The Facebook Data Center
With more than 500 million active users, Facebook is the busiest site on the Internet and has built an extensive infrastructure to support this rapid growth. The social networking site was launched in February 2004, initially out of Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg’s dorm room at Harvard University and using a single server. The company’s web servers and storage units are now housed in data centers around the country.
Each data center houses thousands of computer servers, which are networked together and linked to the outside world through fiber optic cables. Every time you share information on Facebook, the servers in these data centers receive the information and distribute it to your network of friends.
We’ve written a lot about Facebook’s infrastructure, and have compiled this information into a series of Frequently Asked Questions. Here’s the Facebook Data Center FAQ (or “Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Facebook’s Data Centers”).
How Big is Facebook’s Internet Infrastructure?
Facebook is currently the world’s most popular web site, with more than 690 billion page views each month, according to metrics from Google’s DoubleClick service. Facebook currently accounts for about 9.5 percent of all Internet traffic, slightly more than Google, according to HitWise.
Facebook requires massive storage infrastructure to house its enormous stockpile of photos, which grows steadily as users add 100 million new photos every day. People share more than 30 billion pieces of content on Facebook each month. In addition, the company’s infrastructure must support platform services for more than 1 million web sites and 550,000 applications using the Facebook Connect platform.
To support that huge activity, Facebook operates at least nine data centers on both coasts of the United States, and is in the process of building its first company-built data center in Oregon. Although more than 70 percent of Facebook’s audience is in other countries, none of the company’s data centers are located outside the United States.
For most of its history, Facebook has managed its infrastructure by leasing “wholesale” data center space from third-party landlords. Wholesale providers build the data center, including the raised-floor technical space and the power and cooling infrastructure, and then lease the completed facility. In the wholesale model, users can occupy their data center space in about five months, rather than the 12 months needed to build a major data center. This has allowed Facebook to scale rapidly to keep pace with the growth of its audience.
In January 2010 Facebook announced plans to build its own data centers, beginning with a facility in Prineville, Oregon. This typically requires a larger up-front investment in construction and equipment, but allows greater customization of power and cooling infrastructure.
Where are Facebook’s Data Centers Located?
Facebook currently leases space in about six different data centers in Silicon Valley, located in Santa Clara and San Jose, and at least one in San Francisco. The company has also leased space in three wholesale data center facilities in Ashburn, Virginia. Both Santa Clara and Ashburn are key data center hubs, where hundreds of fiber networks meet and connect, making them ideal for companies whose content is widely distributed.
Facebook’s first company-built data center is nearing completion in Prineville, Oregon. If Facebook’s growth continues at the current rate, it will likely require a larger network of company-built data centers, as seen with Google, Microsoft, Yahoo and eBay.
How Big Are Facebook’s Server Farms?
A rendering of an aerial view of the Facebook data center in Prineville, Oregon.
As Facebook grows, its data center requirements are growing along with it. The new data center Oregon is a reflection of this trend.
In the data centers where it currently operates, Facebook typically leases between 2.25 megawatts and 6 megawatts of power capacity, or between 10,000 and 35,000 square feet of space. Due to the importance of power for data centers, most landlords now price deals using power as a yardstick, with megawatts replacing square feet as the primary benchmark for real estate deals.
Facebook’s new data center in Oregon will be much, much larger. The facility was announced as being 147,000 square feet. But as construction got rolling, the company announced plans to add a second phase to the project, which will add another 160,000 square feet. That brings the total size of the Prineville facility to 307,000 square feet of space – larger than two Wal-Mart stores.
How Many Servers Does Facebook Have?
This chart provides a dramatic visualization of Facebook’s infrastructure growth. It documents the number of servers used to power Facebook’s operations.
“When Facebook first began with a small group of people using it and no photos or videos to display, the entire service could run on a single server,” said Jonathan Heiliger, Facebook’s vice president of technical operations.
Not so anymore. Technical presentations by Facebook staff suggest that as of June 2010 the company was running at least 60,000 servers in its data centers, up from 30,000 in 2009 and 10,000 back in April 2008.
There are companies with more servers (see Who Has the Most Web Servers? for details). But the growth curve shown on the chart doesn’t even include any of the servers that will populate the Oregon data center – which may be the first of multiple data centers Facebook builds to support its growth.
What kind of servers does Facebook use?
Facebook doesn’t often discuss which server vendors it uses. In 2007 it was buying a lot of servers from Rackable (now SGI), and is also known to have purchased servers from Dell, which customizes servers for its largest cloud computing customers.
