http://www.proaxis.com/~thayden/bw/Mr%20Tambourine%20Man.htmlbobdylan.com
Tuesday, November 26, 2013
Good News: Saskatoon City Council rejects prayer policy
[image]
By Charles Hamilton, The StarPhoenix:
City councillors and staff will not be told how to pray or not to pray at public events.
On Monday, council’s executive committee rejected the idea of a prayer policy to govern the way city councillors and staff give thanks in public. Many at the meeting, including mayor Don Atchison, thought the proposed policy would cause more harm than good.
“I think it’s a slippery slope,” Atchison told the committee.
The proposed policy was put forward in the wake of the human rights complaint by a local activist who said Coun. Randy Donauer’s Christian prayer at a civic event was offensive and violated his rights. City officials proposed non-denominational greetings to replace religious prayers or grace at civic events.
A report presented to city council’s executive committee said the new policy could affect the city’s Christmas celebrations — everything from the city’s Christmas trees to religious greetings on city buses.
The idea that the policy could impact things like Aboriginal celebrations and other religious celebrations was too much for the mayor.
“I can’t imagine not having a menorah at the Mendel Art Gallery. I can’t imagine not having Merry Christmas on buses,” Atchison said.
While the motion to adopt the policy was defeated, there were two councillors at the meeting who were in favour of a revised policy that would simply restrict religious prayer from strictly city events.
“I hope that even though this policy has not been adopted that the city and council will strive to be more inclusive,” Coun. Mairin Loewen told reporters after the meeting.
The Saskatchewan Human Rights Commission ruled last year there wasn’t enough evidence to move forward with a complaint about “Merry Christmas” signs on Saskatoon city buses. That complaint was filed by Ashu Solo, the same activist who filed the complaint that sparked the prayer policy. He alleged the messages on the buses violated the separation of religion and state and discriminated against non-Christians.
cthamilton@thestarphoenix.com
Twitter.com/_chamilton
On Monday, council’s executive committee rejected the idea of a prayer policy to govern the way city councillors and staff give thanks in public. Many at the meeting, including mayor Don Atchison, thought the proposed policy would cause more harm than good.
“I think it’s a slippery slope,” Atchison told the committee.
The proposed policy was put forward in the wake of the human rights complaint by a local activist who said Coun. Randy Donauer’s Christian prayer at a civic event was offensive and violated his rights. City officials proposed non-denominational greetings to replace religious prayers or grace at civic events.
A report presented to city council’s executive committee said the new policy could affect the city’s Christmas celebrations — everything from the city’s Christmas trees to religious greetings on city buses.
The idea that the policy could impact things like Aboriginal celebrations and other religious celebrations was too much for the mayor.
“I can’t imagine not having a menorah at the Mendel Art Gallery. I can’t imagine not having Merry Christmas on buses,” Atchison said.
While the motion to adopt the policy was defeated, there were two councillors at the meeting who were in favour of a revised policy that would simply restrict religious prayer from strictly city events.
“I hope that even though this policy has not been adopted that the city and council will strive to be more inclusive,” Coun. Mairin Loewen told reporters after the meeting.
The Saskatchewan Human Rights Commission ruled last year there wasn’t enough evidence to move forward with a complaint about “Merry Christmas” signs on Saskatoon city buses. That complaint was filed by Ashu Solo, the same activist who filed the complaint that sparked the prayer policy. He alleged the messages on the buses violated the separation of religion and state and discriminated against non-Christians.
cthamilton@thestarphoenix.com
Twitter.com/_chamilton
© Copyright (c) The StarPhoenix http://www.thestarphoenix.com/life/Council+rejects+prayer+policy/9210979/story.html
Psalms 53:1 The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God.
Sunday, November 24, 2013
Saturday, November 23, 2013
It’s 10pm - do you know where your moggy is? Wildlife campaigner calls for cat curfew
Mogs have taken over from dogs as the world’s No 1 pet
Friday, November 22, 2013
Saskatoon listens to atheist
The "appropriate greetings" going before city councillors for approval - one for use at events where food is served, and one for events without food - include the words "God" and "amen," but also pay respect to various religious beliefs, and to non-believers as well.
