Rizutto clan weakened by mob hit

By Shanda Deziel - Tuesday, December 29, 2009 at 11:13 AM - 0 Comments

Nick Rizzuto, son of Montreal’s alleged (and currently incarcerated) mafia kingpin Vito Rizzuto, was shot to death in Montreal on Monday. Rizzuto, known for his ties in the city’s construction industry, was reportedly en route to his girlfriend’s house in the middle of the day when a suspect shot him between four and six times before fleeing. The shooting has further weakened the Rizutto clan’s alleged grip on the city; the majority of its key members are behind bars or, in the case of Nick’s grandfather Nicolo, subject to probation conditions that effectively amount to house arrest. “The poor guy. He tries to do something in his life and, because of his family’s past history, every time he turns around he gets hit with something,” Antonio Magi, Rizzuto’s business partner, told the Montreal Gazette earlier this month.

Montreal Gazette

More attacks to come, warns would-be bomber

By macleans.ca - Tuesday, December 29, 2009 at 10:49 AM - 1 Comment

Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, who is accused of trying to blow up Northwest Airlines Flight 253 during its descent into Detroit on Christmas day, reportedly told agents at the prison in Michigan where he is being held, that his attempt is just the first of many. On the flight from Amsterdam, the 23-year-old Nigerian allegedly tried to detonate an explosive device hidden in his underwear before being overpowered by the passengers and crew. Al-Qaeda’s affiliate in Yemen took responsibility for the botched bombing in a statement released on Monday, claiming it was meant as a response to American-backed air strikes that reportedly killed 60 in Yemen. Abdulmutallab is said to have been in Yemen since August.

The Times

BBC

Gilbert and Sullivan Explain the Aughts For Us

By Jaime Weinman - Tuesday, December 29, 2009 at 10:45 AM - 0 Comments

Not everything in Gilbert and Sullivan’s Utopia, Limited came true in the decade that is now coming to an end. The vision of a world where every single individual becomes a corporation (“There is not a christened baby in Utopia who has not already issued his little Prospectus!”) will have to wait until the ’10s. But the explanation of how corporations work, and how no financial disaster can ever affect the “seven men” who form those corporation, seems like as good an explanation of the events of 2008-9 as any.

Here is the D’Oyly Carte audio recording of the song (and the Act 1 finale that follows) with lyrics:

[vodpod id=Groupvideo.4307125&w=560&h=340&fv=%26rel%3D0%26border%3D0%26]

Top 10 political gaffes of the decade

By macleans.ca - Tuesday, December 29, 2009 at 10:31 AM - 18 Comments

Leave James Levine aloooooone!

By Paul Wells - Monday, December 28, 2009 at 10:21 PM - 24 Comments

The truly weird backlash against Boston Symphony Orchestra music director James Levine continues. Jeremy Eichler, the Boston Globe‘s music critic, pens a cranky year-ender whose theme is that Levine’s “larger artistic vision” is lacking. He elaborates with a trademark display of the vague hand-waving language often used by writers who can’t really explain what they’re on about:

Across the country, orchestras are updating their approaches to programming with the goal of engaging listeners – current and potential – more broadly, deeply, and imaginatively. They are also experimenting with new ways of bringing select composers and performers into the mix, assigning them key roles not only in making music but also in artistic planning and community engagement. In these departments, Levine and the BSO are notably lagging behind the curve.

Eichler wrote a similar dirge a few months ago, when 28-year-old Gustavo Dudamel started his gig in Los Angeles and 42-year-old Alan Gilbert did the same with the New York Phil. And he wasn’t alone. Anthony Tommasini in the New York Times discerned “an artistic quandary” in Levine’s leadership.

Both writers know a lot more about classical music than I do. But I’m pretty sure they’re being twits. Continue…

Jason Kenney's bold stand against anti-Semitism, which he denies having taken

By Paul Wells - Monday, December 28, 2009 at 9:05 PM - 97 Comments

Our old friend Chris Selley keeps asking embarrassing questions from his perch at the National Post. This time it’s: How come Ezra Levant is so proud of the bold, courageous, makes-a-guy-proud-to-be-Conservative stance against anti-Semitism and anti-Israel-ism that Jason Kenney took by defunding an ecumenical group called Kairos — when Jason Kenney denies that the government’s decision to cut funding to Kairos had anything to do with its stance on Israel?

You can make an excellent case that church groups don’t need government funding for their assorted projects or that Kairos is lavishly over-subsidized. But Jason Kenney didn’t make that case when he bragged about his government’s refusal to fund it in Israel. Alternatively, you can make an eloquent case that Kairos’s stance on Israel disqualifies it from public subsidy. But Kenney now claims the government doesn’t believe that. It’s a bit of a tangled affair; Selley tells it better than I can, here, but I want to say that I agree both with his understanding of the facts and the conclusions he draws.