Facebook VP of Technical Operations Jonathan Heiliger has sometimes been critical of major server vendors’ ability to adapt their products to the needs of huge infrastructures like those at Facebook, which don’t need many of the features designed for complex enterprise computing requirements. “Internet scale” companies can achieve better economics with bare bones servers that are customized for specific workloads.
In a conference earlier this year, Heiliger identified multi-core server vendors Tilera and SeaMicro as “companies to watch” for their potential to provide increased computing horsepower in a compact energy footprint.
But reports that Facebook planned to begin using low-power processors from ARM - which power the iPhone and many other mobile devices - proved to be untrue. “Facebook continuously evaluates and helps develop new technologies we believe will improve the performance, efficiency or reliability of our infrastructure,” Heiliger said. “However, we have no plans to deploy ARM servers in our Prineville, Oregon data center.”
A look at the fully-packed server racks inside a Facebook data center facility.
What kind of software does Facebook Use?
Facebook was developed from the ground up using open source software. The site is written primarily in the PHP programming language and uses a MySQL database infrastructure. To accelerate the site, the Facebook Engineering team developed a program called HipHop to transform PHP source code into C++ and gain performance benefits.
Facebook has one of the largest MySQL database clusters anywhere, and is the world’s largest users of memcached, an open source caching system. Memcached was an important enough part of Facebook’s infrastructure that CEO Mark Zuckerberg gave a tech talk on its usage in 2009.
Facebook has built a framework that uses RPC (remote procedure calls) to tie together infrastructure services written in any language, running on any platform. Services used in Facebook’s infrastructure include Apache Hadoop, Apache Cassandra, Apache Hive, FlashCache, Scribe, Tornado, Cfengine and Varnish.
How much Does Facebook Spend on Its Data Centers?
An analysis of Facebook’s spending with data center developers indicates that the company is now paying about $50 million a year to lease data center space, compared to about $20 million when we first analyzed its leases in May 2009.
The $50 million a year includes spending is for leases, and doesn’t include the cost of the Prineville project, which has been estimated at between $180 million and $215 million. It also doesn’t include Facebook’s investments in server and storage hardware, which is substantial.
Facebook currently leases most of its data center space from four companies: Digital Realty Trust, DuPont Fabros Technology, Fortune Data Centers and CoreSite Realty.
Here’s what we know about Facebook’s spending on its major data center commitments:
•Facebook is paying $18.1 million a year for 135,000 square feet of space in data center space it leases from Digital Realty Trust (DLR) in Silicon Valley and Virginia, according to data from the landlord’s June 30 quarterly report to investors.
•The social network is also leasing data center space in Ashburn, Virginia from DuPont Fabros Technology(DFT). Although the landlord has not published the details of Facebook’s leases, data on the company’s largest tenants reveals that Facebook represents about 15 percent of DFT’s annualized base rent, which works out to about $21.8 million per year.
•Facebook has reportedly leased 5 megawatts of critical load – about 25,000 square feet of raised-floor space – at a Fortune Data Centers facility in San Jose.
•In March, Facebook agreed to lease an entire 50,000 square foot data center that was recently completed by CoreSite Realty in Santa Clara.
•Facebook also hosts equipment in a Santa Clara, Calif. data center operated by Terremark Worldwide (TMRK), a Palo Alto, Calif. facilityoperated by Equinix (EQIX) and at least one European data center operated by Telecity Group. These are believed to be substantially smaller footprints than the company’s leases with Digital Realty and DuPont Fabros.
That adds up to an estimated $40 million for the leases with the Digital Realty and DuPont Fabros, When you add in the cost of space for housing equipment at Fortune, CoreSite, Terremark, Switch and Data, Telecity and other peering arrangements to distribute content, we arrive at an estimate of at least $50 million in annual data center costs for Facebook.
Facebook’s costs remain substantially less than what some other large cloud builders are paying for their data center infrastructure. Google spent $2.3 billion on its custom data center infrastructure in 2008, while Microsoft invests $500 million in each of its new data centers. Those numbers include the facilities and servers.
How Many People Are Needed to Run Facebook’s Data Centers?
As is the case with most large-scale data centers, Facebook’s facilities are highly automated and can be operated with a modest staff, usually no more than 20 to 50 employees on site. Facebook has historically maintained a ratio of 1 engineer for every 1 million users, although recent efficiencies have boosted that ratio to 1 engineer for every 1.2 million users.
Facebook’s construction project in Prineville is expected to create more than 200 jobs during its 12-month construction phase, and the facility will employ at least 35 full-time workers and dozens more part-time and contract employees.
Monday, October 4, 2010
Sunday, October 3, 2010
George Galloway in Canada :)
Galloway at Toronto's Pearson Airport.
