Ontario premier supports award to Henry Morgentaler

Premier McGuinty speaks up:

Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty said Tuesday he supports the decision to award abortion crusader Dr. Henry Morgentaler with the Order of Canada.

McGuinty, himself a Catholic, appears to be the first premier to address the issue publicly. His stance opposes that of Prime Minister Stephen Harper, who has said he would have preferred to have seen the award bestowed on someone who unifies Canadians.

“I know that Dr. Morgentaler has been seen as a controversial figure, but I believe in a woman’s right to make a very difficult decision,” McGuinty said.

“And if she makes that difficult decision and chooses to have an abortion, I want her to be able to do that in a way that’s safe, in a way that’s publicly funded. So I know it’s divisive, but I think it’s important.”

U.S. affirms habeas corpus (barely)

The U.S. supreme court has narrowly confirmed that political prisoners in the U.S. military prison at Guantanamo Bay shall have the right of habeus corpus. It means that there must actually be a case against them for them to be held. Read “A Mockery of Justice.”

Stop torture by U.S.

Gosh, U.S. President Bush doesn’t want China to use force to quell dissent. Meanwhile, he continues to allow torture of U.S. political prisoners, after doing away with the essential protection of habeas corpus.

In a spirit of scientific inquiry, noted atheist Christopher Hitchens underwent “waterboarding” and confirms that, yes, it’s torture. In fact, half-drowning someone was one of the tools of the Inquisition. PZ Myers reports: “Hitchens under torture.“

North Korea destroys nuclear power plant

North Korea is repudiating at least one road to nuclear power by destroying its nuclear power plant at Yongbyon.

PYONGYANG, North Korea (CNN) — North Korea on Friday destroyed a water cooling tower at a facility where officials acknowledge they extracted plutonium to build nuclear weapons, CNN’s Chief International Correspondent Christiane Amanpour reported from the scene.

The massive implosion, which came at about 5pm local time Friday at the Yongbyon facility, was intended to be a powerful public symbol of a move to end nuclear activities by the Communist nation….

The destruction of the highly visible symbol of North Korea’s long-secret nuclear program came just a day after the country released details of its program.

A signal flare gave a three-minute warning as U.S. State Department officials and observers from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) watched from a reviewing stand.

“This is a very significant disablement step,” the U.S. envoy to North Korea, Sung Kim, said.

Nuclear experts say that the plant’s destroyed central water-cooling tower would take a year or longer to rebuild if North Korea were to try using the plant again.

“This is a critical piece of equipment for the nuclear reactor,” said analyst John Wolfsthal, of the Center for Strategic and International Studies, who has been following North Korea since the 1980s. “Without this facility, the reactor can’t operate and can’t produce more plutonium for weapons.”

North Korea has been dismantling other parts of the facility under the watchful eyes of representatives of the five other nations, including the U.S., that have been involved in six-party talks aimed at ending Pyongyang’s nuclear weapons program.

On Thursday, North Korean officials turned over to China a 60-page declaration, written in English, that details several rounds of plutonium production at the Yongbyon plant dating back to 1986.

In it, North Korea acknowledges producing roughly 40 kilograms of enriched plutonium — enough for about seven nuclear bombs, according to the U.S. State Department.

In response, Bush said he would lift some U.S. sanctions against North Korea and remove the country from the State Department’s list of state sponsors of terrorism.

Federal conservatives designate lakes as dumps

The federal conservative government of Steven Harper is turning pristine lakes into toxic waste dumps for mines.

CBC News has learned that 16 Canadian lakes are slated to be officially but quietly “reclassified” as toxic dump sites for mines. The lakes include prime wilderness fishing lakes from B.C. to Newfoundland.

Environmentalists say the process amounts to a “hidden subsidy” to mining companies, allowing them to get around laws against the destruction of fish habitat.

Under the Fisheries Act, it’s illegal to put harmful substances into fish-bearing waters. But, under a little-known subsection known as Schedule Two of the mining effluent regulations, federal bureaucrats can redefine lakes as “tailings impoundment areas.”

