Canadian Internet usage quiz -- surprise answers inside!

 

This weekend I attended two fascinating, statistics rich talks at Podcamp Toronto. So, now it's time for a pop quiz kids.

About 24 million of Canada's 33 million citizens are online. What percentage of them stream videos each month? Bonus question: What percentage visit a social network?

You guessed low. Way low.

According to fresh data presented at Podcamp Toronto by Comscore Inc.'s Catherine Moelker, the answer in both cases is 85 per cent. And, those of us who watch video, watch a lot. On average we catch 120 videos a month per person. And, on average the 85 per cent of online Canadians who visit a social network spent six hours per month each. Ninety-six per cent of online Canadians get there via high speed access (higher than the 85 per cent in the U.S.).

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The lessons of Haiti

 

Haiti can teach you a lot about the harsh reality of social affairs.

From the grips of the most barbaric form of plantation economy sprung probably the greatest example of liberation in the history of humanity.

The 1791-1804 Haitian Revolution was simultaneously a struggle against slavery, colonialism and white supremacy. Defeating the French, British and Spanish empires, it led to freedom for all people regardless of colour, decades before this idea found traction in Europe or North America.

Unfortunately, Haiti's history also demonstrates how fluidly Europe (and North America) moved from formal colonialism to neo-imperialism. Technically "independent" for more than two centuries, outsiders have long shaped the country's affairs.

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Aspects Of The Post-Oil Community

 

By Peter Goodchild
I have great hopes for the future, when the hard times are over. By the end of the present century, the human population will be much smaller than it now is. The 200-odd nations of the present day will be only a dim memory, and the major languages will have broken up into local dialects, to such an extent that a linguistic outsider will be one who lives only over the next hill. Grass will be growing everywhere, and the long miles of cracked highways will be merely a curiosity. Yet those days will not be the Dark Ages: on the contrary, starlight will once again appear over the cities at night

Aspects Of The Post-Oil Community
Wed, 25 Feb 2009 19:18:57 GMT

Roll-Up Solar Cells Printed Like Money

 

Sheets of flexible solar power cells have been "printed" using presses that normally churn out money—a technology that could help slash energy costs, experts say.

Roll-Up Solar Cells Printed Like Money
Wed, 25 Feb 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Ancient Greece

 

Explore the History of the Ancient Greek World from the Neolithic to the Classical Period. Covering important topics, such as Art and Architecture, Mythology, Wars, Culture and Society, Poetry, Olympics, History Periods, Philosophy, Playwrights, Kings and Rulers of Ancient Greece.

Ancient Greece
netbros
Sat, 21 Feb 2009 17:24:40 GMT

Chameleon: Herbie Hancock Adapts to Lyrics

Nice homage to Herbie Hancock and his musical history with Joni Mitchell from The Nation.


Last year, at the fiftieth annual Grammy Awards in Los Angeles, just when everyone expected Amy Winehouse to slur her way through another acceptance speech via satellite from London, the award for Best Album of the Year went to Herbie Hancock for River: The Joni Letters, a meditation on the music of Joni Mitchell.



Chameleon: Herbie Hancock Adapts to Lyrics

Iraq's Resurgent Nationalism

For the first time in six years, it's possible to see the light at the end of the tunnel in Iraq. Despite all their flaws--and there were many--the January 31 elections in fourteen of Iraq's eighteen provinces ratified the resurgence of secular nationalism. A large majority of voters repudiated the Shiite and Sunni religious parties and the Kurdish separatists. And in so doing, they broke free of the rigid confines of the ethno-sectarian politics that has dominated the Iraqi scene since 200





Iraq's Resurgent Nationalism

Descendants of Geronimo are suing Skull and Bones for skull

 

The logo of the Skull and Bones consists of a skull and crossbones, along with the number 322. According to one theory, 322 symbolises the year the society was founded (1832) and indicates that it is the second chapter of a German secret society, supposedly the Bavarian Illuminati. (Source: Wikipedia)

The New York Times reports that Geronimo’s heirs have filed a lawsuit against the Skull and Bones in federal court in Washington. They want the Yale secret society to return Geronimo's skull and other remains, which they say were stolen by George Bush's grandfather, Prescott S. Bush, in 1918.

