Peak Thinking Revisited

By Andrew Potter - Friday, June 26, 2009 at 12:25 PM - 16 Comments

My column for the magazine last week is finally online — it’s a critical look at the current craze for “peak” thinking, not just oil, but fish, carbon, debt, and so on.

I don’t buy into much of, for two main reasons. First, a lot of it buys into tired old Malthusianism. Second, it neglects the role of innovation, not just in technology but also in policies, institutions, even just in plain old moral consciousness. (Think of the scene in Mad Men when Don and Betty celebrate their new car by going for a picnic. When they get up to go, they leave their garbage strewn across the grass. That behaviour was normal then, and is completely unthinkable now.

Anyone else out there remember their “peak Christmas”? That was the Christmas when the number of presents I received, which had been climbing steadily each year, maxed out. After that, each year brought fewer and fewer gifts, and more and more relatives decided that I was too old to keep pandering to. Or how about “peak sex”? That’s the moment in a relationship after which the frequency of sex goes into terminal decline, and the cost of actually getting some gets steadily dearer.

The thing is, once you see how the pattern works, you can apply peaknik thinking to just about everything. But peak sex doesn’t mean the end of the relationship. Why? Because people find other, frequently more stable, reasons for staying together. Peak Christmas was no big deal — you realize there is more to the holiday than getting presents. In short, people innovate; they find replacements for whatever good is in decline, which actually end up not just preserving but also strengthening the relevant institution. I see no reason why peak oil is the end of our way of life, any more than peak sex is the end of marriage.

The unseen costs of swine flu

By Katie Engelhart - Friday, June 26, 2009 at 12:11 PM - 0 Comments

Health Canada thought about sending hand sanitizer to northern Manitoba’s flu-stricken aboriginal reserves. In fact, as the flu spread last month, public-health officials came together to debate the issue at length. In the end, their discussion hinged on a single question: whether or not the proposed hand sanitizer should have an alcohol base.

That single question was enough to paralyze the federal government, which ended up waiting weeks before sending supplies to desperate First Nations communities.

By the time government supplies arrived, some communities had already taken matters into their own hands. Chief David Harper of Garden Hill First Nation—whose remote northern reserve reported seven confirmed swine flu cases on Wednesday—says that the province’s sluggishness forced him to take $15,000 out his community’s education fund. “The high-school graduates were going to get laptops,” says Harper. “And we had to use that money for our emergency preparedness.” Money was also skimmed from an account set up to reward each Garden Hill student $50/month for perfect school attendance. This summer, 26 of the 28 Garden Hill students who started school last fall will graduate the year, a significant increase from past years. The money and promises of laptop computers “was to encourage them to move on.  And that helped a lot.”

Harper says he asked the province for supplies, but as the weeks passed and no new supplies showed up, he bought masks and hand sanitizer himself. A week after the $15,000 was spent, 2,500 bottles of government-issued hand sanitizer arrived.

Word of Health Canada’s delay was revealed Tuesday, during a Senate probe of the government’s response to the swine flu outbreak on reserves. Health Canada officials apparently hesitated in sending hand sanitizer to First Nations communities because they feared that people there would ingest the alcohol-based liquid. The department also said that supplies were on “back order,” although Harper claims that contact was made with supply companies, who disputed that statement. Grand Chief Sydney Garrioch calls that news “outrageous.” Protesting “the ignorance and possibly some racism expressed toward First Nations People,” Garrioch is calling on the Health Minister to apologize on behalf of her department.

Chief Harper also dismisses concern over alcohol content as “the poorest excuse I ever heard.” Still, the Garden Hill leader acknowledges the potential for hand sanitizer–which can contain up to 70 per cent alcohol–to be abused in his community. Harper says he has heard reports of the substance being boiled, and mixed into a drinkable concoction. He opted for non-alcoholic liquid sanitizer. In Garden Hill, the alcohol-based gel will be used mainly in public places–like the school, when it reopens. And most households will be getting disinfecting wipes, instead of a liquid product.

