2.06.2009

Three (Extra) in the Morning

Because my daughter is reading quietly to herself (wow... this is new) so I'm sneaking a little blogging (read: surfing) in...

7. Canadian Labour Congress May Reverse Position on IP Policy: This is a good article that looks at where the CLC presently stands on Intellectual Property policy and where they could be headed if a proposed resolution gets passed... yeesh, next week from the looks of it. Seems they could be coming down in favour of the WIPO's internet treaties --- treaties which are being opposed by many consumer and education groups --- and they'll also be supporting a strict enforcement-based approach to copyright enforcement. A worrying about-face from the CLC. If you're suspicious of copyright laws, that is. Which I'm.

8. Baseball = Making Out Metaphor Explained, Finally: Generally speaking, stick-figure webcomics inhabit a rung or two below even student newspaper comics. This one, however, is very good. Update: Hahahaha, this one is too.

9. Indian Matchbox Cover Art: Because the world needs more India.

Aaaaaand... my daughter is now roaming about so I'm off...

Six In The Morning

1. Canada Failing on Climate Change: The environment commissioner is upset with Ottawa's lackluster performance on climate change. Gosh, who saw that coming?

2. University of Vermont Rethinks Ben Stein Speech: Apparently something he said about science made him unsuitable as a commencement address speaker. Could it have been this quote from Expelled, maybe? "I was thinking to myself the last time any of my relatives saw scientists telling them what to do they were telling them to go to the showers to get gassed." Go back to the gameshow, Ben.

3. Beware of Zombies: The atheist bus is coming to Canada, but we can only hope a band of merry pranksters will start doing this to Regina road signs.

4. Writer Threatened for Being Thorough: Dr Ben Goldacre, author of the Bad Science column for the Guardian, devoted a blog post to debunking claims about vaccination made by a UK radio show host. To illustrate his concerns, he posted the relevant sections from the radio show: 44 minutes worth. As a result, he's been contacted by the radio station's lawyers for copyright infringement.

5. Bill Gates Infects Nerds With Malaria... Psych: Claiming, "Not only poor people should experience this," Gates started his TED 2009 talk by releasing a jar of malarial mosquitos into the audience. Only it turned out later the jar was empty and he was just "making a point." Your first instinct was right, Bill. You should've used real mosquitos.

6. Chemistry or Life? I don't read Russian, but the message on these anti-Coca Cola posters is pretty clear. Cool design.