Michael Ignatieff: Oakville and everything after

By Aaron Wherry - Saturday, July 31, 2010 at 6:16 PM - 0 Comments

About a half hour into an event in a courtyard in downtown Oakville, a middle-aged woman fainted. A doctor in the crowd stepped forward to attend and an ambulance was called. She was out for a minute, then opened her eyes. Michael Ignatieff who had been shaking hands and posing for pictures, came over to check on the woman, holding her hand for a bit, then comforting her husband. The paramedics put a brace around her neck, then lifted her onto a backboard and carried her away.

After the ambulance had departed, Mr. Ignatieff was introduced by the local candidate and took the microphone. He spoke of the woman and the paramedics and turned the moment into an example of public service and compassionate government and then proceeded with easily the most impassioned call to arms of these three days—his tone turning nearly to a yell, periodically sounding something like a growl. Continue…

DND computers used to vandalize Wikipedia entry on fighter jets

By macleans.ca - Saturday, July 31, 2010 at 10:38 AM - 0 Comments

The rhetorical battle over Wikipedia’s entry on the Joint Strike Fighter (JSF)—and the Conservative government’s plan to spend $16 billion on the new stealth jet—is centered CFB Cold Lake, Alta., according to a report in the Ottawa Citizen. Users of the online encyclopedia have repeatedly vandalized the page about the JSF, removing criticism of the government’s purchase of the jets and inserting digs aimed at Liberal leader Michael Ignatieff. But it appears the vandals aren’t simply disinterested observers: the computers used to alter the entry were on a Defence Department network and the Citizen has traced them back to the Alberta base that’s expected to be a major centre for the JSF. A spokesperson for the Defence Department says an investigation into the incident is underway.

Ottawa Citizen

Conrad Black on life in the "bondage of the U.S. government"

By macleans.ca - Saturday, July 31, 2010 at 10:21 AM - 0 Comments

In his first dispatch to the media since leaving a Florida prison, Conrad Black describes the more than two years he spent in the “bondage of the U.S. government” as “an interesting experience.” ”Of course, I was glad, jubilant, to leave, (though a return is not an impossible result of the pending rehearing),” the former press baron writes of the day of his departure in Saturday’s National Post, “but also grateful for many of the relationships I had formed; enlightened by my observation of American justice on the other side of the wall; and happy to have got on well in an environment very foreign to any I had known before.” But along with the reminiscences of his time behind bars, Black mixes in some damning indictments of U.S. justice. The prison system, Black contends, is home to an “ostracized, voiceless legion of the walking dead,” many of whom have been “grossly over-sentenced” as a result of ”the failure of the U.S. War on Drugs.” And the public defenders paid to represent them, “it is universally and plausibly alleged, are more often than not stooges of the prosecutors.” It’s well worth the read.

National Post

The minister who cried 'Russian!'

By Aaron Wherry - Saturday, July 31, 2010 at 9:23 AM - 0 Comments

Peter MacKay, yesterday. Defence Minister Peter MacKay was outraged at the allegation that his government is using a crisis to further its political interests. “I find it astounding there could be any suggestion that we would manufacture Russians approaching our airspace. That’s bordering on ludicrous,” he said.

David Pugliese, 18 months ago. The military officers I was talking to yesterday were full of kudos for Defence Minister Peter MacKay for a move that one described as “playing the media like a finely-tuned fiddle.” The officer was referring to the breathless Canadian news media coverage of the flight of two Russian bombers that were “intercepted” by Canadian CF-18s … Yesterday’s incident prompted some amusement at NDHQ about how gullible some in  the news media can be and how easily some journalists swallowed the government’s bait hook, line and sinker.

The nation's people remain more serious than the nation's newspaper editors

By Aaron Wherry - Friday, July 30, 2010 at 5:17 PM - 0 Comments

Mr. Ignatieff took ten questions from the room during his visit to the old Merritton town hall this afternoon. Two pertained to climate change, two to federal infrastructure spending. Government procurement, a proposed trade agreement with Korea, possible civil liberties abuses during the G20 summit in Canada, the census, long-term care for the elderly and child care were covered by the other six queries.