“First Nations leaders and communities know the intent and uses of hand sanitizer,” Chief Garrioch insisted. Hand sanitizers are especially important on Manitoba’s reserves, given that many households do have access to clean water to wash their hands with.

The inability to supply the most basic supplies to vulnerable remote communities highlights another failing of the federal government’s $1-billion national pandemic plan.  And it is that failure, perhaps, that confuses Garden Hill’s Chief Harper the most.  He stresses that his community is not being docile. “We’re not getting any help.  It doesn’t mean we’re helpless. It’s just that there’s money available for a pandemic situation.  So who’s using it?”  He is hoping to recover the money lost from his education fund in time to buy laptops for Garden Hill’s high-school graduates.

Don't believe the housing hype

By Colin Campbell - Friday, June 26, 2009 at 12:11 PM - 17 Comments

Judging by the latest real estate data, the Canadian housing market could scarcely be better. Average home prices are up more than 16 per cent this year, and in May they hit an all-time monthly high, according to the Canadian Real Estate Association. By those numbers, Canada didn’t just sidestep the housing market crash that continues to plague the United States, it sailed right through it virtually unscathed. And yet, there are plenty of signs that the Canadian housing market is still sitting on some very shaky ground—and even the potential that Canada’s big housing crash is yet to come.

There is one particular statistic that suggests trouble could be brewing. Unlike in the U.S., Britain and most European countries, household debt in Canada is, incredibly, still growing. That rising debt is being driven largely by record-low interest rates. Canadians have been buying homes not so much because they can afford them, but because many believe there’s never been a better time to buy, with lending rates so low. “There is no doubt that record-low mortgage rates have juiced Canada’s housing market,” wrote BMO economist Sal Guatieri, in a recent newsletter. Houses are barely more affordable now than they were during the market peak. And as people keep buying, houses may only become less and less affordable. Continue…

Photo Gallery: Michael Jackson

By macleans.ca - Friday, June 26, 2009 at 12:03 PM - 6 Comments

CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE

New technique to make cancer biopsies faster, less painful

By macleans.ca - Friday, June 26, 2009 at 11:59 AM - 0 Comments

Researchers at the University of Western Ontario have created a new technique for breast biopsy to detect cancer that is quicker, better and less painful than the usual freehand method. A mechanical arm guides the biopsy needle. It even has a braking system to improve the needle’s accuracy and steadiness. The new procedure takes 10 seconds, compared to 31 seconds for the freehand biopsy. The success rate was 95.9 per cent, up from 91.3 per cent. The researchers say their technique will help doctors better diagnose early-stage breast cancer, which will save women’s lives. More tests in humans will start this fall.

ScienceDaily

TMZ: People know we broke the Michael Jackson story

By macleans.ca - Friday, June 26, 2009 at 11:36 AM - 7 Comments

TMZ reported pop singer Michael Jackson’s death at 2:44 p.m., barely 15 minutes after the fact. CNN waited until hearing the news from the coroner, at 4:25 p.m., and only then reported the death, uneasy about citing TMZ, which many view as a salacious source of gossip, not news. It’s an odd conclusion, notes the LA Times, which reported Jackson’s death at 2:51 p.m. “The irony is that CNN is, like TMZ, owned by Time Warner. But Fox News and MSNBC also struggled with the sourcing issue,” write Scott Collins and Greg Braxton. Harvey Levin, a lawyer and the managing editor of TMZ, isn’t surprised mainstream news organizations wouldn’t cite–or even credit–his outlet. “‘That’s typical,’ Levin said during a phone interview when asked about rivals’ hesitation to credit the site. ‘No matter what they say, people know we broke the story. That’s how competitors handle it. There’s no issue about our credibility.’” Levin goes on to tell the LA Times: “We were getting calls from everyone under the sun, established news operations, asking, ‘Are you sure?’ That’s such an odd question. We would not have published it if it were not true.”

