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I don't know if the CBC is legally obligated to be unbiased, though it is government-owned and seems to do pretty well most of the time.

Their article, Microsoft rolls out the hype again with Windows XP, though, seems to be pretty unbiased. I just like the headline.

--Dan

Censorship will only hide the message from joe sixpack & friends, and I think thats exactly the goal.


I think your completely correct.

If you get your news from BBC or CBC you will get a great deal more perspective, stories that dont even exist on CNN. You will get more direct quotes from the 'enemy' - those which may make you wonder why America hasnt simply accepted the Taliban's many offeres to avoid war....

This 'reasonable' and 'logical' side of the Taleban is not being shown at all on CNN. CNN is to busy building monsters to kill instead of simply giving full, complete and fair coverage of the events.

If I understand your argument it is that if you aren't going to worry about automobile accidents or pesticides, then you shouldn't take any action to protect yourself from anthrax.

My position is that if people can reduce the risk of anthrax infection by not using the mail, they don't have to wait to do so until the automobile accident rate drops.

Other points of contention:

panic over one person dying (while incredibly tragic) is just absurd...

You are distorting the situation. First, there's no panic in usual sense and second, the reaction is not just to one person dying but to the fact that

anthrax is being sent through the mail

many more people could die and

the extent of the threat is unknown.

It's a fact that people's perception of risk can be wildly at variance with reality. However, there is good reason to think that the level of risk in normal life has risen and will continue to rise for sometime. It may not, but there is good reason to think so or those pictures on television on 9/11 held nothing more than morbid fascination.

The only way to significantly reduce the risk is to not drive.

It is not the only way. Obeying traffic laws significantly reduces the risk. I think you mean that the only way to eliminate the risk is not to drive. But it is an irrelevant observation. People generally have to drive in order to work, shop and have a normal life in the suburbs so they can only aim to reduce their risk.

My point is that no one simply looks at the risk side of the equation. They also look at the rewards, or lack thereof, as well.

You don't see "HOLY SHIT! SOMEONE DIED IN A CAR ACCIDENT! SHUT DOWN THE HIGHWAYS!".

Of course, you saw exactly this reaction when the planes were hijacked on 9/11. All airplanes in North America were grounded. There is evidence that this reaction prevented further hijackings. Precisely calibrating one's response is impossible when the size of the threat is unknown and the potential consequences are large. Similarly, with the anthrax threat, the prudent thing to do is assume the worst until more information is available.

The CBC link is broken. Here it is.

An interesting situation, indeed.

This shows how clueless the government is: such actions can do nothing. Such cluelessness about the internet is worrying for other reasons too.

And it makes me wonder about something. After the Sep11 attacks, bin Laden gave a video interview. Would you like to know what he said? I found transcripts available from BBC, CBC, and CNN. The CNN version is really different from the other two. Someone else posted a comment on this, and the replies suggested that it might have just been due to rushing things. Maybe not: maybe listing the inaccurate transcript was deliberate.

Too late - same stupid shit's probably coming up here too.

I'll take the opportunity to mention that if WW III goes all-out, I may head north, quickly, and try to start a small safe community with some friends and other individuals interested in staying alive. If you have access to solar panels, stuff that can be used to convert biomass to energy, building materials, water filtration equipment, etc... just keep this in mind, in case... you know... shit happens.

Was just looking for URL's to qualify my report.. Couldn't find anything anywhere.. Just this audio clip at CBC.

Other news items of interest are this (explaining the US change in motives) and this (showing the growing anti-US response worldwide) at smh.com.au. Otherwise unsurprisingly little except for how great the states is. Bleh.

Actually, he was most likely referring to the Taliban's first attempt at negotiations

The story can be found on cbc here

I think it likely that no matter what the case, the Taliban would not hand over Bin Laden, however, i also think it would have been a very important and symbolic gesture for the US to have supplied proof and waited for rejection before attacking Afghanistan. Reason being, it is one thing that separates free societies from rulers like the Taliban that we don't act rashly before solid proof is available.

My first choice would be for a live NPR feed though PRI and of course CBC would be welcome. All-music would be useful as an alternate though I'm really looking for something to keep me engaged on the long and at this hundredth-time boring night drive. Mp3's or other pre-recorded music aren't what I'm looking for (I already have a large collection of CD's & tapes) and so aren't interesting as an alternative. I could download some news & interview programming I like and burn it to a CD before each trip but this would be far more preparation then I care to do so regularly.

