the View from this far south

2012-01-27T22:45:00.002-05:00

Wanted:Blackberry Evangelists!

When Thorsten Heins was announced as the new CEO of RIM, there was some words of approval, some cautious words of wonderment and some disbelief. Seems not everyone was thinking this is a great choice for the new CEO of a company which is going through some troubles right now.

One of the comments that caught my attention was the concern that Mr. Heins is not the evangelist type that RIM needs during this time.

To quote:

Heins is an uncharismatic engineer at a time when RIM is in desperate need of an ebullient public and internal cheerleader. The tech sector lends itself more than most to evangelists. Such characters - think Steve Jobs, Larry Ellison, Scott McNealy, Andy Grove – attract “insanely great” talent, as the late Jobs would say. They tout their insanely great products with almost arrogant conviction. And they ceaselessly badmouth the competition until you actually begin to believe them. The soft-spoken Heins is not cast from that mold.

I will say the article is in the Toronto Star, so right off the bat it is questionable. After all, the Star tends to attack anything and everything that is not of Toronto. The Star is one of those papers that would rather kick a good Canadian company when its down then support it. I know, someone will say 'it's not the business of newspapers to be cheerleaders'. Unless of course, it's something like an American firm, or American sports team...oh never mind.

The comment may not be so bad from the truth. I think that one thing RIM does need is some evangelists. These are people who tout the merits of the devise. It does seem to work best in the field of technology. One just has to look at Guy Kawasaki, for example, to understand the importance of a tech evangelist. He was the chief evangelist at Apple and he seems to have done quite nice for himself.

What could an evangelist do for RIM? Well, the person(s) shouldn't try to emulate Steve Jobs, there was only one of him and he was the only person who could pull off being Steve Jobs.

The person should have a genuine love and respect for the products and be willing to tell everybody about it. They do need to be genuine and not contrived, because if its the latter, everybody will be jumping on about how RIM is trying to be like Apple and how that won't work.

When you think about it, RIM still has a lot of good going for it. The phone is hot with kids, believe it or not. The BBM is something young people want to use and they love it. As well, the developing world really likes it, so much there was a riot in Indonesia. I know I've said it before, but it's amazing how the media was putting on a full hate of RIM. If people rioted over an iPhone, the press would have been swooning over how must love and lust there is for the iPhone. But because it was RIM, and Blackberry, well, that's horrible.

Then there is the Playbook, come on you knew I was going to mention the Playbook some place in this blog. If you ever read the comments posted on articles you might be surprised at the number of people who have a playbook and think its amazing. What is even more amazing, none of them work for RIM. This is the sort of thing the Playbook needs, forget what the professional pundits think, most of them are so entrenched with Apple, you think the got the logo tattooed to their behind.

But it can't all be about trashing Apple, it has to be about the good product that is Blackberry and the entire experience.
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I came across an article out of the UK. Seems they are selling a lot of Playbooks, this is good.

RIM should get on board and start developing a pool of bloggers who do like the products and are able to declare how much they like it through social media and blogposts. Like a lot of things, it starts better and last longer if there is grassroots involvement. I'm not saying they should pay off a bunch of bloggers to shrill for them, because people will smell that fix a mile away, just ensure they have their cadre of bloggers who do care and want to share.

I could continue by mentioning BlackBerry Music, music made social. If done right it will be a great feature, if done wrong, then its Ping.

2012-01-26T21:56:00.004-05:00

New Playbook Coming

The website Berry Review posted an article about the new Playbook.

This has to be very positive for the Playbook. It means that for sure the Playbook is not dead but very much alive and vibrant in the thinking of RIM. With its versatility increasing with the addition of cellular service support will develop and grow for the devise.

I am still looking forward to February 17th, when the OS upgrade takes place. It's good that RIM is making it available for free. I think they should throw in some very cool apps as well, but that's just me saying. It's good to realize RIM is going to do something that rewards all of us who bought the Playbook. When you think about it, we were a brave lot; with the mainstream tech media falling over themselves with coming up with the hateful comments, we soldiered on and refused to accept the verdict the Playbook was like the HP Touchpad.

Various sites report the specs:

Launch date March – May
1.5 GHz Dual Core Processor – TI OMap 4460
42Mbps HSPA+
Bands 1,2,4, 5/6 & 8
MicroHDMI, MicroUSB, Charging Contacts
NFC Ready
PlayBook OS 2.0
1GB RAM
32GB Flash
Bluetooth 2.1+EDR
Sensors: Accelerometer, Magnetometer, Gyroscope, NFC
MicroSIM
5.5 MP rear camera and 3.0 MP Front facing camera
Audio MP3, ACC(5.1), WMA (5.1)
Video 1080p, H.264, MPEG4, WMV, HDMI Output
7” LCD, 2024×600, WSVGA
0.9lbs (425g)

Basically the same, physically speaking with the addition of the access to 3G networks.

The question some sites are posting is, will you give up your wi-fi only Playbook for the newer version. Personally speaking, I'm sticking with what I have. It's not necessary for me to be always on the Internet, I can wait for a wi-fi hotspot to get material to the web, if I want to post things.

I should say a few more things about my experience with the Playbook. I brought it to Cuba with me and found it very reliable and useful. I took advantaged of reading a few book on it with the epub reader I had purchased. Since it is the size of a paperback, give or take, it was fairly easy to read. It did not feel bulky or awkward in the hands, so that was good.

Also I took a few photographs and videos of the resort:

2012-01-11T21:54:00.002-05:00

The Playbook is New Again

I thought I'd start this blog with the Official Video from Inside Blackberry.

As I watched this I became more excited about the potential of the Playbook being finally unlocked. As you know since I've purchased the devise I have been amazed by the power and the great things I can do with it. The camera is great and I've started to incorporate the devise in my daily work environment. At the same time I've been aware of the deficiency of Playbook. The lack of native email, contacts and calendar has held me back and I have felt the lack of them.

The good news is, that is ending. With the coming of Playbook OS 2.0, there will be all that and more. What I liked about the video is the incorporation of the social with the functional. It has to be said, Web 2.0, if we still use that term is all about the social networking ability of the web. We are no longer involved in one way communications, but two way and it's good to see RIM is understanding this and making the effort.

I like how the calendar is going to operate and use. The fact the numbers change with the appointments in each day will be vital to planning the month. I do notice there are a few days in which meeting tend to multiply. Likely when someone asks me about getting together on a day, I can just look at the number on the calendar and get a quick understanding of what is happening on that day, and whether or not I can squeeze one more meeting.

I will be interested in using the email application, can I tie my work email, as it suggests with the personal email. I don't think I'm going to be glued to that app and find out what is happening at work, but it might be nice to know on the weekend, since at my work, there are a few people who like to send out the late Friday afternoon emails. Seriously you send me an email at 4:30PM on a Friday. Perhaps because they don't have a life doesn't mean I'm not interested in starting one.

From the videos I've watched, the calendar, email and contacts are right at the top, which is where they should be. As I mentioned in a past blog, I'm using a Dell Axim X3 for my work. I use the calendar, contacts and various office programs on a daily basis. It is useful, especially when I'm at a meeting and can call up all sorts of statistics. Yet I am aware of the age of the hardware- with all the additions on the Playbook I can now carry it around and call up all those same statistics and bring together my contacts and calendar.

Now I should talk about the apps. From what one article I read mentioned there are going to be thousands of native apps, as well as the ability to get android apps.
However what is interesting is that Blackberry is pumping out the apps for the Playbook.

Your favorite apps plus thousands more - many exciting new applications
built for the BlackBerry PlayBook will be made available on BlackBerry
App World with the availability of BlackBerry PlayBook OS 2.0. From
gaming and lifestyle to business and productivity, RIM is showcasing
some of the latest apps available for the BlackBerry PlayBook at CES
2012 including Angry Birds, Cut the Rope, Groupon, Thomson Reuters,
Zinio and many more.
-- Video store - a catalog of thousands of movies and TV shows will be
available through the integrated BlackBerry Video Storefront(i) with new
releases to be made available for purchase or rent the same day they
come out on DVD. Users will be able to begin watching media as soon as
they start to download the file, so users won't have to wait for the
entire file to transfer before they can enjoy great entertainment on the
tablet's high resolution display, or on an HDTV via the BlackBerry
PlayBook tablet's HDMI output.
-- Enhanced web browsing - the BlackBerry PlayBook OS 2.0 browser also
includes a new reading view, which is designed to make web sites even
easier to enjoy by eliminating page clutter at the touch of a button.
What's left is a cleaner format that is great for reading online news
articles, blog posts, or websites that contain heavy amounts of text.

I can see the video store as a big selling point as well. With that amazing high def screen, people can watch with the crispness they expect from their high def TV`s.

The apps interest me, if they continue to develop some great photo editing and sharing tools, this will be wonderful. I enjoy taking photographs on my devises. On my iPod Touch I have 11 photo sharing and editing apps. Yet the camera on the ipod Touch is woefully under powered. With the Playbook I have a 5megapixel camera on the back and a 3megapixel on the front, this is a powerful devise to record life on. So with some very excellent apps, this will only get better. yeah you know I`m talking about Instagram, among others- I`m becoming an Instagram fiend. Between Isabelle and the cats, it keeps me going.

With these changes, and even PCWorld is giving positive reviews of the upgrade, the Playbook will become a very viable tablet.

So I am looking forward to February when the upgrade comes out and is free to all Playbook owners. It`s going to be great and I can hardly wait.

2012-01-06T21:58:00.002-05:00

Resurrection of Playbook

The news is now filling the Internet, RIM will use the CES to showcase the new Playbook OS2.0 and Blackberry 7. I suspect there would be some that this is a desperate move by a desperate company. I'm not saying RIM hasn't been perfect or it was a flawless year, but on the other hand, if anything bad happened it was magnified and amplified. When RIM had that problem and lost everything, or rather everything shut down for a few days, it was a huge event. People viewed it as horrible and another sign that this is a company in trouble. The odd part of this, Siri goes down for three days or so and no one seems to care at all. I could go on my usual rant how Apple gets all the breaks and is allowed to get away with things that sink other companies, but I will refrain.

CES is now the largest electronic consumer show there is. I did my share of COMDEX shows back in the day, and they were a lot of fun. It's where I could pick up some computer shwag- I think use the Toshiba laptop tote on a weekly basis, for example. From what I gather, this is now the show and its the best place to showcase products. If you think about it, this is an interesting strategy. After all the Playbook sadly, garnered some pretty bad press when it was launched. I could give the litany but you could find it without too many problems.

After the horrible year, 2012 is going to be a year of aggressive activity, first CES and then the Mobile World Congress in February. I wonder if this gives us an idea when everything is coming out. Perhaps the Playbook OS will come out soon after CES. If they get some good publicity, they will have to move fast, the whole strike while the iron is hot. If they give us the native email and calendar and perhaps, the ability to use the BBM and if we can get Blackberry Music on the devise, it will finally give the iPad the run for the money.

For RIM to come out and make a big push featuring the Playbook is quite the strategy.

We could go on and complain about what has bee missing and I want to say it would be a very legitimate complaint, however now is the time to make the correction and prove not that the critics were wrong, they were right, but to bring them back into the fold. They you don't get a second chance for a first impression, but RIM can turn around the make allies from the critics. RIM must remember the critics have spoken and they will need to do something special and wonderful to get them to change their mind.

The good news, and this is probably the motivation, the Playbook experienced a resurgence that the cut in price caused a lot of units to be sold and now developers are taking an interest. Unlike what happened with the HP tablet, which sadly is dead, the Playbook has some new life.

From what I've been told, Playbook OS2.0 is looking very good. There's a lot going for it. When I told my source to tell Jim and Mike they need apps, he told me that they know. Here's the thing, they love Blackberry- they need to concentrate on making great devises and things to put on those devises. I don't believe they have been resting on their laurels and letting the world past because they don't believe anyone can touch them.

I am going to look forward to the report of the announcement. It should be good.

2012-01-02T21:25:00.002-05:00

Examining Heritage in Canada

The CBC reported 2011 was not a good year for Canadian Heritage. The article states that heritage building are not safe in Canada. It cites that some major landmarks suffered last year and there is no promise things won't get worse. One person commented that Canada does not have an legislation to protect heritage buildings. Even though there is a registry, building that stand on land owned by crown corporations are exempt.

This article got my interest because it seems Canada wants to catch up with the standards towards heritage that seem to mark the City of Brantford. There was an article last week, and I do thank a Facebook follower for pointing out statement, that university representatives feel Brantford does not need a downtown heritage district.

The concern of the University is a concern that too may regulations will slow the development of the University. They want an almost piecemeal approach to heritage, instead of an entire district receiving the designation, they want individual structures.

I must admit I don't know a great deal about heritage districts but I believe the idea is that a certain area is filled with heritage structures and as such need blanket protection. If you allow building by building, the problem is you could have a modern structure on one side, and an heritage structure beside it. I know that if an organization was smart, it would go out of the way to ensure the new structure fits into the overall environment. But there is no guarantee. One might have architect wanting more to put their mark then a concern for the overall look and feel. So far, the University has been good, just consider the renovation of existing structure and the building of new. However, the problem is the pressure to expand. The University administration wants to grow to a 15,000 student school. If they wish to remain solely in the downtown core, it would mean a whole lot of buildings, and I have to believe they can`t continue renovating existing structure. They want new building- and that will mean gathering land together and tearing down entire blocks.

To be honest, their spokesperson does say:

“It is not our intention to go in there and start knocking down significant buildings or demolishing buildings of importance,” Nower said. “It is our intention to work with the city and the heritage committee to identify areas of growth for us.”

But we know from past experience, Brantford doesn`t have the best record for preservation. I am rather surprised considering the hostility and fallout after the tearing down of those 41 buildings on the south side, anyone would discuss some like that again.

Then there is the comment of amassing the land, demolishing the building and then leaving the land vacant until needed. The idea of turning vacant land into parking lots- yes, Brantford needs more parking lots- when what we have now are underutilized as it stands now.

The University has done a lot of good for the downtown core. They should be commended for bringing some life downtown and for restoring a number of buildings. However, this should not give them carte blanche to do as they want.

2011-12-30T22:30:00.002-05:00

GoodBye Diggnation and Thank You

Right now as I write this blog, and I know this since I'm following the twitter feed, the final show of Diggnation is about ready to start. Yes after over 360 episodes, over six years of a weekly program, one of the pioneering shows on the Internet is coming to an end. It's hard to think about it, the finale of the premier video podcast of this era is soon to be over.

I have been a fan since episode one. I would never say I'm the biggest fan, but I do own a tee-shirt.

It has one of the strangest premise, two guys sitting around on a couch with their laptops open, reading stories from a website and drinking beer. Sometimes they drank a little too much beer. It should not have been compelling yet it was.

From some of the early arguments that centred around Alex calling Kevin out as a total Apple fanboy, to the various friends and pets that have entered the show.

Both were the showmen, both held my interest. Their take on the news items that appeared on Digg was always a good time. I'm hard pressed to think of an episode that was boring or uninteresting. None of them ever was.

So tonight, it's the last episode and i say with so many fans:

thanks Kevin, thanks Alex it has simply been great.

2011-12-28T21:13:00.003-05:00

Keeping Our Schools Safe

Living where I do, there are times when things happen that totally escape the local news. It takes a visit back home to get a taste of what is really happening out there. Of course it helps when you hear from sources to close to what is happening. What I'm talking about is the L'affair Burge that seemed to have become quite a tempest in a teapot in the city of Windsor. I was pointed to the article in the Windsor Star regarding a certain student of Kennedy Collegiate and some of her musings on Facebook.

I'm not going to get involved in a discussion what she said and whether or not everything done to her was appropriate. Enough has been said already and I can't add anything new. However, what did get my interest was the comment regarding the Ontario Safe School Act, this is the piece of legislation that was used to justify her suspension. In fact a lot said in the Windsor Star article got me looking up that interesting act.

The purpose of this act is:

A safe school enables learning and teaching within an environment that fosters responsibility, respect and academic excellence.

Now this is a sound and great ideal. Seriously it is, a student who feels safe in their school will be relaxed and will enjoy learning. As we read more and more about bullying, it makes sense.

The broad purpose of the Act is to establish guidelines and policies for school and school boards. The Act opens with this:

The Minister may establish a code
of conduct governing the behaviour of all persons in schools.
(2) The following are the purposes of the
code of conduct:
1. To ensure that all members of the
school community, especially people in
positions of authority, are treated with
respect and dignity.
2. To promote responsible citizenship by
encouraging appropriate participation in
the civic life of the school community.
3. To maintain an environment where conflict and difference can be addressed in
a manner characterized by respect and civility.
4. To encourage the use of non-violent means to resolve conflict.
5. To promote the safety of people in the schools.
6. To discourage the use of alcohol and
illegal drugs.

No one could disagree with such an act and it is good the Ministry recognizes and encourages local boards and school to articulate this Act for the local purpose and keep within the guidelines of the Act. There is also a great deal given to the purpose of discipline and suspension.

Then I came across this part of the article:

Public school board spokesman Scott Scantlebury said any actions by pupils, including “inappropriate” Facebook posts, that are deemed to negatively affect “the moral tone of a school” can, under Ontario’s Safe Schools Act, be dealt with by a suspension.

When it comes to a school’s code of conduct, Scantlebury said that, “as with the law, ignorance is not an excuse.”

Now it becomes interesting, perhaps someone should share a copy of the act with Mr. Scantlebury, because it says this about ignorance of the law:

Every board shall take such steps as the Minister directs to bring the code of conduct to the attention of pupils, parents and guardians of pupils and others who may be present in schools under the jurisdiction of the board

So Mr. Scantlebury seems not to be aware of the fact that it is his duty to help the students understand what is expected of them while in school. It appears the 'moral tone of a school', is one of those catchphrases that can mean whatever the administration wants it to mean. One of those policies that make everyone guilty and its only a matter of time before the trigger gets pulled on any student. I'm going to try to avoid the original issue, but I have to ask the question where students made aware of the fact that what they publish on social media sites such as Facebook may come back and bite them big time.

I went to the policy of the GECDSB website and look up some articles. In the article listed POLICY: Safe Schools, it has this in one paragraph:

In order to promote safe and inclusive environments, all schools, schoolsponsored activities, Board properties and Board-sponsored activities must be free from conduct which infringes upon the rights of others or endangers people or property. All pupils, parents, teachers, staff, volunteers and community members have the right to be and feel safe. With this right comes the responsibility to be law-abiding citizens, to be accountable for one’s actions, and to protect the rights of others. These responsibilities also include appropriate use of technology and responsible behaviour in other activities both on and off the school property which may affect the school climate. Such activities shall not negatively impact the climate of the school or members of the school community

I realize the comment on technology could cover the issue, but there is nothing said more about it. I understand that we need to be aware of what we do publish online may have negative consequences, it is something that should be stressed. As an aside one person has observed as more people use social media, the more likely our society may become more forgiving of the peccadilloes of personal life. Right now we have stories of people being refused jobs because what people are finding on Facebook and no doubt the people making that decision are thinking to themselves how fortunate they are to have lived in a time when photographs of them downing a kegger simply don't exist.

So when the vice principal showed her a print-out of her article and suspended her, he or she was acting in accordance of the Act and Policy. However she was told she had 'brought' her work into the schoolyard. Had she decided to become the Thomas Paine of KCI? Did she become a pamphleteer, passing out copies of her missive to students?

Understand this, tolerance and acceptance of diversity is good, however what is the message coming to the students? Does the GECDSB want to develop law-abiding citizens who would feel right at home in the Democratic People's Republic of North Korea?

The Act does allow for a review of the decision of suspension:

The following persons may request a review of a decision to suspend a
pupil, other than a decision to suspend a pupil
for one day or less:
1. If the pupil is a minor, his or her parent
or guardian.
2. If the pupil is not a minor, the pupil.
3. Such other persons as may be specified
in a policy of the board.

Did this happen?

Schools are different, the challenges are now huge and certainly resources that allow schools to operate in a proper way that protects both students and staff is important. I will never disagree with that ideal. However I have to wonder if the zeal for protection rights are trampled on. There is a difference between dignity and diversity and indoctrination and intimidation.

2011-12-18T21:23:00.002-05:00

Is RIM truly in Trouble?

I have to admit, I don't really understand the stock market. I suspect it's like every other aspect of human nature, it can be irrational, prone to the latest fad or even a product of the 'just cuz' way of looking at things.

We have been inundated with doom and gloom from RIM. From riots in Indonesia when a new Blackberry went on sale, to drunk executives getting arrested on planes. Oh yes, the lack of sales for the Playbook. You would almost think the heavens had decided to turn against RIM. Or, is there an active case of Apple's reality distortion field is being directed at every business and tech writer in North America.

The number one answer is to fire the CEO's much like sports teams fire the coach when the team does poorly. Easier to fire one or two people then 17,500 people. Although those numbers may not be all that good.

However, there is also reality. If one examines RIM there are a few things that come to the eyes; it is a profitable company and it makes a lot of money. Also sales have been increasing, even this year it's up. If you look at the headlines, you might think otherwise, but the numbers don't lie. I suspect it is a company that has solid but not spectacular growth. Also it has a product that people have grown to expect and therefore its not lighting any fires or rocking the world with its latest release. Could it be the main problem. We are living in the age when everyone has the attention span of that dog in the movie "Up" "SQUIRREL!!!". Yeah, that dog. If it isn't shiny and bright and if it doesn't have an Apple logos on it, not good at all. Of course.

I will admit some of the complaint are probably justified; too many phones- which confuses the consumer, a tablet that seems to have been rushed out the door and the fact it was the primary leader and company that once set the standard of what we now call smartphones. In that case it probably suffers the fate of all front-runners, they believe their best is their best and will continue to be that way. It happens.

I don't believe the company will disappear. It produces a product that is popular around the world and its still making inroads. It is big in those small markets such as India, it is truly an international company. Let's face it, the North American market is just changing chairs. Today I want a Blackberry, tomorrow it will be an iPhone and then next week an Android until Windows 8 phone comes out. It's the fickleness of the consumer that is probably driving the headlines.

The question is, what should RIM do?

Again, not an expert but here's a few:

1) do the research and marketing- the Blackberry is now popular in school, everyone loves BBM- push that for all its worth. Texting is the way people communicate- not the phone necessarily but texting.

2) Simplify the product. One complaint is that RIM produces too many Blackberry's. I don't know how many models there are but it seems a lot of them. Too many choice confuses people. If we look at Apple, there are really only three products- the iPad, the iPhone and the iPod Touch. If I look at the commercials, that's all. the ipod, with the exception of the Touch, is no where to be seen. This holiday season there are no commercials. I have seen the Touch commercial- this is simplifying things, if you want a tablet, you get the iPad, you want a phone, the iPhone and if you want a media device, you get the Touch. That's it. Also all their products basically now look alike, the only difference is size. You do the same thing on all three products, yeah one's a phone and the other two are not, but seriously what is the difference. Even the capacity is the same; 16.32 or 64 Gig- yes I know the Touch has a 8Gig model. Notice the huge difference. Even design doesn't change- of course this year they added a white one of everything. Now that's innovation. Now I know the iOS is spectacular- but still what huge leaps forward is there? I came across one comment that suggest RIM should have three basic models; touch, keyboard and hybrid. Three works well.

3) Improve the Playbook. This device is turning me into a RIM fanboy. It is a great product. The multimedia work of it is stunning. Let me add a video I shot today:

It does need email, BBM and more apps. I hate to sound like one of those app junkies, but I actually am one. Let's get the apps out- for tablets and small devices they do make life easier. I am looking forward to the Playbook OS 2.0 software. It should be exciting. When it does come out, the company should push the Playbook as the new improved, without being totally dorked about it. I know it's easy to compare it to the iPad, which is the gold standard, but let people know it's blackberry bringing that knowledge to the tablet. As well, make sure there are the native apps, I know the push is android apps- which is going to be very good, but make sure there are Playbook only apps. This will help.

4) remind yourself of the original vision. Now take that vision and discover new ways to articulate it.

5) Ignore all the negative press. It's all nonsense.

Just a few of my thoughts.

Instagram coming to Android!

2011-12-09T15:37:00.001-05:00

Two things have brought Instagram into the news over the last few days: just it was announced as being the iTunes app of the Year. When you consider how many apps there are in the iOS universe, that's an impressive act, especially when one considers that Instagram is something like a year old. The growth has been phenomenal over the course of the year. I was reading one news report that put the number of Instagram users as 10 million with something like 10 photographs posted every second. That's an impressive count and speaks of quite a impact the app has had. Further to this, I read an article at the Huffington Post from September in which famed photograph Annie Leibowitz described the iPhone as the greatest snapshot camera. I am going to assume, and you get this from the tone, this was not an insult. While not thought in the same way, its a great app to have with the iPod Touch. I use mine a great deal, perhaps not as many as a large number of instagrammers, but I do my best. That is the first bit of news, the second has to with an announcement from a few days ago, many outlets are reporting that Instagram will soon release a app for the Android platform. This interests me because of the fact that the promise is with the next OS upgrade in February, we Playbook owners can install Android apps to our devise. This will end all that nonsense of not having enough apps to put on our devises. To me, with the fantastic 5meg camera on the back, the possibility of posting amazing shots through Instagram has increased. I have one photo-editor on my playbook right now, I compare this to the four or five I have on the ipod Touch as of right now. This tells me there needs to be a lot of work when it comes to using the multi-media capabilities of the Playbook to its fullest. I mean those filters are quite good and you can do a lot with them. I have been reading that right now I could access the Android Market if I download the beta to Playbook 2.0, but I think I will wait. Still this is very exciting news and I am so looking forward to all those android apps.

Death Knell of the Playbook?

