Iran: Now the hard part

By Paul Wells - Saturday, June 20, 2009 at 9:04 AM - 39 Comments

Riot police at Freedom Square and Revolution Square. (UPDATE: reports of water cannon and tear gas.) The protesters have resisted using violence and the regime refuses to back down. Live blogs here, here, here and here. Vaclav Havel, who was jailed a decade before he became his country’s president, says this:

I would advise them not to fall prey to skepticism if they do not achieve immediate results in spite of their efforts.
These efforts are important in and of themselves because there is virtue in working for a good cause. And these efforts can pay off later, God knows when, God knows how. But you cannot time it. That, at least, is our experience.

UPDATE: Astonishing BBC video shows a pitched battle.

John Baird has a fireplace

By Aaron Wherry - Friday, June 19, 2009 at 7:14 PM - 3 Comments

The Transport Minister talks to the Globe.

2012

By Andrew Potter - Friday, June 19, 2009 at 6:07 PM - 20 Comments

I. Can’t. Wait.

The Harper government: Good for science

By Paul Wells - Friday, June 19, 2009 at 6:01 PM - 39 Comments

Last year two Canadians, Tony Pawson and Charles Taylor, won Japan’s Kyoto Prize, which has nothing to do with climate-change treaties but has been, for more than 20 years, that country’s most prestigious award for great thinkers. Charles Taylor you may know: he’s the McGill University philosopher. Tony Pawson is a Distinguished Investigator — I’ve only now learned he’s no longer Director of Research, and I suspect he’s greatly pleased to be out of that job — at the Samuel Lunenfeld Research Institute at Mount Sinai Hospital in Toronto. I’m told by people who know this stuff better than I do that his research on how cells communicate with one another may already have won him his Nobel — there is, as you can imagine, a long lag between discovery and recompense in this line of work.

Anyway, Pawson’s Kyoto Prize Lecture (.pdf) includes this eloquent plea for governments to leave scientists alone, as much as possible, to think in surprising ways and follow uncertain paths:

Remarkably, the basic science that has been pursued over several decades into the nature of cell communication, and the mis-wiring of signaling pathways in disease, is starting to yield new targeted therapies that are changing the way that we treat cancers for the better, and will be applicable to many human ailments. Although these are early days, I believe that this progress underscores the importance of giving free rein to human inventiveness. It would have been hard to predict that work on a curious chicken virus would have ultimately led to new ways of thinking about how human cells are organized, and to new drugs to treat one of mankind’s most persistent enemies. Governments increasingly want to see immediate returns on the research that they support, but it is worth viewing basic science as a long-term investment that will yield completely unexpected dividends for humanity in the future.

You know where this is going. The Harper government ran Pawson out of town. Nickle-and-dimed him to death. Discovered that cell biology is part of the devil’s work because its mechanisms evolve, and performed an exorcism.

Not really.

Continue…

The Iranian election by the numbers

By Philippe Gohier - Friday, June 19, 2009 at 5:58 PM - 7 Comments

It’s the claim most central to the ongoing protests in Iran: last Friday’s election was stolen, rigged by authorities sympathetic to Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in order to give the conservative a victory over the reformist Mir Hosein Mousavi. Since the protests began, academics, mainstream news outlets and bloggers have all been racing to prove—and, in rare cases, disprove—the pro-Mousavi camp’s claim that Ahmadinejad didn’t win the election.

The official line that Ahmadinejad scoring a landslide victory with nearly double Mousavi’s share of the popular vote (63 per cent to 34 per cent) is starting to show cracks. Turnouts breaking the 100 per cent mark were apparently recorded in at least 30 towns, while some 200 districts recorded a near-impossible turnout of more than 95 per cent. Elsewhere, like in Mousavi’s hometown of Tabriz, there were unexpected and wholesale shifts of allegiances. Ahmadinejad is said to have taken 57 per cent of the vote in Tabriz, for example—an unlikely turn of events according to Juan Cole, the author of Engaging the Muslim World and a professor of history at the University of Michigan, because Azeris have in the past “voted disproportionately for even minor presidential candidates who hailed from that province.” Continue…

Bull market for competitive airfares?

