View from the West
-
CBC closes classical music to students
James Ehnes, of Brandon, -- at 32 years old with most of his career still ahead of him -- is now a widely acclaimed violinist both nationally and internationally, one measure of which has been his receipt of many honours, including a Grammy and five Juno awards. A reviewer of his complete Mozart Violin Concertos, in Fanfare, a leading American music magazine, described them as "chocolate to the ear." Gramophone, perhaps the most highly respected music magazine in the English-speaking world, said of the same recordings, "Playing of brilliance and rapt eloquence puts this Mozart set among the finest and Ehnes here reinforces his credentials as one of the most brilliant and discerning players of his generation, with a sweet, gleaming tone and a purity of intonation that are second to none."Each of his new recordings win accolades and, as great as is the credit he brings to himself, his family and teachers, he also brings credit to the country and culture which encouraged him and in which he flourished.
If we stand back, of course, we realize that Ehnes is not a unique phenomenon. In a posting on a website where the CBC Radio2 cuts are being discussed, someone has posted a list -- now, apparently, in wide circulation -- of Canadians who have achieved national and international recognition as performing artists, conductors, composers and in a variety of orchestral and chamber ensembles. Reproducing that list would take up about a quarter of this column, but it includes Glenn Gould, Jon Vickers, Maureen Forrester, Lois Marshall, Ben Heppner, Marc-Andre Hamelin -- soon to appear with the Manitoba Chamber Orchestra -- Michael Schade, Measha Brueggergosman, Russell Braun, John Kimura Parker, Angela Cheng, Janina Fialkowska, Healey Willan, Suzy Leblanc, Isabelle Bayrakdarian, Angela Hewitt, James Ehnes, Mario Bernardi, Tracy Dahl, Daniel Taylor, Anton Kuerti, Tafelmusik, the Winnipeg New Music Festival and many others. Looking at this list of musicians -- reflecting an earlier generation and now, overwhelmingly, the current one -- one would be hard pressed to identify any whose professional careers, success and acclaim were not assisted by the fact they were heard, and heard of, on CBC Radio.
<Continued> -
Political progress comes slowly for women
Catherine Mitchell Leanne Rowat scoffs at the idea women lack the confidence to have a political career, to hold high office and make public policy decisions. That's a small bit of comfort to the ears of a battle-axe feminist who long ago lost hope that the gender imbalance would change in a generation or two. <Continued> -
Aussies battle sharks and crocs
Michael Madigan Twenty years after Crocodile Dundee convinced the world Australians were all fearless crocodile wrestlers, life has begun imitating art Down Under. <Continued> -
Responsibility to protect
By Peter McKenna The current situation in cyclone-ravaged Burma, otherwise known as Myanmar, is especially grim. Some disaster experts expect the death toll to climb to over 100,000 people in the coming days and weeks. Moreover, if the aid situation on the ground doesn't improve soon, that mind-numbing figure could needlessly rise even further. "If the humanitarian aid does not get into the country on a larger scale, there's the risk of a second catastrophe," explains Elisabeth Byrs, the UN spokesperson for the Office for the Co-ordination of Humanitarian Affairs. <Continued> -
Blame the Thirty Comrades
Gwynne Dyer It seems incredible now, when neighbouring Thailand has four times Burma's per capita income, that at independence in 1948 Burma was the richest country in Southeast Asia. With huge resources, a high literacy rate, and good infrastructure by the standards of the time (due to the British empire's obsession with railways and irrigation projects), it seemed fated to succeed. Instead it has drifted steadily downwards, and is now the poorest country in the region. <Continued> -
Winnipeg is made for bikes and bike lanes
Nicholas Hirst Winnipeg's and Manitoba's economies appear more robust than they have for many years. As the nation's labour force stagnates, Manitoba's continues to grow. Houses continue to sell at more than their asking price and, while spring always makes Winnipeggers feel better, there is a sense of optimism in the air. <Continued> -
It's a fight to keep fishing
Kim Sigurdson Henry Traverse is a proud Anishinabe, a family man, a commercial fisher and what most people would call a "traditionalist." The Anishinabe are the-third largest Indian tribe in North America -- only the Cherokee and Navajo are larger in population. <Continued> -
Conservative bullying undermines democracy
Frances Russell Libel chill to stifle public inquiry. Intimidation to turn national institutions into servants of the party in power. Trash talk to destabilize opponents. A "black book" of procedural dirty tricks to disrupt parliamentary committees. <Continued> -
DNA tells tales you don't need to hear
By H. Gilbert Welch and Wylie Burke The company 23andMe promises to "unlock the secrets of your own DNA." Navigenics wants you to be tested to "do everything you can to stay healthy." And deCODEme hopes that genetic testing will "prompt people to do the right thing." <Continued> -
Alberta oilsands ironies
Penni Mitchell Peter Lougheed and David Suzuki are not two names you would normally expect to find in the same sentence, let alone on the same side of an issue. But when it comes to the Alberta oilsands, these bedfellows aren't so strange when you consider what's at stake. <Continued> -
Fox in charge of henhouse
Hugh McFadyen The NDP has introduced a bill that should shock and outrage every Manitoban. It jeopardizes democracy, infringes on Charter rights and seeks only to keep the ruling party in power ad infinitum. Bill 37 was stealthily introduced on April 30, hidden amid a flurry of other bills and government announcements and done without consulting political parties, experts or Manitobans. The NDP has cynically disguised it as a positive move that simply sets fixed election dates. Within this Trojan horse, Bill 37 is actually an attempt to fix elections for the NDP. <Continued> -
Hezbollah grabs real power in Lebanon
Samuel Segev TEL AVIV -- When U.S. President George W. Bush arrives this week for his second visit to Israel this year, he will find a new Middle East where Syria and Iran have increased their influence at the expense of Israel and moderate, pro-western Arab allies. <Continued> -
The equalization puzzle
Tom Ford Once in a while, nice people, whom I don't know, come up to me in public places and ask: What the heck is going on in Ottawa? <Continued> -
Trends in Iraq are taking a grim downturn
By Joel Brinkley You'll hear none of this from Washington, but the trend lines in Iraq are turning down again. <Continued> -
Looking for Molly's angel
Colleen Simard Molly Genaille is a North End angel. <Continued> -
Cyclone's hell holds hope for Myanmar
The Economist The decision by Myanmar's ruling generals to move their capital in 2005 from Yangon, the country's biggest city, to the remote mountain fastness of Naypyidaw was as baffling as many of their other policies. Local rumour ascribed it to the advice of fortune-tellers, who foretold revolt and disaster in Yangon. <Continued> -
Obama should make health reform Job No. 1
Gwynne Dyer On the assumption that President Barack Obama survives for a full four-year term -- for it is generally assumed that, as the first African-American president, he will face a higher-than-average risk of assassination -- what changes will he bring to the United States and the world? It is remarkably difficult to say, for no president since Lyndon B. Johnson has come to office with so few commitments to specific policies. <Continued> -
China's new nationalists more aggressive toward West
By Joshua Kurlantzick As human-rights protesters dogged the Beijing Olympics' torch relay, as supporters of Tibet condemned the violent crackdown in Lhasa, and as Darfur activists demanded change in China's Sudan policy, Chinese young people worked themselves into a different form of righteous anger. In online forums and chat rooms, they blasted Beijing's leaders for not being tougher in Tibet. They agitated for boycotts against Western businesses based in nations that object to Beijing's policies, and they directed fury against anyone critical of China. <Continued> -
The futility of jails
Shannon Sampert I miss my mother today. <Continued> -
Fixed elections a futile gesture
Sidney Green Premier Gary Doer has finally given in to academic pressure and has brought in legislation to impose fixed election dates in Manitoba. If the legislation is passed, we will have elections every four years on a fixed day in June. <Continued> -
A look at how mothers fare worldwide