Tomorrow, hear Galloway speak at Trinity St. Paul's church. Galloway's talk will be "From Gaza to Afghanistan - Resisting war, occupation and censorship". He'll also meet and honour US Iraq War resisters on stage.
Saturday, October 2, 5:00 p.m.
Terminal One International Arrivals Gate
Lester B. Pearson International Airport
Rally 5:00
Media conference 5:15
Sunday, October 3, 3:00 p.m.
Trinity St. Paul's United Church
427 Bloor Street (just west of Spadina)
Doors open 2:30 p.m.
Event begins 3:00 p.m.
Admission $10, cash only, at door only
Seating will be very limited!
On September 27, the Federal Court of Canada issued a 60-page ruling that exposed the political interference of "the highest levels of government" in trying to keep former British MP George Galloway out of Canada. The ruling found that "the main reason why [the government] sought to prevent Mr. Galloway from entering Canada was that they disagreed with his political views.
Read the full ruling here: http://bit.ly/bt3E6P.
Read highlights here: http://bit.ly/cIKgPZ.
"What the Galloway court decision means for free speech in Canada": http://bit.ly/bt3E6P
This is a MAJOR VICTORY for Galloway and the social movements in Canada. The ruling also clears the way for Galloway to return to Canada.
Please join us for a city-wide public meeting on Sunday, October 3 to hear George Galloway - in person - speak about his fight to overturn the ban, and about our common struggle to end war and occupation in Palestine, Afghanistan and around the world.
Organized by the Toronto Coalition to Stop the War
Media sponsor: rabble.ca, news for the rest of us: http://www.rabble.ca/
The Toronto Coalition to Stop the War is Toronto's city-wide peace coalition. Comprised of over 80 labour, student, faith and community organizations, TCSW is also one of the largest peace groups in the Canadian Peace Alliance.
Tomorrow, hear Galloway speak at Trinity St. Paul's church. Galloway's talk will be "From Gaza to Afghanistan - Resisting war, occupation and censorship". He'll also meet and honour US Iraq War resisters on stage.
Saturday, October 2, 5:00 p.m.
Terminal One International Arrivals Gate
Lester B. Pearson International Airport
Rally 5:00
Media conference 5:15
Sunday, October 3, 3:00 p.m.
Trinity St. Paul's United Church
427 Bloor Street (just west of Spadina)
Doors open 2:30 p.m.
Event begins 3:00 p.m.
Admission $10, cash only, at door only
Seating will be very limited!
On September 27, the Federal Court of Canada issued a 60-page ruling that exposed the political interference of "the highest levels of government" in trying to keep former British MP George Galloway out of Canada. The ruling found that "the main reason why [the government] sought to prevent Mr. Galloway from entering Canada was that they disagreed with his political views.
Read the full ruling here: http://bit.ly/bt3E6P.
Read highlights here: http://bit.ly/cIKgPZ.
"What the Galloway court decision means for free speech in Canada": http://bit.ly/bt3E6P
This is a MAJOR VICTORY for Galloway and the social movements in Canada. The ruling also clears the way for Galloway to return to Canada.
Please join us for a city-wide public meeting on Sunday, October 3 to hear George Galloway - in person - speak about his fight to overturn the ban, and about our common struggle to end war and occupation in Palestine, Afghanistan and around the world.
Organized by the Toronto Coalition to Stop the War
Media sponsor: rabble.ca, news for the rest of us: http://www.rabble.ca/
The Toronto Coalition to Stop the War is Toronto's city-wide peace coalition. Comprised of over 80 labour, student, faith and community organizations, TCSW is also one of the largest peace groups in the Canadian Peace Alliance.
Saturday, October 2, 2010
The Role of The Governor General of Canada.
Role
Further information: Monarchy of Canada > International and domestic aspects
The Lord Tweedsmuir gives the Throne Speech at the opening of the third session of the 18th Canadian parliament, 27 January 1938
because your Governor-General is in the service of the Crown, he is, therefore... in the service of Canada... [A]loof though he be from actual executive responsibility, his attitude must be that of ceaseless and watchful readiness to take part... in the fostering of every influence that will sweeten and elevate public life; to... join in making known the resources and developments of the country; to vindicate, if required, the rights of the people and the ordinariness and Constitution, and lastly, to promote by all means in his power, without reference to class or creed, every movement and every institution calculated to forward the social, moral, and religious welfare of the inhabitants of the Dominion
Governor General the Marquess of Aberdeen, 1893As Canada shares its monarch equally with fifteen other countries in the Commonwealth of Nations and the sovereign lives predominantly outside Canada's borders, the governor general's primary task is to perform the sovereign's constitutional duties on his or her behalf, acting within the principles of parliamentary democracy and responsible government as a guarantor of continuous and stable governance and as a nonpartisan safeguard against the abuse of power.[43][44][45] For the most part, however, the powers of the Crown are exercised on a day-to-day basis by elected and appointed individuals, leaving the governor general to perform the various ceremonial duties the sovereign otherwise carries out when in the country; at such a moment, the governor general removes him or herself from public,[n 5] though the presence of the monarch does not affect the governor general's ability to perform governmental roles.
