Updog & Indy

Tag Along with a Health Inspector

2009-05-16T12:18:00.002-06:00

Due to a change in public regulation, the government of Saskatchewan has now put their restaurant food inspection reports online. Now you can find out how many rats are in the kitchen of your favourite eatery! Actually, I went through the whole thing, checking places that I generally eat, and didn't find any major problems with any of them. But one place was checkmarked for insect and rodent control! If you want to know which one, I suggest you start surfing the site.

Play with Wordle!

2009-04-24T01:16:00.003-06:00

Have a bunch of awesome fun at the Wordle website, the site where you input text into their art program and watch paintings develop that would make Picasso green with jealousy. Or such.

Here is one I did using paragraphs from my paper on Bourdieu. How can you tell I'm currently writing a thesis? Check out some others I've done, cuz it's fun.

I'll try to post more often, I will!

10 Worst Bailout Boondoggles

2009-03-04T09:58:00.002-06:00

I found this on MSN and thought I would reproduce it here, for that eventuality when the link no longer works (the original link is here). As you read it, keep in mind that at least THREE of these points are specifically about AIG, who just posted a $60 billion quarter loss, the worst quarter loss in corporate history, and is asking for more government aid (story here). Send this to your friends! Voice your displeasure to the powers that be! (Check out my post below for more of my recent 'angry man' letter writing. GM actually phoned me to talk about it!)

The 10 Worst Bailout Boondoggles by Michael Brush, staff
Slideshow appearing March 4, 2009

Canadian Finance Minister Jim Flaherty has all but assured mistakes will be made as Ottawa rushes to spend $40 billion in stimulus. But a look south of the border at mistakes made with U.S. bailout dollars gives reason to be wary of how governments spend taxpayer dollars. Click the arrows to get started.

1. Pay to Play: Millionaire players on the New York Mets and the Manchester United soccer team should be slapping high-fives over government bailouts. The reason: The money is helping to pay their salaries. Without $45 billion in government help and a $306 billion backstop on its portfolio of rotten mortgage-backed securities, Citigroup would likely have disappeared. If so, the bank would have reneged on a $400 million, 20-year deal to name the new Mets stadium "Citi Field." And thanks to $144 billion in bailout money, AIG can make good on the $47 million it had agreed to pay for the right to plaster its logo on Manchester United soccer jerseys for the next 18 months. Glory, glory, Man United.

2. Empire Building: Many American banks are playing "Let's Make a Deal" and building empires with bailout money, instead of using it to make loans that help the U.S. economy. Shortly after PNC Financial Services got a $7.7 billion cash injection, it announced a buyout of National City. BB&T and Zions Bancorporation have said they have the urge to merge -- now that they've collectively pocketed $4.5 billion in bailout funds. Mergers have created more banks that are "too big to fail" -- so when they come back for more money, it'll be even harder to say no. BB&T says it would buy only "problem" banks, in the spirit of the bailout program.

3. Golden Parachutes for Failure: Cleveland's National City bank was run so badly that it was virtually ruined, mainly by imprudent exposure to subprime mortgages. Management's reward for creating this colossal disaster: $200 million in golden parachutes. And U.S. taxpayers will get fleeced a second time. Because of a last-minute change in tax rules, PNC Financial Services, which bought National City, will get about $725 million in income-tax credits. Those credits stem from the $19.9 billion PNC expects to lose on bad loans made by National City.

4. A Bailout for China: U.S. taxpayers were told the $700 billion financial-system bailout would create jobs by helping the American economy. Instead, one of the banks getting the most bailout money is plowing tens of billions of dollars into foreign companies. Bank of America, which will get $25 billion in bailout loans, recently spent about $7 billion to double its stake in state-owned China Construction Bank. B of A, whose CEO is Kenneth Lewis (pictured above), says it would've spent the money even without a cash infusion from the feds.

5. AIG’s $400,000 Post-Bailout Party: While American taxpayers were still absorbing the shock of having to foot an $85 billion bill (a tab that later grew to $144 billion) to bail out American International Group, executives at the insurer headed straight for the exclusive St. Regis resort in Southern California just days after their company got the money. The $440,000 tab for their eight-day stay at the Tuscan-style resort included $150,000 for meals, $23,000 in spa charges and $7,000 for golf outings. AIG says the event was held mainly to reward performance of independent insurance agents and brokers who were not company employees.

6. How Gold is My Parachute: Peter Kraus joined Merrill Lynch in early September to head up its strategy team. But Bank of America, bolstered by $25 billion in bailout money, won shareholder approval this month to take over Merrill. The deal will trigger a golden-parachute clause in Kraus' contract, allowing him to pocket as much as $25 million for his two months on the job, according to The Wall Street Journal.

7. Pay to Fail: Should U.S. taxpayers pay to keep executives who steered a company into a ditch? AIG thinks so. It recently agreed to pay retention bonuses to 130 executives, including $3 million for Jay Wintrob, who heads the division that sells annuities. Last year, he earned $2.5 million in salary, bonus, stock and options. Other AIG execs will get more than $500,000, or about 200% of their salaries, to stay through 2009, according to Bloomberg. The insurer had previously promised to forgo bonus payouts as part of the bailout plan. AIG says retention bonuses are needed to keep execs from leaving while it restructures and that departures could cause the company's reinsurers to cancel contracts.

8. Extravagant Pay: As millions of Americans learn what it's like to make ends meet on unemployment insurance, executives at banks getting U.S. taxpayer bailouts will continue to live the high life. Capital One Financial CEO Richard Fairbanks (pictured above) got $73.1 million in pay last year, according to The Corporate Library. That's 1,456 times the median household income of $50,233 earned by taxpayers footing the bill for Capital One's $3.55 billion federal bailout. Bank of America chief Kenneth Lewis last year took home $23 million, or 458 times the income earned by taxpayers covering his bank's $25 billion bailout. Both CEOs also make way more than the median of $8.85 million for CEOs at S&P 500 companies. Despite having to lean on U.S. taxpayers with modest incomes for help, both CEOs will likely continue to earn stratospheric pay. Neither bank has indicated it plans to cut CEO pay.

9. Free Use of Corporate Jet for Personal Travel: While hard times are forcing many of us to stretch another year out of the family jalopy, the CEOs at U.S. banks getting bailout money will continue to ride -- and fly -- high. John Mack (pictured right), who heads Morgan Stanley, which has taken $10 billion in U.S. government bailout money so far, enjoyed $356,000 worth of personal use of a corporate jet last year. JPMorgan Chase has gotten $25 billion in bailout money. Its chief, James Dimon (pictured left), took $211 million worth of use of a company jet last year. He used company cars at an estimated cost of $68,000. So far, neither company has indicated it will cut back on CEOs' personal use of corporate jets as part of its acceptance of taxpayer bailout money.

10. Lobbying: Citigroup, Bank of America and JPMorgan Chase each spent around $5 million lobbying the U.S. federal government during the first nine months of 2008. Citigroup is getting $45 billion in bailout money, while the two others are getting $25 billion each. You can expect millions of dollars of that money to be spent on wining and dining Washington lawmakers; none of the banks has indicated it plans to cut back on lobbying.

My Letter to Government Concerning GM Bailout

2009-03-04T09:49:00.005-06:00

I have followed recent economic events closely and I am glad that the government is helping to shore up the economy in this time of stress. However, I do have issue with some aspects of the proposed General Motors bailout. As stated by CBC News on Friday February 20, 2009: “GM expects there will be no further plant closures in Canada, but it plans to slash executive salaries by 10 per cent, cut benefits to hourly employees, and build new models at its Ontario plants. Under the plan, GM's Canadian workforce — which numbered 20,000 in 2005 and currently stands at 12,500 — would be pared down to 7,000 by 2010.”

What bothers me the most about this course of action is that it tries to stabilize the economy by stabilizing the companies who are most affected by the downturn. Part of this process seems to be the cutting of jobs. I am not sure how well the economy will fair if no one is working in the end. It disheartens me that the above quotation includes the slashing of 5,500 jobs, while cutting executive salaries by 10%. At the very least, GM should be cutting the same percentage of executive positions as they do plant positions.

This tells me that General Motors and the government are only interested in the well-being of the company at hand and its role in the stock market, and have no real sense of how this plan will affect the working population. I frequently hear the government during times of plenty use a statistic of low unemployment as a yardstick to show how the economy is fairing. But as soon as times get tough, unemployment does not seem to matter anymore – keeping the stock value of a company is more important.

I urge you to tailor a bailout plan for GM that is better suited for Canadian citizens and that geared more towards helping the economy, and not just helping a single company. All the experts are talking about how the collapse of the American/Canadian auto industry would be devastating to the economy. This is probably true, but please do not let the auto industry use that leverage to manipulate you into signing bad deals. I urge you to ask yourself “how did these companies get in this position?” and use the bailout as a tool to make the Canadian economy stronger in the long run. The Federal Industry Minister has been quoted as saying “We’re not bailing out pension plans. Let me be crystal clear on that.” I suggest that he should be bailing out pension plans – those of the plant workers in the company. Sure, have them take paycuts, do whatever it takes. But do not mortgage their future just so GM can have a viable corporate future, especially in light of their ineptness to become a viable institution on their own.

Sent to:
Tony Clement, Federal Industry Minister Clement.T@parl.gc.ca
Scott Brison, Liberal Trade Critic Brison.S@parl.gc.ca
Brad Trost, Saskatoon-Humboldt MP Trost.B@parl.gc.ca
General Motors Customer Services

Roger Ebert Review of Ben Stein's Expelled

2008-12-12T14:14:00.002-06:00

If I were looking for the best criticism of Intelligent Design (ID), I wouldn't expect to find it in Roger Ebert's film critic column. But that's exactly where I found it. Ebert reviews Ben Stein's documentary Expelled (a film defending the tenets of creationism) and demolishes the creationist argument in the process. He does so in a very straight-forward, simple manner, that is easy to read and understand. Subjects that his argument smartly discusses and expounds include: ID's place in the scientific community; ID's assertion that Earth is the primary location in which to observe the universe; ID's assertion that the laws of chance make evolution too unlikely; the idea that Evolution equals Liberalism; comments on the documentary film process; and Stein's claim that Nazi, Liberal, and Evolution belong in the same sentence (ie. Hitler is a Liberal?).

I haven't seen the film yet, but I will. I saw Bill Maher's Religulous, and while I probably agree with more of the ideas in that film than I would in Expelled, I do admit that Religulous had it's problems as a film (for example, I'm not that big a fan of Maher's 'in your face', flippant attitude).
Somehow, I don't think Expelled is going to change my mind on anything.

Read the amazing column, titled 'Win Ben Stein's Mind'.

Read Rennie & Mirsky's Scientific American article discussing stuff Ben Stein left out. For example, Stein uses a paragraph from Darwin's On the Origin of Species to show how Darwin (note: NOT people misusing Darwin's ideas) led to the Holocaust; BUT this article reprints the actual passage, with the sentences that Stein conveniently omitted, showing that Darwin himself was not a fan of Social Darwinism.

For a great exploration on the history of the evolution/creationism debate, check out Eugenie C. Scott, 2004, Evolution vs. Creationism: An Introduction. Greenwood Press, London. This book not only explains each side of the issue, but explores the historical development of those perspectives.

Bizarro Muppet World

2008-11-12T09:59:00.003-06:00

I was going to comment on Ford's so-called plan to stabilize its economic output by 2010, but rather than getting angry I thought I'd give myself a chuckle instead (Although I must note that most of Ford's propositions have to do with scaling back wages and benefits, I assume of their working core, but the phrasing "salaried employees" is confusing me). So check out the Ugliest Muppet Toys Ever. Yuck.

Night of the Living Copyright Infringement

2008-11-03T09:06:00.003-06:00

On Halloween, a few of us watched the original Night of the Living Dead, the zombie classic directed by George E. Romero in 1968. All we did was make fun of it the whole time through, but to be honest, I think it's a pretty cool movie. Much has been made about the film, as both a horror movie and social critique (themes that have been applied to this film include American 1960s society, Cold War politics, and racism; the film has also been trashed by feminists because of the uselessness of the female characters). The film was so influential that The Library of Congress added it to the National Film Registry in 1999 with other films deemed "historically, culturally or aesthetically important in any way."

One of the reasons it was entered into the Registry is because of the stupidity of its distributor. Night of the Living Dead actually has no copyright status and sits in public domain. In 1968, copyright law required proper notice for it to retain its copyright. The Walter Reade Organization, the original distributor of the film, forgot to include the "Copyright 1968" tagline on the print, and thus it was never legally covered. So that means anyone can distribute and view it for free! So don't feel bad about downloading this sucker off the internet. In fact, you SHOULD download it off the internet! There are at least 23 distributors making money off this film, and George Romero doesn't get a penny! So why should they! And if you want to watch it reenacted by cartoon bunnies, click here.

Also Romero has stated that his decision to cast a black man in the heroic role had nothing to do with his colour: he "simply gave the best audition." If you think about it, that attitude probably does more for civil rights than any engineered social criticism ever could.

The Worst Rap Video Ever, and What Can be Done About It

2008-08-30T11:17:00.004-06:00

It's official; rappers have completely run out of new ideas. They're not even trying anymore. Here is "This is the Life" by Rick Ross. The song discusses how awesome it is being a rapper and "not stoppin' the champagne from poppin'". The vocalists switch from rapping in front of a black door, to rapping while sitting on a couch with some girls, to rapping while sitting in a convertible with a girl. Then the video is interspersed with static shots of booze, weed, girls, motorbikes, cars, jewelry shaped to look like the guy's head, and Rick Ross literally burning money. Static shots! We don't even have the pleasure of watching said motorcycle fly down a highway. And of course the shots are static, because the whole thing is filmed on a soundstage, because the rappers don't actually own any of the things they are bragging about. And being a relatively new act, they probably had to borrow a few hundred grand from the record company so that this stuff could be in the video.

I'm not ragging on rap; I just like rap that tries to say something. For instance, Outkast, K'Naan, K-os, M.I.A., Elwood, N.E.R.D., Kanye West without the ego, even Nas isn't that bad. Also The Streets, whose a skinny white guy from England. He may not be a prototypical rapper, but at least he can craft lyrics that I find meaningful. I'm also ragging on meaningless videos. If you're gonna spend a few hundred thousand dollars on 5 minutes of airtime, you might as well craft something artistically valid. Not every video should be political, but I should be able to come away with something (instead of "that's five minutes I'll never get back").

Off the top of my head, some great videos (not songs; videos. That's another thing to add to my ramble: videos that win at the MTV or MuchMusic Video awards should be the ones that HAVE GOOD VIDEOS! Not because the song is popular. If Rick Ross goes #1, there's still no reason for his video to be nominated).
Coldplay: The Scientist
Radiohead & U.N.K.L.E.: Rabbit in your Headlights
Just Radiohead: Just
Bjork: It's Oh So Quiet
Weezer: Buddy Holly
Johnny Cash: Hurt, or God's Gonna Cut You Down
Also check out Stylus Magazine's Top 100 Videos of all Time.

And an impressive music video from Sarah McLachlan, who turned the genre on its head and helped out some people at the same time: World on Fire.

The Boring Life of Indiana Jones

2008-05-31T17:59:00.002-06:00

There is a scene in Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull in which Indy mentions that he rode with Poncho Villa at one point. For some reason I immediately recognized it as an allusion to an episode of "Young Indiana Jones", which got me thinking: just how much adventure has George Lucas et al. crammed into the life of Indiana Jones? Does he even have time to sleep? Apparently not. I discovered this website that uses the movies, TV shows, and books to reconstruct an Indiana Jones timeline. Utterly fantastic! I find it amazingly coincidental that Indy managed to be at the right place at the right time for pretty much every single important event in the first half of the 20th century. And that's why he will forever be our mascot.

NOTE: As of this posting, the timeline does not have an entry for the year 1957, when the new movie takes place. I hope this stays blank for a while so as to not spoil anything for those who haven't seen the new film yet. But if you're scrolling and there's an entry for 1957, just skip it.

Know Your Drinking Water!

2008-05-19T11:55:00.005-06:00

I found this very informative article about bottled water and what's really going on: where it comes from, who produces it, and the major companies behind the deal. I've decided to just reproduce the entire article below. And don't forget, (as the Brita water filter commercials keep reminding us) using water filters at home is for the most part just as good, without all that plastic waste. The original article can be found here.

Where Your Bottled Water Comes From?
By Liz Metcalfe

A brouhaha erupted four years ago when it was revealed that Coca Cola’s Dasani brand of bottled water is purified municipal tap water. But according to the independent beverage research company Canadean, at least two out of every five bottles of water sold around the world contain "purified" water, rather than "source" water that come from a spring. Most big-name water producers market more than one line of purified water that comes from municipal water supplies.

If the label doesn’t name the source, or spring, it’s usually purified tap water. That’s not a bad thing. Although bottled water purveyors purify tap water and sometimes add things to it, municipal water straight out of the tap is every bit as safe – some say safer – to drink as bottled water. And if you have to buy water when away from your house or didn’t bring a re-usable bottle that you can fill, it’s good to know that the water you’re drinking didn’t have to burn up even more fossil fuel while being shipped or flown thousands of miles to get to your store.

Despite the growing number of bottled water labels, some stating exotic sources in the Alps, the lion’s share of the market is owned by big companies such as Nestle, Coca Cola, and Pepsi. Nestle has a big footprint in Toronto. Almost all Toronto-area grocery stores greet shoppers at the entrance with stacks of cases of Nestle’s Pure Life Natural Spring Water. Nestle also owns the Perrier, Montclair, and Sanpellegrino brands of water. Nestle’s website says that water in Pure Life brand bottles come from several sources, including purified tap or well water. The bottles of Pure Life Natural Spring Water in Toronto come from a spring in Aberfoyle, Ontario, which is about 10 kilometres south of Guelph.

Water is commonly sold in four categories:
•Spring water: from an underground source that flows naturally to the surface.•Purified water: water that has been distilled, de-ionized, or filtered through reverse osmosis or other processes.•Sparkling water: water that still has the same amount of carbon dioxide in it when tapped at source. This may involve replacing the carbon dioxide after processes.•Mineral water: Water that contains at least 250 parts per million dissolved minerals. This must be present in water at the source. Minerals cannot be added.

