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• Google has announced it’s “fastest growing search terms for 2007″ list. Topping it was the iPhone, TMZ, Transformers, and Heroes. All the geeks on TechCrunch, however, were completely at a loss on what Webkinz and Club Penguin are (I know cause I have a younger brother!). Just goes to show how important it is to branch out of your mother’s basement… I mean, your comfort zone ;)
• The Toronto Public Library has expanded it’s free wifi to 19 branches of it’s 99 total. Meanwhile, the Vancouver Public Library has wireless in all 21 of it’s branches. You don’t even know how convenient it actually is till you come out to Surrey with your laptop and realize that the closest hotspot is at the Starbucks. You know, the one ten blocks away near the highway with the drive-thru.
• Tricky citizens have been trying to make a quick buck by selling that hot Vancouver 2010 mascot merchandise on eBay (much to the distaste of VANOC). But rather than trying to limit the market, the Olympic Organizing Committee has embraced the web and launched an online store. That means no more wait lists for my Quatchi plush at The Bay!

Last week, the UN Development Program singled out Canada for hurting the world’s poor through its refusal to take serious action on climate change. Canadians are the second largest per capita emitters and therefore among the very worst contributors to what the UNDP calls the “defining human development issue of our generation.”…

At the Commonwealth summit in Kampala, Uganda, Nov. 23-25, Harper scuppered a British-led initiative that would have seen developed countries take the lead in reducing greenhouse gas emissions. He insisted that binding commitments must be adopted by every country or none at all…

Harper’s antipathy to international environmental co-operation is well known. He once dismissed the Kyoto Protocol as “essentially a socialist scheme to suck money out of wealth-producing nations.” But his concerns about burden-sharing and free-riding are misplaced. Firefighters don’t check tax records before responding to an emergency call…

——————————————————

Whatever his motives, Harper’s stance is downright nasty. For rather than simply sitting on the sidelines, he’s actively seeking to block urgent action on the part of other countries.

It’s time to put the long-term interests of humanity ahead of domestic politics.

British Prime Minister Gordon Brown understands this. So does California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger. So too does Australia’s new prime minister, Kevin Rudd, who has promised to ratify the Kyoto Protocol.

Want to see a small man, van Loan? He’s sitting right beside you – playing games while the planet burns.

[The Toronto Star via Queer Liberal]

Heck, you’d think that this week’s coast to coast snow storms is evidence enough of the impacts of climate change - apparently not for Mr. Harper. The fact of the matter is that this government was elected in only to punish the Liberal party for the sponsorship scandal. They have no real objectives, no real plan, to move Canada forward in the 21st century. Once the people realize, maybe we can start being part of the solution once again.

• BC Grade 4ers are among the best readers in the world, but that doesn’t stop a good 10% of them from attempting suicide a few years down the line.
• The Tories have two seemingly opposing bills coming through the house. The first will regulate our cell phone market to ensure at least 40% of an upcoming spectrum sale will go to new bidders - that means no Telus, Rogers, or Bell. Meanwhile, a new copyright proposal in on it’s way, something Cory Doctorow calls, “the worst copyright law in the developed world.” (Yes, that means worse that the distratrous DCMA from the States)
• For those that liked the recently unveiled mascots, they can happily pick one up now at The Bay - for $25 minimum. But, if you’d rather wear Quatchi than hug him, you can always try and get a free Olympic pin at any Bell store this morning (just remember to clip out the coupon from The Province).

It seems like everyone has been throwing in their two cents on the mascots for our Olympic Games. Generally, either people hate them or like them, but I definitely think their reception has been far better than that of the Inukshuk logo.

Going into this, I imagined we would choose a few BC animals to represent different “things”: i.e. the Spirit Bear for the Earth, the Orca for the water, the Raven for the air. I knew, of course, that there would be a native spin to the animals, but I think doing so is quite suiting. The many aboriginal groups of BC have been here a long time, and I think their relationship with the animals is very unique and should be, and was properly, reflected in the mascots.

