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There’s been an incredible flood of commentary about the political U-turn that no one expected, as everyone tries to understand this story of Sam Sullivan’s rise and fall. (Or, if not understand it, put their spin on it.) And it’s not surprising there is a fascination with analyzing it, because Sam’s story — paralyzed at 19 in a ski accident, rises to become the first quadriplegic mayor in Canada, waves the flag for Canada at the Olympics — is so exceptional and quirky and fraught with drama. He’s been heroic and he’s been flawed. It doesn’t get more compelling than that.
Vision council candidate Geoff Meggs, someone who’s a thoughtful political analyst, writes that it’s because of all the work Vision councillors did in scrutinizing the NPA and the mayor’s record. Gary Mason at the Globe and Mail says it’s because there was just the public just didn’t like about Sam. He quoted an anonymous mayor’s aide (for those who can’t guess, it was Daniel Fontaine) talking about how people did look down on Sam because of his disability and didn’t see his disability. At the Georgia Straight, where Charlie Smith has been posting like mad with some great analysis since the vote, Charlie says it’s because Sam was a lone wolf and intellectual who didn’t schmooze enough with the media, the glitterati, and the federal Liberals.
There are some elements of truth to what they, and others, are saying. But they don’t explain everything.
Yes, there was energetic (at times) political opposition. And, as every political strategist knows, one of the sure keys to success is framing your opponent to the public, negatively, before he can frame himself. But the opposition wasn’t always effective or on target. And other politicians have survived energetic attacks by their opponents.
Yes, he is a kind of lone wolf. But he is also an arch-schmoozer. Sam started holding salons years ago, where he would invite important people from around the city, put on a big spread and maybe bring in some musicians. By his own admission, he loved hanging around with rich people, “because they can do things,” and one of his biggest supporters was Lorne Segal, a Malcolm Parry column regular.

communities.canada.com

THREE brILLIANT ART STARS SHINE ON CONSECUTIVE SATURDAYS IN MAY AT FANTAGRAPHICS BOOKSTORE & GALLERY!
Jordan Crane on May 10, Peter Bagge on May 17, and SHAG on May 24
Fantagraphics Bookstore & Gallery springs into action in May with a succession of events featuring three of the country’s most celebrated cartoonists and remarkable illustrators. The public of all ages isinvited to join us in an exciting series of exhibitions featuring Jordan Crane on May 10, Peter Bagge on May 17, and SHAG on May 24.
Los Angles artist Jordan Crane’s evocative and bittersweet meditations on the human condition in comics and illustration have gained him an enthusiastic following among art enthusiasts of all ages. His economical narrative observations have been published by Seattle-based Fantagraphics Books, including two issues of the comic book series Uptight, and graphic novels The Last Lonely Saturday and The Clouds Above, recently issued in trade paperback. His exhibition opening Saturday, May 10 includes exquisite limited edition prints and original artwork from his comics. The reception, from 6:00 to 9:00 PM, serves as the after-party for exhibitors and guests of the Emerald City Comicon, where Crane is among the featured artists. The opening also coincides with the lively Georgetown Second Saturday Art Attack, featuring art, music and more at over 30 locations throughout the enchanting Georgetown neighborhood.
Seattle’s Peter Bagge is one of the most accomplished and admired cartoonists in the world. On Saturday, May 17 from 6:00 – 9:00 PM, Fantagraphics Bookstore will host the launch party for a line of skateboards and related product produced by Seattle-based Manik Skateboards. On display will be the debut of skateboard decks drawn from the pages of his landmark comic HATE. Bagge’s grunge-era imagery is ideally suited to the skateboarding subculture. At once hilarious and poignant, Bagge’s work of this era went beyond satire, and helped fashion both the attitudes and aesthetics of Seattle’s only significant indigenous youth movement. In the opinion of Fantagraphics Books’ resident curator Larry Reid, “Peter Bagge’s HATE is the most fully conceived and executed comic book series ever published.” These delightful boards remain as funny and compelling as his comics of the 1990s.