Los Angeles Times

A new kink in cinema’s porn habit

By Brian D. Johnson - Friday, June 26, 2009 at 11:20 AM - 1 Comment

Sasha Grey is not the first porn actress to make the leap to mainstream movies. As early as 1977, David Cronenberg cast Marilyn Chambers in Rabid as a zombie with a flesh-piercing phallus in her armpit (though it may be stretching it to call Rabid mainstream). Traci Lords parlayed her infamy as an underage star of adult movies into a string of roles as bimbos and vampires. And Jenna Jameson has built an empire on straddling the median between the adult and mainstream industries. But Grey must be the first hard-core porn actress cast in a lead role by an Oscar-winning director.

In The Girlfriend Experience, a stylish low-budget film by Steven Soderbergh, she plays Chelsea, a high-priced Manhattan call girl. But Soderbergh (Erin Brockovich, Ocean’s Thirteen) doesn’t exploit Grey’s obvious assets. There’s no explicit sex and not much nudity. Set during last fall’s U.S. presidential election, the story concerns Chelsea’s relationships with her affluent but needy clientele as they fret over economic doom. Improvising dialogue with a cast of non-professional actors, Grey plays a version of herself, a sex worker trying to keep her dignity while selling intimacy. Continue…

Have fun storming the castle!

By kadyomalley - Friday, June 26, 2009 at 11:14 AM - 20 Comments

Now this would definitely qualify as going out with a bang. From today’s installment of the Toronto Star’s almost-certainly-eventually-to-be-award-winning “Sham-ocracy” series:

Canada’s outgoing information watchdog is threatening to seize documents after complaints that the bureaucratic wing of the Prime Minister’s Office is stonewalling some access-to-information requests.

The information commissioner served formal notice on the Privy Council Office this week, warning that commission staff would use their legal powers to seize the documents themselves if the paperwork wasn’t provided by today.

“I’m about to walk into PCO next week … for files they didn’t give us. We’re going to take them and they can’t stop us,” Robert Marleau told the Star.

“I cannot be denied access. I can walk into any federal government premise without notice and take what I need.” [...]

“The powers are there for a reason so that where there is … stonewalling or deliberate obstruction, we can break that jam. By and large, I’m here to serve Canadians. So is the department that is being asked to give a response. We shouldn’t have to have a struggle,” he said.

Marleau is probing complaints about the PCO’s handling of access-to-information requests by Canadians. In particular, he wants answers on 150 cases that involve “administrative” issues – complaints that could include the PCO’s demand for photocopying costs, other fees and time extensions.

Marleau, who announced his retirement this week, made clear there’s no reason why such complaints could not have been informally resolved long ago, saving the time and effort of a drawn-out investigation as well as the frustration of those making the requests.

“We should be able to lick administrative complaints at the early resolution stage,” he said, snapping his fingers for emphasis.

He hinted at one possible motivation – the government’s desire to tie up a file and delay the release of information.

“If you overcharge for photocopies and got a complaint, that file was parked for two years. It takes the pressure off,” Marleau said. “I won’t let that happen any more.”

The Privy Council Office was unable to comment in time for deadline yesterday.

Just imagine the liveblogging possibilities! Not that the media would likely be be allowed to join the raiding party, of course — but we could hang around outside Langevin and wait for the wheelbarrows full of documents to start rolling out.  It would be just like the raid on Conservative HQ — without the cheesy Muzak, and with the added possibility of spotting Guy Giorno scowling down at us from the battlement as he boils the oil.  Of course, now that they know he’s serious — I mean, seriously serious — my guess is that the good folks at PCO will hand over the goods before Marleau shows up at the front door, but still. ITQ can dream, right?

Free to wear the veil

By macleans.ca - Friday, June 26, 2009 at 11:11 AM - 3 Comments

The federal government has dropped plans to force voters to show their faces at polling stations because of a lack of support from opposition parties. The government proposed legislation creating the requirement in 2007 after elections Canada allowed veiled women to vote in Quebec bi-elections. Prime Minister Harper said this subverted the will of parliament, which had just passed new voter identification requirements. Under current regulations voters can identify themselves by presenting either a piece of government ID or two pieces of other approved ID (one of which must contain the voters’ address), or have another voter from the same district vouch for them. Photo ID is not required, which means forcing veiled women to show their faces would be essentially useless without further changes to voting regulations.

