Welcome back!
Hey folks. I have a PC that works, at last, so I hope to be posting more. Here's a coupla links to let you know my feelers are still out there.

A great article by Naomi Klein from Harper's:
Baghdad Year Zero - Pillaging Iraq in pursuit of a neocon utopia

I really think she is one of our most important writers.

Alien signals from space?
We're getting some weird radio transmissions from deep space:

Mysterious signals from 1000 light years away

Is ET just telling us he got home okay? Or are Mick and Keith about halfway on their journey?

The Onion Rules
I think the funniest website going is The Onion .

And often their "The Onion In History" feature makes me belly laugh out loud.

This one really got to me.

I went to see Michael Moore's new film, and can recommend it. There was some very powerful stuff. I think he makes a strong case against Bush, overall. In some sections he could have gone a little further, in others (one in particular), maybe not so far. I was hoping for more detailed information, but I can understand why he made most of the choices he did. There were a few scenes that were tough to watch, especially those in Iraq. Maybe the film will manage to swing a few votes away from Bush. Here's hoping.

Anyone else see it?

...from the newswires:

Will Fahrenheit 9/11 Singe Bush?


And FOR GOD'S SAKE! when will shit like THIS start sticking?!

Ex-Enron CEO Kenneth Lay Pleads Innocent


I'm having a hard time figuring out what the lesson in this story is. Smuggling is bad? Money will let you get away with anything? Tobacco is bad? Tobacco Companies are bad? hmmm...:

EU drops Philip Morris case in exchange for 1.25 billion dollar fine


Okay! okay... now remember the tone and details of THAT story, and then read the "official" release from Philip Morris.


Philip Morris International Announces 12-Year Cooperation Agreement with the European Commission and 10 EU Member States to Combat Counterfeit and Contraband Cigarettes


Interesting. NO mention of dropped charges... And it's not a fine, but a 'cooperation agreement', okay.... sure...

Punk rock
Here's the best article about punk I've read in a while. Many times, I found myself nodding my head with a grin on my face.


James Parker's Golden Ears
Punk Rock Karaoke, Middle East, Cambridge MA. November 3, 1999

Crunch time
Weird goings on politically around here:

This polls have been flip-flopping between the Liberal and Conservative parties so much, there's no telling what will happen come Monday's election. Everyone is saying there will be SOME form of minority. Hmmm... Good thing, or bad thing?

Canada Election Poll Has Liberals With Narrow Lead

Then, an American presidential candidate offers his advise to Canadian voters.


Layton gets Ralph Nader endorsement he begins Ontario tour
I thought that was an odd one!

But weirder still is this story. Is there something uniquely Canadian about this? (but NOT typically Canadian, I hope...) Did we just dodge a bullet there?


N.B. man told police he wanted to kill Torontonians; friendly dog saves day

The coolest new science stuff
People are figuring out all kinds of exciting things now. This is one of those kind that you slap your head afterwards, and think, of course! It's so obvious!

Earth's Oceans are Banded Like Jupiter's Clouds

The age of space tourism is nearly upon us...

Success for SpaceShipOne!

And, oh ya! we found some more molecules...

New Molecules Discovered in Interstellar Space

Apologies
Sorry, folks. I've been moving and travelling all over the place for the last couple of months so I haven't been able to post new stuff. I'm still reading all the time, so I'll have new entries soon.

Also, apologies to those who actually posted comments and were wondering what happened to them. I have changed the settings from moderated to open so you can post at will now. Please do! Your comments should be visable now.

I thought that this was an interesting article on the current state of Canada/US relations. It certainly gave me pause. There were a few things I could take issue with, but for the most part many good points were raised.
The Know-It-All Neighbour

Do we need to start hanging out with other people a little more? I think its better in the long run if we cut them a little slack (this is a tough time for them, ok?), and try to talk them into being a little less rash and reactionary. We should still sit out this war, but maybe try harder to help them in other ways. That's my (revised) opinion.

This guy pissed me off though:

"Canadians have lost their manhood," says Fred Edwards, a 56-year-old construction supervisor from Tucson, Ariz. ("Socialized, homosexualized, feminized, gutless wimps," he specified in his original e-mail to the magazine.) Edwards, who has four children in the U.S. military -- including a son who's just returned from Iraq and another son and a daughter preparing to ship out -- is particularly incensed that Canada refused to join Bush's "coalition of the willing." "It's like being in a bar fight with your friends," he says. "You expect them to back you up."


OK. Only it wasn't a bar fight, it was a home invasion. And you didn't see them or know who they were working for. And you went off all through the neighborhood beating the crap out of people with little or no evidence of their connection to the crime. We're trying to help you find who's responsible, is that not backing you up? Let's find a way to prevent any more crimes like this from happening AND make the neighbourhood a better place. Maybe we should start by getting to know everyone else in our neighborhood better...

It's Earth Day...
Some ideas, do at least one today:

"The bicycle is the most effiecient transportation machine ever created by man." -Ed Begley Jr.
Use one. Or walk.

Write a letter to all the major auto manufacturers asking them for more models of affordable eco-friendly vehicles NOW. I want a bad-ass solar/electric van.

Start a garden. A composter too.

Listen to "Mercy Me" by Marvin Gaye. Dance around.

If you live in, or are a non-resident citizen of, The United States of America, work on voting President George W. Bush OUT of office.

Flip off a Hummer.

Like THIS.

There are recycling programs. Use them.

... ...

Other things I've been checking out lately:

The Condensed Bob Woodward

Air America Radio


Bill Maher's blog