My Neighbours Don't Give a Shit

Earth Day was yesterday. It was a day for me, to show respect. Respect for the planet we live on, and recognition of the fragile ecosystem that sustains human life. All that was asked to mark the occasion was to turn off non-essential lights for 1 hour. Drop electricity consumption for just an hour. That was all.

So we gathered as a family in the living room, a couple of candles lit, and all the lights off. I even turned off the computer. Yes, I turned off the computer. Those that know me, know I never have the computer off. Last night, it was off. I shutdown.

Apparently I was in the minority. At 8:15PM, I took the camera to the balcony to take a couple of shots at the condo across from us. I went back out at 9:15PM. The before and after are below. WTF people? Were these people simply unaware? Like our PM, dumb-ass Harper, didn't give a rat's ass? I'm at a loss. I don't comprehend. It was big in the newspapers. It was on TV. It was everywhere! What does it take to make these people give a shit?

Give Peace a Chance

The Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (CND) symbol -- now universally known as the Peace symbol -- turns 50 this year. The symbol was designed for the Direct Action Committee Against Nuclear War (DAC), by designer Gerald Holtom in 1958, to be used in a 50-mile Easter march from Trafalgar Square, London, to atomic weapons factory at Aldermaston. The symbol combines the semaphoric signals for the letters "N" and "D" -- representing "Nuclear Disarmament." From its adoption by CND, the symbol spread to the US, then around the world -- with CND never trademarking the symbol -- leaving it free for the world to use.

50 years ago, the symbol was created to stop the proliferation of nuclear weapons. Today the symbol is universally recognized, though its power to provoke has diminished with the loss of the baby boomers idealism. Nuclear weapons has proliferated, and the world is now threatened by rogue states with nuclear enrichment programs; a new found interest in the US to maintain its nuclear prowess; and terrorists looking to make dirty bombs. 50 years, and still, the peace symbol is still so relevant.

U.S. Lives Worth More Than Others'

From Pew Research's Social Values Survey:

Nearly a quarter of American adults (23%) say they mostly (14%) or completely (9%) agree that American lives are worth more than the lives of people in other countries according to the most recent Pew Social Values Survey; those most likely to take this view include white men (30%), persons ages 18-29 (29%) and self-identified conservative Republicans (28%).

You can find the details in the Pew Research's report, Trends in Political Values and Core Attitudes: 1987-2007 - Political Landscape More Favorable To Democrats. On a totally superficial level however, it seems like younger Americans are leaning more towards the values of Canadians.

Morality of Liberals and Conservatives

I just read about a study David Sloan Wilson and Ingrid Storm conducted, that compared the moral thinking of liberals and conservatives.

Dr Wilson and Dr Storm found several unexpected differences between the groups. Liberal teenagers always felt more stress than conservatives, but were particularly stressed if they could not decide for themselves whom they spent time with. Such choice, or the lack of it, did not change conservative stress levels. Liberals were also loners, spending a quarter of their time on their own. Conservatives were alone for a sixth of the time. That may have been related to the fact that liberals were equally bored by their own company and that of others. Conservatives were far less bored when with other people. They also preferred the company of relatives to non-relatives. Liberals were indifferent. Perhaps most intriguingly, the more religious a liberal teenager claimed to be, the more he was willing to confront his parents with dissenting beliefs. The opposite was true for conservatives. [Source.]

From the conclusion of the study report:

Liberal Protestantism was shown to correlate positively with social class, education and various measures of individualism. Conservative Protestantism was associated with lower levels of education and socioeconomic class, and correlated with higher levels of dependence on family. The results of this study strongly indicate that liberal Protestantism is an adaptive cultural strategy in groups of highly educated individuals in secure environments. Conservative Protestantism seems to be adaptive at the group level in situations and environments with comparatively lower existential security and lower levels of education.

The full results of the study can be found here [PDF]. And right now, I'm feeling pretty smart about myself.

Wikileaks

Cowardice asks the question, "Is it safe?" Expediency asks the question, "Is it politic?" Vanity asks the question, "Is it popular?" But, conscience asks the question, "Is it right?" And there comes a time when one must take a position that is neither safe, nor politic, nor popular, but one must take it because one's conscience tells one that it is right.
-- Martin Luther King, Jr.

