life as i know it...

Received this today. I have my doubts about online petitions, but I value the CBC, so I signed, and plan to write some letters.

In just 6 days, over 100,000 of us have come together and signed the petition to Save the CBC and Radio Canada from deeply damaging budget cuts - one of the largest online petitions in Canadian history!

http://www.avaaz.org/en/save_the_cbc/

The CBC is vital for Canadian art, culture and identity. These cuts have been forced on it for no good reason - the CBC has asked the government for sensible bridge financing - borrowing against their funding next year to spread the cuts out and make sure vital assets aren't damaged this year. The government has refused because, as we know from numerous past statements from Prime Minister Harper, they have an ideological agenda of opposition to a public broadcaster. They'd like to see the CBC privatized and sold off. With the CBC already forced to get half of its revenue from advertizing (compelling it to carry expensive American TV shows) that process is well underway. Even while the CBC survives in name, it's public character and mission are under attack.

With enough of a public outcry, we can reverse the government's decision. But even if we don't, a powerful statement is being made, to this government and future ones, that Canadians want the CBC and Radio Canada to survive as public service broadcasters. If enough of us act together now, they'll think twice the next time they look to undermine the CBC, and together we'll form a voice that can empower our national broadcasters to fully return to their precious public service mission.

With hope and determination,

Ricken, Lisa-Marie, Laryn and the Avaaz Canada team

PS - the best group providing information and opportunities to get more deeply involved in this issue is Friends of Canadian Broadcasting.

CBC, according to Stephen Harper... Mouth of Gold from Friends of Canadian Broadcasting on Vimeo.

Posted in: politics on April 03, 2009 7 comments    

Hilarious!!!!



I still find it strange that some people haven't seen Star Wars though...
(says a girl who went to the 12:01am showing of Phantom Menace! Too bad it was so disappointing!)
(seen on grrrl meets world)

Posted in: funny, politics on February 01, 2009 2 comments    

via grrrl meets world

Posted in: politics on November 04, 2008 0 comments    

This should make for good U.S. election night comedy!

Notorious Quebec comedy duo talks politics in prank call to Sarah Palin

Posted in: politics on November 01, 2008 0 comments    

A This Hour has 22 Minutes reporter was forcibly removed from a Conservative press conference. The part where Stephen Harper asks her if she likes handcuffs creeps me out every time I see it! Eeewww eeewww EEEEEWWWWWWW!!!!

Politics is no place for adults:


Stephen Harper and the ATM baby.

Posted in: politics on October 12, 2008 0 comments    

(link)

Posted in: politics on October 08, 2008 2 comments    

I think this is fantastic.

David Suzuki is going on a cross-Canada tour to find out what average Canadians want the government to do for the environment, and when the 30 day tour is over, he's planning to bring our concerns directly to politicians.

The environment is becoming an increasingly important issue, and if anyone can make our politicians finally listen and hopefully do something, it's David Suzuki, armed with an army of voters.

From the official press release:

"We have an amazing opportunity to ride the current environmental momentum to real change and real action."During the 30-day tour, Dr. Suzuki will visit more than 40 communities, speaking to Canadians from St. John's to Victoria. Many Canadian celebrities will join Dr. Suzuki throughout the tour, from musical performers like Sarah Harmer and k-os, to TV personalities like Rick Mercer, to NHL players like Andrew Ference and Robyn Regehr of the Calgary Flames.
...

"Canada is a great democracy, but the process fails if we just complain about issues, without doing anything about them," Dr. Suzuki says."If Canadians really want environmental change, now is the time to demand it because with so much support, our leaders will have to listen."

Dr. Suzuki is also turning to the web and pop culture to engage the masses. Canadians are encouraged to make 20-second"If YOU were Prime Minister..." videos and upload them to the tour's YouTube group through davidsuzuki.org. Celebrities such as Randy Bachman, Raffi, Anne Murray, and winter sport athletes Sara Renner and Thomas Grandi have already left their own video messages.

To see when he'll be visiting a location near you, check out the tour schedule. Tickets are going fast, so get yours soon (I'm hoping the one in my area isn't sold out yet)!



If Raffi were Prime Minister...


