Wednesday, September 30, 2009

Monday October 5 is World Habitat Day

World Habitat Day is a day for everyone to stand up and let it be known that affordable, adequate housing should be a priority everywhere—in our communities, in our towns, in our country, in our world.

The United Nations has designated the first Monday each October as World Habitat Day.

This year on Oct. 5 in Washington, D.C. and around the world, please join Habitat for Humanity in support of this global observance as we come together and declare that the lack of decent, affordable housing is unacceptable.

What can you do for World Habitat Day?

ADVOCATE Photo by photo, Habitat for Humanity advocates have created this mosaic that has already been sent to the White House. Now it is time to deliver a strong message to Congress: Make housing a priority. Pass legislation that would prioritize adequate and affordable housing. Ask Congress to Make Housing A Priority on World Habitat Day!

EDUCATE your community with Habitat for Humanity’s World Habitat Day handbook to learn more about the importance of secure tenure and neighborhood revitalization.

DONATE to be a part of making the world a better place and support Habitat’s efforts. Donate online today!

More information: http://worldhabitatdaynews.com/
Search Habitat for Humanity at Ismailimail

Rainbow Trout - Canada

Canada is known as offering some of the best fishing in the world. Rainbow trout fishing in Canada is no exception. Rainbow trout – CanadaOne the most delicious fresh water fish regularly caught by sport fishermen is the rainbow trout. While not the largest fish available in many lakes and rivers, rainbow trout can still be a rewarding catch because of its spread as a game fish in much of the world. Rainbow trout fishing on Canada is a great trip to take – and what makes for a memorable trout experience.Rainbow are scientifically known as Oncorhynchus mykiss. There are other common names for this fish, and include rainbow trout and redband. Native to North America, tend to reside in rivers west of the Rockies, as well as the Pacific Ocean and the Great Lakes. Rainbow trout are also native to some parts of East Asia – but have been introduced artificially in all continents except Antarctica. Rainbow trout are similar to salmon in that they return to their place of hatching to spawn, and are eaten in different trout fishing cuisines.Rainbow Western Canada offers many different sites for recreational fishermen to pursue these fish. Fly fishing for rainbow trout can be found in many provinces, but one in particular is British Columbia. This province offers West Coast salmon and char and rainbow trout, but in the area north of Vancouver, is best known for the rainbows. The Quesnel Lake Watershed, which includes many different lakes and rivers, contains tons of rainbow trout, airplane games, just waiting to be captured. Quesnel lake was formed by glaciers during the ice age, and is very deep – 2000 feet deep to be exact. It is 80 miles long, with more than 360 miles of shoreline, airplane games, for great fishing. Here, river fishing tours can include both wading and, airplane games, boating in lakes and rivers, and the fishing, airplane games, season takes place here from May to November each year. Quesnel Lake is accessible only by air, which makes the perfect secluded retreat.Choosing fishing rainbow trout fishing in Canada compared to other types of fish means you will have a unique experience, different from the usual salmon and Northern Pike fishing (even if you welcome to do that in this area). Rainbow trout, with their beautiful iridescence and use in food preparation make a great catch for any fisherman. Beautiful serene atmosphere of the area Quesnel Lake and surrounding mountains make Caribou the perfect place to get in some serious time rejuvenation.

Tuesday, September 29, 2009

Spillover violence

With Foreign Secretary Patricia Espinosa trying to spin the appalling body count in the “War on Drugs [the United States and Canada insist can only be controlled over Mexican's dead bodies]” as evidence the “policy is working”.  Asked about that body count, Espinosa is quoted in her “exclusive interview” with the Associated Press as saying:

…  the “great, majority, immense majority” of victims are drug pushers or gangsters and foot soldiers linked to cartels.

“This is a very ugly statistic,” she said, “but a good percentage of those killed never have their bodies claimed, their families never go and get them … That is a very clear indicator that these people were involved in drug trafficking.”

I’m not sure I follow the logic of that. It may be a clear indicator that poor rural people don’t always read the crime pages of out of town newspapers, or gangsters need to call their mothers more often, or any number of things.  I just hope that a high body count isn’t going to be used as a measure of success for police actions (as it was — or is — in Colombia, leading to some … er… interesting ways to supplement income).  But, it is likely to go higher.

In Tijuana, Maggie Drake has been writing about the local police chief’s “shoot to kill” order… and the fortieth police shooting THIS YEAR in that municipio.  Tijuana is in the unhappy situation of sitting next to the user emporium (and gun supplier) of southern California, but the spillover in violence from the user community is coming from either further afield.

In Canada, increasing violence in their own drug trade is being blamed on Mexican “sucess”.  As a result of the military/police actions against the various gangster organizations that handle distribution, British Colombian cocaine dealers are feeling the pinch:

Supply lines were drying up, recalled B.C.-based RCMP Superintendent Pat Fogarty, because the cartels were too busy fighting the Mexican military.

It was translating into rip offs, or people who could not pay back what they owed — a dicey situation among gangsters that often results in bloodshed.

“This is where the tentacles of the disruption in Mexico bled over into Canada, in terms of violence,” said Supt. Fogarty, in charge of the Combined Forces Special Enforcement Unit in B.C. He has more than 20 years’ experience battling organized crime.

Police in British Columbia say the Lower Mainland has seen a spike in gang-related violence this year over last, and most of it is gun warfare.

If the violence was kept in British Colombia, it wouldn’t be a problem, but Canadian gangsters have been showing up here lately.  This week, two Canadians were killed in a shootout that had some Canadians more upset with the local paper publishing photos of the corpses than with the fact that two more of their guys are down here in the Puerto Vallarta morgue.  Hope their familes reclaim their bodies.

Some early (Sask) inspiration

When I first started to look at the whole area of zero net energy housing, I was interested to see who the early pioneers were in this area.

By a strange coincidence, given that the whole reason I was interested in this subject in the first place was down to my Canadian wife and her family, I found some answers right on their doorstep in the city of Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada.  This isn’t just the country they are from, but the province.

‘The Saskatchewan House’ was built in northwest Regina in 1977 and came about as a result of several government agencies coming together to demonstrate super-insulation techniques and technologies of the time.   It has no boiler or furnace for heating and relies on a simple heat recycling system.

When you consider the vast temperature range in this part of Canada – the lowest recorded temperature there was -50°C (-58°F) – then a house that needs next to no heating at all, ever, is quite an achievement.

It’s good inspiration for anyone looking to try and  ‘zero’ their property in some way and it proves that to find best practice in tackling climate change it’s a good idea to really broaden your horizons.

Monday, September 28, 2009

Hurricanes take flight

After a slow start that saw the Guelph Hurricanes staring at an 0-3-0 record, the junior hockey team has won 4 of their last 5 games.

Guelph beat the Kitchener Dutchmen, LaSalle Vipers, Weatfield Blades and the Lambton Shores Preditors and how have they been doing it.

1. Hard Work: This team just doesn’t quit!!! Even in the games they have lost, they usually outplay thier opponants in the 3rd period. This characteristic will help them win more games as the season progresses.

2. Smothering Penalty Kill: Guelph is ranked in the top 3 of the 25 team league and recently allowed the #2 Powerplay unit from LaSalle to only one powerplay goal.

3. Improved offence: Led by speedy forward Dan Mohle who is 7th in the league scoring, Guelph’s offence has scored 15 goals in their first 2 games as opposed to 3 in their first 2 games of the season.

Overall this team is enjoyable to watch and in my opinion, the best kept secret in Guelph.

The Hurricanes play 2 home games this weekend:

Thursday night at 7:45pm they take on the Brantford Golden Eagles

and Saturday night they host the Listowel Cyclones. That game is at 7:30 pm. Both games are at the Sleeman Centre.

Quick tips how to accept credit card online merchant account payments

Learn how you can accept credit card online merchant account payments by applying for this special account soon. Many first-rate banks, credit unions, or other types of lenders are eager for your business and will provide great deals on a merchant account. You can browse the many available services on the Internet by using a search engine for “merchant services account” or a related keyword. Then start comparing the various deals, costs, and terms for those that will best serve your company’s needs and clients’ interests.

To accept credit card online merchant account payments, first find the best lender and account terms that you can trust to represent and safeguard your business interests. Once you have located a company to work with, you may want to run a check through the Better Business Bureau if you are not familiar with the company’s name or history. When you are satisfied as to the company’s ability to provide a helpful merchant services account, negotiate the most relevant equipment, costs, and services to benefit your company. Don’t be sold on additional features that you cannot afford and do not need. You can always add these later after profits increase and your client base grows. At the outset, try a simple merchant account start-up plan that will address your most pressing needs first.

After applying and getting approved for a merchant services account that will let you accept credit card online merchant account purchases, select the credit processing equipment that fits your customers’ purchasing patterns. For example, if they shop at a physical location like a shop or restaurant, a simple credit card processor with a combined terminal and printer that can be plugged into the wall near the cash register is your best bet. If you process many e-checks or debit transactions, consider adding this equipment as well. You may wish to add a wireless credit card processor for remote destinations or delivery services so that an employee can accept credit payments promptly rather than waiting for the billing process. Compare the cost of buying versus leasing this equipment, along with transaction and maintenance fees.

The next level of e-commerce that can help expand the way that you accept credit card online merchant account payments is by establishing a company Website with a credit payment feature. Work with a graphic designer to develop a site that will attract current and new customers and keep them coming back. Offer product and service descriptions, price lists, industry tips, and other information that will make your site useful and interesting. Then people who come to browse will be impressed with your set-up and perhaps stay to shop and make credit card purchases online.

Get ready to extend your business practices into the 21st century by providing credit payment options to customers at every level of commerce, from on-site at your store to Web-based purchases. Your customers and employees will appreciate this sophisticated upgrade in payment options when you to learn how to accept credit card online merchant account transactions.

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Sunday, September 27, 2009

Kempton’s CIFF pick for Sun, Sept 27

The following five screenings are my Calgary International Film Festival CIFF pick for Sun, Sept 27,

The Clone Returns to Homeland, 12:00 pm, Globe Theatre

Invisible City, 3:00 pm, Globe Theatre

Tulku, 5:15 pm, Globe Theatre

The Last Lullaby, 7:15 pm, Globe Theatre

If I am not too exhausted, I will check out “Victoria Day”, at 9:30 pm, Globe Theatre

A message to Roger's cable...