Past governor general the Marquess of Lorne said of the job: "It is no easy thing to be a governor general of Canada. You must have the patience of a saint, the smile of a cherub, the generosity of an Indian prince, and the back of a camel,"[49] and the Earl of Dufferin stated that the governor general is "A representative of all that is august, stable, and sedate in the government, the history, and the traditions of the country; incapable of partizanship, and lifted far above the atmosphere of faction; without adherents to reward or opponents to oust from office; docile to the suggestions of his Ministers, and yet securing to the people the certainty of being able to get rid of an Administration or Parliament the moment either had forfeited their confidence."[50]
Constitutional role
Further information: Monarchy of Canada > Federal constitutional role
Though the monarch retains all executive, legislative, and judicial power in and over Canada,[51][52] the governor general is permitted to exercise most of this, including the Royal Prerogative, in the sovereign's name; some as outlined in the Constitution Act, 1867, and some through various letters patent issued over the decades, particularly those from 1947 that constitute the Office of Governor General of Canada;[53] they state: "And We do hereby authorize and empower Our Governor General, with the advice of Our Privy Council for Canada or of any members thereof or individually, as the case requires, to exercise all powers and authorities lawfully belonging to Us in respect of Canada."[54] Amongst other duties, however, the monarch retains the sole right to appoint the governor general.[7] It is also stipulated that the governor general may appoint deputies—usually Supreme Court justices and the Secretary to the Governor General—who can perform some of the viceroy's constitutional duties in her stead,[55] and the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court (or a puisne justice in the chief justice's absence) will act as the Administrator of the Government upon the death, removal, incapacitation, or absence of the governor general for more than one month.[56]
It is the governor general who is required by the Constitution Act, 1867, to appoint for life persons to the Queen's Privy Council for Canada,[57] who are all theoretically tasked with tendering to the monarch and viceroy guidance on the exercise of the Royal Prerogative. Convention dictates, though, that the governor general must draw from the privy council an individual to act as prime minister – in almost all cases the Member of Parliament who commands the confidence of the House of Commons. The prime minister then directs the governor general to appoint other members of parliament to a committee of the privy council known as the Cabinet, and it is in practice only from this group of ministers of the Crown that the Queen and governor general will take direction on the use of executive power;[58] an arrangement called the Queen-in-Council or,[52] more specifically, the Governor-in-Council. In this capacity, the governor general will issue royal proclamations and sign orders-in-council. The Governor-in-Council is also specifically tasked by the Constitution Act, 1867, to appoint in the Queen's name the lieutenant governors of the provinces (with the premiers of the provinces concerned playing an advisory role),[59] senators,[60] the Speaker of the Senate,[61] supreme court justices,[62] and superior and county court judges in each province, except those of the Courts of Probate in Nova Scotia and New Brunswick.[63] The advice given by the Cabinet is, in order to ensure the stability of government, typically binding; both the Queen and her viceroy, however, may in exceptional circumstances invoke the reserve powers, which remain the Crown's final check against a ministry's abuse of power.[n 6][64]
The governor general alone is also constitutionally mandated to summon parliament. Beyond that, the viceroy carries out the other conventional parliamentary duties in the sovereign's absence, including reading the Speech From the Throne and proroguing and dissolving parliament. The governor general also grants Royal Assent in the Queen's name; legally, he or she has three options: grant Royal Assent (making the bill law), withhold Royal Assent (vetoing the bill), or reserve the bill for the signification of the Queen's pleasure (allowing the sovereign to personally grant or withhold assent).[65] If the governor general withholds the Queen's assent, the sovereign may within two years disallow the bill, thereby annulling the law in question. No modern Canadian viceroy has denied Royal Assent to a bill. Provincial viceroys, however, are able to reserve Royal Assent to provincial bills for the Governor General; this clause was last invoked in 1961 by the Lieutenant Governor of Saskatchewan.[66]
Ceremonial role
Further information: Monarchy of Canada > Cultural role
With most constitutional functions lent to Cabinet, the governor general acts in a primarily ceremonial fashion. He or she will host members of Canada's royal family, as well as foreign royalty and heads of state, and will represent the Queen and country abroad on state visits to other nations,[67][64] though the monarch's permission is necessary, via the prime minister, for the viceroy to leave Canada.[68] Also as part of international relations, the governor general issues letters of credence and of recall for Canadian ambassadors and receives the same from foreign ambassadors appointed to Canada.
