Write about people and things that amaze me.

i mean, i get that Saddam Hussein is a maniac, but the hypocrisy in hanging someone for crimes against other humans cannot be denied. doesn’t anyone really get that?

plus, at this point, wouldn’t he be at least a great source of information to the US? the knowledge this guy has accumulated of the cultural battles alone must be worth something. it seems to me the US should take advantage of that knowledge at this point, given that they are responsible for creating a new level of violence and insecurity to Iraq.

anyway, those are my thoughts on the sentencing of Saddam.

More people should know her music.

I have been fortunate to have seen her twice now, once in 2004 at the NAC and once in 2005 at Barrymore’s Music Hall: 2 of the 2 best venues in Ottawa to see a band, in my opinion.

The first time i saw her was accidental, she opened for Alanis or Sarah Harmer (? yikes…) and I have to tell you – I was hooked! To love her music and story is to love her – to me she represents what she sings, and embodies the thing I look for, that thing people call It. The second time I saw Sarah live was in Ottawa, at the best place to see a band – Barrymore’s Music Hall. She rocked, very Tori-like that night. Love the theatrics and crowd interaction… so great!

If you need a context, I would say she fits in the Kate Bush, Annie Lennox, Sarah Harmer, Sarah McLaughlin, team of great artists. Better yet – a new Fiona Apple, Tori Amos, but hold the angst, trauma and add in more confidence. Nice blend or what!? She reminds me of my favourite character: Satine in Moulin Rouge, if that helps…

To say more – not necessary. Check her out here and watch for her CD cover for Day One on the iTunes commercials running on tv – it’s deadpan centre/right in one of the cd-buildings at the start. (see picture attached) I just had to write about her – This girl is headed for stardom :)

To understand you really do need to listen. My faves (and they rotate)include Weight, Day One, Sweet Ones, Lucky Me, Universe, and of course (HA!) High.

She also has a new album out, Orphan Music, that I personally am going to purchase NOW, and she will also be touring in the upcoming months kids. Grab your tickets – I guarantee you it will be a great show!!

You must check her out. For all the details: http://www.sarahslean.com/

I awoke to the news spouting off how EXXON posted record profits this week – for the 4th Quarter – $10.7 BILLION (US)over the last 3 (YES, only THREE) months… Chevron announced record Q3 profits of over $5 BILLION (US), a 40% jump, over the same period.

GOOD CHRIST…

Ok, so at the same time I’m researching some other crap, anc come across this article… find it here: http://www.nupge.ca/news_2006/n15fe06b.htm

“Crisis in Canadian incomes – a dime an hour after 15 years

New report by the Vanier Institute for the Family

Ottawa (14 Feb. 2006) – Remember the trickle-down economics of the 1980s, when Conservative tax cuts for the wealthy were supposed to flow like the tide to every income corner of the economy?

Remember free trade, instituted by the Tories and maintained by Liberals? It was going to do the same thing. Everyone would benefit in the long run.

So what’s happened over the past 15 years?

“If you discount inflation,” says a new report by the Vanier Institute for the Family, “the typical worker now earns only 10 cents more per hour than they did in 1991. In addition, the time worked per week declined by about an hour and a half over the period.”

Promises, promises

That’s a damning verdict on the majority of the political speeches, board of trade puff jobs and think tank door-stoppers issued over the past 10 years.

Families have known for years that much of what they have been hearing from their leaders, from the media and from just about everyone with influence in our society does not add up.

The report by the Vanier Institute is a welcome wake-up call to everyone.

“On average, families have seen their incomes stagnate at about $55,500 during the first half of the decade,” it says.

“For the first time since the depression, households now have negative annual savings and they continue to build up larger and larger debt-loads,” the institute adds.

“For many, this is not a pretty picture. More families are now “cash-strapped” and are struggling to make ends meet. Many can’t keep up and bankruptcies have risen to record levels.

“The situation will not get better in the near future, as interest rates continue to rise. The report suggests that many households are now house rich but cash-poor.”

Other findings

The institute’s report is entitled Current State of Canadian Family Finances. Other findings in the document include the following:

• More than 24% of wives with children now earn more than their husbands.
• Poverty has been virtually eliminated (down to 1.7%) among married seniors.
• Most of household asset growth has come from rising house prices and stock market gains.
• A special section on the “middle class” family found that this family is now contributing (income taxes less government transfers) about $1,500 on a net basis to other income groups. (This is down sharply from a net contribution of $4,500 in 1990. About seven-out-of-ten middle-class households are homeowners with over half of these homeowners still carrying a mortgage.)

