in society.” Assembly of First Nations leader Phil Fontaine dismissed concerns that a direct apology was not included. “The fact that the word ‘apology’ was not used does not diminish this moment in any way,” he told CBC. “This experience gives me great comfort.”
CBC News

"One thing leads to another"

By macleans.ca - Wednesday, April 29, 2009 at 11:56 AM - 0 Comments

International Trade Minister Stockwell Day is none too pleased that a controversial “Buy American” provision in the U.S. economic stimulus package hasn’t yet been removed. Under rules released this month, state and local governments must spend the money on goods from a list of countries that excludes Canada. Day told the U.S. Chamber of Commerce in Washington yesterday that the move sends “a very unfortunate message” and warned that Canada might retaliate. “One thing leads to another,” Day said. U.S. officials have for their part defended the provision, saying it is entirely consistent with their country’s international trade obligations.

Bloomberg

Tories v. Elections Canada may finally be headed to court

By macleans.ca - Wednesday, April 29, 2009 at 11:37 AM - 0 Comments

The Tories may soon be able to air their grievances against Elections Canada in a courtroom. After two years, Elections Canada finally filed its written reply to the Conservatives’ accusations. Their charge is that Chief Electoral Officer Marc Mayrand should not have disallowed $1.2 million in expense claims for TV and radio spots filed by Tory candidates. Meanwhile, Elections Canada is continuing to look into the Conservative campaign. The agency maintains the party’s national headquarters employed a system of transfers to run advertising costs through the campaigns of 67 candidates. The scandal went national when Elections Canada raided Tory headquarters last year. The Federal Court case against Elections Canada could be heard this summer.
Ottawa Citizen

The evolution of Michelle Obama’s look

By macleans.ca - Wednesday, April 29, 2009 at 11:32 AM - 0 Comments

Michelle Obama’s rise as an international fashion plate has been a lifelong work in progress, as illustrated by the Times of London’s 10-stage analysis of her evolving style. The gushing critique begins with the first lady as schoolgirl in the 1970s with a fondness for bright colours, through her choice of a “curvy but classic” wedding dress in 1992 to the bold choices she made as a senator’s wife. A rare misstep—a poorly cut pin-stripped suit she wore in 2007—is included, but the retrospective reveals a woman who has figured out what to wear to flatter herself—and to burnish her husband’s message of “change.”    

The Times

Sad end to historical adventure

By macleans.ca - Wednesday, April 29, 2009 at 11:31 AM - 1 Comment

Nelson Liu became obsessed a few years ago with the idea that large junks could have sailed from China to North America before the time of Columbus and Cabot. So the 61-year-old sailor had the Princess Taiping built to the specifications of a Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) war junk and set sail from Hong Kong last summer. On Sunday, he was less than 45 km from the end of a triumphant 20,000 km round-trip voyage across the Pacific when his 54-foot craft was smashed and sunk by a giant freighter off Taiwan. All 11 crew survived by clinging to the wreckage. “God or Buddha kept us alive,” he said. “It must have some meaning.”

San Francisco Chronicle

Unironically reported assessment of the day

By Aaron Wherry - Wednesday, April 29, 2009 at 11:29 AM - 7 Comments

An unnamed Conservative considers Stephen Harper’s modus operandi.

“He’s not going to try to wag the dog and create fake issues to deflect attention,” said one Conservative. “He’ll stand and fall on his record.”

Still with the Canadian question

By Aaron Wherry - Wednesday, April 29, 2009 at 11:26 AM - 11 Comments

Michael Ignatieff talks to the Star.

“My career has been a bit of a focal point for a debate about what makes a good Canadian.”

“There’s a funny idea out there that you can only be a Canadian if you lived in the country the whole time. It doesn’t seem to me to make any sense. More than one million Canadians live and work outside of the country at any one time. Are we saying they are less good Canadians than the people who never leave? On the contrary,” he said.

“Everywhere I go people say, `Well, it was good that you were out of the country – you know stuff.”

Obama's first 100 days: one-stop shopping

By Paul Wells - Wednesday, April 29, 2009 at 11:07 AM - 7 Comments

The Daily Beast has rounded up a bunch of crazies — Buckley! Reihan! Crouch, for the love of God! — to try to make sense of it all. My own attempt has been up for a few days, over here.

