April Reign
Normally I agree with this quote from Gandhi, “I like your Christ. I do not like your Christians. They are so unlike your Christ.” However a number of Christian groups in London have come together to prove that sometimes Christ’s teachings do prevail.
A statement by the groups said: “As Christians, we stand alongside people of all religions who are resisting economic injustice with active nonviolence. The global economic system perpetuates the wealth of the few at the expense of the many. It is based on idolatrous subservience to markets. We cannot worship both God …
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April Reign: Christian Groups to Protect #OccupyLondon At Saint Paul’s Cathedral
October 30, 2011 by
April Reign: Occupy Wall Street Commercial
October 16, 2011 by
April ReignReposting in the tradition of the people’s mic
h/t LeDaro
April Reign - In a time of universal deceit, telling the truth becomes a revolutionary act. …
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April Reign: Blackwater Still Profiting From Death
September 9, 2011 by
April ReignBlackwater (Xe Services) is releasing a video game;
“The video game is a fictional action first-person shooter, without any political agenda, and is being published to let gamers experience the challenging missions Blackwater operatives have experienced.”
Of course it has no political agenda mercenaries don’t care who they fight for or who they kill. Erik Prince, founder of Blackwater and producer of the game, belied his tough guy reputation by hiding out with his cool 1 billion from George W. in the United Arab Emirates rather than face the music in the U.S. Not …
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April Reign: Lies, Lies and Damnable Lies
April 25, 2011 by
April Reign The Star has picked up and ran with the ball of shit containing the lie that Jack Layton and Olivia Chow lived in subsidized housing
From time to time [Jack Layton] has been criticized for saying one thing and doing another, including being caught red-handed in 1985 living in subsidized housing in Toronto when his and Olivia Chow, then a Toronto trustee, were raking in a combined $120,000 year.
Anyone familiar with co-op housing is aware that all economic levels live there with those in the lower brackets sometimes being subsidized. There are a few townhouse complexes throughout …
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April Reign: Harper Knows Best
April 20, 2011 by
April ReignEver wondered if the whole Father Knows Best sweater vest persona Harper puts on is just a show to appeal to his social conservative base? Well wonder no more! Ladies it turns out he really isn’t that into you.
The government of Prime Minister David Cameron believes the succession laws are antiquated and should be modernized, but they need the agreement of Commonwealth countries who maintain the Queen as the head of state, including Canada. New Zealand has agreed to the changes. But our prime minister, Stephen Harper, refuses. What twaddle.
Asked about all this on the …
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April Reign: 1 Cat 2 Cat Red Cat Blue Cat
April 19, 2011 by
April ReignAs support for the NDP rises there rumblings from some quarters that the NDP is somehow betraying Canada by running a great campaign. Like Harper they have fallen victim to the idea of Canada as a two party system. The concept is that by not supporting the Liberals the NDP is complicit in allowing Harper to win. This presupposes that A) Harper will win and that B) the NDP has no responsibility to its members and contributors to run a proper campaign.
I want to vote for a party that has a commitment to health care and the bona fides to go with it.
I want to vote for a party with a …
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April Reign: The Handmaids Tale Dystopia Meets Reality
March 18, 2011 by
April ReignThis story is both a horrific example of the human trafficking going on in the world and a warning as to what could happen to women should the womb police get their way.
Anyone familiar with Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaids Tale will recognize this type of scenario;
In its promotional material, the Asia-based operation makes pregnancy sound like an illness. Its symptoms include “loss of intimacy,” growing “out of shape” and, of course, “birth pangs.”
The solution? Fertilize a foreign stranger who will be fed nutritious meals, housed in a Bangkok suburb, monitored …
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April Reign: International Women’s Day – The Canadian Numbers
March 8, 2011 by
April ReignSome people of privilege believe that feminism has done it`s job, the battle is won, nothing to see here folks!
here is the reality by the numbers
Homicides
198 – the number of female victims of homicide in Canada in 2004. On average, 182 females were killed every year in Canada between 1994 and 2003.
