Jimmy Carter

QUIZ: The Ontario NDP is offering ‘change for the better’. They’re not the first. Match these campaign taglines to the leader and election.

Canada was not a ‘stable, secure partner’ when the U.S. faced its second energy crisis

On Judith Butler’s honourary degree from McGill

Mark Lijek, a retired U.S. diplomat rescued from Iran, writes about the real heroes of 1979

Jimmy Carter at Queen’s, Twinkies at risk & a hip-hop club

As the economy sinks and hope turns into despair, the president’s odds of re-election are fading fast

P.K. Subban’s winning streak, Hugo Chávez weighs in on everything, and what LiLo can learn from Blago

Newsmakers of the week

Jimmy Carter stirred up controversy recently by saying Barack Obama’s opponents are primarily motivated by racism. His comments provoked far right talk-radio host Rush Limbaugh (himself no stranger to controversy) and other conservatives to attack Carter for using race to shut down debate over the president’s agenda. New York Times columnist Maureen Dowd sang a similar tune earlier in the week about the current climate in America. Both pointed to posters and drawings that depict Obama as a witch doctor or make reference to his Kenyan roots, with some even calling him the new Hitler. Whether or not one agrees with Dowd and Carter, racially-inspired slogans and cartoons were indeed present at the Tea Party in Washington last Saturday, along with an even more disconcerting sign that read “Bury Obamacare with Kennedy.” These types of depictions deserve to be condemned and repudiated as being unrepresentative of the spirit behind the demonstrations. Unfortunately, very few, if any, spokespersons or organizers of the protest have come out to set the record straight.

The stars just seem to shine brighter north of the border. Exclusive pictures of celebrities on the red carpet and in their own habitat (aka hotel rooms) at the 2007 Toronto Film Festival. Check out Matt Damon, Jennifer Garner, George Clooney and Brad Pitt — erm, with an itchy nose.