By Chris Rivers, Takeoffeh.com - Friday, June 19, 2009 at 5:32 PM - 0 Comments

Fear and greed. Sounds like the financial markets doesn’t it? In fact, this mantra could just as easily be applied to the workings and philosophies of many of the world’s scheduled airlines. The good news is, their short-term, reactionary business styles also help fuel healthy competition for the consumer.

We may have just witnessed the best airfare bargains of the century. They are not likely to be repeated any time soon, as they were brought on by a combination of the worst financial meltdown since the Great Depression and a dose of the swine flu. A deadly cocktail for the airlines and one that precipitated “fire sales” rather than the usual “seat sale” fare. Continue…

Coyne v. Wells on Mr. Ignatieff's Wild Ride

By macleans.ca - Friday, June 19, 2009 at 5:06 PM - 0 Comments

HQ Version and Comments here

Coyne v. Wells on Mr Ignatieff's Wild Ride

By macleans.ca - Friday, June 19, 2009 at 5:00 PM - 14 Comments

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In search of context

By Aaron Wherry - Friday, June 19, 2009 at 4:55 PM - 26 Comments

I am reasonably assured by his office that Vic Toews has read Michael Ignatieff’s Blood & Belonging. Not sure if that make this better or worse.

Spent the afternoon reading the Ukraine chapter of Blood & Belonging, 44 pages in all, from which the infamous passages have been taken. A short review after the jump. Continue…

Current Shows Where the Hero is In Almost Every Scene

By Jaime Weinman - Friday, June 19, 2009 at 4:52 PM - 1 Comment

I used to say that TV shows try not to have the star character in every scene, the way older shows like The Fugitive or The Rockford Files did. Even a show built around its title character, like House or Chuck, will try to work in some kind of subsidiary story thread to give the star some time off; it’s good for the star (because the schedule, while grueling, is not as bad as it could be) and good for the rest of the cast, giving them some scenes where they don’t have to play second banana.

But I’ve noticed that the one-man or one-woman scripted show does seem to be coming back, a little bit. Nurse Jackie, at least at first, has Edie Falco in just about every scene; I brought this up in an interview with the show’s co-creator, Liz Brixius, who said that Falco’s schedule “is so grueling. She is such a champion, I can’t even tell you.”

And I just got season 2 of Burn Notice, watched the season premiere, and was reminded that Jeffrey Donovan is on screen almost non-stop. And on Being Erica, Erin Karpluk is rarely absent from a scene.

It’s not that these characters never under any circumstances get to take a scene off, but the shows are about them and all the other characters are defined by their relationship to the lead character. So it doesn’t pay to keep the hero or heroine offscreen or any length of time; the other characters can’t really sustain a story thread on their own, and aren’t supposed to.

So shows that are absolute, scene-for-scene star vehicles may be on the way back, at least on shows that do 10-13 episodes a season. With a show that does 22 episodes a season, the Rockford Files rule probably still applies: you need to give the star some time off or he or she will be a wreck.

Dogs and cats in cabins? Oh my!

By Kate Lunau - Friday, June 19, 2009 at 3:56 PM - 145 Comments

Before leaving his home in Smithers, B.C. for Northern Ontario in 2004, Dr. Darren Jakubec felt nervous about taking his dog on the flight with him, “for reasons I can’t entirely explain.” A family doctor, Jakubec was travelling to Wawa, Ont., with his wife, a nurse, to start a six-month work contract. Leaving their black dog Sila behind wasn’t an option, he says. Sila, a black lab mix, was kenneled and placed in the plane’s cargo hold. After deplaning in Winnipeg for a connecting flight, the couple waited anxiously for their dog. When she was finally taken off the plane, they were devastated by what they saw: “Sila was brought out onto the carousel,” he says, “dead.”

