So I finally arrived at the 4th World Youth Congress which is taking place in Quebec City, Quebec Canada on August 10th in the early hours of the morning. I had started my journey at 10am from the small town in England where I was living and took the public transit bus to the Stansted airport where I then took a National Express bus to the Heathrow airport. The traffice was slow due to the time of day and it would be a general summary of the over all trip to Canada but once I arrived at Heathrow things went smoothly checking in all the camera equipment that I would be using to bring the congress to youth who are interested but could not attend though the World Youth Congress YouTube Channel. The flight across the Atlantic was long but it allowed me to catch up on some applications and scholarships that I was getting close on the deadline to but I was glad to have finally arried back in Canada. The trip trough Canadian customs was quick and painless and I was soon on my third bus from the Montreal airport to the downtown bus station where I would cathc my final bus to Quebec City. When I finally arrived to Quebec City it was 1am Eastern and I was looking forward to getting rid of my luggage and getting to sleep in a bed but that was not to be the case. With things not being to organized I had arrived to Laval University with no where to check into a room, while I knew the othe Peace Child International staff who had flown two days prior were somewhere on campus without any contact information it would have to be a combination of sleeping on a chair and some times leaning on a table to get some sleep until 7am when I was hoping to finally made the end of my journey finished by checking into a room. I did get to see a former Peace Child intern, Annas who I had breakfast with him and his wife Claire which was a not to bad way to wrap up a very long journey to the congress. With all of my recent work on an UNDP Youth Climate Change Project will the emissions from my travel be worth me attending the congress? I will find out in the upcoming days.
I headed off in the morning to the Australian Science and Math School, hosted at Flinders University. The school is only a few years old, and is built with an open concept -- no classrooms, but instead a number of large spaces with desks and chairs that reconfigured in many different ways to foster teamwork and collaboration. We had a large group - about 50 teachers and school leaders, and had a really interesting day -- when I showed the "Are you listening?" video, a whole bunch of students gathered upstairs in the area overlooking where I was speaking to watch - I think they were really curious that so many teachers were learning about their way of using technology!
After a fantastic dinner by the water with a group of curriculum developers, I headed to sleep -- because I had to catch a 6:40am flight to Canberra!
I made it to the nation's capital early in the morning, and it was freezing! 0 degrees but it warmed up as the sun rose... I had a few hours to fit the gym and have lunch before heading to Canberra University -- the group in Canberra decided to have an evening workshop (4-9pm) with dinner. Although everyone had a full day of work before showing up, we still had a lot of active participation, and after wrapping up at 9 and getting back to the hotel around 10, it was time for sleep for another 6:45am flight back to Sydney for the last workshop of the trip!
Arriving in Sydney in the morning, with my 32kg on-the-dot bag faithfully appearing on the carousel, I headed off to Parramatta right on time, and arrived 3 minutes before the workshop was to begin! We had the biggest crowd of any session -- around 60 people, and so a lot of the interactive sections took a lot longer than usual, but they had great ideas and a large group of schools approached me after and wants to deeply engage their entire district with TIGed, which is exciting! After wrapping up and chatting with a bunch of the attendees, I was off to one of my favourite hotels in the world -- the Westin Sydney, to relax, enjoy their great gym, and have dinner with Jenny, who had the whole series of workshops organized, to debrief on the experience (yum, Tasmanian lamb!). After that, I met up with Jarra and Nick, and headed to Micky's for dessert (Banana Pancakes and Ice Cream!) to catch up and for me to celebrate the completion of 10 sessions in 11 days in 5 cities!
I'm writing this now on the flight to Vancouver -- I managed to get right to sleep after lunch on the 10am flight, which will hopefully mean I can work through the North American day and head to sleep at a proper time tonight. Saturday, we head to Quebec City for the World Youth Congress to meet TIG members from all over the world. I've also agreed to head to Brisbane on the 19th to speak at the Queenland Government's e-learning summit, and after that, I'll be ready to just settle down at home and enjoy the rest of the summer in Toronto :)
Got more done (way more) that I would in the office
Was more relaxed
Had time to go for a run
Managed to run the same presentations and meetings
Ate way healthier food than I normally do
I also worked longer and took fewer breaks. I know it’s not exactly rocket science, and everyone is telecommuting these days, but seriously, this is the first time i really hit me that I actually not only concentrate better at home, but actually get more done.
