This TED talk by Rory Stewart a British MP explains why he believes it is time for other countries to get out of Afghanistan.
Sunday, September 11, 2011
British MP says its time to get out of Afghanistan
This TED talk by Rory Stewart a British MP explains why he believes it is time for other countries to get out of Afghanistan.
The Toronto Film Festival
It's only been a few years since festivals started picking future Oscar winners -- now, they're where the action all begins, writes Todd McCarthy.
The first movie to have its world premiere at a film festival and go on to win the best picture Academy Award was Woody Allen's Annie Hall, which debuted at Los Angeles' Filmex in spring 1977. Four years later, Chariots of Fire launched in competition at Cannes and came from behind to snare the Oscar. The Last Emperor began its long march to awards glory at the 1987 Tokyo Film Festival, and in 2000, American Beauty, unveiled at Toronto in 1999, pulled off the trick.
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From 1928 to 2004, these four were the only films launched at festivals that then bagged the top Oscar. All that has changed. During the past six years, five best picture winners have bowed at festivals; for the most part, they were relatively low-budget productions initially perceived as niche pictures. In the end, all but one became big hits.
The first was Paul Haggis' Crash, which was unknown when it premiered at Toronto in 2005. The Departed triumphed the next year commercially and at the Oscars despite eschewing festivals, but it was followed by No Country for Old Men(Cannes), Slumdog Millionaire (Telluride), The Hurt Locker(Venice) and The King's Speech (Telluride), all underdog winners.
No wonder, then, that Hollywood's radar screens are trained on Toronto. Although some of the most eagerly awaited films have already been viewed at Venice or Telluride --Alexander Payne's The Descendants, David Cronenberg's A Dangerous Method, Roman Polanski'sCarnage -- it was The King's Speech's screening at last year's festival that caught the eye of press and industry figures, not its Telluride premiere.
The Social Network had its world premiere at the New York Film Festival a couple weeks later, and the two films duked it out for the next five months until Speech prevailed at the Kodak Theatre.
So what unknown quantities are critics eyeing in Toronto this year? Among the galas, Bennett Miller's baseball dramaMoneyball, starring Brad Pitt, has clear appeal -- but there's no advance word on it, and a choppy production history provokes qualms. Also eagerly anticipated are Sarah Polley's Take This Waltz; Bruce Beresford's Peace, Love, & Misunderstanding, starring Jane Fonda and Catherine Keener; Darrell Roodt's Winnie, with Jennifer Hudson as Nelson Mandela's (Terrence Howard) controversial wife; another Africa-set drama, Marc Forster's Machine Gun Preacher, starring Gerard Butler andMichelle Monaghan; and Luc Besson's Burma-set drama The Lady, featuring Michelle Yeoh.
In the Special Presentations section are Jonathan Levine's already-hyped dramedy 50/50; Oren Moverman's Rampart; Michael Winterbottom's Trishna, with Freida Pinto starring in an adaptation of Thomas Hardy's novel Tess of the D'Urbervilles set in India; and, for buffs,Guy Maddin's Keyhole, starring Isabella Rossellini.
The New York Film Festival, which opens Sept. 30, will again have one world premiere that's garnering much speculation: My Week With Marilyn, in which Michelle Williams and Kenneth Branagh appear as Marilyn Monroe and Laurence Olivier. All other releases for the rest of the year will open directly in theaters without major festival exposure.
What caused the sudden shift from more obviously mainstream fare winning all the Oscars to specialized films taking their place? All sorts of explanations can be proposed, but the answer lies in a combination of several of them: studios are no longer in the prestige pictures business, a gradual shift in the makeup and sensibilities of Academy members, the increasing sophistication of marketing and publicity campaigns, DVDs of smaller films getting into the hands of voters, and the shrewd use of festivals as a launching pad.
Since 1977, when Annie Hall beat Star Wars in a battle rather comparable to that of two years ago when Hurt Locker prevailed over Avatar, how many Oscar winners have there been that might, in this day and age, be considered festival-type films? Even now, it's perplexing that The English Patient was not shown at any festivals -- it seems a natural. And, given Clint Eastwood's longtime presence at major festivals, it would have been easy to imagine Million Dollar Babyworking the circuit, but it barely made a December 2004 release in time. Like it, Eastwood's J. Edgar is skipping festivals and heading straight for cinemas toward the end of the year.
Magnitude-6.4 quake hits off Vancouver Island
Magnitude-6.4 quake hits off Vancouver Island
A magnitude-6.4 earthquake has hit near Vancouver Island, Canada, the US Geological Survey (USGS) says.
The epicentre of the quake, which hit at 12:41 local time (19:41 GMT), was 289km (179 miles) west of Vancouver, the USGS reported.
The quake occurred a depth of 23km (14.3 miles), the USGS added. Eyewitness accounts say buildings swayed in central Vancouver.
However, no tsunami warning has been issued.
The closest major settlement, Port Hardy - with a population of over 5,000 - has received no reports of damage caused by the earthquake.
Police in Seattle, more than 200km away in the US state of Washington, said tremors were also felt there, but there were no reports of damage.
Tuesday, June 14, 2011
Almost 1/3 of rich Canadians born abroad: BMO
While on a cruise a couple of years ago, I sat at the dinner table each night with a large group which included two sisters from New York who had immigrated to the USA from Hong Kong. Over the course of one evening the conversation turned to immigration and new countries and one of the sisters asserted that one could 'buy their way into Canada' but they could not do so in the USA. I had no experience or education in the matter but I have to admit it troubled me. I wonder if the following article from CBC online actually supports that contention?
Almost 1/3 of rich Canadians born abroad: BMO
The face of Canada's wealthy is changing with almost a third of high net worth Canadians reporting they were born outside of Canada, according to a new survey by BMO Harris Private Banking.
The online survey, conducted for BMO by Harris Decima and released Tuesday, said 30 per cent of affluent Canadians, which it defined as those having more than $1 million of investable assets, were born elsewhere.
The study also found that almost all affluent new Canadians — or about 96 per cent — keep the bulk of their wealth in Canada."These findings speak to the Canadian spirit of multiculturalism and how this country fosters an environment that helps individuals to succeed and thrive," said Andrew Auerbach, head of BMO Harris Private Banking.
"Attracting the best and the brightest demonstrates the relative prosperity and openness of Canada's economy. This bodes well for long-term wealth generation." Meanwhile, the study found only a minority of affluent Canadians overall — 38 per cent — say they are being treated fairly when it comes to taxation.
Two-thirds of the affluent would like to see a reduction in capital gains and incomes taxes.
Meanwhile, the number of affluent Canadians putting their money into tax-efficient investments has risen in recent years to 92 per cent from 73 per cent in 2008 and 67 per cent in 2005, the survey found.
While a majority of high net worth Canadians keep most of their money in Canada, about four in 10, or 37 per cent, said they allocate a portion of their wealth outside the country.
The top three foreign markets identified were The United States (69 per cent), Europe (35 per cent) and Asia (28 per cent).
"There's no question that the growth we're seeing in Asia is making it increasingly attractive to affluent Canadians," said Jennifer Chua, BMO Group's head of private banking (China), BMO Financial Group.
"Ultimately, Asia is a good market for any investor to consider, regardless of net worth," Chua added.
Almost 1/3 of rich Canadians born abroad: BMO
The face of Canada's wealthy is changing with almost a third of high net worth Canadians reporting they were born outside of Canada, according to a new survey by BMO Harris Private Banking.
The online survey, conducted for BMO by Harris Decima and released Tuesday, said 30 per cent of affluent Canadians, which it defined as those having more than $1 million of investable assets, were born elsewhere.
The study also found that almost all affluent new Canadians — or about 96 per cent — keep the bulk of their wealth in Canada."These findings speak to the Canadian spirit of multiculturalism and how this country fosters an environment that helps individuals to succeed and thrive," said Andrew Auerbach, head of BMO Harris Private Banking.
"Attracting the best and the brightest demonstrates the relative prosperity and openness of Canada's economy. This bodes well for long-term wealth generation." Meanwhile, the study found only a minority of affluent Canadians overall — 38 per cent — say they are being treated fairly when it comes to taxation.
Two-thirds of the affluent would like to see a reduction in capital gains and incomes taxes.
Meanwhile, the number of affluent Canadians putting their money into tax-efficient investments has risen in recent years to 92 per cent from 73 per cent in 2008 and 67 per cent in 2005, the survey found.
While a majority of high net worth Canadians keep most of their money in Canada, about four in 10, or 37 per cent, said they allocate a portion of their wealth outside the country.
The top three foreign markets identified were The United States (69 per cent), Europe (35 per cent) and Asia (28 per cent).
"There's no question that the growth we're seeing in Asia is making it increasingly attractive to affluent Canadians," said Jennifer Chua, BMO Group's head of private banking (China), BMO Financial Group.
"Ultimately, Asia is a good market for any investor to consider, regardless of net worth," Chua added.
Canada and Asbestos
The Canadian government rejected advice from Health Canada that asbestos be added to a global list of hazardous materials in 2006, CBC News has learned.According to documents obtained under Access to Information, a senior Health Canada bureaucrat wrote that the agency believed that chrysotile — a form of asbestos that has been linked to cancer — should be added to a UN treaty known as the Rotterdam Convention.
"[Health Canada's] preferred position would be to list — as this is consistent with controlled use — i.e. let people know about the substance so they have the information they need, through prior informed consent, to ensure they handle and use the substance correctly," wrote Paul Glover then director general of Health Canada's safe environments program, in 2006.
The 2006 Rotterdam Convention comprises a list of hazardous substances that require countries to disclose any restrictions imposed for health or environmental reasons by exporting countries. Importing countries would then decide whether to import the substance, ban it, or restrict it, something known as prior informed consent.
More than 50 countries ban the use of asbestos. But Canada, one of the leading exporters of the material, lobbied to keep asbestos off the Rotterdam list with the support of producing countries such as Russia and Zimbabwe. Ultimately, chrysotile asbestos did not make the list and remains off it.
Canada exports $90 million of asbestos, all of it from Quebec, every year.
While Glover noted in his email that Health Canada cannot say that chrysotile is safe, he said the agency does feel "there is science and evidence to support that chrysotile is less dangerous than other forms of asbestos.""We also feel that the risks associated with chrysotile can be managed by using a controlled use approach — i.e. know the substance its properties and hazards, and handle and use it accordingly."
He also acknowledged that "the final decision will not be made on the basis of health alone."
In 2006, just prior to the Rotterdam Convention, the World Health Organization (WHO) stated that "the most efficient way to eliminate asbestos related diseases is to stop using all types of asbestos." The agency also said that "more than 40 countries, including all members of the European Union have banned the use of all forms of asbestos, including chrysotile."
Canada’s Department of Natural Resources also supported keeping asbestos off the Rotterdam list. "Listing of chrysotile alongside the world’s most toxic substances will be perceived as encouraging a ban of the substance" it stated on its website.
It also says on the website that inclusion of chrysotile to the Rotterdam Convention "is inappropriate because it is widely recognized that chrysotile fibre can be used safely and responsibly."Canadian officials have long held that Canada’s approach to asbestos is a responsible one. By pursuing a policy of controlled-use and working with developing countries to minimize exposure, officials have asserted that the risks associated with chrysotile can be minimized.
The Chrysotile Institute, which speaks for the industry, and has received millions in government funding, said there's no need to say anything about chrysotile before selling it, because it’s less harmful than other kinds of asbestos."The declared objective of the people who are pushing for inclusion on the convention is to ban the substance worldwide and this would be a move in that direction which is totally unwarranted," said institute spokesman Guy Versailles.But for years, Canada has been scraping asbestos out of buildings, including those on Parliament Hill and at 24 Sussex Dr., the prime minister's residence.
Asked during the recent election campaign how Canada can justify the contrast, Prime Minister Stephen Harper said as long as countries are willing to buy it, he won’t stand in the way."This government will not put Canadian industry in a position where it is discriminated against in a market where sale is permitted," Harper said. But criticism of this policy has been fierce.
"Canada is the only Western democracy to have consistently opposed international efforts to regulate the global trade in asbestos. And the government of Canada has done so with shameful political manipulation of science," the Canadian Medical Association Journal stated in an editorial in 2008.
The Canadian Labour Congress has also accused the Canadian government of "ignoring expert advice indicating that chrysotile asbestos is not safe and is causally linked with various forms of cancer."
"The government has failed to consult with labour and other stakeholders on steps that Canada could take to comply with international conventions calling for a ban on asbestos," the congress has stated.
A decision by the International Labour Organization’s Committee on the Application of Standards last week demanded that the Canadian government adopt the “strictest standard limits for the protection of workers’ health as regards exposure to asbestos.”
