Tuesday, August 31, 2010

Two Non-GMO farming innovations that show great promise

Michael Edwards & Jeffrey Green
Activist Post

By all honest accounts, 2010 has been a terrible year for traditional agriculture worldwide. Extended severe weather events have cut many crop harvests in half. Farmers are going bankrupt as crops fail, commodity prices are exploding, and millions of people more have been added to the list of those who go hungry on a regular basis. Already a record 40 million Americans are receiving food stamps at a time when the economy is a disaster and state and Federal governments are essentially bankrupt.

The near- to mid-term looks to be a time of immense hardship; yet, in times of hardship come great innovation as people are spurred from their complacency and forced to become participators in their own survival. There is an Organic Revolution taking place that is focused on self-sufficiency as the primary goal. Despite how power brokers have aimed to co-opt the movement, individuals must remain steadfast in their pursuit of living a simpler, healthier, and less-dependent lifestyle.

Our modern way of life is centered on mega-cities. This will continue, as the percentage of the global population living in, or very close to, major cities rises to 80%. It would make sense, then, that any new innovative farming system should begin here, as it will benefit the greatest number of people. Up until recently, Genetically Modified Foods have been the most prominent farming innovations, despite their obvious flaws. Now, two new farming methods show great promise for growing an abundance of healthy food on a small footprint of land, and may be instrumental in feeding a growing world population.

Vertical Farming
The first innovative way of creating food with a limited footprint by using the concept of the skyscraper in order to use plentiful vertical space to supply cities with organic produce. This new system is called Vertical Farming. According to Vertical Farming's founder, Dickson Despommier, a thirty-story building could feed 50,000 people. An estimated 165 of these "farmscrapers" would feed all of New York City -- each building with the footprint of 1 city block (approximately 1 acre). His calculations were based on a project he assigned to his students at Columbia University.

Indoor farming is, of course, nothing new, but as Despommier mentions on the Vertical Farm Web Site, "What is new is the urgent need to scale up this technology to accommodate another 3 billion people." The concept of Vertical Farming solves a multitude of problems; Verticalfarm.com lists 15 advantages. Here are some highlights:
  • Year-round crop production: 1 indoor acre is equivalent to 4-6 outdoor acres or more (strawberries for example would be a 1 acre indoor to 30 acre outdoor equivalent
  • No weather-related crop loss.
  • All VF food is grown organically: no herbicides, pesticides, or fertilizers.
  • VF virtually eliminates agricultural runoff by recycling black water.
  • VF dramatically reduces fossil fuel use (no tractors, plows, shipping).
  • VF converts abandoned urban properties into food production centers.
  • VF could reduce physical conflicts resulting from battles to control limited resources.
And Vertical Farming is not limited to produce; preliminary plans include chickens, ducks, geese, fish, crustaceans, and mollusks to be raised within the same building, creating one large integrated system of food production.
Vertical Farming could very well be the answer for supplying the world's growing population who are destined to go hungry if innovative solutions are not implemented quickly. The economic crisis has indeed left abandoned buildings and empty malls and houses in its wake. Think of Detroit, for example: what a great concept Vertical Farming would be in a place that has upwards of 50% unemployment, and a completely ravaged urban environment. Buildings can now be bought for pennies on the dollar, and the vast unemployment offers a ready and willing labor pool. Vertical Farming is urban revival at its most basic and needed level.

Aquaponics

Imagine growing fish and plants together in one integrated system. This is the promise of Aquaponics. For those who would like to take a quick first step toward self-sufficiency, aquaponics might offer the least expensive, least time-consuming path to creating your own sustainable ecosystem.

Aquaponics is a full simulation of nature where fish and plants are both kept healthy and productive through a balance supplied by each in a recirculating environment. The aquaculture side offers nutrient-rich water that is provided as natural fertilizer for plants. These nutrients are normally a disposal problem for fish farmers who need to eliminate the toxic waste. On the other side, hydroponics desperately requires nutrient-rich water in order to grow in a soil-less environment, so the plants serve as a natural filter for the fish. This mini-ecosystem is surprisingly easy and relatively inexpensive to set up thanks to emerging science and technology.