That said, I was surprised when I first saw them. The whole idea of a Sasquatch… it isn’t the first animal that pops into your mind when you think Vancouver, but I feel it’s actually very cool, beyond just the beer factor as has been mentioned to death. I mean, it’s a completely legendary animals after all! Besides, Quatchi pulls off the big huggable bear factor like Sully from Monsters Inc. I think as the most definable of the three, he will be liked by the most amount of people.

I didn’t know what Miga was to begin with. Just the colours and his (or her?) size in relation to Quatchi had me thinking it was a baby panda. I actually really enjoy how they merged two of the most requested animals, the orca and the spirit bear, into one. Even better though is it fits perfectly into aboriginal folklore, so there is some amount of basis for a transforming mascot.

Sumi is the weirdest for sure. It’s not clear what he is (a spirit it turns out), and the multiple features of his body (wings of a thunderbird, legs of a bear, etc.) are almost too minute of details to notice upon first look. Considering Sumi is the official mascot of the Paralympic Games, I think it would’ve been better if they had made this distinction a bit more clear, and I think the character would’ve been a bit more defined by this. I do like how he pulls of the whole Yoda thing though.

Overall, I’m very pleased with what they’ve produced. Some have been annoyed at the style of the characters calling them Pokemon. However, I think there seems to be a trend in making the mascots simply more and more cartoony and plain, which you can view for yourself in the slideshow below. Besides, there’s no distinct form of Canadian art anyways.

The mascots must possess two key features: be marketable and sellable to the public, especially children; and representative in some way of the host city, the Olympics games, or the Earth. Our mascots have succeed excellently in balancing both these aspects, and I think time will prove they are among the best Olympic mascots yet.

Here’s the Olympic mascots of past and present:

The death of Robert Dziekansi, and more recently Robert Knipstrom, possibly due to the use of Tasers, would obviously make any sane person question the use of the stunning weapon. And considering the following numbers, it seems like the public is being reasonable:

• 52% say Tasers are a good alternative to guns; police should keep using them while a safety study is done
• 46% say they want Tasers banned until a provincial public inquiry issues it’s report
• Confidence in the upper management of the RCMP remains steady at 59%
• Credibility of the RCMP’s regular forces has dropped 22 points from 83% in April to 61%

If I were the RCMP, an organization with quite a bumpy history and diminishing support from the public, the answer is quite simple: Put a simple temporary moratorium on Taser usage until the inquiries are completed. And yet, they continue to support it’s usage - apparently oblivious to what such a decision is doing to the RCMP’s reputation. I do not see why they can’t suspend the tool’s usage for a while… After all, it’s just one piece of the arsenal, and they’ll still have batons or pepper spray - tried, tested, and true police instruments.

That’s without even mentioning the UN’s recent announcement that Tasers are a form of torture and are against Universal Conventions.

Why are public official so stubborn? Why can’t they fess up to their mistakes and do the right thing for once? Heck, they might seem more human and actually have a better connection with the public in the long term.

Toronto Budget Chair Shelley Carroll issued the following statement today on behalf of the people of Toronto:

“This country is in the midst of unprecedented growth. The Canadian dollar is hitting record highs, unemployment is lower than it has ever been, and the federal government is enjoying a $14- billion surplus.

“Canadians need to ask themselves some very simple questions: why do cities continually need to raise taxes to meet basic service needs when Ottawa has an enormous surplus? Why did Toronto have to impose a land transfer tax and vehicle ownership tax when Ottawa has an enormous surplus? Why are bridges crumbling in Montreal when Ottawa has an enormous surplus?

“And why did the Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM) recently issue a report stating the infrastructure deficit in Canadian municipalities is $123 billion? Surely the FCM and all those municipalities across Canada can’t be wrong. Surely Ottawa is not second-guessing sound research and data collection from a respected body like the FCM.

“Cities and towns do not have access to revenues that grow when the economy grows - unlike Ottawa. The surplus Ottawa is enjoying is, indeed, financed by cities. And that is why Canadian municipalities are asking for the equivalent of one cent of the GST.

“The federal finance minister says cities are ‘whining.’ Is it ‘whining’ to demand that public funds be spent judiciously? Ottawa is clearly out of touch with the rest of Canada if that is the prevailing attitude.