There’s no real downside to this affair for the Harper government. People who want Kairos lavishly funded are probably not numerous outside the organization’s own offices; the government’s decision to cut funding will probably find few detractors and plenty of fans. Ezra actually seems to have caught Kairos retroactively covering up some of the positions on Israel that seemed to be getting Kairos into trouble with the Conservatives. (UPDATE: This allegation is contested, in my opinion credibly, here.) But again, apparently Kairos needn’t bother, because Kenney now wants us to ignore the plain meaning of his Israel comments on Kairos. Apparently the group’s views on Israel had nothing to do with anything.

Again, the government’s funding decision probably won’t hurt it. The five-alarm gong show Kenney kicked off is a mere anecdote.

Political scientists (II)

By Aaron Wherry - Monday, December 28, 2009 at 6:39 PM - 6 Comments

Chris Selley considers Jason Kenney and KAIROS.

Heaven only knows what went on here. Maybe it’s just general hamhandedness. Maybe they hoped the benefits reaped whilst people assumed they’d taken a stand against anti-Semitism and/or for Israel would outweigh the damage reaped by disavowing the idea on a day when everyone’s shopping instead of reading the Star. Maybe Ms. Oda really did make the decision on her own, and Mr. Kenney decided he’d try to score some disingenuous points with it in Israel. Whatever happened, it’s a complete insult to Canadians’ intelligence — and Israelis’, come to think of it. And it’s proof positive, as if any was needed, that nobody should put any stock in what any Canadian politician says. Ever. About anything.

Political scientists

By Aaron Wherry - Monday, December 28, 2009 at 3:33 PM - 31 Comments

Canadians consider Ottawa.

Ipsos Reid asked Canadians if they would “encourage any family member to run for public office because it is a noble calling.” Most Canadians polled — two out of three, or 66% — said no.

… 72% of those surveyed by Ipsos Reid said they disagreed with the statement “Politicians in Ottawa got a lot done this year.”

… 55% of Canadians surveyed said they do not believe that the minority government is working well.

… Asked, “If we elect a new set of political leaders to the federal Parliament, will things be better?” 62% of respondents said “No.”

You be the geopolitician

By Andrew Potter - Monday, December 28, 2009 at 2:44 PM - 8 Comments

From an AP story in today’s Globe and Mail:

Anwar Eshki, the head of the Middle East Center for Strategic and Legal Studies based in Jiddah, Saudi Arabia, said al-Qaeda in Yemen “is stronger than it was a year ago and is turning Yemen into its base for operations against the West.” Mr. Eshki’s centre closely follows al-Qaeda in Yemen.

“Yemen is al-Qaeda’s last resort,” Mr. Eshki said. “There’s no doubt that al-Qaeda’s presence in Yemen is more dangerous than its presence in Afghanistan.”

Assume this is true. What effect, if any, should it have on Obama’s decision to send 30 000 more troops to Afghanistan? What effect, if any, should this have on Canada’s determination to end our combat mission in Afghanistan in 2011? What effect, if any, should this have on our ongoing mission in Afghanistan which — according to the most recent quarterly report, is “to leave Afghanistan to Afghans as a country that is democratic, self-sufficient and stable”?

These are not rhetorical questions. Some might not be relevant at all; but given the original rationale for going in to Afghanistan was to deny al-Qaeda a base from which to launch attacks against the West, it might be worth talking them through.

A Better Theme Song For HUNG

By Jaime Weinman - Monday, December 28, 2009 at 11:42 AM - 0 Comments

I was complaining again about how pay-cable shows, which have the time to do full-length title sequences, all seem to do the same kind of sequence: a symbolic vignette summing up the theme of the show, accompanied by a pop song or unmemorable soundtrack noodlings. Some of these work; some, like Nurse Jackie, work considerably less well than just having a minute and a half of well-chosen clips. Anyway, since Hung is an example of all these cliches in action — the main title has no other characters besides the protagonist, it uses a pop song instead of an original theme, and it’s full of symbols (smutty symbols, in this case, as befits the show) — I was challenged by Poniewozik to come up with a better theme song, preferably one that explains the premise. So here it is:

Come and listen to the story of a man named Ray,
A guy in Detroit faced with bills he couldn’t pay,
But then one day, tired of actin’ like a stooge,
He stopped thinkin’ small and began to think huge.
Large, that is. Great big. Foot-long.

