I reviewed Lily Allen's new disc It's Not Me, It's You a couple issues back. It's a good album, lots of sharp-tongued, pop music fun with boatloads of naughty words (and I don't mean "boat") and nasty wit. It's rude and childish and juvenile and I love it. Here's a link to a Yootoob bootleg of Allen live, singing my favourite song off the disc. Judging from the line "You want to be like your father, it's approval you're after" I'll go out on a limb and say this is about Canada's guest of the day, George W. It sure as hell isn't about Luke Skywalker.
Warning: copious F-bombs. But you can see that from the video's title.
St. Patrick's Day bonus: apparently this is from a show in Dublin!
3.17.2009
Ironic? Yes. Shocking? Sadly, No
.jpg)
Intrepid Dog Blogger Paul Dechene already made note of this story, but clearly, it needs a rant. As the Globe And Mail reported early this morning, federal Minister of State for Science and Technology Gary Goodyear is refusing to state whether or not he believes in evolution--saying only "I'm not going to answer that question. I am a Christian, and I don't believe anybody asking a question about my religion is appropriate."
Sigh. The Cons recent cuts to funding scientific research across the country--and just as insidiously, their absolutely insane tactic of directing the funding that's left by demanding that it go to science projects that will "benefit business"--doesn't seem all that shocking now, if it ever did.
The simple fact is evangelicals--which, like his leash-master Stephen Harper, Gary Goodyear is--are pretty much universally opposed to unfettered freedom in terms of scientific research. And really, who can blame them? For centuries, science has been coming up with nasty little facts that bump up hard against religion--the earth is round, maybe you shouldn't have burned all those "witches" after all, and hey--it looks like those dinosaurs were really old!
Which, of course, brings us back to evolution, the scariest fact of all for evangelicals (and fundamentalists of all religious leanings, it should be noted).
Simply put, evolution is a fact--and it's a fact that's wiped out, among thousands of others, evangelical beliefs like the 6,000-year-old earth (hello, Stockwell Day), the Adam and Eve origin story, and, in recent years, the idea the HIV/AIDS is a plague from god to rid the world of homosexual sinners--or, for that matter, that homosexuals simply "choose to be gay."
But back to Gary.
Again under the "hardly shocking" category, Goodyear has been endorsed by "Vote Marriage Canada"--who are against same sex marriage, of course--along with numerous other evangelical groups, including Charles McVety's Focus on the Family Canada. I wonder if they're happy that the big G is in charge of the country's science portfolio?
I'm sure they are--but the rest of us should be absolutely outraged.
In the midst of the biggest recession we've seen in my lifetime, at least, our Conservative government is abandoning any hope of maintaining Canada's position as a leader in scientific research--at the very time a U.S. president is (finally) placing an emphasis on it in that country. If you didn't think that was enough to drive the best and the brightest from this country--ladies and gentlemen, we present to you our creationist minister of Science and Technology. How long before the Big Valley Creation Science Museum in Alberta becomes the centre of government-funded research in this country?
Clearly, Gary Goodyear has absolutely no business in this portfolio, and should be removed from his position post-haste--and if Ignatieff's Liberals have a shred of backbone, they won't stop screeching about that until it happens. I'm not holding my breath on that--but I am maintaining a tiny shred of hope that Canadians across the country will vent enough outrage to make it happen.
Ah, well--it's not all bad. At least we can finally stop feeling bad for the Americans and their eight-year slide into ignorance and fundamentalism--because now, they feel bad for us! Who saw that coming back in the Dubya days?
Sigh. The Cons recent cuts to funding scientific research across the country--and just as insidiously, their absolutely insane tactic of directing the funding that's left by demanding that it go to science projects that will "benefit business"--doesn't seem all that shocking now, if it ever did.
The simple fact is evangelicals--which, like his leash-master Stephen Harper, Gary Goodyear is--are pretty much universally opposed to unfettered freedom in terms of scientific research. And really, who can blame them? For centuries, science has been coming up with nasty little facts that bump up hard against religion--the earth is round, maybe you shouldn't have burned all those "witches" after all, and hey--it looks like those dinosaurs were really old!
Which, of course, brings us back to evolution, the scariest fact of all for evangelicals (and fundamentalists of all religious leanings, it should be noted).