"I always said I would drop the case if they moved to something secular," said Ashu Solo, who filed a complaint with the Human Rights Commission after Coun. Randy Donauer recited a Christian prayer at a volunteer appreciation banquet.
Solo, an atheist who was a member of the city's race relations and cultural diversity committee, said he was offended by the blessing, which included references to Jesus. Solo said it violated his freedom of conscience as guaranteed by the Saskatchewan Human Rights Code and discriminated on the grounds of religion and creed, also under the code.
A portion of one of the greetings reads, "Whether we are thankful for the bounty provided by one God or many, from a great spirit energy that is common to us all, or simply from the good people behind the door to the kitchen, we are all together in this moment."
Solo said with a few minor tweaks - like removing the word "amen" from the end of the greeting - the proposal could be enough for him to drop his case.
"Although this has something for people who do believe in God, it also has something for other people who don't," he said.
The suggested "greetings" are contained in a report on its way before city council's executive committee on Monday, prompted by months of debate about prayers at civic events.
The report says the suggested greetings should use "general and inclusive language and be non-denominational and secular in nature" and are meant to be "edifying and inspirational, rather than controversial."
At previous meetings, city council rejected the idea of eliminating prayer at civic events, opting instead to focus on including religions besides Christianity.
Coun. Darren Hill, however, said he's surprised at the proposal's prescriptive nature.
"If I was doing the grace or thanks at an event, I would ensure it would be secular and inclusive and non-denominational. I don't need the administration to tell me what to say," Hill said.
While Solo seemed satisfied by the proposal, other city atheists weren't keen on it.
"It is obviously not a greeting, but much more akin to a grace, as might be said by Christians over a meal," George Williamson of the Saskatoon Centre for Inquiry said.
The City' s proposed greeting:
Let us together bow our heads.
We take this moment to pause, before the enjoyment of a meal well prepared for our celebration, to recognize and appreciate the gifts from nature provided, the work of human hands contributed, and sacrifice represented for our benefit.
Each of us have our own beliefs. Whether we are thankful for the bounty provided by one God or many, from a great spirit energy that is common to us all, or simply from the good people behind the door to the kitchen, we are all together in this moment, full of the grace that comes from being thankful for a gift that is given.
May we all enjoy the gift that is the good meal before us.
Amen.
A second option for when no food is served:
Thank you for life and the world, for everyone with whom we share this together. Thank you for today. Let us choose today's goals wisely and live today perfectly.
Let us ensure that we love and respect ourselves and others.
Guide us through our lives to live gracefully.
Amen.
© Copyright (c) The StarPhoenix http://www.thestarphoenix.com/life/Greeting+could+stop+human+right+complaint/9199104/story.html
Thursday, November 21, 2013
Humans of New York
I always come back to visit this site.
My name is Brandon and I began Humans of New York in the summer of 2010. HONY resulted from an idea that I had to construct a photographic census of New York City. I thought it would be really cool to create an exhaustive catalogue of the city’s inhabitants, so I set out to photograph 10,000 New Yorkers and plot their photos on a map. I worked for several months with this goal in mind. But somewhere along the way, HONY began to take on a much different character. I started collecting quotes and short stories from the people I met, and began including these snippets alongside the photographs. Taken together, these portraits and captions became the subject of a vibrant blog, which over the past two years has gained a large daily following. With nearly one million collective followers on Facebook and Tumblr, HONY now provides a worldwide audience with glimpses into the lives of strangers in New York City.Hunans of New York
"I have ten cats. They live outside, and I have been protecting them for seven years." humansofnewyork.com
About
My name is Brandon and I began Humans of New York in the summer of 2010. HONY resulted from an idea that I had to construct a photographic census of New York City. I thought it would be really cool to create an exhaustive catalogue of the city’s inhabitants, so I set out to photograph 10,000 New Yorkers and plot their photos on a map. I worked for several months with this goal in mind. But somewhere along the way, HONY began to take on a much different character. I started collecting quotes and short stories from the people I met, and began including these snippets alongside the photographs. Taken together, these portraits and captions became the subject of a vibrant blog, which over the past two years has gained a large daily following. With nearly one million collective followers on Facebook and Tumblr, HONY now provides a worldwide audience with glimpses into the lives of strangers in New York City.Hunans of New York
"I have ten cats. They live outside, and I have been protecting them for seven years." humansofnewyork.com
The Rat Hunters of New York
Merlin attacks a rat near Broome Street.The rat hunters of New York
by Melissa Cronin: On
a chilly Friday night in early spring, four men and three women meet in
a dimly-lit alley next to Manhattan’s City Hall Park. They are dressed
against the unseasonable thirty-degree chill, in puffy jackets and
protective working gloves with worn-down fingertips. With them are four
small dogs on nylon leashes.
