June 15, 2009

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MAIL BAG

‘I support Jim Balsillie’s efforts. I’m turning off the playoffs.’

AFTER LIVING with an alcoholic for many years and maintaining the belief that alcoholism is a personal choice and not a disease (and never being believed), it was a relief to read your interview with psychologist Gene Heyman saying exactly that (Interview, June l).

WORLD

Which body is the real ‘Red Rosa’?

For 90 years, admirers of Rosa Luxemburg have laid red carnations on her gravestone in Berlin’s Friedrichsfelde Cemetery. Now, forensic expert Michael Tsokos is “90 per cent certain” that he’s found the real corpse of Luxemburg in the damp basement of Charité hospital. By PATRICIA TREBLE

INTERVIEW

French comic Dieudonné M’Bala M'Bala on why he called Jews slave traders and why he’s running for the European Parliament

Q You are well known in Quebec but not in English Canada. Please introduce yourself. A: I’m French with African roots. I’m 43 years old. I have been a comedian and a humorist for the better part of 30 years. I have a particular comedic style that provokes a certain reaction from my contemporaries.

Euros protest investing in our oil sands

24B

NATIONAL

Euros protest investing in our oil sands

First they ban our seal imports, now some European companies are considering ditching investments in Canada’s oil sands as well. On May 19, Norway’s StatoilHydro (which is two-thirds government-owned) held a vote on whether to pull out of a $ 2-billion oil sands venture in Alberta, not because the energy company felt that the sands are a bad investment, but because activist shareholder groups such as Greenpeace say they’re too dirty. By NANCY MACDONALD

THIS WEEK

NEWSMAKERS

Inuit leaders are delighted by the positive publicity that Governor General Michaëlle Jean has attracted to the seal hunt ever since she appeared on camera last week snacking on a freshly slaughtered pup. During a visit to Nunavut, Jean partook in the skinning of a seal with a traditional ulu blade, and sampled a piece of its heart, calling it “fresh” and “delicious.”

NATIONAL

NO WAY TO RUN A RECESSION

If there’s one place the federal government might want to showcase its push to spend billions to stimulate the economy, Vancouver would be it. With the 2010 Winter Olympics coming up fast, the city is about to come under intense international scrutiny. By JOHN GEDDES

NATIONAL

STOP THE MADNESS

WE ARE NOT an awful people, but we have an awful politics. How’d that happen? Any chance we can make it better? We are not an awful people, and we don’t elect unworthy representatives. This doesn’t get said often enough, but your members of Parliament are good people. By PAUL WELLS

BUSINESS

WHERE OPTIMISM IS ETERNAL

Moray Keith is the first to admit he’s seen better days for his chain of GM dealerships in Metro Vancouver. A few weeks ago, a white truck pulled up to the door outside the Dueck on Marine Drive showroom. A group of men in black shirts from Starbucks rushed in, and with no warning began tearing apart an in-store coffee outlet—part of that company’s downsizing efforts. By JASON KIRBY

June 82009