Canada's MDA To Build Lunar Rover Prototypes

Fri, 19 November, 2010

By Peter B. de Seldin

PARIS — Canada’s MDA Corp. will design and build two lunar rover prototypes for yet-undetermined missions under a contract with the Canadian Space Agency valued at 11.5 million Canadian dollars ($11.3 million) and announced Nov. 18.

The contract, part of the agency’s Exploration Surface Mobility Program, calls for the rovers to be ready for field testing in late 2012 along with other robotic technologies Canada is developing to prepare for a future international space exploration effort.

Richmond, B.C.-based MDA had won an earlier contract, valued at 6 million Canadian dollars, to design a prototype Mars rover under the same program.

The Exploration Surface Mobility Program, along with work on a next-generation Canadarm, is part of Canada’s Economic Action Plan. The government is investing 110 million Canadian dollars over three years, through 2012, to position Canadian industry for future space missions in which robotics will play a central role.

Source: Space News.
Link: http://www.spacenews.com/civil/101119-mda-build-lunar-rover-prototypes.html.

Canada's first Muslim mayor takes office in cowboy town - Feature

Thu, 28 Oct 2010

Montreal - He's Muslim, dark-skinned and has a Harvard degree, but Calgary's newly elected mayor still packs a Stetson cowboy hat in his closet. After all, Naheed Nenshi was elected mayor of a city that prides itself on being the home of the Stampede, the world's largest rodeo show.

Nenshi's election in a city that desperately clings to its roots as a frontier outpost in the Canadian prairies, even as waves of immigration and oil wealth have transformed it into a modern cosmopolitan metropolis, made front page news across Canada.

"It's been a bit crazy," Nenshi said in an interview with the Canadian Broadcasting Corp on the eve of the election. "Who knew that (a) mayoral election in the middle of the Canadian prairies would cause national and international waves. I'm told I was trending worldwide on Twitter."

As Nenshi was sworn in on Monday, he became the first Muslim to head a major Canadian city. At 38, Nenshi - the son of Ismaili Muslim immigrants from Tanzania - is also one of the youngest mayors in Canada.

Speaking to the Globe and Mail newspaper on election day, Nenshi admitted that unlike his rivals he feels the weight of expectations of an entire community.

"It is true that I have an additional responsibility," Nenshi told the Globe. "But you know, I do a good job and it's like brown guys are okay. Muslims can do a good job. I do a bad job, and I take people down with me."

He brings a unique set of qualifications to the job. Nenshi has worked at the international business consulting firm McKinsey & Co, advising telecommunications, banking, retail and oil and gas companies in corporate strategy.

He also worked at the United Nations and ran his own consultancy business, working with non-profit organizations. Until his election on October 18, Nenshi had taught non-profit management at Mount Royal University in Calgary.

"Growing up, we didn't have a lot of money, but we had a lot of opportunity," recounted Nenshi's older sister, Shaheen Nenshi Nathoo, in a Youtube video biography prepared specifically for the campaign. "Our parents always instilled in us the need to do community service and Naheed took that lesson to heart."

His involvement in the community paid off smartly when the time came.

At the beginning of the race Nenshi was considered an outsider and a long shot to win. An early poll had him sitting at just 8 percent of the popular vote. But Nenshi's astute use of social media and his Purple Army of volunteers - purple was the color of his campaign - carried his message, mobilizing public opinion.

"We also realized early on that a lot of people live online, or they live on their mobile devices and this was remarkable opportunity to start engaging in two-way communications with them," Nenshi said in the CBC interview.

"It sounds weird right? Twitter is 140 characters, but we used it to bring people into a much broader conversation that was impossible to do in the traditional media."

His promise of reforms, innovation and sustainable development resonated with voters. But most importantly for Nenshi, who's been dubbed Alberta's Obama, they came out to vote.

Voter participation jumped from about 30 per cent in the 2004 municipal elections to 53 per cent on October 18.

Nenshi said his faith or racial background were never an issue in the campaign, which he deftly focused on the problems facing the city. But his victory also shows how far Canada has come in integrating its immigrants, he said.

"Just last week we had the chancellor of Germany suggesting that multiculturalism in her country is a failure," Nenshi said. "And when I heard that, the first thing that I thought was, 'She needs to come to Calgary'."

Author : Levon Sevunts

Source: Earth Times.
Link: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/news/350764,cowboy-town-feature.html.

Iran seat on UN panel irks Canada

Iran's election to the UN Commission on the Status of Women (UNCSW), an influential panel that promotes women's rights, has irked Canada.

In a Saturday statement, Canadian Foreign Affairs Minister Lawrence Cannon said there were "serious concerns" with Iran's election to the UNCSWat the United Nations Economic and Social Council.

On Thursday, the UN announced that Iran, along with 10 other countries, had been elected to the high-profile UNCSW for the term beginning in 2011.

The UNCSW seeks to ensure women's rights by investigating nations that violate women's rights, monitoring their efforts in improving women's equality and detailing their shortcomings.

“It is the Government of Canada's understanding that Iran was acclaimed as a member of the UN Commission on the Status of Women as part of an uncontested slate endorsed by the Asian regional group, of which Canada is not a member,” he said.

“We deplore this development but will use Iran's membership on this body to take the Iranian authorities to task for their systemic human rights violations,” he added.

Rejecting allegations of human rights violations, Iran blames Western countries for most of the abuses and rights violations that happen around the world.

"Those who claim to be the top advocates of human rights start wars and kill millions of people," President Ahmadinejad has said.

Canada's government is currently struggling with the parliament over documents that could implicate Canada in torture of Afghan detainees while in American custody.

Ahmadinejad has also says that freedom of expression and freedom of religion were integral parts of Iranian culture.

Iran's civilization and culture dates back to 2500 years ago, when "Cyrus the Great put an end to slavery," he has said, drawing a comparison with the US, where slavery has only been abolished for 180 years.

Source: PressTV.
Link: http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=125123§ionid=351020101.

Canadian university to host Iran's Saket

Iranian musician Keyvan Saket is to hold a traditional Persian music concert and workshop at the University of British Columbia (UBC).

The workshop will be held on April 7th, with a focus on the techniques and characteristics of Saket's music.