 

Wikipedia entry on Skull & Bones.

Descendants of Geronimo are suing Skull and Bones for skull
Mark Frauenfelder
Fri, 20 Feb 2009 17:19:10 GMT

South Koreans Push Back Against Free Trade Agreements with Canada & U.S.

 

By Stefan Christoff and Christine Ahn - February 15, 2009

South Korea, a major Asian economic power and the fourth largest in the region, has recently signed a major bilateral accord with the US and is currently negotiating a similar deal with Canada...Social movements in Korea have vigorously opposed the country's succession into the WTO since the mid-1990s and have actively mobilized in opposition to the more recent bilateral trade initiatives.

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Autopsy for the Celtic Tiger: How Ireland Went Bust

 

By HARRY BROWNE - February 19, 2009

Three-and-a-half years ago Tom Friedman came to Dublin for the New York Times to sing the praises of the Celtic Tiger...Friedman praised the way Ireland had made it easier to fire people, and said he was betting on Ireland’s new “social capitalism” against the “welfare capitalism” of France and Germany.

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Welcome to McArmy!

 

The vast and decadent dining services available to American soldiers at LSA Anaconda, the largest US base in Iraq, would astonish any World War II veteran who subsisted on canned Spam and powdered eggs. And don't forget the mini-malls, fast-food outlets or military supermarkets where soldiers stock up on cookies, Sony PlayStations and mountain bikes. - Pratap Chatterjee (Feb 20,'09)

Welcome to McArmy!
Fri, 20 Feb 2009 12:00:00 GMT

2009 piracy watchlist names usual suspects—including Canada

 

Each year the office of the US Trade Representative releases "Special 301" watch lists, identifying countries that it believes "deny adequate and effective protection for intellectual property rights," in order to pressure trading partners to strengthen IP laws or step up enforcement against piracy. The US-based International Intellectual Property Alliance—a consortium of copyright industry trade groups that includes the Business Software Alliance, Entertainment Software Association, Motion Picture Association of America, and Recording Industry Association of America—released its own humble recommendations for the lists this week, naming 38 countries that it believes need to do more to crack down in IP infringement—and once again singling out China, Russia, and (yes, really) Canada for special attention as "priority" offenders. The USTR must produce its final "watch list" and "priority watch list" by April 30.

 

Click here to read the rest of this article

Washington's Praise of Venezuelan Vote Suggests Detente

 

Excerpt: Praise by the U.S. State Department for Sunday's referendum in Venezuela suggests that President Barack Obama is hoping to ease long-strained relations with President Hugo Chavez, according to regional experts here.

 

Washington's Praise of Venezuelan Vote Suggests Detente
Jim Lobe
Thu, 19 Feb 2009 08:00:00 GMT

Cuba Declares War on Windows

The Cuban government has developed its own Linux-based operating system in order to eliminate Windows from all computers within its borders.

Cuba Declares War on Windows
Tue, 17 Feb 2009 17:01:00 GMT

Iran Claims It Has Made World's Most Powerful Natural Gas Car

The largest automaker in the Middle East unveils a natural-gas powered car T. Boone Pickens would love.

Iran Claims It Has Made World's Most Powerful Natural Gas Car

Chavez Wins Reform Vote In Venezeula

 

By Niko Price
President Hugo Chavez won a referendum to eliminate term limits Sunday and vowed to remain in power for at least another decade to complete his socialist revolution

Chavez Wins Reform Vote In Venezeula
Mon, 16 Feb 2009 21:48:21 GMT

Pirate Bay trial in Stockholm: Day 1

 

Wired's Threat Level blog has coverage from the first day of the trial of the creators of the Pirate Bay, the huge torrent-tracker based in Stockholm. It's a sold out event, with scalpers selling tickets (!) outside the court.