Richard
Reynolds, a bald, husky business analyst from New Jersey, stands at
their center, a head taller than anybody else, in an outfit made up of
varying shades of khaki. In one hand he grips the wooden head of a long
black cane, in the other a thin nylon leash, at the end of which is a
ruddy brown dog named Dudley, a squat, short-legged Norfolk terrier with
baleful brown eyes.
Reynolds
surveys the scene—the dogs and their owners huddled in small groups
along with Reynolds’s cameraman, Jeff Formosa, who would upload the
night’s footage onto YouTube. Reynolds tapped his cane on the ground.
“Alright then,” he says. “I guess this is it. Let’s go.”
Quietly,
the group steers their dogs across Chambers Street west of the park,
Reynolds leading the way. Susan Friedenberg, a dog breeder from Staten
Island, brings up the rear with her spotted auburn cairn terrier named
Tanner. Reynolds stops at the opening to a cobblestoned side street
while the others bring their dogs around to the back entrance of Theatre
Alley, which George Washington once used as a private entrance to the
Park Theatre.
Staring
at a bulging garbage bag resting against a pole in the scaffolding,
Reynolds raises his cane just an inch above the ground. Then, with a
booming “HO!” he releases Dudley. The terrier shoots into the alley
towards a massive pile of garbage bags against a wall. Reynolds waves a
hand out to signal Friedenberg, and in the next moment Tanner is
streaking down the path too, gaining on Dudley with every step. They
jump on top of the mountain of trash, clawing at the bags as their
owners run after them...Continue reading...
Young Photographers' Dreams of Another Russia (Photo Essay)
The Moscow Times:
The Moscow-based photography collective "Troika" opened their first solo exhibition in the small hall of the Artplay Design Center on Saturday.
The collective, which describes its work as ethnographical research, comprises the photographers Olga Rodina, Anastasia Soboleva and Lena Tsibizova. They met in a photography course at the British Higher school of Art and Design, and have continued to work together after graduating....Photos here...l
The Moscow-based photography collective "Troika" opened their first solo exhibition in the small hall of the Artplay Design Center on Saturday.
The collective, which describes its work as ethnographical research, comprises the photographers Olga Rodina, Anastasia Soboleva and Lena Tsibizova. They met in a photography course at the British Higher school of Art and Design, and have continued to work together after graduating....Photos here...l
Wednesday, November 20, 2013
Potty humor highlights global health issue on Toilet Day
Outhouse of Doom by Eric Hart photographyblogger.net
Yes, today is World Toilet Day.
And while jokes abound on social media (where people are showing off their thrones under #CheckOutMyToilet), the health issue behind the event is no laughing matter for international activists. The World Toilet Day website explains:
World Toilet Day is not just about toilet humor, or an attempt to make toilets sexy. World Toilet Day has a serious purpose: it aims to stimulate dialogue about sanitation and break the taboo that still surrounds this issue. In addition, it supports advocacy that highlights the profound impact of the sanitation crisis in a rigorous manner, and seeks to bring to the forefront the health and emotional consequences, as well as the economic impact of inadequate sanitation.According to the UN, some 2.5 billion people don't have access to adequate sanitation, and more than 1 billion practice open defecation - a problem that contributes to countless deaths from preventable diseases. Each year, the UN says, more than 800,000 children under 5 die from diarrhea, many of them because of poor sanitation..Read more...
Halifax cats get shelter from the cold
By DAN ARSENAULT Staff Reporter
A handful of Halifax’s thousands of homeless cats got some new digs near a Spryfield woman’s home last Friday.
