Oh, Roger Ailes, You Wacky Godwin's Law Breaker
By Jaime Weinman - Thursday, November 18, 2010 - 3 Comments
You may have heard that Fox News creator Roger Ailes said that NPR is run by “Nazis.” That wasn’t a mistaken choice of words or a one-time slip of the tongue. The full quote, based on their decision to fire his friend Juan Williams, was: “They are, of course, Nazis. They have a kind of Nazi attitude. They are the left wing of Nazism.”
He semi-apologized for using the term, mostly to continue his friendly relations with the ADL (which has been less than pleased with Fox News lately due to the “international bankers” reporting on George Soros becoming too much for even Abe Foxman to take) but replaced “Nazi” with “nasty, inflexible bigot” and engaged in a strange combination of vicimology and self-congratulation: my friends never have to worry about me sticking up for them‚ even if I’m occasionally politically incorrect I never leave any doubts about my loyalty.” The term “politically incorrect” isn’t always a way of trying to excuse choices of words that are unacceptable by any standard, but it is here: he says something awful, and claims it was “politically incorrect” as a way of making it sound like the real problem is not with him, but with the language police who are trying to keep him down.
What I don’t get is why Ailes has been trying to make himself more of a public figure lately. He is a genius in his own way — as a TV executive. No one can deny he’s created something successful and influential, a network that at once makes money and helps Ailes fight against the “mainstream media” that he blames for destroying his idol Richard Nixon. But he has achieved this success by signing up people who are effective media personalities: talk radio jocks, veteran broadcasters, sportscasters, good-looking women. People who don’t fit the stereotype of conservatives as fat-cat businessmen. Ailes fits the stereotype perfectly, and he doesn’t have the gift of saying outrageous things in a way that allows him to deny he said anything wrong. The “Nazi” thing is something that Ailes’ employees would do in such a way that they could later claim they were joking or that their words were taken out of context. Ailes just isn’t as good at that; that’s why he’s running the network and they’re on it.
Yet you do see him more often lately; he used to be a shadowy figure, and lately he’s been going on This Week or giving long interviews to Howard Kurtz. When he started being increasingly visible, I wondered if he was trying to shore up his position at Fox in anticipation of what might happen if Murdoch ever reduces his role (Murdoch likes Ailes and Fox News; Murdoch’s family does not). Now I wonder if he’s just tired of being the power behind the power, if he wants to be recognized as a personality in his own right. If so, it’s the first mistake he’s made in a while. If he were on Dancing With the Stars, no one would vote for him. He represents the type of personality that he deliberately tried to avoid in staffing his network.
The War For Late Night book, by the way, mentions that Ailes’ opposition was one of the reasons Conan O’Brien didn’t go to Fox after leaving NBC; Ailes, who handles the Fox affiliates, didn’t want their time taken away and given to Conan. That’s defensible, since after seeing what a talk show did to NBC affiliates I can well understand why someone might not want something similar to happen to Fox stations. But it’s not going to do much for Ailes’ personal popularity, assuming he cares about it — and for some reason, it seems like he does.
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Ivan Polivka | 1945-2010
By Nancy Macdonald - Thursday, November 18, 2010 at 5:00 PM - 6 Comments
He escaped the repression of Soviet-era Czechoslovakia, and became a paramedic saving lives on the British Columbia coast
Illustration by Taylor Shute
Ivan Polivka was born on March 2, 1945, in the tiny Czechoslovakian town of Blovice on the River Úslava, in southern Bohemia. Ivan, a nature-lover with innate curiosity and a solitary streak, was the second of three boys born to Jarmila, a teacher, and František, a technician. He avoided school when he could, and loved fishing and roaming the Úslava valley—forever bringing home the mice, wounded birds and stray cats he encountered, says his younger brother Jiri. At 16, he enrolled in a four-year forestry program in nearby Plzen; there, he also joined an amateur theatre troupe. Mandatory military service was rough for the Soviet Bloc’s rebels and budding artists. But Ivan managed to snag a job training military dogs and feeding pigs. He emerged an outspoken critic of the hardline Communist regime and, in 1968, was briefly jailed when Soviet tanks crushed a nascent reform movement. In November of that year, he fled to Canada via Austria.
