MADD is turning into a hardcore temperance movement so gradually we aren’t even noticing, to paraphrase the Simpsons. Reader Adrian Willsher points me to this article about Dr. Robert Solomon, co-author of “Youth and Impaired Driving in Canada: Opportunities for Progress,” who says:

I was very concerned with the current messages: If you drink, don’t drive. I support that message, but implicit in that is this sense out there that it is all right to get as drunk as you want as long as you are not driving.

Right, like if I was to say “If you take NyQuil, don’t operate threshing machinery,” it’s implied that you can drink as much NyQuil as you want as long as you stay in the farmhouse.

Kevin Grace makes his case against Warren Kinsella, whom he justifiably calls “one of the most contemptible figures in Canadian public life,” and the results are frighteningly entertaining. Mr Grace has many personal grievances with Mr Kinsella, and I have none. I just think Kinsella’s insufferable. This is someone who seems to spend a significant portion of his life filing trivial lawsuits and levelling puffed up allegations at inconsequential people both online and off, all the while presenting himself as the most principled man in the universe. There doesn’t seem to be anything or anyone he won’t use to leverage the making of his own exploded myth of himself.

To the extent Kevin Grace’s legal complaints have merit — judge for yourself — I hope he wins what’s coming to him. I’d say that for anyone, Kinsella included. But I avidly, exuberantly and unconditionally support The Ambler in his efforts to bring Kinsella down a peg. Or fifty.

The following is not a very helpful announcement for someone who has no prior knowledge of a service disruption: “Service has resumed between Bloor and Lawrence.”

What you meant to say was “The service disruption between Bloor and Lawrence is now clear, and service is returning to normal system-wide.”

That is not what I assumed you meant.

Thanks for dropping by.

Antropov: Borat is Hilarious

Now that’s a sports story! It should not have taken this long for Kazakh hockey players to be asked their opinions on this topic. I hereby demand to know what Vitaly Kolesnik thinks about Borat.

The untendered three-quarters-of-a-billion-dollar contract for new Toronto subway cars will go ahead, absent some kind of federal heroics (the fallout from which might keep David Miller in office for 25 years — tough to know what to hope for on this). I can’t decide which sentence in the Star article best sums up the state of Toronto municipal politics.

Candidate #1:

“I guess you’ll have a nice trip home,” a supporter of the Bombardier deal told Thunder Bay Mayor Lynn Peterson as a small tear trickled down a cheek.

“Every job counts,” Peterson told reporters. “Somebody is employed, can pay their mortgage or feed their kids. It doesn’t matter if it’s in my city or yours.“

As a humanist statement that works fine. As a guiding principle for municipal politicians it’s baffling.

Candidate #2:

“I’m shocked, utterly shocked as a Torontonian, as a proud Canadian and as the mayor of Toronto, that there’s even an argument about this,” Miller told a lunchtime rally organized by the Labour Council of Toronto and York Region.

Brilliant — multifariously so. Miller is shocked that some people want to run Toronto the way most other cities around the world are run, and he’s expressing it in front of the very union folk whose interests he’s really protecting.

Candidate #3:

While German-based Siemens said it could have supplied the cars for a lower price, two consultants hired by the TTC said the price negotiated with Bombardier was a reasonable one.

That’s exactly the state of the debate. John Q Public asks, “Why are we potentially paying more to buy these subway cars from Thunder Bay?” David Miller says, “Our consultants say it’s a reasonable deal” and disappears in a puff of smoke, as Mr. Public tries in vain to explain that that doesn’t answer his question.

Candidate #4:

“If I as mayor stood up and said `We’re going to take $500 million from the federal government and the provincial government and we’re not going to use it to create jobs in Ontario — we’re going to use it to create jobs in China — the federal and provincial governments would never give us another nickel for public transit,” Miller said before the final vote was cast.

Uh-oh. Has anyone told Vancouver? They’ve got 20 trains on order from Korea for the new Canada Line. Edmonton will be getting 26 new California-built LRVs from Siemens in 2008, and Calgary’s lousy with similar Germanic rolling stock. I can’t find any mention of the wrath the federal government intends to inflict on these cities for their heartlessness.

There is hope for the future, though:

Councillor Mike Del Grande (Ward 39, Scarborough-Agincourt) accused fellow councillors of hypocrisy for insisting on made-in-Canada subway cars while buying foreign-built cars for personal use.

“Even the mayor drives a Prius, which is built in Japan,” he said.

