Friday 12 November 2010
Report from Tea Party America
Shimkus is one of four Republicans vying to head the committee, which oversees legislation related to public health, air quality and environmental health, the supply and delivery of energy, and interstate and foreign commerce in general. He is not favored to win; the likely chairman will probably be Michigan Republican Fred Upton (R-MI)
He has served on the committee since he was first elected to represent 19th District of Illinois in 1997.
'To serve and protect (what we feel like protecting)'
The forgotten lesson of Jan Bloch remembered on Remembrance Day: the wounded get little attention
His 19th century war analysis proved big wars lead to bankruptcy and revolt. But Canada's little modern war has serious costs, too
10 November 2010 — It's a curious fact of Canada at war: each death in Afghanistan is front-page news, with a colour photo of the victim. But the wounded get little attention.The policy is to release the total number of wounded only once a year, and not to describe the nature of their wounds at all. This, presumably, denies the Taliban useful intelligence on how well their IEDs and rocket-propelled grenades are working.
It also denies Canadians any sense of how many of our soldiers come home hurt, or who die of their wounds outside Afghanistan. We should know, and we owe the wounded respect and concern.
So we're reduced to consulting Wikipedia for a rough sense of the suffering: as of the end of 2009, after almost seven years of combat, our forces suffered 1,442 non-fatal casualties. Of these, 913 were "non-battle injuries," with 529 "wounded in action." That's remarkably few compared to earlier wars.
Report from the Front
What Laila sees: A Kandahar woman tells her story
"Twelve days ago," she continued, "a good friend was walking home from the mosque. A four-minute walk. An IED was detonated, and my friend lost half his face. Another man lost his leg, and his son lost his leg, too. We live with that kind of uncertainty, when you don't know what is going to happen from one moment to the next."
Laila's descriptions of living with fear and violence in Kandahar contradict the mild US descriptions of the "security situation" there. — Read the full article inside, 950 words.
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Villeneuve-Sinclair a beautiful ray of sunshine
I so much enjoyed the article "Leave the monsters behind - you are more beautiful than you think". I just turned 66 in October and when I look in the mirror I have feelings of where my youth has disappeared but I also have feelings of contentment knowing that I have had such a special and lucky life. Alberte Villeneuve-Sinclair's article was just like a shot of adrenaline or a ray of sunshine to my soul. You are so right! You are beautiful. — Mary Lou Riley, Arnprior, Ont.
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11 November 2010 — November 11 is the anniversary of the armistice marking the end of the First World War, although the Canadian Army in fact continued fighting until 1919, deploying units in Siberia, with many conscripts from Montréal and Quebec City, in an attempt to thwart the Bolshevik advance. This day also marks the peak of the campaign around the red poppy, the felt and plastic symbol produced and sold by the Royal Canadian Legion but first adopted in 1920 in the United States by the American Legion in reference to the poem “In Flanders Fields” by the Canadian soldier John McCrae.Written in the wake of the battle of Ypres, Belgium in May 1915, this poem reads as a call to arms directed to the youth by the 6,000 Canadian soldiers who were massacred in a few days: “To you from failing hands we throw / The torch; be yours to hold it high. / If ye break faith with us who die / We shall not sleep, though poppies grow / In Flanders fields.” It is explicitly militarist, as is the poppy, whose promoters consider it an expression of recognition of “all who have fallen”, to “all who still serve, and all who have come home again,” to quote theToronto Star editorial of November 8, which calls on us to “honour the 152 who have died in Afghanistan and the tens of thousands who fell in other wars.”
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WikiLeaks: Transparency or treason?
Controversial website has enemies on both sides of military-journalism complex
They encourage them to come forward, persuade them to talk, promise them anonymity, and sometimes they even risk going to jail to prevent their identities from being known. Whistleblowers have been key to many important exposes over the years, and they are a crucial component to investigative journalism.
That’s why the current debate over WikiLeaks is both perplexing and troubling. The website, founded in 2006, is devoted to soliciting and publicizing important information from whistleblowers. So why are so many journalists, including some investigative reporters, raising questions about what WikiLeaks is doing?
WikiLeaks has broken many stories in its brief history, posting everything from secret detention documents at Guantanamo Bay to a video showing American Apache helicopters firing at civilians in Baghdad. The stories have not endeared the site to U.S. authorities.
From the Desk of Sheila Petzold, Unitarian Service Committee of Canada
4 November 2010, VANCOUVER, British Columbia — If you found yourself on the southern shore of False Creek at Westminster Avenue (now Main Street) on Saturday, Aug. 15, 1908 you would happen by opening day of Vancouver's City Market.The grand building with dual bell towers and a generous waterfront promenade is plastered with signs advertising retail and wholesale "farm products" for sale and a restaurant serving "meals at all hours." Rail tracks in the foreground illustrate the prime mode of transportation bringing food from the Fraser Valley to be sold at the market. The Mt. Pleasant marching band posing in full regalia is a testament to the community celebration accompanying opening day.
9 November 2010 — A departing Conservative MP used publicly funded House of Commons resources to back his potential successor — a candidate who once headed the Canadian Taxpayers Federation and was a senior aide to the prime minister.
