test 6

We're making progress every day. Cody is adjusting, Tala is calming down a little bit, and we're settling into the beginnings of a routine. The two of them play great together outside; inside, Cody is less bothered, less belligerent, more tolerant. And Tala is actually learning to leave her alone. On Tuesday we re-learned the first three rules of managing a young dog's boundless energy: exercise, exercise, exercise. We went to Jack Darling , Mississauga's biggest and best leash-free dog park. A fierce wind was whipping off the Lake and the ground was hard-packed, icy snow. It was cold, but worth it. Tala immediately forgot her name and pretended not to know us, but who can blame her, the first time she's let loose in a huge field with 30 new dogs to check out. They ran and played for a long time, and when we couldn't take the wind anymore, we managed to corral Tala. She spent the rest of the day peacefully lounging around, a huge difference from her usual non-st...

The court martial of Lt. Ehren Watada has ended in a mistrial. A new trial has been scheduled for... March 19! Does that date sound familiar? It's the fourth anniversary of the US invasion of Iraq. Nice touch, judge! Watada's lawyers, however, believe a retrial is "very unlikely", and will argue that jeopardy attaches. Eric Seitz explains here . See Courage to Resist for updates. A mistrial is not the ideal outcome, but it sure beats a guilty verdict and jail time.

More pup photos are up!

Our friend and nephew D - musician, massage therapist, and all around cool guy - arrived last night from western Massachusetts. It's too cold for any city exploring, so we're sticking close to home - playing with pups, having Dim Sum in Mississauga, making dinner together. Speaking of cold, I'm enjoying listening to Canadians one-up each other on the weather. "You think this is cold? When I lived in Winnipeg..." I think anything colder than minus 15 qualifies as cold. I don't mind it, but it is cold. I save my complaining for the summer. * * * * I really liked this. I especially love that it was a 13-year-old girl! A 13-year-old Alberta girl made history at centre ice in Calgary's Saddledome on Saturday night when she became the first person to sing O Canada in Cree at an NHL game . Akina Shirt, who lives in Edmonton but is originally from the Saddle Lake First Nation about 120 kilometres east of Edmonton, sang the national anthem before the Calgary Flam...

I've always said that a woman will be elected President of the United States during my lifetime, and it will kill me, drive me insane, because I won't be able to vote for her. I've always assumed the first female US President will be the American Margaret Thatcher. How would a woman break through the sexist stereotypes, prove she was tough enough, "man enough" to be President? By being a hardcore conservative Republican. Hillary Rodham Clinton's hat in the presidential-hopeful ring doesn't change this assessment, for two reasons. One, she can't win, and the Democrats are even bigger fools than I think they are if they nominate her. And two, she doesn't deserve to win, because she's not liberal: she's a hawk. First: she can't win. Just as people around the world loved Bill Clinton, his international popularity far outstripping what he enjoyed in the US, here in Canada, people imagine that Hillary Clinton will sail into office. Most Cana...

I've been reading a lot about poverty, hunger and massive income inequality in the GTA, in Ontario and in Canada in general . There's the ongoing fight for the $10 minimum wage in Ontario (as of February 1, it is $8.00), an increasing income gap between immigrants and those born in Canada, and reports of hunger and malnutrition among people still suffering from Mike Harris 's draconian cuts to public assistance and housing , which have never been restored. Meanwhile, the Bank of Montreal lays off 1,000 workers while posting record profits ($2.7 billion in 2006, up 11% from 2005) and paying out an $8.1 million compensation package to CEO Tony Comper. Many Canadians like to imagine that only American corporations use such irresponsible, short-sighted business strategies. Many Canadians imagine their country to be a just, compassionate, and humane society. Canada shouldn't be a good place to live only relative to the United States. It should just be.

Tomorrow, February 5, the US Army will begin the court martial of Lt. Ehren Watada , the first officer to refuse deployment to the war in Iraq. The military trial will be held in Ft. Lewis, Washington, about 50 miles south of Seattle. There will be an all-day rally and vigil outside the base, as well as events nationwide in support of Watada. As always, you can go to Courage To Resist to learn what you can do to stand beside this brave man. The redesigned Courage To Resist site also makes it easier to read about many other courageous war resisters: Agustin Aguayo, Ivan Brobeck, Kyle Snyder, Suzanne Swift, Ricky Clousing, Darrell Anderson, Mark Wilkerson, Katherine Jashinski.