It also asked Canada to “take into account the evolution of scientific studies, knowledge and technology … as well as the findings of WHO, the ILO and other recognized organizations concerning the dangers of the exposure to asbestos.” "If you have any information about this story, or other investigative tips, please email investigations@cbc.ca"
Officials from the countries that agreed to the Rotterdam Convention will meet on June 20, but Canada remains undecided on its strategy. Despite the fact that the government has had years to co-ordinate its position on this issue, an official from Environment Canada recently told CBC News that "Canada's position for the upcoming meeting is under consideration."
But Kathleen Ruff, the co-ordinator of the Rotterdam Convention Alliance which represents environmental and health organizations criticized this position."There’s no excuse for the government’s refusal to tell the public the position we as a country will take at the UN environmental conference in a few days. This is not transparency."
"[Health Canada's] preferred position would be to list — as this is consistent with controlled use — i.e. let people know about the substance so they have the information they need, through prior informed consent, to ensure they handle and use the substance correctly," wrote Paul Glover then director general of Health Canada's safe environments program, in 2006.
The 2006 Rotterdam Convention comprises a list of hazardous substances that require countries to disclose any restrictions imposed for health or environmental reasons by exporting countries. Importing countries would then decide whether to import the substance, ban it, or restrict it, something known as prior informed consent.
More than 50 countries ban the use of asbestos. But Canada, one of the leading exporters of the material, lobbied to keep asbestos off the Rotterdam list with the support of producing countries such as Russia and Zimbabwe. Ultimately, chrysotile asbestos did not make the list and remains off it.
Canada exports $90 million of asbestos, all of it from Quebec, every year.
While Glover noted in his email that Health Canada cannot say that chrysotile is safe, he said the agency does feel "there is science and evidence to support that chrysotile is less dangerous than other forms of asbestos.""We also feel that the risks associated with chrysotile can be managed by using a controlled use approach — i.e. know the substance its properties and hazards, and handle and use it accordingly."
He also acknowledged that "the final decision will not be made on the basis of health alone."
In 2006, just prior to the Rotterdam Convention, the World Health Organization (WHO) stated that "the most efficient way to eliminate asbestos related diseases is to stop using all types of asbestos." The agency also said that "more than 40 countries, including all members of the European Union have banned the use of all forms of asbestos, including chrysotile."
Canada’s Department of Natural Resources also supported keeping asbestos off the Rotterdam list. "Listing of chrysotile alongside the world’s most toxic substances will be perceived as encouraging a ban of the substance" it stated on its website.
It also says on the website that inclusion of chrysotile to the Rotterdam Convention "is inappropriate because it is widely recognized that chrysotile fibre can be used safely and responsibly."Canadian officials have long held that Canada’s approach to asbestos is a responsible one. By pursuing a policy of controlled-use and working with developing countries to minimize exposure, officials have asserted that the risks associated with chrysotile can be minimized.
The Chrysotile Institute, which speaks for the industry, and has received millions in government funding, said there's no need to say anything about chrysotile before selling it, because it’s less harmful than other kinds of asbestos."The declared objective of the people who are pushing for inclusion on the convention is to ban the substance worldwide and this would be a move in that direction which is totally unwarranted," said institute spokesman Guy Versailles.But for years, Canada has been scraping asbestos out of buildings, including those on Parliament Hill and at 24 Sussex Dr., the prime minister's residence.
Asked during the recent election campaign how Canada can justify the contrast, Prime Minister Stephen Harper said as long as countries are willing to buy it, he won’t stand in the way."This government will not put Canadian industry in a position where it is discriminated against in a market where sale is permitted," Harper said. But criticism of this policy has been fierce.
"Canada is the only Western democracy to have consistently opposed international efforts to regulate the global trade in asbestos. And the government of Canada has done so with shameful political manipulation of science," the Canadian Medical Association Journal stated in an editorial in 2008.
The Canadian Labour Congress has also accused the Canadian government of "ignoring expert advice indicating that chrysotile asbestos is not safe and is causally linked with various forms of cancer."
"The government has failed to consult with labour and other stakeholders on steps that Canada could take to comply with international conventions calling for a ban on asbestos," the congress has stated.
A decision by the International Labour Organization’s Committee on the Application of Standards last week demanded that the Canadian government adopt the “strictest standard limits for the protection of workers’ health as regards exposure to asbestos.”
It also asked Canada to “take into account the evolution of scientific studies, knowledge and technology … as well as the findings of WHO, the ILO and other recognized organizations concerning the dangers of the exposure to asbestos.” "If you have any information about this story, or other investigative tips, please email investigations@cbc.ca"
Officials from the countries that agreed to the Rotterdam Convention will meet on June 20, but Canada remains undecided on its strategy. Despite the fact that the government has had years to co-ordinate its position on this issue, an official from Environment Canada recently told CBC News that "Canada's position for the upcoming meeting is under consideration."
But Kathleen Ruff, the co-ordinator of the Rotterdam Convention Alliance which represents environmental and health organizations criticized this position."There’s no excuse for the government’s refusal to tell the public the position we as a country will take at the UN environmental conference in a few days. This is not transparency."
Sunday, June 12, 2011
Tuesday, June 7, 2011
Hassan Diab: Canada allows bomb suspect's extradition
Mr Diab, who was arrested in 2008, says he was not in Paris at the time of the attack A Canadian judge has approved the extradition to France of a man charged in a deadly 1980 bombing outside a Paris synagogue.
Lebanese-born Canadian Hassan Diab was arrested in 2008 at the request of French authorities.
France says Mr Diab was a member of a Palestinian militant group and planted a bomb that killed four and wounded 40.
Mr Diab denies the accusation and has pledged to appeal against the extradition order.On Monday, Ontario Superior Court Justice Robert Maranger ruled Mr Diab could be transferred to France. The final decision rests now with Canadian Justice Minister Rob Nicholson.
Mr Diab's lawyer René Duval requested he be granted bail until his appeal can be heard.French authorities say Mr Diab, who has taught sociology at two Ottawa universities, was a member of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine.
He is accused of making a bomb and it in a motorcycle outside the Copernic Street synagogue in Paris on 3 October, and is charged in France with four counts of murder, several counts of attempted murder and destruction of property.
Mr Diab was arrested in Ottawa in 2008 on an international arrest warrant issued by the French. He has said investigators are mistaken and he was not in Paris at the time of the attack.
Wednesday, June 1, 2011
Toronto couple has chosen to keep their baby's sex a secret
Toronto couple defend move to keep baby's sex secret
Mr Stocker and Ms Witterick say the decision to keep Storm's sex a secret was "a tribute to freedom" A Toronto couple are defending their decision to keep their infant's sex a secret in order to allow the child to develop his or her own gender identity. Kathy Witterick and David Stocker have been widely accused of imposing their ideology on four-month-old Storm.
The family were the subject of a recent profile in the Toronto Star newspaper.In an e-mail, Ms Witterick wrote that the idea that "the whole world must know what is between the baby's legs is unhealthy, unsafe, and voyeuristic".Ms Witterick, 38, and Mr Stocker, 39, have also been criticised over the manner in which they are raising their two sons Jazz, five, and Kio, two.
The boys are encouraged to choose their own clothing and hairstyles - even if that means wearing girls' clothes - and to challenge gender norms. Jazz wears his hair in long braids, and the boys are "almost exclusively assumed to be girls," Mr Stocker told the Toronto Star.
The child's grandparents do not know Storm's sex, the Toronto Star reported, and have grown weary of explaining the situation, but are supportive. In an e-mail to the Associated Press news agency, Ms Witterick, a stay-at-home mother, said a four-month-old infant was still learning to recognise him or herself, and said it was inappropriate to impose a gender identity on the child.
Mr Stocker and Ms Witterick say the decision to keep Storm's sex a secret was "a tribute to freedom" A Toronto couple are defending their decision to keep their infant's sex a secret in order to allow the child to develop his or her own gender identity. Kathy Witterick and David Stocker have been widely accused of imposing their ideology on four-month-old Storm.
The family were the subject of a recent profile in the Toronto Star newspaper.In an e-mail, Ms Witterick wrote that the idea that "the whole world must know what is between the baby's legs is unhealthy, unsafe, and voyeuristic".Ms Witterick, 38, and Mr Stocker, 39, have also been criticised over the manner in which they are raising their two sons Jazz, five, and Kio, two.
The boys are encouraged to choose their own clothing and hairstyles - even if that means wearing girls' clothes - and to challenge gender norms. Jazz wears his hair in long braids, and the boys are "almost exclusively assumed to be girls," Mr Stocker told the Toronto Star.
The child's grandparents do not know Storm's sex, the Toronto Star reported, and have grown weary of explaining the situation, but are supportive. In an e-mail to the Associated Press news agency, Ms Witterick, a stay-at-home mother, said a four-month-old infant was still learning to recognise him or herself, and said it was inappropriate to impose a gender identity on the child.
Thursday, May 19, 2011
John Baird- the Americans love him- but should Canadians?
Even in early 2007 when John Baird took over the environment portfolio, American diplomats saw a bright future for the feisty Conservative MP. 'Baird is a young, ambitious and dynamic minister who should be one of the Conservatives' top leadership prospects in the future," a leaked U.S. diplomatic cable says.
Americans devoted an entire nine-page diplomatic cable to analyzing Baird after he was appointed to the tricky file in January 2007 and he met with the U.S. Ambassador to Canada, David Wilkins. The document, dated Feb. 2, 2007, and classified as confidential, was among a batch of leaked U.S. State Department cables recently released to CBC News. "Baird clearly enjoys and is comfortable with the rough-and-tumble of Parliamentary debate in contrast to his predecessor Rona Ambrose," says a section of the cable marked "embassy comment."
"It is clear that Baird hopes a strong performance handling the politically sensitive environmental file will eventually be rewarded by his appointment to an even higher profile ministry," it says.
WikiLeaks
The flattering portrayal of Baird — particularly in comparison to his predecessor, Rona Ambrose, who is described as ineffective — suggests the newly anointed foreign affairs minister clearly made a positive impression abroad.Prime Minister Stephen Harper named Baird to the coveted top cabinet job on Wednesday amid questions over how the known Conservative party "pit bull" would fare on the world stage where diplomacy is key.Baird, 41, previously held the post as Treasury Board president and it was a job he enjoyed, according to the cables. "Baird volunteered that he had not asked to be environment minister," the U.S. diplomatic cable says. "He had been happy as Treasury Board President where, as a fiscal conservative, he could cut 'stupid' spending."
Baird expected defence file
The Ottawa West-Nepean MP recalled when the prime minister called him to 24 Sussex ahead of the 2007 cabinet shuffle and told him of his new post. Baird said he would not have chosen it, but was now delighted by its challenges."He regards it as a 'first-line' ministerial position and recognizes that the environment and Afghanistan may be the two most important issues in the next election," the cable says.And perhaps prescient, given his current post, Baird's other topic of conversation with U.S. officials was Afghanistan.
He recounted a trip the previous month to visit Canadian Forces members stationed in Afghanistan and stressed the importance of Canada's involvement in NATO fighting the Taliban as "an essential national commitment."
Baird also described spending a cold night sleeping in a tent with the soldiers.Baird went on to say that he was "proud to fire an artillery piece (although he did not think that the shell had caused casualties)," the cable says.
Indeed, it was the national defence file that Baird thought Harper might allot him back in 2007."He wondered whether he would be switched to the Department of National Defence in light of his Afghan trip," said the cable. "He got Environment instead, but was not dissatisfied."
Americans devoted an entire nine-page diplomatic cable to analyzing Baird after he was appointed to the tricky file in January 2007 and he met with the U.S. Ambassador to Canada, David Wilkins. The document, dated Feb. 2, 2007, and classified as confidential, was among a batch of leaked U.S. State Department cables recently released to CBC News. "Baird clearly enjoys and is comfortable with the rough-and-tumble of Parliamentary debate in contrast to his predecessor Rona Ambrose," says a section of the cable marked "embassy comment."
"It is clear that Baird hopes a strong performance handling the politically sensitive environmental file will eventually be rewarded by his appointment to an even higher profile ministry," it says.
WikiLeaks
The flattering portrayal of Baird — particularly in comparison to his predecessor, Rona Ambrose, who is described as ineffective — suggests the newly anointed foreign affairs minister clearly made a positive impression abroad.Prime Minister Stephen Harper named Baird to the coveted top cabinet job on Wednesday amid questions over how the known Conservative party "pit bull" would fare on the world stage where diplomacy is key.Baird, 41, previously held the post as Treasury Board president and it was a job he enjoyed, according to the cables. "Baird volunteered that he had not asked to be environment minister," the U.S. diplomatic cable says. "He had been happy as Treasury Board President where, as a fiscal conservative, he could cut 'stupid' spending."
Baird expected defence file
The Ottawa West-Nepean MP recalled when the prime minister called him to 24 Sussex ahead of the 2007 cabinet shuffle and told him of his new post. Baird said he would not have chosen it, but was now delighted by its challenges."He regards it as a 'first-line' ministerial position and recognizes that the environment and Afghanistan may be the two most important issues in the next election," the cable says.And perhaps prescient, given his current post, Baird's other topic of conversation with U.S. officials was Afghanistan.
