British Columbia Welcome U

WestJet is having a Sizzling Summer Sale with up to 40% off selected flights — book before July 2 for travel until September 30, 2008. Here are some sample rates (one-way):

• Toronto to Halifax for $144, Toronto to Charlottetown for $149, Toronto to Winnipeg for $159


• Calgary to Kelowna for $89, Calgary to Toronto for $214, Calgary to Vancouver for $109


• Vancouver to Kelowna for $79, Vancouver to Toronto for $244, Vancouver to Calgary for $109

Find more Canadian deals at RedFlagDeals.com

written by \\ tags: travel advice

The GOP has some new suggestions for its troops:

The advice for House candidates is part of an effort to minimize Republican losses in a year when voters are exasperated by the economy, the Iraq war and President Bush:

“Encourage Republican candidates to establish themselves in a personal manner, emphasizing local issues whenever possible.”

“Candidates have to have a positive alternative vis-à-vis their Democratic opponents.”

“Work to develop an issues matrix that is different than in years past and also shows a deep empathy towards the voters.”

The advice, from consultants to the National Republican Congressional Committee, was presented this week to House leaders, including NRCC Chairman Tom Cole (R-Okla.).

I notice there’s not a lot there about new ideas or even going back to tried-and-true conservative ones. You can be as positive and empathetic as you want, but that doesn’t provide for real solutions. Ideas do, and the Republican Party seems to have a serious deficit in that area.

written by \\ tags: travel advice

VANCOUVER - The commissioner for complaints against the RCMP says he’s trying to “create enough heat publicly” to force the national police agency to change the way it uses Tasers.

Paul Kennedy, chairman of the Commission for Public Complaints Against the RCMP, appeared before a B.C. public inquiry on the use of Tasers on Wednesday. Last week, Kennedy issued a scathing report on use of the shock weapons by the force.

He conceded outside the inquiry that none of his recent recommendations have to be implemented but he said it’s his job to pressure the force to co-operate.

“Part of what I have to do is create enough heat publicly . . . to say, ‘Look, this is what we want.’ That’s the bottom line,” Kennedy told reporters.

Kennedy pointed out that the national police force has 3,000 Tasers at its disposal across the country. In addition, they have many new recruits, a high turnover rate, an inadequate mentoring system, he said.

And he said they don’t have a system in place to monitor use of the weapons.

“I’m hoping that if they look at that they’ll realize, ‘Whoops, we have a problem here. We didn’t think it was being used in these kind of circumstances,”‘ he said.

RCMP have started to implement some recommendations, including appointing a national use-of-force co-ordinator, but overall Kennedy expressed dissatisfaction.

“They have modestly implemented some,” he said.

He said each division should have a use-of-force co-ordinator and there should be a national co-ordinator who is a commissioned officer.

“I’m trying to hold their feet to the fire. I’m giving them a model,” Kennedy said of the report issued earlier this month.

The report echoed his interim call to limit Tasers to clashes where suspects are combative or risk serious harm to themselves, the police or the public.

In the 78-page report, Kennedy urged tighter controls on a weapon the Mounties have drawn from their holsters more than 4,000 times since its introduction in 2001.

In his presentation to inquiry commissioner Thomas Braidwood, Kennedy decried the situation where the RCMP decides how to deploy the Taser and also decides what data it’s going to release on its use.

Like others who have appeared, Kennedy said the Taser is being used in situations where it was never intended - known as “usage creep.”

Earlier in the day, B.C.’s police complaint commissioner said he - like Kennedy - doesn’t advocate a moratorium on the use of Tasers.

But they have become a “tool of convenience” and more testing, study and training is required.

“Unfortunately, the Taser has become a tool of convenience in some situations, sort of a ‘Come along’ device; ‘drop the beer. No? Zap,”‘ Dirk Ryneveld told the inquiry.

“In essence, it’s being used in situations far short of an alternative to lethal force.”

He said the Taser’s use should be restricted to situations when people pose a threat to the public, an officer or themselves.

Ryneveld, who investigated the death of Robert Wayne Bagnell, 44, after he was subdued with a Vancouver city police Taser in June 2004, said issues about the shock weapon were raised then and still haven’t been resolved.