The renowned tar-player will hold his concert on April 10th, accompanied by Saeed Kamjou (Kamancheh), Kazem Davoudian (Santour), Pezhham Akhavas (Tonbak) and vocalist Mansour Pirouzbakhsh.

Keyvan Saket is a composer, researcher and master player of Tar and Setar, who has held numerous national and international concerts.

The program is a sequel to Saket's US concert tour, which started on Dec. 13, 2009 at the University of Virginia.

Source: PressTV.
Link: http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=122698§ionid=351020105.

Iran slams Canada support for Israeli war crimes

Iran deplores Canada's move to vote against a UN-backed resolution extending the deadline for a full and credible probe into Israeli war crimes during its last year assault on Gaza.

"During the tenure of [Canadian Prime Minister Stephen] Harper, Canada followed the policy of turning a blind eye to realities and has always given priority to dual and contradictory behaviors," said Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast on Sunday.

"Canada's vote against the resolution, which supports the rights of citizens, immigrants and religious minorities, was another notable example of such behavior," he added.

On Friday, the United Nations General Assembly adopted a non-binding resolution, backed by the Palestinian Authority's delegation along with several Arab and African countries, in a 98-31 vote.

The move gives another five months for fresh investigations into war crimes committed during the three-week Israeli onslaught, which killed more than 1,400 Palestinians, mostly civilians, and left thousands of others wounded.

This is while a UN fact-finding committee led by renowned South African prosecutor Richard Goldstone accused Israel of war crimes and crimes against humanity.

Goldstone's 575-page report documented accounts of deliberate killing of Palestinian civilians by the Israeli army which targeted places known to hold civilians and also opened fire on unarmed people fleeing the scene.

The document also charged the Islamic resistance movement of Hamas with indiscriminate targeting of southern Israeli towns with rockets — mostly homemade projectiles landing in unpopulated desert areas.

Mehmanparast condemned Canada's support for Israeli crimes, saying, "Ottawa shows full support for anti-human crimes of the Zionist regime [Israel]."

“In light of such contrary-to-human-rights remarks the Canadian government has unfortunately shown that it is not eligible to comment on such issues,” he said.

Taking the Goldstone report into consideration, the General Assembly overwhelmingly passed a similar resolution demanding credible, independent investigations of war crime charges by February 5.

Goldstone had advised the case be sent to the International Criminal Court at The Hague if plausible probes were not conducted within six months.

Source: PressTV.
Link: http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=120291§ionid=351020101.

An euphoric end to a bittersweet Olympics

By DAVID CRARY, AP National Writer

VANCOUVER, British Columbia – They were the resilient Winter Games — beginning in shock, ending in euphoria.

Opening day was overshadowed by the death of a luger in a training-run crash. The finale couldn't have been more festive — a tribute to the organizers, who persevered despite first-week setbacks, and to the Canadian team, which surged to glory after a shaky start.

A crowd of 60,000 filled BC Place Stadium for Sunday's closing ceremony, many of them Canadians reveling in the overtime victory over the United States just a few hours earlier by their men's hockey team. That win, in the games' final event and in Canada's most cherished sport, gave the host nation a Winter Olympics record of 14 gold medals and set off wild celebrations across Vancouver.

The gaiety in the stadium — capped by a rock concert with Alanis Morissette, Nickelback and Avril Lavigne — contrasted sharply with the moment of silence at the opening ceremony Feb. 12 for Nodar Kumaritashvili, the luger killed in a horrific crash on the sliding track in Whistler just hours before that ceremony.

The speakers of honor on Sunday, chief Vancouver organizer John Furlong and International Olympic Committee president Jacques Rogge, each paid tribute to the 21-year-old athlete.

"We are so sorry for your loss," Furlong said, addressing the nation of Georgia. "May the legacy of your favorite son never be forgotten and serve to inspire youth everywhere to be champions in life."

Furlong — who even tried to reach out to francophone Canada with some halting words in French — quickly shifted to a more upbeat tone.

"I believe Canadians tonight are stronger, more united, more in love with our country and more connected to each other than ever before," he said. "These games have lifted us up."

He paid tribute to moguls skier Alexandre Bilodeau, winner of Canada's first gold medal at these games.

"Alexandre, your gold medal gave us all permission to feel and behave like champions," Furlong said. "Our last one (the hockey gold) will be remembered for generations."

The stadium literally shook as fans cheered and stamped their feet in appreciation.

Rogge then pronounced the games closed, after describing them as "excellent and very friendly."

Neil Young, the durable Canadian folk-rock star, followed with a wistful version of his "Long May You Run" — and the Olympic flame faded away as he ended.

Canadian officials ensured an extra measure of poignancy at the ceremony by selecting figure skater Joannie Rochette as their flagbearer. Her mother died of a heart attack hours after arriving in Vancouver last weekend, but Rochette chose to carry on and won a bronze medal, inspiring her teammates and fans around the world.

"Yes, it's been a tough week for me," she said before the ceremony. "But I walk tonight into that stadium with a big smile on my face. ... I accomplished my goals, and I want to celebrate with my teammates."

The team was greeted with a mighty roar when they joined the fast-moving, informal parade of athletes into the stadium. Among the cheerleaders was Prime Minster Stephen Harper, wearing a Canada jacket.

The U.S. flagbearer was Billy Demong, a veteran of four Olympics who won a gold and silver medal in Nordic combined.

There were plenty of reasons for Canada and the United States to celebrate after 17 days of competition. The U.S. won 37 medals overall — the most ever for any nation in a Winter Olympics.

Canada, after a slow start, set a Winter Games record with 14 golds and sparked public enthusiasm in Vancouver that veterans of multiple Olympics described as unsurpassed.

The comeback by the Canadian athletes was mirrored by the determination of the Vancouver Organizing Committee. It struggled with a series of glitches and weather problems early in the games, adjusted as best it could, and reached the finish line winning widespread praise for an exceptional Olympics — albeit one tinged with sadness.

Right from the start of the closing show, there was a spirit of redemption as the producers made up for an opening-ceremony glitch in which one leg of the Olympic cauldron failed to rise from the stadium floor. On Sunday, the recalcitrant leg rose smoothly and former speedskating medalist Catriona LeMay Doan — who missed out on the opening-night flame lighting because of the glitch — got to perform that duty this time.

Later came the traditional handover ceremony, during which the Olympic flag was lowered and presented to the hosts of the next Winter Games in 2014.

