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Here's an interesting comparison of Canada and the EU -- on values, culture, economy and politics -- in a thought experiment that speculates on Canada joining the EU. Published in the UK's Guardian, it is also an external perspective on who Canadians are -- and a flattering one at that. I always knew Canada had a lot in common with Europe -- what surprised me however, was our shared obsession with the United States. Is everyone really that obsessed with the US?

Google has apparently got permission to construct three massive data centres, and two are already nearing completion. According to the New York Times , Google is pretty mum about its plans for the data centres, each as large as a football field, with giant cooling fans rising four stories from the buildings. Google has positioned the data centres strategically -- close to electrical power and dark fibre. Just what Google is up to is a good question. The company has been acquiring large amounts of dark fibre, and recently, it made a massive purchase of IPv6 numbers.

Check out this post from the War Nerd, aka Gary Brecher, on the Exile. I'm not a war nerd, so I'm definitely not qualified to comment on the assertion made, that "no American [aircraft] carrier would last five minutes in a full-scale naval battle off China." Brecher contends that large navy surface ships would never stand a chance against conventional anti-ship missles, aircraft or small boats -- simply because large ships are slow, can't dodge and just need a big hole punched in them to sink. Regardless of whether you buy the arguments Brecher makes, his writing is damn entertaining -- so a good read.

... because this is true -- girls don't exist on the internet .

Who's propaganda do you believe? According to the AP, climatologists give Al Gore's An Inconvenient Truth high marks for accurately representing the science of global warming . According to the Republican dominated Senate Committee Majority on the Environment and Public Works however, there are hundreds of other climatologists how think the movie stinks . Yet again, the American government has stepped in to confuse the public in their understanding of critical issues. Who are you going to believe America? Oh, never mind! [Click here for the movie trailer .]

BusinessWeek suggests that there are a lot of CEO-types who have recently gone on the "charm offensive" -- and asks, why are CEOs "suddenly so eager to be loved?" It appears that the strutting CEO is so yesterday. Gone is the bravado; the hubris; the boorish behaviour. In is humility; sense of humour; listening; and authenticity. It appears that CEOs now want to be nice guys -- and let's face it, the assholes of yesterday, were mostly men. Why the change? Well, for starters, they had it coming. They lived like rockstars for a while -- getting paid like them, and behaved like them. That was OK when they were adding shareholder value -- but then the bad ones got worse. They started to steal from the hands that fed them -- and the mouths of those who toiled endlessly to afford them the rockstar status. They made decisions with total disregard for the environment or the societies they operated in. They in effect replaced state-sponsored colonialism of lo...

With the recent announcement by Gates that he will be changing his focus in 2008, you've got to start having more respect for the man. He's easy to vilify -- yes -- he built an empire with a single-minded fixation on his business to the detriment of innovation, leaving behind a trail of corpses belonging to competitors. He amassed billions in personal wealth -- but if he has his way, that will in no way be his legacy. With the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Gates is applying the same tenacity he applied to getting Microsoft to the top of the hill in fighting AIDS and malaria in the third world -- and breathing life into the US education system. BusinessWeek has a cover article on Gates' efforts on the US education system. There isn't anything new in the effort Gates is placing on the US education system -- what is new however, is the reliance of the public education system on philanthropy. While the total dollars being contributed by private donors is vastly ...

Another Google Labs application has crawled out of the lab. Google Page Creator is an online tool to create websites without needing to know HTML -- but if you know HTML, all the power to you, and happy editing. It's WYSIWYG, autosaves so you don't lose anything, and allows you to publish your site automatically to http://yourusername.googlepages.com/ . Google will host your site free of charge up to 100MB at this time. Check it out, and remember: it is good to love all things Google -- until Google succumb to the dark side, that is.

Not content on trampling on democracy at home, the US counterterrorism campaign has extended the trampling of democracy worldwide. It appears that there is little foreign governments are willing to do to question US practices on their territory. The latest comes from the US analysis of SWIFT data -- international electronic interbank funds transfer -- to look for trends that may point to terrorism funding. Apparently, the US asked for, and was granted access to SWIFT data by the Belgium-based organization. Now I have no problems with the US sifting through SWIFT data to gleam intelligence on terrorism funding. What I have problem with however, is data belonging to businesses, some of which are outside US jurisdiction, being handed over to the US government. For starters, who says the US has to; should; or will; limit its use of the data to just find terrorists? Isn't there some economic advantage to understanding at such a granular level, who's sending money to whom? ...

... well, 85% of it anyway. Buffett , the second richest man in the US, has always planned on donating most of his wealth to philanthropy -- but that was after he died. Now, he's decided to slowly give away 85% of his $40+ billion . The lion share of Buffett's wealth will be heading to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, which Buffett will also join as a trustee. How cool is that?

