Producer Don Hewitt dies at 86

By macleans.ca - Wednesday, August 19, 2009 at 1:49 PM - 0 Comments

Don Hewitt, creator of ’60 Minutes,’ passed away on Wednesday at the age of 86. Hewitt’s journalism career spanned over 60 years, and he is widely credited as being the father of modern television news. Beginning his career as a producer at CBC, Hewitt directed the first network television newscast in May 1948. From then on, he was present and involved in most of the network’s defining moments. In 1960, he helped to produce the first televised presidential debate. In 1963, he was executive producer of the network’s first half-hour newscast, featuring reporting legend Walter Cronkite. Hewitt also helped to pioneer the use of cue cards for newsreaders—a development that later evolved into the TelePrompter. But Hewitt’s prized creation was the television news magazine, 60 Minutes, which threw issues ranging from euthanasia to Bill Clinton’s marital infidelity onto the international stage. “He is truly an innovator in this business,” explained the late Roone Arledge. The news magazine “is an innovative format no one had done before. It’s been copied all over the world.” Mr. Hewitt had been diagnosed with cancer.

CBS News

Reuters

Walt Disney World of Danger

By macleans.ca - Wednesday, August 19, 2009 at 1:45 PM - 0 Comments

Walt Disney World is well on its way to becoming the Tragic Kingdom, after an employee died during a stunt show practice this week—the third such death this summer. Anislav Varbanov suffered a head injury late Monday while rehearsing a diving-roll for the “Indiana Jones Epic Stunt Spectacular.” Earlier this month another performer died while sword fighting. And in July, a monorail driver died in a crash.

Associated Press

Were detained Iranian protesters raped?

By macleans.ca - Wednesday, August 19, 2009 at 1:44 PM - 0 Comments

Iranian reformist cleric and defeated opposition candidate Mehdi Karrubi has asked to meet with top Iranian officials, including President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, to present evidence that detained protesters were raped by security officials following their arrest during demonstrations against the June 12 election that they believed was rigged.

Radio Free Europe

Dirt cheap labour

By Stephanie Findlay - Wednesday, August 19, 2009 at 1:15 PM - 5 Comments

When Jeff Howe, contributing editor to Wired magazine, first coined the term “crowdsourcing” in 2006 he heralded a “new pool of cheap labour” where ordinary people used their spare time to work collaboratively with companies to create content, solve problems, and “even do corporate R & D.” Three years later, crowdsourcing has evolved from a novel Internet experiment to a legitimate corporate tool used by businesses ranging from Netflix to Britain’s Guardian newspaper.

Crowdsourcing is gaining popularity because it allows cash-strapped companies to outsource time-consuming drudgery and decision-making to the masses—who do it for free. In a recent high-profile case, the Guardian unleashed the power of the crowd to upstage a rival newspaper, and tackle the largest British political scandal in years. The Guardian was racing to catch up with the Daily Telegraph, which published a damning report in early May showing that British MPs had charged millions of dollars worth of frivolous expenses—for everything from clearing moats to building duck houses—to the public purse. The story was a huge coup, the result of months of toil by several journalists at the Telegraph who sifted through MPs’ expense claims to find the evidence. Continue…

Africa says Canada is stealing MDs

By Tom Henheffer - Wednesday, August 19, 2009 at 1:00 PM - 13 Comments

South Africa needs doctors. The country is home to the world’s worst HIV epidemic, a growing tuberculosis problem, and high infant mortality rates. But rather than helping the struggling nation, South Africa’s high commissioner says Canada is doing the opposite: through intense recruiting campaigns, we’re poaching as many South African doctors as we can to help ease our own doctor shortage at home.

In a report, Dr. Abraham Sokaya Nkomo, South Africa’s high commissioner to Canada, complains that the doctors “migrate at a very high cost” to South Africa, causing “a huge loss of investment in education and training.” The report adds that Canada’s doctor poaching “makes it difficult to deliver good quality, easily accessible and equitable services” in South Africa. Continue…

I read the news today. Oh boy.

