How to manufacture a crisis

By Aaron Wherry - Wednesday, June 16, 2010 at 12:45 PM - 63 Comments

Last night, CTV reported that it has “learned” Karla Homolka will be eligible for a pardon this July and, according to its sources, she is likely to apply for one.

As noted previously, this apparent revelation has been a matter of public record for five years.

Alas, not until this past April did Mr. Harper’s government decide this was a cause for concern. And not until May did his government introduce legislation to deal with the issue. (And not until last week did the bill apparently reach second reading.)

So today, with the House set to adjourn tomorrow, his government is apparently quite concerned that legislation might not pass the House in time. And so now let the desperate demands and panicked proposals be traded.

Humano, demasiado humano

By Andrew Potter - Wednesday, June 16, 2010 at 12:16 PM - 14 Comments

Mexican toreador Christian Hernandez lost his nerve during a bullfight the other day and fled from the ring, too hoots of derision from the crowd and, inevitably, from the entire Twitterverse. While it shouldn’t need pointing out that Hernandez was badly gored in the leg two months ago, and that the vast majority of the people laughing at him will do nothing more dangerous this year than jaywalk, that’s not quite why I have a great deal of sympathy for him. The key point, I think, is this one that Hernandez himself makes:

“There are some things you must be aware of about yourself,” he said. “I didn’t have the ability, I didn’t have the balls, this is not my thing.”

One of the dominant fetishes in our culture is the search for self-discovery and self-awareness as a form of self help. But the quest is almost always framed as the discovery of hidden or previously unknown powers or capacities: to achieve your goals, all you have to do is believe in yourself. The most blatant example of this is in the Matrix, where Neo has to come to believe that he is The One, but that was just ripping off countless hero-with-a-thousand-faces narratives, from Star Wars to any episode of Oprah.

But one of the most underrated aspects of self-discovery is the way it forces us to come to grips with our limitations. We are biological and psychological beings, and part of growing up is coming to grips with the limits of our capacities, and yes, even our weaknesses. Part of courage is knowing yourself.

Here’s the footage of Christian Hernandez, shortly after taking the red pill:

'This ranks right up there with the ugly'

By Aaron Wherry - Wednesday, June 16, 2010 at 10:26 AM - 21 Comments

Former cabinet minister and outgoing Conservative MP Greg Thompson busts his own side.

New Brunswick MP Greg Thompson is accusing fellow Conservative Keith Ashfield of putting politics before the needs of the people in his new position as regional minister for the province…

Thompson is incensed at an email he obtained earlier this month, written by Fred Nott, Ashfield’s chief of staff, concerning the status of an infrastructure application in St. George, part of Thompson’s New Brunswick Southwest riding. The application under the Building Canada Fund is for federal funding for a subdivision and civic infrastructure in the village of St. George. ”My opinion, put everything on hold in that riding until there is a nominated federal candidate, and preferably until after Sept. 27,” the email from Nott states.

A date for a nomination meeting to pick a Conservative candidate in New Brunswick Southwest has not been set. Sept. 27 is the date of the provincial election.

On the Gores’ breakup, the Clintons’ survival, and the marital toll of a lost election

By Kate Fillion - Wednesday, June 16, 2010 at 10:00 AM - 2 Comments

Yoray Liberman/Getty Images

A professor of history at McGill and a visiting scholar affiliated with the Bipartisan Policy Center in Washington, Gil Troy is the author of several books on the U.S. presidency, including an examination of Hillary Clinton’s tenure as first lady and Mr. and Mrs. President, a study of presidential marriages in the modern era. Continue…

A House of outsiders and idealists

By Aaron Wherry - Wednesday, June 16, 2010 at 9:20 AM - 20 Comments

As noted variously elsewhere, Samara has released the first of its reports on the lives of MPs, research drawn from interviews with 65 former Members of Parliament. Among the initial findings: an interesting assertion of outsider status.

