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The Citizen, 2007-07-19, Page 5THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, JULY 19, 2007. PAGE 5. Bonnie Gropp TThhee sshhoorrtt ooff iitt Journalists who cover the Ontario legislature should feel overjoyed one of their own has been named to the province’s top job of lieutenant governor, but the harsher reality is they are becoming a vanishing breed. David Onley, a TV reporter and commentator admired by many, including his peers, for his skills in his work and the way he carried it on, despite being afflicted by polio, is the first journalist named to such high office. As the Queen’s representative, he becomes the first citizen in the official order of precedence. Prime Minister Stephen Harper has never gone out of his way to help journalists and presumably chose him mainly because he is a prime example of someone who has overcome a disability and can be a role model for others. Fellow-journalists will take some pleasure in seeing Onley honoured because of their respect for him and because he is one of their number. The highest rank their profession had achieved in recent decades was cabinet minister. Frank Drea, who wrote an Action Line column, was a minister under Progressive Conservative premier William Davis and stereotypical heavy drinking newspaperman. After one liquid lunch, he addressed condo owners in the belief they were wine growers and wished them good luck with their current vintage, but had real strengths that kept him on. Evelyn Gigantes, a former TV public affairs commentator, twice lost roles in New Democrat premier Bob Rae’s cabinet through ignoring rules, which journalists by training have little respect for. But Onley’s appointment also comes at a time when the press gallery of journalists who cover the legislature fulltime has been shrinking. A decade ago it had 52 members, but it is now down to 33. Part of the reason is most newspapers now are owned by chains. When the papers were independently owned, half-a-dozen in bigger cities across Ontario used to send their own reporters to cover Queen’s Park. But when they join a chain, one of its reporters at the legislature normally covers for the whole organization. This is a loss first because reporters sent by these newspapers were among their most skilled and brought experience and insight that added to the combined gallery intelligence, particularly in the grilling of politicians that is a daily routine. They also brought and were fed knowledge of issues in their own circulation areas, so if a reporter from Windsor, for example, had information on a government failing in that area, it quickly became a story for the whole gallery and province. A Queen’s Park-based reporter for a chain usually has to cover many geographical areas and lacks time to watch for them all adequately. Some, but not all, chains also have cut staffs to help pay the costs of their acquisitions. The chains are growing and soon the vast majority of newspapers in Ontario will be owned by one of three or four chains. Most Toronto newspapers also have cut staffs at Queen’s Park. A dozen private radio stations, which are noted for penny pinching, once had reporters at the legislature, but they are down to two, and the provincial government’s TVO has dropped its French- language reporter at the legislature to save money. The fewer reporters at the legislature continue to give their employers good value for their money. Among many issues they have bought to light recently were frauds by lottery ticket retailers, abuse of children in daycare centers and barriers to patients finding if doctors had committed malpractice, which the government acted on. They also curbed the province issuing parking permits for the disabled to many not entitled to them and grounded an expensive trip MPPs planned quietly to study voting systems around the world. The news media covering the legislature also have faults, but to their employers and the public that provides space for them they are a bargain — this is not where they should be relaxing their watch. Tomatoes it is Laughter: an orgasm triggered by the intercourse of reason with unreason. – Jack Kroll You know what makes me…ahem, laugh? The intrinsic absurdity of life on this whacky ball of dirt that’s winging its way through the celestial void. Specifically, the way the human animal finds ingenious ways to make sure that the sublime is regularly cross-checked by the ridiculous. Canada is particularly adept at this game. We gave the world: Marshall McLuhan…and Don Cherry. Ben Hepner…and Stompin’Tom Connors. Pierre Trudeau…and Ralph Klein. Professional hockey…and the Toronto Maple Leafs. But there’s an even finer example of loony juxtaposition unfolding in the Great White North even as you read these words. And I mean the real Great White North – in the Arctic wastes between Greenland and Siberia. That’s where you’ll find the Gakkel Ridge. What’s that? It’s an underwater mountain range. A great spine of rock 16,000 feet under the waves that runs along the ocean floor for over a thousand miles. Scientists are hot for the Gakkel Ridge because it too is hot – volcanic, in fact. Undersea volcanoes often create hydrothermal vents – chimneys that spew superheated water into the surrounding ocean. Sometimes this leads to rare and exotic life forms found nowhere else in nature. Long story short, there’s an international expedition of icebreakers, support ships, robot amphibious submarines and antsy scientists eager to see what, if anything is living down there. It’s steaming towards the Gakkel Ridge right now. They set sail on Canada Day and expect to spend at least a month and a half on site. Who – aside from the aforementioned boffins – cares? NASA, for one. Space Agency experts figure that techniques for operating robot vehicles under three miles of Arctic ocean could apply in the exploration of remote, frigid planets in outer space. Okay, so where’s