Here is a very amazing story of someone who is making huge waves for African women with HIV-AIDS. Kristin Roe who has swam from my little province of Prince Edward Island to New Brunswick and then straight back again.
BORDEN-CARLETON, P.E.I. — After just under 15 hours of swimming in 19-degree water, a Nova Scotia woman completed a marathon swim Saturday that took her from Prince Edward Island to New Brunswick and back, all in less than a day.
Kristin Roe, 27, touched shore in P.E.I. Saturday evening after finishing a gruelling 30-kilometre double-crossing of the Northumberland Strait, the body of water between P.E.I. on the Maritime mainland.
"I'm really glad I finished, I'm really glad I'm on land," said Roe after her swim. "It was a long-haul."
Roe left P.E.I. just after 4 a.m. and was ahead of schedule before she was confronted with strong tides just off the coast of New Brunswick. She had to power through the tides in order to make it to shore around noon.
"I was feeling frustration throughout most of it," said Roe. "It wasn't really a great weather day, and I didn't swim as fast as I had hoped...I was swimming against the wind at the end of the first crossing."
Roe waded on shore in New Brunswick to eat and get a medical check-up before diving back in the water.
"The second crossing was better, but still really hard," she said. "I was so tired from the first, and I just did the best I could."
Following her throughout the entire swim was a boat carrying her family, best friend, a paramedic and the boat captain.
Roe has three brothers who joined her from time to time in the water.
Her older brother, Christopher, brought along a surf board and paddled next to Roe to motivate her and keep her company.
"I was feeling pretty frustrated at the end of the first crossing, and I almost couldn't look at him because I started to cry when I saw him paddling next to me," said Roe. "I thought it was pretty amazing."
Roe, who now lives in Halifax, did the marathon to raise money for two Canadian aid organizations with a focus on Africa and helping women with HIV-AIDS.
The Hamilton, Ont., native estimates she's raised close to $30,000 toward her goal of $100,000 for the Stephen Lewis Foundation and Farmers Helping Farmers, an organization that assists women farmers in Kenya.
It's a cause that's close to Roe's heart. In 2006, she spent six months living in South Africa and while there she became the first Canadian to swim from Cape Town, South Africa to Robben Island, in a fundraiser for women living with HIV-AIDS.
"I think it's created a lot of awareness in the country, and I think it's benefiting women in Africa," said Roe of her swim. "These are very much grassroots projects for women affected by AIDS and women involved in the agriculture sector who are also affected by HIV-AIDS."
Now that I've been away a full week, I forced myself to carve out some time to reflect on the intensity of the time so far before kicking off the second stretch.
As always, our summers at TakingITGlobal are quite busy -- generally for the education "industry", most conferences are held during the summer when teachers have school holidays. This summer, as a follow-up to my keynote at last October's ACEL (Australian Counsel of Educational Leaders) conference (which was apparently quite good even though I was quite sick at the time), I was invited to be a "Traveling Scholar" for ACEL, presenting 5 full-day workshops on TakingITGlobal to school leaders and teachers across Australia. In addition, I started off the trip by keynoting a leadership conference at Melbourne Grammar School, and today keynoted the International Middle Years conference in Adelaide... so I've made quite good use of two weeks!
Sunday - Wednesday: Melbourne
After the trek from Toronto to Vancouver to Sydney to Melbourne, I knew the first thing I needed to do to keep my sanity was to spend a good amount of time at the fitness center at the Westin. What a great idea - it helped me refresh, have a fantastic swim in the beautiful infinity pool, and after a brief stroll that was quickly canceled when the rain started, I got to sleep at a reasonable hour.
On Monday, I woke up nice and early and arrived at the charming greened campus of Melbourne Grammar, one of Melbourne's oldest and most respected private schools. To their enormous credit, they had invited students from a broad cross-section of Melbourne to attend the conference, in addition to a grade of their students. I was brilliantly introduced by one of their capable students, and my keynote was well-received - with more questions from students than we had time for. Following the keynote, a panel including a futurist, scientist, and Aboriginal leader Patrick Dodson, who cited my presentation several times as they discussed issues of leadership in the 21st century and challenged students to act on the issues they felt challenged by. In the afternoon, I ran several hours of hands-on workshops guiding a small group of students through the TIG site and beginning the Guide to Action as a tool for action planning.