Buffy Sainte-Marie is one of my wife's favourite musicians -- and I've to admit, she's been growing on me -- growing so much that I've got a few of her songs stuck in my head. For those young-uns that may be lacking an education, Buffy was Buffy before vampire hunting became a craze -- and was there when the likes of Janis Joplin, Neil Young, Joni Mitchell and others were going to change the world with their protest songs. Well, the world still needs changing, and they're still writing protest songs. Buffy Sainte-Marie is Cree, born in the Qu'Appelle valley of Saskatchewan, but grew up in Maine and Massachusetts. She has a Fine Arts PhD, as well as degrees in Oriental Philosophy and teaching. Her prominence came however as a musician. Her lyrics are powerful in their ability to move the spirit -- and are especially noted for paying homage to her native heritage. The echoes of Buffy's songs still ring true today -- and more than ever, they are relevan...

Here's a thought -- why don't we talk? -- share ideas, perspectives and try to better understand each other, instead of letting the few lead us into wars. It sounds like quite the altruistic goal -- something born in the idealized 1960s, instead of vicious times we seem to be living in today. Or maybe it is the response of those who want a better world and reject a place where suspicion, hate and war rule the day. I'm thinking it's the latter. Enter dropping knowledge -- an initiative based in Germany, that is out to change the way we perceive the world by having you start with you -- having you question the status quo and refusing the accept the often given, easy answers. dropping knowledge is a global initiative to turn apathy into activity. By hosting an open conversation on the most pressing issues of our times, we will foster a worldwide exchange of viewpoints, ideas and people-powered solutions. However knowledge is defined, by dropping it freely to others, ...

... if you happen to be a customer that is. The San Francisco Chronicle is reporting that AT&T has rewritten it's customer policy to state, while your account information may be personal to you, these records constitute business records that are owned by AT&T . As such, AT&T feels they have the right to do with as they wish. You may recall that Google made a big stink about serving up details of web surfing habits of US citizens to the government -- while company's like AT&T cooperated fully with the government's request. As well, AT&T was one of the telcos that opened up and shared customer calling information with the NSA, when it was requested without a subpoena. What the hell is happening in the US? Has privacy been totally lost? Are Americans still free?

Codebot.org posted an article dissing scientology a few days ago. The cult of scientology followed immediately to bring down the site , citing copyright infringement. The cult claims it's a religion -- so how can it's scriptures be copyrighted? Apparently the law is in collusion with this cult. The entire post can be found in Google's cache , so it's not really gone. Apparently governments can't censor, but cults can. Something is wrong with this world. [ Found via reddit.com. ] Updated: June 21, 2006 The Scientology is not Science post that was brought down by the cult of scientology, can be found mirrored here . Updated: June 26, 2006 Check out Scientology training videos on YouTube ... while you can ... you know this is not going to last. Updated: July 3, 2006 The Onion has a breaking report on Scientology's competitor, Fictionology. Created by the self-proclaimed messiah, Bud Don Ellroy, Fictionology's tenets are documented in his self-h...

Imagine a camera with a 111-Megapixel CCD chip. Dalsa , of Waterloo, Ontario, just shipped the CCD chip to the US Naval Observatory, so don't expect one in a camera you can afford anytime soon. You can drool through. The camera will be used for astronomical observations -- or top secret military applications.

Plasma Pong -- You know pong. It's classic. In fact, it can still entertain for hours, without the need for 3D FPS of balls. You know fluid dynamics. It's classic. In fact, it can still make physicists and engineers scratch their heads for hours, without the need for quantum and branes. Did you know Plasma Pong however? Imagine a game of pong in a plasma environment, where you can use the paddles to create a vacuum or send shock waves into the playing environment. Now stop imagining, click the link and download the game. Freegan -- This site answers the question that should immediately follow the first encounter with the word, Freegan. What is a Freegan? According to the site: Freegans are people who employ alternative strategies for living based on limited participation in the conventional economy and minimal consumption of resources. Freegans embrace community, generosity, social concern, freedom, cooperation, and sharing in opposition to a society based on materialism...

There is one thing the telcos and cable operators can agree on: as far as broadband Wi-Fi is concerned, if they're not delivering it, no one else should -- especially municipal governments. Problem is, the established players are in no hurry to deliver it. Why should they deliver Wi-Fi service when they've still to reap the rewards of their existing broadband infrastructure deployment? I understand they desire to stop public funding of Wi-Fi infrastructure deployment and curb any new players from gaining a niche in their market. It makes perfect business sense for them. But does it make any sense for the public? Not really. Technology is moving faster than the established players may wish. They're used to milking their investment for decades, but they no longer have decades to play with. From the public's perspective, regulated broadband Wi-Fi deployment makes perfect sense -- especially if it's done with public dollars. Access to information via the inter...

