The Canadian Commission for UNESCO was proud to work with Parks Canada and other partners in organizing the Youth component of the 32nd Session of the World Heritage Committee. The World Heritage Committee held its annual meeting in Québec City from July 2 – 10, 2008, coinciding with the city’s 400th anniversary celebration.

The World Heritage Youth Forum brought together 30 young people between the ages of 18 to 25--15 Canadians and 15 others invited by Canada from countries representing the five geographical regions of UNESCO--who spent more than two weeks learning about world heritage and the Convention, undertaking educational visits to Canadian World Heritage sites and attending sessions of the World Heritage Committee. The complete report of the World Heritage Youth Forum will be available shortly on the Canadian Commission’s web site at www.unesco.ca

An outcome of the event is the “Six Billion People, One Common Heritage” dossier, launched through a partnership with the National Film Board of Canada. It contains many photos and texts posted by the youth participants as well as the video they produced and presented at the opening ceremony of the 32nd Session of the World Heritage Committee. To view the video: http://citizen.nfb.ca/youth-and-world-heritage

Today, the Web site aims at being a platform for exchanges and discussions about World Heritage between youth from all over the globe, and all are invited to contribute.

To do so, please go to: http://citizen.nfb.ca/six-billion-people-one-common-heritage

Further information about the work of the 32nd Session of the World Heritage Committee can be found at https://www.canada2008.ca/en

For information about World Heritage sites in Canada, go the Parks Canada web site at http://www.pc.gc.ca

Source: Canadian Commission for UNESCO www.unesco.ca


La Commission canadienne pour l’UNESCO est fière d’avoir collaboré avec Parcs Canada et d’autres partenaires dans l’organisation du volet jeunesse de la 32e Session du Comité du patrimoine mondial, qui s’est déroulée à Québec du 2 au 10 juillet, dans le cadre de son 400e anniversaire.

Pendant plus de deux semaines, 30 jeunes, âgés de 18 à 25 ans - 15 Canadiens et 15 personnes venant de pays qui représentent les cinq régions géographiques de l’UNESCO - se sont réunis au Canada pour en apprendra davantage au sujet du patrimoine mondial et de la Convention. Ils ont visité certains sites du patrimoine mondial du Canada et ont assisté à des sessions du Comité du patrimoine mondial. Le rapport final de la composante jeunesse sera bientôt disponible sur le site Web de la Commission au www.unesco.ca
L’un des résultats de cet événement est le lancement du site « Six milliards d’êtres humains, un héritage commun » lancé grâce à un partenariat avec l’Office national du film du Canada. Le dossier contient plusieurs photos et articles publiés par les jeunes participants ainsi que la vidéo qu’ils ont produite et qui a été présentée lors de la cérémonie d’ouverture de la 32e Session du Comité du patrimoine mondial. Pour visionner la vidéo : http://citoyen.onf.ca/video-volet-jeunesse-32e-session

Aujourd’hui, le site se veut être une plateforme d’échanges et de discussions entre jeunes de partout intéressés par le patrimoine mondial et tous sont invités à y contribuer. Pour se faire allez au : http://citoyen.onf.ca/six-milliards-d-etres-humains-un-heritage-commun

De plus amples renseignements sur les travaux de la 32e Session du Comité du patrimoine mondial se trouvent à https://www.canada2008.ca/fr

Pour plus de détails sur les sites du Patrimoine mondial au Canada, veuillez consulter le site Web de Parcs Canada : http://www.pc.gc.ca

Welcome to the Make It Happen blog where you can learn more, become involved and even apply to participate!

Make It Happen is an e-course for passionate international young leaders who want to learn on how to become effective changemakers in the world. The pilot of this course will run from October 2008 to January 2009.

This is your place to learn more about the e-course and become involved in progress. We also hope you'll keep reading as we document the pilot and the evolution of this new online learning experience for young leaders around the world.

Let the journey begin,

The Make It Happen Team

We care what you think!

You can use this blog to document your journey with Make It Happen. Feel free to post your thoughts, ideas, photos, and resources as we venture through the pilot of the e-course.

