You Gabba Gabba 'Party in My Tummy'

Federal government blocks sale of MDA space division

Ottawa blocks sale of space agency to U.S. firm
Andrew Mayeda and David Akin , Canwest News Service
Published: Thursday, April 10, 2008
OTTAWA -- In an unprecedented move, the Harper government has blocked the sale of MacDonald, Dettwiler and Associates Ltd., a Canadian aerospace firm that developed a key surveillance satellite, to a U.S. company.


WAY TO GO FOLKS! I believe our signatures were a little part of this momentous decision.

Painting Elephant

France Sings for the USA

Pangea Day..... May 10th... A day to recommit ourselves to a new worldview...



This is a brilliant idea. Individuals are invited to sing the national anthem of another country in an effort to redefine how we look at our neighbours.

Just Beautiful.

http://pangeaday.org/?gclid=CPjp-9CL1pICFQksswodKAOAAA

Apartment Hunt in New York

is an exercise in international diplomacy.

After a credit check, submission of past three years taxes, copies of rrsp documentation, letter from employer stating salary and bondable status, willingness to pay 4 months rent in advance, we are still struggling to secure a basement apartment for $50 more than we currently pay for half a house in Toronto.

We are ... in a word... discouraged

Earth Day Goodies!

Earthy the Earth has a timely reminder for you as Earth Day nears............

Send a photo of yourself in any of our gear and you'll be featured on our site!

Mind's Eye Creations

Don't have time to hand fashion those lovely crafty items that make a home a home?

Go to Mind's Eye Creations for some homey-home essentials. Shop owner Gina just opened her doors and already has a nice array of products to peruse.

Click on the header to go directly to the site or copy paste the following:
http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5737934

Cloth Diapers

Saving the planet one pantload at a time........

Just because you care about the earth doesn't mean you have to lose your sense of humour!

www.cafepress.com/howdygal
or click on header to go directly to the site

Rockin' Robin design now at Howdy Gal

Just in time for spring!
www.cafepress.com/howdygal

NEW LEMON BIBS AND T'S AVAILABLE AT MY ONLINE SHOP

Commemorate your wee one's first citrus experience with this fine paraphernalia dedicated to sour faces everywhere.

Feel free to contact me if you would like merchandise personalized.


www.cafepress.com/howdygal

Nowruz, Persian celebration of love and peace

I was contacted by an Iranian journalist named Kourosh Ziabari. He wished me a happy spring and invited me to peruse his article about Nowruz -- A Persian celebration of the arrival of spring.

This is a gem of a blog and I invite you to visit it. Firstly for it's artistic merit and secondly to see Iran through the eyes of an Iranian.

A sincere thanks to Kourosh for this article and link to your blog!

"The Vernal equinox is started right now and we are exactly at the first of spring. This fabulous and delightful day is called “Nowruz” (having various local and intaernational pronunciations) in Persian culture, so I have a basket full of happy congratulations to present you within the best wishes at the very beginning of New Year. "

http://cyberfaith.blogspot.com/

PEACE

Moose A. Moose 'Everywhere I Go'

Barack Obama's Speech

http://my.barackobama.com/page/content/hisownwords/

Wow.... wow!

I tried to watch it with a cynical eye..... but I was impressed. It's been called a Kennedyesque speech. I do agree.

Can I Get a Napkin Please?

Improv Everywhere stages a musical in a food court of unsuspecting people. I giggled and giggled.

SYSTEM BY MR. ROAM...... featuring Socrates

My boy Jeffrey K. Hocken edited this video. It was his first major project out of school. I'm proud as punch!

Post Secrets

POST SECRETS

For some reason this recent batch choked me up a little.
postsecret.blogspot.com

FINAL PETION PUSH - LET'S GIT 'ER DONE FOLKS!

We are calling on the Government of Canada to intervene in sale of Canadian-based MacDonald, Dettwiler and Associates to US company ATK which derives more than half of its $4 billion US in annual revenue from military contracts, including cluster bombs, depleted uranium rounds and landmines.

We support American-born engineer Paul Cottle's decision to quit for ethical reasons.

We ask Federal Industry Minister Jim Prentice to review the sale, keeping in mind the death and destruction ATK products cause around the world.

We as members of the global community SAY NO TO THIS AQUISITION!

We are proud of the CANADARM and do not want this Canadian icon associated in any way with this company.

Thank you for your time and consideration. '

http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/notoatksale/index.html

Study: 935 false statements on Iraq

By DOUGLASS K. DANIEL, Associated Press Writer




WASHINGTON - A study by two nonprofit journalism organizations found that President Bush and top administration officials issued hundreds of false statements about the national security threat from Iraq in the two years following the 2001 terrorist attacks.


The study concluded that the statements "were part of an orchestrated campaign that effectively galvanized public opinion and, in the process, led the nation to war under decidedly false pretenses."

The study was posted Tuesday on the Web site of the Center for Public Integrity, which worked with the Fund for Independence in Journalism.