The beauty is in the small scale. Just as micro-farming has taken root in urban environments, aquaponics can utilize a home aquarium, a mini garden of herbs, vegetables, or even flowers. This is known as Desktop Aquaponics and serves as a great showpiece, or as an educational microcosm of what is possible through the fusion of fish and plants. And, yet, according to Aquaponics.com it is possible to convert a backyard into a system that grows hundreds of pounds of fish and all the fruits and vegetables a family needs.

For further education, visit Growingpower.org, a non-profit organization that has been instrumental in bringing this new concept to fruition mainly in urban settings. They offer workshops in aquaponics and portable farms.

Once you are ready to begin your own endeavor, take a look at BackyardAquaponics for full systems information. The great news is that for less than $2,000 you can begin taking the step toward self-sufficient food production . . . no matter where you live.


Thursday, August 19, 2010

Blinded by the laser light

National Post · Wednesday, Aug. 18, 2010

In this occasional feature, the National Post tells you everything you need to know about a complicated issue. Today: Nick Aveling shines a light on laser pointers after the arrest yesterday of a Calgary man accused of pointing a laser at a police helicopter.

Q I thought we were over this.

A Not even close. The novelty of laser pointers disappeared long ago, but their dangerous use continues to flourish. Yesterday's incident aside, a perusal of recent headlines turns up an Edmonton man found guilty of "creating a hazard to aviation," a U.K. teenager who burned the surface of his eye causing permanent damage, and an incorrigible Vancouver Canucks fan who spent the better part of 60 minutes aiming a laser pointer at the eyes of Calgary goaltender Miikka Kiprusoff, pictured. Meantime, the situation appears to be getting worse. According to the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration, an average of six planes have been targeted by laser pointers every day this year. In 2008, that number was closer to three. Here in Canada, 101 incidents have been reported in 2010, compared to 108 in 2009, said Transport Canada.

Q What kind of person would do such a thing?

A Likely a young one, said University of Toronto psychology professor Jennifer Tackett. "It sounds like something that would fall under the domain of standard delinquency, adolescent pranks," said Ms. Tackett, who does research in the area of aggression and juvenile delinquency. "For some teenagers, it's an issue of impulsivity and difficulty with regulating their behaviour. For others it's stimulation seeking: doing it because it feels exciting at the time and not thinking through the consequences." The need among teens to feel accepted by peers is another major driver of delinquent behaviour, she said.

Q Sure, laser pointers are annoying. But they've never actually caused a plane crash, and the Flames won 3-2 that night. Are they not, for the most part, benign?

A Less and less so, depending on where you do your shopping. Laser pointers available at chains such as Staples and Best Buy are capable of pointing out a pie chart, but not much else. Astronomy stores such as Toronto's Efston Science carry heavier artillery, useful for pointing out constellations and other celestial phenomena. The biggest gun there can pop a balloon, said a store employee. But by far the most powerful portable laser pointer on the market is the Spyder III Pro Arctic, pictured, a product so dangerous it has been described as the world's first lightsaber (so often, in fact, that George Lucas threatened to sue). Health Canada does not warn specifically against the Spyder III, which can set skin on fire, but it does urge common sense in dealing with laser pointers in general. "Never look directly into the beam," for example. Increasingly bright and powerful beams pose a growing risk to pilots, said Patrick Murphy of the International Laser Display Association, based in Florida, that is pushing for stricter controls.

Q Lightsabers are illegal, right?

A Not in Canada. The Hong Kong company that produces the Spyder III ships to the country, while the British Columbia Centre for Disease Control warns that "no [federal] regulations controlling the importation and sale of laser pointers have been established." An employee of Efston Science said the store refuses to sell even its most harmless laser pointer to anyone under the age of 18, despite being legally allowed to sell its most powerful to a child.

Q So what's being done?

A Not much. The B.C. Centre for Disease Control recommends restricting the use of laser pointers to the type intended for board meetings, not long ago duels in a galaxy far, far away. But there is no legislation aimed at tightening regulations. Said Mr. Murphy of the laser display association: "The main analogy I would make is with a knife. You use knives in the kitchen, you use them for a million different purposes, but once a knife gets really long like a sword or it becomes hidden like a switchblade, that's when you start to regulate." The maximum penalty for those convicted of pointing a laser at an aircraft, under the Aeronautics Act, is a $100,000 fine, five years imprisonment, or both.