Shop students at Sackville High School built the small, white, wooden structure that has shelves, straw, cardboard boxes, two entrances and space for up to 12 felines.
Bunny Smith, who lives close to the shelter, said new cats are moving in.
“I had five over here, new ones that I never saw before,” she said Tuesday.
Another cat she rescued from the street earlier, Scoobie, is also spending time there. She couldn’t keep him in the house because he’d sometimes fight with Saucy, one of her other rescued cats.
Smith likes to feed and help other cats that are left to their own devices. There are a lot of feral cats in her neighbourhood and they face a lot of challenges to survive, she said...Continue reading...
Rare freaky fish found in Canadian Arctic
FoxNews.com
The Long Nosed Chimaera displays traits from both a shark and a stingray. (Facebook/Jutai Korgak)
What is that?
According to a researcher at a Canadian university, it is a rarely seen fish from the arctic.
Nigel Hussey, a researcher who works with the Ocean Tracking Network tells CBC News
,
that the fish is a mysterious breed known as a "long-nosed chimaera."
The photo of this fish–which has only been caught one other time– has
gone viral across the Internet.
The fish was reeled in by a fishing boat along the Davis Strait in Nunavut, the northernmost territory in Canada and was mistaken as another breed of fish known as a goblin shark.
"Only one of these fish has previously been documented from the Hudson Strait," Hussey said to CBC. "Potentially, if we fish deeper, maybe between 1,000 and 2,000 meters [3,000 to 6,000 feet], we could find that's there's actually quite a lot of them there. We just don't know."
The freaky find displays characteristics from relative breeds of Sharks and Stingrays with a tail like a whip and a long, pointed nose and can grow to over three feet in length. www.foxnews.com
According to a researcher at a Canadian university, it is a rarely seen fish from the arctic.
Nigel Hussey, a researcher who works with the Ocean Tracking Network tells CBC News
,
that the fish is a mysterious breed known as a "long-nosed chimaera."
The photo of this fish–which has only been caught one other time– has
gone viral across the Internet.The fish was reeled in by a fishing boat along the Davis Strait in Nunavut, the northernmost territory in Canada and was mistaken as another breed of fish known as a goblin shark.
"Only one of these fish has previously been documented from the Hudson Strait," Hussey said to CBC. "Potentially, if we fish deeper, maybe between 1,000 and 2,000 meters [3,000 to 6,000 feet], we could find that's there's actually quite a lot of them there. We just don't know."
The freaky find displays characteristics from relative breeds of Sharks and Stingrays with a tail like a whip and a long, pointed nose and can grow to over three feet in length. www.foxnews.com
Tuesday, November 19, 2013
The Gettysburg Address
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Abraham Lincoln, 1863. Courtesy of the Library of Congress (LC-USZ62-13016 DLC). Abraham Lincoln - biography |
November 19, 1863
On June 1, 1865, Senator Charles Sumner referred to the most famous speech ever given by President Abraham Lincoln. In his eulogy on the slain president, he called the Gettysburg Address a "monumental act." He said Lincoln was mistaken that "the world will little note, nor long remember what we say here." Rather, the Bostonian remarked, "The world noted at once what he said, and will never cease to remember it. The battle itself was less important than the speech."
Source for all versions: Collected Works of Abraham Lincoln, edited by Roy P. Basler and others.
Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent, a new nation, conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.
Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that nation, or any nation so conceived and so dedicated, can long endure. We are met on a great battle-field of that war. We have come to dedicate a portion of that field, as a final resting place for those who here gave their lives that that nation might live. It is altogether fitting and proper that we should do this.
But, in a larger sense, we can not dedicate -- we can not consecrate -- we can not hallow -- this ground. The brave men, living and dead, who struggled here, have consecrated it, far above our poor power to add or detract. The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here. It is for us the living, rather, to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought here have thus far so nobly advanced. It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us -- that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion -- that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain -- that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom -- and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.
Abraham Lincoln
November 19, 1863
abrahamlincolnonline.org
Jean-Claude Van Damme doing the splits.
