tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-85892579040355943812011-10-01T16:19:52.825-03:00Canada vs. US culture, politics, lifestyleShaunhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00819386247211202874noreply@blogger.comBlogger2871100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8589257904035594381.post-80492432132422610502011-05-28T20:33:00.009-03:002011-05-28T20:47:50.947-03:00

I decided to make one last post to this blog, and it's about why I'm staying in Canada. From an objective standpoint, Canada isn't without it's problems and disappointments. Winters are brutal here in Fredericton, NB. But if you look at where Canada ranks in the OECD's 'Better Life' index, which is a measure of 'quality of life' based on official data from all OECD countries, you'll know why I'm

Shaunhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00819386247211202874noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8589257904035594381.post-78075895459970977922011-05-07T19:36:00.022-03:002011-05-15T21:48:54.562-03:00

I promised myself that I wouldn't write about the Canadian Federal Election 2011 until after the election was over. That's because I was directly involved as a volunteer for an MP Green Party campaign in Fredericton NB, and I wanted to keep my opinions and observations separate from my work as a volunteer.I certainly learned a great deal during this election, including two new words in the

Shaunhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00819386247211202874noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8589257904035594381.post-74005382444438752342011-04-04T22:56:00.004-03:002011-04-04T23:00:49.127-03:00

Cornel West speaks the truth about Obama, the Corporate State and the American empire.

Shaunhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00819386247211202874noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8589257904035594381.post-34736007837695063382011-03-16T13:42:00.008-03:002011-03-21T16:21:41.894-03:00

Private Bradley Manning is gay. Bradley was arrested in May 2010 and is being held at the Brig in Quantico, Virginia, charged with 22 crimes related to his alleged involvement in the "Wiki-leaks" affair. Bradley is awaiting trail and has never been convicted of any of these crimes. Yet, he is being tortured: held in solitary confinement 23 hours per day, no contact with the outside world,

Shaunhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00819386247211202874noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8589257904035594381.post-4331978257547614742011-02-19T17:28:00.010-04:002011-02-19T18:41:51.531-04:00

The Canadian Parliament will be moved into a greenhouse structure, attached to the original Parliament building, in 2018. They will deliberate and conduct business in the greenhouse while the old building is renovated and asbestos is removed. The Parliament is scheduled to remain there for several years while the renovations are completed. Subsequently, the greenhouse will continue to be used for

Shaunhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00819386247211202874noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8589257904035594381.post-87763584729813609982011-02-11T15:51:00.003-04:002011-02-11T15:59:41.668-04:00

The revolution in Egypt could also spark a revolt in the US. All the conditions in the US are ripe for it: high unemployment, homelessness, increasing food and gas prices, and an unresponsive government that is selling America by the pound to Wall Street speculators and banksters. The only difference: it is not the revolutionary Left that will revolt in the US, but the extreme radical RIGHT: the

Shaunhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00819386247211202874noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8589257904035594381.post-14392570389503344312011-01-29T14:13:00.018-04:002011-02-03T22:02:31.655-04:00

I stopped paying attention to political speech years ago because I had always assumed that what politicians said had a direct relationship with the policies they enact; and then I was angry when their policies failed to match their rhetoric. Political speech and political policies have nothing to do with each other. Political speech creates a political culture that is part of the broader

Shaunhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00819386247211202874noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8589257904035594381.post-90951621958911292512011-01-03T08:07:00.010-04:002011-01-29T10:37:29.647-04:00

There’s lots of talk about gay marriage, more so in America where it’s illegal, less so in Canada where it’s a done deal and therefore a moot topic, from the point of view of the victors. There’s also lots of talk Against Marriage by queers of all stripes. Much of the anti-marriage discussion is also anti-monogamy, voiced by advocates of polyamory, and I wholeheartedly agree with most of it. The

Shaunhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00819386247211202874noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8589257904035594381.post-16035394114968223362010-12-27T14:44:00.016-04:002010-12-28T15:04:59.894-04:00

Bill McKibben suggested in Deep Economy that America could cut its carbon emissions in half, not by going back to primitive village life and donning hair shirts, but by becoming more likeEurope, which has half the carbon emissions of the US (and per capita, Canada, for that matter). An article by George Marshall in New Internationalist Magazine makes the case that Britains could cut their carbon

Shaunhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00819386247211202874noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8589257904035594381.post-56346113010482410262010-12-25T13:38:00.005-04:002010-12-26T16:05:48.350-04:00

Watch Micahael Moore take on the fundamentalist Baptist repressors: What I like about this short film is that it shows that fierceness works. If queers get bold enough to shove their queerness in the faces of the homophobes, the haters and repressers back off. Of course, Michael is portraying himself and his campaign in a triumphalist narrative. But his thesis that being visible and loud is the

Shaunhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00819386247211202874noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8589257904035594381.post-92196098208012234622010-11-19T23:36:00.017-04:002010-11-20T10:44:37.706-04:00

Queer activists in the US are fighting against the campaign for gay marriage because they see it as classist, heteronormative, and sucking all the energy and money of the gay community into a single issue. They see marriage as a conservative agenda, that securing the right to marry further privatizes health care and doesn't end job discrimination. On the other hand, I can see that gay marriage is

Shaunhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00819386247211202874noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8589257904035594381.post-24535976592410779192010-10-28T16:19:00.010-03:002010-10-29T18:19:31.289-03:00

President Obama has dropped a hint that maybe, someday, just maybe, he will support gay marriage. He dropped this hint six days before before the First Tuesday in November. Wow, the Dems must be in the toilet--they're actually trolling for the gay vote. Yes, the Big O has hinted that Gay Marriage might be acceptable--under certain conditions: you must be a monogamous breeder with a middle-class

Shaunhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00819386247211202874noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8589257904035594381.post-38528266366910184472010-09-30T16:52:00.006-03:002010-10-02T15:01:49.712-03:00