CBC News

Salads more unhealthy than a Big Mac?

By macleans.ca - Friday, June 26, 2009 at 11:10 AM - 0 Comments

In a UK study, researchers from Which?, a consumer magazine, looked at 20 salads from major grocery stores and found many contained high quantities of fat. At least two of them were fattier than a meal at McDonald’s; others had misleading labels, the BBC reports. Marks and Spencer’s Pasta with Tomato & Basil Chicken, for example, had 760 calories and 46g of fat, nearly 70 per cent of a woman’s daily intake of fat and half of a man’s. (A Big Mac and medium fries, by comparison, contains 820 calories and 40g of fat.) Meanwhile, a tuna salad sold at Tesco was said to contain 275 calories and 20.5g of fat, but that was for just half the pack. “This latest research backs up what we’ve been saying for ages – a clear, consistent labelling scheme is important to help people spot how much fat, sugar and salt is in the food they’re buying,” Martyn Hocking, Which? magazine’s editor, told the BBC. Nutritionist Nathalie Winn with World Cancer Research Fund pointed out that maintaining a healthy weight is the most important factor in preventing cancer, after not smoking, and recommended that people make their own salads.

BBC News

More About The '70s, From a Different Angle

By Jaime Weinman - Friday, June 26, 2009 at 10:52 AM - 1 Comment

Read Jim Henshaw’s excellent Farrah Fawcett post, which is about the professionalism that goes into making TV (good and bad), the difference between the way people look in the gossip columns and the way they look to people who work with them every day, and the late ’70s, one of the last eras of truly huge, mass-audience hits.

Not that TV in the late ’70s was better than it is now; overall, it was not, but with three networks, fewer entertainment options, and producers who knew what the broad public wanted, it was a time when, as Henshaw puts it, “More people probably tuned in to their lowest rated summer repeat episodes than are currently counted on first run series considered hugely successful.”

"Terrible, nonchalant, lackadaisical"

By macleans.ca - Friday, June 26, 2009 at 10:43 AM - 3 Comments

Nearly a month after a dispute over arming border guards shut down the Akwesasne border crossing, some local Tories are starting to wonder why the federal government hasn’t intervened to end the impasse, Canwest News reports. Cornwall party organizer Glen Grant, who managed Conservative MP Guy Lauzon’s last two election campaigns, says he believes Lauzon is doing “all he can” on the issue — but isn’t nearly as sanguine about the efforts of Public Safety Minister Peter Van Loan. “[His] body language has been terrible, nonchalant, lackadaisical, whatever happens will happen, no sense of urgency to get this resolved,” Grant told Canwest reporter Jorge Barrera, who notes that calls to the minister’s office were not returned. The local chamber of commerce has also called on the government to get involved, claiming that the shutdown is costing the community thousands of dollars in lost business.

The Gazette

They really love us!

By Martin Patriquin - Friday, June 26, 2009 at 10:31 AM - 1 Comment

Montreal gets four pithy paragraphs in The Economist for all the wrong reasons. Louise Harel, who is running against the current Tremblay administration (read about it in a far superior weekly here), has called for a public inquiry. This is odd, since The Economist piece relies heavily on various La Presse investigations over the last several weeks–without so much of a peep about an inquiry from Harel.

Stars react to Michael Jackson's death

By Stephanie Findlay - Friday, June 26, 2009 at 10:16 AM - 2 Comments

Following Michael Jackson’s death, fellow performers and celebrities remembered his profound influence in music.

Diana Ross: “I can’t stop crying, this is too sudden and shocking. I am unable to imagine this. My heart is hurting. I am in prayer for his kids and the family.”

Whitney Houston: “He was one of the reasons I got into the music business. He inspired me. He taught me. He laughed with me. He paved the way for African American artists to be played on MTV which was huge. My heart is full of grief for his family and his children and I pray that they take solace in the incredible legacy of his music and art.”

Smokey Robinson: “I will miss Michael and all that he brought to the world through his music and his creative genius. I know his legend will live on and the world will miss him dearly.”