Borges, Journalism, Wikileaks

By Andrew Potter - Friday, July 30, 2010 at 3:01 PM - 0 Comments

Nick Rowe and I were both thinking about Borges’ Library of Babel the other day, though for different reasons (I think). For Nick it was part of another of his fun posts that start from way beyond leftfield and end up nice and close to home. I was trying to figure out something helpful and original to say about Wikileaks and what it means for journalism. This is where I’m at: Continue…

Vince Li granted walks around unfenced mental health facility

By macleans.ca - Friday, July 30, 2010 at 2:56 PM - 0 Comments

Vince Li, the man behind the grisly bus beheading in Manitoba in 2008, has been granted escorted walks around the unfenced grounds of the Selkirk Mental Health Centre, a Winnipeg-area mental health facility. The Conservative opposition Progressive has suggested the government transfer Li, who was found criminally responsible for stabbing and decapitating Tim McLean on a Greyhound bus exactly two years ago, to a fenced-in facility before taking any chances. But Manitoba Attorney General Andrew Swan rejected the idea, pointing out decisions about Li’s custody are not made by the province, but by the Criminal Code Review Board, an independent body that operates under federal guidelines.

CBC News

Say no evil

By macleans.ca - Friday, July 30, 2010 at 2:00 PM - 0 Comments

Leah Henderson and Alex Hundert might be going back to jail. Their purported crime: speaking to the news media. Ontario Provincial Police released the two anarchists on bail July 19, following their arrest before the G20 summit in Toronto. Since then, the pair have made several “public statements” that the OPP claims are breaches of their bail conditions. Curiously, the police force wouldn’t specify which of their statements were verboten, and claims Henderson and Hundert have every right to speak to the media. “Speaking to the media, speaking in public is not an offence,” said an OPP official.

Montreal Gazette

One more for the list

By Aaron Wherry - Friday, July 30, 2010 at 1:57 PM - 0 Comments

The Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops wants the mandatory long-form census reinstated.

On the run

By Aaron Wherry - Friday, July 30, 2010 at 1:51 PM - 0 Comments

At twenty to eight, he was flipping burgers on the roof of a TV studio for the local morning show.

Two hours later, he was standing in the parking lot of a coffee shop in suburban Burlington, shaking hands, posing for pictures, signing autographs. He delivered another version of the same speech, praised the local candidate, called on the faithful and then went inside to buy four boxes of muffins for the travelling party.

Another hour and he was in Stoney Creek, speaking under a white tent set up outside the ice cream shop. He delivered another version of the same speech, praised the local candidate, called on the faithful and was outfitted in the jersey of the local football team. Then he went inside to serve butterscotch ripple, heavenly hash and mint chocolate chip to a winding line of eager supporters.

At present, he’s getting a tour of the Welland canal, the local candidate seemed a fount of fun facts about the structure as he expounded on the need for a special historical designation.

He’s on his way back to the bus now so that he can be at a seniors centre in 15 minutes to participate in a town hall. Then it’s to Niagara Falls for a barbeque at the Italian club.

Is knowledge important?

By Aaron Wherry - Friday, July 30, 2010 at 1:29 PM - 0 Comments

Alex Himelfarb considers the census debate at some length.

But even those who might be sympathetic to the cries for less government will want whatever government is left standing to work well and efficiently and surely we can all agree that, in a democracy, we must be able to hold our governments accountable for what they choose to do or not to do, for how they spend and for how they cut.  Any government policy – more government, less government, different government – needs to be tested against its consequences for the country and its citizens and, for this, we need reliable data.

Churchill’s false teeth sell for $24,600

By macleans.ca - Friday, July 30, 2010 at 12:39 PM - 0 Comments

Winston Churchill’s upper dentures were sold to a collector for $24,600 at auction Thursday. The false teeth were designed to fit loosely, helping Churchill maintain his particular accent, which was marked by a slight lisp. The prime minister’s weekly radio addresses are believed to have contributed to Britain’s resolve during the dark days of World War Two. As such, historian Jane Hughes of London’s Hunterian Museum has called them “the teeth that saved the world.” Churchill’s lower dentures are believed to be buried with him.

Sydney Morning Herald

Alberta researchers re-grow brain cells in rats

By macleans.ca - Friday, July 30, 2010 at 12:39 PM - 0 Comments

Researchers in Alberta have successfully re-grown dead brain cells in rats. It’s hoped the research may eventually help Alzheimer’s patients regain their ability to remember. The researchers killed off brain cells associated with memory and then used neural stem cells to re-grow them. After six weeks of memory exercises, the mice who had re-grown brain cells did as well on memory tests as the control groups. The researchers then counted the cells to confirm the re-growth. Dr. Robert Sutherland, the 50-something researcher who led the project at the University of Lethbridge, told the Calgary Herald he expects the research will be applied to humans before he retires. The project built on research from the University of Calgary, where neural stem cells in mammals were first discovered in the 1990s.