Note: any questions that you may have should be directed to: mih@takingitglobal.org (please include MIHBlog in the subject line).

I know that this blog was supposed to be about my road to the marathon, but today's entry is not really about running--more like my lack of running these days.  At the moment I just feel so overwhelmed, useless, and all round tired (emotionally and mentally more than physically).  I haven't slept more than two nights in my own bed since July 29th and won't sleep in my own bed again until August 25th.  My diet is thrown off and I can't eat where or when I want.  Am just worried about if I will actually fulfil my goal and my dream at this point.  Agh am way too emotional.

Look out for TakingITGlobal's staff conducting quick interviews with WYC delegates! We'll be recording your thoughts about the Congress and the sessions that you're looking forward to. Videos will be uploaded to this virtual congress page, so stay tuned!

If we capture you on camera, you might be able to get a nice gift!

I headed off in the morning to the Australian Science and Math School, hosted at Flinders University. The school is only a few years old, and is built with an open concept -- no classrooms, but instead a number of large spaces with desks and chairs that reconfigured in many different ways to foster teamwork and collaboration. We had a large group - about 50 teachers and school leaders, and had a really interesting day -- when I showed the "Are you listening?" video, a whole bunch of students gathered upstairs in the area overlooking where I was speaking to watch - I think they were really curious that so many teachers were learning about their way of using technology!

After a fantastic dinner by the water with a group of curriculum developers, I headed to sleep -- because I had to catch a 6:40am flight to Canberra!

I made it to the nation's capital early in the morning, and it was freezing! 0 degrees but it warmed up as the sun rose... I had a few hours to fit the gym and have lunch before heading to Canberra University -- the group in Canberra decided to have an evening workshop (4-9pm) with dinner. Although everyone had a full day of work before showing up, we still had a lot of active participation, and after wrapping up at 9 and getting back to the hotel around 10, it was time for sleep for another 6:45am flight back to Sydney for the last workshop of the trip!

Arriving in Sydney in the morning, with my 32kg on-the-dot bag faithfully appearing on the carousel, I headed off to Parramatta right on time, and arrived 3 minutes before the workshop was to begin! We had the biggest crowd of any session -- around 60 people, and so a lot of the interactive sections took a lot longer than usual, but they had great ideas and a large group of schools approached me after and wants to deeply engage their entire district with TIGed, which is exciting! After wrapping up and chatting with a bunch of the attendees, I was off to one of my favourite hotels in the world -- the Westin Sydney, to relax, enjoy their great gym, and have dinner with Jenny, who had the whole series of workshops organized, to debrief on the experience (yum, Tasmanian lamb!). After that, I met up with Jarra and Nick, and headed to Micky's for dessert (Banana Pancakes and Ice Cream!) to catch up and for me to celebrate the completion of 10 sessions in 11 days in 5 cities!

I'm writing this now on the flight to Vancouver -- I managed to get right to sleep after lunch on the 10am flight, which will hopefully mean I can work through the North American day and head to sleep at a proper time tonight. Saturday, we head to Quebec City for the World Youth Congress to meet TIG members from all over the world. I've also agreed to head to Brisbane on the 19th to speak at the Queenland Government's e-learning summit, and after that, I'll be ready to just settle down at home and enjoy the rest of the summer in Toronto :)

Children and Youth Facing HIV/AIDS
August 4, 2008
International AIDS Conference 2008
Jo Anne Tacorda

The session opened with Stephanie Raper, of Australia, a young person born HIV+ and Peter Laugharn, of the Netherlands. During the session similarities between panelists emerged such as their findings related to the discrimination and stigma youth living with HIV face in their daily lives. Adriana Gomez, of Brazil, spoke about a magazine called “Living as a Young Person,” this magazine featured workshops conducted in March – August 2007 and was first published in 2004. During those workshops, youth shared their feelings, fears and hopes. Similarly, Christabell, from Kenya, representing a group called Stay Alive Group support (SAYG), spoke about the wide gap between non-infected and infected youth, young people’s reluctance to get tested, and the lack of commitment young people have to support infected persons. Panelists also touched upon the double standard between adult and children disclosure; adults are told about their status via well trained health care providers while children and youth are often told their status via parents or caregivers who are not properly trained to support them. Discussions also focused on a growing body of evidence that suggests that while orphan hood in Africa is an important factor, it is not the only factor. Research has shown that orphans do not necessarily suffer greater deprivation so, including factors such as orphan hood, we must consider poverty, regional factors, and gender disparities as more effective measures.