The Mothers' Index, compiled by the Save the Children organization, compared the status of mothers in 146 countries. Canada ranked 20th and the United States, 27 out of 41 developed nations. The individual country comparisons for poor countries are especially startling when one considers the human suffering behind the statistics: <Continued> -
Two states the only solution to Middle East challenge
The Economist This week, Israelis celebrate and Palestinians mourn the war of 1948 that created a state for the Jews but resulted in the flight of a large portion of Palestine's then Arab majority. <Continued> -
Gorffwysfa
Tom Oleson It is not polite to swear at the prime minister. Members of Parliament can't even swear at him during question period, which is hardly a classroom for eloquence or decorum at the best of times, because it is against the rules and Honourable Members who break that rule will be "named" and required to leave the House of Commons for a brief period of time. <Continued> -
Mother's Day co-opted by those who want to make a buck
Marlo Campbell Card stores and flower shops are doing a brisk last-minute business, while in eating establishments everywhere, elaborate brunch menus are awaiting execution and staff are gearing up for the annual onslaught. <Continued> -
Honour aboriginal inquiry
Much has been said about safety of children in the care of aboriginal agencies, presuming that aboriginal agencies cannot guarantee the safety of children. This is simply a racial stereotype and is not supported by the evidence. <Continued> -
The CBC is ignorant of its own snobbery
William Neville There is little reason to suppose that recent protests against the CBC's plan for Radio 2, here and elsewhere, will ultimately make any difference in what the CBC does. Yet, weeks after two columns on the subject in this space, I continue to hear from readers and unhappy CBC listeners. Their responses uniformly express anger, frustration and dismay about what they perceive as a patronizing attitude from CBC senior management, which seems in the end to come down to "we know what's best for you." Not only do many CBC listeners dispute that, they increasingly question whether CBC management even knows what's best for the CBC. <Continued> -
Pride of Australian Navy flickers back into life
Michael Madigan The last time anyone laid eyes on her she was ablaze from stern to stern lighting up the night sky in what was quite literally her final blaze of glory. <Continued> -
Waking to a new reality
Samuel Segev TEL AVIV -- Today, 60 years ago, I celebrated the birth of my state, lying in a hospital. Wounded in both my legs in a battle with armed Palestinians commanded by former Nazi German and Yugoslav officers, I listened with tears in my eyes to David Ben-Gurion announcing the establishment of the State of Israel. <Continued> -
60 years of triumph, trauma
Samuel Segev Free Press Middle East correspondent looks back on Israel's glorious birth and analyzes its current travails <Continued> -
I wish you freedom to love, guts to stick with it
Nicholas Hirst Last Friday was "Freedom Day" in Toronto. It was an event that felt just like the 1960s even to the mud that squelched underfoot as rain fell on the young people listening to bands and parading their causes around the Ontario legislature at Queen's Park. <Continued> -
Manitoba degrading core school subjects
Ken Loewen Re: Students' skill levels below par, April 29. <Continued> -
School boards benefit public education
By Jon Young The editorial Political education (April 30), claims that it is "a charade" to suggest that local school boards have any real control over schools and school budgets. The editorial promotes centralizing control over public schooling with the provincial government, removing school boards' powers to levy local property taxes in support of schools, and funding the costs of schools fully from general, provincial revenues. <Continued> -
Until now, equalization has worked amazingly well
Frances Russell Canada's equalization system isn't broken. What's broken is our national will. We have sleepwalked into an era of what constitutional expert Eugene Forsey once called "province-worship." <Continued> -
Lining up at the trough
Shannon Martin On the surface the Doer administration's Bill 37, an omnibus bill that creates a Lobbyists Registration Act and amends existing acts relating to spending before and during elections and by the legislative assembly, looks like a grand idea. Who can argue with fixed elections dates and accountability for lobbyists? <Continued> -
Top jobs go to non-natives in northern health region
Hussain Guisti The city of Thompson is 65 per cent First Nations and the Burntwood Region is around 75 per cent First Nation. Thompson General Hospital, with nearly 75 to 80 per cent of its patients aboriginal, can be considered the only real First Nations hospital in Manitoba. <Continued> -
Bill on testing blood not extreme
By Eric Glass In her article Bill provides an illusory peace of mind (May 4), Alison Symington suggests that proponents of Bill 18, The Testing of Bodily Fluids and Disclosure Act, have exaggerated the potential benefits of this legislation while oversimplifying ethical and legal issues. <Continued> -
Downtown Y a refuge from the streets
Colleen Simard I was surprised by the press coverage about the downtown Y a few weeks ago. The downtown Y isn't safe? Well that depends on who you ask. I'm a downtown Y member, and judging by the turnout lately, there hasn't been a drop in memberships. I'd read about the pepper-spray episode last March, but it didn't make me change my mind about working out there. <Continued> -
Respect the locals when it comes to Main Street
Tom Ford The burly, dishevelled man in front of the slim woman was drunkenly waving his arms and shouting about his rent. <Continued> -
Give Pakistani tribes reason to carry fight to the jihadists
Trudy Rubin The biggest security challenge to the United States comes from a place you may never have heard of. <Continued> -
Geeks go for different kind of green
The Economist On May 1 applications closed for the first intake of a novel kind of executive-education program. Set up by a bunch of venture-capital firms and other companies in New England, the three-month course will teach its "fellows" about renewable energy. <Continued> -
Bill provides an illusory peace of mind
By Alison Symington Proponents of a bill currently before the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba say it is designed to protect police, paramedics, firefighters and victims of crime. They say it offers real benefits to these groups and their families. But this oversimplification obscures troubling ethical and legal issues, while exaggerating benefits. <Continued> -
Building clean machines
The Economist In these times of high gas prices and worries about climate change, you might think that any country would be proud to enjoy a lead in manufacturing electric cars. Not Canada, it seems. <Continued> -
The first Canadian
Mike Petrou Seventy years ago, civil war raged in Spain between a left-leaning government, supported by the Soviet Union, and a military uprising, led by General Francisco Franco and backed with arms and troops by Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy. Almost 1,700 Canadians defied Canadian law and volunteered to fight with the Spanish government. More than 150 were from Winnipeg. In this excerpt from Renegades: Canadians in the Spanish Civil War, author Michael Petrou tells the story of Winnipeg native Bill Williamson, the first Canadian to join the war. <Continued> -
Children's book sets girls up for self-loathing
Dallas Morning News Many of us have puzzled over, and perhaps even snickered at, the Fundamentalist LDS women of West Texas, with their plain faces; long, swept-up hair; and 19th-century farm dresses. In our popular culture, their pioneer-era modesty is, well, kind of freaky. <Continued> -
Fight against financial Armageddon still looks bloody
The Economist Is it really over? In the middle of March investors were worried that the financial system was going to hell in a handcart. Analysts competed to produce the highest possible forecast for losses from the credit crunch. <Continued> -
China a global master at controlling the media
The World Association of Newspapers asked He Qinglian her views on how the Chinese authorities are handling the media ahead of the Olympics. He authored two seminal books, The Pitfall of Modernization: Contemporary Economic and Social Problems of China and Media Control in China. She held prominent editorial and academic positions in China until she moved to the United States in 2001 where she acts as a senior researcher for Human Rights in China. <Continued> -
Spirit of 1968 in River City
