Age appropriate gaming! It is a big deal when you have three young boys, a couple of video game consoles and portable gaming systems. My oldest is eight. He talks about Freddie and Jason like they are the coolest characters in the known galaxy. Someone in his grade three class has seen a few horror movies and the rest of the kids think that is cool. Aidan has not!
We struggled with age appropriate movies when Star Wars restarted. Do we let him watch them or not, slowly but surely we gave way. I would like to think that I will make the decisions on what he will and will not play or view for at least a few more years, but I know that is not the case. The issue is loaded on all sides. Than there is the off chance that something benign that you let your child see or do is off limits to another.
Is it the violence or the swearing that parents fear the most? A study at games.uber says parents fear sex over violence in games!
In the meantime we have a bible adventure game. It seems the kids like getting the animals in the ark before the world is flooded, fighting the lions as Daniel, and beating the hell out of Egypt.
Saturday, April 19, 2008
DECIDOPHOBIA
"Somewhere along the line of development we discover what we really are, and then we make our real decision for which we are responsible. Make that decision primarily for yourself because you can never really live anyone else's life."-- Eleanor Roosevelt
I had a really good friend one time who had a collection of self-help books and lots of good advice for anyone who would sit down and talk to him. Faith Popcorn was nearly a god to him. The problem was he read the books and repeated the lines but never really practiced what he learned or at least never molded the experiences of others to fit his own unique personal and professional circumstances. He stumbled for years trying to find his place in the world, feed his family and keep his marriage together. I think he stopped looking between the covers of books for the answers and found his own motivation, deep down in that dark abyss that only you alone can travel. The enlightenment that released him from his self-imposed malaise came when he took responsibility for his own life.
I found this website with a bunch of good articles on decision making, leadership and success. I hope some of the articles here of are of interest to you.
A LOOK INSIDE THE PHENOMENON
Barack Obama's crossover potential has been the foundation of the phenomenon that has become the foundation of his campaign. New voters, young voters and that elusive cross -over Republican voter. Can he hold them in the Presidential campaign?
Ari Berman explores the make-up of Pennsylvania's Obama supporters in an article on the Nation's website.
Ari Berman explores the make-up of Pennsylvania's Obama supporters in an article on the Nation's website.
ICELAND'S DEEP FREEZE
This year, though, the country’s currency, the króna, has fallen twenty-two per cent against the euro; the economy has stagnated; and a global rating agency has put the nation’s three major banks on a credit watch. Now analysts are wondering whether the new Nordic Tiger will end up, instead, as “the Bear Stearns of the North Atlantic.” - James Surowiecki
With all this focus on Iceland this week with the Prime Minister's visit and a new MOU between the province and the Nordic nation, one could be excused for not mentioning the economic crisis which is rocking the small island nation.
James Surowiecki of the The New Yorker published a timely article in this week's edition that looks at the financial tsunami that has wreaked havoc on Iceland, by drying up foreign capital and investment.
I would like to thank Nancy for reminding me about this article. It provides some very valuable lessons for this province. We have already learned that a sub-prime mortgage crash in the United States helps to drive up the cost of fuel, goods and services here. The proposed new oil refinery has passed environmental assessments but foreign investors are skittish about investing. If the money markets have dried up where do we propose to find investors for the lower Churchill.
When we look at Iceland for examples of innovation and emulation we should say there but for the grace of OIL go we!
HEY STUPID REMEMBER ME
They are starting to come out of the wood work. We called them carpenters or boat builders when I was growing up. Those black oval shaped hard shelled insects. They seem to be attached to ever piece of cardboard, carpet and wood outside. I think they are called saprovores.
Which reminds me of a bit of an update on the St. John's City Council Election. Another former city councilor is crawling out of the woodwork. Unlike Marie White who just took a break, a bitter Paul Sears was defeated and reacted quite nastily. Not at all graceful in his defeat, he told the voters they were stupid for throwing him out. That should be his campaign slogan, "Hey Stupid, remember me, I am back".
Sears is a man with options. He has a strong sense of destiny, an ego , is very opinionated and has a sharp tongue. Sounds like the return of Andy, well not exactly. Andy knew his stuff, Sears is a bluff and a blow hard who likes to dish it out and than gets all sooky and sues people who challenge him. He is trying to decide which race is better for him, Ward Four or Deputy Mayor? I am surprised he ruled out a run for mayor so quickly. VOCM is reporting that Sears is doing some polling to test the waters before making an announcement.
I hope he runs for deputy mayor. That way all the vacancies will be contested and I can vote against him, AGAIN!
Which reminds me of a bit of an update on the St. John's City Council Election. Another former city councilor is crawling out of the woodwork. Unlike Marie White who just took a break, a bitter Paul Sears was defeated and reacted quite nastily. Not at all graceful in his defeat, he told the voters they were stupid for throwing him out. That should be his campaign slogan, "Hey Stupid, remember me, I am back".
