Rumble @ Rama X – “Marvellous” Marvin Sonsona vs. Alejandro “Payasito” Lopez Headlining

Great stand-up fight between the two headliners. Sonsona injured his left hand in the 3rd round, resulting in the young boxer’s inability to throw his signature forceful left hook. The two sluggers took the fight the full twelve, ending in a disappointing, but fair draw.

New Wheels, son!

Protest for Palestine

I had the distinct pleasure of attending Palestine House’s rally for the people of Gaza. Upwards of five thousand attendees made it out in the freezing cold, and marched from dundas square to the Israeli consulate and finally ended at the U.S. consulate.

Portfolio Review Time

Alright cats, cads, fobs, knobs and wingnuts.
It’s about high bloody time that I post my final portfolio selections, it’s 15 images, so bear with the load time, I’ve resized them all to fit on here and not destroy my bandwidth. This stuff has taken me too long to get to, and far too long to finish. My laziness has almost caught up with me.
The shots are divided up into three segments:

1) Visioni dell’India – This covers my impressions and the photographs which stand out from the rest during my month-long Indian Journey

2) Primo Uomo – Photos taken during an assembly of American expatriates in Toronto, for the 2008 election of Barack Obama to the office of POTUS

3) Distruzione nell’Midwest – An overview of the destruction of Picher, Oklahoma wrought by an F-4 Tornado

Enjoy!

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Extraordinary Rendition and the U.S. Int. Community

Hey there, cool cats!
I’m glad to be back in the saddle again, after long months of absence. I’m sure you all missed my flowery words and ideological imbalances. Congrats, you’ve made it a few months without having to deal with ‘em, now let’s see if you’re ready to revisit some of the issues which have made headway [read: Destroyed U.S. and Canadian integrity worldwide] in the past eight years.

I came across the main Pro-Israeli lobby site today, AIPAC.org. Looking into the various Senate and House commitees and sub-commitees, I stumbled across the name John D. Rockerfeller IV. This piqued my interest until at the end of a ~20 minute click fest, I finally came to the site for the House Permanent Select Commitee on Intelligence.

I decided that I needed to do some good reading (with lots of censoring and closed meeting minutes, usually summing up the reasons for closing the meetings, “national” and “security” being tossed around liberally) and found that on page 45 of the “INTELLIGENCE AUTHORIZATION ACT FOR FISCAL YEAR 2009″ there was a blurb in between closed meetings of a single congresswoman, Jan Schakowsky (D-IL) whom has brought up a motion to finally establish a set of rules and regulations which clandestine intelligence services must follow when performing what is commonly called an “Extraordinary Rendition” (we in the civvy world call it Kidnapping, and it’s an indictable offence which carries a minimum sentence of 5 years and a maximum of life if a firearm is used in the commission of the crime).
This type of motion, as it is known to me, is completely unheard of. Clearly intelligence services whom engage in risky, politically motivated, and cowardly acts such as this do not want to have to conform to rules that the unwashed masses wish to impress upon them.  As I would have expected, the motion lost 11-10. 19 congressional representatives party to this meeting voted to keep the debate on this motion closed from the public record.

Ms. Schakowsky’s reasons for bringing forth this motion were “in order to prevent harsh treatment by third nations, and to encourage timely legal proceedings against the rendered party.” At least someone in this permanent assembly has their priorities straight; You can’t call yourself a liberal democracy when you’re kidnapping, torturing, and keeping incommunicado those whom speak out and act out against oppressive regimes whom you’ve propped up in the first place. You’ve gotta go and grab ‘em, then give them a fair trial, right?

The House Permanent Select Commitee on Intelligence is an oversight commitee which looks over the shoulder of the world’s largest Intelligence web. The United States Intelligence Community is comprised of the CIA, AF/A2, MI, DIA, MCIA, NGA, NRO, NSA, ONI, OICI, I&A, CGI, FBI, DEA, INR and the TFI, forming the largest and most elaborate intelligence and counterintelligence network on the planet. Many of these offices liase with groups like MI6, Mossad, FSB and our own CSIS.
In addition, rulings like this one, if they were ever to be voted into place, would have prevented the send off of Canadian Maher Arar to Syria for torture, it might even have stopped the practice of waterboarding dead in its’ tracks. Heck, it would’ve allowed him to be interrogated stateside with at least a modicum of civility.

Ah, a great word, what better way to dehumanize and demonize those whom are different from us, but to call ourselves civil. I don’t know about you, but a $5000 suit doesn’t make a civilized man from a douchebag.
Time to call the spade for what it is.

