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I've uploaded photos from the March 30th Peace March in Toronto
Posted by Me @ 12:00AM [Link]
What a great business strategy - get rid of 5/6 of your market by not shipping to countries that won't go to war with the US.
This is what the CompAtlanta store says on it's site:
At the present time we will not honor bids from Canada, Mexico, France, Germany or any other country that does not support the United States in our efforts to rid the world of Saddam Hussein.
As well as several Canadian news outlets, the story has been reported by Wired News:
On eBay, the highest bid wins -- unless the item on sale is a laser printer from CompAtlanta and the bidder happens to be Canadian.That's what a tax consultant discovered last week when he tried to buy a printer on eBay, but was refused by the vendor when it was discovered he lived in Vancouver.
I can see consumers boycotting products... but sellers refusing to sell stuff to most of the world? It sounds like shooting yourself in the foot - not - trying to make a political point through economic pressure.
Posted by Me @ 10:10AM [Link]
I'm glad that Chretien decided not to join the Anglo-American war against Iraq (as if you couldn't tell by reading all my other posts). But, I wish the Canadian Alliance, the Tories, Brian Muldloony, Ernie Eves, Ralph Klein, and the American Ambassador would just shut up about it anyway. We're not going to war. Most of the Canadian population doesn't agree with the war. It's illegal. It sets a very dangerous precedence of preemption. It's without the backing of the UN. Diplomatic channels and options for multilateral action were not exhausted before bombing began. The war is wrong.
It doesn't matter how often you say that it strains Canada-US relations. The US does whatever it feels is in it's interests. Right now, cross-border trading with Canadians is in it's interests - when it's not (softwood lumber etc.) then the US puts up barriers and makes trouble. Besides, it doesn't matter how many times you threaten that it could have dire consequenses for cross-border trading and the Canadian economy. It's wrong.
I think Canadians are fairly prinicpled. If they don't see a good reason to go to war, and they think the war is wrong, they won't participate.
Thomas Walkom has a good column in The Star today about the whole Cellucci (the US ambassador) fiasco. He talks about the idiocy of whole "the US is always protecting Canada and now we're turning our backs on them" argument.
Posted by Me @ 09:44AM [Link]
Eric Meyer interviews Mike Davidson of ESPN about why their site was redesigned to standards. An inside look at why big companies are moving towards adopting standards.
Hat tip to Char James-Tanny.
Dad want's a cheap content management system...
Posted by Me @ 02:29PM [Link]
I just read a great speech by Sergio Vieira De Mello (read it first in the Toronto Star)
Some, in fact an increasing number, of states implicitly or explicitly believe that security and a rigorous respect of civil and political liberties are mutually exclusive. But we also have a right to security when faced with the ambitions of states, whether our own or others. We cannot compromise our hard-won human rights to give states a free hand in fighting terrorism... There can be no security without real peace, and peace must be built on the firm foundation of human rights.
I wish that the US Government would and could understand this. But, in their rush to war and their unyielding belief in "might makes right", they have lost a chance to make the world a better place for everyone - including themselves. If only they could see that going to war is only perpetuating the struggle, the violence. Maybe Saddam won't attack them (assuming, of course, that he could in the first place) in the next ten years, but someone else will. With their actions and their lack of respect for world opinion, they are encouraging anger and resentment. On top of it all, they are infringing further and further on human rights in their own backyard. Allegations of torture (and here's more about torture here and here), detention without charges or legal representation, not to mention the heavy security foisted upon everyone without a real exmination of it's efficacy, and countless other incidents reveal that human rights are not a priority for the US administration.
That's on top of the abandonment of any pretense of multilateralism, and international co-operation. They've pulled out of the ICC, the Kyoto Accord, and the anti-ballistic missile treaty. They've called the UN irrelevant and "just a debating society". They've ridiculed anyone who dared to disagree with them. Was it any wonder that they didn't succeed in their efforts at diplomacy?
Anyway, it's nice to see someone talking about the important effects the promotion and adoption of universal human rights has on global security.
Posted by Me @ 12:54PM [Link]
Today in the morning I went with my father for a ride around Baghdad and there was nothing different from yesterday. There is no curfew and cars can be seen speeding to places here and there.
An amazing blog from a guy in Baghdad. Forget CNN - this is more accurate. Apparently the US didn't take over the radio station (big surprise). I don't think I'll fully believe anything on TV (about Iraq) from now until at least 6 month after the war.
I'm sad. I'm angry and I feel helpless. The world is going to hell in a handbasket and all I can do is protest... I'll be doing that this afternoon (5pm US Consulate - Toronto) and probably on Saturday too. But at least I can protest - for what it's worth. So depressing.