“I should have been dead a couple of times,” Jean-Claude Van Damme, the Belgian martial-arts star, told TIME’s Richard Corliss back in 2009, talking about his wild Hollywood life full of hard drugs, fast women and loose money. Van Damme continued, “But something is holding me here. I’ve got a good star.” A good star? Or a good car?
In a voice-over that runs over the beginning of a new Volvo ad, the action star echoes some of what he said to Corliss back in ’09. “I’ve had my ups and downs. My fair share of bumpy roads and heavy winds. That’s what made me what I am today,” says Van Damme, 53. “Now I stand here before you. What you see is a body crafted to perfection.” Then Van Damme does what may be the most epic splits ever done between two trucks set to an Enya soundtrack...Read here... Jean-Claude Van Damme - biography
Sunday, November 17, 2013
Intense thunderstorms and even tornados are predicted in many parts of the Midwest.
Tornado damage in Washington Illinois can be seen in this handout picture courtesy of Alexandra Sutter/WMBD.com takenSunday. A confirmed large and extremely dangerous tornado was spotted near Washington, Illinois, located about 145 miles southwest of Chicago, the National Weather Service said
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS CHICAGO — Intense thunderstorms and tornados swept across a number of Midwestern states Sunday, and officials were raising the alarm to warn people — including fans at some NFL games — might be caught off guard by such severe weather at this time of year. nydailynews.com
Teaching History Matters
MATTHEW ROZELL: "for the sake of humanity"… A small town American high school history project changes lives worldwide. These are the observations of a veteran teacher- on the Power of Teaching, the importance of the study of History, and especially the lessons we must learn, and teach, on the Holocaust.
743rd S-3 After Action journal report- the moment of liberation.
I’m a teacher.
This blog is about the Power of Teaching.
If you decide to spend a few moments here, you will see what I mean[…] teachinghistorymatters.com
Saturday, November 16, 2013
Nature photographer captures big cats in the wild, and heartbreak of their disappearance
(CBS News) NEW YORK Here's something you don't see very often: a photograph of a cougar, in Griffith Park in Los Angeles, beneath the Hollywood sign -- an image that will appear in next month's National Geographic. Cougars are nocturnal and seldom seen. So how did they get that picture?
National Geographic photographer Steve Winter has spent most of his adult life, shooting just about every kind of wild cat on the planet.
Yet he maintains a childlike enthusiasm, even at New York's Central Park Zoo, watching the baby snow leopards.cbsnews.com
Friday, November 15, 2013
Helpless in the Homeland: Israel Has Effectively Surrendered
IDF soldiers praying at the Western Wall
Author: Brandon Marlon
An IDF soldier is murdered by his Arab coworker, and his body is dumped in a village well. Another soldier is shot dead by a sniper in Hebron. A young girl is shot in her backyard in Judea and Samaria. A husband is murdered by a pair of Arab assailants, and the man turns out to be a family friend of Netanyahu himself. Yet another soldier is stabbed to death while sleeping on a bus. Hundreds of bloodstained Arab terrorists are released as a goodwill gesture to stimulate “peace” talks.These are the recent headlines from Israel, and they all point to the same problem: Israel is being dismantled piecemeal by its enemies, who recognize that Israel has lost the will to defend itself on a day-to-day basis. Lives are being brutally snuffed out on a weekly schedule, with little to nothing being done about it.
Netanyahu is preoccupied with pronouncing upon Iran in the international media, when he should have long ago ordered the complete obliteration of its nuclear operations. He apologizes to Turkey for Israel’s self-defense, agrees to the unconscionable release of terrorists and murderers, and cancels construction in Judea and Samaria. For all of these, he engages in lame apologetics to Israelis who are aghast at his spineless dithering. He should resign in disgrace immediately, if not sooner.
What is the point of having a Jewish state if Jews are not safe and secure within it?..Continue reading...
Canadians Join Foreign Jihadists Fighting in Syria
On Thursday reports were released that a Canadian citizen described
only as Abu Abd Al-Rahman was killed in March in the city of Aleppo,
according to Shalom Toronto. Al-Rahman is one of many Canadian and other foreign jihadists journeying to Syria to join the bloodbath.
