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"I presented every piece of evidence I could," he recalled in a 1984 interview. "I asked every tough question I could think of. The judge believed the defence. That's what our system of justice is about and I have no complaints."
He represented Texaco Canada before the federal Restrictive Trade Practices Commission on another matter alleging anti-competitive behaviour. Despite several years of hearings, Texaco was never prosecuted.
He also acted for the Mounties before the McDonald Commission's inquiry in the late 1970s into RCMP wrongdoing.
"Claude was a first-rate litigator. Beyond serving his clients, he also cared deeply about the legal profession and served it well," said Walter Palmer, managing partner at Fasken Martineau, the firm where Thomson ended his career. "What made Claude special was his integrity. He always looked for the best in everyone he dealt with and treated everyone with respect."
Claude Renwick Thomson was born in Toronto on Sept. 30, 1933. His father, William, was a civil engineer who worked for the department of highways and was later transferred to Ottawa. His mother, Cecile Morency, was a French Canadian who did not speak French to her son in public out of concern it would hold him back.
Claude graduated from St. Patrick's College in Ottawa, where he won the Canadian University Debating Championship and a gold ring presented by then Ottawa mayor Charlotte Whitton. The topic was: "Resolved: Red China should be admitted to the United Nations." Thomson's daughter Marguerite leafed through one of several thick scrapbooks of mementoes and clippings to discover that her father spoke in favour of the motion. "But he could have argued the other side just as persuasively," she noted.
From the day he entered Osgoode Hall Law School in Toronto, he knew he wanted to be a courtroom lawyer. "I wanted to participate in the rough-and-tumble of the court system," he said upon his election as head of the Canadian Bar Association in 1984. "In the beginning it was the fight itself - the thrust, the parry, the intellectual exercise.
"As time went on, I matured and realized the courts are an important place of last resort for serious human problems. You can do something good for people."
After articling with Malcolm Robb, a renowned and aggressive lawyer, Thomson began by taking on criminal cases. The most notable of those was in 1963 when he was asked to defend an American engineer charged with murder at a U.S. missile base on Ascension Island, a south Atlantic protectorate of the British colony of St. Helena.
There were several problems: Ascension Island had no police force, no jail, no prosecutors, not even a courthouse. St. Helena, the island where Napoleon died, was 1,000 miles away. Eventually, British officials sent in the chief justice of Uganda to hear the case. The accused was acquitted of murder but found guilty of manslaughter. Sentenced to 12 years, he was sent to jail in England.
Thomson was probably the only Canadian member of the bar of St. Helena, and a certificate from the island was prominent on his office wall.
In 1993-94, he travelled the world as head of the International Bar Association. He was only the second Canadian to hold that post.
At a meeting in Tunis of the Union of Arab Lawyers, he ended up at a dinner hosted by PLO leader Yasser Arafat. This was before the peace agreement with Israel. According to a report at the time, Thomson wasn't sure whether to accept the invitation. He also didn't want to offend his Arab hosts. He attended after consultations with IBA officials. What he didn't know at the time was that Arafat was already in secret negotiations with Israel.
An important result of the trip was that a jailed Tunisian human rights lawyer was released after his visit because of pressures from the IBA and the head of the Tunis bar.
As head of the 30,000-member Canadian Bar Association in 1984-85, Thomson vowed he would be "militant" in pressing governments to repeal the controversial notwithstanding clause in the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. That didn't happen, but in his other priorities - modernizing courtrooms with computers, opposing restrictions on the number of new lawyers, and encouraging young lawyers to specialize - he was more successful.
Always, there was the profession's image.
Following a 1985 survey of lawyers' salaries, Thomson told members of the Canadian bar that too often "it seems we are viewed as being more interested in our incomes than in our clients' welfare. Too often, we are seen as a self-interested elite, unconcerned with the larger social issues that exist beyond our office doors. Unfortunately, some of those perceptions are true."
At the same time, he noted that thousands of lawyers are committed not only to providing their clients with the best counsel possible, but to working for law reform and social justice.
A singular honour came in 1985 when he became the first Canadian lawyer to win the World Lawyer Award, bestowed by the World Peace Through Law Centre. In his acceptance speech in Berlin, he called on lawyers to oppose nuclear arms. "Such weapons are illegal because they have the potential to destroy us all," he said.
He ended his career as an internationally respected arbitrator and mediator. He was working from his hospital bed just days before his death.
An even-tempered family man and devout Catholic, he loved fly-fishing and tied his own flies. His biggest catch was a 39-pound salmon caught off the Queen Charlotte Islands while fishing with Bryan Williams, then the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of B.C., who urged him to let go of the line. Thomson held on and the battle took an hour.