Vancouver Mayor Gregor Robertson handed over the five-ringed flag to IOC president Jacques Rogge, who passed it on to Anatoly Pakhomov, the mayor of Sochi, Russia. That was followed by the Russian national anthem and a presentation about Sochi featuring opera, ballet, ice skating and giant glowing spheres called "zorbs."

Other key moments in the closing:

_The awarding of medals for the men's 50-kilometer cross-country ski race, won by Petter Northug of Norway.

_The swearing-in of two new members of the International Olympic Committee chosen by their fellow athletes — U.S. hockey player Angela Ruggiero and British skeleton racer Adam Pengilly.

_The singing of the Olympic anthem by renowned Canadian tenor Ben Heppner.

_A tongue-in-cheek revue of Canadian icons and symbols, featuring singing-and-dancing Mounties, tabletop hockey players, dancing canoes and flying moose and beavers.

_A segment in which Canadian actors — including William Shatner and Michael J. Fox — made fun of national stereotypes.

Fox, who has Parkinson's disease, received a huge ovation.

"I lived in the U.S. for 30 years," Fox said. "But if the U.S. is playing Canada in hockey, I'm sorry, I'm wearing a maple leaf on my sweater."

Canadians want to represent Ireland in Olympics

By SEAN O'SHEA, IrishCentral.com Staff Writer

A number of Canadian athletes, who have Irish ancestry, have told the Olympic Council of Ireland they would like to compete on the country’s behalf at the next Winter Olympics in Russia in 2014.

Jack McGouran, spokesman for the Olympic Committee, said the popularity of the Irish team in Vancouver’s Olympic Village is such that many Canadians have shown interest in joining it, today’s Mail on Sunday reported.

“The Irish team have been remarkably popular here because of the close links between our country and Canada,” he told the Mail, adding, “They want to help Ireland become a bigger nation in winter sports.

“They have plenty of second generation Irish people here, who have asked about applying to compete for us,” he continued.

McGouran explained the Canadian team is extremely competitive, excluding many good Canadian athletes from the contests.

“We will certainly look favorably on any applications from first generation athletes, and a number of Canadians have already indicated their interest,” McGouran stated.

“It’s something we are going to look at,” he said. “It’s done in every other sport, so why shouldn’t it be done in winter sports?"

If Canadian Irish were to join the Irish Winter Olympics team, they would almost certainly improve it. Ireland received no medals this year.

Source: Irish Central.
Link: http://www.irishcentral.com/sport/Canadians-want-to-represent-Ireland-in-Olympics-85768787.html.

After Vancouver, now it's Russia's turn in 2014

By STEPHEN WILSON
AP Sports Writer

VANCOUVER, British Columbia -- From the Pacific coast to the shores of the Black Sea. From the peaks of western Canada to the Caucasus mountains of southern Russia. From gleaming North American skyline to palm-fringed resort in the former Soviet Union.

Do svidanya (goodbye) Vancouver. Do vstretchi (see you) in Sochi.

As the Vancouver Olympics come to a close, the focus turns across the world to Russia's first Winter Games in 2014 - taking the Olympic movement to a new territory and a new set of challenges.

"We are next," Sochi organizing chief Dmitry Chernyshenko said. "The bar has been well and truly raised."

The Russian city's first big moment in the global spotlight comes during Sunday night's closing ceremony, with the Olympic flag handed from the mayor of Vancouver to the mayor of Sochi.

The world will get a first taste of what Sochi has to offer during an eight-minute segment featuring Russian sports stars, music and dance performers and giant glowing spheres called "Zorbs."

"This is a historic event for Sochi," Mayor Anatoly Pakhomov said. "We understand it is a huge responsibility for Sochi and for Russia and we can't let anyone down."

After the showbiz, the hard work will continue back home as organizers continue to prepare for an event that has the prestige of Russia and its leaders - including Prime Minister Vladimir Putin - on the line.

Ever since Sochi was awarded the games by the International Olympic Committee three years ago, questions have been raised: Can Sochi complete its massive construction projects on time? Will the funding hold up? Will the games be safe in a city near the separatist Abkhazia region in neighboring Georgia?

Putin, Russian president at the time, was instrumental in Sochi securing the games when he traveled to Guatemala City in 2007 and personally lobbied IOC members. He and current President Dmitry Medvedev remain centrally involved in making sure the games are a success.

"It's so important for Russians that they will not allow it to fail," senior Canadian IOC member Dick Pound said. "Whatever has to be done will be done."

Sochi, established as a summer resort under Joseph Stalin, is a city of about 500,000 people in Russia's Krasdonar region. Olympic organizers hope the games will serve as a catalyst in turning the area into a year-round world-class destination for Russians and foreign tourists alike.

Organizers say the games will feature the most compact layout in Winter Games history, with a cluster of ice arenas situated along the Black Sea coast and snow and sliding venues a half-hour away in the Krasnaya Polyana mountains. A new rail line is being built to connect the two clusters.

"You can swim in the warm Sochi sea, and after 24 minutes on a train, you can change clothes and go skiing in the mountains," Pakhomov said.

First, Sochi has to build virtually all of its Olympic facilities from scratch. "Literally from nothing," Chernyshenko said.

All venues are now under construction, with 16,000 workers busy on "what is probably the biggest construction site in the world."

Sochi promises that all venues will be ready two years in advance to allow for the holding of Olympic test events. The first trial run will take place a year from now with a European Cup event in Alpine skiing. More than 70 test events are planned in 2012 and 2013.

The cost of the Olympic infrastructure project is put at $7 billion.

"All the money is allocated and we don't see any risk for a shortage of finance," said Chernyshenko, who has a separate operating budget of $1.8 billion.

Russia is also spending billions more on other non-Olympic projects, including renovation of the Moscow-Sochi railway line.

Despite the global economic downturn and fluctuating oil prices, Sochi has managed to raise record sponsorship revenues, surpassing $1 billion in domestic deals so far. The IOC has closely monitored Sochi's preparations and is happy with the progress, although Jean-Claude Killy, who heads the IOC's coordination for Sochi, has repeatedly warned there is no time to waste.

The construction and design of Sochi's boblsed and luge track will be under scrutiny following the high-speed training crash that killed Georgian luger Nodar Kumaritashvili on the day of Vancouver's opening ceremony.