And with that quote, Wikileaks loads. The site is hosted by PRQ of Sweden, a company owned by two founders of the Pirate Bay, and as it turns out, PRQ is just as hostile to legal assault, as Pirate Bay is. Wikileaks, in case you haven't heard, is a very public whistleblowing site. It publishes the secrets no one else will touch, and the have no regard for the consequences of their actions. It's anarchy, internet style.

Here's how the site describes itself:

Wikileaks is developing an uncensorable Wikipedia for untraceable mass document leaking and analysis. Our primary interest is in exposing oppressive regimes in Asia, the former Soviet bloc, Sub-Saharan Africa and the Middle East, but we also expect to be of assistance to people of all regions who wish to reveal unethical behavior in their governments and corporations. We aim for maximum political impact. Our interface is identical to Wikipedia and usable by all types of people. We have received over 1.2 million documents so far from dissident communities and anonymous sources.

[More.]

Head on over and take a gander at the truth. Then participate, and set the world free.

What Americans Don't Know

Americans are getting what they deserve -- why lament it? Americans -- yes, I'm speaking to the majority that voted for the Administration that has successful taken away so many of their freedoms -- are willing to give up the freedoms. They are so willing to give up their freedoms because bad shit only happen to other people. They're so willing to give up their freedoms, because they know more about the Simpsons than they do their First Amendment rights. WTF America?

Stupid Old Men

The Economist is running an article on the ongoing debate of how much accommodation should be given to religions that wish to regulate the lives of their faithful -- especially when they conflict with the laws of the land. This isn't a debate just about Islam and Sharia law -- although that's where the noise has been coming from recently. Religious law and its practice has had a long and rich history in the world's preeminent democracies -- and it has always been a fine line in the court of civic society. As the article points out, the Jews, the Amish, the Christians -- they've all had their share of making binding pronoucements from their respective pulpits. But where does it end?

In my opinion, it should have ended before it began. Compromises should not be made to the law of the land, and religion should definitely not play a role in the determining or application of law -- including the ritual swearing on holy books. It is an increasing global state we live in and the dictates of one's beliefs should not be binding on even the believers. Laws should be applied equally to everyone. I realize there are opposite ends of the spectrum involved here, but I'm not for compromising on this score. The article cites as an example, Sikhs in BC, who are allowed to ride motorcycles without helmets. That's wrong, and is a perversion of our collective social agreement to compromise on that account. Should Sikhs in motorcycle accidents be given the same medical attention for head injuries? Their religious beliefs represent a financial burden to society. Simply put, the Sikh religion doesn't allow its adherents to ride motorcycles -- at least in Canada.

If you follow the trail of relgious law, you'll eventually get back to some old guy, in a white beard, most likely wearing a costume that includes a really ugly hat. I'm sorry, but I don't think we want society under the dictate of their whims.

Are Americans Hostile to Knowledge?

The New York Times is running a piece on Susan Jacoby and her latest book, The Age of American Unreason. In her book, Jacoby despairs on the anti-intellectualism and anti-rationalism of Americans. Not only are Americans ignorant of "essential scientific, civic and cultural knowledge, she said, but they also don’t think it matters." So who's to blame? Jacoby points to the education system -- with Americans spending more years in school, but learning less; and, religious fundamentalism. Sounds like a book Americans need to read.

Update: Feb. 19, 2008

• Susan Jacoby writes of the Dumbing of America in the Washington Post. Check it out.

Free Speech's Dead End

Censorship of the internet is a growing problem worldwide, and is growing in favour in developed nations, where those charged with fighting terrorism, repeatedly bleat for the suppression of the internet -- for the filtering and monitoring of sites their citizens visit. For now, internet censorship may be far from our minds, but when does it move from the fighting terrorism to the prohibiting of free speech? Censorship around the world is orchestrated by a few -- those in power, usually authoritarian regimes -- who decide that citizens would be harmed if they were exposed to information about religion, sexuality, culture and worse, politics. The concern for these regimes is only for the preservation of their status quo. A servile populace can only remain obedient if they are ignorant and live in fear.

The promise of the internet as a vehicle of social change is a frightening prospect for repressive regimes -- and those within our country, who fear change. The world shrinks with communication. It did so with the advent of radio and television, and it continues to do so with the internet. Today with the click of a button, virtually anywhere in the world can be visited. The power of linking ordinary citizens without the mediation or scrutiny of their government, is powerful. We move from a world with borders to one where activists can find supporters in the most unlikely of places. In a world teetering on the brink, risks can be removed by citizens who don't have a self-interest in power, but in collaboration for the greater good. The more we learn of each other, the more we come to the realization that we're not so different. The more we realize that those who preach hatred; who deal in the currency of fear; are void of any moral footing, and the louder the voices of reason will be.