Zing! Seriously though, Miller must have a formula. Input weighted factors of union interest (anti-Japanese) and environmental concerns (pro-Prius) and divide by cost. Purchase accordingly and act shocked that there’s even a debate about it. It is so depressing that his only competition in the upcoming election is from Jane Pitfield, whose platform amounts to little more than “everything David Miller is not.”

There is no conclusive evidence that airborne peanut matter can cause anaphylactic shock, and there’s plenty of evidence that says it almost certainly can’t.

A commonly held belief is that the odor from peanut products such as peanut butter can result in allergic reactions and anaphylaxis… However, a recent blinded, placebo-controlled trial of children exposed to open peanut butter was unable to document any reactions (Sicherer et al)…
…
There are case reports of severe asthma from airborne exposure to food but the typical inhalation reaction would be similar to that suffered by a cat-allergic person exposed to a cat walking into a room: itchy eyes, sneezing, and runny nose. The chance of a life-threatening anaphylactic reaction from airborne exposure is very small.
…
Is inhaling food protein as described above equivalent to smelling the odor of a food? Can allergic reactions occur from an odor? To answer these questions, we must analyze the actual process of smelling. The brain registers the sensation of an odor when it receives a nerve impulse from the nose. The nerve impulse is triggered by chemicals in foods that stimulate nerve endings on the mucous membranes of the nasal passages. The key fact is that these chemicals are not proteins and, therefore, are incapable of causing allergic reactions.
…
How then do we explain the case reports that have been associated with the odor of peanuts? These can be conditioned physiologic responses, akin to the famous experiment of Pavlov, in which dogs were conditioned to salivate at the sound of a bell. Almost any physiologic response can be conditioned, including changes in blood pressure, heart rate, body temperature, skin rashes, and respiration. The conditioning stimulus can be the sound of a bell or in this case, the smell and aroma of peanuts and peanut butter.

That is one of the more sympathetic pieces I’ve read about the possibility of severe reactions not related to actual ingestion of peanuts, which isn’t surprising — allergysafecommunities.ca is a joint venture of the Allergy/Asthma Information Association, the Canadian Society of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, Anaphylaxis Canada, the Canadian Allergy, Asthma and Immunology Foundation and l’Association Québécoise des Allergies Alimentaires.

Just to be clear, though I have at times appeared slightly obsessed about this subject, I only object to the allergy safety movement when it runs afoul of logic. So Craig Courtice’s piece in today’s Post about companies moving to peanut-free factories — thus allowing allergy sufferers to eat products that those companies heretofore wouldn’t vouchsafe — is fine. But in light of the accepted scientific wisdom about indirect contact with peanuts, Michael Lawson’s sidebar about “pea butter” is totally off the deep end:

For some allergy sufferers, however, peanut butter is like Kryptonite. They need only sit next to an open jar of the substance for its noxious fumes to produce an anaphylactic nightmare. Needless to say, most people afflicted thusly would prefer to live in a peanut-butter-free environment. Given that severe discomfort is but the low end on the spectrum of allergic reaction — the highest being death — such a preference seems a reasonable request.

But for those who have never lived through the horrors of an anaphylactic reaction, the demands of peanut-butter haters can seem onerous. Even the most sympathetic nut-enabled person may be reluctant to forego the pleasures of a good PB & J sandwich. “It’s not like I’m going to make you eat it!”
…
Although Peabutter seems to be intended as a way for peanut-phobes to experience the joys of toast slathered in brown paste like everybody else (a treat that years of anaphylactic fear has probably rendered unappetizing, to say the least), the ideal consumers of Mountain Meadows’ pea goodness are those conscientious citizens who love their peanut butter but are loath to poison the atmosphere of the allergy sufferers around them.

Golden peas may not seem as appealing as processed peanut spread, but given the alternative — cold-turkey-style withdrawal vs. a trip to the hospital or even the morgue — you may as well give peas a chance.

That sort of hysteria doesn’t help anyone, allergic or not.

More about allergies to come in tomorrow’s Post, apparently.

Ralph E. Gonsalves, Prime Minister of St Vincent and the Grenadines, has a couple of chips on his shoulder. He is impertinent enough to suggest that the UN might lack a certain swiftness or decisiveness in its handling of important events:

Madam President, the world’s marginalized and disadvantaged look askance at a United Nations which daily seeks to choreograph the dancing of angels on the head of a pin. They care very little for the bureaucratic harangue that the United Nations’ “system-wide coherence has been addressed and enhanced,” important as that may be for some professional diplomats. The world’s people want to know, and see the practical evidence, that the United Nations is tackling in a purposeful way the issues of global poverty, environmental degradation, climate change, the empowerment of women, the protection of children, the promotion of peace and security, the HIV/AIDS pandemic, the provision of clean water and an adequate supply of food, among other such telling requisites.