If you must drink bottled water, that makes Nestle’s Pure Life Natural Spring Water not a bad choice for Ontarians, since those bottles don’t have to be shipped very far. Ditto for Montclair water (also owned by Nestle), because it also comes from Aberfoyle. And Pepsi-Cola’s Aquafina bottles contain purified Mississauga tap water. Aquafina also purifies Vancouver tap water. In Alberta, Coca Cola purifies Calgary tap water. And 8 Degrees, water from Arctic icebergs, is bottled in St. Anthony, Newfoundland. Evian, Perrier, Vittel and Sanpellegrino, by contrast, are shipped to Canada from Europe.

If your ground water supply is suspect or you often get boil water advisories, large, returnable bottles of purified local water or water from local springs is a good choice. Read the labels to find out how far your water has traveled.

Below is a table of the sources and owners of some of the most popular brands of bottled water in Canada (Brand: Source / Owned by).

Evian: More than one source near Évian-les-Bains in the French Alps / Danone
Perrier: A spring in the Gard district of the Languedoc-Roussillon region of southern France / Nestle Group
Montclair: A spring in Aberfoyle, Ontario / Nestle Group
Nestle Pure Life Natural Spring Water: A spring in Aberfoyle, Ontario / Nestle Group
Sanpellegrino: A spring near Bergame in a valley of the Italian Alps / Nestle Group
Vittel: The Gérémoy spring in the Vosges Mountains of eastern France / Nestle Group
Dansani: In Canada, purified tap water from Calgary, Alberta / Coca-Cola
Aquafina: In Canada, purified tap water from Mississauga, Ontario or Vancouver, British Columbia / Pepsi-Cola

Rocket Shatner

2008-04-23T11:35:00.005-06:00

Everyone knows about William Shatner and his supposed singing career. So this clip is really no suprise. Except that he is performing live. And that someone paid him to perform live. Infront of a large crowd of peers who I guess are not making fun of him. And that blue screen technology seemed a perfect compliment to the performance. And that Shatner thinks he's acting 'deep'. And that Bernie Taupin actually introduces him. And in a respectful manner.

I actually saw the next clip first. I thought that Chris Elliot was just making fun of Shatner in general, not realizing that it was a spoof of a specific situation. I was wrong; horribly, horribly wrong.

Fast Facts about David Suzuki

2008-03-18T17:46:00.003-06:00

As culled from his autobiography Metamorphosis: Stages in a Life (1988).

David is a second generation Canadian. His parents were both born in Canada. His grandparents were the ones who emigrated to British Columbia from Japan.

David cannot speak Japanese any more than the average tourist.

David spent part of his youth in Japanese work camps near Slocan, British Columbia. The entire Japanese community (including Canadian citizens of Japanese descent) was expelled from the Northwest Coast after the bombing of Pearl Harbour, their possessions confiscated and property revoked, out of fears that the community would ally with the enemy. This blight on Canada’s history is well explained in Joy Kogawa’s excellent book Obasan. (Check out this weird but compelling interpretation of the novel as a slide show).

David spent time in the same camp as Joy Kogawa. They were both young children. David’s inability to speak Japanese made him somewhat of a social outcast. He had few close friends and spent most of his time fishing and observing nature.

Even after WWII was over, Japanese families were not allowed to resettle on the west coast. David’s family eventually moved to London, Ontario, where he graduated high school.

David went to Amherst College, a small undergraduate liberal arts school west of Boston. At the time, Ontario had a grade 13 and those students who couldn’t pass the grade 13 government exams but wanted to attend university would go to a school in the States. Because of this, David was under the mistaken impression that American schools were mediocre. After almost flunking out the first year, David changed his work ethic.

At Amherst, David was the only Canadian and one of only two students of Japanese descent.

David worked as a busboy in the school dining rooms during his time at Amherst, as his scholarship did not cover his cost of living.

Amherst did not allow science majors to take more than 60% of their classes in the sciences. Thus David, a biology major, was forced to take subjects like history, phys ed, anthropology, political science, and classical music. David feels that this approach to education has actually made him a better person.

David did his Ph.D work at the University of Chicago. He finished it in 3 years. David never did a Master’s degree.

David made a name for himself in academia by studying the genetics of the fruit fly, including temperature-sensitive mutations.

David’s first job after graduation in 1961 was at the Union Carbide facility in Oak Ridge, Tennessee. This is where the Manhattan Project occurred. He worked in the Biology Division. After two years, David decided to return to Canada because he was “consumed by bitterness and anger at the racism apparent all around me.” (p.159)

David’s first marriage was to another a woman of Japanese descent. They had three children but the marriage lasted less than a decade. David fully admits that he focused too much on his career to make the relationship work.

David’s first teaching job in Canada was at the University of Alberta in Edmonton. He hated the cold winter and only lasted one year. He then accepted a job at UBC in Vancouver. Wus.

David spent the spring of 1969 teaching genetics at the University of California at Berkeley. He returned to UBC with long hair, a goatee, and dressed as a hippie. The rest of the faculty were displeased by his new appearance.

David met his second wife while attending a conference at Carleton University. She was a grad student in comparative literature. He credits her with making him realize and confront his subconscious sexist tendencies.

David was already an established professor before he began considering the moral responsibilities involved in science. This revelation was prompted by a discussion with one of his grad students.

David’s relationship with the CBC began when he was involved in a series about recent changes in science and society. This series only aired one episode. Frantic to fill the time slot, the CBC filmed three episodes of David and Al Kapuler debating the merits of recent discoveries. This lead to David being offered the job as host of “Suzuki on Science”. This lasted 2 seasons.

David then became the host of ‘Science Magazine”. This was a half hour show that highlighted new research in quick 10 minute segments. The show aired right before “The Nature of Things”, which had already been on TV for 10 years.

At the same time, David was the original host for “Quirks and Quarks” on CBC radio. Since he was fully immersed in broadcasting, David stopped doing active research, although he remained on the faculty at UBC.

In 1978, the two TV shows were amalgamated into “The Nature of Things with David Suzuki”

David’s house in Vancouver was used in the movie Mother Lode, starring Charlton Heston.

David was asked to become president of the National Research Council of Canada in 1979 by the Joe Clark government. The day after deciding to accept the position, the Clark government crumbled and the offer was revoked.

Things I did not learn: apparently David Suzuki is not my father. And I thought I had his nose.

I Found This in the Middle of a Presentation

2008-03-09T15:04:00.003-06:00

Bert and Ernie Teach Us About the Past

2008-03-09T14:41:00.003-06:00

First, Bert and Ernie explore a pyramid (filled with such comic gems as "where did I park my bicycle?")

Second, Bert and Ernie as Cavepersons, showing us how Upper Palaeolithic peoples took out the trash. And yes, this clip is better than the entire movie 10,000 B.C.

And just because it's the funniest thing I've ever seen, here's a clip of Bert's TV getting invaded by an 'H'.

Reunite with your Lost Camera!

2008-02-24T11:56:00.002-06:00

Inspired by a recent postsecret postcard, a University of Winnipeg student has started up a website dedicated to reuniting people with their long-lost cameras. People who have found cameras and developed the pics are encouraged to send a couple of pictures to the website, where they will be posted. The webmaster of the site suggests using pictures that reveal distinct landmarks or clearly shown faces. This site has only been up for a few months and already a couple of cameras have been reunited!

Check it out here: Found Cameras and Orphan Pictures.

"Attending...the nation’s wealthiest & most elite private colleges could cost less than going to public universities"

2008-02-23T20:51:00.007-06:00

Yes, you read correctly: certain privately funded post-secondary institutes in the U.S. are trying to find ways to make university education more affordable, while the public institutions in Canada are playing as much grab-ass as they can with people's tuition dollars. This informative article from the New York Times describes how Stanford is following the lead of other universities (including Harvard and Yale) in expanding financial aid to families who make less than $100K a year. This means if your family makes 60,000 bucks a year, you can get free tuition at Stanford. I was suprised by this revelation. I know that tuition in the States is horrifingly expensive, and I figured that the price would remain the same (or increase) because of educations' ever increasing value as a commodity. Perhaps the backlash from people paying those exhorbitant amounts is finally reaching the right people. Although I'm sure there are plenty of other factors at play.

What relevance is this to the current situation in Canada? In Canada students working towards undergraduate degrees are getting shafted with increased class sizes, more contact with sessional teachers, and less with full-time faculty -- all the while seeing their tuition increase yearly. It's no secret that the University of Saskatchewan places little importance on undergraduate education, feeling that such a degree can be obtained in a factory-like setting with no detrimental effects (for a quick peek at the U of S policy, check out its Integrated Plan; this is the Arts & Science page, but a link at the bottom shows the university's overall plan). The university's focus is on graduate research, which is (that's right!) funded from outside sources, such as government grants and monies given for research by private companies. The university gets a cut of this, and they would like to see the profits from graduate research increase. While that's all good for graduate students, undergrads are left with stale educations and ignored circumstances.

Here's what I'm thinking: if the university is trying to land all this money from outside interests like private companies, doesn't that put our institution in the same boat as Stanford and Yale? With this influx of money, doesn't that mean student tuition wouldn't really be necessary? Wouldn't this situation allow -- God forbid -- universities to offer the same expanded financial aid as those down south? I mean, really, if the quality of undergrad education is going to pot, then why should people be paying outrageous prices for it? Just a thought.

"Hope is Was" Music

2008-02-03T00:50:00.001-06:00

I have yet to decide if I made the decision to post my music on the web out of egoism or sadism; the coin could flip at any moment. Regardless, it is true. I have set up a separate blog that will function solely as a place where others can listen to the songs I have written and recorded over the years.

And viola! www.hopeiswas.blogspot.com

I will be posting a new song every week. Please check it out and tell me what you think! Any comments, no matter how negative, are appreciated (okay, maybe there is such a thing as too negative, but I'll let you know when I get there).

Fictional Archaeology Doesn't Need a Thesis Defense

2008-01-30T22:38:00.000-06:00

I'm going to increase the frequency of my blog posts, I promise! Right now I'd like to bring up the subject of archaeology in fiction novels. I'm sure every archaeologist has looked for it at one time or another. I just finished reading Pierre Boulle's novel "Planet of the Apes" and noted that archaeology plays a pivotal role in the plot (the discipline plays an important role in the Charleton Heston movie as well, but the two actually vary quite a bit). For the trivia junkies: Boulle's other famous novel is "Bridge Over the River Kwai", which was also made into a highly regarded film.

I found this website by Anita G. Cohen-Williams of Arizona State University: Archaeology in Fiction Bibliography. This appears to be a great place to start looking for quality novels that include archaeology. I use the term 'quality' loosely here, as some of these titles do not strike me as very appealing. In fact, out of this entire list, I think the most intriguing novels are those written by science fiction authors. But that's just me. Browse around, and add some books to your list of "Things to read instead of research for my thesis".

Peter Ackroyd's "First Light" is on this list. I bring this up because this book has been sitting on my shelf for at least a couple of years and I have yet to read it. But now that I know there's archaeology in it, I'll be getting to it right away! Note that the compilation date of the bibliography is 1994. And yet there's no mention of Planet of the Apes! Damn those dirty archaeologists! Some other titles I know about that feature archaeology but are not on the list (or were written after 1994):
Michael Ondaatje's The English Patient (snicker snicker)
Robert Sawyer's Hominids series (excellent)
John Darnton's Neanderthal (could have been worse)

If these didn't make it, there are bound to be more. Can you think of any more? Anyone?

The Gift of Life

2007-12-24T11:09:00.000-06:00

The story from the Star Phoenix, December 24th, 2007.

If you're not convinced by global warming, maybe you'll be convinced by a frickin' huge pile o' garbage

2007-10-19T17:14:00.000-06:00

If you don't believe in global warming, that's fine. But only an idiot would think that human activity has absolutely no impact on the earth or the environment. CNN has just issued an amazing special report entitled "Planet in Peril: Environmental Coverage". This show is a series of reports, produced by the likes of Anderson Cooper, that document environmental degradation at the hands of humans. These reports don't discuss abstract concepts like the rise of carbon gases or future predictions of climate change (cuz really - predictions change all the time, so who takes them seriously?). Instead they just document what is going on right now: deforestation, erosion, disease, pollution, etc. Their cameras and reporters travelled the world to show exactly how much of the rain forest is actually gone; what the most polluted cities in the world actually look like; what colour water is in some places; who is getting sick from what and why. I think this is better evidence of what we're doing to the planet than Gore can offer up; instead of 'suppose this happens' or 'if we continue at our current rate', these specials show how bad things are RIGHT NOW. They take us out of our bubbles and force us to see what's happening elsewhere. Click the link above for the website, which has podcasts of episodes already shown.

Free REM covers -- Automatic, Baby!

2007-10-04T13:57:00.000-06:00

Stereogum has put together a cover album of REMs 'Automatic for the People', to celebrate the 15 year anniversary of its release. This has been sanctioned by the boys themselves, and Mike Mills adds his comments for posterity. For a limited time (I don't know how long) this can be downloaded for free at the Stereogum website. Some of this is weak, but some is excellent. I don't think you'd recognize any of the artists (except maybe the Meat Puppets and Sara from Tegan and Sara), but it is worth a listen. Hooray!

A Toast to Champagne

2007-07-11T23:48:00.000-06:00

Most of the time I try to keep this blog focused on certain subjects: politics, sociology, the odd fanatical statement. But every once in a while I must post about humanity. Because, after all the bickerings about ideology and perspective and moral understanding, everything comes down to being human. Being human means relationships, connecting with other souls in this life that sometimes seems so long but is so short; that we seem so busy in our propensity to run the world as if it were a machine and to never have enough time for other animals that actually colour our lives (and by this I mean humans). So with these thoughts in mind I note that Vince Champagne passed away yesterday. I did not know him well, having only met and spoken with him a handful of times. But this occurred within the second year of his lung transplant, which I have firsthand knowledge of. And I must respect him as a person of integrity, having never seen or heard him do any wrong, because his strength and dignity in the face of such hardship deserves recognition of sorts. This picture is the only one I have. Although I was more an acquaintance than a friend, he deserves my minute of silence -- at the very least. And even though only a handful of people will read this post, I believe it's inclusion deserves merit. To learn more about Vince, learn about cystic fibrosis, or donate to the cause, visit the website he created two years ago by clicking here. RIP, Vince.

Pinstripes?

2007-07-02T20:55:00.000-06:00

Jack White is a heavenly creature, that's all I have to say. Caught the White Stripes concert, but the free show at Eastview Bowl earlier in the day was even better (their link includes pics!). Long may you run, Jack and Meg.

Sicko

2007-06-29T09:17:00.000-06:00

Last night I managed to see Sicko, Michael Moore's new documentary about the state of the healthcare system in America. Good, strong stuff. I definitely urge everyone to see it. About a quarter of the movie discusses Canada's healthcare system, and the whole theatre broke into applause when Tommy Douglas' name came up. And who said we aren't patriotic!

There will be critics of course, and some of this criticism will be justified. Moore's take on Canadian healthcare is highly romanticized and we Canadians will recognize that immediately (he defends his treatment here). And knowing this does make us a little wary of how he portrays other healthcare systems around the world. I'm sure his critics will nitpick at every single detail of this film, trying to destroy his argument by saying how he misrepresented laundry or something equally as trivial (to be honest, though, moorewatch.com is a fabulous site critical of Moore, although like most right-wingers, they tend to respond to arguments by arguing a minor point in the original argument). But seriously: if you take anything at face value these days, even movies that represent your own opinions, then you're not doing anyone any good.

The strength of the film (in my opinion) is not in the little details, but the big picture. Moore successfully shows that the reasons American politicians are against universal healthcare are unfounded and based mostly on a hangover effect of Cold War paranoia. And he shows how the business plans of HMOs and pharmacutical companies are counterproductive. And so what if a Canadian he interviewed said she only had to wait 20 minutes to see a doctor (a claim we would all scoff at) or that in reality you have to wait months to get a transplant. Even if we compared out two systems and found them with equal pros and cons in every way, the point is this: we get it for next to free, while it costs Americans thousands of dollars.

Fortunately this is a topic that you can research without being an expert on Michael Moore. So I suggest, if you have real questions, that you get off the Moore websites and find other sources of information. Most, I'm sure, which is just as slanted one way or another.

Aircraft Shouldn't go to the Dogs

2007-06-22T11:29:00.000-06:00

Do you like my pun? I made it up myself! Anyway, Air Canada recently decided to ban pets from all their flights. This means no pets in the cargo hold, either. This CBC news report is great because it includes comments posted by people flaming mad about the whole affair. As you can probably tell from the wonderful cartoon, I do not think that animals have a place in the cabin of the plane. You are trapped in a confined place for seven hours -- anyone with an allergy is going to have quite the problem. Do you think anyone allergic to bees would mind if I released a couple for our trip? What kind of arrogance allows you to believe that you should be able to bring your pet into the cabin? I also think over-powdered ladies and gents should be hosed down before they get on the flight as well. I don't need to smell the stinkiness that you dose yourself with in order to hide the stinkiness underneath. Take a shower before the flight, and wear deodorant! Or, better yet, get your head out of your ass!

I do think it unfortunate that pets are no longer allowed in the cargo hold. Some of these people make legitimate complaints, especially the ones moving long distances. Maybe Air Canada should consider this on an individual basis. For example, bringing your pet on vacation is a no-no. But bringing the animal when you move is okay. You could police this very well; if the dog is with you on the return flight, then it obviously was a vacation. BEEP -- six thousand dollar fine. Or an hour in a room with a swarm of bees.

Taste of Americana

2007-06-21T11:08:00.000-06:00

The frequency of my blog entries is slowly dipping, but no worries -- I have some killer stuff up my sleeve, if I can make the time for it. I just came back from a brief trip to Minnesota and I'd like to make a few comments. First, every American I met was very polite and warm, including the ones that never knew we were Canadian. I am starting to think that they are only overly rude when they leave the country. Perhaps it's some kind of defense mechanism, in which they figure since everyone hates them, they'll just act arrogant first.