Jakubec paid for an autopsy “that showed carbon monoxide poisoning as the probable cause of death,” he says. After a two-year legal battle, the case was settled out of court. Jakubec and his wife eventually made it to Wawa, where they adopted another stray dog, Beck, also a black lab mix. Though he won’t fly with a pet again, Jakubec says “if you absolutely have to, insist they’re in the cabin with you.” Continue…

New turn in the Braidwood Inquiry

By macleans.ca - Friday, June 19, 2009 at 3:06 PM - 11 Comments

A new email found last week has thrown a wrench into the Braidwood inquiry. The email, sent by Supt. Dick Bent to RCMP Assistant Commissioner Al Macintyre, suggests for the first time that the four Mounties who responded to a call at the airport last November planned to use a Taser against Robert Dziekanski. The 40-year-old Polish man who died at Vancouver’s airport after being Tasered five times and restrained. The email from Supt. Bent, dated Nov. 5, 2008, reads: “Finally, spoke to Wayne [Rideout] and he indicated that the members did not articulate that they saw the symptoms of excited delirium, but instead had discussed the response en route and decided that if he did not comply that they would go to CEW (conducted energy weapon).” Lawyer Helen Roberts, who represents the RCMP, broke into tears when she defended the officer in front of retired judge Thomas Braidwood, the inquiry commissioner. Braidwood decided that the new email would require new testimony; he has adjourned the inquiry until September 22. Bent is the same senior officer who sent an email in 2008 raising concerns about the force’s participation in the Braidwood inquiry.

The Vancouver Sun

Mayerthorpe killer's accomplice may have been under a spell

By macleans.ca - Friday, June 19, 2009 at 3:03 PM - 2 Comments

Accused of aiding gunman James Roszko kill four Mounties in Mayerthorpe, Alta., in 2005, Dennis Cheeseman and his brother-in-law Shawn Hennessey pleaded guilty earlier this year to four counts of manslaughter. To many observers, something about their convictions always seemed amiss, particularly since the RCMP used the controversial Mr. Big undercover operation to snare the two Barrhead, Alta., men. Now the Edmonton Journal’s David Staples reports that Cheeseman may have been molested by Roszko, and therefore under his dark spell. “During the investigation, Cheeseman told an undercover RCMP officer that Roszko had once stalked him,” writes Staples. “Cheeseman also hinted that Roszko had molested him at gunpoint. In jail in Drumheller, Cheeseman refuses to say anything more publicly about his previous allegations. But in April 2009, Shawn Hennessey’s father, Barry, wrote to Prime Minister Stephen Harper and to Alberta Justice Minister Alison Redford asking for help for Cheeseman and blasting the police for not treating him as the victim of a sex assault.”

Edmonton Journal

Edmonton Journal

We'll always have Paris—not (hot)!

By macleans.ca - Friday, June 19, 2009 at 3:02 PM - 3 Comments

Paris Hilton may have exchanged one oil-rich city for another, with news she is to scrap her Calgary Stampede appearance scheduled July 5 to instead film her exquisitely surreal new “reality” television saga, Paris Hilton’s Dubai BFF in the United Arab Emirates. It’s not clear if the decision to ditch the Stampede is due to a scheduling conflict or her recent split from Doug Reinhardt, the baseball player-cum-Hills reality TV star.

Examiner.com

Week in Pictures: June 11th – June 18th, 2009

By macleans.ca - Friday, June 19, 2009 at 2:30 PM - 0 Comments

When the honeymoon is over, real leadership begins

By John Parisella - Friday, June 19, 2009 at 1:53 PM - 7 Comments

Six months into his term, Barack Obama’s high approval ratings are holding steady in the latest polls. Yet, the WSJ/NBC poll released on June 17 shows slippage from 61% to 56% in terms of voter satisfaction. Individual policy decisions such as the closing of Guantanamo, the use of torture, and deficit budgeting are increasingly contested by voters. The more Obama governs, the more he owns the problems he inherited. With the glowing tributes of the first 100 days behind us, it is reasonable to conclude that the honeymoon is beginning to end. For some pundits, it’s already over.