Read more: http://www.nationalpost.com/news/What+Blinded+laser+light/3411855/story.html#ixzz0x6sXpijq

Meet The YouTube Stars Making $100,000 Plus Per Year

There are 10 independent YouTube stars who made over $100,000 in the past year, according to a study done by analytics and advertising company TubeMogul.

From July 2009 to July 2010, TubeMogul used their viewership data to estimate the annual income for independent YouTube partners, which they define as anyone who is not part of a media company or brand.

Here's how they got their estimates:

  • Revenue only comes from banner ads served near content (we ignored pre-roll or overlay since we can't easily isolate by publisher).
  • Since YouTube banner ads have a two-second load delay, we estimate 2.59% of viewers click away before an ad loads based on separate research.
  • Ads were served near all videos that loaded (since there are partners, this is generally true).
  • CPM for the banner ads was $1.50 (Google auctions a lot of this inventory off; we rounded this 2009 estimate down to be conversative).
  • YouTube is splitting ad revenue with partners 50-50.

Basically, take their views from the past year, assume a few don't stick around long enough for an ad to load, divide that number by 1,000, multiply by $1.50 and divide that number in half.

Conservative estimates? Sure. But with that math, you get a pretty decent estimate of how much these YouTube celebrities are making from just the banner ads on their channel. So, without further ado, here are the highest earning YouTube stars!

Monday, July 26, 2010

GORDON DUFF: HAS ANTI-SEMITISM MADE JEWS BOYCOTT THE WAR ON TERROR?

http://mycatbirdseat.com/2010/07/gordon-duff-has-anti-semitism-made-jews-boycott-the-war-on-terror/

OVER 200,000 AMERICAN JEWS TRAINED AND ONLY 4,000 SERVE

According to the Department of Defense, only 4000 Jews serve in the American military. Over 200,000 American Jews have been trained at US expense by the IDF in Israel but only a handful defend Israel in the current wars in the military of the country of their birth, the United States of America. 40% of the world’s Jews live in Israel. 40% of the world’s Jews live in the United States with 2.2 million residing in New York City alone. If any nation has been the homeland of the Jews, it has been the United States.

It is a prerequisite for public service in the United States or command rank in our military to accept protection of Israel as equal to protection of the United States. This is as close to a loyalty oath as the United States has. American soldiers who swear “to protect and defend the Constitution of the United States” also know they are saying “and the State of Israel” without a doubt. Why then, with American in a decade of wars clearly fought to defend Israeli interests if not their security, are American Jews so disinclined toward service to America?

The last war Jews participated in, as American soldiers in any real numbers, was Vietnam. 269 Jews died in Vietnam. Though this was less than one forth of other religious or ethnic groups, statistically, it is endlessly higher than today’s figures, bordering on “nil.” 20% of American troops, by Defense Department figures, are Hispanic, with the majority serving in combat related specialties. There are no “Hispanic related” or “Mexican security” issues in the current Middle East conflicts. What does this tell us?

Phil Shulman of the Jewish Journal of Greater Los Angeles wrote, in 2003,

“Only some 3,000 out of 1.4 million active duty servicemen and women are Jewish, about two-tenths of one percent. When it comes to Marines, the numbers are even more startling. It’s one out of 1,000. One-tenth of one percent.”

Reasons can be many, as American Jews may be unlikely to accept stories of the 9/11 attack or war on terror as plausible. Still more Jews have complained about the military itself, saying it openly discriminates against Jews. Debra Nussbaum Cohen in The Jewish Daily writes:

Admiral Harold Robinson, a Reform rabbi and director of the Jewish Welfare Board’s Jewish Chaplains Council, “The military is like high school on steroids. Being Jewish doesn’t help you fit in…. Some kid from Alabama says, ‘Jesus loves you; you ought to come to chapel services with us.’ You’re living with 120 other people who know everything about you. Being Jewish can be one more source of pressure or conflict. It’s much better than it was 30 or 40 years ago, but we still have all kinds of incidents where young people act out.”