If you think I’m going to pay $10 more for local television, you’ve got another thing coming.

Every cable subscriber in Canada already pays for local television. It’s just that cable companies weren’t legally obliged to forward the funds over. And now they don’t want to hand a share of the pie over and are threatening to raise our rates further, on top of that 1.5% hike some of the cable companies started charging on September 1st for the “Local Programming Improvement Fund“.

Stupid and counterproductive.

HDTV will become the norm in September 2011 in Canada, allowing most Canadians to tune in to their local networks for free. And with the availability of programing on the internet, there’s a big possibility that quite a large number of Canadians will just pull the plug on cable, or at least reduce their services like yours truly.

Quite frankly, they don’t want me to reduce my cable down to one outlet with a digital terminal because Bell’s satellite service is significantly cheaper…

  • LocalTVmatters.ca
  • DigitalHome.ca – Over The Air Digital Television Forum
  • Listing of OTA Television Stations in Canada

Saturday, September 26, 2009

Kempton’s CIFF pick for Sat, Sept 26

The following five screenings are my Calgary International Film Festival CIFF pick for Sat, Sept 26,

SHORTS – Documentary Style, 12:15 pm, Globe Theatre

Tetro, 2:00 pm, Eau Claire Market – Cineplex

Lovers In A Dangerous Time, 4:45 pm, Eau Claire Market – Cineplex

SHORTS – Director’s Perspective: The Animator, 7:15 pm, Globe Theatre

Breaking Upwards, 9:45 pm, Eau Claire Market – Cineplex

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Since 1994, Credit Card Processor (CCP) has maintained a reputation as one of the most trusted merchant services provider in the payment card industry. Credit Crad Processor has enabled over high tech processing solutions. Since its inception 15 years ago, CCP has grown substantially by providing solutions for small to large businesses, major and minor league baseball organizations, nationwide chain outlets, theme parks, agent bank programs and associations, with a network of over 100 affiliated offices. Many businesses nationwide to accept credit card payments by offering the most competitive deals on merchant processing solutions while providing extraordinary service and support.

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Friday, September 25, 2009

[Canada] Cognos Developer - Surrey, BC

The Cognos Developer role is to design, develop and maintain BI applications and infrastructure, including Cognos BI, SQL and ad hoc reporting. This role will also implement a complete range of Cognos Business Intelligence capabilities which include reporting, analysis, score carding and dashboards; provide expertise in problem definition, requirements analysis and the general design of the BI system.

Other role responsibilities includes documenting functional and technical requirements for the metadata layer, Cognos cubes and BI Report; develop and maintain Framework Manager Models and Cognos cubes; review, analyze and model data from multiple internal and external sources; develop and execute plans/test cases fro detailed analysis of applications; and work with business users (or an IT proxy) to facilitate the user acceptance testing process.

Eligibility

  • University degree in the field of computer science, information systems, or computer engineering and/or 6 years equivalent work experience.
  • 5+ years of experience with Business Intelligence tools and technologies with at least 4+ years on the Cognos 8.0 Platform and recent experience on Cognos 8.4 Platform.
  • Expertise in development using Cognos 8.4 Platform with extensive knowledge and experience with Framework manager, Report Studio, Analysis Studio, Query Studio and Security Administration.
  • Extensive knowledge and development of Framework models and reports using relational databases in Cognos 8.4 and the development of cubes using Powerplay Transformer and creating dimensional reports using the Analysis studio
  • 5-7 years of overall job-related experience
  • Requires minimum five years experience within the business intelligence and data warehouse environment, including in-dept knowledge and (recent) hands-on experience in database development using Microsoft SQL.
  • Experience with ETL Tools
  • Requires strong data modeling, data architecture and analytical skills
  • Certifications in the Enterprise Performance Management System Cognos BI
  • Working technical experience with developing, installing, configuring and supporting multi-terabyte database environments.
  • Experience with database platforms
  • Experience with database design applications
  • Strong understanding of relational database structures, theories, principles, and practices.
  • Hands-on experience with business requirements gathering/analysis.
  • Experience with data processing flowcharting techniques.
  • Project management experience.
  • Exceptional analytical, conceptual, and problem-solving abilities.
  • Strong understanding of the organization’s goals and objectives.
  • Good knowledge of applicable data privacy practices and laws.
  • Strong written and oral communication skills.
  • Strong presentation and interpersonal skills.
  • Ability to conduct research into database issues, standards and products.
  • Ability to present ideas in user-friendly language.
  • Able to prioritize and execute tasks in a high-pressure environment.
  • Experience working in a team-oriented, collaborative environment.

Start date: ASAP
Job Type: Permanent, Full-time
Languages Required: English
Close Date: October 2, 2009
Email CV/Resume to: bongd2004@yahoo.com

copyrightconsultation.ca

In reading through the submissions, one of my favorites would be this one:

Goos, Aaron

“1. How do Canada’s copyright laws affect you? How should existing laws be modernized?
Satire and parody are essential for democracy. Whether it’s legal or not, it will be done by many so it’s better to be on the right side of history on this issue. Also, fair dealing should be changed to fair use so people won’t be confused.
2. Based on Canadian values and interests, how should copyright changes be made in order to withstand the test of time
Remember that copyright was originally designed to be 7 years and expired. That was enough for the creator to make a profit before others could start too. A liberal and expansive copyright promotes innovation.”

—Aaron Goos

(I so admire people who can say so much in so few words!)

Mr. Goos reminds us that copyright originally expired after seven years. In my submission I thought copyright term reduction to twenty years would be good, but really, seven years is probably plenty long.

Canadians were asked to submit our thoughts, feelings and advice to our government’s Copyright Consultation process. This is why so many of us put so very much effort into our submissions. This was to be participatory democracy at its finest.

Thousands contributed.

Putting thoughts into words is easy for some but not most of us.
(This is why politicians hire speech writers).

Yet the copyright consultation website where industry canada is posting these submissions seems to have missed quite a few. I know that mine went in just in the nick of time. I personally know of two other submissions I’ve read that are also not evident on the September 14th page Nor is it on the page following.

I was led to believe that my government actually wanted to hear what I had to say.

We were led to believe that our government would actually listen.

The very few submissions posted on the site for the last few days open for submissions seem to have footnotes. If this is something that they want to do, fine. But only AFTER all of the submissions are posted. Considering that email submissions are submitted electronically, I don’t understand what is taking so long.

Canadians want to be sure that our submissions were received, not lost or inadvertently destroyed.

If they have been damaged or misplaced, we will want the opportunity to re-submit, because we have all put in a lot of work on this. We want to make sure that we are heard.

Luckily so many of us have posted online.

Google found me these insightful copycon submissions:

Blaise Alleyne: Unity Behind Diversity

Denver Gingerich: A Better World

Scott Elcomb: Libertatia Canada

Andrew Currie: Scribd

Todd Howe: Aleatoric

Cory Doctorow: Submission to the Canadian Copyright Consultation

Cory Doctorow’s reference to the “You wouldn’t steal a car” shorts put me in mind of this very funny anti-piracy parody clip from Britain’s Channel 4 comedy series “The I.T.Crowd”

I hope that they will make some kind of announcement as to why so many copycon submissions are not visible. Perhaps the best thing at this point would be for the government to let Professor Geist know what’s happening so that he can spread the word,

O Canada copyright consultation

Thursday, September 24, 2009

Richard Warman V Everybody Else

Further to this post by Ezra Levant, his statement of defence reads quite the list of a heavy hitters who’s-who on the internet:

In his post Ezra says that Richard Warman, a notorious plaintiff in all but two prosecutions of section 13 of the HRA over the past decade, is being investigated by the CHRC for hate speech. Which is why, Mr.Levant says, he’s now suing the above defendants in one large defamation action to distract from the proceedings:

“I can’t believe I’m writing these words: the Canadian Human Rights Commission is proceeding with an investigation against Richard Warman for hate speech.”

Rather than tip-toe on egg shells around the issue here [I can scarcely afford to be added to any list], read the rest on Ezra’s site.

HARPER'S IDEALOGUES GET UP AND LEAVE WHEN AHMEDINEJAD SPEAKS AT THE UNITED NATIONS

JOHN CHUCKMAN   POSTED RESPONSE TO A COLUMN IN TORONTO’S GLOBE AND MAIL

George Bush was allowed to speak.

He killed a million people in Iraq and made refugees of another two million.

Ahmadinejad has killed no one.

Bush killed many tens of thousands in Afghanistan – at least 50,000 just in Kabul.

Ahmadinejad has killed no one.

Israel just killed 1400 people in Gaza and still keeps them penned up like animals.

Ahmadinejad killed no one.

Israel killed 1400 people in Lebanon, including a Canadian officer doing his duty.

Ahmadinejad killed no one.

Israel steals more homes and land and water every day in the West Bank.

Ahmadinejad has stolen nothing.

I do think it fair to ask whether we indeed live in a rational world or one governed by mindless ideologues like Harper?

The game that is being played here with the “agree” and “disagree” buttons couldn’t tell us more clearly.

A gang of mindless supporters of Israel’s every bloody excess works the buttons to create large and meaningless numbers.

And just so with the general behavior of Israel and her mindless supporters like Harper. The tide of world opinion is so clearly against them and growing more so in the face of so much injustice and brutality, yet they insist on shouting against the wind.

As the CIA has reported, Israel has maybe another 20 years before its own contradictions collapse it.

Wednesday, September 23, 2009

CANADA PANICS AT AKWESASNE – CSIS/CBSA extort Mohawk Cars

When gangmembers in LA do it, they call it “carjacking”. When Canadian gov’t agents do it they pretend it is their legal right.

“The three recent Federal Court of Canada rulings found that, because we live in Akwesasne and Kahnawake, we are not residents of Canada, and are not entitled to an investigation of brutal attacks and human rights violations by their agents.”
 
Two important facts to consider based on those precedents -
 
1/ If residents of Akwesasne and Kahnawake are not residents of Canada and are not entitled to the protections and due recourse provided by Canadian law, as the court says, then these residents are not obligied to obey ANY Canadian laws or answer to ANY Canadian agents. 
 
2/ If non-residents of Canada have no legal recourse against abuses by Canadian agents then by what legal justification are Canadian agents operating in Afghanistan, Haiti, or Honduras today? Under what legal justification were Canadian agents operating in Somalia in 1990 when abuses by Canadian agents led to the disbanding of the airborne regiment?
 
