Gaia: Zed is us, eh?

happy canada day!

http://singerseeker.gaia.com — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 19:31:28 GMT

CANADA DAY 2009: Celebrating who we are

Wed. Jul 1 - 4:46 AM

WHEN you’ve been around 142 years, you’ve seen a few highs and lows.
That’s worth remembering today, as our remarkable country marks another birthday in the midst of a deep, global economic slowdown.
Canadians have weathered tough storms in the past — two world wars and the Great Depression, for example — and no doubt we’ll do so again.
If history has shown us anything, it’s that we Canucks are a proud, resilient bunch who have always found a way to persevere...
Here’s to Canada, eh!

here for whole article

Re: Rabies, come by where you least expect it!

http://singerseeker.gaia.com — Fri, 01 May 2009 15:31:21 GMT

hello hello!

if you have a license to kill an animal of such a disease, make sure your in a positive frame of mind, and not have an argument with your husband or friend the day before, eh:-)

LOL! This has got to be the most original and entertaining introductory post ever in this group! Eh? :):)

Yes, ma'am, I'll be sure to keep this all in mind before I go a-huntin'!

Hugs,

Nicole

Rabies, come by where you least expect it!

http://mumsthoughts.gaia.com — Fri, 01 May 2009 02:17:46 GMT

Hi ho Canucks a like, eh.

I come from an in between of East and West winds, and the south wind, well, it only blows the rivers down hill eh, and the North wind sheds a circumference when the northern territory comes alive with a plateful of goodies for all to see and hear about......am I a Canuck or what, eh!

Any way, I got off track and wanted to mention about the wild life that roams around in the country sides that have rabies. There may be a skunk, fox, or raccoon....hell, even a bat has this disease that can sneak it's way into your tiny slash of a window screen....so I was told.

Us country folks eh, have a license to own a shot gun, and isn't it the poops platter when going through such a license of owning one. They have police forces that knock on your door and ask you questions like, "Are you and your husband on good terms"? Do you have any friends that you do not get along with; How do you feel about your member of parliament?"..... stupid stuff like this, eh.
And here go the police last summer, shooting any raccoon around that they saw in the area because there was a break out of rabies that year.....boy, did they have some hoot'n fun or what!

My point is, that living in the country feels a lot of pressures blowing in the wind, and that there are many beauties of nature that roam around, so be careful where you tread, and if you have a license to kill an animal of such a disease, make sure your in a positive frame of mind, and not have an argument with your husband or friend the day before, eh:-)

"V" and Love be with with you,
and never shoot off what you can't put a trigger on!

Save the CBC

http://singerseeker.gaia.com — Thu, 02 Apr 2009 18:06:41 GMT

In just 6 days, almost 100,000 of us have come together and signed the petition to Save the CBC and Radio Canada from deeply damaging budget cuts - one of the largest online petitions in Canadian history!

Tomorrow, MPs from each opposition party have agreed to jointly receive our petition and deliver it in Parliament to the government. While they do, planes will fly over Parliament Hill trailing giant banners that deliver our message and the number of signatures on the petition. We're already getting media calls, and on Saturday we'll be distributing thousands of Save the CBC buttons at the high profile Genie Awards.

Our message is getting out, but it's only as powerful as the number of people that sign it -- click below to sign if you haven't and let's forward this email to as many friends as possible - let's blow past our 100,000 goal by tomorrow!

http://www.avaaz.org/en/save_the_cbc/

The CBC is vital for Canadian art, culture and identity. These cuts have been forced on it for no good reason - the CBC has asked the government for sensible bridge financing - borrowing against their funding next year to spread the cuts out and make sure vital assets aren't damaged this year. The government has refused because, as we know from numerous past statements from Prime Minister Harper, they have an ideological agenda of opposition to a public broadcaster. They'd like to see the CBC privatized and sold off. With the CBC already forced to get half of its revenue from advertizing (compelling it to carry expensive American TV shows) that process is well underway. Even while the CBC survives in name, it's public character and mission are under attack.