Sears is a man with options. He has a strong sense of destiny, an ego , is very opinionated and has a sharp tongue. Sounds like the return of Andy, well not exactly. Andy knew his stuff, Sears is a bluff and a blow hard who likes to dish it out and than gets all sooky and sues people who challenge him. He is trying to decide which race is better for him, Ward Four or Deputy Mayor? I am surprised he ruled out a run for mayor so quickly. VOCM is reporting that Sears is doing some polling to test the waters before making an announcement.
I hope he runs for deputy mayor. That way all the vacancies will be contested and I can vote against him, AGAIN!
BE CAREFUL WHAT YOU WISH FOR
Earlier, I posted about Greg Locke's column in tomorrow's Halifax Chronicle Herald about North Atlantic island economies and Newfoundland and Labrador. It seems that the folks down at The Telegram have a few thoughts on the matter as well.
For the rest go to the Telegrams web page.
Small places, big problems
It's not easy being small and independent, because sometimes the world beats up on you, and the results are a little painful.
In recent years, provincial politicians have spent a fair amount of time talking about the North Atlantic's successful small countries: the oil giant of Norway, the high-tech and construction boom of the European-Union-fuelled Ireland, and the low-power, ocean giant of Iceland, population 307,000. The argument has always been a simple one: look what these little nations have done, and dream about the possibilities.
And they are inspiring stories - little countries that have seized faltering economies by the horns, and have built small powerhouses that know their specialties and invest in them. But there are dangers in highgrading, even when you're highgrading the economies you might admire.
Take Ireland: the darling of the EU for its economic growth, Ireland is facing a budget deficit this year for the first time in years, and Tuesday, the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) warned that the country has to hold the line on wages as the Irish economy is losing its ability to compete, and export performance is flagging. The OECD also said the weak Irish housing market, the global credit crisis and the value of the euro are hurting Ireland more than other EU countries. "Ireland is particularly sensitive to these factors due to the direction of its trade flows and the very important role played by foreign investment by U.S. firms," the OECD said.
For the rest go to the Telegrams web page.
THREE RESIGNATIONS IN LEAD UP TO JUNE 3RD VOTE
City Council is short another two members this morning. Andy Wells' resignation as mayor set in place a domino effect which resulted in Ron Ellsworth and Dennis O'Keefe vying for new jobs around the council chambers. O'Keefe wants to be Mayor and Ellsworth wants to be deputy-mayor.
Unlike Ellsworth, O'Keefe is facing some competition for the job. Former deputy mayor Marie White is making a return bid to municipal politics and she wants to be the one wearing the chain of office.
Ellsworth's old role as Ward Four Councilor has been vacated and will be filled in the June 3rd municipal by-election. At least two people will be contesting that seat. Bernard Davis and Debbie Hanlon have launched their campaigns.
Former Mayor Shannie Duff will act as mayor until a new individual is elected.
Nominations close on May 06th.
Unlike Ellsworth, O'Keefe is facing some competition for the job. Former deputy mayor Marie White is making a return bid to municipal politics and she wants to be the one wearing the chain of office.
Ellsworth's old role as Ward Four Councilor has been vacated and will be filled in the June 3rd municipal by-election. At least two people will be contesting that seat. Bernard Davis and Debbie Hanlon have launched their campaigns.
Former Mayor Shannie Duff will act as mayor until a new individual is elected.
Nominations close on May 06th.
UN-LOCKING THE MYTHS
The Prime Minister of Iceland gave the John Kenneth Galbraith lecture in public policy this past week at Memorial University. Geir Haarde laid out the "Iceland Model" and its many successes. Iceland has once again become the template for success. It lost its attraction for many as Ireland's Celtic Tiger became the beacon of hopeful emulation in the 1990's. In recent years, the focus has changed back to Iceland.Newfoundland and Labrador Nationalists like to look at Ireland and Iceland for what could have been ,or more inappropriately what might be. Greg Locke has a few insightful comments on Iceland and this province on his blog and teases up his weekly column in tomorrow's Halifax Chronicle Herald.
LET THE GOOD TIMES ROLL
Yesterday I posted a link to what is probably the most expensive and lavish estate on the real estate market today. As well I posted a link to a story on on Bloomberg.com entitled "Newfoundland gets off Canada's Dole as Williams Takes on Exxon." Following these links you might think the rock is rolling. Car dealers cannot keep cars on the lots, The housing market is red hot and Danny William's has single handedly turned the province from a have not province to an emerging have province.
I was little disappointed that I did not get more reaction to these two posts because there is a lot of room for discussion on who gets credit for the "economic miracle", who benefits from it, and Williams' role.
St. John's and much of the North East Avalon is pretty much booming. The oil economy has done some incredible things. Oil revenues have poured a lot of money into the provincial treasury. The current premier's hard nosed approach with the Martin government over changes to the Atlantic Accord resulted in additional tens of millions coming to the province. If Williams had accepted the original federal proposal we would have said yes to half of what he squeezed out of the feds. He deserves credit for that.