Once this refusal by Canada to be legally responsible or liable for the actions of its agents anywhere but Canada is understood by the rest of the world, Canadian agents will not be welcomed or even permitted anywhere else in the world.

-tj

MNN. Sep. 20 2009. The Everett Report of March 17, 1922, found that, no attempt has ever been made to control the Indians on the St. Regis Reservation [Akwesasne] residing within the boundaries of Canada. The Chairman firmly believes that the St. Regis reservation lying within the boundaries of the State of New York is a separate and distinct territory from the control of the United States or State of New York as is the Canadian reservation. [p. 317]. This pertains to all of Great Turtle Island.
>
> Just what are the rights of the aliens? Only what we gave them under the Great Law. Aliens are temporary. Should they cause loss, wrong, suffering or endanger the peace, the War Chiefs reprimand and expel them. [Wampum 74]. They have no voice in council. [Wampum 76]. Canada, US, Mexico or any foreigners cannot interfere with us.
>
> The invaders washed up here with nothing. They stole, created money and intend to take everything from us. Their puppet band and tribal councils are more than willing to help them.
>
> Red Jacket, Corn Planter and other Iroquois told Washington that they’re fighting over something that doesn’t belong to them – our lands, resources and waters. We own all the beds of all the waters of Great Turtle Island. [p. 186-7]
>
> Their judicial and military hocus pocus shows they know that we never gave up anything. Canada, US, Ontario, Quebec and New York State promised to protect us from them.
>
> International law provides that title to land is never taken away from the lawful, legal owner except in a legal and lawful manner. If it’s stolen and used for twenty years or a million years, they never get title.
>
> At Akwesasne Canada Customs goons are desperately grabbing our cars and demanding $1000. Mohawks going home or visiting each other don’t have to report to foreign goons. It’s not enough these hoods grab us as we come over the bridge, take us out to the back and beat us up. We hear they might be advancing with a fleet of armored tow trucks to haul away more of our vehicles? Canada is threatening unarmed people with heavily armed RCMP, OPP, Cornwall and Akwesasne police forces.
>
> CSIS mans the shack which illegally stops us. Like the Chinese water torture, Canada is trying to extort protection money from us one drop at a time.
>
> Some of those community members who carry purple cards identifying themselves as Camel Toe Treaty people say it was signed in Central Park in New York City in 409 AD where Egyptian tombs were left behind. Their passport provides that we were signatories to the treaty that brought down the Roman Empire! This apparently gives Rotinoshonni:onwe freedom of movement. It has no basis in the Great Law or in history.
>
> We hope Canada and US strategists are not thinking about bringing in the military that are probably hiding in the bushes. Before putting the boots to us, they want us to be confused, lost, angry and afraid. As always, we are giving a measured response. We want peace, not another 1990 Mohawk Oka Crisis style attack by 5,000 soldiers of the Canadian army. What are they afraid of? You can’t shoot the truth!
>
> Canada, give it up. That imaginary line [border] doesn’t belong here.
>
> We never renounced our Rotinshonni’on:we birthright. The three recent Federal Court of Canada rulings found that, because we live in Akwesasne and Kahnawake, we are not residents of Canada, and are not entitled to an investigation of brutal attacks and human rights violations by their agents. It is impossible for us to renounce our Ongwehonwe birthright. We cannot be citizens [another fancy word for slave] of Canada or the US. Who would want to be anyhow?
>
> The Peoples Fire is purchasing lumber and materials to erect a building on the tent site. A phone list is available in case of attack or harassment.
>
> Canada’s using mainstream media, or the hanging press, to try to turn people against us because we don’t want guns in the our community.
>
> These attacks and threats show weakness and impotence, not strength. The predatory ruling class and their agents want to keep plundering the world with impunity. They need to steal from us, sell it and then buy more things for themselves.
>
> Two party deals for our land signed between foreigners are illegal. The squatters of Canada and the US are afraid of being defined and giving an accounting. Hey! Show us a deed for one acre of land anywhere on Great Turtle Island that you got legally. Everybody in the world knows you can’t do it!
>
> To help contact Akwesasne Peoples Fire 613-937-1813 akwpeoplesfire@bell.net;
>
> Kahentinetha MNN Mohawk Nation News, www.mohawknationnews.com kahentinetha2@yahoo.com Note: Your financial help is needed and appreciated. Please send your donations by check or money order to “MNN Mohawk Nation News”, Box 991, Kahnawake [Quebec, Canada] J0L 1B0. Or go to PayPal on MNN website. Nia:wen thank you very much. Go to MNN AKWESASNE category for more stories; New MNN Books Available now!
>
>
> Report of New York State Indian Commission to Investigate the Status of the American Indian Residing in the State of New York transmitted to the Legislators, March 17, 1922, also known as the Everett Report].
> Helen Upton. The Everett Report – Historical Perspective. Albany Library.

Marcado na Mente (Brand Upon the Brain)

O fantástico cinema de Guy Maddin

Tive a oportunidade de conhecer hoje a obra fantástica do cineasta canadense Guy Maddin. O filme era o Marcado na Mente (Brand Upon the Brain), produzido em 2006 em preto e branco. Simplesmente fantástico.

Com uma técnica moderna, mas retratando o início do século passado, Guy Maddin em Marcado na Mente faz uma trama muito densa psicologicamente, mostrando uma história surreal, que se passa em uma ilha deserta com um farol, onde existe um orfanato onde as crianças são “cuidadas” por um casal, ela a gerente e ele um excêntrico cientista que retira líquido do pescoço dos internos para injetar e manter a jovialidade de sua esposa.

O filme mistura questões como a relação edipiana entre o jovem Guy (que apesar do mesmo nome do cineasta é o personagem principal) e sua mãe, relações homossexuais entre sua irmã e uma interna, entre outros temas fortes que merecem reflexão.

O filme foi exibido no Centro Cultural Branco do Brasil e talvez esteja disponível em vídeo.

Simplesmente fundamental tentar assisti-lo, principalmente pela técnica empregada, pelo tema desenvolvido e a forma fascinante e absolutamente inédita como Guy Maddin desenvolve a trama.

Simão Zygband.  Blog do Zygband.

Tuesday, September 22, 2009

Student of Weather

Hay, Elizabeth. A Student of Weather. Washington D.C.: Counterpoint, 2000.

A Student of Weather is a car without brakes. No. A Student of Weather is a car without brakes set at the top of a very tall hill. No. A Student of Weather is a car without brakes set at the top of a very tall hill…and someone gives it a push. This is what is was like to read Elizabeth Hay’s first novel. It started off easy enough, slow enough, gentle enough, harmless enough. Then, without any warning at all it is careening crazily almost out of control. Impossible to stop. Stopping the read proved impossible, too. I seriously couldn’t put it down.

As mentioned before, the story starts out simply. Maurice Dove is a researcher, come to study the weather of Saskatchewan. He stays with the Hardy family - Ernest and his two daughters Lucinda and Norma-Joyce. Both daughters, despite being very young, fall in love with Mr. Dove. From there, simplicity comes to a halt.  A Student of Weather is a novel full of contrasting themes. While Lucinda is fair-haired, beautiful and virtuous Norma-Joyce is dark-haired, impulsive and outspoken. While both sisters find ways to fall in love with their visitor, both also find ways to hate each other. Even the landscapes within the story are contrasting. Norma-Joyce’s childhood prairie home cannot compare to the bustling city of her adulthood, New York City. As time progresses and Norma-Jean grows to be a woman with a child of her own, even her child is a conflicted in personality – both shy and loud simultaneously.

On the surface this seems like a love story – two sisters vying for the affections of a traveling man who loves neither of them. Digging deeper it is a story of betrayal and survival. It is the story of pain and loss and the idea that not every broken heart gets mended.

There were many, many, many favorite lines. Here are some of the best:
“Had she been able to , she would have kept the water he washed in, the skin that flaked away, the warm breath that hovered in the cold air above his head, his footprints in the snow” (p 96). I love how each item becomes something less obtainable. Had I written the line I would have reversed the order of the last two items.
“Maybe that’s all anyone wants in the end, to be remembered rather than overlooked’ (p 112). Simple line, but I loved it.
“She understood that you can pass from summer to winter in someone’s mind without even leaving the room” (p 172). Tragically beautiful. Been there, but who hasn’t?
“But returning is never easy, and nor is September” (p 283). Since I can add a car accident and a death to September sadness, I agree. Completely.

BookLust Twist: From Book Lust in two different chapters. In ” Canadian Fiction” (p 50) and again in “First Novels” (p88).

Mysteries, Magic & Miracles 9.21.09

MYSTERIES

Did I Fall Asleep? Neural Reductionism and Dollhouse – I now occasionally write for The Gotham Skeptic, the official blog of the New York City Skeptics. And today I found a blog from one of my fellow Gotham Skeptics that I found interesting because it explores scientific questions within science fiction and particularly because the TV series Dollhouse is returning this week and Dr. Horrible’s recent interrupting of the Emmy’s reminded me of how much I enjoy the work of Joss Whedon.

A new study finds large penis size raises self-esteem – And in a related study, researchers found that water causes wetness.

MAGIC

Vancouver quacks selling homeopathy remedies for H1N1 – I like how Some Canadian Skeptic put it:

Placebo water-pills using magic and sorcery to vaccinate against one of the deadliest flu-strains to hit Canada in generations.

Dowsing for WiFi – A pre-scientific stick using magic and sorcery to locate high tech 21st century technology, Yeah, good luck with that.

MIRACLES

California hospital now allows Hmong shamans to perform healing rituals – Shamans? The most advanced medical science the 21st century has to offer. . .and they’ve shamans?! Just remember. You can’t spell shaman without the “SHAM!”

Monday, September 21, 2009

New Canadian Website for Benchrest Shooters

Canada now has its own dedicated website for short-range benchrest: www.Benchrest.ca. Founder/webmaster Rick Pollock notes: “As Benchrest up here in the great white north has little or no web presence, a website was long overdue. It is non-commercial and not affiliated with any one sanctioning body. The only aim is to get more people into Benchrest in Canada.”

The site is a valuable resource. You’ll find a current calendar of upcoming BR matches, a list of clubs, recent news, and, of course, match reports. In addition there is a buy/sell “classifieds ads” section, as well as a photo gallery. If you live “North of the Border” and shoot benchrest for score and/or group, definitely visit (and bookmark) www.Benchrest.ca.