IOC president Jacques Rogge has written Chernyshenko asking him to ensure the track is safe. The Russian said plans already called for the track to be 10-15 kph (6-9 mph) slower than Whistler's.

"We will learn from this tragedy," Chernyshenko said. "We will do all we can do guarantee the safety factor."

Security is also an issue on a wider front. Sochi is located in a volatile region, just north of the border with Abkhazia, where Russia has thousands of troops. Russia defied the West by recognizing Abkhazia and another separatist region, South Ossetia, as independent after its war with Georgia in 2008.

"Sochi has been the safest city in the country, the summer residence for the president and prime minister," Chernyshenko said. "This is a rather calm city. The government is doing everything to protect this region from any risk."

Sochi brought a team of 150 observers to Vancouver to watch and learn. One key lesson so far: Have contingency plans in place for the type of weather problems that caused havoc at the snowboard and freestyle venue at Cypress Mountain.

"We are already thinking seriously about Plan B if the weather doesn't cooperate," Chernyshenko said, citing plans for new technology and snow making techniques.

Another priority for Sochi is recruiting volunteers. Vancouver organizers brought in about 25,000 volunteers, who won rave reviews for their smiling hospitality. Russia doesn't have a tradition of volunteerism, but is recruiting volunteers from all over the country.

"The games are about people and the human factor," Chernyshenko said.

The biggest challenge might be in replicating the way Vancouver celebrated these games, with festive crowds in the streets and arenas packed with cheering fans. IOC officials said it's the best Winter Olympic atmosphere since the magical 1994 Games in Lillehammer, Norway.

"The Canadian atmosphere here is electric," Chernyshenko said. "That is exactly what we want to reach in Russia. We will do it with a Russian touch, a Russian look without the stereotypes."

Sochi organizers can only hope for improved performances from Russian athletes, who bombed at these games with just three golds and 15 total medals going into the final day. The Russians stood 11th in the gold medal table - the only time they have been out of the top five since the Soviet Union first competed in the Winter Games in 1956.

Canadian athletes thrilled the host nation by winning the most gold medals in Vancouver, although the U.S. clinched the most overall medals.

The Russian medal flop here may be an explanation for the absence of Medvedev, who had been expected to come to Vancouver for the final days of the games. His plans apparently changed after the Russian men's hockey team - expected to make Sunday's final - was knocked out in the quarterfinals by Canada.

Before the Olympic flag left Canada on its journey to Russia, Vancouver's organizing committee offered a word of advice to the next hosts.

"Develop a good thick skin and don't shy away from criticism," said spokeswoman Renee Smith-Valade, "because it's healthy and it makes you better at what you do."

Source: Miami Herald.
Link: http://www.miamiherald.com/2010/02/28/v-fullstory/1504792/after-vancouver-now-its-russias.html.

Canadian military chief charged with murder

Tue, 09 Feb 2010

A Canadian military base commander has been charged with the murder of two women and sexually assaulting two other women, according to police.

Colonel Russell Williams was arrested in Ottawa Sunday on suspicion of murder of 27-year-old Jessica Lloyd and 38-year-old corporal Marie Comeau.

The 46-year-old Williams also was charged on two counts of breaking and entering the homes of two other women, who were sexually assaulted last September.

"Due to similarities in those incidents, the police investigative team linked (last month's murder) to other crimes," Ontario Provincial Police said in a statement.

Williams, a 23-year military veteran, was appointed as the base commander of Canadian Forces Base Trenton in Trenton, Ontario last July.

Trenton is Canada's busiest Air Force base and is providing logistical support for Canada's missions in Haiti and Afghanistan as well as support for the Vancouver Winter Games.

The colonel was held in custody and will appear in court via video on February 18.

Source: PressTV.
Link: http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=118232§ionid=351020701.

Speedskater Shani Davis makes Olympic history

Shani Davis of the US has managed to earn the gold medal in the men's speed skating 1000 meters at the Vancouver Winter Olympics.

The 27-year-old world record holder clocked one minute 8.94 seconds on Wednesday at the Richmond Olympic Oval to become the first man to win two Olympic 1,000 meter titles.

The American athlete became the first African-American to win individual gold in the Winter Games in 2006.

"It's my moment. It's my party," Davis said of his victory laps. "I can celebrate. I can dance. I earned it," Davis said.

“Those last 200, 300 meters were very difficult,” he added. “I was just trying to carry my speed. I could feel it leaving me. It doesn't matter what it looks like, just as long as you get across the line as quick as you could.”

“When you're a world champion or an Olympic champion, you get this little thing on your back called a target,” he further explained. “To go out there and win the 1,000 meters twice is truly amazing.”

South Korea's Mo Tae-bum finished second in 1:09.12, while American Chad Hedrick took the third place in 1:09.32.

Source: PressTV.
Link: http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=118910§ionid=3510211.

Vancouver Olympics stage green games

New York, Feb 14 : The organizers of the Winter Olympics that kicked off this weekend in Vancouver are hoping to stage some of the greenest Games ever, thanks to a partnership with the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP).

For the past three years the Vancouver Organizing Committee (VANOC) and UNEP have worked together to improve the environmental footprint of these Games and to use the high-profile sports gathering to increase public awareness about green issues.

Low-flow toilets that use rainwater for flushing, separate bins for compostable waste and energy-efficient grass-clad roofs are some of the environmentally-friendly features on display at Olympic sites in and around Vancouver.

VANOC has also tried to reduce the carbon impact of the Games by expanding the public transport system and introducing various forms of clean technology, according to a press release issued by UNEP.

The agency said it will publish an environmental assessment report later this year that will examine the greening of the venues, sustainable transport and waste management.

Saturday UNEP and VANOC were to announce the winner of a video contest in which Canadian youth were invited to produce a short video or animation clip to show how young people can help create a more environmentally-friendly lifestyle during and after the Games.

Wilfried Lemke, the Special Adviser to the Secretary-General on Sport for Development and Peace, attends the award ceremony.

UNEP is also working with the organizers of the next Winter Olympics, to be staged in Sochi, Russia, in 2014, as part of its campaign to help lower the carbon footprint of major sporting events.

In addition, the UN agency is partnering with the organizers of the FIFA World Cup in South Africa later this year, the Commonwealth Games in New Delhi in October and the Indian Premier League (IPL) cricket competition.