2011-12-06T14:20:00.001-05:00

I subscribe to PCWorld. It's one of the few computer magazines that are out there. I know PCMag is still around, but its completely digital. Perhaps if they would put out a Playbook version I would go ahead and subscribe, but until that comes, I'll just go to the website and read what's out there.Going back to PCWorld, which also is part of the publishing house that produces MacWorld. I think that's an important little point. I believe every so often, a few of the writers from MacWorld make their way over to PCWorld and write their propaganda. This must be the case otherwise how can you comprehend the article entitled: "Is RIM Throwing in the Towel on the PlayBook?". The basis of the article is the recent move by RIM to admit it's got a huge inventory of Playbooks and they are writing it down, or off. I'm not big on business, nevertheless it doesn't sound good. So the inventory is being written down, probably at a loss and this is effecting the bottom line, which effects the value of the stock and if you believe some commentators, RIM is in huge trouble and will likely 'go out of business or be bought out'.Some are saying RIM may simply kill off the Playbook and forget about this whole tablet market and leave it to Apple and its iPad. This is music to the ears of Apple. Let's consider a thing or two, Apple is now suing Samsung in every court on the planet because its Galaxy looks too much and acts too much like the iPhone. It is black, it's a rectangle and it has a touchscreen. So if I understand this correctly, Apple wants to own the patent to a colour, a shape and a way to interact. Apple does not like competition it seems.Wait a second, this is about the Playbook, not the ways Apple is the new personification of evil. I'll save that for another blog.Another article states that RIM was 'blindsided' by Amazon taking a loss on its Kindle Fire, which by the way, is not available in Canada. So don't even bother attempting to get it. Seems Amazon decided to take a loss right out of the gate and undercut its competition. Of course, Amazon can do it, because the Fire ties a person to Amazon marketplace where all sorts of wonderful things can happen. I do mean that sincerely by the way, I am a big fan of Amazon. It's not that RIM can't catch a break, its that all its problems are magnified and can't do anything right, in the eyes of the media. Consider the blindsided article, which is found here. So when Amazon sells its devise at a loss, its a strategic business move, when RIM does the same, it's losing money and bringing the company closer to insolvency. Makes perfect sense I suppose. Obviously there are a lot of RIM haters out there. If not haters, then a lot of people who feel RIM deserves some sort of comeuppance and views its recent troubles as just that.What is being missed in all this is a few things, one the Playbook is a very nice product. Alright, let me say it, it's a cool product. I was planning to write about its multimedia ability. Just watch a high def video on it. Amazing. As well, the sound from the speakers is great. I would say they are better then my laptop speakers. Just the quality of sound is something else. The camera works good and yes I will admit it needs a few more killer photo-editing apps to really bring it to the fore. In other words, what's not to love. Yes I know, a lack of apps. That is almost the only thing you hear about, and the lack of email and calendar. I will acknowledge that is a bit of a question, you don't put a calendar on the Playbook, a bit silly. Perhaps it is true the Playbook was rushed out the door because RIM needed to get a tablet out there for the consumer. The good news is RIM sent out a press release which speaks favorably of the Playbook. The company is committed to the tablet. As a part of the committment, all owners will be able to upgrade Playbook 2.0 for free when it comes out in February. What is being said of that upgrade is the fact there will be email, a calendar and the ability to load and run Android Apps. This is going to be good. It should quiet the complaints of the critics who complain and point out how many million of apps there are for the iPad, of which 93% are farting and other rude noises. I`m just making that number up. One commentator made the point:

I've had my Playbook for a month now, and thus far it seems to be able to do everything the Ipad2 can do, with the added bonus of having an integrated 1080p digital camera, and supporting flash as well as HTML5 - all within a smaller, sexier package. Sure the Ipad boasts are massive library of apps, but anyone who has ever owned an iPhone (myself included), is well aware that the vast majority of those apps are garbage and have artificially inflated ratings (3rd party companies are hired to write phony reports on Apps to improve their sales)

The press release gives us a promise of improvement to a great product, what`s there not to love when its come down to that.

RIM is committed to the BlackBerry PlayBook and believes the tablet market is still in its infancy. Although a number of factors have led to the need for an inventory provision in the third quarter, we believe the PlayBook, which will be further enhanced with the upcoming PlayBook OS 2.0 software, is a compelling tablet for consumers that also offers unique security and manageability features for the enterprise,

RIM is committed and I know it will only get better.

Playbook Apps. My Wishlist

2011-12-01T21:33:00.001-05:00

As you may have guessed from the previous blog, I am quickly becoming a fan of the Playbook. As I write this, I'm syncing some files from my Dell Axim, so I can learn to use the productivity apps. As much as I am a fan of the Axim, I'm realizing its an older device and I would hate to have it suddenly stop on me. I do know the day is coming, after all, I've had it for at least 4 years and it was used when I purchased it. So it's going to stop working one day. I'm not hoping for that day to come soon, but I am being realistic. So I might as well figure out the various productivity apps now, rather then later.So I've been thinking of the apps I have and if I would like to see them on the Playbook. For the most part, yes. I am glad to see that both "The Score" and The Globe and Mail both have apps that are now installed on my Playbook. I noticed the Toronto Star isn't there, but then again why am I not surprised. For all its alleged nationalism, it's still the newspaper of Toronto and Toronto doesn't care much about the rest of Canada. Enough of my anti-TorStar screed. What about the apps, I was reading a review in the Globe about Tablets and they do rank the Playbook very high. The caveat is the lack of apps. I was chatting with an employee of RIM, hi Sheldon and he told me, the more Playbooks out there the more apps that will be developed. He also challenged me to make mine own. I'm thinking about it. What apps would I like, that is the question.What I would like to see is, more photo editing apps. The Playbook has a 5megapixel camera in it, that's quite an impressive piece of hardware, why not give some good photo editing apps to take full advantage of this fact. I have on my ipod Touch a BeFunky app and FX PhotoStudio. Both offer photo editing as well as the ability to add enhancements through effects and filters. Now likely apps with different effects are available and its a matter of me finding them, but I know from personal experience the two I've mentioned are quite good. I think they would both add a lot of good photo editing ability to the Playbook. Along with those, I'm thinking of the various apps that have to do with posting pictures to the various social networks: Twitrpix, Twitpic, Pikchur and so on and so forth, even Brightkite would be great. Again, they have apps and they have filters that can be used to enhance the photographs. They also make it easier to post to Twitter and Facebook, which is a good thing. This can be a great social device and I truly believe its potential has not been met yet.

Blackberry Playbook

2011-11-29T19:15:00.001-05:00

Like a lot of people, when I heard the news of the massive price slash RIM was going to bring onto the Playbook, I got caught up in the excitement and decided to attempt to purchase one. The first few places were failures, sold out no how many will come in with the next shipment. I even went and got a raincheck but was told there were more of them then what they were expecting in the next few weeks. The message was simple, first come, first served. Then I tried Staples and discovered they had a pre-purchase plan, you put your money down and you will be guaranteed a copy. So taking the opportunity, I did that and was promised one within a week. Two days later I got a phone call, and a day after that I got my copy.This was my first serious tablet, yeah I did purchase one of those Chinese Android tablet- its not that bad an experience but you can tell it was made with inferior parts. I opened up the box, and its a cool box too, by the way, and held it with respect and awe.

It is a lovely little device. It took me a few minutes but I got the gist of the gestures and made a few quick look around on the various apps and programs pre-loaded. I mean it has a NFB of Canada app! What is that?? Any time I want I can watch some great NFB documentaries, for example. It also comes with Kobo as the ebook reader, so I can do some reading.What else about it? Well, I know there's already been a lot of reviews out there about the Playbook, most of them tend to be negative. I do sometime wonders if this whole 'iPad Killer' is a bit overdone. Listen the IPad is the standard, the gold standard of tablets if you will. It is still the best tablet out there and that is our reality. However let me say this, perhaps the best response by those companies making tablets is to simply say iPad is the best and they are not in competition. Blackberry has been hammered by a lot of reviewers and I understand some of the concerns, the odd button set-up, the overall unfinished feel, the lack of apps. I wondered about the latter, but now I can comprehend the problem; apps are good. A year or so ago I wouldn't have said that but after having the IPod Touch I get the importance of apps.So, the Playbook, what about it? Here is my quick review: the screen and multi-media is amazing. To watch some High Def video on a 7 inch screen is amazing and the sound, without headphones is very good. It's better then some laptop speakers I could talk about. Also the two cameras are good. It seems everything has to have a camera and so why not tablets. I believe 7" is about the limit of dorkness when it comes to taking a photograph on a tablet. Taking a picture witha 10" or more just looks dumb.The body of the tablet- the size is good, the rubberized back feels secure- I like.Screen responsiveness- also good. It is very fast and responsive to the gestures. Yes the glass is a fingerprint magnet, but that's why they include a cleaning cloth.

Problems: apps. 'Nuff said. Perhaps a result of the sale, it may spur developers to get moving and get some apps pushed out there. I comprehend the development of a Blackberry Apps World- but I hope it doesn't restrict people. I know Apple touts its' few hundred thousand, but how many fart making apps does a person really need?The native calendar and mail. I would care more for the former then the latter. I can access my gmail account easy but I could really used a calendar. I do plan to use it in place of my Dell Axim which one day will go the way of all flesh and so a full featured calendar would be very important.What else can I say, well I think I will now investigate purchasing a Blackberry for my next phone. I mean I should immerse myself in the environment.My overall thoughts? Positive. Am I glad I purchased it? Yes I am. Will I suffer from iPad envy? Not now. Will I become a Blackberry fanboy? There is always that danger.The price is right, the device is right, go and make the purchase.

2011-11-08T19:21:00.003-05:00

Instagram: I Understand

I've been hearing about it for a few years, this whole app thing called Instagram. Since at the time I had a 2nd generation Ipod Touch, it really wasn't a big concern for me, since I didn't have a camera and since its was only an iPhone app, it was 'who cares'. I know it was talked about on Net@Nite a few years ago, I'm certain Leo raved about it, he was in his 'rave about everything Apple' stage of life. I wasn't sure about it, in fact I wasn't sure about the 4th gen Ipod Touch, since the camera wasn't supposed to be all that good.

Then I bought the 4th generation. I should have realized I was going to like everything about it. I had first thought I wouldn't use the camera, since I had one and also my cellphone had a 2Meg Camera, which I use a great deal in my day to day picture taking time.

Took this one today, I enjoy the fact that when the mood strikes and I see something great, a quick photograph and then some editing can do wonders.

With all this, why should I bother with the Touch. Then I bought one. All of a sudden I had another camera and I had to use it. I got a number of photo editing apps, such as befunky, which I've blogged about in the past.

However, this Instagram thing was out there and I debated. Eventually I downloaded the app. I tried it and I am hooked. You knew I would have been anyways. I think its great. Like all things in this Web 2.0 Social Media/Network world we live in, its social. I take a photograph, do some editing and post it. The social part I discovered comes from following others and having them follow you.

I started to take photographs:

And more photographs and , you get the idea.

I also found sites that help with the experience. A good place is Inkstagram, where the feeds for myself and those I follow are posted, so I can go through them all. A good way to keep in touch with all those people and see the latest works. Webstagram is another one. From that one I learned about Stickgram, instagram photographs transformed in fridge magnets, who doesn't need fridge magents?

So from a not-sure camera, to one that makes artwork and fridge magnets. You know you got to love it and try it.

2011-10-11T19:15:00.004-04:00

Preserving the Brick Works

I was listening to CBC Radio 1, it's been a time I know, and one of the topics was the documentary "Brick by Brick", an examination of the Brick Works and the work to preserve it from the wrecking ball. Of all things that could be destroyed, or rather, renewal of the land and protection it would be a dilapidated industrial zone, a brick yard, as you will.

However, people with vision saw it as something more and the result has been a jewel near the Don Valley Parkway. In other words, someone saw beyond the abandonment and realized this could be something great and it is great.

It has festivals, it has events, its a farmers' market, it is connected with the community at large. In other words, it has found a new lease on life and is following that life with all gusto.

What it had was a garlic festival. I mean if that's not a sign of life, I don't know what is, garlic, you have to love it.

Of course such a project cost a lot of money, $55 Million worth. I suppose its one of those things that brought about a lot of questions but not now.

The real thought in my mind is Brantford, here we have a site that is comparable to The Brick Yard, 50 acres for the Greenwich-Mohawk site and 40.7 for the Brick Yard. Of course there are some differences, the building in Brantford are for the most part torn down, except for one.

Officially there is a great plan. However a few people have expressed concern because Brantford does not have a strong record when it comes to heritage buildings.

I suppose the idea should be this, keep the pressure on the mayor and council to use the land that preserves the past and brings about something, anything that will bring people to Brantford and something we can look to with pride.

A high order I know, but something that is attainable.

2011-09-22T22:10:00.002-04:00

Pirates Victorious

So it was all over the news. A bunch of upstart 20-somethings, to quote one article managed to convince almost 9% of the Berlin electorate to support the aims of the Pirate Party of Germany. The New York Times attempted to portray the new parliamentarians as looking more like the Lost Boys from Peter Pan then proper politicians. It always intrigues me when the Mainstream try to figure things out which has to do with the Internet and the new world that's evolving out there.

Some are wondering whether or not this is a shift or a blip, something to do with the German Electoral system, which is proportional representation and all you need is to get at least 5% of the voters and you're in.

The Guardian opined:

The big questions are: is the Pirates' electoral success a culturally specific blip, or a pointer to longer-term political change? Have we reached the point where the internet is having a measurable effect not just on political discourse, but also on what happens in polling booths? And could it happen here?

The answer partly depends on which electoral system we're talking about. Germany has a strictly proportional system: once a party receives more than 5% of the vote it becomes eligible not just to hold parliamentary seats, but also to receive state financial support. So vocal minority parties that can persuade more than 5% of the electorate to turn out can expect to have a political impact. That's why green parties have done relatively better in Germany and Ireland than they have in other jurisdictions. (The last – discredited – Irish government, for example, was sustained in power by an alliance between Fianna Fáil and the tiny Green party.)

Of course that article was more to do with the first past the post system that is the norm in parliaments which follow the Westminster Model. Still, its something to consider. As I read the articles, I couldn't wonder if the same was not said when the first Green Party members took their seats. You know, a crank one policy party that is more of an protest vote rather then anything serious. Now look at the Greens, they even got an MP here in Canada. It took work but you know what, the party is no longer fringe.

That's it really. If you get a voice in Parliament or the local legislature you now have something to work with, no longer are you outside looking in, but part of the fabric.

Some may think, still, the Pirates are jokes, simply a group of people who like to download music illegally. Not anymore, there is this quote from the New York Times:

They are absolutely not a joke party,” said Christoph Bieber, a professor of political science at the University of Duisburg-Essen. While there was certainly an element of protest in the unexpectedly large share of the votes the Pirates won, they were filling a real need for voters outside the political mainstream who felt unrepresented. “In the Internet, they have really found an underexploited theme that the other political parties are not dealing with,” Mr. Bieber said.

No longer a joke. I have to believe this is the possible springboard for other Pirates to look at and consider. The Internet has become a very powerful tool, the place where much of our lives are now centering and something that is being totally missed.

Der Speigel had a fascinating look at the election results. Part of the story had to do with the way other parties and groups dismissed the Party, even the Greens took shots but none of this stopped over 120,000 people from casting their ballots.

The criticism may actually have helped drive young voters to the Pirate Party. Indeed, other parties may have overlooked the fact that the Pirate Party addressed the concerns and interests of a relevant group of voters. The party focuses not only on classic themes like direct democracy, transparency and online data protection, but also on demands that would be unthinkable to traditional politicians. The party wants to see the introduction of an unconditional basic income, for example, and the legalization of soft drugs. Both positions sit well in alternative Berlin districts such as Kreuzberg and Friedrichshain.

The Pirates also have something other parties have long since lost -- credibility, authenticity and freshness.

There is now a new sheriff on the alternative voting horizon and it sails under the skull and crossbones.

2011-08-12T15:57:00.003-04:00

David Cameron wants to Unfriend You

The news is out, PM David Cameron of the UK has suggested that limits should be placed on social media, since its through things such as Blackberry Messenger and Twitter that the rioters are passing messages and strategies to each other.

Now understand this, when Egypt or some oppressive regime does this, its considered heavy-handed and a restriction of democratic rights, when a western nation, such as the UK does it, its for public safety.

Let's talk about the riots, already the spin is being put on it, that its just a bunch of out of control young people who should be looking for jobs instead of looting. Of course that's the second point, its nothing more then an attempt to smash some buildings and make off with some high cost clothing or electronic goods.

Of course, if that's the case, then the solution is not bring in more police or have the military parade through the streets, its to buy and distribute Blu-Ray players. Why riot and smash when the government will give it to you for nothing. While some would comment about the cost, consider this, Players are now under $100.00 and just don't bomb Libya for a couple of days, that should pay for them all.

While the direct cause was police shooting an unarmed man, no doubt it was, as is always the case, brewing for a few years now. It appears this is not a good time to be young, the UK announced austerity measures aimed at young people. This during the time banks around the globe were getting massive amounts of cash to prop them up during the financial crisis. Young people no longer feel a part of the society and have no reason to respect it. With the PM even considering cracking down on social media- which is much like his ancient predecessors cracking down on coffee houses because they were hotbeds of sedition back in the 1700's, they have fewer reasons to feel a part of the nation. If a person feels disengaged more so because the nation has turned their back or declared unofficial war, then you will have disruptions.

I came across this fascinating video interview of Cory Doctorow:

If this is true, then all this is to be expected, you cannot oppress a group for too long without them rising up and responding in similar manner.

As the global financial debacle continues and with conventional wisdom is to basically ignore the big issues and pass them on to the next generation, while all along pounding that same generation in the present, then this unrest are going to continue a very long time.

Of course the smart move is to throw out families onto the streets if any member is involved in breaking the law, smart idea that, encouraged the already dispossessed feel like they are totally being screwed over by the government.

Closing down Twitter isn't going to solve anything, because Twitter is not the problem, its short sighted governments and politicians making sure their friends are taken care of, while the rest can go pound some sand.

2011-06-22T21:49:00.004-04:00

One Year Later

It's hard to believe that just a little more then a year ago, the demolition of the 41 buildings that made up the South Side Colborne Street commenced. There were those who cheered and those who were very angry. There were speeches, protest marches, appeals to City Council and even letters to the editors. Facebook had groups cheering on the demolition and groups who were opposed. A number of people in the community thought that it was about time and a number who thought it was totally ridiculous, a waster of money and also was going to have a negative effect upon the housing market in this city. Groups supporting looked at the buildings and considered them eyesores, groups opposing, or supporting the buildings, saw marvellous history and great potential, if only someone would have a vision and the finances to do something with these building that had suffered years of neglect.

All that ended when the first crane starting the assault.

A good crowd was on hand to watch the proceeding, including a few from the sitting Council. I don't know if a lot of people were cheering that day, there was a lot of people on hand to watch and record the goings-on, I mean how many times in a life do you get to witness a whole side of a street demolished?

We could watch building after building destroyed by the cranes, and bulldozers. We saw the material gathered up and then moved to fill landfill sites throughout the region.

To celebrate the anniversary, the Station Coffee House and Gallery is putting on a exhibition of media created during the demolition. There is a lot of pictures taken and video shot of the entire experience. It's taking place on July 2nd. Now likely it would be interesting, but perhaps in the interest of controversy, the people putting on the show have invited former Mayor Mike Hancock and former counsellor Mark Littell to the gala launch. There is a little frothing for this.

I suppose the question is now, what next? There is a plan to build a very nice athletic centre/YMCA complex, that would service both the University and the community at large. The cost has been estimated at $50,000,000. I think it will not happen very soon.

Still, we have a very nice new park in the downtown core:

It is sunnier downtown, and we have a very nice view of the Casino. All of which is worth the $30,000,000 it has cost the city to remove those 'eyesores'.

A recent linked was posted by Lloyd Alter on Facebook considering the potential decaying building can bring to urban revitalization. The writer asked the question: Can decaying buildings lure top talent?

The key paragraph is this one:

It may be overlooked, but one key incentive for creative clusters is older buildings that entrepreneurs can convert. “At a certain point you want to take advantage of something that is decaying or running down, and let new use adapt to opportunity,” says Gordon Price, director of the City Program at Simon Fraser University, and a former Vancouver city councillor. “And you may not be able to put that into a plan.”

Also, an older stock of rental housing gives young, creative people an affordable place to live. “If you push them too far from places where you’re hoping to generate a creative cluster, it’s neither fair to them nor likely to succeed,” Mr. Price says.

I think that's enough for today. As one member of city government said to me, you can always repair buildings. Shame he wasn't listened to.

2011-06-19T22:00:00.003-04:00

SOCAN, Netflix and Greed

So the Society of Composers, Artists and Music Publishers of Canada has gone to the Copyright Board of Canada and filed a request for something called an interim tariff. The purpose of said tariff is:

to enable it to license the use of music on websites that profit from audiovisual webcasting and user-generated content services. While tariffs applying to the use of music in this manner are currently being considered by the Copyright Board, the interim tariff would accelerate the compensation to music creators and publishers for the use of their work and would give businesses some assessment of the royalty payments necessary to run their operations.

Many believe this is an attempt by SOCAN to get some of the proceeds from services such as Netflix, YouTube and a few other services that stream content which may contain music that was produced by members of said organization. Apparently there is a feeling that this is being done on the back of hard working musicians who again are getting stiffed. Well, let me say they are getting stiffed but its not from Netflix etc, its from the organizations that say they are 'helping' the musicians, such as CRIA. Remember that fun group, its the people who collect the tariffs from blank media and distribute it all to the members, except they are woefully behind on the payments.

I think a few things need to be understood before we proceed; music that is used in soundtracks, be they movies or television programs are licenced by the content holders. If you think for one moment that a movie is going to feature music that is not licensed, you're not paying much attention, if a studio did that, don't you think that the RIAA would go after them with all the lawyers in their fold? Of course they would. The licensing agreements can be quite good. I went to the site "How Stuff Works" and came up with this explanation:

According to the book "All you need to know about the music business" by Donald Passman, "The fees for synchronization licenses are really all over the board, and they vary with the usage and the importance of the song." For example, Passman's book mentions some fee ranges:

* Low-end TV usage (e.g. -- music is playing from a jukebox in a scene, but no one in the scene is paying any attention to the music) -- free (for exposure) to $2,000 for a 5-year license. In a film, the fee would be $10,000 in perpetuity.
* A more popular song is worth more, perhaps $3,000 for TV and $25,000 for film.
* A song used as the theme song for a film might get $50,000 to $75,000.
* Commercials fetch even more money: "a song can command anywhere from $25,000 to $500,000 plus per year. The typical range for a well-known song is $75,000 to $200,000 for a one year national usage in the United States, on television and radio."

This is why artists love to have their works featured on commercials, it can be quite a lucrative adventure for the license holder.

None of this makes it into the press release of SOCAN, they want to go on about the poor starving artist.

So what do they want? Well, another website has this:

It also appears as if SOCAN will not allow the Copyright Board of Canada to determine what constitutes an "acceptable" tax rate. The organization has created an outline that shows what percentage should be taxed, depending on the service and host "sharing" their intellectual property.

SOCAN hopes that streaming services like Netflix, Apple TV and Sony Crackle would be taxed around 1.9 per cent of gross revenues. For user-generated sites like YouTube, however, SOCAN recommends payment from 6.8 per cent of advertising revenue incurred from music videos and 1.9 per cent from all other audiovisual content.

Let's discuss the outcome of said tax, which will probably be a dynamic tax, 1.9% this year, and going up every year from now on; how they plan to go after YouTube is rather interesting, since YouTube does not have a Canadian branch at all. I have a feeling Google could just as easily block access to YouTube with people who are using a Canadian based ISP. Or they will simply ignore it. If people dont want their music used, simply ask Google to take it down.

What about Netflix? I think there is a few possibilities:

1) they pay the tariff and pay on the costs to consumers. This is usually what happens when companies are taxed. So instead of $8.00/month, figure it might be $10.00
2) Pull out of Canada. If the tariff is ridiculous and the paperwork becomes too much, close it all down. There are a lot of services unavailable to Canadians, think of Hulu, so this would be one more.

In both cases the consumer gets it in the neck.

This explains why in a lot of ways, Canada is becoming a digital backwater for these services. As I said, Netflix is legitimate, it is buying the rights to the programming it delivers. Everybody should be winning, then along comes a group that gets greedy and in the end, we lose out.

These people need to be told to butt out and let us enjoy watching what we want on what we want. Or we can wait for BestBuy to commence their service.

2011-06-17T21:24:00.005-04:00

The Cold War has a new Front

I've been thinking baok to the Cold War. For those of you who are too young, it was a time when the two great political and economic philosophies stood staring at each other, with fingers on the button almost daring the other side to press first. It was conflict through proxy, since a war between the Superpowers would have meant the end of the world. The bad part of nuclear war is the winning side only has month or days to enjoy the victory then they too will get destroyed with the massive cloud of radioactivity that will circle the globe. The Wikipedia definition of the period of time states:

The Cold War (Russian: Холо́дная война́, Kholodnaya voĭna) was the continuing state from roughly 1946 to 1991 of political conflict, military tension, proxy wars, and economic competition between the Communist World – primarily the Soviet Union and its satellite states and allies – and the powers of the Western world, primarily the United States and its allies. Although the chief military forces never engaged in a major battle with each other, they expressed the conflict through military coalitions, strategic conventional force deployments, extensive aid to states deemed vulnerable, proxy wars, espionage, propaganda, conventional and nuclear arms races, appeals to neutral nations, rivalry at sports events, and technological competitions such as the Space Race.

Since the fall of the Soviet Union, its easy to say the Cold War is open, the West won and now only the US strides the world as the only Superpower and the rest of the planet better cowtow to them or else. Now, Russia is a partial ally to the US, or if that's a bit much, at least not a full blown opponent.