He recounted a trip the previous month to visit Canadian Forces members stationed in Afghanistan and stressed the importance of Canada's involvement in NATO fighting the Taliban as "an essential national commitment."
Baird also described spending a cold night sleeping in a tent with the soldiers.Baird went on to say that he was "proud to fire an artillery piece (although he did not think that the shell had caused casualties)," the cable says.
Indeed, it was the national defence file that Baird thought Harper might allot him back in 2007."He wondered whether he would be switched to the Department of National Defence in light of his Afghan trip," said the cable. "He got Environment instead, but was not dissatisfied."
CPP earnings up 12%
Canada Pension Plan Investment Board ended fiscal 2011 with $148.2 billion in assets, a 20.6 per cent increase over 2010's level. The managers of Canada's national pension plan earned $15.5 billion in investment income, and got another $5.4 billion in CPP payments during the year.The 11.9 per cent annual gain was just off the 14.9 per cent increase during the previous fiscal year. The fund has now earned $31.7 billion worth of investment income in the two years since the recession, CEO David Denison said in a release.
"By adhering to our long-term strategy during and following the recent financial crisis, the fund has benefited from the recovery in the global public equity markets," he said.The CPPIB invests the funds not needed by the Canada Pension Plan to pay current benefits on behalf of 17 million Canadian contributors and beneficiaries.The Chief Actuary of Canada has repeatedly deemed the found actuarially sustainable for at least the next 75 years. CPP contributions are expected to exceed annual benefits paid until at least 2021.
The fund was active in the real estate space during the year, closing major deals for assets in Australia, the United States, and Londo. Just last week, the fund agreed to pay $370 million for a stake in a major German shopping complex.The year also saw the CPPIB increase its portfolio of infrastructure assets. The fund completed its largest infrastructure investment to date with two concurrent transactions involving the acquisition of a 40 per cent interest in the 407 Express Toll Route outside Toronto during the period, as well as an interest in a toll road in Sydney, Australia.
All 12 of the fund's asset classes were in positive territory for the year. In 2010, five lost value, but they were more than overcome by a major gain in the public equity portfolio.The CPP outperformed its own benchmark by 2.07 per cent, the fund said in a release. The 2011 showing brings the fund's five-year annual performance to 3.3 per cent and over 10 years, that return jumps to 5.9 per cent per year.
Sperm donor anonymity overturned by B.C. court
Olivia Pratten succesfully sued the B.C. government to force changes in the B.C. Adoption Act to allow the offspring of sperm, egg and embryo donors to find out who their donors are. (Jonathan Hayward/Canadian Press)The B.C. Supreme Court has struck down provincial legislation that protected the identity of sperm donors. The court also prohibited the future destruction of any records and ordered the province to draw up new legislation in line with the Charter of Rights.
Lawyers for Olivia Pratten had argued that the existing rules discriminated against the children of sperm donors. The court ruled in her favour on Thursday. "It is a total win for us. No more anonymity. Donor offspring have been recognized as having the same rights as adoptees in B.C.," said Pratten after the ruling was released. In the decision, Justice Elaine Adair wrote that the rights of the child must be protected in sperm donation, much like they are protected in cases of adoption in B.C. "I conclude, based on the whole of the evidence, that assisted reproduction using an anonymous gamete donor is harmful to the child, and it is not in the best interests of donor offspring," wrote Adair.
"I grant a permanent injunction, in accordance with these reasons, prohibiting the destruction, disposal, redaction or transfer out of B.C. of gamete donor records in British Columbia," she wrote. The ruling gives the province 15 months to enact conforming changes to the B.C. Adoption Act that are in line with the Charter of Rights.
Pratten was conceived through sperm donation. The 28-year-old journalist fought for years to learn her biological father's identity, but was eventually told the doctor legally destroyed the records in the 1990s.
She then decided to sue the B.C. government on behalf of other children who still have hopes of learning their parentage and to ensure donor records are preserved indefinitely and that children can have access to the records when they turn 19.
Lawyers for Olivia Pratten had argued that the existing rules discriminated against the children of sperm donors. The court ruled in her favour on Thursday. "It is a total win for us. No more anonymity. Donor offspring have been recognized as having the same rights as adoptees in B.C.," said Pratten after the ruling was released. In the decision, Justice Elaine Adair wrote that the rights of the child must be protected in sperm donation, much like they are protected in cases of adoption in B.C. "I conclude, based on the whole of the evidence, that assisted reproduction using an anonymous gamete donor is harmful to the child, and it is not in the best interests of donor offspring," wrote Adair.
"I grant a permanent injunction, in accordance with these reasons, prohibiting the destruction, disposal, redaction or transfer out of B.C. of gamete donor records in British Columbia," she wrote. The ruling gives the province 15 months to enact conforming changes to the B.C. Adoption Act that are in line with the Charter of Rights.
Pratten was conceived through sperm donation. The 28-year-old journalist fought for years to learn her biological father's identity, but was eventually told the doctor legally destroyed the records in the 1990s.
She then decided to sue the B.C. government on behalf of other children who still have hopes of learning their parentage and to ensure donor records are preserved indefinitely and that children can have access to the records when they turn 19.
Wednesday, May 18, 2011
Canadians secretly added to U.S. security list: WikiLeaks
The Canadian Security Intelligence Service, Canada's principal intelligence agency, routinely transmits to U.S. authorities the names and personal details of Canadian citizens who are suspected of, but not charged with, what the agency refers to as "terrorist-related activity." The criteria used to turn over the names are secret, as is the process itself.But a new cache of WikiLeaks documents pertaining to Canada lays bare the practice. It contains not only frank assessments by U.S. officials of Canadian co-operation, but the names of 27 Canadian citizens turned over by their own government as possible threats, along with 14 other names of foreign nationals living in Canada.
In at least some cases, the people in the cables appear to have been named as potential terrorists solely based on their associations with other suspects, rather than any actions or hard evidence.Of the 41 people named, 21 do not appear to have ever been charged, and some had never come to the attention of the Americans before being named by their own government. Most of the remaining 20 names comprise the group known as the Toronto 18. Some of that group were charged and convicted; others had charges against them stayed.
The cables are a snapshot of periods in 2009 and 2010. Over the years, the number of names handed over is certainly much higher. The first stop for these names is usually the so-called Visa Viper list maintained by the U.S. government. Anyone who makes that list is unlikely to be admitted to the States.Given Washington's policy of centralizing such information, though, the names also go into the database of the U.S. National Counterterrorism Centre. Inclusion in such databases can have several consequences, such as being barred from aircraft that fly through U.S. airspace. Paul Cavalluzzo, who acted as chief counsel for the Canadian commission of inquiry that cleared Arar of any wrongdoing, put it this way after being briefed on the cables: "Once you give the name to the Americans, that's the end of the game."
Long-standing practice
Interviews with several Canadian security sources confirm that the practice of naming people who are suspected, but not charged, has been going on for many years.One security official with deep knowledge of the subject said the cables go to "the nub of some of the most sensitive communications between our side and the Americans."He stressed that any decision to hand over names is the result of a detailed process, in which an individual's threat level is assessed by a committee of Canadian security officials, including a senior executive at CSIS. Lawyers from the Department of Justice also participate, and often a representative of the RCMP.As part of the process, someone plays the part of devil's advocate, challenging the information gathered on the individual being considered. Even then, said the official, the decision to hand over a name to the Americans is subject to written ministerial directives and internal CSIS policies.
Still, as Cavalluzzo points out, the process is secret, with no judicial oversight, and takes place without the knowledge of the individual being "targeted.""It certainly doesn't meet any criteria of due process in the sense that the individual has no representation whatever. Don't tell me there's a devil's advocate. That and a dollar will get you a cup of coffee."
The Canadian security official said two considerations loom over the CSIS committee's deliberations.
The first is Arar, who was secretly traduced by the RCMP to American authorities and, as a result, was removed from a commercial flight at John F. Kennedy airport in 2002, then forcibly deported to Syria, where he was tortured. Maher Arar in January 2007, holding a copy of Justice Dennis O'Connor's report recommending a government apology and compensation for his ordeal, which was forthcoming. (Tom Hanson/Canadian Press) Arar subsequently received an apology and $10.5 million in compensation from Ottawa. Significantly, though, he remains on the U.S. no-fly list. He, too, was named to American authorities based solely on association.
"We don't want another Arar," said the security official. But at the same time, he said, CSIS is acutely aware that if it did not pass on information about someone it suspected, and that person then carried out some sort of spectacular attack in the U.S., the consequences could be cataclysmic for Canada. U.S. authorities, already suspicious that Canada is "soft on terror," would likely tighten the common border, damaging hundreds of billions of dollars worth of vital commerce.
A former senior official, who also spoke to CBC on the basis of anonymity, put it more bluntly: "The reality is, sorry, there are bad people out there. "And it's very hard to get some of those people before a court of law with the information you have. And so there has to be some sort of process which allows you to provide some sort of safeguard to society on both sides of the border." Furthermore, he said, "it's not a fundamental human right to be able to go to the United States."
Current realities
Both security officials said they are absolutely certain that individuals they've had a hand in naming posed threats to Canada's security.Cavalluzzo, though, is uncomfortable with the practice. He says the names should be vetted by a judge before being handed to the Americans. He says there should be guarantees that any information turned over is accurate and that any person named could be delisted if it turns out the intelligence was poor. (One Canadian security official said at least two people named over the years have indeed been delisted at Canada’s request, although he acknowledged that once you are in the American system, you are most likely in for life).Despite Cavalluzzo's discomfort, though, he agrees that, given the current reality, the names of suspects must be shared: "It would seem to me that it's reasonable so long as it is done in a way that provides Canadian citizens with adequate controls, and I don't know if you can ever do that when you're dealing with the Americans."
Toronto lawyer Clayton Ruby, who also has had considerable experience in national security cases, took a different view. The practice, he said, is "abhorrent.""This is information that is being handed over with the knowledge that it will have adverse consequences on Canadian citizens. And Canadian citizens have a right to be protected by their government."Ruby described the committee practice as a "bureaucratic process" that falls far short of what a citizen is due. "Due process would involve some standards such as, well, more than 'we suspect he's involved in something nasty.'"A third source, also highly placed in the Canadian intelligence apparatus, objected to the accusation that the process is hidden from scrutiny. He pointed out that the Security Intelligence Review Committee, created to oversee CSIS, has access to all the names and all the deliberations.
"We [CSIS] are the most reviewed service in the world," he said. He added that he felt sorry for some of those whose names have been released by Julian Assange, founder of WikiLeaks. "They were not charged or convicted."When it was pointed out that they are nonetheless now in the American databases, courtesy of CSIS, the official replied: "Yes, and so are you, and so am I."The databases are vast, he said, and the Americans are capable of distinguishing dangerous threats from individuals of concern, or simply of interest.
Reasonable suspicion of a crime
But Ruby said the threshold for naming someone to the Americans should be "reasonable suspicion of a crime." Abdullah Almalki listens to Justice Frank Iacobucci's opening statement in March 2007 at the start of the commission investigating the ordeals of himself and two others, all of whom deny allegations of terrorist ties. Two years later, Parliament voted in favour of an apology and compensation for the three men. (Tom Hanson/Canadian Press) In other words, that the authorities have reasonable and probable grounds to believe that the individual has planted a bomb, or is planning to plant a bomb.
Canadians have a constitutional right to privacy and to protection from unreasonable search and seizure, said Ruby."This is clearly a search. They're searching out information about you. They're invading your privacy. And the question is whether it's reasonable."Well, clearly it's reasonable when there's an actual crime being investigated. But short of that, some generalized threat to the state because the state says so? All in secret? I'm not sure it's legal. I think it isn't."In another of the WikiLeaks cables, though, U.S. Embassy officials in Canada make it clear they think Canada already accords too many rights to suspects."Canadian services do not appear to be as proactive as U.S. law enforcement regarding terrorist cell penetration and source development," says the cable, which is classified as both secret and "noforn," meaning not for foreign eyes.
"Both [CSIS and the RCMP] are supportive and co-operative with U.S. law enforcement for the most part, although restricted by the Canadian Charter of Rights, which is the basis for Canada's strict privacy laws."
CSIS declined a request for an on-the-record interview, instead putting out a lengthy written statement that essentially urged Canadians to trust the agency’s secret proceedings. The executive director of the Security Intelligence Review Committee, Susan Pollak, would not discuss the criteria CSIS uses to name people to U.S. authorities, but told CBC she is satisfied that CSIS operates within the law.
In at least some cases, the people in the cables appear to have been named as potential terrorists solely based on their associations with other suspects, rather than any actions or hard evidence.Of the 41 people named, 21 do not appear to have ever been charged, and some had never come to the attention of the Americans before being named by their own government. Most of the remaining 20 names comprise the group known as the Toronto 18. Some of that group were charged and convicted; others had charges against them stayed.