A formal, by-the-book man, he believed the practise of law was to be taken seriously, but during a trial in 1990, he could not resist a bit of fun. The Pizza Pizza chain was alleging that its former president breached a non-competition clause and used confidential information to set up some restaurants called Chicken Chicken. Acting for the former executive, Thomson argued that the pizza company's plan for its own chicken venture never went beyond the idea stage, and he summoned the decidedly unappetizing line: "We know how ripe the Chicken Chicken idea was at Pizza Pizza. It was very raw and very green and very hard."
He leaves Rosemary, his wife of 52 years, five children and 11 grandchildren.
Shiv Kapur started from 10th and birdied the 10th, 13th, 14th and 17th to get to four-under and two-under through 27 holes in the second round of the Abu Dhabi Golf Championship.
Kapur still has nine more holes to play in second round.
Kapur started from 10th and birdied the 10th, 13th, 14th and 17th to get to four-under and two-under through 27 holes.
Andy Sullivan fired a second consecutive 67 to set the target. The second round is unlikely to be completed because of the two hour 45 minute delay in the morning.
Sullivan book-ended his round with two three-birdie runs to get to ten under.
Overnight leader Bryson DeChambeau, looking to become just the fourth amateur winner in European Tour history, was one shot back after his opening 64 and he was one-under through nine holes.
In the tied third place was Joost Luiten, who added a 68 to his first round 69 and was seven-under.
Sullivan has good memories of his last visit to the Gulf states, when he pushed Rory McIlroy all the way at the season -ending DP World Tour Championship, Dubai.
The 28 year old finished eighth in last season's Race to Dubai after claiming three wins and arrived at Abu Dhabi Golf Club on the back of claiming three points out of three for Europe at last week's EURASIA CUP presented by DRB-HICOM.
He continued the theme of threes on Friday as he opened with three birdies from the tenth and, after dropping a shot on the 15th, he played a fantastic second shot from a fairway bunker on the first set up another gain.
A teenager has been charged with two counts of grievous bodily harm with intent after two teenage boys were stabbed in Littlehampton on Wednesday.
A 17-year-old boy and a 16-year-old boy suffered serious injuries after they were stabbed. Read our original story here.
Police in St Louis, Missouri have released video and audio recordings of the shooting on Tuesday of Kajieme Powell, a 25-year-old man described as “behaving erratically” and carrying a knife when officers arrived on the scene.
One video, taken by a witness with a phone camera, shows officers opening fire repeatedly within 15 seconds of arriving at the scene. Twelve shots are fired in rapid succession. The fatal encounter added to tensions between St Louis police and the black community, coming amid continuing protests in nearby Ferguson after police shot and killed Michael Brown, an unarmed 18-year-old.
Powell is seen pacing up and down the sidewalk outside a store from which he is alleged to have stolen soft drinks and donuts. Two cans are sitting next to the road as the man paces with his right hand in his sweatshirt. He does not interfere with passersby.
The police car draws up and parks partly on the sidewalk and two officers emerge shouting at Powell to get down. The police say that he was carrying a knife which was recovered at the scene. He can be seen holding an object in the video.
Powell turns away and steps up on to a raised carpark. He then turns to face the officers and takes a step. Both policemen then open fire, shooting repeatedly at the man who falls on to the sidewalk.
The police said the shop owner called the emergency services because he believed that Powell was carrying a weapon.
The death of Powell took place amid extreme tension and unrest in Ferguson over Michael Brown’s death. He was shot by Darren Wilson, an officer with the Ferguson city police department, where only three of its 53 officers are black. An investigation into the shooting is being carried out by St Louis County prosecutors.
THE NATIONAL Economic Development Authority (NEDA) Board meeting earlier set for this Wednesday has been moved to June 19.
In a May 30 text message, Mr. Balisacan had told BusinessWorld that the next meeting was tentatively set for June 11.
The financial proposal of Light Rail Manila Consortium, the only bidder for the LRT-1 project, was opened Thursday. Should the NEDA Board approve the bid, the contract will be awarded to the consortium, Mr. Abaya said.
Public-Private Partnership (PPP) Center Director Cosette V. Canilao confirmed the inclusion of the airport projects and LRT-1 bid confirmation on the agenda. She also said that the Laguna Lakeshore Expressway Dike Project (LLDP) would be taken up.
The LLDP was discussed in the May 29 NEDA Board meeting, but environmental and technical concerns raised by board members hindered its approval.
Calling all builders. Appx 26.20 acres located behind established 26th Ave neighborhood. Property would make a great subdivision and is convenient to schools, churches, shopping, restaurants, etc. Currently has some timber. Utilities available include electricity, water, sewer, cable, internet and telephone. There is another parcel of land with 31.80 acres which connects to this property. Can be sold together or separately. Survey in office.
