News and Opinion from Montreal, Canada and the World
So it seems Canada might be going to the polls come April or May for the fourth time in seven years. None of the political parties are saying they want an election, at least not publicly, but you can already smell the hate in the air.
Stephen Harper fired “warning shots” at opposition parties last week by running television ads attacking each party leader on a personal level. This prompted retaliatory ads by…
Welcome to the Earthship. No, it isn’t a ship made out of earth, and no, it isn’t a spaceship made to boldly explore where no one has gone before. It’s an innovative type of home, typically built of recycled and reclaimed material, where the household itself functions like an ecosystem. The ecological footprint is minimal to nonexistent, and most of them are completely off the grid, using solar panels and wood stoves for heating, and semi-artistic designs for temperature regulation. Some use composting toilets, or just a plain outhouses in friendly year-round climates.
University students already face high tuition fees, so when students make their way to the campus bookstore and are forced to fork over an extra few hundred dollars it hurts. University textbooks are notoriously expensive with hardcover books regularly ranging between $100 to $200 each (especially for the science textbooks). Why are these books so expensive and who is making money off the backs of students?
If you go on any type of social media, and in particular Facebook, on a semi-regular, regular or frighteningly frequent basis, this has probably happened to you:
You see that one of your friends, probably someone you haven’t heard from electronically for a while, has posted something on your wall. You go to check it out and take a step back. “Wait a minute, why is my anti-corporate activist friend posting a link to skin cream?” Then it dawns on you, their profile has been hacked by some spammer.
I hate cars… I know those words sound blasphemous to many people, but that’s the way I’ve always felt. Grandpa used to say “if they get you from point A to Point B who cares what you’re driving”. Personally, I’ve always thought of automobiles as either death traps or money pits . Let’s face it, almost everyone can think of someone who has died behind (or in front) of the wheel.
Still, with all this detestation I found myself Saturday at the Palais des congres checking out the 2011 installment of the Montréal International Auto-Show. My curiosity was peaked not by the overpriced Ferraris or Bentleys, but by the promise of a new beginning, a revolution in the auto industry. My hatred of everything on four wheels could never trump my love of the environment (or my abhorrence toward oil companies).
When I was younger, I got a daily horoscope book for my birthday. I decided to do a little experiment with it. I put the book aside for a few months and lived my life like normal. Then, one rainy Sunday, I thought back on the most interesting, fun and exciting day I had experienced during that time and looked the date up in the book. It said I would have a quiet day at home. That coloured my view of astrology ever since.
Last week, stories broke about how a new astrological sign Ophiuchus had been re-added to the chart, moving millions of people’s signs up and causing mass panic among loyal devotees of the zodiac and people with now incorrect tattoos.
President Obama give a heartfelt speech to mourners in Arizona – Watch below President Obama just gave a speech to mourners in Arizona, consoling them and helping to give them the strength to move through the tragedy. Definitely worth a look. Very encouraging and inspiring words!
We humans are part of the environment. Really, all those trees, bugs, birds, sand, walruses, ice floes, endangered orangutans … we’re part of that. Call me out for pointing out the obvious, but this notion was once a big revelation for me. I studied and worked in a few different aspects of the environment; as a technologist, a student, scientist, a field practitioner, an activist, an idealist and now a journalist.
Throughout most of these experiences, I always pictured myself as an observer, but not necessarily part of any type of ecosystem. I guess you could picture it like being a plumber; you fix the pipes, but they’re not your pipes. Well guess what – they are our pipes.
By now everyone has heard of the assassination attempt of Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-Ariz.) and subsequent rampage of Jared Loughner that left six people dead and fourteen others wounded. The question everyone seems to be asking in the few days since is why? Was it the rhetoric of a few right-wing politicians like Sarah Palin, the fear mongering words of pundits like Glenn Beck and Bill O’Reilly, the Second Amendment and the lack of gun control or does the responsibility fall squarely on an unstable extremist man with a gun?
We all knew it would come to this some day. We probably didn’t know it would involve Courtney Love, but that seems somewhat appropriate. You see, Love is being sued. Nothing new there, right? Well, what is new is that could have serious ramifications well beyond a celebrity spat. Courtney love is the first person being sued for a tweet she made on twitter. You see, back in 2009, fashion designer Dawn Simorangkir wanted Love to pay her a few thousand dollars for clothes and the singer wasn’t impressed to say the least. She went on a tirade via Twitter and other social media platforms calling Simorangkir a “drug pushing prostitute” among other things.