Panelists showed that without education youth can perceive HIV+ status as a ‘death sentence’ and untreatable, they feel shame and exclude themselves from society. Those not infected and uneducated about the subject often use derogatory language, play ‘the blame game,’ and excluded HIV+ persons from society; as Christabell noted “discrimination leads to stigma, whether knowingly or unknowingly”. However, with proper support and education youth who are living with HIV have a better outlook on life and can see the possibilities for a brighter future.

In the future Panelists would like to see more effective strategies to combat reluctance to get tested and hold youth accountable to know their status. Panelists recommended that health care workers and parents receive training to properly support young people, take them through the testing process and also to communicate status disclosure with youth appropriately since “trust in [your parents] is key, if you can’t trust your parents who can you trust?... Keeping an illness from a child, a child who has their own body and their own mind, is devastating and should not happen” as Stephanie Raper noted. Best practices include those exemplified by SAYG who provides psychological support, opportunities to form partnerships on health issues and information for peer education. SAYG uses effective approaches including community asset mapping, programs and interventions and community resources. Developing disclosure guidelines and best practices is also important. There is also a strong need for youth friendly services so that youth feel comfortable about being tested and are open to receiving support.

Seriously folks, I worked from home today, and I:

• Got more done (way more) that I would in the office
• Was more relaxed
• Had time to go for a run
• Managed to run the same presentations and meetings
• Ate way healthier food than I normally do

I also worked longer and took fewer breaks. I know it’s not exactly rocket science, and everyone is telecommuting these days, but seriously, this is the first time i really hit me that I actually not only concentrate better at home, but actually get more done.

And I have time to read more internet-ey things: Gawker, Youtube (great Obama clip), and BlogTO (a little bit of sxsw-style action in Toronto?), just to name a few.

Children and Youth Facing HIV/AIDS
August 4, 2008
International AIDS Conference 2008

The session opened with Stephanie Raper, of Australia, a young person born HIV+ and Peter Laugharn, of the Netherlands. During the session similarities between panelists emerged such as their findings related to the discrimination and stigma youth living with HIV face in their daily lives. Adriana Gomez, of Brazil, spoke about a magazine called “Living as a Young Person,” this magazine featured workshops conducted in March – August 2007 and was first published in 2004. During those workshops, youth shared their feelings, fears and hopes. Similarly, Christabell, from Kenya, representing a group called Stay Alive Group support (SAYG), spoke about the wide gap between non-infected and infected youth, young people’s reluctance to get tested, and the lack of commitment young people have to support infected persons. Panelists also touched upon the double standard between adult and children disclosure; adults are told about their status via well trained health care providers while children and youth are often told their status via parents or caregivers who are not properly trained to support them. Discussions also focused on a growing body of evidence that suggests that while orphan hood in Africa is an important factor, it is not the only factor. Research has shown that orphans do not necessarily suffer greater deprivation so, including factors such as orphan hood, we must consider poverty, regional factors, and gender disparities as more effective measures.

Panelists showed that without education youth can perceive HIV+ status as a ‘death sentence’ and untreatable, they feel shame and exclude themselves from society. Those not infected and uneducated about the subject often use derogatory language, play ‘the blame game,’ and excluded HIV+ persons from society; as Christabell noted “discrimination leads to stigma, whether knowingly or unknowingly”. However, with proper support and education youth who are living with HIV have a better outlook on life and can see the possibilities for a brighter future.