"As we prepare for the next federal election, the following few months are extremely important. The prime minister wants the party to present the best slate of candidates possible in all 308 ridings," MP Greg Thompson wrote on Commons letterhead of the contest to replace him in New Brunswick Southwest.
"I also believe it is important that you know exactly why I'm supporting John Williamson as our next Conservative candidate and MP."
Levi Schaeffer and Douglas Minty, one with psychiatric issues the other with intellectual challenges, were shot dead in 2009. In both cases police say the men came at them with a knife.
9 November 2010, JOHANNESBURG — Just weeks after losing a crucial vote for a seat on the United Nations Security Council, the Harper government is wrestling with a diplomatic move that could further damage its influence on the world stage.
The government is considering the closing of several Canadian embassies in Africa, a move that has triggered alarm among many foreign-policy activists. Up to four embassies – including those in Cameroon, Zambia and Tunisia – are said to be on the chopping block.
Altered facts: Aaron Sorkin's The Social Network great drama but lousy history
Sigrid Macdonald is an editor, book coach and the author of three books including Be Your Own Editor. Check her out at http://sigridmacdonald.blogspot.com/.
12 November 2010 — Aaron Sorkin earned a stellar reputation as the producer of West Wing, an idealistic TV show about a smart and sophisticated American president with good ethics and equally good policies. Having high expectations for a Sorkin production, I was disappointed in his current release,The Social Network.
The Social Network is the story of Mark Zuckerberg, the co-founder of Facebook, which has 500 million users worldwide and is currently estimated to be worth $25 billion. That's no small feat for a 26-year-old entrepreneur. How did he do it?
Zuckerberg, played beautifully by Jesse Eisenberg, is a 19-year-old student at Harvard as the movie opens. He is having drinks with his girlfriend, and manages to insult her and offend the audience within less than five minutes of crisp, sardonic dialogue. Sorkin establishes immediately that Zuckerberg is arrogant, insufferable and Mensa material, and we cheer when his girlfriend, Erica, breaks up with him. A frustrated and intoxicated Zuckerberg returns to his dorm, thinking that he will create a social media site where Harvard men can rate female students in terms of their attractiveness. He calls the site "FaceMash."
The wound of the 'sexually-transmitted city'
Palimpsest, by Catherynne M. Valente
8 November 2010 — In a recent blog entry Catherynne M. Valente offered a sardonic reply to reviewers who have used phrases like "not for everyone" and "dense" to describe her work.
"'Not for everyone' is certainly one--dude, no book is for everyone, why does this need to be said, even the most popular books have entire cultures of hate around them, if books were either black or white, for everyone or no one, then there'd be five books published a year and that would be it. No one would have to write reviews."
Having now read the Hugo Award-nominated Palimpsest, I find it hard not to echo the phrase, "not for everyone". Read the full article inside, 1,121 words.
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Whatever happened to ... Lakshmi Sundaram ? Readers have been asking, whatever happened to our rising-star columnist Lakshmi Sundaram? Lakshmi, performed strangely during the record-breaking heatwave in Canada's capital, Ottawa. Like one determined to beard the lion in its den she went 500 kilometres south to Georgia south of the even more sweltering U.S. capital, Washington. On the way back she was distracted to Montreal where she took shelter and became as busy as the proverbial all-get-out. Meanwhile both columnists assure me that they'll be back at their keyboards in November. Looking forward. — Carl Dow.
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Dear Margaret, I hope our paths cross again one day!
12 November 2010 — My wish finally came true last Monday as I joined my friends Carole and Denise for dinner at Mr. B’s on Bank Street. We were very excited because we were heading to the Southminster United Church in Ottawa afterwards to hear Margaret Trudeau talk about her life’s journey, her struggle with bipolar disease and how she has literally reframed her life to better cope with the condition.
CBC News
9 November 2010 — There's more evidence that picking up a second language may help delay the onset of Alzheimer's symptoms, Canadian researchers have found.
Specks of sawdust and planks of wood — speaking truth in love to each other are true signs of the workings of the Spirit
10 November 2010 — Watermelons are a difficult crop, but well worth the effort when they grow well. They need heat, lots of water, weeding and more heat. We started growing melons two years ago as an experiment. When we sent a bunch to market for the first time we had to figure out a price — we had no precedent.
Once our costs were considered, we figured that we would have to charge the same price we have for our squash -- $1.25/lb. This came as quite a shock to customers who normally pay $0.29/lb for conventional melons in the stores through the summer. After various comments about the price that first week, we discussed whether we needed to lower the price.
From the Desk of Alex Binkley, Contributing Editor
'What does it mean that Harper will defend Israel no matter the consequences for Canada?'
10 November 2010 — Watching and listening to Stephen Harper's bizarre and unnerving speech about anti-Semitism and Israel raises the question as to whether or not the man is mentally fit to be prime minister.In effect, Harper has taken the position of being Israel's defender no matter what -- in other words, this commitment comes before his duty as prime minister, before his duty to represent Canada's interests abroad, before his role of elected representative. Harper is a defender of Israel no matter the consequences for Canada. He stated:
"[As] long as I am Prime Minister, whether it is at the United Nations, the Francophonie, or anywhere else, Canada will take that stand whatever the cost. I say this, not just because it is the right thing to do, but because history shows us, and the ideology of the anti-Israeli mob tell us all too well if we listen to it, that those who threaten the existence of the Jewish people are a threat to all of us."