The report of Al-Rahman's death appeared on a Syrian Internet site that specializes in documenting the names of foreign jihadists killed while fighting in the ranks of opposition forces. The fighting has been intense, as documented by video footage.
Just last Thursday Andrew Parker, Director of the British domestic intelligence service MI5, announced that hundreds of British citizens have traveled to Syria to join the fighting, most of them siding with the rebel forces.
Al-Rahman is just one of many Canadians making the jihad pilgrimage to Syria.
In February Jamal Mohammed Abd Al-Kadar, a student from Montreal, was killed in the truck bomb attack he drove in Damascus. Al-Kadar had joined the Al-Nusra Front terrorist organization associated with Al-Qaeda.
Then in May a man, apparently bearing Canadian citizenship, was killed while on an observation mission prior to carrying out an attack with a male British citizen and a female American citizen.
Damien Clairmont, a Calgary convert to Islam, joined the wave of foreign jihadists when in June he went to collaborate with Al-Nusra Front. It is possible that he was the fighter filmed in Homs in July with a Canadian flag sewn onto his clothes.
In one last example, Ali Mohammed Dirie of Toronto was killed in September fighting for Al-Nusra Front. Dirie had previously been convicted of organizing a terror attack that planned to strike governmental targets in Canada in 2006, and consequently served an extended sentence.
The Syrian conflict is now in its third year and has claimed over 120,000 lives since November 2011.Read here.
:The report of Al-Rahman's death appeared on a Syrian Internet site that specializes in documenting the names of foreign jihadists killed while fighting in the ranks of opposition forces. The fighting has been intense, as documented by video footage.
Just last Thursday Andrew Parker, Director of the British domestic intelligence service MI5, announced that hundreds of British citizens have traveled to Syria to join the fighting, most of them siding with the rebel forces.
Al-Rahman is just one of many Canadians making the jihad pilgrimage to Syria.
In February Jamal Mohammed Abd Al-Kadar, a student from Montreal, was killed in the truck bomb attack he drove in Damascus. Al-Kadar had joined the Al-Nusra Front terrorist organization associated with Al-Qaeda.
Then in May a man, apparently bearing Canadian citizenship, was killed while on an observation mission prior to carrying out an attack with a male British citizen and a female American citizen.
Damien Clairmont, a Calgary convert to Islam, joined the wave of foreign jihadists when in June he went to collaborate with Al-Nusra Front. It is possible that he was the fighter filmed in Homs in July with a Canadian flag sewn onto his clothes.
In one last example, Ali Mohammed Dirie of Toronto was killed in September fighting for Al-Nusra Front. Dirie had previously been convicted of organizing a terror attack that planned to strike governmental targets in Canada in 2006, and consequently served an extended sentence.
The Syrian conflict is now in its third year and has claimed over 120,000 lives since November 2011.Read here.
Drone worth millions crashes into Lake Ontario, military says
Lt. Col.. Leslie Pratt / AP
An
MQ-9 Reaper Drone is seen in an undated file photo. Click to see other
uncrewed aerial vehicles that are known to carry weapons or that might
be adapted to carry them.
By Gil Aegerter
Staff Writer, NBC News An unarmed Air National Guard drone crashed into Lake Ontario during a training exercise Tuesday, the military said.
The MQ-9 Reaper took
off from Wheeler Sack Army Airfield at Fort Drum, N.Y., as part of a
mission training pilots for the Air Force, Air National Guard Col. Greg
Semmel said at a news conference Tuesday evening. The crash occurred
about 1 p.m. local time in eastern Lake Ontario about 20 miles northeast
of Oswego, N.Y., he said...Continue reading...
Canadian rower crosses North Atlantic Ocean alone
Nick Zaccardi: Mylene Paquette navigated through whales, storms and capsizing, but she’s still afraid of the pool.The Montreal native, 35, completed a solo 129-day journey across the North Atlantic on Tuesday, according to Canadian reports.
She said she’s the first North American to do so, a 3,000-mile feat all the more impressive given her fears.
“I’m scared in the pool and in a big bath,” she told reporters on a conference call after landing in the French port city of Lorient. ”I don’t really understand what I’m scared of. Maybe it’s because I’ve been watching too much ‘Jaws’ when I was younger?”