B-Boy Surprise

Dundas Square – 8:00pm

Some hardcore b-boyin’ was going down @ our favorite square in downtown T-Dot!

Enjoy the shots!

Fighting Disease & Illness with Compassion at the Hospital for Sick Children

Today marks the beginning of the 21st annual SickKids Radiothon, hosted in the atrium of the Hospital for Sick Children. Today parents, kids, corporate sponsors, volunteers, and radio personalities assembled to drive home the message that “your donations make the difference.” Last year, the radiothon (which I was proud to have been a volunteer for) raised 3.5 million dollars, a record-breaking achievement for the hospital. *Phone Operations

For any of us Torontonians the Hospital for Sick Children is an institute. Founded in 1875, it moved to its current location in 1951. Since then, it has been a world-leader in research and healthcare for children. From the first day that “Maggie” was admitted, up to the life-saving treatment given to Djamshid Popal and countless others, the Hospital for Sick Children has excelled in its task.

Even though care at the hospital is funded by the Ontario Health Insurance Plan, SickKids Foundation has stepped in to provide supplemental funds to the hospital for infrastructure and additional monies to support medical staff competing for research grants nationally and internationally. In 2006/2007 SickKids Foundation was able to accrue and donate C$72.1 million to the hospital. The Foundation is the largest in the world, within the realm of child healthcare and research.

Today, I spoke with Tammy and Kevin from Oshawa, ON. Their daughter, Hope, was born a life-threateningly 15 weeks premature. Weighing in at a mere 750gr (that’s about 1 lb 10 oz for our International friends) there was little reckoning that she would develop as a normal child would. Hope was relegated to an isolette for 6 months following her birth, much to the distress of her parents. “We’ve been working off such limited funds…” Tammy says “there is no way that we can give back the money and support that they’ve given us.” Caught unawares by the sheer generosity and support given to her family by both the hospital and the Foundation, she adds that “everyone from the doctors to the cleaners, nurses and janitors all show us how much they care for you.” Hope is now 15 months old. Her development has not been stunted, and judging by the way she laughs and smiles, she’s got the whole world ahead of her.

Another exceptional young lady was 9 year old Katie. Two and a half years ago, Katie was diagnosed with a life-threatening heart condition. “I’m going to be a patient here for a long time so I want to be able to do my part for the hospital and the Foundation.” How about that for dedication and compassion in the face of adversity! Thus far, Katie has collected almost C$1,800 in coins and spare change, rolling much of it herself, and about C$3,800 in online donations. She’s an example, not only to her peers, but to all of us as human beings as to how our personal desire and courage can go to help others. Way to go, Katie! *Katie and the $1,800 red wagon

I’ve participated in the SickKids Radiothon for the past 4 years now. Every time that I hit the phones, it’s a brand-new experience. It’s a way for me to give back to the same hospital that helped me when I was in pain as a child. I know the gratitude these parents feel, I feel it myself. With every call that comes in, with every donation that I fill out and process, I feel better about what I’m doing. I feel like I’m helping to make a difference in the lives of others. If you’re able to volunteer, do so. If you’re able to make a donation, big or small, do it. There are real people making miracles, beating disease, and living regular lives now, all because of the efforts and compassion of the rest of us.

For more information on what the SickKids Foundation does, visit the SickKids Foundation website. You can also make donations through the site.

For information on the Hospital for Sick Children, visit the HSC website.

If you’re a Toronto, or GTA, resident and you wish to make a donation by phone, please call 1-877-584-KIDS (5437) – The lines are open from 6AM to 6PM.

Reflections: India 07/08

Here we are, at the crossroads of life, knowing a decision must be made and yet not knowing what the question is.

I’ve found myself in a very pensive state, here in this flat in Gurgaon, Sector 14. I woke up, saw my flatmate Vikesh off to work, then proceeded to make myself a bread and butter sandwich. I came to my PC, chatted with some buddies, smoked my last gram of charras that I’d been saving for an appropriate (read: Solitary) time since Varanasi. As I inhaled the fragrant smoke, a wave of memories suddely flooded back into the bow of my memory.

I sit here gazing at photos of times now, not so distantly, past. I remember first arriving in Delhi, the sight of dusty air, matte-black taxis with yellow striping, and people shouting, crying, hugging, smoking. I remember my first thought of India: “This looks like a film set in the 1960’s.”