And he’s got a bit of a slavery hangup, too:

Madam President, next year, in March 2007, people of African descent and all freedom-loving peoples and nations commemorate and celebrate the 200th anniversary of the passage of the Act abolishing the British trade in African slaves to the Caribbean and the Americas. This is an occasion for historical reclamation and the righting of historic wrongs. The trade in, and enslavement of, Africans was a monstrous crime against humanity and an exercise in genocide unmatched in the history of the western world. European nations and their North American cousins have failed and/or refused to acknowledge this sufficiently or at all. There has been no apology for this crime against humanity and genocide, conducted over a prolonged period. There has been no practical recompense in the form of reparations to the affected nations and peoples in Africa, the Caribbean and the Americas. Surely, this issue must be put squarely on the agenda of the United Nations for speedy resolution.

Without in any way diluting the force of this representation, indeed in bolstering it, it is necessary, and desirable, to link it in our region with the genocide of indigenous peoples, including the Callinago and Garifuna of St. Vincent and the Grenadines, and the wholly wrong and inhumane exploitation by colonialism and imperialism of indentured labour from Africa, Madeira, India and China after the abolition of African slavery in the Caribbean. Europe has much to answer for on these matters and should be made to answer properly, appropriately. Historic wrongs not righted remain scars on the soul of the oppressor and the oppressed alike which continue to haunt over the ages; it is a hateful burden which must be lifted. This dark night must give way to a brightened day.

Manesseh Sogavare, Prime Minister of the Solomon Islands, on… relatively successful elections:

Four months ago my Government came into power after the country’s seventh national election since attainment of political independence 28 years ago. We have had the honour of having the Electoral Assistance Division of the United Nations Political Department monitor and coordinate international observers overseeing elections in the country. Despite the positive verdict declared by the international observers, a minor hiccup during the second part of the election culminated into three days of riots.

Abdullah Gül, the Turkish Minister of Foreign Affairs, has a daunting proposal:

…Madame President, regardless of where we are from, whether the East or the West, or whatever faith we profess, and whichever tradition we represent, we must all act responsibly.

In this world where information travels at the speed of light, we must all refrain from acts and statements which can be misconstrued and strengthen the hand of extremists. Likewise, our reactions must demonstrate this sense of responsibility.

The Prime Minister of Bhutan, name of Lyonpo Khandu Wangchuk, highlights a very oddly located meeting:

A summit meeting of the landlocked developing countries was held on 14 September in Havana, Cuba. This was the first ever summit meeting of the landlocked developing countries that highlighted the serious constraints faced by landlocked developing countries. It is our hope that the international community will provide due consideration to the problems of landlocked developing countries and support the roadmap for global partnership set out by the Almaty Programme of Action.

(It was actually part of the Non-Aligned Movement summit, but it still has to be a kick in the teeth to discuss the concerns of the landlocked on a Caribbean island. Did someone say beach party?)

Mr Wangchuk also mentions the made-in-Bhutan development index that might be his kingdom’s most famous export:

Bhutan’s development is guided by the conviction that human wellbeing and contentment must be promoted through pursuit of material progress on the one hand and fulfillment of spiritual and emotional needs on the other. This development philosophy, as I have mentioned before in this Assembly, is defined as pursuit of Gross National Happiness rather than just Gross National Product. We will be happy to share our experience on this development philosophy as we did at the international conference on “Rethinking Development — Local Pathways to Global Wellbeing” that was held in Nova Scotia, Canada in June 2005. We believe that “The Happy Planet Index” that was recently published in the United Kingdom by the “New Economic Foundation” bears close relation to the development paradigm pursued by Bhutan.

Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, Prime Minister of Malaysia, on Islamic nations’ relationship with the west:

I am afraid that the schism between the west and the Muslim world will grow even deeper unless the international community is prepared to accept certain facts as the truth. The fact is that the sense of humiliation being felt by the Muslim world is the root cause for the loss of trust and confidence between the Muslim world on one side and the Judeo-Christian civilization on the other side. If the international community refuses or fails to accept this fact, then I am afraid we are denying the truth.

I believe much of the prejudices against Muslims stems from a lack of understanding of the true nature of Islam and what it stands for. For instance, there is a lack of appreciation in the west of the role of religion in the lives of Muslims. Modern Europe has generally embraced secularism and largely removed religion from the public domain into the confines of the home and family. For the Muslims, the teachings of Islam serve as their guide for doing all things, whether conducting their affairs in the public domain or practising the religion in their private homes. I suggest that much of the misunderstandings especially between the Christian west and the Muslim world arise out of this fundamental misunderstanding about the place of religion in the daily lives of Muslims all over the world. When dealing with Muslims, one cannot separate them from their religion because that is their way of life.

