Ma Wet, Wet Peeps

Our team left for Sri Lanka this evening. Stay tuned for reports of their progress. Today was also my first practical sitar class, followed immediately by a nasty 2 hour ashtanga yoga class which was held in benefit of our tsunami relief efforts --a long day of Indian stuff.

But while my fundraising efforts have been focused on Sri Lanka, my own homeland is experiencing a slightly less famous deluge. Here's a pic, skimmed from the 'Net, of a flooded city street in Guyana. Note the clever sign, "tsunami ride." Dems ma peeps:

A friend sent me my 2005 horoscope from Mysticstars.com:

"The first 3 months of the year 2005 will be emotionally demanding and mildly confusing. Before February 15th expect loved ones or long predictable romantic partners to express a deep need for social change or new home plans. Much of this is purely emotional: don't expect lovers or close friends to take action. Before March 22nd others may vent their feelings or daily frustrations, but will make little efforts to change their immediate circumstances. Remain open to the thoughts and criticism of loved ones, but don't expect significant change early this year. Shortly after the end of March a powerful wave of creativity and rekindled passion will arrive in key relationships. To some degree past feelings of career disappointment or low confidence may have recently affected the available levels of intimacy with loved ones. Distant emotions, lost workplace ambitions or key financial changes over the last 14 to 16 months may well have caused loved ones to be listless or only vaguely committed to present day relationships. Now, however, and through April, May and June, watch for lovers or close friends to steadily improve their self-image, business potential and ability to explore key relationships. Although positive these 3 months will bring a decision phase into your romantic life. Before late June expect several new relationships or romantic proposals to arrive. Some Leos may this year experience a powerful split between ongoing romantic duties and exciting new relationships. Trust your instincts: unless current romantic partners begin expanding their lives or improving their outlook, new relationships will captivate your attention. A difficult but highly productive year: expect to make key decisions in your emotional life before the end of August. Leave emotional and romantic compromising in the past: this is a year of decided action, shared goals and vivid passions."

Why am I sharing this with you? No reason; I just need to save it somewhere.

In other news, you may note that there is now a small ad to the right of this blog. Click on it a couple of times and let's see if Google actually pays me!

You Know, Stuff

Got some random stuff for you:

• Where to start? Well for you fans of hiphop and big boobs, visit the Lindsay Lohan Freestyle site.
• It seems Rabble.ca has once again published one of my articles without informing me. This one appeared on Jan 19th.
  
• For you fans of mindbending images, check out this recursive video.
• Here's a position I support: instead of giving Presidential medals to the likes of George Tenet and Paul Bremer, give it to Scott Ritter, the weapons inspector who was ridiculed before the invasion when he insisted that Iraq had no WMDs.
• I wish I'd thought of this: sell advertising space on your forehead. Goodbye student loans! (Thanks to Nojjy Boy for the link.)
• For those who keep asking me what language they speak in Guyana, the answer is English. But it's not quite so simple. This site lists all the dialects spoken in the land of my birth.
• It's still the beginning of the year, so here are some predictions. Seymour Hersh and Eric Margolis predict all sorts of shenanigans during the Bush/Cheney sequel.
• Just 'cause I love you all, turn up your speakers and click here.

And of course the mandatory tsunami relief updates:

• Our relief agency is sending our first team mission to Sri Lanka this weekend. My beloved ex is among them, so let's all hope they remain safe and healthy.
  
• If you live in Ottawa, come out to our tsunami relief yoga class! Sunday Jan 30th at the Santosha Yoga Centre (205 Catherine St), 2-4pm, $15 minimum donation. You might have heard me on CHUO radio yesterday plugging the event.
• If you live in Toronto, the excellent photographer Richard von Erlac is holding a benefit photo show, Before The Deluge, at dB Audio (181 Carlaw Ave, Suite 225) on Friday Jan 28th, 4-9pm, $10.
  