The cables are a snapshot of periods in 2009 and 2010. Over the years, the number of names handed over is certainly much higher. The first stop for these names is usually the so-called Visa Viper list maintained by the U.S. government. Anyone who makes that list is unlikely to be admitted to the States.Given Washington's policy of centralizing such information, though, the names also go into the database of the U.S. National Counterterrorism Centre. Inclusion in such databases can have several consequences, such as being barred from aircraft that fly through U.S. airspace. Paul Cavalluzzo, who acted as chief counsel for the Canadian commission of inquiry that cleared Arar of any wrongdoing, put it this way after being briefed on the cables: "Once you give the name to the Americans, that's the end of the game."
Long-standing practice
Interviews with several Canadian security sources confirm that the practice of naming people who are suspected, but not charged, has been going on for many years.One security official with deep knowledge of the subject said the cables go to "the nub of some of the most sensitive communications between our side and the Americans."He stressed that any decision to hand over names is the result of a detailed process, in which an individual's threat level is assessed by a committee of Canadian security officials, including a senior executive at CSIS. Lawyers from the Department of Justice also participate, and often a representative of the RCMP.As part of the process, someone plays the part of devil's advocate, challenging the information gathered on the individual being considered. Even then, said the official, the decision to hand over a name to the Americans is subject to written ministerial directives and internal CSIS policies.
Still, as Cavalluzzo points out, the process is secret, with no judicial oversight, and takes place without the knowledge of the individual being "targeted.""It certainly doesn't meet any criteria of due process in the sense that the individual has no representation whatever. Don't tell me there's a devil's advocate. That and a dollar will get you a cup of coffee."
The Canadian security official said two considerations loom over the CSIS committee's deliberations.
The first is Arar, who was secretly traduced by the RCMP to American authorities and, as a result, was removed from a commercial flight at John F. Kennedy airport in 2002, then forcibly deported to Syria, where he was tortured. Maher Arar in January 2007, holding a copy of Justice Dennis O'Connor's report recommending a government apology and compensation for his ordeal, which was forthcoming. (Tom Hanson/Canadian Press) Arar subsequently received an apology and $10.5 million in compensation from Ottawa. Significantly, though, he remains on the U.S. no-fly list. He, too, was named to American authorities based solely on association.
"We don't want another Arar," said the security official. But at the same time, he said, CSIS is acutely aware that if it did not pass on information about someone it suspected, and that person then carried out some sort of spectacular attack in the U.S., the consequences could be cataclysmic for Canada. U.S. authorities, already suspicious that Canada is "soft on terror," would likely tighten the common border, damaging hundreds of billions of dollars worth of vital commerce.
A former senior official, who also spoke to CBC on the basis of anonymity, put it more bluntly: "The reality is, sorry, there are bad people out there. "And it's very hard to get some of those people before a court of law with the information you have. And so there has to be some sort of process which allows you to provide some sort of safeguard to society on both sides of the border." Furthermore, he said, "it's not a fundamental human right to be able to go to the United States."
Current realities
Both security officials said they are absolutely certain that individuals they've had a hand in naming posed threats to Canada's security.Cavalluzzo, though, is uncomfortable with the practice. He says the names should be vetted by a judge before being handed to the Americans. He says there should be guarantees that any information turned over is accurate and that any person named could be delisted if it turns out the intelligence was poor. (One Canadian security official said at least two people named over the years have indeed been delisted at Canada’s request, although he acknowledged that once you are in the American system, you are most likely in for life).Despite Cavalluzzo's discomfort, though, he agrees that, given the current reality, the names of suspects must be shared: "It would seem to me that it's reasonable so long as it is done in a way that provides Canadian citizens with adequate controls, and I don't know if you can ever do that when you're dealing with the Americans."
Toronto lawyer Clayton Ruby, who also has had considerable experience in national security cases, took a different view. The practice, he said, is "abhorrent.""This is information that is being handed over with the knowledge that it will have adverse consequences on Canadian citizens. And Canadian citizens have a right to be protected by their government."Ruby described the committee practice as a "bureaucratic process" that falls far short of what a citizen is due. "Due process would involve some standards such as, well, more than 'we suspect he's involved in something nasty.'"A third source, also highly placed in the Canadian intelligence apparatus, objected to the accusation that the process is hidden from scrutiny. He pointed out that the Security Intelligence Review Committee, created to oversee CSIS, has access to all the names and all the deliberations.
"We [CSIS] are the most reviewed service in the world," he said. He added that he felt sorry for some of those whose names have been released by Julian Assange, founder of WikiLeaks. "They were not charged or convicted."When it was pointed out that they are nonetheless now in the American databases, courtesy of CSIS, the official replied: "Yes, and so are you, and so am I."The databases are vast, he said, and the Americans are capable of distinguishing dangerous threats from individuals of concern, or simply of interest.
Reasonable suspicion of a crime
But Ruby said the threshold for naming someone to the Americans should be "reasonable suspicion of a crime." Abdullah Almalki listens to Justice Frank Iacobucci's opening statement in March 2007 at the start of the commission investigating the ordeals of himself and two others, all of whom deny allegations of terrorist ties. Two years later, Parliament voted in favour of an apology and compensation for the three men. (Tom Hanson/Canadian Press) In other words, that the authorities have reasonable and probable grounds to believe that the individual has planted a bomb, or is planning to plant a bomb.
Canadians have a constitutional right to privacy and to protection from unreasonable search and seizure, said Ruby."This is clearly a search. They're searching out information about you. They're invading your privacy. And the question is whether it's reasonable."Well, clearly it's reasonable when there's an actual crime being investigated. But short of that, some generalized threat to the state because the state says so? All in secret? I'm not sure it's legal. I think it isn't."In another of the WikiLeaks cables, though, U.S. Embassy officials in Canada make it clear they think Canada already accords too many rights to suspects."Canadian services do not appear to be as proactive as U.S. law enforcement regarding terrorist cell penetration and source development," says the cable, which is classified as both secret and "noforn," meaning not for foreign eyes.
"Both [CSIS and the RCMP] are supportive and co-operative with U.S. law enforcement for the most part, although restricted by the Canadian Charter of Rights, which is the basis for Canada's strict privacy laws."
CSIS declined a request for an on-the-record interview, instead putting out a lengthy written statement that essentially urged Canadians to trust the agency’s secret proceedings. The executive director of the Security Intelligence Review Committee, Susan Pollak, would not discuss the criteria CSIS uses to name people to U.S. authorities, but told CBC she is satisfied that CSIS operates within the law.
Sunday, May 15, 2011
New Canadian Bid for TMX
Canada's TMX Group, operator of the Toronto Stock Exchange, has received a domestic takeover bid to rival the group's proposed merger with the London Stock Exchange (LSE).The bid came from from a group of Canadian banks and pension funds.TMX said it would consider the bid while still seeking shareholder and regulatory approval for the LSE deal. Recent months have seen a spate of merger talks between the world's leading stock exchanges.
In March, the US exchanges Nasdaq and ICE mounted a bid for NYSE Euronext, topping a previous offer from Deutsche Boerse, while last month Australia indicated that it would block a bid from the Singapore stock exchange for ASX, the firm that owns the Australian Stock Exchange.
'Exciting offer'
"For years it has been totally inconceivable that any British government would tell a bidder for a UK company to take a hike ” Robert Peston. The fresh bid for TMX was made by a number of Canadian financial institutions operating under the name Maple Group Acquisition Corporation."Now Canadians have a Canadian alternative to look at that points to the strength of our financial services sector," said Ontario Finance Minister Dwight Duncan.He said the government would look at the bid, but while it was too early to say whether he personally preferred Maple's offer to that of the LSE, he was "excited" a Canadian bid had been made.
Any deal for TMX must gain government approval.
At the end of last year, the government blocked an offer for fertiliser group Potash Corporation from Anglo-Australian mining giant BHP Billiton on the basis that it was not in the Canadian national interest.
In March, the US exchanges Nasdaq and ICE mounted a bid for NYSE Euronext, topping a previous offer from Deutsche Boerse, while last month Australia indicated that it would block a bid from the Singapore stock exchange for ASX, the firm that owns the Australian Stock Exchange.
'Exciting offer'
"For years it has been totally inconceivable that any British government would tell a bidder for a UK company to take a hike ” Robert Peston. The fresh bid for TMX was made by a number of Canadian financial institutions operating under the name Maple Group Acquisition Corporation."Now Canadians have a Canadian alternative to look at that points to the strength of our financial services sector," said Ontario Finance Minister Dwight Duncan.He said the government would look at the bid, but while it was too early to say whether he personally preferred Maple's offer to that of the LSE, he was "excited" a Canadian bid had been made.
Any deal for TMX must gain government approval.
At the end of last year, the government blocked an offer for fertiliser group Potash Corporation from Anglo-Australian mining giant BHP Billiton on the basis that it was not in the Canadian national interest.
Honour killings in Canada: even worse than we believe
Gerald Caplan- Special to The Globe and Mail
If you are already sufficiently appalled knowing there’ve been 12 despicable “honour killings” in Canada since 2002, don’t read any further. This is only the tip of a nightmarish iceberg, I’m afraid. For some reason, the term honour killings seems to be reserved for murders committed by male family members against daughters or sisters in South Asian or Middle Eastern communities. These unimaginable crimes have been receiving much high-profile notoriety in the Canadian media, as they surely deserve. All Canadians must now know of the tragic murder of 16-year old Aqsa Parvez of Mississauga, strangled to death three years ago by her brother and father.
But I’m confident that not one in a million is aware that in Ontario alone, from 2002 until only 2007 (the latest data), 212 women have been killed by their partners. That’s 42 every year, compared with 12 so-called honour killings in all of Canada in the past eight years. Women killed by partners are known as domestic homicides, and, unless especially gruesome, are barely worth a mention in the media. Maybe there's just too many of them to be newsworthy. The data comes from the Ontario Domestic Violence Death Review Committee, which I didn’t even know existed until it was recently cited in the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives' Monitor. I’ve never come across these figures anywhere else.
Let me rush to be clear here. I don’t for a moment minimize the horror of 12 girls and women in Canada murdered by members of their immediate family. To steal a phrase, one would be far too many. Terrible things still happen to women everywhere, as the domestic violence figures for Canada demonstrate. No nation, religion, class or ethnic group has the monopoly on misogyny..
There is no conceivable excuse or justification for doing anything but condemning such murders in the most unequivocal way. There is no cultural tradition, no sensitivity to the different values of other societies, that can ever justify or even “understand” how a father or brother can kill their daughter or sister, or how a mother can be a sympathetic witness to such a savage act. It is beyond any rational understanding.
What accounts for the high profile of these relatively small number of murders in Canada? Why do we know little or nothing about the larger epidemic of women killed, almost routinely it sometimes seems, by boyfriends or husbands? Is it less terrible to be strangled to death or shot or have your throat slit by them than by family members? Is it just too commonplace to bother paying attention to? Do we still harbour that sneaking suspicion that women murdered by partners have somehow brought it on themselves?
Yet both kinds of murders have a common root. Both are honour killings, reflecting a twisted, pathological male sense of honour. Both are executed by men who feel they haven’t received their due deference, men who consider “their” women, whether daughter or partner, to be their chattel, to do with as they choose. Have we smug white Canadians forgotten that you don’t have to be a Muslim or South Asian to regard women this way?
Or do we focus on so-called honour killings precisely because the victims are Muslims, or South Asians, or Middle Easterners? By giving such prominence to these communities and their cultures, are we not denigrating them? For all our ostensible acceptance of multiculturalism, are we not feeding our lingering prejudices against certain specific minorities among us? Look at it purely statistically. If so-called honour killings are in fact culturally approved by their communities, as is often charged, shouldn't we expect far more than 12 in the entire country in eight years? And if the rest of us truly embrace a culture that repudiates violence against women, why are so many of them still being murdered?
Let me again emphasize that I have no illusions about these dark issues. According to the United Nations, there are a staggering 5,000 instances annually of women and girls being shot, stoned, burned, poisoned, buried alive, strangled, smothered or knifed to death by family members. I can barely write the sentence without getting sick to my stomach. The killers are fathers, brothers, sons, uncles, and yes, even mothers. The disgusting deeds are carried out in the name of preserving or protecting family honour. Most such murders are indeed carried out in the Middle East or in the countries of South Asia – India, Bangladesh, Pakistan – or by South Asians or Middle Easterners living elsewhere. These terrible crimes can never be “understood,” justified or condoned. They must be stopped, wherever they happen.
But terrible things still happen to women everywhere, as the domestic violence figures for Canada demonstrate. No nation, religion, class or ethnic group has the monopoly on misogyny. Honour killings should be seen not as uniquely evil but as the most extreme and perverse proof of this truth. That's why it's encouraging that women's equality groups have been so vocal in their denunciations of all violence against women and are supporting women in minority communities to give them the strength to stand up for their rights.