That means mining companies don’t need to build containment ponds for toxic mine tailings.

…In northern B.C., Imperial Metals plans to enclose a remote watershed valley to hold tailings from a gold and copper mine. The valley lies in what the native Tahltan people call the “Sacred Headwaters” of three major salmon rivers. It also serves as spawning grounds for the rainbow trout of Kluela Lake, which is downstream from the dump site.

Aide’s bright idea saves Parliament from embarrassment

A few days ago, the Prime Minister of Canada apologized to the aboriginal peoples of Canada for the way we’ve treated them. The leaders of the aboriginal people wanted to respond, but that wasn’t allowed for in the Parliamentary procedure. Luckily, an aide for the New Democratic Party whispered, “Committee of the whole,” and it was so. Parliament re-constituted itself in a less formal configuration and enabled the “outsiders” to be heard.

—Joanna Smith
Ottawa Bureau

Four little words were all it took to end a logjam over whether aboriginal leaders would be allowed to respond to the government apology for residential schools from the floor of the House of Commons on Wednesday.

New Democratic Party Leader Jack Layton had been pushing for this day for more than a year – it was even the first topic he raised when he met Prime Minister Stephen Harper in October 2007 to discuss the throne speech.

Just last week, he sent a letter to Harper suggesting what the apology should include. He was given a copy – whose content he shared with Phil Fontaine, national chief of the Assembly of First Nations – and called Harper to suggest some changes.

But opposition parties had slammed the government for refusing to give the aboriginal leaders a chance to respond, and the rhetoric continued right down to the wire.

Stepping outside to pose for a photo about an hour before the historic occasion was to begin, Layton told NDP press secretary Ian Capstick he feared the impasse would taint the moment with partisan pride.

“He expressed his great concern to me that an opposition party would move forward with an aggressive motion on the floor of the House of Commons, and that Conservatives would feel compelled to shut it down,” Capstick said yesterday.

Then came those four words.

“Committee of the whole,” Capstick said he told Layton, and the leader called Harper to save the day.

That phrase meant Parliament could take its ceremonial mace off the table, let the Speaker of the House sit in a regular chair and otherwise shed some of the formality that would have prevented the aboriginal leaders from responding.”It provides the House with a unique opportunity to have a more fulsome debate, without being constrained by party rotation, without being constrained so tightly by time limits and a whole host of different things,” he said.

Regime change in Heaven

Robert Ritchie of the Guardian has written a lovely column explaining why we had to invade Heaven.

North Korea in Google Earth

From Ogle Earth, here’s a link to North Korea Economy Watch:

North Korea Intel: North Korean Economy Watch’s meticulously researched KML layer* pinpointing every conceivable feature in North Korea, including the gulags, nuclear sites, military sites and elite areas, has just been updated.

*KML or Keyhole Markup Language is an XML-based language for managing three-dimensional geospatial data in the program Google Earth.

Hillary Clinton and sportsmanship

see more politics and fun!

Caffeinated Politics has a good article on Hillary Clinton and sportsmanship:

… I actually felt embarrassed for her as she failed to show any grace or good sportsmanship in her speech. I say this not as a supporter of Obama, but as one who follows politics, and also understands common decency.

To hear Clinton offer a rundown of the states she had won, and state that the final primary (South Dakota) was over and in her column, while the votes in the truly last primary (Montana) were just starting to be counted was amusing. To hear Hillary Clinton again repeat that she was the stronger and more electable Democrat though Barack Obama was clearly the winner of the needed delegates, and had undone the formidable Clinton political team, was nothing short of breath-taking. How could she be so brazen?

To not acknowledge the Democratic nominee, Barack Obama, the first African-American to be placed at the top of a political party’s presidential ticket was insulting not only to Obama, but the nation.

see more politics and fun!

Barack Obama gets Democratic Party nomination

According to exit polls, Barack Obama has secured the nomination to run as the U.S. Democratic party’s candidate for president. He has a fine reputation as a consistent senator who listens to his voters and is willing to work with people to get things done.

