Memorandum

“This is not a political issue: it is a moral issue”

* Al Gore






On Wednesday February 21st, Toronto citizens will unite in

a peaceful display of solidarity in response to Al Gore’s message delivered in AN INCONVENIENT TRUTH.

Al Gore is scheduled to speak at 7:00pm at Convocation Hall. As 900 tickets sold in 1 minute, and the website crashed due to more than 20,000 hits in 3 minutes, it is apparent that many in Toronto are in agreement that we are suffering climate change.

Please show your support for his crucial message by attending an hour long candlelight vigil to symbolize that you are willing to become Carbon Neutral and recognize your ecological footprint.

Meet in front of Convocation Hall from 6pm – north of College and west of University Ave. Walk through the main gates of the U of T campus and you will find King’s College Circle. Convocation Hall is on the left. Carry a small light which we will turn off at 7:00pm when Al Gore begins his lecture inside the Hall.

Families are encouraged to attend.

Contact: etcag@sympatico.ca East Toronto Climate Action Group

Dropping a bomb
French prez blows West’s cover on Iran using nukes first – it’s not going to happen
By GWYNNE DYER

For more than two years, all the big Western powers have insisted that Iran's nuclear power program is secretly intended to produce nuclear weapons, and that the minute it gets them it will launch them at Israel.

But on Monday (January 29), French president Jacques Chirac said something very different. He said Iran would never use them first.

"I would say that what is dangerous about this situation is not the fact of [Iran] having a nuclear bomb," Chirac said in reply to a journalist's question.

"Where will it drop it, this bomb?'' Chirac asked scornfully. "On Israel? [The missile] would not have gone 200 metres into the air before Tehran would be razed."

He spoke as if deterrence would work even against Iran. As if the country were run by sane human beings who don't want their children burned, crushed and vaporized by Israeli and American nuclear weapons.

He's not supposed to talk like that in public.

"Chirac gave us a moment of honesty,'' said Alireza Nourizadeh, chief researcher at the London-based Centre for Arab-Iranian Studies. "His comment was basically what I believe to be the position of Britain, the United States and much of the West: if Israel is attacked, there will be no hesitation to bring retaliation and destruction to Iran."

And that, Chirac concluded, meant that Iran would not use its nuclear weapons to attack Israel should it ever acquire them.

In Chirac's view, the danger is not that Iran would use its nuclear weapons, but that they would lead to a general proliferation of such weapons in the Middle East.

"Why wouldn't Saudi Arabia do it?" he asked. "Why wouldn't it help Egypt to do it as well? That is the real danger."

But he's not supposed to say that either.

Those are the West's allies, the very countries that the United States is currently trying to mobilize to lead an anti-Iranian alliance of Sunni Arab states.

Chirac was simply stating the truth as he (and many others) see it, but his comments completely undermined the joint Western position, so the following day he was forced to retract them. He didn't say he was wrong, however, just that he'd thought he was speaking "off the record" when discussing Iran, as the interview was originally about climate change.

France is clearly very worried by the drumbeat of anti-Iranian propaganda in Washington, which sounds alarmingly similar to the campaign of misinformation waged by the Bush administration before it attacked Iraq.

Last month, Chirac was forced to cancel a planned visit to Tehran by his foreign minister, Philippe Douste-Blazy, because his allies did not trust France to stick to the party line. They were doubtless right in their suspicions.

But France is also right to argue that Iranian nuclear weapons, if they existed, would be primarily defensive in nature and would not be used to attack Israel, because nuclear deterrence still works and Iranians do not want their country to commit suicide.

It is also right to worry that an Iranian bomb would create pressures for further proliferation, as Arab countries that have lived under the threat of Israeli nuclear weapons for 40 years decide that living under the threat of Iranian nuclear weapons as well, with no means of deterrence or retaliation, is simply intolerable.

Certainly, France is utterly hypocritical to worry about Middle Eastern countries owning nuclear weapons when it has had them itself for almost half a century, but that is equally true of all the other great powers.

