Supporting the Troops @ Capital Ex

Today was "Support the Troops" day at Capital Ex, and people were wearing red and/or ribbons to support our troops and the fallen soldiers. Aaron Lines was lead-in for Paul Brandt tonight at ED FEST, and this song seems perfect for the spirit of the day.

Enjoy.

Happy Canada Day!

Help Keep Iranian News Coming!

James Bow has posted a link to AVAAZ.ORG. They are asking for donations to help fund secure, anonymous communication channels to help Iranians get around the internet blackout imposed on them by the regime.

Here's a direct quote from the site:

"...a crackdown has killed scores and left hundreds arrested -- while the internet and media blackout and cyber-surveillance threatens to stop all Iranians communicating freely.

We can’t let that happen. Unless Iranians are able to share information freely over the coming weeks, their voices may be silenced for good. Let's help break the blackout -- people in Iran are asking us to re-open secure and anonymous communication channels for them, particularly anonymous web proxy services.

One small donation of €10 (US$15) can fund enough bandwidth for Iranians to send hundreds of secure emails. If 10,000 or more of us can donate, we can scale up these services massively -- with more servers, bandwidth and advanced technical support. The next two weeks will be crucial -- "

I've done my part and I hope you can, too!

Meanwhile, back in Iran

The website NYCforIran has a fascinating interview with a woman on the ground in Tehran.

Links like this are why blogger Nico Pitney gets to ask the POTUS a question. He's had the most comprehensive coverage of this ongoing story. Proof (to me, anyways) that partisan news aggregators/websites can provide excellent coverage, when they want to.

h/t HuffingtonPost

Environmental developments no one is talking about

I don't understand this. With all the concern (faux or otherwise) expressed about the environment, the cap&trade bill the Americans are debating and the lack of a coherent one here, why is this completely off the radar?

"..."We are taking the lead in the development of new technologies that capture carbon from coal and gas fired power generation, then store it deep underground. This project will help Saskatchewan to meet the federal government's target to reduce GHG emissions by 20 per cent below 2006 levels by 2020."..."

From an article published by a Montana newspaper, the Sidney Herald, in May, 2009 about the need to offset the costs of carbon sequestration by providing a value (eg. the sale of captured CO₂):

"Because carbon capturing is currently so expensive, value added sequestration is not very common. “The cost of carbon capturing is close to the cast of capture,” Harju says. If the practice is not economically viable, the practice will not be used. “Right now, the cost of capture is greater than EOR,” Harju says.

Adding value to carbon sequestration, such as combining with EOR, will make it more appealing for companies. The more value added to sequestration the more it will be implemented..."

Maybe no one is talking about it yet because ... it might disprove the notions held by many that:

• the current Canadian government has no viable plan on the table;
• if they DO have one, nobody in private industry is paying any attention;
• the current bill being debated by US legislators [(which I haven't read and am only going on discussions on various talk shows (TV, not radio)] will (OMG)KILL JOBS and (OMG)SEND THEM OVERSEAS (because of course, if SaskPower & it's private partners are successful in their implementation, the jobs created across both countries to duplicate their efforts will be...pretty hard to put a number on them, but significant. And since those jobs would involve upgrading existing coal-fired plants that are IN Canada and the US and emitting like crazy as we speak I think it's safe to assume that those jobs--employing engineers and construction workers and admin assistants and accountants--will actually remain HERE, not (OMG)OVERSEAS)

Or maybe we'd all rather just focus on partisan BS? or the latest 911 tape of a celebrity (really, an infomercial guy is a celebrity?) death?

A day in the life of an Iranian

This is an awesome post, found at niacINsight. It's a first-person account from an Iranian woman in Tehran on Saturday.

"...We are very determined but scared. That is how I can describe most of the people who came out to attend the demonstration today. After the Supreme Leader’s fierce speech at the Friday prayers, we knew that today we would be different. We feel so vulnerable, more than ever, but at the same time are aware of our power. No matter how strong it is collectively, it will do little to protect us today. We could only take our bones and flesh to the streets and expose them to batons and bullets. Two different feelings fight inside me without mixing with one another. To live or to just be alive, that’s the question..."

My thoughts & prayers are with them, as well as a deep admiration for their courage. We b*tch and complain about our government without any worries about someone storming our home in the middle of the night, to beat us or worse.

We can't be bothered to vote, and they are prepared to die in order to have their vote counted. There is just no comparison, is there?

UPDATE: Huge WTF moment re Embassy in Iran

UPDATE: According to CTV (about halfway through the text), the Canadian Embassy in Tehran is located right around where the demonstrations are taking place and was closed on Saturday.

"...There were allegations on the web Saturday that the Canadian embassy was denying entry to injured people seeking sanctuary, but the Department of Foreign Affairs said those allegations were false.