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Renée Fleming updates her brand
By Elio Iannacci - Thursday, November 18, 2010 at 4:40 PM - 2 Comments
The legendary soprano’s new album covers songs by the likes of Arcade Fire
PHOTO ILLUSTRATION BY TAYLOR SHUTE
“The notion that opera singers are Olympians who do not come down to Earth isn’t relevant anymore,” says American soprano Renée Fleming, by phone from her home in New York City. “I do not live in an ivory tower, and should sing and say what I please.”
Which explains her most recent album, Dark Hope, put together by Metallica’s managers and featuring Fleming’s operatically tempered takes on songs originally recorded by the likes of Arcade Fire, Leonard Cohen and other rock legends. “I did it to get out of my comfort zone,” she laughs. “It also brought me closer to my [teenage] daughters, who both sing on certain songs with me.”
With its American Idol-esque orchestration, Dark Hope is easy listening, and features light tonal calisthenics rather than the usual vocal gymnastics Fleming’s fans expect. Now 51, she is one of the most famous opera singers on the planet. The first woman in the Metropolitan Opera’s history to solo headline an opening night gala, Fleming has a high-profile Rolex ad campaign, her own fragrance, and an eponymous chocolate dessert created by master chef Daniel Boulud. But she’s always looking for new opportunities. “I believe you need to have more of a brand than ever—especially in opera,” she explains. “We are competing in a marketplace without filters. There are 2,000 channels and endless YouTube spots.”
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Wal-Mart's star
By Erica Alini - Thursday, November 18, 2010 at 4:00 PM - 1 Comment
Bieber-designed nail polish will hit stores this Christmas
Michael Tran/FilmMagic/Getty Images
How to prop up Christmas shopping at a time of stubbornly low retail sales? At Wal-Mart this holiday season, the stimulus is called Justin Bieber. The retail giant is betting on the teenage Canadian pop superstar to help lure customers (especially young, female ones) with a host of exclusive Bieber products. That includes “My World,” a new unisex fragrance named after the title of Bieber’s debut release. The perfume comes in four scents, priced at $14 each, as well as scented wristbands and dog tags. Another perk for fans will be a line of Bieber-designed Nicole by OPI nail polish. Both products will be available in the next few weeks—and will hit Wal-Mart shelves first. In another exclusive deal with the retailer, Bieber told followers on Twitter (they number 5.6 million) to look for his new acoustic album at Wal-Mart on Nov. 22, a day ahead of the general release.
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Ghailani cleared of all but one charge in East African embassy bombings
By macleans.ca - Thursday, November 18, 2010 at 3:51 PM - 2 Comments
Republicans call for U.S. to scrap terror trials in civilian courts
Tanzanian Ahmed Khalfan Ghailani, the first Guantanamo detainee tried in a U.S. civilian court, was found guilty of just one of the 285 terror charges he faced over the 1998 bombing of U.S. embassies in Africa. The 36-year-old was found guilty of conspiracy to damage or destroy U.S. property with explosives. But other counts—including murder and conspiracy—were cleared, though Ghailani still faces a minimum of 20 years in prison. Leading Republicans have demanded that U.S. President Barack Obama scrap plans to try the organizers of the 9/11 attacks in civilian courts in light of the New York jury’s verdict. Mitch McConnell, Republican Senate leader, said the verdict was “all the proof we need that the administration’s approach to prosecuting terrorists has been deeply misguided and indeed potentially harmful as a matter of national security.” However, Obama has said that the military commissions were damaging to the U.S. because the world regarded them as unjust, tainted by the mistreatment and torture.
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Trouble with voter turnout?