Unfortunately it appears that "satellite radio" will be as problematic for me as conventional radio. Driving through the mountains at ~45 North will likely result in service interruptions (doubtless the same as with conventional radio: always at the most interesting points.) Without much likelihood of repeaters in these rural areas this appears an inherent bug in the service and one which (at least for me) brings it from a strong possibility to something I'm not willing to pay much extra for.

A couple of tangential thoughts:

1. As Canada's CRTC takes no action to prevent piracy of US FCC-licensed satellite television broadcasts (aside from refusing to allow the services to be directly sold in Canada) I wonder if the same will hold true of radio broadcasts?
2. Is anyone aware of an online service where I could plug in a route (not a single location) and get a listing of stations by genre along the way? I imagine this would be a popular add-on to the many online route/map services but none seem to have anything like this. What I'd like to see would be something like a listing of public radio station by frequency along my route; others would presumably prefer country stations, pop or rock programming, etc.

Here are two related articles:

- article at CBC Newsworld
- article at the Globe and Mail

Passing a bill to allow for unwarranted searches strikes me as being another reaction made by leaders who weren't born to lead.

As a side note, today, Canada has declared a National Day of Mourning, the last one being over 30 years ago. Jean Chretien gave a speech to the American Ambassador to Canada, Paul Celucci. I can't find a link to his entire speech. However, CBC is quoting some of his words here. Probably the most touching part of Paul's speech was when he said (referring to Canada), "You truly are our closest friend".

Canada also observed 3 minutes of silence for those lost in Tuesday's attack. I'd just like to issue a quick note of thanks for all of us that observed those three minutes.

As a side note, today, Canada has declared a National Day of Mourning, the last one being over 30 years ago. Jean Chretien gave a speech to the American Ambassador to Canada, Paul Celucci. I can't find a link to his entire speech. However, CBC is quoting some of his words here. Probably the most touching part of Paul's speech was when he said (referring to Canada), "You truly are our closest friend".

Canada also observed 3 minutes of silence for those lost in Tuesday's attack. I'd just like to issue a quick note of thanks for all of us that observed those three minutes.

If you love New York, your heart will break when the smoke clears. Something about the city is busted for good, no matter what the mayor says.

One has only to think of London under the blitz or the San Francisco earthquake to know that great cities can recover from great disasters.

According to seminal urbanologist Jane Jacobs, cities are inherently resilient to catastrophe. More damage is done by misguided urban planning.

The World Trade Center, as its name suggests, serves a national and international market. The demand for the products and services that the companies in the World Trade Tower provided is still there. Compared to the damage caused by hurricanes in Florida, the cost to rebuild is manageable.

If New York could thrive despite a crime rate that killed many more people than the terrorist over the last 10 years, it can survive this single event.

I suspect that the most lasting effect is that architects will reconsider the need for 110 storey buildings.

The CBC also has an
online diary of a muslim family's life during and after 9/11.

<tim><

There is a report on the CBC website that Canadian Fighters have forced down two Korean aircraft in Whitehorse in the Yukon. It is believed that at least one of the jets was hijacked. It is currently surrounded by RCMP and the local Military from what I understand.

Here is the article since the site is hard to reach at the moment:

Suspect 747 escorted down in Yukon

WebPosted Tue Sep 11 15:44:33 2001

TORONTO - Schools and government offices in Whitehorse, Yukon were evacuated Tuesday as jet fighters escorted two commercial airliners to unscheduled landings, after aviation authorities suspected one of the aircraft may have been hijacked.

One of the airliners is a Korean Airlines 747, the other an unknown 747. Both landed at Whitehorse airport. The jet fighters continue to circle over Whitehorse.

Peter Novak of CBC Radio in Whitehorse told CBC News Online that aviation authorities said one of the aircraft may have been hijacked. Novak said highways in and out of town may have been closed, and a bomb squad was at the airport.

The identified Korean aircraft is believed to have been low on fuel and was redirected to Whitehorse.

Canadian transportation officials have also shut down all airports in Canada indefinitely as U.S.-bound international flights arrive on Canadian runways.

All domestic and international flights have been grounded as a precautionary measure after a series of attacks on high-profile targets in the United States.

Transportation Minister David Collenette says Canada is taking security very seriously and will be carefully monitoring the situation.

Prime Minister Jean Chretien has condemned what he called a "cowardly attack" south of the border and pledged full assistance to the U.S. He assured Canadians to remain calm, noting that the government was increasing security.

Canada's Department of Foreign Affairs has issued a phone number for anyone worried about friends or family in the New York area. Spokesperson Marie Lilkoff says Canadians can call 1-800-387-3124 for information.