In the future Panelists would like to see more effective strategies to combat reluctance to get tested and hold youth accountable to know their status. Panelists recommended that health care workers and parents receive training to properly support young people, take them through the testing process and also to communicate status disclosure with youth appropriately since “trust in [your parents] is key, if you can’t trust your parents who can you trust?... Keeping an illness from a child, a child who has their own body and their own mind, is devastating and should not happen” as Stephanie Raper noted. Best practices include those exemplified by SAYG who provides psychological support, opportunities to form partnerships on health issues and information for peer education. SAYG uses effective approaches including community asset mapping, programs and interventions and community resources. Developing disclosure guidelines and best practices is also important. There is also a strong need for youth friendly services so that youth feel comfortable about being tested and are open to receiving support.

Now that I've been away a full week, I forced myself to carve out some time to reflect on the intensity of the time so far before kicking off the second stretch.

As always, our summers at TakingITGlobal are quite busy -- generally for the education "industry", most conferences are held during the summer when teachers have school holidays. This summer, as a follow-up to my keynote at last October's ACEL (Australian Counsel of Educational Leaders) conference (which was apparently quite good even though I was quite sick at the time), I was invited to be a "Traveling Scholar" for ACEL, presenting 5 full-day workshops on TakingITGlobal to school leaders and teachers across Australia. In addition, I started off the trip by keynoting a leadership conference at Melbourne Grammar School, and today keynoted the International Middle Years conference in Adelaide... so I've made quite good use of two weeks!

Sunday - Wednesday: Melbourne

After the trek from Toronto to Vancouver to Sydney to Melbourne, I knew the first thing I needed to do to keep my sanity was to spend a good amount of time at the fitness center at the Westin. What a great idea - it helped me refresh, have a fantastic swim in the beautiful infinity pool, and after a brief stroll that was quickly canceled when the rain started, I got to sleep at a reasonable hour.

On Monday, I woke up nice and early and arrived at the charming greened campus of Melbourne Grammar, one of Melbourne's oldest and most respected private schools. To their enormous credit, they had invited students from a broad cross-section of Melbourne to attend the conference, in addition to a grade of their students. I was brilliantly introduced by one of their capable students, and my keynote was well-received - with more questions from students than we had time for. Following the keynote, a panel including a futurist, scientist, and Aboriginal leader Patrick Dodson, who cited my presentation several times as they discussed issues of leadership in the 21st century and challenged students to act on the issues they felt challenged by. In the afternoon, I ran several hours of hands-on workshops guiding a small group of students through the TIG site and beginning the Guide to Action as a tool for action planning.

Tuesday morning, I visited Kilsyth, a suburb of Melbourne, and ran a 3 hour workshop with a group of teachers across that region looking at TIG and especially with an interest in Health education... it was a good challenge because we didn't have Internet except for a very slow 2G connection, so I was able to get well prepared and experiment with some activities for the following days' sessions!

That evening, I traveled to Mooney Valley Racecourse (home of Australia's best race - the Cox plate, worth $3 million!) and presented our work at TIG to about 150 principals, who also had some great questions, and I enjoyed meeting a teacher who grew up in Mississauga and had spent his recent years enjoying and exploring Australia's wilderness.

On Wednesday, I spent from 9 AM to 3:30 PM with an enthusiastic group of teachers and principals learning about TIG, exploring global issues, and understanding how to fit our programs and ideas at TIG into the curriculum and everyday use in their classrooms. I also shared our Best Practices on Global Education resource with them... and then I was off to the airport, heading to my next destination: Tasmania!

Thursday - Saturday: Hobart, Tasmania

On Thursday, I woke up and did it all over again, in a beautiful setting amongst Lemon trees at Lateare Gardens in Hobart with a fire burning to keep us all warm and cozy from the cold outside! I think the goals of what we do at TakingITGlobal really connected closely with some people - one teacher was literally in tears sharing how wonderful she thought what we did was... it's really a special opportunity (as exhausting as it is) to be able to share our work with people that are also dedicating their lives to helping young people develop. I think sometimes we all forget the power and opportunity we have to impact the lives of others - and I feel like a few people really felt reconnected to that opportunity, which is really an amazing opportunity to be able to stimulate.