Source: New Kerala.
Link: http://www.newkerala.com/news/fullnews-51323.html.

Despite luge death, opening ceremony goes on

By DAVID CRARY, AP National Writer

VANCOUVER, British Columbia – The show went on — with grief and a closing glitch.

The Olympics' opening ceremonies unfolded in a mostly jubilant atmosphere, with an upbeat crowd filling BC Place Stadium only hours after a luger from the country of Georgia, Nodar Kumaritashvili, was killed in a horrific training-run crash at Whistler.

After several somber pauses during the show to pay respects to him, the much-awaited surprise ending went awry. One huge piece of the set failed to rise from the stadium floor, and left one of the four final torchbearers, speedskater Catriona LeMay Doan, unable to use her torch.

The ceremonies were dedicated to Kumaritashvili, and a moment of silence was observed in his memory. The seven remaining members of the Georgian team, who decided to stay and compete, wore black armbands as they marched behind a black-trimmed flag. Most of the crowd rose to give respectful applause.

International Olympic Committee president Jacques Rogge and the top Vancouver organizer, John Furlong, urged the athletes to compete in Kumaritashvili's honor.

"May you carry his Olympic dream on your shoulders and compete with his spirit in your heart," Furlong said.

More than 60,000 people packed into the stadium for the evening extravaganza, the first Olympic opening or closing ceremony ever held indoors. The loudest ovation came midway through, when the red-clad Canadian team — aiming for a first-place finish — entered the stadium as the last contingent of the parade of nations.

The climax called for the cauldron to be lit jointly by four Canadian sports heroes — all-time hockey great Wayne Gretzky, skier Nancy Greene, basketball All-Star Steve Nash and LeMay Doan. But the former speedskating medalist was left to stand by awkwardly when one of the four pillars holding the Olympic cauldron failed to rise.

A second, far larger cauldron was lit by Gretzky in a plaza along the downtown waterfront — giving Vancouver a visible symbol for the rest of the games that the indoor stadium could not provide.

Rain was forecast through the weekend in Vancouver, with high temperatures near 50 degrees, prompting some to dub these the Spring Olympics. Rain also has disrupted Alpine skiing events at Whistler.

About 2,500 athletes from a record 82 countries are participating in the games, vying for medals in 86 events — including the newly added ski-cross competition. First-time Winter Olympic participants include the Cayman Islands, Columbia, Ghana, Montenegro, Pakistan, Peru and Serbia.

The overall favorites include Germany and the United States — which finished first and second four years ago in Turin — and also Canada, a best-ever third in 2006 and now brashly proclaiming its intention to finish atop the medals table on its home turf.

"We're still going to be nice, but we're going to be nice in winning," said Michael Chambers, president of the Canadian Olympic Committee.

The Canadian team marched exultantly behind flagbearer Clara Hughes, defending gold medalist in the 5,000-meter speedskating race. Prime Minister Stephen Harper was among the thousands in the stadium rising to applaud.

Just ahead in the parade were the Americans. Their flagbearer is Mark Grimmette, 39, of Muskegon, Mich., competing in his fifth Olympics as a doubles luge competitor. Kumaritashvili would have been one of his Olympic rivals.

The cultural segment of ceremony featured many of Canada's best-known musical stars — including Bryan Adams, Nelly Furtado, Sarah McLachlan and k.d. lang.

It also highlighted performers and traditions from Canada's aboriginal communities. And the highest-ranking official delegation at the ceremony — amid dignitaries from around the world — included the four chiefs of the First Nations whose traditional native territory overlaps the Olympic region.

Special effects included a giant, sparkling polar bear rising from the stadium floor and hovering over some performers on a simulated ice flow. Later, Celtic fiddlers performed under a stadium-wide cascade of autumn leaves, and an acrobat on wires performed an aerial ballet to the strains of Joni Mitchell's "Both Sides Now."

Several well-known Canadians received the honor of carrying the Olympic flag at a high-profile moment near the end of the ceremony. Among them were hockey Hall of Famer Bobby Orr, singer Anne Murray, race car driver Jacques Villeneuve and Betty Fox, mother of national hero Terry Fox.

Terry Fox lost a leg to bone cancer as a youngster, then set off in 1980 on a fundraising trek across Canada. He had to give up after covering more than 3,000 miles, and died in 1981 at age 22, but remains revered by his compatriots as a symbol of courage and perseverance.

The flame reached the stadium after a 106-day torch relay across Canada, passing through more than 1,000 communities in every province and territory.

The relay was the occasional target for protesters, and Friday was no exception.

Activists espousing a variety of causes prompted the relay to change course twice as it passed near Vancouver's skid-row neighborhood, the Downtown Eastside.

Later, several thousand protesters marched to the stadium, where hundreds of police were waiting for them. A standoff lasted more than two hours — with some sticks and water bottles thrown toward the officers.

Iran summons Canadian charge d'affaires

TEHRAN, Feb. 12 (MNA) -- Iran has summoned Canada’s charge d'affaires after it was revealed that a former Canadian ambassador to Tehran had spied for the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA).

The former Canadian ambassador to Tehran violated the Vienna Convention in regard to his diplomatic mission and the Canada government must be held accountable for such a violation, the Iranian Foreign Ministry stated on Wednesday.

The diplomat vowed to notify Canada’s Foreign Ministry of the issue and promised to give the necessary response to Tehran as soon as possible.

Canada's former ambassador to Tehran, Kenneth Taylor, has revealed he actively spied for the CIA and helped the U.S. plan a military incursion into the country after Iranian students took control of the U.S. embassy in Tehran on Nov. 4, 1979.

An arrangement was set up by then-U.S. President Jimmy Carter and Canadian Prime Minister Joe Clark, whereby Taylor would provide U.S. intelligence with information from his position at the Canadian Embassy in Tehran, according to a report published in The Globe and Mail.

The report added that details of Taylor''s role are revealed in the book “Our Man in Tehran” by Trent University historian Robert Wright.

Taylor was Canada’s ambassador to Iran from 1977 to 1980.

Source: Mehr News.
Link: http://www.mehrnews.com/en/NewsDetail.aspx?NewsID=1034305.