Well, ol’ Ray had a chance to become a local whore,
His friends said “Ray, hey, whatcha waitin’ for?”
Now Ray’s winning praise from the girls he goes among,
He may have his hangups, but boy, the boy’s HUNG.
Well-endowed. Joystick-juiced. Insert sophomoric joke here.

Now the main title continues as per normal, but it’s better now because it’s accompanied by Flatt and Scruggs. Everything’s better with Flatt and Scruggs.

For comparison purposes, here’s the actual Hung main title.

[vodpod id=Groupvideo.4301853&w=560&h=340&fv=%26rel%3D0%26border%3D0%26]

Best jazz CDs of the 2000s

By Paul Wells - Monday, December 28, 2009 at 9:58 AM - 4 Comments

Yeah, there’s no way you’re going to get a list out of me. So here’s the list compiled by Ottawa Citizen reporter, and indefatigable jazz blogger, Peter Hum. None of these choices seem ridiculous to me, and I heartily endorse Peter’s first and fifth picks. Number four is certainly superior to most of Brad Mehldau’s output over the past decade (I’d have preferred his solo outing from Tokyo; I came to regard his first drummer as a pest and I’m still not sure his own trio is the best place to hear Mehldau) and I haven’t heard all of number 10, but I presume it’s at least comparable to Jarrett’s stunning recent performances from Tokyo and Carnegie.

UPDATE: Okay, two addenda. (Is addenda a word?) First, of all the wonderful sessions from Joe Lovano over the past 25 years, this live nonet session from the Village Vanguard is easily my favourite. Career-best performances from drummer Lewis Nash and baritone saxophonist Scott Robinson, and an astonishing lineup of tenor saxophonists who don’t come close to laying a glove on the bandleader himself, compensate for an almost comically poor audio recording. And also: it’s becoming clear that Wayne Shorter made a mistake by signing with Verve Records, which seemed like an industry leader in 2000 and is today on life support; the Shorter Quartet, more than any other band in this decade, should have recorded a lot, so audiences could hear how its approach changes from night to night. And Verve simply doesn’t have the resources to record that way. One day there will, and should, be enough grey-market bootlegs to choke a horse.

U.S. takes terror war to Yemen

By macleans.ca - Monday, December 28, 2009 at 9:06 AM - 2 Comments

The 23-year-old Nigerian man, Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, who is charged with trying to blow up a transcontinental flight over Detroit, claimed al-Quaeda leaders in Yemen helped him with the plan. As U.S. officials corroborate his story, the New York Times looks at what the U.S. has already been doing to fight a growing terrorist hub working out of Yemen. The CIA has counterterrorism operatives there. And other U.S. forces are training Yemeni military counterparts.  The aid level is more than doubling, with over $70 million in spending earmarked for the Yemen effort over the next 18 months.

New York Times

Ah yes, the "root causes" crowd again

By Paul Wells - Monday, December 28, 2009 at 12:28 AM - 117 Comments

“The events of September 11, 2001, taught us that weak states, like Afghanistan, can pose as great a danger to our national interests as strong states. Poverty does not make poor people into terrorists and murderers. Yet poverty, weak institutions, and corruption can make weak states vulnerable to terrorist networks and drug cartels within their borders.”

— The National Security Strategy of the United States of America, Sept. 17, 2002

Which just might help explain why, when a rich Nigerian banker’s son who could buy his suits on Jermyn Street and his mp3 player from Apple needed to buy some stuff to set an airliner on fire, he had to go to Yemen.

We keep you alive—for now

By Colby Cosh - Sunday, December 27, 2009 at 2:16 PM - 50 Comments

The terror attack on Northwest 253: another blow to the “Poverty is the root cause of terrorism” crowd—not that it will shut them up; nothing ever does—and another sad triumph for the Gambetta-Hertog “Engineers of Jihad” hypothesis.

And another one on responsible communication

By Colby Cosh - Sunday, December 27, 2009 at 1:38 PM - 2 Comments

Q: Is Jeffrey Dvorkin’s analysis of the new defamation-law scene the product of expired eggnog? His piece entitled “Libel law reform: Be careful what you wish for” warns that the recent Supreme Court decision is “no early Christmas present” for Canadian media companies, and since that is exactly how I characterized it, I feel entitled to object to his contrarian Hail Mary.

My guess is that media law departments are now advising chief editors to restrain their journalists from doing more aggressive reporting unless they can prove that every effort (including a demonstrable commitment to editorial resources) has been made to get all sides of the story. …In any future libel action, the onus will now be [on] the media organizations to prove that every reasonable effort has been made to contextualize a story.