OK – so what gives?? I honestly feel like our society is manipulating us, and that the state of the globe is at a crisis level… why is it possible the we needed to pay so much more to get to our jobs, and live, only to give OIL tycoons (and who really “owns” a natural resource peaople?) and the rich more money I don’t get how this is a society of freedom and prosperity, that places so much control into the hands of so few, only to end up in such a state. And that applies both nationally and globally… were are one f’ed up world kids…

I’m rippin’ mad and have no desire to pay one cent of my 15,000 of INCOME tax this year… gimme a break – TAX the oil guys already…

GRRRR…

Here are the links to the other OIL stats…
http://www.cbc.ca/cp/business/060130/b013074.html
http://www.cbc.ca/cp/business/061027/b102734.html

Here is an exerpt from a report I found here:
http://www.nupge.ca/news_2006/n18oc06a.htm

‘Systemic discrimination’ against native prison inmates

‘Aboriginal people are routinely disadvantaged once they are placed into the custody of the correctional service.’ – Correctional Investigator Howard Sapers

Ottawa (18 Oct. 2006) – Canada’s national ombudsman for federal prison inmates says Canada is guilty of “systemic discrimination” against aboriginal offenders.

The number of aboriginals in prison climbed 22% between 1996 and 2004, while the general population dropped 12%, Howard Sapers, the country’s federal correctional investigator, said this week in his annual report to Parliament.

For women native prisoners, the numbers were even more dramatic, rising 74% over the same period. Among all prisoners, aboriginals now account for 18.5% of federal inmates, but only 2.7% of the Canadian population.

Public Safety Minister Stockwell Day, the minister responsible for the prison system, was quick to criticize the report after it was made public.

’’I visited personally a number of federal institutions and have spent time with aboriginals themselves individually and in groups in the institutions,’’ he told MPs in the Commons. ’’I am confident in the professionalism of the people who work for Corrections Canada.’‘

I’m so sad for the way we have treated people. It amazes me that this is such a reality – that and all of the other issues plaguing aboriginal peoples globally.

This is a CBC Radio show that I sometimes tune into as it often has interesting pieces that you don’t get to hear about on any of the other stations, that hardly ever manage to compete with my iPod selections. Regardless… this is one radio show i really like, and there is a great spot on the web you can check it out, listen to the reports, or read trascripts of the show, topic by topic.

The particular episode I would like to draw to your attention is from October 20th, 2005. It discusses something that I am currently montioring: the situation with Kashechewan reservation located in a northern remote part of Ontario, Canada, as well as the mainstream use of Ethanol (produced from sugarcane) over the last 30 years in Brazil. Both are interesting…

FOr those of you (99.8%?) who do not know what/where/who Kashechewan is, it is a fly-in community populated by the Cree of Northern Ontario, an aboriginal community littered with basic human rights violations, and nobody knows about it, and the government is treating it like any other administration issue. Anyway – the Current covered it, and so here’s the link…

http://www.cbc.ca/thecurrent/2005/200510/20051020.html

It’s important to note that this was reported over a year ago now, and the situation is NOT fixed. It is still sitting on the table, and forgotten under all the political ranting that takes place most days.

Here’s a re-post from my blog from November 10, 2005… it will explain some of my passions for this…

“when life kicks in and you really start to do something you love: that’s my reality”

I’ve had the privilege of being a volunteer with the Odawa Native Friendship Centre over the past week, helping coordinate volunteers and serve the nightly dinner served to the 267 Kashechewan Reservation evacuees that temporarily call Ottawa Home. Interacting with the kids, feeling the sense of community, seeing the patience displayed along with the depth of culture and history held within that one room was indescribable. And I feel honoured to be there. I’m just a white girl in a room of 99.9% aboriginal people, after all.

Last night, the residents of Kashechewan were graced with the presence of our very own, talk-of-the-town, GG. She was welcomed with a traditional song accompanied by traditional drumming, and in return she spoke freely, openly and reflected upon the sadness of the situation. She ate dinner, dessert and mingled around. I’m not sure how many people from this James Bay fly-in community actual knew WHO the GG was, but hey, the thought was there and it was appreciated.

While the people of Kashechewan do want to go home, they are enjoying their stay here in the nation’s capital. The kids are not yet in school, and that is a problem, but they’ll get there. In the mean time the city, together with the help of the community’s support, have organized a series of outings, activities, and group meals. Dalton? Not sure? Andy Scott? Hmmm….

everyone in the world deserves clean water

I do believe clean water is a necessity for life, so to deny that, as the UN and other global citizen groups have pointed out, is in violation of Human Rights. In the day and age we live in, I’m not sure why that seems too much to ask. For many aboriginal communities, it is a reality they awake to every morning.

So here is a picture (above) of my newest friends: Loonen, Chasity & Kathleen. I hope they enjoy their stay, and even more that they have a safe community to return to instead of boiling water and oozing sores. Until then, I’ll be helping out wherever I can & I couldn’t be happier to do it.

To get involved in the aboriginal community in Ottawa please visit:

http://www.wabano.com/
http://www.odawa.on.ca/