The governor general is also tasked with fostering national unity and pride.[69] One way in which this is carried out is travelling the country and meeting with Canadians from all regions and ethnic groups in Canada,[67] continuing the tradition begun in 1869 by Governor General the Lord Lisgar.[70] He or she will also induct individuals into the various national orders and present national medals and decorations. Similarly, the viceroy administers and distributes the Governor General's Awards, and will also give out awards associated with private organizations, some of which are named for past governors general.[67] During a federal election, the governor general will curtail these public duties, so as not to appear as though they are involving themselves in political affairs.
Although the constitution of Canada states that the "Command-in-Chief of the Land and Naval Militia, and of all Naval and Military Forces, of and in Canada, is hereby declared to continue and be vested in the Queen,"[10] the governor general acts in her place as Commander-in-Chief of the Canadian Forces and is permitted through the 1947 Letters Patent to use the title Commander-in-Chief in and over Canada.[9][15] The position technically involves issuing commands for Canadian troops, airmen, and sailors, but is predominantly a ceremonial role in which the viceroy will visit Canadian Forces bases across Canada and abroad to take part in military ceremonies, see troops off to and return from active duty, and encourage excellence and morale amongst the forces.[9] The governor general also serves as honorary Colonel of three household regiments: the Governor General's Horse Guards, Governor General's Foot Guards and Canadian Grenadier Guards. This ceremonial position is directly under that of Colonel-in-Chief, which is held by the Queen. Since 1946, the governor general has also always been made the Chief Scout of Canada, a position that some viceroys have taken seriously.
Further information: Monarchy of Canada > International and domestic aspects
The Lord Tweedsmuir gives the Throne Speech at the opening of the third session of the 18th Canadian parliament, 27 January 1938
because your Governor-General is in the service of the Crown, he is, therefore... in the service of Canada... [A]loof though he be from actual executive responsibility, his attitude must be that of ceaseless and watchful readiness to take part... in the fostering of every influence that will sweeten and elevate public life; to... join in making known the resources and developments of the country; to vindicate, if required, the rights of the people and the ordinariness and Constitution, and lastly, to promote by all means in his power, without reference to class or creed, every movement and every institution calculated to forward the social, moral, and religious welfare of the inhabitants of the Dominion
Governor General the Marquess of Aberdeen, 1893As Canada shares its monarch equally with fifteen other countries in the Commonwealth of Nations and the sovereign lives predominantly outside Canada's borders, the governor general's primary task is to perform the sovereign's constitutional duties on his or her behalf, acting within the principles of parliamentary democracy and responsible government as a guarantor of continuous and stable governance and as a nonpartisan safeguard against the abuse of power.[43][44][45] For the most part, however, the powers of the Crown are exercised on a day-to-day basis by elected and appointed individuals, leaving the governor general to perform the various ceremonial duties the sovereign otherwise carries out when in the country; at such a moment, the governor general removes him or herself from public,[n 5] though the presence of the monarch does not affect the governor general's ability to perform governmental roles.
