University of Alberta Faculty of Law Blog

How the State Destroys Innovation

and the US Post Office no less is the culprit. In Canada, Canada Post has been somewhat innovative with its ePost service and limited outsourcing. There is room for more imporvements, nonetheless.

Kowloon Walled City

Kowloon Walled City was a densely populated enclave in Hong Kong until 20 years ago. The Wall Street Journal has a really neat project exploring the city and its residents.

What Is a Photocopier? It Is Not a Trick Question

To all you law students across the country finishing up exams and fretting over grades: Have a look at what may well be in your future here.

Game 6 1977

Game 6 of the 1977 World Series is considered one of the greatest games in World Series history, mostly because of the heroics of Mr. October himself Reggie Jackson. The good folks at MLB classics have uploaded the game to Youtube (see below), and if you have a few hours, I would commend the game to anyone who has not watched it already.  Most of us have watched Jackson's three home runs in the highlight reels, but the game itself is really worth watching.

The game should also be noted for a variety of other aspects:

1. The ceremonial pitch is thrown out by the Yankee Clipper Joe DiMaggio!

2. The starting pitching is decent, though no future Hall of Famers- Mike Torrez for the Yankees versus Burt Hooton for the Dodgers. Nonetheless, Torrez pitched a complete game and got the job done (as he did in game 3). That is what is neat. Around 1.53, you see Billy Martin coming out to check on him, but he leaves him in. No sense of panic as would set in today.

When you watch the game, listen to the commentary regarding how many days rest the pitchers got back then (as compared to today's pitchers).  Despite my comment about the HoF, their numbers were solid. Good win-loss and ERA numbers overall. They were classic workhorses who carried their teams. And they were paid dirt compared to today. Watch for salaries being flashed or mentioned throughout the game.

3. I was struck by how many knuckleballers the dodgers used in this critical game, but of course, back in the day, knuckleballers were far more common then. Both Burt Hooton, starter, and the reliever Charlie Hough were knucklers in this game. Interestingly, Charlie Hough went to have a decent career (surpassing both Torrez and Hooton in terms of wins-losses) of 216-216 with an ERA of 3.75 and over 2,362Ks! He also pitched the first pitch for the expansion team Florida Marlins,  Elias Sosa, the Dodger's middle reliever also had a decent career.

4. The starting lineup for the batters is, in contrast, quite the lineup! Not only are many of these players HoFers, but many go on to great careers as managers and coaches. On both sides, the managers were the legendary Billy Martin and Tommy LaSorda. For the Yankees, the lineup was: Mickey Rivers CF, Willie Randolph 2B, Thurman Munson C, Reggie Jackson RF, Chris Chambliss 1B, Graig Nettles 3B, Lou Piniella LF, and Bucky Dent SS. WOW!

For the Dodgers: Davey Lopes 2B, Bill Russell SS, Reggie Smith RF, Ron Cey 3B, Steve Garvey 1B, Dusty Baker LF, Rick Monday CF, and Steve Yeager C.

5. Now to Reggie Jackson - when you get to the end of the game, top of the ninth, watch the rowdy Yankee fans (Around 1:53 onwards). There is something about fans in general back in the day! Anyone remember the fans running with Hank Aaron's when he surpassed Babe Ruth's HR record or Disco demolition night?

So, watch as the fans are just sitting on the wall waiting to jump onto the field. Also hear for firecrackers going off in the outfield, which prompts Reggie Jackson to get a batting helmet. Then watch as he runs back to the dugout body checking a few of the fans on the field along the way. For that matter, watch for debris to constantly make it onto the field throughout the game.

6. Ok, now to Reggie Jackson! He walked at the bottom of the 2nd (around min. 21 in the clip). Then in the bottom of the 4th, he comes on and homers off Hooton on the first pitch (around min. 45.30). Then in the bottom of the 5th, he homers again on the first pitch against the reliever Sosa (around min. 1:06.30). Finally, in the bottom of the 8th, again on the first pitch, he homers off Hough (around min. 1:37.45)

7. Jackson set many records that night in the Series, thereby becoming the MVP.

8. Watch at the end for Commissioner Bowie Kuhn congratulating Billy Martin (and a cameo by Bill White)

Update: David Pierotti (@D_Panzer) points out that Reggie Jackson had 4 homeruns in a row, as he got his revenge on Bob Welch with a monster shot in game 5

Enjoy! 