I definately believe that Americans are heavily invested in 'fear' as an emotion. Minneapolis had electronic billboards around the city proclaiming the city's current terrorist threat level (it was a comfortable orange during our stay. Orange means High, but I don't think it ever dips much below that). The Mall of America proudly proclaims itself as a gun-free zone (aside: the MOA boasts itself larger than West Ed, but it certainly doesn't seem that way. This is probably because it is much better organized. The amusement park is located in the middle, with four stories of retail outlets in a hexagon around it. Way easier to get through than West Ed. But for the most part, same shitty stores). Pat Buchanan and Bill O'Reilly, two reactionary conservatives, have syndicated columns in small town newspapers. And Fox News is...well, Fox News.

As they say: great place to visit, but...

The pic of the sign is from this guy's website.

Prince Charles is Working it!

2007-05-19T23:52:00.000-06:00

Bonnie Prince Charles has recently decried politicians’ refusal to fight climate change and has vowed to become a better advocate concerning the issue. I was surprised to learn that he runs an organic farm on one of his estates. He also owns a multi-million dollar line of organic foods (Duchy Originals), whose profits go completely to charity.
He’s begun cutting down on annual holiday trips in an effort to spend less time in an airplane. Interestingly, he also plans to publish the ways that his own lifestyle affects the environment. This would appear in his annual review of his accounts, which is written every year.
Although I was enthralled by his actions, a friend of mine pointed out to me that he isn’t involved in offering solutions. This is true. So while he isn’t going as far as he could, I am optimistic enough to like the direction he’s going. He is working on his carbon footprint, finding ways to reduce his household’s carbon emissions.
So at least he is starting with himself, which I think is the biggest obstacle in combating climate change: that people figure ‘who cares if I do it, no one else will’ and don’t even bother. So people, start with yourself and worry about your neighbours afterwards.

Employee Arrested for Leaking Tories' Climate Plan

2007-05-09T15:20:00.000-06:00

Just wanted to point out how this article scares the shit out of me. Apparently, a draft copy of the government's Eco-Action plan has been leaked. An employee was arrested for breach of workplace security over the incident. The employee works for Environment Canada.
While it's always difficult to balance out freedom of information and issues of national security, I have to wonder what the hell is going on here. Is the Conservative government's plan for climate change an issue of national security, especially if the proposed legislation is going public eventually? Shouldn't at least some facets of government be transparent to the public? Why do things have to be hush-hush top secret until they get over-dramatically unveiled for all to see -- at which point the government attempts to push the legislation through with very little debate or actual consultation. I believe this is what happened the last time they tried this. Don't they ever learn? If climate change plans are top secret, is it any wonder we treat all their business with equal skepticism? Could I include any more rhetorical questions in this paragraph?

Equal ain't just a sugar substitute!

2007-05-06T13:46:00.000-06:00

Today I caught the Canadian Women's Bowling Championship (do you think I could find a link to this anywhere on the web? No. And that's part of the problem. Anyway --). I didn't realize it was a women's championship. I saw a lady bowling and thought, "You don't see too many professional female bowlers out there." And then I noticed that her opponent was also female. And I realized it was only women bowling.

Stupid epiphany, hey? Anyway, I started thinking about gender divisions in sports. Any time I bring up something like this I have to be careful of what I say -- if I phrase something wrong I could end up having hell rained on my head. But traditionally there has been a gender division in sports that is based on some very realistic differences. Some sports, like football and hockey, have kept the genders separate because the powers-that-be believe females are at a disadvantage in strength and speed. While this is not always the case, obviously, I believe this is something that should be kept in mind. Other sports have similar divisions, such as golf: men can generally drive farther than women, so women would be at an immense disadvantage if they competed head to head. On the other hand sports like tennis are generally gender-segregated, but have found room for mixed gender play in the form of doubles.

But why the hell is bowling segregated? If you can throw strikes consistently, shouldn't you be able to do so when competing against another gender? I suddenly realized there is a whole slew of sports that segregate for reasons other than physical prowess. Like darts, or curling. Does lawn bowling work this way? I don't even know.

Maybe there are reasons that I'm missing. I think the answer is probably more to do with politics than differences between gender: the number of bowling events would probably drop if men and women competed together, sponsorship would go down, not as many avenues for competition, etc. Or maybe the women want to compete separately. Either of these reasons could be more excuses than reasons.

For people interested, this link to the National Association for Girls & Women in Sport is killer awesome. This is American, so you know. It outlines how funding for women and men sport in college must be equal, but 80% of universities in the U.S. still do not abide by this legislation. College football is a biggie: four times in the last several decades schools have tried to get football excluded from the legislation, citing the extremely high costs of the sport and that their profits go back towards all athletics. NAGWS own studies find these numbers to be inflated, and state that there already exists legislation that allows for extra expenditures in football. So there. Interestingly enough, varsity cheerleading is not considered a sport -- unless they have a coach, practice as much as sports teams, and compete against other squads more often than they cheer at games. Could this ruling perhaps be influential on the popularity in competitive cheerleading today?

As an aside, 5 pin bowling is apparently something peculiar to Canada. Canadians invented it in 1905 and it never really caught on anywhere else. Yet we eat it up here. Crazy. And I was originally gonna post the famous picture of American soccer star Mia Hamm celebrating a goal by ripping off her shirt, exposing her Nike bra underneath. I thought this was seen as an iconic photograph of women's sport -- at which I was going to rip it apart for being such a ridiculous picture to be iconized (?). But I couldn't find the picture. So maybe I was wrong about the whole thing. The pic I did use is the U of Toronto women's hockey team -- circa 1925.

"All persons, living and dead, are purely coincidental."

2007-04-12T14:11:00.000-06:00

Son of a bitch! Kurt Vonnegut died!

Although he was one of my favourite authors, I do not think he was one for eulogizing. I also used a self-portrait instead of his picture. The title of this post is taken from Timequake. So out of respect for him, I leave with this:

Son of a bitch! Kurt Vonnegut died!

Greatest Band in the World -- And Now I Have Proof!

2007-03-17T12:10:00.000-06:00

My favourite band, R.E.M., has just been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. I'm glad they received the recognition, considering what they've done for music: they were an integral part of the creation of the underground college rock movement in the 80s; they paved the way for such bands to be recognized in the mainstream and almost single-handedly forced the adoption of the catch-all term 'alternative music'; showed how bands could maintain their integrity in the face of greedy 80s music executives (by doing things like refusing to tour in support of not one -- but two! -- million-selling albums: Out of Time and Automatic for the People, for those who don't know); showed how bands can continue to evolve instead of stagnating on the same sound, even if it means a substantial decrease in record sales; and to continue the tradition of layering music with political activism. In fact, their rendition of John Lennon's "#9 Dream" is the lead single off of the new Lennon tribute album, the proceeds of which are going to the Campaign to Save Darfur.

They did it for the music and not the money or the chicks or the blow. Speaking of, Van Halen was also inducted into the Hall at the same time. So maybe the hall doesn't know everything.

Get in touch with the R.E.M. inside you! Here are videos and songs on their website: REMHQ.

Happy Unbirthday to Me!

2007-03-12T16:06:00.000-06:00

I have just realized that my blog is now a year old. When I started it, I was sure I'd fizzle out after a few months. I guess I just can't keep my stupid comments to myself! Thanks everyone for reading, and feel free it pass it along to anyone you think would be interested. In the interest of self-promotion, I figured I would list the 10 posts of the last year that I am most proud of: either because of the subject matter, or the quality of the comments they generated, or because I just plain thought it was spiffy. In random order, of course! Catch you all later!

It's been a year, Brett and you are missed.

Welcome to the Postsecret World.

The flu gets Robert DeNiro.

Land claims and the stigma of tobacco.

My post concerning Chinese Google attracted major spam advertising. Check it out!

If you don't respect Doctors Without Borders, you ain't human.

I'll only become a Scientologist if I can boink Katie Holmes.

Bush tries to get around international law, and I try to convince people to do their own research!

My hometown is probably built on a landfill.

The best day of the year, and not because of greed or Jesus.

MySpace users keep the corporate cycle going.

One reason intelligence is sexy (according to L.)

Okay, I can't count.

Lesson #47: Don't let the Spagetti get Away

2007-03-10T19:56:00.000-06:00

I have decided that I am too serious. Yesterday I realized that I have never laughed. Ever. So I read the latest Dilbert cartoon and attempted a chuckle. And it worked! It turned into a mind-bending guffaw! It was the greatest experience of my life!

For everyone's viewing enjoyment, 15 minutes of bliss: various Muppet Show scenes starring the Swedish Chef. Nothing can be funnier, or finer.

I have been waiting anxiously for Disney to release Season 2 of the Muppet Show. They first announced it would be released over a year ago. They keep putting it off. Damn them! But the folks at Henson Productions have put together an improv show, now on TBS.

I like to think that I'm best represented by Gonzo, but more of me thinks that I'm actually Scooter. Which Muppet are you?

Alberta Leads the World in Combating Global Warming -- Not!

2007-03-09T20:35:00.000-06:00

So yesterday afternoon I dragged my girlfriend and her mom to the Royal Alberta Museum, and when we exited the building we noticed a commotion of sorts out by Government House, right next to the museum. There were a couple of limos, a few policepeople, a bunch of guys in suits (some of them wearing black sunglasses -- very Matrix!), a tv crew, and a group of schoolkids anxiously awaiting something. There was also a protest group brandishing signs; the group was made up of six college-age people who seemed to be wearing a lot of hemp. It was hard to tell what the signs said, or what they were chanting, or even what kind of hemp they were wearing, because the police had corraled them a fair distance down the street. The schoolkids were standing closer than the protesters! I don't get it; there wasn't a single Muslim-looking terrorist among them. Apparently you now need a megaphone to exercise freedom of speech.

We did not stick around, but I wish we had. Instead we watched the news that night, in which they ran a story about Alberta Premier Ed Stelmach holding a joint press conference with Prime Minister Stephen Harper -- at fucking Governor House! The protest group was the Sierra Club. The two bigwigs announced plans for federal funding to help make Alberta industry more environmentally friendly without slowing down the economy (Here is a crappy newsstory about the press conference, and it was the best one I could find. Newspapers suck).

Actually I lied: here is a better story, one that outlines Harper's spanky plan to help the environment that just so happened to be the brainchild of industry: carbon sequestration. They want to capture carbon dioxide from emissions and then store it underground, or inject it into wells to help extract hard-to-get resources. That was not a typo; I wrote CARBON DIOXIDE. Granted, I'm not familiar with the process, but am I the only one who knows that carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is GOOD? You know, the stuff trees breathe? Carbon MONOXIDE is the bad shit. This article also includes a great (and obvious) observation at the end: all this does is hide the problem. The best thing to do is produce less greenhouse gas emissions.

Actually, Wikipedia has a great article on CO2 sinks and sequestration. It outlines things pretty good, including that carbon gas has to be stored as CO2. But my favourite section is about halfway down, in which they discuss gas storage. Sticking it under the ground isn't necessarily safe: the geological barries are only 'supposedly' sufficient. You also need high pressures and low temperatures to make this work -- under the sea is the best place, not the oilsands of Alberta.

All this reminds me of those stupid commercials about nuclear energy that are now all over the airwaves. They are saying that nuclear energy is a good alternative energy source because it doesn't produce any carbon emissions -- conveniently forgetting about all the toxic waste byproducts (This Greenpeace article effectively kills that idea). And that reminds me of KFC commercials a couple of years ago, that claimed KFC chicken was a healthy food choice because it didn't have any carbs in it. Apparently grease and fat are okay to digest in large quantities. If you don't believe me check this article.

Must we be constantly bombarded by the thought process of idiots?

Ani Difranco's Bundle of Joy!

2007-02-08T16:37:00.000-06:00

I have just discovered that Ani Difranco, folk/punk/social critic/feminist singer extraordinaire, gave birth to little girl named Petah on January 20th. I love Ani. My sister first got me onto her six or seven years ago when I listened to her live album 'Living in Clip', which blew me away. Her music has changed over the years, gotten a little softer and more about inner emotions than political or social issues. But as her most recent album 'Reprieve' shows, she's still got some bite on her.

I personally don't care if she has a kid, but I'm glad that she's glad. However, some people are not so happy at her biological clock. As this blog post comments, some people think her music will go the way of Sucky Town now that she has a little one to keep her spirits soaring through the clouds. And maybe they have a point. But I'd just like to point out that the blogger loved Ani's new cd but became less enthusiastic AFTER she heard the bard was pregnant. Meaning that the pregnancy is already affecting fan's reaction to her work. So maybe it won't be that Ani's work changes for the worst, but that some of her greatest fans have already changed their opinion. Ani has been the poster babe for lesbian/bisexuality/self-esteem/independence for so long, and often having a baby doesn't jive with that image. Too bad. (By the way, I used the term 'poster babe' because Ani's self-made record label is called Righteous Babe Records. So get off my back, you feminist chicks.)

Here are some of my favourite Ani lyrics for your enjoyment:

My thighs have been involved in many accidents and now I can’t get insured / and I don’t need to be lured by you / my cunt is built like a wound that won’t heal / now you don’t have to ask because you know how I feel
Out of Habit

I broke down in Louisiana and had to thumb a ride / got in the first car that pulled over / you can’t be picky in the middle of the night / he said baby do like to fool around baby do you like to touch / I said maybe some other time fuck you very much
Every State Line

I’m no heroine least not last time I checked / I’m too easy to roll over I’m too easy to wreck / I just write about I should have done I sing what I wish I could say / and I hope somewhere some woman hears my music and it helps her through her day
I’m No Heroine

Boys get locked up in some prison / girls get locked up in some house / and it don’t matter if it’s a warden or a lover or spouse
Out of Range

I was eleven years old he was as old as my dad / and he took something from me I didn’t even know that I had
Letter to a John

Like you’re trying to fight gravity on a planet that insists / that love is like falling and falling is like this
Falling is Like This

Squint your eyes and look closer I’m not between you and your ambition / I am a poster girl with no poster I am 32 flavors and them some
32 Flavors

Tell you the truth I prefer the worst of you / too bad you had to have a better half
Untouchable Face

They caught the last poor man on a poor man’s vacation / they cuffed him and they confiscated his stuff/ they dragged his black ass down to the station and said ok the streets are safe now / all your pretty white children can come out and see spot run / and they came out of their houses and they looked around / but they didn’t see no one
T’is of Thee

I just want you to understand that I know what all the fighting was for / and I just want you to understand that I’m not angry anymore
Angry Anymore

And if I hear one more time about a fool’s right to his tools of rage / I’m gonna take all my friends and I’m gonna move to Canada / and we’re gonna die of old age
To the Teeth

Watching children run with their arms outstretched / just to throw those arms around their grandpa’s necks / watching lovers plant kisses / old men to their misses / at the arrival’s gate
Arrival’s Gate

Are you weary as water in a faucet left dripping / with an incessant sadness like a sad record skipping
Swing

I was once escorted through the doors of a clinic by a man in a bullet proof vest / and no bombs went off that day / so I am still here to say
Birmingham

You are a miracle but that is not all / you are also a stiff drink and I am on call / you are a party and I am a school night / and I’m looking for my door key but you are my porch light
School Night

Yes this is the news in 90 second segments officially produced / and aired again and again and again / by the little black and white pawns of the network yes men
Decree

While out in tv nation under darkening skies / the resistance is just waiting to be organized
Millenium Theater

Foster Home Nightmare

2007-02-03T12:53:00.000-06:00

The city of Edmonton is in a flutter because a recent incident has brought focus to problems in the foster care system. A small boy died last week of head trauma while in the care of a foster mother. The foster mother is a registered nurse, has one other foster child and two biological kids, and also works part-time. She is being charged with second degree murder.

The foster mother claims that the boy threw himself on the bathroom floor and died from self-inflicted wounds, and that he has a history of violence towards others and himself. Public support of the foster mother so far has not been very favourable.

Last night, several news programs ran an interview with the biological mother of the deceased boy, an Aboriginal woman who has been in rehab for the last several months battling substance abuse. Her face was scarred, her voice slurred and her speech not very articulate. Another relative was interviewed, an Aboriginal male, this time enormously overweight and also lacking quality television skills.

I guarantee you that these interviews have swayed public opinion with the suddenness of a weather vane. It placed the boy’s condition in a certain context and gave credibility to the foster mother’s claims that the boy had severe emotional problems. Ten seconds looking and listening to the biological mother, and suddenly the foster mother is probably in the right because, hey—look at the kid’s parents!

I think it was irresponsible of the news to air these interviews as they did. One channel, to be fair, did censor the biological mother’s face, but it’s all for naught if every other channel doesn’t bother.

All in all, it was a bad day for Aboriginal press. The same Edmonton newscasts have been running stories all week about homeless Aboriginal persons claiming that the city police have been picking them up and dropping them off in remote locations – sound familiar, Saskatoon? Of course every Aboriginal person interviewed in the story is homeless and sounds drunk and doesn’t look all that good. I know there’s nothing you can do about that, but it’s depressing for me, a person who advocates human rights, to see the news dominated by this negative coverage that only feeds fire to racist rants. Fortunately – if a person can use that term here – some homeless white people have begun to speak up about the behaviour of the police. So now instead of hating Natives, we can get back to doing what capitalist societies do best – hating poor people!!!

This Morning's 'Gripe of the Day'

2007-02-01T18:08:00.000-06:00

On the weekend the Globe & Mail ran a special report on the global warming crisis. Overall it was pretty balanced, and far less vague than most (by this I mean: is it real or not? They sided with it being real). My beef is a chart they printed, showing the cycle of CO2 level over the last few hundred thousand years. I saw the same chart in the movie "An Inconvienent Truth", Al Gore's super-duper documentary. My beef? The source of the chart is cited as "Globe & Mail Research." That's a source? Does that mean the newspaper commissioned environmental scientists to test ice cores? Me thinks not. They obviously got the numbers from somewhere other than their ass, so why didn't they say where? From now on, my References Cited page on my term papers will have a single entry -- Source: Kris S. research.

Standard Oil Sets Precedent -- for MySpace!

