Friday 15 October 2010
China's Pipelineistan "War":
Anteing up, betting and bluffing in the new Great Game
12 October 2010 — Future historians may well agree that the twenty-first century Silk Road first opened for business on December 14, 2009. That was the day a crucial stretch of pipeline officially went into operation linking the fabulously energy-rich state of Turkmenistan (via Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan) to Xinjiang Province in China’s far west. Hyperbole did not deter the spectacularly named Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov, Turkmenistan’s president, from bragging, "This project has not only commercial or economic value. It is also political. China, through its wise and farsighted policy, has become one of the key guarantors of global security."
The bottom line is that, by 2013, Shanghai, Guangzhou, and Hong Kong will be cruising to ever more dizzying economic heights courtesy of natural gas supplied by the 1,833-kilometer-long Central Asia Pipeline, then projected to be operating at full capacity. And to think that, in a few more years, China’s big cities will undoubtedly also be getting a taste of Iraq’s fabulous, barely tapped oil reserves, conservatively estimated at 115 billion barrels, but possibly closer to 143 billion barrels, which would put it ahead of Iran. When the Bush administration’s armchair generals launched their Global War on Terror, this was not exactly what they had in mind.
China’s economy is thirsty, and so it’s drinking deeper and planning deeper yet. It craves Iraq’s oil and Turkmenistan’s natural gas, as well as oil from Kazakhstan. Yet instead of spending more than a trillion dollars on an illegal war in Iraq or setting up military bases all over the Greater Middle East and Central Asia, China used its state oil companies to get some of the energy it needed simply by bidding for it in a perfectly legal Iraqi oil auction. — Read the full article at TomDispatch.com, 3,122 words.
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| Cartoon by Steve Benson, Comics.com. |
Nine months after the quake - a million Haitians slowly dying
11 October 2010 — "If it gets any worse," said Wilda, a homeless Haitian mother, "we're not going to survive." Mothers and grandmothers surrounding her nodded solemnly.
We are in a broiling "tent" with a group of women trying to raise their families in a public park. Around the back of the Haitian National Palace, the park hosts a regal statute of Alexandre Petion in its middle. It is now home to 5,000 people displaced by the January 2010 earthquake.
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I read Alberte's article with great satisfaction because she has offered solid arguments that I can add to mine when I debate miracles. Congratulations and thank you for handling this subject both in a scientific way and a solid belief in miracles and miracle workers such as Brother André based on faith. I really enjoyed "Don't be a chicken!" and can attest to its truthfulness. After living such a saga with my parents, I vowed to be autonomous and free in my relationship with my husband. Thinking about my mother's plight motivated and encouraged me to pursue my university studies and stage a comfortable retirement for myself. Thank you for inspiring me... and many others, I'm sure! |
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Only in 1928 were Canadian women recognized as 'persons'
Monday, the 18th of this month, marks a little-known but symbolically momentous anniversary for Canadians. It was on that date in 1928 — only 82 years ago — that the British Privy Council (proving that imperialism isn't all bad), decided that the Supreme Court of Canada had been wrong, and that women — the half of the human race born without a penis — were 'persons' after all.
Of course, the decision did not come to women (and to Canada's men, even if many of them did not realize it at the time) as a gift out of the blue from across the pond. It was a victory, a prize hard-won after not just years, but two decades of struggle (and indeed, of more decades of work before that; the road of human progress is a long and winding one indeed. — Read the full story inside, 567 words.
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Free (for now), but not free to speak
Accused G20 ringleader released on 'staggering' conditions
Unlike other Canadians, he’s not allowed to speak to the press.
At least that’s how a court interpreted the new bail conditions placed on Hundert, an accused ringleader of violence during the G20 summit in June.
“It’s staggering in its breadth,” said John Norris, Hundert’s lawyer. “I’ve never heard of anything as broad as that.”
Hundert, 30, faces three counts of conspiracy pertaining to G20 activities, and was released in July on $100,000 bail with about 20 terms, including not participating in any public demonstration.
— Read the full article at the Toronto Star, 435 words.
15 October 2010 — Canada’s civilian and military justice systems seem determined to prove the old line from Charles Dickens that the law is an ass.