He said a report issued in the wake of Bagnell’s death called for uniform training in the use of Tasers by police across the province.

Ryneveld said further study, independent testing and training is urgently needed.

“Unfortunately, the issues we raised then are still unresolved and true independent study and testing hasn’t been as actively or as timely pursued as I would have hoped,” he told the inquiry.

The B.C. public inquiry was called in the wake of the death of Polish immigrant Robert Dziekanski after he was hit with an RCMP Taser at Vancouver International Airport last October.

The inquiry has been so overwhelmed with requests from people wanting to appear that it scheduled the additional day for submissions on Wednesday.

A report on the first phase of the inquiry, which is looking at the general use of Tasers by law enforcement in the province, is expected this fall. A second phase of the inquiry will look specifically at Dziekanski’s death.

written by \\ tags: vancouver island

The art of filmmaking is the art of creating reality: people, place, purpose. We construct the objects, the characters, the space and even the light within the frame in such way that the viewer believes  there is a continuity of this world beyond the frame. And most movies that you see in theatres or on DVD are able to pull this off.
But there is usually one type of movie scene that fails at this: the protest scene. Whenever a film has a protest scene my ‘willing suspecion of disbelief’ is usually… suspended.
I used to live on Commercial Drive in East Vancouver. It’s the centre of all kinds of activism in Metro Vancouver and so I witnessed my share of protests. And the thing I’ve noticed about protests is that they are messy. There’s a mix of passion, deep seeded anger, and chaos. A group of protesters is an animal in constant flux. It’s mostly unpredictable.
What’s inside the frame of any movie is highly controlled in order to give the illusion of reality. So staging something like this on camera is nearly impossible.  Protesters in a movie scene are made up of background actors who are being herded around by assistant directors. Their placards are typically very well made by competent art directors. And it’s hard to give each person in this crowd an individual passion and motivation to create the flucuating beast that is a protest.
The next time you see a protest scene in a movie, just note how difficult it is to stage true flux and chaos on the screen.
I’m curious to see Battle in Seattle , a movie that is actually about a protest. Ironically it was shot in Vancouver.

written by \\ tags: vancouver island

The theme of the Cypriot Exhibit at the Venice Biennale is that of RELAXATION ? a primary activity in Cyprus. Related to the general theme of this year’s Biennale which is BEYOND ARCHITECTURE.

So we ask participating architects to go beyond their normal limits and REINTERPRET. Architects and Architectural Students from all countries are invited to compete by submitting a project that responds by attempting to REINTERPRET one, or a combination, of the eight topics listed below. There should be an attempt to reference them to the conditions of the Island of Cyprus.

Project Themes
1. The beach and its provisions
2. Agro tourism
3. The coffee house and public open space
4. Cyprus - the love island
5. The contemplation of the historic object
6. The souvenir shop
7. The boring hotel terrace
8. The limitations of ‘meze & wine’ establishments

Selection will be on the basis of originality, ingenuity, wit and elegance as well as general appropriateness.

Register by: 07-28-2008 / Submit by: 07-28-2008

written by \\ tags: vancouver island

written by \\ tags: vancouver island

Please read this text in full before you jump to any conclusions. The Vancouver Gadgeteers is shipping TODAY to anybody (except 200V pulsers, those only to tech-types) energy devices that no one else is making available, such as Stanley Meyer toroids, chokes, and inductors.

Gadgeteer Rob Matthies was in the same page in Canadian Business magazine’s “intriguing inventions of 2008″ and realized that there are similarities between the Perepiteia Generator and the modified Adams magnet motor that the Gadgeteers club is willing to make for anyone (as listed in a classifieds ads.)

If you’ve wanted to get your hands on a Thane Heins device, consider the Gadgeteers Adams motor and/or the “how it works” DVD.

The club meetings were videotaped from several cameras and even blog-cast. However, the blogcasts were automatically erased by BlogTV after a certain time. Too bad, those were free.

The explanation of the intricacies of an Adams motor and scoping shots were shown in Gadgeteers’ meetings.