At the Air Force Academy in 2005, Jewish and Christian students said that evangelical Christian officers were aggressively proselytizing them. An academy graduate filed suit against the Air Force, but the suit was dismissed in 2007.

Rabbi Irving Elson, a Navy captain and chaplain, “Jews in the military are underserved, have largely been ignored by the American Jewish community, and these amazing young men and women need rabbis…of over 900 Navy chaplains, only 8 are Jewish.”

Thus, we are confronted with a conundrum. 85% of the members of congress have signed documents, not only openly supporting Israel, but the majority support an immediate attack on Iran including the use of nuclear weapons on populated areas based on intelligence information from Israel that has proven to be, not only inaccurate but totally falsified. A study of America’s “liberal press” shows, without question, control by the Israel lobby with majority direct ownership of all media holdings in the US in the hands of Israeli citizens or American Jews actively involved with pro-Israel organizations. It must be recognized, however, that a significant number of American Jews, none employed any longer by major media outlets, hold positions counter to those of FOX, CNN, WSJ, Washington Post, ABC, NBC and the dozens of other highly biased organizations.

With American Jews “less than patriotic” and Israel, spoken of as an American ally, technically a misnomer as there are no written agreements with Israel, has the “special relationship” with Israel always been for public consumption only, propaganda, manipulated press, pop culture mythology, all covering “business as usual?”

COMPULSORY MILITARY SERVICE FOR “TRAINED” AMERICAN JEWS?

A possible solution for the obvious inequities in Jewish participation as patriotic Americans would be compulsory service for all IDF trained men and women holding American passports or resident in the United States. The assumption could be made that, as the United States funded their military training, they are the defacto equivalent of National Guard and reserve troops and should be subject to call up. You can’t turn on a TV in America without seeing Jews prominently featured as American soldiers, something statistically inaccurate, in fact, simply propagandization. An accurate depiction of a typical battalion would include one Jew and 200 or more Hispanics. Admittedly, the chances of the Jew being a “stand up comedian” are better than average but the obvious misrepresentations made by the media are pure race prejudice. TV already has every police department in the country run by an African American female.

THE AMERICAN DREAM IS MOSTLY A JEWISH AMERICAN DREAM

Jews used to make up 3% of America’s population. They are now only 1.4% but control well over 40% of America’s wealth. It doesn’t take a genius or a “Smedley Butler” fan to figure out that the root cause of all war is economic gain and that American Jews have gained the most by America’s wars. With our ”volunteer army” increasingly becoming less “volunteer” and more “feudal” in nature with Americas burgeoning population of poor and unemployed, many of them from non-Jewish ethnic minorities becoming “over-represented” among those in combat, those who have benefited most from the American dream, America’s Jewish population, our wealthiest and most powerful sector, also have the most to be thankful for.

American Jews are also the only group with military training, claimed to be the highest quality in the world, who are opting not to serve America during wartime while family after family of poor Americans are being destroyed by endless combat deployments to keep Israeli interests secure.

REFORMING THE AMERICAN MILITARY SO JEWS CAN SERVE WITH RESPECT THEY DESERVE

America’s military claims to be “conservative” politically, especially the officer corps. I would go further and state that the officer corps of the American military is clearly right wing extremist. Though political conservatives outside the military are powerful advocates of Zionism and defenders of Israel, there is a nasty duplicity afoot. These same groups that, when they are looking for support from the Jewish controlled press, talk about their loyalty to Israel or their tolerance of Jews, in fact these same groups have been anti-Semites for decades. Anti-Semitism has always been at the root of the Republican party, the same party that, this week, offered a resolution in the House of Representatives, advocating an immediate invasion of Iran.

The officer corps in the American military, how do we describe them in the “post Rumsfeld/Cheney era? What would Admiral Hyman Rickover, father of the nuclear navy, say of them? I shudder to think.

This is insane.