But that’s true only if they intend to take advantage of the all-new defence they have just been handed. The Court didn’t remove or diminish any of the existing libel defences that might already have motivated news investigations, including truth, fair comment, and privilege. We don’t know just how practically available the new defence will turn out to be, but at worst we are left where we started: anything one could publish in confidence before the new ruling can still be published in confidence now. Sure, the “early Christmas present” may be nothing more than the equivalent of ugly plaid socks, but it does come free and clear, with no strings or liens or novel obligations hiding in the bottom of the box.

Security forces in Iran fire on protesters

By macleans.ca - Sunday, December 27, 2009 at 1:08 PM - 0 Comments

At least four protesters in Iran are thought to have been shot dead by the country’s security forces during anti-government demonstrations in Tehran. One of the victims is believed to be the 35-year-old nephew of Mir Hossein Mousavi, the opposition politician whose supporters launched massive protests after the controversial re-election of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad this past summer. Iranian officials have released few details about the other victims, but one was said to be an elderly man and another a young woman, both killed when security forces opened fire on the huge crowds of protesters that had gathered in central Tehran for the emotionally charged Shia festival of Ashura. One opposition website reported the police shot at the crowd after failing to disperse them with batons and tear gas. Another claimed some officers are resisting orders to shoot, firing their weapons into the air instead.

Times of London

Top five federal politics stories of the decade

By John Geddes - Sunday, December 27, 2009 at 11:51 AM - 38 Comments

Before Christmas the Bill Good Show at CKNW in Vancouver asked me to pick the top five political stories of the decade now drawing to a close. Like all best-of-the-aughts lists, mine is highly debatable. But what the heck—this sort of pastime goes down well with shortbread.

So here’s my list. I offer it in chronological order, rather than order of importance, since one story sometimes seems to lead to the next, almost as if an intelligible narrative to the arbitrary ten-year span is struggling to take shape:

1. August 21, 2002 Jean Chretien announces he will not seek a fourth mandate as Prime Minister, setting in motion the transition to Paul Martin’s leadership of the Liberal party. The overused phrase “end of an era” actually fits.

2. October 16, 2003: Stephen Harper and Peter MacKay announce their agreement in principle to unite the Progressive Conservative and Canadian Alliance parties, setting the stage for the new Conservative Party of Canada.

3. Feb. 10 2004: Auditor General Sheila Fraser’s report on Liberal mismanagement (to say the least) in spending of hundreds of millions in Quebec between 1997 and 2001 begins the sponsorship scandal. Martin would never recover. Stories 1 and 2 take on new meaning.

4. June/July 2006: Between 500 and 1,000 Canadian combat troops join U.S.-led coalition forces in Operation Mountain Thrust,  the start of large-scale fighting against Taliban insurgents in southern Afghanistan. It’s war, although Canada’s political and military leaders take their time conceding that sobering fact.

5. January 23, 2006: Canadian voters hand Stephen Harper a minority victory in the federal election. The Conservatives win 124 out of 308 seat, up from 99 MPs in 2004. So much for one-party democracy and “Gritlock.” Harper goes on to surprise many with his ability to run a prolonged minority government..

Each of these stories resonated for years. The Liberals have not found stable, convincing leadership since Chrétien departed. The united right continues to dominate national politics. The impact of the sponsorship scandal—especially on Quebec’s electoral map and inside the Liberal party in the province—hasn’t yet washed out of the political system. And the harsh realities of Afghanistan still overshadow all other aspects of foreign and defence policy.

I had trouble leaving two stories off my list. Firstly, Chrétien’s March 17, 2003, announcement that Canada would not join George W. Bush’s “coalition of the willing” in an Iraq invasion, unless there was UN backing. Secondly, the Nov. 27, 2008, start of secret negotiations toward the ill-fated “coalition” they would form, with Bloc support, in an attempt to vote down the Conservatives in the House and form a government.

It would be interesting to draft a list of the top negative stories of the past ten years. For instance, successive federal governments did not come to grips with climate change. Successive governments did not reform Ottawa’s woefully outmoded access to information rules. And the continued disgrace of our unelected, unaccountable, insupportable Senate was not ended.

Pope attacked at mass

By macleans.ca - Friday, December 25, 2009 at 1:41 PM - 0 Comments

Pope Benedict XVI fell after being attacked by a woman during Christmas Eve mass, but is unhurt. A French Cardinal broke his femur during episode. The same woman, Susanna Maiolo, 25, a Swiss and Italian citizen, attempted to reach the Pope last year but was stopped by security. This year she was able to grab his vestments—raising the question of security around the Pope. But as long as he still wants to be out amongst the people, says a Vatican spokesman, he’ll never be fully protected. The attacker is currently being held in a medical facility and has not been arrested.