Several members independently tested the test motors (more than one!) and were amazed to see a resistor go colder than ambient; perhaps similar to the Heins’ generator accelerating(?) under load.

We do not claim over-unity. For one thing, the size of our prototypes are too small to be put on a dyno. Also, any test should be adjusted for power factor.

Although the Gadgeteers’ Adams motor is not a Steorn device, the power, to touch, seems to be much stronger than the miniscule number of watts drawn, as shown on multiple test meters. You’ll also see that we recorded the entire test, including wires getting set up.

By getting your an Adams motor from the Gadgeteers club, you may be able to reverse engineer it, and improve or mass-produce the prototype on a commercial scale.

If you need consulting services, the Vancouver Gadgeteers can offer that, as well.

What we’d like to see: “Anybody Can Make Energy!”

Author: BatteryReviver
Keywords: PEREPITEIA GENERATOR THANE HEINS ROBERT ADAMS BEDINI MOTOR MOTORS OVER UNITY FREE ENERGY STEORN DEVICE
Added: June 26, 2008

written by \\ tags: vancouver island

A retreat of Beauty and Tranquility. Thru the gates of Shangri-La you will experience a private retreat with half an acre of warm ponds and enchanting cottages nestled among lush grounds and just a stone’s throw from the ocean.

Just outside the volcanic rock walls surrounding the estate, you can snorkel with Sea Turtles in one of the Pacific’s richest and most protected wildlife preserves. Or, take a fifteen-minute drive to historic old Pahoa and sample some of the island’s finest boutique shops and restaurants. This unique property provides an irreplaceable sanctuary to slow down, soothe the soul and experience “Old Hawaii” island living at its very best.

See www.apoParadise.com/shangrila.html for more info and for exclusive booking.

Author: apoparadise
Keywords: travel shangri-la shangri_la shangrila hawaii kapoho big island
Added: June 26, 2008

written by \\ tags: vancouver island

Adventure Island, een avonturenbaan bestaande uit 3 etages in het thema van piraten.
Met meer dan 20 beweegbare onderdelen, dit alles kun je ‘tijdens vervoer in 1 transport’ èèn van de uniekste attracties van Nederland in zijn soort noemen.
Heb jij altijd al een piraat willen zijn?… Dat kan!… Nu hier in onze avonturenbaan’Adventure Island’.
We nemen je mee voorbij de grenzen van je fantasie, enkele eeuwen terug in de tijd, de tijd van de muiterij en piraterij.
Als de kapitein je waarschuwt bij het betreden van de attractie gaat je avontuur van start.
De hindernissen die je moet nemen in combinatie met beeld, geluid en special effects zijn een
belevenis op zich die je nog lang bij zal blijven.
Daardoor is de Adventure Island niet te vergelijken met een loopspookhuis of luna park, maar is een attractie op zich.
De kapitein en de papagaai begeleiden je in dit avontuur.
Een attractie waar jong en oud veel plezier aan zal beleven.
Door zijn gunstige afmeting is de attractie op vrijwel elke kermis en evenement goed te plaatsen.
Zo is er de ton der duizeling, de brug der terreur (’n touwbrug 7 meter boven de grond)en de schattengrot waar je in het donker een weg moet banen met ‘n heuse kolenbaan.
Deze attractie vol doet aan de allergrootste
veiligheidsvoorschriften van deze tijd.
Wij hopen u dan ook graag te zien op een van onze kermissen of evenementen.
Kijk op www.adventureisland.nl voor meer informatie

Author: rumadu
Keywords: kermis funfair kirmes foor adventure island piraten jean avonturenbaan lunapark jimmy spookhuis evenemente
Added: June 25, 2008

written by \\ tags: vancouver island

WhiteApricot saved

1 day ago at 04:39 PM PDT on Jun 25, 2008

Description:

One of the perks of being associated with green fashion is getting to see what’s next. Since my job is all about sharing info, I’ve got a sneak preview for you! The above is just a taster of what is to come from organic cotton clothing company Twice Shy in the coming months. Like what you see? Wish you saw something in particular? Comment and let me know!

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vancouver

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written by \\ tags: victoria