By macleans.ca - Thursday, November 18, 2010 at 3:47 PM - 2 Comments
Catalan Socialists compare ballot casting to orgasm
There’s only one thing as good as voting, according to the local Socialist party’s youth wing in the eastern Spanish region of Catalonia, and that’s sex. The party recently launched a campaign video equating voting with orgasms ahead of the Catalan elections. The video shows a young woman who finds casting her vote such a turn-on she can’t help reaching a peak of excitement in front of some bewildered polling officers. The goal of the voting climax ad campaign is to entice disillusioned young voters to cast a vote for the region’s beleagured Socialists. The video wasn’t successful with everyone, though. The rival Catalan nationalist Convergence and Union coalition criticized their opponent’s video as “filth”, while the conservative People’s party accused the young socialists “of using women and attacking their dignity”.
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Philosophical question of the week
By Aaron Wherry - Thursday, November 18, 2010 at 3:42 PM - 75 Comments
Does it matter that the minister responsible for the disabled does not have an accessible constituency office?
Access to Finley’s office in Simcoe, Ont., located 150 km southwest of Toronto, is gained by going up a few sets of concrete steps and stepping through a door … ”As the minister with lead responsibilities on accessibility issues, we encourage her to seek accessible space,” said Laurie Beachell, national co-ordinator for the Council of Canadians with Disabilities. ”She carries the disability file for much of the country.”
Beachell said he meets with federal officials frequently, including Finley, to explain the concerns of the country’s disabled. ”We know she knows (our concerns about accessibility),” he said. ”I think we need our elected leaders to set an example on accessibility. It’s important everyone have equal access to elected officials.”
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Tories launch anti-drug ad campaign
By macleans.ca - Thursday, November 18, 2010 at 3:42 PM - 4 Comments
TV and social media campaign aimed at teenagers
Federal Health Minister Leona Aglukkaq has announced a new television and social media campaign aimed at warning teenagers of the ravages of drug addiction. The television ad, which shows a drug user spiralling into addiction, will run on teen channels and be featured on teen programming from now until mid-March. The health minister says she expects about 65% of teens 13-15 years old to see the ad by then. “To Canadian parents,” she said, “we’re on your side and you have our support in helping your kids say no to drugs.” NDP drug policy critic Libby Davies says government policies fail to address harm reduction and treatment.
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The charms of the politically incorrect pizza
By Jacob Richler - Thursday, November 18, 2010 at 3:40 PM - 1 Comment
So much for locavorism. Authentic Neapolitan pizzas require overseas ingredients.
Photograph by David Bagosy
This was my kind of pizza. The casually formed dough of its periphery was blistered from intense heat, while its crumb was well-aerated and surprisingly elastic. Where crust met toppings, the texture grew moist and invitingly creamy. It was also very thin, a mere vehicle for the truffle paste, shredded mozzarella and thinly sliced porchetta—all centred by a whole runny egg. This pizza was not built for sharing, so I ate it all, and swiftly.
That was last week at Pizzeria Libretto, which shares space on a bustling stretch of Ossington Avenue in Toronto with a handful of happening tapas joints and trendy watering holes, some scary Vietnamese karaoke bars, and a few rundown garages. Libretto is unique: it is the only pizzeria in Canada to boast membership in the Associazione Verace Pizza Napoletana (VPN).
“VPN Member 291,” the menu reads. “Vera Pizza Napoletana requires strict adherence to the culinary discipline of the association. A wood-burning oven, San Marzano tomatoes, all-natural fresh mozzarella and double zero flour, along with proper technique, must be used.”
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The least we could do
By Andrew Coyne - Thursday, November 18, 2010 at 3:00 PM - 52 Comments
Until the defence of Afghanistan can be left to the Afghans, somebody has to do the fighting
Chris Wattie/Reuters
Watching Peter MacKay at the press conference confirming that Canadian troops would indeed remain in Afghanistan past the 2011 deadline, albeit in a “classroom” role, I was reminded how much of human behaviour is governed by the furniture.