He cannot take credit for the price of oil, nor for the current projects that are pumping that oil out of the sea floor. He cannot take credit for the royalties and employment coming out of the Voisey Bay mine or the revenue we receive from jobs and services from the refinery at Come-by-Chance. Sure, the political rhetoric is we could have gotten a better deal. If we had stuck to Tobin's line which sounded good at the time we would still be sitting on a bunch of rock in the Labrador wilderness with a lot of potential. The huge expansion at IOC is not due to any public involvement, to the contrary, the government jacked up the power rates! Again we can thank the world demand for another commodity, steel.
Five years later and we have no Lower Churchill Deal (it is always around the corner), not a single new oil project has gone on-line (we are partners in the expansion of White Rose and the new super royalties when they come online deserve to be credited), the Hebron negotiations have not closed with Exxon, we have seen dozens of fish plants, a paper mill, a cement factory, call centers and other industries close their doors. The tunnel to Labrador was a bust before it even began. Our ferry systems are a mess and our health care is in crisis.
The Alberta oil boom has been a more significant factor for the people of this province because it has a more direct impact. Thousands of Newfoundlanders and Labradorians make the commute back and forth every few weeks. The money from Alberta pays the power bills, buys the groceries and all life's necessities and keeps many rural communities alive.
Let's not forget in 2004 the economic outlook was poor. The price of oil turned that around. It has insulated our province from the realities of loss of manufacturing, forestry and fishing jobs.
The government, to its credit, has acted very liberally. Many of the most marginalized among us have benefited from a government that has a solid social conscience. Money for education, new programs, infusions for dialysis in different regions, new drug coverage, home fuel rebates, minimum wage increases, tuition freezes, student loan rebates, job training , $155 Million in personal income tax cuts and many more positive initiatives have been made possible by oil revenue and sensible decision making.
The positives of the oil economy have also created great hardships for those that are on fixed low incomes. The cost of fuel, staples like groceries and energy have sky rocketed. Many elderly people and others living on the margins will tell you they were better off before the oil started coming ashore. I think they easily forget the positive initiatives, but more could be done to assist those that are left behind.
On the whole I have to admit I like the Danny Williams Government. It is no more Conservative than I am communist. Can Williams walk on water, hardly. He needs to start closing more deals and ensuring our potential as a people with our abundance of resources can be utilized to build an economy that is not solely based on one industry. We have been a victim of the staple economy for much too long.
The huge infrastructure debt in terms of roads, schools, hospitals and court houses took years of neglect to create. Some argue past governments made the wrong choices and wasted our resources. I think for the most part, choices had to be made and Peter robbed Paul. Do we lay off nurses or cut-back on road maintenance? Well?
That is why the cruel broken promise of the Harper Conservatives is such a raw sore for me and others. Our chance to reap the benefits of being a have-not-province may allow us to pay all of the bills on our own but it does not give us a chance to catch up on generations of neglect.
That $11 Billion dollars would have made some difference to rebuilding infrastructure. It would have allowed us to pay down more debt and pay better public sector salaries to keep talent and professionals here. No one wants a hand out, just the step up we deserve.
Oil is one-time money; surely as each of have only a finite time on earth, our oil will run out. How we manage the good times will determine how we will fare when we do not have an oil economy to fall back on.
Danny Williams is no prophet. He is a politician. He has an ego. He is partisan. He is just one man. He happens to be a politician that a lot of people respect and that a lot of people have great faith in. He has earned that faith and respect but there is a lot of work to be done and deals to close.
$4.5 Million dollar homes and David & Goliath nationalism make great headlines, but they do not reflect the dire reality faced by the majority of this province.
I was little disappointed that I did not get more reaction to these two posts because there is a lot of room for discussion on who gets credit for the "economic miracle", who benefits from it, and Williams' role.
St. John's and much of the North East Avalon is pretty much booming. The oil economy has done some incredible things. Oil revenues have poured a lot of money into the provincial treasury. The current premier's hard nosed approach with the Martin government over changes to the Atlantic Accord resulted in additional tens of millions coming to the province. If Williams had accepted the original federal proposal we would have said yes to half of what he squeezed out of the feds. He deserves credit for that.
He cannot take credit for the price of oil, nor for the current projects that are pumping that oil out of the sea floor. He cannot take credit for the royalties and employment coming out of the Voisey Bay mine or the revenue we receive from jobs and services from the refinery at Come-by-Chance. Sure, the political rhetoric is we could have gotten a better deal. If we had stuck to Tobin's line which sounded good at the time we would still be sitting on a bunch of rock in the Labrador wilderness with a lot of potential. The huge expansion at IOC is not due to any public involvement, to the contrary, the government jacked up the power rates! Again we can thank the world demand for another commodity, steel.
Five years later and we have no Lower Churchill Deal (it is always around the corner), not a single new oil project has gone on-line (we are partners in the expansion of White Rose and the new super royalties when they come online deserve to be credited), the Hebron negotiations have not closed with Exxon, we have seen dozens of fish plants, a paper mill, a cement factory, call centers and other industries close their doors. The tunnel to Labrador was a bust before it even began. Our ferry systems are a mess and our health care is in crisis.
