RIP Bobby Womack

Mr Womack (1944 to 2014) was an R & B music pioneer.

My vote is for Joe Cressy!

NDP candidate Joe Cressy (foreground - right)

Taken now at Scrutineer Training - Joe's campaign office

Cyclists should sue the City

Precedent, Spring 2014 issue

Interesting article in Precedent, a magazine for lawyers and law students. The writer, Patrick Brown, a critical injury lawyer with McLeish Orlando LLP says that the City is never going to get serious about bike lanes until more injured cyclists start suing the City, as well as the driver's insurance company.

Dear God. Are you there?

Dear God, or Allah, or Jesus, or ???:

Please help my friend Mr. Fuchs. He is in pain and suffering badly. Mr. Fuchs is 87 and living in a nursing home. Two weeks ago he fell and injured his whole right side.

I visited him today and left after a half hour in tears and with a heavy heart.

Mr. Fuchs is a lovely man - kind and generous and loved by his friends and family so if anybody actually deserves to suffer, it certainly isn't him.

With all due respect I am asking if you could ease his pain. Please.

I loved my Austin Mini

I love the design of the 2014 Austin Mini Cooper. My first and only Mini was a mustard coloured hardtop that I bought new in 1979? During my years as a freelance news photographer I just about lived in my Mini. It was fun to drive and never let me down.

Pity that the newer Mini's have such a lousy reliablity record - even for a British car.

Contaminated flu vaccine!

If you care about your health and the health of our children then 'speak up' by filing an online complaint at:

http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/contact/ahc-asc/minist-eng.php

Or write to :
The Honourable Rona Ambrose, P.C., M.P.
Minister of Health
Brooke Claxton Building, Tunney's Pasture
Postal Locator: 0906C
Ottawa, Ontario K1A 0K9

RIP Eli Wallach

Eli Wallach, 1915 - 2014. Mr Wallach was a  wonderful actor with 167 movie credits to his name, including The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly.
 He will be missed.

Good Deeds rock!

Just a reminder to you (and me) that we all should do at least one good deed - every day and forever

* Mr. Myers was the President of Illinois Wesleyan University

Forms, Forms, and more Forms

It's 7:37 in the morning and I just spent the past two hours filling out three Form 20's and just as many Form 6B's. Tomorrow I file them with the court, then speak to the Family Court's Advice Lawyer, then a fun visit to the doctor for a biopsy, then to the theatre to watch Tom Cruise save the world.

I think that's quite enough for a Monday.

Made her an offer

Just made her an offer to settle this war - terms are a lose-lose for both of us but so is continuing to battle.

Waiting for her reply...and waiting...and waiting

Inspired architecture!

7 Cobourg St - Stratford, Ontaro

Love this house!

Lovely sculpture of girl and her dog

Stratford  - near Festival Theatre - today

Stop the Northern Gateway Pipeline!

Five big problems with the Northern Gateway Pipeline (Enbridge)

1. One tanker spill could wreck our coastal economy
The Enbridge scheme would bring over 225 crude oil supertankers – some as long as the Empire State Building is tall – to B.C.'s North Coast for the first time ever. One oil spill the size of the Exxon-Valdez would forever damage B.C.'s $50 billion coastal economy. Studies show clean-up could cost $9.6 billion, wiping out all projected economic gains from the pipeline.

2. A wall of First Nations opposition
First Nations across B.C. have formed a wall of opposition against the Enbridge pipeline and tanker plan. Over 130 First Nations have signed the Save the Fraser Declaration against the project. They have pledged to use "all means necessary" to stop Northern Gateway. First Nations aren't the only ones opposed. They are joined by the Union of BC Municipalities and over 60 percent of British Columbians.

3. The record shows Enbridge can’t be trusted
Regulators in the U.S. dubbed Enbridge employees "Keystone Kops" for their incompetent response to the massive 2010 Enbridge pipeline spill in Michigan. Enbridge also lobbied the Canadian government 185 times since July 2008 to water down federal laws (which, in turn, they did). Throughout the Joint Review Panel process, Enbridge has refused to provide basic information about environmental safety. Instead, their employees and lawyers simply say, "trust us." We don't.