After a short 2 hour break to refresh and do some e-mail, I headed off to the Hobart Yacht club, where I addressed about 50 high school principals, who weren't able to attend the day's workshop because they were having a leadership retreat. I had to pack 90 minutes into a 30 minute before dinner speech, so I think it was overwhelming, but many of them were quite excited by what we do... and I had delicious local Salmon which was a bonus!

The next day was my main day off. I decided not to head off to my next destination right away, but to stick around in Hobart and see some of the beautiful wildlife Tasmania has to offer. So I signed up for a Tasman Island Eco Cruise - having no idea how much of an adventure it would be! After a scenic bus ride to Port Arthur, one of the main convict colonies from the 1800s, we boarded a powerful boat (675 HP) that they describe as a 4x4 of the sea. Initially the ride was quite smooth - and we discovered some caves and amazing rock formations on the coast. The "swells" were only about 1 meter, and so it was just like jumping waves on a boat at home.

However, once we got out to the Tasman Sea, things got a lot more interesting. The waves and the winds were coming strongly from an unusual direction, and 2-3 meter waves and swells gave us quite a ride! I had chosen to sit in the 4th row (moved from the 2nd) and for close to an hour, we jumped waves and it felt like we were on a roller coaster as we plunged down after riding a wave.... but I stuck with my seat - a once-in-a-lifetime experience!

We arrived at two areas with Australian and New Zealand seals, and at a cove where dolphins chased our boat around until we had to leave - amazing to lean over and watch them at the water and bow of the boat jumping up playfully! A number of albatross with their huge wingspans also provided us with an amazing show - watching them fish and gracefully glide across the sky with nothing around us but huge rock and menacing water... or what looked menacing in my book. In 1998, however, the water was so rough that in the annual Sydney-Hobart race, five boats sank and six sailors were killed.

On Saturday morning, before heading to the airport, I spent a few hours enjoying the Salamanca Market, with hundreds of stalls offering delicious local treats and art and coffee and everything needed to pass a few hours and take in the culture of a place!

Sunday - Monday: Adelaide, South Australia

Now I'm here in Adelaide, where this morning I keynoted the International Middle Years of Schooling conference, and was again introduced by a fantastic student duo! I gave out dozens of bookmarks afterwards, with many many people promising to check out the site and connect their students into TIG. I was also followed by an excellent presentation by Professor Erica, who gave a talk on creativity that linked really perfectly and built on top of many of the themes I covered.

Tomorrow I'm off to the Australian Science and Mathematics School to do another day-long workshop, and then heading to Canberra the next morning... I'll be sure to check in soon with more! And I'll be editing this entry in about 2 hours with photos once they upload.

G'day for now, Mike

Brace yourself for something completely different! I couldn’t think of anything serious or meaningful to write about, and I was bored and hungry. So here’s what you get:

Not long ago, it seemed like McMuffins were the only (chain) breakfast sandwich going. In part, this was because of my long-time ban on sober Burger King–while their breakfast stylings look like a better-than-abysmal option, I’m not ‘usually’ drunk at breakfast time, and even today (note: not the day of the actual posting of this blog. Just the day I started this project.), when I was prepared to break the ban temporarily, at 10:20, the BK near my office had already switched to their lunch menu. It may be because off the odd hours I keep, or it may be because all these sandwiches are just a bit disgusting, but it’s a frosty day in hell that I can handle one of these puppies before 10am. And never, ever could I handle a burger or poutine at 10:20am, so Burger King, you’re off the list…

Anyway, back to the story. So a while back now, Tim Hortons introduced breakfast sandwiches, and you know what? They’re pretty great. OH BUT WAIT! Then Starbucks came along. Before all this, Subway stepped into the then barely-existant fray, and back in my Acadia days, I enjoyed many a Subway breakfast sandwich. But now that everyone else is in… Subway is all but out (I’ll explain in a minute).