Technorati tags: environment, politics, David Suzuki, Kyoto, climate change, global warming, Canada

Posted in: climate change, environment, politics on January 31, 2007 0 comments    

Here's an interesting news tidbit that showed up in my inbox this morning. I wonder if seeing their own bodies' toxin levels will strengthen any of their commitments to the environment?

Toxic Nation on Parliament Hill: A Report on the Pollution in Four Canadian Politicians

For the latest round of Toxic Nation body burden testing, four federal politicians volunteered to be tested for over 100 different chemicals.

Toxic Nation on Parliament Hill reveals that our politicians are polluted, just like the rest of us. The participating politicians included Rona Ambrose, Minister of the Environment; Tony Clement, Minister of Health; Jack Layton, Leader of the NDP; and, John Godfrey, Liberal Environment Critic.

The group was tested for a slew of toxic chemicals, including pesticides, heavy metals and chemicals used to make flame retardants and stain repellents. For many of the chemicals tested, the politicians had the highest levels detected so far in the Toxic Nation studies. Of the four politicians, the highest number of chemicals was detected in John Godfrey, but Health Minister Tony Clement had the highest levels detected in three out of the seven groups of chemicals.

Technorati tags: politics, toxins, chemicals, health, Canada

Posted in: environment, health, politics, toxic on January 15, 2007 0 comments    

September 25: Canadian government cuts 40% (5 million dollars) of Status of Women Canada's administrative budget

October: Women's History Month

October 3: The word "equality" is removed from the Status of Women mandate

October 18: Persons Day

November 25: International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women

November 29: Conservatives close 12 out of 16 Status of Women regional offices

December 6: National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence Against Women

December 10: International Human Rights Day


Well, it really sucks if you live in the North, a rural area, or anywhere except the 4 cities which will still have regional Status of Women offices after April 1st: Ottawa, Edmonton, Montreal and Moncton. It's not an April Fool's Day joke, unfortunately, just a grim reality.

Offices closed, millions in funding cut, "equality" removed from the SWC's mandate... I hear the government saying that it wants to create programs that treat men and women equally, without preferential treatment for women, but the reality is that no matter how much we'd like to think things are equal, there are still a lot of barriers and prejudice towards women. Less in some areas of the country, more in others, but when Canadian women are on average making only about 71 cents on the (male) dollar, there's surely something wrong, and I don't think that this government is taking the issues seriously. It's not terribly surprising though, considering the way some MPs speak out about their female colleagues. When well-educated, highly paid women are publicly maligned by government officials, what hope is there for single mothers, female immigrants, or women trying to break through the (still existent) glass ceiling?

- - - - -

On an even more progressive note, yesterday Saskboy wrote about about a charming commenter one of his previous blog posts who has declared that breastfeeding in public is "shameful" and "lowerclass".

Posted in: baby, body image, feminism, kids, politics on November 30, 2006 2 comments    

Here's a really cool link I stumbled across at Grrrl Meets World:

Presidential Speeches: Tag Clouds

The clouds show how often certain words were used in major speeches by U.S. presidents, from 1776 to today. Move the slider along the timeline to look at the trends in speeches throughout history.

Technorati tags: USA, politics, speeches, president, tag clouds

Posted in: politics, war on November 16, 2006 0 comments    

Technorati tags: marketing, politics, comics, Fox Trot

Posted in: comics, funny, politics on November 14, 2006 1 comments    

Click here to watch Rick Mercer's latest comedic rant on the Clean Air Act (which is actually only a Bill).

Technorati tags: environment, politics, global warming, climate change, comedy, Canada, Rick Mercer

Posted in: politics, videos on October 24, 2006 0 comments    

Scott from Progressive Bloggers asked me to write a list of 5 things feminism has done for me. For those of you who haven't read one of these lists yet, here's the background: Despite having a $13 billion surplus this year, the government has cut $5 million of funding to Status of Women Canada. In response, many Canadian bloggers have been posting lists of '5 things feminism has done for me', to show their support for the goals of the SWC.


Before I begin, I'll say that although I support women's rights and equality for all, I've never really considered myself a 'feminist'. I'm not quite sure why.. perhaps it's because today feminism almost seems to have become a dirty word. It seems like a lot of people associate feminists with radical man-haters, although that's certainly not a universal trait. But, while I may not agree with every stance of feminist groups, I value the changes that women's groups have made in our society, and many of those that they continue to lobby for.