Curry and Yoga... Is There A Connection?

Ahhhh. Back in my hovel in Ottawa getting fat on all the curry my dear mother sent home with me. Truly the sweet life.

A great thanks to Ann H. whose book club invited me to discuss my novel, Divine Elemental. It was my first experience discussing any of my works in someone's home with a bunch of strangers. Quite surreal, I must say, but overall a positive experience. As the club members expressed to me that much of the book is challenging, I'm finally starting to accept that my writing style is perhaps too esoteric to ever make me rich; but so long as it gets me dates, I'm happy. Here's a photo (taken on my trusty Treo 600 smartphone) of the book club meeting:



Meanwhile our tsunami relief group is set to send its first mission to Sri Lanka this coming weekend. We've raised about $30,000, all of which is being spent on acquiring medical supplies which are being transported to suffering areas of the Eastern Province. But this is not the end of the escapade. We need more money to expand the project to include grief counselling and educational programmes.

This coming Sunday (Jan 30th) the Santosh Yoga Centre (205 Catherine Street, Ottawa) will hold a "Tsunami Relief Yoga Class" from 2-4pm. It costs $15 to get in; but, hey, it's good for you.

Flooding in Guyana

Greetings from Toronto. Went to the Shahid Ali Khan tsunami benefit concert last night. It was a rousing success, due to the exciting performance of Mr. Khan and to the magnificent organizing job by Ms. Farah Ally. The photos of Sri Lanka by Richard Erlac were also quite popular at the event; we're trying to set up a special photo exhibit of pics of Sri Lanka before and after the tsunami, featuring Mr. Erlac's marvelous work, at galleries in Ottawa and Toronto. If anyone out there knows of a space that is willing to donate time to us --remember, all proceeds go to charity-- please let me know.

While our efforts have been focused on sending relief to tsunami-stricken regions in South Asia, a region close to me for personal reasons, another natural diaster has befallen yet another place in the world of personal importance: the nation of Guyana, land of my birth, is completely flooded. As yet only one person has lost his life, but entire villages are underwater, domestic animals (which constitute a major component of the local economy) have drowned and much property destroyed. The nation is beset with incompetence and corruption and I fear this disaster will not rally the people or their leaders to rise above petty desires and bickerings; rather this will seen as an opportunity to take criminal advantage. Am I too cynical? Perhaps. But my experience with the petty attitudes of my own people does not fill me with confidence.

The Guyanese consulate has been contacting us expatriates to see how we can help. Not sure what I can do, as the brunt of my relief energies have been expended on South Asia. So, so tired....

So....tired....

Off to Toronto in a few hours to attend the Shahid ali Khan concert (a benefit for tsunami relief). It's at the Gladstone Hotel on Queen St, and though tickets are sold out, you might be able to get in to the late show at 11pm, so come on down.

Don't have much time to write at this moment. Just wanted to give my Ottawa readers a heads-up: I'll be doing a book reading/signing at the main public library on the evening of March 10th. So keep that date open!

Of $50 Haircuts and Busted Smartphones

Where to begin? A bit too shellshocked still from last week's tragedy to jump right back into the political commentary. How about some frivolous personal stuff?

Here we see a photo of my two crippled Treo smartphones, a 180 and a 270, taken courtesy of the onboard camera of my new toy, the Treo 600. Astute (by which I mean nerdy) readers will note that almost exactly one year ago, I purchased the used Treo 270 from Andrew Currie after my Treo 180 failed. Now the 270 has failed and I have bought an even more expensive and problematic beast. The lesson? I'm an idiot, but you knew that already.

And because I'm an idiot I decided it was time to splurge on a $50 haircut, rather than the cheap-ass $7 jobs I usually steal from the haircutting school near my parents' house. Here is the result of salon pampering and expensive styling product:

Who said I wasn't metrosexual enough? Of course you can't see the actual hair in that photo, so use your imagination and picture me with 50 dollar bills plastered to my scalp.

