"Bush is a Worm!" Calgary Protest Photos

Yesterday's protest against Bush speaking in Calgary as brought to us by our very own Calgary Chamber of Commerce was a creative success. To raise our voices in collective activism is empowering and initates necessary dialogue. The papers were reporting 200-300 people in attendance but I would estimate much closer to 500 or more. Suited attendees were heckled and shivered in the cold while lined up along the block listening to our sneering and chanting. The media's reporting of the protest as violent (here and here) is not representative of my experience. There were drums and noisemakers, performance artists, children, peaceful shouting and a lot of typical Calgarian politeness. I was pleased to take my lunch hour attending and proud to raise my voice with Calgary's community against Bush's visit. See more photos from the media here and here.

Felection - Fixing the Date

Democracy Watch outlines some of the reasons why Harper's Election call is bad for democracy:

. . . delaying the election until at least spring 2009 would give time to pass key bills, as well as complete various investigations and court cases, on key good government issues, as follows:

-a proposed law that bans loans to election candidates (except by banks and other financial institutions) is still under review by the Senate, and until it passes the loans loophole will allow anyone to buy off a candidate in violation of the spirit of donation limits that came into effect a few years ago;
-the investigation and court case concerning limits on spending on advertising by local candidates is not completed, and holding an election when limits are not clearly defined will likely lead to abuse in election spending;
-a court case filed by Democracy Watch has not been completed, and as a result it is unclear exactly what lobbyists can do to help candidates and parties during elections;
-another court case filed by Democracy Watch has not been completed, and as a result it is unclear whether Prime Minister Harper and his Cabinet violated the federal Conflict of Interest Act by making decisions concerning the Mulroney-Schreiber affair;
-the federal Ethics Commissioner has still not ruled on whether Finance Minister Jim Flaherty violated the Conflict of Interest Act when he handed out a contract to a friend, and;
-last but certainly not least, there are 90 loopholes in the federal government’s accountability and decision-making system that need to be closed, including loopholes that allow party leaders to lie to voters when making election promises, that allow secret donations to nomination race candidates, and that allow party leaders to dictate who will be the candidate in any riding.

Via Rabble.

Credit Crunching Women

Although there's change in the wind here in isolated boomtown Calgary, and despite the oil exec's smacking their lips with $130 oil, we must remember how bad it's getting south of the border. This story out of California illustrates that even the middle class are being credit crunched. There are parking lots set up for homeless people to sleep in their cars and go to work the next day:

There are 12 parking lots across Santa Barbara that have been set up to accommodate the growing middle-class homelessness. These lots are believed to be part of the first program of its kind in the United States, according to organizers.

The lots open at 7 p.m. and close at 7 a.m. and are run by New Beginnings Counseling Center, a homeless outreach organization.

It is illegal for people in California to sleep in their cars on streets. New Beginnings worked with the city to allow the parking lots as a safe place for the homeless to sleep in their vehicles without being harassed by people on the streets or ticketed by police.

Harvey stays at the city's only parking lot for women. "This is very safe, and that's why I feel very comfortable," she said.

The tip of the iceberg is terrible - but from beneath it devours.

The Buzz from the Bees

I'm admittedly a little late with this but here is a fascinating article from the International Herald Tribune by writer Louise Story about the juicy history of Burt's Bees, Burt's love affair with Roxanne Quimby and his chicken coop; the acquisition by corporate giant Clorox (in November last year) and the future of this gem of a skin care product.

I recently tried Burt's Bees chap stick this summer and found the tingly goodness worth the +$5.00 I paid. There's one line in the article, though, that has me tingling in a different way, and it can be found on page 3.

Burt's Bees is not perfect, Replogle acknowledges. The company obtains all of its beeswax from hives in Ethiopia, so shipping the ingredient across the Atlantic adds to carbon emissions.

What I know about human exploitation of resources in Ethiopia (i.e. COFFEE) by large corporations isn't pretty. I'm going to do some digging and perhaps this little bear will come out of the internets with some honey on her hands.

Finally, my Lulu Rant.

Lululemon pisses me off. Its homepage philosophy:

“creating components for people to live longer, healthier, more fun lives.”

What is healthy or fun about spending $125 on a pair of sweats!? I believe the Yoga philosophy is about impermanence and detaching from material things; Lululemon has nothing to do with Yoga and everything to do with marketing to a sucker demographic to make a lot of money. When you pay $79.00 for a sweater to warm up in after doing Yoga I don’t see a perpetuation of non-attachment. People love their Lulu and Yoga is becoming a trend for the privileged because if you’re not wearin’ that certain logo you’re not really doing Yoga. Notwithstanding the high price of Lululemon gear, Lululemon targets, especially, young skinny women. I get it that the tight fit is part of the science of sweat, but promoting thinness is not necessarily a promotion of good health and wellness. We all know the dangers of being too thin. We all know that dieting can be dangerous. Eating disorders are rampant but being “fat” is viewed as disgusting. And if you’re fat, you better not try to squeeze into a pair of Lulus and head to your closest studio; because such actions are reserved for the tight asses who binge with their wallets but starve themselves to feel good!