We have two issues here. One obvious one, American Jews care less and less about the United States as time goes on and as Israel has become a safe haven, subject to no real threat from the Arab world. American Jews all know that the continual whining about the safety of Israel is to dupe Americans out of billions in aid, furnishing a socialist welfare state at American taxpayer expense for Jews in Israel. Each year, the Pentagon “stores” billions worth of advanced weapons in Israel, weapons Israel is allowed to sell. We unload them and they load them back up.

The ships seem to have no trouble finding their way to North Korea.

But there is a dark side, despite all the rhetoric about being pro-Israel, real anti-Semites are at the root of America’s right. The Tea Party, secretly financed under the guise of thinly veiled prejudice against African Americans and Hispanics, financed, publicized and guided by “game theory” political experts in the Israel lobby, is at the heart of America’s anti-Semitism. No Israeli is so stupid as to believe that an American “Christian Zionist” who supports Israel because of imagined biblical prophesy actually would live next door to a Jew.

The American military does have a strong representation of “Tea Party” patriots. Nobody can claim they don’t join or that they don’t fight. What they can’t claim is that they love Jews, not by a long shot.

CONSERVATIVE ANTI-SEMITISM IN THE AMERICAN MILITARY

In 2007, Jason Leopoldin broke the story of a 35 year old Rabbi, Canadian born, who “deserted” the US Army after being subjected to bizarre and almost ritualistic anti-Semitism at Fort Stewart, Georgia. Rabbi Goldman claims the army listed him as a deserter in retaliation for demanding prosecution of three Christian Evangelist Chaplains.

According to documents obtained by Truthout, an investigation by the Army Inspector General into Goldman’s claims of anti-Semitism shows that in May 2001, Captain Robert Nay, a Christian chaplain at the Fort Stewart Army base, hung Nazi uniforms and swastikas on the wall of the officers’ club at Hunter Army Airfield in Savannah, Georgia, during a May 23, 2001 interfaith prayer breakfast Goldman was ordered to attend. In an interview, Goldman said seeing the Nazi uniforms did not entirely surprise him. A month earlier, Nay had informed Goldman that he thought it would be “funny” if he dressed up soldiers in the Nazi uniforms on Holocaust Memorial Day, a time when the world memorializes the six million Jews who were slaughtered by the Nazis during World War II.

When contacted for comment, Nay hung up the telephone. A public affairs official at Fort Stewart would not comment for this story, nor would he disclose his name.

The Military Religious Freedom Foundation, headed by Mickey Weinstein, said this of the Goldman case:

Rabbi Goldman’s civil rights were perniciously raped in a literally mind-boggling, intentional manner. The Army retaliated against him for speaking out. The army refused to lift a finger to address Rabbi Goldman’s complaints despite documentary evidence that supports his claims. And now the Army is going to find itself in a lawsuit our organization will file on behalf of Rabbi Goldman for grossly violating his civil rights.”

In fact, rather than being an isolated incident, incidents like these are typical with chaplains at major military bases such as Fort Levenworth, Kansas, openly teaching anti-Semitic religious doctrine. Rabbi Goldstein was asked to submit to a polygraph examination. The results showed the Rabbi to be totally truthful yet the three “Evangelist” anti-Semites and hundreds more like them are still in control of the Chaplain Corps that ruled military life during the Bush administration.

SATANISTS AND PEDOPHILES, OFFSHOOTS OF THE ARMY’S “CHRISTIAN-NAZI” NEXUS

During the 1980s, at American military facilities such as Offutt Air Force Base, near Omaha, Nebraska, The Presidio (now closed) near San Francisco, Ft. Bragg, home of the JFK Special Warfare Center, North Carolina and Bolling Air Force Base, home of the Defense Intelligence College, near Washington DC, groups with ties to Satanism (Temple of Set), Evangelical Christianity and Nazi occult practices, groups also tied r schools of advanced psychological warfare and special operations were accused of child molestation, kidnapping and a bizarre pattern of ritual abuses.

