2 photos/day x 17 years

Right Whales: On the Brink, On the Rebound

Just a few hundred of these giants survive along the coasts of North America, but their numbers are growing in southern seas. Have a look at these beautiful phots from National Geographic,

Actors condemn Harper's culture cuts

Canada's top film and television performers gathered in Toronto Wednesday to condemn the $45 million in cuts to culture funding announced by the Conservative government in August, saying the cuts will cripple the Canadian arts industry.

Canadian actress Wendy Crewson kicked off the event, saying Canadian artists are "fed up" with the cuts and want to see a return to stable funding for the arts.

"Culture is critical to our identity as a country and is a huge part of our economy," Crewson said. "These policies are job killers, and artists will not stand by and allow these attacks on our industry to continue without a fight."

Stephen Harper has called the culture cuts a niche topic, saying that "ordinary Canadians" are not particularly concerned with them.

U.S. army deserter, family win stay of deportation

A U.S. army deserter and his family were granted a last-minute stay of deportation Monday by a Federal Court judge while the court decides whether to hear their appeal.

Jeremy Hinzman, his wife and two children were ordered to leave Canada by Tuesday or face forcible deportation to the United States, where the soldier faces prosecution for fleeing to Canada in 2004 rather than deploying with his army unit to Iraq.

The judge's decision will allow the family to remain in Toronto while the court decides whether to review a decision by Citizenship and Immigration officials not to let the Hinzmans remain in Canada on humanitarian and compassionate grounds. They are also trying to appeal their pre-removal risk assessment.

Super Star: A "Mobile China Town" Skyscraper

Tired of the "same-old" look to China Towns everywhere? Well, this radical cyberpunk concept by MAD Architects brings to extreme the shape of a crystal star 1000 meters high, with simply mind-boggling effect:

They don't say how exactly this skyscraper can be mobile, but you can almost imagine it floating from location to location, gracing lucky cities with its extreme China Town version:

This truly mad (in a good sense) bunch of architects - their studio is based in Bejing - are also responsible for the great-looking skyscrapers, currently under construction in Toronto, Canada and in Guangzhou, China

With thanks to Dark Roasted Blend blog