He was, after all, behind a desk, in a briefing room. There were microphones, and flags, and reporters seated in rows. We are familiar with such scenes, and we associate them with official statements of some seriousness. And so everyone felt obliged to act as if there were some reason to believe a word of what MacKay was saying: as if there were some more-than-accidental likelihood of the policy the government chooses to pursue in future corresponding to the policy being announced today.
Why? Why would we attach any credibility to a formal announcement of policy by a minister of national defence with troops in the field? Just because he said it? There is some context here, after all. The policy the minister was announcing is the diametric opposite of the one that every minister in this government, including the Prime Minister, had sworn blood oaths to for the last two years: that every last soldier, apart from the odd embassy guard, would be withdrawn from Afghanistan by July 2011—no ifs, ands, or training missions. Which policy was itself the diametric opposite to that to which the government had previously committed itself, namely that we would not “cut and run” from Afghanistan before the job was done, that such missions could not be subject to “arbitrary timetables.”
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Just say no
By Aaron Wherry - Thursday, November 18, 2010 at 2:28 PM - 38 Comments
Michael Ignatieff has indicated that a Liberal government would support the decriminalizing of marijuana, so understandably, while taking part in the announcement of a new anti-drug campaign yesterday, Conservative backbencher Shelly Glover lamented that the Liberal leader was encouraging the nation’s children to smoke marijuana.
For whatever it is worth, last March Mr. Ignatieff told a crowd of high school students that the “last darn thing” he wanted was for them to be smoking marijuana.
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Week in Pictures: November 12th – 18th 2010
By macleans.ca - Thursday, November 18, 2010 at 2:23 PM - 0 Comments
The week’s best photography
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The beautiful mind of the creator of collage
By macleans.ca - Thursday, November 18, 2010 at 2:20 PM - 0 Comments
Plus, camps for African witches, a doorstopper debut novel, the National Enquirer founders, the brilliant early work of Gay Talese and the backstory of the Catholic abuse scandal
Mary Granville Pendarves Delany; National Portrait Gallery London; Illustration Taylor Shute
THE PAPER GARDEN:MRS. DELANY BEGINS HER LIFE’S WORK AT 72
Molly PeacockMary Granville Pendarves Delany, aged 72, was in the throes of grief over the death of her husband when she casually picked up a pair of scissors and by dint of sheer curiosity invented the art form known as mixed-media collage. Noticing how a piece of coloured paper matched the fallen petal of a geranium, she meticulously cut the exact geranium petal shape from the paper. Then another, and another. She assembled the pieces, and when a friend walked into the room and could not tell the paper geranium and the organic version apart, an art form was born.
Delany was no 18th-century parlour dilettante: she approached her art with scholarly sensitivity, dissecting floral specimens in order to render her paper versions with botanical accuracy right down to the flower’s ovary, and then cutting and layering hundreds of delicate pieces. In the span of a decade, she produced about 1,000 of these exquisite, fragile works.
Author Molly Peacock opens with her own discovery of Delany’s art: “I saw my first flower mosaic at three o’clock on Saturday, Sept. 27, 1986, at the Morgan Library in New York City . . . ” She builds her case that these are no grade-school craft projects: “I could not get over the dexterity, the eyesight, and the fine muscle coordination that had produced them. I was hooked, I was sunk.”
Ditto for the reader. Delany’s life and artistry would be compelling enough, but Peacock gives us so much more, and the details and precision of her text mirror the dogged, forensic approach Delany took with her work. Peacock wants us to see how the artist and the art are one.Like collage itself, The Paper Garden is carefully layered—part fascinating biography, part history lesson about the English Georgian period, part gripping memoir, part paean, and part art appreciation accompanied by dozens of vivid photo reproductions. Beautifully written and rendered (the pages are printed on heavy glossy paper, the likes of which are rarely encountered in modern publishing), Peacock’s obsession for Delany’s art and life becomes ours, too.