This is why I was pleased to read this article today in the Financial Post. What? There isn’t REALLY seaweed and nutrients in Lululemon’s over-priced sweat shirts for your precious skin to absorb!? Really!? What about positive universal energy? Is there THAT?

I wonder if they are going to claim next that there are weight loss herbs in the fibers of the so-very high tech cloth.

Living healthy is a personal subjective experience. It’s about expressing yourself in whatever way you want. It’s about being happy with your body and exploring your health and quietness of mind without any cultural or financial pressures.

For more information on Lululemon’s founder (who thought it would be funny to hear “Lululemon” said by the Japanese), Chip Wilson, and what he has to say about outsourcing manufacture to Asia (that’s right – not so Canadian-made anymore), CLICK HERE.

Beans Beans the Sexual Fruit

The more you eat them the more you... ah, you know how it goes. Today I read that in Ethiopia condoms are being sold with the infused flavour of coffee in them. This is great news for a nation with high rates of HIV. The condoms are being sold "in packs of three for 1 birr, or about 5 pence - about half the price of a cup of coffee in Addis Ababa's cafes, and much cheaper than most other condom brands." (1 birr is the equivalent of approximately $0.12; think about the price of a cup of coffee in North America and then consider that non-fair trade coffee farmers are being paid approximately 1 birr per 1 kg of coffee beans). DKT International, the charity organization distributing the condoms, is proudly responsible for approximately 90% of all condoms distributed in Ethiopia. This new and creative campaign is very exciting; in the first week alone 300,000 of these java condoms were sold.

This isn't the first time DKT International has promoted flavoured condoms in target demographics; in Indonesia in May 2003 an additional fruit flavour was added to the already popular banana, strawberry and mint: Durian. I've tried Durian. It is one sick smelling, strange tasting fruit that is reminiscent, as my partner who grew up in Malaysia says, of dirty socks and mouldy ice cream. Some love the stuff, though, and for those with the same tastebud response as Lilith Attack, the most appealling thing about the durian flavoured condoms, is that it really got people talking about contraceptives. DKT International claims:

This was particularly useful because it was considered humorous. The ability to make people laugh when talking about condoms served to break the ice during educational events and also reduced the stigma around condoms (The Fiesta Durian condom has continued to sell well and has spurred two competitors to launch durian flavoured variants as well).

If coffee flavoured condoms, imaginably better-tasting than durian, generate similar dialogue about condoms, then contrary to conservative catholosism's claims that it's "inappropriate," DKT International and the rest of the world can be encouraged that rates of HIV in Ethiopia will continue to decline.

Have a chuckle the next time you pass up a Starbucks coffee for a fair trade cup o' joe from Ethiopia. And practice safe sex.

Caffeinated Tears

This weekend I watched the first half of the documentary, Black Gold. The first time I had a cup of coffee I was 18. I'll never forget it because of that unexpected buzz. It was an extra large double hazelnut latte from my small town coffee shop and an hour later I was at the college I was attending at the time locked away in a practice room my fingers flying over the ivory piano keys and only the morning sun shining in and my head hung back while I extemporized some quite surprising and frantic melodies with my shaking fingers! I was hooked from that day forward. I must say, though, the past few years I have been drinking certain brands of coffee with a guilty conscience. Mostly the coffee I have at home. I stay away from the stupid cult of starbucks with their tall and grand-eh burnt shitty coffee and cheek puckering sweet machiatos, as well as Tim Horton's, their pretend-to-be-canadian-but-sold-out to American-owned Wendy's in the mid 1990's and Afghanistan war supportin' propoganda bullshit - at work I try to pick the fair trade coffee...
Back Gold made me weep. The farmers needing $1.10 a day earnings to have a life they dream of: to send their children to school with nourishing meals every day. Living in shacks with 15 family members, the Ethiopian children are sick and dying in the regions where the coffee grows, especially the coffee sold and distributed primarily to Starbucks. To see the smiley green apron faces insisting you order by saying "Grand-eh" or tall or low fat... and that coffee makes people happy and the world a better place - the shame. The crying shame to see what it is really doing to people's lives.

A woman's coffee collective in Peru called Café Femenino is made up of about 750 women in approximately 50 communities. These women are in control of the coffee profits that come back to them and they have their priorities for the allocation of profits, children being a main investment. For women in regions soaked in poverty, this offers them a business opportunity but also independence and autonomy they may never otherwise afford.

Instead of spending $5 on a cup of coffee and stumbling over the starbucks-verse, I'm going to be ordering some coffee from this collective. I'll finish watching Black Gold, soon, and dry my eyes again. Keep seeking. Keep understanding. And caffeinate with a good conscience.