comicbookbin.com

You can look at what the Kansas City Chiefs got in the trade of defensive end Jared Allen to the Minnesota Vikings and say the team came away with quite a haul. It did — the Chiefs landed a first-round pick plus two third-rounders. That gives them a total of two first-round picks, six picks in the top 82 and 13 overall. It’s a good situation for a rebuilding team heading into the draft.
But don’t give the Chiefs too much credit. Elite pass rushers are scarce, and the Chiefs just let one go. You’ve read it enough times that it has become a mantra: Allen led the league with 15 1/2 sacks despite missing the first two games of last season because of a league-imposed suspension. He played like a man possessed, even as many of his teammates seemingly lost interest while their season spiraled out of control. At times, Allen looked like the only player sporting an arrowhead on his helmet who seemed to care. Great pass rusher, underrated run stopper, never-quit motor, fierce desire to win. That’s a nifty combination.
The Vikings paid dearly for those traits, both in money ($31 million guaranteed, perhaps as much as $74 million over six years) and draft picks, and the Chiefs benefited. But Allen was their best player and the heart of a rising defense. At 26, he was certainly young enough to be part of that unit for years to come.
And losing him was entirely unnecessary.
Allen wanted to sign a long-term deal with the Chiefs a year ago, but general manager Carl Peterson said no. Allen had that suspension looming in front of him — it followed his second DUI arrest — and Peterson, who had just sunk a ton of money into running back Larry Johnson, wasn’t ready to do the same for Allen.

sportingnews.com

University Opens England's Only Hydrogen Fuelling Station. The University of Birmingham will unveil the only hydrogen gas fuelling station in England on its Edgbaston campus on Thursday 17 April 2008 at 11.30am.
The Air Products Series 100 fuelling station is situated at the University's Department of Chemical Engineering where research projects are being carried out to ascertain the viability of hydrogen in transport applications as part of Birmingham's Science City hydrogen energy project.
Birmingham engineers will be comparing five hydrogen powered vehicles with the University's own fleet of petrol, diesel and pure 'electric' vehicles so that they can learn more about their efficiency and performance. The researchers will determine how these vehicles need to be adapted in order to make hydrogen an attractive and cost effective option as a future fuel.
As a direct result of this research it is hoped that the public sector will start to buy into these new technologies, providing support to companies in the supply chain who are moving from the technology demonstration phase into the early stages of commercialisation.
The Series 100 station has been specially designed by Air Products, a leading producer and supplier of hydrogen with over 50 years experience in hydrogen applications, to meet the fuelling needs of the first hydrogen vehicles to appear on the roads. The fueller comprises an integrated compression, hydrogen storage and dispensing system, and is optimised to fuel up to approximately six vehicles per day. Minimal onsite utilities are required for the fueller, which can be easily moved from site to site, making it ideal for hydrogen fuelling start up stations.
Professor Kevin Kendall, lead investigator from the University's Department of Chemical Engineering, says, 'We are delighted to be the home of England's only hydrogen gas filling station. It is absolutely necessary that we have the means to refuel our fleet of hydrogen powered cars so that we can carry out our research project into the feasibility of hydrogen in a transport context.'