Senate Reform Dead (for now)

I haven't gone through the judgment (hopefully later), but once again a defeat for the Conservative government but a victory for conservatives.

More Comments on the Measles Vaccination Debate

Here are a couple more videos from Global Edmonton exploring the legal and practical dimensions of requiring mandatory vaccinations to stem the measles outbreak in Alberta. It appears the Alberta government is not considering any mandatory measures, but would rather go the education route (Liberal Education Critic Kent Hehr disagrees). There are also some interesting comments from the Vaccine Risk Awareness Network that are worth checking out. I certainly think mandatory measures with no exemptions are defensible on Charter grounds, but would be interested in hearing more on the issue from constitutional law experts. 

 

 

Ogbogu on Measles Vaccinations

My colleague on vaccines:

 

The Bieber does it again!

First Anne Frank, and now the Biebs decides to visit the Yasukuni shrine and then posts it.

Mind your Language

So says Canadian Harvard psychologist Steven Pinker in his new book The Sense of Style. This story about his new book talks about politicians and academics and why they can't just speak with clarity:

"Most academics … effortlessly dispense sludge," writes Steven Pinker, the Harvard University psychologist and writer.

...

He argues that while many scholars do groundbreaking work, and have important ideas, "their writing stinks."

"There's just a lot of bad writing out there," he told me, and that has its consequences: "We pay for universities, we ought to be able to understand what comes out of them." 

While he doesn't address them (I haven't read the book, but based on the article), I would also add lawyers to this mix. And by lawyers, I am counting judges and other decision-makers.  It is bad enough that once lawyers get a hold of some document that they qualify it to death, add a million caveats, and then some - on top of that, we speak in all sorts of antiquated tongues.

Then again, if the courts did their job and applied the law consistently, perhaps we wouldn't need many of these qualifiers that Pinker derides.

Don't Mess with Nolan Ryan!

A new biography of the great Nolan Ryan by Rob Goldman has been released.  This article discusses an excerpt from the book, which cemented Ryan's place in baseball history as one tough Texan pitcher!

The article notes that "[d]uring his 27-year Hall of Fame career, Nolan Ryan recorded 324 wins, seven no-hitters and 5,714 strikeouts. A new biography by Rob Goldman, Nolan Ryan: The Making of a Pitcher, includes never-before-told anecdotes and personal recollections."

The incident the article discusses what is now one of baseball's most famous bench-clearing brawls, which got started when Ryan drilled now White-Sox manager Robin Ventura. Ventura, 20 years younger than Ryan, decided that he could charge the mound and take on a middle-aged man whose best days physically and pitchingly were behind him. But Ventura would be just plain old wrong. Indeed, for most of us baseball fans, what transpired next would forever define Ventura and Ryan.  Ryan got Ventura in a headlock and proceeded to pound the *&^% out of his face! Indeed, had the rest of teams not jumped in there, poor Ventura might not have had a career to speak off.  The article disucsses what led up to that day and how it forever defined Nolan Ryan. 

The actual event is below (watch out for Bo Jackson who features in the story):

 

A Legend Passes

Leonard Rosen, one of the founding partners of the elite Wall Street law firm Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen, and Katz, has passed away at the age of 83.

First Aboriginal Police Officer

Edmonton Police Service is launching a digital comic series dedicated to telling the stories of their heroes. In their series is the tale of Canada's first aboriginal police officer Alex Decoteau:

One hundred and thirteen years ago, Alex Decoteau made Canadian policing history.

The young Metis man from Saskatchewan moved to Edmonton in 1909 to work in his brother-in-law’s machine shop. Two years later, Alex joined the Edmonton Police Department, becoming the first Aboriginal police officer in Canada.

Now, Alex’s life story is the subject of LEGACY OF HEROES, a digital comic produced by the Edmonton Police Service. 

h/t @CstPower and @edmontonpolice.

The Claw The Claw!

Parents: watch your kids, lest they end up inside the Claw Machine! Thankfully the kid is safe.

Lose Custody for Alienating Children

A mother has lost custody of her children because of a pattern of alienating them from their father, or so found a judge who granted custody to the father:

In a stunning and unusual family law decision, a Toronto judge has stripped a mother of custody of her three children after the woman spent more than a decade trying to alienate them from their father.

The mother's "consistent and overwhelming" campaign to brainwash the children into thinking their father was a bad person was nothing short of emotional abuse, Justice Faye McWatt of the Superior Court of Justice wrote in her decision.

...