2007-01-22T20:03:00.000-06:00

I have formulated a theory about MySpace, that crazy cool site for trendy bored teenagers and 40 year old sexual predators. For those that do not know, MySpace is sort of a cross between a journal and a personal webpage. People list their personal information, likes & dislikes, photos of themselves and their friends, links to others, and random diary entries. Most of the members are teenagers freshly imbued by the Age of Technology. MySpace has also become a place for new bands, movies, and artists to advertise themselves by making available music downloads, tour info, pics, and journals. If you do not have a MySpace page, then you are a lame-o. I do not, thus one reason why I am a lame-o (the other reason is my outdated jargon).

The Daily Show once made fun of a particular facet of MySpace: Friends (This clip of the newstory by Demetri is great, please look at it). You can connect to another person's page by inviting them to become your friend. All your friends are displayed on your page, and it is not uncommon for a person who spends a lot of time on mySpace to have hundreds, if not thousands, of friends.

People who do not enjoy 'social website networking' (this is usually older people or those college kids who feel superior -- myself included!) scoff at the concept of listing as friends thousands of people you've never met or interacted with beyond an introductory email. Why the hell would people want to do such a thing? Is it simple competition? "I have more friends than you. You are a complete loser!"

My contention is that this behaviour is not simply just a 'status thing', but stems from behaviour that already exists. And this comes from the business community, especially those that spend all their time on airplanes and attending conferences. These people continously make contacts that are business-related, but almost always consumated (non-sexually, of course) through personal festivities: drinks, dinner, lounging by the pool, etc. So a year after meeting someone, a person can claim to 'have a friend' such-and-such, even though their actually relationship is as superficial as it gets. They may only talk once a year, or had only talked during that business conference in Tahiti. But this person is a 'business contact', although this terminology is deemed to impersonal, and so most of the time the person is refered to as a 'friend of mine' (just like Goodfellas!).

So mySpace 'friends' are merely a way to practice the art of building business contacts. Forty-year-old insurance salesmen who make fun of mySpace users have been doing the same thing for decades. Just check their rolodex.

Issues Hot Off The Press (Pun Intended!)

2007-01-18T18:54:00.000-06:00

Say what you want about Rolling Stone's questionable stance on pop music (Mariah Carey? Are you kidding me?), the magazine is still killer when it comes to news journalism. Here are some items that popped out at me from their year in review RS 1016:

In April, a man of Indian descent was traveling in a cab on the way to the airport and was listening to the Clash (London Calling) and Led Zeppelin (Immigrant Song). Apparently, the cab driver thought the man's taste in music was suspicious and phoned the cops. He was detained and questioned for three hours.
Northwest Airlines slashed employee wages to stay out of bankruptcy, then distributed a booklet titled '101 Ways to Save Money'. The booklet suggested their employees to move to cheaper areas, cut the kid's hair themselves, and pick stuff out of the trash.
The army has refused to give residents of the Everglades maps showing the best evacuation routes in case of natural disaster, due to the possibility that terrorists may use that information for their own means. A direct quote: "We just don't believe there's a great need for the public to have the maps."
"At a press conference in April on soaring gas prices, House Speaker Dennis Hastert drove off in a hydrogen-fueled car to promote the use of alternative energy. But as soon as he thought he was away from the cameras, Hastert ditched the clean car and climbed into his SUV -- for the ride back to the Capitol, a few blocks away." There are pictures.
America is not the land of opportunity. According to a study "it is easier for a poor child to become rich in France, Germany, Sweden, Canada, Finland, Norway and Denmark than in America, where a child born into a poor family has only a one percent chance of being wealthy as an adult."
Princeton undertook a study in which 200 people played a custom-designed war game. The more confident the player, the more likely that he/she would make unprovoked attacks. The most confident had the lowest success rate. "This suggests that positive illusions were not only misguided but actually may have been detrimental to performance."

The Event of the Century!

2007-01-11T00:48:00.000-06:00

Stephen Colbert and Bill O'Reilly are appearing on each other's shows on January 18th. I'm assuming there will be some light-hearted sparing, but I don't doubt a few heavy comments will be passed as well. I've see O'Reilly on other programs such as Letterman and he's not usually the same horse's ass that he is on his own show. Is this because, like a bully, he only feels comfortable yelling and pointing fingers at housewives in his own studio, with his own security? Perhaps. And it's true that Colbert owes his success to O'Reilly, who is the inspiration for Colbert's characterization on the show. Unfortunately, it's in the same way as in the End of the Depression is owed to World War II, or the way Columbus/Pizarro/Cortes owe their success to enslaving a continent. I suppose those metaphors are inexact: I like Colbert and not Cortes. The point is, it's a shame the subject is around for someone to make a success off of. In other words, O'Reilly, please stop doing your show. I liked you better on Inside Edition.

Out with the Old, In with the... same ol' shit

2007-01-05T10:45:00.000-06:00

Prime Minister Harper just announced his new cabinet shuffle, and all the talk is centred around the booting of inexperienced Environmental Minister Ambrose from her embattled post. I suppose this means that all of us who smirked and cursed at the Conservative's Environmental Act can now breath a sigh of relief.

Fat chance. Ambrose was just doing the bidding of her boss -- or at the very least, her misguided plans had been approved before unveiling by the High Commander himself. I've heard that Harper's pretty heavy-handed in his dealings and doesn't give his ministers a lot of leash, so you have to know that he was balls-deep into the Environmental Act. A total miscalculation on his part. A cabinet shuffle is suppose to disuade the public into thinking that changes will be made without actually changing anything. I'm not buying it.

A Christmas Story

2006-12-25T10:15:00.000-06:00

Santa brought my girlfriend Carla the only thing she wanted for Christmas: a new pair of lungs. She is doing excellent. Great job, babe!

Since I have no pics of her on my laptop, here is a repeat.

Of Purchasing Power and Men...

2006-12-19T14:28:00.000-06:00

I saw this tidbit of info on the news, but have been unable to find any internet citations to include here to show that I'm not just making these numbers up. I don't like to take things at face value, so I can't expect others to do the same, but feel free to call me on this one...

In 1969, the largest private employer in the United States was an auto company (either Ford or General Motors, I can't recall which). The average yearly income for an employee of this company was about $40,000.

Fast forward to today (2006, for those who will read this 50 years from now haha): the largest private employer in the United States is Walmart, whose employees have an average yearly income of $18,000. I'm sure you're thinking what I'm thinking. In the last 25 years, inflation has increased dramatically, while wages have not really significantly improved. And consider the impact of purchasing power! I can't even imagine the type of lifestyle a person could afford in 1969 off 40,000 bucks, but you can be sure it's a lot better than what you get for 18 grand today!

Since We're On The Subject...

2006-12-16T02:46:00.000-06:00

My last post was about money. This post is, too. The 6 big Canadian banks have just released their yearly earnings and have made a combined profit of 19 billion dollars in 2006. That would be a record. And what a record! It shredded the old mark of 13 billion like it was tinsel hanging out of a cat's butt! I'm glad that our banks are making such a huge profit. It makes me feel good that the nickel-and-diming I receive everyday from them is at least amounting to something.

Forgive the cynicism. Must be early Douglas Coupland popping through. Or Kurt Vonnegut. I just finished reading Vonnegut's Player Piano and Jailbird, novels that deal with the structure of the economy. I've also been reading Pierre Bourdieu, a sociologist who studies just that very thing. My faith in structure is currently jaded, although I think humanity involves certain things worth believing in.

The smartest thing economists ever did (and this is me talking, although I'm sure I've been influenced by others' ideas) was convince the world that humans have nothing to do with economics. Why do prices go up and down? It's supply and demand. No one ever mentions that stock numbers do not magically appear; someone, somewhere, has to say "This number has now become that number." And thus it becomes fact.

If asked, an economist will say that something is worth more than something else because it is both valued and valuable. And why is it valued? What makes items like land and diamonds so bloody expensive (pun intended)? Economists will tell you that it is valuable because humans want it. Supply and demand. What makes these certain items more valuable is that humans want it, but there's only so much of it to go around. The demand is so high, the supply so low, that prices inch ever higher. Diamonds are worth more than common granite because there are hardly any diamonds but a whole crapload of granite. This is a given.

A 'given' is considered commonsense, and lately I've come to regard with suspicion anything considered commonsense. Diamonds are worth more because there are less of it. Why do we think this way? Why are rare items considered more valuable than ordinary items? This seems like a stupid question. The question is treated as if it has a universal answer. But it is worth pointing out that rare items are worth more because humans at one time decided that rare items should be worth more. There is no 'invisible hand'; humans make the rules of economics, everthing from complex legal law right down to the simplest of assumptions. Sure, there are plenty of rational reasons why a rare item should be expensive, but I'm making the point that that's not always the case. Why can't common items be worth more? What if the rare item serves absolutely no purpose and stinks like slimy fish tacos? Who the hell would buy that?

My point is that economists tell us that the market is out of our hands. And that is true, only in that the market is very peculiar about which hands are controlling things. That isn't meant to sound conspiracy-theory crazy, just belligerent. In other words, I don't like the current state of affairs.

After all, there is an item that we see everyday, touch all the time, play with constantly -- yet is considered quite valuable in the grand scheme of things. This item is also fluid, in that humans treat it both as a rarity or a commonality, depending on the person's mood or level of drunkeness. I am talking, of course, about the dollar.

In the Xmas Spirit, Let's Talk About Money

2006-12-07T22:56:00.000-06:00

The United Nations released the most extensive study to date on the distribution of wealth in the world. And surprise! -- the top 2 % of people in the world own over half of the world's wealth. That would be about 120 million people, which sounds like a lot, but there's over 6 billion jostling for elbow room. You can read the summary or download the complete study at United Nations University.

The per capita wealth of the USA is $144,000. That is not a typo. Think of how much money a rich person has to be making so as to end up with that figure. Think of how many people live on welfare or less.

The report summary includes the following:

Surprisingly, household debt is relatively unimportant in poor countries. As the authors of the study point out: ‘While many poor people in poor countries are in debt, their debts are relatively small in total. This is mainly due to the absence of financial institutions that allow households to incur large mortgage and consumer debts, as is increasingly the situation in rich countries’

The authors go on to note that ‘many people in high-income countries have negative net worth and—somewhat paradoxically—are among the poorest people in the world in terms of household wealth.’

Which actually seems commonsensical when you think about it. And seems easy enough to solve: stop spending money on shit when you don't actually have money! But don't tell that to the guy who just got approved for a $50,000 limit on his credit card. If he has it, he'll spend it.

Obviously, I'm not a fan of the wealth discrepancy. Any ideas on how to stop the cannibalistic steam engine we call Capitalism?

Getting Past Coupland

2006-11-25T23:29:00.000-06:00

A friend of mine in September posted on his blog a short rant about the forgotten people between Generation X and Generation Y (read it here). This got me thinking about Douglas Coupland's Generation X, the 1991 Canadian novel that coined the term we all know so well. Ironically, Coupland did not mean to call his generation by this name; he used X as a way to generalize the people he was writing about, so that every person reading the book would see their own generation it in. Boy did that backfire!

The novel itself is full of wry wittisms, ironic and sarcastic dialogue, self-imposed laziness, and an overwhelming sense of impending doom -- everything that the early 90s and the grunge movement came to symbolize. Reality Bites (and Ethan Hawke) anyone?

I'd like to think that our generation is moving past that. Sure, we make fun of mass consumer culture while occasionally shopping at Walmart, but a certain degree of activism has crept into our flippant remarks about the Republican Party and Paris Hilton. Instead of just commenting, we are actively engaging in dialogue. I hope. And I hope that everyone hopes as well. But there are still an awful lot of assholes out there.

In the margins of the book, Coupland placed short terms and definitions that persist in the Generation X lexicon and worldview. Here are some of my favourites. Can you spot which ones are still relevant today?

McJob: A low-pay, low-prestige, low-dignity, low-benefit, no-future job in the service sector. Frequently considered a satisfying career choice by people who have never held one.
Clique Maintenance: The need of one generation to see the generation following it as deficient so as to bolster its own collective ego: “Kids today do nothing. They're so apathetic. We used to go out and protest. All they do is shop and complain.”
Mid-Twenties Breakdown: A period of mental collapse occurring in one's twenties, often caused by an inability to function outside of school or structured environments coupled with a realization of one's essential aloneness in the world. Often marks induction into the ritual of pharmaceutical usage.
Safety Net-ism: The belief that there will always be a financial and emotional safety net to buffer life's hurts. Usually parents.
Divorce Assumption: A form of Safety Net-ism, the belief that if a marriage doesn't work out, then there is no problem because partners can simply seek a divorce.
Now Denial: To tell oneself that the only time worth living in is the past and that the only time that may ever be interesting again is the future.
Status Substitution: Using an object with intellectual or fashionable cachet to substitute for an object that is merely pricey: “Brian, you left your copy of Camus in your brother's BMW.”
Conspicious Minimalism: A life-style tactic similar to Status Substitution. The nonownership of material goods flaunted as a token of moral and intellectual superiority.
Cafe Minimalism: To espouse a philosophy of minimalism without actually putting into practice any of its tenets.
Voter's Block: The attempt, however futile, to register dissent with the current political system by simply not voting.
Musical Hairsplitting: The act of classifying music and musicians into pathologically picayune categories: “The Vienna Franks are a good example of urban white acid folk revivalism crossed with ska.”
101-ism: The tendency to pick apart, often in minute detail, all aspects of life using half-understood pop psychology as a tool.
Ultra Short Term Nostalgia: Homesickness for the extremely recent past: “God, things seemed so much better in the world last week.” [Currently, these sentences begin with “Back in the day...”]
Conversational Slumming: The self-conscious enjoyment of a given conversation precisely for its lack of intellectual rigor.
Tele-Parablizing: Morals used in everyday life that derive from TV sitcom plots: “That's just like the episode where Jan lost her glasses!”
Me-ism: A search by an individual, in the absence of training in traditional religious tenets, to formulate a personally tailored religion by himself. Most frequently a mishmash of reincarnation, personal dialogue with a nebulously defined god figure, naturalism, and karmic eye-for-eye attitudes.
2 + 2 = 5 ism: Caving in to a target marketing strategy aimed at oneself after holding out for a long period of time.
Down-Nesting: The tendency of parents to move to smaller, guest-room-free houses after the children have moved away so as to avoid children aged 20 to 30 who have boomeranged home.
Knee-Jerk Irony: The tendency to make flippant ironic comments as a reflexive matter of course in everyday conversation.
Dorian Graying: The unwillingness to gracefully allow one's body to show signs of aging.
Obscurism: The practice of peppering daily life with obscure references (forgotten films, dead TV stars, unpopular books, defunct countries, etc) as a subliminal means of showcasing both one's education and one's wish to disassociate from the world of mass culture.

I suggest you read everything by Douglas Coupland. This novel is his best known, but it is certainly not his best novel.

Pay Increases and People Who (Might) Need Them

2006-11-20T15:35:00.000-06:00

Here’s a bit more politics, to file under ACCOUNTABILITY. Saskatoon’s recent civic election has come and gone, with the incumbent mayor Don Atchinson winning re-election in grand style. His 60% tally in a field of six is much to be admired and may suggest that he’s not “Canada’s Craziest Mayor” as Rick Mercer once insinuated. Or it may be that the other five candidates split the vote. And one shouldn’t forget that voter turnout was around 30%, which means ‘Atch’ only received a vote of confidence from 18% of Saskatoon’s population. Such is politics.

During the election I read a few things here and there but didn’t get involved as much as I wanted. But a Star-Phoenix article made me pause (Unfortunately, this article is no longer available on the web. Damn the web!). The article insinuated that city council had given themselves a 57% raise over the next three years. This got my Marx-influenced brain moving, and so I sent the following email off to every candidate with an email address:

I am a graduate student in university who has been keeping a keen eye on this civic election. I have a quick question that I’m hoping you can help me with. I just read a recent Star Phoenix article that states during this last term city council recently gave themselves a 57 per cent raise over three years. If you get re-elected, and during your next term or two city council votes on another pay increase, will you support it? Thanks.

Of the 16 mayoral and city councillor hopefuls that I emailed, all but one got back to me. A few I emailed back to get clarification, to which they responded. A couple even offered to talk on the phone, one of which I took up on. So is this a formal survey or sociological statistical analysis? No. But the results may interest you.

Firstly, the increase is not nearly as huge as the paper made it seem. The actual increase is 36% over the first three years of the new council session, meaning that in 3 years their salary will be about 40 thousand a year. That’s a number I can live with. For the most part, candidates who were already on council defended the pay raise. The pay scale is dependent on the Mayor’s wage, which is dependent on the MLAs, etc. So the fat-cat stuff starts at the top, of course. They also claimed that the job is a full-time position that is only being paid at a part-time salary, which is again something I can live with.

My comments? First, when council gives themselves a raise appropriate to their job, they should consider later on that other people should also be making a living wage. So I don’t care if you give yourself that pay wage, but don’t start bitching when nurses go on strike. If you’re going to give yourself a 36% increase, prepare to justify why others don’t deserve the same. Second, the new wages are supposed to reflect the fact that councillor positions are now considered a full-time job. However, no one was able to confirm that the positions would be altered on paper as becoming full-time positions. Instead, you end up with people usually work full-time, but don’t actually have to. So future councillors have the opportunity to opt out of work, claiming that it’s only a part-time job, but still make the money. Third, the pay increase takes into account what’s going on in other cities, but not actually what people in Saskatoon think. Fourth, a lot of the people who run for office (the mayor included) are already making a swackload of money with their careers, businesses, etc. Some are also housewives who are married to people making a swackload of money. I understand you want to get paid for the job you do, but think about the type of job you are applying for: City Councillor, to look after the interests of the citizens in your ward. So stop worrying about money and start thinking more about the people! Even if you’re doing a good job, you should still think about this point.

The most thoughtful and honest letter was written by Robert Scheimser. Here’s the bulk, without the salutations and other letter formalities:

Thanks for your question. The simple truth is that I don't know what the answer is to your question. I did not see the article to which you refer. The last time I heard of an increase for councillors was a few years ago, I believe. I know that a 57% increase sounds like a huge increase, but it doesn't seem quite so bad when one considers that the pay of a city councillor was only about $20,000 per year at the time, and most councillors found that they were putting in somewhere in the neighbourhood of 45 hours per week on city matters. This works out to 20K /12 Months / 4.3 Weeks / 45 Hours per week or $8.61 per hour. This was hardly very good pay at all for overseeing a corporation the size of the city of Saskatoon. I believe that part of the rational behind the increase was to make it 'affordable' for good quality people to let their name stand for public office. In other words, it was felt that the renumeration had to compensate councillors for their time at at least a basic level, or else those people with enough management skill and experience to be able to perform the duties of the office would never be able to justify the time required to participate in civic government.

