The Story of Stuff · Sunday March 2, 2008 by colin newell
Love or hate Al Gore and his message on global catastrophe, you have to stop and think for a moment… what our actual impact, our individual impact on this frail little planet is.
And whether you are sitting in a Tim Horton’s doughnut shop right now, rolling up the empty rim on your empty paper and wax cup (after having a soothing cup of hot Tim Horton’s coffee and couple of artery shattering Maple Dip doughtnuts (like I did yesterday on my way to the B.C. Ferry Terminal in Tsawsassen British Columbia…) or sitting in your idling S.U.V. at the McDonald’s or Starbuck’s drive-through with your wailing spawn in the 6 pull-out seats…
You have to think… for just a fleeting moment… between sips of that soothing beverage or nibbles on that wonderful fatty goodness…
That maybe, just maybe… something is a little amiss… or out of balance…
or ever so unsustainable… in the way you share this planet with your fellow Man.
And if Al Gore’s obvious and inconvenient message is a little too wordy for you (It was for me…) than maybe getting lectured by Annie would be more suitable.
Annie Leonard’s 20 minute flash video presents a sobering message with straight and uncomplicated talk… kind of like my Grade 1 teacher who reminded me of the consequences of wrestling little Raymond Rafferty to the ground and leaving his nose bloody… actually folks, she was lecturing Raymond about not pushing my face into the clay… but that is another story.
Living in a highly developed nation, like Canada (and for some of my readers, the U.S. of A.) we have an obligation to, at least, try and get it… to try and look around our World and maybe, just maybe just lift an arm or two to try and make a difference.
So. If you have even the slightest inkling that something is a little out of sorts in the way we Westerners live… well, PLEASE have a look at this video or the You-Tube shorts.
Some prerequisite reading for this article – Roll up the Rim to Pollute!
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Gas Price Rant #8 · Wednesday February 20, 2008 by colin newell
Gas prices spiraled up 6 whole cents today. Across the country. At the same time. At all the pumps. And stations. Regardless of what inventory existed at each station.
In the last quarter, oil companies have recorded profits that are almost unimaginable. Sadly that “riches beyond avarice” does not trickle down to the retailers – not by a country kilometer. The distributors all the way up to the executive branch of most North American oil companies and refineries are making gains that are largely incomprehensible by the rest of us – hell, even banks are taking a second look at the performance of oil companies.
Why do gas prices go up in such a predictable way? Well – Oil is the number one commodity on the Planet. Coffee is next. It is a 100% “whatever the market (that’s you and I) will bear”. And since neither you nor I are going to get out of our cars anytime soon, expect the gas prices to keep rising and the profit margins of companies like Exxon to balloon faster than the U.S. deficit.
What can we do?
Nothing. Suck it up, pump it in and pay it out.
Now that attitude might be depressing and all. But You could get your sorry ass out of your car and walk downtown from time to time. Or park the car and take the bus to work. Or just leave the damn thing in the parking lot once a week.
I do not feel too bad overall – I did not own my 1st car until I turned 40 – and I bought a Honda Civic. In 8 years I have put less than 40,000 miles on it. Why did I wait til I was 40? Well. I got sick of buses and with aging Parents, they started needing the kind of attention that would require more immediate transportation options.
George W Bush rant · Thursday February 14, 2008 by colin newell
WASHINGTON (AFP) – US President George W. Bush said Thursday he plans to veto legislation passed by the Senate to bar the CIA from using harsh interrogation methods including waterboarding.
“The reason I’m vetoing the bill — first of all, we have said that whatever we do … will be legal,” Bush said in an interview with the BBC.
We all know that torture does not work. It is inhumane and pointless.
But, you know. I would entertain, at least for a moment, seeing George W. Bush get waterboarded.
I mean. What’s good for the goose… is good for the idiot.
Big obnoxious employer rant #1 · Monday February 4, 2008 by colin newell
I am a solid Union man from way back. At some point in my career I was the Chief Steward and Vice-president of a Union that represented several thousand employees…
at a (in my opinion) very fair employer in Victoria.
I feel Unions totally have a place in large companies that employ hundreds of people or more.
Where I do not feel Unions fit in are small Mom and Pop operations, small businesses in general. In todays economy, there are so many jobs to pick from that most employers live up to their obligations and follow the rules.
Enter The Overwaitea Food Group.
The Overwaitea Food Group, which also runs Save-On-Foods and Urban Fare, made the demand for two-hour shifts as it began negotiating a new contract with the United Food and Commercial Workers Union.
2 hour shifts. Where in this economy, in this Province, in this time in Earth history do we need 2 hour shifts for employees? What is the Overwaitea Food Group thinking?
What about the labor code you ask? Shortly after coming into power in 2001, the Liberal government changed the provincial minimum shift from four hours to two hours. Thank-you Gordon Campbell. The same Gordon Campbell that broke international law and Canadian human rights when he tore up legitimate contracts with the Health care industry. This same Gordon Campbell government got walloped in Canadian Supreme court who said: “No, no, no!” to the flagrant and unjustified bend in the rules.
The union representing the food workers also stated that Overwaitea wants union members to pay part of their own benefits, and the grocery giant wants to be able to convert any store to a PriceSmart outlet — with the matching reduction in contract language. Geeze.
Overwaitea and Save-On-Foods are owned by the Jim Pattison Group, Canada’s third-largest privately owned company, with $6.3 billion in sales in 2005, according to its website… Jimmy Pattison was previously mentioned in an earlier blog on outdoor Billboards in Toronto where more than 1/2 the Billboards on the streets of Toronto are unlicensed and illegally installed.
Way to go Jimmy!
Now play fair and make nice with your loyal workers!