Tuesday morning, I visited Kilsyth, a suburb of Melbourne, and ran a 3 hour workshop with a group of teachers across that region looking at TIG and especially with an interest in Health education... it was a good challenge because we didn't have Internet except for a very slow 2G connection, so I was able to get well prepared and experiment with some activities for the following days' sessions!
That evening, I traveled to Mooney Valley Racecourse (home of Australia's best race - the Cox plate, worth $3 million!) and presented our work at TIG to about 150 principals, who also had some great questions, and I enjoyed meeting a teacher who grew up in Mississauga and had spent his recent years enjoying and exploring Australia's wilderness.
On Wednesday, I spent from 9 AM to 3:30 PM with an enthusiastic group of teachers and principals learning about TIG, exploring global issues, and understanding how to fit our programs and ideas at TIG into the curriculum and everyday use in their classrooms. I also shared our Best Practices on Global Education resource with them... and then I was off to the airport, heading to my next destination: Tasmania!
Thursday - Saturday: Hobart, Tasmania
On Thursday, I woke up and did it all over again, in a beautiful setting amongst Lemon trees at Lateare Gardens in Hobart with a fire burning to keep us all warm and cozy from the cold outside! I think the goals of what we do at TakingITGlobal really connected closely with some people - one teacher was literally in tears sharing how wonderful she thought what we did was... it's really a special opportunity (as exhausting as it is) to be able to share our work with people that are also dedicating their lives to helping young people develop. I think sometimes we all forget the power and opportunity we have to impact the lives of others - and I feel like a few people really felt reconnected to that opportunity, which is really an amazing opportunity to be able to stimulate.
After a short 2 hour break to refresh and do some e-mail, I headed off to the Hobart Yacht club, where I addressed about 50 high school principals, who weren't able to attend the day's workshop because they were having a leadership retreat. I had to pack 90 minutes into a 30 minute before dinner speech, so I think it was overwhelming, but many of them were quite excited by what we do... and I had delicious local Salmon which was a bonus!
The next day was my main day off. I decided not to head off to my next destination right away, but to stick around in Hobart and see some of the beautiful wildlife Tasmania has to offer. So I signed up for a Tasman Island Eco Cruise - having no idea how much of an adventure it would be! After a scenic bus ride to Port Arthur, one of the main convict colonies from the 1800s, we boarded a powerful boat (675 HP) that they describe as a 4x4 of the sea. Initially the ride was quite smooth - and we discovered some caves and amazing rock formations on the coast. The "swells" were only about 1 meter, and so it was just like jumping waves on a boat at home.
However, once we got out to the Tasman Sea, things got a lot more interesting. The waves and the winds were coming strongly from an unusual direction, and 2-3 meter waves and swells gave us quite a ride! I had chosen to sit in the 4th row (moved from the 2nd) and for close to an hour, we jumped waves and it felt like we were on a roller coaster as we plunged down after riding a wave.... but I stuck with my seat - a once-in-a-lifetime experience!
We arrived at two areas with Australian and New Zealand seals, and at a cove where dolphins chased our boat around until we had to leave - amazing to lean over and watch them at the water and bow of the boat jumping up playfully! A number of albatross with their huge wingspans also provided us with an amazing show - watching them fish and gracefully glide across the sky with nothing around us but huge rock and menacing water... or what looked menacing in my book. In 1998, however, the water was so rough that in the annual Sydney-Hobart race, five boats sank and six sailors were killed.
On Saturday morning, before heading to the airport, I spent a few hours enjoying the Salamanca Market, with hundreds of stalls offering delicious local treats and art and coffee and everything needed to pass a few hours and take in the culture of a place!
Sunday - Monday: Adelaide, South Australia
Now I'm here in Adelaide, where this morning I keynoted the International Middle Years of Schooling conference, and was again introduced by a fantastic student duo! I gave out dozens of bookmarks afterwards, with many many people promising to check out the site and connect their students into TIG. I was also followed by an excellent presentation by Professor Erica, who gave a talk on creativity that linked really perfectly and built on top of many of the themes I covered.
Tomorrow I'm off to the Australian Science and Mathematics School to do another day-long workshop, and then heading to Canberra the next morning... I'll be sure to check in soon with more! And I'll be editing this entry in about 2 hours with photos once they upload.