The court martial of Capt. David Semrau was a disgrace from beginning to end while the court action against Toronto grocer David Chen is plain boneheaded. One hates to think how many taxpayer dollars were wasted in these two prosecutions plus the public disrespect they both heap on justice in Canada.
You're going a long way (to succeed), baby!
Canadian corporate female stars strike career gold with foreign employers
'For me it was the two American companies that really made a difference'
10 October 2010 — During her five years as chief executive officer of Canada Post, Moya Greene was courted half a dozen times to join corporate boards or run another business.
All but one of the offers were from foreign companies. The last overture was so enticing that she opted in May to walk from an unfinished makeover at Canada Post to be the first woman to lead Britain’s Royal Mail, a postal service twice the size of Canada’s. It is no surprise to Ms. Greene, 56, that only one of her suitors was Canadian.
Is there something wrong with executive recruiting in Canada?” says Ms. Greene, a blunt-talking executive with 30 years of experience on Bay Street and in the federal government. Even though “women are so successful at different levels” in Canadian business, she says “they are not seen and their shoulder is not tapped to be the leader of the organization.”
— Read the full article at The Globe and Mail, 864 words.What's a little false imprisonment, torture and years spent trapped in the Canadian embassy between citizens?
Ottawa says Abdelrazik deserves no compensation
12 October 2010 — 
15 October 2010 —This year, we were blessed with beautiful weather for the Thanksgiving weekend. In the spirit of enjoying life to the fullest, I booked a package deal of room, three-course dinner, massage and Sunday brunch at the Château Logue in Maniwaki. The Gatineau Hills are in full splendor at this time of the year! Sunshine and blue skies, the smell of dry leaves and pine needles in the crisp autumn air were invigorating. After a good lunch at the Rabaska Restaurant we went for a walk along the Désert River, crossing paths with a homeless person who seemed to be waiting for someone. We then drove to “La mie et la croûte” artisan bakery to buy homemade bread and croissants. We continued our tour of Maniwaki, stopping at the golf club to examine its intricate bridge and take photos.
Ten-year Toronto Councillor says he's anti-politician
Critics say media gives Rob Ford undeserved boost
Margaret Wente of The Globe and Mail says, 'The large and solid Mr. Ford has all the flair, intellect and vision of a block of concrete.'
'Accident-in-waiting:
Hungary's sludge pond disaster could happen in Canada
Rule 7: Smarter streets are cheaper streets
Invest in lighter, greener, cheaper, smarter infrastructure
7 October 2010 — Road and stormwater infrastructure often destroys the ecological function of the land that supports it and burdens home buyers and taxpayers through its cost to install, maintain and replace. Since the end of the Second World War, the per dwelling unit cost for providing, maintaining and replacing infrastructure (defined here as the physical means for moving people, goods, energy and liquids through the city) has increased by nearly 400 per cent according to some estimates.
Most of this per capita increase has been the consequence of ever more demanding engineering standards for residential roads, coupled with the gradual increase in per capita land demand over the decades (or at least until the year 2000), a consequence of universally applied sprawl patterns throughout the United States and Canada.
But a spirit has crossed the Northumberland Strait
ast and best of the lobsters and oysters, my spouse and I visit “The Island,” Prince Edward Island, that is.
My spouse, an Islander herself, refers to this annual pilgrimage as “watering the roots.” We see this beautiful province “cradled in the waves” or Abigweit as the natives called it, not through the lenses of those thousands of visitors that pour off enormous cruise ships, planes and buses, but through the eyes of “real” Islanders. Her cousins, mostly retired farmers, once upon a time plowed the red soil and planted the spuds that P.E.I. is highly noted for. — Read the full story inside, 1,203 words.
No! Canada — No room at the U.N.
Weak Canadian hand played badly
Canada's withdrawal from the election, which handed the contested seat to Portugal, is partly a reflection of the general disengagement from world affairs by Canada chronicled recently by authors from Andrew Cohen to Paul Heinbecker. The chickens are coming home to roost. —Read the full article inside, words.
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Canadian telecom entrepreneur Ron Shore has turned his grief over the death of several family members and friends into creating a unique million-dollar internet treasure hunt to raise $100 million for breast cancer research.In case you missed it ... and 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.
Why are women chosen to lead organisations in a crisis?