Calgary Herald

Georgian economy minister’s racy nightclub photo sparks controversy

By macleans.ca - Friday, July 30, 2010 at 12:38 PM - 0 Comments

Just weeks after Vera Kobalia was appointed to be Georgia’s economic minister by President Mikheil Saakashvili, a racy photograph of the 28-year-old, said to be taken at a Vancouver strip club, is sparking an international media furore. Kobalia, who is Georgian but lived in B.C., denies claims the photo was taken at a strip club, saying it was actually taken in Florida. But now, in addition to the risqué picture, Kobalia has also been accused of doctoring her resume. Though she claimed to have worked as a television producer in Vancouver for Global TV and CBC, The Vancouver Sun dug into her work experience and found an apparent discrepancy in her official biography: no one at the Global TV newsroom could recall her name, and Global’s Human Resources department says there is no record of Kobalia ever having been on the payroll. In response to the accusation, Kobalia has accused the Sun of being a Russian propaganda unit controlled by the Kremlin.

Vancouver Sun

Canadian jets repel Russian airspace probe

By macleans.ca - Friday, July 30, 2010 at 11:57 AM - 0 Comments

Two Canadian fighter jets raced to repel Russian bombers that made several attempts to probe Canadian airspace on Wednesday. The CF-18s took off from CFB Bagotville to intercept two TU-95 long-range bombers about 463 km east of Goose Bay, N.L. Attempts by Russia to test Canadian airspace have been going on sine 2007, and have increased in frequency since then. Defence Minister Peter MacKay said the Russians didn’t give Canada any advance notice of the probe, but stressed that although the planes did not enter Canada’s sovereign airspace, the bombers did come inside the 300 nautical mile zone that Canada claims. The TU-95 bomber is capable of carrying nuclear weapons and may have been loaded with warheads on this trip. MacKay said the government wasn’t aware what, if any, weapons were on board. Canada is in a race with Russia and other Arctic nations to lay claim to the frozen territory that may hold untold treasures.

QMI

Review finds Newfoundland’s largest medical lab lacking

By macleans.ca - Friday, July 30, 2010 at 11:34 AM - 0 Comments

Newfoundland and Labrador’s biggest medical laboratories are in shambles, according to an external review conducted by Ontario’s University Health Network. The reviewers found “a lack of expertise in complex areas of testing,” plus low morale, suspicion, and distrust among staff. The review was prompted when doctors suspected Eastern Health’s labs were routinely underestimating the blood levels of a drug used after organ donations. The doctors were correct. A separate judicial inquiry into Eastern Health’s labs last year found that “practically non-existent” quality controls had failed hundreds of breast cancer patients between 1997 and 2005. Recommendations from the latest review include consolidating all testing at the hospital in St. John’s and recruiting staff with more expertise in several key areas.

CBC News

Mexican drug kingpin shot dead

By macleans.ca - Friday, July 30, 2010 at 11:29 AM - 0 Comments

The kingpin of a Mexican drug cartel was shot dead yesterday by the Mexican army during a raid of his home in Guadalajara, Mexico. Ignacio ‘Nacho’ Coronel Villareal was allegedly behind a multi-billion-dollar methamphetamine production operation  and was one of three men identified as leaders of the Sinaloa cartel, one of the five main crime rings engaged in a turf war in Mexico. “This is without doubt the most spectacular blow against drug traffickers yet for President Calderón,” a Mexican analyst told The Guardian. “His power and his contacts extended across 10 countries in three continents.”

The Guardian

Tokyo’s “oldest man” actually dead for 30 years

By macleans.ca - Friday, July 30, 2010 at 11:21 AM - 0 Comments

A man listed as the oldest living male in Tokyo actually died 30 years ago, Japanese welfare officials said after they found the man mummified in his bed. Police visited the home of Sogen Kato at the request of ward officials updating their list of centenarians ahead of Respect for the Elderly Day in September. They found the mummified body believed to be Kato lying in his bed, wearing underwear and pajamas, covered with a blanket. Japanese welfare officials had tried to meet Kato since earlier this year, but his family members repeatedly chased them away. Kato was born July 22, 1899, which would have made him 111. Tokyo police are investigating possible crimes on suspicion Kato’s family received pension money of the man and his dead wife.