Reynolds rapped

By Andrew Potter - Wednesday, April 29, 2009 at 11:01 AM - 26 Comments

Something about tax time seems to make libertarians go light-headed. Yesterday we had the Fraser Institute pining for the days when people had to spend over half their income on necessities; today in the Globe, business columnist Neil Reynolds looks back, full of wist, to a time when “governments discharged their responsibilities with only single digit resort to GDP.” And as if the economy of the 1920s doesn’t make you nostalgic enough, Reynolds reminds us of how much more sober-minded was the response of America’s elite to the great panic of – get this — 1819.

There are four big ideas weaving their way through Reynolds’ piece: An objection to corporate welfare and government funding of special interests; a moral objection to stimulus spending and government bailouts; a lament for a time when government was smaller; and a desire for a society where the elites exhibited more “character”, defined as independence and personal responsibility. He seems to think these four are all connected. I don’t see it.

Continue…

Daggar changes hands

By macleans.ca - Wednesday, April 29, 2009 at 10:52 AM - 0 Comments

Pakistan says it has retaken the town of Daggar, the administrative capital of Buner district. The town had been captured by Taliban fighters infiltrating from the nearby Swat valley, which they effectively control. Following intensive U.S. pressure, Pakistan launched an offensive Sunday against the Taliban in Northwest Frontier Province, even using fighter aircraft to bomb insurgent positions yesterday. An estimated 30,000 people have been displaced. A Pakistani military spokesman said that “pockets” of Taliban resistance remain, but reports from the area suggest that heavy fighting is still ongoing.

The Guardian

‘Jenny McCarthy can go jump off a cliff’

By macleans.ca - Wednesday, April 29, 2009 at 10:50 AM - 0 Comments

According to the adherents of a growing autism culture movement, Jenny McCarthy has it all wrong. The comedian, whose son is autistic, made headlines with her assertion that childhood immunizations are to blame for autism. But these critics say her accusations send the wrong message; that autism is a disease that needs to be cured. Instead of striving to turn autistics into “neurotypicals”—or what some might call neurologically “normal”—these groups are heralding “neurodiversity.” As Salon writer Elizabeth Svoboda explains, “the movement aims to redefine autism as something to be valued and protected, not obliterated.”

Salon

Travel and Swine Flu

By Suzanne Christie, Takeoffeh.com - Wednesday, April 29, 2009 at 10:48 AM - 0 Comments

In light of the travel advisory to Mexico issued by Foreign Affairs, most major Canadian tour operators have cancelled their service to Mexico until early June. Details and rebooking policies are outlined below:

Air Canada Vacations
Following a travel health warning issued by the Public Health Agency of Canada recommending travellers postpone all non-essential travel to Mexico, Air Canada Vacations will suspend all operations to Mexico until June 1, 2009.

Passengers booked for travel to Cancun, Cozumel and Puerto Vallarta with Air Canada Vacations between April 28 and June 1, 2009, inclusive, can rebook their holiday with no change fees.

Travel can be to any destination or resort offered by Air Canada Vacations and customers are responsible for any price differential resulting from the selection of a higher-priced alternative.

Customers may rebook their travel by contacting Customer Care at 1 800 296-3408 or through their travel agent. Travel must be completed by October 31, 2009.
Please note flights will continue to operate as scheduled to bring home all passengers presently in Mexico until May 4.

Air Canada Vacations is looking to add more capacity to other destinations to respond to market demand.

Air Canada Vacations will continue to monitor the situation closely and will provide further travel updates as developments occur.

Transat Holidays & Nolitours
Transat A.T. Inc. has postponed its flights to Mexico until June 1st and is bringing its customers and employees home.

As a result of the World Health Organization’s decision to raise the level of the swine flu alert to Phase 4, and following directives issued by governments because of the appearance of swine flu in several countries, Transat A.T. Inc. is postponing its flights from Canada to Mexico until June 1 inclusive, and from France to Mexico until May 31 inclusive. This decision applies to flights operated by Air Transat or other carriers. Transat is maintaining its return flights as planned until May 3, and will be adding other flights according to an as-yet-unspecified schedule in order to bring home its customers, passengers and employees now in Mexico.