And it is jumping to conclusions when it assumes that Iran's stated (and quite legal) desire to enrich uranium for nuclear power generation conceals a drive to get an actual nuclear weapon as soon as possible.

The truth may be that Iran is for the moment seeking only a "threshold'' nuclear weapons capacity: a level of technological expertise from which it could, in an emergency, develop actual nuclear weapons in only six months or so. Such a position is entirely legal, and some 40 countries currently hold it.

The truth may also be that the nuclear-armed neighbour Iran really worries about is not Israel but Pakistan, whose 1998 nuclear tests scared Iranian strategists half to death. They don't worry about the intentions of Pakistan's current dictator, General Pervez Musharraf, but they know it is a one-bullet regime and they worry a great deal about what kind of fanatics might succeed him in power.

So maybe Chirac's gaffe wasn't as accidental as it seemed. Maybe he wants people to re-examine all the lies and half-truths we are being told about Iran as Washington seems to be gearing up for another attack.

And maybe we should. the end
news@nowtoronto.com

Ottawa, Dec. 29 - On the fourth day of Christmas, the Green Party of Canada issued an urgent call to action to protect partridges, pear trees, calling birds, French hens, turtle doves and Canada's endangered species from the threat of extinction.

Fourteen years after the UN Convention on Biological Diversity went into force, the federal government has yet to pass effective Species At Risk legislation and complete Canada's network of national parks and marine protected areas, said Green Party leader Elizabeth May.

Today the Green Party responded with the release of Investing in Biodiversity - a comprehensive blueprint for protecting Canada's natural capital. The plan calls for $500 million to be added to existing 2003 and 2005 budget commitments to complete the national parks and marine protected areas system.

"Every prime minister of Canada for the last 20 years has committed to completing the network - except the current prime minister," said Ms. May. "Canada desperately needs a bold new campaign to protect biodiversity but the Harper government insists on looking the other way."

"Biodiversity" is a complex word for a simple concept. It means nature itself - everything from micro-organisms to landscape diversity, from partridges and pear trees to forests and oceans.

Other urgent issues addressed in Investing in Biodiversity include the need to overhaul the failed Species at Risk Act and provide the research and logistical support to ensure that legislation prevents adverse impacts on habitats and ecosystems.

Investing in Biodiversity is a follow-up to the Green Party's Green Plan (GP2) released earlier this year, which condemned the federal government for systematically undermining the role of scientific research in supporting ecologically protective legislation.

According to the report released today, knowledge of species and the ecosystems in which they live must be the foundation of an effective national biodiversity conservation strategy to protect vital ecosystems like natural prairie, old-growth forests, un-trawled ocean floors and freshwater habitats.

"Not only has the federal government been gutting research agencies created to understand biodiversity, it is also ignoring the recommendations of its own scientists on how to protect species and their habitats," said May. "Without scientific knowledge guiding our decisions, we will continue to over-exploit resources and suffer the economic and social consequences."

In April 2006, Fisheries and Oceans minister Loyola Hearn ignored the advice of Department of Fisheries and Oceans scientists and blocked the listing of the Interior Fraser Coho salmon as a "species at risk." The listing would not have reduced the commercial fishery but the minister's decision was an extinction order for the coho.

The Green Party will continue to put pressure on the federal government to live up to its obligations under the UN Convention on Biodiversity to prevent species loss and habitat destruction while fostering a holistic and humble view of our place in nature through public education and awareness.

Changing the way we place economic value on the natural world through full-cost accounting and taxation and fiscal incentives to conserve valuable land will also help Canada protect its dwindling biodiversity.

The Convention on Biological Diversity, negotiated under the auspices of the United Nations Environment Program, has three goals: to promote the conservation of biodiversity, the sustainable use of its components, and the fair and equitable sharing of benefits arising out of the utilization of genetic resources.