In the defendants' opening statements, they denied any criminal acts, though Fredrik Neij and Gottfrid Svartholm Warg conceded responsibility for certain functions in running The Pirate Bay. Peter Sunde claimed he had no overall responsibility, while the older Carl Lundstrom claimed he only sold co-location and bandwidth to the operation at market prices.

 

 

Pirate Bay Trial: The Hottest Ticket in Stockholm

Capitalisms Self-inflicted Apocalypse

 

By Michael Parenti
After the overthrow of communist governments in Eastern Europe, capitalism was paraded as the indomitable system that brings prosperity and democracy, the system that would prevail unto the end of history. The present economic crisis, however, has convinced even some prominent free-marketeers that something is gravely amiss. Truth be told, capitalism has yet to come to terms with several historical forces that cause it endless trouble: democracy, prosperity, and capitalism itself, the very entities that capitalist rulers claim to be fostering

Capitalisms Self-inflicted Apocalypse
Wed, 11 Feb 2009 18:54:26 GMT

The American ruling class

On Wednesday, President Barack Obama announced measures that purport to restrict executive compensation to $500,000 at financial institutions receiving billions in government assistance. The figure does not include stock options, which could be redeemed after financial firms pay back loans from the federal government. Nor does it apply to the original recipients of tens of billions in TARP (Troubled Asset Relief Program) money.

The measures are essentially a public relations exercise. Their aim is to provide political cover for a new and even larger Wall Street bailout, which Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner will unveil next week.

For more details, please click on the link to read the article.

The American ruling class
Mon, 09 Feb 2009 00:47:00 GMT

Change The Lobby

 

By Ramzy Baroud
One cannot emphasize enough the stranglehold Israels lobbying infrastructure has on US foreign policy. The events of recent weeks undoubtedly attest to this. The special relationship that has been historically fostered between the US and Israel in fact, is often a relationship of leverage, manipulation and intimidation, and often leads to the US supporting actions or resolutions that stand at complete odds with the interests of the American people

Change The Lobby
Sun, 08 Feb 2009 00:20:15 GMT

The Icelandic Volcano Erupts

 

In December, reports surfaced that Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson pushed his Wall Street bailout package by suggesting that, without it, civil unrest in the United States might grow so dangerous that martial law would have to be declared.

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From The Cure to 'The Silver Box,' Roger O'Donnell Synthesizes the Digital-Analog Divide

 

The Moog lover and Mac fanatic waxes enthusiastic about digital music and the power of the analog pencil.

From The Cure to 'The Silver Box,' Roger O'Donnell Synthesizes the Digital-Analog Divide

How We Kill Geniuses

 

How We Kill Geniuses. "[Elizabeth Gilbert recalls] a story that musician Tom Waits told her years ago. One day he was driving on a Los Angeles freeway when a fragment of a melody popped into his head. He looked around for something to capture the tune -- a pencil or pen -- but had nothing to record it.

How We Kill Geniuses

The Politics of Bollocks

 

By John Pilger - Znet Commentary

...[S]tate terrorism begets individual or group terrorism at source. Just as [former British Prime Minister Tony] Blair was the prime mover of the London bombings of 7 July 2005, so [Gordon] Brown, having pursued the same cynical crusades in Muslim countries and having armed and disported himself before the criminal regime in Tel Aviv, will share responsibility for related atrocities at home...There is a lot of bollocks about at the moment.

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Brazil Does Have the Potential to be a Great Power

Almost every single major power in world history has emerged in the Eurasian landmass. So far, the US is the only exception. However, there might be a second exception because another country from the American Hemisphere might achieve great power status during the twenty-first century: Brazil.

China, India and Russia (all of them Eurasian) are quite often mentioned as the likeliest candidates to rise as great powers and sometimes, it is argued, they even have the potential to become superpowers. Nevertheless, as we will see, it is also important to take Brazil into account if one intends to scrutinize what the world balance of power will look like later in this century.

For more details, please click on the link to read the article.