All customers of Transat and its business units Air Transat, Transat Holidays and Nolitours (in Canada) or Vacances Transat and Look Voyages (in France) who were scheduled to fly to Mexico between now and June 1 can change their travel plans, with no additional service charges, in accordance with the
following guidelines:

1. Travel on a later date: passengers who wish to travel on a later date can do so. The trip must be completed on or before October 31, 2009. If the price of the new package is higher than that of the trip originally planned, the passenger must cover the difference in price. If the price of the new package is lower than that of the trip originally planned, there will be no refund.
2. Travel to another destination: passengers who wish to travel to a different destination can do so by selecting another destination offered by Air Transat, Nolitours or Transat Holidays or in France by Vacances Transat and Look Voyages. The trip must be completed on or before October 31, 2009. If the price of the new package is higher than that of the trip originally planned, the passenger must cover the difference in price. If the price of the new package is lower than that of the trip originally planned, there will be no refund.

Transat is currently planning additional flights to other destinations to accommodate travellers.

Passengers currently in Mexico should seek information, since some return flights, after May 3, will be moved forward and schedules could be changed depending on the situation. Travellers should therefore contact their destination representative and look for signs to this effect in their hotel (usually in the lobby). Transat’s websites will also be updated as soon as flight schedules have been finalized.

Sunquest
Sunquest, part of the Thomas Cook Group Canada, has issued the following information April 28…

We appreciate that our customers are concerned about travelling to Mexico at this time due to the cases of Human Swine Influenza. The Canadian Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade, and the Public Health Agency of Canada, have now issued a travel warning against all non-essential travel to Mexico. Therefore, Sunquest has taken the decision to not operate our programs to Mexico, effective immediately, however at present we plan to resume our operations after June 4, 2009.

The following policy will apply to all Sunquest Mexico bookings between April 28 and June 4:

For those passengers departing from now to June 4, 2009 (inclusive):

• You may change your booking to any other Sunquest destination, including the ALBATours Italy program, for travel anytime up to Oct. 31, 2009;
• You may cancel your booking and receive a travel credit for the amount, which must be used before Oct. 31, 2009 to any destination Sunquest or ALBATours offers;
• You must pay any price difference if the cost is higher;
• There will be no refund for any difference in rates if the cost is lower;
• Travel must be commenced by the end of October 31, 2009;
• These changes must be made through our call centres

We recommend that customers also check with their travel insurers, as you may have coverage for this type of incident.

We will continue to monitor this situation and will keep you advised.  We would ask those who are travelling on later departure dates to be patient as this situation evolves.

Please note, we will continue to operate our flights to collect all passengers currently in Mexico. We will advise if there are any changes by our airline partners.

Signature Vacations
As of April 28th, Foreign Affairs has issued a Travel Advisory recommending that Canadians defer non-essential travel to Mexico. As a result, our flight operations to Mexico have been postponed until June 02nd. Return flights will operate as scheduled for customers currently in Mexico completing their vacation between April 29 – May 03. We are providing customers originally scheduled to depart to Mexico from now until June 02nd the following options:

1. Change to another available date or destination on a departure from now until October 31, 2009. Please note that customers will be required to pay the difference if the new applicable price is higher than the original.
2. Defer travel plans and receive a travel credit valid towards departures from now until October 31, 2009.

We are working with our airline partner to provide additional availability into alternative destinations and will post updated information at 2:00pm EST on April 29th. Please contact your travel agent to review your options.

Sunwing

As of 3:00 pm EST April 28th, Sunwing has provided the following up date to the Mexico travel program.

Further to the recent travel advisories issued by the Public Health Agency of Canada regarding travel to Mexico, effective immediately Sunwing is delaying all departures scheduled to operate to Mexico until May 29, 2009. The following options are available to Sunwing passengers currently booked to travel to Mexico between April 29 and May 28, 2009:

• Clients may switch their holiday to a different destination.
• Clients may cancel their holiday and they will receive a Sunwing travel credit, to be applied to a future Sunwing holiday by October 31, 2009.
• Any alternate travel arrangements must be concluded by October 31, 2009.
• All changes to bookings must be processed through the Sunwing call centres in either Toronto or Montreal.
• If the alternative vacation selected is a higher price than the holiday originally booked, clients must pay the difference in price.
• If the alternate vacation is a lower price than originally paid, no refund will be issued.

