Category: News

Slush anyone?

Dan DickinsonLeave a comment

Last week TimmyD blogged about the (now-resolved) softwood lumber dispute between Canada and the US. It seems there’s a potential new wrinkle in the story which, if true, is pretty unsettling:

The Tyee has an excerpt from testimony delivered by an American trade lawyer to our own Standing Committee on International Trade. Not only does Elliot Feldman lambaste the Conservatives’ softwood lumber deal as a rotten deal for Canada but he lets us in on something that ought to be a headline on every media outlet in the country: of the one billion dollars plus that we’re allowing the Americans to keep under the terms of that deal, $450 million goes straight to the White House with no congressional oversight. The legalese in the contract says it will go for “meritorious initiatives”. Feldman calls it a slush fund and suggests that it will be used to help campaigning Republicans who are desperate to maintain control of both houses of congress in November’s mid-term elections. [from POGGE]

As if it weren’t bad enough that those $450 million were ill-gotten gains. Couldn’t they just end the duplicity at the unfair trade practices?

More here.

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Gas prices are the lowest they’ve been in months. Not surprisingly, there are no headlines or lead stories on the news about how much easier life is for people who choose to live 80 km from where they work (or vice versa). Never fear; I’ll be sure to remind them next time they start up their (presumably gas-powered) whining machines again.

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This is pretty hard to believe:

An architect of Iraqi descent has said he was forced to remove a T-shirt that bore the words “We will not be silent” before boarding a flight at New York. [from the BBC]

Wait…no it isn’t.

[tags]softwood lumber dispute, elliot feldman, slush fund, gas prices, we will not be silent[/tags]

Catch a downloadable Star

Dan DickinsonLeave a comment

Very interesting idea by the Toronto Star (or maybe they copied it…I don’t pay much attention to the newspaper business) to offer a free PDF version of an afternoon paper for download, delivered to your inbox at 3:30 (or 4:15 if you want business news too). I like this idea for two reasons: 1) it shows the Star is thinking about…well, something new; 2) it might help to cut down on the unholy mess of free daily newspapers in our subway system. Each day, twice a day — after the morning and evening commutes — tens of thousands of those things are abandoned on subway seats and floors, stuffed into garbage cans, and left scattered about TTC stations. Of course, anybody who gets this daily email will likely just print the PDF, but since it’s not bound hopefully they’ll just print the pages they want; at the very least, it’s less paper consumed (and strewn about) than one of those daily rags.

Well done, Star.

[tags]toronto star, star p.m.[/tags]

The home stretch

Dan DickinsonLeave a comment

The paper’s due in three days, and I’m almost done. Just a few more sections and then the clean-up. Hopefully I can get it done a little earlier than planned; I need a couple of days to prepare for the film festival. I’ve also been taking time away from the office (it’s my company’s custom MBA program, so they kindly give us a little time off when we really need it…until now I just hadn’t really needed any) and I’ve been neglecting some important work. I’ll be glad to get back into the normal swing of things. In October.

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Need to move a giant statue of Ramses II? Google Earth can help you do it. And I thought it was just for showing me local pizza joints…

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In what might possibly be the oddest headline I’ve read in a while, the CBC informs us of “New clues into identity of 19th-century legless, mute Maritimer“. Good, ’cause I was wondering about that.

.:.

Speaking of mute, Gilles Duceppe should really give it a try sometime.

“We have this ridiculous economic policy that when exports grow, the economy gets stronger and the value of our currency increases. Then exports decline and things get worse. It’s always like a yo-yo,” Mr. Duceppe said yesterday.

You know what else Gilles? When I turn my stove on, the water in my kettle boils. When I turn it off, it cools down again. It’s always like a yo-yo! Actually, that was giving him too much credit; what he’s saying is the boiling water in my kettle is causing my stove to switch on, and the cooling of the water switches the stove back off.

In theory — and only in theory — this man could be our Prime Minister. As much as I dislike Stephen Harper, at least he seems to grasp basic economics.

[tags]ramses ii, legless mute maritimer, gilles duceppe[/tags]

Sleaziness = ratings

Dan DickinsonLeave a comment

The wall-to-wall JonBenet Ramsey coverage is as baffling as it is disgusting. Yes, it’s tragic that a little girl was killed; it always is. But would the news networks consider it as tragic if she weren’t a tiny white [shudder] “beauty queen”? Or if they hadn’t harangued the parents with insinuations of guilt?

Is this story more important than the cease-fire in Lebanon? Than the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan? Than the looming problems of Iran or North Korea? On CNN, Fox News, MSNBC and CTV (all linked above) these stories were buried underneath such breaking news as a chocolate virgin mary and Justin Timberlake dissing the latest American Idol chum*.

I guess I’m not surprised; the networks are just giving the idiots what they want. I’m just disappointed that they all sink to the bottom of the cesspool, hand in hand with smiles on their faces.

* don’t even get me started on the irony.

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Wired has some details about the Microsoft MP3 player (aka, the Zune). If that thing has 80+ GB of storage, I might be getting me one.

