test blog 5

I have started my first garden, perhaps more accurately called a gardenette. There's a very small strip of dirt between the house and the patio. There was once a huge plum tree there, but it died. It's also the former site of this -- -- but sadly, no more. That left one small rose bush planted by a previous tenant. So we bought this -- -- some soil, fertilizer, and a telescoping garden tool to protect my knees. We picked up a little of this -- -- to protect against these -- (If you look closely, you can see Tala is sprinkled with mud.) And now we have this -- -- some annuals on one side, and two tomato plants on the other. A tiny garden, and enough for me. When I was growing up, my father did a lot of gardening, and my siblings and I were always pressed into involuntary labour. I loved my indoor plants in our old apartments, and I always imagined that if I had some outdoor space, I would garden. But when I finally got a backyard, the reality turned out to be different. I'm ...

As you may have noticed, my writing is in a down phase; I'm either writing personal updates or passing along found items. I used to stress over not writing, but I finally learned that my blog writing comes in cycles, and it always returns. These days I'm juggling even more roles than usual, yet instead of feeling overwhelmed and anxious, I'm calm and focused. And I'm noticing that the more I stay away from Facebook, the better I feel. I'm not anti-Facebook. I've enjoyed seeing what various people are up to, I've expanded my activist network, it's been a great source of news, opinions and updates. But hanging around Facebook was increasing my sense of being unfocused, scattered, distracted. A while back, I wrote about why I don't Tweet. My life is so full of distractions. I rarely have enough time to focus clearly and at length on the things that matter most to me. I want to read in-depth articles and hefty novels, not skim headlines - in both the li...

Canadian readers, if you have not already done so, I hope you will send a message to Prime Minister Stephen Harper through this excellent campaign by Leadnow . A clear majority of Canadians voted for change. 9 million voters cast their ballots for parties that share much in common. 9 million voted to strengthen our democracy, protect our environment and increase our equality. Yet, because these parties split the vote in riding after riding, Prime Minister Harper has gained near total control of our government with the support of less than 6 million voters. The only thing that can check his power is the shared voices of Canadians like you. Right now, we need to send Prime Minister Harper a clear message that although he has a majority of seats, he does not enjoy majority support. In his acceptance speech, he said “…we must be the government of all Canadians, including those who did not vote for us.” We expect him to follow through with this commitment, and we will be here, growing stron...

Of all our new videos, I think this is my favourite. Orion Smith, the General Secretary of the Canadian Friends Service Committee (the Quakers), supports US Iraq War resisters, and explains why they should be allowed to stay in Canada.

Just your typical boy meets goose story... Animals never cease to amaze me. What is the goose thinking? Why did she choose that one man? How does she feel about him? I wish we could know. But I honour the mystery, the not knowing. Many thanks to David Cho.

In March, I asked about your experience with the newer Canadian cell phone providers. My Blackberry Pearl was reaching the end of its annoyingly short lifespan, and I knew it was time to do something I don't enjoy and am not very good at: comparison shop. Your comments were very helpful. Thank you! After school ended, I did the research. I had been using Rogers. We use Rogers for internet and cable TV, and I've had no problem with their service. But I've never been happy paying a "system access fee" (shouldn't my plan give me access to the system?), or paying extra for voice mail, and you don't get much for your money. Looking at Mobilicity, Public, Wind, Fido (owned by Rogers) and Virgin Mobile, I quickly saw that I could either save money with a less expensive plan for more limited use, or I could spend about the same but get much more. I suppose I should have opted to buy a less expensive plan - our budget is very tight, and we're all about cuttin...

I've been remiss in not writing about this sooner. The next time you feel that activism can't make a difference, think of Bradley Manning, and keep at it. Without the efforts of so many people shining a spotlight on Manning's treatment, there's no doubt he would still be in maximum security solitary confinement. And by highlighting how the military has treated Manning, we recall what he is accused of doing: exposing the truth of the occupation of Iraq. From Bradley Manning Support Network and Courage To Resist , emphasis mine. Hundreds of thousands of individuals around the world are celebrating the confirmation that their efforts to end the torturous pre-trial confinement conditions inflicted upon US Army PFC Bradley Manning have been successful. Manning’s lead defense attorney, David E. Coombs of Rhode Island, has personally verified that Manning is indeed being held in Medium Custody confinement at the Joint Regional Corrections Facility (JRCF) at Fort Leavenworth,...