Despite the remarkable progress women have truly made in the past half-century, clawing for every inch of it, the struggle for women’s equality can never rest. It simply has too many enemies, always fighting to keep women in their place, where they belong, dead or alive. Young women who dismiss feminism as irrelevant or outdated are, I’m afraid, dead wrong. The struggle is never over.
If you are already sufficiently appalled knowing there’ve been 12 despicable “honour killings” in Canada since 2002, don’t read any further. This is only the tip of a nightmarish iceberg, I’m afraid. For some reason, the term honour killings seems to be reserved for murders committed by male family members against daughters or sisters in South Asian or Middle Eastern communities. These unimaginable crimes have been receiving much high-profile notoriety in the Canadian media, as they surely deserve. All Canadians must now know of the tragic murder of 16-year old Aqsa Parvez of Mississauga, strangled to death three years ago by her brother and father.
But I’m confident that not one in a million is aware that in Ontario alone, from 2002 until only 2007 (the latest data), 212 women have been killed by their partners. That’s 42 every year, compared with 12 so-called honour killings in all of Canada in the past eight years. Women killed by partners are known as domestic homicides, and, unless especially gruesome, are barely worth a mention in the media. Maybe there's just too many of them to be newsworthy. The data comes from the Ontario Domestic Violence Death Review Committee, which I didn’t even know existed until it was recently cited in the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives' Monitor. I’ve never come across these figures anywhere else.
Let me rush to be clear here. I don’t for a moment minimize the horror of 12 girls and women in Canada murdered by members of their immediate family. To steal a phrase, one would be far too many. Terrible things still happen to women everywhere, as the domestic violence figures for Canada demonstrate. No nation, religion, class or ethnic group has the monopoly on misogyny..
There is no conceivable excuse or justification for doing anything but condemning such murders in the most unequivocal way. There is no cultural tradition, no sensitivity to the different values of other societies, that can ever justify or even “understand” how a father or brother can kill their daughter or sister, or how a mother can be a sympathetic witness to such a savage act. It is beyond any rational understanding.
What accounts for the high profile of these relatively small number of murders in Canada? Why do we know little or nothing about the larger epidemic of women killed, almost routinely it sometimes seems, by boyfriends or husbands? Is it less terrible to be strangled to death or shot or have your throat slit by them than by family members? Is it just too commonplace to bother paying attention to? Do we still harbour that sneaking suspicion that women murdered by partners have somehow brought it on themselves?
Yet both kinds of murders have a common root. Both are honour killings, reflecting a twisted, pathological male sense of honour. Both are executed by men who feel they haven’t received their due deference, men who consider “their” women, whether daughter or partner, to be their chattel, to do with as they choose. Have we smug white Canadians forgotten that you don’t have to be a Muslim or South Asian to regard women this way?
Or do we focus on so-called honour killings precisely because the victims are Muslims, or South Asians, or Middle Easterners? By giving such prominence to these communities and their cultures, are we not denigrating them? For all our ostensible acceptance of multiculturalism, are we not feeding our lingering prejudices against certain specific minorities among us? Look at it purely statistically. If so-called honour killings are in fact culturally approved by their communities, as is often charged, shouldn't we expect far more than 12 in the entire country in eight years? And if the rest of us truly embrace a culture that repudiates violence against women, why are so many of them still being murdered?
Let me again emphasize that I have no illusions about these dark issues. According to the United Nations, there are a staggering 5,000 instances annually of women and girls being shot, stoned, burned, poisoned, buried alive, strangled, smothered or knifed to death by family members. I can barely write the sentence without getting sick to my stomach. The killers are fathers, brothers, sons, uncles, and yes, even mothers. The disgusting deeds are carried out in the name of preserving or protecting family honour. Most such murders are indeed carried out in the Middle East or in the countries of South Asia – India, Bangladesh, Pakistan – or by South Asians or Middle Easterners living elsewhere. These terrible crimes can never be “understood,” justified or condoned. They must be stopped, wherever they happen.
But terrible things still happen to women everywhere, as the domestic violence figures for Canada demonstrate. No nation, religion, class or ethnic group has the monopoly on misogyny. Honour killings should be seen not as uniquely evil but as the most extreme and perverse proof of this truth. That's why it's encouraging that women's equality groups have been so vocal in their denunciations of all violence against women and are supporting women in minority communities to give them the strength to stand up for their rights.
Despite the remarkable progress women have truly made in the past half-century, clawing for every inch of it, the struggle for women’s equality can never rest. It simply has too many enemies, always fighting to keep women in their place, where they belong, dead or alive. Young women who dismiss feminism as irrelevant or outdated are, I’m afraid, dead wrong. The struggle is never over.
Friday, May 13, 2011
York University at forefront of Autism research
A York University study has shown for the first time how the drug misoprostol, which has been linked to neurodevelopmental defects associated with autism, interferes with neuronal cell function. It is an important finding because misoprostol is similar in structure to naturally-occurring prostaglandins, which are the key signaling molecules produced by fatty acids in the brain.Past clinical studies have shown an association between misoprostol and severe neurodevelopmental defects including autism symptoms. Those studies looked at cases in Brazil in which women misused the drug early in pregnancy in unsuccessful attempts to terminate their pregnancies.
The York study examined mouse neuronal cells to discover how the drug actually interferes at a molecular level with prostaglandins, which are important for development and communication of cells in the brain.“Early in the first trimester of pregnancy, neuronal cells reach out to communicate with one another,” says Dorota Crawford, an assistant professor in the School of Kinesiology & Health Science in York’s Faculty of Health. “Our study shows that misoprostol interferes with this process by increasing the level of calcium ions in neuronal extensions, which reduces the number and length of these extensions. It prevents the cells from communicating with each other. If changes in prostaglandin level alter the development or differentiation of cells, it may have a physiological impact.”
Crawford and Javaneh Tamiji, who undertook the research for her master’s thesis in the Neuroscience Graduate Diploma Program at York, co-authored a study published online in the journal Biochemical and Biophysical Research Communications: “Prostaglandin E2 and misoprostol induce neurite retraction in Neuro-2a cells.”
There is no indication that women in Canada are misusing misoprostol to terminate pregnancies, and in fact the drug is used safely for other purposes such as treatment and prevention of gastrointestinal ulcers. However, during early neuronal development the drug misoprostol or other environmental factors such as infections or inflammations, which can also increase the level of prostaglandins, may interfere with normal brain function, says Crawford.
Crawford and Tamiji focused on the drug misoprostol because they had evidence from the clinical studies of the neurotoxic effects of the drug. They used misoprostol and the naturally occurring prostaglandins side by side in their study and found that both compounds produced the same effects on neuronal cell function.The study shows that misoprostol interferes with the prostaglandin pathway in a dose-dependent manner – in other words, the higher the dose, the greater the problems created.
“What that indicates to us is whether it is infection that will activate it, or whether it is the drug, it will cause the same effect,” says Crawford. Now that it has been shown that misoprostol affects interaction between cells, the next step will be to do animal studies on mice to examine the physiological impacts on particular parts of the brain, she says.
Crawford’s lab is one of very few in the world that has adopted a multidisciplinary approach to the study of autism spectrum disorders, using molecular techniques to understand the link between causative biological factors (genes and environment) and the behavioural expression.
York University is the leading interdisciplinary research and teaching university in Canada. York offers a modern, academic experience at the undergraduate and graduate level in Toronto, Canada’s most international city. The third largest university in the country, York is host to a dynamic academic community of 50,000 students and 7,000 faculty and staff, as well as 200,000 alumni worldwide. York’s 10 Faculties and 28 research centres conduct ambitious, groundbreaking research that is interdisciplinary, cutting across traditional academic boundaries. This distinctive and collaborative approach is preparing students for the future and bringing fresh insights and solutions to real-world challenges. York University is an autonomous, not-for-profit corporation.
Contact: Janice Walls, Media Relations, York University
Source: York University
The York study examined mouse neuronal cells to discover how the drug actually interferes at a molecular level with prostaglandins, which are important for development and communication of cells in the brain.“Early in the first trimester of pregnancy, neuronal cells reach out to communicate with one another,” says Dorota Crawford, an assistant professor in the School of Kinesiology & Health Science in York’s Faculty of Health. “Our study shows that misoprostol interferes with this process by increasing the level of calcium ions in neuronal extensions, which reduces the number and length of these extensions. It prevents the cells from communicating with each other. If changes in prostaglandin level alter the development or differentiation of cells, it may have a physiological impact.”
Crawford and Javaneh Tamiji, who undertook the research for her master’s thesis in the Neuroscience Graduate Diploma Program at York, co-authored a study published online in the journal Biochemical and Biophysical Research Communications: “Prostaglandin E2 and misoprostol induce neurite retraction in Neuro-2a cells.”
There is no indication that women in Canada are misusing misoprostol to terminate pregnancies, and in fact the drug is used safely for other purposes such as treatment and prevention of gastrointestinal ulcers. However, during early neuronal development the drug misoprostol or other environmental factors such as infections or inflammations, which can also increase the level of prostaglandins, may interfere with normal brain function, says Crawford.
Crawford and Tamiji focused on the drug misoprostol because they had evidence from the clinical studies of the neurotoxic effects of the drug. They used misoprostol and the naturally occurring prostaglandins side by side in their study and found that both compounds produced the same effects on neuronal cell function.The study shows that misoprostol interferes with the prostaglandin pathway in a dose-dependent manner – in other words, the higher the dose, the greater the problems created.
“What that indicates to us is whether it is infection that will activate it, or whether it is the drug, it will cause the same effect,” says Crawford. Now that it has been shown that misoprostol affects interaction between cells, the next step will be to do animal studies on mice to examine the physiological impacts on particular parts of the brain, she says.
Crawford’s lab is one of very few in the world that has adopted a multidisciplinary approach to the study of autism spectrum disorders, using molecular techniques to understand the link between causative biological factors (genes and environment) and the behavioural expression.
York University is the leading interdisciplinary research and teaching university in Canada. York offers a modern, academic experience at the undergraduate and graduate level in Toronto, Canada’s most international city. The third largest university in the country, York is host to a dynamic academic community of 50,000 students and 7,000 faculty and staff, as well as 200,000 alumni worldwide. York’s 10 Faculties and 28 research centres conduct ambitious, groundbreaking research that is interdisciplinary, cutting across traditional academic boundaries. This distinctive and collaborative approach is preparing students for the future and bringing fresh insights and solutions to real-world challenges. York University is an autonomous, not-for-profit corporation.
Contact: Janice Walls, Media Relations, York University
Source: York University
Arctic Rescue deal struck in Greenland
Canada and other Arctic nations will work together on major search and rescue operations in the Arctic, under an international treaty signed by eight nations Thursday in Greenland. Foreign affairs ministers and other leaders from Canada, the United States, Russia and five other northern countries signed the search and rescue treaty during a ministerial meeting of the Arctic Council in Nuuk, Greenland.
U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and Canada's Leona Aglukkaq were at the Nuuk meeting, along with foreign affairs ministers from Norway, Iceland, Finland, Sweden and Denmark.
Increased marine traffic
The new treaty, which would require Arctic Council nations to co-ordinate with each other in the event of a plane crash, cruise ship sinking, big oil spill or other major disaster, is the first legally binding agreement to be reached by the circumpolar intergovernmental forum. The need for a search and rescue agreement comes as shrinking sea ice in recent years has opened up Arctic waterways to more marine traffic, including shipping vessels and cruise ships.
"As the ice melts and will continue to melt, we can expect increased human activity at sea, with the increased risks that accidents may happen," Danish Foreign Affairs Minister Lene Espersen told reporters on Thursday.
Norwegian Foreign Affairs Minister Jonas Gahr Store said each participating nation, including Canada and the U.S., will have to ensure it can live up to its responsibilities under the search and rescue treaty.
"That is a cumbersome and long and expensive process that each state has to take on, but I think with this as a legal basis, we have the foundation to sort out what we have to do back home," Store said.
Oil spill task force struck
The leaders meeting in Nuuk also agreed to set up a task force to work on an Arctic oil spill preparedness and response agreement.Given companies' growing interest in drilling for offshore oil and gas in the Arctic, northern countries need to work fast on an oil spill plan, said Alexander Shestakov, director of the Global Arctic Program with the World Wildlife Fund."From our point of view, the changes [in] the Arctic are so rapid, the governments should really follow this pace rather than be too accurate and too slow in some decisions," he said.
Aglukkaq, who was health minister before the recent federal election, was representing Canada at the Arctic Council meeting because former foreign affairs minister Lawrence Cannon lost his seat.An Inuk from Nunavut, Aglukkaq wore a sealskin vest and coat in Nuuk, saying she wants European members of the Arctic Council to know that Canada opposes the European Union's ban on Canadian seal products.