- JANE CHRISTMAS
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Canada's economy getting slightly better: OECD
By macleans.ca - Thursday, November 18, 2010 at 1:58 PM - 1 Comment
Think tank projects 3 per cent growth this year
Employment prospects in Canada are looking up, if moderately, according to leading economic think-tank, the Organization for Economic Co-operations and Development. They project that Canada’s unemployment rate will fall to 7.8 per cent next year, from 8.1 per cent this year, and to 7.4 per cent by 2012. The economy is projected to grow to three per cent this year, slip down to 2.3 per cent next year, and climb back up to three per cent again in 2012. Economic recovery has slowed due to waning expansion of external demand, the report said, as well as a reduction in household spending growth.
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Kidnapped Canadian released by West African captors
By macleans.ca - Thursday, November 18, 2010 at 1:56 PM - 0 Comments
Bob Croke was snatched from oil rig on Nov. 8
St. John’s, Nfld. resident Bob Croke was among 19 people released after a military operation in Nigeria Wednesday. The oil worker was taken hostage on Nov. 8 from the Okoro oil field, which is 11 km off the coast of Akwa Ibom state in the Atlantic Ocean. Foreign Minister Lawrence Cannon confirmed the release, but a Foreign Affairs spokeswoman told CTV News they would not provide further details. “That might compromise or jeopardize the safe return of someone else in the future,” she said. Bombings and kidnappings of foreigners are common in oil-rich but poverty-heavy West Africa.
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Ireland’s central bank governor “absolutely” expects bailout
By macleans.ca - Thursday, November 18, 2010 at 1:54 PM - 4 Comments
Country may receive $110 billion in loans
A bailout of debt-ridden Ireland appears almost certain after the governor of the country’s central bank told state broadcaster RTE that he “absolutely” expects one will happen. Both EU and International Monetary Fund bankers have arrived in Dublin where they are poring over the books to see just how much they’ll have to loan the country in order to calm investors. “It will be a large loan,” said central bank governor Patrick Honohan, “because the purpose of the amount to be made available or to be advanced is to show Ireland has sufficient firepower to deal with any concerns of the market.” Many have suggested the loan will be worth around $110 billion. Ireland ran into trouble after the housing bubble popped during last year’s recession. The tiny country of four million had to bail out its banks to prevent them from collapsing under the weight of bad debt. But the government is now struggling to pay its own debt and the deficit has passed 12 per cent of GDP. The country has already slashed spending and cut public wages by 13 per cent, sending unemployment to painful levels, but satisfying EU austerity demands. Many believe a bailout from the EU will stop the debt crisis from spreading to Spain and Portugal, much larger members of the Eurozone that are both struggling with debt.
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Jet set on the cheap
By Colin Campbell - Thursday, November 18, 2010 at 1:40 PM - 1 Comment
A California company called JetSuite is offering use of charter jets for one-way, low-cost fares
JetSuite
The discount airline model has transformed the air travel industry. Now can it do the same for the private jet business? A California company called JetSuite is offering use of charter jets for one-way, low-cost (relatively speaking) fares. For instance, for US$999, passengers can travel from Van Nuys, Calif., to Las Vegas. And that doesn’t just buy a seat, it gets you the entire plane.
To keep costs down, JetSuite flies four-seat, fuel-efficient Embraer jets. And it keeps routes short (fares go up based on hours in the air). The airline is one of several moving to offer lower cost private jet services. Lufthansa Private Jet recently offered 30 per cent discounts for Canadian travellers.
During the financial crisis, executives were sharply criticized for their use of private jets, which became symbols of Wall Street excess. Steep discounts may be the surest way to revive, and rehabilitate, the industry.