Tom Oleson In May 1968, I was on a train from Lausanne to London when it stopped at a railroad station in Paris. The air was heavy with tear gas -- even on the train, you could smell it. I had heard before leaving Switzerland that something big was happening in Paris and I thought about getting off to find out what it was but I had to to be in London and the Englishman with whom I shared a compartment was extraordinarily well stocked with food and wine and generously inclined to share both, so I stayed on the train. <Continued> -
Parents finally getting real choice in child care
Curtis Brown The word "choice" is surely the most overused word in the government thesaurus. <Continued> -
Australia's economic boom starting to fizzle
Michael Madigan Australia's cupboard is suddenly bare, much to the consternation of the new Labour government, which was recently elected on promises of tax cuts and spending. <Continued> -
Wright vs. Obama: a cruel irony
William Neville Over the last few months -- which is to say since he began winning Democratic primaries -- Barack Obama has been repeatedly confronted by questions about his suitability for the presidency. Some questions might be thought substantial like the one asking whether he was ready to answer a world crisis call at three in the morning -- a somewhat odd question originating with the other candidate who imagined a crisis in which she was met with a hail of bullets on arriving in Bosnia. <Continued> -
Take a (Jane's) walk
Jino Distasio It had been decades since I last walked through the grand old streets of Winnipeg's Point Douglas neighbourhood. Back then I was just a kid who attended a few weddings in one of the area's churches but was always able to sneak off to play and explore in the nearby parks and green spaces. As a young kid I don't recall noticing any of the challenges that the community continues to face. <Continued> -
It's hard to believe the Democrats could lose
By Dick Polman If the Democrats somehow contrive to blow this presidential election, they should be consigned to the dustbin of history -- or to a display case at the Smithsonian, where perhaps they can share space with the Whigs. <Continued> -
Chutzpah - Gail Asper raises $92 million for rights museum
David O'Brien About two years ago in New York City, Harlem to be exact, a three-minute video was shown to over 1,000 influential people, including many heads of state and business leaders from around the world. <Continued> -
Living the double life in Hogtown and River City
Nicholas Hirst When I first came to Winnipeg more than 11 years ago, I almost bought a loft in the Ashdown Warehouse on Bannatyne Avenue. I appreciated how the building had been renovated for a new use and how it had brought people downtown and I loved the airy, spacious apartments with their rounded windows and views of the city. I made an offer. It wasn't accepted and that was that. Except that I should add that had I paid the asking price I would have made a killing on the increased value over time. <Continued> -
$100-plus oil: Get used to it
Gwynne Dyer Last week, Hamish McRae, one of the world's best economic journalists, declared in The Independent that "Hardly anyone a year ago successfully predicted the rise in the oil price to $120 a barrel -- in fact I have not found a single forecast of that." Regular readers of this column may recall that I predicted oil at over $100 a barrel in April 2006, and well north of that price in another column in July 2007. <Continued> -
Gas prices -- let them soar, let them soar, let them soar
Corey King Looking out a store-front window facing onto Pembina Highway one morning, I noticed a lot of drivers who are still determined to make their morning commute to work alone. It seems as if nothing is able to change people's lifestyles in the face of global warming, not even gas prices reaching close to a staggering $1.30 per litre. True to the custom, when the price of gas goes up, many consumers complain, many from behind their SUV windows. But few decide enough is enough. <Continued> -
Were the 2006 federal election results tainted?
Frances Russell Mid-campaign, the RCMP commissioner implicated a senior Liberal cabinet minister in a criminal investigation. One year later, the Mounties exonerated him. Now, Elections Canada is accusing the Conservatives of making "materially false and misleading statements" on their election financial returns and exceeding legal spending limits by $1.1 million in national advertising and $700,000 in taxpayer-funded candidate rebates. <Continued> -
Syrian nuke plans go up in smoke
Samuel Segev Tel AVIV -- No matter how odd it sounds, the Israeli destruction of the Syrian nuclear facility in al-Kibar on Sept. 6, 2007, has reduced the chances of a similar Israeli attack against Iran. <Continued> -
Governance index a positive move for First Nations
Don Sandberg Several years ago, as First Nations moved toward self-government, the Winnipeg-based Frontier Centre for Public Policy developed the idea of polling residents on reserves to obtain a more accurate picture regarding the way in which each community was governed: its elections, administration, human rights, transparency, services and economy. <Continued> -
Raising idea of having an ethics commissioner is fair game
Jenny Gerbasi Coun. Justin Swandel's column Apology owed to Sheegl and those who hired him (April 26) reveals clearly why so many citizens are concerned about the recent decision to hire a director of the planning, property and development department who lacks experience and knowledge of city planning. <Continued> -
Freedom far better than microwave ovens
The Washington Post In the past few weeks, Cuban President Raul Castro has introduced a handful of micro-reforms to the oppressive and bankrupt regime left behind by his brother. Cubans are now officially allowed to buy cellphones, computers and microwave ovens; state workers may get deeds to apartments they have been renting for decades; and farmers may be able to sell part of what they grow at market prices. The measures won't have much impact (though they have evidently annoyed the officially retired Fidel Castro): The vast majority of Cubans can't afford to buy electronic goods, and the agricultural reforms fall short of steps taken years ago by North Korea. <Continued> -
Living the dream
Colleen Simard Many years ago, I had a dream. <Continued> -
The end of American triumphalism
The Economist It is exceptionalism week in the world of American think-tanks. No fewer than three of them -- the American Enterprise Institute, the Brookings Institution in Washington, D.C., and the Manhattan Institute in New York City -- have arranged discussions of a fat new book on the subject, Understanding America: The Anatomy of an Exceptional Nation, edited by Peter Schuck and James Q. Wilson. <Continued> -
Canada's water power
Tom Ford There was a time when we knew so much about hydro and electricity; dominated so many markets that a lot of people hated us. <Continued> -
UN praises genocidal Sudan, bashes Israel
By Joel Brinkley The world's foremost human rights organization has ordered its envoys to begin investigating people or groups around the world who abuse freedom of speech by violating certain "moral" standards. The envoys would rely on individual governments to define morality in their own states. <Continued> -
New Asian Tiger
The Economist Not so long ago the word "Vietnamese" was almost inevitably accompanied in press reports by the phrase "boat people." For two decades after the fall of Saigon in 1975, the defining image of Vietnam was the waves of bedraggled refugees washing up on its neighbours' shores, fleeing oppression and penury back home. <Continued> -
Cutting infant mortality is not child's play
Catherine Mitchell INFANT mortality has become the <Continued> -
Memories and paper trails
Gerald Flood FOR several years now I have <Continued> -
Kiss half your annual paycheque goodbye
By Niels Veldhuis and Milagros Palacios AS we come to the end of another <Continued> -
Walking along the delicate tightrope of human rights in China
The Economist By the standards of any previous boss of Coca-Cola, Neville Isdell is remarkably enlightened. Under his leadership, the soft-drinks giant has adopted a strategy of extending access to water supplies in the developing world, especially in Africa, where Isdell spent 26 years. <Continued> -
Luck not enough
Marilyn Baker Has your life been touched by mental illness? Mine has. <Continued> -
Housing crisis looming
Marlo Campbell The Manitoba Urban Native Housing Association (MUNHA) is a Winnipeg-based advocacy agency that represents 14 non-profit aboriginal housing organizations. Collectively, these groups operate 1,595 social housing units across the province (almost 1,000 in Winnipeg), providing affordable housing to low-income families by adjusting rents according to their tenants' incomes. <Continued> -
Apology owed to Sheegl and those who hired him
By Justin Swandel In recent days much has been said in the Winnipeg Free Press about the city's hiring of Phil Sheegl as director of property and development. <Continued> -
Rebirth of the piggybank?