The Alberta oil boom has been a more significant factor for the people of this province because it has a more direct impact. Thousands of Newfoundlanders and Labradorians make the commute back and forth every few weeks. The money from Alberta pays the power bills, buys the groceries and all life's necessities and keeps many rural communities alive.
Let's not forget in 2004 the economic outlook was poor. The price of oil turned that around. It has insulated our province from the realities of loss of manufacturing, forestry and fishing jobs.
The government, to its credit, has acted very liberally. Many of the most marginalized among us have benefited from a government that has a solid social conscience. Money for education, new programs, infusions for dialysis in different regions, new drug coverage, home fuel rebates, minimum wage increases, tuition freezes, student loan rebates, job training , $155 Million in personal income tax cuts and many more positive initiatives have been made possible by oil revenue and sensible decision making.
The positives of the oil economy have also created great hardships for those that are on fixed low incomes. The cost of fuel, staples like groceries and energy have sky rocketed. Many elderly people and others living on the margins will tell you they were better off before the oil started coming ashore. I think they easily forget the positive initiatives, but more could be done to assist those that are left behind.
On the whole I have to admit I like the Danny Williams Government. It is no more Conservative than I am communist. Can Williams walk on water, hardly. He needs to start closing more deals and ensuring our potential as a people with our abundance of resources can be utilized to build an economy that is not solely based on one industry. We have been a victim of the staple economy for much too long.
The huge infrastructure debt in terms of roads, schools, hospitals and court houses took years of neglect to create. Some argue past governments made the wrong choices and wasted our resources. I think for the most part, choices had to be made and Peter robbed Paul. Do we lay off nurses or cut-back on road maintenance? Well?
That is why the cruel broken promise of the Harper Conservatives is such a raw sore for me and others. Our chance to reap the benefits of being a have-not-province may allow us to pay all of the bills on our own but it does not give us a chance to catch up on generations of neglect.
That $11 Billion dollars would have made some difference to rebuilding infrastructure. It would have allowed us to pay down more debt and pay better public sector salaries to keep talent and professionals here. No one wants a hand out, just the step up we deserve.
Oil is one-time money; surely as each of have only a finite time on earth, our oil will run out. How we manage the good times will determine how we will fare when we do not have an oil economy to fall back on.
Danny Williams is no prophet. He is a politician. He has an ego. He is partisan. He is just one man. He happens to be a politician that a lot of people respect and that a lot of people have great faith in. He has earned that faith and respect but there is a lot of work to be done and deals to close.
$4.5 Million dollar homes and David & Goliath nationalism make great headlines, but they do not reflect the dire reality faced by the majority of this province.
Friday, April 18, 2008
WORLD PHOTOGRAPHY AWARDS
You have heard of the Oscars, the Genies and of course the Spiel des Jahres for German board game of the year, but what about Palais des Festivals! The Sony World Photography Awards give tribute to photographers around the globe in all categories. From landscape to music, photojournalism to fashion, the Sony World Photography Awards showcases the world’s best images taken by the most renowned photographers as well as
the yet 
undiscovered.
LOSERS LITTER!
Nancy forwarded this link to blogto.com from March 2007 in response to my Wednesday post about the Tim Horton's cups and litter.
This time of year is marked by the beginning of the thaw, the return of the geese, and if you're a fan of Tim Hortons - a chance to win free donuts and coffee (and if you're really lucky some even more bling prizes).Last year there was the whole winning-cup-in-the-garbage-3-way-battle for an SUV story that made national headlines. But every year there's a story that doesn't gain the same amount of media attention, but usually comes up - the litter story.
Unfortunately there seems to be a lot of sore losers out there that will gladly make the effort to roll back the rim on the cup, but not make the effort to put litter in its place. Does this contest make litterers out of losers, or do people just litter a lot all the time?
I'm of the mind that there is more coffee cup litter at this time of year, and if I had the time, I'd conduct a local litter study (I counted 14 discarded cups on my trip from work to home yesterday but have no hard stats, obviously).
Here are some numbers I was able to dig up:
- Over 270,000,000 cups are printed for this promotion.
- In 2005, a study found that Tim Hortons cups made up over 20% of Nova Scotia's litter.
- A 2006 online petition asking Tim's for a change in the contest cups only got 512 of the desired 10,000 signatures
Despite going to great lengths to deliver the "don't litter" message to its customers and get involved in community clean up projects, Tim Hortons' cups still end up all over the city streets. Take a walk and scan the ground, checking out planters, the TTC tracks, stairwells, bus shelters, etc. Clearly, their efforts are futile.
What more can Tim's do?
$%$% IDIOT!
A 37 year old St. John's man was picked up by police twice for drunk driving early this morning! Twice, can you believe it?
Apparently the RNC apprehended the man at 1:30 am. He blew the breathalyser and was charged. The boys in blue gave him a lift to his residence.
A few hours later he was observed driving again. He was arrested again and brought to Fort Townsend where he once again provided some samples and once again failed. This time he was escorted to Water Street to the lock-up
What an idiot. I hope they suspend his license for life!
