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.

Will the digital age render us invisible to our granchildren?

Before writing The Big Hop: The North Atlantic Air Race, I needed to conduct a great deal of research on aviators of the 1920s, '30s, and '40s. To some degree, this meant acquiring copies of primary documents, but mostly I delved into newspaper records. Where possible, I cross-referenced - checking accounts of the same events but from the perspective of two or more newspapers.

One of the surprises that emerged from this research was in fact how much "new" material I was able to recover; I frequently stumbled across hitherto unknown (to me) pilots, many of whom appeared to have been overlooked by previous historians. But records of their achievements and failures could be found, if someone looked hard enough, because a newspaper - often the New York Times - made the effort to record them in print.

Today, newspapers are in trouble, so much so that even the New York Times could disappear. So as reporters are laid off and papers shut down their presses, how are future generations supposed to learn about our era? Digital technology is the obvious answer, but unfortunately - as anyone who owns a computer whose hard drive has seized up - this form of record keeping is fragile at best.

In fact, in the course of time, it is a near certainty that the Wikipedias, Googles, Yahoos and all future technology-dependent data storage systems will fail or be destroyed.

Like the mythic (is it?) contintent of Atlantis, we could be all but invisible to future generations.

Have-not Ontario tosses tasty nibbles to book publishers

Ontario's pulverized manufacturing sector may have turned that province into a welfare case, but this has not stopped its government from helping book publishers and other sectors of the cultural industry. On Thursday, Finance Minister Dwight Duncan announced that he will enhance the refundable tax credit to publishers and other arts organizations. In all, Ontario will provide $100 million annually in new tax relief to the arts sector in that province.

It is worth pointing out that these tax credits are an improvement on a program that has existed for years; Ontario, it seems, has long recognized the importance of cultural industries to its long term economic prospects.

Ironically, Newfoundland and Labrador's provincial budget was released on the same day, and what did we see for arts from Danny Williams (who apparently heads a "have" province)? Not much; in fact, while there are some minor investments in tourism and the film industry there is almost no new money for music, literature (except for a little more prize money), visual arts, theatre, etc.

As usual, culture will be trotted out by government when promoting this province abroad, like prize tigers taken during a seventeenth century conquest of Africa. Unlike Ontario's government - which apparently can differentiate between real action and slick public relations - the Williams administration is unwilling to make the investments necessary to create a self-sustaining cultural sector.

Oh well, like the Toronto Maple Leafs, we'll have to wait until next year.

Randall Maggs stars at Winterset reading

Randall Maggs seemed to be the big star at Wednesday's readings by the three finalists for the Winterset award. His book, Night Work: The Sawchuk Poems, is an intriguing collection of biographical poems about one of the sports world's most enigmatic figures, goaltender Terry Sawchuck. Maggs told the large audience in St. John's about how he interviewed those who knew - and played hockey with - Sawchuck. This is history told in the Homeric tradition, when poetry claimed a central role in culture and the telling of history.

Readings by the other two finalists, Sara Tilley and Marie Wadden, were somewhat less memorable, particularly Wadden's, whose presentation was disjointed and lengthy. Tilley's Skin Room appears to be an intriguing book, but I am waiting until she ceases to be considered "The Next Young Thing" to emerge on Newfoundland and Labrador's literay scene. While she is undoubtedly talented, her presentation conveyed little that made me want to buy her book - Lisa Moore she is not; at least not yet.

Wadden's book, Where the Pavement Ends, is a book by a crusading journalist who has spent much of her career advocating on behalf of aboriginal peoples in Canada. The Toronto Star describes her book as follows: “[Wadden] demonstrates conclusively why throwing billions of dollars in outside-designed program funding at isolated communities is doomed to failure . . . Her advocacy of an end to both Indian Act waste and assimilationist notions, and for increased training and reliable multi-year funding that will give the healing movement the resources it is waiting for, is a message all Canadians should hear and absorb.” This is undoubtedly an important work, so why is Wadden - a journalist who is used to getting her point across - unable to communicate coherently when asked to do so? After listening to her, I felt I "should" read her book, much as one should take medicine when feeling ill.

In summary, I favour Maggs for the Winterset.

Chronicle Herald features The Big Hop

I am delighted to report that on Sunday the Halifax Chronicle Herald published an article about my book, The Big Hop: The North Atlantic Air Race. On another, more somber note, the appalling helicopter accident that took 17 lives last week is a grim reminder that the dangers of flying across the harsh north Atlantic have not disappeared, despite dramatic improvements to aircraft safety in the decades since Alcock and Brown first flew across the ocean in 1919.