In cruising through some leftie-librarian sites, I came across this quick and dirty guide through the fabulous Jenna Freedman’s delicious links, handily available through her blog-under-construction lower east side librarian.
The guide was produced by the Electronic Frontier Foundation.
Check out Six Tips to Protect your Online Search Privacy and feel safer whilst you surf.
-PC-
(Thanks to Kerry M. for the tip!)
- JH
We’ve highlighted a couple sites in the past that offer free e-book downloads but this page has a comprehensive list of all the options online for getting free e-books and tree-books.
(I love that the title of the post where I saw it on MetaFilter is “The Best Place To Get Free Books” and the first comment is “…would be libraries.”)
(via MetaFilter)
- JH
The fabulous public broadcast station Television Ontario | TVO posts podcasts to, among other great shows, the lecture series Big Ideas. (And they’re available via RSS feed, MP3 file or iTunes).
Dr. Darin Barney, McGill professor of communication studies and Canada Research Chair in Technology and Citizenship, speaks via the UofT Hart House lecture series on (what else but) the relationship between technology and citizenship. He poses an argument for the politicization of technology.
Have a listen to Dr. Barney’s talk, entitled One Nation Under Google .
Read the 2007 Hart House Lecture blog by the same man here and get more info from the Hart house Lecture website here.
-PC-
“Ann Seidl’s full-length feature documentary, The Hollywood Librarian: A Look at Librarians on Film, will premiere at the ALA Annual Conference in Washington, D.C., on June 22. The film shows the realities of 21st-century librarianship, including stereotyping, censorship and intellectual freedom, and the impact of librarians on society.”
(via ALA Direct e-newsletter)
The Toronto Star’s latest piece in its series on medical secrecy today brought with it some good news for Ontarians.
The word is … no more secrets, no more lies. The stage has been set for Ontario to be the leaders in medical transparency in Canada.
Not only will mortality and morbidity records of hospitals be made public, but the health professions colleges will be required to make public findings against nurses, occupational therapists, dentists, acupuncturists, and physicians and the like. That’s findings, not complaints. Due process is still at work here. To boot, the records of physicians will not be wiped clean after six years, as they were previously.
The latest high profile case of cronyism and cover ups within the medical establishment led to wrongful convictions against innocent people due to the incompetent practice of Ontario pathologist Dr. Charles Smith. The CBC reported that ten years ago, Ontario’s Chief Coroner Dr. James Young attempted to block complaints against him. Evidence that eventually led to the release of one of Smith’s victims was found on his desk.
Here are the people who want to help you stay safe in the hospital and the medical establishment at large:
Ontario Hospital Association
Ontario Medical Association
College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario
(and the colleges of nurses, dentists, acupuncturists, PTs, OTs, social workers, etc.)
Please drop them a line to say ‘well done!’ or ‘you’ll be hearing from us!’ or rather, ‘it’s about time.’
-PC
May 7.07 - The Ombudsman of Ontario pressures government for oversight over hospitals here.
Tag-clouds for the first debates of the Democratic and Republican primaries. (via MetaFilter)
- JH
Among the names listed as individual contributors are Astral Media board chairman André Bureau, who gave $250 on Oct. 16; TVO CEO Lisa De Wilde, who gave $500 on Oct. 16; CHUM president and CEO Jay Switzer, who donated $500 on Oct. 12; Standard Radio president and CEO Gary Slaight, who gave $500 on Oct. 13; and Rogers Radio CEO Gary Miles, who gave $250 on Oct. 12.
While the fund raiser last year was canceled to avoid a perceived conflict of interest it seems the cheques were actually cashed, something that then Treasury Board president John Baird assured parliament had not happened. Funny isn’t it.
Well you can always tell her yourself what you think of this rather obvious conflict of interest:
Bowmanville Office:
68 King Street East
Bowmanville, Ontario
L1C 3X2
Phone: (905) 697-1699
Fax: (905) 697-1678
Ottawa Office:
House of Commons
Ottawa, Ontario
K1A 0A6
Phone: (613) 992-2792
Fax: (613) 992-2794
Email: Oda.B@parl.gc.ca
_DJ_