62 – the number of female victims of spousal homicide in 2004. Of these, 27 women were killed by their legally married husband, 20 by a common-law partner and 15 by a separated or divorced husband. Among solved homicides involving victims aged 15 and older in 2004, one-half …
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The Front Page: Spacewatch: Watching Discovery
March 1, 2011 by
This article titled “Spacewatch: Watching Discovery” was written by Alan Pickup, for The Guardian on Wednesday 2nd March 2011 00.45 UTC
Last Friday and Saturday evenings gave spacewatchers in Britain chances to spot the shuttle Discovery in the early stages its final mission to the International Space Station. As the two craft soared above Orion in the S as seen from London at 18:39 on Saturday, Discovery was poised very close to the ISS just 35 minutes before they docked while passing over Australia.
Discovery is due to undock from the ISS on Saturday afternoon and, I calculate, …
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The Front Page: NHS reform could see GP surgeries on stock market
March 1, 2011 by
This article titled “NHS reform could see GP surgeries on stock market” was written by Randeep Ramesh, social affairs editor, for The Guardian on Wednesday 2nd March 2011 00.05 UTC
The government’s health service reforms could lead to GP practices being partially floated on the stock market, it has emerged.
Under the health secretary Andrew Lansley’s health and social care bill, which is going through parliament, GP consortiums will begin to control £80bn of NHS funds to commission healthcare from 2013.
But in documents obtained by Channel 4 News and passed to the …
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April Reign: Stephen Harper – He’s Not In It For You!
February 22, 2011 by
April ReignStephen ‘we aren’t in election mode‘ Harper’s attack ads on Liberal leader Michael Ignatieff takes various quotes with no context in order to paint him as someone with no love for Canada and apparently by extension no right to govern. Now I’m neither a Liberal nor a great supporter of Ignatieff, however, if this is the litmus test for leadership let’s see how Harper does when hoisted on his own petard.
“A culture of defeat…”
describing the Atlantic provinces
“Canada is a Northern European welfare state in the worst sense …
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April Reign: “We’re in safe hands with Stephen Harper” and other Conservative lies
February 16, 2011 by
April ReignSince Canada’s Conservative Government took power in 2006, significant budget cuts have been made to Canadian gender equality, political justice, social policy and research programs including the virtual elimination of a Canadian government department devoted to Women’s equality and women’s issues.
2011 Federal Conservative Government Cuts (to date)
Canadian Teachers’ Federation’s International Programs – FUNDING ELIMINATED
2007-10 Federal Conservative Government Cuts
KAIROS – working for 30 years with Women in Dev Countries – FUNDING …
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April Reign: Climate Change Threatens Amazon
February 7, 2011 by
April ReignWhile some debate if it even exists the devastating effects of climate change are plainly seen;
Billions of trees died in the record drought that struck the Amazon in 2010, raising fears that the vast forest is on the verge of a tipping point, where it will stop absorbing greenhouse gas emissions and instead increase them.
The dense forests of the Amazon soak up more than one-quarter of the world’s atmospheric carbon, making it a critically important buffer against global warming. But if the Amazon switches from a carbon sink to a carbon source that prompts further droughts …
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April Reign: Harper V CRTC
February 3, 2011 by
April ReignOn the face of it Harpers’ decision to interfer with the CRTC’s decision on UBB may seem like a cause for celebration, after all even a stopped clock is right twice a day. However, let us be mindful that this is a man who does nothing that does not benefit himself. So in what way does this benefit Harper?
First despite claims to the contrary Harper et al have been campaigning for months now yet he has not found that one thing that will bring him the populist vote. This may be the dam that stems the tide of minority governments.
Second this sets a precedent for future …
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April Reign: Virgin Mobile Canada Has Lost Me As A Customer
February 1, 2011 by
April ReignIn August of 2009 I bought my daughter a cell phone through Virgin Mobile Canada. It was a cute little phone – an LG Rumour she could use to text, browse the web and phone home. 2 year plan which seemed pretty good as cell plans go. Unfortunately, the phone got broken in her backpack on the bus.