Brace yourself for something completely different! I couldn’t think of anything serious or meaningful to write about, and I was bored and hungry. So here’s what you get:
Not long ago, it seemed like McMuffins were the only (chain) breakfast sandwich going. In part, this was because of my long-time ban on sober Burger King–while their breakfast stylings look like a better-than-abysmal option, I’m not ‘usually’ drunk at breakfast time, and even today (note: not the day of the actual posting of this blog. Just the day I started this project.), when I was prepared to break the ban temporarily, at 10:20, the BK near my office had already switched to their lunch menu. It may be because off the odd hours I keep, or it may be because all these sandwiches are just a bit disgusting, but it’s a frosty day in hell that I can handle one of these puppies before 10am. And never, ever could I handle a burger or poutine at 10:20am, so Burger King, you’re off the list…
Anyway, back to the story. So a while back now, Tim Hortons introduced breakfast sandwiches, and you know what? They’re pretty great. OH BUT WAIT! Then Starbucks came along. Before all this, Subway stepped into the then barely-existant fray, and back in my Acadia days, I enjoyed many a Subway breakfast sandwich. But now that everyone else is in… Subway is all but out (I’ll explain in a minute).
Now that all these options are available, I think it’s important that we have a good guide to the world of sandwich-type breakfast options in the <$4 arena. They’re all the same, you say? NOT HARDLY! So read along, and comment away with your perspectives, particularly if you’re not on a BK ban and have any opinions about that particular set of offerings.
My favourite:
Breakfast tacos in Austin, from the trailer by the school for the deaf. Joking. Well, not about them being my favourite, but about them qualifying for this particular round of tasty competition. They’re not readily available as part of my downtown Toronto lifestyle. Particularly not the ones from that trailer by the school for the deaf. And as many times as I’ve ranted about this particular issue while walking past Toronto’s various Texan, Tex-Mex or otherwise kind of Mexican-like establishments, no one has taken me up on my challenge.
My favourite IN TORONTO: Starbucks! Who knew. I’m not usually the first to admit that I like Starbucks. Mostly because other than my usual venti soy chai tea misto with a shot of sugar-free cinnamon dolce syrup (that’s right, I’m one of those douches–but it’s Pemma who got me onto it), Starbucks doesn’t have a whole lot going for it in my mind. I really, really dislike their coffee, particularly their drip coffee, but we’ll talk about that later. Actually, let’s talk about it now: it tastes like burnt garbage. But right now, the point is their new breakfast sandwiches, and let me just say, they are delicious. Specifically the eggs florentine. Eggs, spinach and havarti on an english muffin, grilled to godly perfection? Yes please. The price, however, is a bit higher than I’d like, but it’s Starbucks. The other big plus is that they grill them with the cheese in, so unlike most of the other contenders, it actually melts properly and is nice and gooey. Yum. I want one now… I’ll be back… (Image courtesy iirraa.)
Most fatty in a delicious way: Surprise, surprise, Tim Horton’s takes the cake on this one. Not because of any proof that their sandwiches are any fattier than anyone else’s (note: said proof is available here (vs. Starbucks and McD’s (note: I only looked at the breakfast burritos and the sausage and egg McMuffins. The McGriddles scare me too much to even look.))). No, it’s not the ‘facts’, nutritionally speaking, though they do support my case. No, the only ‘fact’ I need is the fact they they but their delicious, factory-made and truck-shipped rounds of eggs and sausage and squares of cheese into a delicious, once frozen, baked, and toasted buttery hexagonal ‘homestyle’ biscuit. Which they then apply more butter to before adding the aforementioned toppings. I don’t know about you, but nothing says homestyle to me like a perfectly six-sided biscuit. And of course nothing says homestyle to me like 18 grams of saturated fat. Good times, good times. But seriously, all that butter (fat) makes them pretty darn tasty. (Image courtesy Ceci un Matt).
Most traditionally delicious: Not being one to mistake homestyle for traditional, I’ve got to step back into the long (?) history of breakfast sandwiches, to what I consider to be, with absolutely no fact-checking or external verification, the home of the original breakfast sandwich. And by that, I mean that growing up, all we had in my town was McD’s and BK, and we all know where on stand on the Burger King issue. So therefore, the most traditionally delicious breakfast sandwich comes from McDonald’s, and is, specifically the egg & sausage McMuffin. I also appreciate the breakfast burritos, though they don’t hold a candle to a good breakfast taco, and I’ve tried McGriddles… All I remember is the sickness that ensued. So let’s stick to McMuffins, and let’s face it: they’re readily available, they’re cheap, they’re fast, and they can be paired with McDonald’s delicious iced coffee (a significant advantage of Tim Hortons, whose coffee I neither enjoy, nor can procure iced at most locations not in the Maritimes (I’m confused by that one too, the sentence and the fact). (Image courtesy Ja-ae).