Past governor general the Marquess of Lorne said of the job: "It is no easy thing to be a governor general of Canada. You must have the patience of a saint, the smile of a cherub, the generosity of an Indian prince, and the back of a camel,"[49] and the Earl of Dufferin stated that the governor general is "A representative of all that is august, stable, and sedate in the government, the history, and the traditions of the country; incapable of partizanship, and lifted far above the atmosphere of faction; without adherents to reward or opponents to oust from office; docile to the suggestions of his Ministers, and yet securing to the people the certainty of being able to get rid of an Administration or Parliament the moment either had forfeited their confidence."[50]
Constitutional role
Further information: Monarchy of Canada > Federal constitutional role
Though the monarch retains all executive, legislative, and judicial power in and over Canada,[51][52] the governor general is permitted to exercise most of this, including the Royal Prerogative, in the sovereign's name; some as outlined in the Constitution Act, 1867, and some through various letters patent issued over the decades, particularly those from 1947 that constitute the Office of Governor General of Canada;[53] they state: "And We do hereby authorize and empower Our Governor General, with the advice of Our Privy Council for Canada or of any members thereof or individually, as the case requires, to exercise all powers and authorities lawfully belonging to Us in respect of Canada."[54] Amongst other duties, however, the monarch retains the sole right to appoint the governor general.[7] It is also stipulated that the governor general may appoint deputies—usually Supreme Court justices and the Secretary to the Governor General—who can perform some of the viceroy's constitutional duties in her stead,[55] and the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court (or a puisne justice in the chief justice's absence) will act as the Administrator of the Government upon the death, removal, incapacitation, or absence of the governor general for more than one month.[56]
It is the governor general who is required by the Constitution Act, 1867, to appoint for life persons to the Queen's Privy Council for Canada,[57] who are all theoretically tasked with tendering to the monarch and viceroy guidance on the exercise of the Royal Prerogative. Convention dictates, though, that the governor general must draw from the privy council an individual to act as prime minister – in almost all cases the Member of Parliament who commands the confidence of the House of Commons. The prime minister then directs the governor general to appoint other members of parliament to a committee of the privy council known as the Cabinet, and it is in practice only from this group of ministers of the Crown that the Queen and governor general will take direction on the use of executive power;[58] an arrangement called the Queen-in-Council or,[52] more specifically, the Governor-in-Council. In this capacity, the governor general will issue royal proclamations and sign orders-in-council. The Governor-in-Council is also specifically tasked by the Constitution Act, 1867, to appoint in the Queen's name the lieutenant governors of the provinces (with the premiers of the provinces concerned playing an advisory role),[59] senators,[60] the Speaker of the Senate,[61] supreme court justices,[62] and superior and county court judges in each province, except those of the Courts of Probate in Nova Scotia and New Brunswick.[63] The advice given by the Cabinet is, in order to ensure the stability of government, typically binding; both the Queen and her viceroy, however, may in exceptional circumstances invoke the reserve powers, which remain the Crown's final check against a ministry's abuse of power.[n 6][64]
The governor general alone is also constitutionally mandated to summon parliament. Beyond that, the viceroy carries out the other conventional parliamentary duties in the sovereign's absence, including reading the Speech From the Throne and proroguing and dissolving parliament. The governor general also grants Royal Assent in the Queen's name; legally, he or she has three options: grant Royal Assent (making the bill law), withhold Royal Assent (vetoing the bill), or reserve the bill for the signification of the Queen's pleasure (allowing the sovereign to personally grant or withhold assent).[65] If the governor general withholds the Queen's assent, the sovereign may within two years disallow the bill, thereby annulling the law in question. No modern Canadian viceroy has denied Royal Assent to a bill. Provincial viceroys, however, are able to reserve Royal Assent to provincial bills for the Governor General; this clause was last invoked in 1961 by the Lieutenant Governor of Saskatchewan.[66]
Ceremonial role
Further information: Monarchy of Canada > Cultural role
With most constitutional functions lent to Cabinet, the governor general acts in a primarily ceremonial fashion. He or she will host members of Canada's royal family, as well as foreign royalty and heads of state, and will represent the Queen and country abroad on state visits to other nations,[67][64] though the monarch's permission is necessary, via the prime minister, for the viceroy to leave Canada.[68] Also as part of international relations, the governor general issues letters of credence and of recall for Canadian ambassadors and receives the same from foreign ambassadors appointed to Canada.
The governor general is also tasked with fostering national unity and pride.[69] One way in which this is carried out is travelling the country and meeting with Canadians from all regions and ethnic groups in Canada,[67] continuing the tradition begun in 1869 by Governor General the Lord Lisgar.[70] He or she will also induct individuals into the various national orders and present national medals and decorations. Similarly, the viceroy administers and distributes the Governor General's Awards, and will also give out awards associated with private organizations, some of which are named for past governors general.[67] During a federal election, the governor general will curtail these public duties, so as not to appear as though they are involving themselves in political affairs.
Although the constitution of Canada states that the "Command-in-Chief of the Land and Naval Militia, and of all Naval and Military Forces, of and in Canada, is hereby declared to continue and be vested in the Queen,"[10] the governor general acts in her place as Commander-in-Chief of the Canadian Forces and is permitted through the 1947 Letters Patent to use the title Commander-in-Chief in and over Canada.[9][15] The position technically involves issuing commands for Canadian troops, airmen, and sailors, but is predominantly a ceremonial role in which the viceroy will visit Canadian Forces bases across Canada and abroad to take part in military ceremonies, see troops off to and return from active duty, and encourage excellence and morale amongst the forces.[9] The governor general also serves as honorary Colonel of three household regiments: the Governor General's Horse Guards, Governor General's Foot Guards and Canadian Grenadier Guards. This ceremonial position is directly under that of Colonel-in-Chief, which is held by the Queen. Since 1946, the governor general has also always been made the Chief Scout of Canada, a position that some viceroys have taken seriously.