A U.S. woman rowed solo across the Atlantic in 1999, from the Canary Islands to Guadeloupe.
Paquette said her journey from Halifax was tougher, though she called the American Tori Murden a hero.
“It’s like Everest,” she said, comparing a southern route to Mount Kilimanjaro.
Paquette began her journey on July 6 to raise awareness about environmental protection. She rowed a 24-foot boat named Hermel and had a meteorological expert guiding her along the way.Read here.
Rowing across the Atlantic, Solo from Canada to France from Mylene Paquette on Vimeo.
Christianity Spreading at Remarkable Rate Among Middle, Upper Castes and Youth in Emerging 'New India'
[image]
By Press Release Christian News Wire On November 14, 2013
Christianity in India is growing at a rapid rate among middle and high
caste Indians and young people, according to the latest issue of
"Unfinished" magazine, which examines social, economic and cultural
trends in the "new India."
The current "remarkable receptivity
to Christ" across the entire spectrum of Indian society, which had been
traditionally among only lower castes and marginalized communities, is
one of five dominant themes identified by Indian anthropologist Prabhu
Singh that define today's India and its missional challenges. In his
article "Welcome to the New India" in the current issue of "Unfinished" (www.themissionsociety.org/learn/multimedia/unfinished),
Singh also explores new eras of "glocal" complex connectivity,
heightened cultural sensitivity, alarming religious animosity and
widening economic disparity...Continue reading...
Thursday, November 14, 2013
Dogs Sing for a Canine Cancer Cure
[image]By
Jennifer Miller: Dogs perform "We Could Be Heroes" in the name of defeating cancer in their kind. Most pet owners don't realize that a quarter of all dogs and an eighth of all cats eventually die of cancer. To raise funds for prevention and a cure, Canadian charity Pet Trust, agency Red Urban and music house Pirate have written a musical appeal, "We Could Be Heroes."
Cue the the studio mics, the over-sized headphones, and the multi-genre cast of vocalists. The only difference here, is that dogs do all the singing. Well, they appear to; the real vocalists are Canadian pop and hip hop stars. Director Curtis Wehrfritz captured the canine performances in camera (and watch out for the cat cameo).
At the Pet Trust website, there's also an option to make your pooch part of the video and see stories of canine cancer survivors. Not sure that Fido can carry a tune? You can always make a donation instead. Purina Canada, a co-producer of the ad, will match all contributions up to $125,000. Doggie operators are standing by to take your call...Continue reading...
Multitrack love - Choose a song
This site may not stay up long, there are a couple of cool tunes to play with.[gif]
By Rich McCormick: Multitrack Love
is a small browser app that holds an array of classic pop and rock
songs split off into their constituent parts. Click on the gray box,
choose a song, wait for it to load, and you can strip out specific
tracks from its audio. Hearing songs you've heard thousands of times
before broken down feels like peeking behind the curtain, as
demonstrated by recent Beatles vocals-only tracks. Multitrack Love proves an a capella "Enter Sandman" is a surprisingly cheery experience, "Roxanne" without
instruments is punctuated by strange twanging noises, and "Beat It"
still sounds great with just M.J. and that guitar solo. A tip: head
first to Weezer's "Say It Ain't So" and turn off everything bar the
backing vocals for a memorable falsetto performance.www.theverge.com Multitrack Love
By Rich McCormick: Multitrack Love
is a small browser app that holds an array of classic pop and rock
songs split off into their constituent parts. Click on the gray box,
choose a song, wait for it to load, and you can strip out specific
tracks from its audio. Hearing songs you've heard thousands of times
before broken down feels like peeking behind the curtain, as
demonstrated by recent Beatles vocals-only tracks. Multitrack Love proves an a capella "Enter Sandman" is a surprisingly cheery experience, "Roxanne" without
instruments is punctuated by strange twanging noises, and "Beat It"
still sounds great with just M.J. and that guitar solo. A tip: head
first to Weezer's "Say It Ain't So" and turn off everything bar the
backing vocals for a memorable falsetto performance.www.theverge.com Multitrack Love
New warships to cost more than $100-billion, Ottawa estimates
The cradle-to-grave cost to Canadian taxpayers to acquire new warships will exceed $100-billion, the federal government says – tens of billions of dollars more than Ottawa has previously disclosed.