Now that all these options are available, I think it’s important that we have a good guide to the world of sandwich-type breakfast options in the <$4 arena. They’re all the same, you say? NOT HARDLY! So read along, and comment away with your perspectives, particularly if you’re not on a BK ban and have any opinions about that particular set of offerings.

My favourite:
Breakfast tacos in Austin, from the trailer by the school for the deaf. Joking. Well, not about them being my favourite, but about them qualifying for this particular round of tasty competition. They’re not readily available as part of my downtown Toronto lifestyle. Particularly not the ones from that trailer by the school for the deaf. And as many times as I’ve ranted about this particular issue while walking past Toronto’s various Texan, Tex-Mex or otherwise kind of Mexican-like establishments, no one has taken me up on my challenge.

My favourite IN TORONTO:
Starbucks! Who knew. I’m not usually the first to admit that I like Starbucks. Mostly because other than my usual venti soy chai tea misto with a shot of sugar-free cinnamon dolce syrup (that’s right, I’m one of those douches–but it’s Pemma who got me onto it), Starbucks doesn’t have a whole lot going for it in my mind. I really, really dislike their coffee, particularly their drip coffee, but we’ll talk about that later. Actually, let’s talk about it now: it tastes like burnt garbage. But right now, the point is their new breakfast sandwiches, and let me just say, they are delicious. Specifically the eggs florentine. Eggs, spinach and havarti on an english muffin, grilled to godly perfection? Yes please. The price, however, is a bit higher than I’d like, but it’s Starbucks. The other big plus is that they grill them with the cheese in, so unlike most of the other contenders, it actually melts properly and is nice and gooey. Yum. I want one now… I’ll be back… (Image courtesy iirraa.)

Most fatty in a delicious way:
Surprise, surprise, Tim Horton’s takes the cake on this one. Not because of any proof that their sandwiches are any fattier than anyone else’s (note: said proof is available here (vs. Starbucks and McD’s (note: I only looked at the breakfast burritos and the sausage and egg McMuffins. The McGriddles scare me too much to even look.))). No, it’s not the ‘facts’, nutritionally speaking, though they do support my case. No, the only ‘fact’ I need is the fact they they but their delicious, factory-made and truck-shipped rounds of eggs and sausage and squares of cheese into a delicious, once frozen, baked, and toasted buttery hexagonal ‘homestyle’ biscuit. Which they then apply more butter to before adding the aforementioned toppings. I don’t know about you, but nothing says homestyle to me like a perfectly six-sided biscuit. And of course nothing says homestyle to me like 18 grams of saturated fat. Good times, good times. But seriously, all that butter (fat) makes them pretty darn tasty. (Image courtesy Ceci un Matt).

Most traditionally delicious:
Not being one to mistake homestyle for traditional, I’ve got to step back into the long (?) history of breakfast sandwiches, to what I consider to be, with absolutely no fact-checking or external verification, the home of the original breakfast sandwich. And by that, I mean that growing up, all we had in my town was McD’s and BK, and we all know where on stand on the Burger King issue. So therefore, the most traditionally delicious breakfast sandwich comes from McDonald’s, and is, specifically the egg & sausage McMuffin. I also appreciate the breakfast burritos, though they don’t hold a candle to a good breakfast taco, and I’ve tried McGriddles… All I remember is the sickness that ensued. So let’s stick to McMuffins, and let’s face it: they’re readily available, they’re cheap, they’re fast, and they can be paired with McDonald’s delicious iced coffee (a significant advantage of Tim Hortons, whose coffee I neither enjoy, nor can procure iced at most locations not in the Maritimes (I’m confused by that one too, the sentence and the fact). (Image courtesy Ja-ae).

The “Thanks for Coming Out” Award goes to…
Timothy’s! This is perhaps the latest entry into the breakfast sandwich game of the chains. And, well… it’s the exact same as a McMuffin, but maybe a bit less greasy, and made, literally, with the same eggs as Tim Hortons (those lovely perfectly round factory-made wonders). Maybe they’re a bit less greasy. They’re DEFINITELY more microwaved. They’re interesting in that “why do I ever even come to this place?” kind of sense that you get from most Timothy’s products, between the total confusion you create when you ask for something other than a large coffee, the complete inconsistency across the chain, and the six years you often have to wait for your sandwich ingredients to come out of the microwave. But good for you for trying, Timothy’s. Your continued existence continues to amaze me.