Charles Mandel, "What's Left?" editorial in HERE, Sept. 30: "Ideally, the Greens should recognize the longer history of the NDP and allow themselves to work with that party—so long as the NDP is willing to abandon their ridiculous platform of imitating Liberals and move itself further to the left. . . embrace a so-called Red-Green alliance. . ." Hey Charles: I agree with most of what you said

Shaunhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00819386247211202874noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8589257904035594381.post-91262743006468800882010-09-13T08:23:00.009-03:002010-09-16T13:40:02.341-03:00

I can't believe what I'm hearing oozing out of every media pore in the Province: election promises to spend more money on programs specifically aimed at each voter constituency; aka, buying votes with tax dollars. The bulk of the promises are made by the Grits and the Pigs. ('Pigs' is my new name for the Progressive Conservatives.) NDP, Greens and People's Alliance/Tea Party are calling for

Shaunhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00819386247211202874noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8589257904035594381.post-9853574275972630882010-08-29T16:25:00.066-03:002010-09-13T08:10:44.537-03:00

Yankee Doodle went to campriding on a ponystuck a feather in his cap and called it macaroni I left at 10 am Friday morning, expecting that it would take all day to bike to Deer Island Point from St. George. It only took three hours including the ferry ride. I loaded up about 60 pounds of camping gear and food on the strong hips and shoulders of my Devinci Trail bike, and she took me where I

Shaunhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00819386247211202874noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8589257904035594381.post-66311572028995363782010-08-23T21:43:00.025-03:002010-08-29T14:12:15.174-03:00

I can't get over the Canadian mania for camping. Every native Canadian, it seems, is born with a hockey stick in hand and immediately swaddled in a sleeping bag and a tent. As I bike around my neighbourhood, whether in Fredericton or St. George, I see young Canucks setting up tents on their front lawns. They like to sleep in tents in the summer, even if it's right outside their own bungalows. Ok,

Shaunhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00819386247211202874noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8589257904035594381.post-38878670141529278772010-07-31T12:44:00.012-03:002010-07-31T15:02:52.076-03:00

In this blog, I have alternately praised and whined about life in the Province of New Brunswick. New Brunswick has a distressingly high rate of illiteracy (almost 60%) and too few adults who complete secondary school or enter university. Because of its small rural population, entrenched poverty and resource-based economy, New Brunswick is the West Virginia of Canada. I would like to see it become

Shaunhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00819386247211202874noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8589257904035594381.post-6240831480995740172010-07-14T19:32:00.002-03:002010-07-19T08:24:31.288-03:00

The American Fascists call themselves "Dominionists" whose goal is to establish a Christian theocratic state by taking control of branches of government, the military, major media, mainstream and evangelical churches, and social service organizations. Chris Hedges reveals this movement in a speech at the Cambridge Forum. It is a profound reading of the American political landscape that reveals

Shaunhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00819386247211202874noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8589257904035594381.post-24945643152497888492010-07-06T22:25:00.009-03:002010-07-31T12:39:32.235-03:00

Some recent visitors to New Brunswick complained that there was "nothing to do" in Fredericton. That's an impression you might have if your usual vacation involves casinos, hotels and theme parks, where everything is arranged for you and all you have to do is consume. But that's not New Brunswick. I absolutely love Fredericton, as much as (or more) than I love St. George, and the gorgeous 1-

Shaunhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00819386247211202874noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8589257904035594381.post-67650431990771060702010-07-06T18:58:00.018-03:002010-07-12T21:58:19.047-03:00

For my birthday on May 22, I attended the annual Hippy Clambake in St. George. It's put on by Harry and Martha Bryan, a couple of generous ex-pat hippies who left the US during the Viet Nam War 40 years ago. They live completely off the grid in St. George, NB. As you might expect, they are considered the local gurus of sustainability. Harry and Martha built this piece of paradise on the

Shaunhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00819386247211202874noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8589257904035594381.post-39828022717138274562010-06-20T20:46:00.005-03:002010-07-07T06:32:55.612-03:00

Stevoid and the Conservoids are down again for a third time in a row in the polls. Nobody has the lead because nobody has a leader or a party worth caring about, except, in my opinion, Elizabeth May and the Greens; but they'll always be just outside the fence. Stevoid is polling so low that he couldn't even put together a minority government. So now the talk is a UK-like coalition of Conservoid/

Shaunhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00819386247211202874noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8589257904035594381.post-87081126446165287282010-06-19T22:15:00.016-03:002010-07-10T22:09:36.243-03:00

How can one say what needs to be said, what one deeply feels, about the BP Gulf oil spill? Daily streams of outrage don't seem to be enough, don't seem to capture the sense of powerlessness and despair. Naomi Klein manages in one short essay to capture some of the depth of feeling that is so critical to feel, otherwise we would simply become stupefied with numbness: "If Katrina pulled back the

Shaunhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00819386247211202874noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8589257904035594381.post-38793469069836591432010-06-09T06:47:00.007-03:002010-06-10T19:24:14.003-03:00

Wed. May 5, from Reuters/Politico: "BP and its employees have given more than $3.5 million to federal candidates over the past 20 years, with the largest chunk of their money going to Obama, according to the Center for Responsive Politics. Donations come from a mix of employees and the company's political action committees - $2.89 million flowed to campaigns from BP-related PACs and about

Shaunhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00819386247211202874noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8589257904035594381.post-58693408251228090642010-03-31T08:59:00.019-03:002010-04-10T12:32:28.858-03:00

Democracy Now featured an interview with Mark Potok of the Southern Poverty Law Center who has been tracking extreme Right groups and militia in America for the last two decades. The most recent escalation of the militia groups is the Christian militia known as The Hutaree, based in Michigan. The Hutaree have set up training camps in Michigan, Ohio and Indiana. Their training includes use of full

Shaunhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00819386247211202874noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8589257904035594381.post-64015970485731858142010-03-24T07:34:00.012-03:002010-03-31T08:58:33.282-03:00