U.S. flights diverted to Canada

The United States Federal Aviation Authority had earlier ordered all international flights to the United States to be diverted to Canada.

Airports throughout Atlantic Canada are beginning to receive a large influx of flights. Moncton, N.B., and St. John's, Nfld., expect up to 25 diverted planes, and CFB Goose Bay in Labrador expects close to 60 unscheduled landings.

Halifax airport says they currently have 23 planes on the ground and expect 27 more. The RCMP will search all of the passengers' luggage and they will be transported to large sports facilities in the city for the night. All the hotels in Halifax are full.

Passengers arriving in St. John's will be put up in hotels, conference centres and private homes. Many Toronto residents are also offering their homes to travellers stranded at Pearson Airport.

"All Canadian airspace has been closed other than for inbound overseas flights," said Calgary Airport Authority spokesperson Mike Cunnington.

Effects across Canada

All Canadian border traffic to New York state is limited. Border guards are on high alert and inspecting all vehicles, said Serge Charette, national president for the customs union. He says travellers with a valid reason to be in either country will be allowed through.

The Chief of Maritime staff in Halifax has ordered a lock-down and has posted guards at the gates the navy dockyards and the Shearwater air base.

The rocket-proof gates of the U.S. Embassy in Ottawa were surrounded by police cruisers and plain-clothes officers. Public Affairs officer Buck Shenkman says security will increase, but the embassy will remain open.

The Canadian Blood Services is urging people to contact their local donor branch in a cross-country effort for blood donations to ship to emergency centres in the U.S.

In Ontario, Premier Mike Harris offered his province's full support to the U.S. government, including medical support.

Many office complexes in Toronto allowed their employees to leave work as a precaution, jamming subways and the downtown train station. The CN Tower has also been shut down.

The CN tower belongs to the World Federation of Tall Towers, along with the World Trade Centre and the two work together frequently.

"Quite a few of CN Tower staff work with World Trade Center staff. There was a lot of back and forth travel in the last month. We both belong to the same industry association and this tragedy has hit us personally," commented Bud Purves, President and GM of the CN Tower.

Written by CBC News Online staff

There is a report on the CBC website that Canadian Fighters have forced down two Korean aircraft in Whitehorse in the Yukon. It is believed that at least one of the jets was hijacked. It is currently surrounded by RCMP and the local Military from what I understand.

Here is the article since the site is hard to reach at the moment:

Suspect 747 escorted down in Yukon

WebPosted Tue Sep 11 15:44:33 2001

TORONTO - Schools and government offices in Whitehorse, Yukon were evacuated Tuesday as jet fighters escorted two commercial airliners to unscheduled landings, after aviation authorities suspected one of the aircraft may have been hijacked.

One of the airliners is a Korean Airlines 747, the other an unknown 747. Both landed at Whitehorse airport. The jet fighters continue to circle over Whitehorse.

Peter Novak of CBC Radio in Whitehorse told CBC News Online that aviation authorities said one of the aircraft may have been hijacked. Novak said highways in and out of town may have been closed, and a bomb squad was at the airport.

The identified Korean aircraft is believed to have been low on fuel and was redirected to Whitehorse.

Canadian transportation officials have also shut down all airports in Canada indefinitely as U.S.-bound international flights arrive on Canadian runways.

All domestic and international flights have been grounded as a precautionary measure after a series of attacks on high-profile targets in the United States.

Transportation Minister David Collenette says Canada is taking security very seriously and will be carefully monitoring the situation.

Prime Minister Jean Chretien has condemned what he called a "cowardly attack" south of the border and pledged full assistance to the U.S. He assured Canadians to remain calm, noting that the government was increasing security.

Canada's Department of Foreign Affairs has issued a phone number for anyone worried about friends or family in the New York area. Spokesperson Marie Lilkoff says Canadians can call 1-800-387-3124 for information.

U.S. flights diverted to Canada

The United States Federal Aviation Authority had earlier ordered all international flights to the United States to be diverted to Canada.

Airports throughout Atlantic Canada are beginning to receive a large influx of flights. Moncton, N.B., and St. John's, Nfld., expect up to 25 diverted planes, and CFB Goose Bay in Labrador expects close to 60 unscheduled landings.

Halifax airport says they currently have 23 planes on the ground and expect 27 more. The RCMP will search all of the passengers' luggage and they will be transported to large sports facilities in the city for the night. All the hotels in Halifax are full.

Passengers arriving in St. John's will be put up in hotels, conference centres and private homes. Many Toronto residents are also offering their homes to travellers stranded at Pearson Airport.