How petrified are the repressive regimes? In the liberated Afghanistan, Sayed Pervez Kambaksh, a 23-year-old journalism student, was arrested, tried and sentenced to death by his country's religious judges for downloading a report from a Farsi website -- a report which challenged the oppression of women by islamic fundamentalists as a distorted interpretation of the koran. Kambaksh distributed the report to fellow students and professors in an effort to provoke a debate. Instead, a complaint was filed, he was arrested, tried in secrecy, without a defence, and condemned to death. Without the internet, Kambaksh would not be in this predicament, or have the moral outrage to want to make change. Without the internet, Kambaksh may not have a chance of an acquittal.

You can do something about this by adding your voice in remonstrance. Canada has huge commitments for infrastructure rebuilding in Afghanistan. We have influence. Contact Maxime Bernier, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, and tell him to stop this.

• Foreign Affairs office number: 613-995-1874
• Bernier at the House of Commons: 613-992-8053 (Fax: 613-995-0687)
• Bernier's email address: BerniM@parl.gc.ca

You can also contact the Afghanistan embassy in Canada at:

240 Argyle Ave.
Ottawa, Ontario K2P 1B9
Phone: (613) 563-4223 / 65 Fax: (613) 563-4962
email: contact@afghanemb-canada.net.

A message can also be sent to the Afghan government via this online petition. Where the internet isn't censored and monitored yet, we can still use it to make a difference. Make a difference so that in the future, you won't find yourself in Kambaksh's shoes.

The Internet is a Weapons System

The Pentagon sees the internet as an enemy "weapons system" that needs to planned for and dealt with. So it said in its Information Operation Roadmap, published in 2003. The internet represents everything that a colonial America should be worried about. Decentralized, anonymous, with the ability to network disparate and like-minded groups, quickly and cheaply. The internet disseminates information and propaganda outside the control of a central authority. With its views, the Pentagon shares the perspective of the Chinese government, which likewise sees the internet as a threat to its ability to control the masses. Unlike the Chinese however, Americans control their government, and can still do something about this. Read more at Global Research.

Stupid Women

The NYTimes chronicles a female circumcision event in Indonesia, where women take their daughters, usually before their 14th birthday, to have their genitals brutalize by older women who should really know better. It's a sickening, misogynic act, practiced to keep women in a station of life -- made much worse by women who offer up their daughters to this torture. The thumbnail image to this post is of a 9-month-old baby, who had her genitals mutilated. Backwards -- culturally and religiously. Some places of the world, people are still living in the dark ages.

Stephen Lewis: Tomorrow's Past Matters

I had the second opportunity to see, and more importantly, listen to, Stephen Lewis, this past Monday. Lewis, now in his 70s, was the keynote speaker at on Ontario Heritage Trust event, celebrating their 40th Anniversary. In attendance, on his 86th birthday, was the Trust's chairman, Lincoln M. Alexander. Lewis, while stretching his usual répertoire of being the voice of the poor, the underprivileged, and women, especially in the third world, to the cause of preserving the heritage of Ontario -- remained a remarkable speaker as ever. His topic didn't demand his usual appeal to emotion -- but it nevertheless tugged at the strings when he made mention of UNESCO's championing the allocation of millions of dollars for five national parks in the Congo, while the region remain the most dangerous place in the world for women.

To paraphrase the eloquent poetry my youngest daughter used to describe the talk: for Lewis, words are like an artist's palette; it's wondrous to watch and listen to him make use of them; shape them; play with them; and make them respond to his whim. He is a master orator. One should never pass up the chance to listen to him speak. You can see what I mean below. And for another's take on the night, see this link.

Stephen Lewis' Final Address from the XVI International Conference on AIDS, Toronto, August, 2006.

Related links:
The following links to articles describing brutal violence against women in the Congo. The facts are disturbing, but they remain facts.

• Rape Epidemic Rasies Trauma of Congo War -- New York Times
• Congo's tormented women -- The Star
• U.N. Says Its Workers Abuse Women in Congo -- The Washington Post
• "Not Women Anymore…" -- MS Magazine

The following links are safe.