What was I thinking when I picked New Brunswick as the place to settle after crossing the border into Canada? Knowing what I do about complex systems and peak oil, why did I pick a Province that is owned by one giant family-owned corporation whose main profits are in the oil and gas industries? Admittedly, I didn't know much about complex systems until I got here and studied it at UNB. But I

Shaunhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00819386247211202874noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8589257904035594381.post-74536922197610834512010-03-22T10:10:00.013-03:002010-03-22T14:14:10.515-03:00

The Big 0 got his health insurance bill passed, which will cover an additional 32 million people who don't currently have insurance--by 2019. Don't believe me? read the Guardian UK. It forces people to buy insurance who can't afford it and subsidizes some of them, either by qualifying them for Medicare or offering a federal subsidy—in 2014. Guardian: "While the budget office estimates the bill

Shaunhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00819386247211202874noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8589257904035594381.post-54660106539053948922010-02-08T15:05:00.009-04:002010-02-13T10:46:52.152-04:00

"How's all that 'hopey, changey' stuff workin' for ya?" So says Sara Palin in her address to the first national Tea Party convention in Nashville, TN. And as much as you and I hate Sara Palin and all that she stands for, I have to admit that on this point she's absolutely right on. Once again the Democrats have crapped out and the extreme Right is taking the position that Americans want most.

Shaunhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00819386247211202874noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8589257904035594381.post-8878382647048448332010-01-25T16:08:00.025-04:002010-02-13T10:48:07.837-04:00

A moment of silence, please, for democracy in North America. Democracy is yet another institution in America that has become zombified, the walking dead. The US Supreme Court has ruled that a corporation is a person and, under the First Amendment, may spend unlimited amounts of money on advertising to promote the political candidate favoured by the corporation. This is nothing less than the end

Shaunhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00819386247211202874noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8589257904035594381.post-76495239330728491782010-01-17T21:08:00.019-04:002010-01-20T21:11:40.762-04:00

I've been listening to Canadian radio stations and podcasts for about a year now, and I've noticed something very peculiar: Canadian music is very, well, Canadian. It is totally distinct from American music, although it shares similar roots and influences. I'm surprised at how much it doesn't sound like American music. Being right next door to the biggest music scene in the world, you would

Shaunhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00819386247211202874noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8589257904035594381.post-11966803387119849282009-12-19T14:36:00.003-04:002009-12-19T14:46:24.921-04:00

The US Senate has passed its own health insurance reform bill. This bill will go to conference with the House bill in January. The following summary is from an article in the Washington Post. --NO public option: this bill gives insurance companies a right to market their policies nationwide, across state lines, to people who are not already covered by an employee plan;--Preexisting conditions

Shaunhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00819386247211202874noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8589257904035594381.post-47387683738161540282009-12-03T19:00:00.047-04:002009-12-05T12:30:56.838-04:00

I'm not going to bother to echo the outrage that most people feel about the Big O's third ramp up of the war in Afghanistan even by his most ardent supporters. You can see that in the latest interview with Denis Kucinich and others on Democracy Now, Dec. 2. It's the same order of hypocrisy as his acceptance of the Nobel Peace Prize in Oslo next week, which if he had any real integrity, he would

Shaunhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00819386247211202874noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8589257904035594381.post-79866127212463964582009-11-30T23:04:00.004-04:002009-12-02T06:55:46.516-04:00

Can this be happening? St. George, New Brunswick was in the news again, this time on TV. David Suzuki continued his CBC series "The Nature of Things" with a new twist: Coastal Canada. I saw the show on Sunday Nov. 29. The map on the screen showed two locations, one in Nova Scotia, and—ta-da!—St. George, New Brunswick. He interviewed Glen Cooke, VP Cooke's Aquatics. Cooke's has a salmon farm off

Shaunhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00819386247211202874noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8589257904035594381.post-25180929380824370252009-11-21T14:40:00.016-04:002009-11-22T15:25:20.172-04:00

I saw the story about Private Bethany Smith, 21 years old, also known as Skylar James, on CBC's Connect show on 20 Nov. 09. (Ottawa Citizen story here.) Bethany is a young lesbian soldier who was outed in the Army, and then, as a result, was harassed, hazed and beaten by fellow soldiers. Finally, she heard one day that a gang of soldiers was planning to come to her room at night and beat her to

Shaunhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00819386247211202874noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8589257904035594381.post-61259405170314004142009-11-14T14:37:00.005-04:002009-11-15T09:07:56.993-04:00

The Ebenezer Scrooge Carbon Reduction Plan 1. Am I obliged to give you a day off every 15th of December so you can go to Copenhagen to protest at the climate change conference? I suppose if I didn’t you would think yourself ill used. 2. The Middling Classes should buy as much stuff as possible so the Rich will be rich enough to afford all that expensive technology, like carbon capture and storage

Shaunhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00819386247211202874noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8589257904035594381.post-20100313310386830352009-11-09T10:50:00.006-04:002009-11-09T16:37:39.211-04:00

Rep. Dennis Kucinich voted against the House Health Care Reform bill. He called it "a bailout under a blue cross": "[I]nstead of working toward the elimination of for-profit insurance, H.R. 3962 would put the government in the role of accelerating the privatization of health care. In H.R. 3962, the government is requiring at least 21 million Americans to buy private health insurance from the very

Shaunhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00819386247211202874noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8589257904035594381.post-80406073330345146632009-11-05T21:18:00.004-04:002009-11-07T07:14:34.210-04:00

Journalist Greg Gordon of McClatchy DC newspapers was interviewed on Demcracy Now on Goldman Sach's scheme to "short" the housing market. In other words, they bought millions in subprime loans, but knew those loans would go 'under water' within a year. They packaged those mortgages as AAA bonds and sold them to other investors. At the same time, they bought credit default swaps from AIG, betting

Shaunhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00819386247211202874noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8589257904035594381.post-33366013550579987482009-11-05T14:53:00.006-04:002009-11-05T17:16:49.188-04:00