During the February 5 hearing, Noreen Gosch stunned the court with sworn testimony linking U.S. Army Lt. Col. Michael Aquino (ret., Military Intelligence, U.S. Army, Special orces, Civil Affairs, and Defense Attaché, graduate of the Command and General Staff College, the National Defense University,the Defense Intelligence College, and the State Departments’ Foreign Service Institute)to the nationwide pedophile ring. Her son, Johnny, then 12 years old, was kidnapped off the streets of West Des Moines, Iowa on September 5, 1982, while he was doing his early-morning newspaper deliveries. “We have investigated, we have talked to so far 35 victims of this said organization that took my son and is responsible for what happened to Paul, and they can verify everything that has happened,” she told the court.

Then, the Aquino bombshell: “Well, then there was a man by the name of Michael Aquino. He was in the military. He had top Pentagon clearances. He was a pedophile. He was a Satanist… continued: “They used these kids to sexually compromise politicians or anyone else they wish to have control of.

ARE JEWS UNPATRIOTIC OR IS OUR MILITARY UNFIT FOR JEWS TO SERVE?

There is no question that Jews are choosing not to serve to protect the United States. There is also a serious question about the political alliance between Israel and the conservative movement in America responsible for anti-Semitism in the military. How do the people of Israel reconcile that their closest allies are also those who also admire Adolf Hitler and his teachings?

Could Israel be an entire nation suffering from “Stockhold syndrome,” a nation that has come to admire the policies and practices of those who were responsible for the holocaust?

As for American Jews and military service, it is difficult to reconcile sending America’s poor to fight wars in the Middle East when IDF trained Americans shirk military duty en masse. The only answer would be to require service, making IDF membership and US Army reserve membership one in the same. It is also clear that the US Army must deal with its failures to address the needs of Jewish soldiers, when and if this policy can be enacted.

Gordon Duff is a Marine Vietnam veteran. A 100% disabled vet. He has been a featured commentator on TV and radio including Al Jazeera and his articles have been carried by news services around the world. He has been a UN Diplomat, defense contractor and is a widely published expert on military and defense issues. This article first appeared in Veterans and Foreign Affairs Journal.

Saturday, July 24, 2010

Click your way to great savings

http://ca.finance.yahoo.com/banking-budgeting/article/50plus/click-your-way-great-savings-20090330

Costs are on the rise, even as many people find themselves living on less. In the past year, for instance, food prices have gone up by an average of 7.4 per cent. Shelter costs are also increasing, and prices on other items continue to climb -- just has many companies have cut raises (as well as salaries and even jobs).

Not surprisingly, the recession is changing the way we shop. The stigma of using coupons, haggling over prices and questioning costs is quickly evaporating. These days, there are deals to be found on almost everything, whether it's luxury items like cars and vacations, or basics like groceries and clothing.

But there's one caveat: Finding and keeping track of all these deals can be tricky and time-consuming. Luckily, there are many websites and services that make things easier for consumers. If you're hunting for a bargain, here are some places in Canada to look.

Deal-finding sites

SmartCanucks.cahas a little bit of everything for everyone. Here you'll find deals, contests, freebies and coupons. And search isn't required: the website's blog (complete with RSS updates) keeps you informed about the latest deals.

Redflagdeals.comalso has deals, coupons, forums and features covering a wide variety of areas, including credit cards and price comparisons. You can sign up to receive their newsletter, or try the RSS feed too.

Likewise, websites likeFrugal Shopper Canada,PriceNetwork.ca,CoolCanucks.caandCanadianFreeStuff.comall offer a selection of deals and coupons, and include advice and suggestions from users too. Forums and user-generated content add additional value. You can find out if a company made good on its promise to send a free sample, or if the local supermarket refused a printed coupon.

Wishabi.ca- It's social networking meets shopping. Community members post the best deals they find to share with other users. You can even post a deal you're looking for and let others hunt for you -- but you'll need to register or sign in with your Facebook account first.

Save.ca-- This service lets you browse its selection of coupons, select the ones you want and have them mailed to your home for free. Better yet: they're mostly grocery coupons for things you actually use, like non-perishable food items, cleaning products, over the counter medications and personal hygiene products.

And if your apartment building or postal code doesn't receive certain flyers, there's an easy way to fill in the gap: Flyer aggregating websites likeFlyermall.comandFlyerland.caprovide a master list of sorts of links to company websites where you can find flyers and coupons.