"The Embassy was closed Saturday and there were no Canadians at the Embassy when the protests began. Reports that we were providing shelter to Iranian demonstrators are false," foreign affairs and international trade spokesperson Simone MacAndrew said in a statement to CTV.ca.

"Canada's Embassy is located in the centre of recent demonstrations. Due to the tense security in Tehran this week, the Embassy has been closing early so that staff can return home safely before the public and democratic demonstrations begin." ..."

So, I guess the debate is which is more important - the personal safety of Embassy employees or providing aid to injured (which if you read the whole article, isn't typically something an embassy would offer, but doesn't seem to be unheard of, either).

While I'd like to see our embassy providing assistance, if asked, now that I know where it's located, I can appreciate the need to provide a safe environment for the staff, too.

*****
I've been following the demonstrations, etc in Iran this past week, grabbing news where I can, and stumbled across THIS posted by Andrew Sullivan at The Atlantic. He's liveblogging (done for the day) and 'tweets' are in green.

"2.31 pm. Canadians, call your foreign office. It's confirmed Canadian Embassy rejects injured protesters"

WTF is up with that? I went out to the embassy's site, and note that they aren't currently accepting applications for visas (no kidding), but no notice that it is closed/closing. Can anyone think of a good reason we would turn away injured protesters, especially since it's also being reported that the police are taking the names of the injured from hospitals? I also read somewhere, on someone's blog, that it's expected that the gov't will be raiding one or more hospitals tonight, looking for the injured (presumably not to ensure they're getting good care).

It looks like most European embassies are helping the injured, as are the Australians, so why the hell aren't we?

Honestly. If this is true, it really pisses me off. Time to start an email campaign.

If you don't know your MP's email address, find it here.

The Minister of Foreign Affairs email address: CannoL@parl.gc.ca
PMSH's address: pm@pm.gc.ca
The Tehran embassy: teran@international.gc.ca *

*Note that the 'incorrect' spelling of Tehran is the correct email address.

This looks ...

Well. I'm hard-pressed to find a good word for the end of the title. "Bad" is a bit of an understatement.

h/t to National Newswatch and posted at the Contrarian are two posts about patronage and spending of stimulus funds, the second being a follow-up that just really...stinks, if proven to be true. Even if the second post turns out to be bogus or an exaggeration, the numbers in the first post don't look very good, do they? And it's hard to prove a negative, as in "no, that wasn't why project X wasn't approved" unless project X was for a bridge to nowhere or something.

I guess when Baird was busy pushing the Accountability Act through parliament so quickly, he forgot to read it? Or maybe he's got early onset of dementia or Altzheimer's?

Regardless, someone's got some 'splaining to do. I'm almost sorry that the House will be closing for the summer. Almost.

Related article in the Ottawa Citizen (about the DM at Infrastructure & Transport, not patronage funding issues) is here.

Miracle on the Hudson (or not, as the case may be)

I just watched a clip regarding a second passenger (in this case, a family) stating that $5,000 per person from the insurer for injuries, losses etc. wasn't an appropriate settlement.

The first one, I wrote off as in "gimme a break, jerk, you LIVED, what more do you want?"

This story is of a woman who was traveling with her husband and two children, who watched her husband trying to 'float' their younger child (who couldn't swim, forget the age, but 2 or 3) and asked the insurer (AIG) for additional support regarding psychological services for herself and her daughter (who also watched, I think, but may have been the non-swimmer. I'm confused and can only handle so much Keith Olbermann before I collapse so refuse to rewatch the clip for confirmation re: swimmer or watcher).

My initial reaction was similar to the first story, as in "suck it up, sunshine" but I have to admit, the parental piece made me think.

I know, for a fact, that when my dog was attacked in the park 2 or 3 years ago, it was weeks before I could close my eyes without seeing the (attacking) dog clamping its jaws around her neck.

So how long would it take for me to NOT see my child semi-drowning, in the arms of her father, wondering whether the tugs, ferries, etc. would get there in time to save us all? And what would it take to make that go away? Time? Therapy? A combination thereof (most likely)?

Personally, I'm not a fan of huge insurance settlementss. A broken arm, a broken leg, yes, I can see a set dollar amount. Then I look at what happened to my niece and say f*ck that, which leads me to think that maybe $5k per survivor of a plane crash that you HAPPENED to survive is chump change. The flip side is I don't agree that all should get rich over the deal, either.

So ... thoughts? I'm thinking that 5k is chump change and may cover most people's losses (physical, as in luggage, laptops and sports equipment) but doesn't cover the "soft" costs such as any psychological support. I haven't paid much attention to this since the initial news hit, but I do remember that at the time of "exclusive reports" a few weeks after the crash, none of the crew had flown and I'm betting the union made sure their income was covered.

Wouldn't 20 or 25k, which would have covered not only physical losses but any necessary follow up, have been a more appropriate number?