As more information is received from Canadian and Mexican authorities Sunwing may modify its policy as the situation warrants. For clients who are booked to travel on later departure dates please visit the Sunwing website at www.sunwing.ca for any updates.

WestJet Vacations
In light of increased concern regarding the spread of the human swine influenza virus in Mexico, WestJet and WestJet Vacations will cease service to Cancun, Cabo San Lucas, Mazatlan, and Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, effective Monday, May 4, 2009. Service will resume to Cabo San Lucas, Mazatlan and Puerto Vallarta on June 20, 2009. Service to Cancun, a seasonal destination for WestJet, will return in the fall schedule.

All guests who were scheduled to fly to Mexico between now and June 20, 2009, can make the following changes to their travel plans with no change or cancel fees:

1. Travel to the same destination at a later date once service has resumed;
2. Select another WestJet destination up to the same value of the currently booked travel;
3. Request a Future Travel Credit (FTC). This FTC can be used for any WestJet destination, is fully transferable and is valid for one year from date of issue;
4. Request a full refund to original form of payment.

“We certainly understand and empathize with the upheaval this represents for our guests,” said Sean Durfy, WestJet President and Chief Executive Officer. “Ultimately, we have made this decision for the safety and well-being of our guests and our WestJetters.”

WestJet will be contacting all guests currently in Mexico to inform them that additional flights are being made available to expedite their early departure.

The following toll-free numbers are available for guests looking to change their travel plans:

• From Canada and the United States: 877-953-9234
• From Mexico: 001 800 514 7288
• Those guests having difficulty contacting WestJet using toll-free numbers may call collect 403-539-7800.

Please note, the above rebooking guidelines will be updated as new information becomes available. For more information on Human Swine Influenza, travellers may consult the Public Health Agency of Canada at www.phac-aspc.gc.ca or the World Health Organization at www.who.int.

Game changer

By Paul Wells - Wednesday, April 29, 2009 at 10:09 AM - 55 Comments

The last time the Liberal Party of Canada was more popular than the Bloc Québécois in Quebec, the Liberal leader looked like this:

So now that it’s happening again, I don’t think Michael Ignatieff has to worry too much about his eyebrows. This is the monthly big-sample Quebec-only CROP poll, the one that was pitiless (and accurately so) in chronicling Stéphane Dion’s failure to rise in his home province. Today it shows the Liberals up 7 points from a month ago, the Bloc down 4, the Conservatives down 3, the NDP flat on the floor. Which leaves the numbers at 37% Liberal, 31% Bloc, 15% Conservative, 12% NDP. Continue…

Stockwell Day challenges Death

By Mitchel Raphael - Wednesday, April 29, 2009 at 10:01 AM - 23 Comments

The National Arts Centre launched their B.C. Scene festival, which highlights the province’s arts.

Several giant cardboard boxes were set up where people went inside for a performance. Here Stockwell Day, Minister of International Trade and Minister for the Asia-Pacific Gateway, challenges Death to a game of chess.

This actor’s performance piece included invited people to join her in bed and pretend to be her husband—and then she proceeded to get mad at them.

Continue…

Restoring Old (Or At Least Not New) TV Shows

By Jaime Weinman - Wednesday, April 29, 2009 at 9:51 AM - 1 Comment

I heard a while ago that the producers of Thirtysomething might be working on a deal with Shout! Factory (which already had a big success with My So-Called Life, from the same producers). Now the Los Angeles Times has the official announcement.

The best part – in view of the poor-quality or edited masters that Shout! has been releasing for some of the shows it’s licensed — is that Zwick and Herskovitz have apparently taken the time to give their show the kind of restoration work that’s usually reserved for movies:

[Garson] Foos approached Herskovitz about how to get “thirtysomething” out of limbo more than a year ago, after Shout! Factory’s successful re-release of “My So-Called Life.” Now both obstacles have been overcome. “It doesn’t look like we’ll be cutting any music from the show,” Foos said. And high-definition master copies of the episodes have been created — meaning, according to Foos, “the visual quality is going to be incredible.”

