What does restructuring Toronto Animal Service staff mean anyway?

Mayor Rob Ford believes the city has no business running pet social programs when the city is financially strapped, Star reporter Robyn Doolittle reported Sunday. http://www.thestar.com/news/cityhallpolitics/article/1093401--2012-the-doomsday-budget-not-so-much

Well, 2012 budget proposals are out today. http://www.toronto.ca/budget2012/pdf/2012_opbudg_presentation.pdf 

On page 16, an interesting little note says:

"Shift Restructuring, Animal Services (0.56M)"

Arguably, Toronto Animal Services, already overworked, do great work. How many animals will that $56 million "saving" doom? Pet social programs aren't a luxury in the GTA. They not only spare animals from death and disease, they perform an essential service for Torontonians who, in the case of domesticated animals, often cause the problem in the first place.

Want to do know how much they do? Start with this blog:

http://iwantapounddog.blogspot.com/

 

One bright spot in BP oil spill - Washington freedom of information law works

There's not much good news coming from the accident on BP's  Deepwater Horizon rig and the deadly oil leak choking the Gulf and spreading by the hour. However, journalists in Canada can only look with envy at how quickly the New York Times was able to access BP documents through the the Freedom of Information Act.

In the subsequent story, reporter Ian Urbina wa able to show BP had  serious safety concerns on the rig before the accident and that problems included loss of "well control." BP execs ignored its own internal reports about concerns that occurred far earlier than Congress had been led to believe by the company.

In Canada, requests most often turn into weeks, months, even years, of delay. Moreover - and more envy here - Congress said no a few weeks ago, when BP tried to turn off the underwater video feed showing the spewing oil. Hard to imagine Canadian politicians showing similar grit -  although one can always hope.

The Ignatieff/Zsohar cat pinups

Who can resist sable Burmese Mimi, and her champagne-coloured brother, Eric, who live at Stornoway with Michael Ignatieff and Zsuszanna Zsohar?

Canadian teachers and their fat-cat pensions

Teachers living high off the hog: The latest story on pensions/pensioners in Canada concerns teachers in Ontario or, rather, retired teachers. Ontario officials made it clear this week the province won't ban so-called double-dipping teachers who retire and go on to work as supply teachers, adding $16.7 million annually to the province's education budget, according to media reports. There's an undertone to news stories suggesting pensioners are getting quite enough public money already, and shouldn't be receiving more to go back to the classroom when younger teachers aren't available.  A recent Globe story used words like "squandered" to describe money paid to pensioned teachers who fill in when full-time staffers are away.

Decoder doesn't want to debate the issue of hiring retired teachers or suggest the province shouldn't watch its spending. It goes without saying there should be jobs for new teachers. An official for the Ottawa-Carlton District School Board was quoted as saying the majority of positions in their region do go to new graduates.

But - have you noticed how pensioners have become an easy target lately? How we're being massaged into thinking benefits in society don't count? In some cases, the public has gotten so used to accepting the view that pensions for working Canadians are a deluxe item, that there's not a big public outcry when bankrupt companies like Nortel try to sweep away benefits for long-time employees. 

The average pension for an Ontario teacher is $40,000. That's hardly living the high life, after years of preparing the children and youth of this country to face the future.

Consider that an MP earns $27,000 after only six years in the House of Commons, and the average for long-serving MPs is $100,000. That's indexed for life, while Senators are way up over those amounts.

We won't even get into the pensions and bonuses for bankers and financiers, including hedge fund managers.

Why would anyone want to live in a world in which teaching is consider the most honoured - and lucrative - profession? After all, they're just dealing with our children.

Adam Giambrone: Spelling purist alert!

Spelling, please, Councillor Giambrone.

In an email last year, former girlfriend Kristen Lucas complained to Giambrone about unheated subway cars, saying she could "find other ways to keep warm."

Replied the chair of the Toronto Transit Commission: "Be careful, the cameras cover every vehicule (sic) . . . you may be giving one of the mail (sic) employees a show!!"