By Aaron Wherry - Wednesday, August 19, 2009 at 12:51 PM - 94 Comments

The Prime Minister raises the question of what he knew and when he knew it.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper says he’s happy Suaad Hagi Mohamud is back in Canada but admits he’s waiting for answers about her nightmare at the hands of Canadian officials.

Harper suggested he became aware of the case only last week, even though her well-publicized plight of being stuck in Kenya had begun 11 weeks earlier. ”When we became aware of the case last week, we asked our officials in various departments to give us some information,” Harper said at a news conference yesterday. “Obviously there (is) some troubling information here. It’s a complex case. I have asked my officials for a thorough review of the matter … (then) we’ll decide what further inquiry we do have to do.

So when did everyone else become aware of Suaad Hagi Mohamud’s case? Good question. Continue…

So much for those inflation fears?

By macleans.ca - Wednesday, August 19, 2009 at 12:48 PM - 1 Comment

Those billions of dollars in stimulus funds had a lot of people worried Canadians would end up paying for them through inflation. So far, though, that hasn’t been the case. In fact, according to figures released Wednesday, Canada’s inflation rate in July was at its lowest level in 56 years. Analysts say prices fell by 0.9 per cent last month, largely because of a massive 23.4 per cent drop in energy prices. It’s the steepest decline in prices since July 1953, when prices fell 1.4 per cent.

Reuters

That "F" on your university transcript isn't the worst that could happen

By macleans.ca - Wednesday, August 19, 2009 at 12:47 PM - 2 Comments

Turns out, there is such a thing as a grade that’s worse than “F”—at least, there is if you go to Simon Fraser University. SFU’s grade of “FD” will stand for “failure with dishonesty” and will be given to students who are caught cheating. As if getting caught cheating wasn’t bad enough, university officials say the grade will appear on a student’s transcript for two years after graduation. “It’s more than a fail,” says Rob Gordon, the acting chair of the university’s senate committee on academic integrity. “It’s a failure with a particular reason that is publicly announced that may well be seen by potential employers.”

CTV News

There will be blood

By macleans.ca - Wednesday, August 19, 2009 at 11:55 AM - 1 Comment

Samoans normally drive on the right, but their Prime Minister, Tuilaepa Sailele Malielegaoi, wants them to switch. Malielegaoi is trying to increase the amount of vehicle imports from Australia and New Zealand, were motorists drive on the left. But many Samoans and an independent traffic safety expert say the change will only lead to a huge increase in crashes, injury and death. A court challenge has been launched, claiming the switch is unconstitutional because it will violate the right to life of many Samoans. But if it fails, drivers could be traveling down the opposite side of the road in less than three weeks.

TVNZ

Medical Pot in Iowa

By macleans.ca - Wednesday, August 19, 2009 at 11:53 AM - 0 Comments

The Iowa Pharmacy Board has announced it will hold several public hearings in an attempt to gather information on the legalization of marijuana for medicinal use. The board has no power to legalize marijuana itself, but it can make a recommendation to state legislatures to move pot from a Schedule I substance to a Schedule II drug with medical benefits, making it legal as prescription medication. A state senator has already attempted to pass a bill legalizing marijuana, and is planning to introduce new legislation again in the legislature’s next session. This is all part of a growing trend in normally conservative Iowa, which has recently legalized gay marriage and helped elect Barack Obama.

Associated Press

Popcorn and cereals have antioxidants

By macleans.ca - Wednesday, August 19, 2009 at 11:52 AM - 0 Comments

Researchers have found that polyphenols, an antioxidant renowned for its healthy properties, are in snack foods like popcorn and many breakfast cereals. The study found that whole grain products have comparable antioxidants per gram to fruits and vegetables. Whole grain cereals with wheat, with corn, oats and rice have the most antioxidants. For snacks, popcorn has the most. “Early researchers thought the fibre was the active ingredient for these benefits in whole grains, the reason why they may reduce the risk of cancer and coronary heart disease,” says Joe Vinson, Ph.D., who headed the study. “But recently, polyphenols emerged as potentially more important.”