Aw heck, let's end on some environmental politics. A famous global warming denier has this to say:

Michael Crichton: "I think there's only one position, and that is the position that the data leads you to."

I'm with you, Michael. When the bulk of evidence starts to point toward global warming being a myth, I will happily (honestly and truly happily) join you in your skepticism. Until then, please follow your own advice and be lead by the freakin' data.

Meanwhile, there's another planetwide phenomenon upon us --global dimming.

Another Tragedy

A very sad thing happened this weekend when the wife of a dear friend and co-worker, who was apparently an occasional visitor to this site, unexpectedly and suddenly passed away. I cannot imagine a family less deserving of such heartbreak, and I struggle to find some way to help them. At times like this there are no catch-all words of comfort for those left behind. I can only offer the following insight.

About three years ago I was in Bermuda with my friends Sean and Andrew. While there we foolishly rented motor scooters, even though only Andrew had any appreciable experience on any motorized vehicle. So it comes as no surprise to hear that I, ever the klutz, crashed my scooter and suffered a concussion.

Now, in between losing consciousness on the pavement and waking up with a paramedic peering down at me and tasting Andrew's fingers in my mouth (don't ask), I have vivid memories of a unique experience. In those brief seconds of blackout I remember long minutes of complete contented timelessness during which I was on a country road in summer with blinding brilliant white sunlight beating down upon me; and with me were the people in the world whom I loved the most. During this period, I knew that I was supposed to be somewhere else, but I was so completely content and happy to be on that road that I didn't care what was happening in the "real" world.

I'm not suggesting that what I experienced was a near-death experience. I don't know if my heart stopped. I accept that it's entirely possible that my "hallucination" was caused by scrambled neurons and/or the subtle play of Bermudan sunlight upon the retinas of my still open eyes.

But all of that is beside the point. When I awoke I no longer had any fear of physical death. I still cling to life with all my might, and I'm terrified of life-threatening situations. But my only anxiety regarding my own death concerns the care and disposition of those I would leave behind; I am otherwise now convinced that the actual process of personal death is not necessarily a traumatic experience, but indeed is the "re-birth" that many traditions teach. I am not a religious man, yet I have personally encountered additional scenarios which reinforce the conclusion that physical death is not the end of the journey.

None of this, of course, helps my friend and his children in the short term. But I hope that, over time, as they come to deal with missing their departed love one, there will be some comfort in considering that death, while tragic, may not be the complete extinguishing of human spirit or potential, but merely its transformation to another place or form.

If anyone has any words of particular insight and comfort to offer my friend, feel free to add them as a comment, as he is a regular visitor.

Relief, Gates, Pies and Probes

We had two marvelous tsunami fundraising events in both Toronto and Ottawa last night. Thanks to all who organized them and who came out to be a part of our efforts. Meanwhile, the crisis gets more complex, with new reports of discrimination with respect to aid receipt: in India, for example, low caste individuals are being denied relief.

Back to Iraq: as many of you have no doubt heard, the US has officially called off its search for WMDs in Iraq. So there goes the #1 (and #2 and #3) reason for the invasion. So why is this not a big deal? Why is this not bigger than Watergate, Monicagate and Iran-Contra put together? Thousands of American lives lost; tens of thousands of Iraqi lives lost; hundreds of billions of dollars spent; America's reputation deeply scarred; and no one meaurably any safer. I ask again: why is this not a big deal?

Meanwhile, the knuckle-draggers write endlessly about the firings at CBS news in the wake of "Rathergate". How is that for perspective? This is an excellent comparison between Rathergate and "WMDgate".