Or you can go directly to the source. Many companies post their flyers and promotions online at their websites, but you can also sign up for email flyers and alerts when sales happen. Sometimes there are "web only" deals you won't find in print.

In addition, many places have their own deal websites, like Toronto'sShoestringshopping.comorCouponNetwork.ca, which covers most of Atlantic Canada.

If you're looking for free stuff, give the Freecycle Network (Freecycle.org) a try. Its purpose is to connect people who have something to give away with people who are looking for certain items. (For more information, seeDownsizing: the Freecycle phenomenon).

A word of caution:Make sure that printed coupons are allowed. Some companies offer printable coupons, but many stores will only accept originals and will turn down ones you print or photocopy.

Don't miss these sources

You may be overlooking these websites:

-Your credit card company's website.Don't ignore the inserts that come with your bill! In addition to any rewards like cash back or points, many credit cards offer deals through partners. After all, they want you to usetheircard -- and you might get a discount or deal for doing so.

-Employee discounts.Many companies negotiate deals for their workers, not just their partners and clients. Check your employee handbook for information, or the appropriate webpage in your company's intranet.

-Tourism bureaus.It doesn't matter whether you're travelling or not -- you're welcome to use the deals in your home town too. Many cities and provinces in Canada have attractions and visitors' guides you can pick up at the bureau or order through the mail -- and they're packed with coupons for attractions and restaurants. In addition, websites likeVancouver AttractionsandAttractions Ontariohave coupons you can download and print at home.

-Reward or loyalty programs.Sign up for the store's reward program or newsletter and you'll get receive sale notifications and coupons. Many places offer a deal just for signing up, while others send you special offers for your birthday.

-Strength in numbers.Are you a member of a professional organization, alumni association or groups like CAA and CARP? These organizations negotiate deals for their members with partner companies, but many people aren't aware of the offers. You might just find some tempting deals in the membership information (see the guide you received when you signed up, or look online at the organization's website).

Before you try it

As with all things online, it's wise to use a little caution to prevent any mishaps or criminal activity. These tips will help keep you safe as you shop:

-Read the terms of use.If you're using a service that mails coupons to you, you will understandably have to provide an address. Ditto with sites that require you to register -- you'll have to enter some personal information. However, make sure you read the privacy policy and understand how your information will be stored and used, and if it will be shared or sold to a third party to generate revenue.

-Keep your information to yourself.Don't give out details you're not comfortable with sharing, like your income level or marital status (or any information that potentially be used against you). Avoid giving out your credit card number (unless you're purchasing a coupon book from a well-known company), and NEVER give out your bank information, PIN codes or social insurance number.

-Do a little research first.Too good to be true usually is. If you're venturing outside of well-known, reputable companies and websites, be sure to ask some questions and do a little checking up first. Not all sites live up to their promises.

-Share the wealth -- cautiously.If you can't use the coupon, give it to someone who can. Freecycle.org and other online classified sites facilitate people sharing and trading coupons they don't use. Just make sure there isn't any identifiable information on the coupon -- like your personal information or membership number.

-Keep it separate.Set up a web-based email account (Yahoo, Gmail, Hotmail, etc) just for newsletters, promotions and flyers. You can check it whenever you want, and your main email address won't be clogged with spam.

-Watch out for those opt-in check boxes. It's your choice to subscribe to additional features or not, but the box may already be checked for you.

-Keep it simple... as in Really Simple Syndication.Deal updates are a good reason to try RSS feeds. You'll get the information as soon as it's posted -- and you don't have to give out any information.

-Look for honesty.Websites don't run and maintain themselves for free, so expect some advertising and affiliation links to help pay the bills. Just make sure the site is being upfront with you -- it should identify sponsored posts and advertorials, and clearly mark partners or affiliates.

Remember: the real key to saving money using coupons and promotions is to stick to products and services that you're already using. Companies don't create deals as an act of charity -- they're a marketing tactic to get to try a new product, buy other products while you're in the store or up-sell you to a more expensive product.

Photo ©iStockphoto.com/ Luis Pedrosa

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