Simply put, evolution is a fact--and it's a fact that's wiped out, among thousands of others, evangelical beliefs like the 6,000-year-old earth (hello, Stockwell Day), the Adam and Eve origin story, and, in recent years, the idea the HIV/AIDS is a plague from god to rid the world of homosexual sinners--or, for that matter, that homosexuals simply "choose to be gay."
But back to Gary.
Again under the "hardly shocking" category, Goodyear has been endorsed by "Vote Marriage Canada"--who are against same sex marriage, of course--along with numerous other evangelical groups, including Charles McVety's Focus on the Family Canada. I wonder if they're happy that the big G is in charge of the country's science portfolio?
I'm sure they are--but the rest of us should be absolutely outraged.
In the midst of the biggest recession we've seen in my lifetime, at least, our Conservative government is abandoning any hope of maintaining Canada's position as a leader in scientific research--at the very time a U.S. president is (finally) placing an emphasis on it in that country. If you didn't think that was enough to drive the best and the brightest from this country--ladies and gentlemen, we present to you our creationist minister of Science and Technology. How long before the Big Valley Creation Science Museum in Alberta becomes the centre of government-funded research in this country?
Clearly, Gary Goodyear has absolutely no business in this portfolio, and should be removed from his position post-haste--and if Ignatieff's Liberals have a shred of backbone, they won't stop screeching about that until it happens. I'm not holding my breath on that--but I am maintaining a tiny shred of hope that Canadians across the country will vent enough outrage to make it happen.
Ah, well--it's not all bad. At least we can finally stop feeling bad for the Americans and their eight-year slide into ignorance and fundamentalism--because now, they feel bad for us! Who saw that coming back in the Dubya days?
Extra-Ranty Bonus News
It's St. Patrick's Day. I'm not Irish (but I drink at their pubs) but I am wearing a green shirt. This is partly because I had two and only two clean shirts to choose from this morning and the other one was brown. Brown! You see my situation here.
But you don't care about that, so here's some news links with comments.
PRINCE ALBERT IS OKAY WITH IT Asurvey suggests Prince Albert residents don't mind having a nuke plant in their backyard. (Leader-Post). Well, fine, they have a right to their opinion. But I feel obligated to point out the following problems nuclear energy has, if my understanding is correct :
1.) it's not "green" because significant emissions are produced in the mining and transporting of uranium, plus, the primary need for this plant unless I am sorely mistaken is to power tarsands extraction which is extremely, ultra, mega not-green 2.) nuclear plants are famous for multimillion dollar cost overruns; this is not cheap energy 3.) there isn't a satisfactory way to dispose of nuclear waste 4.) (most important in my view) the money invested in this expensive, outdated, dead-end and outdated technology could and should be invested in sustainable energy research (solar, wind, geothermal, and weird, cool new things we haven't thought of yet) that will bring us through this century and into the next 5.) from bombs to bullets uranium has a tendency to end up weaponized and the planet doesn't need any more of that bullshit 6.) uranium is a non-renewable resource, do we really want to pour more money into yet another short-term solution to our planet's power needs (correct answer: no) 7.) nuclear plants have the potential for cataclysmic mishaps (see: Chernobyl), and more informed critics than moi say their capacity for (and history of) casual environmental destruction form leaks is horrifying.
(pauses to inhale)
So basically: nuclear is not green, it's not a long-term solution to anything, it's a waste of money, it's potentially dangerous, it's a step backwards instead of forwards and it's possibly extremely evil militarily.
But I imagine a nuclear plant would be good for P.A.'s economy short-term. And Bruce Power might make a couple of bucks too.
I wonder how violently my P.A.-living hippy friend's head is exploding today. My guess is an 8.4 on the head-exploding scale. Fortunately she has kittens to hug.