Livio Di Matteo The recent federal budget introduced a new registered Tax-Free Savings Account that, starting next year, will allow Canadians aged 18 and older to save up to $5,000 a year. Contributions made each year to the TFSA will not be deductible for income tax purposes but the interest and investment income -- including capital gains -- earned in the account will not be taxed when withdrawn. The long-term potential for boosting the amounts Canadians save will be substantial and from a policy perspective more saving will increase the pool of capital for long-run productive investment as well as allow an aging population to supplement its future retirement and health expenditure needs given pressures on Canadian public spending. <Continued> -
Shedding Olympic light on dark places
Michael Madigan That symbol of international goodwill and understanding the Olympic Torch landed in the Australian capital of Canberra at 7:50 a.m. Wednesday as steel barricades were being erected around the city to keep the protesting hordes at bay. <Continued> -
Public likely outraged by forced treatment of some patients
Charles Huband Last month, a judgment was delivered by Judge Perry Schulman of the Court of Queen's Bench in the much-publicized case of Golubchuk against the Grace Hospital and a number of physicians. Samuel Golubchuk was, and still is, lying in a barely alive state in the intensive care ward of the hospital. The doctors responsible for his treatment recommended that life supports should be withdrawn so he might expire quickly and peacefully. He will never recover from the massive medical problems that afflict him, and that have reduced him to near death. The physicians contend that it is contrary to their ethical principles to continue treatment. <Continued> -
Hillary's Pyrrhic victory
Nicholas Hirst Will Hillary Clinton become the best president the United States never had? Like her husband, Bill, who in his race through the primary elections became the "comeback kid," Clinton hasn't given up, doesn't look tired and after Tuesday's remarkable victory in Pennsylvania, has the momentum going into next week's primaries in Indiana and South Carolina. <Continued> -
Tibet treated well by China
By Lok Chow Re: Phil Fontaine wrong and Phil Fontaine right, April 22. <Continued> -
Mayor's pal underwhelms political masters
David O'Brien Mayor Sam Katz says he feels sorry for his good friend Phil Sheegl because the poor soul has made the mistake of actually wanting to work for the people of Winnipeg as the new director of the property, planning and development department. <Continued> -
Search for AIDS vaccine proving a daunting task
The Washington Post Last fall, after trials of a promising AIDS vaccine from Merck Co. came back with alarming results, they were cancelled. Health experts knew the significance of that, but when The Post reported on the enormity of the situation last month, many were astounded. Not only did the vaccine not protect trial participants from infection with HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, but it also appeared to make them more susceptible to contracting the disease. At least a half-dozen other trials were stopped or put on hold. The Merck disappointment was branded as a "catastrophe" by one scientist and as setting the race for a cure "back to square one" by others. The hyperbole is understandable, but some perspective is in order. <Continued> -
The great connector
Jim Carr Harold Buchwald was born in Winnipeg, Feb. 22, 1928. On that day began a love affair between the man and city that lasted 80 years, abruptly ending last week when Harold died suddenly after contracting pneumonia. <Continued> -
Conservatives' strutting machismo turning women off
Frances Russell Not just a gender gap, but a gender chasm, has opened in Canadian federal politics, according to the latest Harris-Decima Canadian Press poll. <Continued> -
Carter 'allowed himself to be used by Hamas'
Samuel Segev JERUSALEM -- Former U.S. president Jimmy Carter failed in his uninvited effort to achieve a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip between Israel and the terrorist group Hamas. Carter did, however, succeed in furthering the slow erosion of a Hamas boycott by the international community. He also assured him an undisclosed role as "observer" in the event Fatah and Hamas agree with Israel on the establishment of a Palestinian state. <Continued> -
Zimbabwe's sacred monster
Gwynne Dyer All praise to the South African Transport and Allied Workers Union, which refused for four days to unload a shipment of Chinese arms destined for landlocked Zimbabwe. That was long enough for a South African court to issue a judgment refusing to let the 77 tonnes of weapons be shipped across the country to Zimbabwe, despite the South African government's unwillingness to intervene. <Continued> -
Build it, and they may stay
Dave Angus Youth conference designed to make Winnipeg the place to be <Continued> -
North-End spirit saving hardware store
Tom Simms They say you can't stop progress. Like many small stores in the North End of Winnipeg, Pollock's Hardware closed its doors in December 2007 after being in business at the same location on north Main Street for the past 85 years. The owners of the store were retiring and put the business up for sale. But no one was interested in buying this North End institution. <Continued> -
Canada's cartoon politics
Tom Ford OTTAWA -- Parliament has become a Tom and Jerry cartoon, much to the chagrin of many Canadians. <Continued> -
Reducing harm, making streets safer prime objective
By Kelly Holmes Recently, Resource Assistance for Youth (RaY) found itself at the centre of a debate about street youth, crime and weapons. Our weapons amnesty program that has been running under the radar for the past six months was discussed on a local radio program. That is when all hell broke loose. Despite the fact that we had always involved the police when a youth surrendered a weapon, they were unaware that we gave them a small amount of cash -- never more than $20 -- for doing a good deed. That is until someone from the Winnipeg Police Service was listening to that radio program and quickly informed us that giving cash for weapons is illegal -- even if it was an honourarium. <Continued> -
New baby, new home, new start for friend
Colleen Simard I was dropping by the office of Aboriginal Visioning for the North End one afternoon to see a friend. As usual, there was lots of activity going on at the little Selkirk Avenue office. Then a familiar voice called my name. <Continued> -
Blast from the past
Gerald Flood Everything old is new again. There's nothing new under the sun. What goes around comes around. <Continued> -
America's prison society
By Marie Gottschalk Forty years ago, the Kerner Commission concluded in its landmark study of the causes of racial disturbances in the United States in the 1960s: "Our nation is moving toward two societies, one black, one white -- separate and unequal." Today we are still moving toward two societies: one incarcerated and one not. <Continued> -
