How do you know when Stephen Harper is starting to feel the heat?Answer: When he pulls a Minister out of Question Period and gets the party attack dog to field his questions.Come on now, do any of us really believe Duncan didn't show up in Question Periods because he he didn't feel like it? …
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It's Grey Cup night in the bunker - hooray for tablets and a fiber connection!At this time I would like to thank TSN Sports for (once again) live streaming the game, and issue my annual CBC sucks!! for not airing it on their OTA channel.You'd think that the biggest Canadian sporting event of the year would make it on to the CBC's radar - apparently not. They can show us international figure skating but the top two football (and when I say football I mean real football as opposed to that sad shadow of a game played south of the border) teams in the country, and the biggest game of the …
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Stephen Harper: "Those who talk the talk of human rights must from time to time be prepared to walk the walk.... ."A national outrageIn a country that recently coughed up $274,000 for public toilets and $100,000 for a gazebo as G8 “legacy projects,” this should not be happening: buckets as toilets, ditches as sewers, tents and mouldy shacks without running water as the only shelter available from sub-Arctic winter conditions for families with young children. …
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My camera batteries are charging, my SD Card is empty, and there's every chance I'll be real tired tomorrow morning.Occupy Ottawa protesters have until 11:59 p.m. Monday night to get out of Confederation Park.Ottawa police, the RCMP and National Capital Commission staff went to the Park on Monday afternoon, where protesters have been camping out for more than a month in solidarity with the Occupy Wall Street movement. They posted copies of the bilingual notice on thin stakes at the park entrances and used silver duct tape to attach it to each of the 50 or so tents on the property.[ Ottawa …
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I make regular trips to The Market with my camera because it's a good location for street photography. It's a rare day, even in the winter, when the place is devoid of people, and there's almost always something going on. The day of this shot was no exception. There was an Oktoberfest celebration event underway and the scene I saw from about a block away was of three people huddled around a heater on (what they obviously considered) a chilly October day, and it looked like it would make a good picture.Unfortunately I didn't get the shot because one of the people in the frame saw me with the …
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Our current benevolent overlords apparently want to deny visits to prisoners in solitary confinement.Never mind that that....the plan runs counter to research on prisoner behaviour. “Segregation tends to ratchet up prisoners’ anger and makes them more difficult to control, [and] allowing visitors is one way of trying to alleviate it,”Never mind that....a 2008 study from Florida State University researchers that found prisoners who were visited by family and friends were less likely to reoffendThis government, with less than 40% support from Canadian voters, claims that it has a strong …
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I suppose that there is always a chance that this was planned and executed by a group of left leaning radical atheists..... but Spock himself would probably have trouble calculating those odds.Muslims in Switzerland are responding with shock and outrage after a pig carcass and severed swine heads were discovered buried at the site of a proposed mosque.Police in the town of Grenchen uncovered the pigs Friday after they received an anonymous message claiming that someone had buried the body parts and spilled 120 liters of blood from the animals in an effort to desecrate the ground to halt the …
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A friend was in town last night and said he wanted to take a 'wee tour of The Market as known by moi - so off we went to one of my favorite watering holes [The Dominion Tavern] and guess who we found on stage.This video is from last night show, a couple of great mosh pits formed -- and I have the bruises that attest to their greatness :-) …
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I pass this demolition project every morning on the way to work - they're going quick - soon there will be nothing left but a hole. …
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"Some countries specifically pointed out that if they have to choose between providing energy for their people and worrying about other people having to change their traditional diet, they will select energy for their people,”[ source ]And these countries will continue polluting other places until their waste lands on their doorsteps and begins affecting their people, and then they will find another excuse for why that is necessary. …
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Early Sunday evening I had to drop a small amp off in the east end so I bungee'd it on the luggage rack of the bike, wrapped my face/neck warmer around my mug, and off I went for a nice little ride down the Ottawa River Parkway.When I hit Rideau Street I came up on three other bikes (2 Quebec plates / 1 Ontario plate) with their face/neck warmers in place.... a puma, an eagle, and a bunny. When we hit a red light everybody waved and the puma said "come with us" - "where to" said I - "nowhere" said the bunny - "sure" said I..... and we bombed around the city streets for a while …
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Sigh ..... the time of the year when we have to put our summer toys away is fast approaching. At this point we're doing absolutely everything we can to delay the inevitable but, as they say, the inevitable is ultimately unavoidable - which is probably why they call it inevitable. Today I picked up a new neck/face warmer, the weatherman said +5 but I'm not sure it got there, and the ole neck and cheeks were getting a a tad chilly.It wraps around my face and over my nose with handy velcro strips on the back to hold it together, and it keeps me nice and warm …