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Mitchel Raphael on a Hollywood hunk and Mrs. Harper
By Mitchel Raphael - Thursday, November 18, 2010 at 1:40 PM - 1 Comment
Look which journalist scored an interview with Mrs. Harper
Heritage Minister James Moore held his most recent movie night at the National Arts Centre, screening Barney’s Version, a film based on the Mordecai Richler novel. Moore’s goal for these nights is to introduce Canadian films to MPs and a “few” others. Well, more than 1,400 people attended this one, including producer Robert Lantos, Mordecai Richler’s wife Florence Richler and several of the film’s stars, including Canadian hunk Scott Speedman. Speedman’s silver-screen break was playing a vampire-werewolf hybrid in the first two Underworld films, alongside Kate Beckinsale. Laureen Harper made Jayne Watson’s night by asking the CEO of the NAC Foundation to show Speedman to the washroom. Watson happily obliged. Mrs. Harper’s date was Labour Minister Lisa Raitt—who was unaware of the honour until she was escorted onto the red carpet to join Mrs. Harper (who is traditionally accompanied by House leader John Baird when Stephen Harper can’t make it). It
seemed like Raitt’s lucky night all around when she scored the seat next to Speedman’s to watch the film—although she then had to move over to accommodate an NAC bigwig. When Mrs. Harper, who rarely does interviews, walked the red carpet, she did speak to a few reporters—including eTalk’s Sophie Grégoire-Trudeau, wife of Justin Trudeau. President of the Treasury Board Stockwell Day “snuck” some Twizzlers in for Mrs. Harper; on Moore’s movie nights, treats are verboten. There is, however, a VIP reception beforehand and, afterwards, a general reception with food inspired by the film—on this night, smoked salmon, bagels and battered chicken in honour of the film’s Jewish characters. A papier mâché bust of Richler graced the lobby. The artist, Susan Longmire, used pages from Barney’s Version to create the work. Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff and his wife, Zsuzsanna Zsohar, each gave the film two thumbs up. In fact, Iggy came back specially from Montreal for it. This was his first Moore movie night. There was talk the PM might also attend for the first time, but it was not to be. -
The new uniform
By macleans.ca - Thursday, November 18, 2010 at 1:20 PM - 0 Comments
Leave the striped tie and knee socks at home and join the ranks of great thinkers in cool denim
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Overloading the Internet
By Jaime Weinman - Thursday, November 18, 2010 at 1:20 PM - 11 Comments
10 per cent of all Internet users in Canada had visited Netflix
Justin Sullivan/Getty Images
Is Netflix going to break the Internet? The week after the movie-rental giant brought its streaming service to Canada in late September, Netflix movie and TV downloads accounted for a huge chunk of bandwidth during evening hours, giving it “shocking levels of success,” according to a report by the research analysis firm Sandvine.
The report explained that in only the first week after the launch, 10 per cent of all Internet users in Canada had visited Netflix. This means Canada is on the way to the situation that already exists in the U.S.: as illegal download services like BitTorrent have declined, Netflix’s video-on-demand takes up 20 per cent of all the available Internet use.
Sandvine speculated that this success caused “alarm among the country’s service provider community,” because this is a “double-whammy” for cable companies. Now that Netflix is here, ISPs will have to use much of their capacity to service the downloads that take viewers away from their TV offerings. But there’s one catch to Netflix’s dominance: during the daytime, downloads are at a much lower level. That means most people aren’t streaming movies at work yet. Netflix still has a long way to go before it can catch up with YouTube in that respect.
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NFL Picks Week 11: The pivotal 11/17th point of the season has arrived!
By Scott Feschuk - Thursday, November 18, 2010 at 1:12 PM - 6 Comments
Thigpen: Underrated quarterback or overrated Peanut?
Scott Feschuk Last week: 6-8 Season: 72-66-6
Scott Reid Last week: 4-10 Season: 65-73-6
NOW UPDATED!
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Chicago (plus 2) at Miami, Thursday night
Reid: With Chad Pennington and Chad Henne both battered and too injured to play, questions are swirling as to where the the Dolphins will find a new Chad able to quarterback their team by Thursday.
Chad Everett? Too toothy.
Chad Michael Murray? Too Continue…
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A bit old for bumper cars, aren't you?
By macleans.ca - Thursday, November 18, 2010 at 1:00 PM - 0 Comments
Police blotter
Getty Images
New Brunswick: A drunk high school student was chased down and arrested after allegedly stealing a CPR kit from a police car that was parked at the RCMP headquarters in Moncton. The 19-year-old, already under an order not to drink, was charged with stealing as well as breaching an undertaking to the court.