Science Daily

Healthcare could be pushed through

By macleans.ca - Wednesday, August 19, 2009 at 11:34 AM - 0 Comments

CNN reports that Democrats are looking to push their healthcare reform bill through congress without support from Republicans or conservative members in their own party. A lack of bipartisan support has prevented the White House from getting the 60 votes it needs to avoid a possible filibuster, but Democrats may be able to succeed using a method called reconciliation, which is a budget measure that only requires 51 votes to pass. This may bring heavy criticism from Republicans, who will probably label the action a power grab. But a lack of movement from a bipartisan committee set up to negotiate health care legislation is making democrats more willing to take the risk. This all comes as a surprise to many, since Obama recently seemed to soften on his demands for a public health option, which was the main point of contention with conservatives. The administration has denied any such change in policy.

CNN

Jaws comes to Newfoundland

By macleans.ca - Wednesday, August 19, 2009 at 11:32 AM - 1 Comment

Anyone know what a “basking shark” is? Because a smoking big one turned up last week in Port aux Basques—get busy, punsters—sending a charge through the Newfoundland town. Folks scurried down to the docks to take a squint at the 20-foot beast, which had become entangled in the nets of some fishermen. The men kindly brought the shark to port to free it, as opposed, we assume, to killing it on the spot and cutting it loose. The story doesn’t say whether basking sharks swim north of the Gulf of St. Lawrence often. But we’ve helpfully included a Wikipedia link suggesting they like cold water, and open their mouths REALLY wide to eat. Check out the photo.

The Telegram

Wikipedia

How to get more people biking to work

By macleans.ca - Wednesday, August 19, 2009 at 11:31 AM - 2 Comments

Where do bike commuters stow their bikes when they reach their destination? If we want to get more people on bikes, instead of in cars, it’s an important question, contends Tom Vanderbilt in Slate. In New York, the Bicycle Access Bill will now require owners of commercial buildings with a freight elevator to enter the building with a bicycle, which could hugely increase the number of bike commuters there: currently, the city’s supply of bike parking is estimated at 6,100 racks, most of them outdoors. This matters because parking helps make commuters: in New York, for example, studies have shown that a huge number of vehicles that enter lower Manhattan are people who are assured a free parking spot. Meanwhile, bike commuters who must leave their bikes outside risk having their vehicles stolen, vandalized, or taken away by police. Other cities are looking at similar measures. In Philadelphia, for example, new zoning requirements mean developments must provide bike parking, and Pittsburgh is looking at requiring one bike parking space for every 20,000 square feet of development (cars, meanwhile, get one parking space per 250 square feet). In Portland, possibly the bike capital of the US, city council will vote on code changes requiring residential buildings have the same bike parking requirements as commercial buildings. The city’s spending $1 million of federal stimulus money on bike parking at transit hubs. Compare that to the Netherlands, though, where an estimated 27 per cent of daily trips are done on bicycle; underneath or outside most railway stations are huge bike parking structures.

Slate

Strange Bedfellows

By macleans.ca - Wednesday, August 19, 2009 at 11:30 AM - 1 Comment

The politics of gay marriage in America are notoriously complicated: liberal President Barack Obama is against, while arch-conservative former VP Dick Cheney (whose daughter is a lesbian) is for. But that still hasn’t prevented rumour, conspiracy-mongering and outright astonishment at the news that Ted Olson—who successfully argued before the Supreme Court the 2000 election case that put George W. Bush in the White House. “For conservatives who don’t like what I’m doing, it’s, ‘If he just had someone in his family we’d forgive him,’ ” Olson said. “For liberals it’s such a freakish thing that it’s, ‘He must have someone in his family, otherwise a conservative couldn’t possibly have these views.’ It’s frustrating that people won’t take it on face value.” For Olson, the face value is obvious. The ban on same-sex unions is just another example of the government-enforced discrimination he has devoted his career to fighting, and he’s taking on the gay rights issue with the same conviction he brought to legal battles against affirmative-action policies.