Fastest downward spiral:
Let me tell you a story. One time, specifically mid-summer 2002, the Subway franchise in Wolfville was taken over by new management from New Minas. Yes, let the terrifying name scare you. Because that is exactly what it did me. My friends and I at work used to take a mid-morning break for breakfast (because again, who can really stomach breakfast before 10?) and head en masse to Subway. And for most of the summer, it was an enjoyable experience. Until we met the crazy manager from hell… I mean, New Minas. First, my friend asked for her usual: a ham & egg sandwich, but instead of ham could she have turkey, because dietary restrictions did not allow her to eat pork. Note: this is not uncommon. The manager told her that this was simply impossible and when my friend said she got it almost every day, the answer was something along the lines of “well this Subway has been operating in a substandard way for years, and if you asked for that at any other Subway, they’d look at you like you had two heads.” The two heads part is verbatim. So anyway, after that flawed transaction, I was told that there was no ketchup, and had never been any ketchup available at any subway ever (a lie), and harsh words were exchanged. Also, this crazy lady took away the pineapple. What is a sub without pineapple, I ask? Needless to say, I made my own breakfast for a while following this incident.

And in my mind, Subway’s reputation never really recovered from this awkward and off-putting hit. Then, to top it all off, they did away with round bread. And let me ask you this: who wants a breakfast sandwiches on a 6″ sub? Those eggs come out of the factory round for a reason (oh yeah, they also switched from undercooking the eggs in-store to using the same egg rounds that Tim Hortons and Timothy’s use). Enough is enough! I just can’t take it anymore! That said, after BK declined my offer to sell me breakfast, I did end up taking one more stab at subway, on a six inch bun, and it was not good. In fact, it was the whole inspiration for this entry. My goal: to save my non-vegan readers from the treachery of subway and their sub-par breakfast offerings. Just don’t do it. It’s not worth it.

And with that, we’re pretty much at the end of things. From its humble days at my local McDonald’s, where a scary group of old men used to hang out and make plaques for themselves above the table where they always drank their morning coffee, to the vast cornucopia of greatness that is the current breakfast sandwich market, the answer to the question no one has asked is: avoid Subway like the plague. Note: views expressed here are no one’s other than my own. In fact, they’re barely even mine. Also: it is amazing how many people put pics of breakfast food online. Actually, it’s just a little bit gross.

As you may or may not know, I’m moving on from my position at TakingITGlobal at the end of August, and we’re currently looking for someone to fill my shoes. I can say pretty confidently that it’s an excellent opportunity for the right kind of person - the kind of person who is passionate about both global education and social media, a self-starter who is not afraid to innovate. Details of the position and qualifications can be found here:

http://www.tigurl.org/edpm

Please share this posting with your network and any qualified candidates you may know! And feel free to leave a comment here if you have any question

So we just got this lovely abuse e-mail from Rogers, based on an e-mail from the Entertainment Software Association. The funny thing is that he was only maybe 10-20% of the way through the three potentially offensive game downloads (I checked his computer right after the e-mail came in). Funny in part because the accusation is that he’s distributing or selling the software, when… sure, he probably is dishing out little bits here and there, but he doesn’t actually have the whole thing to give away. Also they seem to associate the tracker URL with us, which is just completely wrong.

Notice E-mail:

Dear Luke Walker

Rogers Cable (Rogers) has received a notice stating that activities associated with your IP address are infringing copyright in material(s) owned or exclusively licensed by others.

The full notice is appended to this e-mail below.