Little did I know how right I was.

I remember lying on my bed, after witnessing for the first time poverty on a real, tangible level. I remember crying hard into my pillow, screaming at the top of my lungs “I’m halfway across the world, with no one here to guide me. I am alone here, why did I come here.” I remember crying myself to sleep, wishing I’d be in my room, with all people familiar around me. Things I took comfort in, things I never cared to look at, people I love: These are all gone. I can still feel my cheek clammy from the wet spot on the pillow. That day I walked around Majnu ka Tilla, tried to get myself in order. This was the first time I’d been away from my family, and I really felt it.

In Dehra Dun, I soon found that I was not alone. Danish came to meet me at the train station, and while we traveled together through Dehra Dun, Mussoorie, and the World Peace Stupa. I remember the good laughs, the tree museum, the close calls, and the dinner his aunt prepared for us. I can still taste the chili chutney with those radish paranthas.

After recuperating in Delhi, I finally worked up the stones to head to Agra. I photographed the Taj and many of the best sites to see there, and afterwards, met a good, hardy chap from S.A. whom ended up being my impromptu travel partner for the next 12 days. We saw public cremations, experienced the allure of Pashmina, partied with some crazy Auzzies, had a birthday party for a Dutch girl, and drank many a bottle of Kingfisher (at Rs.150 a pop) all in Varanasi. We spent countless hours in cramped quarters in trains and buses, private and public. We saw thousand-year old temples in Khajuraho, replete with intricate carvings, some of a sexual nature. We saw hillside vistas, chickens beside our luggage, and Afghan Pashto ruins in Mandu. We also spent Christmas enjoying a chocolate bar, good company from the French, and a fat doobie. I think that was the first night I prayed since I left Canada.

We arrived in Mumbai, myself broken and exhausted, both of us spurning the other onwards. It was the last leg of a far-flung trek, which stretched from the ghats of the Ganga to the Gateway of India.

Rajasthan as well holds a very special place in my mind. Together with my driver, we visited beautiful temples with carvings that Michelangelo would have been hard-pressed to replicate, ornately decorated palaces replete with gold, gemstones, and delicately painted Dutch & Italian ceramic tiles; and gargantuan fortresses which at one time housed the royal families of the Rajput warrior-kings. We took a sandbox safari on camelback to see the sunset on the dunes, conversed with opium addicts and old men chewing the stuff in front of police, drank Bhang Chai at a government authorized Pot Shop in Jaisalmer, and most importantly met a young man named Sunil whom took us through a whirlwind 4 days through Jodhpur, Jaisalmer, and Pushkar. With his help, I’ve seen villages which brought back memories of stories my father would tell me of Fossacesia and la Vaccarecia. I’ve watched cows poop and children scatter as it hits the floor, I’ve seen shepherds bathe their flocks in the meagre ponds of Rajasthan, and I’ve watched as men and women, disfigured, beg of me for a morsel of food, a single rupee.

Raj and I spent innumerable hours in the Tata Indica V2 Turbo, driving hundreds of kilometres to our intended destinations, feeding off only chai masala, fanta, gulab, and kurkure. I was introduced to real Veg food, namkeen, Haldiram’s and Jalebi. I learned a good deal of Hindi, listened to hindi songs, watched Aaja Nachle in the Raj Mandir cinema at Jaipur. We dined at Niro’s in Jaipur, where we paid more than Rs.700 for one beer, one lamb skewer, a bowl of veg manchurian, and veggie raita.

I’ve seen rich, poor, high, low. I’ve watched fat men dine in fancy restaurants, and seen scrawny old women scrounge in the garbage for a scrap to eat. I’ve lived like a king, and traveled like a backpacker. I’ve photographed as much as my mind will allow me to steal. I’ve been given food, shelter, and support by people whom barely know me; I’ve also given in return. I’ve learned the value of generosity, politeness, and most of all empathy.

This trip has been a complete adventure from beginning to end, the experiences I’ve had here and the people I’ve met will never be forgotten.

Praise Hanuman for Bringing me the Power of Interwheb!!

So, my friends…

It seems as though I’ve been able to secure a proper Internet connection, thanks to the prayers of my good friend, Sunil. He’s quite a devoted chap, prays mantra to Shiva and Hanuman both in the morning. I wish sometimes that I could be as good a Catholic as he is Hindu, but nontheless, Photo Time!!!

Is nice, you buy now.

Varanasi:

Jaisalmer

Enjoy, all!