the promised absurdity? That would be provided by Mister Brooks Agnew, a physicist and futurist who lives in Kentucky. Mister Agnew is seeking adventurers to accompany him on his own polar odyssey – the North Pole Inner Earth Expedition he calls it – specifically to a spot precisely located at 84.4 degrees North and 41 degrees East, which is about, oh……250 miles off the coast of Ellesmere Island. That’s where Mister Agnew expects to find a portal leading to the centre of the earth – not to mention a previously unknown civilization. Planet Earth is really hollow, you see. And there are these two gateways – one near the North Pole and the other near the South Pole – that lead directly to the centre of the earth. “Everest has been climbed a hundred times,” says Mister Agnew. “The Titanic has been scanned from stem to stern. This is the first and only expedition to the North Pole opening ever attempted.” Errr….quite. Some of the people who will accompany Mister Agnew firmly believe that our hollow planet is inhabited by the Lost Tribes of Israel who have mastered the art of living for hundreds of years and who protect their hidden world with fleets of flying saucers. Others are quite certain that the earth’s core is the domain of a race of saurian aliens who hail from Venus. Intrigued? If you’ve got 20 grand burning a hole in your mattress you can sign on with Mister Agnew and join him on his rented Russian icebreaker, the Yamal. You’ll be sailing out of Murmansk in the spring of next year. Amazingly, there are still a few berths available. Originally, the North Pole Inner Earth Expedition was scheduled to set sail this very week – the same week that the team of international scientists set off on their trek to investigate the Gakkel Ridge. Now THAT would have been ridiculously sublime. Imagine. Their expeditions might have entered the Arctic in tandem – one seeking hydrothermal vents in the ocean floor; the other hoping to contact Venusian Lizard King overlords living at the centre of the earth. Who needs Stephen King? Everyday life is ‘way weirder than anything he could make up. Arthur Black Media watchdogs underfed You absolutely have to love the way a young mind thinks. And wonder too about it. As I sat down to write this column at the end of a fairly frantic week, a head full of details and worries kept blocking the thought process. Taking breaks from the computer, little walks outdoors, nothing seemed to solve my dilemma of what to have my little chat about. There is no shortage of topics in the world; I could discuss anything from fine wines, to politics. I could reflect on a specific issue or occurrence, local or international. I could share frivolous fluff on the mundane reality of being me. But no, after hours of failing to find the topic that would allow words to flow unimpeded from my weary brain, I decided to get a fresh perspective. After lunch with my favourite little man, I threw out the question. “Mitchell, give me a topic for my column.” The response, as expected, was totally unexpected. “Tomatoes.” Okay... this might be a tough one, I thought. Actually, I was pretty sure I detected a hint of a challenge in his expression and tone. But, traditionally whatever my grandson asks of me I do my best to deliver. So, ladies and gentlemen, tomatoes it is. First, I don’t particularly like them. I eat them because I must. Beyond that, I know they are a fruit and not a vegetable, that they come in a variety of colours, that they are, considering the food group they belong to, good for you and that they are very popular in Italian and Mexican recipes. But, did you know that the smallest species of tomatoes are less than three-quarters of an inch in diameter? Or that tomato juice is the official state beverage of Ohio? Or that there are at least 10,000 varieties of tomatoes. All as frivolous as the approach first taken to penning this column. However, it would seem too, that the tomato is not without its share of controversy. The health benefits of lycopene, found in tomatoes, has been a hot topic for several years. Studies claimed to have found the lycopene in tomatoes to be protective against a growing list of cancers. Just last week though the bubble burst when new and confusing results from a top medical research institute stated that no evidence was found that tomatoes reduced the risk of lung, colorectal, breast, cervical or endometrial cancer. There is limited evidence between consumption and the reduced risk of prostrate, ovarian, gastric and pancreatic cancer. According to the Food and Drug Administration “very limited and preliminary scientific research suggests that eating one- half to one cup of tomatoes and/or tomato sauce a week may reduce the risk of prostate cancer. The FDA concludes there is little evidence supporting this claim.” Not surprising really as how to protect ourselves from cancer always seems to be delivered through mixed messages. For my part, I will continue to subject my palate to tomatoes as part of a balanced and healthy diet. Confused results aside they’re still good for you, like them or not. And as for how a young mind thinks, they tend to notice better than their elders that this world is full of wonderful things. No matter where we look or what seemingly small insignificant thing we focus on, there is probably a story to tell. Other Views Laughing at life’s intricate absurdity .Eric Dowd FFrroomm QQuueeeenn’’ss PPaarrkk Letters Policy The Citizen welcomes letters to the editor. Letters must be signed and should include a daytime telephone number for the purpose of verification only. Letters that are not signed will not be printed. Submissions may be edited for length, clarity and content, using fair comment as our guideline. The Citizen reserves the right to refuse any letter on the basis of unfair bias, prejudice or inaccurate information. As well, letters can only be printed as space allows. Please keep your letters brief and concise.