President Barack Obama, as said to Press Secretary Robert Gibbs: “Obviously Michael Jackson was a spectacular performer, a music icon. I think everybody remembers hearing his songs and watching him moonwalk on television during Motown’s 25th anniversary. But the president also said he had aspects of his life that were sad and tragic.  His condolences went out to the Jackson family and fans that mourn his loss.”

Mary J. Blige: “One of my Angels has gone home. Michael, your love and greatness will live forever through me. I miss you and love you forever and ever. I’m so hurt and saddened.”

Slash: “One of the most talented & dynamic performer/singer/songwriters I ever worked with. Unfortunately, the controversy surrounding his personal life in recent years overshadowed his unparalleled contributions to the music world, which is a tragedy in as of itself. But, his music will live on forever no matter what & his memory will be adored & admired for years to come.”

Lisa Marie Presley (on her blog): “Years ago Michael and I were having a deep conversation about life in general. I can’t recall the exact subject matter but he may have been questioning me about the circumstances of my father’s death. At some point he paused, he stared at me very intensely and he stated with an almost calm certainty: ‘I am afraid that I am going to end up like him, the way he did.’ ”

Paul McCartney: “I feel privileged to have hung out and worked with Michael. He was a massively talented boy man with a gentle soul. His music will be remembered forever and my memories of our time together will be happy ones.”

Madonna: “I can’t stop crying over the sad news. I have always admired Michael Jackson. The world has lost one of the greats, but his music will live on forever! My heart goes out to his three children and other members of his family. God bless.” Continue…

It’s time to tear down 24 Sussex

By Paul Wells - Friday, June 26, 2009 at 9:00 AM - 65 Comments

It has no fire sprinklers. Its walls are lined with asbestos. Its plumbing and wiring would not pass muster in any other house in Ottawa. It is drafty. Its air conditioners make a racket. It has, by all accounts, hideous carpeting on the stairs.

It has not had a thorough makeover in half a century. Fixing it in 2006 would have cost $10 million. Fixing it now will certainly cost more. Whenever the repairs begin, the tenants will have to vacate the property for at least a year, probably more. It was not built for its august purpose and it does not bear its burden gracefully. It oppresses its residents—though they are required by the unbreakable codes of populism to deny any problem—and it doesn’t uplift the nation. Frankly it doesn’t even do much for the neighbourhood. Continue…

Human nature

By Paul Wells - Thursday, June 25, 2009 at 11:31 PM - 53 Comments

In those days you had the three main TV channels, ABC, NBC, CBS very much in that order, plus the CBC for news and hockey, PBS for Cosmos or the Boston Pops if you were a geek like me, maybe TVO if Elwy Yost had a good movie. The culture didn’t have many routes into your skull, and what happened to all of us on that Monday night in 1983 had a chance of happening that it wouldn’t have today. It was just a different time is all.

I was 16 and spending every minute I could in Mr. Milligan’s band room at Sarnia Northern Collegiate. My friends and I didn’t make plans to watch Motown 25 or anything. We were an hour’s drive from Detroit but probably most of us wouldn’t have been able to tell you Motown was a Detroit record company. WRIF was the Detroit station we listened to. They played Bob Seger, not Smokey Robinson. But what are your choices on a Monday night? We all saw Michael Jackson dance to ‘Billy Jean.’  By Tuesday morning it was all anyone could talk about. Continue…

Michael Jackson: "The Greatest"

By Aaron Wherry - Thursday, June 25, 2009 at 9:08 PM - 18 Comments

Live in the Situation Room, Wolf Blitzer addressed the nation. Michael Jackson, he said, was dead. Or at least that’s what other outlets were reporting. CNN was still working to confirm Jackson’s demise.