Perhaps more powerful than their stated motivations was the way so many of the MPs described himself or herself as an outsider. This was not an explicit question in our interview, but nevertheless emerged as a proactively-volunteered self-description the MPs expressed in a variety of ways. Sometimes it played out in their decision to pursue politics, and sometimes it was made as part of a broader point.

This is the opposite of what a traditional public perception of politicians as consummate insiders would have suggested.

There are all sorts of specific explanations for this, which the report reviews. There are also, from the MP testimonials, obviously impassioned claims to idealism and principle. Those motivations may or may not be related, but to apply those ideas to Ottawa—to attempt to explain Ottawa as a result of those forces—leads to all sorts of fascinating questions about why this place is the way it is.

The Commons: United in mutual disdain

By Aaron Wherry - Tuesday, June 15, 2010 at 6:14 PM - 116 Comments

The Scene. Bob Rae stood and posited one account of reality. The Prime Minister rose and put forward another understanding entirely.

“Mr. Speaker,” Mr. Harper said, “the statements made by the member are quite false.”

“Mr. Speaker,” Mr. Rae replied, “let me return the favour to the Prime Minister and say those comments are also totally false.”

“Mr. Speaker,” Mr. Harper concluded, “once again, the statements by the individual are completely false.”

Attempting to break the tie, Mark Holland rose from the near corner of the Liberal side to enunciate the indictment. “Mr. Speaker, the eyes of the world are on South Africa as it hosts the World Cup of Soccer. It is hosting nearly 400,000 people including world leaders for a full month at a security cost that is $700 million cheaper than 72 hours of private fake lake summit meetings,” he testified. “At 500% more than the last summit Canada hosted in 2002, everyone knows these costs are crazy. How can Conservatives say the do not have money for real priorities, priorities like prison farms or EI for cancer patients, when they have a billion dollars for this kind of waste?”

Looking somewhat aghast that he would even be called upon to respond to such stuff, Lawrence Cannon stood and attempted to plead reasonableness. Undeterred, Mr. Holland returned to pronounce scorn on the government’s gazebos. Across the way, Tony Clement, the minister with responsibility for outdoor landscaping, shook his head indignantly.

Luckily, a point of some agreement would soon emerge. Continue…

The Dewar doctrine

By Aaron Wherry - Tuesday, June 15, 2010 at 4:28 PM - 34 Comments

Amid all else this day, the NDP’s Paul Dewar convened a news conference to outline his side’s hopes for the upcoming G8 and G20 summits, including more action on foreign aid and development assistance, measures to eliminate tax havens, a renewed focus on climate change, greater inclusion of Africa in the G20, an end to oil and gas subsidies, and the creation of a global recovery fund.

Sorry Liz

By Martin Patriquin - Tuesday, June 15, 2010 at 3:50 PM - 53 Comments

Sad news for Royal watchers and scone producers alike: the Queen ain’t setting foot in Quebec in her whirlwind tour of the colony. Pity that, this being the oldest continuously monarchical territory in North America.

A Canadian Heritage spokesthingy told La Presse that Her Majesty’s wee skip over Quebec has nothing to do with the brou-hahahahaha that erupted when Prince Charles visited last time. (Charlie, you’ll remember, was forced to use a service entrance at the Black Watch regimental hall when confronted by a roving band of angry séparatistes. Egads!) I’m positive this is true. As a good royal subject, I always take Canadian Heritage at its word.

Nor does it doesn’t have anything to do with what happened when Liz set foot in Quebec way back in 1964, I’m sure. Perish the thought.

Update on Rights and Democracy Access-to-Information Request

By Michael Petrou - Tuesday, June 15, 2010 at 3:31 PM - 39 Comments

Last November, I made an access-to-information request to the Privy Council Office asking to see a performance evaluation report on the now deceased former president of Rights and Democracy, Remy Beauregard.

The PCO initially said no such report could be found in its records. Then, when David Matas, a Rights and Democracy board member, confirmed the report’s existence on national television and said it had been released to the PCO, Ann Wesch, director of access to information and privacy at the PCO, told me my request had not been “tasked out properly.”