Privacy Law Nightmare

I wrote Sunday about the bureaucratic maze faced by a family who ran into a wall when trying to access information about a family member missing in Syria for three years. Federal privacy officials told Kathryn Murray she couldn't get the requested documents relating to her missing daughter, Nicole Vienneau, without Nicole's permission. It's a cliché to say it's Kafkaesque, but it is.

Since Sunday, I've heard from many readers in similar circumstances, frustrated by officials who cite the law when withholding important information, including one woman who couldn't get what she needed relating to her husband who died on federal property.

The sad thing is it doesn't have to be this way, according to former privacy commissioner George Radwanski. He points out the letter of the law actually permits disclosure in a case such as the Vienneau case. Radwanski notes:

Section 8 of the Privacy Act provides:

"((2) Subject to any other Act of Parliament, personal information under the control of a government institution may be disclosed … (m) for any purpose where, in the opinion of the head of the institution, (i) the public interest in disclosure clearly outweighs any invasion of privacy that could result from the disclosure, or (ii) disclosure would clearly benefit the individual to whom the information relates."

 

What are known as "8(2)(m) disclosures" are permitted under the Act precisely to deal with exceptional situations like this one, where either the public interest or the interest of the person to wjom the information pertains clearly appears to outweigh the normal importance of protecting personal information. "Public interest disclosures" under this section are sometimes made, for instance, when a person regarded as a dangerous sexual offender is being released into a community.

 

The head of the government department or agency that holds the personal information in question has sole discretion to make such a disclosure. He or she is required to give the Privacy Commissioner advance notice of the intention to make such a disclosure, and the Commissioner could recommend that the disclosure is not warranted, but the Commissioner's permission isn't needed and the Commissioner cannot find such a disclosure to be a breach of the Privacy Act since the "in the opinion of" clause provides absolute discretion to the departmemnt head. Conversely, of course, the Privacy Commissioner cannot order an 8(2)(m) disclosure.

 

Radwanski suggests Nicole Vienneau's family - or others in the same boat - can contact the privacy commissioner and ask for an opinion that an 8(2) m) disclosure would be reasonable and appropriate. Adds Radwanski: "I hate to see it when the government, or anyone else, tries to make statuatory privacy rights look like an obstacle to common sense or basic fairness and decency, which they seldom are."

Note to CTV newswriters

Hardly earth-shattering, but there was a funny moment Monday night (March 9) when CTV TV anchor Lloyd Robertson commented on the night's quirky story, a little piece on feel-good nationalism in the wake of the Vancouver Olympics. The piece raised the possibility such nationalism would have a lasting effect - or not. Thing was, the story by CTV's national correspondent Geneviève Beauchemin based in Montreal, originated in Quebec and showed images of Montrealers partying with the Maple Leaf after the gold medal men's hockey game, as well as interviews with people in the streets there. It examined the extent of pro-Canada feelings in Quebec, showing in contrast an establishment or two flying the Fleur-de-lys. In his wrapup, Robertson noted: "Well, it looks like the nationalists are getting a break in Quebec. Let's see how they use it."

That's weird, I thought, it doesn't make sense to say the advantage  goes to the nationalists when the report suggests the opposite. In Quebec, nationalist means Quebec nationalist. It took a second to understand his meaning. Right, he means federalists.

I wouldn't have been confused by a similar report originating in Toronto or Vancouver, but for anybody who's lived in Quebec, "nationalist" is a freighted word.

Shame on female ski jumpers for embarrassing Dick Pound

Governor-General Michaëlle Jean gave Canada's female ski jumpers a boost recently by apparently having a discreet word with International Olympic Committee chief Jacques Rogge about their inclusion in the 2014 Olympic Games in Sochi, Russia. Team member Atsuko Tanaka ,18, said Jean told her about the conversation with Rogge during a reception with atheletes at Canada House in Whistler. The GG reportedly said the Olympic head appeared positive about prospects for women's ski  jumping at the next winter games.

Canada's female jumpers fought in B.C. courts to have their event included at the Vancouver Olympics. However, they ultimately failed when the Supreme Court of Canada refused to hear their appeal of the B.C. decision to keep them out of the games.