Apparently the RNC apprehended the man at 1:30 am. He blew the breathalyser and was charged. The boys in blue gave him a lift to his residence.
A few hours later he was observed driving again. He was arrested again and brought to Fort Townsend where he once again provided some samples and once again failed. This time he was escorted to Water Street to the lock-up
What an idiot. I hope they suspend his license for life!
CITIGROUP CUTS 9,000 MORE JOBS
More bad news for the American economy. Citigroup posted a devastating quarter with $5 billion in losses due to troubles in its fixed-income business, consumer credit defaults and sub-prime related exposures.
The company announced that it will axe 9,000 jobs across the firm during the coming year. That's on top of the 4,200 cuts announced during the previous quarter.
At the same time, Friday's results paled in comparison to the $9.83 billion quarterly loss the company suffered three months ago - the worst ever recorded in the 196-year-history of the firm and its predecessors.
Dragging down Citi's results was the company's markets and banking division, which recorded a $4.48 billion loss due to substantial write downs.
The company announced that it will axe 9,000 jobs across the firm during the coming year. That's on top of the 4,200 cuts announced during the previous quarter.
At the same time, Friday's results paled in comparison to the $9.83 billion quarterly loss the company suffered three months ago - the worst ever recorded in the 196-year-history of the firm and its predecessors.
Dragging down Citi's results was the company's markets and banking division, which recorded a $4.48 billion loss due to substantial write downs.
BELL SAYS IT WAS FORCED TO TARGET BANDWITH HOGS
Yesterday I posted about Bell Canada shaping internet traffic. Apparently Bell has responded to the complaint filed by the Canadian Association of Internet Providers to the CRTC.
Bell said it began shaping its own traffic in November in an effort to curb abuse of the network by a small minority of users who were using peer-to-peer applications to share large files, including movies, which was slowing down speeds for all users. They said its shaping was actually helping overall network performance in that peer-to-peer traffic has dropped by about 50 per cent.
In the United States the Federal Communication Commission has threatened to regulate ISP's if they continued to choke bandwidth to users.
Again, I say, Bell and Rogers, upgrade your infrastructure. Bell is acknowledging it failed to anticipate the growth of the Internet, and is now penalizing innovative users who are turning to the Web to swap TV shows and movies. At the very least honor the packages that you sell. Internet users sign a contract, deliver what you promise. If not the CRTC should move in and make them.
Bell said it began shaping its own traffic in November in an effort to curb abuse of the network by a small minority of users who were using peer-to-peer applications to share large files, including movies, which was slowing down speeds for all users. They said its shaping was actually helping overall network performance in that peer-to-peer traffic has dropped by about 50 per cent.
In the United States the Federal Communication Commission has threatened to regulate ISP's if they continued to choke bandwidth to users.
Again, I say, Bell and Rogers, upgrade your infrastructure. Bell is acknowledging it failed to anticipate the growth of the Internet, and is now penalizing innovative users who are turning to the Web to swap TV shows and movies. At the very least honor the packages that you sell. Internet users sign a contract, deliver what you promise. If not the CRTC should move in and make them.
TOWARDS A HEALTHIER CHURCH
In an unprecedented move, Pope Benedict XVI met with victims of clerical abuse at the Vatican's embassy in Washington DC.
Critics have often pointed to the Church's handling of sexual abuse issues as proof that the Vatican has been out of touch with the realities of the crisis, or in denial. Five victims from the Boston area spoke to the pope.
He has said that efforts to address the crisis have to unfold on three levels: the legal and juridical, the pastoral, and programs of prevention to ensure that future priests are “sound.” Pointedly, the pope said that “it’s more important to have good priests than to have many,” and pledged the church to pursue healing and reconciliation with those “so seriously wronged.”
Observers often point out that as prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, then-Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger was responsible for overseeing the church’s internal judicial process resulting from accusations of sexual abuse against a minor. In that role, the future pope read virtually all of the case files, arguably gaining a more detailed “on paper” understanding of the crisis than most American bishops.
Anything the Pope or the Church does towards healing and prevention of this scandal will not be seen as sufficient by the some segments of the survivor community, the pain goes too deep, the wounds too great. Some will never trust the Church again. Still, I have to give Pope Benedict credit for this, we will probably never know what resistance he might have faced from the Curia over his words and actions on this.
Critics have often pointed to the Church's handling of sexual abuse issues as proof that the Vatican has been out of touch with the realities of the crisis, or in denial. Five victims from the Boston area spoke to the pope.
He has said that efforts to address the crisis have to unfold on three levels: the legal and juridical, the pastoral, and programs of prevention to ensure that future priests are “sound.” Pointedly, the pope said that “it’s more important to have good priests than to have many,” and pledged the church to pursue healing and reconciliation with those “so seriously wronged.”
Observers often point out that as prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, then-Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger was responsible for overseeing the church’s internal judicial process resulting from accusations of sexual abuse against a minor. In that role, the future pope read virtually all of the case files, arguably gaining a more detailed “on paper” understanding of the crisis than most American bishops.