• Our Common Future -- Report of the World Commission on Environment and Development




The following are part of a Special Section published in the Star, counting down to Earth Hour on March 29. See the special section for more essays.

• On lessons from paradise -- Robert Bateman in the Star on the Island School, a paradise in the Bahamas, where students go to unplug from the world.
• On our greatest treasure -- Stephen Marche in the Star, talking about the Leslie Street Spit.
• On Lake Erie's demise -- Margaret Atwood in the Star, lamenting the slow death of Lake Erie.

Going Hungry in the Global Food Chain

The NYTimes has an article on the changing food chain. There used to be a time when we ate what was grown locally. That was a long, long time ago. With the advent of packaged foods, we could eat foreign food anytime, anywhere, as long as we could afford it. Then came the global shipping industry, making it even easier to eat foreign. Foreign foods didn't need as much packaging anymore, as fresh food can be expedited just about anywhere. Even with shipping, foreign food could be had for cheap. So while we in the industrialized nations bulldozed our farmlands and poured concrete for crop after crop of suburbia, we were secure in the knowledge that the developing world was there to continuously provide slop in our biggie-sized troughs.

We should have known that it wouldn't last. Economically, environmentally and socially, it was not sustainable. We fought economics long and hard, assured in our industrialized superiority to the developing nations of the world. With careless disregard, we sacrificed third world development at the altar of consumption. And the environment: we're awakening only too late to realize what we've done to ours, and trying to convince the aspiring third world to learn from our mistakes. Only no one is listening. It's with irony how it's coming home to roost.

Global energy demand is driving the conversion of some foods to energy to feed our consumable habits. Higher oil prices are impacting the cheap binge of food globalization. It's getting harder and harder to sustain the economics of purchasing foods from the developing nations. Our keenness to assuage our environmental guilt has gotten us fixated on local food production. It may all be a little too late to really steer clear of the impending disaster -- one that we will feel economically, socially and environmentally -- but at least some of us have finally heard the warning. For the rest of you still on that unsustainable high: just remember you were warned of what was coming and but too stupid to change your ways.

Waiting to Die

This image was taken by Kevin Carter of a starving child struggling to a UN food station, a kilometre away, in 1993. A vulture patiently waits for the child to die. Kevin Carter won the 1994 Pulitzer Prize for Feature Photography in April. In July, he committed suicide.

"I am depressed ... without phone ... money for rent ... money for child support ... money for debts ... money!!! ... I am haunted by the vivid memories of killings & corpses & anger & pain ... of starving or wounded children, of trigger-happy madmen, often police, of killer executioners...I have gone to join Ken if I am that lucky."

Today, despite photos like these, children continue to starve around the world, including in our city. How can we look at ourselves in the mirror?

A Booming Poverty Market

Micro-lending was such a novel concept to help the poor, help themselves. It started with not-for-profit organizations, lending to the poor in developing countries -- lending really small amounts of money to help folks start a small business and give themselves a sustaining chance. And it is still going strong around the world, sustained by not-for-profits -- but these days, the greedy feeding frenzy of for-profit business is taking over. The thing about lending to the poor is that most often, they are honourable, trusting people. Getting a loan establishes them in the group on their way out of the hovel, and they would do anything to not default on that status -- anything, including not going into personal bankruptcy. The poor also tend to be uneducated and unaccustomed to the sophistication of modern banking. They care only about how much they regular payment needs to be, and how long they need to make them. They are ripe and ready to be plucked. Easy pickings for those that know better. For-profits know better, and so they taken advantage of the poor, putting them on the slippery slope of 100% APR, with interest rates charged against the full amount of the load, even if the principle is lowered by repayments.

Evil. Absolutely evil! BusinessWeek is carrying an article on for-profits that target the poor in Mexico, and are doing more harm than good. That is what happens when a business caters to its shareholders, and only its shareholders, with no care for the society it serves. Totally pisses me off.

Making Waves

We saw David Suzuki tonight! He delivered the keynote, albeit a short keynote, at the Naked Ape Party -- which raised funds for the David Suzuki Foundation and the New Leaf Yoga Foundation. Suzuki was cool -- for those who find environmentalists and what they do, cool. Suzuki's keynote focused on the environment, naturally, and our place in it. His key message, we are the environment. There is no way to separate us from the environment. The environment isn't out there, separate from us. It is everywhere. Every molecule we breathe in has been circulating the planet since the time of the dinosaurs; we are made of the stuff that has been around since life took hold on Earth -- and in the great emptiness of space, we should realize that Earth is the only home we have. We need to stop using it as a garbage dump.