With enough of a public outcry, we can reverse the government's decision. But even if we don't, a powerful statement is being made, to this government and future ones, that Canadians want the CBC and Radio Canada to survive as public service broadcasters. If enough of us act together now, they'll think twice the next time they look to undermine the CBC, and together we'll form a voice that can empower our national broadcasters to fully return to their precious public service mission.

Re: Stephen Harper Bans Earth Day

http://singerseeker.gaia.com — Thu, 02 Apr 2009 12:41:35 GMT

Clever wasn't it? I had the same reaction, so couldn't resist posting and spreading the confusion.

:) Good to see you Gem,

Nicole

Re: Stephen Harper Bans Earth Day

Wed, 01 Apr 2009 20:28:53 GMT

:) - Had me going there for a few seconds - then I remembered the date.... LOL!!!

Stephen Harper Bans Earth Day

http://singerseeker.gaia.com — Wed, 01 Apr 2009 17:09:30 GMT

http://rabble.ca/news/stephen-harper-announces-cancellation-earth-day

George Galloway banned from Canada but speaks anyway

http://singerseeker.gaia.com — Wed, 01 Apr 2009 17:08:56 GMT

http://rabble.ca/audio/by/title/this_speech_is_free_george_galloway_on_gaza

Re: Potentials for a Parliamentary Coalition

http://singerseeker.gaia.com — Wed, 10 Dec 2008 14:37:50 GMT

I hear you, Gem.

And though I hadn't been able to follow the news, a quick Google search was enough to find within seconds the quote I'm pretty sure you had in mind :) Yes. Indeed.

Sigh,

Nicole

Re: Potentials for a Parliamentary Coalition

Wed, 10 Dec 2008 07:11:45 GMT

Hi Nicole:

Well, I knew you were pretty much out of commission so I didn't really expect you to comment before you were back home. I was hoping someone else had at least considered the comments - not necessarily to agree with me, either - but perhaps to express that recent happenings haven't struck everyone dumb.

As to Bob Rae backing down and giving the nod to Ignatief - I might actually have considered supporting the Liberals in the next election if Rae had been the leader. Not likely now. Rae would have been less likely (more than less actually) to become a pawn for the USA if the Liberals claimed power. Ignatief lived there for I think it was 25 years, and only recently came back to Canada, and almost immediately began sniffing around parliament like a dog in heat. I'm thinking that he's more of the plan than we know right now, that I squawked about in my blogs here on Gaia and elsewhere early in 2008 and going back as far as that "Three Amigo" party in Quebec in August 2007. Can anyone say "American plant"? Most people fail to realize that what we see as the outworkings in our political systems are stuff that is put in motion years before it finally has a face in public.

So no, I'm not at all happy with Rae's decision. Personally, I don't think he belongs in the Liberal party anyways, but Jack Layton and Elizabeth Chow pretty well have a lock on the NDP leadership for the next forseeable future, and Rae really doesn't like to be second toad on the stool, but he also knows that he's more likely to have influence in the Liberal party by staying put, at least for now. I think eventually he will find his true feelings and cross the floor to the NDP corner.

With Ignatief at the helm, the coalition idea is pretty well dead. But I don't think he'll roll over and play dead for Harper either, so I'm going to make the prediction that we're probably going to be heading to the voting booth before the middle of March '09. I think that was one of the considerations of why Rae stepped back now, because with Ignatief solidly in place, it's almost a sure thing that the party will vote in unison to oust Harper. The NDP certainly won't support anything Harper throws up there, if it doesn't throw huge support to the public sector and unions, and they certainly don't want him to stay in power to try later to cut funding to political parties. Pretty much the same for the Bloc. So, while the coalition may be a corpse defacto, it's aura will still be hanging around for a while.