Sketchfest 2009 - Day 2

It’s day 2 of the Sketchfest 2009!  What does that mean? Well, for the next five days, check here or at Caardvarks for the daily sketch and you’ve got 24 hours to make it and post it with Mr. Linky on the Caardvarks site. Sketches will be posted at midnight PST each day and you have until 7am the next day to post them. Each day a winner will be chosen to win some great product from Studio Calico! Here is today’s sketch done by our very own Heidi Van Laar:

And here is what I came up with:

The goal with these cards was to use everything that Studio Calico sent to us. Well, I really took that to heart and used the paper bag they sent it all in as a layer! It totally works with the designer paper!

Sunday, September 20, 2009

'Hush' over Afghan mission must end

‘Hush’ over Afghan mission must end: Kenny
September 20, 2009

Liberal Senator Colin Kenny says politicians are too afraid of offending soldiers and their families by questioning Canada’s role in Afghanistan, but it’s important to have an honest debate about the mission.

“The issue is we’ve got to do something to get Canadians away from the hush,” Kenny said Sunday on CTV’s Question Period.

“There’s a hush in the country and it’s out of respect for the families, it’s out of respect for the soldiers. Nobody wants to say anything that could possibly upset the families or the soldiers, and so we don’t have a debate.”

In a recent op-ed column in the Ottawa Citizen, Kenny called Afghanistan Canada’s Vietnam, a war that lasted for more than a decade and left nearly 60,000 U.S. dead.

Kenny, who is also Chairman of the Senate National Defence Security Committee, says his criticism may seem “offensive,” but Canadians deserve to know what the government hopes to achieve in Afghanistan before the mission ends in 2011.

Violence in Afghanistan’s volatile south has increased in recent weeks, particularly since a U.S. troop surge and a highly contentious presidential election.

Kenny said the increase in violence makes it clear that Canada’s strategy to clear, hold and develop former Taliban strongholds is not working.

“Triple D was the answer to things for a while: defence, diplomacy, development. We hear from the government about different innovations, and after a while you’re saying, ‘I’m sorry, you don’t have any credibility,’” Kenny said. “We don’t have clear goals in Afghanistan. One of the overwhelming things that comes in my mail is people saying, ‘Why doesn’t the government tell us what they want to achieve there?’”

Retired Maj. Gen. Lewis Mackenzie responded to Kenny’s remarks by saying the increase in violence is in fact a sign that Canadian troops are doing valuable work in Afghanistan.

According to Mackenzie, the influx of American soldiers has allowed the Canadians to concentrate on a smaller area in their fight against the Taliban.

“Violence is increasing dramatically in the south for one reason and one reason only,” Mackenzie told Question Period. “That’s because we’re out there kicking a hornet’s nest with additional resources. That’s going to happen.”

He said Canada’s strategy has been hampered by the fact that NATO failed “to provide the resources necessary to take this thing to a proper conclusion early on.”

But Mackenzie said with the American surge and President Barack Obama’s renewed focus on combating the Taliban in Afghanistan, the new commander of the International Security Assistance Force, Gen. Stanley McChrystal, will adopt Canada’s clear, hold and develop strategy.

But Kenny pointed to widespread allegations of voter fraud in last month’s presidential election, a thriving drug trade in Helmand and Kandahar provinces and the recent passage of a law that allows for marital rape as signs that the mission in Afghanistan needs to be reevaluated.

“I’ve come to the conclusion that there’s nothing we can do for the 131 (soldiers) that have died except mourn them, respect them, support their families,” he said. “And there is something we can do for the next 130 and that is have a really good look at whether what we’re doing over there is worthwhile, and maybe get out.”

Source

Well it’s about time someone in Canada woke up?

The Silence has been,  pure neglect as far as I am concerned.

This I am sure many have long forgotten.

by Doug Westerman
May 3, 2006
FIELD STUDY RESULTS FROM AFGHANISTAN

Verifiable statistics for Iraq will remain elusive for some time, but widespread field studies in Afghanistan point to the existence of a large scale public health disaster. In May of 2002, the UMRC (Uranium Medical Research Center) sent a field team to interview and examine residents and internally displaced people in Afghanistan.  The UMRC field team began by first identifying several hundred people suffering from illnesses and medical conditions displaying clinical symptoms which are considered to be characteristic of radiation exposure.  To investigate the possibility that the symptoms were due to radiation sickness, the UMRC team collected urine specimens and soil samples, transporting them to an independent research lab in England.

UMRC’s Field Team found Afghan civilians with acute symptoms of radiation poisoning, along with chronic symptoms of internal uranium contamination, including congenital problems in newborns. Local civilians reported large, dense dust clouds and smoke plumes rising from the point of impact, an acrid smell, followed by burning of the nasal passages, throat and upper respiratory tract. Subjects in all locations presented identical symptom profiles and chronologies. The victims reported symptoms including pain in the cervical column, upper shoulders and basal area of the skull, lower back/kidney pain, joint and muscle weakness, sleeping difficulties, headaches, memory problems and disorientation.

Two additional scientific study teams were sent to Afghanistan. The first arrived in June 2002, concentrating on the Jalalabad region. The second arrived four months later, broadening the study to include the capital Kabul, which has a population of nearly 3.5 million people. The city itself contains the highest recorded number of fixed targets during Operation Enduring Freedom. For the study’s purposes, the vicinity of three major bomb sites were examined. It was predicted that signatures of depleted or enriched uranium would be found in the urine and soil samples taken during the research. The team was unprepared for the shock of its findings, which indicated in both Jalalabad and Kabul, DU was causing the high levels of illness. Tests taken from a number of Jalalabad subjects showed concentrations 400% to 2000% above that for normal populations, amounts which have not been recorded in civilian studies before.

Those in Kabul who were directly exposed to US-British precision bombing showed extreme signs of contamination, consistent with uranium exposure. These included pains in joints, back/kidney pain, muscle weakness, memory problems and confusion and disorientation. Those exposed to the bombing report symptoms of flu-type illnesses, bleeding, runny noses and blood-stained mucous.  How many of these people will suffer a painful and early death from cancer? Even the study team itself complained of similar symptoms during their stay. Most of these symptoms last for days or months.

In August of 2002, UMRC completed its preliminary analysis of the results from Nangarhar.  Without exception, every person donating urine specimens tested positive for uranium contamination. The specific results indicated an astoundingly high level of contamination; concentrations were 100 to 400 times greater than those of the Gulf War Veterans tested in 1999.   A researcher reported. “We took both soil and biological samples, and found considerable presence in urine samples of radioactivity; the heavy concentration astonished us.  They were beyond our wildest imagination.”

In the fall of 2002, the UMRC field team went back to Afghanistan for a broader survey, and revealed a potentially larger exposure than initially anticipated. Approximately 30% of those interviewed in the affected areas displayed symptoms of radiation sickness.  New born babies were among those displaying symptoms, with village elders reporting that over 25% of the infants were inexplicably ill.

How widespread and extensive is the exposure?  A quote from the UMRC field report reads:

“The UMRC field team was shocked by the breadth of public health impacts coincident with the bombing. Without exception, at every bombsite investigated, people are ill. A significant portion of the civilian population presents symptoms consistent with internal contamination by uranium.”

In Afghanistan, unlike Iraq, UMRC lab results indicated high concentrations of NON-DEPLETED URANIUM, with the concentrations being much higher than in DU victims from Iraq. Afghanistan was used as a testing ground for a new generation of “bunker buster” bombs containing high concentrations of other uranium alloys.

“A significant portion of the civilian population”? It appears that by going after a handful of terrorists in Afghanistan we have poisoned a huge number of innocent civilians, with a disproportionate number of them being children.

The military has found depleted uranium in the urine of some soldiers but contends it was not enough to make them seriously ill in most cases. Critics have asked for more sensitive, more expensive testing.

————————————

According to an October 2004  Dispatch from the Italian Military Health Observatory, a total of 109 Italian soldiers have died thus far due to exposure to depleted uranium.  A spokesman at the Military Health Observatory, Domenico Leggiero, states “The total of 109 casualties exceeds the total number of persons dying as a consequence of road accidents. Anyone denying the significance of such data is purely acting out of ill faith, and the truth is that our soldiers are dying out there due to a lack of adequate protection against depleted uranium”. Members of the Observatory have petitioned for an urgent hearing “in order to study effective prevention and safeguard measures aimed at reducing the death-toll amongst our serving soldiers”.

There were only 3,000 Italian soldiers sent to Iraq, and they were there for a short time.  The number of 109 represents about 3.6% of the total.  If the same percentage of Iraqis get a similar exposure, that would amount to 936,000.  As Iraqis are permanently living in the same contaminated environment, their percentage will be higher.

The Pentagon/DoD have interfered with UMRC’s ability to have its studies published by managing, a progressive and persistent misinformation program in the press against UMRC, and through the use of its control of science research grants to refute UMRC’s scientific findings and destroy the reputation of UMRC’s scientific staff, physicians and laboratories. UMRC is the first independent research organization to find Depleted Uranium in the bodies of US, UK and Canadian Gulf War I veterans and has subsequently, following Operation Iraqi Freedom, found Depleted Uranium in the water, soils and atmosphere of Iraq as well as biological samples donated by Iraqi civilians. Yet the first thing that comes up on Internet searches are these supposed “studies repeatedly showing DU to be harmless.”  The technique is to approach the story as a debate between government and independent experts in which public interest is stimulated by polarizing the issues rather than telling the scientific and medical truth. The issues are systematically confused and misinformed by government, UN regulatory agencies (WHO, UNEP, IAEA, CDC, DOE, etc) and defense sector (military and the weapons developers and manufacturers).

Dr. Yuko Fujita, an assistant professor at Keio University, Japan who examined the effects of radioactivity in Iraq from May to June, 2003,  said : “I doubt that Iraq is fabricating data because in fact there are many children suffering from leukemia in hospitals,” Fujita said. “As a result of the Iraq war, the situation will be desperate in some five to 10 years.”