The third African-American Senator since Reconstruction makes history

—by Jennifer Parker

After a bruising battle, Sen. Barack Obama has won enough delegates to clinch the Democratic Party’s presidential nomination, ABC News projects based on exit polls and reporting.

Obama, D-Ill., becomes the first African-American major party presidential candidate in the nation’s history.

But the candidate emerges battered after a bitter, five-month fight against Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y., who was vying to become the party’s first female presidential nominee and was once considered the likely nominee.

Delivering soaring speeches tied to a popular message of hope and change, Obama’s insurgent candidacy inspired record-breaking campaign contributions, record turnout by black voters, and wide support from independents, liberals, young voters, and high-income, better-educated Democrats.

Although he won the majority of primary contests — 33 to Clinton’s 20, not including Michigan and Florida — the Illinois senator struggled to win the support of white, blue-collar voters, older voters and Hispanic voters.

The issue of race cropped up again and again for the man seeking to become the nation’s first black president.

Hillary Clinton is hinting that she’d be willing to run as Vice President. But many commentators feel that Hillary Clinton is the wrong VP candidate.

Hillary Clinton the wrong choice for Barack Obama’s running mate

—by Barb Shelly, Kansas City Star editorial page columnist

The latest on Hillary Clinton is that she’s denying her presidential run is over, but telling people she’d be “open” to accepting a vice presidential offer from Barack Obama.

Maybe, at the end of the day, an Obama-Clinton ticket will be the Democrats best strategy. But right now, it’s a bit hard to fathom.

Clinton has spent months running around the country telling people–implicitly and explicitly–that Obama doesn’t have what it takes to beat John McCain and be the chief executive.

So what is her role in his campaign and administration? Is it to round out the ticket and be a back-seat adviser and break ties in the Senate?

Doesn’t seem likely. Hillary and Bill Clinton regard themselves as entitled, and I don’t think they’ll be able to resist temptation to try to wedge themselves into the driver’s seat.

U.S. politics: Clinton trails Obama

I don’t see how she can ever catch up. And by sowing doubts about Obama’s competency and electability, she’s just harming the U.S. Democratic Party’s chances of being elected.

High-school Jesus at One Horse Shy

One Horse Shy is a web vendor of witty slogans and graphics, which you can buy on T-shirts, mugs, buttons, and decals. I think my favourite is the High School Jesus.

But there are many more. As the vendors say, “We don’t care who you are… We have something for you.” Take a look at their themes: political, Asian, blasphemous, cool, low-brow, high-brow, society, Western.

Here’s what I found:

Bad grammar makes me [sic]:

The who/whom debate:

Funny:

Reality check:

Naughty:

The Asian theme—graceful Chinese ideograms:

And political:

How much are the Republicans paying her?

Hillary Clinton vows to fight on to the bitter end, even if it tears the Democratic Party apart, “because she thinks it’s time to get a woman in the White House.” If that’s her reason, why doesn’t she concede graciously and throw her political weight behind getting one of the winnable female VP candidates on the Democratic ticket?

more politics and fun!

U.S. Attorney General lies his face off

This is old news, but I’m behind on my reading. Ed Brayton at Dispatches from the Culture Wars notes a speech in which the U.S. Attorney General, Michael Mukaskey, tells some whopping lies about FISA.

Republican: If one family is good, two must be better

Republican family values Representative Vito Fossella loves families so much he has a second one that he keeps hidden.

Fossella was arrested for drunk driving after breaking tables in a D.C. bar. He called his mistress to help bail him out. The mistress is also the mother of his three year old daughter. Fossella’s wife didn’t know about the affair and the child and she wasn’t very pleased when she refused to be near him during a press conference.

As if that weren’t enough, he was picked up May 1 for drunken driving:

GOP Rep. Vito Fossella’s blood alcohol level was .17, nearly twice the state legal limit, when he was arrested for driving while intoxicated in Alexandria, Va., in the early hours of Thursday, according to documents filed today in Alexandria General District Court.

He called his mistress, rather than his wife, when he was arrested.

See “The Fossella Scandal,” NY Times.

(Hat tip to Doo Dah Blue)