Brazil Does Have the Potential to be a Great Power
Thu, 05 Feb 2009 22:05:00 GMT

Global Financial Crises And Hugo Chavez By Abdul Basit

 

The Financial Crises that has gripped the globe resulting in the growing unemployment, poverty and hunger that will further aggravate during the coming months and years have created great uncertainty. While the global political and financial leaders and the media and establishment that support them, are groping in darkness about the solution to overcome this crises that has gripped the world community, it is futile to maintain expectation on the ability of these leaders to retrieve the situation as they themselves are the basic reason for this crises. This has been proven during the just concluded World Economic Forum meeting in Davos where empty discussions and debates was held, that lacked any concrete ideas to fix this crisis. The Davos Forum failed to find any answer and they stressed more about the problems instead of finding solutions.

Global Financial Crises And Hugo Chavez By Abdul Basit

How big is too big for Serbia?

 One of the many absurdities of Imperial policy in the Balkans is the notion of "integrations," a cute euphemism for the expansion of EU and NATO southward and eastward. If Brussels and Washington are so eager to integrate, why have they consistently supported disintegration – first of Yugoslavia, then of Serbia? In 1992, the nascent EU murdered Yugoslavia by declaring that the country had simply ceased to exist, and recognizing several separatist governments as independent states (e.g. Croatia, Bosnia). Then it explicitly ruled out secession from those states, and insisted on their territorial integrity. Unless, that is, the state in question was Serbia – in which case secession was not only approved, but encouraged (Kosovo).

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Not Done Yet

Little prospect of East-West accommodation

An interesting analysis of east/west relations. I think, insightful (as far as I understand it). Worth a read.

The West-dominated world order is being discredited in a grand fashion for all its failures and for all the ill-effects it has brought. Against that backdrop, the East - in particular China and Russia - will not agree to any accommodation with the West that keeps such an order intact. East-West competition can only intensify on a fundamental level for control of the globe's finite strategic resources and access to, and control over, its finite capital wealth. - W Joseph Stroupe (Feb 5,'09) This is the concluding article in a two-part report

COMMENT : Little prospect of East-West accommodation
Thu, 05 Feb 2009 12:00:00 GMT

Hillary Clinton and James Steinberg ;”Talk Tough” on Latin America

• While President Obama, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and their appointees emphasize a return to diplomacy in foreign relations, so far they show little inclination to be diplomatic toward leftist governments in Latin America.

 

Hillary Clinton and James Steinberg "Talk Tough" on Latin America

It's been a Long Winter. What's a cat supposed to do?

Farewell, Monroe Doctrine

 

President Barack Obama could swiftly improve U.S. relations with Latin America by announcing the death of the Monroe Doctrine and then presiding over its funeral. Such a statement would cost him little domestically, and win him praise and appreciation throughout Latin America and much of the world.

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Dead Malls- End of a Love Affair?

Some interesting links.

deadmalls DOT com

Dirty Business, Dirty Wars: U.S.-Latin American Relations in the 21st Century

 

By Cyril Mychalejko - Znet

Latin America's growing unity in rejecting the Washington Consensus remains fragile in the face of U.S. opposition. Washington has been quietly using the war on drugs, the war on terrorism, and a neo-cold war ideology to institutionalize a militarism in the region that risks returning us to the not so far off days of "dirty wars."

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Parched: Australia Faces Collapse as Climate Change Kicks In

Leaves are falling off trees in the height of summer, railway tracks are buckling, and people are retiring to their beds with deep-frozen hot-water bottles, as much of Australia swelters in its worst-ever heatwave.

On Friday, Melbourne thermometers topped 43C (109.4F) on a third successive day for the first time on record, while even normally mild Tasmania suffered its second-hottest day in a row, as temperatures reached 42.2C. Two days before, Adelaide hit a staggering 45.6C. After a weekend respite, more records are expected to be broken this week.

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It’s Not Going to Be OK

The daily bleeding of thousands of jobs will soon turn our economic crisis into a political crisis. Our empire is dying. How will we cope with our decline? Will we cling to the absurd dreams of a superpower and a glorious tomorrow or will we responsibly face our stark new limitations?

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