Anything the Pope or the Church does towards healing and prevention of this scandal will not be seen as sufficient by the some segments of the survivor community, the pain goes too deep, the wounds too great. Some will never trust the Church again. Still, I have to give Pope Benedict credit for this, we will probably never know what resistance he might have faced from the Curia over his words and actions on this.
A LITTLE HOUSE BY THE SEA
After my post today of the article on Bloomsberg about this prosperous period in our Province's history I did a little real estate check.
Here is a sample of the market in the North East Avalon:
Located on 4.2 acres, this luxury estate boasts over 16000 square footage including 5 bedrooms, 7 baths, state of the art kitchen, theatre, sauna, library & 3000 square footage guest house over garage. One of a kind luxury home or corporate retreat.
Yours for only $,4,600,000.
Start saving those pennies!
CLOTHES LINES - A LITTLE CLOSER TO HOME
This is what a clothesline is not.
It is not a structure.
It is not an assemblage.
It is not something to be looked down upon except from the top of a hill.
This is what a clothesline is.
It is the longest distance between two trees.
It is poles that lean like ships masts in a gale.
It is a spider-web of wire that catches the dew.
This is what a clothesline is.
It is the fabric of your life.
It is where housework and hard work and patchwork create artwork.
It is where fashion queen meets sweatshirt girl.
It is colours and whites and fine thread-count and rough darning.
This is what a clothesline is.
It is clothes that wave like delighted school children.
It is the smell of the sun - a smell to bury your nose into and to lie between at night.
It is the sheer soul-filling pleasure of the wind and the sun.
Here, a clothesline is more than just a clothesline. Maybe it is because our fabric softener is just fresh air.
Check out link to the Fresh Air in Newfoundland and Labrador
SOLAR DRYERS MAKE GREAT SENSE
I just read a story on the Toronto Star web page today about the clothesline debate in Ontario. Apparently, the Provincial Government is exercising its right to trump municipal regulations to ensure that clotheslines can no longer be banned in subdivisions or almost anywhere else in the province.As soon as I saw this story I thought of my sister-in-law Tracy out in St. Bernard's. She could give Martha Stewart a run for her money. She loves to wash clothes and she loves to watch them in the wind in her backyard. I think she gets a major burst of pride with every load. As well they have to be out there before anyone else gets up. I do not think there has ever been a day when I been home and the weather was the slightest bit decent that there has not been a line full of clothing drying in the middle of the harbor on the line. Imagine the pandemonium if the little community of St. Bernard's passed a law banning clothing lines. Well there would be war!
Imagine entire municipalities and suburbs where people have only been able to get that fresh outdoorsy smell in their fresh sheets from a sheet bounce. Amazing! The new regulation will overrule neighbourhood covenants – part of the mortgage agreement between many developers and homebuyers – that outlaw clotheslines
The announcement will come as Toronto Hydro launches a giveaway of 75,000 clotheslines through four retail chains. The new regulation comes under the province's Energy Conservation Leadership Act, which empowers the government to remove barriers to conservation, including covenants and municipal bylaws.
There may be similar laws here as well. I really do not know. Community convenants built into mortgages and zoning laws make it possible. Dick McCormack, a former Vermont State Senator introduced a Right To Dry Bill in 1999.
A few Google searches and I found a really decent advocacy page for the right to dry laundry on clothing lines. It is a really good example of using the internet to inform and compel people into action. I think the page alone leads the way to a post on advocacy and the internet.
THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO BLOOMBERG
``You see the SUVs and you see the number of vehicles, the lovely homes being built, and people with everything that they seem to want,'' said Alex Dawe, 58, sales manager of a Chrysler LLC dealership in Harbour Grace, 100 kilometers (60 miles) northwest of St. John's.
Bloomberg is the source for business and financial professionals. The New York-based company employs more than 10,000 people in over 126 offices around the world. Bloomberg is about information: accessing it, reporting it, analyzing it and distributing it, faster and more accurately than any other organization.
Yesterday an Ottawa based Bloomberg employee published a story at Bloomberg.com about the Newfoundland and Labrador oil boom. The story suggests that the province's new found wealth is the result of rising oil prices and the tough negotiation tactics of Premier Danny Williams.
I would really like to hear people's comments on this story. Really, are we living in the land of milk and honey?
Thursday, April 17, 2008
EXPLAIN THE TAPE
The Conservatives continue to play the victim as the RCMP and Elections Canada keep searching the Conservative offices for documents related to one of several investigations that are ongoing involving Harper's party.
Here is the tape of an interview between Prime Minister Harper and Chuck Cadman's biographer, Tom Zytaruk, on September 9th, 2005.
Perhaps Steve's buddies have a conspiracy theory to explain this! Let's see - it is not Steve! Steve was distracted! Steve was kidnapped by aliens!
How about The Conservatives cannot be trusted.
Here is the tape of an interview between Prime Minister Harper and Chuck Cadman's biographer, Tom Zytaruk, on September 9th, 2005.
Perhaps Steve's buddies have a conspiracy theory to explain this! Let's see - it is not Steve! Steve was distracted! Steve was kidnapped by aliens!