While I am glad to see that Quebec will get some stability from a pro Canadian majority party for the next few years, I have to give my head a shake when I look at who is leading that party. It wasn't too many years ago that Jean Charette was a Conservative, vying for the leadership of that party, and was woo'd over to the leadership of the Liberal party to help preserve unity between the rest of Canada and Quebec. So I'm really wondering if there is any real difference between the Liberal and Conservatives in this country. Politics certainly makes for strange bed-fellows, n'est pas? Thinking of a remark made recently by a now infamous hockey player, which would probably get me thrown out of Gaia were I to actually put it in print. ;)

Other than the weather being crap in Quebec for the election - a risk I guess Charette felt was worth taking when he called the election - I think generally ALL Canadians are tired of being asked to take time to go to the polls, mark their X's, and then basically end up for the next few years wondering why the hell they bothered. We just don't have leadership here that inspires, and until we do, provincially and federally, we're probably going to see more of, not less, voter apathy happening clear across Canada. Could we find a leader like Obama - who inspired a much larger than usual voter turn-out in the US? Probably not - because even though we vote Liberal and Conservative back and forth pretty much on a par, we are still a much more "conservative" country at heart. Those small "c" conservatives cling to tradition like a life-raft. So I think, unfortunately, we are doomed to mediocrity for quite a while yet.

I will addendum this with the comment that Canadians should not expect to see much of any kind of financial relief or support from our Federal government (or trickle down from the provinces) until late May or June, and possibly as late as next September. Our parliamentary system is extremely cumbersome where it comes to handing out money, although for some reason it has swift and arduous money collection (taxes) systems in place. Just something to knaw on while you wait...... and wait....... and wait for January 26th to arrive.

Gem :)

Re: Potentials for a Parliamentary Coalition

http://singerseeker.gaia.com — Wed, 10 Dec 2008 01:25:00 GMT

Sorry, Gem, I was away with little access to Gaia or Canadian news.

What do you think of Rae bowing out, and supporting Ignatieff as Liberal leader?

They're saying he is lukewarm about the coalition.

By the way I was one of those who "shunned" the election yesterday - Almost half of Quebec voters shunned polls

Actually, I was away during all the advance polls and arrived home just after the polls closed.

I am glad to see that the low turnout worries them! They should be worried.

Cheers,

Nicole

Re: Potentials for a Parliamentary Coalition

Thu, 04 Dec 2008 22:58:51 GMT

Just a bit more ranting here......

Know what burns my a$$? - that a Governor General, not even a natural born Canadian, who was off spending our taxpayer dollars galavanting around the globe would cut the trip short (but most of it would already have been paid for - therefore more waste) to come back and hold Harpers' snotty hand (but Ma, they're so mean to me!!!) and grant him his Prorogue so he can fiddle around for the next month and a half, waste more time and tax-payer dollars, and not have anything of a REAL stimulus package to show for the delay come late January.

I do hope that the people of Quebec NEVER vote for another Conservative - Harper's speech Wednesday night made Quebecers all sound like subversives. I'm not siding with or against anyone in Quebec here - just making the point that if a Prime Minister can be so insensitive (and moveover two-faced) to a bunch of people he was courting votes from less than a month ago, then he and his party have demonstrated why he is not fit to run this country, and should never think they'll be forgiven for saying what he said last night, and hope to get those peoples votes.

As for Dion, well, he proved quite adequately that he's a lame duck leader last night, too. I'll tell you, there are not too many really good choices left for Canadians when hoping to find someone that actually has the brains and know-how (and can walk and chew gum at the same time, maybe) to be a decent leader. From a long, back-and-forth email discussion I had with a die-hard Liberal the other night, apparently the main worry of the Liberals who were opposed to the coalition was that Jack Layton might lead it. Well, God Forbid that would happen!!! (That's sarcasm in case you're not familiar with my political leanings). About the only other person in that coalition who actually has his sh*t together is Gilles Duceppe, apparently, with the terms he had set out for his parties participation in it.