Under section 4(d) of the Rogers Yahoo! Hi-Speed Internet End User Agreement (EUA) and Acceptable Use Policy (AUP), you are prohibited from using the Rogers Yahoo! Hi-Speed Internet service to engage in illegal activities, including activities that infringe copyright.  Copies of our EUA and AUP are available at:

http://na.edit.client.yahoo.com/rogers/show_static?.form=terms&.intl=ca

Where there has been a violation of our EUA and/or AUP, including the unauthorized distribution of copyright-protected material, Rogers has the right to take appropriate action against you.

If you have any questions about the attached copyright notice, please contact the sender of the notice using the contact information provided in the notice.  Please do not reply to this e-mail.

We trust you will comply with our policies and all applicable laws in using the Rogers Yahoo! Hi-Speed Internet service.

Rogers EUA Management Team
Sincerely,

EUA Management Team
Rogers Yahoo Hi-Speed Internet

http://na.edit.client.yahoo.com/rogers/show_static?.form=terms
00798035

—–BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE—–
Hash: SHA1

Entertainment Software Association
575 7th Street, NW, Suite 300
Washington, DC 20004 USA

Attention:  Intellectual Property Enforcement
Telephone:  202-223-2400
E-mail:  mailto:esa@copyright-compliance.com?subject=RE%3ANoticeID%3A182%2D48817084ESACanadaNotice

28 Jul 2008 04:01:48 GMT

ISP: Rogers Cable Communications Inc.
ESA Reference Number: 182-48817084

Dear Rogers Cable Communications Inc.:

The Entertainment Software Association (ESA) is a trade association that represents the intellectual property interests of numerous companies that publish interactive games for video game consoles, personal computers, handheld devices and the Internet in the United States of America, in Canada, and in other countries (collectively referred to as ESA members).  ESA is authorized to act on behalf of ESA members whose copyright and other intellectual property rights it believes to be infringed as described herein.

ESA is providing this letter of notification to make Rogers Cable Communications Inc. aware of material on its network or system that infringes the exclusive copyright rights of and is unlawful towards one or more ESA members.

ESA members are entitled to the full protection of Canadian intellectual property laws, including the Copyright Act, R.S.C. 1985, c. C-42, as amended, in such entertainment software products.

Based on the information at its disposal on 28 Jul 2008 03:13:23 GMT, ESA has a good faith belief that 99.233.14.223 infringes the rights of one or more ESA members by offering for sale or download unauthorized copies of game products protected by copyright, or offering for sale or download material that is the subject of infringing activities.  The copyrighted works that have been infringed include but are not limited to:

Title: SimCity Societies
Infringement Source: BitTorrent
Infringement Timestamp: 28 Jul 2008 03:13:23 GMT
Infringement Last Documented: 28 Jul 2008 03:13:23 GMT
Infringer Username:
Infringing Filename: Simcity.Societies.Deluxe-RELOADED
Infringing Filesize: 2823979146
Infringer IP Address: xx.xxx.xx.xxx
Infringer DNS Name: cpe000fb5785e0f-cm001692f4f318.cpe.net.cable.rogers.com
Infringing URL: http://tracker.mightynova.com/announce

The unauthorized copies of such game product(s) or the material that is the subject of infringing activities appears on or is made available through xx.xxx.xx.xxx.  Those items are listed and/or identified thereon by their titles or variations thereof, game-related listings/references/descriptions, or depictions of game-related artwork.  Such copies, titles, game-related listings/references/descriptions, depictions, and material that is the subject of infringing activities, are hereinafter referred to as “Infringing Material.”

Accordingly, ESA hereby requests Rogers Cable Communications Inc. to immediately do the following:

1.    Notify the account holder of the Infringing Material.
2.     Remove, or disable access to, the Infringing Material detailed above.
3.     Take appropriate action against the account holder under your Abuse Policy/Terms
of Service Agreement, including termination of a repeat offender.

Please inform us whether you will remove or disable access to the Infringing Material as requested.  Rogers Cable Communications Inc. or the account holder may contact ESA at the above-listed contact details, with email preferred.  Please include the above-noted Reference Number in the subject line of all email correspondence.

Thank you for your cooperation and prompt response in this matter.

Sincerely,

Intellectual Property Enforcement
Entertainment Software Association