This year’s celebration of Human Rights Day had a youthful infusion that kept you on your feet. Optimism gets a little higher when you see hundreds of people gather to celebrate diversity and understanding.

It was an additionally special day for me because a long-time client of mine, the reachAbility Association was nominated for the Partners for Human Rights award & accepted by one of mentors, Tova Sherman.

reachAbility shared the stage with another nominee, Logan MacGillvray who, at the age of twelve, produced and directed a short-film entitiled Listen to the Children in support of children in Sierra Leon.

There was a small amount of pomp & circumstance with the attendance of the Lieutenant Governor of Nova Scotia, Mayann E. Francis but overall the event was attended by about 300 people and the youth really kept the place alive.

The YMCA Youth Drummers rocked the house with there skills with the Djembe drum and an unabashed young drummer who circled the audience of the Common Room at a leisurely pace as he continued to beat out the rhythm (paparazzi in tow).  11 year old Hisham Hamdan even made the Chronicle Herald.

You can hear their music as you watch the slide show.

In the News:

Celebrating the Declaration of Human Rights -Metro News
http://www.metronews.ca/halifax/local/article/153530

International Human Rights Day -The Weekly News
http://www.halifaxnewsnet.ca/index.cfm?sid=198832&sc=608

Nova Scotia December 8, 2008 Press Release -NS Government
http://www.gov.ns.ca/news/details.asp?id=20081208001

YMCA Youth Outreach Drum Group -Chronicle Herald
http://thechronicleherald.ca/NovaScotia/1095261.html

http://thechronicleherald.ca/viewfullsize.html?photo=GREY_tk121008humanrights2_Provincial_12-11-08_RKA3SGK.jpg

See photos & slideshow:

http://ampwerxmedia.com/site/government/international-human-rights-day-in-ns-gallery/

Home Page:  http://ampwerxmedia.com/

Many ridings across the country that are not near the hubs of urban sprawl still rely on tradition and genealogical loyalty to particular parties and or the local candidate that makes them feel a bit better with thier sense of humour or the fact that their family has been around forever it seems. But in each case nobody can offer a straight answer to how their plan was going to effect us as individuals.

A funny thing about tradition, it becomes a part of us. My uncle and I were walking to the polls this evening and urged him to come because one more vote will inevitably make the process stronger, right?

Well, he doesn’t understand much of the world and he is hitting his late 60’s so I thought I’d help him along by telling him whom I was voting for and why and that he could vote for them too. When I showed him the name on the sign on the lawn he stopped in his tracks, stood at the side walk with hands on hips and said,
“We’re not New Democrats! We’re Liberals! If your grandfather was alive well … your great grandfather was a Liberal and when your uncle would talk about the Democrats they would fight like cats.”
He looked at me and continued up the street to the The Royal Canadian Legion to leave his mark. When I caught up to him I asked if he knew the name of the local Liberal candidate, to which he replied, “no, but they’ll tell me at the Legion.” So, I pointed out the single Liberal placard, amidst all the orange & no blue, on the street and told him the name of the candidate he had to check off when he got to the poll.

Tradition is alive and well and not one single candidate came to our door to persuade us otherwise. Did a Candidate come to Your Door?

Speaking of Cats….did you ever hear Tommy Douglas’ story of Mouseland? No? Well, sit back and enjoy a fantastic piece of Canadian History that rings true today as it has since confederation.

It empowers the individual to move forward in a direction that may have never been taken. He reminds us, if you don’t try you will never know.

Tommy Douglas was a small man by all accounts only 5′6 and 150 pounds, but when he spoke he spoke with passion and his vision captures your imagination and allows you to believe that anything is possible if you put your mind to it and act collectively as one.

“Mouseland is a troubled village of mice ruled by cats. But a lone mouse comes forward with a radical suggestion: the mice should elect one of their own to parliament. ‘My friends,’ Douglas says passionately, ‘watch out for the little fellow with an idea.’ *

* Originally Broadcast: Jan. 1, 1961.Canadian Broadcasting Corporation

Video found at orangeroom.ca / YouTube Link / by intrakota

• Mouseland was written by Douglas’ friend Clare Gillis. ¹
• Douglas’ style wasn’t universally revered. Some of his critics have likened him to a ham-actor who craved attention with his vaudevillian-style humour. ¹
• In a Star Weekly article published Jan. 8, 1966, the author noted that Douglas set his watch fifteen minutes early in an attempt to stay ahead of his busy schedule. ¹
• Douglas strictly abstained from alcohol but felt that it wasn’t the government’s place to legislate laws against liquor. In a 1958 interview with CBC Radio’s Assignment he explained that “you can’t legislate morality, you can’t make people be good.” ¹

Canadian Broadcasting Corporation.

Last updated: June 10, 2008.
1 The CBC Digital Archives Website.
http://archives.cbc.ca/politics/parties_leaders/topics/851-4958/

The 17 Windmills of the Pubnico Point Wind Farm potentially produce approximately 3 1/2 times the required amount of energy for all of the Pubnico’s.

100 million kilowatt-hours of electricity per year, or enough to service up to 13,000 average households

-Ghyslain Charron, Natural Resources Canada, June 1, 2005.

Now all along I had the notion that these turbines were owned and operated by the community -Great, the area can be self-sufficient and sell the excess to the utility. But no! I found out recently that the wind farm is owned by a company and it sells the energy to Nova Scotia Power (which is no longer owned by the province) and the families are still “ On-the-Grid ”.To Top It All Off…PPWF – Pubnico Point Wind Farm – Is Now Owned by a Florida Company.

The wind farm is located on the southern portion of Pubnico Point, approximately 5 km south of West Pubnico, Nova Scotia. The 17 turbines are situated best suited to get maximum wind exposure. (as depicted in the digitally altered image below )

The prevailing wind direction at the Pubnico Point site is from the northwest to the southwest. This is comparable to, but distinguishable from, data from Yarmouth and Baccaro Point. To further assess the commercial viability of the Pubnico Point site, AWPC engaged the services of a professional wind energy consulting firm to analyze and report on the attributes of the wind data. – source

Videos Related to the Pubnico Point Wind Farm (www.youtube.com)