Green transportation in Europe 
Monday, March 7, 2011, 08:08 PM - Inspiring
Two miles of solar panels to power Antwerp station and Belgian train system. Will we ever catch on to Europe's green transportation systems?

http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2 ... lgium-rail

Banned  
Wednesday, March 2, 2011, 01:51 AM - Poetry and Writing
After Liu Xiaobo, in memory

Avoid the words
tyranny
Tiananmen
Tibet Taiwan
torture particularly
Falun Gong avoid
truth compassion
tiger dragon
but especially
people pig code for
democracy avoid
military gambling
brainwashing sex
how to make
bombs make
counterfeit harvest
kidneys quakes avoid
poor rights floods
one party freedom
of expression avoid
any potential
embarrassments
Xiaobo wrote
from prison:
none who have
interrogated me
are my enemies
none are my enemies
for hatred is
corrosive of a
person's conscience
corrosive
Liu Xiaobo
born 1955
offline 2008
offline
banned





Chic Chocs Backcountry Skiing 
Wednesday, January 12, 2011, 02:44 AM - Outdoor adventure


Gorgeous trip to the Chic Chocs, Gaspesie park Quebec.

What is a Savings Group? 
Thursday, August 19, 2010, 04:31 PM - The Solidarity Economy & Microfinance


I work with informal unregistered savings groups. They use their own money (no loans or donations from outside), pool it, put aside some for an emergency fund, lend out to each other or invest. Each group makes its own constitution and policies for membership, attendance, fines, interest rates. I have seen fines for: gossiping, your cell phone going off during a meeting, being late, not knowing the groups' balances, coming to a meeting drunk. Each meeting begins with each member reciting one policy as they get their passbooks. As you can see here, passbooks use stamps so those with limited literacy can understand how much savings they have. If it is all their money and their rules, what do they need others for then? Support in weighing their options, governance issues, financial management, linking to other forms of support. Even then, the support is only for a time. In India, over 3 million groups are linked to financial institutions including banks, coops and rural banks.

Tobiatic-Kejimikujik 
Monday, August 9, 2010, 03:50 PM - Outdoor adventure


There are incredible wilderness areas for hiking and canoe-camping in NS. Maggy and I did a Keji-Tobiatic-Keji loop this September. Eel weir, down through Mountain Lake, Peskawa L, up the Shelbourne to Sand Beach Lake then back far side through Cobrielle, Puzzle and N. Cranberry back to Eel weir. Little bit of portage trail hunting and bush-wacking but well worth every scrape and bruise. Happy to give details.


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