His dedication to that country supersedes his commitment to his own. That would be disturbing enough if Harper were merely a private citizen. But as prime minister it is beyond the pale and it isn't much of a stretch to suggest it borders on the betrayal of Canada and certainly Canadian interests. — Read the full article at Rabble.ca, 983 words.
Always worth repeating
'Give us the tools and we'll finish the job'
— Winston Churchill
Let's say that news throughout human time has been free. Take that time when Ugh Wayne went over to the cave of Mugh Payne with news that the chief of his group had broken a leg while chasing his laughing wife around the fire. That news was given freely and received as such with much knowing smiles and smirks to say nothing of grunts of approval or disapproval. — 688 words.
G20 summiteers distracted by a false alarm
Europe drives itself deeper into recession but complains while the U.S. does something right for a change
Fears of protectionist battles over trade and exchange rates are overblown. The G20 needs to focus on stimulating growth
12 November 2010 — If the G20 is going to be nothing more than a talking shop on economic issues, they ought at least to talk about the economic problems that really matter, and the ones they can do something about. Not that currency values don't matter – they are actually very important. And it is interesting to see them getting some attention, after the media ignored, for example, the fact that an overvalued dollar was the main cause of the United States's loss of nearly a third of its manufacturing jobs over the last decade.American Empire produces 11 global winners — and they aren't the good guys
Predicting the fortunes of Osama bin Laden, China, Pakistan, Israel and the United States, among others in the world context of the U.S. midterms
Fortified by rounds of new polls and all those talking heads calibrating and recalibrating prospective winners and losers, seats “leaning Democratic” and “leaning Republican,” the election season essentially became an endless handicapping session. This is how American politics is now framed -- as a months or years-long serial election for which November 2nd is a kind of hangover. Then, only weeks after the results are in, the next set of polls will be out and election 2012, the Big Show, will be on the agenda with all the regular handicappers starting to gather at all the usual places.
Because two wars just aren't enough ...
Senator Graham calls for war to 'neuter' Iranian government
"The South Carolina Republican saw the United States going to war with the Islamic republic “not to just neutralize their nuclear program, but to sink their navy, destroy their air force and deliver a decisive blow to the Revolutionary Guard, in other words neuter that regime.”
Barack Obama, phone home
Optics matter. If Washington is tumbling into a political crisis as the recovery continues to lag, maybe the president shouldn’t get out of Dodge. If the White House couldn’t fill a 13,000-seat arena in blue Cleveland the weekend before the midterms, maybe it shouldn’t have sent the president there. If an administration charged with confronting a Great Recession knew that its nominee for secretary of the Treasuryserially cut corners on his taxes, maybe it should have considered other options. Shoulda, woulda, coulda. Well, here we are.
7 November 2010 — Eight years ago Ben Bernanke, already a governor at the Federal Reserve although not yet chairman, spoke at a conference honoring Milton Friedman. He closed his talk by addressing Friedman’s famous claim that the Fed was responsible for the Great Depression, because it failed to do what was necessary to save the economy.Superhero-style spacesuits could provide vital compression for astronauts
29 October 2010 — This new Spiderman-style suit may not win astronauts a spot in the fashion hall of fame, but it could help keep their bones intact during long spaceflights.Goose eggs could be polar bears' global warming plan 'B'
5 November 2010 — The polar ice caps are melting, damaging habitats and robbing animals of their basic resources. But polar bears have a decent chance of surviving the upheaval, thanks to snow goose eggs...and a little random good luck.Ex-CIA officer admits spying for Russia ... from jail
Harold Nicholson, 59, was sentenced to 23-and-a-half years in jail in 1997 for selling the Kremlin sensitive information believed to include the identities of several American spies working in Russia.
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From the Desk of Dennis Carr, Sustainable Development
9 November 2010 — The extensive pipeline system that moves oil, gas and waste throughout BP's operations in Alaska is plagued by severe corrosion, according to an internal maintenance report generated four weeks ago.Debut novelist wins Canada's top literary award with The Sentimentalists, a book that has sold just a few hundred copies
The Old Man's Last Sauna
A collection of short stories by Carl Dow
An eclectic collection of short stories that will stir your sense of humour, warm your heart, outrage your sense of justice, and chill your extra sensory faculties in the spirit of Stephen King. The final short story, the collection's namesake, The Old Man's Last Sauna is a ground-breaking love story.
The series begins with Deo Volente (God Willing). Followed by The Quintessence of Mr. Flynn, Sharing Lies, Flying High, The Richest Bitch in the Country or Ginny I Hardly Knows Ya, One Lift Too Many, The Model A Ford, the out-of-body chiller, Room For One Only and O Ernie! ... What Have They Done To You! The series closes with the collection's namesake, The Old Man's Last Sauna, a groundbreaking love story. All stories may also be found in the True North Perspective Archives.
