Another Web Portal

A friend pointed out Documentary Wire to me the other day. It seems like a great resource. Lots of high quality documentaries that stream quickly. Enjoy!

On Whose Side?

I must admit that I was saddened by the NDP's recent move to support the conservatives in parliament. Iggy and his Liberals had finally decided that enough was enough - but Jack moved in and replaced them as lapdog to the Canadian Republicans. I've voted for the NDP several times - all while living in an urban area - but I've had a hard time understanding their politics recently.

My first inkling that something was amiss was when they fought to keep Elizabeth May and the Green party out of the national debates (The Greens typically represent more than 10% of Canadians). I thought this was a strange move for a party that was once on the outside looking in. I also wondered why they were so aggressively anti-liberal when the obvious opponent is Stephen Harper. Now, they are propping up Harper's government. Why? Listen to Jack's reasoning. Apparently he's trying to "make parliament work". If that were true, why doesn't he form an alliance with other left-leaning parties such as the Greens or Liberals to run a single conservative opponent in important ridings? (As Dion did in Elizabeth May's home riding). Then they could run parliament in a more egalitarian fashion that wasn't girded by party lines.

In reality, I think that the NDP has finally become a 'party'. They don't care about the people they represent, or the country they run. They only care about their share of power and maintaining it for the future. It's a sad state of affairs. I'll have to add Jack to the list of leaders who I cannot support for moral reasons. (As opposed to Stephane Dion, who I could not support for political reasons.) These are trying times - but Harper and Layton represent diametrically opposed world-views. I can't understand how Layton can put that aside for the sake of EI benefits.

Iran Tests Missiles

Iran has tested two different types of short-range missiles and plans to test a new long range missile. I see this as a response to increasing international pressure to halt uranium enrichment (which Iran says is for energy). After watching the brutal crackdown and media blackout after the Iranian election I find it difficult to believe most of the information coming out of the Iranian government. If you somehow missed the last Iranian election, I strongly suggest that you do some research into the fraud allegations and massive protests.

Regardless, I find today's news disconcerting...

Fall Election?

It seems that the Liberal government will no longer prop up the ailing Conservative machine. While time will tell if the Bloc or NDP will replace the Liberals as Stephen Harper's running mates, the Liberal Party has released their first ad which seems to indicate they are ready for a fall election. You can find the video here. I'm not sure what I think of Michael Ignatieff. His rhetoric tends to sounds big-government and spend-heavy, but so did Chretien's. After the economic destruction that Harper has wrought in our country, almost any change would be a change for the better. If only the parties could work together to shape a future that all Canadians might enjoy...

You are what you eat.

I have recently read a book called The Omnivore's Dilemma. It is authored by Michael Pollan, who also wrote In Defense of Food. The book follows the origins of 3 meals from the farmer's field to the table. A brief history of corn (the most farmed crop on the planet) and it's current state today as an industrial commodity comes in the first part of the book. I know it doesn't sound like an interesting read but I found the information quite enthralling because of my current political beliefs. What is fertilizer anyway? Where does it come from? Why do plants grow better because of it, especially corn?
The next part of the book is about beef. The author buys a young steer and wants to raise it to be a hamburger or a steak. It live on the ranch for a few months and the heads away to the C.A.F.O. (centralized animal feeding operation) with 30,000 other cows. You then get a brief history of domesticated cow and it's eating habits. You learn how cows are meant to eat grass and that their diet at the C.A.F.O. consists of corn and lots of antibiotics and hormones that help the cow digest the corn. The Vet at the C.A.F.O. talks to the author and tells him how the health of the animals it is constant flux all because of their diet and that we eat beef that is 16 months old is because they would die before they were two years old. Then we learn how there is an absence of heart-disease in countries that raise the beef in pastures and eat those that are around 5 years old.
The last part of the book is about him foraging for his own meal. From wandering the forests looking for edible mushrooms to learning how to slaughter his own animals.
All together a good read and lots of valuable info about food we should all know.

Remember not only you are what you eat but you are also what you eat eats.