Andrew McNaughtan

Andrew MacNaughtan’s, 47, sudden departure while on a shoot in the US has left many of his fans and friends at a loss for words. He died of a heart attack while shooting with long time friends Rush.

MacNaughtan is Royalty photographer in Canada. He has photographed Canadian celebrities from Celine Dion to Bryan Adams to Tragically Hip.

He also had a heart.  His most recent work, a collection of photographs taken during his travels in Kenya and Tanzania last November entitled Grace: Africa in Photographs. Proceeds from the book went to Art Gives Hope, a charity MacNaughtan founded in 2006. He said at the time he hoped the book would result in 500 new sponsors for African children in need through World Vision, a charity to which Art Gives Hope gave generously.  May his soul rest in peace. Read the story:

http://www.thestar.com/article/1122140–andrew-macnaughtan-photographer-dies-shooting-rush

http://www.mpviral.com/2011/11/27/urban-skiing/

The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), headquartered in Paris, was formed in 1961.

Twenty countries are charter members. Fourteen more have been added since it was formed. You can see the entire list of 34 member countries here, along with the dates they joined.

Its mission, according to its website, is to “promote policies that will improve the economic and social well-being of people around the world.”

Apparently, it’s accomplished its mission a little too well. You see, the “haves” (us) are about to switch place with the “have-nots.” If you’re reading this, you’re likely in the former, heading to the latter.

How do I know? Simple: One look at the chart below, put out recently by the International Energy Agency (IEA), tells all. Oil consumption from emerging market countries (have-nots) is just about to eclipse that of the old world (haves).

Check it out:

This is the only chart you need to look at to know that unless you have your own oil well in your backyard, you’re soon going to experience pain at the pump.

Oil demand from OECD countries (the haves) has declined for the fifth time in the last six years. It’s on track to decline again this year. On the other hand, demand from non-OECD countries (the have-nots) is up a whopping 15% in just the last three years. That rate of growth is expected to continue.

It may take a year or two, but it’ll be the likes of which you’ve never seen before. And that’s completely discounting any geopolitical events. They’ll make matters even worse and could cause it to happen much sooner.

How do I know? Simple: Economic growth requires energy. Transportation is a big part of economic growth, allowing goods produced to be moved around, and services required to be provided.

Most of the world’s goods in countries that are old world (us) or rapidly growing emerging market countries, move by trucks, ships, trains and planes. They all use vast amounts of oil.

So it stands to reason that an emerging market country – that’s experiencing rapid economic growth – is rapidly increasing its use of oil.

What a surprise: That’s precisely what’s happening. It’s clear as a bell when you stare at the above chart for a second or two.

Many economists figure oil is the culprit creating the global imbalances behind much of the world’s financial woes. If you understand the key role oil plays in any country’s economy, it’s hard to argue the point.

Bank of America Merrill Lynch sounded a dire alarm in its 2012 energy outlook, stating the current growth path of crude simply isn’t sustainable:

“Whether a recession in Southern Europe frees up some oil for China and India to grow on, or whether high energy prices rip through energy sensitive emerging markets such as Turkey, we believe the current path for oil is unsustainable and something has to give.”

The bottom line is this: Right now, oil dictates countries’ fortunes. Without it, or if it becomes prohibitively expensive, economic growth grinds to a halt.

My prediction is that those countries that have oil are eventually going to realize this, and slowly start to curtail exports, just like China has with rare earths. They’ll want to keep an increasing percentage of what oil they do have for their own use.

What will it mean for OECD countries? Depending on fossil fuels for the future simply isn’t a sustainable path, regardless of one’s stance on the whole global warming issue.

In short, rapidly increasing oil prices will force these countries to switch to other sources of energy. Natural gas, solar, wind, geothermal and sustainable biofuels will begin to slowly replace dwindling supplies of oil over the next 10 to 20 years.

If OECD countries are smart, clearly a debatable point, they’ll squarely focus on securing domestic energy supplies for their future sustainability. Especially if they want to remain “haves.”

After a long hiatus from the pop scene the group ABBA is back with a new release first time since 1994.

The Swedish pop group which took the world by storm in the 70′s and 80′s should have no trouble reigniting their fan base.

ABBA remain one of the world’s most popular bands and their music got a new lease of life with the Mamma Mia stage show and film. The band’s website said a deluxe edition of their final album, The Visitors, would be released in April.The Visitors album was originally released in 1981.

I am a big fan and can’t wait to see what they will do next. Come on ABBA, we’re ready to rumble and shake our bodies to your music again.

 http://www.montrealgazette.com/entertainment/ABBA+returning+with+song+revamped+album/60506

A GLOBAL FORUM Ijad Madisch, 31, a virologist and computer scientist, founded ResearchGate, a Berlin-based social networking platform for scientists that has more than 1.3 million members.