"You're taking something that we, as Inuit people, have eaten for thousands and thousands of years, and other countries are making decisions to ban that, so there is an impact," Aglukkaq said Thursday.
New direction for council
Observers in Nuuk said Thursday's meeting shows that the Arctic Council is moving in a new direction, in which there will be more action than talk.Nunavut Premier Eva Aariak said in a statement that she welcomes the "trend within the [Arctic] Council for more policy-making" as a step towards a stronger council."It is historic for the Arctic Council to agree today to a binding legal instrument," Aariak said.
"I look forward to the work of the next task force towards another potential agreement for 2013 on emergency response and preparedness," she added."This issue is important for Nunavut, as it witnesses the prospect of exploration drilling for oil and gas in its adjacent and internal waters."
Inuit call for sustainable development
On Wednesday, Inuit leaders issued a joint declaration on Arctic resource development that says they support offshore oil and gas exploration as long as it's sustainable — culturally as well as environmentally — and strict safety measures are put in place. But Jimmy Stotts, president of the Inuit Circumpolar Council in Alaska, said he does not think Arctic oil and gas development is sustainable right now.
"We're not convinced, at least in Alaska, that it's sustainable so far, despite statements that are made by government or industry or others," Stotts told reporters. "We're still waiting for somebody to prove to us that they can clean up an oil spill in the Arctic Ocean."
Shell has set its sights on the Chukchi and Beaufort seas off the northern Alaskan coast, while BP is trying to work out an arrangement in Russia's Arctic.
Meanwhile, oil rigs are already heading west of Greenland, where Cairn Energy plans to drill four holes this year. The government in Greenland has authorized oil and gas exploration in the area, despite public concerns that development is moving too quickly and could harm Arctic wildlife.
U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and Canada's Leona Aglukkaq were at the Nuuk meeting, along with foreign affairs ministers from Norway, Iceland, Finland, Sweden and Denmark.
Increased marine traffic
The new treaty, which would require Arctic Council nations to co-ordinate with each other in the event of a plane crash, cruise ship sinking, big oil spill or other major disaster, is the first legally binding agreement to be reached by the circumpolar intergovernmental forum. The need for a search and rescue agreement comes as shrinking sea ice in recent years has opened up Arctic waterways to more marine traffic, including shipping vessels and cruise ships.
"As the ice melts and will continue to melt, we can expect increased human activity at sea, with the increased risks that accidents may happen," Danish Foreign Affairs Minister Lene Espersen told reporters on Thursday.
Norwegian Foreign Affairs Minister Jonas Gahr Store said each participating nation, including Canada and the U.S., will have to ensure it can live up to its responsibilities under the search and rescue treaty.
"That is a cumbersome and long and expensive process that each state has to take on, but I think with this as a legal basis, we have the foundation to sort out what we have to do back home," Store said.
Oil spill task force struck
The leaders meeting in Nuuk also agreed to set up a task force to work on an Arctic oil spill preparedness and response agreement.Given companies' growing interest in drilling for offshore oil and gas in the Arctic, northern countries need to work fast on an oil spill plan, said Alexander Shestakov, director of the Global Arctic Program with the World Wildlife Fund."From our point of view, the changes [in] the Arctic are so rapid, the governments should really follow this pace rather than be too accurate and too slow in some decisions," he said.
Aglukkaq, who was health minister before the recent federal election, was representing Canada at the Arctic Council meeting because former foreign affairs minister Lawrence Cannon lost his seat.An Inuk from Nunavut, Aglukkaq wore a sealskin vest and coat in Nuuk, saying she wants European members of the Arctic Council to know that Canada opposes the European Union's ban on Canadian seal products.
"You're taking something that we, as Inuit people, have eaten for thousands and thousands of years, and other countries are making decisions to ban that, so there is an impact," Aglukkaq said Thursday.
New direction for council
Observers in Nuuk said Thursday's meeting shows that the Arctic Council is moving in a new direction, in which there will be more action than talk.Nunavut Premier Eva Aariak said in a statement that she welcomes the "trend within the [Arctic] Council for more policy-making" as a step towards a stronger council."It is historic for the Arctic Council to agree today to a binding legal instrument," Aariak said.
"I look forward to the work of the next task force towards another potential agreement for 2013 on emergency response and preparedness," she added."This issue is important for Nunavut, as it witnesses the prospect of exploration drilling for oil and gas in its adjacent and internal waters."
Inuit call for sustainable development
On Wednesday, Inuit leaders issued a joint declaration on Arctic resource development that says they support offshore oil and gas exploration as long as it's sustainable — culturally as well as environmentally — and strict safety measures are put in place. But Jimmy Stotts, president of the Inuit Circumpolar Council in Alaska, said he does not think Arctic oil and gas development is sustainable right now.
"We're not convinced, at least in Alaska, that it's sustainable so far, despite statements that are made by government or industry or others," Stotts told reporters. "We're still waiting for somebody to prove to us that they can clean up an oil spill in the Arctic Ocean."
Shell has set its sights on the Chukchi and Beaufort seas off the northern Alaskan coast, while BP is trying to work out an arrangement in Russia's Arctic.
Meanwhile, oil rigs are already heading west of Greenland, where Cairn Energy plans to drill four holes this year. The government in Greenland has authorized oil and gas exploration in the area, despite public concerns that development is moving too quickly and could harm Arctic wildlife.
Canada's Supreme Court
The Supreme Court of Canada currently consists of, front row, left to right, Justices Marie Deschamps, Ian Binnie, Chief Justice Beverley McLachlin, Louis LeBel and Morris Fish; back row, left to right, Marshall Rothstein, Rosalie Silberman Abella, Louise Charron and Thomas Cromwell. (Adrian Wyld/Canadian Press)
Justice Ian Binnie, 72, and Justice Louise Charron, 60, have written to Federal Justice Minister Robert Nicholson, to inform him of their plans, both effective Aug. 30, Chief Justice Beverley McLachlin said Friday in a release. Binnie has indicated a willingness to stay longer if needed during the judge-selection process.Justice Louise Charron "It has been an honour and a privilege to serve on the Supreme Court of Canada since January 1998," Binnie wrote. "Much as I will miss the work and my colleagues, I am now well into my 14th year on the court, and the time has come to return to Toronto to pick up some of the threads of an earlier existence."
Charron said her reasons for retiring are quite simple: she recently turned 60.
"As promised when I took the oath of office, I have brought to this task my best, every day, whatever that could be at the time," she said. "I hope that I have lived up to the trust and honour that was bestowed upon me."With several justices nearing retirement, Harper was expected to be able to appoint replacements, but it was thought he would have more time to work with.Binnie has been on the Supreme Court since 1998 and was due to retire within the next three years.Justice Ian Binnie Charron joined the bench in 2004, but is stepping down well before the mandatory retirement age of 75.
McLachlin says she hopes the government makes the selection of new justices a priority and uses the care and deliberation that is required. Binnie was born in Montreal and graduated in law from the University of Toronto in 1965. He also has two law degrees from Cambridge University. He was a litigator with Wright & McTaggart and its successor firms until 1982, then became an associate deputy minister of justice with the federal government. Binnie was a senior partner at McCarthy Tétrault from 1986 to 1998, when he was appointed to the Supreme Court.
Charron was born in Sturgeon Falls, Ont., and graduated in law from the University of Ottawa in 1975. She practised with the firm Lalonde, Chartrand & Gouin in civil litigation, then began a career as an assistant Crown attorney and district court judge. She was promoted to the Ontario Court of Appeal in 1995, and to the Supreme Court of Canada in 2004
Thursday, May 12, 2011
From drug cocktails to vegetarian sorbet: young scientists excel in national contest
The discovery of a drug cocktail that might have potential some day to help patients with cystic fibrosis took first place Tuesday at a national science contest, and a method of making vegetarian-friendly sorbet was the runner-up. The judges were left in awe at the level of science that participants brought to bear at a young age, said the chair of the judging panel, Dr. Luis Barreto, former vice-president of immunization and science policy at Sanofi Pasteur.
The students are driven by curiosity and "we know the future of Canada is in good hands as Canada looks into creating the R and D strategy for the country," he said in an interview after the awards were presented at the National Research Council Canada laboratories in Ottawa. "The constant feeling with all the judges was I would hire these guys not as my summer student but as my post-doc ... every one of them. It was very difficult to actually identify the first five."
Marshall Zhang, a Grade 11 student in Richmond Hill, Ont., used the Canadian SCINET supercomputing network at the Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto to identify how two drugs interacted with a specific part of a mutant protein that's responsible for most cases of CF. He then proved what he'd found using living cells in culture. "Not only did they (the drugs) work together, they worked together so well that they actually allowed the cells that were treated with both compounds to function as if they were the cells of healthy individuals," said Zhang, who was awarded a $5,000 prize.
The second-place prize of $4,000 at the 2011 Sanofi-Aventis BioTalent Challenge went to three 19-year-old students from Montreal who made sorbet without gelatin, potentially opening up a large new vegetarian market for the dessert.Jonathan Khouzam, Simon Leclerc and Francis Marcogliese also won a special $1,000 prize for the project with the greatest commercial potential.
They combined three polysaccharides: caraggeenan, pectin and gellan, Khouzam said. Gellan has similar properties to gelatin, but it's relatively new on the market and hasn't really been exploited as a sorbet stabilizer, he said."When used together, the combined effect is greater than that of each individual stabilizer, which means we used less, and in the process we make a more cost-effective product," he said.
Their experiments were done with sugar, water and a bit of acid. "We're hoping to test it with fruit as well and eventually take it to market," Khouzam said.
The first- and second-place winners will go on to compete against American and Australian teams at an international challenge in Washington on June 27. Students in the contest were mentored by university professors and others who volunteered their time and expertise.
Third place went to Shannon Watson, 18, of Ottawa, who identified bacteria in a probiotic fermented milk product from Zambia that inhibit the growth of antibiotic-resistant bacteria.
Yasamin Mahjoub, 16, of Calgary won fourth place for showing that hormones produced by pregnant women protect neurons from the effects of iron accumulation in the brain, a characteristic of multiple sclerosis.
Winnipeg student Siyuan Cheng, 18, finished in fifth place for combining a drug treatment for leukemia, fludarabine, with a lung cancer drug, gefitinib. The experiment showed an increase in the number of leukemia cells being killed.
Cheng said he's hoping to pursue a career in medicine
The students are driven by curiosity and "we know the future of Canada is in good hands as Canada looks into creating the R and D strategy for the country," he said in an interview after the awards were presented at the National Research Council Canada laboratories in Ottawa. "The constant feeling with all the judges was I would hire these guys not as my summer student but as my post-doc ... every one of them. It was very difficult to actually identify the first five."
Marshall Zhang, a Grade 11 student in Richmond Hill, Ont., used the Canadian SCINET supercomputing network at the Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto to identify how two drugs interacted with a specific part of a mutant protein that's responsible for most cases of CF. He then proved what he'd found using living cells in culture. "Not only did they (the drugs) work together, they worked together so well that they actually allowed the cells that were treated with both compounds to function as if they were the cells of healthy individuals," said Zhang, who was awarded a $5,000 prize.
The second-place prize of $4,000 at the 2011 Sanofi-Aventis BioTalent Challenge went to three 19-year-old students from Montreal who made sorbet without gelatin, potentially opening up a large new vegetarian market for the dessert.Jonathan Khouzam, Simon Leclerc and Francis Marcogliese also won a special $1,000 prize for the project with the greatest commercial potential.
They combined three polysaccharides: caraggeenan, pectin and gellan, Khouzam said. Gellan has similar properties to gelatin, but it's relatively new on the market and hasn't really been exploited as a sorbet stabilizer, he said."When used together, the combined effect is greater than that of each individual stabilizer, which means we used less, and in the process we make a more cost-effective product," he said.
Their experiments were done with sugar, water and a bit of acid. "We're hoping to test it with fruit as well and eventually take it to market," Khouzam said.
The first- and second-place winners will go on to compete against American and Australian teams at an international challenge in Washington on June 27. Students in the contest were mentored by university professors and others who volunteered their time and expertise.
Third place went to Shannon Watson, 18, of Ottawa, who identified bacteria in a probiotic fermented milk product from Zambia that inhibit the growth of antibiotic-resistant bacteria.
Yasamin Mahjoub, 16, of Calgary won fourth place for showing that hormones produced by pregnant women protect neurons from the effects of iron accumulation in the brain, a characteristic of multiple sclerosis.
Winnipeg student Siyuan Cheng, 18, finished in fifth place for combining a drug treatment for leukemia, fludarabine, with a lung cancer drug, gefitinib. The experiment showed an increase in the number of leukemia cells being killed.
Cheng said he's hoping to pursue a career in medicine
Did a Canadian Teen in Grade 11 cure Cystic Fibrosis?