After encouraging signals from Jean, leave it to Canadian senior IOC member Dick Pound to add his opinion.

In commenting on their recent legal battles, he noted: "I don't think the IOC had very much pleasure being convicted in absentia of discrimination against women athletes. It was a lot of bad publicity for the IOC. I know they don't appreciate it and I don't appreciate it.”

How unfortunate Mr. Pound doesn't appreciate the publicity.

Seems like the Canadian women didn't appreciate being kept out of the Vancouver Olympic Games based on their sex - in a country that guarantees gender equality in its Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

Tish-tosh. Rights, schmights.

* * *

Australia, here I come (or another Olympic perspective): I'm thinking of expanding my horizons beyond journalism with a bid to produce Australia's next big national celebration.

I've got it all worked out: big floating kangaroos, digeridoos and choruses of Waltzing Matilda. Crocodile Dundee hosts, natch.

Don't know much about Australia, but my father's closest mate was from Sydney. Surely those are good enough bona fides to put on an Olympic-scale show.

* * *

Speaking of being embarrassed: It's worth watching the March 2 episode of The Agenda when it's posted on TVO's website. (Should be soon.) A big giggle. Steve Paikin's topic was the closing ceremonies in Vancouver, with lots of tasty comment on the hilarious banality of it all.  Seems like everybody thought the only thing missing was Monty Python's Lumberjack Song.

* * *

Mea culpa for a dearth of postings: Decoder readers may have noticed there have been no posts for, ah, a rather long time. (I certainly hope it's been noted.)

Investigative assignments kept me away from blogging. I keep promising to advise readers when that happens and, next time, will try to actually do so.

And the clocks were striking thirteen: the tale of two dogs

We're all trapped in 1984.

Or what do veterinarians know about dogs, anyway?

Two dogs, Brittany and Rambo, are in the care of Brampton animal services after being seized from their owners in mid-January. These dogs who know nothing but life with their families, face execution or being sent outside the province under the terms of the "Bryant" law (the Ontario Dog Owner's Liability Act) that bans pit bulls in Ontario. 

In the case of these two-year-old animals (from the same litter of nine pups), there were no threats, no bad behavior, no complaints. Rather, Brampton animal service officials spied Rambo standing atop his doghouse in the backyard of the Gaspar family and hauled him in because they believed he was a pit bull. They also picked up his sister who lived with the Branco family in another part of town. Veterinarians have sworn these dogs aren't pit bulls. In fact, in Star reporter Jim Wilkes' story today, Brittany's owner Rui Branco, who also owns their mother, Jersey, says she is a purebred boxer and their father, Tyson, a boxer/American bulldog mix. The story says:

"But Branco and Joe Gaspar, whose family pet Rambo was also seized Jan. 13, have letters from four veterinarians and a company that inserts microchips under a dog's skin supporting their claims there is no pit bull in either dog.

One Brampton vet wrote that he would stake his 51-year veterinary reputation that Tyson was an American bulldog-boxer mix."

Further, said Gaspar of Rambo:

"He's never hurt a soul. Kids come by and pull his ears, play with him all the time," Gaspar said. "I don't know what more we can do to prove that Rambo isn't a pit bull.

"They say it doesn't matter what we show them. In their eyes, he's a pit bull, so these papers mean nothing to them. We've got nothing to hide. He's just a sweet dog."

Brittany's vet, Dr. David Kirkham, told the Globe: "I don't understand why (city officials) are fighting me so hard on this. Brittany doesn't look anything like a pit bull."

Neither, it would seem, does Rambo, pictured here with his red collar.

 

Apparently, there was an error with Tyson's registration in 2006 and, despite lawyers hired to straighten out the matter, Brampton officials aren't budging in their insistence the pups are pit bulls. 

I guess there's something to be learned here. Next time Brampton residents want an animal neutered or a pet's elimination problem investigated (especially that), head straight for City Hall. Don't waste time with your vet.