Blitzer consulted with a reporter known for his coverage of Jackson. They debated the precise level of shock to assign this development. Another reporter, this one having been to Neverland, mentioned Princess Diana. Blitzer introduced a 30-second clip of Jackson performing as a boy, then CNN’s “chief medical correspondent” was brought in to explain what happens to the body when it goes into cardiac arrest. A discussion of Jackson’s weight ensued. Blitzer stressed the need for heart defibrillators to be more readily available to the public. Another correspondent was brought in to find some irony in Jackson’s death coming just as he was to relaunch his career. Continue…

Flaherty's letter gets him in trouble

By Mitchel Raphael - Thursday, June 25, 2009 at 8:38 PM - 16 Comments

A congratulatory letter has gotten Jim Flaherty in trouble. See the original column here. And pics from the event here and here.

Michael Jackson On '70s Variety Shows

By Jaime Weinman - Thursday, June 25, 2009 at 7:23 PM - 4 Comments

Anyone who heard about the death of Michael Jackson flashed back to the time when he was at his best, whenever that was; it seems like when a celebrity dies, our first instinct is to remember that person at his or her best. I suspect most people are flashing back to his ’80s golden age as the King of Pop. His early ’80s stuff is good, but my own flashbacks were to the ’70s; the disco influences of Off the Wall make me like it best because I have to admit that, as John Lennon said, “I like the disco music.” And I think “Don’t Stop Till You Get Enough” is just a very entertaining song.

And my next instinct was to look for clips of Michael Jackson in the ’70s, performing on the comedy/variety shows that were still very much a part of prime-time TV in that era (and which networks keep trying and failing to bring back). Here are four such clips.

A brief clip from the Jacksons’ own short-lived variety show:

Jackson and the Jackson Five on The Carol Burnett Show:

Continue…

It feels good to be alive…

By Andrew Potter - Thursday, June 25, 2009 at 6:29 PM - 3 Comments

Michael Jackson is dead

By John Intini - Thursday, June 25, 2009 at 6:06 PM - 6 Comments

City and law enforcement sources have told the L.A. Times that pop singer Michael Jackson was pronounced dead by doctors this afternoon after arriving at a hospital in a deep coma. Jackson, 50, had 13 number one hits during his solo career, is survived by three children.

L.A. Times

Link between cancer and abuse

By macleans.ca - Thursday, June 25, 2009 at 5:19 PM - 6 Comments

A stunning discovery by University of Toronto researchers indicates a profound link between cancer and child abuse. Adults who were physically abused as children have a 49 per cent higher chance of developing cancer, shows their study, which will be published in the July 15 issue of the journal Cancer. This was true even after the team controlled for variables such as childhood stress, adult smoking, drinking, exercise and socioeconomic status. The research is especially important to helping doctors identify risk factors for cancer in their patients. There may be psycho-physiological reasons why this happens. Future studies will examine how the production of cortisol, the stress hormone, affects the cancer-abuse connection.

ScienceDaily

Obama reconsidered

By The Editors - Thursday, June 25, 2009 at 5:00 PM - 11 Comments

Barack Obama’s presidential victory was an exciting moment for Canadians as well as Americans; we too thrilled in the prospect of a new era in American politics. Half a year on, that excitement is wearing off. The recent evidence from Washington appears contrary to our best interests. Should we be changing our minds on Obama?

The decentralized nature of American politics means Obama can’t be blamed for everything the U.S. government does, but he bears responsibility for broad directions and wields significant powers of persuasion. How he uses these powers (or doesn’t) is significant. Take trade relations.

Continue…

I'm Stephen Harper and I approved this message

By Aaron Wherry - Thursday, June 25, 2009 at 4:53 PM - 99 Comments

The Prime Minister tries to explain his party’s attack ads.

Q: But let me ask you this, how closely do those ads and the messages in those ads reflect your own personal view of Michael Ignatieff and his motives?

A: Well as you know that campaign, the source of that campaign is strictly Mr. Ignatieff’s own words and own record so he’s the one who has to answer questions on that.

Q: But do you think he’s just visiting?

A: As I say those ads are built around his own record, his own words, on his own motives, and his own statements on the country and those are the questions he’ll have to answer.

Q: But do the ads reflect your view as the leader of the party?

A: As I say the ads allow Mr. Ignatieff to speak for himself. Continue…