The  March 14, 2004  Tokyo Citizen’s Tribunal that “convicted” President Bush gave the following summation regarding DU weapons: (This court was a citizen’s court with no binding legal authority)

1.   Their use has indiscriminate effects;

2.   Their use is out of proportion with the pursuit of military objectives;

3.   Their use adversely affects the environment in a widespread, long term and severe manner;

4.   Their use causes superfluous injury and unnecessary suffering.

Two years ago, President Bush withdrew the United States as a signatory to the International Criminal Court’s statute, which has been ratified by all other Western democracies. The White House actually seeks to immunize U.S. leaders from war crimes prosecutions entirely. It has also demanded express immunity from ICC prosecution for American nationals.

CONCLUSIONS:

If terrorists succeeded in spreading something throughout the U.S. that ended up causing hundreds of thousands of cancer cases and birth defects over a period of many years, they would be guilty of a crime against humanity that far surpasses the Sept. 11th attacks in scope and severity. Although not deliberate, with our military campaigns in Iraq and Afghanistan, we have done just that.  If the physical environment is so unsafe and unhealthy that one cannot safely breath, then the outer trappings of democracy have little meaning. At least under Saddam, the Iraqi people could stay healthy and conceive normal children. Few Americans are aware that in getting rid of Saddam, we left something much worse in his place.

There is more information on Iraq at the link below as well.

Source

Afghanistan’s hidden toll: Injured Troops/Statistics Victims’ families tell their stories following Nato airstrike in Afghanistan Has Usama Bin Ladin been dead for seven years – and are the U.S. and Britain covering it up to continue war on terror? Troops (Afghanistan 9) A Picture is Worth A Thousand Words (Afghanistan 8 ) A Picture is Worth A Thousand Words (Afghanistan 7) A Picture is Worth A Thousand Words Civilians
(Afghanistan 6) A Picture is Worth A Thousand Words (Afghanistan 5) A Picture is Worth A Thousand Words (Afghanistan 4) A Picture is Worth A Thousand Words (Afghanistan 3) A Picture is Worth A Thousand Words (Afghanistan 2) A Picture is Worth A Thousand Words (Afghanistan 1) A Picture is Worth A Thousand Words

Sketchfest 2009 - Day 1

WOWZA! Today is day 1 of the Sketchfest with Studio Calico. What does that mean? Well, for the next six days, check here or at Caardvarks for the daily sketch and you’ve got 24 hours to make it and post it with Mr. Linky on the Caardvarks site. Sketches will be posted at midnight PST each day and you have until 7am the next day to post them. Each day a winner will be chosen to win some great product from Studio Calico! Here is today’s sketch done by our very own Heidi Van Laar:



Okay, now rush into that craft room and get going on this amazing sketch!

Friday, September 18, 2009

A Rockin' Card and More!

Continuing on with my “rockin” theme, here is the card I made to go with the set. Can I say again how much I LOVE this colour combo?

The base is Rich Razzleberry and I stamped the upper portion of the card with the fleur-de-lis stamp tone-on tone. About 2/3rds of the way down, I added a strip of Dusty Durango cardstock layered with some Pumpkin Pie textured cardstock layered with some Dusty Durango cardstock. I tied these two layers together with some 5/8″ Basic Black grosgrain (I am SO happy we carry this product this year!). I needed something cool to say for the sentiment so I used the “cheers” from Cheers to You.

For the main piece of the card, I again used Extreme Elements and Extreme Guitar. Looking at it, you may notice that you can see some of the elements through the guitar man, that is intentional. I wanted him to be somewhat in the background to give emphasis to the elements. I adhered this piece to a piece of basic black and tore the bottom edges. This piece is added on with dimensionals and a small half circle notch was punched out to trace around the ribbon knot. I did one more project for this set also:

I thought that a teen might like to have something cool in their locker so I made a few magnets and a magnetic note pad. The magnets are so easy! I used my scallop circle punch and first punched out a piece of medium weight cardboard (the stuff that comes with our DSP). Then I covered it with a Basic Black scallop and then continued with a 1 3/8″ circle of one of the colours I’m working with and a patterned 1 1/4″ circle stamped using Extreme Elements. Then I added a small magnet to the back.

For the notepad, I made a bellyband to go around the top and added a detail very much like the magnets. I then added a long magnetic strip to the back. And Voila!

Thanks for stopping in to share these projects with me.

Products used on this project – CLICK HERE to buy them NOW!

Card stock: Rich Razzleberry, Pumpkin Pie, Dusty Durango, Whisper White, Basic Black.

Ink: Basic Black, Rich Razzleberry, Pumpkin Pie, Dusty Durango.

Stamps: Extreme Elements, Extreme Guitar, Cheers to You.

Accessories: scallop circle punch, 1 3/8″ circle punch, 1 1/4″ circle punch, 5/8″ Basic Black grosgrain.

加拿大卡加里Glenmore選舉, 可能有犯法行為 (TV & Video)

You see, Mr. Westwater actually said this to Calgary Herald, Sept 14,

“You cannot talk to electors at the poll in any circumstance, whether they’re lined up inside or outside the school or wherever it is located,” Westwater said, adding that campaigning is also not allowed at entranceways or parking lots outside polling stations.

In the following video, Paul Hinman (candidate for Calgary-Glenmore), Kent Hehr (MLA), and Drew Westwater (Elections Alberta) have been interviewed about these election irregularities.

And as you can see/hear, Mr. Westwater is giving a contradictory opinion, in total opposite of what he said previously.

Thursday, September 17, 2009

Windows 7 Student Prices

Students in Australia, US, UK, Canada, France, Germany, Korea and Mexico will all be able to purchase the upgrades to Windows 7 Home Premium or Windows 7 Professional for a significantly reduced price.

Prices haven’t been confirmed for Australia yet, however in the US and UK the upgrades will be on sale for US$30 and £30 respectively. To be eligable for the discounted price you are required to have a valid student email address (an email address provided to you by your university)

You can find some more information at the Windows UK and Windows US sites.

Windows 7 Upgrade to be only US$30 for students with a valid email.

Airspace Dispute

In an article in today’s Toronto Star, Chris Sorensen reports on an interesting issue regarding international aviation law. Earlier this summer, the US Department of Transportion had a spat with Canadian authorities over airspace regulation under the “Open Skies” agreement between the United States and Canada. The focus of the dispute was the rule in the agreement that allows airlines carrying passengers across foreign borders to make addditional stops in a country as long as no new passengers board the flight. The suit by the DOT against Air Canada alleged that there were people who traveled with the Milwaukee Bucks and Boston Bruins without making a cross border stop.

With the problem now resolved, this article shows a close relationship between international law and sports business. Towards the end, Sorensen discusses deals that Air Canada had to charter flights for four NHL teams based in the United States – the Boston Bruins, St. Louis Blues, Anaheim Ducks, and New Jersey Devils. Presumably, the decision to use Air Canada made travel plans easier for these teams. For example, the Devils could use Air Canada to fly from Newark to Chicago to play the Blackhawks and then use the airline to go from Chicago to Toronto to play the Maple Leafs. Unfortunately for Air Canada,  American teams were apprehensive about the airlines ability to use American airspace, and the airline lost business due to the international legal battle.

- Jason

Wednesday, September 16, 2009

The Barcelona Exopolitics Summit 23-26 July 2009

Project Camelot was invited to attend the Barcelona Exopolitics Summit to moderate an in-depth Panel Discussion between the speakers. While we were there, we took part in and/or filmed the following presentations or discussions – in date order of occurrence:

Source: Project Camelot

1. Speakers Panel on Disclosure, 23 July, 2009

Featuring (left to right): Paola Harris, Brian O’Leary, Bob Dean, Stephen Bassett, Kerry Cassidy, Bill Ryan, Michael Salla, Alfred Webre, Nick Pope, and Robert Fleischer. Dr Steven Greer was invited by the Barcelona conference organizers, but declined to take part.

 

2. Press Conference, 24 July

Here we feature our great friend Bob Dean speaking with passion to the press, discarding his notes as he started to address the room.

3. Bob Dean’s Conference Presentation, 25 July

Bob Dean gives his 75 minute presentation in which he showed a number of impressive, suppressed NASA images – and at the end of which Henry Deacon went on to the stage with Kerry Cassidy to state that he had visited the Mars base as part of his classified work. This is a fantastic presentation and shows Bob Dean, 80 years old, word perfect, fluent, passionate, at his very finest.

 

Click on each of the thumbnails in the collage for large high-resolution images that can be downloaded and examined closely. The images are several Mb each. You are welcome to share them freely. (Note that the third image, which in many ways appears the most spectacular, may have a prosaic explanation: click here and read with interest.)

 

. Futuretalk, 26 July

On the Sunday morning, the last day of the conference, we recorded an hour-long Futuretalk with Alfred Webre, Bob Dean, and Henry Deacon (Arthur Neumann). A fascinating discussion ensued…

5. Dr Steven Greer on camera, 26 July

Please click here for the full background for this controversial video, which took place immediately after the above FutureTalk. We were approached during the FutureTalk itself by Steven Greer’s PR representative stating that he wanted to do an interview – hence the identical setting. We had no time in which to prepare otherwise.

Click here for Steven Greer’s presentation the previous day in which he made several clear statements which Project Camelot goes on record as stating are false.

Quebec forces homeschoolers to teach moral relativism and religious pluralism

Story from the National Post. (H/T Canbuhay)

Excerpt:

In a recent troubling judgment (Lavallee vs. Commission scolaire des Chenes), Quebec’s Superior Court ruled that parents do not have ultimate authority over the moral or religious education of their children, and that the state can impose a curriculum that conflicts with the moral codes parents strive to instill. The court rejected a claim brought by parents seeking to exempt their children from the “Ethics and Religious Culture” (ERC) course, which in 2008 became mandatory for all students from Grade 1 to Grade 11, including students in private religious schools.

[...][The province maintains, and the court accepted, that parents' constitutional freedoms remain intact since they are still free to instruct their children in their own moral codes in the privacy of home. But even homeschoolers, who frequently opt out of government schooling precisely because they prefer to instruct their children in their own belief systems, will be required to teach the “even-handed” ERC course or an equivalent course. Imagine parents instructing their children about the importance of adhering to their own religious beliefs in the morning, then telling them that there are a dozen other religions to choose from, all equally valid, in the afternoon. It’s ludicrous for the province to argue that such a process respects freedom of belief.

This is exactly the problem I have with some fundamentalists who don’t see the need to raise their children to have an impact on the world as a whole. I don’t think that the secularists are going to leave Christians alone, so as a matter of self-defense, we need to be the best in our fields in order to have an influence at the highest levels.