Facebook launched Graph Search earlier this year, to add a new "social" layer to the way people seek out information.
Graph Search allows people to get answers to questions like, what are my friends' favorite movies? Or what sushi restaurants do my friends like?
It's not clear, however, why this might be useful to marketers. Advertisers are used to traditional search advertising, in which they serve ads alongside the results people get when they search for things they want online. But Facebook hasn't really rolled out a full-fledged Graph Search product yet.
So marketers are left trying to figure out how to optimize their Facebook Pages to appear high in Graph Search results.
We asked Simply Measured, a social media analytics company, to walk us through a test case, using its own Facebook page as an example.
Graph Search prioritizes engagement from fans. So you need to identify the posts that get most engagement. This chart looks at the number of posts made on the Page, and the number of audience reactions ("stories") to them. The more reactions — likes, comments, etc. — the more likely a post is to show up in Graph Search.
"People Talking About This" measures any type of engagement from people who’ve liked your page. "Stories" are any type of post that would show up in a fan's News Feed where it can be seen by their friends. (Stories need not be reactions to your posts.) The more fans (and friends of fans) who like a page's content, the higher the ranking on Graph Search, and the easier it is to target your content more effectively.
Demographics give you an idea of who's reading you. In this case, the marketer should favor content targeted at women in the Northwestern states. Simply Measured is based in Seattle, so this makes sense.
You want as many page mentions and user posts as possible. The former is a mere mention of your brand anywhere on Facebook, the latter is a post by a user on your brand's wall. The more shared your content is, the higher you will rank in Graph Search.
Focusing on the keywords in users' comments allows you to increase search relevance by catering content to the conversations people are having. This marketer should make posts about "sales," "analytics" and "data." Luckily, that's Simply Measured's core business.
STAR WARS star Kelly Marie Tran was visibly emotional at Star Wars Celebration today.
Tran plays Rose Tico in the sequel trilogy, and got her introduction in 2017’s The Last Jedi.
What followed her movie debut was a deeply unsettling display of online misogyny and racism from a particularly ugly corner of the Star Wars fandom.
Tran ended up quitting social media over the relentless, unfounded abuse.
Today, when she was introduced to the crowd at Star Wars Celebration, members of the audience could be seen leaping to their feet, and Tran became visibly emotional.
Director JJ Abrams said: “I was grateful to [Last Jedi] director Rian Johnson for so many things he did in Episode 8.
Today’s panel also saw Abrams talking about using previously unused footage of Carrie Fisher as Leia.
“The idea of having a CG character was off the table, we’d never want to try,” he said.
Our Stanford Neurosurgical Simulation and Virtual Reality Center has partnered with TeachAids, a pioneer in developing innovative research-based health education technologies, to create new installments of a novel concussion education program CrashCourse.
Our world-class brain injury and concussion experts have collaborated with TeachAids on hundreds of hours of research, user-testing, and product development, to create state-of-the art interactive concussion educational content. CrashCourse will utilize our neurosurgery Virtual Reality models in an innovative experience called the Brain Fly-Through. This educational experience takes viewers inside a 3D representation of a real human brain to help them better understand its complexity and vulnerability. This product will be available in 2019.
Please visit the TeachAids website to view the full CrashCourse product suite. All materials are available to the public for free.
Special Feature: This CrashCourse Film (12min) features top Stanford athletes like All-American running back Bryce Love and his teammates.
Leverage distribution of CrashCourse through TeachAids' existing footprint in 82 countries.
Via their partners at Stanford, TeachAids has secured direct access to 10,000+ schools in all major school districts in the U.S.
Estimated reach of children, parents, and coaches worldwide in the next five years.
Our Neurosurgical Simulation and Virtual Reality Center, along with our Neurosurgical Anatomy Lab and 3-D printing capabilities, give us unique advantages - from clinic consultation to preoperative planning to intraoperative navigation.
Utilizing cutting-edge technologies, the Stanford Concussion and Brain Performance Center supports its 4 core values (1) Scientific discovery and collaborative research innovation, (2) Clinical excellence, (3) Performance translation (4) Global public education and outreach. Our Center unifies experts in the field of traumatic brain injury diagnostics and treatment with the goal of not only advancing science, but also disseminating that knowledge in global outreach initiatives and public education - making Stanford the only concussion center with a global initative.
Using its proven research methodology and success in over 82 countries, TeachAids aims to holistically address multiple complex factors that contribute to conucssion. TeachAids is ensuring their products will be accessible to everyone for free.
American flags are seen on cars for sale at Santa Rosa Chevrolet December 12, 2008 in Santa Rosa, California.