NO CAMERAS! NO JOUNALISTS! After I typed this up I realized Paul had already written about it but too bad, I want to squawk on the topic. So: George W. Bush! He should be arrested as a war criminal (yes, you can quote me on that in perpetuity). Instead, he's making a pile of cash as a lecturer. But the most annoying part of his speaking engagement today at Calgary's Chamber Of Commerce is the fact that journalists won't be let in. Although in fairness, if I recall correctly there weren't any press passes for Bill Clinton's visit to Regina. Or Al Gore's. (Someone please correct me if I'm wrong). So maybe this attitude towards the media is less reflective of Bush being a dick than it is of all ex-presidents being dicks. (Calgary Herald)
MAYBE THE RULES WILL APPLY TO CEOS, AFTER ALL (HE SAID HOPEFULLY BUT SKEPTICALLY) Well, Obama sounds like he means business when he says he wants AIG executives' bonuses cancelled. (Toronto Star)
CONDOMS GIVE YOU AIDS! After I typed this up I realized Paul had already written about it but too bad, I want to squawk on the topic. So: why do people turn away from religion? Does their sinful lust for the forbidden pleasures of an immoral lifestyle drive them from the Lord? Well sure if you're lucky I guess. But it's also because of asinine comments like the one reported on here. As long as religious leaders like the Pope say things that are not only demonstrably untrue but can also directly contribute to people contracting HIV, their privaleged positions as moral authorities will be challenged by actual experts. um, and bloggers. Grr! (Telgraph)
SPEAKING OF RELIGION... Here, courtesy of YouTube and copyright violation, is a Veggie Tales video about the origin of St. Patrick's Day.
But you don't care about that, so here's some news links with comments.
PRINCE ALBERT IS OKAY WITH IT Asurvey suggests Prince Albert residents don't mind having a nuke plant in their backyard. (Leader-Post). Well, fine, they have a right to their opinion. But I feel obligated to point out the following problems nuclear energy has, if my understanding is correct :
1.) it's not "green" because significant emissions are produced in the mining and transporting of uranium, plus, the primary need for this plant unless I am sorely mistaken is to power tarsands extraction which is extremely, ultra, mega not-green 2.) nuclear plants are famous for multimillion dollar cost overruns; this is not cheap energy 3.) there isn't a satisfactory way to dispose of nuclear waste 4.) (most important in my view) the money invested in this expensive, outdated, dead-end and outdated technology could and should be invested in sustainable energy research (solar, wind, geothermal, and weird, cool new things we haven't thought of yet) that will bring us through this century and into the next 5.) from bombs to bullets uranium has a tendency to end up weaponized and the planet doesn't need any more of that bullshit 6.) uranium is a non-renewable resource, do we really want to pour more money into yet another short-term solution to our planet's power needs (correct answer: no) 7.) nuclear plants have the potential for cataclysmic mishaps (see: Chernobyl), and more informed critics than moi say their capacity for (and history of) casual environmental destruction form leaks is horrifying.
(pauses to inhale)
So basically: nuclear is not green, it's not a long-term solution to anything, it's a waste of money, it's potentially dangerous, it's a step backwards instead of forwards and it's possibly extremely evil militarily.
But I imagine a nuclear plant would be good for P.A.'s economy short-term. And Bruce Power might make a couple of bucks too.
I wonder how violently my P.A.-living hippy friend's head is exploding today. My guess is an 8.4 on the head-exploding scale. Fortunately she has kittens to hug.
NO CAMERAS! NO JOUNALISTS! After I typed this up I realized Paul had already written about it but too bad, I want to squawk on the topic. So: George W. Bush! He should be arrested as a war criminal (yes, you can quote me on that in perpetuity). Instead, he's making a pile of cash as a lecturer. But the most annoying part of his speaking engagement today at Calgary's Chamber Of Commerce is the fact that journalists won't be let in. Although in fairness, if I recall correctly there weren't any press passes for Bill Clinton's visit to Regina. Or Al Gore's. (Someone please correct me if I'm wrong). So maybe this attitude towards the media is less reflective of Bush being a dick than it is of all ex-presidents being dicks. (Calgary Herald)
MAYBE THE RULES WILL APPLY TO CEOS, AFTER ALL (HE SAID HOPEFULLY BUT SKEPTICALLY) Well, Obama sounds like he means business when he says he wants AIG executives' bonuses cancelled. (Toronto Star)
CONDOMS GIVE YOU AIDS! After I typed this up I realized Paul had already written about it but too bad, I want to squawk on the topic. So: why do people turn away from religion? Does their sinful lust for the forbidden pleasures of an immoral lifestyle drive them from the Lord? Well sure if you're lucky I guess. But it's also because of asinine comments like the one reported on here. As long as religious leaders like the Pope say things that are not only demonstrably untrue but can also directly contribute to people contracting HIV, their privaleged positions as moral authorities will be challenged by actual experts. um, and bloggers. Grr! (Telgraph)
SPEAKING OF RELIGION... Here, courtesy of YouTube and copyright violation, is a Veggie Tales video about the origin of St. Patrick's Day.
