margonaut.com
(formerly practicalhippie.com)
ARCHIVE
June 2004
Wednesday, June 30, 2004some good news on media ownershipThough the majority of media outlets in the US are owned by just a handful of companies, this ruling is a step in the right direction... Big blow to big media http://www.commondreams.org/views04/0625-05.htm More than a year after the Federal Communications Commission narrowly endorsed a radical rewrite of media ownership laws in a manner that would have strengthened the hand of media conglomerates, a US appeals court has determined that the FCC went too far. In one of the most significant setbacks for the Bush Administration's campaign to rewrite regulations to favor big business, the US Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit in Philadelphia rejected the rationale the FCC used to ease media ownership limits and ordered the commission to revisit the issue with an eye toward protecting, rather than undermining, the public interest in diverse ownership or local and national media. posted @ 11:27 AM PDT Tuesday, June 29, 2004Happy PrideSunday I went to Toronto's Gay Pride parade, which isn't just for gays. Over a million (!) people came out to watch the parade this year as it's fun and entertaining. There was some nudity and almost nudity, but there were also religious groups, politicians, and families in the parade as well. Afterwards, I danced in the streets to old-school trance with my friends for hours. Most of us aren't gay, but we love Pride anyway. There's something beautiful about freedom of expression, freedom to love, and mass celebration. I also love the amazing costumes!  90 more pictures here! posted @ 10:30 AM PDT Sunday, June 27, 2004the "New Freedom Initiative"The less "normal" I become, the more sane & in touch with reality I feel (reality as it is around me, not the TV version!) Is it really crazy to feel dissatisfied with a boring, sedentary job or for a creative, energetic child to be dissatisfied with school? Barring head injuries & actual chemical imbalances, in my opinion mental illness is usually a symptom, not a disease. However, some in the modern medical establishment advocate pill-based cures over prevention or finding the root causes of disease. They're very profitable, after all. Here's a scary and underreported story all Americans should know about: Bush plans to screen whole US population for mental illness http://bmj.bmjjournals.com/cgi/content/full/328/7454/1458?eaf A sweeping mental health initiative will be unveiled by President George W Bush in July. The plan promises to integrate mentally ill patients fully into the community by providing "services in the community, rather than institutions," according to a March 2004 progress report entitled New Freedom Initiative (www.whitehouse.gov/infocus/newfreedom/toc-2004.html). While some praise the plan's goals, others say it protects the profits of drug companies at the expense of the public. posted @ 08:37 AM PDT Thursday, June 24, 2004celebrating the solstice and the futureLast weekend I went to one of the most important events on my social calendar, the Om Festival. Om is a festival of electronic music, community, culture, and personal expression situated on a farm in rural Ontario. It has been held every Summer Solstice for the past seven years. I've been to five of them, and liked this year's the best (so far!) It's hard to explain the appeal and magic of Om to someone who hasn't been there. Imagine a place filled with natural beauty, friendly people who accept you as you are, soul-stirring art, nourishing food, transcendental information, and delicious music that gives you the energy to dance for hours on end. It's pretty close to my version of heaven on Earth!  Over 200 more pictures here! posted @ 08:51 PM PDT Wednesday, June 23, 2004the latest in crowd control technologyHow scary is this device? Sweeping stun guns to target crowds http://www.newscientist.com/news/news.jsp?id=ns99996014 Weapons that can incapacitate crowds of people by sweeping a lightning-like beam of electricity across them are being readied for sale to military and police forces in the US and Europe. posted @ 12:32 PM PDT Thursday, June 17, 2004the 51st state?There is a federal election coming up in Canada at the end of this month, and the choices aren't very good. Both the so-called conservative & liberal candidates advocate deep integration, which is another term for being more compliant with whatever the United States wants for economic reasons. Here's an excellent piece by Naomi Klein about why Canada needs to maintain its independence: Canada Should Keep its Distance from U.S. Foreign Policy http://www.commondreams.org/views04/0616-03.htm Before I went to Iraq, a seasoned war correspondent