Of course, Suzuki was mostly speaking to the converted. His message was delivered to those who already know, and are hopefully doing their little bit to save the world. Hopefully. It can be done in baby steps, and Suzuki isn't one to just tell us there is a problem -- he's also offering suggestions -- even suggestions you and I can put into practice. None of it is hard stuff. It's all easy, and just require awareness and the choice to do the right thing for ourselves, our world and future generations. It will also make you feel good about yourself -- after all, who wouldn't feel good about being a hero? Even "in a sea of pollution, one can still make waves."

This was shown at the party: the Rick Mercer Report with David Suzuki.

Severin Suzuki delivered this message on behalf of children around the world in 1992, to the UN Conference on Environment and Development in Rio de Janeiro. She was 12 years old at the time.

U2 performing Bad in 1985, at Live Aid -- bad 80's hair and all. This was performed by Tara MacLean at the party. (Catherine MacLellan and Chris Murphy also performed at the party.)

Dharavi: Asia's Largest Slum

Dharavi is reportedly one of the biggest slums in the world, with a population of more than 1 million people, spread over an area of 175 hectares. Unless you live in a slum, you probably can't fathom this level of congestion. Stuck in the middle of Mumbai, between the city's two main railway lines, Dharavi is rapidly evolving into a city within a city. It is a place where the unwanted of India's caste system are kings -- where an informal economy is humming away, creating products that make it all the way to the shelves of big boxes in North America and Europe. It's a testament to the human condition that such a place exists -- and despite the odds, such a place is working.

Read more in:

• The Economist: A Flourishing Slum
• National Geographic: Dharavi: Mumbai's Shadow City
• BBC News: Life in a Slum
• Dharavi via Google Maps:

View Larger Map

Science, Evolution, and Creationism

The US National Academy of Sciences and Institute of Medicine has just published Science, Evolution, and Creationism -- a book "designed to give the public a comprehensive and up-to-date picture of the current scientific understanding of evolution and its importance in the science classroom." In the book, the Academy makes it quite clear that evolution is central to modern biology, yet continues to be challenged in the classroom by proponents of creationism and intelligent design. The Academy states in the book that science and religion can coexist, and present different ways of understanding the world.

This book is an update from previous versions published in 1984 and 1999. The Academy is trying to appeal to religious moderates in the face of rising religious fundamentalism in the US and educate the masses of uneducated in the US (aka: the general public).

In science, explanations must be based on evidence drawn from examining the natural world. Scientifically based observations or experiments that conflict with an explanation eventually must lead to modification or even abandonment of that explanation. Religious faith, in contrast, does not depend only on empirical evidence, is not necessarily modified in the face of conflicting evidence, and typically involves supernatural forces or entities. Because they are not a part of nature, supernatural entities cannot be investigated by science. In this sense, science and religion are separate and address aspects of human understanding in different ways. Attempts to pit science and religion against each other create controversy where none needs to exist.

Whether this education of America will actually work is up for debate. I'm not going to be an optimist on this one. Those that believe have no reason to want the education. They already have their belief that religion is correct, and science is the work of the devil. And on that score, they're already preparing for the battle.

Intolerance

Intolerance is a well practiced; well documented; universal; and comes in many guises. Even in Canada, we're not safe from intolerance. Someone may hate you for reasons you can't begin to imagine. It could be the colour of your skin, your religious affiliation (or lack thereof), your political ideology or sexual orientation. I just came across a forum posting, titled, Why Gays Fight Back. The content is very disturbing. It contains graphic images of the intolerance towards gays from around the world. There is an image of a 3-year-old Ronnie Parris, killed by his father for being potentially gay. Ronnie's father belongs to an evangelical church that preaches a strong anti-gay message.

There is only one reason to be intolerant -- and that is to be intolerant of intolerance itself. We can all make a difference if we speak up against intolerance when it is happening. The worse we can do is remain silent.

What have you changed your mind about?

The Edge Foundation has published their annual question, with responses coming in from 165 of our great thinkers. As usual, the question is weighty, with the answers thought provoking -- hopefully enough to spur an intelligent dialogue. The question:

When thinking changes your mind, that's philosophy. When God changes your mind, that's faith. When facts change your mind, that's science.