You would think that and probably be right, then if you turn to RT, the Russian based 24 hours news channel. I have to admit, I am a fan of the channel. Not only does it provide news of what is happening in Russia and that part of the world but it gives me all the information I need on Vladamir Putin. The motto is, after all, "All Putin All Time". Well, not really, it does portray Dmitry Medvedev in a very nice light. He is the President after all and does wield a fair bit of power in the world. He also seems to like wearing wide ties. Of course the big news in Russia, speaking of news, is whether or not Putin will run for President in the next election.

It is also a good network to learn Russian history or the nation of Russia. It's fascinating in that regard, parts of Russia I've never heard about, there's probably a show for it.

Then there is the other aspect and that is,the cold war position of the network. Now I'm not sure how much of the content is controlled by the Kremlin, but it has a number of shows which portray the US in less then flattering light. There are a number of programs, all on during Prime Time that are based in the US and have a rather negative slant on what is happening in the West. One of their chief messages is a complaint that mainstream media tends to concentrate on fluff and forget the real news. Just this evening there was a journalist professor commenting that most of MSM is taking the time to go into great detail over 'Weinergate'. The hostess was complaining that during a time of war, this is what is taking prime time with the various news outlets. Of course RT only concentrates on real news and so you will get their slant on what is happening in Libya. I'm not sure which side RT is on this conflict, they are more complaining over the escalating of the work of NATO from making a 'no-fly' zone to going out of their way to bring about regime change.

What about the comments on MainStream Media? Is is truly that bad? Is it simply a tool of the Military-Security Complex and so it will attempt to distract rather then to instruct? If you go to the site The Aloyna Show, you will notice all the newer programs deal with examinations of what is being missed. Besides this, the network goes out of the way to discuss the growing War State that is the United States. There is also comments about the economic collapse that is happening in the US and Western Europe- almost a continuation of the cold war in a way.

Some have accused the network of becoming a haven and harbinger of conspiracy theories. They also bring in individuals who would be sympathetic to the point of view. This makes sense, after all most networks have their list of experts they count upon to bring some interesting facts.

Then there is Adam vs the Man. He had a brief time in which he took on the law as it pertained to dancing at the Jefferson Memorial. He and a few other people danced and got arrested.

I've was trying to think of the angle of this new front in the "Dance Dance Revolution", but I realized its as much of an attempt for publicity then making a statement. Then again, its a rather stupid law and should be challenged.

So from programs such as these it makes me wonder that Russia still views the US as the Enemy and the weapons is now 24 hour media and web presence. Of course if you saw some of the advertisement on the network the proudly flaunt themselves as Ànti-American Propaganda and declare that it can be the truth.

I still will watch because it is a fascinating point of view. Plus where else can I watch Cory Doctorow interviewed?

2011-06-04T22:12:00.003-04:00

Read Geist

A number of years ago I picked up a sticker that I placed on a clipboard, it said simply:

That was the 20th Century, now I believe the saying of the 21st should be to "Read Geist". To read him makes one to understand what is happening in the world of copyright and how Big Media and Big Copyright Holders want to put their own interests way ahead of your interests. To them your only part of the entire thing is to give them more and more money as long as you live.

In the Toronto Star, he wrote an article regarding a new deal Big Pharma wants to enforce in Canada. It is to extend the life of the copyright of drugs. In the day when new medication is being produced which, for the most part, is bringing about enhancement in daily life, Big Pharma wants to ensure its hold on the copyright of the drug is extended.

He described the position of Big Pharma, most of them which are based in Europe and have managed to wrap the EU around their various pudgey fingers:

The intellectual property council (which counts several brand name pharmaceutical companies as members) claims the reforms would lead to increased pharmaceutical research and development in Canada. But last week University of Toronto law professor Edward Iacobucci released a study that thoroughly debunks the CIPC claims, predicting increased consumer costs and noting that there is little evidence the changes would increase employment or research spending.

Of course, they say that such protection will enhance the industry in Canada and make it wonderful place. I am surprised there was no mention about piracy in that situation, knock off drugs. Of course that is what the Canadian Intellectual Property Council would want us to believe.

What Michael Geist is concerned about is the extension of the protection ensures the costs of such medication remains high and stays high. As I thought about what he was writing about, I thought the true danger of excessively long copyright is that it becomes a monopoly. As I thought about drugs, I am reminded of the fact that generic provides both a low cost alternative and choice for the consumer. Have a headache, you are not stuck with one brand name, but a number. With medication becoming more important, I was talking to one person who was complaining they are now a pill popper, it is important to have low costs and choice. If the numbers are to be believed, it is costing the consumer and the health care system 22 Billion a year. He mentions a document written by Dr. Edward M. Iacobucci, "INNOVATION FOR A BETTER TOMORROW: A CRITIQUE". He mentions:

When generics enter, public and private plans obtain competitive drug benefit prices for reimbursement of a particular drug; competition brings pricing benefits that monopoly does not. This is especially the case after recent provincial reform of generic pricing, causing generic prices around the country to fall from 50-75 percent of the brand price to 25-45 percent of the brand price, depending on provincial market characteristics and trade restrictions (see table below). Lower, competitive prices for drugs tend to reduce the cost of private insurance plans, and bring potential social benefits by allowing public plans to reallocate resources to other aspects of the provincial health care systems, including other pharmaceutical products which are not currently reimbursed by provincial or private health care plans.

With health costs only guaranteed to increase, the issue now comes, is there places to save money that do not included restricting or rationing services for people. There is and that is make generic medication available. If it is true the cost can decrease by as much as 45% that is a sizable saving. It is easy to understand why Big Pharma wants to restrict the right of generic drugs to expand, it cuts into their profit. I know there would be those who would say that this companies have a right to a return to their investment. Of course they do, there is nothing to stop them from continuing to produce the same drugs even though there is competition, after all some people only feel comfortable with brand names.

However, it is a matter of cost; to us as consumers and to us as taxpayers. I was reading an interesting article regarding Brazil and copyright. Early in this century, Brazil decided to become a strong open source nation, and probably continues to follow that line. The article mentioned that at one point the government became aggressive in treating HIV by making the medication available. It helped but was very expensive so they decided to approach the patent holders to discover if a deal could be made, at first the pharmaceuticals refused. The the President decided to do something:

His first approach was to go to the key patent holders, the US pharmaceutical giant Merck and the Swiss firm Roche, and ask for a volume discount. When the companies said no, Serra raised the stakes. Under Brazilian law, he informed them, he had the power in cases of national emergency to license local labs to produce patented drugs, royalty free, and he would use it if necessary. Merck immediately caved, but Roche stood its ground until August 2001, when Serra prepared to make good on his threat by drawing up the required paperwork. It was the first time a poor country had even come close to breaking a drug patent - and Roche, stunned, returned to the bargaining table with a newly cooperative attitude. In return for Serra's agreement to play nice, the drugmaker would reduce the price of its drug in Brazil to less than half what it was (and less than Brazil's cost to go it alone).

The question is why does it have to become this? Simple because copyright means royalties and excessive royalties mean huge profits. If you can guarantee no competition then you can decide the costs and make them pay.

Michael Geist wants us to know about this, and this is why you need to read Geist.

2011-05-20T21:25:00.003-04:00

Me 4 the Senate

Again the papers are filled with angry people complaining about the latest appointments by the Prime Minister to fill vancant Senate seats. As you may have read and heard, the Prime Minister decided to appoint some more eminent people to the Senate, most of them just happened to be defeated Conservative candidates. Then again, this does not make them eminent, in fact their view of politics and the nation is so important that their voide has to be heard. Now there has been a lot of anger regarding the appointments. In fact it seems to be the great unifying factor right now in Canada, with newspapers united in criticizing the appointments.

Of course, I think with the Spring we've had, it wouldn't take much to get Canadians angry. Our only hope is that the city of Winnipeg will get an NHL team and joy will return to the Dominion.

However, we do need to stop this blatant display of partisan entitlement. After all this has never happened ever in the history of Senate appointments ever! I mean, when the Liberals were in power, this never happened. All their appointment represented the cream of Canadian society, just because most of them happened to be members of the Liberal Party of Canada was just a co-incidence.

However, we need to do something and so I want to suggest and lobby myself for a Senate Seat. I know the Prime Minister regularly reads my blog (!) and so I need to present my credentials for this august position.

First of all, I am a middle-aged, white unilingual Southern Ontario male, in others words the most oppressed minority there can be. Also I probably represent the exact demographics of the average Conservative voter. The good news, I didn't vote Conservative. So my appointment cannot be seen as partisan, but rather one that will bring diversity to the Senate. I will represent the average Canadian, which is one of the most unrepresented groups in Canada. All those special interests and eminent people sorts, when we really need is a regular person up there to represent all the other regular people in the country. Seriously what does a lawyer know about being regular?

I promise I won't sit as a Conservative or a Liberal. I could sit as an independent, or a Green or even a Pirate ( Pirate Party of Canada).

I think I have all the qualification, perhaps got to find that $4,000 worth of land, which shouldn't be difficult. If anyone has a lot to lend you will have a job in Ottawa.

I promise to show up on time, to vote when I'm supposed and not involve in any treason, indictable offense or even infamous crime. I will work hard for my $132,000 a year salary which I will pull in until I turn 75.

So Prime Minister Harper, next time you need a Senator, I am your Man.

2011-05-17T19:08:00.002-04:00

The SD Card Tax

The title of the recent ZDNet blog says it all: Canadian SD card buyers are all Criminals. The people who run the non-profit (alledgedly) Canadian Private Copying Collective has decided that because you can download content onto SD cards, including micro SD cards then people MUST be copying music onto them, after all, what else would Canadians use such devises. After all, we are a nation of thieves and cutthroats. This group are the ones that collect all the levies from blank cassettes and CD-R to distribute to the various drug dealers and pimps, oops, sorry to the artists, performers, writers of music. In fact they have a whole document on the distribution plan, you can read it here. If you look closely, you can discern the groups that get the money are the artists, the songwriters and publishers AND, a big surprise, the Record Labels. There is also the methodology for the calculations, which is based upon airplay and sales. So you can believe its slightly slanted to major artists and major recording labels. Now of course they try to distribute it fairly, although a look will reveal the last year data indicates the group didn't distribute near half their gain to artists. So what happens to that which isn't given out, another blog posting.

The big news from this group is they have decided to included blank SD cards, the wording of their requests is:

blank audio recording medium” means
(a) a recording medium, regardless of its material form, onto
which a sound recording may be reproduced, that is of a kind
ordinarily used by individual consumers for that purpose and
on which no sounds have ever been fixed, including
(i) recordable compact discs (CD-R, CD-RW, CD-R Audio,
CD-RW Audio),
(ii) electronic memory cards, and
(b) any medium prescribed by regulations pursuant to sections
79 and 87 of the Act (« support audio vierge »);

The last lines is left blank so they can add anything they want. if there is anything else they can think of as possibly being used for piracy could fall under that catagory. This is the same group that wanted to place a levy on all ipods and, one presumes, iphones.

Here is the amount they want"

3. (1) Subject to subsection (2), the levy rates shall be
(a) 29¢ for each CD-R, CD-RW, CD-R Audio or CD-RW
Audio;
(b) 50¢ for each electronic memory card with 1 gigabyte of
memory or less, $1.00 for each electronic memory card with
more than one gigabyte of memory but less than 8 gigabytes of
memory, and $3.00 for each electronic memory card with
8 gigabytes of memory or more.

Michael Geist had the following post to consider the danger of this possible levy. His concern is the levy is awful for a media that keeps dropping in price. I went to Factory Direct and discovered you can purchase a microSD card, 2GB for $3.88. Well, not any more, the levy would add another dollar, which would represent a 25% increase in the price, plus the tax that would be calculated on the levy. The problem the levy would remain the same even though the base product is going down in price. The other issue is that for the most part, SD cards are used for photography. They are used in digital cameras and camcorders. Yes they are used in cellphones but usually for taking videos and photographs. Cameras are not MP3 players, they are used to create media, not download it for use later.

I have a number of cards, some I still use, others are 'retired'. For the ones in my camera and camcorder, there is no music, only pictures and videos. I have a few mp3 of songs from my CD on they one in my cellphone, but for the most part I use it for storing my media, not anyone else's.

So this group wants even more money from Canadians. They alledge to give to artists, but their own charts reveal this is false.

So what are we to do, well one would be to write:

gilles.mcdougall@cb-cda.gc.ca

The other might be to, if this levy happens, to find alternative sources for your SD cards, ebay comes to mind.

If there is any hope, the Conservative Government has not been interested in listening to the CPCC in the past and hopefully they won't with this one. It's just ridiculous enough to engender enough anger to make the government decide to ignore this one and refuse to budge.

It's the least we can do.

2011-05-01T21:01:00.002-04:00

The Riding of Brant

Well tomorrow is the big day. The first thing I want to write is for all of you who can vote to do just that. It's simple, it's straightforward and makes you feel good. The only problem we have in Canada is we don't get any stickers that will get us a free coffee at Starbucks or Tim Horton's, although I doubt if the latter would ever happen. Still you can vote and feel good in yourself. I should say that some talk about electronic voting, to appeal to the younger an hipper age groups-because we know the younger generation can't figure out to put a pencil to a piece of paper. It's simple to do, come on why make the simple complicated. Plus the problems of electronic voting is that it will probably be proprietary software and we would never know if the system was hacked or not.

Let's talk about Brant riding. What do I think of the local candidates? Here we go:

Phil McColeman

Since I have met and know him I can say he is a good person and sincere in his efforts to serve the people of Brant. He did a few things which got under the dander of his critics, such as putting his website address on the Canadian flags he sent in the mail. This was an effort to help Brantford win some title as the place with the most Canadian flag on display. Ours is on the front door. It could be a rookie mistake, still a bit of a tempest in a teapot.

He likes to point out that the government did start on the road of settling land claims with the negotiation and signing of an agreement with the Mississaugas of the New Credit First Nation. When one considers the challenges of land claim settlements in this region a start is still a start and hopefully it demonstrates these issues can be settled in an honourable way that satisfies all parties. As well, he talks about his involvement with the local Laurier Brantford campus and how the Conservatives are putting money into post-secondary education. He also points out he can call up the Prime Minister and present the concerns of Brantford to high office.

There was someone in our neighbourhood passing out flyers. Also he keeps sending the address to the polling booth to Jo-Anne.

He is liked by the people of the riding and is spoken of highly.

Lloyd St. Amand

I can say this is another candidate I know personally. I have sat down and broken bread with him at a few Rotary meetings. He is a gentleman. He is also the former MP of the Riding. Like Phil he is well-known and well liked.

He does bring a lot of parliamentary experience and does have the right pedigree. He also does have the experience to represent the region to government and likely would be a very strong voice for Brant in the House of Commons.

As I said, I have met and talked with him, both in formal and informal encounters and I would say that if I ever thought of voting for a Liberal, it would be Lloyd St. Amand. Talking with people I hear the same message, they like Lloyd, they would vote for him, but the one problem they have is the leader of the Liberal Party. It seems Iggy is a bit of a boat anchor to him.

He has also canvassed personally in my neighbourhood.

Marc Laferriere

This is the only candidate I have not personally met, so I can only discern about him from what I've read and heard. I should start by saying he is a person who has used the Internet and Social Media to the best way of getting his message out. He post pictures of the groups and events he has been a part of and of the workers of the campaign. He has a twitter and facebook page. He uses all the strategies made famous by George Smitherman and his successful run for the Office of Mayor of Toronto. These methods proved very successful for Mayor Smitherman (tug-tug) oh excuse me (whisper whisper whisper) he's not the Mayor of Toronto? But didn't he use social media effectively (whisper whisper). Well, who's mayor then?(whisper whisper) Rob Ford? Well, he used social media effectively didn't he? (whisper whisper whisper) No? Oh, well, I see. Excuse me ladies and gentlemen, Marc is using the same methodology used by George Smitherman and his unsuccessful bid for mayor.

He's been campaigning for the NDP since 2009, he came up with the brilliant idea of having a $0.90 dinner to meet the leader of the NDP. This was done during the time Prime Minister Harper was having $90.00 a plate dinners.

He has caught the eye of people beyond Brant, one article talks of one of President Obama's campaign team members supporting his campaign. Even the National Post has taken notice of him and concludes the Brant is one of those riding the NDP could win on May 2nd.

As of this evening, no NDP canvasser has been in the neighbourhood, I suppose they didn't want to face the Powerline North Park Posse.

Nora Fueten

Another good candidate. Seems to be going with the strength of the party, which is the rural area and not so much the urban place. Even though I support the Green Party of Canada, she really hasn't had a high profile presence in the north end of the City.

One comment and article is her call for support of a high speed rail link, which would go through Brantford. This would do well for the city and its infrastructure. Also make commutes to major cities such as Hamilton and Toronto easier for the people of Brantford.

So this is my round up of the candidates.

Just remember, Vote May 2nd

2011-04-30T21:27:00.003-04:00

What if the NDP wins

There are three things that can happen when you throw a pass, and two of them are bad.
attributed to Woody Hayes

I should say that in this blog the phrase "Socialist Horders" or "Red Menace" will not appear.

Since last weekend, we have witnessed an incredible surge of support for the NDP. I'm not talking up to 20%, we talking at least the Official Opposition or even, dare we say it, Government. Will we really say "Prime Minister Jack Layton" after the 2nd of May? Some have dismissed the surge as an invention of media in an attempt to spice up an otherwise dull election. Whether this is true or not remains to be seen, still there is something happening; even the Toronto Star has come out in support of the NDP. Now that is a shock, the Official Organ of the Liberal Party of Canada comes out to support the third party. Impending sign of the apocalypse I am sure.

So what will happen if the NDP wins on Monday night. I want to suggest there are three possibilities, as as the quote from Woody Hayes says, two of them are bad

Scenario #1 The NDP decides to go ahead and as a party of principle and implement as much of their election platform as possible. Some of them include giving Quebec a guarantee 25% of the seats in the House of Commons. Even though the province is home to 23% they will be weighed a bit more then the rest of Canada. I believe was part of the Meech Lake Accord, which as memory serves, was rejected by Canadians, sorry that was the equally maligned Charlottetown Accord. Then there is the cap and trade, or the cash and grab, which fills government coffers with money and establishes a new market of trading carbon credits- think corruption. Of course the idea will be to punish the major polluters and force them to pay, which they will immediately pass on to the consumers, so we get almost no reduction of carbon and higher prices, a sure win-win scenario. You can read my thoughts about cap and trade in the blog before this one, remember I'm a supporter of the Green Party. Other promises will cost money and while laudable, it has to be realized, its costly to get more doctors and nurses. While the Star comment talks about the fiscal responsibility of many provincial NDP premiers, one name is oddly absent and that is little Bobby Rae, the NDP Premier of Ontario. Anyone want to remember Rae Days?

Then there is the issue of a lot of neophytes in the place of power, hopefully the party is full of quick learners because they will need to be. The problem is as a party of ideology, there may be many who will refuse to compromise and will go ahead with their agenda irregardless of the consequences. An important part of politics is compromise and will this be a skill many in the NDP can exercise, especially when given the reins of power?

Scenario #2

The NDP comes to power having excited a new portion of the electorate. They are inspired by the vision given by Jack Layton and the Platform. There are videos on YouTube from inspired people, think "Yes We Can" by Will.I.Am. They win and then the cold light of reality shines its bright cold ray upon the platform. The party leadership realizes it can't keep the promises, even right now there is some backpedalling. The question is, what happens when it becomes prominent. I think we have the example of this when we look down south. I noticed the NDP has tried to hitch their wagon to President Obama, but look at his track record, the US is still stuck in Afghanistan with no exit strategy, Gitmo is still open and doing a booming business and the health care, IE Obamacare is the dog's breakfast. The result is a lot of supporters of Obama, especially those of the fabled 'Generation O' are disappointed and will probably not bother to come out in the next election. I want to suggest that if the Republican Party could nominate a candidate that is intelligent, articulate and a war hero, such as, oh I don't know, Colin Powell, instead of freak shows such as Sarah Palin and Donald Trump, they would be in control of the White House after November 2012. Even when it carries out promises, it ends hurting rather then helping. Consider the cap and trade, it will effect the major polluters, those same polluters are corporations that employ a lot of the core supporters of the NDP, such as the Auto Industry, it gets hammered and the companies either inform the unions of huge lay offs or demand major concessions, its like the 90's all over again.

Scenario #3

On May 3rd the Dominion wakes to the reality of Prime Minister Layton and for some reason the Sun decides to rise in the East. The party under the wise leadership of Jack Layton is able to maintain a nice balance of compromise and remaining true to core beliefs. Even though the markets react at first badly, over the course of months they realize Canada is stronger for the NDP and things improve. People are supported and overall there are some increase in taxes but a lot of the social programs generally protect people. Seniors are protected and the health care system finally has the funds to provide people with a first rate system. Yes there are some hiccups along the way but the overall strength of Canada is such that the early teething problems of the government are soon forgotten. The Party becomes a moderate social democratic party and all is made stronger.

So those are some of my thoughts for this evening.

2011-04-28T20:39:00.005-04:00

Cap and Trade

Much is now being made on the promise of the NDP to institute a 'cap and trade' to deal with carbon emissions in Canada. There are a number of voices that are speaking out against this plan stating it is a bit of madness and will only hurt the economy and do nothing for the environment.

That's not my problem with the scheme. If that was the only issue, that is was opposed by those on the right I would not feel against it. I know that I'm standing against a lot of green political philosophy, but I feel I am correct in this.

My main problem with cap and trade is that I'm not at all confident that it will actually do anything to solve the problem. The number one problem is that it keeps the carbon based economy in place, yes it wants to lower carbon emissions, or does it. The idea is that governments will set the cap that it will allow all industry to release into the environment. The belief is that the governments of the world will set the cap lower and lower with each passing year. Those industries that are above the 'cap' will be penalized by a 'tax'. Some call it a carbon tax, I realize that's not for the entire project, but it exists as part of the plan. Of course there is always a loophole and that is the second part of the phrase 'trade'. If company 'A' is a large polluter they could always buy the credits from a energy efficient and a clean energy company, so company 'A' can keep on polluting because its not doing anything to harm the overall cap of carbon. To make sure this happens, there's got to be a way to buy the credits and of course there are various markets that will do just that.

There is a very interesting documentary called "The Story of Cap and Trade", there is a teaser:

There is a few other problems and here are my thoughts,

the moment you make a tax on a thing you effective remove any incentive to get rid of it. This is especially true with governments, for so many years governments have told us that taxation is a way to change attitude and behaviour. The primary is the so called 'sin tax', this is special taxes and levies on things such as cigarettes and alcohol. After all the taxes on these items I am sure you will agree the taxes have worked, consumption of both have decreased dramatically. The actual answer is 'not at all'. Governments know that no matter how high they put the tax, they make more money, in fact the few that decide to quit don't put a chink in the armour of money made through these taxes. In fact, it is in the vested interest of government for people to keep smoking and drinking because they get more money. Yes put the taxes up too high and it will encourage smuggling- think the smoke shacks on the Six Nations Reserve. However for the most part, people will keep buying cigarettes. It is in the best interest of governments, therefore, for people to smoke and keep smoking. As for alcohol, think of how the Liquor Stores have changed from places to restrain the purchase of alcohol to the fun places to go to buy your spirits. They want to encourage the sale of alcohol because the more sold means more money and more for the coffers of the government. Now take this same mindset and turn it into carbon taxes, it is in the interest of governments to perhaps tinker with the amounts of carbon emissions on an annual basis but it will maintain a carbon economy because the money is there to be made. Let's get back to cigarettes, everyone agrees smoking is bad for your health, this is given. It is proven beyond a shadow of a doubt- to the point of, is the government was truly serious and this is a suggest I heard a long time ago, they should declare cigarettes dangerous products and not for consumption by people. A person who said this suggested that for those who simply can't quit smoking and the government should make quit smoking strategies free to those who need them, would be to make them available through a prescription. I know there would be those who would argue that smuggling would go through the roof, well, let it be. One of the purpose of governments is to protect society and there are a lot of things that are declared dangerous to human consumption. We don't allow arsenic our food, we don't take those foods that contain arsenic because its that dangerous.

So now the government catches onto a huge source of money, cap and trade. It makes them money- which ultimately comes from all of us, since corporations pass on their cost to us. What incentive is there to get rid of carbon emissions, none, because it brings in revenue. Who knows, will we see statements such as 'Pollute Responsibly'? After all, that's the notice in Casinos and Liquor Store, there is no attempt to stop, rather enjoy so you don't harm yourself and others.

There is nothing to inspire the work to get the planet off the Carbon Economy. Forget cap and trade, we need to re-think how we run this planet. What is the dynamite energy source that is clean and green? I know some may think or say, that is the purpose of cap and trade, providing funds for future inventions. Yeah. Right. We need to kick this diet of fossil fuel and find the next source of energy.

Do we need cap and trade? In my mind is no, it is only a masquerade that looks good but in the end hides what always has been and changes nothing.

2011-04-26T19:16:00.004-04:00

One Week to Go

That's all there is, one week until election day. You can almost sense the excitement in the air. People are talking about nothing else then the election, providing you count 'when are they finished?' as election conversation.

Still I thought about the leaders of the various parties and wondered what they think of this final week. So here's some thoughts:

Stephen Harper- since the last election he developed a layer of Teflon in that nothing sticks to him at all; contempt of parliament, please; G20 scandal, big yawn, big honking fighter jets, yawn yawn yawn. I think he wants to get through this final week with as little pain as possible. He has been running a flawless campaign, no major gaffes, no comments about culture that cost him Quebec. It's looking like he might get his majority after all. If he wins, he will spend time in his secret lair with his pals from the Illuminati, the Trilateral Commission and the Bilderberg Group. As leader of them all, he plans to control the world and it starts in Canada.