4. Major wild salmon rivers at risk
The Enbridge Pipelines would cut across nearly 800 streams and rivers including B.C.’s two largest wild salmon watersheds, the Fraser and the Skeena. A pipeline spill near salmon spawning habitat would be near-impossible to clean up. What do we stand to lose? Our province’s most iconic species – the backbone of our cultures and economy.

5. Doubling down on dirty energy

The Enbridge project is a $6 billion investment in dirty oil infrastructure, at a time when the need to transition to a clean energy future has never been greater. It locks us into an uncertain future for our kids and grandkids. The pipeline would allow the tar sands to grow by 30 percent, increasing greenhouse-gas emissions and killing our chances of meeting pollution reduction targets. In contrast, clean energy projects create more jobs per dollar of investment and reduce harmful emissions.

Voice your protest in the following ways: 

Send a note to pipeline supporter Stephen Harper, Prime Minister of Canada

Visit this website: http://pipeupagainstenbridge.ca/

Like this Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/StopNorthernGatewayPipelineTarsandsToBC

Squashed!

This image pretty well illustrates what happened to me today in court. 

But tomorrow is another day.

My day in Family Court is tomorrow

I've walked through these doors dozens of times over the past few weeks - asking advice, filing paperwork, observing trials - and each time I enter this House of Broken Loves I feel such an overwhelming sadness knowing that those who visit this House once loved each other deeply.

And laughed together.
And touched each other.
And shared magical moments.
And kissed.
And had children.

But now that their love is broken they do the most disgraceful, and vindictive, and mean-spirited things to each other.... and that makes me sad, and ashamed of myself but through it all I am heartened by the fact that LOVE LIVES ON - just not at 311 Jarvis.

Peace,

James

Asbestos: Shame on us Canadians!

Caption - Globe and Mail, June 14, 2014 - "John Nolan had a fatal cancer directly linked to his exposure to asbestos at an office job in the 1980s. He had a lung removed this year but says every breath is still 'like drowning'."... Photo by Louie Palu/Zuma Press

"Seven of Canada's top 10 markets are Third World countries. Still, the Canadian government, the asbestos industry and lobby groups are trying to put a good face on the asbestos industry.

Recently, diplomats stationed here were flown to asbestos- producing regions on an all-expense-paid first-class junket. Journalists have been cultivated with similar perks.

Philip Landrigan, of New York's Mount Sinai School of Medicine - the centre that first linked cancer to asbestos in the 1960s - says the asbestos lobby's claim that the fibre is safe is "absolutely untrue."

 

"Asbestos remains an important cause of human illness," says Landrigan. "All forms of asbestos are carcinogenic, and that includes Canadian chrysotile." 

...Canada's deadly trade in asbestos written by Mark Bourrie, TWN

Speak out against asbestos mining by sending a letter or note of protest to: 

Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper

Québec Premier Jean Charest

Jeffrey Mines Inc.   (the largest mine in Canada)

And check out the website for the Global Ban Asbestos Network

Thanks.

Peace,

James

This photo was taken by Indonesian activist Muchamad Darisman. It shows people, including children, walking in a dump full of asbestos. The dump contains waste from the Djabesmen factory, the biggest manufacturer of chrysotile asbestos roofs in Indonesia. One can see bags with the logo of Lab Chrysotile, an asbestos mine situated at Thetford Mines, Quebec.

 

Fathers Day card from my son

Beautiful spinning artwork

Soft Spin by Heather Nicol, on display at the Allen Lambert Galleria, Toronto - June 2 to 20

HAPPY FATHER'S DAY to all the Dads and Grand Dads

Photo of James Clifton Russell, 1920 to 2002 - My Dad

Thanks Dad for your love, your guidance, your example, your protection, and for your sacrifice. ....Love you forever... Your son, James

"By the time a man realizes that maybe his father was right, he usually has a son who thinks he’s wrong." — Charles Wadsworth, classical pianist

A proud father and my sons

A proud grandfather and my grandchildren

RIP Ruby Dee

Ruby Dee, wonderful actor, tireless civil rights activist, and lovely person

http://www.ctvnews.ca/entertainment/legendary-actress-ruby-dee-dies-at-91-1.1865387

I am redefining the word HERO

Enough with the 'hero' this and 'hero' that. The word has lost its meaning from frivolous use. Here is my new definition of HERO.

