This debate, much like abortion and gun control, is one that will never be resolved on an Internet message board.  Still, my two cents:  if I can smell your smoke, and it’s bothering me, then you are infringing on my rights.  It’s up to smokers to do it where they are not bothering anyone else, it’s not up to non-smokers to “move a little to the left because they are the ones who are bothered” as suggested by a previous commenter — an odd twist on the concept of individual liberty if I’ve ever heard one!

Don’t forget the use of “Soviet Canuckistan” by Pat Buchanan to disparage Canada in the wake of 9/11. 

My wife and I live in a condo that is roughly 350 sq ft.  I smile when I read these articles about how to cope in a 1000 to 1200 sq ft small space.  It all comes down to crap:  that is, not owning too much of it!  Nothing makes you think twice about a frivolous purchase more than realizing that if you buy it, you will have to re-organize every room and closet in your home to find a place to put it!  Kids change this equation completely, though.

Some of these are stunning.  They look like prime candidates for re-use.  With only minimal modifications and the addition of a stage at one end the Moseley Baths in Birmingham would make a great concert venue.  Most of the others would work as basketball courts, skateboard parks, or ball hockey arenas (okay, so maybe only Canadian expats would be excited about that last option!)

The recession has been a live-action simulation of what a carbon tax could do.  Regardless of good intentions, many people won’t change their behaviour until it becomes personally beneficial to do so:  in other words, if it saves them money.  But unless public transportation systems and city infrastructures are improved to encourage alternative forms of travel, most people will go back to their car-dependent ways when the recession ends.   And since this recession is hurting city budgets, transit is currently being cut, not improved.  This unfortunate catch-22 will lead to many missed opportunities.

My thoughts exactly, AshePerry.  How can you “gay marry” something that does not have a gender?  Without gender how can a relation be “gay” or “straight”?  Odd.  This just seems like a grammatically incorrect variation of that dumb schoolyard joke “if you love pizza so much why don’t you marry it?” etc.  Goes to show that a meme doesn’t have to make sense to spread, I guess.

This is most definitely an embarrassment for many Canadians, who by and large are quite eco-concious as individuals.  The problem is federal politics. The current governing Conservative Party under Prime Minister Stephen Harper is more focused on tax cuts than on any CO2 regulation.  Their base of support is in Western Canada, home to the oil sands developments which are terrible for the climate but generate a lot of wealth in the short term.  In last fall’s federal election the official opposition Liberal Party under Stéphane Dion ran on a platform of introducing a carbon tax to reduce Canada’s CO2 emissions.  Unfortunately, this election coincided with the start of the global economic collapse, and the Conservatives successfully convinced enough Canadians that any additional tax would destroy our economy even further.   The Conservatives were re-elected as a minority government and the environment has been on the backburner ever since, overshadowed by economic concerns.There may be some hope, though:  since that election the Liberals have appointed a newer more popular leader in Michael Ignatieff, and a new election could be triggered in the fall with a non-confidence vote.  If the Liberals (who originally ratified Kyoto) return to power there may be more hope for change on the environmental front. In the meantime, the international community should continue to point out Canada’s disappointing inaction on this issue.  Many Canadians do care deeply about both the environment and our international image, so this criticism may help to spur change.

Toronto’s St. Lawrence Market is great, and one of the reasons I like living in the city.  It’s a totally different experience from shopping in a grocery store, and educational, too, because the vendors are passionate experts rather than bored underpaid teenagers.  Seeing the intact animal carcasses hanging in the cases reminds me that my meat comes from an animal, not a factory.

This debate, much like abortion and gun control, is one that will never be resolved on an Internet message board.  Still, my two cents:  if I can smell your smoke, and it’s bothering me, then you are infringing on my rights.  It’s up to smokers to do it where they are not bothering anyone else, it’s not up to non-smokers to “move a little to the left because they are the ones who are bothered” as suggested by a previous commenter — an odd twist on the concept of individual liberty if I’ve ever heard one!

Don’t forget the use of “Soviet Canuckistan” by Pat Buchanan to disparage Canada in the wake of 9/11. 

My wife and I live in a condo that is roughly 350 sq ft.  I smile when I read these articles about how to cope in a 1000 to 1200 sq ft small space.  It all comes down to crap:  that is, not owning too much of it!  Nothing makes you think twice about a frivolous purchase more than realizing that if you buy it, you will have to re-organize every room and closet in your home to find a place to put it!  Kids change this equation completely, though.

Some of these are stunning.  They look like prime candidates for re-use.  With only minimal modifications and the addition of a stage at one end the Moseley Baths in Birmingham would make a great concert venue.  Most of the others would work as basketball courts, skateboard parks, or ball hockey arenas (okay, so maybe only Canadian expats would be excited about that last option!)

The recession has been a live-action simulation of what a carbon tax could do.  Regardless of good intentions, many people won’t change their behaviour until it becomes personally beneficial to do so:  in other words, if it saves them money.  But unless public transportation systems and city infrastructures are improved to encourage alternative forms of travel, most people will go back to their car-dependent ways when the recession ends.   And since this recession is hurting city budgets, transit is currently being cut, not improved.  This unfortunate catch-22 will lead to many missed opportunities.

My thoughts exactly, AshePerry.  How can you “gay marry” something that does not have a gender?  Without gender how can a relation be “gay” or “straight”?  Odd.  This just seems like a grammatically incorrect variation of that dumb schoolyard joke “if you love pizza so much why don’t you marry it?” etc.  Goes to show that a meme doesn’t have to make sense to spread, I guess.

This is most definitely an embarrassment for many Canadians, who by and large are quite eco-concious as individuals.  The problem is federal politics. The current governing Conservative Party under Prime Minister Stephen Harper is more focused on tax cuts than on any CO2 regulation.  Their base of support is in Western Canada, home to the oil sands developments which are terrible for the climate but generate a lot of wealth in the short term.  In last fall’s federal election the official opposition Liberal Party under Stéphane Dion ran on a platform of introducing a carbon tax to reduce Canada’s CO2 emissions.  Unfortunately, this election coincided with the start of the global economic collapse, and the Conservatives successfully convinced enough Canadians that any additional tax would destroy our economy even further.   The Conservatives were re-elected as a minority government and the environment has been on the backburner ever since, overshadowed by economic concerns.There may be some hope, though:  since that election the Liberals have appointed a newer more popular leader in Michael Ignatieff, and a new election could be triggered in the fall with a non-confidence vote.  If the Liberals (who originally ratified Kyoto) return to power there may be more hope for change on the environmental front. In the meantime, the international community should continue to point out Canada’s disappointing inaction on this issue.  Many Canadians do care deeply about both the environment and our international image, so this criticism may help to spur change.

Toronto’s St. Lawrence Market is great, and one of the reasons I like living in the city.  It’s a totally different experience from shopping in a grocery store, and educational, too, because the vendors are passionate experts rather than bored underpaid teenagers.  Seeing the intact animal carcasses hanging in the cases reminds me that my meat comes from an animal, not a factory.