Michael Ignatieff- less then one week and the nightmare ends. The pain will stop and he can go back to doing whatever he does when he's not trying to run for Prime Minister of Canada. The question is when will he resign? I suspect there will be discussions with Liberal leadership and all the people who want his job. No doubt they will promise not to stab him too much if he leaves right now.

Jack Layton- hasn't this past weekend been interesting for the NDP. I've often written that Jack who is very popular with Canadians was never able to have a halo effect, well was I wrong. It seems the party has come from its usual doldrums of 13-16% to nearly tied with the Liberals. If that wasn't exciting enough, he's leader of the pack in Quebec. I believe he hopes the week ends with the momentum either growing or consolidating. He's also hoping it ends before he has to renege on any more campaign promises and people start asking too many hard questions, like 'where's the money coming from'? He's already starting to gut his green policies. Could be interesting.

Gilles Doucette- he's going to have a tough week because he's actually going to have to campaign. With the surging NDP on his home turf he's got to give people a reason to actually vote for him. I mean usually by now he's crabbing about how rotten the rest of Canada is to Quebec, which is usually how he starts the campaign. This is good enough, but now he's got some competition. It's new territory for him, will be interesting to see how he reacts.

Elizabeth May- it's time to win at least your seat and maybe a couple more.

The Electorate. In a week we will decide the outcome of the election. We will enter that little polling station and receive a small piece of paper. With pencil in hand we shall vote for the person to represent our riding. If enough from one party win, that party will form the government and the party leader will be prime minister. If one party gains a majority then we will enjoy the fact that as much as they will ignore us, we can ignore them. Politicians are like all officials, they do their best work when we don't notice them, for when we notice them, it means they screwed up.

Don't forget to Vote

2011-04-16T22:31:00.005-04:00

The Race for Second

There's still a lot of electioneering to happen and a lot of things can go right and or wrong for the various political parties, but as I look around the Dominion today I think there are a few truisms taking form; the next government will be formed by the Conservatives under the leadership of Stephen Harper, the campaign is rather boring and the real race is starting to heat up. You may ask what race is that? The race for the position of Official Opposition.

I've noticed recently a few changes in the advertisement that is filling up my television screen, mainly the Conservatives are positioning themselves as looking governmental and Harper as Prime Ministerial. The Liberals, almost non-existent and the NDP has now got Ignatieff in their sights. It's interesting how the latter has happened. For the last few elections, the Liberals have been trying to take votes away from the NDP- after all it is the compassionate progressive party, not the NDP that's for sure- they're a bunch of dirty commies, after all. However, things have changed, the debate gave Layton, whom a lot of Canadians like an opportunity to shine and shine he did. What he did was go after Iggy. I know some could suggest that is an easy target, but that makes me think they, the NDP know something that there is an opportunity for breakthrough. Just today I got in my email some mail from Jack- he's going after a breakthrough in Newfoundland & Labrador.

Could it be we see the NDP take both votes and seats from the Liberals. This will be a great assistance for the Conservatives because if the Centre-Left is split it will guarantee the Conservatives picking up a few seats, perhaps enough to form a majority government? Let's remember that the Chretien era back to back majorities was marked by a split of the right. It wasn't that Canadians loved the Poutine, its just he rode a split in the opposition. So we could witness Harper reaching his dream of a majority on the basis of a surging and strong NDP.

I haven't said anything about the Green Party so far, let me correct it- they have a great platform. In fact I would put their platform up with any party. To give a few examples: regarding the Internet and Net Neutrality

The Internet has become an essential tool in knowledge storage and the free flow of informationbetween citizens. It is playing a critical role in democratizing communications and society as a whole. There are corporations that want to control the content of information on the internet and alter the free flow of information by giving preferential treatment to those who pay extra for faster service.
The Green Party of Canada is committed to the original design principle of the internet - network neutrality: the idea that a maximally useful public information network treats all content, sites, and platforms equally, thus allowing the network to carry every form of information and support every kind of application.

Then there is this comment on public transporation:

Urban sprawl means commuters crawl. More roads don’t solve the problem; they make it worse. Gridlock means more air pollution and more greenhouse gas emissions. A transition to efficient light rail transit and coordinated buses will take cars off our roads, breaking the cycle of an increasing number of cars on increasingly-crowded roads to make our cities more livable.
We must build our way out of the problem of clogged roads and smog-choked cities, not by building more roads and bridges and more distant suburbs, but by building “smart growth” infrastructure.
Excellent public transit and efficient housing in high-density nodes along existing transit corridors will make cities more livable and people-friendly. The federal government must take the lead in funding the “greening” of Canada’s cities. (see Section 1.14 Infrastructure and Communities for more on federal municipal
relations.)

I think its time for Canada to vote in a Green MP. If Australia and the UK could do it and survive, so can Canada. It is time for a fifth party.

2011-04-10T21:08:00.002-04:00

Much Depends upon the NDP

A couple of articles in two different newspapers brought some interesting and different points of view. The first comes from the National Post, the headline read; "Tories, NDP get top marks for national campaigns". On the same day, the Toronto Star, the in-house organ of the Bloc Toronto (aka Liberal Party of Canada) declares: "NDP fortunes falling fast in latest poll"

Of course, the National Post is a rather right leaning newspaper that would be rather sympathetic to the claims of the Conservative Party of Canada and Stephen Harper. Consider the election strategy of the two main parties, for the Liberals, the best way to ensure election victory would be for the NDP to implode. They believe that if they can catch the votes of disgrunted or disillusioned NDP'ers, then they stand a chance to win, if not a majority then at least a minority government. They need the NDP to go away. You might remember Buzz Hargrove, he joined the Liberal team and told his, I suppose, his former NDP friends to vote Liberal. So the Star has to have headlines that state support of the NDP is collapsing, they want those now disappointed NDP'ers to vote Liberal. They know there is no way for NDP'ers to ever think of voting Conservative. Never going to happen. The startegy is to get them to think the Liberals are the next best thing and the place to put their vote.

As for the Conservatives, they need a strong NDP. Now let me say this, they know there is no way disgrunted Conservatives will go that far to the left. Conservatives will not vote NDP just as NDP'ers will not vote Conservatives. I don't think their thoughts is that Liberals will go over to the NDP, although I supposed more left leaning Liberals will go NDP. But, the votes can't go the other way. The supporters of the Conservatives need a split on the Centre-Left vote. Much like during the days of Chretien, the right was split between Conservatives and Reformed/Alliance group. Chretien was able to coast to a few majorities because of the split. Now the shoe is on the other foot, with a strong party left of the Liberals, that vote won't go to the Liberals.

It wouldn't surprise me if some with the Conservatives think it might be a good idea to completely ignore the Liberals and concentrate on the NDP. They need a strong NDP and a weak Liberal Party.

Should be interesting.

2011-04-03T21:35:00.002-04:00

Branding Terrorism

I was coming to the end of the book Zero History by William Gibson, when I read this quote from one of the people involved in the story. It was during a discussion when Garreth says:

Terrorism was almost exclusively about branding.

First of all, let me say, Zero History is an excellent book. It has been considered the third and final book in the Bigend Cycle, which started with the book "Pattern Recognition". Let me say, there is, near the end of the book the introduction of a character that was important in the first book. I'll say no more because I don't want to spoil the story. In fact the purpose of this blog is not to review the book, except to say, it's an enjoyable read. So either buy it or borrow it from your local library.

The quote is what interested me, in fact I stopped reading to write it down. This way I could think about it. It has been in the mind of other readers as well; during my research for this blog I came across this interview with William Gibson. He is asked about the comment and gives this:

If you’re a terrorist (or a national hero, depending on who’s looking at you), there are relatively few of you and relatively a lot of the big guys you’re up against. Terrorism is about branding because a brand is most of what you have as a terrorist. Terrorists have virtually no resources. I don’t even like using the word terrorism. It’s not an accurate descriptor of what’s going on.

Terrorists are now, if you believe that quote and comment is more interested in developing brand awareness and branding rather then the overthrow of whatever government or interest the terrorist is attacking. If this is true, then this is quite a change, I remember years ago being involved in a discussion about terrorists. To give you the time, terrorists were groups such as the Red Brigade and the Baader-Meinhof Group. The story discussed was called, the Wasp. It dealt with a wasp that had flown into a car and was bothering the driver. The driver would react and attempt to swat the wasp, in doing so, brought about a car crash. This was the purpose of terrorism, to overthrow the state. It was involved in bombings, suicide as means to this end. Now with Mr. Gibson, terrorism is on the same level as Tommy Hilfiger, Old Navy or Nike. As I typed those names, I could see each of them being the template for modern day terrorism. It is all about getting into the public eye. Oddly enough, terrorists probably wear Nikes, Old Navy and Tommy Hilfiger shoes and clothing.

As we look at the major terrorist organization, al-Qaeda, it becomes fascinating to change the mindset. It seems no longer involved in directly overthrowing or destroying the enemy. In fact the article from Wikipedia gives the five strategies of the group:

1. Provoke the United States into invading a Muslim country.
2. Incite local resistance to occupying forces.
3. Expand the conflict to neighboring countries, and engage the U.S. in a long war of attrition.
4. Convert Al-Qaeda into an ideology and set of operating principles that can be loosely franchised in other countries without requiring direct command and control, and via these franchises incite attacks against countries allied with the U.S. until they withdraw from the conflict, as happened with the 2004 Madrid train bombings, but which did not have the same effect with the 7 July 2005 London bombings.
5. The U.S. economy will finally collapse under the strain of too many engagements in too many places, similarly to the Soviet war in Afghanistan, Arab regimes supported by the U.S. will collapse, and a Wahhabi Caliphate will be installed across the region.

Interesting how ideology does not enter the equation until step 4, prior ideology was the motivator for the terrorists. Terrorism was either extreme left or extreme right, all for overthrowing the government. Now it is more interested in developing franchises and regions, more like McDonald's then the successor to anarchists groups.

This brings to the thought, is all this a relevant for global events or a lot of spacious writing. This is the crux of the matter as well, by reading the strategy there is no attempt to turn the US or the West for that matter into a part a new and global Islamic Empire, they just want them out of their area. So all they have is the desire to keep the heat up and their names in the media.

If all this is the case, then terrorist acts are part of brand awareness and a suicide bomber is more a marketer or a cool brander.

2011-03-22T19:10:00.002-04:00

Election? Election!

All right, the Budget has come down and the Opposition Parties are in a right froth over it. All claim it is doing nothing for the average Canadian. Although some would say there is going to be some nice savings for the average Canadian. One article stated there are no new taxes for the average Canadian. It's amazing how much ink is split dealing with the average Canadian. In fact we are usually the best treated part of society, until reality hits and its usually the middle class that gets hit.

I wondered though, with all the opposition if this wasn't a ploy by the Conservatives. They've got the nastiness of the contempt of Parliament charges, which will not be good.

Yet, I wondered, then I thought about the reasons for the election. The Liberals probably figure it will be a good way to get rid of Iggy, without the messiness of a palace coup. Best that on election night, he simply stands up and concedes the election and announces he is stepping down as leader of the Liberal Party. While the Liberals have no problems knifing people in the back, it's far better and cleaner this way.

The BQ, well, they're never happy.

The NDP, again, this is the enigmatic party of Canadian politics. Jack Layton is personable, respected and likeable, but he can't break the 18% mark, in fact I believe the last poll put the party at 13%. What can they get out of an election, perhaps the chance to break through to Leader of the Opposition. If the Liberal strategy consists of getting rid of Iggy, then the centre-left is open for them to manoeuvre.

So unless people come to their senses and realize they are being exploited by Stephen Harper, we're going to have an election.

Should be fun.

2011-03-19T22:01:00.002-04:00

Tapped: The Movie

This is one of the reasons why I enjoy watching, if 'enjoy' is the right word, documentaries. There are times I find them annoying, since they tend to be strident, preachy and always going on about how bad things are, and how they are going from bad to worse.

Yet for all that, one of the great purposes of documentaries, besides being ways of challenging our thinking is to teach us a few things. My last blog was about Bottled Water Free Day, a movement that wants to liberate people from the scourge of bottled water. I have been aware that many municipalities are interested in enacting by-laws that would ban either the sale of bottled water in the community, or at least ensuring the municipality would not purchase bottled water for the every day operations of the city.

There's a lot of good reasons for this, one is of course, the bottled water industry is built upon one massive sham. The sham is simple, that this is the safest and best water you can have.

The movie Tapped wants to blow that concept right out of the water. The producers demonstrate a few things, the first is bottled water is a multi-billion dollar industry, so naturally, there is a lot of money being used to make sure people understand this and are filled with the sights of healthy active people drinking the product. To get people to drink it, they have to convince us all of one major fact, that tap water is evil. Of course the movie has a few interviews of prominent people in the industry claiming that tap water is not the enemy, and why should they, most of the water in bottles is tap water. The only difference is that bottled water has gone through a few more processes. What is a bit interesting is that most companies will never produce reports as to the safety of their product. I suspect they would claim such things as being company secrets. The film makers point out that municipal water is checked multiple times during the day.

Here in Ontario, we have the "Clean Water Act", which has as its stated purpose:

he purpose of this Act is to protect existing and future sources of drinking water.

This may be the clearest, most straightforward purpose ever given to any government act in the history of government acts. It is there to protect all sources of drinking water. The Province does continue and gives a website that looks at the safety of drinking water in Ontario. Besides reading a few things, you can go and learn how safe your water truly is, there is a page that gives the percentage of tests that met government standards, in Brantford, its 99.77%. In other words, it meets government standards all the time. I know the people who are doing the tests are very diligent, hey I've got to trust my own brother on this thing. Yes he is a provincial tester of water. He also drinks water. Got to trust someone who does all that.

Seriously, since Walkerton, Ontario has taken safe water very seriously. The group that watches our water is the Ontario Clean Water Agency, its mission to monitor our water.

With all this documentation available, including annual reports, we must ask ourselves why is private industry so reticent to give us their annual reports and their water study reports.

Of course, the documentary doesn't just deal with water, it considers the industry as a whole, including the packaging, which is the ubiquitous plastic bottle. They consider the source of the plastic, which is, of course, petroleum and does a study as to the various toxins which make up the plastic. One of the nastiest, and this only appears in hard plastic bottles is BPA. It appears in a lot of places and its so bad that it has been declared a toxic substance, which is probably why there are new style of plastic bottles available out there. Notice how the industry doesn't tell us anything about it. If it wasn't for government occasionally watching out for us, this could be worse. Actually I can't complain, for all we say, our governments do a pretty good job looking after our interests.

Besides this, the question continues, where does all those plastic bottles go? We like to think we all do our part and recycle, but again, it pointed out in most cases bottled water is a point of sale, one way product, you buy it, you drink it and you toss it. If there is some sort of recycling receptacle, it will go there, if not then its straight in the trash, or it will be tossed to the curb, wayside, ditch, park or where ever we find ourselves. In other words, it's not recycled and that's another problem. It now enters the ecosystem and causes even greater havoc. That's why we see them floating around. With 29 billion bottles used each year in the US and probably some sort of proportion in Canada, let alone the rest of the world, that's a lot of plastic that ends up somewhere. If its in the water, it goes into the lakes and from there, the oceans and from there, well, that's another problem altogether.

The water industry is mining water from anywhere they want, but its usually a few places and they honestly don't care about the local people or the local environment.

It's a movie worth watching. I picked up my copy from the local library and I suspect a lot of local libraries will have the same DVD. So go out, rent it, check it out and watch it. I think one result will be you will never buy another bottle of water again. Which could be a good thing. If you get thirsty the best thing to do is become friends with a local water fountain and if that's not possible, bring your own water, from your own tap, with your own reuseable bottle.

2011-03-09T21:57:00.004-05:00

Bottled Water Freedom Day

I suppose it would be easy to dismiss this day as one of those 'trendier then thou' movement amongst the liberals that surround us and want to go out of their way to ban everything. However, it's an issue that may be very important to us all.

I would say one of the main problems of bottled water is that it is based upon some deception and subterfuge. The premise of bottled water is that our tap water is horribly dangerous and when we drink it, we are filling our bodies with poison. Things like chlorine and fluoride, the latter is, of course either a commie plot or an act of terrorism.

A few have pointed out that the bottled water industry was totally an invention of marketing and because of this, we are told how much we need to invest in bottled water. I came across a blog that had at its title: "Myths, Lies, & Freedom: 5 Reasons Bottled Water Is Superior To Tap Water".

While tongue in cheek, there is a lot of interesting facts, and we should consider a few of them. Perhaps the chief one is the fact that there is a lot of plastic already in our environment and truly do we need more? The convenience of carrying water is of course important for people who exercise, walk about for some shopping outside, or just enjoying the outside world. Since we need to drink 8 8oz glasses of water every day to stay hydrated, carrying it around is good. After all, can we trust drinking fountains? Actually we can.

The main site Bottled Water Free Day, gives us some examples as to why bottled water exist:

Just a decade ago bottled water was a novelty. Now, bottled water is seen as a necessity as water fountains have disappeared and multi-million dollar marketing campaigns have convinced us that bottled water is the only safe way to consume water.

This comes despite the fact that the bottled water industry is less regulated than municipal water systems, consumes more energy and releases more harmful toxins into the environment than tap water.

When we begin to accept that the only way to get drinking water is to buy it in a packaged form, it is easy to accept that water--whether from a tap or from a bottle--is a commodity to be bought and. A system is emerging where we will have two water systems: one for the world's wealthy and one for everyone else.

In recent years, citizens have started to fight back against the false claims and manipulation of the bottled water industry, who are are being forced under a public microscope as people question:
.
The safety of bottled water.
.
The growing corporate control of water resources
. The use of misleading bottled water marketing .
.

The heavy social and ecological toll that the commodification of water has had around the world.

The good news is that anyone can help stop the corporate control of water by joining the movement to ban bottled water and secure access to public water by creating Bottled Water Free Zones and getting your community to kick the bottle and back the tap!

The movement against bottled water is growing, many municipalities are considering banning sale, or at least having them around.

One of the scariest part of this entire argument has to do with the privatization of water; while water is still in the control of municipalities and it is doubtful any city or county would consider selling water control to, say, Coke or Pepsi, but its the reality in the third world. Water distribution is in the hands of multinationals and it is having negative effects on the communities of those nations.

Commodifying and privatizing water contributes to a divide between those who can and cannot pay for water. Examples of water privatization in the Global South provide evidence in support of this concern.

The bottled water industry affirms water as a commodity; privately owned, bought and sold for a profit. Cultivating consumers' willingness to pay more for a litre of bottled water than for a litre of gas helps set the stage for the public acceptance of the privatization of water services.

We are living through one of the most alarming and critical issues of our times: the global water crisis. Evidence abounds of the beginnings of an environmental catastrophe. Aquifers, rivers and lakes are drying up an alarming rate. This is due to overexploitation, and the pollution and contamination of fresh water systems and watersheds. Bottled water is a big part of the problem.

Bottled water companies have targeted their marketing towards convincing the public that the only safe water to drink, is that which comes in a bottle. This has contributed to diminished confidence in public water systems, which threatens to make badly needed investments in public water infrastructure less of a priority for government.

Serious questions and concerns are raised where water is privatized. Should the ability to pay define who can access clean water? What are the impacts of this kind of price value? Should profit guide the use of finite water resources that are essential to life itself? Water service cut-offs and pre-paid water metres are examples of how privatizing water can cause barriers to accessing it. When this happens, health can deteriorate, household tasks become more burdensome and people go thirsty. Inequalities between people of different class, race and gender confound these effects.

Water is rightfully considered part of the ‘commons’ and managed for the benefit of all people. This is based on the understanding that there are some areas that should not be left to the whims of the market, but rather should be managed as a social good.and that water resource management is environmentally sustainable.

In addition, once water supplies become open to the market, free trade agreements open them up even further, making it far more difficult for countries to later restrict their trade.

I guess it comes down to whether this is a huge issue or not to you. At work I have access to drinking fountains, I also fill up a bike bottle from home and bring it with me. Is this just as bad? I'm not buying anymore plastic, it is re-usable and I'm not paying the big dollars for a bottle of water.

So tomorrow it will be the same for me, I'm bringing my own water.

2011-03-08T19:16:00.002-05:00

Starbucks at 40

As I entered my favourite Starbucks this evening, to enjoy my cup of Awake tea and to work on my blog, I spied the display, Starbucks is 40. This is quite a anniversary when you think about it. I suppose I should say something like "from humble beginnings, it has become the friendly behemoth, changing the coffee tastes of not only North America, but around the globe". I can say it has changed my coffee tastes, namely that it has given me a coffee taste.

I would like to say I had my first espresso drink at a Starbucks, but that would not be correct, it actually happened at this small coffee bar on Grandview Avenue in Vancouver. I was surprised to see how small an espresso drink is, until I tasted it, and wondered why I didn't sleep that night.

Starbucks and me go back a few years, to Vancouver. I remember when Starbucks attempted to open a store on Grandview Avenue (aka Java Drive), there was the usually anti-huge corporation vitriol, including a few paint bomb attacks to the logos. Yet it opened and survived, just as all the other coffee shops, including the roaster across the street. I have sat in the store in Vancouver where you could look across the street and see another Starbucks.

I have sat outside enjoying the warm February afternoon with a Cappuccino with my good friend Ed. I still have the photograph some place.

I have sat in the Pike Place Market Store, Starbucks #1 and enjoyed a coffee there.

Now thanks to Starbucks, I have a regular coffee every Saturday morning. It's as much a part of that routine as waffles and listening to NPR on XM radio. It's the only place I can listen to Car Talk and Wait, wait don't tell me.

As I write this, I'm wondering if there is any other anniversary things I could or should buy. I already own two mugs. I really shouldn't buy any more, since I tend to complain when others buy an abundance of mugs. Now if only they had a tee shirt, but then again I've been told to cull my tee shirt collection. Still I won't give up my collection of Starbucks gift cards.

2011-03-07T22:18:00.003-05:00

South Side Y

After lunch, I had a few errands to walk to in the downtown, so I did them and strolled over to the Laurier Carnegie Building. The reason for this walk, wasn't so much for the exercise, however it was a nice walk, but to get information about the new Y-Laurier complex that is going to be built in Brantford. While there, I took out my cellphone and took a few pictures of the work that was portrayed.

Unfortunately I missed any opening remarks, so I just took the pictures and then this evening did the reading.

Right off the bat, the concept drawings are quite impressive. It is going to be a fantastic structure on the south side, right across the street from Harmony Square. I imagine the plan and hope is to have both facilities draw off from each other to create a truly harmonic part of the downtown.

What is also interesting is the fact that part of the roof will be even with Colborne Street, thus creating a plaza that is easily accessible from the downtown, and while there is going to be activity on the roof, it will also be a place to relax and enjoy the view of the city.

Part of the local paper gave this quote from the spokesperson of the company that designed the concept:

Plans call for the 115,000-square-foot building to include: a double gym with retractable bleachers; a multi-purpose gym; a six-lane, 25-metre pool; and an aquatic "teach tank" with moveable floor.

There also would be a student lounge, yoga studio, and open green areas that could incorporate indigenous plants and public art.

Space would be reserved for a possible third gym, said Ross Carter-Wingrove, associate vice-president of Cannon Design.

"It is an extremely unique site. It's almost an escarpment. (The designs) nestle the building into the surroundings with terraced landscaping."

Sounds great, it is good the designers decided to incorporate what they have to work with, rather then forcing something to fit. It will be a boon to the downtown to have a nice place to exercise and enjoy the outdoors, especially in the warm weather.

The article goes on to state that it will be a 115,000 sq foot building. The price tag for it will be $50,000,000- fifty million dollars.

However there is one major problem for this project, and it is the same problem that has dogged it almost from the beginning- its all dependent on the various levels of government pitching in. One of the photographs shows the logo for the Canadian Economic Action Plan, the program of the federal government to provide stimulus funding to get the local economies going again after the recession. The question is, the logo, is it wishful thinking, or was it for the concept development only, or is there a chance that a cheque will be cut to pay for a fair percentage of the project.

The vice-president of facility development at the Y said it clearly:

It all hinges on funding. We will be going to all levels of government and the community for support. It's going to take all of us to do this.

In other words, no money, no Y, without funding it remains simply very nice drawings.

This could be a problem. To date funding has not been coming, in fact funding for projects that has to do with the University has been slow; the Academic and Research Centre was only started when funding finally came through, for a time it was simply a very large hole in the ground along Dalhousie. Is there any guarantees? Perhaps if Phil McColeman and Dave Levac could do another one of their 'bringing big cheques' together there is hope. Then again with at least one election coming up, the provincial, and another on the way, maybe, the federal, it will be a nice backdrop for both of them. I think if they could do this, they will guarantee each other's re-election for many years to come.

It does sound and look fantastic. However it is the question of funding that is the sticker isn't it. While it will cover, if the article is correct about half of the south side, what can be developed with the rest of the land?

There are still a lot of questions that will be asked and hopefully a few answers will come our way.

2011-03-02T20:48:00.003-05:00

The Dignity Project- Class Warfare

Some may wonder what the Dignity Project has to do with Class Warfare, but it is a document that articulates the fact Class Warfare exists and is doing very well in Canada, thank you so much. To re-iterate, the overall comments towards those who live in poverty is negative. It is usually their fault they are poor- either through bad choices, addiction and substance abuse or the catchall category, lazy.

To give the definition:

Class conflict refers to the concept of underlying tensions or antagonisms which exist in society due to conflicting interests that arise from different socioeconomic positions and dispositions. Class conflict is thought to play a pivotal role in history of class societies (such as capitalism and feudalism) by Marxists[1] who refer to its overt manifestations as class war, a struggle whose resolution in favor of the working class is viewed by them as inevitable under capitalism.