Rather than throw good money after bad we went to the Virgin kiosk and got a cheap candy bar phone, Nokia 2730. This phone had a sim card unlike the CDMA phone originally on the contract. I asked, as is my want, “will this cost anything extra or change the contract”. He …
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April Reign: The Koch Brothers Billionaires Club
January 29, 2011 by
The Koch Brothers Billionaires ClubTweetIsn’t it great when a few friends can gather together for a couple of beers, shoot the shit, bitch about class warfare and control an entire country?
the two-day event is not just “fun in the sun”. This will be a meeting of “doers”, men and women willing to fight the Obama administration and its perceived attack on US free enterprise and unfettered wealth.
As the invitation says: “Our goal must be to beat back the unrelenting attacks and hold elected leaders accountable.”
The reference to the accountability of …
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April Reign: A Musical Memorial for the Arizona Shooting Victims
January 9, 2011 by
A Musical Memorial for the Arizona Shooting VictimsTweetPima County Sheriff Clarence Dupnik speaking about the shooting of Arizona Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords and those who had come to see her who were wounded or killed;
When you look at unbalanced people, how they respond to the vitriol that comes out of certain mouths about tearing down the government,’
‘The anger, the hatred, the bigotry that goes on in this country is getting to be outrageous.
‘And, unfortunately, Arizona I think has become sort of the capital. We have become the Mecca for prejudice and …
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April Reign: How About A Bit Of Goddamn Respect!
December 12, 2010 by
How About A Bit Of Goddamn Respect!Tweet
Excellent speech by Helen Mirren
TweetApril Reign - In a time of universal deceit, telling the truth becomes a revolutionary act. …
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April Reign: December 6th
December 6, 2010 by
December 6thTweetIn memorial of the 14 bright young lives extinguished this day at Ecole Polytechnique and all the other women and girls who have lost their lives to violence simply because they were women.
TweetApril Reign - In a time of universal deceit, telling the truth becomes a revolutionary act. …
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April Reign: Health Care – Or How I Spent The Year
November 11, 2010 by
Health Care – Or How I Spent The YearTweetIt’s been an interesting year for me health wise. There was a possibility of ovarian cancer and as I have a family history of ovarian cancer and watched my mom go through painful chemo treatments for 5 extra years of life, I was not in a good place emotionally.
In August I went in for a total hysterectomy. Even with a possibility of cancer my surgery was scheduled for March of 2011, however, my doc put me on a cancellation list. The pre surgery process was great, everything explained. every effort taken to put me at ease.
The morning of …
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April Reign: Toronto Police Force Drops Tasers for Bubbles
July 18, 2010 by
Toronto Police Force Drops Tasers for BubblesTweetAR MEDIA EXCLUSIVE– AR Media has just learned that the Toronto Police Force has signed a 2 year contract with DollarDiscount to supply them with bubble mixture, holsters and bubble guns. All contracts with Taser International have been dropped. Having realized the potential of bubbles as a weapon and in an effort to cut costs Toronto’s finest will now be sporting the much more sinister bubble gun. A police spokesperson said, “Tasers have been shown to be a shockingly inadequate weapon against peaceful protesters anarchist …
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April Reign: All the Lurkers Love Me!
July 18, 2010 by
All the Lurkers Love Me!TweetTony Clement says government won’t budge despite criticism from radicals like statisticians, religious groups, governments……
Ever since the move was announced in late June, statisticians, researchers, academics, municipalities, religious groups and others have decried the move, arguing it will result in skewed and unreliable data.
In an interview with CBC Radio’s The House, Clement says that despite the criticism, coming during the summer when many people are not paying attention to politics, he is not going to take another look at the …
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April Reign: Randy Hillier on the G20 – And I Find Myself Cheering..
July 12, 2010 by
Randy Hillier on the G20 – And I Find Myself Cheering..TweetWe may be in the midst of a heat wave here in Ontario, but hell may have frozen over nonetheless. I find myself cheering at an article by Randy Hillier…
Both the provincial and federal governments now attempt to shirk responsibility for their actions by shifting blame to one another and to the police, who were acting under political orders. McGuinty refuses to apologize or call for an independent public inquiry. Harper hides behind the provincial jurisdiction of policing, even though it was his government that contracted …
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The Front Page: The bike podcast: Solstice cycling, Lib-Con bikers and the Tour
July 5, 2010 by
This article titled “The bike podcast: Solstice cycling, Lib-Con bikers and the Tour” was written by Presented by Helen Pidd and produced by Lucy Greenwell, for guardian.co.uk on Monday 5th July 2010 10.39 UTC
This month Helen Pidd pedals over to Westminster to join the MPs onthe annual All-Party Parliamentary bike ride. She asks Lib Demtransport minister Norman Baker how he is going to support cycling nowall the money has run out; meets the bicycling baronet, Sir GeorgeYoung, and encounters a rather angry Ben Bradshaw.