International Haiti aid conference set to start Monday in Montreal

New York - Officials from 20 nations are set to meet in Montreal on Monday to lay plans for coordinating aid to quake- stricken Haiti. US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton and French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner are among those planning to attend. Delegates from Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Peru, Uruguay, Mexico, Costa Rica, Spain, the Dominican Republic, Jamaica and Japan are also expected at the Friends of Haiti meeting.

Aside from discussing the long-term reconstruction of the devastated nation, groundwork would also be laid for a donor's conference, possibly to be held in March. To that end, representatives of the United Nations, International Monetary Fund and the Inter-American Development Bank would also attend in Montreal.

Venezuela, Bolivia and Nicaragua have announced plans to boycott the meeting, saying they oppose the strong US military presence in the Caribbean.

At least 110,000 Haitians are believed to have died in the magnitude-7.0 earthquake on January 12, which affected around 3 million people.

Source: Earth Times.
Link: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/305380,international-haiti-aid-conference-set-to-start-monday-in-montreal.html.

Canadian aid to Haiti to focus on reconstruction

By Jorge Barrera, Juliet O'Neill and Mark Iype, Canwest News Service

PORT-AU-PRINCE — As international aid workers in Haiti struggle to get food and medical assistance to the survivors of last Tuesday's devastating earthquake in a climate of widespread looting and absent infrastructure, governments have ramped up their commitments to rebuilding the country.

Tens of thousands of survivors — many of them injured, hungry and thirsty — continued to crowd makeshift camps on streets strewn with debris and decomposing bodies as more foreign troops and aid workers arrived Monday.

In an effort to deal with the crumbled infrastructure, the Canadian military announced Monday that DART — Disaster Assistance Response Team — would be increasing its capabilities in Haiti by building full field hospitals and concentrating on infrastructure reconstruction. The team will focus also on rebuilding communication systems, which will help get aid to the survivors.

The military will base a big part of its relief operations in Jacmel, a southern coastal city where Gov. Gen. Michaelle Jean spent her summers as a girl.

The Canadians plan to deploy in a 40-kilometre north-south corridor between Jacmel and Leogane, which is about 20 kilometres west of Port-au-Prince.

Both coastal communities were devastated by the earthquake and "Jacmel is cut (off) from the world," Canadian ambassador Gilles Rivard told reporters in Port-au-Prince.

Canadians plan to deliver medical aid, water purification and security, and work to allow aid delivery, such as road-clearing, bridge repair and fortification of collapsed buildings.

An aid organization reported Monday the trip south from Port-au-Prince to Jacmel — which normally takes about 2 1/2-hours — now takes more than seven hours due to road obstructions. Because of a lack of medical resources in the area, people who lost limbs in the earthquake are suffering from gangrene.

Some DART doctors and medics were already on hand in Jacmel on Monday, treating Haitians as best they could.

They treated patients under tarps outside a local hospital that was damaged by the earthquake.

"The have no surgery capability right now and that is the major problem," said Maj. Annie Bouchard, DART medical platoon commander. "Their anesthesia machine is broken and they have no supplies."

Bouchard said half of the 64 patients needed surgery to "either save their limb or save their life."

Canada's military efforts will be anchored by two navy vessels with 500 personnel arriving Tuesday — the HMCS Athabaskan offshore Leogane and the HMCS Halifax offshore Jacmel.

The plan emerged Monday when Rivard and Brig.-Gen. Guy Laroche, commander of Canadian Forces in Haiti, spoke to reporters — and later when Gen. Walt Natynczyk, chief of the defence staff, and Defence Minister Peter MacKay made a flying visit to CFB Valcartier to personally thank the 1,000 soldiers heading to Haiti this week.

"We understand about 90 per cent of the destruction was in the town of Leogane, extending to the southern coast to Jacmel," Natynczyk said. "These two towns form the north-south orientation of the area that the UN has asked us to focus on."

The death toll in the country continues to climb. Some reports have said as many as 200,000 people died in the 7.0 magnitude quake, with another three million left hurt or homeless. AFP_reported Tuesday that 70,000 people had been buried.

Many who have survived are looking for a way out of Haiti and into Canada.

At the Canadian Embassy in Port-au-Prince, a safe haven for citizens, Canadian soldiers shouted, "You have to move back," and "Push, push" as a crowd of about 200 Haitians — some without Canadian citizenship or identification papers — clamoured at the gates to be taken out of the earthquake-shattered city, where food and water is still in short supply and the stench of death grows stronger by the day.

Many had been given false hopes by Haitian radio reports that the Canadian Embassy was giving out visas. Some slept at the embassy gate, others arrived at dawn — having walked hours to get there on the belief that somehow Canada would take them in.

Those who had Canadian passports waved them in the air. One woman brandished divorce papers from a Quebec court and another man pulled out his expired visitor's visa.

Cars and trucks rumbling along the road in front of the embassy honked and swerved as the crowd ebbed and flowed around the embassy gate.

Paulidor Cazeau, 37, began walking at 3 a.m. on Monday, arriving at the embassy at 5 a.m. with his wife and two children, a seven-year-old boy and a nine-year-old girl.

"Now we come here if the government of Canada can help people go to Canada," he said. "I have nothing else. My house, everything I had, just passed away, finished."

Cazeau is not a Canadian citizen and did not have a Canadian passport.

Jean Sanon Descartes, 68, says he has two children in Canada. He unzips a pouch and pulls out his Haitian passport which has an expired Canadian visa.

"My family sent papers to get me out," he said.

Some of those waiting outside the embassy complained that the soldiers only spoke English and they couldn't understand their shouted orders.

Philomise Brutus, 54, held aloft her Quebec health insurance card and her permanent residence card. She arrived in Haiti on Dec. 5 from Montreal and is now trying to bring four family members, aged 35, 22, 16, and 18, into Canada.

"We have no food, no water and I sleep in a park," said Brutus, who spent the night on the sidewalk in front of the embassy. "I feel so sad."

In response to the growing humanitarian crisis, the Canadian government announced Saturday that it is fast-tracking immigration applications and prioritizing Haitian adoptions to reunite families in Canada.

It will expedite an estimated 5,000 immigration applications to reunite families in Canada with relatives "directly and significantly affected by the earthquake in Haiti."

How quickly newcomers can be processed and travel to Canada remains open to question, however, due to communication and transportation problems in the earthquake zone.

