Idea alert

By Aaron Wherry - Wednesday, January 20, 2010 at 2:33 PM - 126 Comments

Jack Layton steps forward with a proposal.

“Today I am announcing that the New Democrats will bring proposals for legislation to limit the power of prorogation so the Prime Minister cannot abuse it. The government should only prorogue Parliament on a vote in the House of Commons. This will inform the Governor General of the will of the majority, so that prorogation happens when it is needed – not simply when the Prime Minister feels like it.”

Idea alert

By Aaron Wherry - Wednesday, January 20, 2010 at 2:29 PM - 4 Comments

Putting the House of Commons to use.

'My intention is to share impressions and raise questions'

By Aaron Wherry - Wednesday, January 20, 2010 at 1:51 PM - 3 Comments

Alison Loat graciously passed along the Ned Franks essay she noted a couple times last week and now Prof. Franks has graciously passed along his blessing to post that essay for wider consumption. You can download it here.

In additions to Franks’ own impressions, he looks closely at how often Parliament has been sitting, how successful it has been in passing legislation, and how rapidly its membership has changed in recent years, with various observations about how Parliament, as a community in and of itself, has changed over the last several decades. A rather necessary read if you’re at all interested in the current discussion.

The Times, they are a-chargin'

By macleans.ca - Wednesday, January 20, 2010 at 12:32 PM - 7 Comments

The New York Times has announced it will begin charging for “frequent access” to its website beginning in early 2011. Visitors to NYTimes.com will receive a certain number of articles for free, before being prompted to pay a flat fee for unlimited access. Print edition subscribers will receive full access to the site. Newspapers have struggled for years to find a way to monetize their online content, and New York Times chairman and publisher Arthur Sulzberger Jr. said “we can’t get this halfway right or three-quarters right. We have to get this really, really right.”

New York Times

6.1-magnitude aftershock in Haiti

By macleans.ca - Wednesday, January 20, 2010 at 12:04 PM - 0 Comments

More confirmed deaths in Haiti, following a 6.1-magnitude aftershock on
Wednesday. Just over a week after tragedy struck Port-au-Prince, another
quake hit 56 kilometres northwest of the city. Last week’s 7.0-magnitude quake killed an estimated 200,000 people. Since then, there have been a number of aftershocks, with Wednesday’s being the strongest. “Some buildings that had been weakened by the original earthquake have been toppled as a result of this one,” explained CBC’s David Common, reporting from the ground. “We are told there have been more deaths as a result.” The Canadian Embassy was among buildings damaged in the follow-up quake, which lasted about 10 seconds.

CBC News

Three of a kind

By Aaron Wherry - Wednesday, January 20, 2010 at 12:01 PM - 72 Comments

As reported by the CBC’s Alison Crawford, the former chair of the RCMP Public Complaints Commission, the former Military Police Complaints Commissioner and the former head of the Nuclear Safety Commission will speak at a Liberal-organized forum on governance next week.

Kennedy had wanted to see through expected legislation on providing civilian oversight for the RCMP.  His reports included blunt criticism about how Mounties take notes, handle Tasers, investigate themselves, etc. And in the last days of his tenure, Kennedy lashed out at RCMP Commissioner William Elliott, accusing him of trying to delay the publication of several of his reports.

The government also refused to renew Tinsley’s appointment, even though he wanted to continue his work on the Afghan detainee issue. And Keen, who was fired while serving her second term as head of the CNSC, accused the natural resources minister of ignoring her advice to close the Chalk River nuclear facility.

Rights and Democracy: Looks like it's raining shoes today

By Paul Wells - Wednesday, January 20, 2010 at 12:01 PM - 43 Comments

Seven board members of Rights and Democracy, including the chairman Aurel Braun, write an op-ed in the National Post asserting that their only concern is transparency and accountability.