Get ready for an epidemic of underwater cars. No, we’re not talking about collateral damage from the recent floods in Texas — the average length of car loan terms hit a record high in the first quarter of 2015. No longer content to stretch their payments out over the once-standard five years, more drivers today are opting for financing that has them paying six or seven years into the future.
According to new data from Experian Automotive, the average new- and used-car loan terms are now at record highs of 67 and 62 months, respectively. What’s more, roughly 30% of new car loans being written today are for loan terms of between 73 and 84 months — a 19% increase over the first quarter of last year and the highest percentage recorded since Experian began publishing this figure in 2006.
“The potential with owing more than the vehicle is worth is something that could impact a future car purchase if the consumer is looking to trade-in,” says Melinda Zabritski, senior director of automotive finance for Experian Automotive.
The stats for used cars are even more alarming: 16% of used car loans were for terms between six and seven years in the first quarter. Think about it: Say you buy a car that someone traded in after a lease. That means the car is already three years old, which means there are a significant number of drivers out there who are still going to be making payments on decade-old cars — cars that are much likelier to break down or need costly repairs.
The amounts of these loans are skyrocketing, too. The average new-car loan was $28,711 in the first quarter, which isn’t — unfortunately — a new trend. Six months ago, Experian Automotive data found that the average new-car loan had shot up almost $1,100, year over year, to $27,799.
To make the math work, more drivers are stretching out financing, and a greater number are turning to leasing. Experian found that almost a third of all new vehicles financed today are leased, to the tune of $405 a month, on average.
But borrowers could have trouble getting a loan if they have negative equity, Zabritski says, or might charge more because the loan-to-value ratio is higher. “This means the consumer is going to pay more over the life of the loan, and at a higher rate [and] can create a cycle of increasing negative equity if the loan isn’t held long enough,” she warns.
“Vehicles are depreciating on average 13% annually, so to stay in a positive equity position consumers need to ensure their principal balance is always in line with the vehicle’s value,” says Paul Kirkbride, SVP at CUDirect, a company that provides car loan technology to credit unions.
If borrowers run the numbers before making a purchase, they might want to consider a higher down payment. Barring that option, they can also make extra principal payments during the life of the loan, Kirkbride says.
Without these contingency plans, “The risk is the borrower will possibly need to roll negative equity from one car loan into another when they trade in the car, or worse, should the borrower need to sell the car, they’ll have to come up with the difference to pay off the loan,” Kirkbride warns.
MUMBAI: Set India CEO Kunal Dasgupta is back to doing what he loves even more than the movies - playing the cricket broadcast game. The man who blindsided ESS in 2002 with an audacious $ 208 million sweep on seven-year ICC rights for the Indian subcontinent, that too when News Corp owned the global rights, has made a fresh cricket play.
Set India has secured New Zealand cricket telecast rights for the next four years. Sony‘s winning bid: $ 50 million.
Speaking exclusively to Indiantelevision.com, Set India CEO Kunal Dasgupta, while refusing comment on the price paid, confirmed the acquisition.
That makes three boards - England, Australia (both with ESPN Star Sports) and New Zealand - where telecast rights have been secured for the next four-five years. Which leaves Pakistan, Sri Lanka, West Indies, South Africa and Zimbabwe that remain to be locked into long term deals.
Queried as to whether Sony would be bidding for any of these boards as and when they opened up, Dasgupta replied in the affirmative. That‘s not all. The way the ongoing Twenty20 World Cup has caught the fancy of viewers has got the portly Set India CEO more than interested. "We will also be bidding for the BCCI‘s Indian Premier League and the Champions Twenty20 League," Dasgupta asserts.
The Indian Premier League (IPL), structured as a franchisee-based Twenty20 Series, is scheduled to kick off in April 2008. The final leg of the competition, which will be run by the four cricket boards of India, England, Australia and South Africa, is called ‘Champions Twenty20 League‘ and will be held in October 2008.
Sony‘s acquisition of the New Zealand cricket rights harks back to what the broadcaster did in the late ‘90s, wherein it had the rights to Sri Lanka cricket. It may also be recalled that when Max launched as a cricket and movies channel in 1999, it had the Sharjah rights as its key cricketing property.
On Thursday, Social Services Minister Paul Merriman said the province hopes to apologize to Sixties Scoop survivors by year's end, and that he's working with survivors to make sure that timeline works for them.
Saskatchewan's social services minister says the province hopes to apologize to Sixties Scoop survivors by year's end.
Paul Merriman said Thursday he's working with survivors to make sure that timeline works for them.
The provincial government had already promised to deliver an apology during this legislative session.
About 20,000 Indigenous children were seized from their birth families and relocated to non-Indigenous homes from the 1950s to the late 1980s. The practice stripped children of their language, culture and family ties.
Alberta and Manitoba have already apologized for their role in the apprehensions.