Six in the Morning
1. SCIENTISTS WORRY SCIENCE MINISTER A CREATIONIST: Gary Goodyear, a chiropractor by trade and presently our Minister of State for Science and Technology, refused to answer a Globe and Mail question about whether or not he believed in evolution by responding: “I'm not going to answer that question. I am a Christian, and I don't think anybody asking a question about my religion is appropriate." Heads up, Gary: belief in evolution is a question of science -- your portfolio -- not religion. And while I'm here, this is what SkepticWiki has to say on the subject of chiropractic. (Globe and Mail, SkepticWiki)
2. POPE SAYS RUBBERS WON'T ERASE AIDS: In his first explicit comment on the subject, Pope Benedict has said that condom use is not the solution to Africa's AIDS epidemic. Maybe he thinks the solution is abstinence clowns? (Globe and Mail, SciencePunk Blog)
3. A "W" IN CALGARY: Protesters are expected to be out in force today as George W Bush gives his first post-presidency speech at the Epicentre of Oilmageddon. (rabble.ca)
4. PETA TO MAKE CLOONEY-FLAVOURED TOFU: You read that headline right. PETA is hoping to turn a sample of George Clooney's sweat into a tofu flavour. You know, sometimes I think PETA is a collection of the greatest comic geniuses of all time. Sometimes not. (SFGate)
5. DID YOU MISS PI DAY? We celebrated at our house with a big ol' blueberry pie we bought at the Farmers' Market (which is held Saturdays at the Cathedral Neighbourhood Centre). When was Pi Day, you ask? March 14, duh. Why am I posting about it after the fact? Because this Pi video is too awesome not to share. (SciencePunk Blog)
6. PRAIRIE DOG BLOGGER A GROGGY IDIOT: Frequent prairie dog contributor, Paul Dechene, woke this morning and, thinking it was Wednesday, groggily fired up his computer then went on to complete five items towards his mid-week "Six in the Morning" blog post before realizing that it was in fact Tuesday morning. Not wanting to waste all that effort, the idiot posted those items anyway. Will he do a Wednesday "Six in the Morning" as scheduled? Tune in tomorrow to find out.
2. POPE SAYS RUBBERS WON'T ERASE AIDS: In his first explicit comment on the subject, Pope Benedict has said that condom use is not the solution to Africa's AIDS epidemic. Maybe he thinks the solution is abstinence clowns? (Globe and Mail, SciencePunk Blog)
3. A "W" IN CALGARY: Protesters are expected to be out in force today as George W Bush gives his first post-presidency speech at the Epicentre of Oilmageddon. (rabble.ca)
4. PETA TO MAKE CLOONEY-FLAVOURED TOFU: You read that headline right. PETA is hoping to turn a sample of George Clooney's sweat into a tofu flavour. You know, sometimes I think PETA is a collection of the greatest comic geniuses of all time. Sometimes not. (SFGate)
5. DID YOU MISS PI DAY? We celebrated at our house with a big ol' blueberry pie we bought at the Farmers' Market (which is held Saturdays at the Cathedral Neighbourhood Centre). When was Pi Day, you ask? March 14, duh. Why am I posting about it after the fact? Because this Pi video is too awesome not to share. (SciencePunk Blog)
6. PRAIRIE DOG BLOGGER A GROGGY IDIOT: Frequent prairie dog contributor, Paul Dechene, woke this morning and, thinking it was Wednesday, groggily fired up his computer then went on to complete five items towards his mid-week "Six in the Morning" blog post before realizing that it was in fact Tuesday morning. Not wanting to waste all that effort, the idiot posted those items anyway. Will he do a Wednesday "Six in the Morning" as scheduled? Tune in tomorrow to find out.