mhwmagazine.co.uk

By TOM HESTER Jr. – Mar 15, 2008
TRENTON, N.J. (AP) — In New Jersey, the governor’s e-mails might shed light on whether he inappropriately conferred with a labor leader he once dated. In Detroit, the mayor’s text messages revealed a sexually charged scandal. In California, a fight rages for access to e-mails sent by a city councilwoman about a controversial biological laboratory.
Even the White House has been under pressure from Democrats in Congress over its problem-plagued e-mail system.
While e-mail and text messaging has become a hugely popular way to communicate throughout society, governments at all levels are often unwilling to let the public see the e-mails of their elected officials.
Officially, e-mails in all but a handful of states are treated like paper documents and subject to Freedom of Information requests. But most of these states have rules allowing them to choose which e-mails to turn over, and most decide on their own when e-mail records are deleted.
“There seems to be an attitude throughout government — at all levels — that somehow electronic communications are of its own kind and not subject to the laws in the way that print communications are,” said Patrice McDermott, director of OpenTheGovernment.org.
“So we keep hearing reports of governors and mayors who decree that their e-mail records can be destroyed, in six weeks or six months, with no appraisal for permanent value and no review by an independent body,” she said.
Open records advocates contend by keeping electronic communications private, states are giving their elected officials an avenue to operate in secret — they use taxpayer-funded computers to send and receive e-mail but with little or no obligation to make such communications public.
“The public needs to realize that is their possibility for accountability and historical review that is being put through the electronic shredder,” McDermott said.

ap.google.com

BEIJING - Beijing will meet its pledge to have clean air for the Summer Olympics, an environmental official said Tuesday, playing down worries that the city’s notorious smog will overshadow the Games.
Pollution-cutting measures in Beijing and surrounding areas were being intensified to make sure the air meets required standards, said State Environmental Protection Administration Vice Minister Zhang Lijun.
“After we have implemented all the measures, there is no problem for Beijing to meet the standards. We can deliver on our commitment,” Zhang said at a news conference on the sidelines of the annual session of the National People’s Congress, China’s legislature.
Zhang’s claim came a day after world marathon record-holder Haile Gebrselassie of Ethiopia said he might skip the long-distance running event in Beijing because of the city’s poor air quality.
Considered the world’s best distance runner, the 34-year-old Gebrselassie - who has asthma - fears his health could be damaged by running through the streets of the Chinese capital.
He said he would make a final decision in May after he finds out whether he qualifies for the 10,000-meter race. He would be a gold medal favourite if he did take part in either event.
A murky haze blankets Beijing on most days. With the Olympics around the corner, China has constantly been on the defensive over the pollution level.

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Levi Strauss has snubbed Christchurch's suburban malls, deciding instead to open its first city store in the central business district.
It is the second chain in recent weeks to open its first Christchurch store in the central city, an area which has suffered from fierce competition from the malls.
Nood, New Objects of Desire, a store created by Kathmandu founder Jan Cameron, opened in Cashel Street occupying a space that had been empty for some time.
Levi's brand director Steve Williams, speaking from Melbourne, said the central city was an important destination and the hub of the city.
"The location ticked the boxes of having the foot traffic we required, the right type of demographic, as well as the right type of retailers in that strip."
Wellington businessman Barrie Thomas owns the Levi's franchise rights for New Zealand and Australia.
He also owns the franchise for The Body Shop's 26 New Zealand stores and was involved in opening 75 Body Shops across Australia.
Levi's plans to open between 25 and 30 stores across New Zealand and Australia during the next three years.
Williams said he envisaged New Zealand having six Levi's stores, but it would depend on finding the right sites.
The High Street store in Christchurch was the company's second in New Zealand. It already has one store in Wellington.
"Rather than take any old site that comes up it's important we take sites in key shopping locations, whether they be strip shops or enclosed malls."
Central City Business Association manager Paul Lonsdale hopes the new shops will encourage more people back to the city centre.
"They add a new element to the city, which is important. It's great to see them coming in here rather than the shopping centres."
The shops helped revitalise the area, he said.
Malls like Riccarton, Northlands and The Palms had all spent between $80 million and $130m on upgrades, yet the central city had been left to its own devices for ever, Lonsdale said.
It was going to take a while to get people coming back to shop in the city, he said.
The association had identified key issues which would get people back, including car parking, security, cleaning and regulated shopping hours.
Lonsdale represents 171 property owners and 450 businesses between Hereford, Manchester and Lichfield streets and Oxford Terrace.
He was also working on a leasing strategy to make sure adjoining shops were compatible. "There's nothing worse than having a really nice high fashion sector of town and shoving in a $2 shop next door," Lonsdale said.

stuff.co.nz