who had spent a year reporting from Baghdad gave me his best piece of security advice. "Stay away from Americans, they're bad for your health." He wasn't being anti-American (he's an American citizen and supported the war); he was just being practical. In Iraq, that advice means you don't want to ride in the U.S. convoys or embed with U.S. troops. You keep your distance and stay independent. At this perilous moment in history, the same principle applies at home: Canadian security depends on our ability to maintain meaningful sovereignty from the United States. Being inside the U.S. security fortress isn't a missile shield, it's a missile magnet. posted @ 12:27 PM PDT Wednesday, June 16, 2004first step in the dreamlife planI have to have my house ready to show potential buyers by Friday. I've painted, fixed little things here and there, and am currently working on re-arranging things & cleaning up. I'm a bit stressed and manic, but it's going to look great... makes me wish I'd done all of it ages ago for myself! My adventures should get a lot more interesting after this phase... posted @ 02:57 PM PDT Tuesday, June 15, 2004how about some real political journalism?Here's a Jim Hightower piece calling for election coverage with some actual substance, which unfortunately isn't going to happen this year... Let's put the corruption on TV http://www.workingforchange.com/article.cfm?itemid=17112 While both parties will portray themselves as heroic leaders for us common folk and while the media establishment and its pundits will stay focused on the predictable speeches, politicking, and pageantry inside the hall the real story will be taking place at high-dollar, invitation-only events inside exclusive clubs, restaurants, and other hideaways of the elite. It's in these places behind the velvet ropes that screen out us common folk that you can see political and money power ooze, schmooze and merge into one. posted @ 02:03 PM PDT Monday, June 14, 2004alternative job hunting tacticsYears ago I saw a cartoon with a man in a suit standing on the street corner holding a sign that said, "Will middle manage for food." Today I saw a 40-something man in a suit on Bay Street (Toronto's version of Wall Street) wearing a signboard that said, "Experienced Facilities Manager Seeks Employment." posted @ 03:41 PM PDT Friday, June 11, 2004real American heroesTeach for America is an organization I really admire. Smart college grads are recruited right out of school into a program to teach in poor urban and rural public schools for two years. In the United States, school funding is based on local property taxes, so public schools in rich suburbs are often well-equipped while conditions in poorer areas are downright heartbreaking. I thank them with love for their amazing and inspiring work. Why Join? http://www.teachforamerica.org/why_join.html Today in our country, where a child is born far too often determines his or her educational and, in turn, life prospects. Educational inequity must be our generation's civil rights issue. Teach For America is building the movement to address this injustice by calling upon our country's most promising future leaders to commit two years to teach in urban and rural public schools and to become lifelong advocates for change. As teachers in some of the lowest-income areas in our country, the members of our corps have an immediate impact on the lives of children, and take on a tremendous leadership role in which they must overcome great challenges to put their students on a different track in life. At the same time, corps members gain added insight, develop an even deeper resolve, and join a network of other civic-minded individuals that makes them a powerful force - within every professional sector and at every level of policy - to effect the fundamental changes necessary to ensure all children have an equal chance in life. As a result of this experience, corps members are also better positioned to succeed in whatever career they ultimately pursue. posted @ 12:41 AM PDT Thursday, June 10, 2004another great Microsoft innovation?While it makes sense that patents encourage innovation (to an extent) the limits of software patents have really been stretched too far... Microsoft patents to-do list http://news.zdnet.co.uk/business/legal/0,39020651,39157145,00.htm US Patent No. 6,748,582, granted and assigned on Tuesday to Microsoft, covers the use of a "task list" in a software-development environment. posted @ 05:10 PM PDT Wednesday, June 9, 2004this will not standViolations of the Geneva Conventions are a definite step backwards for the human race... Memo Says Bush Not Restricted by Torture Bans http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=topNews&storyID=5377407 