“Mr. Flaherty has repeatedly talked about the Building Canada Fund. Yes, it’s a start, but certainly not a panacea. The program offers some help for public transit, but falls far short of what Canadian cities need to remain vibrant, liveable, and economically sound in the 21st century.

“Mr. Flaherty lectures that cities need to build reserves to fund deficits. Public transit and maintaining infrastructure requires enormous investments - in the billions of dollars. The property tax base cannot fund reserves of the magnitude needed today. Property taxes pay for services like police, fire, EMS, recreation, garbage collection, water - basic services Canadians depend on everyday.

“It’s also important to remember that Mr. Flaherty was part of the Mike Harris government that forced Ontario municipalities to start drawing from reserves to pay for the cost of downloading.

“The surplus Ottawa enjoys is the people’s money. It is not Stephen Harper’s or Jim Flaherty’s to play politics with. Canadians know that and it’s time the prime minister and finance minister recognized it, too.

“Toronto is the fifth largest city in North America. It’s vibrant and exciting, but is suffering because of inaction by Ottawa.

“In October the Toronto Government stepped up its aggressive program to reduce business taxes to ensure the Canadian economy continues to thrive. Ottawa’s Treasury will be a prime beneficiary. The time is now for Ottawa to set aside its ideological bent and do the right thing by representing all Canadians - urban and rural.

“This matter is too serious and has gone on for too long. Ottawa owes cities - the people - a great deal; it’s time it started start living up to its commitment to public service by serving the public and practicing good government.

“The legitimate needs of cities will not go away and Canada’s municipal leadership remains united in its campaign to protect communities.”

Toronto is Canada’s largest city and sixth largest government, and home to a diverse population of about 2.6 million people. It is the economic engine of Canada and one of the greenest and most creative cities in North America. In the past three years, Toronto has won more than 70 awards for quality, innovation and efficiency in delivering public services. Toronto’s government is dedicated to prosperity, opportunity and liveability for all its residents. [City of Toronto via Spacing]

The costs of downloading services to municipalities from higher ups is clearly almost at a limit. While I agree that all cities deserve more of the tax pie, which the Harper government is simply using to buy votes with tax cuts, is one cent of the GST really going to cut it?

Canada has many core imbalances, whether that is provincial funding transfers, municipal funding transfers, or heck, even a proportionally representative voting system. To me, makeshift band-aid solutions, where little policies here and there are changed, don’t *really* fix anything. I get the impression that major backburner issues like these need to be structurally rehauled before any major advancement of this country occurs (although with the Tories in government, they are more concerned with staying in power than improving this nation).

While I may have done some minimal research here and there, I’m not exactly sure how one would fix the municipal transfers problem. Just because of the way governmental powers are currently divvied (and maybe that needs to change to): the federal government gives money to provinces, which are then supposed to hand it out to cities. If the province isn’t doing so properly, then the cities don’t get their checks, and services are either not provided in the first place or reduced. Somewhere in here, the transfers have to be more direct. Of course, the best way would be to change the tax system, maybe by reducing the federal income tax, and introducing a municipal income tax, so some major funds flow directly to the lowest, and closest, form of government. It wouldn’t actually be raising taxes; just a different way of slicing up the pie, while also ensure the slice goes directly who’s actually hungry. And, as most should realize, the closer and more personal a government is, the more accountable and democratic it is.

So, I don’t know how exactly it should be solved, but good on the Federal Municipalities of Canada for pushing this issue time and time again, and especially for the main spokesperson of the 1 cent campaign, David Miller, the mayor of Toronto. I find it extremely dismaying that neither the mayor of Montreal, or even Vancouver’s own Sam Sullivan, have been tooting their horns, let alone the mayors of other major Canadian cities. Just imagine how much more powerful their voices would be in unison.