The New York Times

UPDATED: Yay! Another emergency committee meeting to liveblog!

By kadyomalley - Wednesday, August 19, 2009 at 10:31 AM - 7 Comments

This time, it’s the members of Natural Resources that are being summoned back by the power of SO 106(4), and the meeting itself will be apparently be all about the isotope crisis. According to Canadian Press, Liberal natural resources critic Geoff Regan is hoping to hear from “nuclear medicine specialists and provincial health ministers,” as well as usual suspects AECL and MDS Nordion. At the moment, there’s nothing on the parliamentary website, but as soon as the notice goes up, ITQ will update this post.

UPDATE: And the notice is up, although the witness list is still “to be determined”. Still, at least we know the when — this Friday at 2:15 pm  — and the where — 237-C Centre Block, AKA The Big Room. ITQ can’t wait.

Too much to handle

By macleans.ca - Wednesday, August 19, 2009 at 9:53 AM - 5 Comments

The only Canadian pharmaceutical company licensed to produce the H1N1 vaccine will be exporting millions of doses to outside markets due to limits in the fill capacity at its Quebec-based plant. According to the Globe and Mail, the U.S. faces similar delays in its planned vaccine rollout. Health officials there have already begun “hunting for factories that can get more of the liquid into vials quicker.” But a spokesperson for the Public Health Agency of Canada told the Globe that, although the company “looked at the possibility of getting another manufacturer to help fill the vials, but it was decided that doing so could have an impact on the delivery of other essential vaccines.” For its part, GlaxoSmithKline maintains that it is “meeting all of its contractual obligations to the Canadian government.”

The Globe and Mail

Next thing you know, they’ll be honouring Arafat in the Knesset

By macleans.ca - Wednesday, August 19, 2009 at 7:58 AM - 0 Comments

For the first time in its history, the Palestinian Fatah party has elected an Israeli of Jewish background to serve on its governing Revolutionary Council. Uri Davis, a professor at Al-Quds University in the Arab part of Jerusalem, has been a member of Fatah for a quarter-century and insists his seat at the 120-member council proves the Palestinian nationalist party is a “multinational movement.” Though he started life as an Israeli Jew and holds dual Israeli and British passports, Davis now describes his heritage in typically academic fashion. He is, in his own words, “a Palestinian, Hebrew, of Jewish origin, anti-Zionist, a citizen of an apartheid state called the State of Israel and citizen of an alleged constitutional monarchy that goes by the name the United Kingdom and Northern Ireland.” A prominent anti-Zionist activist, Davis has railed against Israel in books that refer to it as an “apartheid state” and says the Jewish state is “predicated on either the glorification or justification of war crimes and crimes against humanity.”

The Guardian

Martha's Vineyard prepares for Barack Obama/Scott Feschuk bromance

By Scott Feschuk - Wednesday, August 19, 2009 at 7:50 AM - 17 Comments

Yes, I am away again. On holiday, man. Living la vida pantless on Martha’s Vineyard, vacation playground of many, many famous celebrities such as Michael J. Fox, Spike Lee and Meg Ryan, and also the ones we’ve actually seen, such as the guy who played Mr. Bentley on The Jeffersons. Also, two years ago my car got rear-ended here by Walter Cronkite IV. Does that count?