The Big O has a tiny coattail. Despite Obama's campaigning vigorously for Democratic candidates for Governor of Virginia and New Jersey, they lost to Republicans. What was most unexpected was that the two groups that supported Obama's campaign, youth and African-Americans, failed to turn out in sufficient numbers to vote for Democratic candidates. Not only did they not vote Democratic, they

Shaunhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00819386247211202874noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8589257904035594381.post-83215360024548653762009-11-04T08:20:00.009-04:002009-11-05T21:40:17.222-04:00

Little St. George, New Brunswick, my home away from home, made the front page of the Globe and Mail on Halloween this year. I had read the article in the online paper, and was amazed that it even got a mention, but then I saw the printed newspaper and guess what: St. George was on the front page! Lower section, right top corner. It's probably the first time in history that St. George ever made

Shaunhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00819386247211202874noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8589257904035594381.post-85433265297175209412009-11-03T18:13:00.007-04:002009-11-03T19:02:21.860-04:00

3-10-09: An entire junior men's hockey team, the Mocton Wildcats, was vaccinated for H1N1 in the first week of October, before anyone else. 25 men. So much for "medical science." It just shows you they have enough vaccine to inoculate whoever they choose to inoculate. Calling all dykes, fags and queers--it's time to get angry. Again. . . the Calgary Flames Hockey Team, and all their families,

Shaunhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00819386247211202874noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8589257904035594381.post-54201462932667917552009-11-02T21:37:00.011-04:002009-11-21T21:36:29.577-04:00

Democracy Now interviewed Rob Johnson, former chief economist for the Senate Banking Committee and Senate Budget Chairman, who was invited to speak at a House Financial Services Subcommittee on a bill to reform the derivatives market. Five minutes into his testimony, he was shut off and told that his remarks would be published online as comment on the bill. Two weeks later his statement has not

Shaunhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00819386247211202874noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8589257904035594381.post-16417153939984525942009-10-31T16:09:00.018-03:002009-11-05T17:58:28.909-04:00

I went to get vaccinated this morning for H1N1 at Fredericton High School. Initially it had been announced that people with chronic disease conditions would be among those who were vaccinated first. I had called the Province's H1N1 information line two weeks ago to see if chronic asthma was a priority for vaccination. I was told at the time that it was. I even called my own health clinic and was

Shaunhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00819386247211202874noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8589257904035594381.post-5690965744978016802009-10-26T11:04:00.004-03:002009-10-26T19:23:33.809-03:00

I took the liberty of quoting this article by Colin Horgan in the Guardian UK/America. It's one of the rare articles on Canadian politics, most being about Obama's America. But it draws a sharp contrast between American politics in its current condition and Canadian politics. In Canada, there is no future, so there is no discussion about where we want to go. There is only apathy and dead silence.

Shaunhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00819386247211202874noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8589257904035594381.post-31401723623584275042009-10-20T21:03:00.006-03:002009-10-20T21:26:13.383-03:00

In the vein of "more proof that things are getting better" in America, Democracy Now aired a segment on 15 Oct. interviewing William Black, professor of economics who investigated the S & L crisis in the late 80s, and who just wrote a new book on the Wall Street/Big Bank fiasco: The Best Way to Rob a Bank is to Own One. Incidentally, Black was also featured in Michael Moore's film, Capitalism, a

Shaunhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00819386247211202874noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8589257904035594381.post-67616093618088277592009-10-13T20:29:00.011-03:002009-10-14T08:48:03.158-03:00

Question: Should Obama have received the Nobel Peace Prize? Answer: Yes, of course: because it highlights in pink neon what a complete hypocrite he is. This is so simple its almost a no-brainer. Like most people, I had an initial reaction of shock and awe to the announcement that he won the Nobel Peace Prize. After a period of WTF?!!, I thought about it some more. What better way to prove to

Shaunhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00819386247211202874noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8589257904035594381.post-63245237605178935062009-10-09T22:01:00.004-03:002009-10-11T16:39:44.465-03:00

It's too weird. I can't get used to having Thanksgiving before Halloween. I'm not used to having Thanksgiving the second week of October. We always had Columbus Day on this weekend, the one day of the year for Italian-Americans to celebrate. Or if you hated Columbus, it was National Indigenous People's Day. Either way, it wasn't Thanksgiving. So then we had Halloween at the end of the month,

Shaunhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00819386247211202874noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8589257904035594381.post-11825164635055994622009-10-05T22:25:00.008-03:002009-10-05T22:56:16.308-03:00

If you needed more proof on how just wonderful things are in the US of A, the Independent UK is reporting that within eight years, oil will no longer be traded in dollars, but in a basket of currencies. "In the most profound financial change in recent Middle East history, Gulf Arabs are planning – along with China, Russia, Japan and France – to end dollar dealings for oil, moving instead to a

Shaunhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00819386247211202874noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8589257904035594381.post-43780362843301968562009-10-05T21:05:00.008-03:002009-10-05T21:32:31.839-03:00

The Wall Street Journal's article details Deutsche Bank's latest report: "The Peak Oil Market" WE DON'T HAVE TO WAIT ANY LONGER. PEAK OIL IS HERE. LET'S STOP THE EXCUSES AND START REMAKING OUR LIVES FOR A LIVABLE FUTURE. Here’s an intriguing thought: Global oil supplies are indeed set to peak within a few years, and no, that is not bullish for oil. Quite the contrary—it will spell the end of

Shaunhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00819386247211202874noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8589257904035594381.post-29238364330022775932009-09-29T23:27:00.010-03:002009-09-30T00:04:56.024-03:00

To an American, Canadians are more different than you think. I went to a lecture a few days ago and mentioned that I was new in the country. Another ex-pat American came up to me afterwards, eager to meet me. Within 2 seconds he was telling me about his ex-wife, his life back in Virginia, how he came to this country, and his political opinions. I felt completely at ease with him and told him

Shaunhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00819386247211202874noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8589257904035594381.post-55771111278848870122009-09-25T20:59:00.007-03:002009-09-29T23:47:45.122-03:00