At least I'm not in Baghdad today.
Posted by Me @ 09:13AM [Link]
Rabble.ca, the alternative, lefty Canadian on-line mag has an article about anti-war blogs today. It's about time that someone highlighted the anti-war blogs for once.
Posted by Me @ 10:44AM [Link]
If Bush is going to go to war unilaterally, illegally and immorally what can we do about it?
Jeremy Brecher has a great idea on how the UN should Unite For Peace.
Resolution 377 provides that, if there is a "threat to peace, breach of the peace, or act of aggression" and the permanent members of the Security Council do not agree on action, the General Assembly can meet immediately and recommend collective measures to U.N. members to "maintain or restore international peace and security."
Let's have a vote. Does most of the world think that Iraq should be invaded or not? I'm not sure the US would come out ahead on that vote. They certainly couldn't bribe *all* members of the UN General Assembly like they tried to do with the Security Council.
Posted by Me @ 07:40PM [Link]
See if your site is buzzword heavy. Where does your site rank compared to others? Which sites are the worst culprits? Check it out at www.buzzwordometer.com. I'm not telling you how my site ranks!
Posted by Me @ 07:33PM [Link]
We were having a discussion about this last night at the outing with Doc Searls... I was the only woman there - which is not at all unusual - especially when I go to events with more techie types. So this conversation came up - one I've had before. It's a bit hard to talk about, because I can only really talk about my experience, and try to generalize based on that and based on what I've seen happen to other women.
So I talked about having been catcalled by a lecture hall full of 250+ mechanical engineering students when I was on the "Women in Engineering" Tour at UofT Engineering. Yah guys, great way to attract high-school aged women into your profession! I talked about CompSci classes being incredibly competitive and cutthroat. How the classes are (at least in the lower years) not at all collaborative - collaboration being something that women usually like (generalizing again). I talked about how it's intimidating to be in a field dominated by men. And when you add it all up, what's the point of paying extra tuition (costs more in Ontario for a "professional" degree), putting up with all the crap, then putting up with sexist crap once you get into the profession etc. etc., when you can do something that's in a related field that may be just as interesting to you, costs less and where you don't have to put up with the same level of crap.
One of the other points that I've heard - which I forgot to say last night, but which I think is insightful - is that women tend to get into technology when they can see a clear use for it. When they can say, "hey, this web thing is cool, I can get my company to sell stuff to our customers online and buy stuff from our suppliers online and jack into their ordering system and save lots of time and hassle", or when they say, "I can communicate with my family halfway around the world via email without paying long-distance rates" then they get excited. But, if something is just a cool toy, or it's intellectually interesting but doesn't seem to have an application, women tend to dismiss it (generalizing again). Projects, ideas, techie stuff has to have a concrete application for women to get thrilled about it - women just aren't wowed by the cool factor.
Of course this *is* all generalizing, because there are some women in Computer Science and Engineering. But it's a hell of a lot less than 52%. And at least in the web world, the majority of programmers and techie types are men, whereas the majority of designers and non-techies are women, (at least in my experience).
I'm not sure that's going to change without a lot of effort, but there are simple steps we can take to bridge the divide.
Anyway, those are a few thoughts...
Posted by Me @ 11:10AM [Link]
So I went out for a few (expensive) good beers and some (excessively) expensive bits of meat with a bunch of blogger guys tonight at the Academy of Spherical Arts. Doc Searls was there. Apparently he's some big-ass blogging guy. ;-). Nah, I know who he is, I'm just kidding. He seems pretty nice actually, but a bit obsessed with his gadgets (itty bitty cell phone, infrared DVCam, Titanium, etc). Joey, the acordian guy was there. Played a little AC/DC on his box. Michael O'Conner Clarke - who has a wicked English accent and knows all about renovating a rotten floor. Tim Aiello, who I've met a few times before - and looks much younger than he actually is. A couple of guys from Tucows. Brent Ashley (thanks for the ride home - you're the best!) invited me.
My husband thinks I'm a geek - he should meet these guys. Wow. They were talking about stuff I'd never, ever heard of. For the first time in a long time I couldn't even remotely follow a good lot of the conversation. Mostly technology stuff from before I hit high school - so I guess I shouldn't feel too bad. But still. Wow. Do they know a lot or what. Whew, I'm tired just remembering it.
Posted by Me @ 11:34PM [Link]
I'd say this is going too far. The US upholder of freedom and promoter of democracy has apparently killed two prisoners by torturing them to death. So much for ending terrorism.
Posted by Me @ 03:05PM [Link]