WHAT HAVE YOU CHANGED YOUR MIND ABOUT? WHY?

Science is based on evidence. What happens when the data change? How have scientific findings or arguments changed your mind?

On the surface, the question doesn't appear to have much depth, and could easily lead to a dismissal of the answers as being the navel gazing of those who consider themselves the intellectual elite. Such a dismissal, however, would be very narrow minded. As a society, we tend to look down on those that change their minds -- pointedly dismissing them as being inconsistent and never being able to stick to an opinion or conclusion. And yes, there are those who deserve such dismissal, since their change of mind is usually precipitated not by new input, but by the swing of group opinion. They change their minds because they don't have one. Being open to new input, never dogmatic of opinions, and allowing oneself to be swayed by facts, is a state that should be valued by society.

In the worst case scenarios, people look for or concoct facts to support their opinions -- outright dismissing or destroying facts that run counter to their opinions. Just look at the state the world finds itself in today: human-made environmental disasters; wars; diseases; and there's little timely response when new evidence is presented. The early warnings are dismissed as the cries of Chicken-Littles by those who have fixed opinions. In the world's preeminent democracy, one government outright dismissed evidence for climate change for nearly eight years, going so far as to bar scientists from documenting and publishing facts contrary to the political opinions of the government. To support the opinions of the government, facts were created to support an unjust war. Elsewhere in the world, the religious establishment continue to support and promote ancient dogma without evidence, resulting in some instances, the death of innocents. Businesses place much stock in the status quo -- fighting change when their very survival depends on assimilating new facts and responding to them.

Changing one's mindset based on new evidence is very important. Holding on to unsupported opinions is dogmatic at best, and highly dangerous for those in positions of authority. Let's hope the Edge Foundation generates some dialogue with their question this year.

GlobalAware

I've been aware of GlobalAware for sometime now and was reminded today that I wanted to give them a spot on the blog. GlobalAware is a Canadian collective pursuing the noble goal of environmental justice and social change. They provide media services to charities, non-profits and ethical businesses, as well as champion campaigns for change. Check them out. They do some great work, and you may have some skills they could use. Together, we can all make a difference.

Solastalgia

Glenn Albrecht coined the term solastalgia to describe the sadness, distress, sense of loss and depression that result from missing one's home and sense of belonging -- not because of a move away from home -- but because environmental change has resulted in the change in the identification one feels for home. Home can mean different things to different people -- at different times -- and in different context. Home can be one's country; hometown; or even online locale. Albrecht aptly describes it as,

... the homesickness you feel when you're still at home.

We now have a name for the condition some of us are already experiencing -- and more of us will come to experience as our world changes for the worst. 2007 ended with an awakening of the general public to the threat of climate change. Granted there are those with their heads still firmly buried in the ground, but enough awareness has been raised. As futile as our efforts may now be to halt large scale changes, there is still much that can be done to limit the effects on the planet -- our home. It will take the efforts of you and me -- to influence industry, to make personal changes, and to do the right thing.

Related reading:

• Sustainability [PPT] -- Albrecht's presentation at the 2007 Australasian Slag Association's conference.
• Global Mourning [PDF] -- Wired Magazine article on this topic.

Ordinary Kindness

An acquaintance of my wife had a bit of an emergency recently ... he had to move out of his home in a hurry. He had to leave by Dec. 31^st, taking everything that belonged to him and find himself a new home. Normally, this would be a problem for the best of us -- short notice, fire in the hole, scramble like hell. This situation was not so normal. Imagine your worldly possessions consisting of just your clothes, your computer and personal documents. Imagine having nothing else to your name. Imagine surviving on a limited wage amounting to less than $1,000 per month. Now imagine having no sight whatsoever. Yes, visual impairment. No sight.

I can't imagine what I would do. I also suspect I have limited imagination, because I never imagined what would happen next. I never imagined the kindness of complete strangers -- and friends and family of ours. It was mostly my wife's doing -- she regularly restores my faith -- my faith in human altruism. Sharing the story of a young man's plight with family resulted in an outpouring of support. It wasn't a miracle. In hindsight, this should have been expected. We have such a capacity for kindness. We just need to tap into it more often, since the demand is, unfortunately, always there. I don't like miracles, as they tend to be out of reach for most of us -- the response to this crisis is something we can all do at any time. No miracles needed.