That was in February. More delays followed, but this morning I received the PCO’s response:

“We have now completed the processing of your request and it has been determined that the information you requested may not be disclosed. The information has been withheld pursuant to subsection 19 (1) (personal information) of the Act.”

Armed U.S. man arrested for “hunting” Bin Laden

By macleans.ca - Tuesday, June 15, 2010 at 1:40 PM - 0 Comments

A 52-year-old American man who was arrested in Pakistan on Monday carrying a 40-inch sword, a pistol and night-vision goggles told authorities he was out to kill al-Qaeda leader Osama Bin Laden to avenge the victims of the 9/11 terrorist attacks. Gary Brooks Faulkner of California was captured by police in the Bumburat Valley, near the border of Afghanistan’s Nuristan province, after slipping past the police guard posted in front of his hotel on Sunday night. After a 10-hour hunt, Faulkner was found in a high-security zone near the border carrying a 40-inch sword, a round of bullets and Christian religious books. Faulkner arrived in the northwestern town of Chitral on June 3 on a tourist visa, and police say this was his third trip to the area in the past five years. He surrendered without any resistance and was flown to Peshawar for further interrogation.

Wall Street Journal

Rufus Wainwright's opera opens to mixed reviews

By macleans.ca - Tuesday, June 15, 2010 at 1:37 PM - 2 Comments

Rufus Wainwright’s first opera, Prima Donna, made its North American debut at Luminato last night. And as the reviews tumbled in, they were as mixed as last year’s reaction to the opera’s European debut at the Manchester International Festival. A Toronto Star critic called the staging a “dramatic wreck,” adding that “you can’t get a Louis Vuitton clutch from a Loblaws grocery bag.” The Baltimore Sun’s critic wrote “it’s a valiant effort, to be sure, and Wainwright should try another.” The Globe, meanwhile, asserted that while the director and cast soar, the orchestra falls short. Still, it concedes “Wainwright has deftly made a virtue of his outsider status in the world of contemporary opera.”

The Toronto Star

The Baltimore Sun

The Globe and Mail

The Ignatieff doctrine

By Aaron Wherry - Tuesday, June 15, 2010 at 1:30 PM - 108 Comments

The Liberal leader is presently outlining his foreign policy in a speech to a Toronto audience. Simultaneously the Liberals have released a policy paper outlining the vision and various tangible proposals: emphasis on China, India and Africa, a post-combat training role for Canada in Afghanistan, a special envoy to the region, an overarching emphasis on empowering women in the developing world, a Canada Youth Service program, a new ambassador for circumpolar affairs, a permanent G20 secretariat, global scholarships for student from lower and middle income countries to study in Canada and a Branding Canada initiative.

Much of it links back to a notion of networked governance that Mr. Ignatieff mused on in Montreal.

Founding member of BTO charged with sexually assaulting child

By macleans.ca - Tuesday, June 15, 2010 at 1:26 PM - 3 Comments

Guitarist Timothy Gregg Bachman appeared in court Monday on charges of sexual interference with a person under 14, touching a young person for a sexual purpose, and sexual assault. The charges relate to incidents that allegedly began in 2000 when the complainant was just 11 years old. Bachman, 58, was one of three brothers who founded the blockbuster band Bachman-Turner Overdrive, famous for their hit Takin’ Care of Business. Bachman toured with the band off and on before settling into a career as a realtor in 1991.

Abbotsford News

UK government releases "Bloody Sunday" report

By macleans.ca - Tuesday, June 15, 2010 at 1:01 PM - 2 Comments

A 5,000 page report on the “Bloody Sunday” deaths of 13 men in Northern Ireland was released Tuesday after a decade-long investigation. The Saville Report looks at the January 30, 1972 killings of Catholic demonstrators by British soldiers, which still ranks as Northern Ireland’s largest mass killing by UK troops. Al Jazeera reports that the release of this document—the result of an initiative by the former British Prime Minister Tony Blair to respond to pressure from victims’ families—will conclude the most costly probe in UK legal history (about $285 million). Mickey McKinney, a brother of one of the victims, said the British army and government must be held accountable: “We want the truth—a declaration of innocence and a recommendation that those responsible are prosecuted.”