White House spokesman Scott Stanzel did not comment on the merits of the study Tuesday night but reiterated the administration's position that the world community viewed Iraq's leader, Saddam Hussein, as a threat.

"The actions taken in 2003 were based on the collective judgment of intelligence agencies around the world," Stanzel said.

The study counted 935 false statements in the two-year period. It found that in speeches, briefings, interviews and other venues, Bush and administration officials stated unequivocally on at least 532 occasions that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction or was trying to produce or obtain them or had links to al-Qaida or both.

"It is now beyond dispute that Iraq did not possess any weapons of mass destruction or have meaningful ties to al-Qaida," according to Charles Lewis and Mark Reading-Smith of the Fund for Independence in Journalism staff members, writing an overview of the study. "In short, the Bush administration led the nation to war on the basis of erroneous information that it methodically propagated and that culminated in military action against Iraq on March 19, 2003."

Named in the study along with Bush were top officials of the administration during the period studied: Vice President Dick Cheney, national security adviser Condoleezza Rice, Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld, Secretary of State Colin Powell, Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz and White House press secretaries Ari Fleischer and Scott McClellan.

Bush led with 259 false statements, 231 about weapons of mass destruction in Iraq and 28 about Iraq's links to al-Qaida, the study found. That was second only to Powell's 244 false statements about weapons of mass destruction in Iraq and 10 about Iraq and al-Qaida.

The center said the study was based on a database created with public statements over the two years beginning on Sept. 11, 2001, and information from more than 25 government reports, books, articles, speeches and interviews.

"The cumulative effect of these false statements — amplified by thousands of news stories and broadcasts — was massive, with the media coverage creating an almost impenetrable din for several critical months in the run-up to war," the study concluded.

"Some journalists — indeed, even some entire news organizations — have since acknowledged that their coverage during those prewar months was far too deferential and uncritical. These mea culpas notwithstanding, much of the wall-to-wall media coverage provided additional, 'independent' validation of the Bush administration's false statements about Iraq," it said.

THIS IS WHAT CLUSTER BOMBS DO

http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/notoatksale/signatures-1.html

NO! TO SALE OF MDA TO ATK!

Thanks to everyone who has signed so far - over 20 signatures in just one day! Let's keep going. Please forward link to friends and family around the world.

Lets aim for 1000.

We as a global community do not need to see arms producers aquiring the talents of engineers -- engineers who could be using their skills for peaceful endeavours.

Show your support for Paul Cottle. An MDA engineer who quit his firm upon announcement of company's aquisition by arms producer ATK.

FACEBOOK GR0UP LINK: http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=8097171374

PETITION LINK: http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/notoatksale/signatures-1.html

PETITION! No to SALE of MDA to ATK - CLICK HERE FOR LINK

The petition

We are calling on the Government of Canada to intervene in sale of Canadian-based MacDonald, Dettwiler and Associates to US company ATK which derives more than half of its $4 billion US in annual revenue from military contracts, including cluster bombs, depleted uranium rounds and landmines.

We support American-born engineer Paul Cottle's decision to quit for ethical reasons.

We ask Federal Industry Minister Jim Prentice to review the sale, keeping in mind the death and destruction ATK products cause around the world.

We as members of the global community SAY NO TO THIS AQUISITION!

We are proud of the CANADARM and do not want this Canadian icon associated in any way with this company.

Thank you for your time and consideration.

ENGINEERS QUITTING COMPANY AFTER IT'S SOLD TO US ARMS MANUFACTURER

I'm so proud of American-born engineer Paul Cottle. He quit his job at
MacDonald, Dettwiler and Associates Ltd when the Canadian company was sold to ATK of Minnesota.

"ATK is a company that produces weaponry that kills people indiscriminately — soldiers and civilians alike," Cottle said.

"Part of the reason I came to Canada was to avoid having my tax dollars go to support companies like ATK," the American said.

Full story here or click above header to go directly to link.

http://www.cbc.ca/canada/british-columbia/story/2008/01/16/bc-satelliterdeveloper.html

SCIENTISTS WORKING ON DOG LANGUAGE DECODER

By Stone Martindale Jan 16, 2008, 16:10 GMT


What would you do if you could translate your dog's barks? Would you be interested in hearing what your pooch is telling you, or afraid the dog would be hitting you up incessantly for Milk Bones?

According to scientists who have developed a computer programme to translate dog barks, that day is soon approaching.

The Daily Mail reports that a special program analyzed more than 6,000 barks from 14 Hungarian sheepdogs in six different situations.

In a series of tests the team of scientists, from Eötvös Loránd University in Hungary led by Csaba Molnár, discovered that a computer could recognise whether a dog was in a stranger, fight, walk, alone, ball or play scenario.

The barks were tape recorded and then digitized on a computer, which used software to study their differences.

The results appear in the journal Animal Cognition, and suggested that dogs have acoustically different barks depending on their emotional state. The article claims that the computer "correctly identified the different situations 43 per cent of the time."

Although it was not a high success rate it was far better than human recognition, the researchers said.

The computer was most accurate in identifying the "fight" and "stranger" contexts, and was least effective at matching the "play" bark.