* * *

Here are a few contacts if you are aware dogs don't have have  Blackberries and sympathize with the predicament of Brittany and Rambo:

- Mayor Susan Fennell, Office of the Mayor, City of Brampton, 2 Wellington St. W., Brampton, ON L6Y 4R2

The salutation is, "Your Worship."

Phone - 905-8742600; fax - 905-874-2620; email - mayor@brampton.ca

 - Here's a link to city councillors and their contact information: http://www.brampton.ca/en/City-Hall/CouncilOffice/Pages/Welcome.aspx

- And, finally, Brampton animal services: http://www.brampton.ca/en/residents/Animal-Services/Pages/welcome.aspx

 

Sad but true - labour at the bottom of the heap

When Stephen Harper shuffled his cabinet today, Lisa Raitt went to labour from the natural resources ministry. The move is regarded as a demotion, which is an accurate perception in the federal cabinet. Is it any wonder working people are behind the eight ball in Canada?

In a similar vein, when Dalton McGuinty shuffled his provincial cabinet Monday, aboriginal affairs went from being a separate portfolio to an extra responsibility for Attorney General Chris Bentley. Guess all the simmering problems with the province have been solved.

TO THE SOURCE ON KAIROS

What many people realize on their own, I learned in university: it's  more useful to go to primary sources than to rely on second-hand material to determine what's closest to the truth (at least for the protagonists in any situation). It's more illuminating, for example, to read Napoleon's letters to the Directorate than to read others' accounts of his Italian campaigns. Problem is, busy lives don't always offer that luxury. (I do see the irony in that, as a journalist, I get to go directly to primary sources for a living, while those who read my work are reading  second-hand accounts. In my defence, I always give as much context as space allows and, increasingly, we use our website to offer first-hand information - whether minutes of meetings, international reports, transcripts, video or links to primary sources - to accompany our stories.

In that vein, I offer a copy of the speech Jason Kenny made last week in Jerusalem in which he explained why KAIROS lost funding. It's worth a read because it gives the full context of the immigration/multiculturalism minister's speech, including other examples he cites. (It's taken from Conservative MP Rick Dykstra's website.)

Here is my colleague Les Whittington's story on the reaction from KAIROS.

* * *

My question is not original: Why didn't CIDA - or more appropriately Minister Kenny - tell Canadians the real reason funding was being cut for KAIROS? Instead, International Development Minister Bev Oda blamed CIDA's "shifting priorities."

Surely a decision apparently taken on priniciple doesn't require flimflammery. It rather debases the point, don't you think?

It's all buddy-buddy in the land of the Liberals

And I have some land in the Everglades you might like . . .

On Friday, Rocco Rossi, national director of the federal Liberal party, said he couldn't talk about the annoucement he would make today (Monday) because he'd made a promise and he would keep his word. Later that evening, he called back to say he'd kept his word but others hadn't. Therefore, he'd decided to confirm he would announce his candidacy for mayor of Toronto at a City Hall presser Monday morning, and talked about his reasons. He didn't sound happy about the position he found himself in, but insisted all's well with the Liberals, noting leader Michael Ignatieff had wished him the best, enthusing: "Mayor Rossi sounds pretty good."

Hmm, would the unnamed promise-breakers be staffers in Ignatieff's own office? Friday evening, Ignatieff made public a letter in which he told Rossi: "I salute your dedication to serving the public good and your desire to seek to the support of the electorate." Et cetera.

That sure looked like a cat scampering out of the leader's bag. Who're ya gonna trust?

* * *

Today, Rossi joined the mayoral fray, although not officially until registration in January.

Loss of political strategist bad timing for Ignatieff

The news that Liberal mastermind Don Guy is leaving Pollara- Dalton McGuinty gearing up for another run in 2011 - has repercussions beyond Queen's Park. Guy, the former McGuinty chief of staff and provincial election wizard, played an important strategy role for the federal Liberals during the 2008 campaign, along with his partner at Pollara, pollster Michael Marzolini. Despite reports Guy informed Ignatieff earlier this year he wouldn't be available next time, there's been speculation among Liberals he might be coaxed to change his (master)mind come election time. His recent email to friends and colleagues that his appointment as campaign director for the 2011 provincial campaign, plus other commitments, means he's leaving Pollara, something he's done before for ethical reasons during the political season. This time, however, according to friends, it's differrent. He's "dedicating himself to Dalton" because it appears the Premier will be facing a far tougher time in 2011 than in the last two campaigns and "there's a lot of work to do" - beginning next year.