"All Canadian airspace has been closed other than for inbound overseas flights," said Calgary Airport Authority spokesperson Mike Cunnington.

Effects across Canada

All Canadian border traffic to New York state is limited. Border guards are on high alert and inspecting all vehicles, said Serge Charette, national president for the customs union. He says travellers with a valid reason to be in either country will be allowed through.

The Chief of Maritime staff in Halifax has ordered a lock-down and has posted guards at the gates the navy dockyards and the Shearwater air base.

The rocket-proof gates of the U.S. Embassy in Ottawa were surrounded by police cruisers and plain-clothes officers. Public Affairs officer Buck Shenkman says security will increase, but the embassy will remain open.

The Canadian Blood Services is urging people to contact their local donor branch in a cross-country effort for blood donations to ship to emergency centres in the U.S.

In Ontario, Premier Mike Harris offered his province's full support to the U.S. government, including medical support.

Many office complexes in Toronto allowed their employees to leave work as a precaution, jamming subways and the downtown train station. The CN Tower has also been shut down.

The CN tower belongs to the World Federation of Tall Towers, along with the World Trade Centre and the two work together frequently.

"Quite a few of CN Tower staff work with World Trade Center staff. There was a lot of back and forth travel in the last month. We both belong to the same industry association and this tragedy has hit us personally," commented Bud Purves, President and GM of the CN Tower.

Written by CBC News Online staff

• toronto globe and mail
• CBC: Suspect 747 escorted down in Yukon

See, that's kinda funny, because last time I was in Korea, I was listening to CBC Radio over the Internet. And this was three years ago. Video too.

See, that's kinda funny, because last time I was in Korea, I was listening to CBC Radio over the Internet. And this was three years ago. Video too.

In Canada, the most popular form of payment these days is Interac (aka. the ATM card.)* It's accepted almost everywhere. Interac is the name of the network that connects all of the bank machines (ATMs) in this country -- the banks just extended the existing network by putting terminals in retail outlets. The card takes funds directly from your bank account, meaning you don't have to worry about bills or high interest rates -- as long as you've got the cash. Like the cards in France, you need to enter your PIN number before completing a purchase. It's just like withdrawing money from a bank machine, except instead of giving you cash, the funds are transferred directly to the merchant's account.

The bank, naturally, takes a service charge from each transaction. As a result, some retailers don't allow Interac purchases below a certain limit (usually $5.) But it's pretty rare these days to go to a place that doesn't take the card. A few years ago, I was passing through the U.S., and almost ran into trouble when I tried paying for lunch at McDonald's with my bank card. The cashier just gave me a funny look. (Fortunately, I had a bit of cash on me at the time.) That shows how much we take it for granted.

(*) According to a study that was conducted about a year ago, 21% use credit cards as their primary method of payment, 35% use cash, and 42% use Interac. People aged 18-24 were at 61% in favour of Interac.

I would think that the USA would be pretty quick to fund research using the Canadian skin cells since it would help get fetal cells out of the limelight.

See the CBC story.

The CBC is reportingh in this story that Canadian researchers have managed to extract stem cells from the skin of both mice and humans. This promises to not only render the patent on fetal stem cell research moot but also opens the door to research uncomplicated by religion and ethical debate.

Opposition to the FTAA is hardly a new thing. Many will remember the recent Summit of the Americas in Quebec City, where the FTAA was a major issue. There, a throng of protesters, estimated between 25,000 and 35,000 in number clashed with 6,000 riot police over the agreement.

Trying to oppose something as big as the FTAA, however, can be less than a walk in the park. I was walking down a street in the Quebec City centre where a circle of demonstrators were sitting, making speeches and singing protest songs, just before they were hit by a volley of tear gas cannisters from riot police. Political repression ain't just an American phenomenon. America saw it in Seattle, but the rest of the free world is getting the benefit of the experience these days.

Just how serious expressing ones political opinion can get these days became obvious to me as I watched the rubber-coated bullets fire and the tear gas fly. A Canadian Member of Parliament, Svend Robinson, who attended the protest, was shot with a rubber bullet, himself.

For more info on where opposition to the FTAA began, see the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation's report on police actions and main page on the summit.

Opposition to the FTAA is hardly a new thing. Many will remember the recent Summit of the Americas in Quebec City, where the FTAA was a major issue. There, a throng of protesters, estimated between 25,000 and 35,000 in number clashed with 6,000 riot police over the agreement.

