April 27, 2006
Preventing another Chernobyl
The 20th anniversary of the Chernobyl disaster (yesterday) is a chilling reminder of the havoc nuclear power plants can cause with just one accident. While the nuclear industry protects its interests by downplaying the impacts of Chernobyl, Greenpeace is fighting to make sure no such disaster occurs in Canada. Pickering is home to a major nuclear reactor, and is just 30 km from downtown Toronto—the... [More >>]
April 25, 2006
Thanks For Making Our Cities Better Jane
Jane Jacobs, renowned urbanist and author of The Death and Life of Great American Cities and the more recent Dark Age Ahead passed away early on Tuesday. The obits are in all the major papers and they praise her as a major thinker, a singular mind and an urbanist. She made many North American cities better. If you think New York City is better with large parts of Greenwich Village and SoHo intact,... [More >>]
April 24, 2006
ahem
Today is a good day for announcing announcements. According to The Globe and Mail, Green Party leader Jim Harris will today announce that he will not re-seek his party’s leadership, while the Toronto Star declared ‘It’s Rae’s day to join the race.’ I know it’s just part of the big media/politics game, but doesn’t the phenomenon of announcing announcements ahead... [More >>]
April 24, 2006
Measuring A City’s Vital Signs
Continuing on my earlier post about Canada’s cities. I noticed that the Community Foundations of Canada, a clearinghouse for community groups around Canada, is taking a great idea national. Every year the Toronto Community Foundation releases a Vital Signs report on Toronto. It’s an important report that gets a lot of media attention. It tracks key issues and points out whether the ciy... [More >>]
April 24, 2006
Thanking our subsidiary for reaching goals
Got a few minutes to waste? Check out the Since U Been Gone Annual Report: 1. Download Kelly Clarkson’s “Since U Been Gone” (don’t feel bad, the American Idol winner has sold more than 400,000 records in Canada alone, and millions in the U.S.) 2. Go to the web-based PowerPoint presentation. 3. Play the song. At the end of each verse, click through to the next slide. 4. Bask... [More >>]
April 21, 2006
Sign of the times
Here’s a fun game: help accurately reflect the state of the planet by helpfully reshelving a few books. [More >>]
April 20, 2006
Occupation close to home
Of course, struggles against oppression are happening on Canadian soil as well. Today, a First Nations protest near Hamilton that has been quietly carrying on since late February attracted attention because the protesters resisted police action to break it up. The blockade began because members of the Six Nations community are hoping to stop development of the Douglas Creek Estates on land in Caledonia... [More >>]
April 19, 2006
Canyonarrow! It’s twelve yards long and two lanes wide!
Well I’m a little late to the party (it wouldn’t be the first time, admittedly, but I figure there’s a few others out there behind the 9-to-5 eightball too) but apparently the Apprentice has been running a contest for the Chevy Tahoe, where you write the ad copy online, and build your own commercial. Clive Thompson’s blog has a great entry. Seems people have been writing some... [More >>]
April 18, 2006
Utopias and Canadian Cities
Over the last three years I’ve been extremely privileged to have a ring side seat in a cultural re-awakening in Toronto. The city that everyone else in Canada loves to hate had been batted around by a negligent federal government, a hostile provincial government, inept civic leadership and some really bad PR courtesy of SARS. Yet despite all this the city didn’t sink under its own morass... [More >>]
April 18, 2006
The word from Nepal’s streets
Kathmandu is at a standstill today as pro-democracy protesters rise up against King Gyanendra and his absolute rule of Nepal, gained when he seized control of the government last February. General strikes have paralyzed parts of Nepal, high-ranking government officials were arrested for the first time today and five protesters have been shot dead by police since the uprising started two weeks ago. What... [More >>]