Response to the emergency saved one person this winter from falling through the cracks in Toronto. There is now a little apartment, mostly furnished, and quickly turning into home. I'd like to thank those that helped.

• My wife -- who got the ball rolling and came to the rescue.
• Aunt Tiger -- who continues to save the world; in this case, finding cutlery, dishes, blankets, towels and more mugs than I thought anyone could have.
• Joan -- for quickly locating her son's bed and passing along her desk from when she was a teen.
• Maureen -- for the rug ... and getting us in touch with Marlene and Al.
• Marlene & Al -- for the sofa and chair, and staying home to help us.
• Kathy -- for all the stuff ... buggy included ... he can now manage his shopping and laundry a little easier.
• Tyler -- for the physical labour; the grunting & groaning; the wisecracks; and figuring out what to do with a long sofa and tiny, complicated doorways.
• Bernadette & Vanessa -- for helping with the first grocery shopping.

My youngest also introduced me to FreeCycling and a bunch of generous FreeCyclers. So thanks folks for helping out:

• Jason -- for the end tables you've had since your teenage years.
• Birch/Cliff (I didn't get your name, but you know who you are) -- for the laundry basket and electric kettle.
• Nell -- for the dresser. Perfect fit in the bedroom!
• Jan -- for the radio. It works great!
• Lou -- for the microwave ... a very useful appliance for a single guy!

Folks, you've all done a wonderful thing. You've helped someone in need. You prevented him from disappearing. His name is Dave, and he is incredibly happy with his move.

So what are we going to do next folks?

BlingH2O

BlingH₂O -- just when it couldn't get worse, it does. BlingH₂O goes and takes what is (and should be) a fundamental human right, and perverts to hell. What the hell is BlingH₂O? It's water. Just bottled water -- although its makers would rather you think it otherwise, cause BlingH₂O comes in a corked, 750mL, frosted bottle, that has been handcrafted with Swarovski crystals. Bling!

According to the BlingH₂O website, we owe this little bit of depravity to Kevin G. Boyd, a most un-notable "Hollywood writer-producer", who noticed that "you could tell a lot about a person by the bottled water they carried." So he set out to create a market for water for the super-luxury consumer market -- ie. not for you worthless drivels, "just those that Bling." If you Bling, you must really be stupid, because water, is, well, water, and this BlingH₂O comes from Dandridge, Tennessee -- a place that certainly doesn't Bling -- but apparently knows stupid when it finds it.

If you're wondering how much pretension costs these days, it's about $40US per 750mL bottle. There you, Bling! -- the sound of gold coin rattling around the empty cranium of the rich.

Most Loathsome People in America

The Beast has published its top 50 list of the Most Loathsome People in America in 2007, chronicled with charges (the reason they're on the list); evidence; and some quite viscous and deserving sentences (if only). Not surprisingly, topping the list are George W. Bush and Dick Cheney. The list contains the usual suspects, but in a surprise move, the number nine position is occupied by you -- Americans that is. And here's what the Beast had to say about Americans:

Charges: You believe in freedom of speech, until someone says something that offends you. You suddenly give a damn about border integrity, because the automated voice system at your pharmacy asked you to press 9 for Spanish. You cling to every scrap of bullshit you can find to support your ludicrous belief system, and reject all empirical evidence to the contrary. You know the difference between patriotism and nationalism -- it's nationalism when foreigners do it. You hate anyone who seems smarter than you. You care more about zygotes than actual people. You love to blame people for their misfortunes, even if it means screwing yourself over. You still think Republicans favor limited government. Your knowledge of politics and government are dwarfed by your concern for Britney Spears' children. You think buying Chinese goods stimulates our economy. You think you're going to get universal health care. You tolerate the phrase "enhanced interrogation techniques." You think the government is actually trying to improve education. You think watching CNN makes you smarter. You think two parties is enough. You can't spell. You think $9 trillion in debt is manageable. You believe in an afterlife for the sole reason that you don't want to die. You think lowering taxes raises revenue. You think the economy's doing well. You're an idiot.

Exhibit A: You couldn't get enough Anna Nicole Smith coverage.

Sentence: A gradual decline into abject poverty as you continue to vote against your own self-interest. Death by an easily treated disorder that your health insurance doesn't cover. You deserve it, chump.

In God We Trust

It's time to stomp out atheists in America. The majority of Americans would love to see atheists kicked out of America. If you don't believe in God, then get out of this country.