Back in the studio, she talks Tour de France with Tim Moore, …
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The Front Page: US questions its unwavering support for Israel
July 5, 2010 by
This article titled “US questions its unwavering support for Israel” was written by Chris McGreal, for The Guardian on Sunday 4th July 2010 23.05 UTC
There are questions that rarely get asked in Washington. For years, the mantra that America’s intimate alliance with Israel was as good for the US as it was the Jewish state went largely unchallenged by politicians aware of the cost of anything but unwavering support.
But swirling in the background when Binyamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, arrives in Washington tomorrow to patch up relations with the White House …
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The Front Page: David Cameron plans to downgrade G8 summit
July 5, 2010 by
Plus it gets in the way of watching soccer games.
This article titled “David Cameron plans to downgrade G8 summit” was written by Patrick Wintour, for The Guardian on Monday 28th June 2010 21.00 UTC
Britain is to become the first country to reduce the role of the G8 summit of leading industrialised nations by turning it into a general strategic discussion group attached to another summit.
Critics say the G8′s role has been made obsolete by the emergence of the broader G20 group.
Britain is due to chair the G8 in 2013 and hopes to refocus the event, possibly by discussing a …
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The Front Page: United Nations warned that corruption is undermining grants to stop logging
July 4, 2010 by
This article titled “United Nations warned that corruption is undermining grants to stop logging” was written by John Vidal, environment editor, for The Observer on Saturday 3rd July 2010 23.06 UTC
The following correction was printed in the Observer’s For the record column, Sunday 11 July 2010
We have been asked to clarify that the reduced emissions from deforestation and degradation (Redd) scheme featured in this article is not, as we stated, “in the hands of the World Bank”. It is a scheme shared by a partnership of countries and organisations that are …
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The Front Page: Ministers consider scheme to hand out food vouchers to unemployed
July 4, 2010 by
This article titled “Ministers consider scheme to hand out food vouchers to unemployed” was written by Paul Lewis, for The Guardian on Friday 2nd July 2010 18.17 UTC
The government is considering plans to distribute food vouchers to people on the dole as part of a wider drive to empower charities to supplement the support provided by the welfare state.
Iain Duncan Smith, the work and pensions secretary, has given his provisional backing to JobCentre Plus staff handing out vouchers that can be exchanged for food parcels.
The parcels, which contain enough donated items to keep a …
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April Reign: McGuinty: No Apology for Rights Abuses
July 3, 2010 by
McGuinty: No Apology for Rights AbusesTweetTwo peas - same podShorter McGuinty; Meh, not my problem.
* “I know that some folks feel that their rights have been abridged, and there are avenues available to them and I would encourage them to pursue any remedies that are available to them through those avenues,” he said.
Feel their rights have been abridged? Are you fucking serious?
Hey McGuinty have you seen this?
I was now around 2:00am. I’ve been held since 10:30pm, not read my rights, not explained anything, not yet charged, no phone call. And in an overcrowded cell with no access to …
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April Reign: Respect and Preserve the Rights of People You Disagree With
July 1, 2010 by
Respect and Preserve the Rights of People You Disagree WithTweetHere is my advice as we begin the century that will lead to 2081. First, guard the freedom of ideas at all costs. Be alert that dictators have always played on the natural human tendency to blame others and to oversimplify. And don’t regard yourself as a guardian of freedom unless you respect and preserve the rights of people you disagree with to free, public, unhampered expression. ~Gerard K. O’Neill, 2081
For some time now I’ve been concerned that it seems we are losing the lessons of past. This weekend …
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The Front Page: Balconey Garden – Summer 2010
June 6, 2010 by
I have found it necessary to scale back this year. I only have tomatoes as far as veggies so far and a pot of various herbs. That may change in future, we’ll see.