Trying to oppose something as big as the FTAA, however, can be less than a walk in the park. I was walking down a street in the Quebec City centre where a circle of demonstrators were sitting, making speeches and singing protest songs, just before they were hit by a volley of tear gas cannisters from riot police. Political repression ain't just an American phenomenon. America saw it in Seattle, but the rest of the free world is getting the benefit of the experience these days.

Just how serious expressing ones political opinion can get these days became obvious to me as I watched the rubber-coated bullets fire and the tear gas fly. A Canadian Member of Parliament, Svend Robinson, who attended the protest, was shot with a rubber bullet, himself.

For more info on where opposition to the FTAA began, see the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation's report on police actions and main page on the summit.

So why would anyone keep using embryonic stem cells?

The Canadian equivalent of RIAA is called SOCAN. They are *much* more powerful than Americal RIAA (in terms of how they screw over the poppulace).

• SOCAN is allowed to charge "tarrifs" for the use of music. For example, as many people have mentioned there's a tarrif on CDR Media. Most People also realize that radio stations and broadcasters pay a tarrif. What most people probably don't know, there is a tarrif on any and all public performance of music based on square footage. If you hire a local musician or music group to play for your business or event, over and above paying the musician, you are also supposed to pay a SOCAN tarrif. This is the same for live performance as pre-recorded (and purchased) music. I have a friend who owns a used clothing store. There is also a small section of used CD's. (about 100 of them.). She received a threatening letter from SOCAN that said she would have to register and pay per square footage for the 'right' to play music in her store. If she didn't do so voluntarily, they had the right to retroactively charge them for the past 5 years. Someone else who's received this letter. Business also have to pay a tariff for playing music on the phone system when they put people on hold.

• SOCAN has so far been able to chill any criticism of their activities with their small army of lawyers. Many web pages criticizing SOCAN have been taken down. (I can't find any links to back this up anymore. Do a search of RIAA, then do a search on SOCAN, and come to your own conclusions. People never say anything bad about SOCAN. Kind of strange given human nature to complain, isn't it?)

One of the reasons these activities have not caused as much noise as RIAA activities is because SOCAN is a "non-profit" organization who's purpose is to collect money on behalf of musician. Never mind than SOCAN is founded and operated by musicians (who give themselves a pretty hefty wage for this service they provide to other fellow musicians.) I have to admit, it's an ingenious scam. Unlike RIAA, however, you can't say that SOCAN screws both consumers *and* musicians.

In Conclusion, I think Canada has a long history of letting government roll over their rights and "take care" of them. For example, one of the largest controversies of a recent election was a proposed plan to introduce a 2 tier health care system. This would mean that if I was unhappy with the government funded health care, I would be able to buy my own at a private clinic / hospital. As it stands, many patients who need tests / surgery on a potentially emergency basis have to either wait three months or go abroad for health care. The difference between here and the US is that in Canada, it all happens quietly without much resistance.

I have long been a fan of carbon taxes for exactly this reason.

I was just listening to the CBC today and they were going on about how the effects of Toronto's urban sprawl (the second fastest growing city in N-A) should be asssisted by having better transit systems in place.

That's when this discussion came back to me and it occured to me that if nothing else, N.A. governments should be subsidising mass transit a lot more than they do.

Consider the effects if major urban centres in North America had fast and efficient mass transit service to and from the surrounding areas (see the Go Transit homepage).

When I saw the comment regarding crossing the border with a suitcase nuke, I immediately thought it was a reference to the recent case of Ahmed Ressam. I didn't think these things actually existed.

I guess it was bigger news here...

A good example of why I'm glad we're allowed to record others (especially cops) here in Canada. In this case, it was a 3rd party recording this video.

I don't have a link to the actual video but I've seen it and it's perfectly clear (as seen in the photo) the cop was slamming the woman's head into the cruiser when the other cop wasn't looking (he was offscreen, to the right).

this would be a great reason to sue the company to fucking smithereens, but unfortunately it has probably already folded so one couldn't collect anything.

What? Sue Canada Post to smithereens? Canada's national mail service, owned by the Government of Canada? Actually, counting the national debt, the finances of the company are in the red by about $500 billion, which is not unlike most dot-coms.

Oh well... one can always visit the homes of its boardmembers with a cigar-cutter, mafia-style, and make yourself a nice necklace of fingers

Let me give you the address of the Chairman: 24 Sussex Drive, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. You can't miss it; it's the one with big tall gates, security cameras, and badass RCMP everywhere.