President Bush, as commander-in-chief, is not restricted by U.S. and international laws barring torture, Bush administration lawyers stated in a March 2003 memorandum. The 56-page memo to Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld cited the president's "complete authority over the conduct of war," overriding international treaties such as a global treaty banning torture, the Geneva Conventions and a U.S. federal law against torture. Article 17, Third Geneva Convention (1949) http://www.unhchr.ch/html/menu3/b/91.htm No physical or mental torture, nor any other form of coercion, may be inflicted on prisoners of war to secure from them information of any kind whatever. Prisoners of war who refuse to answer may not be threatened, insulted or exposed to unpleasant or disadvantageous treatment of any kind. posted @ 09:26 AM PDT Tuesday, June 8, 2004another sign of the apocalypseI've been saying for years that I thought they'd try and do this, but I WAS KIDDING! Ohio Lawmaker Wants Reagan Added To Mount Rushmore http://www.newsnet5.com/news/3394199/detail.html Rep. Ron Young, R-Painesville, introduced a resolution Monday requesting Congress to add the former president's image to the South Dakota landmark. A president worthy of Mount Rushmore http://www.opinion.telegraph.co.uk/opinion/main.jhtml?xml=/opinion/2004/06/07/dl0701.xml&sSheet=/opinion/2004/06/07/ixopinion.html Ronald Reagan was a great American president - perhaps the greatest of the post-war epoch - who certainly deserves a stone-carved niche in that Olympus of commanders-in-chief atop Mount Rushmore. posted @ 09:37 AM PDT Monday, June 7, 2004Venus transitTomorrow Venus visibly passes in front of the Sun for the first time since 1882! This page includes details about the Venus Transit and viewing times for different areas of the world: Transit Headquarters: Venus Crosses the Sun June 8 http://www.space.com/scienceastronomy/venus_transit_2004.html Earth, Venus and the Sun will all be in a direct line in space. Venus will make contact with the outer portion of the Sun early in the morning in Europe (and before dawn U.S. time). It will appear as a small black spot about 1/32 the diameter of the Sun. Don't look directly at the sun, etc. yadda yadda... posted @ 10:23 AM PDT Friday, June 4, 2004baby steps towards renewable energyThey've opened up a biodiesel station down the street from me, which I'll be taking the diesel Jetta to next time I need to fuel up. Fortunately, I don't have to do this very often because of the great fuel economy! Diesel vehicles are becoming more desirable due to advances in engine technology and the rising price of gasoline. Biodiesel boom well-timed http://www.wired.com/news/autotech/0,2554,63635,00.html?tw=wn_tophead_1 Biodiesel enthusiasts like Toal-Rossi may soon find their oil-alternative fuel easier to acquire. According to the National Biodiesel Board, the number of consumer biodiesel fueling stations rose nearly 50 percent last year to 200. So far this year, 25 new stations have opened, including 10 in Colorado and five in New Hampshire. Ron Heck, president of the American Soybean Association, said biodiesel can be blended with regular diesel in any ratio, or can be used as a fuel by itself. "It has almost the same amount of (energy) as petroleum diesel," Heck said. Using biodiesel will clean an engine's fuel injectors and cut down on the number of required oil changes, according to Heck. "I buy it because it's better fuel." posted @ 03:40 PM PDT Wednesday, June 2, 2004it pays the billsHere's something from the PRwatch.org e-mail list The Weekly Spin. I'm very interested in public relations and publicity but I'd never be able to sleep at night if I were spending my time & energy working to convince the public that Mad Cow Disease isn't a serious problem... Mad cow flack gets a platinum trumpet http://www.publicity.org/trumpet2004gold.htm The Publicity Club of Chicago, a PR industry trade association, has given its "Platinum Trumpet" award to Sarah Sarosi of the Burson-Marsteller PR firm, which worked on behalf of the National Cattlemen's Beef Association in the U.S. and "responded immediately when a Canadian case of Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (or 'Mad Cow' disease) was diagnosed." posted @ 09:59 AM PDT Tuesday, June 1, 2004TroyI went to see the overhyped movie Troy. It was visually beautiful but I thought that the story was oversimplified (Helen of Troy was especially two-dimensional.) It does have closeups of Brad Pitt's thighs and a lot of battle scenes, so it's not completely without merits... I did like this line from the script: "War is old men talking and young men dying." posted @ 09:55 PM PDT |
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