Friday, October 1, 2010
McGill-McGill University Health Centre researchers pioneer anesthetics via videoconferencing
World’s first transcontinental anesthesia
Videoconferences may be known for putting people to sleep, but never like this. Dr. Thomas Hemmerling and his team of McGill’s Department of Anesthesia achieved a world first on August 30, 2010, when they treated patients undergoing thyroid gland surgery in Italy remotely from Montreal. The approach is part of new technological advancements, known as ‘Teleanesthesia’, and it involves a team of engineers, researchers and anesthesiologists who will ultimately apply the drugs intravenously which are then controlled remotely through an automated system.
This achievement is a product of an on-going scientific collaboration between Dr. Hemmerling’s team and the Italian team of Dr. Zaouter of the Department of Anesthesia of Pisa University (Chairman Prof. Giunta).
“The practice has obvious applications in countries with a significant number of people living in remote areas, like Canada, where specialists may not be available on site,” Hemmerling said. “It could also be used for teaching purposes, allowing the resident to perform tasks without the physical presence of a tutor, thus increasing his or her confidence level.”
Four strategically placed video cameras monitored every aspect of patient care in Pisa, Italy, in real time. Ventilation parameters (such as the patient’s breathing rate), vital signs (ECG, heart rate, oxygen saturation) and live images of the surgery are monitored by each camera, with the fourth used for special purposes. A remote computer station (‘anesthesia cockpit’) is required, as is a workstation that handles the audio-video link between the two centres. “Obviously, local anesthesiologists can override the process at any time,” Hemmerling explained. Prior to the operation, an assessment of the patient’s airway and medical history is also performed via video-conferencing.
The researchers are also looking at the possibility of preoperative assessment of patients at home. It used to be that invasive blood tests or other tests were required in preparation for many surgeries, but that’s no longer the case. Many patients take very long journeys and often wait hours to see an anesthesiologist who will ask them specific questions, but video-conferencing could eliminate these logistical problems and probably reduce the preoperative stress of the patients coming into the hospital before surgery. “The next steps will be to confirm the results of this pilot experience with further studies,” Hemmerling said.
For more information: http://www.newanesthesia.com/
Videoconferences may be known for putting people to sleep, but never like this. Dr. Thomas Hemmerling and his team of McGill’s Department of Anesthesia achieved a world first on August 30, 2010, when they treated patients undergoing thyroid gland surgery in Italy remotely from Montreal. The approach is part of new technological advancements, known as ‘Teleanesthesia’, and it involves a team of engineers, researchers and anesthesiologists who will ultimately apply the drugs intravenously which are then controlled remotely through an automated system.
This achievement is a product of an on-going scientific collaboration between Dr. Hemmerling’s team and the Italian team of Dr. Zaouter of the Department of Anesthesia of Pisa University (Chairman Prof. Giunta).
“The practice has obvious applications in countries with a significant number of people living in remote areas, like Canada, where specialists may not be available on site,” Hemmerling said. “It could also be used for teaching purposes, allowing the resident to perform tasks without the physical presence of a tutor, thus increasing his or her confidence level.”
Four strategically placed video cameras monitored every aspect of patient care in Pisa, Italy, in real time. Ventilation parameters (such as the patient’s breathing rate), vital signs (ECG, heart rate, oxygen saturation) and live images of the surgery are monitored by each camera, with the fourth used for special purposes. A remote computer station (‘anesthesia cockpit’) is required, as is a workstation that handles the audio-video link between the two centres. “Obviously, local anesthesiologists can override the process at any time,” Hemmerling explained. Prior to the operation, an assessment of the patient’s airway and medical history is also performed via video-conferencing.
The researchers are also looking at the possibility of preoperative assessment of patients at home. It used to be that invasive blood tests or other tests were required in preparation for many surgeries, but that’s no longer the case. Many patients take very long journeys and often wait hours to see an anesthesiologist who will ask them specific questions, but video-conferencing could eliminate these logistical problems and probably reduce the preoperative stress of the patients coming into the hospital before surgery. “The next steps will be to confirm the results of this pilot experience with further studies,” Hemmerling said.
For more information: http://www.newanesthesia.com/
Thursday, September 30, 2010
Wednesday, September 29, 2010
Immigration Minister Jason Kenney is the real loser NOT George Galloway!
George Galloway lost his challenge to a government decision that kept him from entering Canada, but Immigration Minister Jason Kenney is the real loser in the case.