"A hero is someone who risks life and limb while performing a self-less act designed to save a stranger from harm."

Please note the key word ....."self-less" - which rules out cops, fire fighters, soldiers, etc because they are just doing their job - for money. It also rules out family members since they have a stake in each other's survival.

I am still working on this definition so feel free to send me suggestions, changes, tweeks.

Peace,

James

Parents are responsible for the actions of their children - forever!

My heart goes out to Victor and Denise Bourque, parents of the man who killed three men (Mounties) last week. Next to one of my kids dying, I can think of no great horror than having one of my children harm someone but if they did, the 'buck stops with me'.

As parents we bear the ultimate responsibility for the actions for the children we brought into the world. Of course our kids are masters of their own actions. They make their own choices. Choose their own path. And should be held responsible for their actions but...

... the buck stops with us parents. So if necessary, I will struggle with my last dying breath to prevent one of my children from hurting anyone. And if the cops, the mental health officials, or the courts won't intervene then I will duct tape my child to a chair until I find a way to protect society from him or ensure that he never harms another living soul ever again.

Peace,

James

Happy Birthday Margaret!

Happy 75th Birthday to Margaret Hollingsworth... one of Canada's most celebrated poets, playwrights and writer

War is a disgrace

On this day in 1944 approximately 425,000 damn fools lost their lives, or were wounded, or went missing carrying out the orders of a bunch of politicians who started WWII, then, when enough people had lost their lives, and enough land had been scorched, enough tears shed, ended WWII with the stroke of a pen.

When will we ever learn?

Should laptops be allowed in classrooms?

York University Magazine - Spring issue

Interesting article by Tina Weston about a study that found that using a laptop in class "significantly reduced a student's ability to listen and to understand live lecture content."

Do you agree?

The study also found that other students, who had a direct view of the student's laptop, were also negatively affected.

Please attend my court appearance - INVITATION #2

Well, it is now only two weeks before the 'Respondent' - that's what the court documents call her - and the 'Applicant' (me) appear in Family Court.

You are all invited to attend, June 19, 311 Jarvis, just north of Dundas in downtown Toronto. Court time is 11:30 am. Bring your family. Bring your loved ones. Bring your friends. Nearly 3K of you have visited my bog since I set it up two months ago, I'd like to see HUNDREDS of you show up on June 19. It doesn't matter whether you come to be in her corner or my corner - PLEASE JUST COME.

Why? Well for four reasons that I can think of:

1. To see how fair and just our legal system operates - especially when compared to the legal systems in many, many other countries in the world.
2. To hear the mean-spirited and shameful things that people who used to be in love do to each other when they fall out of love, especially when children, or in our case, grandchildren are involved. (In the past couple months I have spent hours just sitting in Family Court as a spectator - hence I have named 311 Jarvis 'The House of Broken Loves.")
3. I need to be taught a lesson - so embarrass me, browbeat me, grill me! I tend to learn lessons best when they involve emotional pain. The lesson I need to learn? "You were a REALLY bad judge of the Respondent's character James! Learn to do better!"
4. You will be reminded that a relatively simple disagreement takes on a life of its own as soon as one of the parties hires a lawyer.

Oh, and see if you can figure out the one fundamental question that nobody - not the Respondent, not her lawyer, not my adult kids, not the court - has thought to ask me.

Many thanks... Peace, James

Oh... and those of you who I see are following my blog and live in Belgium, Poland, Venezuela, Netherlands, UK, Lithuania, South Africa, China, and Germany.... I will understand if you can't make it.

I voted and so should you

I voted yesterday. It wasn't on the Federal level so the issues that plague the world are not likely to be resolved but what's important is that I voted.

Democracy is a participatory system, which means that we have to take part in order for it to work properly. Fascism, dictatorship, and other bad, bad systems of governance only require its citizens to be silent and inactive.