me......in full bargaining mode

one of my faves...

Playing For Change: Song Around the World

the wonder of the internet and how we can use it to empower and to connect....groovy song, groovy concept. i love it!!!

playingforchange.com their idea.....to help build schools, connect students, and inspire communities in need through music!! plus watching these musicians across the world jam together is freaking cool!

one love!

usually i get a little tired of westerners jumping on the bandwagon and interfering in other countries problems.....this is something we do quite a lot of.

but in this case, i am speaking about japan....another 'western' country even though they are in the east.

we in canada have our own grotesque slaughterhouses to deal with, but this whale and dolphin slaughter is something that needs to be brought to

the attention of not only people in canada, but to the people of japan, as many people there are quite oblivious to what is going on.

this new documentary deals with the issue of dolphin slaughter..........and it's incredibly horrific. dolphins and a variety of other species are surrounded

by boats and driven into coves....the coves are then netted off, the dolphins are left overnight to calm down and then the next morning they are

slaughtered.

the second video is of surfers and actors highlighting this dolphin cause.....seeing celebrities champion a cause is some i'm REALLY not fond of

as their lifestyles make them sound fairly hypocritical!! however, sometimes this is the only way to get people to notice. seeing all the ocean water

in the bay run blood red makes me feel sad for the disaster that human beings perpetrate onto other innocent beings.....

i'll leave you to view the video and hope that everyone gets the opportunity to see this insightful documentary. the video camera and the internet

truly are the champions of the voiceless.....i have never felt so empowered to tell the truth as i do with my video camera in my hand!

please understand that this is not a condemnation of the japanese people or their culture, we in canada have so much death and slaughter on our

hands that sometimes it seems unbearable........i actually know people who own hunting camps where bears, elk and other trophy animals are baited

with food and then disposed of in a manner far too similar to these dolphins in taiji, wakayama.

Less than 24 hours after professional surfer and Sea Shepherd supporter Dave Rastovich led an international group of over 30 surfers, celebrities, and musicians on a peaceful paddle-out ceremony to honor the more than 25,000 dolphins killed each year in Japan, fishermen in the tiny village of Taiji resumed the slaughter that had been delayed by the increased worldwide media attention.

In response, the surfers decided in solidarity to make a pre-dawn return to the killing cove to recreate the ceremony, albeit with fewer people to evade detection. Rastovich and the others paddled within a stone's throw of a pod of captive pilot whales and their calves who had been herded into the cove for early morning slaughter.

"The reason we surfers were there was to share the blood-stained waters at eye-level with our ocean kin awaiting their execution," said a dripping, visibly shaken Rastovich, just after paddling in. "Despite the fishermen taking great pains to hide their acts of cruelty, we seized an opportunity to bring this travesty to the world's attention."

Taiji-area fishermen, who kill dolphins and whales for their meat, netted off the bay and constructed green tarps to shield the slaughter from prying eyes and front-line cetacean activists bent on shutting down the dolphin trade forever. When the surfers learned of the imminent slaughter, they did not hesitate to return, despite the distinct possibility of violent resistance and police arrest.

Rastovich and his core team of surfers, trailed by camera crews, arrived at the infamous Taiji cove to paddle out to the captured pilot whales. After entering the water, they quickly arrived alongside the whales, who swam back and forth along the edge of the seaward net. 

The six paddlers, including Rastovich, his wife and mermaid model Hannah Fraser, Heroes TV star Hayden Panettiere, Australian actress Isabel Lucas, author Peter Heller, and professional surfer Karina Petroni, formed a traditional surfers' memorial circle situated between the whales and the blood-ridden shallows.




Local fishermen converged almost immediately, harassing the paddlers with threats and advancing on them with whirling propeller blades. The irate fishermen yelled "Why are you here? Go Home!" and then used a long wooden pole to attack and intimidate the surfers.

"Even though the fishermen used force to try and break us up, we held our peaceful stance. The feeling in the circle was of incredible strength," said Fraser.

