First signs of spring in Vancouver ~ Take 2

After a what seemed a month of snow and cold, followed by heavy rains, spring has finally appeared on the south coast.







Temperatures today will reach about fourteen! The sun is warm, the days are longer and the birds are singing. The crocus flowers are popping up too. This is a beautiful time of the year.












Crocuses, or croci, are actually from the iris family, except on the Canadian prairie where they are related to the buttercup group.












Crocuses are often the first sign of spring in the northern hemisphere, across much of North America, Europe, north Africa, and Asia, and with the sun finally warming the south coast... maybe spring is finally here. Or will the rains return this weekend?

Photos by Jim Murray. Copyright 2014.

A picture is worth a thousand words: Yarmouk Refugee Camp

They say a picture is worth a thousand words.

This one has over 18,000 words.
They are the names of 18,000 children, women and men.

Something terrible is happening in the Yarmouk Refugee Camp outside Damascus. 

The people of the region have seen much cruelty and many atrocities over the years. 

This is something new. 

A deliberate policy of withholding food from ordinary people 

on a large scale has little to do with the region, even at its worst. 

What we have in Yarmouk is the calculated starvation

 of over 18,000 Palestinian refugees by the Syrian regime.

Starving civilians as a method of warfare is a war crime.

Find out more by reading The Guardian article by Harriet Sherwood

and from Foreign Affairs, an essay from Hussein Ibish.

There is also the latest report from Amnesty International.

A picture is worth a thousand words.
What the people of Yarmouk Refugee Camp need is action.

Take action by signing the petition organised by AI.

Photo from Thomson Reuters.

Coca Cola Life ~ with Stevia

Coca Cola recently released a new ad in Argentina and Chile for Coke Life. The ad, made in Buenos Aires by an Argentinian ad agency, is getting rave reviews from viewers and advertising people alike. Set to a song produced in 1967 by the Bee Gees of all people, this ad is delicious in its warmth and humour, and in the celebration of life, which is exactly what the Coca Cola Company had in mind. Coca Cola Life is, in this ad, as natural as life itself.

About a year ago, we were nearing the end of almost three months in BA, and by this time we were accustomed to seeing soft drinks being sold everywhere, with large sections of mercados and kioskos devoted to the products of Pepsi and Coca Cola. It was not uncommon to see business people in finer restaurants drinking Coke with their meals.

Argentina aside, global sales of soft drinks have actually declined in recent years due to increasing concern about sugar consumption and obesity, and rather serious worries about artificial sweeteners like Aspartame. Both Pepsico and Coca Cola Company are desperate to turn things around with some sort of natural, healthy, low-calorie alternative to sugar, which is all rather odd as sugar itself can be both natural and healthy in limited amounts. We haven't yet come to terms with realizing that adding large amounts of sugar, or artificial sweeteners, and caffeine to coloured water might be the real problem. Nor have we been keen to look at the huge profits being made in selling coloured water, or in the sale of bottled municipally-produced tap water, especially in public spaces like schools, playgrounds and community centres where water fountains are being replaced by revenue generation platforms, aided of course by large transnational corporations. But I digress.

Rumours about a new Coke product being released to meet consumer concerns were making the rounds while we were in Argentina and in June 2013, Coca Cola Life was introduced. Coke Life was the first soft drink to use the Stevia extract as a substitute for sugar, and Argentina was the test, for both the product and its marketing. The extract comes from the leaves of the Stevia plant and is considered to be over 200 times sweeter than conventional sugar and without any kilojoules/calories. There are some taste and after-taste issues with Stevia, hence the need to keep some sugar in the mix. The first television ad for Coke Life in Argentina likened the new soft drink to a first kiss. The ad, and the product, became immensely popular in Argentina, but the newest ad is a global home run. The Bee Gees are probably happy too. And how could anyone knock "life" never mind the contents.

Coca Cola Life is expected to be introduced to North America sometime this year, probably sooner now that Pepsico has introduced Pepsi Next to Canada.

Coca Cola Life image from Coca Cola Argentina. Buenos Aires photo by Jim Murray. Copyright 2014.

Snow? Are you kidding me ... day two?

Another day. Another day of heavy, wet snow. A good day to stay home and read.



Which is what we did except for a walk around the Langara Golf Course, where we found a snow person complete with a carrot for a nose.






Photos by Jim Murray. Copyright 2014.

Thomas Mulcair ~ at Kwantlen University in Richmond

It wasn't an Orange Wave, nor an Orange Crush, this thing that happened at work last week.

Through the halls of the Richmond Campus, my home campus, there wasn't much notice of "The President's Dialogue" though signs were up.

Thomas Mulcair, Leader of the federal New Democratic Party, and the Official Opposition, visited KPU Richmond this week. It was the first in a series of "dialogues" initiated by KPU President Alan Davis. We don't know who might be part of future "dialogues" but according to Davis, they will be notable and Tom Mulcair was only the first. His visit might possibly be due to the fact that one of Mr Mulcair's early supporters in his leadership bid, and a dedicated member at the executive level, is also an instructor at KPU: Heather Harrison.

The media were out for this event and it all speaks well for Mr Davis and KPU. Mr Davis would like to create a buzz around the University, and himself of course, and he might well be on to something.

Much of the hour was devoted to environmental issues, and Mr Mulcair spoke eloquently and with great substance on the topic. He was articulate and thoughtful in every response to the questions from Mr Davis. In fact, listening to Mr Mulcair I couldn't help but remember another leader from Quebec who spoke with just as much eloquence and with the same sort of intellectual intelligence: Pierre Trudeau.



Mr Mulcair was witty and charming, but most of all he was thoughtful and intelligent; there weren't any simple answers to complex questions, no matter how they were posed, and Mr Mulcair treated his audience with respect. Soundbites were hard to identify; this is not a politician of few words nor simple slogans, and that might be a problem.

At the very beginning, before the introductions and certainly before the media witnessed the event for us to view through their eyes, Tom Mulcair entered the room quietly and without fanfare. A crowd was seated in advance of the "dialogue" and Mr Mulcair walked down every row, introducing himself and shaking hands. Some would have us believe Mr Mulcair lacks charisma, and they might be right. But what is political charisma in a digital world? Is the physical touch still valid in a world where the virtual is the new reality? Where nothing happens unless someone twitters about it? Does style always trump substance, especially in a digital universe? In the case of Mr Mulcair and his message, that would be a shame.

It's going to be a long campaign.    
            

Photos by Jim Murray. Copyright 2014.