Making the world a billion times better
By Ray Kurzweil MIT was so advanced in 1965 (the year I entered as a freshman) that it actually had a computer. Housed in its own building, it cost $11 million (in today's dollars) and was shared by all students and faculty. Four decades later, the computer in your cellphone is a million times smaller, a million times less expensive and a thousand times more powerful. That's a billion-fold increase in the amount of computation you can buy per dollar. <Continued> -
Proudly raise the flag for freedom of information
Val Werier This year marks the 25th anniversary of the Access to Information Act which enables citizens to pry out data the government would prefer to keep under wraps. <Continued> -
Turbulence in the air
The Economist Darkening economic clouds, oil at $114 a barrel, cutthroat competition and disappearing credit lines are confronting airlines with their biggest crisis since the dark days after Sept. 11,2001. <Continued> -
City sewage can help grow farmers' crops
Don Flaten Coun. Mike O'Shaughnessy has suggested that farmers are not doing their share to reduce nutrient loading to Lake Winnipeg and should not be permitted to apply nitrogen fertilizer onto their fields (City on hook for lake cleanup, April 16). Ironically, farmers are forced to fertilize to replace nutrients that are exported to residents of Winnipeg and other cities around the world. And once these nutrients enter the city, most are not recycled. <Continued> -
'Good old' solutions sowing trouble on farm
By Dwayne Leslie It's inevitable. <Continued> -
Obama's crash course in class warfare
The Economist Barack Obama has a magic way with words; but when the magic deserts him it deserts him big time. <Continued> -
McFadyen dares to dream
Curtis Brown Progressive Conservative Party Leader Hugh McFadyen doesn't catch on that quickly, does he? <Continued> -
Good old' solutions sowing trouble on farm
By Dwayne Leslie It's inevitable. <Continued> -
Bad law makes us all pay
Sidney Green This week we had spectacular news. There was a forcible entry to the national headquarters of a national political party. It wasn't done by a clumsy plumbers' gang acting under the direction of Richard Nixon surrogates who broke in to Democratic Party headquarters in the Washington Watergate Hotel. This led to jail terms and the ultimate resignation of President Richard Nixon. <Continued> -
Australian 'backwater' flexing its muscle
Canada has Newfoundland, America has the deep south, Australia has Queensland and the world has Ireland to indulge that snide little prejudice that geography is the ultimate arbiter of stupidity. <Continued> -
Talk about biting the hand that feeds you
William Neville The protest outside the CBC building last Friday, through which a number of CBC listeners expressed their opposition to recent and pending changes in Radio 2, probably changed no minds inside the building. But since the real decision-making authority in the CBC is to be found elsewhere, there was surely no expectation that the protesters would bring the walls tumbling down. Nonetheless, the presence of some senior CBC personnel mingling with the protesters provided the former an opportunity to make some points. <Continued> -
A soldier's soldier
Ray Crabbe Canada's colourful chief of defence staff, Gen. Rick Hiller, submitted his resignation to Prime Minster Harper Tuesday, bringing an end to three years of dynamic and much-needed change to Canada's military. The defence staff chief is appointed by and serves at the pleasure of the prime minister, with appointments usually lasting three to four years. Whether Hillier is resigning of his own volition or at the behest of the prime minister remains to be seen, but regardless, he has left an indelible print on Canada's military, and history will record him as one of the best chiefs Canada has had in several decades. <Continued> -
Green Gary avoids the tough choices
Nicholas Hirst Premier Gary Doer has consistently wrapped himself in a green mantle. He's had high-profile meetings with California's green Republican governor, Arnold Schwarzenegger. He's told Manitoba Hydro to use the more expensive route for its new transmission line to save boreal forest and last week he pledged a host of new measures to save energy and cut harmful emissions. <Continued> -
Archie Bunker's working-class wisdom
David O'Brien When it comes to politics, some truths are better left alone. The successful politician knows that half-truths, distortions and distractions work much better with voters than the whole truth and nothing but the truth. <Continued> -
Rebirth for Italian buffoon
Gwynne Dyer 'This is a wise country, a country that knows when a person is tired and has turned vicious, when it is time to turn over a new leaf." <Continued> -
When rights are wrong
By Kathy Hillstrom Many of us shudder at the thought that the "rule of thumb" ever existed, allowing a man to beat his wife with a stick as long as it was smaller than his thumb. Wives were possessions then, and we have come a long way towards equal rights. Or have we? <Continued> -
Harper's 'nation of shopping centres'
Frances Russell Tom Flanagan, Prime Minister Stephen Harper's longtime confidant and former chief of staff, is delighted at the Conservatives' success in "tightening the screws on the federal government" to dramatically reduce its significance in the daily lives of Canadians. <Continued> -
Power means responsibility
By Patrick Brazeau Chief Ron Evan's recent commentary, Enough paperwork already (April 8), wrongly suggests that any pursuit of greater accountability represents a determined pursuit of punitive measures against First Nations. <Continued> -
Israel officially cool to Carter
Samuel Segev TEL AVIV -- There was a striking difference between the warm, almost festive welcome that greeted Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni in Qatar on Sunday and the almost frosty reception former U.S. president Jimmy Carter got, also on Sunday, in the first leg of his 10-day visit to the Middle East. <Continued> -
Adult literacy issues must be addressed
By Margaret Chambers The 2003 International Adult Literacy Skills Survey found that 46 per cent of Manitobans scored at levels 1 and 2 in literacy and 56 per cent scored at levels 1 and 2 in numeracy. A level 3 score is required to cope with the information and technology permeating all facets of life -- home, work and community. Less than one per cent of Manitobans at levels 1 and 2 are enrolled in literacy programs. <Continued> -
Grandpa, when do we eat?
Tom Ford OTTAWA -- My granddaughter, Gwynneth, is nine, an age when what's on her mind is reflected on her face. <Continued> -
Should we have a beef industry at all?
By Gaylene Dutchyshen It's time for the Manitoba cattle industry to face up to reality: We have to change and adapt or face extinction. <Continued> -
Contest! Contest! Read all about it!