The world-wide web is transforming the planet in new and interesting ways. This is one of those ways. Imagine when everyone has a chance to contribute to science who knows where the next big idea might come from? It could come from some obscure place no one heard about but when knowledge is shared and we’re encouraged to build on that the sky is the limit and it makes for a much better and healthier planet. This idea has the effect of sort of attempting to level the playing field of intelligence. Some people appear to have more intelligence because they were fortunate to be born in a family that has tons of money to spend on their education whereas those from poorer family have to make do with little or none at all but yet some of those people are able to rise to the top by sheer grit and common sense – taking what they have and building on knowledge they gather from nature itself. I am so excited about the future of science and technology should this idea take root in other areas of life.

Knowledge should not be hidden for those who can pay for it, we lose. Look at the American Idol and all those reality shows, look at the talent they are unearthing that might have never seen the light of day. It happens because people are given a chance and do not have to pay a lot of money for it.

check this out:

The New England Journal of Medicine marks its 200th anniversary this year with a timeline celebrating the scientific advances first described in its pages: the stethoscope (1816), the use of ether for anesthesia (1846), and disinfecting hands and instruments before surgery (1867), among others.

 For centuries, this is how science has operated — through research done in private, then submitted to science and medical journals to be reviewed by peers and published for the benefit of other researchers and the public at large. But to many scientists, the longevity of that process is nothing to celebrate.

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/17/science/open-science-challenges-journal-tradition-with-web-collaboration.html

http://www.thestar.com/article/1119940–walk-off-the-earth-perform-viral-hit-on-ellen#article

Here’s another sensation for you and she is related to Sarah Blackwood in the band.

www.maikowatson.com

Maybe it is not the end of the world or such a bad thing but the point is there is no opt out clause. You either comply or change the way you work on the internet and that would be a difficult thing to do. Who can survive cyberworld without Google, certainly not me. Welcome to friendship with benefits.

Read the whole story here:

http://www.alternet.org/newsandviews/article/767020/internet_users_up_in_arms_over_google%27s_orwellian_new_privacy_policy_that_it%27s_forcing_on_all_of_us/#paragraph3

These three family members are accused of killing another four family members in  cold blood in the icy water of Montreal’s canal. The entire story sounds bizarre to me.  This family apparently went to  great lengths to murder these women when the same could have accomplished in a much simpler way perhaps by hiring someone to shoot all of them. According to the testimonies, the accused bought a car – the death trap  – and then the men drove to the canal and were pushed into the water by their brother who was stalking them perhaps to see where they were going, he said he tried  unsuccessfully to throw a life line in the form of a rope  – where did he find the rope? and he just left and went on his way. Stupid his lawyer agreed but that did not make him a killer.

I think that Muslims have to be ever so watchful of their actions because the idea of honor killing is showing up more and more in the courts in recent years.

If this is true, it is a terrible thing for a parent to do. The world is a huge place and for those who cannot cope with the freedoms of Western society, they should really seriously seek haven in countries more compatible to their values. You cannot want to enjoy the freedoms of Western democracy but deny these freedoms to your family members. It is insane.  Read the story below

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/story/2012/01/26/shafia-murder-trial.html

Michael Jackson’s sons, from left, Prince and Blanket watch as their sister Paris presses a glove worn by their father into a cement block in front of Grauman’s Chinese Theatre during Thursday’s ceremony honouring the late King of Pop. (Matt Sayles/Associated Press)

Don’t know how Michael Would have felt for his darling little ones being out in public view. It seems that he had nothing to worry about. These children appear to be doing just fine and will continue to do so. Maybe shielding them when they were very young is partly responsible. But they are his children and he handled the publicity well as a child and like their day they too will handle situations as they come up.

It’s nice to see that they are taking an active role in carving out an image of Michael that the public do not see often – Michael the daddy thoroughly loved and missed by his three children.

Prince, Paris and Blanket made impressions of Jackson’s hand and footprints into a cement marker outside the historic Hollywood venue using a sequined glove and pair of shoes worn by the late King of Pop.

Jackson’s mother Katherine and his brothers Tito, Marlon and Jackie were also attendance. Canada’s Justin Bieber was among the invited guests.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/arts/story/2012/01/26/jackson-grauman-handprint-tribute.html

Moore has had a difficult year having found out that Ashton cheated on her and finally filing for divorce. Moore has promised to seek professional help to deal with her situation. Good luck to her and we wish her all the best in her recovery.