Just a postscript to the Global Warming entry from yesterday... The two biggest and most cited climate change deniers are the late Julian Simon (an economist) and the living Bjorn Lomborg (a statistician). Here's Bjorn getting a pie in the face:





Simon's work is already well out of date, so the biggest amunition remaining to the deniers is Lomborg's work, particularly his bestselling book, The Skeptical Environmentalist. But for any of you eager to cite this "seminal" work, please be aware that it has been refuted repeatedly by greater minds than mine. In fact, there are several websites dedicated to pointing out Lomborg's errors; here is one of them.

Lastly, let's celebrate over something, shall we? The European Space Agency has successfully landed a probe onto the surface of Saturn's moon Titan. This is something I used to fantasize about as a kid. Remarkable to actually see it happen in my lifetime. Can't wait to see the images!

Global Warming. Again. Sigh.

Can we stop talking about the global warming "debate" yet? I continue to receive emails from people hearing about how scientists are "torn" on the issue. Let's get something straight: the overwhelming majority of mainstream scientists (i.e., those working on environmental science projects within recognized universities and institutes) agree that this is a serious issue; detractors tend to be economists, statisticians, TV weathermen and employees of the energy industry. With that in mind, here's the lowdown:

1. Global warming is a fact. Since the beginning of the 20th century, the mean surface temperature of the earth has increased by about 0.6 degrees Celcius. Over the last 40 years, which is the period with most reliable data, the temperature increased by about 0.2-0.3 degrees. Warming in the 20th century is greater than at any time during the past 400-600 years.

   Additionally, mountain glaciers the world over are receding; the Arctic ice pack has lost about 40% of its thickness over the past four decades; the global sea level is rising about three times faster over the past 100 years compared to the previous 3000 years; and there are a growing number of studies that show plants and animals changing their range and behavior in response to shifts in climate.
   

While the overwhelming body of evidence suggest a warming, there are but 2 studies that raise any doubts. The first is the satellite temperature measurements since 1979 which show a warming but only half the value of surface measurements over this time. The second is a 1991 statistical study suggesting changes in the cycle of seasons are responsible for the global temperature changes over the last 100 years. At present, neither study poses a threat to the ocean of other kinds of evidence.


2. That human activity is the cause of global warming is still a theory, but a compelling one. A 2002 report to the United Nations presented by scientists working for the US government concluded that "human activities such as oil refining, power generation and car emissions are significant causes of global warming."

   Our planet is still emerging from a mini-Ice Age which ended about 12,000 years ago. That might be the real base cause of the warming; I surely don't discount the possibility. Or maybe it's a combination of factors. Heck, it might even be a cyclical affair, with temperatures dropping again in a century or two. This point --the true cause of the warming-- is the only one that is legitimately open to debate.
   

3. But even if human activity is not the cause of global warming, the phenomenon might still be catastophic for human civilization, and thus requires our immediate attention. We can't wait a century or two for temperature to maybe drop again. Imagine the Asian tsunami reproduced in every coastal city on the planet. Think our civilization can survive that?

Do you get it now, people? Even if the Kyoto Accords don't end up affecting global temperatures significantly, they are surely worth the effort and pain. Heck, anything is worth the effort to slow down or eliminate this very real threat. Kyoto is only a start, and I admit it disproportionately punishes Western countries. But you gotta start somewhere.

Is This Because I'm a Lesbian?

Just finished watching this evening's episode of Law & Order, at the end of which Assistant D.A. Southerlyn is fired for not showing enough dispassion in her job. In the closing scene she says to her boss, "Is this because I'm a lesbian?"

Where the f@ck did that come from?!

Why Tsunami Relief Matters

The unavoidable tsunami relief backlash has arrived. Commentators, such as this guy, are echoing the Rand Institute's position that government money should not be spent on aid; and at many social gatherings I'm hearing frustrated mutterings complaining about tsunami aid overkill and overexposure. I myself no longer watch images of devastation on the news, and indeed my latest column explores assertions that tsunami aid is taking attention away from equally needy causes, such as HIV/AIDS and malaria control.