And Islam in Malaysia:

My country Malaysia is a multi-ethnic, multi-religious, multi-cultural country. However, Islam is respected by all the people as the official religion. The government which I now lead has embarked on a program to communicate a proper appreciation of Islam as a force for good. We call it Islam Hadhari, which is actually an approach for achieving a progressive society that is compatible with modernity yet firmly rooted in the noble values and injunctions of Islam. The approach has been accepted by everyone in Malaysia because underlying the whole message of Islam Hadhari is a call for equitable development and progress. It is a call for moderation and tolerance as well as the assurance of justice and fairness for all irrespective of their faiths.

Mugabe, you old charmer:

One explanation for our development predicament and the many failed initiatives is the wide gap between rhetoric and concrete action on the ground. We have on many occasions agreed on making available the means for implementing agreed goals. We have made targets for making those resources available. Yet, at the same time, we have witnessed some countries and groups taking concerted actions such as illegal economic sanctions to frustrate our development efforts.

In the case of Zimbabwe, these countries have blocked any balance of payments and other support from the international financial institutions that they control. Following the heroic and successful efforts of the people of Zimbabwe in clearing requisite arrears to the IMF, these negative forces manipulated decision-making at the institution to deny us any new support. They have even tried to restrict investment inflows, all this on account of political differences between them and us. Is it not a paradox that while we are denied resources for development, funding is readily made available to support elements bent on subverting the democratically expressed will of the majority of our citizens and to unconstitutionally effect regime change? We condemn this interference in our domestic affairs. This warped thinking must not, and will not succeed. My Government will carry out its mandate to protect the country’s citizens. We warn that any attempt to change that mandate through unconstitutional means will meet with the full wrath of the law. It is for this reason that we welcome this debate that seeks to address the yawning gap between agreed action plans and implementation, and between rhetoric and what actually happens on the ground.
…
The tendency to use assistance in the fight against HIV/AIDS as reward for political compliance and malleability is a policy which the United Nations should condemn. Given the fact that the pandemic does not respect borders, the denial of assistance to countries on political grounds through a self-serving and selective approach would do more harm and weaken international efforts to fight the pandemic. In my country, for example, on average, a Zimbabwean AIDS patient is receiving about US$4.00 per annum in international assistance compared with about US$172.00 per annum for other countries in the region. However, even against this background, my Government has registered some modest success in reducing the HIV/AIDS prevalence rate from about 29 per cent in 2000 to 18.1 percent in 2006 on the strength of its own resources and programmes.

(Well, he might be right about that. The only way to remove an HIV positive person from the national tally is for him or her to leave the country or die, and Mugabe’s “resources and programmes” are well-designed to make it happen.)

Kuwait’s position on the Israel-Lebanon conflict isn’t what you’d call nuanced:

During the last few weeks, the brotherly Republic of Lebanon was subjected to a vicious Israeli aggression, which caused the death of hundreds of innocent civilians and injuring thousands others, more than 1 million people became refugees. Moreover, scores of homes, bridges and civilian installations were purposely targeted to destroy the infrastructure in a systematic practice of state terrorism, in flagrant violation of International Humanitarian Law.

Kuwait, in that instant, condemned very strongly those shameful inhuman crimes against the brotherly people of Lebanon.

Nor, as you might expect, is Lebanon’s:

From July 12 through August 14, my country was subjected to a barbarous aggression and to a rarely seen campaign of savage dismemberment, when hundreds of fighter jets emptied their loads of heavy and banned bombs, targeting mostly civilians, killing and maiming thousands, and destroying all that made Lebanon a viable state. Obviously, this was a premeditated Israeli “sentence” to destroy my country and everything it stood for, having been blessed and termed by His Holiness Pope John Paul II as a “unique message to Humanity,” in which people of different sects could coexist and live together peacefully. This aggression became even more cruel, when it won the tacit approbation of certain great powers.
…
It becomes self-evident for us to question the “credibility of the United Nations,” in light of the Secretary-General’s acknowledgment that the delays in adopting Security Council Resolution 1701 did indeed harm this credibility. Moreover, we cannot but have serious doubts as to this organization’s ability to safeguard world peace, when its resolutions are subjected to the vagaries of a very few world powers.

Today, as I stand before you, I ask:
How many Children was this evil, vengeful machine of destruction supposed to have killed, before the world community decided to respond in defense of a “rightful” cause?