How much of it applies in Canada?  How much of it is actually stated in our Bill of Rights?!

1. Private citizens are not (generally) using taxpayer money to do surveillance.

2. Private citizens do not (generally) have the authority to incarcerate other people.

3. Private citizens are supposed to monitor civil servants even when there is no reasonable suspicion or probable cause.

4. Private citizens are not (generally) supposed to engage in surveillance of other private citizens under any conditions.

5. Civil servants are not supposed to engage in surveillance of private citizens without reasonable suspicion or probable cause.

6. Civil servants are not supposed to buy or build things unless it is the public will that they do so (this can be an implicit will interpreted by civil leaders such as chiefs of police).

7. Private citizens are not supposed to be inhibited in buying or building things unless the thing in question has been specifically regulated through the legislative process or other due deliberative process authorized by the people.

Follow My Logic? A Connective Word Takes the Lead – NYTimes.com

Also, here’s an interesting discussion thread from BoingBoing that arose from it.

So, can nobody stop this monster and put it back in chains where it belongs??!!  So why not???

Alright… I’ll stop now.

This guy is some funny!  (or not, if you don’t have that sense of humour)

Here are some great ideas to lower the cost of cross-border mail orders.  Oh yeah, and NEVER use FEDEX or UPS to send parcels up from the US to Canada.  They’ll arbitrarily add a $50+ charge for customs clearance of your package.  If you tell them you’ll clear it yourself, it’s taken back to their depot which always seems to be located in the farthest suburb from your location and will close about 15 minutes before your arrival.

In the meantime, have  a read on this article from Seed Magazine.com.

So you may enjoy it.

“So” § SEEDMAGAZINE.COM.

Alex Strachan, the writer, went on to comment on the silliness of the concept, but also noted that if you wanted to see the real deal, just follow the exploits of Spokane’s Sister Madonna Buder, an 80 year old accredited triathlete and marathon runner.  Just reading about her on various websites is an inspiration.  It makes one actually think of putting aside the ‘Tator Tots” and the mouse and keyboard and take an actual walk outside – (maybe even wearing running shoes!!)  Heck, I’ve got another 20 YEARS to get where she is now!

Old Time Dances are a rare and needed commodity in our world – that of the disconnected urban environment where communities have become unknown and neighbours are strangers.  These events have been designed and honed into a way for people to melt together into a common group who show the best side of their humanity to each other and then leave the evening with this imprinted on their minds and bodies.   A significant group of participants at the dance have been there before and start the evening with smiles and a bounce in their step.  Strangers (you can tell them by their distance and scowls) start out on the outside, fearful of looking like fools and fearful of the strangers and the environment that they’ve been dragged into. (ick!).

Charmaine, the WonderCaller

The caller invites people to the floor and the experienced ones jump at the opportunity dragging the less reluctant with them.  The others watch.  Squares form and people call out, “We need 2 more here”, “We need a couple here”.  Gradually more skeptics are coaxed out.  Now the caller does her magic – first some introductions – “Bow to your partner and say “Hi”", simple “join hands and circle left” and then 10 minutes of “OK, here’s what we’re going to try…”.

People are confused but others smile.  Charmaine, the caller jokes with everyone.  People relax.  Now it starts.  The band kicks in and bedlam ensues.  Some squares move like a tuned clock.  Some move like a car with a flat tire.  Some stutter and crash.  The caller takes over, simplifying the calls until all of the squares start moving nicely.  People smile.  Those on the sidelines are curious, some now envious.  With the simple strong beat of the music, nobody is distracted – no texting is occurring in the hall!

Shout White Dragon - The engine that pulls the train

First dance is done and everyone is talking and sweaty.  Rinse and repeat. After an hour, the hall more represents a steam bath than a polite tea party.  Almost everyone in the room has had a few dances which means that the floor is now jammed with groups of 8, formed into approximate squares, the more experienced quickly teaching the novices which way to turn.  Mistakes become jokes and when the squares stall, people start improvising, laughing all the time.

By the end of the evening, no one is a stranger.  No one will pass by anyone here on the street and not smile at them and maybe even say,”Hi” and “Thanx for the dance”.  It’s hard to hate your neighbour when you’ve seen them laughing while they’re Doe-See-Doe’ing arm in arm with other strangers, now friends.

This is how to construct a community!  The method is centuries old, designed by people for people.  It makes strangers into acquaintances into friends into partners into…..families.

Old Time Dances are thankfully enjoying a resurgence all over North America and further.  If you hear of one in your area, get down to the hall, stick your head in and I dare you to not be swept up in the joy.

As the initial dust and smoke of the Apple iPad release is settling down, more thoughtful and articulate articles are being published about the new iPad and the problems that lurk beneath its shiny surface.  The following links are the best I’ve seen at explaining what evil lurks in TechnoLand and that the iPad is just the most prominent example of what’s in store for us.

Disclaimer:  I own an iPod Touch and an almost functional MacBook, both of which I enjoy regardless of their restrictions (which are many.)

First, is a great article by Jack Shafer in Slate Magazine and I’ll link to 3 pivotal articles mentioned in Shafer’s article that need reading because they provide the in-depth explanation of the problems.

Jim Stogdill on the O’Reilly Media website

Frédéric Filloux – Aligning the Digital Planets

Cory Doctorow – Why I Won’t Buy An iPad

Pecha Kucha Vancouver - April 8th - Vogue Theatre

This is one of the fall-outs of working with the W2 Group in the Downtown East Side.  Donna Chen sent me info on a thing called: Pecha Kucha (pronounced “P’ chakcha” in Japanese). It looks like a Speed-TED and an interesting forum for quick presentation of good ideas… I might even pick up my banjo and get motivated to design a talk.
Here’s links:
Pecha Kucha: Another interesting way to send out information, brought to you by those Japanese folks…. Hmmm.
Here’s the WIKI for more background info
and
Here’s the Facebook page for the next Vancouver BC Pecha Kucha on April 8th at the Vogue Theatre.