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Really, really, busy...... and I'm going to continue to be really, really, busy for the next few days.The up side of that is that I'm getting to spend a whole bunch of time this week with some of the heaviest hitters that ever entered the world of Inuit politics and Inuit political development - and it's been one heck of a history lesson.John Amagoalik, often referred to as The Father of Nunavut, who has a 30+ year history of political development and land claims negotiations on behalf of Inuit. John A was, in the early 70's, one of the first to call for the creation of Nunavut.Tagak …
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I work only a couple of minutes walk from the Occupy Ottawa site so it's easy for me to pop over now and again - regardless of what people may say in the media, or on local Conservative talk radio, or on local Conservative blogs, the site just keeps growing.I'll try and get some images of the tents up soon, for now, take my word for it, it's growing.The problem, IMO, with movements like this is diversification - take a look at the signs on the fountain:25% of the electorate decide electionsElectoral reform nowVoting is nice but the system is brokenReal democracy nowThe tar sands are a national …
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It's a rare day that I don't have my camera with me.... just in case I see something that needs to have it's picture taken. This display caught my eye as I was on the way through the Rideau Centre on the way to The Market for an afternoon of street shooting and it struck me that in places like that the mannequinsare not the only ones who are faceless - so out came the camera.It was a productive afternoon, and I wasn't the only one out there capturing the moment.I like taking pictures of people taking pictures :-) …
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Somebody needs to a cup of haha juice... and maybe a hug :-) …
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Earlier today this YouTube video graced the website of one David Anderson, Conservative Party of Canada MP for Cypress Hills - Grasslands, Saskatchewan, and the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Natural Resource and to the Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food for the Canadian Wheat Board.The animated video shows a conversation between a wheat board executive and a Saskatchewan farmer who wants to sell his grain to a baker in Calgary..... "Slow down, young man. You are talking Eskimo," the farmer is told, "you cannot do those things in Saskatchewan."After it's discovery and subsequent …
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Subtitled: This one's for JJ - because she said please :-)One of the things I love the most about the north is how big it is.The sky is big, the land is big, and the water is big - and if you're not good with yourself that can be more than a little intimidating.This image was snapped on the shore of Great slave Lake on October 16 when I was up in Yellowknife on a bit of a vacation.A rock formation along the river.There's more, click here to read it..... …
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You'd be pretty hard pressed to find too many people in either the Northwest Territories or Nunavut who haven't been to or heard tales of the Gold Range Hotel in Yellowknife. It used to be one of the finest real old time, hard drink'en, rough and rowdy, butt your smoke out on the floor, wipe the spilled beer off the table with your sleeve 'cause no waitress is gonna come along with a cloth and do it for ya, pay no attention to that fight in the corner 'cause it don't concern ye none (unless they come close enough to endanger your beer), drinking establishments in the country.... ah ye gods but …
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For the next few days you can find me under the letter "A" :-)Heading for the airport in a little bit, see ya when I get back …
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-- but they're not just fools, they're liars of the fundamentalist nut-bar kind so I'd far rather mock them for their stupidity.Ladies and gentlemen ..... children of all ages ..... I give you the latest and greatest from Gods faithful who have begged, borrowed, and stolen the majority of their beliefs and traditions from others..... from the benevolent and caring monotheists who have burned people alive, started wars, dispossessed people of their homes, languages, and traditions, and sexually abused children - JesusWeen!!Every year, the world and its system have a day set aside (October 31st) …
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Someone needs to explain the phrase "strong mandate" to Ms Raitt - my recollection of the last election results are that her party received less than 40% support from the 61% of Canadians who chose to vote in the last election. …
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Another tid-bit from Friday's Hansard - yes, I know, I'm four days late out of the gate with this but in my defence there was a motorcycle, a tent, a river, a whole bunch of family and friends, and three days in a row of +20 degree weather, between Friday and today that it would have been a crime not to take gratuitous advantage of.Ms. Elizabeth May (Saanich—Gulf Islands, GP): Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Minister of the Environment to continuously try to unravel the muzzling of government scientists.I accept that the minister would never knowingly mislead this House but his answers …
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In reading the Hansard from last Friday it comes to light that the National Post is apparently not "responsible media" .... I wonder if that is going to colour their opinion of our strong, stable, majority, Conservative government?Ms. Kirsty Duncan (Etobicoke North, Lib.): Mr. Speaker, on Tuesday the Minister of the Environment stated unequivocally that we do not muzzle our scientists. Yesterday, we were told that Environment Canada scientist Dr. Tarasick was available to speak to responsible media, but the minister's office has denied access to the National Post, Ottawa Citizen and The …
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..... their solution to citizens not doing what they think should be done is to force them to do it.This morning while listening to Lowell Green on CFRA I was not the least bit surprised at hear the topic of legislating citizens free citizens into the voting booth come up - and while strolling through a couple of the blog aggregators to see what folk had to say about yesterdays election I came across the same idea at Scott's DiaTribes.According to a whole bunch of media reports voter turn out in yesterday's election hit a record low with less than 1/2 of those entitled to vote doing …
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-- do you suppose they've got an opinion? …