The “Thanks for Coming Out” Award goes to…
Timothy’s! This is perhaps the latest entry into the breakfast sandwich game of the chains. And, well… it’s the exact same as a McMuffin, but maybe a bit less greasy, and made, literally, with the same eggs as Tim Hortons (those lovely perfectly round factory-made wonders). Maybe they’re a bit less greasy. They’re DEFINITELY more microwaved. They’re interesting in that “why do I ever even come to this place?” kind of sense that you get from most Timothy’s products, between the total confusion you create when you ask for something other than a large coffee, the complete inconsistency across the chain, and the six years you often have to wait for your sandwich ingredients to come out of the microwave. But good for you for trying, Timothy’s. Your continued existence continues to amaze me.
Fastest downward spiral:
Let me tell you a story. One time, specifically mid-summer 2002, the Subway franchise in Wolfville was taken over by new management from New Minas. Yes, let the terrifying name scare you. Because that is exactly what it did me. My friends and I at work used to take a mid-morning break for breakfast (because again, who can really stomach breakfast before 10?) and head en masse to Subway. And for most of the summer, it was an enjoyable experience. Until we met the crazy manager from hell… I mean, New Minas. First, my friend asked for her usual: a ham & egg sandwich, but instead of ham could she have turkey, because dietary restrictions did not allow her to eat pork. Note: this is not uncommon. The manager told her that this was simply impossible and when my friend said she got it almost every day, the answer was something along the lines of “well this Subway has been operating in a substandard way for years, and if you asked for that at any other Subway, they’d look at you like you had two heads.” The two heads part is verbatim. So anyway, after that flawed transaction, I was told that there was no ketchup, and had never been any ketchup available at any subway ever (a lie), and harsh words were exchanged. Also, this crazy lady took away the pineapple. What is a sub without pineapple, I ask? Needless to say, I made my own breakfast for a while following this incident.
And in my mind, Subway’s reputation never really recovered from this awkward and off-putting hit. Then, to top it all off, they did away with round bread. And let me ask you this: who wants a breakfast sandwiches on a 6″ sub? Those eggs come out of the factory round for a reason (oh yeah, they also switched from undercooking the eggs in-store to using the same egg rounds that Tim Hortons and Timothy’s use). Enough is enough! I just can’t take it anymore! That said, after BK declined my offer to sell me breakfast, I did end up taking one more stab at subway, on a six inch bun, and it was not good. In fact, it was the whole inspiration for this entry. My goal: to save my non-vegan readers from the treachery of subway and their sub-par breakfast offerings. Just don’t do it. It’s not worth it.
And with that, we’re pretty much at the end of things. From its humble days at my local McDonald’s, where a scary group of old men used to hang out and make plaques for themselves above the table where they always drank their morning coffee, to the vast cornucopia of greatness that is the current breakfast sandwich market, the answer to the question no one has asked is: avoid Subway like the plague. Note: views expressed here are no one’s other than my own. In fact, they’re barely even mine. Also: it is amazing how many people put pics of breakfast food online. Actually, it’s just a little bit gross.
As you may or may not know, I’m moving on from my position at TakingITGlobal at the end of August, and we’re currently looking for someone to fill my shoes. I can say pretty confidently that it’s an excellent opportunity for the right kind of person - the kind of person who is passionate about both global education and social media, a self-starter who is not afraid to innovate. Details of the position and qualifications can be found here:
After you make your $20 donation you will be able to use an emailed status of membership until your official Sierra Youth Coalition membership card arrives. All you then need to do is mention the discount code (11261) when booking your train ticket with VIA Rail and have proof of membership and your ID when you pick up your ticket.
Now you can still enjoy travel and exploring with having a smaller impact on the planet.
The following is an article from CBC News, this greatly saddens me to read this story and puts even more anger in me to know that as a Canadian tax payer that the citizens of Canada are funding this so called "expansion of democracy".
If this our country exporting democracy I wonder what the reaction of Canadian citizens would be if an outside country send an army to Canada to protect us and the same event would happen.
The death of children's lives no matter where they live is still not justified by any countries government.