Al Jazeera English

Guardian

Two dead, dozens jailed for watching World Cup

By macleans.ca - Tuesday, June 15, 2010 at 12:48 PM - 5 Comments

Masked gunmen shot and killed two people and detained ten others on Saturday during a raid of a house in a neighborhood of Mogadishu, Somalia, where a group was watching the World Cup. A member of one Islamist group later said the watching of the World Cup is anti-Islamic, CNN reports. Eyewitness Aisha Abdi said the militants “stormed into the house” and fired upon the World Cup watchers, and suspects the Islamist group al-Shabaab. However, neither al-Shabaab nor the militant group Hizbul Islam have claimed responsibility. The latter group has detained some 30 World Cup fans in Afgoye, an agricultural town 30 km south of Mogadishu. night. Spokesman Sheikh Mohamed Abdi Aros told the press, “football is an inheritance from the primitive infidels… and we are directing a final warning to those who want to watch it.”

CNN International

Human brain distorts body image, experts say

By macleans.ca - Tuesday, June 15, 2010 at 12:25 PM - 1 Comment

People tend to think that their hands are wider, and fingers shorter, than they actually are, which could be related to how the brain receives information from different parts of the body, scientists from the University of College London report. This distorted perception could lead to body image problems in some people, the BBC reports. “These findings may well be relevant to psychiatric conditions involving body image such as anorexia nervosa, as there may be a general bias towards perceiving the body to be wider than it is,” said lead researcher Dr. Matthew Longo. “Our results show dramatic distortions of hand shape, which were highly consistent across participants.” In the study, volunteers put their left hands palm down under a board and were asked to judge where their covered knuckles and fingers were, using a pointer. Subconscious distortions meant they thought their hands were wider, and fingers shorter, than they were.

BBC News

White rice raises diabetes risk: study

By macleans.ca - Tuesday, June 15, 2010 at 12:19 PM - 2 Comments

In a study of almost 200,000 people in the U.S., white rice consumption was linked to type 2 diabetes, researchers from Harvard University report in the Archives of Internal Medicine. According to them, brown rice and wholegrain foods release glucose more gradually, making them a better choice that white rice, which can cause a spike in blood sugar. In the study, people who ate five or more 150 g servings of white rice per week had a 17 per cent increased risk of diabetes compared to those who consumed less than one per month. Eating brown rice seemed to actually cut the risk for type 2 diabetes, the BBC reports, with people who ate two or more servings of it per week showing an 11 per cent reduced risk compared to those who ate less than one serving a month.

BBC News

Compromise Tuesday

By Aaron Wherry - Tuesday, June 15, 2010 at 12:12 PM - 9 Comments

Meanwhile, MPs have agreed to let Auditor General Sheila Fraser have a look at the books.

“The Board of Internal Economy has decided to invite my office to conduct a performance audit of the administration of the House of Commons,” Fraser said, adding the invitation was accepted. “Our objective is to determine whether the house has sound management processes and key administrative systems and practices.”

“Some specific expenses incurred by MPs will be included as part of the examination.” However, Fraser said the audit will not look at “the management of individual members’ offices nor the merits of individuals’ transactions.”

Below, Duff Conacher of Democracy Watch dissents.

Google to launch music store in fall

By macleans.ca - Tuesday, June 15, 2010 at 12:04 PM - 0 Comments

Google is steadily edging into Apple’s music domain. Industry sources are reporting that Google is building its own music service that offers song downloads and streaming music. The service is expected to launch as early as fall. While Google had already hinted that it was planning on expanding into music to complement features of its Android phone, its plans appear to be even bigger and a Google music store is reportedly in the works. Music insiders say that Google has been in talks with chief music executives including Sony and Universal. Ultimately however, the web giant’s strength lies within its streaming music assets including YouTube’s audience and Simplify Media’s cloud-based technology.