Ontario: A driver flipped his truck, which was carrying 18,000 kg of tomatoes, on a ramp linking two major Toronto-area highways. It took hours to remove the produce from the pavement and the truck, ruining rush hour for commuters. The driver was charged with careless driving.
Manitoba: A Winnipeg man was caught at a Royal Canadian Legion allegedly pretending to be the commander of the local RCMP detachment in East St. Paul. A search of his home reportedly turned up a police uniform. The RCMP says he has never been associated with the force. He’s facing charges for impersonating a peace officer.
Alberta: On a routine patrol of a Calgary mall in the early morning of Nov. 2, police came across what they described as a makeshift “demolition derby” using stolen vehicles. Three men were allegedly racing around the mall parking lot, smashing into each others’ vehicles. Police say that one suspect almost ran down one of the officers, who was chasing the two other youths who’d abandoned their vehicles. All three were arrested.
British Columbia: A woman is facing what authorities call the first immigration-related bigamy charge. She allegedly married two men in the Greater Vancouver Area even though she was already married to a third man. Then she reportedly tried to sponsor those two foreign nationals for permanent residency in Canada. She has been charged with two counts of bigamy and two more counts of knowingly misrepresenting or withholding material facts under the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act.
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Trees falling from the sky
By Tom Henheffer - Thursday, November 18, 2010 at 1:00 PM - 11 Comments
When you need massive reforestation, aerial planting is the answer
Getty Images
Massive planes, once used to blanket the earth in land mines, could soon be dropping a very different kind of bomb—pointed containers with saplings inside. “There is renewed interest in massive reforestation and shrub planting,” says Moshe Alamaro, an MIT researcher. “Aerial reforestation is the way to go.”
Alamaro collaborated with U.S. aerospace company Lockheed Martin in the late ’90s to replace the tedious and back-breaking work of manually planting trees by dropping saplings from the sky. The idea, which could see nearly one million trees planted per day, was based on research done at the University of British Columbia in the 1970s. The concept involved using a small fertilizing plane to drop saplings in plastic pods one at a time from a hopper. But it wasn’t very fruitful—most pods hit debris during pilot tests and failed to actually take root.
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Cholera case linked to Haiti outbreak confirmed in U.S.
By macleans.ca - Thursday, November 18, 2010 at 12:45 PM - 0 Comments
Florida woman contracts disease while visiting family in Haiti
The U.S. has confirmed its first known case of cholera linked to the outbreak in Haiti after a woman from southwest Florida contracted the disease while visiting family in Haiti, the New York Times reports. The woman sought treatment earlier his month, spending five days in hospital after developing classic symptoms like diarrhea and dehydration. She’s expected to fully recover. The arrival of cholera in Florida was considered inevitable, as at least 250,000 people of Haitian descent live in the state, and large numbers travel to and from the island. Travel has increased since the deadly Haitian earthquake in January, which left an estimated 1.3 million homeless. Cholera is spread through contaminated water and food.
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U.S. health care doesn’t measure up
By macleans.ca - Thursday, November 18, 2010 at 12:41 PM - 0 Comments
One-third of Americans go without because of cost, study shows
According to a new study published in the journal Health Affairs, one-third of Americans say they’ve gone without medical care or avoided filling a prescription because of cost. This number is much higher than in the Netherlands, for example, where it stands at 5 per cent. What’s more, 20 per cent of American adults have major problems paying medical bills, compared to 2 per cent in Britain and 9 in France, the next most expensive country. The results come from the Commonwealth Fund, which advocates for U.S. health care reform. It commissioned a poll from Harris Interactive, of almost 20,000 people in 11 countries, conducted between March and June. About 60 per cent of Americans under 65 get health insurance through an employer, and 45 million 65 and older have coverge though the nation’s Medicare program, which covers the elderly and disabled. That leaves 47 million without any health insurance.