A bit of background. Four of the board members have joined the group since October. One, Brad Farquhar, ran against Ralph Goodale for the Conservatives in 2006. Another, Marco Navarro Génie, did his thesis work at the University of Calgary under Tom Flanagan. Here is the bio for a third, Michael Van Pelt, at a sort of think tank he runs. (Aurel Braun’s UofT students apparently think very highly of him.)

These are examples of the country’s duly elected Conservative government appointing board members who will be well regarded by a segment of the Conservative electorate. It’s in the corners like this that Stephen Harper makes change most forcefully, and in those corners there is usually no public scrutiny whatever. Politics is almost always a clash of legitimacies, a confrontation between people and groups who genuinely think, each on their own side, that they’re doing what’s right. And there is a lot more real politics going on right now at Rights and Democracy than there almost ever is in Parliament, even when Parliament is sitting.

See Jay Flop. Look, See Jay Flop.

By Jaime Weinman - Wednesday, January 20, 2010 at 11:57 AM - 2 Comments

I’m not even completely sure what point this is supposed to be making, but it’s strangely hypnotic: “The Jay Bombs Show”. You click on the embedded clip, and it plays a series of jokes from The Jay Leno Show with audience laughter removed, intercut with shots of an unappreciative audience and shots of Leno looking nervous or needy, to make it look like he’s bombing over and over again. Here’s one example, but to play all of them you have to go to the site and click on the clip (then it plays all the clips in succession).

One reason why this works is that whoever made the clips has put in crowd noise underneath the long, awkward pauses. This much-forwarded clip of The Big Bang Theory with audience laughter removed, on the other hand, is quite poorly done, since the creator of the clip didn’t put in anything (music or ambient noise) to give a sense of what the show might actually be like without laughter.

Flight restrictions ease

By macleans.ca - Wednesday, January 20, 2010 at 11:52 AM - 0 Comments

Transport Minister John Baird has announced that security regulations
enacted last month in the wake of the December 25 bombing attempt have
eased, and that travellers will once again be permitted to take one carry-on bag
onto U.S.-bound flights. In addition to carry-on luggage, passengers may
bring a purse, laptop, briefcase or camera bag onto planes. Canes, walkers,
crutches or other life-sustaining devices, medical equipment, diaper bags
for infants, musical instruments, pets and duty-free items purchased after
going through security are exempt from the rules and also allowed. The new
regulations, which Baird says are a balance between security and comfort, do
not affect domestic flights.

CBC News

Vindication for an undercover informant

By Michael Friscolanti - Wednesday, January 20, 2010 at 11:46 AM - 16 Comments

When his testimony wraps up sometime in the coming days, the man once known as Shaher Elsohemy will step off the stand and disappear back into the arms of the witness protection program. For obvious reasons, nothing about his new life can be revealed. Not his fake name. Not his whereabouts. Nothing. But one thing is absolutely certain: when he does leave the witness box and return to location unknown, he can walk away a happy man—vindicated, finally, after all these years.

Until last week, when he showed his face for the first time since 2006, Elsohemy was famous for two things: helping the RCMP topple the worst of the so-called “Toronto 18,” and being paid millions of dollars in the process. For more than three years, the Mounties’ star informant had to stay hidden in the shadows and keep his mouth shut while countless fellow Muslims attacked his credibility. They called him a traitor. A rat. A money-hungry snitch who deserves to “suffer in this life and the next.” More than one defence lawyer accused him of concocting lies in order to line his pockets.

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Running boosts mouse memory

By macleans.ca - Wednesday, January 20, 2010 at 11:38 AM - 1 Comment

Mice who exercised did better on memory tests, say researchers at the University of Cambridge and the National Institute on Aging in Baltimore. Active test subjects grew more new cells in parts of the brain linked to memory than those who didn’t exercise. Authors say these new cells helped boost cognitive performance, BBC News reports. To determine this, scientists looked at two groups of mice over a period of 105 days, training them to touch a box on a computer screen to get food pellets. One group was then allowed unlimited exercise, running over 20 km a day. The control group didn’t exercise. Both groups were then shown two boxes on a screen, one of which released a treat when touched. After they learned which box impacted the treat, the boxes were moved around. Exercising mice were more successful in locating the box again than their counterparts.