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-- if you run under a party banner in Canada you and your message are always gonna play second fiddle to your party leader and his or her message.Now trailing New Democrat Teresa Armstrong in the polls, Miller told Garrison that the campaign has been sometimes frustrating for her because she has had to carry the message of Tory leadership rather than her own.And if you are fortunate enough to gather in the greatest minority of votes in your riding and claim victory on election night your party leader is going to tell you when and how to vote ..... providing of course he or she allows you to …
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As a noun: [1] something lost or given up as a penalty for a fault, mistake, etc. [2] the act of losing or surrendering somethingAs a verb: [1] to lose or be liable to lose in consequence of a mistake, fault, etc. [2] ( in Law) [a] to confiscate as punishment [b] to surrender (something exacted as a penalty)Origin: From Old French forfet offence, from forfaire to commit a crime, from Medieval Latin foris facere to act outside (what is lawful), from Latin foris outside + facere to doOntario provincial law regarding declining the ballot53. An elector who has received a ballot and returns it to …
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Good, I hope it hurts - a lot - I have no patience for bigots.Subtitled: How many lives, ruined and lost, are Tim Hudak and the Ontario Progressive Conservative Party willing to accept for their ideology and the win?The idea that Hudack and the Conservatives would lower the level of (what we laughingly call) political discourse in Ontario to "McGuinty purposefully keeping parents in the dark about what is being taught in schools" - "crossing dressing for six year olds" shows first what antiquated mindsets he and the Ontario Progressive Conservative Party hold, and secondly a level of fear …
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Giving with one handThe Honourable Christian Paradis, Minister of Industry, today announced an important step in further protecting the privacy of Canadians during commercial transactions with the reintroduction of amendments to the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA) in the House of Commons.-- and taking away with the otherAdvocates for internet users and civil liberties groups have launched a petition against proposed laws that would give police new powers to monitor and intercept internet communications in Canada. …
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It's a darned rare thing IMO, but I saw some yesterday at the Alberta oil sands & Keystone Pipeline protest there - I even got a picture of it.Like it or not, and a whole lot of people on the Hill yesterday do not, we are a society dependent (addicted if you will) upon oil.Without coming down one way or the other on this particular issue it should be pointed out that each and every one of the protesters who attended the rally got there via oil - unless of course they walked there barefoot, and even then they walked on asphalt, which is made with, yup, you guessed it.......Oil fuels …
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I walked up to Parliament Hill a couple of times today to grab images of the Keystone Pipeline project protest - it was a well attended and very organized rally and from everything I saw the organizers had prepared police for the civil disobedience that was to come and everyone was on the same page.I saw no violence, indeed the police and the protesters were all but cordial with each other.Wave after wave of protesters joined hands and walked towards the police barricades, when they got there the police calmly explained that if they climbed over the barricade they would be arrested.They …
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According to a report by the Associated Press, researchers at CERN have observed a subatomic particle moving faster than the speed of light. That’s right, faster than the speed of light. Like any sane people, these researchers are currently looking for outside sources to verify their results, and with results as mind-boggling as these, who could blame them.And the boundries of science expand. …
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.... if it wasn't enough to make ya cry that is.Check out this little exchange from the HoC yesterdayThe question Ms. Megan Leslie (Halifax, NDP): Mr. Speaker, if cuts are made to Canada's ozone monitoring network, we will lose a third of the world's resources to monitor the growing hole in the ozone layer.This network has been collecting research data for 45 years. It is a key player in international efforts to protect the ozone layer.How will this government explain to other countries that Canada is withdrawing from an important monitoring mechanism that is provided for in the Montreal …
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Air Canada talks break down, Raitt says deal still possibleTell me..... just what sort of incentive does management actually have to reach any sort of deal when they know that federal Labour Minister Lisa Raitt has back to work legislation ready to hit the table tomorrow morning should a strike be called?If Stephen Harper and the Conservative Party of Canada really believe that Air Canada is an essential service they should have the gonads to declare it as such - otherwise this is simple federal interference in a common labour dispute. …
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9/11 gave western governments the opportunity to impose new levels of state surveillance on citizens, share personal data on citizens with foreign governments without their knowledge, create new watch lists, restrict air travel, arrest citizens and hold them indefinitely without trial, convene secret courts where the accused has no right to hear the weight of evidence against them or to confront their accuser(s), justify the torture of prisoners, and to reduce even further what few privacy expectations we might have once (at least) thought we had… all in the name of "keeping people safe".— …
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One of my favorite wandering around with the camera spots is near or on Parliament Hill - there's always lots of people there so opportunities for candid street shots abound.Today I shot this part of the parliament buildings themselves - it's a window on the west side of the Peace Tower that reads "Where There Is No Vision The People Perish" …
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