I am saying all of this from memory, so I could be mistaken, but I believe that the councillor's salary was to increase until it reached 45% of whatever the Mayor's salary is. And I believe that the Mayor's salary is set as a function of an MLA's salary.

For these reasons, the question of an increase for city councillors should not be coming up at all at any time in the future. Once the councillor's salary has reached 45% of the mayor's, increases, if they come should only happen if MLA's increase their own salary and the amount goes up as a trickle down effect.

I believe that a councillor's present salary is around $28,000 per year (again from memory), and is scheduled to increase next month (as part of the increase referred to earlier). As far as salaries for elected politician go, these are definitely on the low side. Being a city councillor is no way to get wealthy.

Historically in Canada, elected politicians were (like judges) always supposed to be well paid so that it would be difficult to bribe them. I really question whether this argument is valid at the present time. I have a real problem with 'overpaid' politicians making decisions about things like tax increases, for example. How can someone who doesn't have to live on a small income really appreciate the impact of another 5% here or there on those people struggling to get by? I've often thought that it would be neat if politician's pay was tied to the lifestyle of the least well off members of society. Perhaps then there might be some real motivation to institute some significant positive change. This is probably just wishful thinking, perhaps, but I think it is important that those people in positions of power never allow complacency to set in, especially when it comes to spending other people's money.

Frankly, I am not sure how I would react to the question of an increase. This would depend upon a lot of factors which I am not at present knowledgeable enough about to formulate an opinion on. For example, I am curious to know how city councillors are compensated in other jurisdictions, for example.

While it might be politically expedient to say that I would just simply be against a raise, I don't formulate a position without first doing proper research, and I did want to respond to you immediately. If you want to find out the details of the councillor's salary at present I believe it is available at the following link: http://www.saskatoon.ca/org/clerks_office/elections/responsibilities/index.asp

I just checked out the information from the city clerk's office available at the link above. After having read it, off hand, I don't at present see a need or justification for any further increases, so I suppose that is my answer to your question.

Schmeiser did not get elected. The most passionate letter has to go to Brian Grahame. Keep up that fire, Brian! I personally think we need more ‘people people’ running for office, and a heck of a lot less businessmen. Money isn’t everything…I’ve been told.

You can find the election results at the City of Saskatoon website. The pictures are the responses I received. I debated about posting this, but then decided that they were emails in response to election questions and should be treated as public property. I took out the numbers and such, though, so no pranking! Clicking on the picture twice should make it clear enough to read!

Mix n' match, cuz I haven't had time to write a real post

2006-11-17T12:58:00.000-06:00

I thought this was amusing. Some guy took lines from Fight Club and placed them as captions for Dennis the Menace cartoons. See more here and here.

And if you haven't seen this yet, I believe the recent Dove commercial is required viewing. Every 10 year old in North America should watch this so they can understand that women in fashion mags don't exist. And I mean both girls and boys: so girls can stop fretting about body image, and so boys can stop giving girls complexes about their body image. (My personal view is that feminism without male cooperation is stupid and pointless -- so get in the game, you chauvanist pigs!)

Remember, Elton John Chose to Play Saskatoon, Not Regina...

2006-10-26T17:22:00.000-06:00

Who says good TV doesn't come out of Canada. Not the Daily Show! They recently ran a story on self-professed Straight Prider Bill Whatcott, a nurse who lives in Regina and doesn't think much about gay people. It's all on Youtube for your viewing enjoyment (Thanks, Katie: three cheers!).

Learn more about Whatcott from his very own words! I found this story he wrote a few years ago in which he infamously jumped into a gay pride parade with a pretty nifty sign. It's quite the read. Apparently, supernatural forces kept him from being harmed during the event. He also mentions the Daily Show twice, not seeming to realize they are not a real news program.

Interestingly, here is a blog post that discusses Bill's reaction to his lampooning. And in case this comes as a surprise, he's being charged with hate crimes involving past incidents in Edmonton. Perhaps you haven't figured out by my tone, but I'm fairly certain that this guy has crossed a line or two.

The Clean Air Act, or "Why Do Something Today When It Can Be Put Off Until Tomorrow"

2006-10-20T11:33:00.000-06:00

It has been pointed out to me that I’ve been delinquent in commenting upon the Canadian political arena, and I agree. So this is the first post in a three-parter to deal with Canadian politics. And the Conservatives new “Clean Air Act” is a doozy to start with!

Everyone was feeling good about it until Environment Minister Ambrose mentioned the time frame. The year 2050? You might as well make it 1765 while you’re at it, toss in some legislation on time travel to make it completely realistic. For those of you who can’t add (you know who you are) that would be 44 years from now. Can you imagine legislation that takes 44 years to enact? Conservatives often bitch about the inefficiency of big government and the painfully slow process of passing legislation. Then they produce a bill that doesn’t require results for half a century. I’ve been hearing the word ‘smoke screen’ being passed around, and I like it.

Having such a distant timeframe really limits the power of accountability. Corporate heads in 1960 didn’t include in their business plans objectives for the year 2000. Capitalism is a much more short-sighted frame of mind: profits now, accountability later. Perhaps simplistic, but not altogether untrue. The business community is heralding the Act, not for it’s indecisiveness, but because it finally gives corporations tangible guidelines to follow. The Act also allows for consultation with the business community. The speakers in this newspaper story say that corporations are working towards this anyway, but do they speak for the entire business community?

I envision a future like this: Companies will wait 20 years before they start dealing with it. If you have 40 years to comply, why worry about it right now? By 2040 the business community will appear to start taking legitimate action to curb them. Even if air emissions are the same in 2040 as they are now, the companies will realized what a huge undertaking the Act will require. So they will petition government, stating that the goals of the Act are unrealistic and will cost people jobs, etc. Sound familiar? It’s the equivalent of students complaining that it is unrealistic to expect them to write an A paper because they only have one day to do it (conveniently forgetting to mention that they had been given 2 months to work on it, and they just kept putting it off). This is why children hate their parents. Every generation feels that the previous one shrugged off the hard work onto them.

Maybe it’s all mute, because every opposition party has already declared that they will vote this bill down. But is it RIP, Kyoto?

And in case you care, here is Environment Minister Rona Ambrose's previous track record in Parliament.

What About Wikipedia Could Possibly Be Bad?

2006-10-18T19:37:00.000-06:00

Here is a well-written, very informative article by Jaron Lanie entitled "Digital Maoism: The Hazards of the New Online Collectivism. " He suggests possible dangers about the 'hive-mind' mentality, that idea that if everyone agrees about something, it must be true. He uses Wikipedia as an example of how such a reliance on collectivism can cause issues in the future. Very insightful.

Thanks to Krista for emailing this to me.

To show how fun the internet can be, here are the possible matches that come up when I type my own name into the Wikipedia search engine: The New Ghostwriter's Mystery, The 2002 Alpine Skiing World Cup Results, an Indian engineering company, and the List of Historical People Portrayed As Villians. And can you guess who is an award-winning song writer? The 29th Prez of the US of A? Aussie rules footballer? Also, my dad is a busy man, doing various important things.

All-knowing my ass! Everyone knows I'm a world famous lint collector!

Troubles in Elkford

2006-10-15T11:17:00.000-06:00

The following is a story concerning my hometown of Elkford, B.C. It's scary sounding. I didn't live on this street but I have plenty of friends who did -- some of whom have been sick, and some who haven't. I think the town didn't do the testing because they were scared of what they were going to find. Here is the actual link to the story (I personally think this story is not very well written, kind of a cut and paste job, but I couldn't find anything better).

Residents of Street Allegedly Built on Waste Dump Divided on Health Effects
Provided by: Canadian Press Written by: AMY CARMICHAEL

VANCOUVER (CP) - Residents of "cancer street" in the community of Elkford B.C. allege companies dumped waste in the area, didn't clean up the mess and that nobody, including the government, told home buyers. Many residents have become sick and some blame the land. The street has a terrible stigma in Elkford, says resident and plaintiff Davie Jones and it has been given the unfortunate nickname of "Cancer Street."

Sixteen residents of the southeastern B.C. community have filed a statement of claim against the provincial government and a number of mining companies, accusing them of failing to take adequate measures to rehabilitate the land and make it fit for residential use. Others on the street say they have lived in their homes for close to 30 years and are fine. But they say they wish the village had done more soil and water testing to make sure the land is safe and help the street get rid of its stigma and fear for some residents.

Jack Burden, 75, said he's lived in the same house on the street since 1979. "As far as I know we've had no health problems," he said. But so many of his neighbours are ill and claim they have found garbage in the soil, plastic and batteries, when they dig only 15 centimetres deep.
Burden joined his neighbours in a lawsuit against the local and provincial governments and a number of mining companies. But now he's withdrawn because he doesn't have any proof. He said Elkford officials could have laid people's fears to rest if they'd followed through with soil and water testing. "There was a meeting a few years back and the government denied there was a dump. They said it was probably local people dumping garbage over the bank which I don't think was true. Thing that annoys me, is when meeting took place the mayor at the time said, 'OK, we'll do some test drilling.' It was going to cost lot of money. They said they were going to do it but they never did."

Davie Jones lives down the street from Burden. He believes his prostate cancer was caused by exposure to the land. He claims there was a dump in the area and that the government refused to warn people they were purchasing land on a landfill. Burden has heard the stories but says he's never seen any hard evidence.

Even neighbour and plaintiff Brad Batchelor, whose daughter had leukemia, said he doesn't think the street is making people sick. "We don't have clusters of the same kind of cancer on this street. There's a lot of it but it's all different kinds, and they say when you find something in the environment that triggers cancer, it's all the same kind." He says cancer runs in his family. Now his daughter is in remission.

Batchelor is part of the suit because he's angry at the allegations that his home may have been built on a landfill. "That should have been well publicized," he said. The allegations have not been proven in court.

The defendants, the provincial government, the District of Elkford or Teck Cominco Metals or Fording Coal Ltd., have not filed statements of defence. The statement filed by the plaintiffs in B.C. Supreme Court in February alleges that the metals and coal mining companies used the local land as a toxic dumping ground and didn't properly clean it up. The 16 plaintiffs allege companies allowed mine waste, automobile waste and other toxic hazardous carcinogenic materials on the lands. The statement of claim says the companies covered the waste they dumped in Elkford by creating a landfill. The plaintiffs say the landfill wasn't properly sealed.

Burden says he's pretty sure something was dumped on the land. "When they were developing the town the campsite used to be here. At one time they did dump stuff up here, I'm pretty sure that happened."

Davie Jones, the neighbour who has been demanding action on the issue since 1997, says too many people are sick. "In my neighbour's yard we dug down seven inches and hit garbage." He claims the land is toxic and fears it could harm generations of people. Jones is waiting for the defendants to file statements of defence and is determine to pursue his case.

Neither the local or provincial governments were immediately available to comment and the Elk Valley Coal Corporation did not immediately return calls.

Terrorism: The New "Where's Waldo?"

2006-10-02T15:43:00.000-06:00

I've had this post sitting on the can for a few days too, and just when I'm about to unleash it, I realize that Mike has scooped me! I'm talking about evidence that shows that the Iraq war is actually causing more terrorism than it's preventing and pretty much making things worse for the next generation. My source is Rolling Stone, that anti-establishment rag that frequently has brilliant writing hidden between the pages of pop-star idolizing. Mike's link comes from the New York Times, which makes you register first; my link is free for all. And in case it doesn't remain free for all, I have scanned the article so it can be read as a jpeg. I'm sure this is considered illegal, but information should be free, damn it! The pages are not quite in the correct order because of my computer illiteracy, but the file names are numbered correctly.

Oh, and Mike: I apologize if this post sounds like a rant against you, it just angers me that you live in Japan and therefore all the news happens to you a full 12 hours before it happens to us. This coming February, you have to let me know who wins the Super Bowl before it happens here, so I can make us a ton of money gambling on it. Bling!

I Figured Out How to Save Healthcare -- The Ralph Klein Way!

2006-09-30T13:34:00.000-06:00

In case you didn't read the title of this post, I figured out how to save healthcare -- the Ralph Klein way! That ol' wacky (former now I guess) premier of Alberta introduced two-tier healthcare a few years back because he realized that his dad would have to wait a ridiculous amount of time for hip surgery. Funny how you realize there's a problem when things become personal!

Anyway, now there are semi-private clinics etc. But I don't think that's the answer. See, Klein had the answer staring him right in the wallet: money. The root of all the healthcare woes. Not enough money to pay enough people to operate enough equipment and suddenly you end up with a six year waiting list for kidney transplants. Klein figures if you have enough money, there should be avenues available to you to just pay and jump the line. And I actually think that's a great idea. But it has to be done this way: Every person that you jump in front of, you have to pay for their operation. Or at least a sizeable percentage. This way the rich bastard gets his hip first, the poor bastards don't need to shell out more money, and the healthcare system gets an injection of more funds. EVERYBODY WINS!

Except probably the rich people. For some reason they don't mind spending money, unless it's on a stranger in need of healthcare assistance.

The Missing Pics from the Last Post

2006-09-30T12:38:00.000-06:00

Insurance Companies, and the Bile They Leave in my Mouth

2006-09-28T00:26:00.000-06:00

For those of you who don’t know, a little background: last August, my girlfriend and I went on a trip to England to attend a wedding, in which Carla was the maid of honour. Carla has cystic fibrosis, but this has never been a problem in regards to travel. She’s been on many trips, and her doctor has never been concerned. This time, however, the combination of extended travel, lack of sleep, smog, exercise, and allergies ended up putting her in the hospital. She spent almost a month in intensive care unit at Papworth Everard, near Cambridge. The staff there are to be commended.

We, of course, had travel insurance through Thomas Cook (not the restaurant, but the travel agency). Thomas Cook travel insurance is handled by Pottruff & Smith. At first, they assured us everything would be fine. Then after two weeks, they phoned the hospital to inform us that our claim was being denied on the basis that Carla had made a doctor’s visit 90 days prior to the trip. Therefore, she could not be considered stable, regardless of the fact that it was a routine visit that involved standard procedures for CF patients. Then they gave me a person to contact if I wanted to appeal. That fellow ended up being on vacation. To make matters worse, they sent the appeal letter to our address in Saskatoon. Basically, we were left there to rot.

We figured everything out on our own, blah blah blah, ended up having to get a lawyer involved to represent us. Last week we received excellent news: the insurance company was now accepting our claim. Oh, did I mention that they decided to accept the claim three days after our lawyer sent them a letter stating that he was sick of their stalling and was going to file a motion in court if they didn’t respond to him immediately?

As I said, this is excellent news. But forgive me if I don’t feel entirely grateful at the moment. I believe that the insurance industry has an ethical issue that needs to be dealt with. I understand that an insurance company is a business and that profit is the bottom line. But they must remember that they have customers who depend on their services. Instead of nitpicking every detail when a claim is filed, they should be considering their ethical obligation to the customer. The customer trusts that if something goes wrong, the insurance company will be there to help. I mean, it took a year for our happy ending to be resolved, and we didn’t even have to go to court; yet the insurance company still had to pay all those people to make sure that our claim was deniable. What a waste. Stressing everyone out for no reason (us and them included).

I wonder: did they have a change of heart a year later? Did they suddenly decide, ‘well, let’s be nice and help this lady out’? No. It was a calculated assessment spurred on by the threat of legal action that did the trick. I also imagine that they worried about a possible PR nightmare, considering they have insurance plans that cater specifically to CF patients.

I hope they don’t think they did us a favour. Cuz if that’s the case, they can go fuck themselves.

Pics: Carla and I at a 400 year old pub; the village of Papworth; and an English bunny, to end this post with a smile!

Scientology: What is it good for?

2006-09-24T14:22:00.000-06:00

This post has been in the works for a while. As usual, my mantra is "keep your friends close, but your enemies closer." For that reason I decided to do some research into Scientology, the religion that’s all the rage in celebrity circles and the hilarious target of shows like South Park. I admit to being suspicious of Scientology from the outset, but hopefully what I have to say here remains academic and doesn’t condescend into an insulting rant. Most of this information has been obtained either from Janet Reitman’s article "Inside Scientology" (Rolling Stone 995) or Scientology: Theology & Practice of a Contemporary Religion, published by the Church of Scientology in 1988 (yes I know, two sources do not make me an expert, but I think I’ve gotten to learn a bit about both sides of the issue).

Scientology was created by science fiction author L. Ron Hubbard. Many of his ideas were formulated in his New Age psychiatry book Dianetics. The religion is claimed to be scientifically-based, in that each person learns to know what is true through personal observation. Each person must also reach their own conclusions. Scientologists believe that the source of major frustration and sorrow in our lives is the corruption of the thetan, which is basically the soul. The thetan must be returned to a naive state (called Total Freedom) in order to be at peace. Followers must undergo auditing sessions with a electropsychometer that help find the corruptions. Each auditing sessions brings you closer to Total Freedom and increases your status within the church. Followers also must refrain from deviant behaviour (homosexuality and masturbation are considered ‘deviant behaviour’ by the church). Membership in the church is quite exclusive, and people who leave the church must cease all contact with any church members, including their families. For a more complete and surprisingly detailed summary of Scientology, see the Wikipedia entry.

