The federal government’s offer to match Canadian donations to disaster relief efforts in China and Myanmar is not as generous as it first seemed. The government is only matching donations made between May 15 and June 6, while humanitarian groups say most donations are made in the first 72 hours after a tragedy (the cyclone and earthquake took place on May 2 and 12 respectively). Meanwhile, the Prime Minister’s Office has been named winner of the “Code of Silence” award by the Canadian Association of Journalists, who said Stephen Harper’s “white-knuckled death grip on public information” makes it difficult for Canadians to hold the government accountable – but made the award judging process easy. A popular Quebec author, who has accused Governor General Michaelle Jean of carrying out Stephen Harper’s “dirty deeds” and trying to “forcefully integrate Quebec into the Canadian ensemble,” has been accused of racism after referring to Jean as a “Negro queen.” In the Northwest Territories one person is dead and two are injured after a helicopter crash and across Canada a number of hospitals are reusing single-use medical devices, according to a study.
A NASA spacecraft has landed on Mars after a 10-month journey. It has with it a Canadian weather station to assess weather conditions for future ventures to the planet. Meanwhile, our own planet’s climate is being neglected as the world is losing momentum in the fight against global warming, according to the UN climate chief. Lebanon’s new president was sworn in Sunday after a long-delayed vote and political stalemate that nearly brought the country to another civil war. Two more are dead, with hundreds more injured and thousands of homes destroyed, after a powerful aftershock hit China, and countries ready to provide Myanmar with cyclone recovery money are holding back until the ruling junta provides access to the hardest hit areas. In England a Muslim student and staffer were arrested under British terrorism laws after attempting to print an al-Qaeda manual. The master’s student says he downloaded the manual, freely available online, to help with his dissertation on the American approach to al-Qaeda in Iraq.
Kristin Davis leaves the Sex and the City set with no clothes, Lindsay Lohan swears she left a nightclub with no coat, Indy’s new sidekick can’t kick his Dad out of the house, and Swayze and his wife “ditto” their wedding vows. Plus, Rick McGinnis defends a show he thinks you can watch – and enjoy.
