test blog #10

OpenMedia.ca has launched an important new video at The Mark: please watch and share . Wmtc: mandatory, warrantless internet spying coming to canada, unless we stop it . Petition: here . Email your MP: here .

The ongoing protest at New York City's financial district is receiving a huge boost from labour unions. The Transit Workers Union voted unanimously to support Occupy Wall Street and the United Auto Workers is expected to do so soon. In addition, two professors with the City University of New York (CUNY) led a march to protest the abuse of protesters by police. Michael Moore is doing a local book signing , with royalties to support Occupy Wall Street . Coverage: Slate: Unions Set to Join "Occupy Wall Street" Protests Village Voice: Transport Workers Union Votes Unanimously to Support Occupy Wall Street Crains New York Business: Veteran agitators flock to Occupy Wall Street Teamster Nation : We quickly checked a few other cities and found Occupy Chicago protesters had camped out for seven days in front of the Federal Reserve Bank as of Thursday. Occupy San Francisco appears to be growing from the handful of occupiers in the city's Financial District. Occupy Seattle ...

There's an excellent new democratic voting tool designed to show us what the upcoming Ontario election would look like under different voting systems. Although we can reconfigure actual election results using different electoral systems, those "what might have been" scenarios are never fully accurate, as people might vote differently under a different system. Strategic voting, for example, might not feel necessary to many voters. On the other hand, the pitfall here is that people who favour FPTP may not use this tool. Still, it's a useful exercise and the results may be enlightening. Three Ontario Votes allows you to vote in the upcoming Ontario election under three different systems: first past the post, proportional representation, and the alternative vote. There's information about each system, descriptions of the voting system in Canada, Australia and the Netherlands, and a short questionnaire. If you live in Ontario, please visit Ontario Three Votes . Vote t...

We now have an answer to the burning question: can a baseball team that wins seven games in September play in the postseason? The Red Sox walked the razor's edge all week. Last night, a night of incredible baseball tension, we clung to hope, following two games at once. The Sox held a slim lead. The Yankees - we had to root for them this week, a grim reality - had a commanding 7-run lead over Tampa. In five minutes , it was all over. The answer is no. [Huge sad face emoticon here.] * * * * So. Movies. Got any? A bunch we never got to last season are still on the list, as always, including Made in Dagenham, The King's Speech and Barney's Version. For series, we're starting Sherlock and BBC's Planet Earth. People keep telling me to see The Bridesmaids, so perhaps my instincts are wrong and I'll put it on the list. If you've seen anything good in the last six months, fire away.

When we visited the Haliburton Wolf Centre in March - our second time there, to see the wolves in their winter coats - the alpha female was pregnant. In April, four healthy pups were born: two males (one black, one gray) and two females (one black, one gray). By June they were out of the den and coming into public view. My wolf-loving friend J and I went to see them in July. Once again, we were patient, waiting through many waves of visitors as the wolves relaxed in the sun. And once again we were rewarded. In the winter, we saw the wolves being fed; this time we saw the adult alpha pair join the pups, the whole pack nuzzling, vocalizing and playing. All these photos are by J. I usually post only a sample of photos, but this time I've posted the whole lot: Flickr set here (all photos by J). Older wolf visits: First visit to Haliburton Wolf Centre, July 2009 , some photos here . Haliburton wolves in winter, March 2011 . Wolf pups at Jungle Cat World , more photos here . Jungle Cat...

This morning CBC News reports that WikiLeaks has exposed that a Canadian is being held at the notorious Bagram prison , the US-run torture camp and holding tank for Afghans who were either trying to defend their country from foreign invaders or were in the wrong place at the wrong time. The man, Khaled Samy Abdallah Ismail, is mentally ill. A citizen of both Canada and Egypt, he has been imprisoned in Bagram for 18 months. There is no evidence against him. Omar Khadr, then, is not the only Canadian being held in deplorable indefinite detention. And the name Ismail gets added to the long and growing list of Canadian citizens that the Harper government has abandoned . As David Eaves says: If you have the wrong colour skin, the wrong beliefs, if you do something that the Canadian government decides it doesn't approve of, or if you are simply caught in the wrong place at the wrong time... you are on your own. Read the CBC story on Ismail here. See the Council of Canadians summary of ...

Toronto Mayor Rob Ford has been forced to back away from some of his more egregious - and completely unnecessary - threatened budget cuts, claiming that library branches will not be closed . But let's not forget, in his mayoral campaign, Ford said he'd make no service cuts at all. So why should we believe him now? What's more, Ford has only backed down on cuts to the Toronto Public Library because of public outcry . Meaning: protest works. If you can be in the GTA tomorrow, join a mass protest to defend public services and good jobs in our communities, outside the City Council meeting where the budget will be decided. Even if you (like me) don't live in the City of Toronto, this should matter to you. If the mayor of Canada's largest city gets away with mass privatization and service cuts, it will be open season on public services in every city in the country. WHEN: Monday, September 26, 5:30 pm WHERE: Toronto City Hall, Nathan Phillips Square More information on Fa...