The smartest people tend to be rabidly secular because they are usually the people who are least likely to want to give up their autonomy to the demands of the moral law. The smarter they get, the less they care about any external restriction on their autonomous selfish pursuit of pleasure. We have to be just as smart as they are.

Tuesday, September 15, 2009

Extreme Ice Survey: Documenting Climate Change

If you ever wanted direct evidence of climate change, watch this video! Photographer James Balog has spent the past few years installing 26 time-lapse cameras on 15 glaciers globally, monitoring the retreat of these massive reservoirs of ice. This body of work most likely represents the most thorough and dramatic photographic examination of glacier retreat ever. Period.

Some photographs from the Extreme Ice Survey:







How glaciers form and calve:

Visit the website of the Extreme Ice Survey here.



Beautiful Joan

So this amazing woman lives in my town not only lives here but owns her own tattoo parlor here. I have been dieing to shoot her for years but was told that she was not appoarchable for photos. Well who ever it was that told me that was WRONG!

WOw she is just mind numbing nice..lol

We had a shoot sat Sept 12th in the am. It was really well for a short getting to know you shoot while she sat naked my living room… poor lass.

I can’t wait to work with her again and so glad with out the images came out.

If you are local and want to check out her shop it is … “Stigmata” in Guelph Ontario.

http://www.stigmatabodyart.com/

Joan not only is the owner she is the Head piercer there as well.

Ps best tattooists in town as well.

Peace and Respect

Julia

Sunday, September 13, 2009

Lazy Sunday Morning

Just a tad…

It’s a great weekend and I’m not home.   Spending time at the Junction Arts Festival and visiting family.  So what’s been going on of interest in Canada?

The politics of life is like playing of checkers not chess ~ will Jack Layton become the King maker?

The Sentors wrap up the ‘Days of their Lives” ~ Heatley makes a move that’s only good for him.  Is that so bad?

Tiff for tat ~ It wasn’t Oceans 11, but this daylight theft was all about the money.

OCC

Layton makes conciliatory noises amid looming showdown

Toronto — The Canadian Press

Saturday, Sep. 12, 2009

NDP Leader Jack Layton is ratcheting down the election rhetoric with soothing words about making Parliament work as a confidence showdown looms.

The Commons returns for the fall session Monday after a break of almost three months, but a vote that could end the latest 10-month Conservative minority government might come before the week is out.

An unusually media-skittish Mr. Layton said little Saturday during an event in Toronto, but what he did say lowered the temperature somewhat.

“I think that everybody involved would want to see us co-operate in the House of Commons and get some results for people — especially those that are struggling right now: the unemployed and people being left behind,” Mr. Layton said as he inched away from reporters at an archway opening in Toronto.

“So that’s going to remain our preoccupation.”

The New Democrats hold 36 seats in the 308-seat House, more than enough to keep Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s minority Conservative government alive through the autumn if they can find common cause on an issue such as Employment Insurance reform. The Tories are likely to unveil EI proposals this week.

Continue Reading here ~ http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/politics/layton-makes-conciliatory-noises-amid-looming-showdown/article1285726/

Sens Deal Heatley to Sharks for Michalek, Cheechoo

TSN.ca Staff 9/12/2009

Disgruntled forward Dany Heatley has gotten his wish.

Heatley and a fifth round draft pick have been traded to the San Jose Sharks in exchange for Milan Michalek, Jonathan Cheechoo and a second round pick.

”I’m excited obviously, I’m excited to be a Shark,” Heatley said. ”I want to thank everyone in Ottawa, the organization, the fans, and the city. I had a great four years here (and) I’m happy to move on.”

Trade discussions heated up on Friday and Saturday morning before a deal was finally agreed upon – a deal that sends Heatley to the team he secretly wanted to play for all along, a team he believed was an option when he refused to waive his no-move clause to accept a trade to the Edmonton Oilers.

“It’s a deal that we talked about throughout the summer, although Michalek came in late,” Senators GM Bryan Murray said after announcing the deal some six hours into the first day of training camp.

Continue Reading here ~ http://www.tsn.ca/nhl/story/?id=290808

Brazen thief strikes at the heart of TIFF-nation

Posted: September 11, 2009 by Matthew Coutt

The Yorkville epicentre of the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) was the scene of a brazen public theft by a man who strolled through a busy hotel lobby and walked away with a briefcase containing thousands of dollars, police said today.

Police believe a briefcase was left briefly in the lobby of a Bloor Street West hotel, Thursday evening when a man surreptitiously walked off with it.

“The victim left the briefcase unattended,” said 53 Division Detective Constable Wendy Haasen. “It was a large sum, we are looking for a theft over [$5,000].”

Video surveillance (at left) suggests the man entered the lobby and sat down beside the briefcase. He then placed a knapsack next to it and picked up both packages before casually walking out.

Investigators were not saying at which hotel the theft occurred, but movie stars and entertainment executives frequent all the high-end hotels near Bloor and Avenue –including the Four Seasons, Park Hyatt and Hazelton Hotel — during the film fest.

Actors George Clooney, Megan Fox and Ewan McGregor are among the notable names spotted in the area since TIFF kicked off this week.

Det.-Const. Haasen said it wasn’t clear if the victim, a guest of the hotel, was in town for the festival.

“It’s possible. We are not sure the relation of the guest at the hotel. We are not saying at this time,” she said.

The suspect is described as a white male between 35 and 40 years of age, with a large build, wearing dark-blue jeans and a black T-shirt with white print on the back.

http://network.nationalpost.com/np/blogs/toronto/archive/2009/09/11/brazen-thief-strikes-at-the-heart-of-tiff-nation.aspx

[Via http://ourcanadiancontent.wordpress.com]

SWEAR - it's SNOT all Aboot Races, even in La Canada

How about some fun, concerts, sports, ninjas, dogs and Meerkat Manner.  There is time for all that as long as you make it.

training for an ironman isn’t all fun games, and it definitely isn’t all training and sweat.  Yeah there are a lot of times that you just want to say Pronk that, I want a natty light chased with a turbodog and some wild turkey.  be honest with yourself, let loose and go see Poison open up for Def Leppard. 

Eat a sandwich that has a thousand calories in it.

Tell your mom you miss her, and tell your dad you’re not married yet because you want him to live vicariously through you forever!

Find a random group of pronkbirds to paintball with, and own them!

So bottom line is have some fun, or join a team that forces you to have fun.  Don’t quit having fun because you’re getting older, college has passed by, and you started to gain weight in places you never thought were possible.  I mean look at DR, I think he lost so much weight that most people can’t use him as a paper weight any more, he would blow away. 

But start enjoying every day, or move somewhere that makes you smile when you get up, even after binging a good portion of the natty ice case you bought last night.  Let your friends motivate you and if you ever lack in that area of your life, i think you have found the right team for you.  Have fun putting your spandex on today, and go out there and prairie dogg some miles.  It’s good for you and it will give you more energy and more smiles, especially when it is all over!  Then crack that beer, wine bottle, or wild turkey…cause dammit you deserve it!  you’re a living, breathing Pants Off Racer! 

There’s no such thing as a weekday any more! Wake up today and feel the power of being able to workout!  Grab that Monster or Enormous coffee mug and make everyone at work jealous that you’re having such a great week.  Even if you have to fake it, people respond to others that smile and always seem to be having fun.  it may be hard work on your tougher days, but I think in the end people are attracted to this energy.  Be that person, and you never know what may happen. It definitely beats being the moody person at work that no one invites to lunch or Happy Hours.  Give it a shot.  Gobble Gobble.

[Via http://pantsoffracing.com]

Saturday, September 12, 2009

the story of trucs

Hello les friends de la french-O-phony

(I love humour, don’t I !?)

Petit post placé sous le signe du développement durable,  puisque “depuis une dizaine de jours, j’ai commencé mon cursus de 2nd cycle en gestion de l’environnement. Avec un premier “crédit” (puisque les matières, ici, sont regroupées en crédit selon la formule mathématique complexe de : 1 matière = 3 crédits et il faut 30 crédits pour avoir son second cycle ; chaque matière s’enseignant sur 2 mois environs… 30 crédits = 10 matières = 20 mois de cours ; je précise pour les nuls en géométrie) qui porte sur les Éléments de Gestion de l’Environnement.

En gros, le cours porte sur “kocé çà l’environnement, déjà !?”… mais avec des devoirs qui commencent dès le 1er cours !!! Moi qui m’attendait à remplir sur un quart de feuille mon nom, mon adresse, la profession de mon pôpa et de ma môman et ce que je veux faire plus tard (genre un pompier de l’environnement, ou un pilote d’avion durable et vert). Rien pantoute ! Je suis maintenant consultant fictif (et accessoirement “chef de projet fictif” hé hé hé) d’une boite fictive répondant à un appel d’offre non moins virtuel sur une problématique environnementale très actuelle (comment rouler en émettant moins de gaz à effet de serre, ou GES pour les pro de l’enviro).

Alors, déjà, je suis chef, et c’est cool, mais le genre de chef qui bosse quand même (avec mon ancien boulot, mon N+2 était pas le genre à faire ça, mais bon, ça doit être différent en Amérique). Ensuite, on nous a diffusé un petit film (20 minutes quand même) que TOUT le monde devrait voir, parce que c’est bien fait et très parlant. C’est en anglais (mais il y a une version sous-titrée) mais pas pire à comprendre.

CLIQUE ICI AMI DE LA FRANCOPHONIE QUI AIME AUSSI L’ANGLAIS ET TA PLANETE

Sur ce, j’ai passé le message. Je pars m’habiller pour aller au restaurant, offert par ma photographe préférée.

CM.

(désormais, je suis vert)

[Via http://cariboupost.wordpress.com]

Lobster Roll – Part 2 – No Bull

Our second contender in the Lobster Roll contest comes from The Gables in St. Andrews, New Brunswick. The Gables has a great outdoor patio right on St. Andrews Bay where you can eat in the sunlight and watch the tides flow in and out. I knew The Gables as the Black Bull when I was growing up and hanging around St. Andrews. They acknowledge their heritage a little bit by keeping the Bull Burger on the menu and it weren’t for the Lobster Roll challenge, that’s what I would have eaten. But back to the Lobster Roll.