Back on the streets of Providence, RI, where I grew up, we used to throw around a slang name to describe someone who was a goof, a stunard, in street Napolitan: Joe Bag-o-Donuts. You had to be pretty dumb to get that name. It was reserved for old guidos and stupid cops who spent too much time at donut shops. Well, Stevoid, you earned it, man. You deserve it. What else would you call a Prime

Shaunhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00819386247211202874noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8589257904035594381.post-62014298882253739252009-09-23T07:41:00.008-03:002009-09-25T13:14:51.185-03:00

Democracy Now's most recent interview with ex-presidential candidate Ralph Nader packed a real surprise for both Amy Goodman and viewers: he's gone totally off the rails. His latest book, 'Only the Super Rich Can Save Us", is not what you would expect. It's NOT a biting satire of how the Super Rich rule the US and the world. It's a cloying recruitment device to get certain rich celebrities, like

Shaunhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00819386247211202874noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8589257904035594381.post-20119258377709050272009-09-22T23:56:00.004-03:002009-09-23T00:03:09.505-03:00

In case you were wondering about the last bit of climate flap in the NYT article by chief climate change denier Andrew Revken, who claims that global temps will remain flat for the next decade and perhaps even cool a bit, here's the link to ClimateProgress.org which straightens out the whole mess with real data from authoritative sources, primarily NASA. Yes, this really is The Age of Stupid.

Shaunhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00819386247211202874noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8589257904035594381.post-43990145825800150012009-09-18T23:21:00.006-03:002009-09-19T13:07:59.465-03:00

I'm almost sure now that I was right: the Liberals don't want an election right away. They're stalling, and they're counting on the NDP to do their dirty work for them. So maybe Iggy is smart enough to run the game. Strategy 1: make NDP the stool pigeons who support the Tories; 2. take the credit for opposing Harper; 3. get the support of Dippers who are pissed off at Jack and 4. take enough NDP

Shaunhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00819386247211202874noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8589257904035594381.post-37438906041111366052009-09-15T20:50:00.007-03:002009-09-25T20:40:03.637-03:00

a movie about Charles Darwin's life cannot get a US distributor because only 39% of the US population believes in the theory of evolution. By contrast, the Darwin film, called Creation, opened the Toronto International Film Festival. Tana Geneva, on Alternet, said about the film phenomenon and its lack of a US distributor: "This is the kind of thing that makes it really easy to rant about

Shaunhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00819386247211202874noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8589257904035594381.post-9316362012813643032009-09-13T21:02:00.006-03:002009-09-13T21:18:40.513-03:00

A report to be released by Greenpeace spells out the cost to Canadian taxpayers of developing and using carbon capture and storage for oilsands production: two to three billion dollars a year for the next 20 years. The technology, developed for coal-burning power plants, captures emissions from the "smokestack", or the refining stage. The report shows that carbon emissions from the tarsands

Shaunhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00819386247211202874noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8589257904035594381.post-17681978508742984232009-09-13T13:07:00.003-03:002009-09-13T13:15:03.982-03:00

Guardian America revealed a joint plan by China and the US to control the "cleantech" market for clean[er] energy technology: smart grids, coal gassification, hybrid and electric cars, etc. Some of the deal has already been inked; more will be finalized at the Davos World Economic Forum in November, and the frosting on the cake will appear in Copenhagen in December. But don't forget that alot

Shaunhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00819386247211202874noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8589257904035594381.post-29932297607332959032009-09-10T07:21:00.007-03:002009-09-21T21:13:23.139-03:00

Early poll results show that Iggy's numbers have gone down since he announced the Grit's plan to topple Harper's government. I'm not sure that's such a problem because I'm not convinced that the Grits necessarily want an election this year. Since this erupted on September 1, it occurred to me that Iggy might just be using the announcement of a possible election to start airing campaign-type ads

Shaunhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00819386247211202874noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8589257904035594381.post-90042581544254751012009-09-08T20:42:00.003-03:002009-09-08T20:48:58.583-03:00

Here's a beautiful but sad video by R.E.M. and MoveOn showing why people in the US can't wait for health CARE reform (as opposed to "insurance" reform) and why the US needs a public option. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8GoFj8Fc9iM

Shaunhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00819386247211202874noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8589257904035594381.post-5452020380332528052009-09-06T10:50:00.007-03:002009-09-06T19:56:59.746-03:00

Jeff Rubin, who wrote Why Your World Is About to Get A Whole Lot Smaller , which I read and highly recommend, predicts that the now ensuing recovery around the world (except, alarmingly, the United States), will trigger a price rise in oil to triple-digits by 2011. This article in Rigzone, an oil industry publication, lays out Rubin's argument succinctly. At the Farmer's Market in Fredericton on

Shaunhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00819386247211202874noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8589257904035594381.post-71917661955432997102009-09-03T15:52:00.004-03:002009-09-04T17:47:44.962-03:00

Hallelujiah. The Irving Papers are reporting that support for the New Democrat Party (aka socialist democrats, for my US readers) has gone up in New Brunswick since the NDP won control of the Province of Nova Scotia. Support for the Liberals remained the same. Just as in last year's federal election, the NDP are displacing the Conservatives, not the Liberals. Atlantic Canadians are slowly

Shaunhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00819386247211202874noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8589257904035594381.post-60802652317026193112009-09-02T23:03:00.011-03:002009-09-03T07:38:42.760-03:00

The Liberals want an election in October. Iggy wants to go for a spin on his new party-mobile. Let's see just how fast this sucker can go. Under. i actually would like Iggy to win over Stevoid. I don't think the Liberal policies will be any better, or even any different, but I'm just tired of looking at Stevoid's stupid mug. He's an embarrassment to Canadians, much like Shrub was an excruciating

Shaunhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00819386247211202874noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8589257904035594381.post-52981819547686328852009-09-02T19:57:00.003-03:002009-09-06T15:13:37.110-03:00

