Posted on 19 August 2008
QUEBEC -- Prime Minister Stephen Harper was wrong when he decided not to attend the opening ceremonies of the Beijing Olympics and Canada could pay a heavy price for his absence, Jean Chretien said Monday. Continue Reading...
Back in the 1800's nomadic pedlars used to wander from town to town selling a "magic elixer" and they were a big hit because it cured everything-- at least temporarily. One of the ingredients was opium and they couldn't sell enough of it. Wyatt Earp lost his first wife to the dream. Britain and other European nations built empires selling the stuff to China. [...more]
NEW YORK — A racy, historical novel based on the Prophet Muhammad's child bride A'isha was supposed to hit book stores in the U.S. Tuesday. But in a rare case of self-censorship to preempt possible violent reaction by Muslims, one of the world's largest publishing houses pulled the plug on the book just before its release date. [...more]
WASHINGTON -- Don't be surprised if your doctor orders a vitamin D test during your next physical. Blood tests to check levels of the so-called sunshine vitamin are on the rise as doctors and patients react to headline-grabbing research that suggests having too little may not only hurt your bones -- it might increase your risk of certain cancers or heart disease. [...more]
Liberal Leader Stephane Dion said he disagrees with the prime minister's suggestion that Parliament is broken, but he is nevertheless considering forcing a fall federal election. Dion's comment on Tuesday comes on the heels of Prime Minister Stephen Harper mulling whether to seek a new mandate for his minority government -- building upon speculation surrounding an imminent election. [...more]
The rate of inflation in Zimbabwe jumped to just over 11,250,000% in June, official figures show. "It gained 9,035,045.5 percentage points from the May rate of 2,233,713.4%," said state media quoting the Central Statistical Office (CSO). However, experts believe the actual rate of inflation may be much higher. [...more]
Pakistan's coalition government was mired in disagreement only a day after it forced Pervez Musharraf to resign as president. Mr Musharraf, a former army chief and key ally of the United States in its campaign against terrorism, resigned as president of nuclear-armed Pakistan on Monday to avoid impeachment charges. [...more]
TORONTO -- Canadian consumers are starting to feel the sting of a slowing global economy as they go deeper into debt and see their wealth erode, according to a report released Monday by CIBC World Markets. [...more]
There can be no "business as usual" with Russia, the head of Nato said today as he declared strong support for Georgia after its brief war with Russia over the Georgian breakaway province of South Ossetia. Jaap de Hoop Scheffer, Nato's secretary general, told reporters after Nato's emergency meeting in Brussels that as long as Russian forces remained in Georgia, he could not see a convening of the Nato-Russia council, set up six years ago as a forum for dialogue between the two former enemies. [...more]
Senator Barack Obama has all but settled on his choice for a running mate and set an elaborate rollout plan for his decision, beginning with an early morning alert to supporters, perhaps as soon as Wednesday morning, aides said. [...more]
A team of suicide bombers tried to storm a US military base near the border with Pakistan in a daring insurgent attack on a major American installation, officials said today. Six suicide bombers attacked the base and three detonated their vests when surrounded, Nato officials said. [...more]
A manslaughter trial collapsed after a juror decided to investigate the case himself. Dale Paterson, 18, was being tried over the death of 71-year-old taxi driver Raymond Quigley, who suffered a fatal heart attack during a struggle about a fare. [...more]
When Prime Minister Stephen Harper announced his plan to have fixed election date legislation, he said it would put an end to "leaders trying to manipulate the calendar simply for partisan political advantage." [...more]
Steve Janke | Liberal MP Karen Redman's "but"... -- Shocking revelations at the committee hearings looking into Conservative Party election spending. Thanks to Liberal MP Karen Redman, we learned two things: [...more]
Globe | Lawrence Martin: Harper's rift with Mulroney could haunt the Tories in Quebec -- Brian Mulroney, the most electorally successful Tory prime minister since John A. Macdonald, is on the sidelines waiting for the public inquiry into his dealings with Karlheinz Schreiber to commence. [...more]
Times | Ten French soldiers killed in Taleban ambush -- Ten French soldiers have been killed in an ambush by Taleban fighters near the Afghan capital in the biggest battle loss for French forces since 1983. [...more]