High Schooler Uses Super Computer to Potentially Cure Cystic Fibrosis
Cystic Fibrosis is a hereditary disease that causes excessive buildup of thick mucus in the lungs and digestive track. Marshall Zhang is an 11th grader from Ottawa that may have just cured it.
For his entry to the 2011 Sanofi-Aventis BioTalent Challenge, Zhang leveraged a Canadian supercomputing network to identify an interaction between two drugs that affect the same portion of mutant gene that accounts for a majority of Cystic Fibrosis cases.
The initial interaction tests and identification were all accomplished via simulation using the collaborative SCINET supercomputing system at the Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto. The interaction was then confirmed using live cell cultures. This interaction was so effective, in fact, that "they actually allowed the cells that were treated with both compounds to function as if they were the cells of healthy individuals," according to Zhang.
"Not only did they (the drugs) work together, they worked together so well that they actually allowed the cells that were treated with both compounds to function as if they were the cells of healthy individuals," said Zhang, who was awarded a $5,000 prize.
Cystic Fibrosis is a hereditary disease that causes excessive buildup of thick mucus in the lungs and digestive track. Marshall Zhang is an 11th grader from Ottawa that may have just cured it.
For his entry to the 2011 Sanofi-Aventis BioTalent Challenge, Zhang leveraged a Canadian supercomputing network to identify an interaction between two drugs that affect the same portion of mutant gene that accounts for a majority of Cystic Fibrosis cases.
The initial interaction tests and identification were all accomplished via simulation using the collaborative SCINET supercomputing system at the Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto. The interaction was then confirmed using live cell cultures. This interaction was so effective, in fact, that "they actually allowed the cells that were treated with both compounds to function as if they were the cells of healthy individuals," according to Zhang.
"Not only did they (the drugs) work together, they worked together so well that they actually allowed the cells that were treated with both compounds to function as if they were the cells of healthy individuals," said Zhang, who was awarded a $5,000 prize.
Concordia University studying aging in Bilingual brains
How the Bilingual Brain Copes with AgingAs brain power decreases, older adults find new ways to compute language Older bilingual adults compensate for age-related declines in brainpower by developing new strategies to process language, according to a recent study published in the journal Aging, Neuropsychology, and Cognition.
Concordia University researchers studied two groups of fluently bilingual adults – aged from 19 to 35 and from 60 to 81 years old – and found significant age-related differences in the manner their brains interpreted written language. “We wanted to know whether older adults relied on context to process interlingual homographs (IH) – words that are spelled the same in both languages but have a different meaning,” says lead author Shanna Kousaie, a PhD candidate at Concordia University’s Department of Psychology and Centre for Research in Human Development (CRDH).
Does “coin” mean “money” or “corner”?
As part of the study, subjects were asked to read hundreds of trios of words. The first word in the triplet was in either English or French, indicating the language of the IH, putting it in context for readers. The second was an IH – a word such as “coin,” which means “money” in English but “corner” in French. The third word was one that might or might not help the person understand the meaning of the IH more quickly.Subjects’ neurophysiological responses to these words were recorded using an electroencephalograph, an instrument that records the brain’s electrical activity.
Kousaie and co-author Natalie Phillips, a professor in Concordia’s Department of Psychology and member of the CRDH, found that the older adults processed these letter strings differently, using context to a greater extent to determine meaning.These findings were based on the relative speed of responses for younger and older bilingual research participants and on the differences in their EEG recordings as they “processed” the word triplets. Both measures indicated younger participants relied less on the first (contextual) word when processing the trios of words in the test.
“As we get older, our working memory capacity and ability to quickly process words declines,” says Phillips. “As a result, older adults become a little more strategic with capacity. It’s important to stress these are normal and mild age-related changes. Participants didn’t have any cognitive deficit. Rather, they were making the best use of mental resources by using context to help them process language.”
More than half the world is bilingual
These findings shed light on how bilingual adults process language. Although some 50 per cent of the world’s population is bilingual, much language research has so far focused only on single language speakers. Understanding the effects of bilingualism on the brain may be of more than academic interest. Evidence is mounting that bilingual people have a cognitive advantage over monolingual individuals because their brains are accustomed to “manipulating” two languages.“Our study suggests that bilingual adults, as they age, are able to find strategies to compensate for changes in language comprehension,” says Phillips.
Notes about this brain research article
Partners in research: This work was supported by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research and the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada.
Related links:
Cited research: http://www.informaworld.com/smpp/content~content=a927919047~db=all~jumptype=rss
Concordia Department of Psychology: http://psychology.concordia.ca/
Centre for Research in Human Development: http://crdh.concordia.ca/
Concordia University researchers studied two groups of fluently bilingual adults – aged from 19 to 35 and from 60 to 81 years old – and found significant age-related differences in the manner their brains interpreted written language. “We wanted to know whether older adults relied on context to process interlingual homographs (IH) – words that are spelled the same in both languages but have a different meaning,” says lead author Shanna Kousaie, a PhD candidate at Concordia University’s Department of Psychology and Centre for Research in Human Development (CRDH).
Does “coin” mean “money” or “corner”?
As part of the study, subjects were asked to read hundreds of trios of words. The first word in the triplet was in either English or French, indicating the language of the IH, putting it in context for readers. The second was an IH – a word such as “coin,” which means “money” in English but “corner” in French. The third word was one that might or might not help the person understand the meaning of the IH more quickly.Subjects’ neurophysiological responses to these words were recorded using an electroencephalograph, an instrument that records the brain’s electrical activity.
Kousaie and co-author Natalie Phillips, a professor in Concordia’s Department of Psychology and member of the CRDH, found that the older adults processed these letter strings differently, using context to a greater extent to determine meaning.These findings were based on the relative speed of responses for younger and older bilingual research participants and on the differences in their EEG recordings as they “processed” the word triplets. Both measures indicated younger participants relied less on the first (contextual) word when processing the trios of words in the test.
“As we get older, our working memory capacity and ability to quickly process words declines,” says Phillips. “As a result, older adults become a little more strategic with capacity. It’s important to stress these are normal and mild age-related changes. Participants didn’t have any cognitive deficit. Rather, they were making the best use of mental resources by using context to help them process language.”
More than half the world is bilingual
These findings shed light on how bilingual adults process language. Although some 50 per cent of the world’s population is bilingual, much language research has so far focused only on single language speakers. Understanding the effects of bilingualism on the brain may be of more than academic interest. Evidence is mounting that bilingual people have a cognitive advantage over monolingual individuals because their brains are accustomed to “manipulating” two languages.“Our study suggests that bilingual adults, as they age, are able to find strategies to compensate for changes in language comprehension,” says Phillips.
Notes about this brain research article
Partners in research: This work was supported by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research and the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada.
Related links:
Cited research: http://www.informaworld.com/smpp/content~content=a927919047~db=all~jumptype=rss
Concordia Department of Psychology: http://psychology.concordia.ca/
Centre for Research in Human Development: http://crdh.concordia.ca/
Wednesday, May 11, 2011
Tuesday, May 10, 2011
Phone App for Diagnosing Strokes
University of Calgary researchers have developed an iPhone application that allows doctors to diagnose a stroke in a patient thousands of kilometres away.The application will be particularly helpful to doctors in rural areas who need the expertise of a specialist, such as a neurologist or radiologist, who is working in an urban setting, say researchers.
The specialist will be able to see diagnostic images from a CT scan on their phone, whether they are at a Calgary hospital or a hockey game.Ross Mitchell, a professor of radiology at U of C, holds an iPad showing a CT scan of the brain. "Now a physician anywhere can get a call on their iPhone and can immediately take a look at the images in the remote community," said Ross Mitchell, a professor of radiology at the university who helped develop the software. "They can do more than just look at them. They can cut into them, rotate it in 3D, they can do all kinds of advanced visualizations and analysis, which may be critical to make the diagnosis."
Every minute counts when diagnosing a stroke, he added.
A study published in the current issue of the Journal of Medical Internet Research found that doctors using the application were 94 to 100 per cent accurate in diagnosing acute stroke, compared to a traditional medical diagnostic work station.Health Canada approved the application last month so Canadian doctors can now legally use it as a primary diagnosis device.
The application, called ResolutionMD Mobile, works on iPhones, iPads and Android smartphones and tablets.CT scanners in rural communities would be attached to a server protected by the hospital's firewall. That means patient information would be kept safe, says Mitchell. Also the doctor with the iPhone doesn't have to wait for all the information to download, the server is doing the hard work and streams the images to the phone in real time.
Calgary Scientific Inc., the company that helped refine the software, has already licensed the application to over 50,000 hospitals around the world.
The specialist will be able to see diagnostic images from a CT scan on their phone, whether they are at a Calgary hospital or a hockey game.Ross Mitchell, a professor of radiology at U of C, holds an iPad showing a CT scan of the brain. "Now a physician anywhere can get a call on their iPhone and can immediately take a look at the images in the remote community," said Ross Mitchell, a professor of radiology at the university who helped develop the software. "They can do more than just look at them. They can cut into them, rotate it in 3D, they can do all kinds of advanced visualizations and analysis, which may be critical to make the diagnosis."
Every minute counts when diagnosing a stroke, he added.
A study published in the current issue of the Journal of Medical Internet Research found that doctors using the application were 94 to 100 per cent accurate in diagnosing acute stroke, compared to a traditional medical diagnostic work station.Health Canada approved the application last month so Canadian doctors can now legally use it as a primary diagnosis device.
The application, called ResolutionMD Mobile, works on iPhones, iPads and Android smartphones and tablets.CT scanners in rural communities would be attached to a server protected by the hospital's firewall. That means patient information would be kept safe, says Mitchell. Also the doctor with the iPhone doesn't have to wait for all the information to download, the server is doing the hard work and streams the images to the phone in real time.
Calgary Scientific Inc., the company that helped refine the software, has already licensed the application to over 50,000 hospitals around the world.
Quebec opens up the north for mining
A large area of northern Canada is to be opened up to mining, energy and forestry projects.The government of Quebec has unveiled a massive plan to develop a largely inhospitable but untouched area in the north of the province.The "Plan Nord" aims to turn 1.2 million sq km of land into a major area of mining and renewable energy.The plan also aims to ensure that half of the area will be environmentally protected.
"It is one of the world's last virgin territories," said Quebec's Premier Jean Charest. "It's also a fragile territory and a territory of great richness and it's also a responsibility."
Huge potential
The area is rich in deposits of nickel, cobalt, platinum, zinc, iron ore and rare earth minerals."Northern Quebec has incomparable mining potential," said natural resources minister Sege Simard.
The plan includes 11 new mining projects, the development of renewable energy resources (mainly hydro-electric projects), sustainable forestry and a huge infrastructure programme.This part of Canada is so remote that new roads, airports, and even a deep sea port will have to built to get the raw materials out to sell them to the outside world.The government of Quebec said that everyone in the province would benefit.
"(Plan Nord) will create or consolidate 20,000 jobs a year, on average, and generate C$14bn (£8.86bn; $14.5bn) in revenue for the government and Quebec society," said Mr Charest.With global appetite for raw materials growing, mining companies are likely to keen to invest in the region.
Arcelor Mittal, Xstrata, Tata Steel and Barrick Gold are just some of the companies who are already active there.According to the plan, mining regulations will be amended to ensure the government obtains what it calls a "fair return" from the development of natural resources.
Sceptical
However, the plan will be scrutinised by environmental groups and indigenous people.
The government says that Plan Nord will mean better jobs, housing and education for the local Inuit people who often live in poor, remote communities."All of them are sceptical. They point to past agreements where certain things were promised and feel that they were short-changed by the government in the south."
Announcing the plan, Mr Charest said it was hoped that the project would be "one of the most environmentally sustainable projects for the world". The goal has been welcomed by environmental groups."There are no models for this type of conservation planning on such a grand scale," said Matthew Jacobson of the Pew Environmental Group, but he commended Quebec for not undermining the environment with plans for excessive economic growth.
"It is one of the world's last virgin territories," said Quebec's Premier Jean Charest. "It's also a fragile territory and a territory of great richness and it's also a responsibility."
Huge potential
The area is rich in deposits of nickel, cobalt, platinum, zinc, iron ore and rare earth minerals."Northern Quebec has incomparable mining potential," said natural resources minister Sege Simard.
The plan includes 11 new mining projects, the development of renewable energy resources (mainly hydro-electric projects), sustainable forestry and a huge infrastructure programme.This part of Canada is so remote that new roads, airports, and even a deep sea port will have to built to get the raw materials out to sell them to the outside world.The government of Quebec said that everyone in the province would benefit.
"(Plan Nord) will create or consolidate 20,000 jobs a year, on average, and generate C$14bn (£8.86bn; $14.5bn) in revenue for the government and Quebec society," said Mr Charest.With global appetite for raw materials growing, mining companies are likely to keen to invest in the region.