Contact:
John Chenery
416-532-8218
416-452-6016 (cell)
jchenery@greenparty.ca

I've been away for awhile, sucked into the vortex of the physical world, busy working, creating, learning, and manifesting--and this space has been quiet. After being away from Torontoland for quite sometime, I've returned and have been reconnecting with old friends, while also meeting new ones, who will all play a pivotal role in the future of Touch the Sun.

I've just finished a training program for Film/ TV industry professionals here in Torontoland. It was an intensive ten weeks of in-class lectures, guidance, panels, and seminars. Part of the program was the development of a company and a 'first' project to launch through that company, and as a result of the program, I've received much insight into Touch the Sun, where the idea was lacking, and how to finally birth this juggernaut. I've also just finished Directing and Producing my first feature film and am currently developing three TV series and a handful of feature films.

And now, I give to you the new Touch the Sun...

Touch the Sun Productions begins through me as a film/ video/ multi-media production company that is already established, staffed, and ready to go. Touch the Sun Productions is a Film and TV Production company focusing on the production of long-form ethnographic and documentary productions for theatrical release and Documentary and Ethnographic TV series that will focus on multi-cultural bridge building, inter-connectivity, Green, Spiritual and forward thinking ideas, and Political and Social reform. These productions may take on the form of the experimental, or poetic, or traditional narrative type productions.

The intention is to welcome other artistic disciplines, healers, and forward thinkers into Touch the Sun Productions to become a multi-disciplinary production collective and to create an intermingling of ideas and art, and the Production company will bring those ideas to life through the disciplines represented in the collective.

Touch the Sun Productions will establish an Artist-Run Centre and I've already gots my sights on an old Vaudeville theatre that's in need of some lovin'. This centre will be a place for the company to work and play together, and will also provide a means of presenting our work to an audience by hosting one-off multi-disciplinary events and by having regular presentation possibilities for film, theatre/ dance, visual arts, music and so on...

As mentioned, I am busy developing film and TV series through Touch the Sun Productions. I will always use the international markets to sell Touch the Sun Production's work, which will bring money into the company, while also promoting the collective. I will always retain educational rights to sell dvds on the Touch the Sun Production's website, which will allow Touch the Sun Productions to become a self-distribution entity for its own work.

Touch the Sun will launch a full-on broadcasting entity within the next year, which will feature the work of the Toronto company through a film, video, and new media channel, internet radio station for music and information, a visual arts gallery and publishing house, which will be run out of the Toronto Artist-Run Centre. Remember, the Artist-Run Centre houses a fully functioning production collective, which enables us to create our own work, hold workshops, training, and healing sessions, for internet broadcast. An open call for user-generated content will also be extended, as long as the work fits into Touch the Sun's mandate. The eventual goal for this webcasting network is to become a self-sufficient producer of original content for the web, and a viable marketing and financing plan is in place to get us to that stage. The most important thing I've learned in the program I just finished is that the future of broadcasting is on the internet--one only has to look at You Tube to understand this BUT no one has figured out a viable way of making money from the internet--until now.

It is still my intention to establish Artist Run Centres, either in-city, or eco-village, around the globe to create a network of venues to present work in, produce work out of, tour work through, and broadcast work onto the web from. I've looked into satellite connectivity and IT IS NOT THAT EXPENSIVE, so even the most remote eco-village can be connected to the network and will be able to broadcast to the web.

On a side note, I've established a development relationship with a web-tv company in San Fran, and will be arriving there in Jan/ February to begin discussions about possible collaborations with them for the future. More details will be available when they are finalized. While in SF, I will also begin developing a film with a new friend, and will be laying the foundation for a SF Touch the Sun Production company there to work in tandem with the Toronto office.

My silence is over. The dance begins now and I am seeking facilitators who would be interested in working with me to help create this network. Even if you think you have nothing to contribute, all voices in this choir will be heard. The only requirement is that, in addition to singing your song, you must love to dance.

Michael

from BBC News

Obituary: James Brown

James Brown was the self-confessed "Godfather of Soul"

When James Brown styled himself Soul Brother Number One, for once, this was no idle showbusiness exaggeration. His influence on popular music was, quite simply, enormous.