Check out this deleted scene from Michael Moore’s Sicko.   In the mid to late 90’s, Canada was #1 on the Human Development Index - aka. we were the best country in the world. Yes, we’re still doing pretty good, with a rating of 0.950 at #6. It’s only 0.025 points difference to Norway. In comparison:

• 3. Australia: 0.957
• 8. U.S.: 0.948
• 18. U.K.: 0.940
• 21. Germany: 0.932

As you can see just from the clip, Norway is obviously doing a number of things right. Heck, as most would agree, almost all of Western Europe as some of the best countries around. So, why don’t we learn from them and adopt some of their policies. As the country sways more conservative, isn’t it intriguing we continue to drop on the HDI? We seem to be going backwards. Doesn’t anyone else have a problem with this?

According to an earnest warning on Volumes 1 and 2, “Sesame Street: Old School” is adults-only: “These early ‘Sesame Street’ episodes are intended for grown-ups, and may not suit the needs of today’s preschool child.”

The show rolled, and the sweet trauma came flooding back. What they did to us was hard-core. Man, was that scene rough. The masonry on the dingy brownstone at 123 Sesame Street, where the closeted Ernie and Bert shared a dismal basement apartment, was deteriorating. Cookie Monster was on a fast track to diabetes. Oscar’s depression was untreated. Prozacky Elmo didn’t exist….

In East Harlem and Bedford-Stuyvesant in 1978, 95 percent of households with kids ages 2 to 5 watched “Sesame Street.” The figure was even higher in Washington. Nationwide, though, the number wasn’t much lower, and was largely determined by the whims of the PBS affiliates: 80 percent in houses with young children. The so-called inner city became anywhere that “Sesame Street” played, because the Children’s Television Workshop declared the inner city not a grim sociological reality but a full-color fantasy — an eccentric scene, framed by a box and far removed from real farmland and city streets alike. [The New York Times via Digg]

It’s quite sad looking back at what once was and the Sesame Street that is running today in the States, and in it’s modified version around the world. That show invented the concept of edutainment, and I’m quite sure has touched many people in the last couple decades. Of course, you want to portray the “correct” image to young children, and I understand why they’ve made many changes to the characters over the years.

However, I found one of the quotes above particularly interesting, about they they wanted to point out the good parts of the inner city of communities, considering it was designed for the “poor black kids”, and at the same time change perception of such areas to the “suburban white kids”. I suppose, to a degree, that situation has progressed in the States. Povery isn’t nearly as bad, not to mention the efforts for years in restoring the downtown’s of cities, bringing a new mix and vitality to these “inner city” areas.

It is annoying though, seeing the show change, perhaps for better or for worse, especially when it’s so tightly knit to so many people’s childhoods. The perfect example of screwing around too much with a show is what ended up happening to Sesame Street Canada. The CRTC wanted so much Canadian content, the producers ended up removing so much of what made Sesame Street: the Street and it’s wealth of characters - human or Muppet. Eventually, it became so far removed from the original that they completely overhauled the show, bringing in all new “Canadian” Muppets, and set is around a park: thus the name Sesame Place. Suffice to say, it didn’t last too long, and Canadian kids have been missing out on the Sesame gang for almost ten years now. Let’s just hope that American producers don’t make the same mistake with the original Sesame Street.

Yes, bask in the hyperbole. But really, how is it any different than naming the new emergency services at Surrey Memorial Hospital after Guru Nanak, the founder of Sikhism?

That’s great that the South Asian community of Surrey is raising money for this much needed expansion. So are many other people, inside and out of the city. Why should the South Asians be singled out, first off, and if they are going to be, why was a religious name chosen? Whatever happened to freedom of religion? Why is the government naming a hospital unit after a religious leader?

I’m not against it because it’s the Sikhism founder. I’m against it because it’s religion in, and on, a public facility. Not in my day and age, no sir. Canada is a secular country, and such a stupid act in naming this facility completely overrides that ethic.

I know it’s just a name. But it represents so much more.

Your thoughts?

First it was good ol’ Larry Campbell, former Mayor of Vancouver, and now a federal Senator:

“It’s all about money and it’s all about power and it’s all about territory,” Campbell, a former drug squad cop, told 24 hours in an interview. “So until we do something about the issue of drugs and drug addiction, we can expect to see this happen with certainty.”