How about The Conservatives cannot be trusted.
EYE OPENER
We had an interesting speaker at our Health Sciences Lion's Club tonight. She was an elementary teacher who has had diabetes for 33 years, since she was just 11. Up until she got an insulin pump last year she was taking four needles a day.
I had heard horror stories about blindness and kidney problems but the day to day issues with moods, blood tests, needles, eating on time were a big eye opener. At one time diabetes would have been a deal breaker for shift work. It made travel and sleep overs difficult.
She spoke of the challenges and the need for organization, preparation, planning, exercise and good eating habits. The transition from needles to a pump has provided freedoms that most people take for granted. She can sleep in on Saturday morning, eat when others eat and be provided with new freedoms that most people take for granted.
However the costs of equipment, supplies and food to maintain a proper diet are much more than many people can afford. Imagine, many people do not carry out regular sugar checks because they cannot afford new strips! Government would save untold millions in lost productivity and health service delivery through long term investments by implementing better education programs and providing the financial assistance that allows people to live healthy long lives.
ANOTHER CHAPTER IN THE SAD SAGA OF ED BYRNE
The former leader of the Progressive Conservative Party in Newfoundland and a former cabinet minister has been charged with impaired driving.
Ed Byrne resigned from the House of Assembly in 2006 after he was forced to resign his cabinet job when Auditor General John Noseworthy started releasing details on questionable spending habits at the House of Assembly. Byrne is facing criminal charges of fraud, uttering false documents and breach of trust.
Byrne's guilt or innocence aside, he has not been convicted of anything, it has been a tough road for him. Byrne sat in the legislature for more than 13 years. He served as PC leader for three years and as a cabinet minister two years. There is no excuse for drinking and getting behind the wheel of a vehicle. I have posted harshly on this topic in the past.
I get no joy out of watching anyone fall from grace.
Ed Byrne resigned from the House of Assembly in 2006 after he was forced to resign his cabinet job when Auditor General John Noseworthy started releasing details on questionable spending habits at the House of Assembly. Byrne is facing criminal charges of fraud, uttering false documents and breach of trust.
Byrne's guilt or innocence aside, he has not been convicted of anything, it has been a tough road for him. Byrne sat in the legislature for more than 13 years. He served as PC leader for three years and as a cabinet minister two years. There is no excuse for drinking and getting behind the wheel of a vehicle. I have posted harshly on this topic in the past.
I get no joy out of watching anyone fall from grace.
THE SUPREME COURT OF CANADA
Newfoundland and Labrador's Minister of Justice says it is time that Newfoundland and Labrador have a judge in the Supreme Court of Canada. There has never been one! Justice Michel Bastarache will retire this summer and Jerome Kennedy has decided to lead the mob on the issue.Just a few weeks ago, former Clyde Wells staffer, Ed Hollett, started a facebook page dedicated to promoting the Chief Justice of the appellate division of the Supreme Court of Newfoundland and Labrador.
The Supreme Court of Canada is Canada's highest court. It is the final court of appeal, and the last resort for all litigants, whether individuals or governments. We have never been represented there. Apparently, no one from PEI has ever sat on the SCC either.
In 2006 Prime Minister Stephen Harper announced a new process for filling vacancies on the Supreme Court of Canada. At the centre of the process is a publicly televised appearance by the nominee before the Ad Hoc Committee to Review a Nominee for the Supreme Court of Canada.
MORNING-AFTER-PILL MORE ACCESSIBLE
Plan B, the only morning after pill availabele in Canada is about to get even more accesable. The National Drug Scheduling Advisory Committee is advising that the produce be available on pharmacy shelves. Currently a person who is falling back on Plan 'B" has to consult with a pharmacist first.
The recommendation must be approved by the National Association of Pharmacy Regulatory Authorities, then the provincial pharmacy board and government before it is implemented in this province.
The morning after pill is a combination of high does female hormones (estrogen and progestin). It is an emergency back-up measure for a woman who has had unprotected intercourse or who was using a contraceptive method that failed (i.e. a broken condom). It should not be used as a regular birth control method because the dosage of the hormones is quite high and can disrupt the menstrual cycle.
The morning after pill does not provide any protection against STDs.
Making the morning-after-pill available without a doctor's prescription puts women and girls at higher risk for disease and sexual health problems. Physical and clinical examination by a physician are essential to good healthcare: to counsel patients and determine sexually-transmitted diseases, abusive relationships and related health issues.
I can only see a lot of abuse in this situation. An abortion will now be as easy as drinking a coke, eating M&M's or downing some red tic-tacs. British Columbian women have been using emergency contraception about twice as often since the morning-after pill was made available without a doctor's prescription. Nearly 18,000 women a year took the pills. That is 18,000 fertilized eggs!
The recommendation must be approved by the National Association of Pharmacy Regulatory Authorities, then the provincial pharmacy board and government before it is implemented in this province.
