Graves still fresh as helicopter disaster book rushed to print

When a tragedy occurs - whether it be one born by nature, or the result of human error or malice - the reaction of most people is empathy and a desire to help the victims.

As a child living in southern Ontario I distinctly remember a massive ice storm that knocked out power for millions of people over a period of several days. Neighbours were drawn together and beneath the crackling trees of our iced-in city an atmosphere of camaraderie replaced the impersonality of everyday life.

So after a Cougar Sikorsky helicopter crashed into the ocean east of Newfoundland on March 12, it must have been some comfort to the families and friends of the seventeen people who died. Certainly, since the accident, politicians, media outlets and ordinary people alike have taken great care to ensure that the interests of grieving families are kept at the fore.

Until this week, that is, when we learned that DRC Publishing (a Newfoundland and Labrador book publisher) is rushing a book about the helicopter accident to press. It seems that author Tom Badcock has written an account of the disaster and - oh happy day - it will be available in stores by month's end.

Some of the churlish among us might suggest that Badcock and DRC are hoping for windfall profits from this tragic event. After all, the flowers on victims's graves are still fresh, and investigations into the disaster are only just beginning.

But nothing could be further from the horrible truth, claims Badcock. In a CBC Radio interview on Wednesday he assured listeners that "part" of the proceeds will go to a memorial for the victims. Only thing is, though, it is apparently too soon to say how much will be donated, or whether DRC will be doing the same - though of course it is not too soon to write the book. One suspects Badcock and his publisher were too busy writing and editing to bother with niggling details like that.

When people sell out their friends and neighbours for cash, it is often called blood money. Terms such as "media whore," "carpet bagger," and "blood sucker" are similarily used to describe the unscrupulous amongst us who try to profit from other's misfortunes. This is not to suggest, for one second, of course, that Badcock and DRC have anything but the noblest intentions in their current endeavour.

However, some people might think otherwise. What terms are most apt to illustrate the conduct of Tom Badcock and DRC Publishing, I wonder? Suggestions are most welcome.

Moore's "Liberty" offers warning in light of Afghan war

Upon finishing the prodigiously researched and incisively written book, "Liberty: The Lives and Times of Six Women in Revolutionary France" by Lucy Moore, one is left to consider the following:

1. History is indeed written by the victors, and because men consistently emerged as winners, the thoughts and deeds of 50% of history's actors have been smothered by prejudice. France would have been far more ably led had brilliant and humane people (and natural politicians) such as Manon Roland and Germaine de Stael been in power rather than despots like Robespierre and Napoleon.
   
2. Gender wars are not new to the post-World War II era. French women who took up arms to fight for freedom in the late eighteenth century soon found themselves suppressed by their male comrades. How does this differ from Canadian acquiescence in supporting Afghanistan's morally bankrupt government in its campaign to enslave female citizens?
   
3. Those who forcibly deny freedom to a portion of society will eventually become prey to tyranny themselves. The Jacobins of revolutionary France brutally put down anyone who opposed them until, eventually, they became consumed by paranoia. They and their successors forcibly marginalized women and denied them any role in public affairs. It never occured to them that by denying rights to the women who forged the revolution, they had removed a primary pillar that kept their government alive; soon enough it was the necks Robespierre and his allies that rested on the guillotine. It is a rule of politics that if you lose support from your "base" then your prospects are grim.
   
4. Liberty must never be taken for granted, and just as rights can be won they can be lost. Women of revolutionary France had achieved limited rights of assembly, for example, that were subsequently struck down in a reactionary backlash. Antiquated dress codes that kept women encased in whalebone and drapery were cast aside, along with the monarchy, in favour of clothing that would not look too out of place among youth of the late twentieth century; but by 1800 the corsets were back - a symbol of the restrictions placed on women.

For those who want to learn a necessary aspect of western history, I cannot recommend Moore's book too highly.

"Secret" Newfoundland and Labrador film project prompts opposition questions

A "secret" Newfoundland and Labrador film project valued at $3 million raised the eyebrows of Liberal MHA Kelvin Parsons during a legislative budget estimates meeting Tuesday evening at Confederation Building in St. John's.

Parsons, who asked about details of the fund (on behalf of absent NDP leader Lorraine Michael) received no answer to his question about the budgeted amount, which allocates $3 million to the Newfoundland and Labrador Film Development Corporation for 2009-10. This is almost double the $1.75 million in last year's budget, an amount that may - or may not - have been spent.

In response to questions, Tourism, Culture and Recreation Minister, Clyde Jackman, would only reply that the funds are set for a "secret project."

No word as to whether the Tory government is stashing away public funds for any further "secret" projects, such as, say, for the Churchill Falls hydro project.