But let's put things back into perspective, shall we? While it is true that the Asian tsunami has "only" killed 160,000 people (small compared to annual death tolls from war, hunger, malaria and AIDS), loss of life is not the only issue here. At least 5 million people remain homeless and suffering in refugee camps on the beaches of stricken countries. And yes, there are homeless in our own country, too, but our homeless problem can't be solved with a few million dollars investment in reconstructed infratructure; ours is a much more economically and medically complicated phenomenon. The Asian case, however, is one than can be dramatically improved with sufficient initial investment in this brief window of time. These are peoples with skills and jobs, but no longer any industry infrastructure, such as a pier from which to fish. And unlike our situation, there is no social safety net large enough to absorb so many people for a prolonged period.

Additionally, it's not just about loss of life and homelessness. The stricken nations are among the fastest recovering of Southern economies. The Indian economy was projected to grow by 8% this year, Thailand's by 6% and Indonesia's by 4%. (No figure for Sri Lanka, sorry, though the country was on its way to recovering from 20 years of civil war.) These nations are ripe markets for our exports and thriving environments for Northern/Western manufacturing ---for better or worse. My point is that devastation in SE Asia means potential economic shrinkage in other parts of the world. And unlike malaria or HIV/AIDS, which at this point require sustained global efforts, sufficient and focused tsunami reconstruction/relief investment now might just head off calamnity later. Just imagine if we'd had the wherewithal to address the AIDS epidemic in the early days, well before it became a pandemic.

To be clear, I'm not advocating for the movement of HIV/AIDS funds to tsunami relief. Heck no-- I consider myself a rabid AIDS fighter! Rather, I want you to understand that the tsunami affair is not overblown by the media. It's a gosh darned honest to goodness catastrophe and a potential global nightmare.

Zero-Sum World Economics

There are, it seems, two competing views of world economics. The first is the most common and goes almost unquestioned in everyday affairs; it holds that there is no limit to potential wealth and that everyone, conceivably, can be wealthy at the same time; all you need is something to trade.

The other view holds that global wealth is a zero-sum affair wherein for one cluster of people to be wealthy another must be poor. The latter view has been inaccurately characterized by a regular visitor to this website as "communist" and "pure Marxist posturing." In economic terms, Marx's only real contribution was the (correct) suggestion that labour can be a kind of capital, which has nothing to do with what I'm talking about. Today's economics are more or less Keynesian and hold that macro-level trends tend to overwhelm individual behaviours.

The zero-sum scenario only makes sense when all factors of economic transaction are accounted for. A problem is the idea of an "externality", or the cost that others must pay for you to use your product. You pay a price for gas at the gas station, for example, but that price does not necessarily reflect the "external" price of producing and transporting the gas; such costs are often not monetary but environmental.

In the non zero-sum world, there are no appreciable external costs. Rather, unquantifiable externalities are absorbed by the "commons", the shared pool of human assets, such as the earthly environment. Garret Hardin captured the world's imagination with his 1968 article, The Tragedy of the Commons, in which he pointed out that regulation of pollution and depletion of the commons is a losing affair. This is partly because those who have acquired wealth also dictate the terms by which the commons can be exploited. In this sense, those who acquire wealth deny it for others by skewing exploitation of the commons toward their own advantage.

Here's a good way to better understand the situation. Play the Tragedy of the Bunnies game! By some measures, the world may be wealthier now than it ever has been before. But by other measures it's never been poorer. Don't close your mind to either measure. Don't let wishful or defensive thinking blind you.

Yet Another Op-Ed

Oh I need sleep like nobody's business. I started writing another blog entry and it expanded and became another op-ed column called, Why Not Diarrhea?





I suppose part of my reason for writing it is to see if some magazine will actually publish something with such an unpleasant title. More importantly, the article explores an important question. I've been championing tsunami relief for days now, losing much sleep over it. After all, 160 thousand people have died. But more people die every month from each of diarrhea, malaria and HIV/AIDs (as was discussed in this week's Diplomatic Immunity). To me, this doesn't mean we should spend less on tsunami relief. Rather, it means we should triple the international aid budget! Please tell me what you think about the article.