Most presidential honeymoons have a limited shelf life. In a context of tough economic times and two wars, the Obama honeymoon has lasted a suprisingly long time. The key element to his durability is the gap between his personal popularity numbers and the policies he advocates. When the gap favours personal popularity or reinforces the likability factor—as it does in Obama’s case—it gives the president some leeway and political advantage. In this case, Obama remains highly popular while his opponents, the Republicans, have a very low positive rating of 25 per cent. This means that Obama has an opportunity to exercise some real leadership by leveraging these positive personal numbers to advance his policies against opponents who, while tenacious, don’t have the political capital to block the president’s agenda. When they do try to get in the way, Obama has not hesitated to go over the heads of Congress and deliver his message directly to the people.

Continue…

LOST, Produced In Association With Bickley-Warren Productions

By Jaime Weinman - Friday, June 19, 2009 at 1:17 PM - 2 Comments

Thanks to Muffin MacGuffin for pointing out these three YouTube videos representing three different main titles for a heartwarming family sitcom called Lost. The creator of these videos is understandably fascinated by the formula of TGIF/Miller-Boyett title sequences: an uplifting Jesse Frederick theme song set to footage of the entire cast horsing around, having fun doing stuff together, and smiling when it’s their turn for a credit. But he does it much better and more accurately than my re-tooled 30 Rock video.

Season 1, “Lost in a Full House“:

Season 2, “The dream got broken, seemed like all was LOST…”:

Season 3, “Family Matters Even When You’re Lost” (I love the episode where the Urkel-bot kills everyone on the island. Oh, that Urkel-bot. It’s always getting into Continue…

The right honourable Don Newman

By Aaron Wherry - Friday, June 19, 2009 at 1:07 PM - 12 Comments

In honour of the consummate newsman’s last broadcast this afternoon, here is his recent sitdown with George Stroumboulopoulos.

In review

By Aaron Wherry - Friday, June 19, 2009 at 12:54 PM - 41 Comments

The At Issue panel reviewed the parliamentary season last night with their traditional handing out of honours and dishonours. Video is here.

My picks, not that anyone asked, after the jump. Continue…

Rise of the mini-cows

By Nicholas Kohler with Rachel Mendleson - Friday, June 19, 2009 at 12:35 PM - 7 Comments

Miniature cattle - Photo by florador under Creative Commons license

Lilliputian cattle that stand just a metre tall, eat a fraction of what their larger cousins do and produce tiny, naturally tender steaks and roasts, are increasingly the beast of choice among Canadian beef farmers grappling with the tough, gristly times of the economic downturn.

It wasn’t long ago that these smaller breeds didn’t get a lot of respect—even now commercial beef farmers look askance at the animals, affectionately referred to as “mini-cows,” says Adrian Hykaway, who raises one breed, the Dexter, in northern Alberta. “They chuckle and say, ‘Dexter—that’s just a little toy thing.’ ”

Continue…

Indefatigable in the cause of justice

By Aaron Wherry - Friday, June 19, 2009 at 12:09 PM - 10 Comments

Glen Pearson salutes Paul Dewar.