So - any takers on bets for what's going to happen because of this delay, and because no one could get their act together well enough to prevent this fiaso? I just get the feeling that the silence here is probably quite reflective of the majority of Canadians - but is it a silence from being "stunned into silence" by what has transpired this week, or is it a "silence of apathy"? Maybe a lot of both, I'm thinking.

Potentials for a Parliamentary Coalition

Tue, 02 Dec 2008 03:24:06 GMT

Well, 67% of Canadians voted against the Conservatives in the just-passed election, and if things go as they appear to be heading, we may actually get a true democratic government in Canada yet! My thinking is that this is the way a truly democratic nation would win.

The Conservatives changed the way Ridings were made up when in power earlier, so that things were skewed enough that traditionally Liberal or NDP voting areas were torn apart and regrouped with more Conservative thinking areas, to lessen the chances of them gaining seats. And while they may have garnered a greater number of seats this time around (partially due to this Riding manipulation), that the majority of Canadians voted against them should count for something.

So I truly hope that if (when) this proposed coalition is put in place, that they pass a law that requires some sort of coalition to be formed in any given parliament to create a large enough "working" body of people (who are truly committed to working toward getting something done for those who voted them in, not just to line their own pockets or pay off their buddies) that we actually do have government, and not some pseudo kindergarten where the children scrap over the "toys".

I think Harper (particularly) is the most two-faced piece of bad-acting we've ever had in government. Even his own caucus is "somewhat" annoyed with him for putting that political funding measure on the table with everything else. Especially since everything else didn't include any kind of stimulus to the Canadian economy.

So his about-face in the last two weeks before the election (when he earlier claimed we didn't have anything to worry about here in Canada regards "recession") was only an act - because he and Flaherty - golden boy of the Ontario Harris government that sold Ontario down the river - are still unwilling to acknowledge that we have a crisis situation NOW - and it's not going to wait until late January for them to try to stimulate it back to life. By that time, the corpse will be cold! Forget about life support!!!

My only concern and deep wish is that if Stephan Dion is leading this rat-pack, that it is only in name. Let Bob Rae, or Jack Layton, or even (God forbid!) Ignatief lead. Make this work, because if it doesn't, we will be sucking the hind teet of the USA (and probably the world) for years to come. I don't want that for my kids and my grand-kids, and I still need to put bread on my table and maybe a few loaves in the freezer for later down the road.

~~^v^~~

Re: A Canadian Down Under

http://soundspeaceful.gaia.com — Tue, 28 Oct 2008 22:51:52 GMT

Thank you so much, Nicole.

Love and light,
John

Re: A Canadian Down Under

http://singerseeker.gaia.com — Sun, 26 Oct 2008 17:23:59 GMT

How wonderful, John. Welcome, welcome, and all the best with the publication of your book, eh? :)

Love,

Nicole

A Canadian Down Under

http://soundspeaceful.gaia.com — Sun, 26 Oct 2008 17:08:30 GMT

Hi fellow Canucks,

My name is John and I live with my family in New Zealand's lightly populated and beautiful subtropical Far North. Hence, I am also a Kiwi. Figure that one out!

I was born in Niagara Falls, Ontario. I've lived in The Netherlands (twice), Saudi Arabia, Australia, New Mexico and Arizona, together with my first 25 years in Ontario, Canada. I met my beautiful Dutch wife, Lucia, in India during an 11 month period in the Himalayas. I write and sing songs of peace and I'm about to publish my first book, In Search of Simplicity.

I do a popular weekly one hour radio interview programme that is simultaneously carried on cable television. I teach nutrition and help coordinate a complementary therapies course at our local community college.

We live by the beach in a magnificent place called Coopers Beach; so swimming and playing in the sea happens in the warmest seasons. We have a large organic vegetable garden that provides a significant portion of our mostly raw vegetarian diet.

We are regular attendees of our local Ceili dances which are great community bonding events and we homeschool (unschool) our teenager daughters. Amira, our eldest at 18, has been the editor for my book.