There's no way Guy could lend a hand to the federal Liberals in 2011. But - and this is probably more important - it also means he won't be around next year either. With Peter Donolo in the OLO as chief of staff, Liberals are now talking about playing the long game, as Chantal Hébert has recently observed.

 The question is: will they get the chance? Will Stephen Harper give Ignatieff and the Liberals until 2011 to get their act together?

Barring a political meltdown for the Conservatives, 2010 might be looking particuarly scrumptious to Harper, what with the rosy glow expected from the Olympic Games and goodies that can be crammed into one last budget before the post-recession bell tolls for the next budget. Serious problems the government faces over Afghanistan don't appear to be sticking with voters - and they may not down the road.

Nope, no Christmas joy for Ignatieff, not this year anyway.

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Those nasty web comments

This interesting read in Editor and Publisher - "New Tools in Policing Web Comments" - describes a problem familiar to any journalist whose work appears on a media site. It's based on the decision by Tennessee's Knoxville News Sentinel to take action after inflammatory comments - including from white supremecist groups -  forced defence attorneys in a murder case to go to court to request the paper stop allowing comments. They were, argued the defence, tainting the jury pool. The judge ruled against the action, but it was a wakeup call to management (and staff) at the News Sentinel to take action to better monitor its website.

One of the points of the piece is that comments are what really drive people to websites, with one expert arguing the real customers are  people making mean comments. I don't agree that mean comments are in the majority, but I do know monitoring comments at www.thestar.com is a huge task. Hardworking Star moderators try to ensure inflammatory comments don't appear in the first place but, when they slip through, they rely on the "alert a moderator" tool for readers to flag them. (That's one of the solutions undertaken by News Sentinel editors.) The Star takes other measures, such as not allowing comments on cases before the courts or on particularly sensitive issues - a practice that annoys some readers, as every journalist who's written a story with barred comments knows. Our own email boxes fill up fast.

One easy answer would be to have commentors use their real names - as do writers to the letters pages of print media. Since that's not going to happen, other methods are outlined in the News Sentinel piece.  We also come to know, and usually appreciate, regular contributors through their monikers. Moreover, it can fun on political stories (if there's time) to try and figure out which commenters are professionals, ensconced in political war rooms.

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Liberal knickers in a knot over Janine Krieber

I did a little search this morning to see what kind of posts/pages have  been stripped from Facebook and came up with some pretty disgusting  examples, from hate literature to death threats against President Barack Obama. Take them down, fair enough.

But Janine Krieber expresses her opinion about the Liberal party and Liberals swoon faster than southern damsels in whalebone? A little over-the-top, wouldn't you say? Pundits (not all, mind you) mocked with such superiority, letter-writers attacked ("bitter" and "naive" being favorite descriptives) and, behind-the scenes, Liberals spoke of vile betrayal by the wife of former Liberal leader Stéphane Dion. How could she do such a terrible thing? It should be noted it was leader Michael Ignatieff who did the smart thing (teeth gritted or not) by stressing support from Dion, as pointed out this morning by my colleague Susan Delacourt.