'When women get to enjoy the spoils of leadership (a) it is not because they are seen to deserve them, but because men no longer do, and (b) this only occurs when, and because, there are fewer spoils to enjoy.'
Research Digest Blog
Real life examples are supported by lab studies in which male and female participants show a bias for selecting female candidates to take charge of fictitious organisations in crisis. Further investigation has ruled out possible explanations for the glass cliff - it's not due to malicious sexism nor to women favouring such roles. — Read the full article at Research Digest Blog, 672 words.
Tea Stained
The face of the Tea Party might be mostly female
But amount of guns and ammo will make it feminist
It all started with Sarah Palin.Or did it? Maybe it started a few months earlier, when Hillary Clinton downed a shot of whiskey and made some offhand, wrong-footed comments about “hardworking voters, white voters” who still supported her despite her African-American opponent’s lead in delegates.
Women fight Mauritania's fattening tradition
12 October 2010, NOUAKCHOTT, Mauritania — Young Mauritanian girls are traditionally force-fed and fattened for the sake of beauty and marriage, but now some are fighting the tradition, saying it's dangerous to their health.
Heavier girls and women are viewed as beautiful, wealthy and socially-accepted while their slimmer counterparts are considered inferior and bring shame on their families in Mauritanian society.
It is this shame that has helped keep leblouh -- or forced-fattening -- in practice.
Mariam Mint Ahmed, 25, says it's time leblouh was consigned to history.
Chinese study reveals serious labour violations and culture of abuse
11 October 2010, BEIJING — Embattled Foxconn, the Taiwanese electronics behemoth that makes everything from iPads to laptops for the world’s top tech companies, is accused of serious labor violations and a culture of mistreatment of its workers in China, in a new study by Chinese academics.
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The claim, backed up by a seemingly indestructible Happy Meal sitting in artist-photographer Sally Davies' Manhattan apartment, has amazed people around the world.
The burger has featured on television shows and become the subject of intense speculation as people wonder how fast food can apparently show barely a trace of age after six months on a plate -- and whether Davies is telling the truth.
14 October 2010 — Next month, Californians will vote on Proposition 19, a measure to legalize marijuana. Because no state has ever taken such a step, voters are being subjected to a stream of fear-mongering assertions, unaccompanied by evidence, about what is likely to happen if drug prohibition is repealed.
But it need not — and should not — be that way.
Ten years ago, Portugal became the first Western nation to pass full-scale, nationwide decriminalization. That law, passed Oct. 1, 2000, abolished criminal sanctions for all narcotics — not just marijuana but also “hard drugs” like heroin and cocaine.
15 October 2010 — Former detainees held and interrogated during the past year at a notorious secret jail near the US Bagram Air Base in Afghanistan told human rights investigators that they were tortured there, even after the military committed to reforming overseas detention centers.
This is not the first time the military has come under fire for conditions in the facility, known as the "Tor" or "Black Jail," (Tor is Pashtu for "black"), but several former detainees claim being abused there during 2009 and 2010, after the Obama administration claimed to have brought an end to the Bush-era legacy of torture and abuse.
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The troubled case against Mohammed Uthman By Dafna Linzer
ProPublica.org
These are the witnesses whose contradictory, fragmentary and internally inconsistent statements provide the bulk of the evidence against Abdul Rahim Mohammed Uthman [1], a detainee the Obama administration has designated for indefinite detention. — Read the full story at ProPublica.org, 1,895 words. |
9 October 2010 — It has been clear for years that the Bush administration's decision to torture captured Al Qaeda terrorists leaves the United States in a wretched position when it comes to determining the prisoners' ultimate fate.
No American court ever is going to allow the admission of confessions or evidence obtained by torture. Thus, despite the federal judiciary's flawless record of dealing firmly and equitably with cases of domestic and foreign terrorism, the Bush/Cheney White House made sure that trying these criminals would be hideously difficult. That's why it cobbled together a dubious system of "military commissions," simply ignoring the fact that the verdicts of such tribunals were unlikely ever to enjoy the international legitimacy crucial in these cases.
Research just published in the Journal of Experimental Social Psychology suggests such fears may be overblown. It describes a carefully structured study in which college-age males are confronted over the use of sexist language — and respond with heightened sensitivity regarding gender issues.
Take it with a grain of salt ...