Our clean living is killing us -- more and more, science is finding that our war against minor ailments, is leaving us defenseless against our own immune systems. Studies in rats have shown that those that live in the wild -- sewers, farms, etc. -- have immune systems that are well tuned to fight more troubling infections, while ignoring minor irritants. Lab rats on the other hand, accustomed to living the clean life, have immune systems that go wild when they encounter minor infections. This view, that our clean living is killing us, subscribes to the hygiene theory, which states that exposure to allergens in the environment early in life, serves to boost our immune system later -- an assertion that has credence when allergy rates of city and rural dwellers are compared. So what do you do? Live a little dirty. Get a pet or two; houseplants or two; and don't be afraid of going outside -- especially for the little ones. Related reading : Allergy, Parasites, and the Hygiene H...

Wikimapia 's goal, leveraging Google Maps and the internet community, is to describe the world. Basically the site throws up Google Maps and adds tagging of locations that are interesting with descriptions and searchable keywords. Want to add the features of your neighbourhood? Go for it! I like to go bike riding in the above area just north of my home. Update: June 19, 2006 My daughters and I went on a walk yesterday for Father's day in the above park. Click the image below to see some of the photographs I took during the walk.

This is a plug for Barbados on the Water , happening this Friday to Sunday, down at Harbourfront Centre, Toronto. Treat yourself to the warmth of Barbados at Canada's largest celebration of Barbadian culture. Sample succulent cuisine, groove to the beat of Jazz, Soca and Calypso, and enjoy Barbadian dance, theatre and literary arts. Consider this little festival as a warm up for the World Routes Summer 2006 Festival that will run through the summer at Harbourfront Centre, starting on July 1st. Update: June 18, 2006 Well, my wife was at Barbados on the Water on Saturday. We didn't spend too long there. We had lunch under the World Cafe tent, enjoying some chicken and rice from Bimshire Delectables . I took a couple of shots of NEWA warming up, but didn't stay for their show.

What makes us want stuff? For the longest time, most retailers figured that if they sold it, we would come and buy it. However, as most items are being reduced to commodities, retailers and manufacturers are realizing that they need a different tactic. Welcome the new royalty of retailing -- the consumer. As consumers become the key differentiator for businesses, a new breed of workers are being recruited by HR departments. Say, "Hi," to the Ethnographer in the cubicle next to you. Ehtnographers are social anthropologists that study human interactions in their natural social and cultural environments. In their retailing and manufacturing applications, they basically figure out what you just can't live without, then work with designers and engineers to make the dreams you didn't know you have, come true. With the help of ethnography, some truly useful products can be created. Yes, it will mean out with some of the old and in with the new -- which is good for ...

CIO Magazine has a career focused article on IT leadership in China and the opportunities that exist for western IT leadership types. It's pretty interesting in the IT landscape it paints of China. China is quite different, and for the western folks that make it there, it can be quite exciting. Internal IT departments in China are considered service departments, and not necessarily strategic to the business -- not unlike the view of IT in many established firms in North America. The local supporting infrastructure of third-party companies don't exist -- so bringing in hired guns to help in the short term just ain't going to be easy or cheap. In established Chinese companies, most of which came from state run enterprises, change doesn't come easy. The leadership is used to being in full control, and don't take to change easily -- so forget that upgrade. Having said that however, it's probably a once-in-a-lifetime chance to play in such a dynamic and evolv...

Google has decided to take on the US government -- using its search engine that is. Google's new US Government Search page features Washington, DC weather, and news releases from the military, White House, as well as related news articles from other publications. Notably, the Washington Post is featured on the start page.

If you believe all the media hype about the new world the exiting of the boomers will leave behind, you're probably terrified. The boomers will have to be taken care of by fewer younger workers. The boomers will require an increase in taxes to the young. The boomers will retire in hordes and leave industry struggle to cope. The boomers will stay in workplace longer, stealing jobs from the next generation. At this pace, the world will be different when the boomers start retiring. Or it just might be the same -- people working hard to make ends meet -- including the boomers, their children and grandchildren. But that sounds too good -- so why not another doom-and-gloom story. According to Jeremy J. Siegel , professor of Finance at Wharton School, the world is going to suck big time when the boomers leave the work force in hordes. Today the boomers supposedly have a lot of their wealth tied up in assets -- physical and financial. When they retire, they will need cash to live...

From the people who created CNET.com, comes BNET.com . The site's focus is business -- hoping to become an information portal for business resources. Everything from articles and lists to full white papers and blogs. Best, it has a search function that will get you relevant information quickly. Check it out if you're an information junkie!