BBC News

Virginia shooting suspect surrenders

By macleans.ca - Wednesday, January 20, 2010 at 10:44 AM - 0 Comments

A man suspected of shooting eight people to death at a Virginia home surrendered on Wednesday morning. Christopher Speight, 39, approached officers around 7 am and turned himself in. At about noon Tuesday, a man was seen clinging to life along the side of a country road. The man later died of his injuries, but the officer who responded to the emergency call heard more gunshots, and seven men and women were found dead at a nearby home. As officers tried to flush out the gunman, Speight fired at a police helicopter and fled. Police say Speight was acquainted with the victims, but more details were not released.

CTV News

The Mailbag: Pat Robertson, The Beaver, Andrew Coyne’s satire problem

By Scott Feschuk - Wednesday, January 20, 2010 at 10:40 AM - 10 Comments

Welcome to the Tuesday Mailbag on Wednesday, where humourless religious reactionaries are encouraged to react to the reference to God herein by ensuring their response is wildly out of proportion, that it misses the point entirely and that it wishes upon the author an eternity of hellfire and damnation. (A question of my own: Could I request a recurring loop of The Nanny in hell, or do I have to actually sit next to Fran Drescher?)

Remember – there are no stupid questions, except for the question of whether Barack Obama is boned.

•••

Dear Scott:

Pat Robertson’s been in the news for saying that stuff about Haiti and the devil and whatever. It reminded me: Don’t you usually tell us about Pat Robertson’s annual conversation with God. Did God stand him up this year? I NEED TO KNOW. – Darren V.

Darren –

I was a little disappointed by Robertson’s most recent chitchat with The Man Upstairs. Usually, Pat’s God can be relied upon for at least one high-impact, attention-grabbing, pants-wettingly terrifying prediction: a high-casualty terrorist attack on American soil, a devastating hurricane conjured as payback for letting some gays have spouses, a reboot of the Rambo franchise starring Andy Dick.

But not this year. This year, during His annual Christmastime chinwag with Pat, the Big Guy apparently said only that “there is a Continue…

Maclean’s Interview: Wiebo Ludwig

By Byron Christopher - Wednesday, January 20, 2010 at 10:40 AM - 15 Comments

Wiebo Ludwig has long been a fierce opponent of the oil and gas industry. He claims that sour gas wells have led to health problems, including miscarriages, for his family, who live on Trickle Creek Farm, near Hythe, Alta. In 2000, Ludwig was convicted of charges in relation to the 1998 bombing of gas wells in Alberta, and served two-thirds of a 28-month sentence. After six bombings of the EnCana pipeline near Tomslake, B.C., the oil company received anonymous letters demanding it cease operations. On Jan. 8, Ludwig was arrested and the RCMP conducted an extensive search of his property for evidence. Ludwig, 68, was released without charges the day after his arrest. Since then, the RCMP have said they have “significant” evidence they will be submitting to the Crown.

Q: On the day of your arrest, you and your son, Josh, drove into Grande Prairie for what you thought was a friendly meeting at a motel with the RCMP to get an update on the Tomslake bombing. Walk me through that.
A: I expected to speak with the inspector from Calgary and, for a change, not focus on who was the bomber but how can we resolve the problems at Tomslake. As we backed in, four police cars came into the lot, plus a ghost car. One of the policemen walked up and said, “Mr. Ludwig, you’ll have to get out. We need to talk to you.” They wanted to arrest me, they said, for extortion.

