De Beers, Diamonds and the Canadian Third World : Attawapiskat reserve to get Red Cross aid

I am grateful for everything that my parents have done for me to live well in Canada. Although there is little  threat of war, natural disasters or social unrest, I find it shameful to live in a land where disparity and the violation of human rights is ongoing.

Earlier this year, I attended a presentation given by Tom Ornsby from De Beers. He described how his company is dedicated to fair negotiation with communities to get the rights to extract mineral resources, read diamonds, from their land. In return, more than the initial contract obligations are fulfilled. Unfortunately, we see that the living conditions in Attawapiskat are unacceptable. 

If you believe that buying "Blood Diamonds" is a crime, there is apparently little that can be told about the process by which diamonds jewels are identified once on the market. From mining next to communities which remain very poor, to migrant workers being paid just a little above minimum wage even though they have more than 10 years experience, it is difficult for anybody to imagine that Canadian produced diamonds are ethical.

Should Canada lead the world in negotiating human rights, prime examples of functioning democracy are the protection of the vulnerable and assuring the options, choices and well being of its population. More oft than not, I am convinced that the government of Canada has done very little to meet the goals to eliminate child poverty, domestic violence and environmental standards set more than 20 years ago.

Ethical Oil on stolen land ?! Levant, it is time that you wake up.

You may have heard of Ezra Levant's project of claiming that Canadian produced oil is ethical. I do not know if he has ever spoken with Saudi women, nor if he has ever been to a reserve that is affected by the oil sands projects, but if his book and website http://www.ethicaloil.org/ is based on research, I doubt it has any rigor at all.

Alberta has a great number of foreign workers. Some from within Canada, some from overseas. Although the wages of workers in the industry are far above average, the quality of life of many in the province still is without dignity. Homelessness remains an epidemic in Canada, child poverty is not a rarity, educational institutions continually degrade in quality. Oilsands are not without controversy and are not extracted or transformed in a land that respects human rights.

Modern Warfare 3 - Please

The hype around anything cannot be generalized. The iPhone 4 did not live up to the expectations, especially considering the very poor battery life. Tablet users do not get the same usage they would get out of their laptop( with a few exceptions of high end ones that feature ports or Windows 7).

Modern Warfare 3 thus far seems like just any first person shooter. Maybe fans of previous MW will enjoy the new entry, but I will pass.