Here we go again. Another Canadian election day. But this time, maybe if we can just ignore it, just tune it out and refuse to participate in the games being played by our politicians, maybe this time they will hear the deafening silence of our absence. Don't Vote. It will only encourage them.

    Mark Meer is an Edmonton based actor, writer and improvisor. His totems are Jim Henson, John Cleese, Alan Moore, Doctor Doom, and Tom Waits.

Joining five others, four parts of the Beams team will soon begin a year long study of Karl Marx's Das Kapital, following along to the free online lectures of David Harvey. Apparently we're not the only ones returning to Marx, as a general rebirth of interest in his work is globally underway. Here's a bunch of Marx resources, including the trailer for the new documentary Marx Reloaded.

  Is it ever okay to be intolerant? Should some foreign cultures be rejected? These are difficult questions. The Taliban may help us answer them.