Barack Obama arrives here Sunday for a one-week vacation, and I’m finding it difficult to envision a scenario that doesn’t end with the President and me meeting by chance and totally hitting it off. I’m talking movie-montage-worthy male bonding, complete with awkward half-hugs, non-sexual shirtlessness and the requisite sharing of nuclear launch codes. Don’t say I didn’t predict it. In fact, look for me and Mr. Bentley to fill out the foursome when Obama plays golf next week with Tiger Woods, which is supposed to be a big secret, so shhh…

In the meantime, I’ve been fascinated by the traditional American welcome that’s being prepared for the Obamas: dozens of different novelty T-shirts bearing the President’s name and image. This is U.S. capitalism at its most made-in-Chinaness! Here’s a quick photographic tour through the shop windows and souvenir stands of Martha’s Vineyard Continue…

Why Obama needs to "keep it simple, stupid"

By John Parisella - Tuesday, August 18, 2009 at 7:44 PM - 58 Comments

In the 1992 presidential election campaign, Democratic strategist James Carville famously unveiled the wedge issue that would decide the election by stating, “It’s the economy, stupid.” It was a simple and efficient message targeting an electorate concerned about job losses and slow economic recovery. George H.W. Bush, who had a 90-plus per cent approval rating after the Gulf War, would end up a one-term president, ceding the reins to Bill Clinton.

Right now, the healthcare messaging from the White House has none of the clarity nor the simplicity of Carville’s slogan. And while Barack Obama remains the best salesperson for healthcare reform, he is having to defend different bills in both Houses of Congress and is not connecting in the way we have become accustomed to. True, opponents of reform have been scaremongering, but that was to be expected. Complicating matters is the sluggish economic recovery and the rising deficit due to the stimulus package and bailouts. One can argue that governing and campaigning are two distinct operations, but if Obama is feeling the heat this August, it is to some extent self-inflicted.

Continue…

Today, we are all poor spellurs

By Aaron Wherry - Tuesday, August 18, 2009 at 6:03 PM - 98 Comments

CBC reprints an e-mail distributed by PMO implicating almost everyone in that inadvertent reference to improper hygiene. Note that our Kady is nearly identified as her own independent media outlet.

Stephen Harper eats seal. Or something.

By Aaron Wherry - Tuesday, August 18, 2009 at 5:50 PM - 29 Comments

Perhaps to stifle today’s fevered speculation, the Prime Minister’s Office has released the official portrait of Stephen Harper and various cabinet ministers eating what they claim to be seal meat. But, wait, Vic Toews, Peter MacKay, Lawrence Cannon and Lisa Raitt don’t appear to be joining in the feast. Scandal!

Wimps?

By Aaron Wherry - Tuesday, August 18, 2009 at 5:22 PM - 5 Comments

More from David Akin.

Just in: PM & cabinet eating seal ribs and liver, both raw and boiled. First time PM has eaten seal. Sadly – no photos!

This Cartoon Didn't Actually Exist, But It Should Have

By Jaime Weinman - Tuesday, August 18, 2009 at 5:09 PM - 1 Comment

I don’t know if this will be comprehensible to those who didn’t watch the old Beatles cartoon, the one where the foursome (voiced by others, including Paul Frees) would have some kind of wacky adventure for two minutes and then spend the rest of the cartoon singing (to the real records). It was fairly typical ’60s limited-animation stuff, maybe a bit above the normal standard, with lots of re-used footage. You can find examples online, like “Taxman.” (I give the cartoon producers credit for finding an interpretation of that song that doesn’t led itself to claims that it’s a “Conservative Rock Song” or whatever.)

Anyway, the cartoons continued into the late ’60s, as the Beatles themselves started to look nothing like the caricatures from the cartoon (which were based on the way they looked and dressed in 1964-5) and as the songs started to become a bit heavy and elaborate for the cartoons. The series was canceled after “Penny Lane.” But this guy online has used stock cartoon footage, plus a bit of new dubbing and flash animation, to create Beatles cartoons for songs the cartoon series didn’t get to. So here are John, Paul, George and Ringo trying to get to a gig in “Republic, Georgia,” only to find that they’re in the Republic of Georgia. Which, as it happens, is always on their mi-mi-mi-mi-mind.