I have some critical remarks about the Church’s own publication. First, at least half this book is spent trying to justify their existence as a bona fide religion. There are 9 appendices that deal specifically with that issue, including 6 essays by experts on religion. I suppose this makes sense in light of the long-standing stubbornness of authorities to accept their claim, but part of me wonders "does thou protest too much"? Second, Scientology claims that it has no dogma, and that followers are not "expected to take anything on faith or on the basis of arbitrary authority" (C of S 1988:xii). Yet all their works are written by one man, and no one else is allowed to write anything more. No other interpretations other than the original scripture are accepted. Children attend special Scientology schools instead of regular schools, in which they read Hubbard’s work and supposedly come to their own conclusions about it -- conclusions that coincidently fit the standard party line. My third criticism is in regards to auditing: followers are shown the way through auditing sessions with ministers, in which the follower locates and addresses personal traumas. The minister "cannot offer any advice" about how to locate or confront traumas (C of S 1988:34). Could it really be possible that people advance without any assistance from the minister? Also, once you’ve reached the advanced levels, members use "a special auditing procedure which the individual conducts alone; the person acts as his own auditor, alternately posing precise questions and then seeking their answers" (C of S 1988:37). Doesn’t self-auditing leave the door open to less-than-honest persons advancing through the ranks? Fourth, Scientology is the only religion in the world that withholds dogma from its followers. In an age of extremely high literacy, most religions have their complete dogmas in texts available to everyone. But as shown in their own "Bridge to Total Freedom" chart (C of S 1988:56), the end result of each auditor’s class is freely known -- until you’ve reached CLEAR, that is. CLEAR means you have confronted all your traumas and are ready for additional training. Above that, up to OT XV (Tom Cruise is OT VII), the phrase "As given in the materials of OT #" is simply repeated. What are these materials? The legend of Xenu, so eloquently lambasted on South Park, is part of these secret materials. For those who care OT XV is the highest you can go, but no one is there yet. The highest people now are at OT VII. Tom Cruise is one of them.

One of my biggest problems with the church’s dogma is their flippant use of ‘scientific investigation.’ The Church claims that founder L. Ron Hubbard’s career as a science fiction writer was only a means of continuing his Scientology research, and that he conducted research "concerning cellular memory retention and memory transmission to later generations, concluding that some unknown factor was capable of recording and transmitting the memory of a single event from one cellular generation to the next" (C of S 1988:90). They have supposedly proven scientifically the existence of theta, which is the life force of the universe. Theta has "no mass, no wavelength, no location in space or in time" (C of S 1988:18). What were these experiments, and how did he come to these conclusions? The religion claims to be based on science, but like any good scientist, I’m skeptical of someone who refuses to show their work. How else can it be duplicated and verified? If their work has been proven scientifically, then shouldn’t other scientists be able to copy and prove their results? If that happened, it would completely legitimize their religion. However, secrecy continues to be policy.

Another major criticism of mine is the issue of money. The Church of Scientology is very rich. They have just completed construction of a $50 million complex in Clearwater, Florida, that is the headquarters of the religion. The charge for 12.5 hour blocks of auditing time range from $750 for introductory sessions and $9000 for advanced sessions. The road to Total Freedom may take hundreds of thousands of dollars. Some people have been known to mortgage their homes and liquify their investments in order to continue sessions. There is clearly a lot of money being passed around. Church leaders say that there’s no other way for it to be done. Time and equipment is expensive. They don’t have 2000 years of wealth to rely on (a nice jab at Christianity). They hide behind the fact that other religions are doing it, so why single them out? The act of tithing is pointed out as an example. One leader, Rinder (in Rolling Stone) said, "do you want to know the real answer? If we could offer everything for free, we would do it."

But the simple fact is, they could offer everything for free, if they wanted to. In 1955, the church began setting up Celebrity Centres, where famous people could receive free sessions and information. The idea was to create advertising by having famous persons involved in the church. It worked extremely well. The Celebrity Centres are still in use today, and the world’s most famous Scientologist is Tom Cruise. Celebrities do not pay for their auditing sessions. Tom Cruise may have given some money to Scientology, but I doubt it was used to help needy families get auditing sessions. Now, if I were a Scientologist and I was more interested in helping people than acquiring vast fortunes, I would consider the idea of having celebrities pay. Why not the tithe system that they so graciously pointed out? If every follower had to put 10% of their income into the Church, the person making 10 grand a year would not have to choose between auditing sessions and food. And the tithe coming from celebrities would more than make up the cash flow missing from the poor followers. Doesn’t that sound like peace and harmony?

Unfortunately, I don’t think the leaders of Scientology work that way. I get the feeling that the higher up the ladder you go, the more you feel you are entitled to your riches because you are CLEARED and others are not. It is humorous to actually see a parallel with Christianity here: Some Christians believe that they are rich (or in the White House) because that’s how God wants it. Therefore, rich people are obviously the most pious and the most capable leaders in society. I can hear all of you groaning at that one.

I can understand how the basic tenets of Scientology can be appealing. Everyone wants to be able to follow certain processes that allow your soul to cleansed. Nobody likes dirt on their conscience. And I completely agree with some of the positions that Scientology takes, like how children are over-medicated for the smallest things, and that perscription drugs are not the answer to many of our social woes. I think a lot of people agree with that. Unfortunately, it seems to me that the Church of Scientology takes advantage of those beliefs in the attempt to make a profit.

This is just a short essay on a subject that I could probably write a book about. There are plenty of other things I could comment on, but I just wanted to get out my biggest thoughts on the subject. I hope Tom Cruise doesn’t sue me.

Find a Scientology Church in Canada, if you want. I swear last year I found a centre here in Saskatoon on their official website, but it isn't there anymore. Too bad.

The Thailand Coup

2006-09-21T19:05:00.000-06:00

We people over here don’t know a thing or two about anything that’s happening in the world. Proof is the recent coup in Thailand -- who the hell in Canada would have seen that coming? Updog just spent two months living there, came back last month, and never saw any indication of something like this occuring. I found this great blog, the Bangkok Pundit, in which the author details the events as they unfold. Even before that, the posts involve government mismanagement, military force, etc. So not just rainbows and fuzzy kittens. Keep up-to-date via CBC news.

Note: the internet has become a wonderful tool for keeping track of world events from the ground up, rather than the top-down political press dispatches we are used to reading. How are people not in power seeing the situation, and how is it affecting everyday life? I think much more perspective is maintained when you read about events this way.

Inspired by a true piece of crap

2006-09-21T01:41:00.000-06:00

What is with the recent influx of movies coming out of Hollywood that are "inspired by a true story"? This includes Dreamer, Eight Below, Glory Road, North Country, Invincible, and the brand spanking new Flyboys. What ever happened to "based on a true story"? Was that not exciting enough? I've come to the conclusion that either the studios are taking more artistic (I use that sparingly) licence with the stories than before, or the studios are having less success ripping off someone's story without paying for it. The second reason may not be that far-fetched. There are plenty of classic movies that were largely inspired by real life events or characters (Citizen Kane comes to mind). Maybe now people are forcing studios to shell out money if a character comes even close to mirroring them. Just a thought.

Also, while surfing this subject on the net, I came across this review for Flyboys. I only mention it because it includes the following paragraph:

“Based on a true story.” “Inspired by a true story.” Do you know why this is prominently displayed? If you hate it, you are un-American. These movies are (unless about serial killers and politicians) always heroic tales of quite ordinary people. You have got to be heartless not to cheer these working-stuffs on.

I thought the disclaimer was funny: don't make fun of these movies, because they are about noble and couragous people -- unless it's about serial killers and politicians, of course.

Aside: some of you may have seen the movie Simon Birch and loved it. I am not one of them. The movie is "inspired" by the book A Prayer for Owen Meany. It's "based" on the first hundred pages of the book, and then takes a dive into Hollywood B-list writer hell. I found the book amazing, and the movie trying too hard to tug at my heartstrings.

Make Poverty History

2006-09-12T15:20:00.000-06:00

Is this even possible? It won't ever be if no one tries. Saturday, September 16th, at the University of Saskatchewan, is a 'Make Poverty History' Workshop. It's free, and there's plenty to learn. I'm going, and maybe one day it'll come in handy. Find out more here.

Everything's Gone Green

2006-09-10T16:45:00.000-06:00

I love Douglas Coupland. The author of Generation X, Life After God, and Hey Nostradamus will soon see the debut of his first film. And it’s not an adaptation of any of his novels, but a screenplay he wrote from scratch. Here’s an interesting article about it, where Coupland bemoans the film and literature industries, claiming that too many movies are just "elevators" for plot. Will his film Everything’s Gone Green be any better? I’m willing to think so. Just knowing how he writes, I suspect the movie will capture the ‘Garden State’ audience. I also own most of his books, if you want to borrow any (every post ends up the same!).

Dissident Opinion is Evil...or Good? Maybe?

2006-09-08T15:21:00.000-06:00

The American Council of Trustees and Alumni is a Washington-based organization run by the likes of Lynne Cheney (the vice-prez's wife) and Joe Lieberman. According to their own website, the ACTA is a "tax-exempt, nonprofit, educational organization committed to academic freedom, excellence and accountability at America's colleges and universities." Sounds good, hey?

In October 2001, the ACTA published a report entitled Defending Civilization: How Our Universities are Failing America and What Can Be Done About It, written by the president of the ACTA. The report accused over 40 American academics of anti-American behaviour. And holy hell, are some of these people anti-American! Like the Dean of Princeton saying “There is a terrible and understandable desire to find and punish whoever was responsible for this. But as we think about it, it’s very important for Americans to think about our own history, what we did in World War II to Japanese citizens by interning them.” Or the speaker at Harvard who said, “[We should] build bridges and relationships, not simply bombs and walls.” Or the sign that reads "Hate breeds hate." All these are quotes taken from the report on what constitutes anti-American behaviour. This report is quite the crock of shit, but is symbolic of what's going on in the States right now.

This is also hilarious: on the website's list of publications the report Defending Civilization is there, along with a report entitled Intellectual Diversity, in which the ACTA "outlines steps universities can take to encourage a mix of ideas on campus and to respond to the growing public concern about the lack of intellectual diversity." Does anyone else see the irony? Also, of the 14 reports listed, 8 have PDF links that can be read immediately. Defending Civilization is not one of them. Instead, you must request a copy by email. I think they're keeping tabs on the people who are reading it. Fortunately, I googled the sucker and found the actual report. Plus, take a look at the report How Many Ward Churchills? which "concludes that throughout Americam higher education, professors are using their classrooms to push political agendas in the name of teaching students to think critically."

Read Paul Street's zinging criticism of Defending Civilization, including comments about the actual problems with American universities.

If It Ain't a Law, Then It Ain't a Crime

2006-09-07T11:39:00.000-06:00

George Bush has just admitted that the CIA has been running covert prisons around the world that have detained and "questioned" terrorist suspects. Since no one knows where these prisons are, it is suffice to say that these people are being held against their universal rights and are being violated. Bush adamantly denies such abuses publicly, but the sly back-door action is telling a different story: the American government is quietly trying to draft legislation that circumvents the Geneva Convention and the War Crimes Act.

What the hell? That CIA World Factbook is useless. There's nothing about secret prisons anywhere on that website. As Homer would say, "I don't even know why we have a world factbook!" My favourite line from this Associate Press post is "Administration officials said they were concerned the ruling left U.S. personnel vulnerable to be prosecuted under the War Crimes Act because the language under the Geneva Conventions was so vague." I love the disregard for responsibility: they would be guilty of war crimes because the law is vague, not because they are actually doing anything wrong. And to make sure they don't get charged? Change the laws, of course!

Instead of solving the problem, they push it aside. I'm fairly certain that Saddam is on trial for the same type of thing. I'm not sure why, but this reminds me of how the United Nations dealt with rising saline levels in drinking water around the world. Instead of finding ways to curb the saline, they decide to just raise the levels that are acceptable. Hey folks in rural Russia! You're drinking water is now safe! Yesterday it was deadly poison, but with a swift eraser rub things are back on track! Enjoy! (I can't find a link to this anywhere, if someone finds one can you post it in the comments, I saw it on CBC awhile back, either take my word for it or do your own damn research! Actually, please do your own damn research. If more people looked stuff up instead of relying on Fox News to pass info on, the world would be a better place)

Spreading the Literary Word

2006-08-24T00:43:00.000-06:00

Sometime last winter I saw a paperback novel on a table in the lounge and thought, "what the frick is this?" Turns out the book had been registered at Bookcrossing. At this site, they urge people to register books and leave them in public places. The next person that picks up the book is supposed to read it, go on the website and mention where they read it and what they thought of it, then leave it in another public place. Dynamite idea! Although to be honest, I did not read the book I found; it didn't appeal to me. But the idea appeals to me, and that's why I have written this short, informative, but mostly useless blog entry about it. However, books have travelled the world in this manner.

Best book ever, by the way, is William Goldman's The Princess Bride. It took me years to figure out that the book was a hoax (sorry Mike that I didn't tell you once I found out). Some excellent books that I didn't list in my profile: Geek Love by Katherine Dunn, Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card, Survivor by Chuck Palahniuk, Mercy Among the Children by David Adams Richards, Beautiful Losers by Leonard Cohen, and Calculating God by Robert J. Sawyer. I own a lot of books and will gladly lend them out to willing disciples. End of commercial.

When We Run Out of Land, We'll Build Some More

2006-08-10T14:19:00.000-06:00

Off the coast of Dubai in the Arabian Gulf, investors are building the ‘eighth wonder of the world’: the Palm Jumeirah. This man-made island is made of 7 millions tonnes of rock, 9 million m2 of sand, and is set to become the world’s most luxurious resort area. It is one of three identical Palm islands being built. Dubai first started the project as a way to rely less on petroleum exports and more on tourism. It will contain 25 of the world’s top hotel brands. One of the major partners is the Trump organization, which has exclusive rights to develop real estate in 19 Middle Eastern countries (are there even 19 Middle Eastern countries? That must include Iraq, me thinks). The largest investor is IFA Hotels, a Kuwait-based company financial company. What is kind of cool is that you can watch a slideshow of the month-to-month construction.

The same developmental company (Nakheel) has also built The World, a series of 300 man-made islands off the coast of Dubai that roughly form the shape of the continents of the world. Island F34 is named Saskatchewan, and is 4 hectares in size! Sweet! Rich people are buying up this land like crazy. I hope they enjoy it.

The CIA World Factbook

2006-08-08T14:39:00.000-06:00

I've already forgotten what odd trail led me to the World Factbook, published and updated every two weeks by the United States Central Intelligence Bureau. As you've probably guessed, it's a compendium of facts relating to every country and region on earth. It's just chocked full of crazy and useless statistics. Under the Frequently Asked Questions section it states that the purpose of the Factbook is to supply quick and accessible data to members of the government. I take that to mean if you want to comment on Argentina, you don't actually have to be an expert on that country; you just read the Factbook for five minutes before scribbling out the memo. It even lists the names of the current leaders, in case you have problems remembering that, too.

Some fun facts: The US and Russia have not made any territorial claims to Antarctica, and do not recognize any claims made in the past by 7 different nations. However, the US and Russia reserve the right to make claims in the future (In other words: We don't own it, but if we want to own it later, we do, and what the hell are you guys going to do about it anyway?).

Also, Canada's population below the poverty line is listed at 15.9%, but the statistic is accompanied by a note: "this figure is the Low Income Cut-Off (LICO), a calculation that results in higher figures than found in many comparable economies; Canada does not have an official poverty line." Despite the problems that come with assuming things, I'm going to assume that the LICO is the personal living allowance that we see on our tax returns, and thus people who make less than this are not taxed. That figure is currently something like $9,000. This is not a lot of money. Yet the above note suggests that other countries use a much lower figure. Now I ask: does that mean Canada's numbers result in higher figures as the note says, or that Canada is just a bit more honest about the amount of poor people in the country? The same figure for the US is 12% (which by the way, would be the population of Canada).

US Media Depiction of the Middle East Conflict

2006-08-06T13:35:00.000-06:00

I found this radio show transcript about how the American media is portraying the mess in Lebanon. It actually covers a lot of ground for such a short piece and leaves much food for thought, including tidbits like this:

"There's a CNN show called Reliable Sources, the media discussion show hosted by Howard Kurtz, the Washington Post reporter. It has been obsessed with the idea that television might be too graphic in the United States, that people will get the wrong impression, the wrong impression being that Lebanese civilians are the ones who are suffering under this bombardment from the Israeli military. That is underscored by CNN reporters -- Anderson Cooper, Paula Zhan, Wolf Blitzer -- constantly reminding viewers after a particularly gruesome or graphic report that Hezbollah hides among civilians, so this is the trouble you get into when do you this.
"It's reminiscent after 9/11 and when the war in Afghanistan began, there was a memo inside CNN. If you're showing graphic images of Afghanistan, remind viewers that this is happening because of 9/11. CNN would cut back to ground zero to remind people that however you feel about those images, if you feel that these people are suffering for no reason, you should be reminded that they're getting something that they deserve. And I think that's the message that CNN and much the rest of the media is sending right now."

Aside: I think Paula Zhan is an idiot. I watched her show once and couldn't believe what she was trying to present as journalism. She tries to sound hard-hitting and passionate but the emotion was completely misdirected. The show I watched involved the murder of a man on a cruise ship and she was interviewing the captain of the ship. She kept repeating, with much anger and disgust, that she couldn't believe that passengers had been allowed to move on and off the ship and were not detained for questioning until many hours later. She didn't even listen to the answer, given at least 4 times, that the ship had docked at 7am (at which time passengers were allowed to shore) and that the murder was not discovered until 11am. She just wanted viewers to see her moral indignation, and damn if the truth was going to get in the way of that!

Spamming the Comment Board

2006-08-02T12:34:00.000-06:00

I was excited to see that a comment appeared under my post "Child Abduction", but my emotions quickly turned to anger when I read the post. It was spam from some stupid company (I left it there, go and see yourself). When I first started this blog, I debated putting the word verification on the comment section and decided that I would only do it if I began to have problems with spam. This did not take long. It's only one message, but one is too many. I am personally sick of being advertised to every second of the day. Advertising used to be about fulfilling needs; now it's about creating wants. No thanks, compadre. My blog is for talking about social and political issues that I feel are relevant, not for selling someone's crappy product. For this reason I have also decided against allowing advertising on my blog. I noticed that bloggers can make a little extra money by allowing companies to advertise on their blog. If others want to do that, I'm not going to judge. I decided from the beginning that my blog isn't the place for it.

Long story short: sorry guys, but I've turned the word verification on. It only takes an extra second to leave a comment. Thanks for understanding.