There is no plan to airlift them to Canada.

One hopeful sign in Haiti has been the recent re-emergence of street vendors selling fruit and vegetables. They're taking their chances with gangs of looters said to be prowling the demolished streets of downtown Port-au-Prince, filching goods from destroyed shops with little opposition from overstretched police.

"We do not have the capacity to fix this situation. Haiti needs help," policeman Dorsainvil Robenson told Reuters, as he chased looters.

At a news conference earlier Monday, Foreign Affairs Minister Lawrence Cannon said police protection for the people of Haiti is a priority.

He said Canada would work with the United Nations stabilization mission in Haiti to ensure the safety of civilians until the Haitian national police is able to handle the immense task.

More than 2,200 U.S. marines with heavy earth-moving equipment, medical aid and helicopters were arriving Monday, reported the U.S. Southern Command, which aims to have 10,000 U.S. troops in the area for rescue operations.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper, meantime, participated in a radio talk show to help raise donations for Haiti relief.

He spoke of frustration over bottlenecks and delays in international aid delivery, "notwithstanding the incredible heartbreak, the incredible need we see at the other end."

Earlier, Harper spoke with Haitian President Rene Preval about Canada's "unwavering commitment" to Haiti. Due to technical difficulties, Preval took Harper's call on Canadian Minister of State Peter Kent's cellphone. The two were at a meeting in the Dominican Republic.

Cannon said since last Tuesday's quake, 947 Canadians have been evacuated from Haiti, up from 593 on Sunday.

Among the rescued Canadians was a group of 17 B.C. high school students and their chaperones that had been stranded in a remote town outside Port-au-Prince. The student group had gone to Haiti to help set up a goat farm and arrived a mere 45 minutes before the earthquake struck.

The entire group arrived back safely in Montreal early Monday morning on military transport planes.

Cannon said 850 Canadians remain missing.

"We still face a large number of challenges," he said from Ottawa. "We continue to do everything we can to locate all Canadians so they can rejoin families and friends here in Canada."

Of the roughly 6,000 Canadians in Haiti when the earthquake struck, 12 Canadians have been confirmed dead in the disaster.

Cannon said that next Monday, Canadian and other international officials will meet in Montreal to discuss the long-term goals for rebuilding the country.

Among those set to attend the Montreal meeting of the informal Friends of Haiti Group is Haitian Prime Minister Jean-Max Bellerive and U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. France and several Latin American nations also belong to the group.

"There is unanimity among all of the donor countries, among all of the friends of Haiti . . . to help Prime Minister (Jean-Max) Bellerive in his quest to build a new Haiti," Cannon said at Monday's news conference.

Canada has pledged $5 million dollars in immediate aid and the government said it will match any donations made by Canadians up to $50 million. On Monday, Quebec promised another $3 million in emergency relief.

The majority of Canada's Haitian population, nearly 100,000, lives in Quebec.

Source: Canada.
Link: http://www.canada.com/news/Canadian+Haiti+focus+reconstruction/2454871/story.html.

Saudi Court Revokes Canadian's Death Sentence

A Canadian man from Montreal no longer faces a public beheading in Saudi Arabia but his supporters say he still has a long way to go as he must now brave a trio of new judges and a fresh trial in connection with a fatal after-school brawl in 2007.

A spokeswoman for Canadian Foreign Affairs Minister Lawrence Cannon confirmed Mohamed Kohail, 24, is still in a Saudi jail, but the death penalty is off the table after a court judgment Saturday.

Saudi Arabia's supreme court also decided that Kohail's case should be retried.

“This is good news,” said Cannon spokeswoman Catherine Loubier.

Liberal Parliament member Dan McTeague, who has been following the case, said this new ruling may finally break what until now has been a judicial stalemate.

“It's encouraging news but we're not out of the woods yet,” he said.“He still has a long way to go, he's got to go through a whole trial.”

Mohamed Kohail, who is a Canadian citizen, and a Jordanian friend were sentenced to death after being convicted of the killing of 19-year-old Munzer Al-Hiraki during an after-school brawl in Jidda in 2007. Authorities said the fight was sparked after Kohail's younger brother Sultan got into a dispute with Al-Hiraki's female cousin.

The brothers have repeatedly said they were acting in self-defense and were not involved in inflicting the fatal wounds during the fight, which involved dozens of teenagers.

Mohamed Kohail has said he was tortured into confessing.

His case bounced around Saudi courts for most of this year. He was convicted by a lower court, and automatically sentenced to death. The verdict was upheld by an appeals court, but was not endorsed by the highest court of the land.

After much back and forth, finally on Saturday, the top court imposed its will.

“It was a form of legal ping-pong,” said McTeague.

“What's significant about this decision as opposed to previous decisions is the request that the trial come before different judges. It basically allows for a clearer, fairer trial under Saudi law.”

He said Kohail's family is also hoping the latest ruling will allow him to be released on bail. He's been behind bars for the past three years.

“The family is very pleased but very cautious,” he said. “They're not out of the woods yet.”

Family friend Mahmoud Al-Ken called the ruling “almost a declaration of innocence from the Supreme Council” but agreed the family is desperate to see Kohail released from prison while he awaits the retrial.

“It's a major breakthrough in this case,” he said. “Although it's very good news and the family is very optimistic about this decision, we're demanding Mohamed Kohail and his friend be released until the final decision is rendered.”

Kohail's brother, Sultan, still languishes in the Saudi justice system. Initially he was sentenced to 200 lashes and a year in prison by a juvenile court. But that ruling was overturned, and he was ordered to face a new trial in adult court, where he could be sentenced to death.

Ms. Loubier said nothing has been resolved yet in the case of the younger Kohail.

“This case continues to be a priority for the government,” said Ms. Loubier. “Canada continues to provide consular assistance and to pursue all avenues to assist Mohamed and Sultan Kohail.”

Ottawa did not give any further details on the case, citing the Privacy Act, but Al-Ken said that due to the circumstances of the case, the new ruling will have an impact on Sultan Kohail's trial as well.

“Sultan's case will be linked to Mohamed's case,” he said. “So any decision in Mohamed's case will directly impact Sultan's case.”

The Kohail family and the federal Liberals have frequently criticized Prime Minister Stephen Harper for not doing enough to intervene in the case.

