Conrad Black’s appeal to be heard September 29

By macleans.ca - Friday, August 27, 2010 at 11:51 AM - 0 Comments

On September 29, a three-judge panel will hear Conrad Black’s appeal of his 2007 convictions on three counts of fraud. The U.S. Supreme Court recently narrowed the scope of “honest services” provisions, saying the rules should only apply to bribes or kickbacks. The broad interpretation of honest services guarantees convinced a Chicago jury they were justified in convicting the media baron. Black recently dropped his request to return to Canada, but will be free to return after next month’s court date if he wins his appeal.

CBC News

People like it

By Aaron Wherry - Friday, August 27, 2010 at 11:46 AM - 0 Comments

From the Globe’s epic profile of Jim Flaherty, the Finance Minister explains why cutting the GST was a good idea.

Flaherty is unrepentant about the GST cut. Over the G20 weekend, he says, he had a spirited debate with his British counterpart over the issue of consumption taxes. George Osborne, a Conservative, had just laid out plans to raise Britain’s version of the GST as part of the new government’s program to narrow a massive budget deficit. “I know the argument about consumption taxes,” says Flaherty. But what economists fail to take into account, he says, is the psychological value in cutting a highly visible levy. “There is something else that goes on too, and that is, middle-class people don’t believe that governments reduce their taxes,” Flaherty says. “But if you do it on a consumption tax, people see it. That, in part, restores faith in government. Taxes don’t always go up, they can go down, and they see it every time they buy something.”

Baby tiger found stuffed in bag at Bangkok airport

By macleans.ca - Friday, August 27, 2010 at 11:43 AM - 0 Comments

Security workers at Bangkok’s airport found a live 2-month-old tiger cub hidden in a suitcase of stuffed toys in a bag destined for Iran. A 31-year-old Thai woman had checked the oversized bag and said she knew nothing of the live cargo. A DNA sample will be analyzed to determine if the tiger was born in the wild or captivity, in order to aid police with their investigation.

CNN

Prince Charles goes “carbon negative”

By macleans.ca - Friday, August 27, 2010 at 11:22 AM - 0 Comments

The Prince of Wales has won permission to install 32 solar panels on the roof of Clarence House, his listed London residence. The photovaltic panels are expected to produce 4,000 kilowatt hours of electricity. It is the latest in a series of efforts to make his household “carbon negative”—meaning it generates more energy than it uses. Already the home, formerly occupied by his grandmother Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother, has high efficiency boilers. He’s even taken his carbon campaign into the garage. His Jaguar and Land Rover run on biodiesel derived from used cooking oil while his classic Aston Martin runs on bioethanol fuel made from surplus British wine. There was no objection to his latest green scheme since the roof is surrounded by high parapets which will make the panels invisible from the ground.

The Telegraph

Bye-bye fido?

By macleans.ca - Friday, August 27, 2010 at 11:07 AM - 0 Comments

Iran’s religious leaders want to stamp out the increasingly fashionable practice of keeping dogs as pets, citing Islamic tradition that brands man’s best friend as “unclean.” So they have banned all advertising of pets, pet food and pet products. Grand Ayatollah Nasser Makarem Shirazi pronounced that that dog owners were “blindly imitating the West” and that “many people in the West love their dogs more than their wives and children.” This love of pets would result in “evil outcomes,” though keeping animals as guard dogs is fine. And not all animals are a target of Tehran. Since the Prophet Muhammad owned a pet cat, named Muezza, Iranians are free to live with cats and they must treat them well.

The Telegraph

Everybody already knows

By Aaron Wherry - Friday, August 27, 2010 at 10:21 AM - 0 Comments

Conservative MP Candice Hoeppner reacts to an internal RCMP audit that found favourably of the firearms registry.

“I don’t believe any of these reports make any difference whatsoever,” said Ms. Hoeppner. “It’s been years of mismanagement and waste and there’s not going to be a report that changes our minds.”

What impact should the RCMP's report on the Canadian Firearms Program have on the government's desire to end the long-gun registry?

By macleans.ca - Friday, August 27, 2010 at 9:31 AM - 0 Comments

Who loves Iran?

By Michael Petrou - Friday, August 27, 2010 at 9:00 AM - 0 Comments

ATTA KENARE/AFP/Getty Images

Canadian invitees to conferences hosted by the Iranian government this spring and summer, aimed at burnishing the country’s image, included a former candidate for the Green Party of Canada and Ontario, as well as a University of Alberta professor.