3.16.2009
Black Tuesday
Bush, Bush, the musical fruitThe more you eat, the more you toot!
No, that's not quite strong enough.
How about ...
Knock, knock.
Who's there?
George W.
Fuck off George. I have zero interest in abetting your desperate effort to rehabilitate your reputation and shift blame for all the current crises to the Obama administration.
There, that better sums up my disgust at knowing that tomorrow George W. Bush (arguably the most inept and demonstrably evil president in U.S. history) is flying into Calgary to give a talk at some swank $4000 a ticket reception.
According to the Globe & Mail, activists are planning to protest, and the idea's even been floated that Bush should be arrested, charged with war crimes and shipped to the Hague for prosecution. Of course, the odds of that happening in Calgary are remote. Vancouver, maybe. Or Montreal. But not Calgary. (Stampede Foundation)
One Set Of Rules For CEOs, Another For Everyone Else
Here's a great article (Salon) by author, blogger, columnist and constitutional lawyer Glenn Greenwald on the double standard of giving bonuses to AIG CEOs while demanding concessions from union workers. To recap: AIG paid out $165 million in executive bonues to its economy-destroying executives that it would not have been able to pay out had the United States government not bailed their bankrupt asses out with the rapidly dimishing wealth of its citizens, who must wonder how their taxes get blown on this kind of shit. AIG's excuse? "we have to pay them, it's in their contracts, it's the law, wah wah wah." (New York Times)
Greenwald points out unionized autoworkers had legal contracts too, but the U.S. goverment demanded those get changed as a condition of the bailout. He also points out that the United States has once again been implicated in torture (as recently as today, in fact), which oh by the way is against international law. (Washington Post)
As Greenwald so elegently puts it:
"Apparently, this "we are a country of law" concept means that hundreds of millions of dollars in taxpayer money must be transferred to the AIG executives who virtually destroyed the financial system, but it does not mean that something must be done when high government officials get caught plainly breaking the law. What an oddly selective application of the "rule of law" this is."
Good, anger-making, bullshit-cutting-through stuff. In case you missed it up top, the link's here.
Greenwald points out unionized autoworkers had legal contracts too, but the U.S. goverment demanded those get changed as a condition of the bailout. He also points out that the United States has once again been implicated in torture (as recently as today, in fact), which oh by the way is against international law. (Washington Post)
As Greenwald so elegently puts it:
"Apparently, this "we are a country of law" concept means that hundreds of millions of dollars in taxpayer money must be transferred to the AIG executives who virtually destroyed the financial system, but it does not mean that something must be done when high government officials get caught plainly breaking the law. What an oddly selective application of the "rule of law" this is."
Good, anger-making, bullshit-cutting-through stuff. In case you missed it up top, the link's here.
Six In The Morning
Our Monday morning annotated list o' links to things newsworthy/awful/entertaining:
1 NOT WORTHY The net worth of Canadian families has fallen 4.4 per cent, which is apparently the biggest drop on record. (Globe Amd Mail)
2 PSYCHO RAPIST DAD PLEADS NOT GUILTY TO MURDER Anger is not healthy and retribution doesn't solve anything; still, the fact this despicable thug faces a maximum sentence of 15 years if he's found innocent of murder is bonkers. He already pleaded guilty to incest, rape, coercion and false imprisonment. Let's put that into English: this evil shitpile of an alleged human being admits to locking his daughter in a basement for 24 years, making her his rape-toy and fathering seven children by her, six of whom are still alive--and he should be in jail forever. Ideally in a basement. With no windows. Chained to the wall. Christ, what a monster. (Guardian)
3 NO RED TAPE REQUIRED I'm really, really glad cops are able to bust Internet child pornographers, but is it really too much to ask ISP providers require a warrent to release users' personal information? (Toronto Star)
4 WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH HALIFAX BUS DRIVERS? Two recent incidents involving transit workers, one alarming (barring Muslim woman in veil from boarding a bus), one kind of funny (bus driver attacks seal hunt protestor's toy seal). (CBC Halifax)