Canadian troops kill 2 children after car nears convoy
Monday, July 28, 2008 | CBC News
A two-year-old boy and his four-year-old sister have died after Canadian troops opened fire on a car they feared was about to attack their convoy in Afghanistan, the Canadian Forces said Monday.
A gunner in a light-armoured vehicle pulled the trigger on a 25-millimetre cannon after the driver of a car ignored repeated signals to keep a safe distance, officials said.
The incident happened around sunset Sunday when the car approached within 10 metres of the convoy, a Canadian military statement said.
Witnesses reported the little girl was struck in the head and her younger brother in the chest.
The children's grief-stricken mother was seen pacing the hallway at the local hospital, sobbing and shrieking that her children had been killed by foreigners for no reason. The father was treated for lacerations.
"We deeply regret this incident, and our thoughts are with the families and friends of the deceased during this difficult time," the Canadian military said in a statement.
"Our soldiers are trained to take all appropriate steps to minimize civilian casualties. However, they must take action to protect themselves when they believe they are being threatened."
The statement said the fourth and fifth occupants of the vehicle were not injured.
Afghan police and coalition forces will be investigating Sunday's incident.
Coalition forces run frequent advertising campaigns to warn locals to keep a safe distance from convoys and many locals are scared of getting close to military vehicles.
NATO commanders say they take all reasonable precautions and that militants, who regularly use civilian cars loaded with explosives in suicide missions, are to blame for endangering innocents.
Human Rights Watch estimates at least 300 Afghan civilians were mistakenly killed by coalition forces in 2007, with thousands dead since the mission's start six years ago.
Afghan and United Nations officials have urged international troops to take extra precautions to prevent civilian casualties.
So we just got this lovely abuse e-mail from Rogers, based on an e-mail from the Entertainment Software Association. The funny thing is that he was only maybe 10-20% of the way through the three potentially offensive game downloads (I checked his computer right after the e-mail came in). Funny in part because the accusation is that he’s distributing or selling the software, when… sure, he probably is dishing out little bits here and there, but he doesn’t actually have the whole thing to give away. Also they seem to associate the tracker URL with us, which is just completely wrong.
Notice E-mail:
Dear Luke Walker
Rogers Cable (Rogers) has received a notice stating that activities associated with your IP address are infringing copyright in material(s) owned or exclusively licensed by others.
The full notice is appended to this e-mail below.
Under section 4(d) of the Rogers Yahoo! Hi-Speed Internet End User Agreement (EUA) and Acceptable Use Policy (AUP), you are prohibited from using the Rogers Yahoo! Hi-Speed Internet service to engage in illegal activities, including activities that infringe copyright. Copies of our EUA and AUP are available at:
Where there has been a violation of our EUA and/or AUP, including the unauthorized distribution of copyright-protected material, Rogers has the right to take appropriate action against you.
If you have any questions about the attached copyright notice, please contact the sender of the notice using the contact information provided in the notice. Please do not reply to this e-mail.
We trust you will comply with our policies and all applicable laws in using the Rogers Yahoo! Hi-Speed Internet service.
Rogers EUA Management Team
Sincerely,
EUA Management Team
Rogers Yahoo Hi-Speed Internet
ISP: Rogers Cable Communications Inc.
ESA Reference Number: 182-48817084
Dear Rogers Cable Communications Inc.:
The Entertainment Software Association (ESA) is a trade association that represents the intellectual property interests of numerous companies that publish interactive games for video game consoles, personal computers, handheld devices and the Internet in the United States of America, in Canada, and in other countries (collectively referred to as ESA members). ESA is authorized to act on behalf of ESA members whose copyright and other intellectual property rights it believes to be infringed as described herein.
ESA is providing this letter of notification to make Rogers Cable Communications Inc. aware of material on its network or system that infringes the exclusive copyright rights of and is unlawful towards one or more ESA members.
ESA members are entitled to the full protection of Canadian intellectual property laws, including the Copyright Act, R.S.C. 1985, c. C-42, as amended, in such entertainment software products.
Based on the information at its disposal on 28 Jul 2008 03:13:23 GMT, ESA has a good faith belief that 99.233.14.223 infringes the rights of one or more ESA members by offering for sale or download unauthorized copies of game products protected by copyright, or offering for sale or download material that is the subject of infringing activities. The copyrighted works that have been infringed include but are not limited to:
The unauthorized copies of such game product(s) or the material that is the subject of infringing activities appears on or is made available through xx.xxx.xx.xxx. Those items are listed and/or identified thereon by their titles or variations thereof, game-related listings/references/descriptions, or depictions of game-related artwork. Such copies, titles, game-related listings/references/descriptions, depictions, and material that is the subject of infringing activities, are hereinafter referred to as “Infringing Material.”