Galloway is a self-promoting gadfly who attracts attention to himself by helping terrorists get money and sympathy for their activities. Even his own constituents got tired of his antics and kicked him out in the last British election.
But he’s a small-time agitator and Kenney only helped his cause by acting to block him from entering the country. No one but his own sparse collection of followers would have known he was here if the minister hadn’t stumbled onto the scene.
Galloway lost his case on a technicality. Since he decided not to show up, he was never formally denied entry and thus there was no case to challenge. But Justice Richard Mosley made clear that Kenney wasn’t fooling anyone. It was clear, he said, that the decision was political from the get-go, and Kenney and his director of communications, Alykhan Velshi, just tried to hide it by cloaking it in terms of national security:
“The result, in my view, was a flawed and overreaching interpretation of the standards under Canadian law for labelling someone as engaging in terrorism or being a member of a terrorist organization,” the judgment reads. “It is clear that the efforts to keep Mr. Galloway out of the country had more to do with antipathy to his political views than with any real concern that he had engaged in terrorism or was a member of a terrorist organization.”
In his ruling, Mosley outlined a chain of events that started on March 16, 2009 with Velshi doing some on-line research of open sources about Galloway’s activities. Velshi “expressed the view that Mr. Galloway was inadmissable” in e-mails that circulated through the Immigration Department in the next few hours.
“Apart from the open sources cited by Mr. Velshi in his e-mails, it does not appear from the record what, if any, additional research was conducted. When consulted, CSIS advised CBSA that they had no concerns with Mr. Galloway’s visit from a security perspective,” Mosley said in the ruling.
Government officials reached a decision that was not reasonable and erred in its application of the law, but the judge noted the “novel” circumstances they faced with their political masters.
“Moreover, they were being asked to provide a rapid assessment in circumstances where Ministers’ offices were actively engaged and where political staff and senior officials had already staked out a position . . . the assessment was written after political staff and senior officials had prematurely reached the conclusion that Galloway was inadmissable.”
Canada doesn’t need amateur theatrics like this from its immigration minister. People like George Galloway are inconsequentiual. We should leave them to their obscurity.
Read more: http://fullcomment.nationalpost.com/2010/09/28/galloway-should-have-been-left-to-his-obscurity/#ixzz10tF2bGJH
Galloway is a self-promoting gadfly who attracts attention to himself by helping terrorists get money and sympathy for their activities. Even his own constituents got tired of his antics and kicked him out in the last British election.
But he’s a small-time agitator and Kenney only helped his cause by acting to block him from entering the country. No one but his own sparse collection of followers would have known he was here if the minister hadn’t stumbled onto the scene.
Galloway lost his case on a technicality. Since he decided not to show up, he was never formally denied entry and thus there was no case to challenge. But Justice Richard Mosley made clear that Kenney wasn’t fooling anyone. It was clear, he said, that the decision was political from the get-go, and Kenney and his director of communications, Alykhan Velshi, just tried to hide it by cloaking it in terms of national security:
“The result, in my view, was a flawed and overreaching interpretation of the standards under Canadian law for labelling someone as engaging in terrorism or being a member of a terrorist organization,” the judgment reads. “It is clear that the efforts to keep Mr. Galloway out of the country had more to do with antipathy to his political views than with any real concern that he had engaged in terrorism or was a member of a terrorist organization.”
In his ruling, Mosley outlined a chain of events that started on March 16, 2009 with Velshi doing some on-line research of open sources about Galloway’s activities. Velshi “expressed the view that Mr. Galloway was inadmissable” in e-mails that circulated through the Immigration Department in the next few hours.
“Apart from the open sources cited by Mr. Velshi in his e-mails, it does not appear from the record what, if any, additional research was conducted. When consulted, CSIS advised CBSA that they had no concerns with Mr. Galloway’s visit from a security perspective,” Mosley said in the ruling.
Government officials reached a decision that was not reasonable and erred in its application of the law, but the judge noted the “novel” circumstances they faced with their political masters.
“Moreover, they were being asked to provide a rapid assessment in circumstances where Ministers’ offices were actively engaged and where political staff and senior officials had already staked out a position . . . the assessment was written after political staff and senior officials had prematurely reached the conclusion that Galloway was inadmissable.”
Canada doesn’t need amateur theatrics like this from its immigration minister. People like George Galloway are inconsequentiual. We should leave them to their obscurity.
Read more: http://fullcomment.nationalpost.com/2010/09/28/galloway-should-have-been-left-to-his-obscurity/#ixzz10tF2bGJH
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