[tags]jonbenet ramsey, network coverage, chocolate virgin mary, justin timberlake vs. taylor hicks, zune[/tags]

"You call it an electrified anal prod, I say tomato."

Dan DickinsonLeave a comment

Today I watched Little Dieter Needs To Fly (imdb | rotten tomatoes), a Werner Herzog documentary about Dieter Dengler, a German man who moved to America because he wanted to be a pilot, eventually winding up a prisoner of war after being shot down over Vietnam. It was totally engrossing and captivating, unbelievable in parts. I highly recommend it.

In a funny little coincidence, not an hour after I finished watching the documentary I read that Werner Herzog will be showing a movie at this year’s film festival…a retelling of Dieter Dengler’s story. I’ll be doing my damndest to see that.

Which reminds me…a while back I also watched Incident At Loch Ness (imdb | rotten tomatoes), another Herzog [ahem] documentary. It’s pretty entertaining.

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TOist takes on the ugly yellow obelisk at the corner of Yonge & Bloor. I would have suggested that abandoned storefront on Bloor between Spadina and Bathurst next, but it seems to have found someone to love it again.

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The US Government is moving to protect their interrogators from prosecution even if they’re found guilty of “humiliating or degrading wartime prisoners.” This isn’t surprising, given the kind of things I read about in this Esquire article or how you see Alberto Gonzales act in this Daily Show clip.

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If this is true — or even close to true — then people are even dumber than I thought: 30 percent of them can’t remember what year the September 11 terrorist attacks took place.

[tags]little dieter needs to fly, werner herzog, rescue dawn, hudson bay obelisk, interrogation, prisoner abuse[/tags]

Telephone poles, excetera

Dan DickinsonLeave a comment

It seems Aliant, phone provider for Atlantic Canada, has found a way to get another $2 million out of Rogers using just a comma. Those maritimers are sneaky. [via Rocketboom]

.:.

Yourdictionary.com has published their list of the 100 most mispronounced English words. I’m guilty a few of these; I guess I have a ways to go with my grammar. At least I don’t say nucular. [via Yes But No But Yes]
[tags]aliant, rogers, mispronounced words[/tags]

Awww…

Dan DickinsonLeave a comment

Here I was, all set to write a big scathing post concerning the constant whining I hear about gas prices…and I remembered that I already did, about a year ago. Too bad; my fingers were itchin’ to type. I need another reason to vent my spleen.

Ah…the Middle East! Right.

  • Israel may have the right to defend itself, but self-defense is not what’s been happening for the past month. Focused and surgical strikes — which Israeli armed forces are very good at — against Hezbollah would make sense, not destroying infrastructure and killing hundreds of civilians.
  • America is sitting on the sidelines for political reasons, not logical or humanitarian reasons. Not that this should surprise anyone. However, Canada’s taking an equally passive approach; I think that’s surprising.
  • I’m not sure where Israel plans to go from here. I don’t see an end to this; they can’t hope to wipe out Hezbollah entirely. The draft UN resolution will only move the fighting to another location. Lebanon doesn’t have the ability to wipe out Hezbollah on their own, and neither Syria nor Iran are politically motivated to do so. I really can’t see where this will go.
  • Despite what Bill Maher thinks, criticizing Israeli military tactics does not make one an anti-semite. That’s a cheap accusation, an attempt to deflect the world’s conversation away from the real issue at hand. Does criticizing Guantanamo Bay torture make me anti-Christian?

[tags]gas prices, israel, lebanon, bill maher, anti-semitism[/tags]

Queasy

Dan DickinsonLeave a comment

Well, we’re an unhealthy bunch here at the Dickinson ranch. I felt a little wonky all day; around 3:30 I felt fully wonky and left work, came home and laid on the couch until Nellie arrived. We had a summerlicious dinner tonight with some friends and I didn’t want to miss it, but didn’t really feel up to eating. I was actually a little dizzy until we got to the restaurant (Goldfish) and I had some bread and water. Now that I’ve eaten (it was pretty good, but not great) I feel better, but still just a little off. Nellie, on the other hand, started feeling nauseous toward the end of dinner and got progressively worse. I’ll just be happy if we can make it through the day sans vomit.

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A phrase I never thought I’d type: Mogwai will be on the Miami Vice soundtrack.

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More than 200 dead in Lebanon now, including several Canadians. The Guardian seems surprised that western powers haven’t intervened, but they shouldn’t be. The US has always back Israel very heavily; they won’t move to stop any Israeli attacks (within reason), and no other western or european country will do anything unless America makes a move first. Or perhaps what seemed in the Guardian like surprise was just veiled criticism?

I just bought a copy of Munich yesterday and began watching it today. I wonder if Ehud Olmert struggled with the moral justification of his reciprocal response as much as Golda Meir struggled with hers? I’m amazed anyone runs for political office in the middle east, knowing that you could — and probably will — have to make decisions like that.
[tags]goldfish, mogwai, miami vice, lebanon, canadians, israel, ehud olmert, golda meir[/tags]