I have to rub my eyes when I realize I’m writing about Canada. Since July of last year, CSIS has had the official go-ahead to share information with torture-states even if there is a substantial risk that torture will be used because of it. We know the agency was a
Continue readingWashington Post ribs Iceland’s planned adoption of Loonie: "Step one in Canada’s quest for world domination"
The Washington Post isn’t too optimistic about Iceland’s plan to adopt the Canadian dollar. In fact, it finds it all a bit of a lark. More seriously, Iceland wouldn’t be the first country to unilaterally adopt another country’s currency: Ecuador abandoned the sucre and adopted the U.S. dollar in 2000
Continue readingThe World Famous Dan Shields: 4299…More Useless Cocktail Party Chatter
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s nick name is Bibi. The Ottawa Senator’s captain, Daniel Alfredsson’s wife’s nick name is Bibi. Coincidence? I think so. WFDS
Continue readingCuriosityCat: Roboscam: Ten Things You can do to protect Canada’s democracy
Elections Canada has finally thought fit to let the public know the extent of Canadians’ concern about voter suppression actions during the May 2011 federal election. It says it has received a staggering 31,000 complaints from upset Canadians about possible election fraud! Now is the time for all Canadians to
Continue readingThe World Famous Dan Shields: 4298…Bibi Snarls Traffic In Your Capital
Love him or hate him enough of you hate him to make security uber tight in Ottawa’s downtown core today. He, of course, is the boss of bosses in Israel, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. For conspiracy freaks there were actual Black Helicopters over Parliament Hill this day too!!!WFDS
Continue readingNorthern Insights / Perceptivity: Time away is temporary
Posting of new items will be light for the next short while as I focus my time on others things. Typical of one person blogs, output occasionally suffers because life interferes. One thing I’ve been doing is spending time with grandkids and, oh my, have I had my fill of
Continue readingOpenMedia.ca: OpenMedia.ca Supports Call to Stop Internet Price Hike
openmedia_logo.jpg 500,000-strong group behind Stop The Meter campaign supports a reexamination of the costing in the usage-based billing decision March 2, 2012 – Today a group of independent ISPs, the Canadian Network Operators Consortium (CNOC), filed an appeal with the telecom regulator. Grassroots group OpenMedia.ca is glad to see support
Continue readingThe Disaffected Lib: Is This Just Too Hot For Any of You to Touch?
Anonymous dropped its Vic Toews bombshell today. It’s a very serious allegation of abuse of power which, if it stands, goes to the heart of the Harper government. I did a post on it this morning but, beyond that, nobody but nobody is touching it. The allegation is that, while
Continue readingcartoon life: Hey, I’m #68!
Okay… it’s a special, obscure category. Arts and Architecture. Not even in the pop-up menu in iTunes. Of 184 top free books in Art and Architecture. Number 68 and number 88 in top free books in Art and Architecture. But they are there. Way cool. And they are complete books,
Continue readingThe Left Stuff: Crisis Hits the General Consciousness – 50 years late.
Could this article in The Guardian be the mainstream media finally using the language that scientists and authors have been using for decades? This is the language that I have been reading in books written over the last 25 years and, I suspect, the language that scared the crap out
Continue readingThe Left Stuff: Crisis Hits the General Consciousness – 50 years late.
Could this article in The Guardian be the mainstream media finally using the language that scientists and authors have been using for decades? This is the language that I have been reading in books written over the last 25 years and, I suspect, the language that scared the crap out
Continue readingThe Left Stuff: Crisis Hits the General Consciousness – 50 years late.
Could this article in The Guardian be the mainstream media finally using the language that scientists and authors have been using for decades? This is the language that I have been reading in books written over the last 25 years and, I suspect, the language that scared the crap out of my parents when they read Rachel Carson’s “Silent Spring” in 1962.
Celebrated scientists and development thinkers today warn that civilisation is faced with a perfect storm of ecological and social problems driven by overpopulation, overconsumption and environmentally malign technologies.
In the face of an “absolutely unprecedented emergency”, say the 18 past winners of the Blue Planet prize – the unofficial Nobel for the environment – society has “no choice but to take dramatic action to avert a collapse of civilisation. Either we will change our ways and build an entirely new kind of global society, or they will be changed for us”.
Real scientists (not the kind that claim “Cigarettes won’t hurt you” and “There is no such thing as man-made climate change”) have been using this language to talk about the gathering storm of crises for many years. They have also been paying the price with their freedom to speak if they were unlucky enough to be working for the governments of industrialized countries.