Supersized Meals -- food gone wild! The blog is not affiliated with the movie Supersize Me , just inspired by it. The Dangers of Bread -- after reading this, I dare you to continue consuming bread! I say we mount a campaign to get the FDA to ban bread! I say we start at the top -- after all, most terrorists are know to break bread together before going off on their killing spree. Songbird -- check out the open source, cross-platform media player with the most. Built using the Firefox engine, this web-media player aims to do what most commercial players can't claim: separate the media from the medium. Sketch Swap -- OK, I don't get it. Splunk -- if you work in IT at a large corporation, you will have to deal with multi-platforms, multiple versions of infrastructure software and huge multi-tier environment. All of those infrastructure components generate logs. When something is broken, how do you know where to look? Splunk aims to solve that problem. It indexes l...

Two Saudis and a Yemeni hanged themselves recently at the US Guantanamo detention camp where they were being held as part of the US war on terrorism. I'm not about to start debating the validity of the detention camp -- that's a debate that would go on for far too long -- however, I would like to highlight the American military's response to the suicides. The camp commander is quoted by the BBC as saying that the suicides were "an act of asymmetric warfare waged against us." Asymmetric Warfare -- this bit of modern military euphemism is lost on me -- so I decided to Google it. Wow -- asymmetric warfare is apparently very widely studied by military types. Wikipedia provides a good introduction, even though it's steeped in military jargon to point where it fails to make much sense -- but that's war for you I suppose. Simply put, asymmetric warfare is all about unconventional warfare that makes it difficult for the opposing force to respond. So, suic...

We all have innate biases, and probably spend a considerable amount of time hiding it, controlling it or just outright trying to squash it. We're probably successful too, and that's only because we're aware that we do have them. How about those that don't know they have them? Worse case scenario: they, or their companies, become the subject of lots of negative publicity and perhaps even lawsuits -- lawsuits that they will most likely lose, as judges and jurors are becoming more aware of innate biases. BusinessWeek profiles sociologist, William T. Bielby, who has testified in numerous cases in the US -- contending that white men -- the predominant culprits being brought to task in US courts -- just can't help being white men -- and white men can't help but discriminate. Bielby contends in his testimonies that companies "give managers too much discretion and let them rely on too many subjective factors in hiring, promotion, and pay. In that kind of unf...

BusinessWeek has an excellent special report on Cutting-Edge Designers and how they're reshaping the world we experience. The days of mass merchandising is gone, even in the developing world -- and with the focus on customer or individual experience, is coming mass customization. That's raising the bar on what's being hocked to us, and the challenge is being met by businesses of all stripes and sizes. The trend towards mass customization has almost leveled the playing field again. Established businesses don't necessarily have an advantage. Size doesn't necessarily guarantee success. This means that there will be more attention paid to the temperament of consumers, but it also means that businesses will turn up the intensity on selling to us. If your brain isn't already overloaded with the noise, it's about to be.

Just because ... here are a few Superman sites to whet your appetite. Yes, it's another movie I need to see this summer -- in July probably. CapedWonder -- celebrating the legacy of Christopher Reeve SuperDickery -- Superman is a dick, and this site has the proof Superman Returns -- the movie site.

Some movies that I have an interest in this month -- I will not get to them all. X-Men III: The Last Stand -- 'nuff said! No Logo - Brands, Globalization & Resistance -- based on the book of the same title, this movie is playing at the Bloor Cinema on June 29 & 30. Sophie Scholl: The Final Days -- the story of Germany's most famous anti-Nazi heroine , who, as part of the White Rose, was dedicated to the downfall of the Third Reich. The movie plays at the Bloor Cinema from June 25-27. Thank You For Smoking -- playing at the Bloor Cinema from June 23-37. Tsotsi -- a look at life in the ghettos outside of present-day Johannesburg, South Africa, through Tsotsi, a young thug. There is redemption for Tsotsi, and the film won the 2006 Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film. It plays at the Bloor Cinema on June 14 & 16. Why We Fight -- a documentary that explores why America goes to war and the role of the military-industrial complex. This played today at the ...

The Swedish darlings of the BitTorrent world took a hit yesterday, when 50 Swedish police officers strolled in and walked off with the entire PirateBay.org server farm . The police are apparently investigating whether PirateBay.org broke any piracy laws. PirateBay.org, while not hosting copyrighted material, is the largest BitTorrent indexing site that keeps track of torrents and maintains the swarms. PirateBay.org gained quite a bit of celebrity status after SuperNova.org went offline -- especially for their continued mocking of the MPAA. Right now however, it's only the MPAA that's laughing. Update: June 14, 2006 Gotta love the juvenile delinquents. PirateBay has a personal and rude message to the MPAA in their hostname. If you run a traceroute on their domain name, you get the message: hey.mpaa.and.apb.bite.my.shiny.metal.ass.thepiratebay.org. Update: June 21, 2006 Here's the letter [PDF] from the MPAA's John G. Malcolm to Sweden's State Secretary, on...