Colleen Simard Drew Hayden Taylor thinks he's sexy. Actually, he thinks you are too. <Continued> -
Anarchy of altruism
John Longhurst I don't want to squelch the enthusiasm of anyone, young or old, who wants to help poor people. But before too many Canadians follow the examples of Jesse Hamonic of Winnipeg and Jess Sloss of Vancouver, who are starting their own charities, I'd like to share the cautionary tale of Zoe's Ark. <Continued> -
Female-only banks' bridging gap in Gulf
The Economist The Prophet Muhammad's first wife, Khadija, is known as "the pure one." She was also a wealthy businesswoman who supported her husband financially, it is believed, in the earliest days of Islam. <Continued> -
Fake land, real issues
The Economist Its developers call the 300 islands laid out in the shape of the world map just off Dubai's coast the "most innovative real-estate development on Earth." <Continued> -
'Bad Memory Century' dawns
By David Brooks They say the 21st century is going to be the Asian Century, but, of course, it's going to be the Bad Memory Century. Already, you go to dinner parties and the middle-aged high achievers talk more about how bad their memories are than about real estate. Already, the information acceleration syndrome means that more data is coursing through everybody's brains, but less of it actually sticks. It's become like a badge of a frenetic, stressful life -- to have forgotten what you did last Saturday night, and through all of junior high. <Continued> -
Tuition freeze continues post-secondary degradation
By James A. Blatz Another year, another budget and another extension to the flawed tuition freeze policy. <Continued> -
More day care where needed, not just wanted
Catherine Mitchell Wednesday's budget promised another $5 million for the province's day care program, but Finance Minister Greg Selinger wasn't giving out much on how it will be spent. <Continued> -
Three approaches to taxing carbon
Kari Roberts There has been a lot of talk about carbon taxes lately. Some governments have embraced the idea, such as B.C. and Quebec, and others, like Alberta, have rejected it as a policy instrument for addressing climate change. Like many public policy challenges in a federation, climate change demands a response from Ottawa, the provinces and municipalities. As reports released by the Canada West Foundation show, jurisdictions across North America are doing very different things when it comes to reducing greenhouse gas emissions and addressing energy consumption. <Continued> -
Budget no stinker, but could have been much better
Marlo Campbell I certainly don't envy the government of Manitoba on budget day. <Continued> -
Rights commission wrong
Box Cox What would happen if a person charged with murder ended up before a tax court judge? <Continued> -
It's feudal to resist, serfs of Sark told
Tom Oleson Feudalism is not a popular system of government these days. It passed from fashion long ago except in post-colonial Africa and Asia where democracy has been widely abandoned in favour of the kind of tin-pot tyrannies that the popular imagination wrongly associates with feudal societies -- King John and all that. <Continued> -
Our Olympics, our Tibet
David O'Brien China's occupation of Tibet and its weak record on human rights have caused a public relations nightmare for the country as it prepares to host this summer's Olympics, which were supposed to provide a stage for Chinese leaders to boast about the great leap forward the people's republic has made in economic and social development. <Continued> -
Long-time CBC listeners reach for 'off' button
William Neville On April 3, Jennifer McGuire, executive director of radio for CBC English Services, posted a notice on the Internet which read, in part: "You may have heard about the exciting changes coming to Radio 2 next September... We'll still be high quality... pushing boundaries with shows unlike any others... but we'll be drawing from a broader, richer and diverse spectrum of music: classical, jazz, folk, world, R & B, singer-songwriter and roots... Current listeners can take comfort in the fact that classical will remain the most represented music genre on Radio 2. New listeners will be blown away by the shows we're adding to the schedule..." <Continued> -
Growing old Down Under
Michael Madigan A doleful little snippet of news appeared in the Australian press last week revealing one person in the country commits suicide every week by drowning. <Continued> -
Western weakling
By Shannon Martin Just over a year ago, Premier Gary Doer made the public statement that "we don't want to be behind Saskatchewan." Unfortunately, that is exactly what is happening under the watch of this government. Despite the many minor announcements and re-announcements in Budget 2008, Manitoba -- now the only have-not province in the west -- is being left behind. <Continued> -
Manitoba misses the (budget) boat
By Benjamin Dachis and Colin Busby Wednesday's budget missed an opportunity for Manitoba to keep pace with the roaring economies in the West. Instead, Manitoba is letting spending run well over planned levels while keeping business taxes high. <Continued> -
Bob Rae -- what might have been
Nicholas Hirst Bob Rae got a standing ovation from his audience in Winnipeg at the weekend, which was hardly surprising as he was speaking to members of the Manitoba Liberal Party. <Continued> -
Torch flaming out
Gwynne Dyer If I were the Chinese bureaucrat responsible for guarding the sacred Olympic Flame, the place I'd worry about most is Australia. It was there, just before the Melbourne Olympics in 1956, that a student pretending to be an Olympic athlete ran up to the mayor of Sydney and presented him with an "Olympic torch" consisting of burning underpants in a can nailed on top of a chair leg. He was gone before they realized it was not the real thing. <Continued> -
Genocide by attrition taking place in Sudan
By Eric Reeves Sudan's National Islamic Front regime has begun its sixth year of genocidal counterinsurgency warfare in the vast western region of Darfur, targeting African civilian populations perceived as the primary support for fractious rebel groups. <Continued> -
Opportunity for rapid transit, bike paths and more
By Coun. Jenny Gerbasi and Coun. Mike Pagtakhan The federal government has announced that $17.9 million from the new Transit Fund is committed for Manitoba, creating a new window of opportunity to start building a rapid transit system for Winnipeg. <Continued> -
BUDGET ADVICE: Don't cut, spend
Shauna MackInnon and Errol Black The Manitoba government on Wednesday will table its first budget on since the Gary Doer-led NDP was elected to a third term in May 2007. We look forward to a budget that will show us that the NDP government's social and economic justice aims are indeed a priority. <Continued> -
Israel plans survival games
Samuel Segev TEL AVIV-- Using the Russian, Turkish and United Nations channels, Israel sought this week to defuse tensions along its Syrian and Lebanese borders. <Continued> -
Enough paperwork already
Ron Evans The media reported last week that the federal government has ordered more audits of First Nations governments. What the Canadian public probably does not know is that First Nations already are the most heavily audited group in Canada. <Continued> -
BUDGET ADVICE: The transfers trap
Peter Holle Wednesday could be a historic budget day for Manitoba. With federal transfers heading perilously towards 40 per cent of total provincial revenues, it's likely these monies have reached a high water mark and that we may see sharp reductions in them starting next year. Such a development would be in the long-term interest of our province. <Continued> -
To survive the American tsunami
Tom Ford OTTAWA -- The world is beginning to intrude on this isolated, frozen capital. <Continued> -
Ahenakew at last makes a wise move
Colleen Simard David Ahenakew -- who made headlines for his anti-Semitic rant in 2002 -- finally made a good decision last week. <Continued> -
BUDGET ADVICE: The budget that should be
