October 26, 2007
Dominion tackles tar sands
One of the biggest mining endeavours in the world, the tar sands development in Alberta, is changing the face of that province and raises several issues around the environment, aboriginal rights, corporate taxation and more. Our friends at The Dominion have put together a special issue examining the tar sands development from several angles. In one article, a writer checks out Fort McMurray’s... [More >>]
October 25, 2007
food for the brain and body
So you’re sitting at your desk pretending to be hard at work, staring attentively at the screen while you put yet another jack of spades on top of the stack to complete your three hundredth game of solitaire. While you’re busy looking busy, why not do something useful? Freerice.com helps to end world hunger and increases your vocabulary at the same time. This highly addictive site donates... [More >>]
October 23, 2007
webcomic relief
One of my favourite webcomics out there is A Softer World — it’s sweet and acerbic and uses real-life photographs in place of drawings. Also, it’s done by two excessively talented individuals who are unfurling their artistic fronds in multiple directions. Transplanted Maritimer Emily Horne (pictures) is currently a photographer, blogger and graphic designer in Victoria. Her Toronto-based... [More >>]
October 22, 2007
Canada takes World Press Freedom Awards (division IV)
Congratulations Canada, for being ranked in the top 20 by Reporters Without Borders in their annual World Press Freedom index. Canada rocked the competition, finishing just behind Hungary, Austria and New Zealand… no, wait, there was also Czech Republic, the Netherlands, Latvia, Switzerland. They also did better than Canada, but other than that we outshone. That’s if you don’t... [More >>]
October 21, 2007
Alternate Routes: Epilogue
Dom and Shayna — the pair of cross-country travellers filing reports from their road trip in search of community — have posted a final batch of photos and an entry entitled “In Celebration of New Beginnings” over on the Alternate Routes blog. An exerpt: “… the people with whom we choose to interact and exchange ideas have a substantial impact on our own thoughts.... [More >>]
October 20, 2007
Weekend Links: Tracking whales, media concentration, free Booker books
First the bad news you already know, the mainstream media is an awfully concentrated place, with most of the stuff you watch owned by the same batch of people. Case in point, this chart and article done by U.S. lefty mag the Nation. Now, bad news you don’t know. Apparently emo-pop band Death Cab for Cutie are a risk to the safety of the U.S. A hard disc containing the next album by Death Cab... [More >>]
October 18, 2007
Leave no one behind
Wait your turn. I’m sure we all heard those words as children, as we stood in line for rides at amusement parks, or impatiently allowed siblings to play with coveted new toys. But in the fight for human rights, should we be telling anyone to wait their turn when it comes to such urgent matters as hate speech protections and workplace anti-discrimination laws? This is a question that the queer... [More >>]
October 17, 2007
Is My Dad Pro Global Warming?
So my Dad just bought an RV. I have no idea what RV actually stands for, but I have a feeling it might be something like Roaming Village. As I write this my dad is driving back from Cincinnati in his new Death Star, but alot of other things are happening too: two major wars are being fought over oil in the Middle East, the Alberta Tar Sands development is destroying a chunk of Alberta the size of... [More >>]
October 16, 2007
Throne Speech 1.0
“Canada’s emissions cannot be brought to the level required under the Kyoto Protocol.” Tough on crime, but apparently not tough on white collar crime. [More >>]
October 13, 2007
Weekend links: Bikes to Rwanda, biodiesel jet, algae as biofuel
Every single time I see an abandoned bike in Toronto I’ll think of this project that sends bikes to Rwanda. This week on the frontier of biofuels… The first biodiesel jet takes flight! What about using algae… to fuel the plane? Finally, can we turn some of those shipping containers into homes? [More >>]
