international

By KATIE SCHNEIDER, Calgary Sun

 

The mother who fought Oregon authorities for two years to get her son back to Canada after he was seized into foster care says it’s ridiculous they are now suing her for child-care costs.

 

The boy, now 12 years old, was taken by U.S. officials in 2008 while visiting his stepfather in Oakridge, Ore.

 

His mom battled for two years to get her son back to Calgary and finally saw her wish come true when he was returned to her last month.

 

Now the state is coming after her for costs related to his stay in foster care including medical expenses, citing the Interjurisdictional Support Orders Act.

 

By MINDY JACOBS, Toronto Sun

 

Over the centuries, scientists who dared to challenge rulers of the day often found themselves in jail. Today, politicians who prefer ideology over truth just stick their fingers in their ears.

 

The key statement that emerged from last week’s International AIDS Conference was a declaration asking governments to base their drug policies on scientific evidence.

 

So far, about 14,000 people have signed the so called Vienna declaration, including Nobel Laureates, former heads of state, religious leaders and experts in science, medicine and law.

 

By: Dale Smith, Xtra News

 

Nearly six months after the federal government announced that it would not be going ahead with a planned HIV vaccine manufacturing facility as part of the Canadian HIV Vaccine Initiative (CHVI), they announced where the $139 million would be going.

 

From the World AIDS Conference in Vienna, Health Minister Leona Aglukkaq made the announcement.

 

Of the $139 million, the redistribution would see $102 million go toward improving basic science in developing countries, with an eye on developing clinical vaccine trials there while working to improve regulatory capacity in Canada and those developing countries. So far, far $51 million has been spent.

 

By Dan Gardner, The Ottawa Citizen

 

One can imagine how delighted the people at the Colombian Embassy were when they read the Globe and Mail last week. One article after another about their country -- and none focussed on drugs and murder.

 

Instead, the theme was that after decades of civil war and criminal chaos Colombia has been transformed into a land of stability and optimism. The mood is "buoyant, hopeful, and utterly entrepreneurial," one story reported. Colombia is "an eco-paradise with bustling cities," another burbled.

 

By: Chris Selley , National Post

 

Jamaican gangster and drug kingpin Christopher “Dudus” Coke, subject of a violent month-long manhunt in the slums of West Kingston, surrendered to authorities on Wednesday without a shot being fired. He happened to be dressed as a woman at the time, police gleefully announced, providing photo evidence — a darkly comic anticlimax to a senseless battle that killed 73 people and wounded 35 more. It’s no exaggeration to say that drug consumers in the world’s leading nations have blood on their hands. Their presidents and prime ministers have more.

 

The U.S. indictment against Coke — who may or may not be immediately extradited — makes fascinatingly grim reading. I was especially struck by this passage:

This week on Tuesday, June 23, as part of the Free Marc Campaign, I took part in the occupation of Finance Minister Jim Flaherty's office.

 

To the credit of the office, while at first we were only allowed in a small entry, we were buzzed in to the locked office and were given the opportunity to explain our action to the staff. A staff member asked questions and listened to our concerns for over 15 minutes. As a matter of protocol, police were called down, but the call was treated as a non-urgent matter (we waited for an hour for police to arrive, and only one officer was sent down.) The officer was calm and polite and had both his badge number and name clearly displayed. He in no way threatened us with arrest for our protest, and merely asked our names and confirmed that we would only remain during open office hours. Having confirmed this information, he left.

 

Nicole Seguin, National Director End Prohibition

 

On Tuesday, June 15, I accompanied the Free Marc Campaign to another stop along our tour in Oakville, Ontario, this time at Conservative MP Terrence Young's office. While I had some idea of the possibility of police show of force based on the police reaction to our stop at Rob Nicholson's office, I was still surprised at the size of the police response to our protest.

 

By Jen Gerson, Calgary Herald

 

After a nearly two-year separation, a 12-year-old boy seized by American authorities and put into foster care there spent his first full day back in Calgary with his family at a farmers' market, his mom said.

 

The boy, who spent more than 20 months shuffling between several foster homes in Oregon, returned home to Calgary on Friday afternoon.

 

He cannot be identified now that he has returned to Canada.

 

"I am very, very happy but extremely exhausted. It feels like I've been in labour for two years," the boy's mother said Saturday.

 

By Christopher Dornan, Toronto Star

 

Is Canada ready for a homegrown version of Fox News, that minaret for America First prejudice? Is our peaceable dominion parched for a domestic channel of perpetual right-wing complaint? Is there money just waiting to be made screeching to the converted?

 

Last week, news came that Kory Teneycke, the former attack-dog communications director for Prime Minister Stephen Harper, was heading up a bid by Quebecor Media Inc. for a broadcast licence for an unapologetically conservative news and opinion channel. Also on the team is Luc Lavoie, a former communications director for prime minister Brian Mulroney and Mulroney’s spokesman once he left office and all those allegations about cash-stuffed envelopes started to circulate.