Jim Carr Mr. Speaker, I rise today to deliver our government's ninth budget and I do so with particular enthusiasm and excitement. All of our efforts since 1999, when our government was first elected, lead us to this moment when we announce a series of bold measures designed to lead Manitoba into the decade ahead. <Continued> -
Earth Hour burns out
Gerald Flood I recall as a kid being told that if every person in China were to jump into the air in perfect unison and then land in equally perfect unison, that it would cause a tremor in the Earth's crust that would be felt around the world. <Continued> -
Ottawa archbishop appoints two new exorcists
By Jennifer Green OTTAWA -- Ottawa's Catholic archbishop has appointed at least two new exorcists, one for the English and one for the French community, replacing the region's last exorcist who retired five years ago. <Continued> -
McCain's military background in spotlight
The Economist Nine years ago, when John McCain was about to begin his first presidential run, he donned a chestful of huge fake medals and gave a humourous speech at a Washington dinner where such things are expected. Each day while shaving, he said, he asked himself: "OK John, you're an incredible war hero, an inspiration to all Americans. But what qualifies you to be president?" <Continued> -
Gary Doer promised tuition freeze
By David Jacks The Doer government is engaging in some fancy footwork on the tuition-fee freeze. <Continued> -
The evolution of religious bigotry
By Johah Goldberg I just watched Fitna, a 17-minute film by Dutch parliamentarian Geert Wilders. <Continued> -
Presidential fleas and fantasies
Tom Oleson Manitobans who took advantage of the proximity of Grand Forks to hear Democratic presidential hopefuls Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton speak on Friday had a unique opportunity. They got to hear not one, but two politicians, whose actions would have disqualified them from being president in any society with a sense of decency, even with a sense of survival, explain why they should be in the White House anyway. <Continued> -
The view from up there is darn good
The Economist 'Pale and haggard faces, lank and bony figures... boys of stunted growth, and others whose long, meagre legs would hardly bear their stooping bodies." <Continued> -
Obama, Clinton court Grand Forks
Curtis Brown GRAND FORKS, N.D. -- It may boast a university and a couple of decent watering holes, but there is very little about this small city on the Great Plains that draws folks to spend a fun and exciting Friday night here. <Continued> -
Feeding frenzy
The Economist For years, anti-poverty campaigners railed against low commodity prices, which depressed farmers' incomes in developing countries. In recent months, the world price of virtually all staples has shot up, but the activists are still not cheering. They worry that this boom (intensified by "green" subsidies for biofuel crops) may worsen poverty even more than low agricultural prices did. <Continued> -
Aussie PM's itinerary seen as snub to Japan
Michael Madigan Australia's new Prime Minister Kevin Rudd, who is on his first global tour as the nation's leader, has raised a few eyebrows by refusing to drop by Tokyo. <Continued> -
Gerrard deserves royalties from NDP
Curtis Brown For Premier Gary Doer and the provincial NDP government, the Manitoba Liberals are the gift that keeps on giving. <Continued> -
Teflon is a sticky environmental topic
Penni Mitchell I hemmed and hawed for months over whether to ditch my non-stick frying pan. It was just a tiny bit scraped where the bottom met the sides, but I finally tossed it into the dumpster last night. <Continued> -
Black anger should not surprise anyone
David O'Brien In 1852, Frederick Douglass, a former slave living in the state of New York, was asked by a women's group to give a speech for its Independence Day celebrations. Here's a taste: <Continued> -
New mood in Manitoba
Nicholas Hirst Some 10 years ago, then premier Gary Filmon told the Winnipeg Chamber of Commerce that you could always tell when an airplane from Winnipeg arrived in Ottawa: "The engine switches off, but the whining continues." <Continued> -
Don't blame victims
Don Marks I pretty much know exactly what happened during the night of that triple shooting in Weston this past weekend because I have been there. I have been to hundreds of parties like the one that was going on in that house on Alexander Avenue. <Continued> -
Minimum wage punishes hard work, loyalty
Corey King Looking around the fast-food restaurant where I work, I see more dread than excitement about the minimum wage increase that was implemented April 1 -- ironically, Fools' Day. <Continued> -
Hog lobby greedy
By Larry Powell Seldom has there been a more important public debate in Manitoba than the one now raging over the hog industry. <Continued> -
Minimum wage shell game
Dan Overall It is high time this government was called out on its Marxist policies regarding the minimum wage. I'm talking Groucho, not Karl. The legendary comedian once quipped "The secret of life is honesty and fair dealing... if you can fake that you've got it made." <Continued> -
Dump the penny Chicago Tribune
Chicago Tribune Nicolas Cage starred in a preposterous thriller a few years back that included a secret clue to riches -- the National Treasure of the title -- embedded on U.S. money. Turns out riches are embedded in U.S. money, specifically nickels and pennies -- and there's nothing secret about it. <Continued> -
Focus on Israel eases as pressure on Olmert grows
Samuel Segev TEL AVIV -- In many respects the 20th Arab summit since 1946 that ended on Sunday in Damascus created an interesting precedent in the Arab world. <Continued> -
Our hard-drinking Davy Crockett
Tom Ford He was, according to a contemporary, "a little, shrivelled up, bow-legged guy with a chronic cough and an unquenchable thirst a camel might have envied." He was also a great Canadian. <Continued> -
KI Six is Canada's David and Goliath story
Colleen Simard Have you heard about the KI Six? It's a David and Goliath story if there ever was one. <Continued> -
Sarkozys and their considerable assets
Tom Oleson Nicolas Sarkozy is a man worth watching. His wife is worth watching as well, for different reasons. The French president is much in the public eye these days. In fact, he is in the eye of at least four different publics for at least four different reasons. <Continued> -
The case for the Metis
Thomas Berger In his article A Lost Cause? M ©tis running out of options in Land Claims case Charles Huband has done his best to show that the appeal by the Manitoba M ©tis Federation is indeed a lost cause. He rightly points out that the MMF represents 130,000 M ©tis people in Manitoba. Mr. Huband also says, I think rightly, that the MMF's case "is one of the most important to be decided by the Manitoba Court of Queen's Bench." This being so, those 130,000 M ©tis people deserve to know the true footing on which the appeal is going forward. <Continued> -
An evening spent with a 'serial entrepreneur'
Wearing a Mickey Mouse T-shirt, old jeans and beat-up running shoes, cool sunglasses pushed back over his head, Daren Jorgenson doesn't look anything like an Internet pharmacist or a man who is trying to drag health care into the 21st century with a radical vision to restructure the system. <Continued> -
Boycott of Olympics would be misguided
The Economist Berlin, Tokyo, Mexico, Moscow, Los Angeles, Seoul: the Olympic games are often "political" events, occasions for the flaunting of national progress, or for protesters to enjoy global publicity. The Beijing Olympics this August were never going to be any different. <Continued> -
Reject tar sands oil
By Wayne Madsen WASHINGTON -- Anything that allows America to continue its narcotic-like dependence on carbon fossil fuels -- whether the sprawling tar sands of Canada or the petroleum pools under Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge -- completely misses the point about shifting to alternative energy sources. <Continued> -
Welcome tar sands oil
By Mark J. Perry FLINT, Mich. -- At a time when saying anything good about fossil fuels is like declaring war on the environment, it may seem like wishful thinking to press for an expansion of U.S. oil refining capacity. <Continued> -
Hog producers punished for the mistakes of others