Accordingly, ESA hereby requests Rogers Cable Communications Inc. to immediately do the following:
1. Notify the account holder of the Infringing Material.
2. Remove, or disable access to, the Infringing Material detailed above.
3. Take appropriate action against the account holder under your Abuse Policy/Terms
of Service Agreement, including termination of a repeat offender.
Please inform us whether you will remove or disable access to the Infringing Material as requested. Rogers Cable Communications Inc. or the account holder may contact ESA at the above-listed contact details, with email preferred. Please include the above-noted Reference Number in the subject line of all email correspondence.
Thank you for your cooperation and prompt response in this matter.
Sincerely,
Intellectual Property Enforcement
Entertainment Software Association
The UNDP Youth Climate Change Publication is reaching its final stages and will be sent off to the printers in the next few days. The process to create a summary of this years United Nations Human Development Report 2007/2008 has been a long road but very rewarding one. We have had some amazing young editors come to work work at the Peace Child International office, worked along side some of the UNDP's staff and had many wonderful submissions to the project.
We will be launching the publication at the 4th World Youth Congress in Quebec City, Canada on August 12th.
If you are attending the congress make sure to come up to the Peace Child staff afterwards but if you are not attending you can still how everything unfolds and be involved through the Virtual Congress.
Since a main portion of this years World Youth Congress is focused on Climate Change I thought I would share this article on how the Canadian government is trying to sweep dirt under the mat. I also wanted to extent anyone who is using Facebook to join the growing International Youth Climate Movement.
OTTAWA — The Conservative government is planning a quiet release for a major Health Canada report that warns of the harmful impact of climate change on the health of Canadians, particularly the young, elderly and aboriginals.
Should the department follow through with its communications plan, it will be the second time this year that the government has taken such an approach with a major climate-change study.
Those involved with the report were informed in a July 3 conference call that the government is preparing a “low-profile release” on the Health Canada website, rather than launching the report with major media fanfare, sources told The Globe and Mail.
McMaster University chemistry professor Brian McCarry, who chairs a group called Clean Air Hamilton, said the dangers of global warming and fossil fuels on human health deserve far more attention, not less.
“Certainly, the stance taken by this government has been to keep climate change in a low-profile format,” he said. “Unfortunately, Canada and the U.S. are almost singular in the world now as being not quite climate-change deniers, but they’re not putting much emphasis on [it.]“
Canadian scientists and climate experts worked for months on a similar major study last year for Natural Resources Canada called From Impacts to Adaptation, which warned of the specific impacts of climate change for each region of the country.
The release of that report was delayed for several months before being posted in a hard-to-find section of the Natural Resources Canada website. As a result, the report received little media coverage, frustrating many of the public servants, scientists and academics who worked on it.
Similar frustration is now beginning to surface over the government’s handling of the Health Canada study.
Health Minister Tony Clement’s press secretary, Laryssa Waler, issued a brief response yesterday to questions about the department’s communications plan. “Health Canada is preparing the report for release. Once it’s ready, it will be released,” she said in an e-mail.
Peter Berry, Health Canada’s senior policy analyst for climate change and health, who was on the July 3 conference call discussing the communications plan for releasing the report, offered an outline of the study during a February presentation to Clean Air Hamilton.
At that time, Dr. Berry said the report would be released in the spring. It is expected to warn of the health dangers of longer and hotter heat waves on the elderly and children, while saying that changing vegetation will affect the traditional ways of northern aboriginals.
Dr. Berry’s presentation included a quotation about how society will only act to avoid the effects of climate change if it is aware of the possible negative consequences.
Environmentalist Dale Marshall of the David Suzuki Foundation, who has been critical of what he describes as the Conservative government’s “weak” climate-change policies, offered an exasperated sigh yesterday when told of the government’s plans.
“If this government cared about climate change,” he said, “then it would highlight these reports and use them as a way of engaging Canadians on the importance of addressing the issue.”
OTTAWA — The Conservative government is planning a quiet release for a major Health Canada report that warns of the harmful impact of climate change on the health of Canadians, particularly the young, elderly and aboriginals.