On Aug. 2 and 3, more than 1,000 Iranian expatriates were welcomed by President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to the “Grand Conference of Iranians Living Abroad” in Tehran. Successful and well-placed Iranians were identified by Iranian embassies, and then offered an all-expenses-paid trip to the conference, with a side trip to a tourist destination. Organizer Mohammad Sharif Malekzadeh said expats are exposed to negative images about Iran because of “lying media organizations outside the country.” The conference would correct this misconception. But according to Potkin Azarmehr, an Iranian blogger based in London, its purpose was to demoralize Iranians “by hiring and bribing a mish-mash of sycophants and turncoats, to say to the Iranian people, despite all their suffering and sacrifices, Ahmadinejad’s administration and not them enjoy widespread support outside Iran.”

Continue…

Ottawa police to hold talks with Muslim leaders

By macleans.ca - Thursday, August 26, 2010 at 6:00 PM - 0 Comments

Prominent members of Ottawa’s Muslim community will meet with members of the Community and Police Action Committee, a team that specializes in defusing police-community tensions, to allay concerns and explain why the RCMP arrested two men suspected of planning a terrorist attack on Canada on Wednesday. COMPAC has critical incident teams trained to defuse any escalating concerns, and regularly brings together police, visible minorities and aboriginals for meetings. Imam Zijad Delic, executive director of the Canadian Islamic Congress, said all national Muslim associations are waiting for more information on the arrests. Delic, who signed the Canadian Council of Imams’ declaration against terrorism, said it is both the social and religious responsibility of anyone who knew about the alleged activities to report such a case.

Ottawa Citizen

'More functional and hence more meaningful'

By Aaron Wherry - Thursday, August 26, 2010 at 5:10 PM - 0 Comments

The Public Policy Forum is set to convene a day’s discussion on the state of Parliamentary discourse, with specific attention to Question Period and the committee system. Assuming the day itself does not descend into mouthed platitudes and character assassination, it should be a worthwhile exercise.

The last time I wrote about the nature of QP was last March. That was more or less a response to Mark Kingwell’s essay, which also drew a response from Andrew Potter. Max Fawcett then responded to both Mr. Kingwell and I and though I intended to respond to Mr. Fawcett, I never got around to it. So maybe I’ll do that in the next couple of days.

1969-2010 | Michael Craig Robinson

By Julia Belluz - Thursday, August 26, 2010 at 5:00 PM - 0 Comments

Illustration by Taylor Shute

Michael Craig Robinson was born in Scarborough, Ont., on Aug. 25, 1969. When Mike was a boy, the family moved to Cowan’s Bay, a rural community near Lindsay, Ont. His parents, Tom and Noreen, had a deep appreciation for nature and wanted their sons—Mark, Mike and Scott—to grow up in the country. So Tom, who had a job at Pilkington Glass in Toronto, drove the 130 km to work each day.

At I.E. Weldon Secondary School, Mike was often the brightest kid in the class and liked making people laugh. This “smart, athletic, funny, good-looking, humble” guy attracted a classmate named Tammy. Their lockers were side by side, and they started dating by the age of 15.

Continue…

Swing votes

By Aaron Wherry - Thursday, August 26, 2010 at 4:06 PM - 0 Comments

NDP MPs John Rafferty and Bruce Hyer talk to the Thunder Bay Chronicle Journal about the vote on Bill C-391. Neither are quoted explicitly stating an intention, but Hyer at least seems to be talking like someone who wants to vote yes.

What it’s like to be stalked and harassed by the same man—for 36 years

By Colby Cosh - Thursday, August 26, 2010 at 4:05 PM - 0 Comments

Bryan Schlosser/Leader-Post

The date that changed Cathy Kaip’s life was one of those rambling metaphysical coffee-house conversations that are part of any well-furnished youth. The year was 1974. Kaip, an 18-year-old nursing student, had hit it off with Gerald Klein, then a 27-year-old musician, at a wedding. When he heard that his daughter was going out to see an older man, one trying to extricate himself from an unhappy marriage, Kaip’s Roman Catholic father responded with gentle firmness.

“He said to me, ‘You realize he’s a married man, he has a child,’ ” she recalls. “ ‘This will be the first and last time you go out with him.’ So that’s what I told Gerry: this is the first and last date. I did say I thought it was unfair that Dad should be telling me what to do, but I told him, ‘He’s my dad and I respect his wishes.’ ”

Continue…

Listening for liars

By Colin Campbell - Thursday, August 26, 2010 at 4:00 PM - 0 Comments

Getty Images

There’s a good reason for investors to pay extra close attention to those quarterly-earnings conference calls. Researchers at Stanford University have developed a model that can help determine when company executives are lying. By studying the question and answer section of conference calls from firms that later substantially restated their earnings, researchers uncovered some tell-tale cues of deceitful behavior.