CNET

World cup security guards walk out

By macleans.ca - Tuesday, June 15, 2010 at 11:57 AM - 0 Comments

Around 1,000 police officers guarded the Italy vs. Paraguay game in Capetown at the FIFA World Cup on Monday following a pay strike by security stewards. The stewards, who have received 190 ran (US $25), claim that they were told they would be paid more for their work. World Cup chief Danny Jordaan has condemned the protests, saying it’s “unacceptable” for the stewards to disrupt the games. Today, security is being handled by police and non-striking stewards.

BBC News

World cup security stewards walk out

By macleans.ca - Tuesday, June 15, 2010 at 11:42 AM - 0 Comments

1,000 police officers were at the Italy and Paraguay game yesterday following a riot in Durban, South Africa, caused by security stewards who were protesting over pay at FIFA World Cup. The stewards, who have received 190 ran (US $25), claim that they were told they would be paid more for their work. World Cup chief Danny Jordaan has condemned the protests, saying it’s “unacceptable” for the stewards to disrupt the games. Today, security is being handled by police and non-striking stewards.

BBC News

Porter Plans To Operate Full Flight Sched During G20

By Takeoffeh.com - Tuesday, June 15, 2010 at 11:26 AM - 2 Comments

Porter Airlines is confirming that it will operate a full flight schedule during the G20 Summit meetings scheduled for June 26th and 27th, in Toronto.  At the same time, it is possible that some delays may be experienced due to special security measures being implemented downtown.

Peak summit related activities will occur between Friday, June 25th and Sunday, June 27th as well as the time leading up to the summit from Monday June 21st to Thursday June 24th, may affect aspects of travel for passengers arriving to or departing from Toronto.

Road closures will prevent Porter’s shuttle bus from operating on certain days. Porter has decidedto suspend their complimentary shuttle service as part of security and safety plans starting Monday, June 21st, through Sunday, June 27th. Regular shuttle service resumes Monday, June 28.

Public transit may be the best option. Union Station and public transit are to continue operating. A streetcar stop is located one short block from the airport at Bathurst St. and Queen’s Quay.

On the ground, passengers should allow more time than usual for getting to and departing from Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport.  Some delays and detours are to be expected when navigating the city. Movement will be highly restricted within designated downtown areas that are typically accessible, particularly beginning Friday, June 25th.

The airport ferry service will operate on its normal schedule.

“Our main objective is to give people as much information as possible about Porter’s plan for operating during the G20, so that they can make informed travel decisions,” said Robert Deluce, President and CEO of Porter Airlines.  “Everyone recognizes this is an extraordinary event and new information may cause some plans to be adjusted.  We’ll do our best to make sure our passengers have the best information as soon as possible.

Passengers can keep track of their flight status at www.flyporter.com. And, if travel plans are altered due to the summit, a credit can be issued or itinerary changes made for no cost. This can be arranged by contacting the Call Centre, (888) 619-8622, which is open Monday to Friday, 5:30 a.m. to 11 p.m. ET, and Saturday to Sunday, 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. ET.

Passengers are also encouraged to keep up to date through media reports and websites, such as G20 Summit – http://g20.gc.ca/home/.

Brave new world

By Aaron Wherry - Tuesday, June 15, 2010 at 11:04 AM - 43 Comments

The Czech Republic is expected to soon be ruled by a coalition of “losers.” Slovakia seems likely to follow. Belgium’s next government may well be a coalition that includes a separatist party. The Netherlands faces a number of coalition options, one of them rather controversial. Britain’s coalition prepares a tough new budget. Germany’s coalition teeters on the edge.

A deal is done, sort of

By macleans.ca - Tuesday, June 15, 2010 at 10:59 AM - 5 Comments

Negotiations on the release of Afghan detainee documents have finally concluded with a deal, but with only the agreement of three parties. The NDP, unhappy with certain facets of the proposed agreement, walked out of negotiations this morning. The Conservatives, Liberals and Bloc Quebecois are apparently prepared to move forward their arrangement.

Winnipeg Free Press