It's usually the term used by the underclasses and their political representatives to inspire them to overthrow the overlords. Things have changed, now we expect the underclasses to mind their position and take the abuse.

I was standing in line at the local social service office, I had to drop off some information to one of the executive, I was not applying. As I stood there, this young woman, I'm going to say probably early 20's came storming out of the back part of the office, cursing and swearing. No idea what her problem was but I`m going to think she didn`t receive the answer or help she was looking for or requesting. She continued her tirade and kicked a few doors as she left the place. I want to suggest here is another soldier or perhaps one of the `walking wounded` in the class war. For some reason she now has to be dependent on the welfare system, it may be for a few years or that through the auspices of Ontario Works, some sort of educational program could be implemented.

It seems the system, which is constructed to help people such as herself, is so overworked and over burdened that there are cracks and people are reacting in less then helpful ways. I am certain the local workers at Ontario Workers are not callous individuals who are indifferent to the concerns of their fellow humans, it just the system is such that humanity and humanism is stripped out and tossed out. This is class warfare.

So what can be done? The Dignity Project has made a manifesto:

I believe that:

* Everyone should have access to life’s basic necessities
* Poverty is a scourge on society that puts dignity out of reach
* People’s lives change when they are treated with dignity
* Everyone has a right to a sense of dignity
* The fight against poverty deserves my personal attention

By the way, as a bit of history, this is not the first manifesto from The Salvation Army, William Booth in his book: In Darkest England and the Way Out came up with the Cab Horse Manifesto or Charter:

It is the standard of the London Cab Horse. When in the streets of London a Cab Horse, weary or careless or stupid, trips and falls and lies stretched out in the midst of the traffic there is no question of debating how he came to stumble before we try to get him on his legs again. The Cab Horse is a very real illustration of poor broken-down humanity; he usually falls down because of overwork and underfeeding. If you put him on his feet without altering his conditions, it would only be to give him another dose of agony; but first of all you'll have to pick him up again. It may have been through overwork or underfeeding, or it may have been all his own fault that he has broken his knees and smashed the shafts, but that does not matter. If not for his own sake, then merely in order to prevent an obstruction of the traffic, all attention is concentrated upon the question of how we are to get him on his legs again. Tin load is taken off, the harness is unbuckled, or, if need be, cut, and everything is done to help him up. Then he is put in the shafts again and once more restored to his regular round of work. That is the first point. The second is that every Cab Horse in London has three things; a shelter for the night, food for its stomach, and work allotted to it by which it can earn its corn.

These are the two points of the Cab Horse's Charter. When he is down he is helped up, and while he lives he has food, shelter and work. That, although a humble standard, is at present absolutely unattainable by millions—literally by millions—of our fellow-men and women in this country. Can the Cab Horse Charter be gained for human beings? I answer, yes.

Today the class warfare that exists against the submerged tenth, to quote General Booth must end and end today. The attitudes that are so common and popular need to be replaced with a sense of compassion and care. Certainly there needs to be challenges to some people so that they stop the nonsense, but that can only happen when the hand up is offered and not the slap to the face.

Retired General John Gowans had it right when he declared the mission of The Salvation Army to be:

to save souls, grow saints and serve suffering humanity

I think I`ll end with that comment.

2011-03-01T19:08:00.002-05:00

The Dignity Project is Launched

Today, the Salvation Army launched the "Dignity Project", an attempt to educate and make Canadians aware of the needs of the very less fortunate in our society. It started with the fundamentals, what do Canadians think about poverty and those who are poor. It would be nice to think we are a very compassionate bunch, however, the numbers, and this was a true survey and not some lame Internet/Facebook thing. It appears Canadians take a very dim view of those who are poor. Some of the results are:

* Nearly 50 percent of Canadians feel that a family of four could get by on $10,000 – $30,000 per year or less
* Nearly half of all Canadians feel that if poor people really want to work, they can always find a job
* Nearly 40 percent believe people who live in poverty in Canada “still have it pretty good”
* 41 percent believe that the poor would “take advantage” of any assistance given and “do nothing” with support provided
* About a quarter of Canadians believe that people are poor because they are lazy and have lower moral values than average
* 96 percent of Canadians believe that everyone deserves a sense of dignity, but only 65 percent believe that being poor can rob you of dignity

Quite the interesting set of statistics, if the report does anything it should give us all pause as to what are our attitudes to the less fortunate. A quick read of some comment sections point out that these are not just people on a bad day, but a reality. I was at the Yahoo Page and the comments were running about 50-50, half were berating poor people as being responsible for their state of being because of the actions they had done, such as, leaving school early, or getting involved in an addiction. While people ranted, the realization is this is not to do with the cause of poverty, that may be for another report.

Of course, I thought the last statement, the belief in dignity may be one of those, 'I better answer the way they want me to answer'. So sure I believe that people should have dignity in their lives, but just because those on welfare are living better then I do, well, that's the real crime.

I wondered why there was this negative feeling, I mean its not a total surprised, there is nothing people have been crabbing about for years. I heard people talk about those in a subsidized housing project yelling at some automakers "keeping working guys, I need the money to buy beer". I did suggest the tale was rather apocalyptic, but it fits the stereotype.

This made me wonder why the prevalence and then I got another document to study, this time in the mail It is called "The Three Cities within Toronto". It's an examination on the development of Income Polarization in Toronto, from 1970-2005. It came with this issue of Spacing Magazine. To give the quick view, Toronto is becoming a very polarized city between the very rich and very poor. While the population of people who are rich has remained stable 15-18%, those who would be considered poor has increased 178% from 19% of population to 54. Meanwhile the Middle class has decreased by 56%, to 29% of the population. While this is sadly not abnormal, I think it may give the basis of the opinion, the Middle class is an endangered species. The adage that people are living pay cheque to pay cheque is not an adage but the truth. The Middle Class is going because the source of the middle class economics and income is disappearing. The Manufacturing Industry is leaving and the service industry is growing. It could be said the age of the $20/hour job is gone, now the $12-15 range is the new reality and new good paying jobs. Couple this with the fact that taxes and everything else is going through the roof. The former middle class is battered to extinction. They are angry but where to release the anger, yes to the government that imposes taxes and seems to squander what people worked hard earn on self-serving projects. But usually the money involved in mind boggling. How do you understand a billion dollar boondoggle. You can't, but if you see a headline that states that it costs governments $55,000/year to house a homeless person, then it becomes personal. That guy on the corner with the sign and the hat bugging you for loose change is costing more then you make. Now understand the front line is probably about $13,000/year but when you put in the nice offices for Ontario Works, well, it begins to add up. Those new business cards cost money after all.

Plus add the fact the recession that is supposed to be a recovery is very fragile, if it exists and you have a very cranky populace.

They can't yell at the Premier, because he's surrounded by security and the only time he comes out is in well stages, well rehearsed 'spontaneous' meeting with the common folk, usually those who are long time supporters of the governing party. Is he approachable, yeah if you don't mind getting tasered if you get too close. So who symbolizes all the waste, the guy in public housing, the mother with a couple of kids trying to live high on the hog on a thousand a month. It's the people who have to go to the food bank each month, hoping there is something new and not the same old stuff. Again, the recession has affected even donations to food banks so people who need the extra food can't get that.

As an aside, I sent an email to Andrew Burditt, asking him if he was surprised at the findings, to date, he has not returned a reply.

It would be easy to blame the people with the negative thoughts, but more important, we need to examine a lot of things, the first thing is the entitlement that seems to flow towards those who are in power with the government or have the very cushy government jobs.

hasta la victoria, siempre!

2011-02-22T19:13:00.002-05:00

Freedom of Expression is Messy (Pt 2)

I commenced the thought that of all the rights and freedoms a person can have this one is the messiest. Probably because this has more to do with us as ourselves then any other right. After all, the freedom of religion and assembly, do come from the same source as the expression, and do speak of our true nature, although they tend to do with where we gather and what truth we have accepted. As for freedom of the press, that is good, but for the most part, we enjoy this right, we don't participate.

I considered the words of Rene Descartes: Je pense donc je suis. The idea is that if we are capable of thought, we exist. We are real, this is not a dream existence. I'm wondering if there may be another interpretation, it is in thinking and our expression plus our thoughts that reveal our true selves. Our thoughts are who we are. Now again, that is very messy, because there are a number of times we say or think things which we are probably not proud of possessing as thought. However, it is in our thinking and reasoning, or some times, the lack thereof, that we find our true selves.

Whether we or others like it or not, we come up with thoughts, sometimes totally independent of what the social norms are and what is considered proper for polite company, or as in the case of a dictatorship, what the leader wants you to think. While in some countries, you are simply told what you are to believe, and you had better not sway, but deep down inside, there is something totally different.

Perhaps this is why dictatorships and tyrannies always end up, eventually on the losing end, because people know what is the truth. They know when they are being fed a bunch of garbage, and while they can along with it for years, there will come a point when they say ' I'm not putting up with this nonsense any more'. Vacel Havel wrote in his essay "Power of the Powerless":

Let us now imagine that one day something in our greengrocer snaps and he stops putting up the slogans merely to ingratiate himself. He stops voting in elections he knows are a farce. He begins to say what he really thinks at political meetings. And he even finds the strength in himself to express solidarity with those whom his conscience commands him to support. In this revolt the greengrocer steps out of living within the lie. He rejects the ritual and breaks the rules of the game. He discovers once more his suppressed identity and dignity. He gives his freedom a concrete significance. His revolt is an attempt to live within the truth. . . .

It would be far simplier for the greengrocer to continue to display what he knows is a lie. He would be able to live a life that is relatively safe within the confines of his society and culture if he votes as instructed. Many people do, even though they see through the farce. But then there is the reality of existence, I think, therefore I am... or to reverse, I am, therefore I think... and he throws the sign away. Then the first cracks appear in the system.

This is why governments are so quick to suppress this right. Its perfectly fine if you continue to think as you should, because its safe. Even in a democracy such as Canada, bad things won't happen to you if you think bad thoughts. Although some may think what you believe falls under the category of a hate crime, then you will a few problems. Of course, the definition of hate crime has a tendency to expand and not remain static. It's not just new groups that are now protected from hate, its that the definition expands. Before it might be encouraging violence against a specific group, now it could be said if you hold a negative view towards another group then you are involved in hate crime. Or you are a victim of such.

I came across an article that stated, hate crime is on the rise in Canada. The question is, real increase or just more people are getting angry and reporting it. That is the big question. What becomes fascinating is how many actual crimes there are, 892 or so. Almost non-existent in a way.

Let me say hate crimes are never right. One should never espouse the death of a specific group in a society. If there is any limits on freedom of expression I will accept its that, that's the area of the government. It is often the role of government to tell us who to hate. It's called 'war'.

Still people do hold those thoughts, it is who they are. The problem of suppression is when one attempts to suppress anything, it goes underground. It does not go away, in fact it might be the basis of a whole new level of hate. Now a person thinks, they are unfairly 'protected' by the government. This leads to the bizarre conspiracy theories.

What do I suggest, with a few exceptions, let them express themselves as long as its not threatening or not destructive. For if you open your mouth to express your opinion, you invite me to open mine. If you are going to be a total jerk, I should have the right to point out what a jerk you are, it is only fair.

Still, this is where it all gets messy, all these not correct thoughts be express. It's noisy, it makes people upset. Yet, it is our humanity in full and some times, ugly display.

I think I've got a few more things to say.

2011-02-20T21:07:00.002-05:00

Freedom of Expression is Messy

As we have all been following, the Arab world seems to be in a state in amazing flux. A few of the long running autocracies have fallen and a few more seem to be coming to their expiry dates. This seems to be especially true for Libya. The nation is in uproar, people are now sick of the 42 year reign of Muammar Gaddafi and want things like democracy, freedom of expression and economic freedom that is free from the restrictions placed by the government. Over the last number of years, Gaddafi has favoured one part of the country over the other. The East seems to have suffered, although many will say the West isn't exactly the land of milk and honey. For a nation rich in resources, there has been an amazing economic screw=up by the government. Well, let's be honest, its been a one man show, because of it, the problems have to rest in the incompetence of the Mr. Gaddafi. He's called the shots and he is the one that messed everything up.

I was reading the Constitution of Libya, its something I like to do and as is the case of most constitutions of dictatorship, it has some wonderful language. For example the Preamble has this:

The Revolutionary Command Council, in the name of the Arab people in Libya, who pledged to restore their freedom, enjoy the wealth of their land, live in a society in which every loyal citizen has the right to prosperity and well-being, who are determined to break the restraints which impede their growth and their development, who will stand with their brothers from all parts of the Arab Nation in the struggle for the restoration of every inch of Arab land desecrated by imperialism and for the elimination of all obstacles which prevent Arab unity from the Gulf to the Ocean.

Prosperity for the citizenry and a vision of a Pan-Arab world in which all nations of the Arab world will join to bring unity and prosperity through that region. As nice as it sounds, it seems the reality is totally different.

The odd thing is after 42 years of such wonderful rhetoric, the people seem totally sick of it all. With the relatively bloodless regime change to their neighbours, it only seems right for the Libyan people to do the same. Sadly it hasn't been true, where there has been peaceful protest, the government has cracked down with violence and bloodshed. However, never underestimate the resolve of people to seek a better life, they are still at it. In fact as I write this, Benghazi has been liberated by the protesters and Tripoli is now feeling the same power of protest.

I noticed the speech of his son, Saif al-Islam Gaddafi has already announced his father is preparing to fight for the defence of Tripoli. I'm not sure but that could be code for "he's already on the first plane to Saudi Arabia to join his friend the deposed President of Tunisia" or "we've just shot him and now we're in charge, we're just not ready to dispose the body yet".

This is not the theme of today's blog, I also went over the constitution and found these words:

Freedom of Opinion is guaranteed within the limits of public interest and the principles of the Revolution.

In other words, freedom of expression is allowed as long as it agrees with the Brotherly Leader and Guide of the Revolution. If you want an opinion Gaddafi will give you one, disagree and things will not be nice.

Here's the thing, people like Gaddafi, in fact the leaders of almost every nation realizes this fact, freedom of expression is messy. If you let people have the freedom of opinion or expression they will do just that. In fact they will probably not agree with the opinion of the leader and government. This is why most people who are foolish enough to take things such as Article 13 at face value end up in jail. This is why the people of Libya are now facing down mercenaries who are well armed, and are willing to die. They believe the words of their constitution are no longer pretty sounding on a piece of paper but should have a place in their lives. Of course dictators can't think that point, they look at the people and wonder what is wrong with the rabble and because they can't fathom it all, they think that shoot enough of them, it will all go away. If history has proven anything, there's not enough bullets to get rid of a people who want to be free. Dictators will always in the battles, but they will never win the war, because they are facing a people who believe in an ideal- it's called freedom.

Of course, to further fail the point, leaders promise "constitutional dialogue". People are fed up with it all, the want freedom, they want the prosperity that has been promised, they want to be a free people.

2011-02-13T20:51:00.002-05:00

Chicken Tartare Anyone?

Recently the CBC program Marketplace revealed the ugly truth about the chicken we eat, it's full of bacteria. If that wasn't bad enough, it's full of bacteria that is resistant to various antibiotics. The problem is, according to the program is the fact that poultry farmers jack up the amount of antibiotics they fill their birds. A great deal of this, the argument goes, because the birds live in horrific conditions, filled with disease and dirt. The birds are suffering greatly and the only way to keep them with some semblance of health until they reach the abattoir is to have them filled with antibiotics. So its no wonder the birds have these super bugs on them, because the environment and the overexposure of the drugs makes it possible.

Needless to say, Chicken Farmers are not impressed with the news. In fact their federation sent off a letter to the CBC to give their side of the story. As well, one of Canada's largest food chains had a reaction to the show, Loblaws sent this email to the CBC:

he use of antibiotics is not permitted in the production of President's Choice® Free From™ Chicken. We have rigorous processes and controls in place to ensure that all of our Free From™ Chicken is produced to the exacting standards that we specify meeting all Canadian Food Inspection Agency regulatory requirements for such products. It's probable that if microbes were isolated on chicken that there could be resistant isolates amongst them. Any such isolation of bacteria displaying antimicrobial resistance to antibiotics are part of the general microbial population, which over time have had the natural ability to resist certain antibiotics and not necessarily the result of direct exposure to antibiotics. As expected within the microbial ecosystem, which is part of our environment, products can become naturally exposed to strains of anti-microbial resistant bacteria. This is simply a characteristic of the endemic microbial population and has no relationship at all to the Free From™ Chicken Program.

I suppose at the end of the program the question needs to be ask, is our food truly that contaminated? Are people dropping dead or ending up in the hospital because of contaminated food? On one hand the answer is 'no', on the other, is it something we should be concerned about? As we learned during the various Mad Cow infections, our food is not perfect, nor are the modern agricultural methods. Certainly in the day and age in which we consumers demand good food that is good, plentiful and relatively inexpensive, the only way to meet this is by making things happen faster then allowing nature to take its course.

If I can go back, the Chicken Farmers of Canada have an entire page on their website to deal with Antibiotics.

There was one point in the article from the CBC that does need reminding:

While thorough cooking kills bacteria — including superbugs — most contamination happens before the chicken is cooked through improper handling. If there's contamination by superbugs, the worry is that consumers could ingest illness-causing bugs that are then resistant to much of the available spectrum of traditional antibiotic therapy.

It seems there is still one thing that will kill the bacteria and that's cooking the chicken completely. Seems they resist everything but heat. So keep it at 350 for 45 minutes. Everything will be fine. As well, there is the reminder to keep cutting boards and other kitchen surfaces clean to ensure there is no cross contamination. This is good advice that we do need to remember. Plus to wash our hands, got to keep those hands washed. This seems to be the number one way of keeping germs from being spread.

Of course, to get back to the poultry industry, do we need to crack down on the use of antibiotics, probably we do, we do want safe food and we want to know it is ultimately safe for us. Perhaps we need to ask ourselves if we like the concept of the factory farm for poultry or any other farm animal. Or is this the cost to keep us with the variety of food at the prices we like. This is the issue we need to keep in our minds. Or is there middle ground that can be achieved.

2011-01-30T19:59:00.002-05:00

FourSquare

It's not enough we share our sitting around the house in our beanbag chairs, eating popcorn, in 140 characters or less. Or that we friend people and have others poke us, now we can tell people exactly where we are, by checking in to Foursquare.
What Foursquare does is allow you to announce your location to your friends through the web. What of us doesn't want others to know exactly where we are at any one time or another. Of course what it does is prove we don't actually live very interesting lives, at least from my perspective of myself. If you go to my Foursquare page you will discover I spend a fair bit of time at the gym. This is followed by probably Zehr's and a few other places. You can check my homepage on Foursquare and discover the exciting life that I lead.

What makes it an interesting place is the fact it has rewards, for example you can get badges which denote different things you've done. If you really are interested, you can also buy those badges to wear to prove you are indeed the great person you are, or the sad sort of person that collects badges. As well, if you show up to the same place enough times you can claim the Mayorship of the location. Besides the ego stroking that entails, the plan has been to have retailers give special things to Mayors, who can prove they are the Mayor of the location.

To give the basics, to quote another blog:

Foursquare doesn’t just broadcast your location to your selected friends; it also serves as a game, pairing virtual rewards with real activities.

Users earn badges as they visit different spots. Visit one location enough times and you become the mayor. You can use Foursquare to meet new friends, find out who else is in your area or compete against other people in your city.

“Elizabeth Fisher just checked in at the Algonquin Hotel.” This message is now famous as a supposed shout out to Foursquare, which popularized the phrase “check-in” on the deliciously tech-savvy show, “Gossip Girls.” Even Crowley couldn’t resist and took to Twitter to post, “Check-ins on Gossip Girl?”

As of March 2010, Foursquare has 500,000 users and 1.4 million venues according to Tech Crunch, keeping Gowalla at a solid second place. Why are more people checking out Foursquare, leaving Loopt and Gowalla in the dust? It’s simple.

You can read more by going to Social Media Examiner.

Another thing you can do is add locations. If the place you are at isn't listed, you can add it to the places to go.

It's obviously an interesting place, since recently it was acknowledged it had grown by 3400% over the past year. It now has 6 million users.

I've been using it for the last number of months and its been fun. However, I've noticed a change; it started when I noticed a loss of mayorships. They were places that I had thought I wrapped up, including the Fit4Less. This was horrible, even though I had a super Mayor badge, there was a distinct deterioration.

I noticed a message on my phone, there was a change in the way things operated; from now on, if I use a web based phone rather then a smart phone with one of their apps then nothing I can do will count for mayorships. This is horrible. Not only can't I become a mayor, but as i witness I will lose mayorships. I know what you're thinking "Oh the Humanity". I can understand them wanting to get people to use their apps, it makes sense, but don't forget the rest of us. I'm sure I speak for a lot of people who don't have the required Smartphones.

If they are going to penalize us, then develop apps.

That's all I got to say.

For the record, I've checked into Fit4Less 47 times, and I'm not the Mayor.

2011-01-29T21:27:00.002-05:00

University Gone Wild

You would think after all the controversy regarding the demolition of the 41 properties along the south side of Colborne Street, the last thing anyone would suggest is demolition another building that may have heritage implications in the downtown core. Apparently we need to all think again. It appears one more property is on the block for a date with the wrecking ball. The property is 105 Wellington and the purpose of the demolition is to provide a parking space for Laurier Brantford. I want to thank Leis Marie Jansen for the link of the Report. The document makes for a compelling read, on one hand, you have the recommendation of proceeding with the demolition, and on the other, you have the Heritage Committee calling for its preservation. So you have two dynamic forces at work, the University and its wish to expand to develop the downtown campus and to further enhance the downtown core, and those in the heritage committee who want to preserve something of Heritage Brantford. I suppose if there is any good news to come out of this is the fact people are talking about preservation. Last year you might recall only a few "cranks" spoke out for the preservation and renovation of the South Side of Colborne. Interesting to note, I was talking to a person regarding this very issue, he suggested that any building can be preserved and restored. Knowing this individual's background I think he is in the know, pity no one talked to him.

If you read the document you will note, the building is not necessarily a heritage structure, but is part of a landscape of buildings from the same time period, as well it is part of the housing stock for the downtown. The concern of the Heritage Committee is:

The Heritage Committee, at its meeting, January 18, 2011, discussed the proposed demolition of the building at 105 Wellington Street.
Members of the Committee recognize the university’s need to expand, planning for future growth and the demand for additional parking. However, the Committee noted that the property at 105 Wellington Street is part of a group of buildings that form a small, cohesive streetscape of early 20th century architecture and the proposed demolition of this building would result in a vacant gap along this streetscape.
Members of the Committee stated that the property would provide a limited number of parking spaces. The Committee would encourage the university to utilize the building until such time as it is required for a larger redevelopment of the area.
The Heritage Committee made the following recommendation:
THAT although the Heritage Committee supports Wilfrid Laurier University’s plan for growth, the proposed demolition permit application for 105 Wellington Street BE NOT APPROVED as this building forms part of a cohesive architectural grouping of an early 1900’s streetscape.”

So you ruin the cohesiveness of the block and place an empty space where a house once stood. I suppose it will only be temporary since you tear down one house, what's to stop the demolition of the entire block? After all, more parking is needed, even though there is a lot approximately two blocks south which in the most recent survey is only 40% utilized. I know its a bit of a walk, but walking is good for us.

I don't want to get on the "the University is Bad" bandwagon, because the University is a good thing, but there should be some understanding and consideration. The first is, is there any under-used property in the area that could be used by the University, that may have the infrastructure in place for parking, or perhaps is close enough to existing parking spaces?

The area of the downtown is a Demolition Control Area, meaning that Council needs to approve any requests for demolition. From reading the local news, it seems there is some resistance to the idea of the University talking this property and turning it into a parking lot. This is a good thing, I mean its one thing to simply say, have the University and the Heritage Committee meet to establish the proper protocol for demolition of property in this zone, which means, well, what? How do you establish a protocol for a bulldozer knocking down a house? I know it means more then that, its just- can there be expansion without destruction. The University should be praised for the work of restoration and revitalization that has already taken place in the Downtown Core. However it needs to do make it does not lose its lustre and start tearing things down for its own needs.

Just as an aside, while the bylaw required all requests of demolition to go to Council, it appears Council doesn't have a problem approving demolition requests in the zone.

2011-01-25T20:32:00.005-05:00

2011: the Year of the Tablet

In my reading of computer magazine and various tech sites, plus technology articles in major newspapers, the message is clear- this is the year of the Tablet. Ever since the iPad burst onto the scene, people have been wondering when other computer manufacturers would decide to follow suit and challenge what seems to be the run-away success story and the template of such devises. One can read about commentators defining what will be the iPad killer. When in actual fact, there is probably no such thing.

It has gotten to the point that even PCWorld Magazine has articles stating that my next PC will be a tablet. The article begins by stating the obvious, but it is a good place to start:

The world of computing is at a crossroads. The primary computer for most users today is not a PC; it's a phone. While the PC sits on a desk at the office or on a coffee table at home, smartphones go everywhere with us and integrate into every part of our lives. But despite getting smarter and smarter, phones are too small to replace PCs completely. We need a device that bridges the gap between what PCs do and what mobile phones do. That device has arrived. Welcome to the age of the tablet.

This is very true, the evolution of the cellphone, from brick to smartphone has seen the devise transform from a telephone to an always connected mini computer. With our phones, we text, we take pictures and videos, we email, we surf the web. In fact the last thing we probably do is take phone calls. Go to your last bill and count the minutes you've used in telephone calls, I'm going to suspect its very small. Then look at the usage on your data plan, or the number of text messages you've sent out.