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Rights and Democracy: the other shoe drops

By Paul Wells - Wednesday, January 20, 2010 at 10:06 AM - 72 Comments

From the Jerusalem Post, today’s absolute must read. The recent uproar over conflicts among government-appointed board members at the Montreal-based “Gongo” (government-sponsored Non-Governmental Organization) Rights and Democracy gets a very different read from a conservative Israeli analyst. For the background on the Rights and Democracy spat, read this story. Then turn to today’s op-ed by Gerald Steinberg in the Jerusalem Post, which heartily praises the group’s new direction. Steinberg also helpfully links the Rights and Democracy controversy to the government’s recent decision to cut funding to the ecumenical group Kairos. Which is odd, because Jason Kenney has angrily denied he meant what he said when he said Kairos’ funding was cut because of its stance on Israel.  Perhaps Mr. Steinberg is one memo behind in his Canada briefings. Or one ahead?

In-and-Out is in, unless it's out

By Aaron Wherry - Wednesday, January 20, 2010 at 9:30 AM - 17 Comments

Deep in the comment thread here, Duff Conacher of Democracy Watch offers the following reading.

The Federal Court ruling today dodged the issue of the legality of the Conservatives’ 2006 federal election ad spending scheme issue even more than Aaron hints at, as the ruling went in favour of the candidates only because the basis of the “balance of convenience” principle means that they should be reimbursed for their full expenses now because the legality of the scheme is yet to be determined.

So, in order to have the issue of the legality of the scheme ruled upon by the courts, Elections Canada must proceed with a prosecution through the Director of Public Prosecutions, and/or an appeal of today’s ruling to the Federal Court of Appeal.

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The day's most useful analysis

By Aaron Wherry - Wednesday, January 20, 2010 at 12:39 AM - 27 Comments

Via Susan Delacourt.

Rona’s name is pronounced “Ronna”. She’s not a home-reno store. Have heard it wrong more than right today on TV. Just saying.

Photo Gallery: Haiti, by Renaud Philippe

By macleans.ca - Tuesday, January 19, 2010 at 10:23 PM - 1 Comment

Phone it in

By Paul Wells - Tuesday, January 19, 2010 at 8:22 PM - 14 Comments

The Canadian Red Cross has now made it easier than ever to donate money to the Haitian earthquake relief effort. Following on the example of their U.S. cousins, the CRC today announced a mechanism for donating to relief efforts through mobile-phone text message.

As of today, Canadians can donate to the Society via text messaging. Donors interested in this option must simply text REDCROSS to 30333 and a one-time donation of $5 for the Haiti Earthquake fund will be added to their mobile phone bill. The charge will be posted once the donor responds to a confirmation text. Text messaging donations are available in $5 increments.

Full details via the link. Even though this option wasn’t available before today, Canadians have been extraordinarily generous using the old-fashioned credit card, cash and cheque methods: the CRC reports it has raised $35.7 million in donations and $8.1 million in pledges, and of that amount, $14 million has already been contributed directly to the relief effort. On his website, the Prime Minister urges Canadians to “donate money — not clothing or food — to their preferred, experienced humanitarian organizations such as the Red Cross.” Of course the Red Cross isn’t the only such organization, but it’s one I know and trusted with my donation.

Harper calls for review of post-9/11 security measures

By macleans.ca - Tuesday, January 19, 2010 at 5:07 PM - 4 Comments

Prime Minister Stephen Harper has called for an extensive strategic review of Canada’s public safety policies since 9/11. The review will focus on improving air travel security, critical infrastructure protection, and foreign intelligence gathering, while minimizing the costs involved with each. Documents obtained by the National Post detail Harper’s list of “mandate priorities,” which also asks the Public Safety minister to produce a National Security Statement explaining changing security threats to the public.

National Post

Rebuild it anew

By Aaron Wherry - Tuesday, January 19, 2010 at 4:36 PM - 88 Comments

Christopher White, author of that Facebook group, issues a cri de coeur.