New York Times

The year Amazon.com replaced Santa

By Colby Cosh - Friday, December 25, 2009 at 1:31 PM - 3 Comments

This Guardian story about holiday shopping leaves the slightly unsettling impression that “Boxing Day”, for the purposes of retailing, now begins in the UK at about 6 p.m. on the 24th of December. Maybe those billboards that plead with us to keep the Christ in Christmas should just be changed to request that the Christmas be kept in it?

A Very Tex Avery Christmas

By Jaime Weinman - Thursday, December 24, 2009 at 3:14 PM - 1 Comment

There have been a few Christmas cartoons that portrayed the holiday as a violent time where everyone acts the way they do all year. The most famous is Tweety in “Gift Wrapped” (where Granny asks Sylvester to kiss Tweety under the mistletoe, and he does what he always does when told to “kiss the little birdie”). Here’s another one, by the master himself, Tex Avery: a wolf uses the Christmas season as an excuse to get some easy food, and an obnoxious kid — based on Red Skelton’s “Mean Wittle Kid” radio character, who also was an inspiration for Tweety — uses this as an excuse to commit mayhem and wink at the audience. The wolf’s voice is also radio-inspired; it’s an imitation of The Great Gildersleeve from Fibber McGee and Molly.

Note also that the ma and pa pig sleep together in a double bed, something that was forbidden in live-action movies at the time. Tex Avery got away with a lot.

It's all their fault

By macleans.ca - Thursday, December 24, 2009 at 1:17 PM - 47 Comments

If Afghans are being tortured by local authorities, that’s Afghanistan’s problem—not Canada’s. So goes Ottawa’s latest attempt to deflect attention from the simmering controversy over the treatment of prisoners handed over to Afghanistan by Canadian troops. During an interview with French-language network TVA, Prime Minister Stephen Harper said the torture issue is “a problem among Afghans,” adding that Canada is “trying to do what’s possible to improve that situation, but it’s not in our control.” The federal government has spent the past few weeks lashing out against critics, most notably Canadian diplomat Richard Colvin, who claim it was aware detainees captured by Canadians were being mistreated by their Afghan handlers.

AFP

Look who crashed the NDP Christmas party

By Mitchel Raphael - Thursday, December 24, 2009 at 12:11 PM - 5 Comments

MP Nathan Cullen (right) and MP Glenn Thibeault with half moustaches.

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MP Don Davies attempts to impersonate Chantal Hébert of the Toronto Star.

. Continue…

The Liberal Christmas party

By Mitchel Raphael - Thursday, December 24, 2009 at 11:53 AM - 11 Comments

(Left to right) MPs Navdeep Bains, Mark Holland, Martha Hall Findlay, Mario Silva, Gerard Kennedy and former MP Omar Alghabra.

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MP Mario Silva (centre) with Navdeep Bains (right).

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Continue…

Douglas Stanton Barrie 1922-2009

By Rachel Mendleson - Thursday, December 24, 2009 at 11:20 AM - 2 Comments

Douglas Stanton Barrie was born on July 6, 1922, in Kitchener, Ont., the first of two children to Ernest and Ruth Barrie. A quiet boy with a subtle sense of humour, says sister Marjorie, Doug’s fascination with the military was ingrained early on. His father, who ran the family’s Barrie Glove & Knitting Company, had served in the First World War, and later commanded the Scots Fusiliers of Canada, a reserve regiment. A tight-knit community, the military families in the area attended parades and balls. On weekends, the kids visited the Barrie family farms near Cambridge, tobogganing and playing outdoors.

Doug’s father often told stories of the war. Once, after his cavalry unit was hit, he found himself lying in a crater with a dead horse on one side and a dead soldier on the other. “He was just feeling himself to make sure that he wasn’t dead,” says Doug’s son Brian. These tales made an impression on Doug, and, at 16, he enlisted in the army cadets. Three years later, with the Second World War well underway, Doug followed in his father’s footsteps and joined the Scots Fusiliers.

Like many young soldiers, Doug “wanted to do something about Hitler,” says Brian. In 1941, he was transferred to the Highland Light Infantry and shipped out, training for several years in Britain. At a dance in Portsmouth in 1943, he met Talma Williams, a striking Welsh brunette in the Women’s Royal Naval Service. Her outgoing nature and “wonderful Gaelic spirit” complemented Doug’s more reserved demeanour, says Brian. “They just hit it off instantly.” Though Doug had been engaged to a woman back home, it was clear, says Brian, “that this was his girl.”

Continue…