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New B.C. premier, Egypt, science
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February 25, 2011
BC Liberals vote for new leader
Members of the BC Liberal Party will get to vote for a new leader and premier Saturday – or will they? There are reports that many members haven’t yet received PINs to allow them to vote online and the clock is ticking. SFU political scientist Marjorie Griffin Cohen said a lot is riding on the efforts by the BC Liberals to get PINs delivered as quickly as possible. And if voting goes ahead tomorrow, SFU public policy professor Doug McArthur said it’s anybody’s race. “The two leaders of the past month have faltered. Kevin Falcon is recovering after falling behind in January but very worried and a bit desperate, while Mike de Jong has renewed energy,” he said. “The deciding factor will likely be the highly unequal voting system where many voters’ vote will count for only 1/20th or less than one vote, while many others will be counted as one vote. It will be interesting to see whether the public gets the votes reported on a per-voter basis unweighted. That would have to be disclosed under transparency rules we demand in other countries.”
(Note: Both Marjorie and Doug are available for comment this weekend, too.)
Marjorie Griffin Cohen, 604.294.2134, mcohen@sfu.ca
Doug McArthur, 604.786.0016, doug.mcarthur@sfu.ca
Egyptian military clashes with Coptics
There are reports that Orthodox Coptics, a persecuted minority in Egypt, are being targeted by the military. The latest incident involves an army unit attacking a Coptic monastery in the Nitrian Desert. SFU public policy student Mary Gerges is of the Orthodox Coptic faith and has family who live in Alexandria, where a bomb destroyed their church Jan. 1, 2011. She has been tracking that tragedy and the events in Egypt carefully and has maintained close contact with family and friends while the historic events of the past weeks have unfolded. Gerges can provide insight on the persecution Coptics face in Egypt and updates on the state of the country.
Mary Gerges, 604.783.5591, maryg@sfu.ca
Melting polar ice-caps
Kenneth Golden, professor of mathematics and adjunct professor of bioengineering at the University of Utah, presents Climate Change and Melting Polar Ice-Caps on March 2at SFU’s Burnaby campus. The seminar will be held in the IRMACS Theatre at 12:30 pm. The event is presented by SFU Science and is the second of a six-part seminar series on global warming.
Claire Cupples, SFU Science dean, 778.782.3771, scdean@sfu.ca
Colin Jones, SFU Chemistry, (contact through assistant, Rosemary Hotell, 778.782.3772), cwjones@sfu.ca
Members of the BC Liberal Party will get to vote for a new leader and premier Saturday – or will they? There are reports that many members haven’t yet received PINs to allow them to vote online and the clock is ticking. SFU political scientist Marjorie Griffin Cohen said a lot is riding on the efforts by the BC Liberals to get PINs delivered as quickly as possible. And if voting goes ahead tomorrow, SFU public policy professor Doug McArthur said it’s anybody’s race. “The two leaders of the past month have faltered. Kevin Falcon is recovering after falling behind in January but very worried and a bit desperate, while Mike de Jong has renewed energy,” he said. “The deciding factor will likely be the highly unequal voting system where many voters’ vote will count for only 1/20th or less than one vote, while many others will be counted as one vote. It will be interesting to see whether the public gets the votes reported on a per-voter basis unweighted. That would have to be disclosed under transparency rules we demand in other countries.”
(Note: Both Marjorie and Doug are available for comment this weekend, too.)
Marjorie Griffin Cohen, 604.294.2134, mcohen@sfu.ca
Doug McArthur, 604.786.0016, doug.mcarthur@sfu.ca
Egyptian military clashes with Coptics
There are reports that Orthodox Coptics, a persecuted minority in Egypt, are being targeted by the military. The latest incident involves an army unit attacking a Coptic monastery in the Nitrian Desert. SFU public policy student Mary Gerges is of the Orthodox Coptic faith and has family who live in Alexandria, where a bomb destroyed their church Jan. 1, 2011. She has been tracking that tragedy and the events in Egypt carefully and has maintained close contact with family and friends while the historic events of the past weeks have unfolded. Gerges can provide insight on the persecution Coptics face in Egypt and updates on the state of the country.
Mary Gerges, 604.783.5591, maryg@sfu.ca
Melting polar ice-caps
Kenneth Golden, professor of mathematics and adjunct professor of bioengineering at the University of Utah, presents Climate Change and Melting Polar Ice-Caps on March 2at SFU’s Burnaby campus. The seminar will be held in the IRMACS Theatre at 12:30 pm. The event is presented by SFU Science and is the second of a six-part seminar series on global warming.
Claire Cupples, SFU Science dean, 778.782.3771, scdean@sfu.ca
Colin Jones, SFU Chemistry, (contact through assistant, Rosemary Hotell, 778.782.3772), cwjones@sfu.ca