The software correctly identified the dogs 52 per cent of the time, again much better than the human result, suggesting there are individual differences in barks even though humans are not able to recognize them.

The Animal Cognition article notes that the team will study the barks of different breeds to discover any commonalities.

SMURFS TURN 50!

LA LA LA LA LA LA SING A HAPPY SONG!
article courtesy of © Independent Television News Limited 2008. All rights reserved.

Smurfs reach half century.

The Smurfs have turned 50 and a host of events are planned to celebrate the birthday of one of Belgium's greatest exports.

'Les Schtroumpfs' as they were originally called in French, first appeared in Le Journal de Spirou comic strip in 1958 as the brainchild of the Belgian comic artist, Peyo.

Museums and comic bookstores across the country are set to go crazy for the loveable characters which stand just three apples highBy 1960, they had their own comic strip series and with the advent of the Hanna-Barbera Productions animated cartoon in 1981 secured a global fan base.

To many, the first attraction will always be their blue and white appearance, but according to the experts, the Smurfs - who stand just three apples high - have "hidden depths".

Willem De Graeve, deputy director of the Centre for Belgian Comic Strips said: "They manage to have a perfect society and altogether they enjoy life and they have fun."

The Belgium Museum of Fine Arts will be one of three European cities, along with Paris and Berlin, to officially host the European tour of Happy Smurfday, said to be a unique, striking, and European retrospective of the Smurfs.

YOU SUCK AT PHOTOSHOP TUTORIAL

Thanks to Ryan R. for this gem.

WOMAN HAS WEDDING CAKE MADE IN HER IMAGE

I wonder if it bleeds red icing like the armadillo groom's cake featured in 'Steel Magnolias'. Look at her husband! He looks like he can't wait to carve into that thing.

I'm not that gauche. I'm just going to have a simple bust made of myself out of ice positioned on an 8 foot pillar.

Neighbour of the Beast

I was walking down street today, and I happened upon 666 Pape Street. I got to thinking, wouldn't it be funny, as the next door neighbour to put a sign on your mailbox reading, 'the devil steals my paper'?

I thought that would be funny

Questions for all y'all - would you live in 666 numbered house? Would you live next to it?

VOTE ZOD 2008

Thanks to Mike S. for this post

Vote for your ruler
When I first came to your planet and demanded your homes, property and very lives, I didn't know you were already doing so, willingly, with your own government. I can win no tribute from a bankrupted nation populated by feeble flag-waving plebians. In 2008 I shall restore your dignity and make you servants worthy of my rule. This new government shall become a tool of my oppression. Instead of hidden agendas and waffling policies, I offer you direct candor and brutal certainty. I only ask for your tribute, your lives, and your vote.

-- General Zod
Your Future President and Eternal Ruler
www.zod2008.com

ATTACK OF THE RABID SKUNKS!

It wasn't enough to shoot stink outta their butts? Now with the rabies!


Source: The Globe and Mail
See full article here:

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/LAC.20080104.ATTACK04/TPStory/National

Brandon faces rabid skunk outbreak
Two cases confirmed as sick animals chase horses, attack broomsticks
DAWN WALTON

January 4, 2008

Skunks that should be hunkering down to hibernate in southern Manitoba are instead braving low temperatures to hound horses, attack inanimate objects and charge at people.

A rabies outbreak has hit Brandon, prompting police in Manitoba's second largest city to issue a rare warning this week to beware bizarrely behaving skunks.

"On New Year's Eve when we came home, there was a skunk chasing the horses in the pasture," recalled Barb Vinthers, who has an acreage at the city's outskirts and a horse farm as a neighbour.

"We've been here 35 years," she added, "I've never seen a rabid skunk. Don't want to see another one. They're very aggressive."

LOSE 3000 POUNDS OF CARBON DIOXIDE

Link to National Geographic step-by-step guide to living greener this year.

REMEMBER - don't be overwhelmed. You don't have to be perfect -- just better.

'This New Year, resolve to change the planet: Slim your carbon footprint with our month-by-month plan.'

http://www.thegreenguide.com/

LET ME BORROW THAT TOP

Never too SOON.....

I'm getting ready for Valentine's Day. Yep I'm whipping up a fresh batch of love at the Howdy Gal Emporium.

Why dontcha stop on by for a spell?

PUFFERFISH DESIGN - NOW IN STORE

Here's the latest offering from the shoppe!

Cheers,


Pam

www.cafepress.com/howdygal

I HEARD THE NEWS JUST NOW

'Benazir Bhutto killed
Former Pakistan Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto was assassinated today as a suicide bomber killed at least 14 of her supporters, a spokesman for her party and other officials said. Bhutto suffered bullet wounds, TV networks are reporting'

Source: CNN

It was just a matter of time. I was impressed with her tenacity and courage. I'm sorry she didn't make it to the election date. She would have likely won.

Rest in Peace, Benazir Bhutto.

Happy Boxing Day

I've got nothing. I'm so full of turkey and chocolate..............

MERRY CHRISTMAS!