With tensions escalating and the police sirens growing, the surfers quickly paddled back to shore where a distraught Panettiere fell to her knees sobbing, overwhelmed by the carnage she and the group had just witnessed.

"I couldn't believe how red the water was," said Panettiere. "The whales were so scared. Hopefully their deaths won't be in vain."

After hightailing it out of Taiji, the three-van convoy was stopped at the border of Wakayama prefecture by 30 policemen readied with a paddy wagon. After checking passports and questioning the group intently, the police waved the crew on their way.

Rastovich expressed extreme sorrow, saying, "With many nets and kill boats waiting beyond the cove, the fishermen's intense desire to kill left no room for escape."

Reflecting on the day's experience, a somber Lucas expressed that the worst part was that the whales are probably all dead by now. "We couldn't save these whales, but hopefully shining the light on their deaths will save others." 


For more information on Sea Shepherd's campaign to oppose the dolphin slaughter visit our Taiji Campaign homepage;
http://seashepherd.org/taiji/

Brett Dennen - Ain't No Reason (Official Single Video)

really, really beautiful song....

What do you think?

farewell george w...

if you tolerate this....then your children will be next?

Israeli TV airs Gaza doctor's pleas after children killed - ENGLISH SUBTITLES

live on israeli tv ......on the phone with the israeli tv anchor, shlomi eldar, is a palestinian doctor named dr. izz el-deen aboul aish. the doctor often gives interviews about the living conditions in gaza and how difficult it is for him as a doctor crossing the border each day and being treated so badly by the idf.

dr aboul aish is a very respected doctor who works at shiba hospital near tel aviv, israel. as dr. aboul aish is awaiting his live on-air interview, his home in palestine is shelled.....and 3 of his daughters are killed.....in front of him on live tv.

will this change the hearts of the israeli people who look upon the palestinians as rats? and are to be disposed of in the same manner?

this must end.........no human being is disposable.

Coundown: The Bush Legacy-Eight Years in Eight Minutes

8 years of george w bush in 8 minutes.

Gaza UN Aid Compound in Flames from White Phosphorous Shelling

....and now they are attacking u.n. buildings.....the genocide continues.

第81回仮装大賞準優勝作品【スーパーマリオ】

cause i'm slightly addicted to japanese gameshows!!!

What About Gay Marriage? ;-)

bwah ha ha ha ha!!! send this to your conservative friends to alert them to this danger!!!

British Columbia: Nigeria North?

wake up b.c......this isn't just happening in alberta, this project is coming on line very soon.

Flow (2008) Movie Trailer

without clean water we will all die...simple as that.

The President Is Coming - Theatrical Trailer

ok, the indians have made a funny one! watch it!

skiing sunshine

Explore Alberta -- Travel Video

sunny, crisp days

winter and fall are my favorite times of the year!  right now it is incredible to be out playing in the mountains....fresh fluffy snow, clear skies and reasonably warm weather.  you can take a slightly cold bike ride in the morning and by afternoon throw on the skis and get some fresh air up at the nordic center.

when i'm out there and moving and laughing, i can not help but to feel totally alive and grateful!  i am so lucky to get to live here in the mountains and to be healthy.....i would recommend everyone to go outside today and take a walk, get the skis out, take a bike ride or have lunch with a friend and just enjoy taking it all in..

here is one of my favorite quotes to sum up my day and my ideals......

when you are inspired by some great purpose, some extraordinary project, all your thoughts break their bounds:  your mind transcends limitations, your consciousness expands in every direction and you find yourself in a new, great and wonderful world.  dormant  forces, facilities and talents become alive and you discover yourself to be a greater person by far than you ever dreamed yourself to be....patanjali

i truly believe in this......we should always allow ourselves to daydream and to follow what we find exciting and makes us happy.  you never know until you get out and try!   if nothing else, our happiness and good energy is infectious and  can make a positive impact on others around us.

friedrich nietzsche....

'battle not with monsters

lest ye become a monster

and if you gaze into the abyss

the abyss gazes into you.'