Kung fu sisters stage combat tournament —
A pair of deadly kung fu sisters have given traditional dating the chop - to hold a challenge tournament where only the survivors will get the chance to date them
Metro.co.uk
First contestants must show off their archery skills, then they must carry a heavy weight over sharpened bamboo spears, and finally they have to defeat one of the sisters in full contact combat.
Only then will contestants earn the right to remove the girls' masks and propose to them.
— Read the full article at Metro.co.uk, 201 words.
Virgin Galactic's sub-orbital spaceship makes solo flight
SpaceShipTwo first glide flight details from the pilot
11 October 2010 — What are the key issues that progressives need to be fighting to rid the country of Stephen Harper's wrecking crew? One is the tar sands and the Enbridge pipeline, which would see giant oil tankers plying the waters off the B.C. coast. Another key issue is the Harper government's oft-announced plan to begin its so-called budgetary austerity program, starting with the spring 2011 budget. That, combined with the government's inept economic policies, should be the target of a concerted campaign.
Unlike much of the Harper regime's actions, this one is not a surprise shot from the blue. It is well known, it has been announced repeatedly and framed as the next necessary step in dealing the economic crisis.
Of course, it is no such thing. It is Harper and Finance Minister Jim Flaherty taking advantage of the useful crisis they created. Anyone who cares about social programs and a functioning economy should be scared silly about the consequences.
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Weak economic growth expected for U.S. through 2011 Poll: Economists lower expectations for growth through 2011, saying economy still 'sensitive'
11 October 2010 — Top forecasters say the economy will grow this year and next at a slower pace than previously thought, weakened by governments and consumers spending less so they can pay down debt. That's the findings of a new survey released Monday by the National Association of Business Economics. — Read the full article at RawStory.com, 610 words. |
The Associated PressBy Paul Krugman
11 October 2010 — An electronic brain devised by US Internet titan Google has driven cars nearly a quarter of a million kilometers in California, on a quest for the next great revolution in the auto industry.
News of the experiment emerged from Google this weekend, revealing what the New York Times describes as an attempt to use artificial intelligence to revolutionize the automobile.
But the software, linked to GPS satellite navigation technology, was nearly fooled by a humble cyclist who jumped a red light.
A humanoid, in the form of a Google engineer, slammed on the button to disconnect the system, and an accident was averted.
Dramatic rescue of 33 Chilean miners hides a brutal reality for Chile's people
13 October 2010 — The rescue of 33 miners in Chile is an extraordinary drama filled with pathos and heroism. It is also a media windfall for the Chilean government, whose every beneficence is recorded by a forest of cameras. One cannot fail to be impressed. However, like all great media events, it is a facade.
Iranian, Chinese computers were also hacking
11 October 2010 — A University of Michigan computer scientist and his team were not the only ones attempting to hack the Internet Vote scheme that Washington D.C. had planned to roll out for actual use with military and overseas voters in this November's mid-term election.
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Harperland — We're likely to live there from now on no matter who is in power
13 October 2010 — We political-news junkies face a hazard: Every event delivers a rush, followed by a blackout. We have a vague recollection the next morning, but by the end of the week the event is lost to us. We just need another fix.
So one value of Lawrence Martin's new book is that it packs a decade's worth of fixes into one compact package. We are back in the thrilling days of yesteryear, mainlining on Peter McKay's sellout of David Orchard and Jim Flaherty's "budget update" that ended in the first prorogation.
Martin's book is chiefly a concise political history of Canada since the Alliance Party's hostile takeover of the Progressive Conservatives, and especially since Harper became prime minister. As such, it gives us a very useful perspective on the last four or five years.
Secret Cold War plan included mass detentions
RCMP offered 'extra names' to list of FLQ sympathizers during October Crisis because Quebe Provincial Police believed 60 arrests was 'not enough'
14 October 2010 — At the height of the Cold War, the Canadian government crafted a top-secret plan to detain thousands of citizens with Communist links in the event of a national security threat, according to a joint CBC/Radio-Canada investigation.
The secret contingency plan, called PROFUNC, allowed police to round up and indefinitely detain Canadians believed to be Communist sympathizers.
The CBC's The Fifth Estate and Radio-Canada's Enquête investigative programs have unearthed troubling details about PROFUNC, which stands for PROminent FUNCtionaries of the Communist Party.
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.
