Oil sands threaten our survival, Al Gore warns

Extracting oil from Alberta's tar sands jeopardizes the survival of our species, says Al Gore.

"Gas from the tar sands gives a Prius the same carbon footprint as a Hummer," the former U.S. vice-president told the Star in an interview prior to a Toronto speaking engagement scheduled for Tuesday evening.  Full Story

On This Day

Today I am celebrating my 42nd birthday. I thought it might be fun to see who shares my birthday and what else happened on this day. I found all this at: On this day.com

Louis XVIII (France) 1755
Rock Hudson 1925
Gordon Lightfoot 1938
Martin Scorsese 1942
Danny DeVito 1944
Lauren Hutton 1944
Lorne Michaels 1944
Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio 1958
RuPaul 1960 
Daisy Fuentes 1966
Ronnie DeVoe (New Edition, Bell Biv DeVoe) 1967



1558 - Elizabeth I ascended the English throne upon the death of Queen Mary Tudor.

1603 - Sir Walter Raleigh went on trial for treason.

1796 - Catherine the Great of Russia died at the age of 67.

1869 - The Suez Canal opened in Egypt, linking the Mediterranean and the Red seas.

1880 - The first three British female graduates received their Bachelor of Arts degrees from London University.

1904 - The first underwater submarine journey was taken, from Southampton, England, to the Isle of Wight.

1913 - The steamship Louise became the first ship to travel through the Panama Canal.

1913 - In Germany, Kaiser Wilhelm banned the armed forces from dancing the tango.

1970 - The Soviet Union landed an unmanned, remote-controlled vehicle on the moon, the Lunokhod 1. The vehicle was released by Luna 17.

1979 - Iran's Ayatollah Khomeini ordered the release of 13 female and black American hostages being held at the U.S. Embassy in Tehran.

1988 - Benazir Bhutto became the first woman leader of an Islamic country. She was elected in the first democratic elections in Pakistan in 11 years.

1990 - A mass grave was discovered by the bridge over the River Kwai in Thailand. The bodies were believed to be those of World War II prisoners of war.

Green Party of Ontario Choses New Leader

Mike Schreiner was elected leader of the Green Party of Ontario on November 14, 2009.

A leading advocate for independent businesses and sustainable communities, Mike Schreiner is well known for his leadership in co-founding the award-winning Local Food Plus organization and brings a proven track record in business and leadership roles to the GPO leadership.
A respected, successful entrepreneur, Mike started his career in Toronto operating his own food distribution business for over 10 years that specialized in delivering local and natural foods to homes in Toronto.
Building on that success, he established Local Food Plus, which worked to bring farmers and consumers together to promote financially, socially and environmentally sustainable local food systems.

Full Story

Congratulations Mike, you will be a great leader for Ontario Greens!

Pigs in Toronto get shot first

Unionized staff at Mount Sinai Hospital are calling for the resignation of its board of directors after members were given early H1N1 vaccinations meant to be reserved for health workers and those at high risk of complications.

"What we are seeing evokes scenes from the Titanic, the privileged pushing to the front and leaving vulnerable women and children to a chilling fate," said Sharleen Stewart, President of the Service Employees International Union, Local 1. "This was a serious ethical lapse by the board and the CEO and a profound error of judgment by the chairman. The chair is left with no choice but to resign."

This is disgusting, but of course in Toronto, nothing will be done about it. Par for the course.

Scientology 101

Yonge street in Toronto is home to a large Scientology building. I pass by regularly and am often offered information by members. On more than one occasion, I've been offered, and taken information being handed out by protestors. As an atheist, and someone with a bit of common sense, I feel that Scientology is really nothing more than a scheme to make money, by what amounts to nothing more than a cult. However, I shouldn't pass judgement so quickly since I don't know much about Scientology, which is what I aim to find out in a new series I am calling Scientology 101. 


More after the jump.

Accusations fly at Oshawa lesbian assault trial

As the trial for an Oshawa man accused of beating a lesbian couple continues, some Oshawa residents say the November 2008 incident stems from hatred towards homosexuality and ignorance within the suburban community.

"It's a closeted community where the gays and lesbians hide . . . because of fear of being beaten up, bashed or harassed," said Jayme Harper, Ontario director of Parents and Friends of Lesbians and Gays (PFLAG), a gender-identity and sexual orientation support charity.

Harper said he also notices "a higher tone of racism in the Durham Region."

He and about a dozen members of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered community in Oshawa have attended both days of the trial for 44-year-old Mark Scott, who pleaded not guilty to two counts of assault after Anji Dimitriou and her partner, Jane Currie, were verbally and physically assaulted outside their children's elementary school.

Both Dimitriou and Currie told Ontario Court Justice Katrina Mulligan that Scott attacked them in the parking lot of Gordon B. Attersley public school.

Both women testified that Scott asked Dimitriou, "Which one of you f------ 'men' talked to my kid?" Both women said he called them "dyke bitches."

They told the court Scott punched Currie once and Dimitriou twice.

Read the full story here. For some reason I can only seem to find any coverage of this story at Global News, I guess the others don't think suburban gay bashing is important? This story is from Friday.

The Poppy Campaign

The following is from the Royal Canadian Legion (Dominion Command) Website:

Each November, Poppies blossom on the lapels and collars of over half of Canada’s entire population. Since 1921, the Poppy has stood as a symbol of Remembrance, our visual pledge to never forget all those Canadians who have fallen in war and military operations. The Poppy also stands internationally as a “symbol of collective reminiscence”, as other countries have also adopted its image to honour those who have paid the ultimate sacrifice.
This significance of the Poppy can be traced to international origins.
The association of the Poppy to those who had been killed in war has existed since the Napoleonic Wars in the 19th century, over 110 years before being adopted in Canada. There exists a record from that time of how thickly Poppies grew over the graves of soldiers in the area of Flanders, France. This early connection between the Poppy and battlefield deaths described how fields that were barren before the battles exploded with the blood-red flowers after the fighting ended.
Just prior to the First World War, few Poppies grew in Flanders. During the tremendous bombardments of that war, the chalk soils became rich in lime from rubble, allowing “popaver rhoes” to thrive. When the war ended, the lime was quickly absorbed and the Poppy began to disappear again.
The person who was responsible more than any other for the adoption of the Poppy as a symbol of Remembrance in Canada and the Commonwealth was Lieutenant-Colonel John McCrae, a Canadian Medical Officer during the First World War.