However, the problem with all phones is this, they are too small, the form factor still demands it to be a telephone first and everything else second. Which is why the tablet PC, or plain tablet is now the talk of everybody. From what I can see, the tablet is making inroads into everyday life. I was at Starbucks a few weeks ago, which is always the place to discover what technology is making a difference and there was a couple with an iPad. Mind you I've sat at Starbucks and the local library with my little tablet as well, doing the surfing thing and putting upgrades to Twitter or Facebook, because that's what we do. PCWorld also had an article on my devise, the little iPad Knockoff from China. Personally, I still use it, it's a good thing to have around when all I want to do is look up my email or that sort of thing, and I don't want to start the laptop.

It still has good functionality, and for all that talk about it being an Android tablet, it's comfortable to use. I do recognize that its only one hundred dollars so its not top of the line. It falls under the catagory you get what you pay for, it's 1/4th of an IPad, so I can't expect it to function like an IPad.

What is impressive is the long list of companies producing or promising to produce a tablet. I've been looking at the Samsung Galaxy Tab and must say I've been very impressed with its functions

It has a nice function and does look good, my problem is the price, its quite expensive and one needs a data plan from the various cell companies to get it going. I know it has wifi, but probably the always on function needs 3G to operate successfully. I at one time, did balk at the whole idea of getting onto the 3G network, something about giving Rogers even more of my money, but I do understand why this is necessary, after all, why have a devise that needs to, or at least works well when connect to the Internet when you aren't always guaranteed a hotspot. I still dislike the idea of giving Rogers more money though.

What is going to be interesting is the Blackberry Playbook. This might be interesting in that RIM is already a success and has a whole bunch of users who might be happy to move over to the Playbook. They are comfortable with the form and function of the Blackberry and understand the OS. From talking with someone who works at RIM, he spoke of the fact that it is impressive. Couple this with the fact that there's a bit of a war going on between Apple and RIM, I asked if Steve Job's comments aren't on the bulletin board at work, he said it features around the place, then that tells me that things are going to be interesting.

If you go to the main page, there is a link to the comparison between it and the IPad, which is going to be for every devise I have to believe. I also have to believe its going to be the thing all the crackberry users are going to buy and use. Which is probably a good thing to have such a loyal market already. It should be interesting to watch how the Playbook does in the opening weeks of its introduction. I know people will make comment if its not as good as the IPad, which probably won't be fair, but that's how some people operate.

One of the devises I'm looking forward to is the new Dell Streak 7. Of course as you know I'm a bit of a Dell fan, I've owned to Dell laptops, plus a few of their Axim's, so when they announce this devise, I've got my ears up to read more and learn more about it:

If I have any concern about the tabs, and some of them are answering this concern, is the fact that they are a consumer devise only. I like the idea that many of them are featuring slots for SD or miniSD cards, after all if the camera is going to be on them all, you got someplace to store the pictures, and you might as well use them to edit the photographs as well. I've tried taking pictures with the 7" and I can see it is possible to grow onto it, even thought at first it feels a bit awkward. I can't imagine having a camera on a 10" IPad, that is going to feel funny and probably look funny as well.

So will 2011 be the year of the Tablet, it will be an important part. Will it take over, probably not since they are still limited an limiting. Will I get one? Have to save my pennies for that answer.

2011-01-18T20:15:00.003-05:00

Citizen Say on the South Side

It was on the front page of the Expositor: "Public to get Say on the South Side". After the debacle of the destruction, sorry, the demolition of the South Side of Colborne Street, the new City Council has decided to include citizen input on what should happen with the stretch of land.

That tells me a few things, one is they learned their lesson. After the problem that led to the demolition, people felt they were shut out of the process and I thinkn a few people lost their political jobs because of it. I'm not sure people were all that fired up about the demolition. I do understand the knee-jerk reaction was 'tear it down since its nothing but an eyesore'. But as it started, people began to feel something was wrong. The second thing, there was no plan. I know former Mayor Hancock all but said that, but here's the proof.

So what should happen. Here's few thoughts I'm starting. The first thing is what shouldn't happen.

1) Don't leave it vacant. I notice some people talk about the great view and how nice it will be to sit along the top of the hill and take in the view. There are now benches produced along the way:

It might be nice, but vacant, or even parkland means no development, no housing, no income from property. I think there should be green space incorporated, but to leave it as a park might be a mistake.

I wonder if it should developed into more University and the Y, as was thought to be the plan. Possible, but again, I think its not the best use of land.

What needs to happen; I believe what the downtown needs is more people, more business and more places to go. For the latter people in the north end, and probably across the river say there's no reason to go downtown. You can understand, after all the retail is in the north. So we need to develop the downtown so that more people live downtown and there is more to do downtown. I know that's easier said then done, but that's where plans come from.

My own vision for the City is to develop a high tech industry for the Centre. I see the old Expositor Building as the hub of all this, in fact perhaps Queen Street can be the nexus for this growth industry. There might be some snorts of derision, but consider this, we live in the industry of electrons. Electrons don't require a specific geographical location. The industry of atoms, heavy industry need a specific location. So we can dream.

What is needed is people downtown. There needs to be that critical mass, a place to live, work, and play is vital. Make everything close so people need not have cars. Density is important and so housing should be in the mix.

Jobs are vital. As the University grows there needs to be something to keep the young people after they graduate, as well as give them something to do while in Unversity. As I look downtown, there not a lot of opportunities for students to find jobs while in the City. Entry level jobs are important and jobs that allow students to practice their education. The University is part of the economic engine for the downtown, it needs to keep going and be vital. At the same time there is need for diversity.

Let me think more about the south side. They want public consultation, this is important because if the public doesn't get into the consultation process, there are all sorts of consultant groups that will gladly take our money and come up with ideas that we can.

2011-01-15T22:03:00.004-05:00

Mayor Chris at Rotary

There are a number of advantages to attending Rotary. One is the good meals and fine company, another is to get involved in the community and the third is the quality of speakers.

This past Friday is was Mayor Chris Friel's time to speak to the club. I believe he said this was one of the first speeches he will make in the new year. So it was interesting to hear what he had to say. It was as you can remember an interesting election and I think he may have won because he was not a part of the last city council and the fact he had some progressive ideas and promises.

He began by mentioning he had some props with him, one was a congratulation note to a Rotarian who had been made a Paul Harris Fellow. The second was interesting, he brought a city flag that had flown in Afghanistan. One of the local young men who had been stationed had asked for a flag and had it flown over his Armoured Vehicle. It was a success and at the end, he had his platoon sign it, for the city to have. It was quite something to see the names and to realize where this flag had been, plus there was photographs showing the young man proudly flying the flag.

Mayor Chris said he wanted to connect with community groups because they are an important part of the community, and its one that is a challenge. The lives of people are becoming busy and find it a challenge to give time to make the community a better place.

He has a vision and wants to start with a Call to Action. To have all groups in the community get involved. To him an important part of the call is to celebrate the successes of Brantford. Most of the time we hear all that is wrong with Brantford, and he did admit being part of that when he spoke of the downtown as being the worst in Canada. The negative thought is still out there and is very vocal, to him one thing that surprised him was the vocal anti-University sentiment in the community. He heard that people are tired of the fact that the University has been on a free ride and has not brought much to the community. Yes there are students, but they have not brought about any change to the downtown, except to have students. It seems that to many, the City has given a lot to the University and has got nothing in return. In fact it appears all the changes, whether wanted by the people of the City appear to have the University as the motivator. Even the debate of making the roads in the downtown to two way is because of the University.

He took some of these criticisms and gave some answers; first of all the University has generated 38 million dollars worth of building permits over the past 10 years. This includes the 2.3 million for the new Academic Research Centre. Now the City has helped the University with its development. It has used surplus funds, for example, as well as given support through land sales. Also the City has donated building for the University, such as the Carnegie Centre and more recently the SJ Johnson building, which was the old CIBC building. All structures were abandoned and therefore cost the City nothing at all. The result of this is, 2050 students coming to the University. It is estimated these students generate 9.8-12.8 million dollars in economic activity to the downtown, this includes rent, food and retail. Some complain that the students haven't brought much retail, yet the stores that succeed are the ones that market to the students. As an aside, this is probably correct for most of them. Although I think it could be said the Fresh Co plaza probably has been developed by the student base.

What he has discovered is that outsiders are excited about what is taking place in the downtown of Brantford. He talked about discussions he had with a major development and the partners were very excited with what is happening. Projects were being developed that they wanted to be a part of and invest in the downtown.

Mayor Chris also confronted the complaint that the downtown is only for students and there is nothing for people in the north end, say to come downtown. He pointed out, of course, Harmony Square, which is the meeting space of the City. As well, the University is the place where change will commence. There is a lot of exciting things happening and things are even going to get more positive for Brantford. He spoke of the City 'exploding' with positive energy and things. He spoke of the continual need for dialogue between Brant County and the Six Nations. In fact he said there will be some "made in Brantford" decisions which will force the federal government to move forward on land claims. There will be local initiatives which will help the three communities to work together for a change.

One of the questions he was asked was regarding the future of Mohawk College; as we know there are noises of the College pulling out of Brantford. He said to bring Mohawk downtown and that is the desire will cost the City money. The benefits of the College is that it brings more students to the downtown, to the number of 1371. Both sides want to stay in Brantford, so now it is a matter of dealing with outstanding issues.

There was another question about one of the problems is students are only in the City 8 months of the year, is there a way to bring the Colleges and Universities to to full-time. The answer is waiting for the critical mass to be reached.

More good news is that there are other Universities and Colleges looking to expand into Brantford and into the downtown core. Again, this is the Call to Action, to celebrate the good news of Brantford and more from there.

There was warm applause after the speech. He was thanked and it was mentioned of his work keeping Mohawk in Brantford 10 years ago. So we have a mayor willing to take on the challenges facing the City.

2011-01-13T20:21:00.002-05:00

The Dominion Stands Secure

You may have wondered, what have been the dangers which Canada has faced over the last twenty five years or so. Well, today it was finally revealed. It was not: global warming and environmental degradation (really?), nor was it encroachment upon our Arctic Sovereignty ( yawners), and it certainly has not been economic concerns and crises ( oh please, that's so last year). You would think any and all of those have been our chief concern and the potential source of any problems. No the chief source of the misery and plight that has dogged our fair Dominion has been the song, "Money for Nothing". Yes the now classic rock hit by Dire Strait, is and has been the greatest danger facing us as Canadians. If you read any of the news today you saw the headlines, the snorts of derision, the laughter from the rest of the planet. A group called the Canadian Broadcasts Standards Council released the report of a decision reached last October. It seems one person in Newfoundland set a complaint in regarding the song "Money for Nothing". The Council heard the complaint and decided it was a valid complaint and has decided that the song, in its original form is not fit for Canadian ears.

Darryl Sterdan wrote in the Toronto Sun:

It's been a long time since I wanted my MTV -- but right now, I'll take that over the CBSC any day.

In one of the most head-slappingly moronic moves in history, the national embarrassment that is the Canadian Broadcast Standards Council has ruled that Dire Straits' 1985 song Money for Nothing can no longer be played in its original form in Canada -- because one person in Newfoundland was offended over its use of a word that starts with F, rhymes with maggot and refers to gay men.

Let's get a little history happening, the song was written as MTV, was becoming a part of the public conscience. In fact in those days the "M" stood for "Music" and not "Mediocre Crap". Music Video was the new format and a lot of bands were taking advantage of it, certainly there was some great stuff but one of the complaints was that style was overriding substance. Mark Knopfler, the lead singer of Dire Straits, and composer of the song, says he was in a furniture store and overheard one of the salesman complaining about how these 'musicians' were making easy money by being on the MTV. He grabbed some paper, a pen and began to write the comments this guy was making. He turned them into part of the song, released with the album "Brothers in Arms" and the rest is history. However we now know that all the social ills in Canada can be traced back to this one song.

Now, I bought the CD when I bought my first CD player, in fact I've owned it on every possible medium, from cassette to vinyl. So I guess I am now corrupt.

However now, thanks to the CBSC, we are now safe from future corruption, because our radio airwaves, that is the terrestrial ones will no longer play this song. So from this day forward, future generations will not be exposed to it, unless they are connected to the Internet, or been to a record store, do those still exist, or a used book/ music store.

Now far be it for me to leave future generations uncorrupt. So here is the song.

Watch Dire Straits - Money for Nothing in Music | View More Free Videos Online at Veoh.com

Just a few more things: if you want to complain here is the contact information page. Yes I've already written them. The second thing is this, if there is one over arching characteristic shared by bureaucracies, be they public or private, government, corporate or industry based, is that none of them possess in the slightest a sense of humour. They cannot comprehend humour, sarcasm, satire, irony or anything else. It is totally beyond them. The third thing is, if you have to ban a song, why can't it be Celine Dion's cover of "You Shook me All Night Long", a version which has been agreed by experts as being the worst cover of all times. It is so bad I implore you do not look it up. It is not terrible, it is the personification of evil. You will beg someone to throw acid at your eyes if you start to view this video. So don't.

And the last thing is: its only Rock 'N Roll, but I like it.

2011-01-02T20:35:00.002-05:00

Watching Tron: Legacy

Wired Magazine had this as its opening paragraph:

You will like Tron: Legacy. That’s not a prediction—it’s a command. Don’t even try to fight it. Come December 17, when the movie comes out, your butt will be in a seat and your head will be plugged into migraine-inducing Urkel goggles like everybody else. The people from Walt Disney have made sure of it.

I did watch the original movie when it came out in 1982, wow, doesn't that age me or what. Then again, being a geek means I had to attend and enjoy it. One person called it the first myth of the computer generation. It looked to computers as connected devises in which users manipulated the 'lives' of the population of the computer. It could be controlled, or it could control us. It had great music, produced by Wendy Carlos, and the attention to detail, plus the special effects, the disc match, the light cycles, the escapes- all that made a good movie. Yes I know it was panned by the critics and sort of failed, but it may be one of the those movies that improve with age. Whatever it inspired a sequel:

What also made the first movie so interesting was the interaction between Tron and Jeff Bridges character.

This blog is going to be more based upon my opinion of the movie, not a full review. So there's no worries of spoiler alerts, because if you read my work, you're equally a geek and you've seen it.

Let's discuss it:

This was my first experience of a 3D movie, I know shocking, its just I never had another one I was interested in see. I mean Piranha in 3-D, please I do have tastes. What I liked is the 3D was not over the top, it was relevant, there was no scenes of the light cycles 'crashing' through the screen at us. It added depth and allowed to show the difference between the real world and the digital world, or is it the real world and the analog world.

It also had a number of the original cast, well at least two- Bruce Boxleitner, who went on to be Captain John Sheridan of Babylon 5 fame. As well as Jeff Bridges who brought back his role of Kevin Flynn.

The music was not by Wendy Carlos and her amazing Moog Synthesizer, it was Daft Punk, who brought a more house sound to the movie.

What interested me was the influences of the movie, I thought there was at least three movies which had an impact: Tron, of course, the Matrix and the Big Lebowski. You may wonder why the other two, I thought the scene at the club was right out of the second and third Matrix movies, although the role of the Merovingian was played by Castor. In fact the only thing missing was the three heros entering the bars with weapons drawn. They did have the same DJ booth and the two DJ's in it were dressed alike. I don't know about you, but you either hated the bar scene or loved it. It did make sense in the third movie, except for the rave in the cave of Zion- still hate it. Personally, I thought it was the club scene that set the movie apart from the original. To me the first half was very much scripted to form, call for the flying tanks, have the battle with the discs and cue the light cycles. It was only when the met at the club to get the information they need, plus hang out with the hot babes that the movie came alive. Yes Clu did destroy it, but it was important and the battle scene was quite good. Plus Olivia Wilde did some serious butt kicking, even though she was injured

As for the third influence, it did have, after all, the Dude himself. The Dude truly did abide. Getting serious, there was a very spiritual influence on the movie, Jeff Bridges spent a lot of time meditating. He also was driven with a desire to redeem his character and save what remained of a people, which had been destroyed by Clu. Ultimately Flynn does sacrifice himself to save the Grid, his son and Quorra.

Overall, I did enjoy the movie.

I do have a few reservations, the first was the CGI of the younger face of Jeff Bridges, it was a bit hokey and at first seemed to be a rather bad photoshop attempt. I don't know if it improved through the movie or not, or I just got used to it. The second was the minor influence of Tron, yes it was a corrupted program throughout most of the movie, only coming back to his true reality towards the very end when he does sacrifice himself to protect the Users. It is only then you heard his voice, perhaps Bruce didn't want to go through the CGI process for his character.

In a good way the movie continues the legacy, which is its name, after all. It was worth the price and popcorn which followed.

2010-12-31T19:50:00.002-05:00

Happy New Year

It's been a fun 2010 blogging. Here's hoping, wishing and praying that all will have a tremendous and bless 2011.

2010-12-24T22:18:00.004-05:00

Christmas Eve Thoughts

With Christmas only a couple of hours away as I write this, I thought of a few things to describe the season.

First of all, its great to have the family together tonight. Well, most of them, one is visit wife's in-laws. It's also great to watch Isabelle enjoy the season.

Christmas Lights always look good. In my neighbourhood a lot of people decorate, it does add the color we need in the season.

As for Christmas Kettles, it was a bit of a silly season. With some bell ringers complaining to the LCBO through emails about having to sit outside, or between the doors. Really, have any of these people stand out on a kettle in some place like Prince George BC? Now that can be cold.

Then there was the whole Harry Potter or Twilight controversy. Calgary Salvation Army decided not to distribute those type of gifts. Interesting, Edmonton gave them out, I wonder if that had to do with the fact Calgary said 'no'. Locally, the Brantford Salvation Army (Wyndfield Community Church) decided to distribute the divil's toys. It's a case of 'whatever'. I could go into a long discussion about Harry Potter, and yes I have read all the books and seen most of the movies. But that's not the topic of this blog.

Speaking of movies; A Christmas Carol with Alastair Sims and the classic cartoons, such as Rudolph or The Grinch who stole Christmas, or even A Charlie Brown's Christmas do not get old or tired, ever.

Tomorrow will be the giving of gifts and the eating of even more turkey.

To all, a Merry Christmas

2010-12-18T21:37:00.002-05:00

Mark Zuckerberg, Person of the Year

His face now adorns the cover of Time Magazine, in a way it has been an amazing year for Mark Zuckerberg. To be named the "Person of the Year" is a singular honour, one that recognizes that this has been one of the major newsmakers of the past 12 months. While some have wanted the title to go to Julian Assange, and have accused Time of playing it safe, it may have been a situation of peaking far too late. When you think about it, while Wikileaks has been in the news for at least the last half of 2010, it is doubtful many in the mainstream would have recognized the name until the recent leakage of the US Embassy Cables. Plus let's be honest, would Time risk the wrath of the governing elite? The cables are simply gossip, what is more interesting is the leaks about the banks. Now that is something all of us want to read. If there is any truth to the rumours that prove the banks were in collusion and in their greed and overarching stupidity, let the economy collapse, it should be like the closing scene of Johnny Mnemonic, when people burn down the building of Pharmakon Industries. It's fitting since Pharmakon was busy hiding the cure to NAS, probably for more money.

NAS or Nerve Attenuation Syndrome is characterized by:

Causes uncontrollable seizures at complete random. It is apparently caused by the overload of electronic interference present in the film.

So what about Mark Zuckerberg? One has to agree the scope of Facebook is daunting, its growth is amazing, and the fact that it has faced competition and has ignored them all, as if they don't exist. Which is probably true in a way. Their only 'serious' competition is Diaspora, and that seems to be very slow in coming to the field of play. Will it be a worthy competitor, will Google bring out its social network? Hard to say, if you notice, Google has been running into some problems when it enters other fields, consider Google Wave and Google Buzz. However, can they turn it around with Google Me? Probably not likely.

What does it mean for Mark Zuckerberg to be given this honour? Some suggest it is more to do with the fact that Time has a nice deal with Facebook. They have been playing nice with Time, so give them some recognition. One person wrote in the comments to the main article:

Zuckerberg was voted Time's so-called person of the year because Facebook offers Time a lot more potential upside than Wikileaks. Time can get eyeballs and demographic marketing info on users from FB. And possible advertising partnerships. Assange's Wikileaks does not offer this.

Time has a Facebook button so people can link stories from the site to their FB accounts. And like many news websites now, Time encourages readers to use their Facebook or other social media login credentials to post comments. Time gets access to people's info from Facebook when they login to Time via their Facebook account.

Choosing Zuckerberg was unethical given Time's relationship with Facebook. Saying that Zuckerberg's company allows people to connect in a new, empowering way is disengenuous and cynical. The point of FB is to make money on advertising and suck people's demographic info out of them for the advertisers and content partners such as Time.

Is it a case of old media recognizing new media?

Or perhaps it is a case of a brilliant PR strategy being played out to absolute success.

Let's go back about a year ago. If you can remember the early part of 2010, Facebook was beginning to be hated. It has been growing but certainly it did reach a fever pitch early this year. One article I read was called, "I hate FB; Lots of Reasons to hate Facebook". The big reason for hating Facebook had to do with privacy, the company was always changing privacy settings. When a change was made the complaint was the default was 'everybody', and to change your privacy setting became an exercise in extreme patience and understanding confusing directions. It got so bad that people were threatening to leave Facebook. At one time Leo Laporte left Facebook. He was one of many who threatened to pull out.

Then there was the movie "Social Network", it was supposed to be a true hatchet job on Mark Zuckerberg, portraying him as a low-life sleazebag who stabbed people, including his best friend, in the back to be rich. Mark, at first would not see the movie, in fact the release of the movie is what probably catapulted him to the Person of the Year status. For here is the true reason, it's not so much the acceptance of new media, or even new social media by old media, it's a case of some good old fashioned PR.

First he appears on Oprah and gives a sizeable donation to the schools of New Jersey, then he gets all folksy with Oprah, allowing the cameras into his home. The effort was to show the humanness of Mark, that he wasn't a total jerk or heartless scumbag. It was obvious from the Oprah interview that a lot of training went into it and coaching. It was a far better interview then the one he did with Sarah Lacey, which has been called a total disaster. Later on Mark gets to sit down and interview former President George Bush.

Just recently he also pledged to give away half his fortune to charity.

So a masterful job of spin when you think about it. From a person who was reviled to one who is considered a really nice guy once you get to know him, it was a truly impressive transformation.

It could be thought of that he is not deserving such an honour. To be honest, his company has grown in influence, and while he has made a few blunders along the way, he has managed to recover. Now people are returning to Facebook and the rest of us are still posting pictures.

So in the end, congratulations Mark, you worked hard and you deserve it.

2010-12-14T01:54:00.003-05:00

Is President Evo Morales Right?

While the news from COP16 is still good, in fact one article announced that even the USA and China have signed the accord. There was one voice that raised a great deal of concern and criticism towards the Accord and that was President Evo Morales of Bolivia. His concern has to do with the agreed goal of allowing the Earth to warm up to 2C above what it was a century ago. He asks the question:

According to the proposals from some powers, they are happy to put forward measures that would lead to an increase of 2 degrees Celsius and some think even of increases to 4 degrees. Imagine what our planet would look like with an increase in temperature of 2 degrees or 4 degrees, given that at 0.8 degrees we already have serious problems in the world

There has been a lot of discussion over this goal. Some believe it is attainable, others think we may have to warm up the planet a bit more, to 4C before we can see the result of cutting back the carbon emissions. Regardless of what happens today, we shall experience a temperature increase, because it will take some time before the effects of what is in the atmosphere now are demonstrated, from what I read there is a bit of a lag. The goal is 350 ppm of CO2 in the atmosphere. For most experts this is the safe number, if it goes higher, there is concern. Right now is 383 ppm, so there is concern. At the website 350.org, there is a discussion page which gives the science behind the number. So the concern is we are already on the way to missing the target. Of course the other problem is that it is the average temperature increase, which means the potential for fluctuations within that average. For example, the hot regions of the planet won't experience much more of a temperature increase, its hot enough all ready. That means for the average, the northern and southern areas will get hotter still. This probably will mean; changes in weather patterns, and everything moving north or south. While some think its a great idea that Canada will get warmer, it also means problem if there is melt of the permafrost or if the muskegs begin to dry up, for in both scenarios, it will mean even more carbon released into the atmosphere.

To continue some of the thoughts of President Morales:

We came to Cancun to save nature, forests, planet Earth. We are not here to convert nature into a commodity. We have not come here to revitalize capitalism with carbon markets.

He has a concern with the carbon trade- that whole thing that allows one nation to pollute if another promises not to develop. He truly believes it must be equal. It is not one nation that has problems, it the entire planet.

He also stated:

I am convinced that if presidents take on their responsibility, not to certain powers such as multinational companies, but instead to peoples and social movements, we can advance. Why don’t states here go to the Peoples’ Summit in Cancun, and listen to the concrete proposals of social movements who come here in representation of the victims of global warming? Why don’t we agree to a global referendum; take the historic decision of practicing global democracy, submitting ourselves to the demands of the people struggling against climate change and for life? If governments don’t act, it will be the people who will force their governments to act.

So by writing this, am I now opposed to Cancun. No I still am optimistic. We are living now in a time when things are happening. The window of opportunity has now slammed shut, we've got to do some major reacting to what is going to happen and hope that our actions today will have a positive impact.

One thing that must be remembered, but never counted upon, is the Earth has an amazing ability to heal. If we start dropping our carbon emissions, and Cancun is an important step, it's not the whole step, but a small step nonetheless, then perhaps the globe will forgive our folly and begin to cool down. I'm sure we'll get kicked in the teeth a few times before it happens, but those might to our ultimate advantage to never be so stupid again.