5 I DO MY LITTLE TURN ON THE CATWALK Japanese robotmakers introduce a sorta-human-looking fashionbot that shuffles along on permanently bent knees and looks surprised when it's supposed to be smiling. It's stupid and it barely works but we all realize this is a stepping stone to the sexbot revolution, right? And people will probably be test-humping these things inside of five years if they aren't already? The CBC online article says these things could eventually work with humans and "care for the elderly and sick". Uh huh. Just checking, don't want anyone kidding themselves about inevitable our cyborg-sex future. (CBC)
6 SHAME, SHAME ON DOG BLOG This weekend we blogged about Dick Cheney, Denmark, Curling and Mars, yet we totally missed this local story about an escaped bull that ran amok in downtown Regina and attacked a pedestrian's prosthetic arm. Apologies to our legions dissappointed readers. We'll try to do better. (Leader-Post)
1 NOT WORTHY The net worth of Canadian families has fallen 4.4 per cent, which is apparently the biggest drop on record. (Globe Amd Mail)
2 PSYCHO RAPIST DAD PLEADS NOT GUILTY TO MURDER Anger is not healthy and retribution doesn't solve anything; still, the fact this despicable thug faces a maximum sentence of 15 years if he's found innocent of murder is bonkers. He already pleaded guilty to incest, rape, coercion and false imprisonment. Let's put that into English: this evil shitpile of an alleged human being admits to locking his daughter in a basement for 24 years, making her his rape-toy and fathering seven children by her, six of whom are still alive--and he should be in jail forever. Ideally in a basement. With no windows. Chained to the wall. Christ, what a monster. (Guardian)
3 NO RED TAPE REQUIRED I'm really, really glad cops are able to bust Internet child pornographers, but is it really too much to ask ISP providers require a warrent to release users' personal information? (Toronto Star)
4 WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH HALIFAX BUS DRIVERS? Two recent incidents involving transit workers, one alarming (barring Muslim woman in veil from boarding a bus), one kind of funny (bus driver attacks seal hunt protestor's toy seal). (CBC Halifax)
5 I DO MY LITTLE TURN ON THE CATWALK Japanese robotmakers introduce a sorta-human-looking fashionbot that shuffles along on permanently bent knees and looks surprised when it's supposed to be smiling. It's stupid and it barely works but we all realize this is a stepping stone to the sexbot revolution, right? And people will probably be test-humping these things inside of five years if they aren't already? The CBC online article says these things could eventually work with humans and "care for the elderly and sick". Uh huh. Just checking, don't want anyone kidding themselves about inevitable our cyborg-sex future. (CBC)
6 SHAME, SHAME ON DOG BLOG This weekend we blogged about Dick Cheney, Denmark, Curling and Mars, yet we totally missed this local story about an escaped bull that ran amok in downtown Regina and attacked a pedestrian's prosthetic arm. Apologies to our legions dissappointed readers. We'll try to do better. (Leader-Post)
This Week at City Hall
Tuesday, March 17
Executive Committee (11:45 am): Big things on the housing front this week. City administration will propose a new housing incentive policy that, if approved, will substantially enhance tax-exemption incentives for rental developments. The proposed policy also recommends providing grants for secondary suites and capital grants of $10,000 per unit of new affordable housing. In light of its recommendations in this proposed policy, city administration is also recommending financial support be given to three affordable housing projects currently underway.
Works and Utilities Committee (4 pm): Considering the Buffalo Pound Water Treatment Plant upgrade, a 30 vehicle purchase from the province, the special tax levy for alley maintenance, the 2009 traffic signal installation program and much more.
Development Appeals Board Hearing (5:30 pm)
Wednesday, March 18
Parks and Community Services Committee (4 pm): Reviewing city administration’s recommendation to provide funding for 16 groups under the Community Capital Partnership Program. Also considering the administration's funding recommendation for another 16 groups under the 2009 Festival Funding Program. Of particular note, New Dance Horizons is slated to receive a special, one-time grant of $12,500 to resurrect the Fire & Ice Carnival for 2010.
Thursday, March 19
Regina Arts Commission (7 pm): Considering their 2008 annual report.
You can attend and present at any of these meetings. Full agendas and the reports under consideration can be found on the city's website.
3.15.2009
What a Dick
To paraphrase Stephen Clarkson and Christina McCall in their award-winning biography of Pierre Elliott Trudeau "He haunts us still." (CBC)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
.jpg)
.jpg){kind=link}
