Thursday, March 31, 2011

Leaders' Debate | Green Party of Canada

Leaders' Debate | Green Party of Canada

Yesterday, on Power Play with Don Martin,  I began, “déjà vu all over again.”
Haven’t we been here before?  Didn’t the issue get resolved?
Why did the Consortium say I could not be included in 2008?  Because, they claimed 3 of 4 leaders said they would not participate if I were included.  That was the only reason.  So when Jack Layton and Stephen Harper relented I was included.
This time they have a new reason.  Invitations only go to parties with MPs in the House.  They are making this up as they go along.  The debate decision-making is an  unregulated, ad hoc process that makes decisions without benefit of rules or criteria.  The decision makers are the so-called Broadcast Consortium, as the news directors from CBC, CTV, Global, TVA and Radio Canada style themselves when making all the decisions about the leaders' debate.
How can a group of five television executives decide to exclude a party running in 308 ridings when they include a party that only runs candidates in Quebec?  How can debates, a critical part of the democratic process, operate in such a high-handed and arbitrary fashion?  How can a party with the support of one in ten Canadians be excluded?  And most fundamentally, how can TV executives tell Canadians that a vote for Green candidates is not a viable vote?  That is in fact what they are doing.  Far from facilitating a full and fair discussion in a democracy, they are interfering in democracy by dictating what votes are worth casting. What other interpretation can there be when the news media tells the public what leaders have a right to be heard? 
Yet, we were the only party in 2008 to receive more votes than in 2006.  We had nearly one million votes.  We are the only party likely to raise important issues, consistently ignored by others.  We are the only party committed to “high road” politics, to rejecting the politics of negativity, the attack ads and the smears. 
Canadians are fair minded.  Over 70% in poll after poll have argued that the Greens should be included.  This is not because 70% of Canadians plan to vote Green, but because Canadians recognize that democracy is healthier when all voices are heard. Right now, 83% of those who have gone on line on the CBC poll support the Greens being in the debates.
Canadians know when something is unfair and wrong.  This decision will be pilloried by Canadians from coast to coast because it offends our basic sense of decency and fair play. 
Please help us turn up the pressure.

Sign the Petition at demanddemocraticdebates.ca (which is endorsed by the Green Party of Canada).
 
Send emails to:
CTV - Wendy Freeman President of News  and News Managing Editor Dennis McIntosh programming@ctv.ca
CBC Jennifer McGuire General manager and Chief of News  ombudsman@cbc.ca
Global - Troy Reeb  viewercontact.globalnational@globaltv.com
TVA - Serge Fortin rédacteur en chef, au service de l'information de TVA info@tva.ca
Radio Canada - ombudsman@radio-canada.ca

Thank you!

Thursday, March 24, 2011

Jody Williams - Curriculum Vitae

Jody Williams - Curriculum Vitae

Curriculum Vitae

Jody WilliamsBorn 9 October 1950.

Profession
Ms. Jody Williams is the founding coordinator of the International Campaign to Ban Landmines (ICBL), which was formally launched by six nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) in October of 1992. Ms. Williams has overseen the growth of the ICBL to more than 1,000 NGOs in more than sixty countries. She has served as the chief strategist and spokesperson for the campaign. Working in a unprecedented cooperative effort with governments, UN bodies and the International Committee of the Red Cross, the ICBL achieved its goal of an international treaty banning antipersonnel landmines during the diplomatic conference held in Oslo in September 1997.

In her capacity as ICBL coordinator, she has written and spoken extensively on the problem of landmines and the movement to ban them. In recognition of her expertise on the issue, Ms. Williams was invited to serve as a technical adviser to the UN's Study on the Impact of Armed Conflict on Children, led by Ms. Graca Machel, former first lady of Mozambique.

Prior to beginning the ICBL, Ms. Williams worked for eleven years to build public awareness about U.S. policy toward Central America. From 1986 to 1992, she developed and directed humanitarian relief projects as the deputy director of the Los Angeles-based Medical Aid for El Salvador. From 1984 to 1986, she was co-coordinator of the Nicaragua-Honduras Education Project, leading fact-finding delegations to the region. Previously, she taught English as a Second Language (ESL) in Mexico, the United Kingdom, and Washington, D.C.


Education
Ms. Williams has a Master's Degree in International Relations from the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies (Washington, D.C., 1984), a Master's Degree in Teaching Spanish and ESL from the School for International Training (Brattleboro, Vermont, 1976), and a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Vermont (Burlington, Vermont, 1972).

Presentations/publications
In her capacity as ICBL coordinator, she has written and spoken extensively on the problem of landmines and the movement to ban them. She has spoken in various fora, including at the United Nations, the European Parliament, and the Organization of African Unity. Ms. Williams co-authored a seminal study, based on two years of field research in four mine-affected countries, detailing the socioeconomic consequences of landmine contamination. She has written articles for journals produced by the United Nations and the ICRC, among others. Papers and publications include: After the Guns Fall Silent: The Enduring Legacy of Landmines, Shawn Roberts and Jody Williams, Vietnam Veterans of America Foundation, Washington, D.C., 1995. "Landmines and measures to eliminate them," International Review of the Red Cross, July-August 1995. No. 307. "Landmines: Dealing with the Environmental Impact," Environment Security, 1997, Vol. 1. No. 2. "Social Consequences of Widespread Use of Landmines," Landmine Symposium, International Committee of the Red Cross, Montreux, Switzerland, April 1993. "The Protection of Children Against Landmines and Unexploded Ordinance," Impact of Armed Conflict on Children: Report of the Expert Group of the Secretary-General, Ms. Graca Machel, A/51/306, 26 August 1996.

From Les Prix Nobel. The Nobel Prizes 1997, Editor Tore Frängsmyr, [Nobel Foundation], Stockholm, 1998

This CV was written at the time of the award and later published in the book series Les Prix Nobel/Nobel Lectures. The information is sometimes updated with an addendum submitted by the Laureate. To cite this document, always state the source as shown above.

Copyright © The Nobel Foundation 1997

Wednesday, March 23, 2011

Nightly Inspiration

Nightly Inspiration by Sol Lang
Nightly Inspiration, a photo by Sol Lang on Flickr.

How shall you inspire me tonight? The question is suggestive, yet innocent. As an artist one is always in search of inspiration and nothing seems more inspiring to this artist than the beauty of a woman. There is a joy in capturing her as she is being a woman. To this artist, femininity alone is all that it takes to be inspired, but when the model is superlatively attractive, the inspiration as well as the resulting art are ever so much more sweet. It's like food feeding hunger versus food feeding the palate. But it is nourishment that, I am glad to say, never seems to result in satiation.

Sunday, March 13, 2011

Plateau Alley Sewer Cover

Plateau Alley Sewer Cover by Sol Lang
Plateau Alley Sewer Cover a photo by Sol Lang on Flickr.

A composition of graphic elements that convey a time and a place most city dwellers can relate to. Memories from the time we were children, playing on the streets or back alleys of our neighbourhoods.

To see more of my work, please go to my web site.

Wednesday, March 9, 2011

Time, time, time. See what's become of me. (Paul Simon)

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