2010-12-11T21:40:00.002-05:00

Modest Success at Cancun

The news came to me in a Twitter from Elizabeth May:

Breakthrough! New texts circulated. Plenary reconvenes. Way better results than expected. Some more negotiating to be done. #GPC #COP16

Then later the news came, a agreement was reached. Reuters reported that a modest deal was reached. A modest deal, well after the debacle of Copenhagen, any deal is a good deal. At least it means the world governments have finally gotten together to at least make a serious decision to deal with climate change.

At least they're discussing the issue and promise to do a few things, establishing a green fund, for example. As well, its good to see some of the detractors of Kyoto, such as the USA and China are getting on board. Of course the reason could be one of self-preservation, climate change is beginning to effect life on this planet. China now faces problems that will only grow worse. They needed to consider that this is a closed system, and they can't continue to pollute.

What was nice about this meeting was the transparency. Copenhagen collapsed when 'secret' deals were revealed through leaks. This got everybody angry and guaranteed nothing would happen. However today, the agreement was sent around. It sounds like a long day but a successful one.

Is it the best that could have been achieved, probably not- there is still that needs to be done. Ultimately it must be said, a deal beats no deal. At least there is a framework. Now comes the hard part, getting things to turn around.

Perhaps deals are best done in sunny climes.

2010-12-08T20:13:00.003-05:00

John Lennon: Working Class Hero

Remembering that today, 30 years ago, John Lennon was murdered.

If everyone demanded peace instead of another television set, then there'd be peace.
You're all geniuses and you're all beautiful. You don't need anybody to tell you who you are or what you are. You are what you are. Get out there and get peace. Think peace, live peace, and breathe peace and you'll get it as soon as you like. Okay?

War is Over! If you want it.

2010-12-06T21:47:00.003-05:00

Saudi Money backs Terrorism

The normal reaction to that sort of headline would be to shrug your shoulder, think 'wow, obvious' and move on to the next article about Lady Gaga. Well, that's unfair, Lady Gaga is probably following the US Embassy Cables.

This Cable actually makes some interesting reading, especially when a person considers the dates. This sentence and following was highlighted by the Guardian:

Despite this presence, however, more needs to be done since Saudi Arabia remains a critical financial support base for al-Qa'ida, the Taliban, LeT, and other terrorist groups, including Hamas, which probably raise millions of dollars annually from Saudi sources, often during Hajj and Ramadan. In contrast to its increasingly aggressive efforts to disrupt al-Qa'ida's access to funding from Saudi sources, Riyadh has taken only limited action to disrupt fundraising for the UN 1267-listed Taliban and LeT-groups that are also aligned with al-Qa'ida and focused on undermining stability in Afghanistan and Pakistan.

Let's go back a few years ago, the then President of the United States, George Bush was beating the war drum stating a military action against Iraq was both imminent and necessary. He and his allies, such as Tony Blair gave two very compelling reasons, at least to any one who wanted to believe them, the first was, Iraq was an unstabilizing influence in the region that wanted to expand its control and could do so since it had 'Weapons of Mass Destruction'. The other reason, and when I use the word 'reason', you can replace it with the word 'lie', was that Iraq was a major player in the attack of 9/11.

The proof of the lie in the former is the fact after some seven years, no weaspons, no proof of the existence of such weapons have been found. The latter was easily disproved and this comment in the cable makes it clear that the funding for Al-Qada was never with Iraq, but with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. So another argument that the invasion of Iraq is illegal and therefore those who were involved in the planning and bringing about the invasion are guilty of war crimes. If you have to lie to justify an action that involves the murder of hundreds of thousands of innocent people, then that is a war crime, a crime against humanity. I know the actual number will never be calculated, but why quibble over a few thousand?

Now for his trouble, Julian Assange faces harrassment, the possibility of arrest, detention and then what happens can only be imagined and shuddered. Or it could be nothing will happen, there's too much light on him, to quote that line from the movie "JFK". If he was to suddenly disappear, or be arrested and tossed into a jail, there would be such an outrage that any government foolish to do it would face a great deal of wrath from the world at large. Hopefully they would realize to do anything to Julian would make him a martyr. Let's face it, the charges against him are a joke. It wouldn't surprise me if they seized his computer we would have about the finding of child pornography on them. Why? To further discredit him.

However, the backlash has begun. People are standing for freedom on speech and the right to read. While a lot of the cables is rather gossipy, it's still information and information needs to be free.

Support Wikileaks.

2010-12-05T20:33:00.003-05:00

Take a Bullet for Assange

Like you I've been riveted by the releases of formerly top secret cables from US Embassies around the globe. The revelations have been very shocking and earth shattering. I have learned that Muammar al-Gaddafi has a smoking hot blonde Ukranian Nurse, Nicolas Sarcozy is sensitive about his height, the real ruler of Russia is Vladimir (Batman) Putin, Iran and North Korea are both ruled by nutbars,and the the CBC broadcasts sitcoms that feature unflattering depictions of Americans. The latter is shocking, I honestly feel sorry for that poor person who had to sit and watch some of those shows. I understand that CSIS uses CBC sitcoms rather then Waterboarding to gain confessions.

For the trouble of publishing all these top secrets, Wikileaks is being accused of risking lives, in fact one State Department Official stated:

Philip J. Crowley, the U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for Public Affairs, told CTV's Question Period Sunday that the Internet whistle-blower site has harmed the careers and even the safety of innocent people.

"Julian Assange is wrong and has really done great damage … in exposing these classified documents he is putting (our) sources at risk," Crowley said.

"We have reached out to people around the world with whom we interact and have warned them about the potential ramifications.

"We are going to be watching this closely."

Crowley said at the very least some U.S. diplomats may have to be moved to other posts as a result of documents released by WikiLeaks.

"We may well have to reassign some of our diplomats and a couple of our ambassadors," he said. "There's no question that this has done substantial damage."

Yes, moving can be trying but to the best of my knowledge no one has actually died from packing things in cardboard.

Mr. Assage is being portrayed as a anarchist, which is one step away from being declared a terrorist.

Then there is the arrest warrant for 'sex crimes'.

It could be argued that it has been embarrassing for the US Diplomatic Corps, they will no doubt face snickers from other diplomats. There has been a lot of spin going on but the real answer to all of this would be for someone in the State Department to stand up and say to all the diplomats from other nations, 'yeah, like you don't say the same thing about us'. Let's face it, this is not news, this is everything everybody knows.

So why is it people such as Prof. Tom Flanagan at the University of Calgary wants him assassinated? I think there is a couple of reasons, one is that governments have always felt its there right to keep secrets. They keep secrets from their enemies, their friends, their allies and their people. They live in secrets and they don't like it when those secrets are exposed. The only time they like secrets exposed is when they release them, the famous "the Ship of State is the only one that leaks from the top", scenario.

The second has to do with the fact the world is now filled with very petty politicians. We are a long way from what I want to consider the last golden age of the Statesman, this is when giants such as Ronald Reagan, Margaret Thatcher, Mikhail Gorbachev, Brian Mulroney and Nelson Mandela commanded great respect. Whether you liked or supported any of those people you have to admit they were individuals of vision. They saw the world beyond their mandate and had a world view that drove them to do things like end apartheid, end the Cold War and bring about a relatively strong era of peace. They had a great vision, they also could possess a rather self-deprecating sense of humour, think Reagan, "Honey, I forgot to duck" after being shot. Now we have small minded politicians running the world, people who can't see beyond the next election. Such people are more involved in their own comfort. legacy and hold onto power. Such people also do not possess any sense of humour. They are more interested in remembering every slight, every insult and filing it all away for later use as a mean of extracting revenge. This is what we face. Wikileaks comes along and hits them all in the face with a big custard pie.

It's no wonder Julian Assage is being attacked. To all this I say, as I opened my blog post, we all should be ready to take a bullet for him. He is not only exposing secrets and bringing about light to darkness. He is doing his best to help justice.

And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. John 3:19

2010-12-04T22:53:00.006-05:00

Hancock's Hill, Brantford

It's always appropriate to name geographical features after famous individuals, you think of Mount Everest, Mount Logan to name a few. Or you think that a catchphrase can be thought up to register an opinion about a certain act of a politician, Seward's Folly ( the purchase of Alaska) comes to mind. Often when the deed is perceived to be a monumental blunder, the name quickly becomes the act of infamy which follows said person to the grave, even though it may be proved to be a brilliant act, usually long after those responsible are dead.

Today I took a walk down Wharf Street to look at Hancock's Hill, the slope that was once the south side of Colborne Street. I thought of a few things, namely the fact that a meeting I attended in which the now retired mayor of Brantford, Mike Hancock gave a 'state of the City' address. He spoke, as it was one of his last official acts of all the challenges that he faced as mayor and some of the successes and a few not so successes he had experienced. One fact he brought up, and I know I've mentioned this in tweets and comments, was the demolition of South Side of Colborne. I know its still a sore point to those who worked so tirelessly to preserve it and a sore point with those who didn't care for the work of those who tired so tirelessly to preserve it. I suspect most of us simply walk down Colborne Street and shrug our shoulders. After all, what's done is done. Perhaps in a few years we shall look back and agree it was a visionary act, it was what needed to kick start Brantford into the 21st Century.

I will grant you that.

Still one statement made by Mayor Mike was that he thought the slope or hill would make a great toboggan run. Yes it is possible to envision it. I can see the children of Brantford making their way to Colborne Street, sleds in hand and racing down with all the energy and joy of childhood. You can almost hear their squeals of joy as they come down at breakneck speed, and then you can hear the screams of fear and the moans of pain, when they run into the cast iron fence at the bottom.

Yes I will grant you, it's not cast iron, but its still a fence. Mind you there's one at the top so that pretty well ends the toboggan run aspect of Hancock's Hill.

So what can be done. I know there has been some opinion about putting picnic tables up either at the top or bottom for people to enjoy a picnic and the view of the river.

As I stood there, gazing up the Heinbuck's Slope

part of Hancock's Hill, named for the plucky little store that was one of the last structures razed,

I kept thinking about 'sunflowers'. Now I don't want to encourage anyone into doing anything illegal, this is only for entertainment purposes only, but don't you think a little seed bombing of the slope with sunflower seeds, and zucchini seeds might be a nice thing, come the spring? Imagine a slope of bright sunflowers- it would be perfect, being a south facing slope.

What a lovely sight.

2010-11-30T20:28:00.002-05:00

Do we need to look beyond Governments?

I've read one editorial that has already declared COP16 in trouble. Sad isn't it, only one day in and already there's problems. Perhaps the problem is we are failing to comprehend the fact that western governments are losing the battle for climate change. For some reason they seem more involved in almost protectionist policies when it comes to climate. It also appears that Canada will be one of the leading foot draggers when it comes to the issues of global warming. A recent news article states Canada is failing to keep up with the US in matters such as reducing carbon emissions. Of course this is nothing new, it's been a problem since the days of Chretien; it went something like this, the US is bad because it didn't ratify Kyoto, Canada is good because it did. The US has been steadily reducing carbon emissions, while Canada continues to crow about ratifying Kyoto. I think there's a problem here.

Another problem may be we are not including an important player and that is private enterprise. I know activists such as Naomi Klein were beside themselves when you mention the importance of industry in solving the problem, but I believe now the situation is such we all must work together.

She does make a lot of good points, national governments are sadly in the back pocket of those lobbyists who have the deep pockets and so far that usually are those involved in Oil and Gas Industries. But it seems a lot of other voices are not coming to the fore in the world and speaking forcefully of the need to reach an agreement. There does need to be an agreement which protects all life on the planet, that is fair to those in the underdeveloped world, they should not have to take it on the chin so that the West can continue to follow its wasteful practices.

I have at the top of this blog the logos for the World Business Council for Sustainable Development. I know some may argue against the involvement of business, stating the very idea of sustainable development is questionable. In way that's as bad as the previous mentioned idea that the west gets away with it, only this way we say there is no further development, you are stuck where you are. A number of companies are beginning to get it, they are going out of their way to implement policy that does lower their carbon footprint, that invests in sustainable and green technology. Some companies are now looking at partnership to manage raw material and not simply destroy it all.

The challenge before us is to develop a new source of energy that is inexpensive, sustainable and can be used throughout the globe to develop and enhance the lives of those who have been left behind. This may sound impossible but we are a creative bunch, if we can put our minds to it.

2010-11-28T15:25:00.004-05:00

Why COP16 might succeed

Tomorrow will commence the United Nations Climate Change Conference, also known as COP16 in Cancun Mexico.

According to its own website, the purpose for COP16 is:

COP16/CMP6 is the 16th edition of Conference of the Parties of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP) and the 6th Conference of the Parties serving as the meeting of the Parties to the Kyoto Protocol (CMP). “Parties” refers to all the national states that signed and ratified both of the international treaties, committing to observe and comply with its terms regarding international cooperation against climate change. The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change has been signed by 194 State Parties (list) and the Kyoto Protocol has been ratify by 184 State Parties (list). In accordance with Article 7 of the Convention, the Conference of the Parties in its authority of the supreme body has the mandate of adopting the necessary decisions for the promotion of its effective application.

The purpose of COP16 is to further strengthen the Kyoto Protocol and to set new standards and plans to lower carbon emissions and thus set the stage for cooling the planet down and to reverse the problems being experience by global warming. For the purpose of this blog, the assumption is that a large part of global warming is due to human activity, to wit, the dumping of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere.

I want to say, I think there may be hope for this conference, at least more hope then last year. As you may remember, COP15 in Copenhagen was an unmitigated disaster, everything that could go wrong did go wrong. The end of the conference communique was leaked early and went along the lines of the usual communiques that is the developed nations get off Scot free and the developing nations get screwed over royally.

I want to suggest to you a number of reasons why I think COP16 has at least more of a chance to be successful. You might call the the Top Ten Reasons for Climate Change:

It's not Copenhagen. Let's face it Northern Europe at the end of November, beginning of December is NOT the place for anything. If its weather is like Canada's then the best words you can use to describe the weather are: dull, dark, dank, damp and depressing. It wouldn't surprise me that over half the delegates were dealing with some sort of cold or flu. All this guaranteed there would be no agreement and if there was, everybody would hate it.

It's Cancun. Think sun, sand, surf and pleasant surroundings. There is a reason why most international events take place in sunny locales. Everybody will be happy, plus there's swimming pools to hang out, and golf courses. These will be the real locations for deals to be discussed and made, not in stuffy conference rooms where the delegation beside you is trying to take your Kleenex. In years to come, there will be pool side bars which will be considered international landmarks as the place where real change was made. Just for comparison, the average temperatures in Copenhagen for November 7.2C to 2.1C as the low. In Cancun, the average is 30C with 23C being the low. Oh yeah, much better.

There's not the same pressure and expectation. There was a lot riding on last years conference, they even had songs for example. Huge pressure was set up, which almost guaranteed a fail. Not so much this year.

The world's on a roll. The Biodiversity Conference produced positive results, the Tiger Summit produced positive results. First time in a long time that could be said.

Probably not too many places for protests and protesters. It's expensive, plus any one trying to come to Cancun to protest has to get past the Mexican security and the various drug wars taking place. I understand both groups have been given the order to shoot the first paper-mache puppet they see. There will be groups monitoring, but I doubt the same level of activism.

So lowered expectations, better climate and past successes should make for better result. There's also one more reason, if President Nicholas Sarcozy going, then the number one reason for success with be;

Carla Bruni, the First Lady of the Republic of France in a Bikini.

2010-11-25T21:31:00.003-05:00

Is the Tiger Saved?

The Guardian announced that the World's first summit dedicated to the survival of the Tiger in the wild has reached an impressive agreement. I know if you read on, there are many who have a healthy scepticism on the potential success of the summit, but still it is a start. What I believe is impressive about this summit is the fact that strong nations and strong International Organizations are supporting the idea of preserving the wild Tiger. One of the leading proponents was the head of the World Bank, Robert Zoellick has taken a great interest in preserving the Tiger. This is the group that can provide the access to the finances to make it possible. What I like was the fact the World Bank seems to want to get out of the nature degradation business, which seemed to have been the hallmark of all its lending policies. I believe I mentioned in a previous blog something about "build a dam to exploit your environment and screw the impact", or words to that effect. Also, Vladimir Putin, who is the Prime Minister of Russia, not the President, although many still think he is the President of Russia, and Dmitry Medvedev is either the lapdog of V. Putin or just keeping the seat warm for his return. Mr. Putin has declared himself the Protector of the Tiger, well if there is anyone who can protect the Tiger, it probably is Putin.

The result was that there was a pledge given in the form of $300 Million Dollars to help preserve the Tiger. Also the goal was set to double the population of wild Tigers by the year 2020. To give the perspective, that's from 3,000 to 6,000. It sounds modest but at least its something that can be achieved. An interesting fact of Russia is it has seen its Tiger population grow from 30 to 500 and growing. This gives hope.

There is concern, that much of the agreement does depend upon individual nations, do they have the wherewithal to crack down on poaching, can they preserve the habitat of the Tiger? Also can populations return to nations where they are extinct?

One problem is China. There is a huge market for Tiger parts and there is still the hunting of Tigers. The Premier of China was present but many were concerned he did not seem to make a strong statement. Perhaps just his presence is enough to signal a change. One article made this comment:

Tiger products have been removed from the pharmacopia of traditional medicine ingredients. Chinese officials are also discussing whether to impose a breeding ban on tiger farms as a step towards changing the way they are managed. This – along with the burning of existing stockpiles of carcasses and more undercover investigations by police – would send a clear signal that the tiger market is closed for business in China.

Yet there is still hope. One hope is the fact that Leonardo DiCaprio has pledged to donate $1 Million Dollars for the project. This is something, usually we have celebrities get behind 'causes', but they tend to be rather superficial. Here is a person putting his name and his money to the cause. Good on him. He made it to the summit after some interesting travel problems. He impressed Mr. Putin, who referred to him as a "Real Man", and noted that if this is the calibre of people who support the Tiger Initiative, then it is in good hands.

Other good news. Nepal has made a plan to double its Tiger population.

In the end, let's hope so, not only for the Tiger's sake, but for our own. Mr. Putin said it best:

Nature is the habitat of humans so caring for tigers and their habitat is caring for all people.

2010-11-24T22:03:00.002-05:00

Cities for Climate Change

Recent a large number of mayors gathered for an international meeting in Mexico City.

The purpose of this meeting was to provide of forum for mayors to discuss the issue of climate change and to press for the adoption of standards that will lower carbon emissions throughout the planet.

The host mayor stated:

More than 600 mayors from around the world will meet in Mexico City this week to press for local authorities to get a greater role and a piece of the funding in the fight against climate change.

Mexico City Mayor Marcelo Ebrard will host the conference. He says 42 of the mayors are expected to sign concrete emissions reduction goals. The conference starts Tuesday.

Another goal is to come up with a delegation of mayors to attend the international climate change conference in Cancun, which starts Nov. 28.

Ebrard said Monday that cities should take the lead, because talks among nations are not progressing rapidly.

Mexico City has pledged to reduce emissions by 10 to 12 per cent, but so far have reduced them by only 3.8 over three years.

The meeting is to develop a united front in presenting the needs of cities for protection of the environment. When you think about it, this is a positive idea, we are living on an urban planet. Cities provide wealth, housing, jobs and pollution. Cities are dependent on a healthy environment for food, water and living conditions. Anyone who has ever lived in a city during a heat wave can attest to that fact.

The great news is that the meeting of mayors did bring about a plan for reducing carbon emissions and a call to protect the environment. There was a positive result of the meeting in that is the document which is referred to as "The Mexico City Pact"

I should imagine some will scoff as just another international agreement which means absolutely nothing. But consider, we've already seen the failure when the nations of the world gather to discuss climate change. National governments balance the interest of some strong groups, such as the corporations that are dumping the millions to get politicians elected. However the city is closer to the grass roots and it is where the people live. As I have said, while cities possess the large carbon footprints, they are the places most dependent upon a healthy environment.
To sum up the document:

The Global Cities Covenant on Climate, “the Mexico City Pact” consists of two parts: the first mentions considerations as to why cities are strategic in combating global warming: the second establishes a set of voluntary commitments to promote strategies and actions aimed at mitigating GHG emissions and adapting cities to the impacts of climate change.

To establish and follow up on cities’ commitments, the signatories will establish their climate actions in carbonn Cities Climate Registry (CCCR) powered by Bonn Center for Local Climate Action and Reporting (carbonn). The Registry has two sections:

* Section 1, is for cities that wish to undertake mitigation and climate change adaptation measures and that by signing pledge to take the first steps, such as preparing their emissions inventory, designing and executing a Climate Action Plan, or promoting local laws that favour GHG reduction, among other measures.

* Section 2, is for cities that already have climate actions in place that are measurable, reportable and verifiable (MRV).

It states the aims and provides the means in which progress can be tracked. It is a document which allows and stresses transparency, something that is lacking in most international agreements.

Cities are where the action is, and its not just the largest centres, it can be all municipalities. This is where we live, its the level of government that impacts our lives the most directly. Perhaps this is where change can take place.

Hopefully the delegates who are gathering at Cancun, can read the document and have a heart to heart. As I said earlier, who knows, as they gather around the pool with the fancy drinks, agreements can be reached.

2010-11-20T20:35:00.003-05:00

Hope for the Future

Last year, the disaster that was COP-15, the Convention on Climate Change that took place in Copenhagen, there wasn't a whole lot of hope for the future. After all, this huge conference that was supposed to bring about all sort of changes that would encourage us all, it was even held in the greenest city in the greenest country on the planet. You would expect that all that environmentalism would wipe onto the delegates. Well it was an epic fail.

So now we have COP16, it's going to be held in Cancun Mexico. When I heard about the location, the thought of nice climate, useless junket came to mind. Let face it, at the end of November, which has to be one of two grumpy months in the northern hemisphere, the other being February. You know that all those meetings will have members thinking about the beach and the cabana huts, plus the multi-coloured drinks will be on everybody's minds.

You know I'm going to be watching things close when they start.

But for some reason I've got a bit more hope for this one then last year. Part of it may be due to the lowering of expectations. Who knows, more may be accomplished around the bars that are part of the swimming pools then in meeting halls.

What may bring about hope is what happened in Nagoya, Aichi Prefecture, Japan last month. That is when the Convention on Biological Diversity took place and it seems something actually good happened.

First of all, there was actually an agreement. This is something for an international convention, a decision which seems positive. It is so impressive that the Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.

The Secretary-General welcomes the adoption of an historic new protocol to the Convention on Biological Diversity on Saturday morning, 30 October, in Nagoya, Japan, which sets ground rules for improving access to, and the equitable sharing of, the world's genetic resources. The new treaty, he said, provides an innovative approach to conserving and protecting the world’s rapidly diminishing living resources, while providing benefits to all, in particular, local communities in developing countries.

The Secretary-General said the landmark treaty was a positive step in efforts to achieve the Millennium Development Goals, and demonstrated that countries were committed to pragmatic cooperation in meeting the challenges of sustainable development. He also welcomed the adoption of a new 10-year plan by the 193 countries of the Convention that contains achievable targets to reduce the loss of biodiversity. He also thanked the Government of Japan for hosting a successful conference.

Biodiversity is very important, we live in an interconnect planet. For so many years we've gone to the mono culture, from our front lawns to huge farms that have the same plant or grain or trees. A few years ago there was a concern if one disease hit the rubber plants and rubber plantations, our modern lifestyle would be radically changed, and not for the better.

Some of the decisions:

Among the targets, it is important to note that Parties:
- Agreed to at least halve and where feasible bring close to zero the rate of loss of natural habitats including forests;
- Established a target of 17 per cent of terrestrial and inland water areas and 10 per cent of marine and coastal areas;
- Through conservation and restoration, Governments will restore at least 15 percent of degraded areas; and
- Will make special efforts to reduce the pressures faced by coral reefs.

The Guardian had some positive articles regarding the conference. As I have said, one of the great newspapers that cover environmental issues and such conferences is The Guardian. I will be reading them closely when COP16 starts.

Of course, not everyone agrees, one commentator, George Monbiot had a totally different view on the conference. He wrote that we have been conned. One of his concerns was the lack of any "big names", with the exception of about five nations, most couldn't be bothered to send the head of states or head of governments. I would agree that this could be a bad things, but then again, perhaps we had the people who did all the work showed up and did what was needed. After all, all those big names showed up at Copenhagen and they all brought their entourages and egos and nothing happened.

While Mr. Monbiot brings some good points, perhaps we need to consider, there is an agreement and that is the start of all things. Let's hope.

2010-11-16T21:55:00.002-05:00

Bringing about Peace, Diversity and Harmony

So Katrina has been telling me about some of the discussions going on in her various classes at College. It seems there is a great deal of about issues affecting social sciences right now. One discussion dealt with the issues facing the First Nations. It has to be acknowledge there has been a long history of wrongs perpetrated on the First Nations people.

It's not the purpose of this blog to go into a great discussion about the wrongs or the problems now facing the First Nations.

I was wondering if there is a problem of attitude. While I hope society has become more enlightened about these issues, I will admit there is still a long way to go on both sides of the issues.

So what can bring these diverse groups together. We have seen that working on separate agendas doesn't seem to do it. Attempting to redress wrongs by apology is a start, but there is a few problems. Remaining a victim doesn't work, nor does saying that its all in the past, or constantly living with this feeling of 'guilt'. Or at least always pointing the finger.

Then I thought to myself there are three things that can bring all parties together in peace, harmony, diversity and love.

They are:
1) The Village People
2) Disco
and
3) YMCA

Video Village People - YMCA (version originale)
- Watch more Music Videos at Vodpod.