When lying, CEOs tend to speak with less hesitation (because they have more prepared answers or are answering planted questions), avoid using the word “I” and use more words expressing extreme emotion, like “fantastic.” They also avoid the phrase “shareholder value” and swear words. Lying CFOs, on the other hand, speak much more tentatively and avoid words that express extreme emotion. Both CFOs and CEOs share one trait: they often use phrases that reference general knowledge, like “you know.” So now, you know what they’re really saying.

Col. Russell Williams committed to stand trial on murder charges

By macleans.ca - Thursday, August 26, 2010 at 3:53 PM - 0 Comments

Colonel Russell Williams, the former commander of CFB Trenton, has been committed to stand trial on murder, sex assault, and break and enter charges. Williams, who appeared in a Belleville, Ont., court today via video, waived his right to a preliminary hearing, which is held to determine whether there’s enough evidence to move forward to trial. He is charged with first-degree murder in the deaths of two women, sex assaults and 82 other charges related to break and enter. His next appearance is set for Oct. 7 in Ontario Superior Court.

CTV

Cuckoo for cocoa beans

By Chris Sorensen - Thursday, August 26, 2010 at 3:40 PM - 0 Comments

Getty Images

He’s already been dubbed “Chocfinger” by the British tabloids, but the debate continues over whether hedge fund manager Anthony Ward deserves the James Bond-esque moniker following his purchase of US$1-billion worth of cocoa-bean futures last month.

Ward’s purchase of 140,000 tonnes of beans caught people’s attention for a couple of reasons: it represents about seven per cent of global production, and he actually took delivery of the beans (reportedly being stored in refrigerated units across Europe). That has raised concerns that he is trying to influence the price of cocoa, a key ingredient in chocolate. Some analysts say cocoa prices are prone to manipulation because production is concentrated in a handful of developing countries that suffer from political instability, causing investors to be easily spooked by bad news. On the other hand, Ward is reputed to be a cocoa expert, having made similar big purchases over the past 15 years (albeit with mixed success) when he thought prices were set to soar because of an impending bad harvest. If that’s the case, this time around he could be sitting on a small fortune. If not, he will need to figure out a way to unload enough beans for 5.3 billion chocolate bars.

Introvert’s guide to networking

By Julia McKinnell - Thursday, August 26, 2010 at 3:40 PM - 0 Comments

Getty Images/ Illustration by Taylor Shute

“Remember when networking was fun and effective? No, me neither,” writes Rachel Lam, a vice-president with Time Warner Investments, in her endorsement of a new book called Networking for People Who Hate Networking: A Field Guide for Introverts, the Overwhelmed and the Underconnected.

The book’s author, Devora Zack, is a self-confessed introvert who’s easily drained by too much social interaction. In spite of this, she runs a successful business consulting for clients such as the Smithsonian Institution. She also teaches networking seminars. “What’s that you’re mumbling? You don’t like networking and have no interest anyway? You don’t have time? You don’t need to? It’s phony, superficial, manipulative and conniving. Hold it right there,” she writes. “Networking allows you to achieve your potential. Perhaps you want to find a new job, achieve a promotion, make a new professional or personal contact, improve the world, expand your influence, sell a product, write a book, seal a deal. Networking will further your aim.” What’s at stake if you don’t network? “Only whatever you most want to accomplish in your life. No biggie.”

Continue…

Pakistani Taliban threaten to attack aid workers

By macleans.ca - Thursday, August 26, 2010 at 3:25 PM - 0 Comments

Up to 40,000 more people have been evacuated in Pakistan as floodwaters from the Indus River breached an embankment in Surjani in the southern Sindh province Thursday. United Nations officials say the number of new evacuees in Sindh could rise to 100,000 in coming days. Meanwhile, the UN is downplaying threats from the Pakistani Taliban who have called the presence of foreign aid workers “unacceptable,” and who have warned locals not to accept help. Approximately 1,600 people have been killed in the floods which began in late July. Up to 17 million have been affected, including 5 million who have lost their homes in the deluge. The UN estimates 3.5 million people are now relying on contaminated drinking water, prompting fears of a large outbreak of waterborne diseases. After an initial slow response from donors, Canada announced last week that it will match money contributed to the relief effort by Canadians.

CBC News
NY Times

A free-rider; troubadour gone bad?

By macleans.ca - Thursday, August 26, 2010 at 3:00 PM - 0 Comments

Getty Images

Nova Scotia: After she was accused of shoplifting at a Dartmouth Dollarama, a 19-year-old woman allegedly threatened the store’s manager with a pair of scissors and assaulted a customer who tried to intervene. The accused fled the scene, but was arrested shortly afterwards when she returned to the store to retrieve something she left behind. She was charged with two counts of theft under $5,000, two counts of assault, possession of stolen goods and assault with a weapon.