The Gables’ version of this classic seafood sandwich came with a few fries, a portion of coleslaw and a slice of lemon. The generous portion of lobster meat came in a Toasted New England Hot Dog Bun. The lobster was a combination of bite-sized chunks of body and claw meat. The meat was lightly tossed with some Celery, Parsley and a little Mayo. The mixture was seasoned with salt and pepper and topped with Paprika. I found the amount of mayo was very light compared to other Lobster Rolls I had tried before. I tried a few drops of Lemon Juice and that made the Roll a lot more interesting with the contrast of sweet lobster meat and tang from the lemon. The meat was moist enough to prevent the sandwich from being dry but a little bit more mayo would have help. It was a good sandwich in a great location.

Read other reviews about The Gables here, here and here.

The Gables Restaurant– 143 Water, St. Andrews, NB E0G 2X0 506-529-3440

[Via http://petersfoodadventure.wordpress.com]

Friday, September 11, 2009

Ottawa Ontario - October 2005

Living in Plattsburgh, Ottawa was a great trip to drive for the day. This is Byward Market. In GIMP, I did a fake high dynamic range, and the other shot is the “b” luminance layer inverted…..Blue Pumpkins!!!Living in Plattsburgh, Ottawa was a great trip to drive for the day. This is Byward Market. In GIMP, I did a fake high dynamic range, and the other shot is the “b” luminance layer inverted…..Blue Pumpkins!!!

[Via http://beanievision.wordpress.com]

Foxwood Resort is on the doorstep of Algonquin Park

We’ve just come back from two glorious days at Foxwood Resort on the doorstep of Algonquin Park. The resort and the park are both over a century old and have an interesting connection. Tom Salmon, an early settler and original landowner of Foxwood Resort,  guided at Algonquin Park. The resort has a 1912 photo of Tom at Algonquin sporting a big knapsack on his back.

Dockside at Foxwood Resort on Lake of Bays in Muskoka

We arrived on Tuesday evening and it didn’t take us long to appreciate our new surroundings. Foxwood is down a quiet lakeside road about 20 minutes from the west gates of Algonquin. A young fawn caught our attention as soon as we made the turn onto Fox Point Road off of Highway 35. We saw several more deer before reaching Foxwood 9 kilometres later. The resort is on Lake of Bays. Water flows from Algonquin Park into the lake which is crystal clear. Foxwood is in Haystack Bay, one of hundreds of bays along the lake’s 500 kilometres of shoreline. Our tidy, two-bedroom cottage comes with a fully equipped kitchen, sitting area, lakeside deck and BBQ. National Post’s star cartoonist, Gary Clement rented the same cottage with his family just last week and must have had a great time ‘cuz he cartooned it. He’s not the only celeb to frequent Lake of Bays. Global TV anchor, Kevin Newman has a place on the lake and so does singing sensation, Shania Twain.

”I Swam Haystack Bay“

This week, we’re all couples including Troy and Julie who are on their honeymoon. They just got married on Saturday in southwestern Ontario. The families have gone home. Resort owner, Rob Wallace says that’s typical for September. Summers attracts families then school starts and the resort becomes popular with adults and fall color seekers. The resort hasn’t been open in winter but that’s about to change thanks to a new luxury solar cottage. Beautifully appointed with a central fireplace, this two-bedroom place would make a great base for cross country or downhill skiers. Algonquin Park has 100 km of trails and Hidden Valley, 20 minutes west has downhill, including night skiing. If you prefer snowshoeing, the resort’s own trails start right outside the new cottage and snake around the resort’s one hundred acres. Light weight snowshoes are supplied. I think that’s fitting given that Tom Salmon was a snowshoe maker, having learned the craft from local Ojibwa. If you’re a collector, his old snowshoes are easy to spot because of a tiny signature salmon burned into each shoe.

The main lodge at Foxwood Resort

I love to swim so, I took advantage of the great swimming and twice swam across the bay to Haystack Island with co-owner Julia Wallace and daughter, Meg. Both are avid swimmers and the swim has become so popular with guests, the resort sells t-shirts which  boast “I swam Haystack Bay”. Besides swimming, there’s a lakeside sauna, kayaks, paddleboats, and canoes, water skiing and wakeboard lessons and lots of land based activities to keep kids occupied. The lounge is popular on summer evenings and rainy days and includes a ping pong table, tons of boardgames, and a flat screen tv for those who just can’t bear to be without.

The Dorset fire tower, a spectacular place for fall colours viewing

Rob took us by boat around the lake. Glenn snapped pics of area highlights including the Dorset Fire Tower, Robinson’s General Store, and a Muskoka trademark, its boathouses. Boats are a source of pride here and a special 44 passenger steam yacht built in the 1920s has been resurrected from the bottom of Lake of Bays and is being restored at Lake of Bays Boat Museum in Dorset. The Bigwin once ferried passengers from Port Cunnington across Lake of Bays to Bigwin Island. If you go into Dorset to shop for groceries or for a meal at Fiery Grill, be sure to check out the museum and the boat. She’s a beaut.

Foxwood Resort is one of several Resorts of Ontario in this region. For a listing of others, click here.

The Lake of Bays Marine Museum at Dorset

[Via http://resortsofontario.wordpress.com]

Thursday, September 10, 2009

Agreements provide unfair advantage over Canada's tax treaty partners

In negotiations with a number of countries that have earned a well-deserved reputation for being tax havens, Canada is on the verge of signing its first bilateral tax information exchange agreement (TIEA) with Bermuda, granting the islands a significant tax benefit that would give it an unfair advantage over Canada’s tax treaty partners, according to tax experts.

“The Canadian government has long complained about Canadians using tax havens,” noted Lorne Saltman, a tax lawyer with the law firm Cassels Brock in Toronto. “This seems to encourage it – a rather perverse tax policy.”

Expected to be signed by this fall after Canada completes its ratification process, the Bermuda-Canada agreement will provide for the exchange of information relating to criminal and civil tax matters, according to a formal announcement made by the Bermuda Ministry of Finance. At the annual tax conference of the Canadian branch of the International Fiscal Association held last May, Department of Finance officials stated that Canada is currently negotiating TIEAs with the Bailiwick of Jersey, Bailiwick of Guernsey, Isle of Man, Netherlands Antilles as well as other unnamed countries. Bermuda has 11 TIEAs in force and completed negotiations for four further TIEAs.

Initiated by the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) following a 1998 report that identified “the lack of effective exchange of information” as one of the key elements of harmful tax practices, TIEAs are designed to uncover international tax-avoidance structures. The terms of a TIEA and how it is used are defined by the contracting states. TIEAs, however, usually contain provisions that identify which taxes imposed in each country are subject to the agreement, describe how exchanges of information will occur, prescribe when a request for information may be declined, and treat information received under the TIEA as confidential.

“A TIEA essentially provides for bilateral exchange of tax information in tax matters between two contracting states, with compliance and enforcement tools that are designed to facilitate audit and enforcement against taxpayers who carry out financial transactions,” explained Penny Woolford, head of KPMG’s International Corporate Tax practice in Toronto.

The OECD, while acknowledging that many offshore holdings and arrangements exist for sound commercial and legitimate tax planning purposes, estimates that much of the $5-to-$7-trillion held offshore around the world is held to evade or avoid tax.

Ever since world leaders from the G20 countries, which represent 85% of the world’s economic output, met in London this past April, there has been accelerated drive towards implementing TIEAs. Leaders of the cash-strapped G20 have made clear that countries failing to show a demonstrable willingness to cooperate with the OECD global tax transparency standard risk the imposition of as-yet-unspecified  sanctions. Some 43 TIEAs have been signed so far in 2009, compared with 45 between 2000 and 2008.

“If the worldwide movement towards acceptance of TIEAs continues, and it is a very strong movement over the last couple of months, then the informal regime in these various tax havens around the world will significantly change,” observed Saltman, a past member of the Executive of the Taxation Committee of the International Bar Association. “While there is some debate on how effective TIEAs will be, I’m telling my clients that the old notion that information is going to remain confidential from Canadian tax authorities – forget it, it’s just not going to be the case anymore.”

Canada embarked on the TIEA bandwagon after the Conservative government adopted the March 2007 federal budget when the Department of Finance proposed a number of amendments to Canada’s foreign affiliate rules or the way Canada taxes foreign-source income. Up until The Budget Plan 2007, dividends from active business income earned by a foreign affiliate were exempted from Canadian tax if the affiliate was resident and carried on its business in a country with which Canada had a comprehensive income tax treaty.

In a bid to entice countries to enter TIEAs with Canada, the federal budget extended the exemption system for taxation years beginning after 2008 to include active business income earned by a foreign affiliate residing in a country that has a TIEA with Canada. Further, the definition of “designated treaty country” has been expanded to include a country with which Canada had entered into a comprehensive TIEA.

“TIEAs are really designed to deal with banking secrecy issues and to put pressure on financial centres to agree to exchange information,” remarked Woolford. “So it is interesting that the Department of Finance is using this mechanism as a forum for providing companies with this tax treatment. This is a new and significant development.”

Also an unfair one, added Saltman. Thanks to the “change in policy,” foreign affiliates operating out of established treaty jurisdictions face a more stringent test to generate exempt surplus than those in TIEA jurisdictions. That’s because foreign affiliates working out of a treaty jurisdiction must pass a two-prong test: the foreign affiliate must be a resident in a designated treaty country under the common law mind,  management and control test – the so-called common law test – and it must also be a resident in that country under the applicable tax treaty, which means that the foreign affiliate is liable to tax in that country by reason of that person’s domicile, residence or place of management or incorporation. Foreign affiliates in a TIEA jurisdiction must pass only the common law test.

The new policy will inevitably also lead to a “strange result,” making it easier and more tax efficient for a foreign affiliate in a TIEA jurisdiction to receive exempt surplus treatment compared to a foreign affiliate in a jurisdiction that has a tax treaty with Canada, added Saltman. A corporation, points out Saltman, that has active business in Barbados will generally be taxed at the rate of 2.5 percent while the same corporation will pay no income tax in Bermuda.

“From a tax policy point of view, I am very troubled,” said Saltman. “It is off-base and inconsistent with the historical underpinnings of our tax treaty network and unnecessary given the way that other countries like the United States and the Netherlands have been very successful in getting TIEAs without giving tax concessions.”

Due to the tax inducements, it is widely expected that a greater number of Canadian multinationals will shift their existing foreign affiliates or establish new ones in countries with zero or little tax, such as Bermuda, once Canada has signed a TIEA with them. “Clients will insist on it,” added Saltman. “Why shouldn’t they shift to a place where they don’t pay tax?”

