Monday, May 24, 2010

Shimon Peres asks Dalton McGuinty for meeting of minds

May 24, 2010

Robert Benzie      
Queen's Park Bureau Chief     

JERUSALEM—Israeli President Shimon Peres has made Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty an offer he can't refuse.

In an extraordinary one-hour meeting, which was open to the media travelling with McGuinty, the Nobel Prize-winning Peres asked Ontario to partner with Israel on leading-edge brain research.

"I would like to suggest to you something that doesn't exist between countries," the Israeli head of state told the premier at Beit Hanassi, the presidential palace here.

"Let's make as a start a virtual research institute between Toronto ... Ontario and Israel," said Peres, whose passion for aviation, agriculture and nanotechnology has vaulted Israel into the forefront of those fields.

"We should have a small secretariat. There will be a group of scientists ... not an administration. It would finance ideas, it would get financing and the fruits would be sweet," Peres said, recommending it be funded by the private sector.

"So if you are ready for it we can take three scientists from each side, right?"

McGuinty, who later admitted Peres' proposal came as "a complete surprise," flashed a grin as the two men sat with their officials.

"You don't waste any time, do you?" said the premier.

Shot back the 87-year-old president: "Time is so short .... I don't waste time."

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

here is a good topic for this "brain research"

try to figure out how the world's ultimate victims became some of the world's worst oppressors in a couple of generations