But the one person who stuck on this file and deserves full praise for the victory yesterday was the NDP’s Paul Dewar. Simply put, I found him indefatigable in the cause of justice for Abdelrazik. And I speak from personal experience, as we both sit on the Foreign Affairs Committee.  Against all odds, Dewar exhausted every parliamentarian option, time after time, not just in an attempt to exonerate an innocent citizen, but to prove that the Canadian parliament could be relevant in such a case. I watched as the government members of the committee fought him vociferously. But he worked the system  - very well. In key votes on the case, the three opposition parties worked together and won by one vote each time, Paul’s example being the key cause. I witnessed the discouragement on his face every time as the government refused to abide by the will of the committee on this. I would even text him on his Blackberry during committee in an attempt to keep him assured.  The hardest day came only three weeks ago, when the Foreign Affairs Minister pointed his finger in anger at Dewar over the issue, in a manner that was beneath the conduct of someone in such an exalted position.

Blessed relief

By Aaron Wherry - Friday, June 19, 2009 at 12:06 PM - 3 Comments

Andrew Steele considers this week’s turn of events.

The blame for the conduct of all Parliaments falls on its first minister, as they typically reflect his personality. Just as in St. Laurent’s era the Commons was sleep and business-oriented, or in Diefenbaker’s it was mercurial and increasingly unstable, Harper’s Parliaments are growing increasingly obsessed with tactical advantage with no regard to long-term outcome. So it is a blessed relief to have something productive and positive emerge that demonstrates there is still an ability to come down off the Parliament Hill pedestals and move files forward in a thoughtful way.

The EI conundrum

By Andrew Potter - Friday, June 19, 2009 at 12:06 PM - 13 Comments

Chantal Hebert has a dy-no-mite column today explaining why Harper was so happy to punt the question of EI reform to the blue-ribbon panel. I thought the intervention by the western premiers was interesting, and halfway welcome. On the one hand, I agree entirely with Gordon Campbell’s assessment: we already have an equalization program, and EI should not be used to prop up economically stagnant parts of the country. But then he turned around and proposed a dual national standard for EI qualification: One for urban areas, another for rural areas that are dependent on declining resource industries.

Well hang on. What’s the difference between using EI to support, say, the maritimes and not Ontario, and using it to prop up forestry but not finance? Even when they don’t overlap (the regions tend to be poor because they have sagging rural economies) the error is the same in both cases: an insurance program is being used for a perverse form of economic engineering that gives people an incentive to stay in dying industries.

At the core of this is a category mistake: EI is supposed to insure individuals, but the federal government, and now, Gordon Campbell, want to use it to support collectives, in the form of either regions or industrial sectors. But how does it help an individual who loses his or her job what sector they happen to be in?  Having a lower qualifying period for people who choose to work in crappy industries would be like the government charging a health-care deductible for people who exercise and don’t smoke, but waiving it for dopefiends and boozehounds.

Meanwhile, the other issue on the table is even thornier: How to insure the self-employed. On this case, Harper was being entirely genuous — this is not the sort of thing you can just hammer out in a few meetings, or even during an extended summer sitting of parliament. There’s a reason why the system doesn’t already insure the self-employed, and it isn’t simply because of a lack of money or political will. Stephen Gordon has a good post listing the various objections to the proposal, including the obvious problem of moral hazard to the more academic (but no less important) problem of how to distinguish labour income from capital income.

Like prof Gordon, I don’t think there is a non-lousy way of using EI to insure the self-employed. A better idea, in my opinion, which would have the advantage of being a decent social policy regardless, would be to implement a proper guaranteed basic income (or “negative income tax”, or whatever you want to call it). It would provide all the benefits of public insurance, without the hassles of having to root out moral hazard.

Will the police soon be reading your email?

By macleans.ca - Friday, June 19, 2009 at 12:04 PM - 7 Comments

The Federal Government has introduced legislation that gives police greater investigative powers into the Internet and telecommunications environment. Under the new law, Internet service providers would be forced to give police “lawful access” to Canadians’ digital information, including text messages, e-mails, web surfing history and Internet phone lines. Public Safety Minister Peter Van Loan has said that the bill looks to modernize surveillance laws. Police say they have lobbied for this law to fight “Internet safe havens” that house gangsters, sexual predators and terrorists. The bill is expected to be tabled before MPs break for summer.

Calgary Herald