Nicholas Bala, a Queen's University law professor who specializes in family law, said "badmouthing" or negative attitudes by one parent toward another is quite common among separated couples. But in recent years, the justice system has begun to understand the harmful effects of the worst form of this behaviour.

Beavers in Calgary

Ignorance of the tax law

Ignorance of the law is no excuse. Paying taxes honestly and accurately is a must, so says the state. With tax season upon us, how many of us are confident that we know what we are filing? The US tax code has become such a mess that even former defense secretary is befudled.  In a letter to the IRS accompanying his returns, he states that he can't truly vouch for the accuracy of his returns because he can't figure out half of it. He makes a good point - read the whole letter.

Canada's Third National Policy — Required Reading for All Canadians

Rod Macdonald & Bob Wolfe's "Canada's Third National Policy" is an essay every Canadian should read, and an idea every Canadian should embrace, particularly in our current political climate where both the government and mainstream media actively work to discourage broad public participation in political decision-making.

Read Macdonald & Wolfe's essay here; my latest Sustainability Matters column, which discusses "Canada's Third National Policy" in the context of Canadian environmental governance, is here.

Sonia Paton RIP

It seems to be the week of sadness. Our incoming dean's beloved mother Sonia Paton passed away a few days ago.  If you are in the Toronto area, or otherwise, this information may be useful:

'Vichnaya Pamyat.' Visitation at Turner & Porter Peel Chapel, 2180 Hurontario St., Mississauga, on April 23 from 2-4 and 7-9 p.m. Funeral service at Islington United Church, 25 Burnhamthorpe Rd. (at Dundas W.), on April 24 at 10 a.m. Reception to follow - all are welcome. Interment at St. John's Dixie. In lieu of flowers, donations to the music ministry at Islington United Church, the Alzheimer Society of Peel, the Canadian Cancer Society, or to a charity of your choice would be appreciated. Further information and condolence book at www.turnerporter.ca

Flaherty RIP

Public office can take a toll on one's health. Countless politicians have experienced health issues due to the hours upon hours of work and meetings that they must endure. Jim Flaherty was no different.

He served his province and country, and he will be missed.

Whaling in the Antarctic: Part VI - What Now?

In this final installment of my assessment of Whaling in the Antarctic (Australia v. Japan: New Zealand Intervening), I aim to provide a few thoughts on what the future holds for the International Convention for the Regulation of Whaling (ICRW) and the International Whaling Commission (ICW).

The first consideration must be whether or not Japan is going to comply with the decision of the International Court of Justice (ICJ). Japan has indicated that it will and it also does not appear that Japan is going to withdraw from the IWC in light of the decision. Does this mean that whaling in the Antarctic is done? Maybe, maybe not. Since the Whaling Case addresses permit issuance pursuant to JARPA II, the possibility remains that a new scientific research program could be developed and deployed in this region, which once again could be susceptible to challenge. Similarly, Japan’s JARPN II on-going special permit program in the North Pacific may also be scrutinized in light of the Whaling Case and the ICJ’s analysis of what is meant by “for the purposes of scientific research”. The decision may also have implications for the commercial whaling conducted by Iceland and Norway pursuant to objections that these States have lodged at the IWC if Japan seeks to supplement its diminished supply of whale meat (which may not be required given dwindling consumer demand). Alternatively, this development might similarly increase the coastal hunt of small cetaceans (dolphins and porpoises) that is not regulated by the ICRW. Or, it might mean the end of all special permit scientific whaling. It is early days yet and only the passage of time will reveal the ultimate consequences of this decision.

While the Whaling Case does not delve into the political and cultural issues that continue to prevent coherent implementation of the ICRW, it is obvious that future work and considerable compromise is needed to bridge the gap that separates those States that support the use of whales as a resource and those States that prefer preservation. Important questions remain unanswered: Should the moratorium on commercial whaling be lifted to allow for a limited take of those whale species that science suggests can bear such a take (i.e., the minke whale)? How do we account for cultural differences and preferred uses in an appropriate manner? Is it possible to reconcile these positions within the current international framework or should an alternative agreement be sought? How should the global community regulate the take of smaller cetaceans that live close to shore? And, perhaps most importantly, is enough being done to ensure that the other threats—bycatch, ship strikes, climate change, environmental pollution, habitat destruction, and even eco-tourism—are being addressed?

The Whaling Case represents an important piece of the larger marine mammal management puzzle. The puzzle is far from complete and we must continue to work to piece it together.