5 Things Feminism Has Done For Me

1. It has made me realize, from a young age, that women can do anything.
Women can be politicians, scientists, astronauts and firefighters, and they can do their jobs as well as men. We need not be forced into predetermined gender stereotypes.

2. It has made me realize that while women can do anything, we don't have to do everything.
We can be anything we want, but we don't need to force ourselves to try to be superwomen. To me, feminism is about recognizing your options, and making the choices that work best for you. Someone who is a stay at home mom isn't necessarily less of a feminist than the CEO of a large company. We all advocate in our own, different ways.

3. It has made me expect to be judged on my merits, not only my looks.
Realistically, almost everyone is judged on their looks these days - men included. But I'm happy to see that most women no longer expect to get (or not get) a job because of the way they look. They expect employers to read their resume and evaluate their relevant skills. Thankfully, in many professions, employers do that.

4. It has made me proud to live in a society where I have the freedom to speak my mind, regardless of my gender.
I have the right to vote, debate in a public forum, enter politics, and challenge my husband or father if I think they're wrong. I need not keep quiet because of my gender.

5. It has shown me that while we like to think that we live in an equal society, we still have far to go, and must continue working.
The funding cuts to the Status of Women Canada are a big one here, but two big (personal) moments of enlightenment for me were firm interviews, and also hearing young, well educated male university classmates scoff at the idea of pay equity. We still have far to go to reach equality in practice, and in people's minds and hearts.


Wikipedia entry for feminism

Over at Progressive Bloggers, they're suggesting that everyone who writes a list should 'tag' 5 other (male or female) bloggers to see if they're willing to participate. I'd like to invite Apartment Girl, Vickyth, Becky, helmut, and Heather.

Thanks to Politics & Poetry for the link to Status Report.

Technorati tags: feminism, politics, feminist, human rights, equality, Canada, women,

Posted in: body image, equality, feminism, law, meme, politics on October 23, 2006 3 comments    

I can't say that I'm a big fan of Belinda Stronach, but I found myself appreciating her recent zinger at the Conservatives.

Referring to the recent cuts to the Status of Women Canada, etc., apparently Belinda asked during Question Period: "Why does the government insist on turning its back on women's rights and the groups who advocate on their behalf?"

Conservative MP Lynne Yelich responded:

"I would like to remind the member that it was a Conservative government that gave women the right to vote in 1917, a former Conservative government. The first female cabinet minister was in the Diefenbaker cabinet. The first female premier in British Columbia was from a Conservative government."

Belinda responded:

"Mr. Speaker, may I also remind the House that they also took the word “progressive” out of the name of the party."


Thanks to Liberal Catnip for the chuckle!

Posted in: feminism, politics on October 20, 2006 6 comments    

I've voted conservative in provincial elections in the past, but I really dislike Stephen Harper and much of what the new Conservative party stands for.

The Conservative party's stance on the gay marriage issue particularly bugs me. I totally support same-sex marriage. People are people; marriage need not always be a religious union, or for procreation, and I believe that two consenting adults who want to get married should be legally allowed to (let's not start the incest & polygamy debates right now, shall we?).

It frustrates me to no end that the party hopes to re-open debate on the legality of same-sex marriage, and I wish they'd just let it go. But while I feel that way, I actually support one idea behind their proposed Defence of Religions Act.

I don't know the details of the Act yet, so I'll reserve judgment on the whole thing, but I at least agree with the main principle - I don't think that religious officials should be compelled to marry same-sex couples if it's against their religious beliefs (I'm unsure if I agree with allowing civil servants to opt out, so that's something I'll have to think about more).

But back to priests, ministers, etc. I don't think that they should be required to marry same-sex couples, just as I don't think that medical students should be required to learn how to perform abortion procedures in medical school. I know, they're very different issues, but they're both strong and widely-held values/beliefs issues. While it would be really disappointing for a couple wanting to have a religious ceremony to be told that their local minister won't perform the ceremony for them, a couple doesn't need the religious element to get married, and it's just a gut feeling for me that someone whose whole life and profession is based on his/her religious beliefs shouldn't be legally compelled to do something that violates those beliefs.

As for the legislation protecting religious leaders' rights to publicly voice criticism of homosexual behaviour without risking complaints of human rights violations, I don't agree with that! Sounds like preaching discrimination from the pulpit, to me.