Child Abduction

2006-07-31T13:32:00.000-06:00

The RCMP have just released an Amber alert concerning the disappearance of a 10-year-old boy from Whitewood, Saskatchewan. Here is the RCMP alert, as well as a news story about it. Click on the pics for a better look. If anyone sees either Peter Whitmore (adult) or Zachary Miller (child), please get in touch with the RCMP via the above links. Thanks.

The Music Industry, Getting Even More Over-protective

2006-07-29T18:43:00.000-06:00

I play guitar, and I find many of the chords to songs I like from the internet. There are dozens, if not hundreds, of sites on the web dedicated to posting person's individual interpretations of how a song goes. These are not official sheet music transcripts, but rather what people figure out on their own while listening to the song (I'm kind of tone deaf, so I am not very good at this. However, over the years, I've gotten better).

One of the sites I use is Guitar Tab Universe, which is now under threat from the National Music Publisher's Association (NMPA, in the US). Legal action is being threatened because the NMPA believes that "sharing tabulature constitutes copyright infringement." The homepage of the Guitar Tab Universe has a clear and concise statement regarding their position.

I don't believe that I am infringing on anyone's copyright when I learn from someone else how to play a song. Am I infringing on copyright when I learn the lyrics to a song and then sing them? If I tell someone the plot of a movie, or even how it ends, is that infringment? After using this site for years, I can tell you that half the time the tabs are wrong anyway. The only way it's infringment is if you start making money on it. But if you're making money on it, you'd have to buy the rights to the song anyway or have a crapload of lawsuits on your hands. It's not artists, but the publishers of songbooks, who are bitching in this case.

The music industry is doing a good job blowing this internet thing out of proportion. To me, music is about communication. The industry wants us to buy music and listen to it, but not talk about it or sing it or enjoy it on our own instruments. I can't wait for the music industry to start suing school bands.

Hearing it from People Actually in Beirut

2006-07-28T12:24:00.000-06:00

I don't know anything about this guy, his politics or art or music or whatever. All I know is that he lives in Lebanon and is using his blog to reveal the frustration and horror of what's going on over there right now. Looking at this I felt much more connected than I'd ever get from watching 12hours straight of CNN. Mazenkerblog

In one post he (I think he?) quotes his father about the United Nations: which nations are they united for, and which against?

I stumbled upon this via Kasia.

And I'd like to just point out that the fighting in Darfur is increasing and now spilling over into Chad. The violence here is solely against the civilian population, who the government is punishing for supposedly supporting rebel forces. Civilians caught up everywhere. Interesting that none of the Western countries are trying to broker a peace deal in Africa.

Turmoil You-Know-Where

2006-07-26T20:52:00.000-06:00

I leave my computer for two weeks and the whole world goes crazy! What’s all this I’m hearing about the Middle East? Firstly, I just want to say that radio in southeastern Saskatchewan is crap. The hostilities were a week into it before I even heard anything. And the first was from people who came from Saskatoon!

These are mostly first-impression type ramblings, so they may change, but could the U.S. think about people instead of politics for once? They don’t want to get into it, because Israel is their ally and they don’t want to actually say something bad about Israel. But c’mon: they are bombing the crap out of civilians over there! I might agree with my buddy who punches a guy while defending his girlfriend’s honour, but when the crowbar and brass knuckles come out, things change a bit.

Humanitarian aid can’t get into the area yet, but who cares, right? Only civilians.

Canada is sitting behind the US like the little kid stands behind the bully. Although I must commend Harper and wife for taking their government plane to Cyprus to bring back 120 Canadian refugees fleeing Lebanon. However, Stephen and wife, you could have taken 122 back if you weren’t on the fucking plane! Use your head for compassion instead of public relations.

I find it interesting that the US is allowing Saudi Arabia into the group discussing a peaceful solution, but is refusing to listen to anything Syria has to say. Condo. Rice says that a peace agreement must bring stability to the entire region, yet at the same time you ignore some of those countries in that region? Seems blatantly paternalistic to me.

Lesson #17: Read the fine Print

2006-07-23T14:33:00.000-06:00

I love Billy Bragg, not just for his music but for his politics (I guess for the most part, the two are the same). And he recently taught everyone a valuable lesson: read the fine print. Every band and their dog has a mySpace website to promote themselves. Bragg fished through the ‘terms of use’ on his own site and was shocked to discover that mySpace (owned by Rupert Murdoch) claimed that they held worldwide rights to any music posted on mySpace. Bragg said ‘screw that’ and pulled his songs off his site, then let the news out. Everyone will be happy to know that mySpace responded by immediately changing their terms of use. Here’s an article.
And people are still clueless enough to think that we no longer need corporate watchdogs or civil liberty unions or even unions in general. ‘Question everything’ is not just a motto for Matrix fans.
If you’ve never heard Billy Bragg, I force this introduction upon you: Billy Bragg. This is not his mySpace site. I personal find mySpace annoying. Bands throw so many things on the page that it takes eons to open. And in order to leave any messages, you have to become a member. Why should I become a member if all I want to say is "thanks a bunch"? By the way, Bragg is coming to Canada this fall, but not Saskatoon. Winnipeg and Calgary are the closest. Darn it all!

Gore Gives A Shout Out to Fort Mac!

2006-07-20T01:13:00.000-06:00

I'm always interested when something local gets a nod from the international community. In the most recent issue of Rolling Stone [RS 1004/1005], Al Gore discusses his ideas about global warming and has this to say about the Fort MacMurray region:

"The fact that oil is beginning to get more expensive more quickly will contribute to the realization of how dysfunctional our current pattern is. Take the tar sands of western Canada. For every barrel of oil they extract there, they have to use enough natural gas to heat a family's home for four days. And they have to tear up four tons of landscape, all for one barrel of oil. It is truly nuts. But you know, junkies find veins in their toes. It seems reasonable, to them, because they've lost sight of the rest of their lives." (RS 1004/1005:46)

Which is a viewpoint that I have to agree with. The sucky thing is this: I love all the things that oil provides for me. I won't sugar-coat it: life is good right now. Plus, as an archaeologist, I know that for the most part my employment opportunities depend on the exploitation of natural resources. So damn it all!

Seriously, though, I'm willing to have to go into another career if it means that people start taking global warming and resource depletion seriously. It just means I have to fall back on my second career option: rock star!

Médecins Sans Frontières / Doctors Without Borders

2006-06-29T10:25:00.000-06:00

A friend of mine recently told me about his interest in joining Doctors Without Borders (for those of us that speak English), the non-profit organization that spreads medical aid throughout the world. And I say kudos. I currently do not have the guts to do something like that. I'm working on it, though.

If you'd like to know what type of work they do, check out the parent website for DWB / MSF. I just looked at it, and they had a press release proclaiming that Abbott Laboratories has yet to fill their order for AIDS medication from over a month ago. And that Abbott has yet to make it's most effective AIDS medication available outside of the U.S.

Also check out the Canadian website, which has an interesting and alarming piece about DARFUR. Yes, our old friend that George Clooney publicized a month or two ago. It seems that the World Food Program, which is pretty much the only organization providing survival aid to the refugee camps, is being forced to cut in half the vital food rations that it is able to supply. Why? Because they are seriously crippled by lack of funding. Apparently, all that amazing publicity by Clooney (see my post from May) did jack squat. Personally, I think it has something to do with people not giving a shit about Africa. That theme has come up in a number of my posts, and I can't see it going away any time soon.

Democracy Now!

2006-06-28T10:35:00.000-06:00

Do you think our neighbour to the south is big, scary, unpredictable, and just a bit neurotic? Would you like to know more about what's going on down there, other than what Fox News has to say? I've heard that most Canadians get their American news from the Daily Show with Jon Stewart, which kicks ass in my books (aside: you ever watch the Colbert Report? Steven Colbert was the guest speaker at the White House correspondents' dinner last month. Reports said that he bombed, but that's because all his jokes were aimed at the audience. He gave it to them good! You can find it here). But for a deeper exploration of what's going on in the U.S. of A., check out Democracy Now! They compile a whole bunch of daily articles from around the world (but mostly the States) letting us know what's actually happening. For example, Tuesday's list of articles included one about American soldiers in Iraq setting up bases of operation in residential buildings and booting the occupants to the curb. And so on.

Thanks, Luke, for sending me the link in the first place.

Canada's Most Wanted

2006-06-20T18:12:00.000-06:00

How you ever wondered if your next-door neighbour was perhaps a homocidal maniac hiding from the authorities? Well, now you can find out for sure. Check out the RCMP Most Wanted website, and let your paranoia take control! This guy may look like Hunter S. Thompson, but he's actually a child molestor on the run. And check out the people who are wanted on drug charges, the bigwigs who run the show. What a motley looking crew, and I don't mean Tommy Lee.

Regina Folk Festival

2006-06-18T01:20:00.000-06:00

Well, paint me yellow and call me Woodstock (Snoopy's friend, not the recent violent incarnation of the music festival). But the Regina Folk Festival sounds exciting. Running from August 11-13th, this year's event showcases such talents as Bedouin Soundclash, Ani Difranco, Steve Earle, Five Star Homeless, and Utah Phillips. And for students, a weekend pass is only 64 bucks. That's the price of one quality concert, never mind five! I'm definitely trying to arrange my schedule to go to this, let me know if your interested. Ani has a new album out, but the best thing she's ever done is 'To the Teeth', check it out. And Steve Earle, of course everyone knows 'Copperhead Road', but his recent stuff rocks, like 'The Revolution Starts Now' and 'Jerusalem'. Now that's songwriting. Aside: when 'Guitar Town' was the #1 country album in America, Earle got booed off a stage in Texas, by a group who shouted, "play some real country!" His response was, "this week, my music is real country, so shut up and listen." I love artists who play the music they want to play, and don't cater to what they think the audience wants to hear. Sorry Nickelback, but I'm talking about you. I think an audience should find the artist, not the artist chasing an audience.

Check out the Regina Folk Festival and get some tickets.

The Deal Behind Gasoline

2006-06-11T15:42:00.000-06:00

Intrigued by the economics of gasoline, I’ve been doing a little reading about the oil and gas industry. One book I read was Gasoline Prices in Canada, a report written by the Committee on Industry, Science, and Technology in 2003, and published by the Government of Canada. This report looked into how the gasoline industry is run in Canada and the States, and whether or not price-fixing was a problem. They heard from various industry experts and concluded that rising gas prices were caused by numerous supply-and-demand issues, and that price gouging did not exist. Their reasoning seems sound, but I had two major issues with it. First, all their data came from a think tank funded by the major oil companies (to be fair, the committee acknowledged this, but didn’t seem to think it was a big issue). Second, I don’t think they ask the industry experts the right questions. When dealing with the issue of price-fixing, they heard various responses summarizing how the gasoline industry is one of the most competitive in existence, mainly because their prices are clearly advertised and that people will go out of their way to save a few cents. So if one retailer lowers the gas by a cent, others will follow. But the committee failed to ask about the opposite: what happens when someone raises their gas by a cent? Who are the people who first make that decision? And why does every other retailer follow? I don’t think gas prices are fixed by 6 suits in a boardroom, but I’m willing to bet that prices are always raised by retailers run by the oil companies, rather than the independants. The whole report was suppose to deal with the reasons behind gas price increases, but they stopped asking questions after they heard a few quick responses. I learned a lot, but I’m not sure how helpful it actually was.

Bright Eyes in Saskatoon

2006-06-10T15:45:00.000-06:00

The top pic is Conor Oberst, performing one of his many amazing songs. The second is of 2 girls waiting by the gate -- hopelessly out of their element and trying desperately to get backstage. Unbeknownst to them, the band was already gone. I hope they shagged a good-looking roadie!

Great show, but oddly, no merchandise table. Guess I'll grab something off the website. Something about border duty. My only other complaint is that they never performed "When the President Talks to God", I'm assuming because he thought Canadians wouldn't care as much. C'mon Conor, we hate Bush as much as you!

Retaliation, Maybe?

2006-06-08T21:53:00.000-06:00

In May, the American military conducted an air strike on a village in Afghanistan that reportedly harboured Taliban fighters. A whole wackload of civilians were killed in this strike. Canadian ground troops are the only ones there right now, and they had no idea that the Americans were going to do it. When we heard about this, a friend of mine commented that the locals were going to blame Canadians for this strike, even though they didn’t have anything to do with it. Because of the Americans, any goodwill we have scrapped together in Afghanistan will dissipate.

Last week, 17 Islamic youths were arrested on suspicion of plotting terrorist attacks within the Canadian borders. One of the alleged plots involved beheading the prime minister. It appears that my friend’s comments about Canadian-Afghanistan relations are fairly valid.

Artists who don't want to sue 12-year-olds

2006-05-31T18:59:00.000-06:00

The Canadian Music Creators Coalition is an organization formed by singer-songwriters and recording artists from Canada who are concerned about the repeated legal action against file-sharing fans. Basically, they say that the music labels pursue legislation against file-sharing because they don’t understand or wish to accept what the digital age of music means, and they are unwilling to adapt to accommodate the new economy. Also, when a record company says they are doing it to protect their artists, that’s mostly a load of bull.
An article about its inception and who’s in it is here.
A discussion about file-sharing from the artists perspective is here.

Chinese Google

2006-05-16T10:51:00.000-06:00

Perhaps you have heard that Google has opened up a new website called google.cn. This google search engine is for specific use in China. They've done this before in other countries, usually as a way to open up a local server to make Google run more efficiently (or something like that, I'm not an internet wizard). Unfortunately, to start this site they had to agree with the Chinese government to censor the search engine. There are plenty of bloggers who have tested this search engine, comparing what comes up with the regular Google and with the Chinese one, and shown that the censorship is obviously political in nature (ironically, you can google those bloggers and see for yourself. I wonder if those bloggers would show up on the Chinese site).

I do not advocate censorship, especially if it's the government trying to silence or hide dissenting opinion. However, it is worth reading this post on Google's own blog, outlining their reasons for allowing this to happen. They make good points, but I'm not entirely convinced that it's for the best. And not to sound all paranoid, but if their main site was having major difficulties in China, is it possible that the government had something to do with that?

Battling Cystic Fibrosis

2006-05-13T20:23:00.000-06:00

Cystic Fibrosis (CF) is a hereditary disease that affects how the body’s cellular walls impede the transportation of salt. Although this sounds elementary, such an inhibition actually affects breathing, digestion, and mucus production. Forty years ago, most CF sufferers passed away before growing old enough to attend first grade; now the average life expectancy is over 30. I’m participating in a walk-a-thon on May 28th and plan on raising one million dollars. Yes, one million dollars! Please help me reach my goal (I’ve been taught to set the bar high). If you want to donate or you wish to participate, please let me know, or get in touch with the foundation itself (there’s a link there to the right).

How'd They Vote?

2006-05-12T21:11:00.000-06:00

I have found the best Canadian political website ever. How’d They Vote? is devoted to the goal of complete political accountability. The site shows the statistics of each member of Parliament, the transcripts of debates they’ve been involved in, how they voted for each bill, and even if they were present for the vote. The full bills are available for viewing as well, because sometimes bills are voted down due to semantics instead of good intentions. And votes outlined in red signifies that the MP broke the party line, meaning you can see how much of a rebel your MP really is. Three Liberals told their party to screw off 25 times each! Guess which two MPs were in the top 10 for absences? Yep, Paul Martin and Stephen Harper (74 and 54, respectively). The Conservatives had two MPs (David Chatters and Darrel Stinson) who were absent for over 120 votes! Although to be fair, a couple of Conservatives battled cancer, so that was probably them.

My previous post was about Maurice Vellacott. According to this site, Maurice voted: FOR a bill to limit crossing the floor (switching parties); FOR bill C-28 (allowing the sale of agricultural items with over the legal limit of harmful substances if the Health Minister approves it); AGAINST same-sex marriage; AGAINST a bill to reduce student loan bankruptcy from 10 years to 2 years; FOR the increase of parliamentary salaries in accordance to private sector salaries; AGAINST a bill for loosening government red tape on not-for-profit organizations; AGAINST a bill recognizing self-government for the Tlicho in the Northwest Territories (this ties in nicely with my last post); AGAINST a bill giving greater protection to children from child pornography and stiffer sentences for pedophiles, plus new criminal codes regarding ‘voyeurism’; and AGAINST a bill giving protection to whistleblowers in the public sector (people who go public with wrong-doings and get fired because of it).

I think it’s safe to say that I have issues with some of these stances. This site is great, because now you can keep track of what your MP is actually doing.

One Vellacott of a Guy!

2006-05-11T14:40:00.000-06:00

I’m kinda jumping on this subject a little late, considering Maurice Vellacott has already announced that he is resigning his proposed position of Chair of the Committee on Aboriginal Affairs, Northern Development, and Natural Resources. It seems to me that most of the hub-bub was over his remarks about the Chief Justice’s judgments, and not so much over his support of Saskatoon police officers who dumped Aboriginals on the outskirts of town. But the Aboriginal reaction against Vellacott is quite strong, as seen here in this CBC link.

Here is the bio that appears on his own website. He has served as a pastor and a landlord. I don’t see anything in this brief bio that indicates why he is qualified to be on the Committee on Aboriginal Affairs, Northern Development, and Natural Resources. His only possible qualification is that he was deputy critic for that Committee when the Tories were the Opposition. All this means to me is that he is well-versed in how the politics of that position work. But is he well-versed in the people and situations involved? Any jackass can critique a government policy, but it takes someone different to create effective policies. It doesn’t seem like a good idea to me to appoint to this position someone from a province that is becoming notorious for its racial segregation and prejudice, especially when he doesn’t have any real ‘hands-on’ experience (I couldn’t find any, let me know if any of you can).

In his statement of resignation, Vellacott cites partisan politics as the problem. He doesn’t even give the nod to how Aboriginals reacted to his appointment. What does that tell you about what kind of committee leader on Aboriginal issues Vellacott would have been?