Arcelor Mittal, Xstrata, Tata Steel and Barrick Gold are just some of the companies who are already active there.According to the plan, mining regulations will be amended to ensure the government obtains what it calls a "fair return" from the development of natural resources.
Sceptical
However, the plan will be scrutinised by environmental groups and indigenous people.
The government says that Plan Nord will mean better jobs, housing and education for the local Inuit people who often live in poor, remote communities."All of them are sceptical. They point to past agreements where certain things were promised and feel that they were short-changed by the government in the south."
Announcing the plan, Mr Charest said it was hoped that the project would be "one of the most environmentally sustainable projects for the world". The goal has been welcomed by environmental groups."There are no models for this type of conservation planning on such a grand scale," said Matthew Jacobson of the Pew Environmental Group, but he commended Quebec for not undermining the environment with plans for excessive economic growth.
Monday, May 9, 2011
A whale of a story
Minke whale rescued from N.S. river
Fisheries officials rescue a minke whale caught in shallow waters near New Glasgow, N.S. (CBC)For the second time in two days, rescuers aided a large whale stuck in the shallow waters of a Nova Scotia river on Monday. Members of the New Glasgow, N.S., fire department were called out to the East River Sunday to assist a minke whale that had become stranded."We have no idea how it came up the river," said fire chief Doug Dort. "Probably chasing small fish, I would think." Dort said members of the department's water rescue team dug a trench around the whale and pulled it backwards to allow it to swim away.
But on Monday morning the whale was back, this time as far as eight kilometres up the river.Officials say the whale was calm as they helped tow it to open waters. The Department of Fisheries responded to help free the whale, estimated to weigh between 350 and 500 kilograms, after it got stuck on a sandbar.The four-metre whale was freed and on Monday afternoon was being towed to Pictou Harbour, where it will be set free in the Northumberland Strait. Fisheries officer Craig MacDonald said the whale's skin was dry and had some marks on it, but the minke did not have any open wounds.'We'll keep our fingers crossed that he grows up to have kids of his own and can tell them to stay out of the river and enjoy the open ocean.'
—Craig MacDonald, fisheries officer"He was very calm … and he's got some kick to him," MacDonald said. "We'll keep our fingers crossed that he grows up to have kids of his own and can tell them to stay out of the river and enjoy the open ocean."
Minke whales, which have characteristic white bands on their flippers, are commonly seen in the Maritimes in spring. They are seasonal feeders that eat small fish and have been known to chase schools of sardines, anchovies, cod and herring
Fisheries officials rescue a minke whale caught in shallow waters near New Glasgow, N.S. (CBC)For the second time in two days, rescuers aided a large whale stuck in the shallow waters of a Nova Scotia river on Monday. Members of the New Glasgow, N.S., fire department were called out to the East River Sunday to assist a minke whale that had become stranded."We have no idea how it came up the river," said fire chief Doug Dort. "Probably chasing small fish, I would think." Dort said members of the department's water rescue team dug a trench around the whale and pulled it backwards to allow it to swim away.
But on Monday morning the whale was back, this time as far as eight kilometres up the river.Officials say the whale was calm as they helped tow it to open waters. The Department of Fisheries responded to help free the whale, estimated to weigh between 350 and 500 kilograms, after it got stuck on a sandbar.The four-metre whale was freed and on Monday afternoon was being towed to Pictou Harbour, where it will be set free in the Northumberland Strait. Fisheries officer Craig MacDonald said the whale's skin was dry and had some marks on it, but the minke did not have any open wounds.'We'll keep our fingers crossed that he grows up to have kids of his own and can tell them to stay out of the river and enjoy the open ocean.'
—Craig MacDonald, fisheries officer"He was very calm … and he's got some kick to him," MacDonald said. "We'll keep our fingers crossed that he grows up to have kids of his own and can tell them to stay out of the river and enjoy the open ocean."
Minke whales, which have characteristic white bands on their flippers, are commonly seen in the Maritimes in spring. They are seasonal feeders that eat small fish and have been known to chase schools of sardines, anchovies, cod and herring
Saturday, May 7, 2011
'SlutWalk' marches sparked by Toronto officer's remarks
'SlutWalk' marches sparked by Toronto officer's remarks
Protesters say they are reclaiming the word "slut" A new protest movement sparked by a policeman's ill-judged advice to women students to "avoid dressing like sluts" has taken root in the US and Canada. Thousands of people - some dressed in jeans, others more provocatively - are taking part in marches, or "SlutWalks".
The aim, say organisers, is to highlight a culture in which the victim rather than rapist or abuser is blamed.
A "SlutWalk" in Toronto last month attracted some 3,000 people. A similar event is due to take place in Boston.
Nearly 2,500 people have signed up via Facebook to attend Saturday's march in Boston.Boston organiser Siobhan Connors explained: "The event is in protest of a culture that we think is too permissive when it comes to rape and sexual assault.""It's to bring awareness to the shame and degradation women still face for expressing their sexuality... essentially for behaving in a healthy and sexual way," the 20-year-old told Associated Press.
Workshops
Police officer Constable Michael Sanguinetti had been giving a talk on health and safety to a group of students at Osgoode Hall Law School in Toronto when he made the now infamous remarks."You know, I think we're beating around the bush here," he reportedly told them. "I've been told I'm not supposed to say this - however, women should avoid dressing like sluts in order not to be victimised".
He has since apologised for his remarks and has been disciplined by the Toronto police, but remains on duty.
Meanwhile, his remarks have led to "SlutWalks" not only in Toronto but also in Dallas, Asheville in North Carolina, and in the Canadian capital, Ottawa. As well as Boston, marches are also planned in Seattle, Chicago, Philadelphia, Reno and Austin.
The SlutWalk Toronto website says the aim of the movement is to "re-appropriate" the world slut.
"Being in charge of our sexual lives should not mean that we are opening ourselves to an expectation of violence, regardless if we participate in sex for pleasure or work," it says. Everybody, from singles, couples, parents, sisters, brothers, children and friends, are encouraged to join the marches.The rallies typically end with speakers and workshops on stopping sexual violence and calling on law enforcement agencies not to blame victims after sexual assaults, the Associated Press reports.
Protesters say they are reclaiming the word "slut" A new protest movement sparked by a policeman's ill-judged advice to women students to "avoid dressing like sluts" has taken root in the US and Canada. Thousands of people - some dressed in jeans, others more provocatively - are taking part in marches, or "SlutWalks".
The aim, say organisers, is to highlight a culture in which the victim rather than rapist or abuser is blamed.
A "SlutWalk" in Toronto last month attracted some 3,000 people. A similar event is due to take place in Boston.
Nearly 2,500 people have signed up via Facebook to attend Saturday's march in Boston.Boston organiser Siobhan Connors explained: "The event is in protest of a culture that we think is too permissive when it comes to rape and sexual assault.""It's to bring awareness to the shame and degradation women still face for expressing their sexuality... essentially for behaving in a healthy and sexual way," the 20-year-old told Associated Press.
Workshops
Police officer Constable Michael Sanguinetti had been giving a talk on health and safety to a group of students at Osgoode Hall Law School in Toronto when he made the now infamous remarks."You know, I think we're beating around the bush here," he reportedly told them. "I've been told I'm not supposed to say this - however, women should avoid dressing like sluts in order not to be victimised".
He has since apologised for his remarks and has been disciplined by the Toronto police, but remains on duty.
Meanwhile, his remarks have led to "SlutWalks" not only in Toronto but also in Dallas, Asheville in North Carolina, and in the Canadian capital, Ottawa. As well as Boston, marches are also planned in Seattle, Chicago, Philadelphia, Reno and Austin.
The SlutWalk Toronto website says the aim of the movement is to "re-appropriate" the world slut.
"Being in charge of our sexual lives should not mean that we are opening ourselves to an expectation of violence, regardless if we participate in sex for pleasure or work," it says. Everybody, from singles, couples, parents, sisters, brothers, children and friends, are encouraged to join the marches.The rallies typically end with speakers and workshops on stopping sexual violence and calling on law enforcement agencies not to blame victims after sexual assaults, the Associated Press reports.
Wednesday, May 4, 2011
Canadian/Irain Reporter detained in Syria
Syrian officials have confirmed to the television channel Al-Jazeera English that they are holding British Columbia journalist Dorothy Parvaz, who was detained on arrival in Damascus six days ago and hasn't been heard from since.Al-Jazeera called for the immediate release of Parvaz.
She is an experienced journalist who joined Al-Jazeera in 2010. She graduated from the University of British Columbia, obtained a masters from Arizona University, and held journalism fellowships at both Harvard and Cambridge. She previously worked as a columnist and feature writer for the Seattle Post-Intelligencer in the United States.
Journalists have faced ever increasing restrictions in Syria since protests there began.
"We are worried about Dorothy's welfare, security and safety," an Al Jazeera spokesman said. "Syria should release her immediately."
A statement from Dorothy's family read: "Dorothy is a dearly loved daughter, sister and fiancée .… We need to know where she is. We need to know that she is comfortable. We need to know that she is safe."
Her family is desperate to hear from her.
"We just want to know she's safe and we want her to come home," her sister, Sheila Parvaz told CBC News Tuesday.Parvaz was born in Iran and is travelling on an Iranian passport, which prompted the foreign minister of Iran to ask for more information on Parvaz's fate.
Facebook campaign
About 2,000 people have joined a worldwide Facebook campaign for Parvaz's freedom.Her father, Fred Parvaz, hopes the global response to his daughter's disappearance will protect her."I am really relying on them to treat her well, like a human being, just like the person who wants to do her job," Fred Parvaz said.
"I am very proud of her, I love her very much."
Dorothy Parvaz spent her teenage years in North Vancouver and attended the University of British Columbia. She then studied journalism in Arizona and later worked for the Seattle Post-Intelligencer newspaper before taking the job with Al-Jazeera.Her fiancé, Todd Barker, said he tried to talk Parvaz out of going to Syria, but didn't succeed. "Nothing I would say would change her mind," Barker said in a telephone interview from Portland, Ore.Meanwhile, Syria's president said Wednesday the military operation in a southern city at the heart of the country's uprising will end "very soon."
The city of Daraa has been under military siege since April 25 as protests that started out as demands for reforms seven weeks ago mushroomed into calls for Bashar Assad's ouster.
Rights groups say at least 545 Syrians have been killed in the uprising.
Assad's remarks were reported in the private Al Watan daily on Wednesday.
Late Tuesday, activists say, security forces fired tear gas in the northern city of Aleppo to disperse hundreds of students rallying and calling for an end to Daraa's siege.The activists spoke on condition of anonymity, fearing government reprisals. They say many protesters were later detained.
She is an experienced journalist who joined Al-Jazeera in 2010. She graduated from the University of British Columbia, obtained a masters from Arizona University, and held journalism fellowships at both Harvard and Cambridge. She previously worked as a columnist and feature writer for the Seattle Post-Intelligencer in the United States.
Journalists have faced ever increasing restrictions in Syria since protests there began.
"We are worried about Dorothy's welfare, security and safety," an Al Jazeera spokesman said. "Syria should release her immediately."
A statement from Dorothy's family read: "Dorothy is a dearly loved daughter, sister and fiancée .… We need to know where she is. We need to know that she is comfortable. We need to know that she is safe."
Her family is desperate to hear from her.
"We just want to know she's safe and we want her to come home," her sister, Sheila Parvaz told CBC News Tuesday.Parvaz was born in Iran and is travelling on an Iranian passport, which prompted the foreign minister of Iran to ask for more information on Parvaz's fate.
Facebook campaign
About 2,000 people have joined a worldwide Facebook campaign for Parvaz's freedom.Her father, Fred Parvaz, hopes the global response to his daughter's disappearance will protect her."I am really relying on them to treat her well, like a human being, just like the person who wants to do her job," Fred Parvaz said.
"I am very proud of her, I love her very much."
Dorothy Parvaz spent her teenage years in North Vancouver and attended the University of British Columbia. She then studied journalism in Arizona and later worked for the Seattle Post-Intelligencer newspaper before taking the job with Al-Jazeera.Her fiancé, Todd Barker, said he tried to talk Parvaz out of going to Syria, but didn't succeed. "Nothing I would say would change her mind," Barker said in a telephone interview from Portland, Ore.Meanwhile, Syria's president said Wednesday the military operation in a southern city at the heart of the country's uprising will end "very soon."
The city of Daraa has been under military siege since April 25 as protests that started out as demands for reforms seven weeks ago mushroomed into calls for Bashar Assad's ouster.
Rights groups say at least 545 Syrians have been killed in the uprising.
Assad's remarks were reported in the private Al Watan daily on Wednesday.
Late Tuesday, activists say, security forces fired tear gas in the northern city of Aleppo to disperse hundreds of students rallying and calling for an end to Daraa's siege.The activists spoke on condition of anonymity, fearing government reprisals. They say many protesters were later detained.
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