Sure, it could be deemed embarrassing for a party to have the wife of its former leader argue said party is in dire straits and risks collapse but, then, is there an intelligent Liberal who is not aware of that fact? Didn't the party just make a major shakeup where it counts - backroom organization and communication in the OLO - with the installation of a new team headed by Peter Donolo? I thought the purpose of that switch was to pull the party back from a dreaded scud into oblivion. Krieber says she's looking for an alternative, and Liberals should be hoping that's not what party supporters are thinking en masse, but polls haven't been kind lately. The latest seepage has been to the NDP on the left. (I maintain, by the way, Krieber was a party supporter and may well still be - to those who darkly suggest she's always held treason in her heart.  Gasp! Is she separatist?) She talks about control by Toronto elites - snooze, was that new even last spring? When the party was at its lowest earlier this fall (Liberals should hope) senior people who felt sliced out of the decision-making process came from the West, the Maritimes and even certain groups in Toronto, as well as Quebec. Again, the reason for Peter Donolo et al. While Liberals may rail against her attack on Ignatieff for his support for the U.S.-led war on Iraq and his writings on torture (Mr. Ignatieff does not approve of torture!), Krieber's argument paled compared to the significance of the leader's own actions last week. He absented himself from the House during, arguably, the most important Question Periods of his tenure, the debate over the testimony of diplomat Richard Colvin on Afghanistan.

The thing is, everybody knows the Liberals are in trouble. It happens to political parties. One needs only to cast back 16 years to a PC party stripped to two members in the House. Steps have been taken to wrestle with problems, Ignatieff was in good form today and there are top Liberals who believe these things too will pass and are working hard to make it so. Wasn't it Bob Rae who said last week he's a "happy camper."

Still, one can only imagine the full-court press on the weekend to get the fiery Ms. Krieber - a terrorism expert who has advised CSIS, among others  - to withdraw her post to Facebook friends. Did she have to beg for the retrieval of separate emailed versions and delete them herself? Has her hard drive been purged? By the Party? Will she be more closely watched? Around-the-clock?

 It falls to Political Decoder to throw out the crazy little notion the real danger here is censorship. That's the kind of permanent damage you don't want. Why, it smacks of that very thing Liberals accuse Stephen Harper and his Conservatives of doing.

Besides, Janine Krieber posted the comments, not Stéphane Dion. She's his wife, not his alter-ego. In 2009, women are still supposed to think like their husbands? Or maybe just some women  - those whose husbands used to be leader of the Liberal party. Were Dion still Liberal leader, I suppose I'd hope she'd keep similar thoughts to herself, had she had them at the time, which it would appear, she did not.

Toronto mayoral battle going to be messy

So far, there are two declared candidates, George Smitherman and Councillor Giorgio Mammoliti for the mayor's chair. But the battle between Smitherman and John Tory has already begun, even though Tory hasn't yet declared his intentions. (Hmmm, wonder what he'll do?) Mischievious anti-Smitherman elves are doing a bit of pre-Christmas scandal-mongering by whispering about how he's being a naughty boy with his consituency office.

According to anonymous gnomes, Smitherman will take advantage of the perks of being an MPP - a constituency office, plus one at Queen's Park - and they've tallied all his covered expenses from Nov. 9 to Mar. 1 at somewhere just over $80,000. However, they admit it's only a guess-timate and there are "intangibles." They did a little playing with Excel sheets and worked up the total to include his salary, office staff, photocopying, mailing and contact with voters over the next three months, et cetera, et cetera.  "This is in no way a definitive spreadsheet," says their email, "but it is a fairly accurate representation of what an MPP would spend in three months if he were to open a mayoralty campaign office. This is not right."

From Smitherman's camp, media relations chief Erika Mozes dismisses the estimates as not credible.

"On the MPP office, the legislative assembly provides MPP's a total of about $80,000 a year to run their constituency offices so to begin with their number is way off.  George Smitherman still has a number of files to complete before he leaves - he has been an MPP for 10 years- not something you should simply drop overnight.  Gerard Kennedy also transitioned in this way when he left cabinet.  I don't see how he would be able to utilize his community office to help him in his future pursuits - and to note he has not yet officially launched any campaign, he has simply signaled his intent to run."

Mozes stressed Smitherman will resign as MPP for Toronto Centre once he's officially in the race early next year.

It's hard to build a story on an anonymous tip about money Smitherman's people say is going for legitimate purposes. But this initial flurry signals a mayoral race that could be far from pretty - very dirty indeed. We don't even know yet whether a well-known name from the left will enter the fray, making a three-way race among three strong contenders with name recognition even nastier.

Should make for interesting coverage.