Actually us Canadians prefer to express our displeasure non-lethally, with pies in the face and such. But don't get too close, he's been known to personally handle protesters by the neck. Probably something he learned from watching Hockey Night in Canada.

this would be a great reason to sue the company to fucking smithereens, but unfortunately it has probably already folded so one couldn't collect anything.

What? Sue Canada Post to smithereens? Canada's national mail service, owned by the Government of Canada? Actually, counting the national debt, the finances of the company are in the red by about $500 billion, which is not unlike most dot-coms.

Oh well... one can always visit the homes of its boardmembers with a cigar-cutter, mafia-style, and make yourself a nice necklace of fingers

Let me give you the address of the Chairman: 24 Sussex Drive, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. You can't miss it; it's the one with big tall gates, security cameras, and badass RCMP everywhere.

Actually us Canadians prefer to express our displeasure non-lethally, with pies in the face and such. But don't get too close, he's been known to personally handle protesters by the neck. Probably something he learned from watching Hockey Night in Canada.

"you" might like the "fact you can get whatever medial service *you* want" but not everyone can afford that financially. Your community is made of a variety of people. All of them equally valuable. The idea that they should be arranged parallel to their financial worth is a distinctly American ideal. One that is born of the Natioanl-Jingoism that tells you about the supremacy of self and the individual (really devices to lull you into becoming a mindless, want-based consumer of As Much As Possible - this is the false American Dream).

Please read this article. Then see this.

I am soundly against for-profit genetic bioengineering. Here is the reason:
http://cbc.ca/cgi-bin/templates/view.cgi?/news/200 1/06/21/gm_canola010621

This is the inquiry I sent and replies I received in return from the two principles in the article, CFIA and monsanto.

To the CBC, Monsanto and CFIA I sent:

Please see the article filed by the CBC located at http://cbc.ca/cgi-bin/templates/view.cgi?/news/200 1/06/21/gm_canola010621.

A quote by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA), which is unaccredited in the article, says "advised farmers to "use another chemical." The CFIA is suggesting a protocol be followed, may I please have a copy? Can I have the name/number and/or email address of the agent of the CFIA that the quote should be accredited to, and/or someone who is familiar with the protocol.

In addition, the article says "Monsanto, which created one of the GM canola strains, says that if farmers' call the company, they'll send out a team to manually pull up the weeds. " Exactly which variety (brand name/part number) of Canola is being described in the article? What policy statement, press release or otherwise did the agent (who?) of Monsanto makes this statement. Who is the contact person for the program? What is the procedure to request Monsanto to have 'a team to manually pull up the weeds'?

If you are unable to provide this information, any constructive direction is appreciated. The staff member from CBC Online who filed the report would probably be very helpfull.

Thank you all for your help.

Best Regards, MEMEMEMEME xxx.xxx.xxxx Day xxx.xxx.xxxx Eve

CC: rfiset-Canadian Food Inspection Agency, Nepean, Ontario. bbilmer-Canadian Food Inspection Agency. Doug Kirkaldy-CBC, Senior Editor, CBC Online. Ken Wolff-CBC, Executive Producer, CBC Online, Toronto, Ontario. Lee Anne Murphy-PR, monsanto, Winnipeg, Manitoba. Trish Jordan-PR, monsanto, Winnipeg, Manitoba.


To which I received this reply from a Monsanto rep, after I had requested that the other (TJordan), whom I had spoke with on the phone, send me the details of the procedure to remove these rogue plants - she agreed, but did not fullfill her commitment:

Mr xxxx:

In reference to your questions concerning Monsanto, I would offer the following:

If you are a farm customer of Monsanto, I would encourage you to contact your local farm business representative for assistance.

For general information on the agronomy of canola, I would refer you to information available from provincial government extension personnel, or the Canola Council of Canada.

Dr LA Murphy
Director, Public and Industry Affairs
Monsanto Canada
Winnipeg, Manitoba Canada
R3T 4H8
Phone: 204-985-1011
Fax: 204-488-9599



Later I received this fairly disarming message from the CFIA:

Your e-mail to Bart Bilmer was passed onto me. I was interviewed by Kelly Crowe, CBC National TV News, last week, over the telephone, about reports of RoundUp-Ready canola volunteers cropping up in farmers fields. I explained that volunteers are a widespread phenomenon in farming, they are a nuisance and that there is not much new in this story. The only difference is that farmers cannot use RoundUp herbicide to get rid of these particular volunteers, but can deal with them through other agronomic practises, including using other herbicides. I discussed that the CFIA has more or less warned developers and growers of these sort of new crops that careful agronomic methods should be employed when cultivating them, to minimize the occurrance of multiple herbicide tolerant volunteers, that of course, would be trickier, to get rid of. I do not have any particular protocols at my fingertips - these issues are agronomic in nature and do not pose any significant increase in environmental risks.