2010-11-13T21:13:00.003-05:00

Global Tiger Initiative-2010

In about a week a lot of people will be meeting in St. Petersburg for the 2010 Global Tiger Summit. The purpose of the summit is simple, to save the remaining number of tigers that exist in the wild, to bring about changes in management of their environment that will lead to the strengthening of the number of tigers in the wild. This will be done through the co-ordination of a number of Asian countries, including Russia. The Siberian Tiger, also known as the Amur Tiger has seen a bit of a comeback from extinction, but its far from safe. Apparently Russia needs to strengthen its laws regarding poaching of the animal. It's still in trouble, even if Prime Minister Vladimir Putin has seen himself as the protector of this animal.

If the numbers are correct, there are only 3200 Tigers in the wild. When you think about it, that's a chilling number. It also tells us the planet is still in a heap of trouble. Tiger exists best in places of great biodiversity, it's the top of the food chain so where there is food, there is tigers. Where there is habitat preservation and controls on hunting ( ie DON'T HUNT), there will be tigers.

What makes this group fascinating is the fact that, first of all, it was started by the head of the World Bank. I know, that's amazing, usually the World Bank is encouraging the devastation of natural habitats so countries can pay off their debts. I suppose that should be one good thing in their favour.

The second is all the nations recognize the problem. They know they must protect and change the direction of the numbers, no one is saying, 'keep hunting tigers, keep destroying their habitat'. Well, they don't say it, but they still allow it.

The problems facing the Tiger is ones we are familiar with, I could add to the list deforestation. This has to be stopped. We are destroying how many million of hectares so we can have coffee and rubber, or open areas to exploration and exploitation of minerals. We need to really consider what we are doing to the planet.

The Guardian, one of the great newspapers when it comes to environmental issues featured the summit recently.

I know we can see Tigers in zoos, and while it could be argued they offer these wonderful animals a chance to survive. Still there is something wrong with seeing such a great Cat behind bars.

Leonardo DiCaprio recently had an Op-Ed piece in the Washington Post, he argues for the need to save the Big Cat. He writes this:

Because saving tigers is a compelling and cost-effective means of preserving so much more that is essential to life on Earth. The tiger is what conservationists call an "umbrella" species. By rescuing them, we save everything beneath their ecological umbrella - everything connected to them - including the world's last great forests, whose carbon storage mitigates climate change.

For example, Indonesia's 18 million-acre peat forests, home to the Sumatran tiger, contain 36 percent of the world's tropical carbon stores. So if we protect tigers by stopping deforestation, we also salvage the carbon storage these forests provide. A forest that can't support tigers isn't of much use to us, either.

One of the key saying that came out of the Kathmandu Tiger Workshop 2009 was:

Saving wild tigers is our test; if we pass, we get to keep the planet

It would be nice to finally pass one test.

2010-11-10T21:42:00.002-05:00

Red or White Poppies

The Royal Canadian Legion on PEI is thinking of starting legal actions against peace groups selling white poppies. To the Legion the poppies are a symbol of disrespect to veterans as well as a violation of copyright. While it must be agreed the red poppy is the symbol of the RCL, after all it is part of their crest, and it is part of their fund raising efforts for the needs of veterans. What would a Remembrance Day ceremony without the red poppy?

It is the symbol of those veterans who served in the wars. Just recently the Canadian Mint issued quarters that featured the poppy.

We understand the poppy symbolizes those who died fighting wars. To us in Canada, it starts with the poem "In Flanders Field" by Dr. John McCrea

In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.

Between the crosses of those who were killed in whatever recent battle that had been fought, poppies were appearing.

On Remembrance Day, we acknowledge the supreme sacrifice paid by those young men who went to War.

Now along comes the controversy of the White Poppy. There are some who would call the symbol to be an affront to veterans and to those who died in war. Some would think its an attempt by peaceniks to take advantage of the fact that people are thinking about War and so they hitch their waggon on a popular symbol. However, a search reveals this symbol has an equally long history as well. It is tied with the Peace Pledge Union, which is the UK's oldest pacifist organization, going back to 1934. It's aim is quite simple to renounce war as a means of policy of any and all civilized nations. It believes peace is the answer. It has as its pledge this:

War is a crime against humanity. I renounce war, and am therefore determined not to support any kind of war. I am also determined to work for the removal of all causes of war.

This has, historically speaking, led to some problems, according to the Wikipedia page for the group, they backed Neville Chamberlain and his plan of appeasing Adolph Hitler. Which did nothing as history tells us, for peace and only gave Hitler the opportunity to prepare for his next plan which was to conquer Europe. So perhaps there has to be a place for war, especially when dealing with a great Evil.

Yet peace is the ideal. This planet is in desperate need of peace. If anything more effort should be used for peace then war. It would be good to renounce war, nothing good comes about from the activity. It does foster tyranny and human suffering, not just those of the combatants, but civilians. Despite the technology of 'smart bombs', civilians still die in war. Bombs ultimately can't distinguish between someone actively engaged in battle and someone just trying to make a living.

Do we need white poppies to remind us of this? I now think we do. Do we need red poppies to remind ourselves of the sacrifice many did make to stop tyranny and end human suffering, we must. Both, in the end are valid. Let us remember those who died in war, let us remember the veterans of all war, who were called upon by our Nation to perform a task and make a stand for democracy. At the same time, let us work for peace and justice in this world.

Micah 4 gives us this prophecy and hope:

Now ait shall come to pass in the latter days
That the mountain of the Lord’s house
Shall be established on the top of the mountains,
And shall be exalted above the hills;
And peoples shall flow to it.
2 Many nations shall come and say,
“Come, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord,
To the house of the God of Jacob;
He will teach us His ways,
And we shall walk in His paths.”
For out of Zion the law shall go forth,
And the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.
3 He shall judge between many peoples,
And rebuke strong nations afar off;
They shall beat their swords into bplowshares,
And their spears into pruning hooks;
Nation shall not lift up sword against nation,
Neither shall they learn war anymore.

I close with Mahalia Jackson singing "Down by the Riverside".

Mahalia Jackson - Down By The Riverside
Uploaded by goldrausch. - Watch more music videos, in HD!

2010-11-07T19:57:00.008-05:00

The Canadian Military Heritage Museum

It's located in a non-descript business in a rather run down and deserted part of the City of Brantford, yet the Canadian Military Heritage Museum may house some of the most impressive military displays this side of the Canadian War Museum. I had opportunity to spend an hour or so at this past Friday, as part of the Veterans Week.

It is a fascinating place, filled with photographs, displays and equipment, that tells the story of Canada's involvement in the various wars of the past two centuries. While there I was informed the museum staff is planning to develop an area that will portray and honour Canada's involvement in the Afghan Conflict.

It is a privately owned and run museum that seeks to honour Canadians who fought in the various conflicts, especially those of the 20th Century. It does so through the collection of artifacts and also displays:

as well as equipment:

as well as displays:

There was a lunch meeting involved and the Rotary Club of Brantford made a donation to the Museum. The Curator read to us an email. I hope I remember the majority of the story.

This person wrote that they were recently at Pearson's International when a number of soldier walked to one of the gates. As they passed through the various gates, people stood up and began to applaud them, that alone makes it a great story. Here were average Canadians showing respect to our soldiers. As they approached their gate a little girl came up to them and began to ask the group of young men a question, she asked if any of them knew her father- her mother was there and explained to the soldiers that he was over in Afghanistan. One of the soldier got down on one knee to talk to the little girl. She said if he saw him to give him this, and proceeded to give him a big hug and kiss. The soldier said to the girl 'wait a minute' and pulled out a cellphone. He dialled some numbers and began to speak into it. After a few moments he closed his phone and spoke to the little girl. He told her he 'just' spoke to her father and he wanted to let her know he loves her and misses her. He also wanted the soldier to give her something back and he gave her a hug and a kiss. Needless to say, at the waiting area, there wasn't many dry eyes left. He stood up and continued on his way, with his comrades. As they reached their gate and began to prepare to board the flight, he turned around and saluted both the little girl and her mom.

I want to conclude with a poem by Rudyard Kipling, the Poet Laureate of the British Empire:

Dedication

To T. A.

I have made for you a song,
And it may be right or wrong,
But only you can tell me if it's true;
I have tried for to explain
Both your pleasure and your pain,
And, Thomas, here's my best respects to you!

O there'll surely come a day
When they'll give you all your pay,
And treat you as a Christian ought to do;
So, until that day comes round,
Heaven keep you safe and sound,
And, Thomas, here's my best respects to you!

2010-11-01T20:14:00.003-04:00

The (Late) Fall Classic

First came the news that the third game of the Giants and Rangers World Series had the second lowest viewership of any World Series game. By the way, the worst watch series was the Tampa Bay Rays- Philadelphia Phillies series, probably more caused by inclement weather that forced the cancelation of a number of games and then a few games played very late at night.

Anyway, after that comes the news that the Commissioner of Baseball, Bud Selig is thinking of expanding the play-off format to include two more wild card teams. Think this through, today is November 1st, there is a baseball game scheduled for tonight. In theory the Series could be over, but if the Rangers win tonight, they will force a game six and then if they tie it up, that will mean a game 7. In other words, we have baseball into the first week of November. Let's consider if they decide to add a few more teams to the playoff mix. Right now it is the winners of the three divisions and one team, called the wild card. It works, you have four teams per league, two rounds of playoffs before the World Series. As much as I think baseball should be over in mid-October, that isn't going to happen. Now, let's visualize one more round, yeah they will probably start at a 'best of five', and that will last one or two years. Now that will mean having to add another round of play-offs- so in other words, the World Series will begin in November, ending, if we are lucky by the middle of the month.

Here's the plan:

What Major League Baseball is proposing is adding another wild card team to the mix from each league. The two wild card teams would then play each other in a best-of-three series that would determine who moves on. It sounds great in principle.

So you add one more team, and they will play for the privilege of being the wild card team that faces one of the divisional winners. The first word that comes to my mind is 'why'? The wild card does expand the interest in the game, I will grant you, but to add one more to each mix? That is expanding for the sake of expanding.

Also consider the weather, baseball in November works if the only teams that participate every year are: Tampa Bay, Florida (Miami- unless there's a hurricane), Los Angeles, Orange County, San Diego, Dallas, Houston, maybe San Francisco, Oakland, and Arizona. That's it, the rest of the country is cold, dark and wet. Just stop and think of a World Series between Milwaukee and Minnesota. Yes, Milwaukee has a retractable roof, but Minnesota is open air. Now open air is the way baseball is to be played, provided that the month is April, May, June, July, August or September. Certainly not in November, the area averages 9.3 inches of snow in November. Plus, the Fox network wants to have all the games start at 8:20PM, so the game will only get darker, colder and probably wetter. While you may think I'm picking on Minnesota, the same holds true for any team in the Mid-West. Then can you imagine Denver?

I guess what I'm saying is this is a horrible idea. There is nothing to be gained by this. As well, what's to stop the league from continuing to expand the play-off format?

People don't mind the October Classic, but they want baseball to be wrapped up by October. No one wants the game to continue into November. Baseball is best when the sun is out, the weather is warm and you've got nothing else on the calendar but sitting back in the Bleachers.

The scary part of all this, he does think it's a good idea. Good for Selig, bad for baseball.

2010-10-31T20:23:00.002-04:00

Ein' Feste Burg

With this being the 31st of October, I thought I'd do a quick blog about the other aspect of this day. I know the first tends to be Halloween with the giving of candy and sweets to those who knock on our door. After all, any day in which people give you candy has got to be a good day.

This day is also Reformation Sunday. The day Martin Luther nailed on the door of the Wittenberg Church his 95 Theses. The full name of the document was: "95 Theses on the Power and Efficacy of Indulgences". He was protesting the prominence and theology behind the granting of indulgences. The purpose for an indulgence was to offer a way, through the giving of a gift to the Church for the purpose of shortening your personal stay in Purgatory, or to grant release from a loved one in Purgatory. What bothered Luther was the way it was being marketed and used, it was truly a fund-raiser. The Pope wanted to build himself a large church- St. Peter's in the Vatican area and needed the money for such a project. Here is the Wikipedia entry for indulgences:

The false doctrine and scandalous conduct of the "pardoners" were an immediate occasion of the Protestant Reformation.[4] In 1517, Pope Leo X offered indulgences for those who gave alms to rebuild St. Peter's Basilica in Rome. The aggressive marketing practices of Johann Tetzel in promoting this cause provoked Martin Luther to write his Ninety-Five Theses, condemning what he saw as the purchase and sale of salvation. In Thesis 28 Luther objected to a saying attributed to Tetzel: "As soon as a coin in the coffer rings, a soul from purgatory springs".[40] The Ninety-Five Theses not only denounced such transactions as worldly but denied the Pope's right to grant pardons on God's behalf in the first place: the only thing indulgences guaranteed, Luther said, was an increase in profit and greed, because the pardon of the Church was in God's power alone.[41]

While Luther did not deny the Pope’s right to grant pardons for penance imposed by the Church, he made it clear that preachers who claimed indulgences absolved buyers from all punishments and granted them salvation were in error.

What began as an attempt to have believers intercede for each other became abused and so Martin Luther decided that enough was enough and called for an end to them, or perhaps an end to the abuses of them all. The full document can be found here. It is truly an amazing document. Here Luther takes on the very belief system of indulgences and calls for the church to have the right priority. Some of his thoughts were struck me are these:

Christians are to be taught that the pope does not intend the buying of pardons to be compared in any way to works of mercy.

43. Christians are to be taught that he who gives to the poor or lends to the needy does a better work than buying pardons;

44. Because love grows by works of love, and man becomes better; but by pardons man does not grow better, only more free from penalty.

45. Christians are to be taught that he who sees a man in need, and passes him by, and gives [his money] for pardons, purchases not the indulgences of the pope, but the indignation of God.

46. Christians are to be taught that unless they have more than they need, they are bound to keep back what is necessary for their own families, and by no means to squander it on pardons.

47. Christians are to be taught that the buying of pardons is a matter of free will, and not of commandment.

48. Christians are to be taught that the pope, in granting pardons, needs, and therefore desires, their devout prayer for him more than the money they bring.

49. Christians are to be taught that the pope’s pardons are useful, if they do not put their trust in them; but altogether harmful, if through them they lose their fear of God.

50. Christians are to be taught that if the pope knew the exactions of the pardon-preachers, he would rather that St. Peter’s church should go to ashes, than that it should be built up with the skin, flesh and bones of his sheep.

These articles became quickly known and quickly spread throughout Germany. They were spread by the printing press, so one of the first instances of technology being used to spread ideas. From the Wikipedia article, it states within 2 month the document was spreading through Europe. Obviously Luther had touched a nerve and had expressed the feeling shared by a lot of people.

From this commenced a spark which became the Reformation. Was this simply an attempt by Luther to bring about reform within the church. Doubtful he wanted to start his own movement, but when you're thrown out of an organization, you might as well start your own. Actually his thoughts and his later teaching on sola scriptura and sola fide brought about a wildfire that spread- preachers grabbed hold of his thoughts and began to preach the gospel that was not based upon Rome. The Reformation commenced.

Did he want to start a break-away from Rome? Again, probably not, but the lines were drawn for him and he responded.

So to conclude, I will quote the first verse of his great Hymn "A Mighty Fortress"

A mighty fortress is our God, a bulwark never failing;
Our helper He, amid the flood of mortal ills prevailing:
For still our ancient foe doth seek to work us woe;
His craft and power are great, and, armed with cruel hate,
On earth is not his equal.

2010-10-29T20:29:00.004-04:00

Twitter and the Municipal Election

I think one of the more interesting character on The Simpsons is Comic Book Guy. I know from reading that he was chose to be an exact stereotype of a comic book store owner. Wikipedia has this comment about Comic Book Guy:

Comic Book Guy was in fact partly inspired by a clerk at the Los Angeles Amok book shop who often "[sat] on the high stool, kind of lording over the store with that supercilious attitude and eating behind the counter a big Styrofoam container full of fried clams with a lot of tartar sauce.[1]" Groening noted:
“ I can't tell you how many times people have come up to me and said, 'I know who you based that comic book guy on. It's that comic-book guy right down the block.' And I have to tell them, 'No, it's every comic-bookstore guy in America.'

Besides his comment on everything being the "Worst. (fill in the blank). Ever." He has a tendency to look down on everybody who doesn't know what happen in Issue 24 of the Amazing Spiderman. It's an air of superiority that is irrelevent because when all is said and done, who cares?

I thought about Comic Book Guy as I read Amber MacArthur's recent article in The Globe and Mail. The title was "Could a social media plan have helped Smitherman?"

Now true confession time: I am a fan of Amber Mac, I watch her podcast CommandN and listen to her and Leo Laporte on Net@Nite. However I think the basic premise is wrong. Her heading says it all, if only George Smitherman had used Twitter more, he would be the mayor of Toronto not Rob Ford. There is only one slight problem, if you studied the tweets after Rob Ford was declared elected, the virtriol was effusive. I think one person on cp24 opined that the tweets with the hashtag #cp24votes were running 90% against Ford. It seems the twitterista were already in Smitherman's camp. How could he have motivated them through Twitter. I suppose by getting them out to vote. I could be wrong but I didn't see a whole lot of those names with tweets such as "I just cast my vote!". Perhaps they were so busy expressing their thoughts in 140 characters, they missed their chance. So now the bitterness, all of which demonstrates they are out of touch, not those who voted for Ford.

This goes back to Comic Book Guy, I keep hearing that Twitter only works if you understand it. There are those who get it and the rest, the mainstream, the Straights don't. They are the same group that left their VCR's flashing "12:00". They only time they got involved or interested with Twitter is when some celebrity got on, such as Oprah. So Twitter User Guy/Gal looks down on those who don't use Twitter. Can I make a suggestion? Perhaps the mainstream does understand Twitter and what they understand is that it can be a huge waste of time. Now I do use twitter. There are times it very helpful; when an earthquake hit Ontario and Quebec I went on Twitter to learn how far the effects were felt and then later on information about the quake. But usually what happens is tweets become variations of the theme "I'm in my bean bag chair, eating popcorn". It does have a place, for getting news out, and a good way to get your 'brand' before the public. However it fails as a means of two way communication. Try to reply to a message, see if you get a dialogue going.

Of course the other problem is that people who tweet can be total dorks, witness Innovation Minister Glen Murray, he decided to call all the people he doesn't like 'bigots', in a tweet. Of course he offered a couple of apologies, then after three days he got off the weasel apology and actually did apologize. For some reason I thought if you wrote something untrue its called 'slander'.

Perhaps the mainstream is not there, not because they don't get it, but because they do. It's like the flashing 12, it's not that people couldn't figure out how to set it, but after a few power outages, you get tired of setting it, and since you're only watching tapes, why have the clock set?

2010-10-27T21:14:00.003-04:00

Municipal Election Postmortem

Well, it a couple of nights after the election. The signs are coming down and the campaign headquarters are emptying out, although I wonder if any of them were used much. Since I work downtown, I had opportunity to walk past Mark Littell's office and rarely did I see anyone in it. Yes there were people in on Saturday giving out balloons. Isabelle got one, she loved it.

I will say I did get out to vote and I actually voted for a candidate who won. I am so excited. It's wasn't the mayor. Not that I don't like the person who won, because talking to a number of people, they were very positive about him. I just decided to vote for another candidate because of he was honest about the South Side of Colborne and had a good plan for co-operation with the County and the Reserve.

I should also say something about the turn-out; 44%. I think we could have done a bit better now. I asked the question on Facebook, what else did people have to do besides voting. Was there socks that needed darning? Come on people, municipal politics and government affect us more then any other level. Remember, its the municipal government that picks up your garbage and shovels the snow on the roads. The Army will not come to Brantford to clear our streets, they are a bit busy right now. The Canadian Military is also going an incredible job in the roles they take. God Bless our men and women in uniform.

One of the interesting fact is the majority of the councillors are new to this Council. Six out of Ten are new, and of those six, three have never had elected office before. I think this could make Council very interesting because they will have nothing to do with the old Council. The local paper made mention that the veterans are ready to take leadership on the Council. Perhaps those four shouldn't be so quick to take the 'leadership' role, after all, a number of incumbents were down to defeat on Monday and so that tells me incumbency is not the best place to be, so be more concerned with being a Mentor, not a Leader in this next council. I suspect the electorate was in a very cranky mood on Monday and decided they wanted some fresh blood and fresh vision. The old council seemed to have become involved in a lot of things which were not in the best interest of the community, or it if was, the way it was done left a bad taste. For example, prior to the election it was pointed out that the South Side Colborne Task Force did not play by all the rules, plus many did feel that it attempted to steam roll through all the regulations and then demanded federal dollars. Of course it ignored all the conditions and now the citizens can have fun paying for it, well I suppose it will make things a lot easier now that they can see the river from the top of the slope. I'm sure it will be a pretty view one day, especially when we can watch all the erosion.

I do want to mention one candidate in particular, John Bradford. Let me say I do like John but I think he didn't run a good campaign. When he started to bring attention to the slander I wonder if some people didn't think it was an attempt to garner some sympathy. I'm not saying the anonymous letters didn't happen or the slanderous gossip, but so late into the campaign. I also wonder if it might have been better to quietly give the letters to the Police and let them deal with it, rather then bringing it forward. It is hard to say. Still I think his defeat was probably due to his early violation of the municipal code of conduct and his membership on the Task Force, which he was vice-chair that led to his demise.

Much could be said about the South Side of Colborne Street. I know some have wondered if they election had been held a year earlier if the buildings would still be standing? The problem is, although there is no concrete plan for the spot now, was there ever a concrete plan to revitalize the area? Yes they buildings were historic and if you look past the entire "Silent Hill" thing they were very attractive, but what was in place. Now of course, it's too late for the buildings. But it's not too late to put a plan in place that will revitalize the downtown. Now that's a word bandied about.

I notice Chris Friel said:

We've got a lot to do," he said. "We're going to make Brantford a 21st-century city... We are going to open up government in Brantford, we are going to be a grass-roots, populist organization."

He said people from outside the city are going to notice big changes and ask, "What's happening here? They are going to want to be us."

Good because it seems Brantford has been a 20th Century city long enough, so much of what you see, from the demolition of buildings as being part of Urban Renewal to the growth of a cookie cutter suburb, aka West Brant speak of an era that is now coming to an end. The downtown needs a good mix of residential, retail and commercial. It needs industries that are for today. I think the University and College are a good part of the mix but from them must come spin-offs. I recall about a year ago Mohawk wanted the campus, or part of it downtown for their urban studies program- it was going to be a program that actively involved itself in solve the problems of downtown Brantford. Does this program still exist? Perhaps if anything good can come out of what is happening downtown is that it is now a clean slate- whether we like it or not. It's a slate in which new ideas, progressive ideas, ideas that respect the past, the present and future can be worked out.

I think the first thing needed for city hall is a whole lot of white boards, because Council needs to start brainstorming and coming up with ideas that will make this city a 21st Century city.

2010-10-23T21:28:00.002-04:00

Friends Vision Childrens Home

For all the problems that exist on this planet, and certainly there is a plethora of them. If we start making a list it would be long and getting longer. We keep hearing how people mess things up because of greed, indifference and a general malaise about doing anything good.

It's easy to get into that mould when you read that France is now on strike because the government wants to raise the minimum age of retirement from 60 to 62. I know 'gasp'. Yes there's also that thing about raising the age of collecting full pension from 65 to 67. Is there no end to the madness that is Nicolas Sarkozy?

At Rotary, I got to hear a presentation by Jenny Martinez. She is a 27 yr old who has a rather interesting life story. She was born in Nicaragua, emigrated to Canada when she was only 5, with her family. Since then she graduated from the University of Toronto. That by itself might be a feel good story, but it goes on; she decided to go and volunteer at an orphanage in Kenya, a few years back. There, she a few others were so moved they decided to form a sponsorship group. The early idea was to provide resources so that orphans could have their basic needs met, including the opportunity to go to school. After a while this group decided to develop their own orphanage.

This is how Friends Village Childrens Home commenced. It is still a work in progress but it is progressing. The people who make up the board are from all over the world, united with the thought of improving the life of children in Kenya.

Their goal:

* To provide food, shelter, clothing, education, safe drinking water, medical care and career opportunities to orphaned, deprived and destitute children
* Help cut down the number of street children in the Kenyan society
* Reduce HIV/AIDS related cases, through education and prevention
* Improve access to education for underprivileged children
* Help children who are not academically inclined to acquire technical skills, which will allow them to support themselves in the future
* Continue the close working relationship with Government Rescue Centres and Children’s Home in order to provide the local community with the fundamentals needed in their society.

Jenny was interviewed in the local paper regarding one of the fund-raising projects.

Just recently, the group of them climbed Mt. Kilimanjaro, an effort that took 6 days to do and was a major motivator to get the project started.

Right now the project is:

FVCH has acquired 3 acres of land on the outskirts of the town of Naivasha, in the Great Rift Valley, Kenya. The land is lush and fertile, which will provide us with excellent conditions to make our home as self-sustainable as possible.

We plan to build up to 6 homes and a community centre on our land. Each house will act as an individual home, with up to 10 children (boys and girls) and a house mama. Each home will comprise of male and female bed and bathrooms, a bedroom for the house mama, living area, dining room, kitchen, store and laundry.

There will also be a two storey community centre with two training classroom, a library, computer room, TV/DVD room and a small medical clinic/store downstairs and an office and volunteer wing upstairs. Eventually we would like to run educational class not only for our children and staff, but for the surrounding community as well.

There will also be a large playing field, a small poultry farm and a communal shamba (farm) with crops such as maize, cabbage, spinach, potatoes, carrots, bananas, and avocado and mango trees. As time progress, we would like to manage and sell our crops and eggs to provide us with more funding.

All quotes are taken from the website. I invite you to visit for more information.

Here are people attempting to make a difference. They went to Africa in the hope of doing something. Now they are making a difference and will continue to do so.

Perhaps there's hope for this planet after all.