Should the department follow through with its communications plan, it will be the second time this year that the government has taken such an approach with a major climate-change study.
Those involved with the report were informed in a July 3 conference call that the government is preparing a “low-profile release” on the Health Canada website, rather than launching the report with major media fanfare, sources told The Globe and Mail.
McMaster University chemistry professor Brian McCarry, who chairs a group called Clean Air Hamilton, said the dangers of global warming and fossil fuels on human health deserve far more attention, not less.
“Certainly, the stance taken by this government has been to keep climate change in a low-profile format,” he said. “Unfortunately, Canada and the U.S. are almost singular in the world now as being not quite climate-change deniers, but they’re not putting much emphasis on [it.]“
Canadian scientists and climate experts worked for months on a similar major study last year for Natural Resources Canada called From Impacts to Adaptation, which warned of the specific impacts of climate change for each region of the country.
The release of that report was delayed for several months before being posted in a hard-to-find section of the Natural Resources Canada website. As a result, the report received little media coverage, frustrating many of the public servants, scientists and academics who worked on it.
Similar frustration is now beginning to surface over the government’s handling of the Health Canada study.
Health Minister Tony Clement’s press secretary, Laryssa Waler, issued a brief response yesterday to questions about the department’s communications plan. “Health Canada is preparing the report for release. Once it’s ready, it will be released,” she said in an e-mail.
Peter Berry, Health Canada’s senior policy analyst for climate change and health, who was on the July 3 conference call discussing the communications plan for releasing the report, offered an outline of the study during a February presentation to Clean Air Hamilton.
At that time, Dr. Berry said the report would be released in the spring. It is expected to warn of the health dangers of longer and hotter heat waves on the elderly and children, while saying that changing vegetation will affect the traditional ways of northern aboriginals.
Dr. Berry’s presentation included a quotation about how society will only act to avoid the effects of climate change if it is aware of the possible negative consequences.
Environmentalist Dale Marshall of the David Suzuki Foundation, who has been critical of what he describes as the Conservative government’s “weak” climate-change policies, offered an exasperated sigh yesterday when told of the government’s plans.
“If this government cared about climate change,” he said, “then it would highlight these reports and use them as a way of engaging Canadians on the importance of addressing the issue.”
At the 4th World Youth Congress there will be the creation of, 'A Celebration of Youth-led Development' book, supported by Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA). The congress will be taking place in Quebec 10th-21st August and the creation of this publication will also take place during this time.
We are looking for your stories on how you, your organization or your friends are involved in youth-led development. We are particularly focusing on the work that young people are doing toward the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). We will be including stories from groups attending the congress in Quebec as well as stories from those who can't attend. This book will have a 'by youth' focus: we'd like to hear your experience of youth-designed and delivered projects.
If you have such stories, reports or evaluations, please send them to us. Ideally, we are looking for a 250-word summary of the project (with, if possible, some first person statements / opinions from the young people who did the project), plus 2-4 photographs illustrating the faces of the young person or team who designed and delivered the project, the need their project addressed, and a photo that confirms that they did what they set out to do. Send it to: publications@peacechild.org
Alternatively, if you have no specific project stories that you would like to highlight – but would like to be identified in the book as an organization that supports the notion of youth-led development (community improvement projects designed and delivered by young people under the age of 30) – please write to the Publications email address provided and they will recognize your support in the publication.
After the trek from Toronto to Vancouver to Sydney to Melbourne, I knew the first thing I needed to do to keep my sanity was to spend a good amount of time at the fitness center at the Westin. What a great idea - it helped me refresh, have a fantastic swim in the beautiful infinity pool, and after a brief stroll that was quickly canceled when the rain started, I got to sleep at a reasonable hour.
On Thursday, I woke up and did it all over again, in a beautiful setting amongst Lemon trees at Lateare Gardens in Hobart with a fire burning to keep us all warm and cozy from the cold outside! I think the goals of what we do at TakingITGlobal really connected closely with some people - one teacher was literally in tears sharing how wonderful she thought what we did was... it's really a special opportunity (as exhausting as it is) to be able to share our work with people that are also dedicating their lives to helping young people develop. I think sometimes we all forget the power and opportunity we have to impact the lives of others - and I feel like a few people really felt reconnected to that opportunity, which is really an amazing opportunity to be able to stimulate.