“You could certainly cut the profit motive out of it by simply legalizing marijuana,” Campbell said. “But let’s be blunt. We’re not going to police our way out of this problem.” [24 Hours]

“The time is here that we should simply take this out of the criminal element and regulate it. The idea that marijuana is virtually any of the things that the drug warriors in the United States say is ludicrous.

“They’re much like the Conservative government — they don’t believe in scientific fact.

“The fact of the matter is that if we regulated it, we would probably find ourselves in much the same way as we are with tobacco right now.”

“Just take a look at Prohibition in the United States with alcohol. It’s as simple as that.

“It’s all ideology — if they’re wrong on this, then what else are they wrong on? They won’t even allow hemp. That’s how stupid these people are — and they are stupid. I describe [White House drug czar John] Walters as a moron, and he is truly a moron.

“I like to base things that I do on scientific fact. If a scientific fact said marijuana is a gateway, addictive drug that causes great harm to society, I’d be [in favour of] life sentences.

“But it’s not and we know that. There simply is no evidence to it.

“In the United States, they have more people in jail per capita than anywhere in the world, and the majority of them are in there on drug-related charges.

“Legalizing [marijuana] means you don’t have to come down hard on anyone, plus you get at the $8 billion that we’re losing [in taxes] in the economy of British Columbia.

“If you want to reduce the use of marijuana, you reduce it exactly the same way as we do with cigarettes — you raise the taxes and educate the people on any harms that there may be, and there are harms.

“In Europe, it’s not a crime, it’s a nuisance . . . why don’t we look at it like that? [The Vancouver Sun]

Surprisingly enough, the Sun articles even includes a little stub at the end listing the health benefits of pot!

But it’s not just Campbell, stating it like it is. SFU economist Stephen Easton is making the case for legalization, and has certainly convinved Ian Mulgrew, another writer at the Sun.

The rise of gangs in this province is due primarily to the immense profits to be had from B.C. bud. It is another reason the war on drugs should be abandoned as a failure.

Today, with a little knowledge, a small investment and a bit of nerve, anyone can get into the marijuana game. The more money we have poured into criminal law-enforcement, the more the pot business has flourished, and the more the violence that accompanies its black market has proliferated.

The profitability of pot ensures that even if we catch more and more people, there’s always a lineup of eager new recruits.

If the numbers Easton has generated in his research into the subterranean market are correct, pot rivals forestry as our most valuable agricultural product.

After more than a quarter century of the U.S.-led jihad against dope, it’s easier for our children to score a dime bag than a pack of smokes. That’s wrong. Pot is a multi-billion-dollar industry and organized crime is its biggest beneficiary.

Cannabis in my view is a primary reason we are plagued by gangs. Cocaine and other illegal drugs play a role, but pot generates much, much more money. It is indeed the low-hanging fruit plucked by everyone regardless of ethnic heritage. And there are many, many, many more marijuana consumers compared with users of other illicit substances, which tend to be niche markets.

The cash flow from pot pays for flashy cars, nightclub romps, retina-slamming wardrobes, guns, attitude… The number of people involved in the cannabis industry is regularly pegged at upwards of 150,000, making marijuana one of the province’s biggest employers.

Let’s stop giving the money to thugs. Legalization will not eliminate criminal gangs. They have their fingers in many pies — extortion, kidnapping, fraud, armed robbery… But legalization will staunch the most lucrative income stream fuelling organized crime and the gangsta lifestyle.

The end of the alcohol Prohibition sapped the strength of North American organized crime until after the Second World War. Legalizing marijuana would have a similar effect — and go a long way toward eliminating our present problems. [The Vancouver Sun]

Of course, with the Conservatives in government, we’re never going to get legalization, let alone de-criminalization. Heck, they are dragging their feet on the supervized injection site, despite all the support from health professionals, several local politicians, and even a good percentage of the public.

This message needs to keep being pushed out there: legalization will eliminate the profitable sale of marijuana from gangs. And with the kneejerking public we have, I suspect they’d do anything right now to stop the so-called “gang war”.

As I said, there’s no way legalization would ever occur right now. But, once the “gang war” is over, the information and publicity of the pros of legalization will remain in the public’s mind, and may perhaps sway the overall national opinion over time.