He transformed gospel music into rhythm and blues, and soul music into his own creation - funk - with its driving rhythms and insistent beat.

His performances remain unsurpassed for their urgency of expression and raw physicality, influencing later white rockers like Mick Jagger and Iggy Pop.

Born James Joe Brown Junior in 1933 in a one-room shack in the backwoods of South Carolina, by the age of seven he was boarding at a brothel in Augusta, Georgia.

He helped to pay the rent by shining shoes and tap-dancing in the streets.

Nine years later he was harshly punished for trying to steal a car. Sent to prison for between eight and 16 years, he eventually served only three years and a day.

James Brown on the stage in the 1960s
Brown was a charismatic frontman
On his release, he joined a gospel group. While pursuing a promising but ultimately abortive career as a semi-professional boxer, he rose to become the leader of the James Brown Revue.

Audiences were delighted and outraged by the group's tight R&B sound, fronted by the charismatic Brown, whose stage antics caused him to shed up to seven pounds a night.

In 1956, Brown wrote the song Please, Please, Please. It sold one million copies and propelled the singer to stardom.

Other hits followed as Brown worked up to 350 nights a year, earning himself another reputation, as the hardest-working man in showbusiness.

Though the financial returns were scant - Brown and his band members earned a derisory $150 each for Please Please Please - he refused to compromise on the quality of his performances.

His reason was simple: "When you're on stage, the people who paid money to get in are the boss, even if it cost them only a quarter. You're working for them."

The success: James Brown in the 1970s
He treated his band like an army, imposing fines for lateness, scruffy costumes and poor playing. By the early 1960s his growing reputation saw him play to packed crowds at the Mecca of black music, Harlem's Apollo Theatre.

In 1961, realising that the essence of his music could only be captured live, Brown personally financed the recording of an album at the theatre.

The result, the mould-breaking James Brown Show Live at the Apollo, was a sensation. Establishing his reputation throughout the United States, it remains one of the most critically-acclaimed live albums ever recorded.

His status was enhanced by a succession of worldwide hits like Papa's Got a Brand New Bag, I Got You (I Feel Good) and Get Up (I Feel Like Being a Sex Machine).

Artistically, James Brown was breaking new ground with a whole new musical form, funk.

Songs like Cold Sweat, where the brass section and guitars drove the rhythm, exemplified the stylistic change which Brown wrought.

Success brought great wealth. James Brown owned radio stations, fast food restaurants and a private jet.

He embraced "black capitalism" even before the phrase was coined, urging his fellow countrypeople to live the American Dream.

He gave back, too, sponsoring food stamps for the poor and giving money and land to those in need, especially in Africa.

Some radicals, though, criticised him for his patriotism and he received death threats after playing to US troops in Vietnam.

Such was James Brown's influence that when Martin Luther King was assassinated in 1968, the order went out to broadcast Brown's show in Boston live across the United States.

Punctuated by his pleas for calm, the show helped to stem the tide of anger and Brown earned the personal thanks of President Lyndon Johnson.

Living in America
The 1970s were bad times for James Brown. His son Teddy died in a car accident, he himself was beset by tax problems and disco music threatened to eclipse his career.

Sheer hard work on the club circuit brought him back from the brink. A cameo role as a singing preacher in the cult 1980 film The Blues Brothers brought his music to another generation.

James Brown performing in 1999
Brown was still strutting in his sixties
His song Living in America, a paean to the American Dream, was chosen as the theme music to Rocky IV and James Brown was among the first group of inductees into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

But James Brown's capacity for self-destruction was a constant danger. In 1988 an incident with a shotgun led to a high-speed police chase and he spent two-and-a-half years in jail.

His release coincided with a huge upswell in rap and hip-hop music, both of which borrowed freely from Brown's work. His role as a pivotal musical innovator was recognised as never before.

Even with his faults, James Brown was an important role model to a whole generation of African Americans.

Triumphing over poverty and racism, his outlook is best summed up by the title of one of his greatest hits - Say it Loud, I'm Black and I'm Proud.