Another bone of contention is that the 2007 budget includes a punitive measure for countries that fail to enter into a TIEA with Canada. Under the new rules if Canada does not conclude a TIEA with a country five years after the beginning of negotiations, the active business income earned by a foreign affiliate of a Canadian corporation operating in that country would be taxable on a current basis in the hands of the controlling Canadian parent corporation, according to a Department of Finance official. In other words, the active business income would be treated as foreign accrual property income (FAPI) and taxed in Canada on an accrual basis.

“That is a significant change in policy and it has been criticized on the basis that a taxpayer has no influence on the process if a country won’t enter into a TIEA,” said Woolford. “So if negotiations aren’t successful, it really doesn’t make sense that at the end of the day the Canadian company is going to be penalized.”

All of which points to the need to bring to an end the practice of linking the exemption system for foreign active business income earned by foreign affiliates to tax treaties or TIEAs, according to Nick Pantaleo, FCA, member of the Advisory Panel on Canada’s System of International Taxation. The Panel, who was handed a mandate to make recommendations to guide the government in establishing an international tax policy framework with respect to investment abroad by Canadian businesses as well as investment into Canada by foreign businesses, published a well-received 128-page report last December.

“Any signing of TIEAs based on current law, in my mind, is very positive because it expands our current exemption system, which is positive for Canadian companies in foreign markets,” said Pantaleo, who leads the Canadian national tax service group for PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP. “But TIEAs themselves should not be linked to Canada’s exemption system because international norms today are such that they don’t put that type of condition on access to the exemption system.”

The seven-member advisory panel is strongly in favor of TIEAs. For countries with which Canada has no tax treaty, TIEAs are “important to ensure” that Canada can obtain sufficient information to enforce its tax laws and combat tax evasion.

The advisory panel points out that while Canada has always sought something in return for granting exemption for foreign active business income to induce countries to enter into comprehensive tax conventions with Canada, now that Canada has 86 treaties, this incentive no longer seems necessary.

“Obtaining TIEAs is important for the Canadian tax system. However, the Panel believes that, like tax treaties, TIEAs should not be linked to Canada’s exemption system. To preclude businesses from benefitting from the simplicity and other gains of a broader exemption system because a non-treaty country chooses not to negotiate a TIEA with Canada seems inappropriate.”

[Via http://lawinquebec.wordpress.com]

Here's hoping your breech doesn't blow back and take your effin' head off

Grizzly hunt begins today. Hope you bastards have fun. Then I hope the Grizzlies turn on you and tear your fucking heads off. Then, to borrow from Dylan, “I will watch as you’re lowered into your death bed and I’ll stand o’er your grave ’til I’m sure that you’re dead.”

B.C. grizzly bear population may be declining with salmon stocks

By Suzanne Fournier, The Province

September 9, 2009

[Via http://loudmouthbear.wordpress.com]

Wednesday, September 9, 2009

Contagem regressiva para o Mundial 2011

Faltam exatamente 2 anos para o início da Copa do Mundo de 2011, na Nova Zelândia.

Está um pouco longe, mas a contagem regressiva já começou.

O anúncio foi feito acompanhado de um balanço das atividades do comitê até agora, esbanjando puro otimismo, com datas e sedes já definidas. O governo espera com o evento, dar destaque para o país, atingindo uma audiência acumulada de 4 bilhões de pessoas durante o Mundial.

Algumas cidades como Auckland, Wellington e Nelson, contam com eventos especiais par acelebrar a data.

Para celebrar a data, foi elaborado um documento com os marcos do projeto e metas a serem coumpridas até o Mundial. Clique aqui para acessar.

Até o momento, os grupos estão definidos assim:

Grupo A

Nova Zelândia, França, Tonga, Canadá e mais um representante da Ásia

Grupo B

Argentina, Inglaterra, Escócia, mais o representante 1 da Europa e um da repescagem 

Grupo C

Austrália, Irlanda, Itália, mais o representante 2 da Europa e da América (EUA ou Uruguai)

Grupo D

África do Sul, País de Gales, Samoa, Fiji, mais um representante da África (provavelmente a Namíbia)

[Via http://blogdorugby.wordpress.com]

PELUANG KERJA DI AUSTRALIA & NEW ZEALAND

SISTEM CASH

1.Pekerjaan seperti apa yang dikerjakan di New Zealand dan Australia?

Seperti pada umumnya…pekerjaan yang dilakukan sebagian besar

adalah sebagai fruit picker/pemetik buah.Memilah2 buah yang layak

untuk dipetik.Dan biasanya untuk kaum wanita…ada dibagian

packing /pengemasan buah.

2.Buah apa saja yang ditanam disana?

Buah Anggur…Apricot…Apel… Kiwi…dan semua itu ditanam

tergantung dari seasonalnya/musimnya…

3.Berapa Lama Kontrak kerjanya?

Untuk kontrak kerja seasonal/musiman.. job hanya ada 7 bulan, jadi

jika ada yang menawarkan 1 atau 2 tahun…itu perlu ditanyakan

lebih lanjut…

Jadi kontrak kerja hanya 7 BULAN.

4.Visa apa yang digunakan…dan berapa gaji perbulan???

Visa sudah pasti visa kerja …karena jobnya kontrak…untuk gaji

perhitungannya per jam…dan semuanya bervariasi…gaji untuk di

New Zealand sebesar…16 juta/bulan sudah bersih…kalau gaji untuk

Australia..perhari sekitar Rp.1.200.000/hari jadi kalau

diakumulasikan perbulan bisa ± 30 juta semuanya sudah bersih…

5. Fasilitasnya apa saja?

Makan 3 kali,tempat tinggal dan asuransi.

6. Proses pendaftaran dan Biayanya bagaimana ya???

Syarat-syarat;

NEW ZEALAND

Ø Pria/wanita usia Maksimal 40 tahun.

Ø Punya passport 48 halaman

[yang masih berlaku se-kurang2nya 2 tahun].

Ø Ijazah minimal SMA.

Ø Fotocopi Akta Kelahiran.

Ø Fotokopi KTP.

Ø Fotocopi Kartu Keluarga.

Ø Photo berwarna 3×4 = 10 lembar.

Ø Photo berwarna 4×6 = 10 lembar.

Ø Photo berwarna 3R = 1 lembar.

[ Semua photo background putih,pakai kemeja tanpa jas & dasi]

Ø Tinggi dan Berat badan proporsional.

Ø Tidak berTATO.

AUSTRALIA

Ø Pria/wanita usia Maksimal 43 tahun.

Ø Punya passport 48 halaman

[yang masih berlaku se-kurang2nya 2 tahun].

Ø Ijazah minimal SMP.

Ø Fotocopi Akta Kelahiran.

Ø Fotocopi KTP.

Ø Fotocopi Kartu Keluarga.

Ø Photo berwarna 3×4 = 10 lembar.

Ø Photo berwarna 4×6 = 10 lembar.

Ø Photo berwarna 3R = 1 lembar.

[ Semua photo background putih,pakai kemeja tanpa jas & dasi]

Ø Tinggi dan Berat badan proposional.

Ø Tidak berTATO.

BIAYA :

New Zealand sebesar 33 juta.

Australia sebesar 38 juta.

Dibayar 3 kali..

1.Pembayaran pertama minimal 10 juta dan pemasukkan data2 seperti

yang tersebut diatas.

2.Pembayaran Kedua minimal 10 juta, dan tes medical check up.Jika

FIT maka dilanjutkan ke proses ke tiga, akan tetapi jika UNFIT

biaya akan dikembalikan penuh setelah dipotong biaya medical

check up.(biaya pengembalian dipotong ± Rp.500.000).

HAL2 YANG MEMBUAT MEDICAL CHECK UP UNFIT :

· TBC

· AIDS

· HIV

· NARKOBA

· DLL

3.Pembayaran ketiga/sisanya..dibayar dan selanjutnya melakukan

tanda tangan kontrak di Jakarta.

4.Melakukan proses wawancara di Kedutaan Negara tujuan, yang

berada di Jakarta. Jika gagal dalam wawancara…biaya akan

dikembalikan sama seperti halnya pada poin ke Dua.

Hal2 yang membuat gagal wawancara : Pernah OverStay di Negara

Lain.

5.Berangkat melalui bandara yang ditunjuk perusahaan. Dan dijemput

oleh utusan yang ditunjuk perusahaan setibanya di Negara tujuan.

PEMBERITAHUAN :

Sudah Banyak yang berangkat

New Zealand bulan Maret 2009 = 12 orang

New Zealand bulan Mei 2009 = 11 orang

Australia 2008 s/d 2009 = 31 orang

Semua Pembuktian tidak bisa dilakukan melalui surat kabar atau email dikarenakan banyaknya oknum2 yang tidak bertanggung jawab yang mengatasnamakan perusahaan.

Pembuktian2 dan kejelasan bisa dilakukan di kantor pusat, setelah adanya konfirmasi keputusan dan ketetapan kandidat.(sudah mau melakukan proses pertama).

SISTEM POTONG GAJI

VISA TURIS

KONTRAK MINIMAL 1 TAHUN

AUSTRALIA

Ø Gaji 15-20jt perbulan

Ø Makan,tempat tinggal ,ditanggung sendiri

NEW ZEALAND

Ø Gaji 15-20jt per bulan

Ø Makan,tempat tinggal,ditanggung sendiri

SYARAT2

Ø Pria/wanita usia Maksimal 50 tahun.

Ø Punya passport 48 halaman

[yang masih berlaku se-kurang2nya 2 tahun].

Ø Ijazah minimal SMP.

Ø Fotocopi Akta Kelahiran.

Ø Fotocopi KTP.

Ø Fotocopi Kartu Keluarga.

Ø Photo berwarna 4×6 = 4 lembar.

Ø Buku tabungan & ATM GOLD BCA

[Tidak ada isinya tidak apa2 yang penting masih aktif ].

Ø Tinggi dan Berat badan proposional.

Ø Tidak berTATO.

BIAYA

Ø DP 9jt untuk urus visa

Ø Visa turun bayar 9jt

Ø Di sana dipotong gaji 5jt x 12 bulan

Bila anda berminat hubungi saya

TEGUH

088 1665 4746 atau 0857 2606 4903

[Via http://tefalinoz.wordpress.com]