By Rolf Penner The Manitoba government's recent ban on the building of new hog barns will do nothing to improve the health of Lake Winnipeg, but it will put our vigorous pork industry on life support for some time to come. <Continued> -
Show Mother Nature some love, embrace Earth Hour
Marlo Campbell Pay attention tonight. If you can, poke your head out the door between 8 and 9 p.m. and look around. <Continued> -
Ontario's tough times budget
The markets and the innovation of Ontario business will take care of prosperity <Continued> -
Surge turns tide, foils return of Mortimer
Tom Oleson I was awoken at about 2:30 a.m. one night last week, ripped from the arms of Morpheus by the shrill, urgent summons of my cell phone ringing. <Continued> -
A gift of friendship
William Neville The death of Paul Scofield last week ends the life and career of one of the true giants of the English theatre. His passing, even at the age of 86, will be mourned by those familiar with his professional achievements -- ones marked by countless outstanding performances and numerous forms of recognition, including an Oscar, two BAFTAs (Oscar's British equivalent), an Emmy and a Tony, among others. <Continued> -
Manitoba's rising dropout risk
Catherine Mitchell Much has been said about the challenge of producing tomorrow's skilled labour force to support us in the sunsets of our booming lives -- such a weight upon the tender, slender shoulders of our youth! <Continued> -
Australia's 'good ol' blokes' a dying breed
Michael Madigan The antipodean version of that great American southern cultural stereotype "the good ol' boy" is headed the way of so many Australian icons. <Continued> -
Lead the parade
Nicholas Hirst Sam Katz has been overwhelmingly voted in as Winnipeg's mayor twice now and there can be little doubt that, barring disasters, if he runs again, he will be elected again. <Continued> -
Obama tests America's cult of ignorance
By Kevin Horrigan Early on in Robert Harris' new novel, The Ghost, a literary editor says to an author who ghost-writes celebrity memoirs, "Tell me. When did it become fashionable to be stupid? That's the thing I don't understand. The cult of the idiot. The elevation of the moron." <Continued> -
Edmonton shows how to reform business tax
Tom Simms The City of Winnipeg's 11-year property tax freeze, which was extended in the budget vote yesterday, is essentially a shell game. <Continued> -
Clear-cut streetscape
Robert Galston A drawing was released this month of the Winnipeg Regional Health Authority's future offices at Logan Avenue and Main Street, which is part of Centre Venture Development Corporation's "cluster developments" for downtown. A 200-car parkade will adjoin the building, and up the street close to Higgins Avenue, a new surface lot will join the cluster of parking spots. <Continued> -
Blood and fire against the turn of a wheel
By H.D.S. Greenway The demonstrations "seemed to be rather quiet and organized at first," according to an eyewitness e-mail describing the fate of Tibet. "Then a growing hysteria started to mount like the spilling out of decades of oppression, unstoppable once it started ... Once a bit of air ((had been)) released during the initial, peaceful protest, a tidal wave of emotion was unleashed. It became mob-like ... Lots of people being pulled from their businesses, buildings burned, knives and meat cleavers, and anything else anyone could get their hands on to defend or attack. Tibetans and monks hauled away and shot on the streets. Lots of fire, lots of explosions and gunshots still peppered this night ..." <Continued> -
Only a centre-left 'common front' can beat Harper
The four St. Patrick's Day byelections gave a big bounce to Elizabeth May's Green party. But the real winner was Prime Minister Stephen Harper's Conservatives. Their triumph wasn't the capture of one seat from the Liberals and near miss in another but the overall outcome of a centre-left never more divided. The two-thirds of Canadians who occupy the middle and left of Canadian politics are now split four clear ways: Liberals, New Democrats, Greens and Bloc Quebecois. <Continued> -
City's lack of research on room tax alarming
Jim Baker Over the past 12 months, the Manitoba Hotel Association has consulted with its members about implementing the results of a study jointly funded by the association, Travel Manitoba, Destination Winnipeg and the Winnipeg Convention Centre. <Continued> -
Documents reveal Saddam's fantasies
TEL AVIV -- For those who still question the wisdom in invading Iraq and eliminating Saddam Hussein's regime in Baghdad, the U.S. has provided skeptics with chilling evidence of the need for second thoughts. <Continued> -
Blowing up cellphone towers backfires on Taliban
By Matiullah Minapal and Zainullah Stanekzai KABUL, Afghanistan -- For once, the Taliban may have taken on the wrong target: the country's cellphone network. <Continued> -
PART 4 - One church, many congregations
Harold Jantz In a book written a few years ago about evangelicalism in America, historian Mark Noll defined it as "culturally adaptive biblical experientialism." While a bit of a mind bender, Noll is onto something. <Continued> -
Education is the answer for Canada's First Nations
Tom Ford The first issue to settle in discussing aboriginal affairs is who defines the issues and who is supposed to solve them. <Continued> -
I take my hat off to young mothers everywhere
Colleen Simard I took my 13-year-old son to see Juno one weekend. It's the Oscar winning film dubbed a "teen pregnancy comedy." It inspired some debate. Some critics said it sent a strong pro-life message. <Continued> -
PART 3 - The Catholic connection
Harold Jantz A small Catholic college on the West Coast makes an interesting claim. Redeemer Pacific College in Langley, B.C. says it is the first Catholic college "in the world" that is a teaching centre "of an evangelical university, Trinity Western University." <Continued> -
There's still time to embrace the vision
H. Buchwald When it comes to developing the former footprint of Upper Fort Garry and complimenting it with a state-of-the-art interpretive centre, you either embrace the vision of the Friends of Upper Fort Garry, or you don't. <Continued> -
Biofuels need not cut food production
Nazim Cicek Biofuels in general, and ethanol in particular, are getting a terrible reputation in press reports, including Biofuels, very ungreen; studies in the Winnipeg Free Press, which cited two research reports published in the journal Science. In these studies, the dire consequences on greenhouse gas emissions of converting natural habitat (forests, grasslands, wetlands, peatlands, etc.) to areas for energy crops (corn, sugar cane, palm oil, etc.), are well laid out. It should be no surprise that increasing greenhouse gas sources, such as disturbing carbon rich natural habitat, or reducing greenhouse gas sinks by engaging in deforestation, will have a negative effect on the environment. <Continued> -
'One law for all' -- easy for you to say
Two weeks ago, the media expressed outrage over a Manitoba's Court of Queen's Bench rejection of an appeal made by a bar owner claiming that applying the provincial smoking ban to his establishment while not requiring the same of First Nations was discrimination. <Continued> -
'White flight' reported from Australian schools
Michael Madigan Australia is supposedly undergoing an "education revolution" under the new Labour Government. <Continued> -
Meddling with Hydro
Curtis Brown History teaches us that the more things change, the more they stay the same. <Continued> -
PART 2 - Christian activism
Harold Jantz Archbishop John Foley, the Vatican's head of the Pontifical Council for Social Communications, was in Winnipeg a few years ago to speak to a conference of Catholic communicators. He told his audience an intriguing story. For many years U.S. mainline church broadcasters had a virtually free ticket to carry their message to large radio audiences on the major networks, he said. Evangelical groups didn't share in the privileges. <Continued> -
Latimer has a problem with the truth
Tom Oleson Robert Latimer has a problem with the truth. He has a problem telling it, a problem grasping it and a problem understanding it. <Continued>