It is the first time the federal government has gone public with its best guess on the full life-cycle cost of up to 15 surface combat vessels.
The political demand for transparency has changed in Ottawa since a controversy over the true cost of a plan to buy F-35 fighter jets, and the Harper government feels pressure to open the books.
The purchase price of the military ships remains $26.2-billion, but a new estimate of “approximately $64-billion” for 30 years of maintenance, operating and personnel costs brings the total bill to “in the vicinity of $90-billion,” according to a status update released by the Department of Public Works this week. It cautions the “through-life costs” will need to be refined over time.
The government appears to be releasing the new figure in anticipation of Auditor General Michael Ferguson’s report later this month on the national shipbuilding procurement strategy. It is possible the federal watchdog will use full life-cycle cost estimates to discuss the project, as he did with the F-35s.
Ottawa does not want to be accused of hiding cost information on another major purchase...Continue reading...
The Last Animals by Kate Brooks
The Kenyan Police Reserve head out on evening patrol.The Last Animals
Over the past two years, the slaughter of African elephants and rhinoceros has skyrocketed to supply international markets with their tusks and horns. Ivory has been dubbed the white gold of jihad and rhino horn now has a higher market value than cocaine and gold. With the expansion of radical Islamist and independent militias in Africa, along with criminal syndicates, the daring groups carrying out these bloody “harvests” are killing these animals at unprecedented rates.
In December of last year U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton issued a formal statement highlighting the crucial links between wildlife trade, terrorism and the security of international boarders. Since then, the Clinton Foundation has launched an 80 million dollar initiative to combat wildlife trafficking and President Obama has issued an executive order to tackle one of the largest illicit trades in the world.
The postcolonial chapter in international wildlife conservation efforts, which focused on establishing parks and protected areas, and appeasing the economic and developmental needs of local and regional communities, has not been enough to stop poaching...Continue reading...
Ontario to ban smoking on restaurant and bar patios, sports fields
By Wednesday, November 13, 2013
O’ Canada, Islamic extremism is growing in your country
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by Bob Taylor: CHARLOTTE, November 7, 2013 – Every day seems to bring a new revelation about the growth of radical Islam throughout the world. A new report confirms that Islamic radicals are now increasing in large numbers in, of all places, Canada.
In an article for the Investigative Project on Terrorism (IPT), which is recognized as “the world’s most comprehensive data center on radical Islamic terrorist groups, contributor Abigail Esman reports that the Canadian Security and Intelligence Service (CSIS) confirms that large numbers of Canadians are being radicalized in venues that not only include mosques but dinner parties and family residences as well.
No less than 25 individuals, nearly all of whom are between the ages of 18 and 35, have been involved in four plots inside Canada in the past seven years. Though the bulk of the activity still remains abroad, the rapidly growing internal radicalization in Canada combined with homegrown plots is a cause for concern. It also indicates that other nearby regions are being influenced such as Midwesterners in the United States living in areas such as Dearborn, Michigan...Continue reading....
Sunday, November 10, 2013
Philippine typhoon deaths climb into thousands, deadiest natural disaster on record
By JIM GOMEZ. TACLOBAN, Philippines (AP) - As many as 10,000 people are believed dead in one Philippine city alone after one of the worst storms ever recorded unleashed ferocious winds and giant waves that washed away homes and schools. Corpses hung from tree branches and were scattered along sidewalks and among flattened buildings, while looters raided grocery stores and gas stations in search of food, fuel and water.
Officials projected the death toll could climb even higher when emergency crews reach areas cut off by flooding and landslides. Even in the disaster-prone Philippines, which regularly contends with earthquakes, volcanoes and tropical cyclones, Typhoon Haiyan appears to be the deadliest natural disaster on record...Read here.
Saturday, November 9, 2013
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By Bill Sanderson Saudi Arabia's King Salman (right) and Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Nayef walk to greet President Obama in Riy...