The Telegraph

Joint Syrian-Saudi visit to Lebanon to discuss tribunal

By macleans.ca - Friday, July 30, 2010 at 11:19 AM - 0 Comments

President Bashar al-Assad of Syria and King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia will meet in Beirut today in a bid to diffuse tensions over the possible indictment of Hezbollah members in connection with the death of Rafik Hairi. Hezbollah, a militant Shiite Muslim group, is Syria’s main ally in Lebanese politics. Relations between the two countries have slowly improved since the 2005 bombing by Syrian troops that killed Hariri, though Hezbollah leader Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah has criticized the UN tribunal behind the investigation, raising fears of sectarian violence between the Shia and Sunni communities in Lebanon. Assad and King Abdullah are to meet with Lebanon’s leaders, President Michel Suleiman and Prime Minister Saad Hariri. This is Assad’s first visit in five years and points to the increasingly influential roll of Syria in Lebanese politics.

New York Times

BBC News

Robert Pickton will not get a new trial

By macleans.ca - Friday, July 30, 2010 at 11:09 AM - 0 Comments

The Supreme Court of Canada has ruled unanimously that Robert William Pickton is not eligible to get a new trial for murdering six women in British Columbia. The former pig farmer was sentenced to life in prison with no chance of parole for at least 25 years after being found guilty of six counts of second-degree murder in December 2007. Before delivering the verdict, jurors had asked the judge whether they could convict Pickton without being certain he was the only person involved in killing the six women. The court said it was sufficient to find Pickton was an active participant, but Pickton’s lawyers said the judge’s last-minute instruction to the jury robbed their client of a fair trial. Today, the top court ruled Pickton would not get a new trial because the case was not about whether Pickton had a minor role in the killing of the victims but about whether he had killed them. The court stated: “No miscarriage of justice was occasioned in this trial.”

CBC

Canadian gets four years on Iran nuke charges

By macleans.ca - Friday, July 30, 2010 at 11:03 AM - 0 Comments

Mahmoud Yadegari, the Toronto man caught trying to send embargoed nuclear equipment to Iran, has been sentenced to four years and three months in prison. Yadegari, 37, is the first Canadian convicted under the Nuclear Safety Act, as well as special regulations under the United Nations Act intended to stop Iran from getting the Bomb. RMCP, prosecutors and border services officials were pleased with the sentence, saying it sends a strong message to the burgeoning network of agents attempting to make money by supplying Iran’s nuclear program. Yadegari had purchased a shipment of 10 pressure transducers—a high-pressure gauge that can be used in centrifuges that enrich uranium—from the Canadian distributor of a Massachusetts-based company and tried to send two of them to Iran, via the United Arab Emirates. In doing so, he breached international covenants, along with a host of domestic export rules. The question now is whether Yadegari will face prosecution in the United States, where he made similar attempts to acquire the devices, in some cases lying about their end user and using fake documentation.

Toronto Star

Maclean’s

Maclean’s

Mandatory reading on the volunteer census

By Martin Patriquin - Friday, July 30, 2010 at 9:26 AM - 0 Comments

Anthony Philbin and I share a coffee shop in St-Henri. His blog, ‘Canadian PM in Waiting’ plays on the fact that, if Stephen Harper ever needed a Saddam-style body double to take a few pies/shoes/bullets for him, Philbin would be a shoe in (ha!). The doppelgänger-ness is downright freaky, right down to the ice blue eyes and mildly uncomfortable smile.

Mind you, after reading this, I doubt Philbin would be interested. Or Harper, for that matter.

By getting rid of the mandatory, long form census and replacing it with a voluntary alternative, conservatives like Stephen Harper are confident that they will be able to leverage the right’s higher degree of volunteerism and political engagement and thereby begin the process of skewing census results to reflect the right’s minority political positions and social attitudes.

Read the whole post here.

I have a question about Inception (Spoilers)

By Andrew Potter - Friday, July 30, 2010 at 9:23 AM - 0 Comments

How come when Mal is Continue…

Your dad at a wedding

By Aaron Wherry - Friday, July 30, 2010 at 9:03 AM - 0 Comments

And now there is this video (which the Liberals themselves have made available to the world).