Canadian Elite (Money-wise, Don't Know Their Personal Habits)

2006-05-04T12:24:00.000-06:00

For no reason at all, I checked out Canada’s richest people. I wanted to see what businesses they operate. There really isn’t a reason for this post, other than to disseminate information. The rankings are based on Forbes magazine’s annual list. Kenneth Thomson is the richest man in Canada, and the 13th richest in the world. Here is a summary of what that company is all about.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomson_Corporation

Galen Weston is the second richest Canada, and supposedly Canada’s nearest thing to royalty. Read his bio here (including this interesting line: "Their six sisters received nothing.")
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Galen_Weston

And apparently, his wife is Ontario’s lieutenant-governor. She also survived an IRA kidnapping attempt in 1983. Oh, the troubles of those crazy billionaires (I don’t mean to trivialize kidnapping, by the way).
http://www.cbc.ca/lifeandtimes/weston.html

At #3 is the Irving brothers, James, Arthur and John. Here’s a bio about their company, which has proven to be innovative in areas such as the environment, while also being severely criticized for their mismanagement of -- well, the environment.
http://en/wikipedia.org/wiki/Kenneth_Colin_Irving

War Crimes in Darfur (at the very least)

2006-05-01T09:57:00.000-06:00

All over the news, word is spreading about the atrocities occurring in the Darfur region of the Sudan. Below I have posted a link to the BBC that is a good summary of what’s going on there.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/3496731.stm

And if you want to help, here are some sites to look into:
http://www.darfurgenocide.org/
http://savedarfur.org/home

On Global news last night, they mentioned the conflict, but I was kind of annoyed by the newstory itself. The reporter said, (paraphrasing) "Thanks to George Clooney’s efforts, the world is learning about the genocide being conducted in Darfur." Clooney has gone out there and documented what’s going on, been on Oprah, etc, to spread the word. Kudos for Clooney, I respect what he’s doing. The news programs are missing the boat, though. Instead of "Genocide in Darfur", the stories seem to be "Clooney documents genocide in Darfur." The reporters credit Clooney with bringing the story out into the open; where the hell have the reporters been for the last few years? This didn’t start happening today. Why did it take Clooney to muck around Sudan before news programs started seriously reporting the issue? I’m sure Clooney’s glad the story is out, but he’s gotta annoyed with the spin.

(and how ironic is this? In my post about Darfur, I end up talking about Clooney. Frickin’ hell)

Jane Elliot, Keeping the White Man Down

2006-04-28T23:11:00.000-06:00

I caught a program on the Saskatchewan Learning Channel called "Blue Eyes, Brown Eyes." It was a documentary of sorts, about a workshop conducted in Regina last year. 12 white people and 12 Aboriginals sat in a room. From the beginning, the woman running the program treated the white people as insignificant and the Aboriginals as superior. Basically, flipping the lid on racial relations in Saskatchewan. It was quite the sight to see. She was the perfect bitch, beating down the whites and ‘putting them in their place.’ Afterwards, she explained what she was trying to do: expose standard actions in society that actually hide racist intentions. She tried to show that people who don’t think they are racist still live in a society that makes basic assumptions based on race, which unconsciously affect our actions. By recognizing inherent racism, we can work to improve race relations.

For me, the most startling scene was when Jane Elliot (the woman in charge) was taunting a white person about his lack of motivation and his reliance on welfare. After a few minutes of constant shaming, she turned to a white guy sitting on the left. "Do you agree with what I said to him?" she asked. "No." "Then why didn’t you say anything to defend him?" "Because I didn’t want you to start picking on me." Elliot then turned to the class and asked them to think about how intimidation and silence actually work in society. I was dumbfounded. The white people were too ashamed to contradict her, and that silence was a major instrument in propagating racist attitudes.

I liked the program because it showed how subtle racism can be and how we are all guilty of it to some extent. Elliot just wants racism to be brought out into the open, so it can be talked about and overcome. Jane Elliot is actually an American who has been doing this program for twenty years and has tailored it to fit any situation of racial tension. The link below is specifically about Jane Elliot’s work involving attitudes towards Canadian Aboriginals. I urge you to look through the site, especially the viewpoint section. It’s good to know what other Canadians are thinking.
http://www.cbc.ca/passionateeye/indecentlyexposed/

The link below contains an extremely critical view of Elliot’s work. I don’t agree with what is printed here, but like I said before, it’s always good to know what the other guy is thinking (watch out, Britney Spears!).
http://www.vdare.com/fulford/jane_elliott.htm

Elliot has also done work in Australia, and this link talks about it. These comments are remarkably similar to the Canadian ones. I agree with Pottie, who feels most of the critics missed the mark: Elliot doesn’t want white people to feel guilty, and she wasn’t trying to solve racism with a single seminar. She is trying to make people see that racism exists even where it doesn’t seem to. She’s teaching awareness and understanding. From this, change can occur.
http://www.sbs.com.au/australianeye/index2.html?id=91

In the program I watched, she specifically said to forget about guilt. Guilt gets us nowhere. Acknowledge that wrongs have been done, but don’t feel the need to feel guilty about it. Instead, work to make sure racism doesn’t continue to happen. I find that simple and practical message.

Psst...You want a Cigarette?

2006-04-27T00:58:00.000-06:00

There is currently a standoff happening in Caledonia, Ontario, where Aborginal groups are protesting the legality of a construction site. You can read about it here:
http://www.cbc.ca/story/news/national/2006/04/20/caledonia-protest060420.html

Things are getting pretty tense, and I don’t want to even touch on that right now. Instead I want to talk about cigarettes. CBC news did a story about the Mohawk community involved in the land dispute, but focused on their thriving cigarette trade. They make and sell their own cigarettes. This is technically illegal, because they refuse to incorporate Canadian taxes on the smokes. They claim that their cigarettes don’t fall under Canadian law, because the processing of tobacco is an inalienable right. As in hunting and fishing, tobacco processing is part of their culture.

This is genius, if you ask me. I can understand the logic behind this, regardless of the motivation. The courts have allowed Aboriginals the right to hunt and fish because they are traditional activities; why isn’t cigarette production the same thing?

What I found impressive was how the tobacco trade has shaped the Mohawk community. According to the story, unemployment is fairly low, and tobacco money has been used to fund community programs such as childcare and helping out the elderly. In essence, they have circumvented the need to rely on welfare or other government programs. People who think Aboriginals are just mooches should see this initiative as a positive. However, the Canadian government is pushing for this practice to end, and it will become a legal battle sooner or later. I don’t know about the legality of it, but I have to respect the ingenuity.

Urban Legends, Bring 'em on!

2006-04-24T13:43:00.000-06:00

I found this website called Snopes that outlines a whole whackload of urban legends, explaining their origins and whether they are true or not. Pretty much every crazy story you’ve ever heard is in here, and the authors do their best to systematically fact-check all their sources. From this page I learned that TV’s Mr. Ed was not a horse, but a zebra. Black and white lines did not show up on old B&W televisions, so they could get away with it. This was a problem with football, because the referees looked like they had floating heads. I also learned that a news reporter in the 1970s committed suicide -- on air. And rather dramatically, too.

www.snopes.com

Something to Either Depress, or Light Your Fire

2006-04-23T12:14:00.000-06:00

A friend of mine lent me a movie called "Walmart: The High Cost of Low Price." It’s a documentary about Walmart’s business practices in the US, Europe, China, Bangladesh, Canada, and Honduras. You can find out about it here:
http://www.walmartmovie.com/

I know that the producers are extremely anti-Walmart, so you have to keep that in mind when you watch it. But here are just a few of the things Walmart does, according to the documentary:

The 5 main Walton family members are worth a combined $106 billion.
While Bill Gates gives 58% of his worth to charities, the Waltons give 1%.
In the 2000s, 31 states have filed wage & hourly abuses lawsuits against Walmart.
CEO Lee Scott says that Walmart has 71% of its staff working full-time. The Daily Show claims that Walmart considers 28 hours a week ‘full-time.’
Walmart has health benefits, but are disproportionally high for their paychecks. Employees have been instructed to go on Medicaid instead.
A Quebec Walmart became the first to win union certification in North America. It was shut down a month later because it was deemed "unprofitable."
What the anti-union Walmart never tells Americans is that all its stores in Germany (and some in other European nations) are unionized. In the film, a German Walmart worker wondered what Walmart was scared of by refusing to unionize American stores.
In China, workers at Walmart’s factories make 13-17 cents/hour and have dormitory rent deducted from their paychecks, regardless if they live in the dorms or not.
A former Walmart human resources inspector, appalled at the conditions in the Chinese factories, was further shocked by the top brass’ lack of concern when he brought it to their attention.
Walmart receives subsidies from cities to build new stores. If they don’t receive subsidies, they have been known to buy land just outside the city limits and build there, thus bringing the city all their negatives without any of the positives.
Walmart also has a history of moving stores once their tax breaks have ended. There are plenty of empty Walmart stores around, too big for other stores to move into (I’m reminded of here in Saskatoon, where Walmart recently moved from Circle Mall to Preston Crossing. I have no idea, but I wonder what politics were involved in that move).

The following is a blog about various things concerning Walmart. A lot of it has to do with the documentary and is very supportive of its message. Some other things on this website worth checking out involve the blogging world: apparently Walmart has people who blog on their behalf, plus Walmart CEO Lee Scott has his own blog.
http://feeds.feedburner.com/WalmartMovie

And finally a brief story about Walmart healthcare, which I’m posting because of the gigantic amount of comments that follow it. Here you’ll find a large range of opinions about Walmart, some angry, some sour, some supportive, a lot of the ‘if you don’t like it, work somewhere else’ argument.

http://walmartwatch.com/blog/archives/the_wal_mart_mythology_is_shattered1/

To me, this shows that you can’t just say ‘Walmart is the devil’ and expect everyone to go with you. But having said that, Walmart is the devil.

Some Canadian Music is Good, By the Way

2006-04-05T22:00:00.000-06:00

The links below are from ChartAttack magazine, although some have been floating on MSN. All three deal with the Canadian music industry, post-Junos. The first is the Philosopher Kings discussing the lack of forums for music videos. The second is Kevin Drew of Broken Social Scene going off about Canadian Idol (I like Feist’s comments in this story). And the third is Kardinal Offishall speaking about the state of hip-hop in Canada. I felt all three of these stories are relevant to how some artists look at today’s music industry (and I think it’s obvious that I agree with most of what they have to say). My complaint about this year’s Junos was the oh-so obvious nominees for Fan Choice Award. I’m sure a lesser-known band (Arcade Fire, Stars) could have been put up there instead of Celine Dion. Branch out a little, folks!

http://www.chartattack.com/DAMN/2006/03/2401.cfm
http://www.chartattack.com/damn/2006/04/0437.cfm
http://www.chartattack.com/damn/2006/04/0307.cfm

MTV Canada is Useless

2006-03-30T14:09:00.000-06:00

Proclaiming that "the drought is over," MTV Canada started last week. I tuned in to watch a music video and have vowed to continue turning to that channel every time my TV is on until I have seen MTV play a music video. This has yet to happen. Today I thought, 'why am I torturing myself?' I checked the website, which has the TV listings. From 1pm to 11:30pm (when the listing stopped) there was not a single spot for music videos. There was the Real World, Pimp my Ride, a program about movies, and other useless junk. At least MTV Live had a performance by Controller Controller, but really -- 2 songs in 12 hours of programming? MuchMusic spent the last 10 years trying to become MTV by coming up with copycat shows, and now that they finally succeeded, MTV comes up and does the same boring programming. If MTV was smart, they would have done something radical -- like show music videos.

So You Can Bitch at Telemarketers

2006-03-29T23:42:00.000-06:00

For most people, telemarketers are annoying. And there are those people who actually like them. I am not one of them. I would like to scream at the phone, but I don't because I know that they are just doing their jobs. But if you ask for the supervisor, you can yell at that person. Lately I've been getting calls to my cell phone, and they get an earful.

Know your rights! This first link is a CBC post that gives great information (these are Canadian regulations, the States is a bit different). According to this, the person (at the start of the call!) must give you a toll-free number that you can phone back. They are also supposed to give you a registration number if you ask to be taken off the list. I've never had a telemarketer say either of those things, so I'm ready to raise some hell next time.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/background/telemarketing/crtc-rules.html

The second link is to the CRTC itself, and they outline the rules that telemarketers have to follow.

http://www.crtc.gc.ca/eng/INFO_SHT/t1022.htm

I'm currently looking for lists of telemarketer phone numbers on the web, and I'm thinking about phoning their main offices and trying to sell them something. I'll let you know if that happens.

Unconscious Gender Guidelines

2006-03-22T20:16:00.000-06:00

I watched the movie "Walk the Line" the other day and thought it was pretty good. I have a lot of respect for Johnny Cash, as a person and a musician. So what I have to say next really has nothing to do with him.
There’s a scene where June Carter helps get Johnny off the drugs and set his life back on track. And he’s ever so grateful and the two get married and live happily ever after (this shouldn’t be spoiler, I think the chain of events is fairly obvious by now). All I could think about watching that scene is the amount of women in real life that see it and feel inspired for all the wrong reasons. They watch that scene and think, "I can do that. I can change the man I’m with." No matter how drugged up he is, how deep in gambling debt, or surrounded by hookers, or how many times he gives her a black eye, she still thinks that her love will be enough to save him. And when it doesn’t happen, she blames herself, believing that her love just wasn’t strong enough.

This is a common theme in movies. And it is heartwarming, that I’ll agree. But for the most part it doesn’t reflect real situations. And it’s false hopes such as these that give women the impetus to stick with situations that are unfulfilling, dangerous, or even life-threatening. It places the onus on the female, and says it’s okay for the guy to act in such a manner. It shifts responsibility for his actions.

I’m sure most people will think I overanalysed this to death. But it worries me how much stock women put in relationships, how often women have trouble defining themselves unless it is in relation to a man. It starts young, and pop culture unconsciously keeps the cycle going. I think the powerful message contained in the pink postsecret I posted below is something that people need to become more aware of.

Archaeology That Isn't

2006-03-19T15:09:00.000-06:00

I found a great website on pseudoarchaeology, the kinds of theories formed outside respected archaeological circles. It has a good outline of what pseudoarchaeologists have been up to, including lost civilizations, visitors from space, and super-early Europeans in America.

http://www.answers.com/topic/pseudoarchaeology

The best part of this site is the links. We have religious links like Answers in Genesis, where they have a soundbite from a radio program claiming scientists don’t even understand evolution. They say that bacteria immune to antibiotics is a sign of de-evolution, not evolution, so fits better with the Bible’s view of the world breaking down due to overwhelming sin. Sounds good, except the show’s concept of evolution is skewered: they see evolution as progress, while scientists see evolution as adaptation (fyi, if you tend to think of evolution as a process toward betterment with humans at the top, it makes it easier to think that your well-being is the only thing that matters -- that’s my opinion). There are also links to websites that try to refute some pseudoarchaeology, which I believe is a good thing. Archaeologists can’t just sit in ivory towers and sneer smugly at authors without masters degrees. If we want the general public to know the problems with some of these claims, we have to take the time to explain it. We can’t just say "that guy’s a crackpot" and expect everyone to agree. Pseudoarchaeology is pretty popular and at times actually helps archaeology get noticed, so we can’t just bat it away. I believe that if you disagree with something, learn about it. Then you have the ability to make convincing arguments against it. That’s why I know so much about Britney Spears.

Keep in mind that I’m a graduate student of archaeology, so I obviously don’t agree with most pseudoarchaeology. Most. Of course aliens were here! Of course!

Making Money isn't a Job; It's a Lifestyle

2006-03-18T11:49:00.000-06:00

The Enron trial is underway in the U.S. as Ken Lay, the CEO of the company, is charged with various amounts of legal jumble that all mean the same thing: he ripped off stockholders and employees of millions of dollars. His defense made me laugh and cry at the same time. According to his lawyers, Lay couldn’t have purposefully stolen that money or dissuade the public because he is already rich, and rich people don’t steal. That’s right: rich people don’t steal. They don’t need to; they already have all the money they need.
To say that rich people don’t steal is like saying sex addicts don’t have sex, because they already had enough of it in their lifetime. If there is one thing that makes people crazy for money, it’s having too much already. In the general trend of things, people are greedy and are never satisfied. Why else do athletes getting paid 5 million a year complain about it? These athletes frame their argument in terms of respect: if they really are the best, they should be paid more than the rest. I agree with paying people their value, but isn’t there a point where that thinking gets stupid? Don’t we respect you enough when you get paid 5 million as opposed to 9 million?
I’d like to do a study of how many corporate heads have decided one day, "you know, I’ve made enough money, I’m just gonna stop." I don’t think I’ll find too many. They retire for other reasons, like health. The dollar sign keeps them coming back.

Is Bush as Bad as it Gets?

2006-03-17T15:47:00.000-06:00

Rolling Stone calls him "God’s Senator." Sam Brownback is an American senator and the head of the Values Action Team, a group of right-wing policy advocates that meet once a week to determine the direction that the government should follow. These meetings are top secret and members are forbidden to discuss what gets said... and they have the ear of the President. Brownback claims it’s okay for unelected officials to to set policy and do it secretly, because the Bible sanctions it. "Everybody knows Moses, but who were the leaders of the Jewish people once they got to the promise land? It’s a lot of people who are unknown" (RS 993:56). The Values Action Team is part of a group of "God-led" cells -- small pockets of senators, generals, corporate executives, and preachers that have been appointed to power (and are therefore "God’s chosen") in order to construct a Kingdom of God on earth. He is against homosexuals, abortion, and fuel-efficiency standards, doesn’t want Islamic people to own oil companies, and backs the Constitution Restoration Act. This acts strips the Supreme Court’s ability to hear cases about faith-based abuses of power.

Brownback's going to run for president. The U.S. is becoming quite the scary place.

Indie Music Revolution (?)

2006-03-16T14:40:00.000-06:00

Is the music industry going to shit? Depends on if you think it's shit in the first place. Apparently album sales in 2005 dropped 7.2%, from $666.7 million to $618.7 million. So yes, things aren't looking good. BUT -- Indie music accounted for 18% of sales, which is an increase of 2% over the year before. And in my opinion, indie music is good. The major labels focus on blockbusters, while the indie labels use a broad range of small-scale releases, which according to some experts may be the way that major labels start promoting artists. I have no problem with that. I prefere album-oriented projects compared to singles-oriented ones (I think one major reason illegal downloading is that no one wants to buy a whole album that has only one good song on it). The small-scale release model will favour albums over singles. It just means that pop stars who don't know what do with their millions won't have as many millions to toss away.