who has $200 to spare?

al gore is going to victoria! i've seen him speak (via tv) in london and i've heard him on the radio. i'm sad i'm missing out, although i couldn't afford the $200 ticket price even if i was in victoria.

i like al gore

i was listening to my regular radio station the other morning and to my surprise the special phone in guest was al gore. i like him even more because of this interview. he was chatty and entertaining while being concise and political. he also laughed (what i interpreted as genuinely) quite a bit which made me smile.

he was plugging a new tv network, i unfortunately do not have fancy pants cable as 5 channels does me fine, so i can't watch it...but there is a pretty good website. current tv.

have a listen to his interview with lauren laverne

it's all a little horrifying

i'm not a political person but i'm shocked by what i've just read in the guardian.

Mr Bush is expected to move within days to sign into law proposals for the treatment and trial before military tribunals of the detainees [at Guantanamo]...legislators voted 51 to 48 on Thursday night to bar Guantanamo detainees from challenging their detention in the US courts. "No court, justice or judge shall have jurisdiction to hear or consider an application for a writ of habeas corpus filed by or on behalf of an alien detained by the United States [who] has been determined ... to have been properly detained as an enemy combatant," the legislation says.

and then i read in the bbc news that...

[The legislation] specifically lays out some banned methods [of interrogation]. They include murder, rape and acts designed to cause "serious" suffering.

However, coercive questioning will not be banned. The president will be able to determine what methods are to be used and his decisions will be published.

but it gets better! i got this little gem from amnesty international. *if you're going to read any link read this one*

[The legislation also includes] Retroactive immunity for those who have been implicated in creating policies or participating in abuse and other acts long believed to be torture or cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment.

what? it's all just too much.

i love educational BBC documentaries

i'm currently in the middle of the climate chaos season on the BBC and i have to say it has been a horrifying and fascinating journey. david attenborough plays a large role in many of the episodes and tonight is the 2nd part of his most recent documentary 'are we changing planet earth?/can we save planet earth?'. it's apparently the first time he has spoken out about climate change. i'm looking forward to it with a great deal of trepidation, the first one made me cry.

speaking of crying about the earth, the planet earth series that was recently on also brought me to tears. i only watched 2 of the 5 but i will not hesitate to recommend the series. it is the most beautifully shot

ambitious factual series ever commissioned by the BBC. It is a breathtaking exploration of our world.

6 more episode should be coming out in the autumn. i plan on buying the first 5.

i thoroughly enjoy the BBC and any of you canadians that have the fancy cable tv packages should really invest in the BBC channels. sure you have the CBC and david suzuki, but did the CBC dedicate an entire season to climate change? maybe they did, i don't know, did they?

UPDATE: i cried...a baby elephant dead because of drought in africa. doom and gloom! the icecaps are melting, the amazon will burn up, the coral is dissolving. but things can be done. don't leave your appliances on stand-by. eat locally. take the train. drive less. switch to wind or solar power. only fill your kettle with the amount of water you need. this was a good article...technology already exists to stabilize global warming.

Countdown to extinction?

according to the stop the badger cull website,

"On 15th December 2005 the British Government announced a twelve week ‘public consultation period’ to consider whether and how to kill badgers."

but, others think that,

"Many people consider that this consultation is a sham to soften our response to what has already been decided - a mass slaughter of a ‘protected’ native wildlife species."

unfortunately the consultation period is technically over as of this precise hour. i managed to get my letter in just before the deadline. even though none of you will be able to, it's good to be informed nonetheless.