Mohamed Kohail wrote directly to the Prime Minister asking for his help - providing grist for the Liberals' argument that the federal Conservatives were neglecting Canadians abroad who are in trouble.

But the Conservatives say they are in close touch with all the participants in the Kohail issue, and have taken every opportunity to raise the case and support the Kohail family.

“Canada encourages the abolition of the death penalty internationally and also advocates full respect for international safeguards where the death penalty is in use,” said Ms. Loubier.

Al-Ken said the family doesn't yet know when a the retrial will be held but he hopes the Canadian government continues to be directly engaged in the case.

“We believe it's enough years of their lives wasted in prison,” he said. “We hope this will be a good end for both families and we send our sympathies to the victim's family as well.”

Source: Free Internet Press.
Link: http://freeinternetpress.com/story.php?sid=24143.

"Canada Is the Dinosaur" at COP 15

17 December 2009

By Stephen Leahy

COPENHAGEN (IPS/TerraViva) Canada bears a large share of responsibility for any failure to make a breakthrough in reducing greenhouse gas emissions here in Copenhagen, say participants and civil society activists.

Canada is the only country to ignore its international obligations under the previous Kyoto climate treaty. It has blocked all attempts to get a new treaty to significantly cut carbon emissions, the activists and delegates from other countries charge.

“Canada is the dinosaur at these talks,” said Canadian David Cadman, president of ICLEI – Local Governments for Sustainability, an international association of local governments that hosted this week’s Mayor’s Conference on climate change here.

“They are all about protecting Canada’s fossil fuel sector instead of protecting the interests of the Canadian public,” Cadman told TerraViva. “This government ignores its international commitments and role in international affairs. This is not the Canada that any of us know.”

Canada is “throwing a spanner into the works wherever it can”, agreed Dale Marshall of the David Suzuki Foundation, a Canadian environmental group.

“They are even blocking agreement on the use of 1990 as the base year,” Marshall said in an interview.

It’s not hard to understand why. Not only are Canada’s emissions 34 percent higher than the 1990 baseline and rapidly growing, its massive Alberta tar sands production is believed to be the world’s biggest single industrial source of carbon emissions.

The emissions cut offered by Canadian Prime Minster Stephen Harper’s government is just three percent under 1990 levels by 2020 – less than the Kyoto obligation of cutting six percent by 2010.

Canada is also lobbying hard alongside the U.S. to abandon the Kyoto Protocol process entirely, to the outrage of developing countries. And it expects them to make significant emissions reduction commitments despite Canada’s unwillingness to live up to its legal obligations from 1997.

“Canada’s reputation has never been lower, our influence has never been less,” said Maurice Strong, a legendary Canadian businessman who was the secretary-general of the Stockholm Conference in 1972, first executive director of the United Nations Environment Program, and the chair of the 1992 Earth Summit in Rio, among other notable accomplishments.

“I took an informal poll at the Bella Centre [where the main conference is being held] and almost everyone says Canada is the spoiler here,” Strong told TerraViva. “The tar sands are making us one of the worst polluters on the Earth.”

“Canadians cannot be proud of this,” he added.

Scientists have repeatedly warned that to have any chance of keeping global warming below 2.0 degrees C, industrialized countries must cut emissions 25 to 40 percent by 2020 compared to the baseline of 1990. Canada has only committed to a three percent reduction.

Growth in global emissions must peak by 2015 and rapidly decline to zero by 2050, said John Schellnhuber, director of Germany’s Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research. The current proposals as of Thursday will lead to a minimum 3.5 C degree rise in temperatures, Schellnhuber told TerraViva.

“No one here is talking about emissions peaking before 2020, and that is the most important point scientifically,” he said.

If emissions don’t peak until 2020, they will have to decline by nine percent per year. “Such an abrupt decline is currently unimaginable,” he said.

The Canadian government apparently welcomes the unimaginable, or more likely doesn’t believe that climate change is happening.

“By not agreeing to emissions reductions, Canada is holding a loaded gun to our heads, and seems ready to pull the trigger on millions of us around the globe,” said Kodili Chandia, a Ugandan activist with Action Aid, an international NGO.

“They leave us no choice but to see them as criminal,” she said.

China, Canada sign green deal

Canada and China signed a series of agreements on issues including climate change Thursday, during a visit by Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper aimed at jump-starting ties between the two countries.

Harper held talks with Chinese leaders on the second day of his four-day visit, during which both sides called for an improvement in ties that have languished in recent years.

For years, Harper's government has been outspoken in criticizing Beijing over its human rights record and allegations of Chinese spying, sparking fears in the Canadian business community of a potential backlash in trade ties.

"Canada has great advantages in the fields of environmental protection, green economy and energy and chemistry,"Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao told Harper.

Harper told China's President Hu Jintao in earlier talks that there was "great potential"in further developing trade and economic relations.

After the talks, ministers from China and Canada signed five agreements, including a renewed memorandum on mineral resources and a memorandum of understanding on climate change, just days ahead of UN talks in Copenhagen aimed at tackling global warming.

Harper will also visit Shanghai and Hong Kong.

India, Canada clinch civil nuclear deal

New Delhi - India and Canada Sunday announced the conclusion of a civil nuclear deal which will enable New Delhi to access Canadian nuclear technology and uranium, a news report said. The pact was announced after prime ministers Manmohan Singh and Stephen Harper met on the sidelines of the Commonwealth Heads of Government meeting in Port of Spain, capital of Trinidad and Tobago, the IANS news agency reported.

"We have now got an agreement which means this is a tremendous opportunity for both countries," Harper said underlining it was a "tremendous step forward" in bilateral ties.

"Canada is a supplier, obviously an integrated supplier in the nuclear energy field and India is an expanding economy that has great energy needs," Harper was quoted as saying by IANS.

Harper said it would yet take "a little time to complete the legal text and ratification process."

Singh said the development "augurs extremely well" for ties between the countries.

The pact is likely to be signed when the Indian leader goes to Canada to attend the G20 summit in June next year, where he will also hold bilateral talks with Harper on the margins.

India has signed civil nuclear agreements with seven countries up to now, after the 45-nation Nuclear Suppliers Group last year lifted a 34-year ban on the South Asian country.

New Delhi has already signed similar pacts with the United States, France, Russia, Kazakhstan, Namibia, Argentina and Mongolia.