Now we, the vocal majority, find ourselves to be the new power brokers in Ottawa. With rallies planned across Canada on January 23rd, all eyes will be on us. We are not, as the traditional thinking goes, an apathetic people. We care deeply about our country, but for too long the increasing cracks in our political system have made it seem beyond repair, leaving people feeling frustrated and disempowered. Finally, we have an issue that unites us, one that we can wrap our heads around while keeping an eye on the eventual end game. This prorogation is far more than a matter of parliamentary procedure, it is emblematic of an institution that has turned its back on its people. We can stand outside and rage against the machine for as long as we like, or we can work together and take it apart, brick by brick and rebuild it anew. The upcoming rallies are not the culmination of our efforts, they are the beginning. Let’s start with prorogation and use our inevitable success to push for greater reforms, ones that ensure that our government is accountable, transparent, and responsive to the demands of the electorate. As in, you know, do what it’s there for.

Over at that Facebook group, he posts a video message to address the question of what comes next.

Farmers did it better

By macleans.ca - Tuesday, January 19, 2010 at 4:35 PM - 7 Comments

Most men living in Europe today are descendants of farmers from the Near East going back 10,000 years, according to a new study by the University of Leicester. Researchers found that the Y chromosome, which gets passed from father to son, most common in European lineage—it’s carried by 110 million males—actually extends from the eastern Mediterranean coast to the Persian Gulf. The researchers say more than 80 per cent of European Y chromosomes come from these Near East farmer ancestors. By comparison, most maternal genetic descendants come from hunter-gatherers. They believe this means that, historically, farming males had a reproductive advantage over hunter-gatherer males. “Or, maybe back then, it was just sexier to be a farmer,” says one of the authors.

Public Library of Science

Jacob Zuma: not so rotten after all

By Nancy Macdonald - Tuesday, January 19, 2010 at 4:29 PM - 2 Comments

By now, Jacob Zuma’s South Africa should be careening toward the ranks of failed African states. Eight months ago, after an election anointed him president of the continent’s proudest democracy, editorialists everywhere drew thinly veiled comparisons to Zimbabwean dictator Robert Mugabe, who turned Africa’s shining light into a country that rivals only Somalia for sheer dysfunction. Even the most generous assessments had Zuma—once described as an “embarrassment” by Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu—shackled by “suspicion” and “doubt” about his shambolic past, and fitness to lead Africa’s biggest economy. Yet under Zuma, South Africa has made pragmatic, positive strides in many areas, including health and the economy.

Early indicators were not good. Zuma, a former goatherd with no formal schooling and a stable of wives, has also twice stood trial. In April, the fraud, corruption and racketeering charges he’d been fighting for almost a decade were dropped, and in 2006, he was acquitted of rape (despite the acquittal, the case revealed “shocking” judgment, according to noted South African journalist Mark Gevisser: “He had unprotected sex with an unstable HIV-positive woman who regarded him as a ‘father.’ ”) To the chattering classes, Zuma seemed to embody the “rottenness” that famed novelist André Brink described as having befallen the country in A Fork in the Road, a memoir published in the weeks running up to the election.

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Kevin Page: the unlikely enforcer

By John Geddes - Tuesday, January 19, 2010 at 4:24 PM - 17 Comments

Hockey isn’t an obvious decorating theme for a unit of the federal bureaucracy devoted to the non-contact pursuits of economic forecasting and spending analysis. But propped on a windowsill in the office of Kevin Page—the parliamentary budget officer whose reports have repeatedly clashed with the Conservative government’s—is a photo from the movie Slapshot. It’s Paul Newman by a locker-room blackboard, on which the chalk scrawl promises, “We supply everything but guts.” In another photo, Page himself, not a Slapshot extra, displays an ugly blackened bulge where he took a puck beneath his right eye a couple of seasons ago.

He clearly sees himself captaining a scrappy, underdog team. There’s something to that: since Page was appointed the first federal PBO in 2008, his upstart shop of just 13 bureaucrats has taken on the role of an expansion franchise, up against established powerhouses like the Department of Finance and the Prime Minister’s Office, which traditionally dominate the flow of government economic numbers. Page has elbowed his way into their league by releasing contentious studies on, for instance, the cost of the Afghanistan war and, especially, the likely persistence of budget deficits.

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