I hope this is of some help in clarifying the background to this story. Please do not hesitate to contact me if you need further information/elaboration.

Stephen Yarrow, Ph.D.
National Manager
Plant Biosafety Office
CFIA

I am not wholly satisfied. Although this specific and distinct event does not pose any immediate and dire circumstance, the opportunity for this to get out of control (our reliance on few GMO-herbicide/pesticide varieties - forgoing all else) is obvious. Basically, the attitude from monsanto is "piss off" and the CFIA is "nothing to see here, move along".

If you notice above, you'll see I said "for profit" bio-engineering. When we see people motivated by selfishness and greed beholden to shareholders and *not* to citizens we have irresponsible decisions made. Monsanto does not ultimately care about farmers, food, environment, or people, really, in the end, their decisions are always tainted by myopic greed. We cannot entrust such a potentially explosive technology to capitalists - they *will* compromise safety (and whatever else) for profit. And the "whatever else" things are the only ones that are important! I would be willing to accept bioengineering from non-profits because I believe they can be trusted to be transparent, follow the scientific method and allow peer-review. Furthermore, I sincerely believe a non-profit would not be motivated to steer their work towards anything except food-supply and food-safety. Simple.

What I would like to do is get my hands on some of this canola and help it become a greater nuisance - and Invite Monsanto to come and pick it up.. bastards. How are ORGANIC farmers going to deal with these rogue-invasive canola plants? I hope monsanto has lots of people to do pulling...

I invite anyone concerned with this to contact Monsanto directly:

monsanto CANADA, WINNIPEG Manitoba (204)985-1000

lee anne murphy
lee.anne.murphy@monsanto.com

trish jordan, monsanto
trish.jordan@monsanto.com

• a book on how to use the Ontario Small Claims Court system
• a link to some useful information, including a PDF document on the Small Claims system

Of course, if there are enough people that have been pissed off by Rogers, we could go for a huge class-action lawsuit, but I have a feeling that a grassroots small-claims onslaught will be much more effective, and put more cash back into your pocket if you've been affected.

It WILL end up being a slave to pro-government interest groups as the CBC is.

Do you ever listen to CBC radio? CBC television is another issue - I'd be more in favour of getting rid of that some of that rubbish - but CBC Radio and Radio Canada, along with snow removal, are one of the few things my near 50% effective income tax rate buys me in this country. The news reporting is actually good and insightful, more importantly, it's the most balanced reporting you hear anywhere IMHO. Their programs are excellent, and they actually play music that isn't top 40. Wow! I won't even get into nifty things like internet streaming, which anyone can tune into - even you Americans. (I highly recommend a good shortwave reciever and Radio Canada tho..)

This has to be a troll.. oh well, IHBT.

Yeah yeah, I know, but you gotta admit, a country that's busy having a hissy fit about the UK knighting a few of their citizens (even when it's all the same damn queen to begin with) must not have many more important things to worry about.

The CBC Radio One science program Quirks and Quarks has an MP3 audio interview with Dr. Zhe-Xi Luo (the leader of the team that described this animal) in their archived show listing for May 26, 2001.

The CBC Radio One science program Quirks and Quarks has an MP3 audio interview with Dr. Zhe-Xi Luo (the leader of the team that described this animal) in their archived show listing for May 26, 2001.

The CBC Radio One science program Quirks and Quarks has an MP3 audio interview with Dr. Zhe-Xi Luo (the leader of the team that described this animal) in their archived show listing for May 26, 2001.

rumours that a internet outage a few weeks ago that affected the @home network was the result of vandals

This was not the work of vandals, it was the work of thieves.

Unfortunately I have no evidence

A report at the time of the incident can be found here.

However the information in the article is not entirely accurate.

So far as I know the cops haven't caught the thieves yet, but their ilk has been seen before and their MO is no mystery.

This is what shakes:

• utilities lay wire/fibre/cable in the rail beds - usually a couple of feet under and in conduits along the railway lines
• for servicing purposes, every few clicks they let the conduit/wire come closer to the surface - sometimes it is laying exposed
• along come the thieves
• they find 2 exposed spots
• cut the wire at both ends
• tie one end to the back of their 4x4
• haul off a large chunk of pipe.

• Good thing most criminals are dumb

  Unfortunately for the thieves in the story above, this proved too true. When they made the first cut they found they were dealing with fibre, which, in the eyes of thieves is useless and they left the scene.