There are a couple of new additions. One is a little patch of lawn for the kitties and the other is that I have taken the bird feeder and placed it in a pot with flowers around. I like the look and the birds seem to appreciate it also!
I’m waiting for storage benches to go on sale to help clean up the extra pots and provide seating.
Here is the freshly planted version – thus far at least. A garden is never really …
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April Reign: World’s Saddest Internet Argument Techniques
May 10, 2010 by
World’s Saddest Internet Argument TechniquesTweetJust for fun, from Cracked.com
TweetApril Reign - In a time of universal deceit, telling the truth becomes a revolutionary act. …
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April Reign: Happy Mother’s Day
May 9, 2010 by
Happy Mother’s DayTweetThis Mother’s Day I want to give a gift to my daughters, the gift of a voice.
Throughout history those who seek to reign despotically first seek to silence and disenfranchise the women, this current PM scrabbling after a majority like a junkie jonesing for a fix is no different. He started by all but completely destroying SWC and has continued to show disdain for women with quotes about “left-wing fringe groups” and Bush style gag laws on abortion for women in war-torn countries, and of course he continues to defund women’s groups and …
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The Front Page: Playing it Safe
September 21, 2009 by
Every youth on the street has a story to tell. The Playing it Safe project provides a venue for them to do just that.
The PLAYING IT SAFE project was initiated by Edmonton filmmaker Terri Wynnyk, who proposed that the National Film Board North West Studio produce a video about youth living in risky lifestyles and ways they try to stay safe. In the development phase, partly funded by Health Canada’s Drug Strategy and Community Initiatives Fund, Alberta Region and Streetworks Edmonton, it was decided that the PLAYING IT SAFE project would become a web story-telling creation. It would be …
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The Front Page: ‘You, Me, and the S.P.P: Trading Democracy for Corporate Rule’
June 2, 2009 by
What do secrecy, police provocateurs, an assault on democracy and infringements on citizens’ rights have in common? The Security Prosperity Partnership.
‘You, Me, and the S.P.P: Trading Democracy for Corporate Rule’ is a feature length documentary which exposes the latest manifestation of a corporatist agenda that is undermining the democratic authority of the citizens of North America. Two processes, the Security Prosperity Partnership (SPP) and the Trade Investment Labour Mobility Agreement (TILMA) are rapidly eroding and eliminating standards, civil liberties, regulatory systems and …
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The Front Page: Five Blackwater Employees Indicted on Manslaughter and Weapons Charges for Fatal Nisur Square Shooting in Iraq
December 8, 2008 by
WASHINGTON, Dec. 8 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — A 35-count indictment was unsealed today in the District of Columbia charging five Blackwater security guards with voluntary manslaughter, attempt to commit manslaughter, and weapons violations for their alleged roles in the Sept. 16, 2007, shooting at Nisur Square in Baghdad, Iraq. The defendants are charged with killing 14 unarmed civilians and wounding 20 other individuals.
In addition, a sixth Blackwater security guard pleaded guilty on Dec. 5, 2008, to charges of voluntary manslaughter and attempt to commit manslaughter for his role in …
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The Front Page: Rising Tide
December 7, 2008 by
Newswise — In “Dover Beach,” the 19th Century poet Matthew Arnold describes waves that “begin, and cease, and then again begin…and bring?the eternal note of sadness in.”
But in the warming world of the 21st Century, waves could be riding oceans that will rise anywhere from 0.5 meters (19 inches) to 1.4 meters (55 inches), and researchers believe there’s a good chance they will stir stronger feelings than melancholia.
Several scientists from Scripps Institution of Oceanography at UC San Diego are finding that sea level rise will have different consequences in different places but …
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The Front Page: If you’re Happy and You Know It
December 7, 2008 by
Newswise — If you’re happy and you know it, thank your friends—and their friends. And while you’re at it, their friends’ friends. But if you’re sad, hold the blame. Researchers from Harvard Medical School and the University of California, San Diego have found that “happiness” is not the result solely of a cloistered journey filled with individually tailored self-help techniques. Happiness is also a collective phenomenon that spreads through social networks like an emotional contagion.
In a study that looked at the happiness of nearly 5000 individuals over a period of twenty …
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