The morning after pill is a combination of high does female hormones (estrogen and progestin). It is an emergency back-up measure for a woman who has had unprotected intercourse or who was using a contraceptive method that failed (i.e. a broken condom). It should not be used as a regular birth control method because the dosage of the hormones is quite high and can disrupt the menstrual cycle.
The morning after pill does not provide any protection against STDs.
Making the morning-after-pill available without a doctor's prescription puts women and girls at higher risk for disease and sexual health problems. Physical and clinical examination by a physician are essential to good healthcare: to counsel patients and determine sexually-transmitted diseases, abusive relationships and related health issues.
I can only see a lot of abuse in this situation. An abortion will now be as easy as drinking a coke, eating M&M's or downing some red tic-tacs. British Columbian women have been using emergency contraception about twice as often since the morning-after pill was made available without a doctor's prescription. Nearly 18,000 women a year took the pills. That is 18,000 fertilized eggs!
THE CHALLANGE
My last post dealt with the issue that I am certain that the mainstream media will understandably focus on, the clergy sexual abuse scandals!
It would be a shame if the rest of the pope's message to the the bishops of the United States was overlooked. It was a message that I am sure all Christians can take inspiration from and consider.
The New York Times has the full text of Pope Benedict XVI's address, as well as his answers to the three questions the bishops posed to him.
The pope issued a challenge to all people, and especially to Catholics, to embrace a vibrant, living faith that embraces all areas of life. This is a message I think we all need to hear, again and again, for as long as we live. Here are a few highlights:
......
It would be a shame if the rest of the pope's message to the the bishops of the United States was overlooked. It was a message that I am sure all Christians can take inspiration from and consider.
The New York Times has the full text of Pope Benedict XVI's address, as well as his answers to the three questions the bishops posed to him.
The pope issued a challenge to all people, and especially to Catholics, to embrace a vibrant, living faith that embraces all areas of life. This is a message I think we all need to hear, again and again, for as long as we live. Here are a few highlights:
"It is in this fertile soil, nourished from so many different sources, that all of you, Brother Bishops, are called to sow the seeds of the Gospel today. This leads me to ask how, in the twenty-first century, a bishop can best fulfill the call to 'make all things new in Christ, our hope'? How can he lead his people to 'an encounter with the living God', the source of that life-transforming hope of which the Gospel speaks (cf. Spe Salvi, 4)? Perhaps he needs to begin by clearing away some of the barriers to such an encounter. While it is true that this country is marked by a genuinely religious spirit, the subtle influence of secularism can nevertheless color the way people allow their faith to influence their behavior. Is it consistent to profess our beliefs in church on Sunday, and then during the week to promote business practices or medical procedures contrary to those beliefs? Is it consistent for practicing Catholics to ignore or exploit the poor and the marginalized, to promote sexual behavior contrary to Catholic moral teaching, or to adopt positions that contradict the right to life of every human being from conception to natural death? Any tendency to treat religion as a private matter must be resisted. Only when their faith permeates every aspect of their lives do Christians become truly open to the transforming power of the Gospel.
......
"On a deeper level, secularism challenges the Church to reaffirm and to pursue more actively her mission in and to the world. As the Council made clear, the lay faithful have a particular responsibility in this regard. What is needed, I am convinced, is a greater sense of the intrinsic relationship between the Gospel and the natural law on the one hand, and, on the other, the pursuit of authentic human good, as embodied in civil law and in personal moral decisions. In a society that rightly values personal liberty, the Church needs to promote at every level of her teaching — in catechesis, preaching, seminary and university instruction — an apologetics aimed at affirming the truth of Christian revelation, the harmony of faith and reason, and a sound understanding of freedom, seen in positive terms as a liberation both from the limitations of sin and for an authentic and fulfilling life. In a word, the Gospel has to be preached and taught as an integral way of life, offering an attractive and true answer, intellectually and practically, to real human problems. The 'dictatorship of relativism', in the end, is nothing less than a threat to genuine human freedom, which only matures in generosity and fidelity to the truth."
A DEEP SHAME
the sexual abuse of children by priests has caused a "deep shame" and called it "gravely immoral behavior." - Pope Benedict XVI
Anyone who has been following my blog knows that I am a conflicted, but enduring Roman Catholic. I've chosen to put my faith not only in science and reason, but ultimately in Jesus Christ as He has revealed Himself through His Church on earth.
Last night Pope Benedict XVI addressed abuse of children and the sex abuse scandal that has rocked the faith of millions of Catholics in Canada, the United States and Ireland. He admitted that it has been a very difficult situation which has been handled badly (as if there was a really good way to deal with it). He spoke to the pain and hurt and the need for compassion and care for the victims. Reconciliation is a painful process which will not occur overnight.
I'm glad that the pope addressed this scandal which has rocked the Church, but I think I'll leave it to others to discuss and debate the significance of what he said about it. I will simply pray that "this evil" (the pope's words) of clergy sexual abuse will be definitively eradicated, and that the victims may find healing.
Check out this link to hear and watch Benedict address the issue at a prayer service with U.S. bishops at Washington's Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception, the largest Roman Catholic church in North America.
