Online Rights Canada is a new grassroots that aims to promote the rights of Canadians online. They are sponsored by the EFF and CIPPIC.
From the ORC site:
“We believe that Canadians should have a voice in copyright law, access to information, freedom from censorship, and other issues that we face in the digital world.”
“DesignBoom has announced a competition to create a shelter for homeless people that is the size of a shopping cart.
“design a cart that can provide shelter and storage.
urban homeless use carts to carry their possessions and to collect goods (like bottles, cardboard, etc.) that they then return
to various recyclers in exchange for cash. this provides a small and valuable income. it is essential that your cart design not only
accommodates all these functions but that it is affordable (for production and for private parties or charity organisations
who wish to donate them).”
An extra chromosome is all it takes to get Down’s Syndrome, and researchers have found out that as a result of Down’s the brain has too much myo-inositol. Myo-inositol inhibits intellectual ability (it’s also active in people with Alzheimer’s).
Professor Declan Murphy, the lead researcher, says that they are now looking into ways to inhibit the production of myo-inositol. At the very least the researchers’ discovery paves the way for earlier diagnosis and treatment for Down’s.
Election time is upon us here in Canada, and all political parties have been quick off the mark with takes on the usual promises to the electorate. Among the more intersting debates that emerged during the first few weeks of the campaign centred on the notion of lowering the legal voting age to 16.
In a country where 16 year olds have many rights and responsibilities already, it is unfortunate that Canada has not yet extended the right to vote to this group of citizens. With voter turnout rates expected to be at record lows for January’s election, Canada needs seriously examine how to get more people participating in one of the essential hallmarks of a democracy. By encouraging 16 year olds to vote, especially while they are in high school and can be educated on the democratic process, it is hoped that youth may be encouraged to participate in democracy at an earlier age, and for a lifetime.
A Member of Parliament during the last session put forth a private members’ bill that would have lowered the voting age to 16. The bill was defeated in June, but he has used the current campaign to promote this important idea once again. Vote16.ca is a website dedicated to “engaging Canada’s youth in politics,” specifically through lowering the legal voting age to 16.
Don’t waste yourself in rejection, nor bark against the bad, but chant the beauty of the good.
~Ralph Waldo Emerson~