My original tsunami articles (here and here) are getting a lot of attention. I'm rapidly becoming a fan of web publishing for op-eds, since feedback is much faster and much more likely. Also, your work lives on well past the publication date.

My Head Hurts

I have this perpetual migraine these days. Being stressed out is not good. Too much work to do, too far behind in getting it done, and too much emotional turmoil, both in the personal life (read: love life) and the international life (read: tsunami). Aieee.

Speaking of the latter, our group finally has a fundraising event in Ottawa coming up. It's a benefit yoga class (hey, why not?) to be held Jan 30th. Watch this space for more details. The funds are rushing in, and our first mission to Sri Lanka will occur in the begining of February. It is unlikely that I will be part of that mission since there are others better prepared and more personally invested. It's a dangerous undertaking, and I hope they will remain safe.

If anyone out there has a contact with Air Canada or another airline, please think about sharing it with me. We're looking to get an airline to donate a couple of seats to Sri Lanka. Surely there's a generous carrier out there somewhere?

We are approaching, in some respects, one of the more dangerous periods in disaster relief: that moment when the disaster slips from the front pages, but the death toll continues to rise. This is not a short-term thing. What is required is pretty much the reconstruction of whole nations.... and this time, the people will welcome our efforts, unlike in the more disingenous attempts at nation-building in Iraq and Afghanistan.

But let's end today's update on an up note. Congratulations to my beloved parents on their 48th wedding anniversary, one day before Elvis's birthday.

Aid This, Beeeyatch

"The vast majority of scientists studying climate change agree that the
basis for concern is scientifically sound. Media reports often tend to focus
on the more controversial elements of the science related to the details of
climate change, and to talk to those scientists who represent polarized
views of scientific understanding. They also frequently fail to place new
science within the context of the large body of existing knowledge, hence
ignoring the considerable agreement within the expert science community on
the fundamental principles and processes involved. Hence such reports are
not a good representation of the understanding of the expert science
community." -Meteorological Service of Canada

Back to business, huh? That's a great link above, by the way. It really spells out the problems with climate change deniers' insistence that the "scientific community" is divided on the issue. Points out that several of the more famous "declarations" by "scientists" opposed to the Kyoto Accords had signatories who were very often TV weathermen! Yep, I want the dweeb on my local newscast deciding international industrial policy.

Okay, this is incredible: Ann Coulter's latest irrational diatribe. In it she defends the US foreign aid record as one of the "most generous" by --get this-- lumping the invasions of Iraq and Afghanistan as "aid" since they occurred, according to her, to rescue the indigenous populations from dictators. Lord save us from any more of such "aid."

I'm exhausted, both physically and emotionally. Just want to lie down for a week.

Life, Culture and the Arts

Here is a touching story. The people of the Russian town of Beslan, where terrorists killed a bunch of kids, is giving US$36000 to tsunami relief, out of the funds the world sent them after their ordeal. That's the kind of thing that gives me a little hope.

In fact, everyone's response to the tsunami crisis --with the exception of George Bush and the Ayn Rand Institute-- has been so passionate and genuine that I, ever the grey cynic, am actually moved. The response in Toronto and Ottawa to our call for help has been grand, with, for example, entertainers organizing themselves into fundraising events. There's nothing wrong with feeling good about yourselves, people; you've earned it.

Meanwhile, the US military is looking for a way to legalize the lifetime incarceration of terror suspects without trial. An official policy of torture -in some cases to death- and now of lifetime imprisonment without due process: welcome to Orwell's 1984 two decades too late.

On a completely unrelated note, a new movie called Guiana 1838 finally tells the tale of the arrival of Indian indentured servants to Guyana. Those people were my direct ancestors, and I'm happy their story is finally being told.