  Why would someone want to vandalize an internet line?

  (It would be redundant to say here that these are not vandals but are in fact thieves). What the theives were after is good old copper wire. Copper wire theft is a problem world wide. In this case the thieves were after 1/4 inch copper cable which they can sell for about a 75 cents a pound at the junkyard. In other parts of the world thievs go after the thin, colourful wires used in telephony, because they are valued as material for weaving.

  - Vandals are annoying; thieves change the way we live

Actually, both BCE (which owns Sympatico internet service, the CTV television network, a mini-satellite network, and a bunch of newspapers), and CanWest Global (which owns the 'Global' television network, a dizzying number of newspapers (or just has major interest in some), movies and many other ventures) had been recently investigated by the CRTC as part of their license renewal because of the fact there is some concern that these companies hold far too much control over the media and this threatens both the depth of coverage of stories as well as the objectiveness of the journalists covering them.

The problem is worse when the State-owned CBC is told by politicos to become more "profitable", then start to copycat the private media stations, and start competing for a bigger share of the advertising market. So, the State television becomes more like a whorthless popular pap provider like private networks than quality content provider for the minority of people who really understand culture (and are the only people who really matter - as opposed to the masses of corporate fare-sucking unwashed consumer hordes).

Interestingly, the people the most opposed to tha increase of advertising share are the private broadcasters; they're the most vocal in wanting to keep the CBC a State-operated network so it won't intrude too much in their lucrative advertising.

But it seems it still won't please the likes of Konrad Black, who would like the State minimized to the point that it solely looks at Konrad's interests (as long as Konrad doesn't pay any taxes for it), so Konrad keeps his crusade to destroy the State as much as possible, especially if it won't let him be anointed.

--

Rick Mercer goes down to various locations in the US and asks really dumb questions of people on the streets and even University students and profs. For example:

AT COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY, NY. On Canadians' care for the elderly: "We demand that the Government of Canada discourage the Canadian tradition of placing senior citizens on northern ice flows, leaving them to perish."

So, let's get this straight... the Slashdot folks are talking about errors in the spelling of the CBC and the RingMouse, but no mention of their laughable coverage of Apple's new OS X? Over the last week or so there have been many trivial sumbmissions posted while there's hardly a peep about a new (BSD, Darwin) open-source based OS that will become the largest UNIX distro within a year? This despite the large media atention given to it and user interest? Hey, I watch CBC NewsWorld every day and misspelling their name is not somethnig to be proud of; but I don't think that this nor what EvansData mistakenly put in a poll is exactly newsworthy compared to something like OS X. Come on Slashdot, post some of the many OS X story submissions you get everyday. Fix the real errors on the site.

It was also suggested that Monsanto had buzzed his field repeatedly in a low flying plain and dropped the engineered seed so that they could come back and sue him later. As crazy as it sounds, the farmer believes this

Check your facts. The farmer from the article, Perry Schmeiser, claims the Monsanto seeds contaminated his crops through cross-pollination and wind. It blew in from other farmers' fields and seed trucks.

The farmer couple mentioned in the National article who claim their field was buzzed by Monsanto, said the Monsanto agents dusted herbicide to see if their crops would die or not. The exact statements made were:

The Kram family in Raymore say planes and a helicopter have buzzed their fields. The couple says agents dropped weedkiller on their canola field, to see if the crops had the Monsanto's gene.

Monsanto says they had absolutely nothing to do with it.

This is how it works: Monsanto requires the farmers who buy "Roundup Ready" canola seeds to enter into a contract. The farmer must buy new seed every year from Monsanto. They are not allowed to reuse seeds from last year's crop. This is how Monsanto makes it's money. The articles at CBC and the National both reference the procedure.

Can you reference your source for the infertile seed modification? I haven't seen that anywhere yet. It's a dangerous idea.

This is how it works: Monsanto requires the farmers who buy "Roundup Ready" canola seeds to enter into a contract. The farmer must buy new seed every year from Monsanto. They are not allowed to reuse seeds from last year's crop. This is how Monsanto makes it's money. The articles at CBC and the National both reference the procedure.

Can you reference your source for the infertile seed modification? I haven't seen that anywhere yet. It's a dangerous idea.

good article with realvideo here . i think percy should counter sue Monsanto for allowing nature to diseminate their genetically altered seeds into his field. they have contaminated his crops.

this whole thing make me sick. here is an account from a meeting where Percy spoke.

Drat: I finally found the link after I posted. Here's the link to CBC National's special on bullying

The link should have pointed here instead.