Mainsteam news media, depending as they do on corporate advertizing for their revenue, have also never dared to use this language even though we depend on them to be the wordsmiths of our stream of knowledge.
So we are also faced with a crisis of self-induced ignorance which is bolstered by our elected ‘leaders’ and their corporate patrons and which goes un-countered by those we look to for our window on the world. This leaves us singularly unprepared to take action as we begin to realize that we are facing the most devastating destruction that the human species has witnessed and that it is largely of our own doing.
Deep inside, knowledgeable people are aware of impending catastrophe but seem transfixed in time and space and unable to speak or act. They must understand that continuing to support and live the status quo is simply deferring the inevitable and transferring the consequences of our actions to our descendants; not much of a legacy to give our grandchildren is it?
There are things that we can do as individuals. First and foremost, we can make ourselves aware of the facts, of what needs to be done and how to do it. We can also take every opportunity to insist that our political leaders, educators, journalists, family, friends and neighbours understand (as opportunities present themselves). This last part is important as talking when we should be listening is not only ineffective, but counter-productive. Under extreme circumstances, it can also get you a punch in the nose!
There are many organizations that promote awareness and organize action against the worst of the negative influences in society. By joining these and taking an active part, a person takes risks ranging from getting cold and wet to getting pepper sprayed, tear gassed, rubber bulleted and arrested. Refusing to take ANY risk is simply accepting the status quo but you can certainly pick the level of risk you are comfortable with. If you are more concerned with your social status than the survival of the human species, stay home and be a part of the problem instead of the solution.
MY WEBSITE — ANewHumanity.CA
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Continue readingThe Disaffected Lib: Putting Harper In Perspective
Steve Harper used the Chretien-era “sponsorship scandal” as a springboard to power. Even though Paul Martin was cleared of any wrongdoing by the Gomery Commission, Harper didn’t hesitate to smear Martin anyway. It’s also helpful to recall the actual scope of misappropriation calculated by Gomery. In the end the Commission
Continue readingDid The Conservatives Have A Special ‘Swing Ridings’ Team in 2008?
OfHockeyRinksAnd Round-AboutsVille And why do we ask? Well. At the tail end of his recent column on the RoboCall incident that took place in the riding of Saanich in 2008 that was won by Conservative Gary Lunn, Lawrence Martin noted something interesting, which was the fact that Mr. Lunn’s campaign
Continue readingMind of Dan: Heartland, Gleick, and the Law
The Columbia Journalism Review talks to *gasp* actual lawyers in an attempt to answer the legal questions surrounding the Gleick/Heartland document leak. Related posts (randomly generated) Telcos Respond to Spying Questions; AT&T Says Blame the Government Tasers at YVR; unanswered questions RIAA Directed To Pay $68K In Attorneys Fees Fed
Continue readingAnyone else gobsmacked by Postmedia attention to Robogate?
I’ve been a taken a little by surprise at the attention paid by Postmedia to the Robo-call scandal. While the Globe & Mail and Sun Media rest on the sidelines, choosing to bolster Conservative claims of innocence and misdirection, and CBC continues its lame tact of false equivalence, the National
Continue readingBlunt Objects: EKOS Poll Shows Little Movement
There’s very little difference between the last EKOS poll and this one, despite the robocall controversy. The topline numbers (with changes from last poll) are as follows: Con: 31.5% (+0.1) NDP: 29.2% (-0.3) Liberal: 21.7% (-3.1) Bloc: 6.0% (-0.7) Green: 8.3% (+2.2) Other: 3.3% (+1.8) The biggest change, therefore, has
Continue readingFrom Orangutan: Dear Protesters against Israel,
This video encourages thinking, something that some of you who are caught in the spirit of a movement in which you feel included, forget to do.
Continue readingThe Sir Robert Bond Papers: $#*! politicians say, pensions edition #nlpoli #cdnpoli
If you could get Noob Bloc-NDP member of parliament Ryan Cleary for what he is worth and sell him for what he thinks he’s worth, you could wipe out the Greek national debt instantly. – srbp –
Continue readingTerahertz: Has Martin Singh compromised a Gurdwara’s charitable status? #ndpldr
I posted this morning about Martin Singh’s interesting release about hosting polls for the NDP leadership race. I noted that it didn’t seem like it violated any of the NDP or Canada Election rules, but one further recollection I realized that the rules being broken weren’t by Martin Singh’s campaign
Continue reading