And this Guyanese fellow has some personal good news. For a while now, my work has been studied at Cornell and Columbia Universities in New York. Last year both, Ryerson University (in Toronto) and the University of New Brunswick (in Fredericton) added my bibliography to their English classes. And today I learned that my short story "Motherland" is being included as material for a new undergraduate course called "India, Life, Culture, and the Arts." Whoohoo!

Don't forget, if you live in Toronto, try to attend our fundraising event at Andy Pool Hall tonight!

Fundraising Events in Toronto

It's unlike me to post twice on the same day, but this is important. Our tsunami relief group, the Canadian Committee for Relief to Eastern Province, has scored three exciting fundraising events in Toronto. The first one is tomorrow. Come if you can. If you can't, please share this info with those who might:

1.Wednesday Jan 5th @ Andy Pool Hall (489 College St)

Better-times music provided by DJs:
Hatiras, Matt C, DJ Dayhota, Dino & Terry, DJ Krista, Denise Benson,
Charles Lewis, Dany V., Adam Nathan, Justin Medved, Amir Ebrahimnia,
Whitney Baker, Tee Loo's Kitchen, Joel Smye, Simon Rojas, Andrew
Allsgood, DJ Zahra, and Marc de Breyne with many more supporters!

7pm-2:30 AM
Minimum donation: $5

All money raised at the door, a percentage of bar sales, and the proceedsof the auction (featuring products from Puma Clothing, Prize Records, Crash Records and Bustle Clothing) will be donated.

2. Thursday Jan 13th @ The Embassy (223 Augusta Ave)

Hosted by Nirmala from Controller Controller, with DJs
DJ Serious, Mike Tull, Denise Benson, Brenden Canning Broken Social
Scene, Abacus, DJ Nav, John Kong, Son of S.O.U.L., Dalia, Dj Nana,
Jocelyn D, DJ Nav, John Kong, Noel Nanton, Kola, Chocolate, Sonar, DJ Amita

9:pm-2:AM
$10 - $50 sliding scale

3. Friday Jan 21: The big one.... Legendary South Asian singer Shahid
Ali Khan will perform at the Gladstone Hotel (1214 Queen Street W.)

7pm onward
$10 in advance (fally@pstgconsulting.com)
$15 at the door

Khan is a disciple of the late great Qawwali singer Nusrat Fateh Ali
Khan. This is a huge deal.

More seriousness

I'd forgotten that I'd sent my two tsunami articles to Rabble.ca, and apparently they'd forgotten to inform me that they'd published them! Both pieces appear here.

The horrors in post-tsunami SE Asia continue to mount. There are new reports of organized abuse of women and children in the refugee shelters, including the gang rape of children. As many have been saying for some time, the wave was only the beginning of the misery; this is a longterm tragedy.

Then there's this doofus named David Holcberg who's arguing that the USA and other rich nations should not be sending financial aid to SE Asia, pretty much because government money should be spent on domestic issues only. Unsurprisingly, he writes this for the Ayn Rand Institute. Interesting how conservative think tanks have no problem spending hundreds of billions bombing other countries, but balk at spending a few million to help them.

Let me spell it out for you, Holcberg: if you don't want to give because it's morally right, then do it for selfish reasons. SE Asia's collapse means a greater probability of the collapse of the world banking system, a dramatic decline in the purchasing power of big markets for the USA and increased instability in places like Indonesia where anti-US rebels are already making headway. See? Keeping SE Asia safe and happy is best for everyone.

Lord Love A Geoduck

With all the seriousness about us these days, let's dwell on some frivolity, shall we? The following is supposedly a photo of Rasputin's penis, recently bought on auction by a curiosity collector:





It does seem likely, though, that had the mad monk's schlong been sliced off, it would have been at its base and not the navel, no? Besides, this looks more like a geoduck or a sea cucumber. Will wonders never cease?