I was back in Ontario for a visit recently with our fifteen-year-old, Asha. We had a great time. Even went camping with my sister and nephew. That experience took me back to my wonderful childhood. Canada is still a beautiful and comfortable place for me to be. I left 25 years ago because I had, at the time, finished my Canadian schooling experience of my Earthly sojourn.

I'd always wanted to see the world. Still do. I love this planet.

Blessings and light to you all, eh. By the way, my accent hasn't changed but I no longer say 'eh'!

John

Re: Article criticising Palin removed by cbc

http://singerseeker.gaia.com — Tue, 07 Oct 2008 13:49:03 GMT

You certainly said it all, Liz! :):)

Well, the picture over there is becoming painfully clear, isn't it? Not only the bailout went through but a 612 billion dollar military bill slipped through without a peep or murmur from anyone. Living this close (in the lap of it, with leaders like Harper!) to the nation-turned-train-wreck is getting to be a more and more difficult situation...

cheers,

Nicole

Re: Upcoming Canadian Election

http://singerseeker.gaia.com — Tue, 07 Oct 2008 13:43:28 GMT

Well, here is the email so you can know :)

Dear friends,

Harper is within striking distance of a majority. Click below to listen to a great new campaign song from top Canadian artists and sign the pledge to stop him:

Sign The Pledge!

With the election in 10 days, Stephen Harper is within striking distance of a majority government. Canada is just steps away from four years of unchallenged rule from one of the worst leaders on the planet on climate change.

Canadians are rallying in response. Our campaign to come together across party lines and vote strategically to defeat the conservative candidate where we live is taking off like wild fire. In just a few days we donated over $100,000 to run campaign ads in key ridings, and now an impressive group of top Canadian artists have come together to record an inspiring song for Avaaz calling on all Canadians to join the campaign. Click below to listen and get a free download of this awesome song from diverse artists like K-OS, Sarah Harmer, Ed from Barenaked Ladies and Jason Collette from Broken Social Scene.

Click below to listen to the song, and answer its call to action by signing our pledge to vote smart to defeat the conservatives. The election is close, if we can get just 150,000 pledges to vote smart in close races, we could make the difference. Act now, and forward this email to everyone!

http://www.avaaz.ca/en/stop_harper_pledge?cl=133434236&v=2245

At the debates this week, Harper, with a straight face, touted his "hard targets plan” to cut emissions which he claimed is “admired by leaders around the world”. Unbelievable! In fact, Harper has been voted the worst leader on climate change in the world by international experts at the UN Summit in Bali. Elizabeth May called his climate plan what it is, “a fraud". The plan has limited measures to cut emissions per barrel of oil, but since Harper’s planning to hugely increase oil and tar sands production, total emissions could still increase! Harper’s neoconservative oilman buddies like George Bush like his plan, but no credible expert, scientist, or environmental group supports it.

What kind of leader deceives his people in such a significant way to avoid action, and wreck the world's efforts to act, on the most crucial issue of our time? A leader with great spin doctors who, like George Bush, isn't there for the people, he's there for the oil companies.

We can't let Harper win 4 years of complete control over our country. The Canada we love is in danger, let's come together quickly -- as NDPers, Liberals, Greens, conscientious Conservatives, Bloc supporters and people with no political stripe -- and do everything we can over the next 10 days to save it.

http://www.avaaz.ca/en/stop_harper_pledge?cl=133434236&v=2245

With hope and determination,
Ricken and the Avaaz Canada Team

Re: Upcoming Canadian Election

Tue, 07 Oct 2008 03:04:12 GMT

I unsubscribed from Avaaz long ago..... every day there was a request to send money to someone somewhere in trouble. Depressing - and I just got really tired of it.

So what was their deal that they didn't want us to vote Conservative? (not that I would anyways ;) )?

:)
Gem

Re: Upcoming Canadian Election

http://singerseeker.gaia.com — Tue, 07 Oct 2008 02:49:52 GMT

Hilarious eh Gem? Did you get the letter from Avaaz begging us not to vote Conservative?

Cheers,

Nicole