Ontario: A nearly-naked Hamilton man was charged with flight from police, dangerous driving and failing to wear a helmet after police caught him taking an early morning motorcycle ride wearing only a T-shirt. The 40-year-old allegedly sped away when he saw an officer. He was finally arrested after getting off the bike.

Saskatchewan: A 23-year-old Regina man was charged with two counts of assault with a weapon—and with breaching a no-contact order—after allegedly assaulting his girlfriend and her sister with a guitar. The man had been arrested the previous day for allegedly punching his girlfriend and had been ordered to stay away from her.

Alberta: Police in Calgary are looking for four men in connection with a violent home invasion during which part of the homeowner’s ear was severed. Police believe the intruders entered the house carrying handguns and wearing blue coveralls and balaclavas. The victim is recovering after suffering “minor injuries,” the police reported.

British Columbia: Police arrested a Nanaimo man after he refused to come down from a roof. Police claim the 23-year-old became paranoid after smoking drugs, climbed onto the roof, and started setting off flares. The man jumped onto live hydro wires, where he hung for four hours before jumping onto a police cruiser. He has been charged with mischief, obstructing a peace officer and possession of a weapon dangerous to the public peace.

Discount chart-topper

By Stephanie Findlay - Thursday, August 26, 2010 at 3:00 PM - 0 Comments

Chris McKay/Wireimages/Getty Images

How do you score the top-selling new album in America? Montreal’s the Arcade Fire did it with a little help from one of the world’s largest online retailers. Amazon sold digital downloads of the album, The Suburbs, for US$3.99, compared to US$9.99 on Apple’s iTunes, dramatically boosting sales. Amazon still pays the band’s label the requisite US$7, but then offers the album to fans at a loss. Executives at music labels say that Amazon will occasionally promote an album like this in a gambit to attract new consumers and build its brand, reports the New York Times.

Apple is by far the dominant online music retailer, with an estimated 70 per cent of the market. Amazon, despite its considerable online presence, has just 12 per cent. But it appears that the stunt is worth the expense. While Apple’s share of digital music sales has flatlined, Amazon’s has grown four per cent over the last year, according to Soundscan, an official music-sales tracking system.

Week In Pictures: August 20th – 26th 2010

By macleans.ca - Thursday, August 26, 2010 at 2:50 PM - 1 Comment

Mitchel Raphael on the Prime Minister's wife and the grizzly bear

By Mitchel Raphael - Thursday, August 26, 2010 at 2:40 PM - 0 Comments

Harper teams up with Don Cherry
Ontario Conservative MP Patrick Brown’s third annual Hockey Night in Barrie charity game was packed with fans and celebrities, including the Prime Minister. It was the first time Stephen Harper had attended the event. Harper coached the “blue” team with Hockey Night in Canada’s Don Cherry. Past coaches at the celebrity game have included Sports Minister Gary Lunn and former Conservative, now Independent MP Helena Guergis, who, coincidentally, was in a car crash the day of the tournament. (Guergis is now reported to be doing “fine.”)

Continue…

Al Jazeera's here. Where's the fury?

By Jaime J. Weinman - Thursday, August 26, 2010 at 2:40 PM - 0 Comments

Jeff Hutchens/Getty Images

It took years for Al Jazeera English to be allowed into this country, accompanied by quite a bit of controversy. But now that it’s here, we don’t hear much about it; Bernie Farber, chief executive of the Canadian Jewish Congress, says that “from what we have noticed, there seems to be little reaction to AJE in Canada.” People were fearing (in some cases, hoping) there would be fireworks from the anglophone arm of the Middle Eastern news channel. CRTC commissioner Marc Patrone warned of “the potential use of our broadcast system to spread ethnic or religious hatred.” But so far, the reaction seems to be something more startling: indifference.

Tony Burman, the former CBC editor-in-chief who now runs AJE, thinks people have realized that “there’s no real comparison between Fox News and AJE. AJE does not push an ideological line.” Farber has a more prosaic explanation: “The number of subscribers may not be large enough” for people to complain about anti-Western coverage, since it’s not available in all parts of Canada. But it may also be that AJE is not exciting enough to be controversial. On a network that devotes half an hour to Avi Lewis interviewing Cornel West, or four minutes to a reporter walking around the oil sands in Alberta, shock value is in short supply.

Continue…

Cultural Sensitivity in our Time

By Andrew Potter - Thursday, August 26, 2010 at 2:27 PM - 0 Comments

Honestly, what is up with the Mounties:

Known as “Project Samosa,” the RCMP investigation reportedly began with intelligence passed on by the Canadian Security Intelligence Service.