My circle of influence seems small

What's up?
$2 billion for the long-gun registry
flushed down the drain?
Give the info to the provinces/territories.

I've written about Slacktivism, how signing a petition often fails to bring change. Growing a mustache may raise awareness, but until individuals take responsibility for their own health, not much will be accomplished. How many encourage us to  'tweet this' if you want to eliminate poverty, homelessness, and cure the common cold.

In bed by 9, asleep by 10, cats woke me up at 4, I managed to doze a bit before getting up at 5:00 a.m. and I think I'm channeling my father. Not to digress too much, but he used to get up at 5:30 every morning, let the dog out for a pee, and build a fire in the wood stove, because 80-somethings are often cold. He was no different. I think of him as I arise in the dark!

Here I am, awake, listening to Australian Broadcasting Corporation. What the heck. They have a radio show called Connect Asia. I usually turn on my radio, put in the ear pods, and try to drown out the cats howling to go out and play with their mice friends. Sometimes it puts me back to sleep. Other times I listen carefully.

I was listening to the appalling story about Shark Fin Soup. What a horrible thing it is. In this day and age, I cannot imagine how people can share their ecosystem with the beautiful creatures, flora and fauna, and still maintain these barbaric practices.

A restaurant in Hong Kong has decided to ban Shark Fin Soup from their menus.
Shark Fin Soup Off The Menu At China Luxury Hotels

... hotels and popular restaurants have decided to take shark fin soup off ...of The Peninsula Hotels chain, said that it will stop serving shark fins...

Tigger follows Oliver on our walkies, April 2011

The laws in Australia say that harvesting just the fin is legal, if you are out on the water, it is illegal. The reason for this is that if you are out fishing, you find a shark and simply hack off the fin, and drop the rest of the shark into the water to bleed to death, or be eaten by prey. There is limited storage, and those aiming to make a buck, don't want to drag the cheap carcass (98% of the shark) back into harbour. What they told listeners is that those fishing can make $1.50 - $2.00 per kilo for shark flesh. Dried shark fins, however, garner $800/kilo on the market.

Wildlife agencies e.g., WildAid, say that there is a 90% decline in particular species off of Australia's coast, especially the hammerhead. Those who earn a living, especially fisherfolks in Indonesia, claim these to be myths. Store owners, similarly, have a vested interest in this product. With an economy moving from communism to capitalism, everything is fair game. No longer the purview of royalty, the soup is on most restaurant menus. To get back to my point, circle of influence, one wonders what one can do.

Teach a boy to fish. My brother and our cottage neighbours.

“Shark fins represent our Chinese tradition. It used to be served only to royalty and is, even now, a very luxurious cuisine from the deep sea,” Kwong said at his store in Hong Kong.


Shark Fin harvesting is illegal in North America. Apparently, two more municipalities have banned Shark Fin Soup: London and Pickering, in Ontario. While I was doing research for this, I realized that there are no Canadian laws regarding the importing of shark fins.

Don't be an ass

Bans on shark fin products have passed recently in California, Hawaii, Oregon and the state of Washington and in the Ontario cities of Toronto, Mississauga and Brantford. This is a good thing, as the municipalities have control of local restaurants.

The answer to this problem, I suppose, is to have the Canadian government to ban shark fin imports.
Unfortunately, our government is busy; pulling out of the Kyoto Accord, getting tough on crime, supporting hard-working families, and ending the long-gun registry. The Speech from the throne, the direction the Canadian Government is headed in this its majority 4-year term, is pretty vague. Spending a pittance on particular items, to suck up to seniors, and the middle class, without showing real economic progress.

Coal-fired steamship, Muskoka

Kyoto Accord
Not that it was anything with teeth attached, but it is a philosophy that demonstrates where our government is putting its energy. Kyoto Accord aim: to reduce emissions in it 1990 baseline year. But in the second round of talks, in 2005 its next baseline year.
Canadians do want action on climate change. It is shameful to model this type of action to the rest of the world.

Getting tough on crime
Unfortunately, our government is busy trying to pass 'get tough on crime' legislation, to force mandatory sentences. Now, whatever we've been doing in this regard has been working. Crime is down. Bbt prisons are overcrowded, and populated by a disparite number of the poor, mentally ill, those with addictions. Delivery of rehabilitation services and counselling are pretty spotty. The disproportional  numbers of aboriginal prisoners are increasing, as with the US prison system, where blacks are disproportionally represented.

Long-gun registry

long-gun registry? Fort George

Provinces and territories are demanding that the federal government give them the information already spent on this registry. I wonder if the American philosophy or the right to bear arms is creeping northward, as PM Harper infests Canada with the Tea Party mentality?

Supporting hard-working families
Yes, by giving tax breaks to families who put kids into arts programs. Seriously. Hard working Canadians, those in the category of the working poor, those living below the poverty line, don't have the money, time and energy to put kids into arts programs. They are holding down 2 part-time jobs. They are juggling latch-key kids, as the rest of us can afford to pay for quality day care placements and after school programs. With the disparities between lower and upper class incomes increasing, this is designed to appeal to the middle class who are hanging in. This shows little attention for the lower 1%, and must appeal to the upper 1%.


Study: High-income Canadians 2004

• The lowest 95% of Canadians earn 75% of income, and pay 64% of all taxes.
• Annual income of $89,000⁺ = 1.2 million Canadians who made up top individual 5% of the country's taxfilers.
• An income of $181,000⁺ makes up the 237,000 people in the top 1% of the taxfiler population.
• Richest one-hundredth of a percent (0.01%) of taxfilers of Canadians have an income of more than $2.8 million. 

The Environmental Kuznets Curve (PDF)

Meantime, in Ontario:
$1500 tax credit 4 seniors doing renos? Big whoop Call me a cynic! Look at some living conditions=> http://bit.ly/sSEFod