Now, one of my favourite shows these days happens to be Stargate: Atlantis, which is a spin-off of Stargate SG-1. But here's my problem with the new show. Why does the grand city of a 10,000 year old technologically-advanced space-faring civilization so resemble my highschool chemistry class? A failure of imagination, my friends. Same reason all aliens on American sci-fi shows happen to be white people with mid-Western accents.

And speaking of aliens on American sci-fi shows, how come none of them ever speaks with contractions? Something about advanced alien culture that is averse to the apostrophe? Just another mystery for our times, I guess.

PS. Both of my tsunami articles (here and here) have seen interest from India Currents Magazine; the first might see print in February.

Tsunami Relief

You know, one of the cool things about using a real blogging service is the RSS feed it automatically produces. (Read this to learn about RSS.) Of course, I personally know of only one other person who is keen on RSS, and that's my homeboy Andrew Currie; but if you'd like to enter this brave new world, it helps to get a newsreader like SharpReader.

The changes on this site continue to mount. If you do some careful browsing, you'll find new link styles, a change in content, and even more writing samples (though be warned that everything here is copyrighted, so I'll sue your ass off if you misuse my stuff.)

Back in the real world, our tsunami relief efforts are continuing. It's nice to see that the USA has been shamed into increasing its support to ten times its initial response... which still puts its per capita donation at less than that of Canada's ($1.20 vs $1.23, not counting the exchange rate). It also means the World Bank is no longer the single biggest donor in this effort, so maybe the bank wil take this as a challenge and increase its contribution?

The organization I'm part of is called The Canadian Committee for Relief to Eastern Province, and is focusing solely on providing medical aid to a specific region of Sri Lanka. The big donors are providing other materials and have a more diffuse effort. But this region of the island is underserviced due to several factors, including the Sri Lankan government's unwillingness to help areas which are ostensibly under "rebel" control. Also, the ubiquitousness of land mines in the region means that aid trucks are less likely to arrive there.

The committee is made up of scientists and health professionals, all of whom (except me) have relatives or other contacts in that region. So we have our own mini distribution network which, once we get the supplies to send, means that items will get transported faster and more directly to where they are needed.

If you'd like to help, please visit canrelief.org (which will have content any minute now) and consider making a donation. Or attend one of the fundraising events we'll be hosting in Toronto and Ottawa in coming weeks.

A New Year's Tradition

Thanks to those who've made comments about the new site design. It's a work in progress; more comments are welcome. As always, last year's Bulletin is archived, so if you missed my closing year commentary, feel free to browse back. I'd like to remind you of the new articles over on The Podium: "Poverty Caused the Tsunami" and "Stingy Tsunami Relief."

2004 was a crappy year for many reasons, both global and personal. But the tradition here at Deonandan.com is to begin each year by listing those things for which I am actually thankful. So let's go...

• While I loved living in Washington, DC, it's sort of nice to be out of the USA during these times of renewed gestapo culture;
• I started a great new job and a great new career in consulting right here in boring old Ottawa;
• My new book came out (and no one seemed to notice), but at least now I'm officially not just an author, but a novelist. Cool.
  
• As a result of a personal crisis I discovered just how cool and supportive my friends and family really are;
• Speaking of which, while some close friends have lost parents recently, I still thankfully have both of mine (serious knocking on wood!)
  
• Canada's new federal Conservative party, while full of fire and bravado, failed to win election to power. Whew!
• Most importantly, I met a remarkable young woman who, though we are no longer involved, remains a part of my life, and I am much better for it.

Sorry for the shmaltz, but that's what you get. It's a small price to pay one day a year for the hard as nails journalistic commentary you usually get here at Deonandan.com!

The 21st Century

Yep, I've finally entered it. After having avoided using a real blogging service for five years, I've bitten the bullet and subscribed to blogger. I must say, it's quite convenient (so far).

So how do you like the new look of Deonandan.com version 3.0? Do let me know.