“The answer was that somebody had to take the time to finally do it,” Herskovitz said.

There have been a few other shows where the producers actually went back to the film sources and created new, high-quality DVD masters; Seinfeld was a highly-publicized case. (The reason Seinfeld looks so much better on DVD than most shows from the ’90s is that the DVDs are taken from new masters, rather than the video masters used for TV broadcasts.) That kind of restoration work is routine for movies, very rare for TV. But if a show is going to get an adequate representation on home video, the way movies do, there really needs to be more of an investment in new masters — not just for the sake of home video, but for the sake of preserving the show for the future.

Also, I was rightly pilloried for posting two Scott Baio clips in two days, and I see that the L.A. Times page currently has a sidebar photo of… Scott Baio!? Not my fault. And it doesn’t even make sense, because the sidebar isn’t calling for a Joanie Loves Chachi DVD release.

Liveblogging the trailer for the new Matthew McConaughey movie on account it might be the worst movie ever

By Scott Feschuk - Wednesday, April 29, 2009 at 8:20 AM - 3 Comments

Ghosts of Girlfriends Past opens Friday. The dimensional rift revealing an invading horde of interstellar aliens who financed this movie as a grim foretelling of what life on Earth will be like under their cruel, despotic rule opens Saturday.

0:02 This film is rated “PG-13″ for “Sexual content throughout, some language and a drug reference.” Meanwhile, theatres in which this film is playing will be rated “Aiiieee!” for “Chronic eyerolling throughout, some language and a ‘Do we still have time to sneak into Wolverine?’ reference.”

0:05 “Good morning Connor, Versace is on one.” In the earliest moments of the trailer, we learn that Matthew McConaughey plays a highly successful fashion photographer who a) takes pictures of sexy ladies, sometimes in their underpants, for a living, and b) has a pathological aversion to the top three buttons on his shirt.

0:08 Graphics: “Connor Mead is a success… with work… and with women.” We see McConaughey stare ahead intently. We see him in the company of lingerie-clad models. We hear him say things like, “You’re ravishing.” All this lends credence to the theory that McConaughey is the first actor whose research for a role consisted of spending time with himself.

0:17 We see McConaughey break up with three girls at once via video conference call. This is the part of the movie that people will still laugh at when they see the movie even though they’ve already seen the joke in the trailer because, well, I’m not sure why. It just happens.

0:26 Hey, Jennifer Garner is in this movie. She’s got that defeated look about her that says, “First, marrying Ben Affleck – and now this?” We’re about three weeks away from a tabloid story that explains Continue…

One former PM down, one to go: Liveblogging Kim Campbell and Perrin Beatty at Oliphant

By kadyomalley - Wednesday, April 29, 2009 at 8:09 AM - 27 Comments

First up on the witness stand today: Kim Campbell, who you may remember from her don’t-blink-or-you’ll-miss-it tenure as Canada’s first (and still sole) female prime minister, who also served as Mulroney’s defence minister during the early 1990s. She’ll be followed by Perrin Beatty, another former Mulroney-era defence minister; while it seems unlikely that either of them will be able to shed all that much light on what was going on within the inner circles of the St. Francis Xavier old boys’ club, both held key positions during the years of interdepartmental battling over Bear Head.

9:17:53 AM
Okay, so, first off — she doesn’t seem to be here yet — the witness, that is; our country’s first and still only elected Right Honourable-ette. If she is, she’s wearing her invisibility cloak, and since the cameras are still thronging out front, my guess is that she’s going to make an entrance, although who knows if that means Making an Entrance, perhaps with a bit of bare shoulder peeking out, just to remind us of those heady days – actually, more like hours – when the Kimentum was high, and it looked like she might actually pull off a win, or at least not see her party reduced to just two seats.

Anyway, it will be Evan Roitenberg taking the lead for the commission during the first round of questions; I’m not sure if any of the other lawyers will have much more to say after that, which is why the rumour is that we may be out of here early this afternoon. I might even get to watch Question Period!

9:30:34 AM

Continue…