Maybe Obama Won't Disappoint?

Though it doesn't directly effect me personally, I got super stoked when saw this in the news today simply because it shows where Obama's at sociologically. He sees the shamefulness in CEO greediness, and is in tune with economic health of ALL citizens. His strong words are very welcome, and I hope many execs reflect on Obama's stance


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Hello... Hello... Is Anybody Home???!???

Uninhabitable ocean by the time I'm 70??

We worry about so many things, yet our own planet is dying and nobody cares.

Personal Change

How long does it take?

Longer than we want, that's for sure. On my journey of learning to live with OCD while ridding myself of depression, this has become very apparent. And the thus the comfort of studies like these. I must take heart... and continue...


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Suprise! The Olympics are screwin us over!

How Did Things Go So Wrong?

While that's a good piece by The Globe and Mail, it minimally refers to the fact that many other Olympic hosts have suffered a similar malaise; even our games back in '76 required thirty years to pay off. Sadly, we should not be surprised. The risk factor of things not flowing smoothly due to unforeseen and/or extraneous circumstances should be a "risk factor" in and of itself when we considered taking on this world event.

Alas it was not, and for this I hope the Liberals pay. And they should... the reason we see NDP NFG stickers and licence plates around town is not cause the they're bad at governing or have poor philosophy or social concern, it's cause of their fiscal history. Their management of tax dollars.

And so, here we are, getting ready to put our voices forward in the form of a referendum on party politics (BC-STV) and an election of who is most competent to guide us through these coming years. Ultimately, if we want any chance of change in the future (other than what Obama can't give) we must shape our political system in a way that allows our views and choices to make it to Parliament. Yes, we NEED the STV system, else we will be doomed to repeat our failures yet again and again. And dare I say, had the STV system been in place for the last election we may have never accepted the Olympics due to the fact that the BC populace's concerns would have been in the forefront as a result of having truly representative parliamentarians in Victoria.

And just to support that "if", check out this current CBC poll:

Olympic doubts

BDS, BDS, BDS, DBS, no wait, BDS

Naomi Klein: Boycott, divestment, sanctions key to ending Israeli occupation

Klein makes a good points for each of the three keys, and I hope nations will take heed. The evening news continually fails to remind us that Israel is an occupier and an illegal one at that, ie the Geneva convention


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Israel, oh Israel.

I found this to be an informative article which touches on some of the profound reasons this conflict has gotten grossly out of hand.

These first two quotes yield understanding of how our western media choose to err on Israel's side...

"Immediately after the incident became known throughout the world, the army "revealed" that Hamas fighters had been firing mortars from near the school entrance. As proof they released an aerial photo which indeed showed the school and the mortar. But within a short time the official army liar had to admit that the photo was more than a year old. In brief: a falsification."


"So it went with the other atrocities. Every baby metamorphosed, in the act of dying, into a Hamas terrorist. Every bombed mosque instantly became a Hamas base, every apartment building an arms cache, every school a terror command post, every civilian government building a "symbol of Hamas rule". Thus the Israeli army retained its purity as the "most moral army in the world"."

...and the article makes quick mention of other profound points which western media often neglects:

"Turning life into living hell does not cause the population to rise up against Hamas, but on the contrary, it unites behind Hamas and reinforces its determination not to surrender."

"The Israeli journalists, to their shame, agreed to be satisfied with the reports and photos provided by the Army Spokesman, as if they were authentic news, while they themselves remained miles away from the events. Foreign journalists were not allowed in either, until they protested and were taken for quick tours in selected and supervised groups. But in a modern war, such a sterile manufactured view cannot completely exclude all others - the cameras are inside the strip, in the middle of the hell, and cannot be controlled. Aljazeera broadcasts the pictures around the clock and reaches every home."

Lastly, light is shed on why this current bout of warring will not solve anything. It's unfortunate Israel supporters do not understand/realize this, else they could use a more diplomatic approach; with so many doctors and Arab relief coming to the aid the sick and dying Palestinians I can only imagine the good they could do as part of a peace bargain if Israel were to use any type of thoughtful resolution as a means to employ these professionals and reach out the hand of truce rather than the hand of Satan.

"The failure to grasp the nature of Hamas has caused a failure to grasp the predictable results. Not only is Israel unable to win the war, Hamas cannot lose it.
Even if the Israeli army were to succeed in killing every Hamas fighter to the last man, even then Hamas would win. The Hamas fighters would be seen as the paragons of the Arab nation, the heroes of the Palestinian people, models for emulation by every youngster in the Arab world. The West Bank would fall into the hands of Hamas like a ripe fruit, Fatah would drown in a sea of contempt, the Arab regimes would be threatened with collapse.
If the war ends with Hamas still standing, bloodied but unvanquished, in face of the mighty Israeli military machine, it will look like a fantastic victory, a victory of mind over matter.
What will be seared into the consciousness of the world will be the image of Israel as a blood-stained monster, ready at any moment to commit war crimes and not prepared to abide by any moral restraints. This will have severe consequences for our long-term future, our standing in the world, our chance of achieving peace and quiet."

a stimulus package for the economy ?