Deomcracy Now reports that the US EPA has finally ruled that excess C02 emissions are pollution and must be regulated under the Clean Air Act. At least the categorical delusion and denial has ended. Whether this results in any substantial action or reduction remains to be seen. But kudos for taking Step One. EPA to Designate CO2 a Pollutant; Senate Delays Climate BillAnd the Environmental

Shaunhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00819386247211202874noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8589257904035594381.post-71419705674074782012009-08-31T12:36:00.003-03:002009-08-31T12:51:25.478-03:00

In a sure sign that "things are getting better" since the Chosen One took office, the City of Newark, New Jersey is shutting off its water supply to thousands of its city residents this Monday morning. Homeowners and landlords who have unpaid water bills of $1000 or more are having their water service shut off to cover a $29 million shortfall in uncollected fees. Too bad if you're just an

Shaunhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00819386247211202874noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8589257904035594381.post-1947586670895241472009-08-31T12:09:00.005-03:002009-08-31T12:33:54.642-03:00

A bill before the Senate allows the President to seize control of the Internet in event of a "cyber-emergency," reports Democracy Now. Obama Administration Seeks “Emergency Control” of the Internet The website CNet is reporting internet companies and civil liberties groups are alarmed over a Senate bill that appears to permit the president to seize temporary control of private-sector

Shaunhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00819386247211202874noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8589257904035594381.post-37229899573236111892009-08-29T14:30:00.006-03:002009-09-03T07:33:27.052-03:00

I talked to my brother Joe the other day, who lives in Glendale, California. He works in the film industry in Hollywood, on the tech/post-production end. He told me that the State of California plans to release 27,000 non-violent offenders in fiscal year 2009-2010, and another 35,000 in fiscal year 2010-11. Two reasons: one, the budget. California cannot afford to house, feed and clothe all these

Shaunhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00819386247211202874noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8589257904035594381.post-12200430727964898432009-08-25T16:21:00.012-03:002009-08-29T14:30:04.059-03:00

Since I've been here in Canada for eight months, my view of America has gotten a bit weirder, albeit, America has gotten a bit weirder as well. As an ex-pat, I now see the US as the greatest and longest-running 24-7 Reality TV Show on Earth. And Canada? It's "The Quiet Couple Next Door." We live next to the loud, melt-down Americans, and even though they're violent and obnoxious, we don't want to

Shaunhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00819386247211202874noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8589257904035594381.post-41793710020603189052009-08-24T14:24:00.006-03:002009-08-24T14:38:24.125-03:00

The Big O, who once swore that tar sands oil was "too dirty" for the US, has approved construction of the "Alberta Clipper" pipeline that would pipe unrefined tar sands bitumen to Wisconsin for refining and distribution. Canada thus becomes a giant IV bag hooked up to the zombie US economy, keeping the brain-dead cadaver alive for just a bit longer . . . Meanwhile, the courageous Cree First

Shaunhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00819386247211202874noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8589257904035594381.post-72021638577117859472009-08-22T17:08:00.002-03:002009-08-22T17:14:21.153-03:00

This is one of the grim statistics I've been expecting: an increase in suicides due to the economic downturn. Figures from the US Dept. of Labor show that there has been increase in the number of suicides that take place at work; it rose 28% to it's highest rate in US history.

Shaunhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00819386247211202874noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8589257904035594381.post-43422866817455621352009-08-18T12:43:00.007-03:002009-08-24T14:23:09.291-03:00

US troops are being sent back to Iraq, ostensibly to "prevent" violence between northern Iraqis and the Kurds. How's that for double-speak? "The US military plans to send thousands of American soldiers back to the oil-rich north of Iraq to prevent a civil war between Arabs and Kurds. The emergency move, which partially reverses a recent drawing- down, is the first major sign that President

Shaunhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00819386247211202874noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8589257904035594381.post-66580478806678660592009-08-18T12:19:00.005-03:002009-08-18T12:30:04.686-03:00

The Big O admits that DOMA discriminates against LGBT, BUT his Justice Dept. urged dismissal of a lawsuit that challenges DOMA. The Big O thinks Congress should repeal the act. So tell me 0, how long before HELL FREEZES OVER?

Shaunhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00819386247211202874noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8589257904035594381.post-14455756084262161612009-08-17T14:28:00.004-03:002009-08-18T12:06:27.573-03:00

Nix the public option. It's not official yet, but this is the wake before the final burial.Guardian UK reports that Obama Administration is prepared to drop the "public option" for heatlhcare insurance.

Shaunhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00819386247211202874noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8589257904035594381.post-17446682558457451492009-08-17T13:47:00.003-03:002009-08-17T13:55:36.122-03:00

Since the hot weather finally got here, we've been going to Katy's Cove in St. Andrews, New Brusnwick, almost daily. It's a small, clean, cozy beach with a lifeguard, docks, changing houses and facilities, and get this: no motorboats allowed. It's never crowded and only costs $2 to get in. The water temperature, unlike the rest of the Fundy Bay, is a perfect 22 Celsius, or 70 degrees Fahrenheit.

Shaunhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00819386247211202874noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8589257904035594381.post-79091634006049249742009-08-13T13:34:00.008-03:002009-08-13T22:29:13.194-03:00

Ok, now I get it. What explains a lot about the current US health care debate is Democracy Now's interview with Jeff Sharlet concerning his investigation of a Christian fundamentalist totalitarian organization based in Washington DC that counts many Senators, Congressmen and Governors among it's active members. The group known alternatively as "The Family" and "The Fellowship", have a house on C

Shaunhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00819386247211202874noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8589257904035594381.post-69733908071803781182009-08-11T15:57:00.008-03:002009-08-11T16:08:12.762-03:00

And another round of bank failures is immanent as "smaller" US banks, somewhat more diminutive than the global gargantuans who are eating our economy for lunch, are loaded with "toxic" assets in the form of bad commercial loans, to the tune of 1.5 trillion dollars. So reports the Guardian UK. Read it yourself and laugh at the whole "green shoots: the recession is over" script from American

Shaunhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00819386247211202874noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8589257904035594381.post-5731022406133158142009-08-11T15:32:00.011-03:002009-08-14T11:25:15.428-03:00

Here's an article from that van guard of radical economics, Business Week magazine, exposing the new cadre of fraudulent, quasi-criminal "securities" that the FrankenBanks are peddling to cash-strapped corporations who can't get financing anywhere else, and idiots who still believe in investing. For more background, listen to James Howard Kunstler's KunstlerCast #73: The Horse Lattitudes of Our

Shaunhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00819386247211202874noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8589257904035594381.post-24270236012171872652009-08-10T17:32:00.008-03:002009-08-10T18:36:42.895-03:00

I just don't get it. For all the issues that people could be up in arms about—skyrocketing unemployment and homelessness, handing over their entire future national fortune to Wall Street crooks—the one issue that Americans choose to fight about is health care reform. And they're not fighting FOR health care reform—god no, that would make too much sense. They're fighting AGAINST health care reform

Shaunhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00819386247211202874noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8589257904035594381.post-45223760485360652482009-08-07T14:25:00.006-03:002009-08-08T16:59:05.757-03:00

The Atlantic is reporting that job losses in the US are the worst since the Great Depression. Their chart shows that job losses almost equal those of the Great Depression, and the losses haven't stopped yet. The only reason the numbers have been better lately is because the bean counters stopped counting unemployed that they consider "marginally attached." In other words, people that gave up

Shaunhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00819386247211202874noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8589257904035594381.post-65922929370294700232009-08-06T11:02:00.003-03:002009-08-06T11:07:47.689-03:00

Another fabulous article from Guardian America: an anti-war activist was set up to spy on peace activists in Washington State and provide information on their activities, "in violation of the Posse Comitatus Act, which prohibits the use of American military forces for domestic law enforcement." This story originally broke on 28 July on Democracy Now, and was later picked up--and buried--in the

Shaunhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00819386247211202874noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8589257904035594381.post-22022907918328004622009-07-31T20:39:00.006-03:002009-08-08T16:03:51.290-03:00

Ok, so I've been here for 7 months and I've said lot's of things that I like about Canada. Now I'm going to list a few things that irk me about Canada: 1.) Canadian drivers are just as bad as US drivers; some are worse. Maybe I'm only talking about New Brunswick, but I suspect it's just as bad in the big cities like Toronto. For all their gentleness and politeness, Canadians are absolute pigs

Shaunhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00819386247211202874noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8589257904035594381.post-91659553288077094422009-07-13T16:31:00.004-03:002009-07-31T20:23:59.536-03:00

The State of the Future report, which will be released next month, warns that "billions of people will be condemned to poverty and much of civilisation will collapse". The report is backed by UNESCO, the US Army, the World Bank, and the Rockefeller Foundation. http://www.independent.co.uk/environment/climate-change/the-planets-future-climate-change-will-cause-civilisation-to-collapse-1742759.

Shaunhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00819386247211202874noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8589257904035594381.post-38041465729857308992009-07-05T18:39:00.006-03:002009-07-05T20:04:36.217-03:00

This is the kind of story that makes me want to cry, not sneer. Obama's administration argued in support of the banks in a major Supreme Court civil rights case that accused the largest US banks of targeting people of color with subprime mortgages. A kind of uber redlining, the Big Banks denied African-Americans and other racial groups access to conventional mortgages, then targeted subprime

Shaunhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00819386247211202874noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8589257904035594381.post-23355177703441251932009-07-03T17:53:00.011-03:002009-07-04T03:22:17.775-03:00

In the "We knew it all along, but it's nice to see it in print" department, Truthout is reporting that the James Baker Institute gave the following advice to Shrub (i.e. GBII): "Two years before the invasion of Iraq, oil executives and foreign policy advisers told the Bush administration that the United States would remain "a prisoner of its energy dilemma" as long as Saddam Hussein was in power.

Shaunhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00819386247211202874noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8589257904035594381.post-83465674789047592322009-07-03T07:39:00.010-03:002009-07-04T03:25:09.643-03:00

Frederiction's Canada Day parade featured immigrant groups that are prominent in the community: Chinese, Koreans, Filipinos, and, surprisingly, Iranians. I had no idea there was such a large group in the City. I happen to love Iranians--I think they're among the most cultured and cosmopolitan of the Muslim peoples. Later I heard a news broadcast about Iran, and something struck me. The

Shaunhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00819386247211202874noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8589257904035594381.post-2034191489518275522009-06-29T16:10:00.007-03:002009-06-29T16:17:32.997-03:00

Last night around 1 a.m., on the anniversary of the Stonewall riots, the Fort Worth Police Department raided the Rainbow Lounge and began randomly handcuffing and arresting patrons and shoving anyone who dared to ask why. It was a sobering reminder that on this pinnacle date in the history of gay rights, we still have a very long way to go. I created this group to give folks a chance to discuss

Shaunhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00819386247211202874noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8589257904035594381.post-45356377375782346902009-06-29T16:02:00.001-03:002009-06-29T16:05:00.816-03:00

It's our first and we're so excited. See you in Fredericton for the big parade!

Shaunhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00819386247211202874noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8589257904035594381.post-82629393092137942009-06-29T15:59:00.003-03:002009-06-29T16:02:33.959-03:00

I have seen the future of the Internet. I call it Web 4.0. It’s in a tiny town called St. George, New Brunswick, population 1800, nestled on the Passamaquoddy Bay. Most of St. George doesn’t have access to the Internet, either by telephone (DSL) or cable. Satellite service is available but it’s expensive, slow and easily knocked out by atmospheric storms. The town’s center, along Main Street, has

Shaunhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00819386247211202874noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8589257904035594381.post-38861244319322330342009-06-20T19:44:00.018-03:002009-06-23T10:39:34.471-03:00

When I got to the small theater at the back of the Curling Club in St. Andrews, I wasn't expecting much. Just a night of warm entertainment from a one-woman show, a small personal act that reaches you at the heart level. But I was blindsided by the amazing virtuosity of Little Miss Higgins. Born in southern Alberta, she was raised in Independence, Kansas, and by god, she had a true Kansas accent,

Shaunhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00819386247211202874noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8589257904035594381.post-89232750296533130382009-06-12T19:37:00.012-03:002009-06-15T14:56:22.477-03:00

Posts are going to be pretty sketchy this summer, if at all. I have nothing but some feeble dial-up from the house in St. George, and that's only for desperation email. So consider this my post for the month of June. BTW, Xplorenet informed me that St. George is very likely to get a fixed wireless tower in a year to 18 months. This is the only service worth buying from Xplorenet and actually

Shaunhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00819386247211202874noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8589257904035594381.post-85741159668170367932009-05-26T17:43:00.001-03:002009-05-29T02:59:08.126-03:00

Finally got a decent wifi connection in St. George down @ the Chicken Coop bar over "Paul's Wharf". It's Thai Tuesdays! Eatin' my Pad Thai while lobstermen in rubber hipboots have their after work beers. [Posted with iBlogger from my iPod touch]

Shaunhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00819386247211202874noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8589257904035594381.post-71096107341082040662009-05-16T23:30:00.007-03:002009-05-29T03:00:10.529-03:00

Happy Victoria Day to all my Canadian friends and all you ex-pat bloggers. This is the first time Vicky :) and I are celebrating Victoria Day, that most Canadian of holidays, other than July 1. But there's something about Victoria Day that's even more Canadian than "Canada Day". Every Commonwealth country celebrates a "national day" like July 1. But how many of the Commonwealth countries (still)

Shaunhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00819386247211202874noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8589257904035594381.post-46175308295253731812009-05-15T23:55:00.003-03:002009-05-16T00:04:00.888-03:00

DO SOMETHING IN YOUR AREA FOR 24 OCTOBER 2009 INTERNATIONAL DAY OF CLIMATE ACTION. CHECK THE WEBSITE. IF THERE'S NO EVENT IN YOUR AREA--ORGANIZE ONE!

Shaunhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00819386247211202874noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8589257904035594381.post-43321256563183105692009-05-15T05:46:00.004-03:002009-05-15T05:55:16.620-03:00

I recommend you watch this video that explains the credit crisis and what to do about itNationalize * Reorganize * Decentralize the banks. The website:A New Way Forwardhttp://www.anewwayforward.org/demonstrations/

Shaunhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00819386247211202874noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8589257904035594381.post-79210108614232996902009-05-14T20:45:00.007-03:002009-05-14T22:23:13.787-03:00

Asia Times Online published Pepe Escobar's article on building "Pipelinestan", or the integration of oil and natural gas resources in Central Asia into a network that serves Russia, China and South Asia. (Escobar is the author of Globalistan: How the Globalized World is Dissolving into Liquid War.) "Every time I've visited Iran, energy analysts stress the total "interdependence of Asia and

Shaunhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00819386247211202874noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8589257904035594381.post-73543179350496782512009-05-14T11:00:00.005-03:002009-05-15T19:36:58.408-03:00

The Oil Drum posted an article stating that rich countries, including Europe, China, India and the Gulf states, are buying up or leasing agricultural land in Africa, Russia and the Ukraine to grow food for their own countries, as well as biofuels. This is a tragedy in the making. Africans are on the brink of starvation most of the time, and now their lands are being stolen to grow food for

Shaunhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00819386247211202874noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8589257904035594381.post-78463435357226896312009-05-14T04:41:00.005-03:002009-05-14T04:54:37.092-03:00

A GAM reader from Windsor, Ontario responded to an article about Conservoid flame-throwing ads attacking Iggy: "I believe Mr Ignatieff has chosen a perfect vehicle [EI] to cause an election. With almost 1.5 million Canadians out of work EI reform is an important issue and the Bloc and NDP cannot back down and support Harper over this. With the Liberal Party out of debt and the polls showing

Shaunhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00819386247211202874noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8589257904035594381.post-1114466964254162002009-05-13T18:21:00.005-03:002009-05-13T18:47:37.352-03:00

More happy news from Camelot . . . US doctors and nurses who testify in support of government-funded single payer health care at Sen. Baucus' hearings on the new US health care plan are being arrested and removed from the hearing room. Sen. Baucus, don't forget, was selected by the Big 0 to head up the Senate committee on health care. A friend of mine is upset that some corporate executive in

Shaunhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00819386247211202874noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8589257904035594381.post-11465482037687289732009-05-13T18:15:00.004-03:002009-05-13T21:00:45.666-03:00

yet another reversal. . .Obama blocks the release of photos showing maltreatment of prisoners in Iraq and Afghanistan, after announcing the previous month that he would not block their release. . . Say one thing, do the opposite. Aren't you getting sick of this?

Shaunhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00819386247211202874noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8589257904035594381.post-30807864084122093912009-05-11T08:36:00.003-03:002009-05-11T08:52:14.392-03:00

Canadians are discovering that what the Big 0 says and what he does are often two different things. And now it's about "buy American" protectionism. Obie quelled Canadian protest by promising that Congress' economic stimulus package wouldn't hurt the sale of Canadian products to the US, our biggest customer. But in practice, that's exactly what's happening. Not that I care about "open trade." I

Shaunhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00819386247211202874noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8589257904035594381.post-17115662238787223952009-05-09T16:36:00.005-03:002009-05-09T17:59:19.390-03:00

on her devinci chameleon. She loves it, can't wait to ride again.

Shaunhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00819386247211202874noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8589257904035594381.post-70740648150623487722009-05-09T16:34:00.003-03:002009-05-09T16:36:00.376-03:00

aka the Boss Gibson: aluminum with disc brakes and perfect geometry, built in Quebec.

Shaunhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00819386247211202874noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8589257904035594381.post-61555897230112515782009-05-09T16:31:00.001-03:002009-05-09T16:33:07.230-03:00

one little trail leads to another. . .

Shaunhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00819386247211202874noreply@blogger.com0