* * *

Humble apologies for my absence. I was immersed in an investigative project that didn't lend itself to blogging and then right into a profile of George Smitherman. I thought Star photogapher Steve Russell's photos were so fine, I've posted a couple for you today. http://www.thestar.com/news/gta/torontomayoralrace/article/725803--george-smitherman-a-big-bully-the-city-needs.

All to say - Political Decoder is back.

* * *

A subhead caught my eye last week. It comes from the Star, Nov. 16, under the headline, "APEC leaders admit climate deal unlikely."

The subhead: "Copenhagen agreement won't be signed but hope turns to Mexico summit."

There's always next time, right? It is to weep.

The less than classy side of the Vancouver Olympics

Two recent stories suggest the Olympic spirit has been lost somewhere on the road to the Vancouver Games in February.

A choir of young Mi'kmaq singers from Conne River, Newfoundland, found out they won't be singing at the Olympics after all. The group of 15 youths had been practising since apparently being invited by officials in B.C. Premier Gordon Campbell's office two years ago - only to be told recently it's off. Their choir director said she "couldn't look at them" when she told them. The premier's office seens to be checking  into it and Olympic officials say they didn't know anything about it.

Okay, there were crossed wires. But for heaven's sake, just let the kids sing! 

* * *

The organizing committee of the Olympic games should be embarrassed by their decision to neither honour Canadian Olympians nor make tickets available to them. Gold medal pairs figure skater Barbara Wagner (shown in Canadian Press photo with partner Bob Paul in 1960) plans to go to Vancouver - even though a family member has been unable to get tickets for her.

Gee, I wonder how many corporate tickets have been handed out.

* * *

Today's offering comes with an apology to Decoder readers for my failure to advise I wouldn't be posting for a few weeks. I've been on special assignment and will be back Tuesday, November 3.

Hope you'll watch for me then.

Helen Thomas, my hero

She's 89. Unbelievable!

http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/26184891/vp/33190339#33190339

Political Genius: Laureen Harper

By now, it's unlikely there's anybody who hasn't seen the PM's performance of "With a Little Help from My Friends" at a weekend National Arts Centre gala.  For those living in caves, it's kindly provided below.

Conservartive strategists are over the moon today. With a single event, Stephen Harper probably boosted his chances of a majority by a million-fold. Harper even had the right Ringo Starr Liverpudlian inflection, a sure sign he learned the song as a youth while studying piano. His peformance is being described by Conservatives today as one of the smartest political moves in recent Canadian history, a slight exaggeration perhaps.

Who knew? Good question. Who would have known the PM does the Beatles so well? Who might have suggested the performance? Who supports the arts in Ottawa?

Why, Laureen Harper. At least that's my guess for instigator of the PM's surprise hit - and with Yo-Yo Ma. Whoever else weighs in, the smartest politicians always listen to their spouses.

And, just as I'm about to post this, I check and find Reuters has already come to this conclusion: It was Mrs. PM.

No colonialism - only in Canada, you say

The Assembly of First Nations takes umbrage at Prime Minister Stephen Harper's proud affirmation at the G20 in Pittsburgh, Canada has "no history of colonialism."

Based on their own history, the Assembly disagrees and argues the PMO's statement Harper's remark was "taken out of context" is not good enough. Assembly National Chief Shawn Atleo says:

The effects of colonialism remain today.  It is the attitude that fueled the residential schools; the colonial Indian Act that displaces traditional forms of First Nations governance; the theft of Indian lands and forced relocations of First Nations communities; the criminalization and suppression of First Nations languages and cultural practices; the chronic under-funding of First Nations communities and programs; and the denial of Treaty and Aboriginal rights, even though they are recognized in Canada’s Constitution.

Internationally, Canada has been scrutinized and harshly criticized for its treatment of Indigenous peoples and failure to respect Aboriginal and Treaty rights.  Canada is increasingly isolated as one of only three nations in the world that has refused to sign the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, a document that rejects the doctrine of colonialism.

It's tough to see how the PM's remarks were taken out-of-context. But you can judge for yourself.