"When massive bailouts are being doled out, stimulation packages are being negotiated, and the global economy is aching to adjust itself in the face of recession, we must frame them within the context of moving towards a green economy. If we recognize that the bigger the challenge, the bigger the opportunity, we can achieve the economy that we want and our children deserve: one that is environmentally sustainable, efficient, robust, and rewarding. "
-The Green Party of Canada


That's a damn good point, one Harper will definitely not consider. Who knows though, Obama's all about hope... you know, that timeless creed "yes we can" ?

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Bomb The Oil Companies??

Or maybe just the executives?

Most of us trust scientific theory as fact when we're sick and a doctor diagnoses us with an illness. Sometimes we're even willing to use "new" medicine if we believe the risk to reward ratio has a high chance of being qualitatively beneficial to are lives, yet for some uncanny reason many people refuse to acknowledge scientific theory in relation to the future of our planet and species.

With this in mind, I can understand drastic action taken toward the oil companies in response to what science has to say about climate change. The release of emotion of these "firebombers" combined with the awareness raised (IE making it into the Globe and Mail") seems like a very appealing reason to take matters into one's own hands.

The problem with this lies in the fact that someone could have gotten hurt. Fortunately nobody did, and thus I would imagine these "firebombers" feel a strong sense of success since this was most likely their goal. There is an insurmountable difference between property damage and human damage, and we can rest assured knowing these "firebombers" could have damaged people if they had so desired, but instead they timed it just right as to not harm a single soul.

I believe that is a noble thing.

a couple things we should know about the Israel conflict

Well, Israel is pissin me off lately. This aggression is ridiculous and unfounded and I'm saddened our government has sided with the occupiers once again, yet ultimately this reflects the Canadian populace since we (not I) voted the Harperites into power. Our country used to be peace loving, but Conservative supporters have changed all that by believing in Stephen Harper.

I just read a good article and I'm inspired to highlight a few of its points...

Although Israel has contended that it is no longer an occupying power, due to
its withdrawal of its forces from within Gaza, it is widely agreed by
international law experts that the continued Israeli control of borders, air
space, and territorial waters is of a character as to retain Israel status
legally as occupying power.

It's interesting to me that the mainstream media rarely makes a mention of the historical significance of this conflict; I figure this must be due to keeping public (and official) opinion on the side of the Jews (for many reasons).

For the year prior to 27 December, not a single Israeli death resulted from
rockets fired from Gaza. Further, since June of 2008 a ceasefire had been
observed by both sides, with some infractions taking place, but without altering
the willingness of both sides to uphold the ceasefire. During this period Israel
had been expected to lift, or at least ease the blockade that had imposed severe
hardships on the entire population of Gaza, especially through restraints on the
supply of food, medicine and medical equipment, and fuel, but failed to do so.

That's some interesting info right there, which I did not know.

Among weapons that are legally dubious under IHL: phosphorous gas in shells and
missiles that burn flesh to the bone; dense insert metal explosives (so-called
DIME) that cut victims to pieces, and raise risk of cancer for survivors;
depleted uranium associated with deep-penetrating, so-called 'bunker buster'
bombs used against Gaza tunnels, possibly causing radiation sickness for anyone
exposed over a period of centuries.

PHOSPHOROUS!!!
That's another extremely evil part of Israel's one-sidedness which Palestine cannot match. It angers me that civilized human beings would resort to that kind of measure.

SOMEONE DO SOMETHING!

So sad. From both sides, this is unacceptable.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20090106.wgaza_main07/BNStory/International/?page=rss&id=RTGAM.20090106.wgaza_main07

Flowering Plants Speed Post-surgery Recovery

http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/134265.php

It always amazing to me how much of an effect nature has on our psyche, and his study just crystallizes it for me:

Patients with plants in their rooms had significantly fewer intakes of pain
medication, more positive physiological responses (lower blood pressure and
heart rate), less pain, anxiety, and fatigue, and better overall positive and
higher satisfaction with their recovery rooms than their counterparts in the
control group without plants in their rooms.

Imagine if people were to value their plants more than their TV?!

An interesting note to this study-the majority of patients who had plants in
their rooms reported that the plants were the most positive qualities of their
rooms (93%), whereas patients without plants in their rooms said that watching
television was the most favorable aspect of their rooms (91%).