Just a few thoughts.

Posted in: equality, politics on October 04, 2006 2 comments    

What causes someone to be branded a terrorist? Or a security threat? Is it harmful intent? It is having a history of exploding bombs for entertainment value? Is it carrying a bomb onto an airplane?

What if you're a white, Christian, U.S. boy with Republican parents? In that case, maybe the mayor will defend you as only having made a "glorified firecracker" and accidentally putting it in your luggage. It's harmless, because as we all know, "boys like to see things go bang".

Can you imagine anyone else doing the same thing, and while out on bail, only having to live at Mommy & Daddy's, and adhere to a 10pm curfew? How would this situation be different if the guy wasn't white? Or if he was Muslim? Imagine the field day Homeland Security and the media would have, even if no ties were found to a terrorist organization.

Federal agents arrested Charles Alfred Dreyling Jr., 24, on Wednesday at a security checkpoint after a Transportation Security Administration employee noticed something suspicious in his carryon luggage as it went through an X-ray machine about 9:30 a.m., FBI spokesman Gary Johnson said.

The device was described in an FBI affidavit as a carbon dioxide cartridge filled with gunpowder that could be detonated when connected to a power source such as the batteries Dreyling had in his electric razor and in his cell phone, which were also in his carryon bag.
...

Dreyling faces a federal charge of trying to get on an aircraft with an explosive device. The charge carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.

He was released to the custody of his mother, Vicki Dreyling. His terms of release include living at his parents' home in north Oklahoma City and a 10 p.m. curfew.
...

Former Oklahoma City Mayor Kirk Humphreys, who is Dreyling's landlord and his longtime friend, also came to the hearing.

Humphreys said Dreyling had created a ''glorified firecracker'' and then forgotten that it was in his luggage.
...

Dreyling said he learned as a teenager how to build homemade explosives from Web sites like ''The Anarchist's Cook Book.'' Dreyling said he has built and detonated several explosive devices for recreational purposes, according to the affidavit.

He also told authorities that he had a bag of gunpowder, an empty carbon dioxide cartridge, and several ignitors in his Norman residence, according to the affidavit.
...

[Mayor Humphries said] "I have every confidence that they'll find out Charlie Dreyling is a fine young man and no terrorist. He had a little explosive device, and boys like to see things go bang. He took it down to an outing at the lake, left it in his bag, forgot it and went to the airport."

August 12, 2005 Airport Business article (via Hullabaloo and Canadian Cynic)

Posted in: law, politics, war on August 19, 2006 1 comments    

[CNN announcer]
FDR said it first: "The only thing we have to fear... IS FEAR ITSELF!!!!" Next on CNN: We'll give you four dozen things to be scared of! Stay tuned!

[cue scary music]



Jon Stewart on CNN's fearmongering.


Update: On a related note, read this first-hand account of being stuck at Heathrow airport during the security crackdown last week. (via BoingBoing)

Posted in: politics, videos, war on August 18, 2006 1 comments    

During the G-8 Summit, George Bush somehow got it in his head that it would be a good idea to give German Chancellor Angela Merkel a quick neck massage as he walked behind her chair.

She didn't seem too happy about it.


Here's Jon Stewart's take on the incident.

Also, Saskboy has a creepy picture showing what it would look like if Bush gave a similar neck massage to Stephen Harper. Ewwwww.....

Posted in: politics on July 21, 2006 0 comments    

Posted in: politics, war on June 20, 2006 1 comments    

Hmm... I wonder what they'll do?

Some debate going on over how the members of the Royal Newfoundland Regiment will conduct themselves when the 'Ode to Newfoundland' is played over the French battlefieds when the regiment returns to Beaumont Hamel and area next month.

Lieutenent Colonel Kevin Hutchings says it's an honour to have all the members of the first and second batallions present for the 90th anniversay of the July 1st massacre. But he notes it is not permitted for Canadian Forces members to salute a, what is now, provincial anthem.

It seems such a shame that the veterans aren't allowed to salute what was, when they fought, the regiment's national anthem.

(via VOCM)

Technorati tags: Newfoundland, Ode to Newfoundland, Royal Newfoundland Regiment, Beaumont Hamel, war, Canada

Posted in: Newfoundland, politics, war on June 10, 2006 0 comments