The United States is based on having freedom of religion, speech, etc., which means you can believe in God any way you want (Baptist, Catholic, Methodist, etc.), but you must believe.

I don't recall freedom of religion meaning no religion. Our currency even says, "In God We Trust." So, to all the atheists in America: Get off of our country.

Atheists have caused the ruin of this great nation by taking prayer our of our schools and being able to practice what can only be called evil. I don't care if they have never committed a crime, atheists are the reason crime is rampant.

I don't think I need to clarify the letter to the editor above. It speaks too well for itself. These people are out there, and they will be the ruin of the world if they are not mocked, silenced and sent bleating back into the holes from which they crawled.

Update: Apparently, the letter above while really published in a newspaper, turns out to be a fake letter. Who wrote it? Why? But it has had other appearances prior to being published. It was penned by someone. Their intent unknown. Goes to show you -- you can't trust much found on the internet.

Whales talk French at the bottom of the sea?

A college professor in Red Oak, Iowa, claims he's been fired for giving an academic treatment to Christianity in his western civilization course. In the course, Steve Bitterman, teaches that the Biblical story of creation should not be taken literally. At the end of a recent class, he remarked to a couple of students that the story of Adam and Eve was just a fairy tale. Oops. The students apparently threatened a lawsuit in response, and the whole matter go escalated to the college administration -- who, with the usual intestinal fortitude of administrations everywhere, recoiled from confrontation -- and fired Bitterman.

This of course, is Bitterman's claim only -- but the college has done little in their official response to counter his claim.

So, WTF Iowa? I'm well aware that America is reveling in its new new found religious fundamentalism -- but surely the people in charge know that the recent surge of the religious right is only a phase -- and should be limited to a very short one. Those in academia -- the educated -- better is expected of you. Giving in to the mindless morons of fundamentalism the way unchallenged is not the answer -- and leads to death of reason. We've seen the results of this. It's playing itself out in the Middle East right now.

Internet Jihad

Islamic terrorists don't hail from just the Middle East. They're now originating from our own western democracies. Young men, inspired by a strict interpretation is Islam and fanciful promises of never ending virgins for martyrs, are entering a fantasy world, where the killing of innocents is the objective. As important as terrorist cells and training camps in Africa and the borders of Pakistan are, they pale in comparison to the importance of the internet for terrorists. The internet represents the ultimate borderless landscape. With near-anonymiity, freedom of expression and unparalleled access to a world audience, the new breed of cyber terrorist exhibit the same fearlessness and bravado as those who remove their social filters when anonymously commenting on the internet. For these individuals, far removed from a war zone or a scene of murder, cyber-terrorism probably feels a bit like a game. It's anything but a game however. Cyber terrorists serve the most important function in the arsenal of terrorism: propaganda and the dissemination of training information. It hardly matters whether Osama bin Laden is still alive. Terrorism doesn't need a central figure anymore. The internet has provided a network bin Laden could never have built on his own. A network he probably doesn't even understand -- if he's still alive -- but a network that certainly understand. It's disappointing then, that cyber-terrorism isn't being addressed in Bush's "global war on terrorism." Where's the US propaganda machine? In their response to terrorism, America continues to be reactionary -- not realizing that as much as the war needs to be fought with bombs, it must also be fought with ideas and information.

Zero Tolerance

What happens when zero tolerance rules are in place? What happens when it's in place in the Texas, in the food ole U.S. of A.? What happens? Insanity rules and all semblance of intelligence -- if there ever was any -- departs. In the case of 12-year-old Shelby Sendelbach in the Katy Independent School District, you get a 4-month suspension for writing "I love Alex" in marker on the wall of the school gym. The same punishment that is reserved for making terrorist threats, possessing drug and assaulting someone. What does a society do when this madness takes over?

Are You Prejudiced?

Harvard has an Implicit Association Test (IAT) online, to measure the association with white and black Americans. The IAT is used social psychologists "to measure the strength of association between mental representations of objects in memory. The IAT requires the rapid categorization of various stimulus objects, such that easier pairings (and faster responses) are interpreted as being more strongly associated in memory than more difficult pairings (slower responses)." The aggregated responses from those who've taken the test online is captured in the image above. Take the test and see where you land.

The result doesn't necessarily reflect racial prejudices towards whites or blacks -- but definitely a bias -- although there is controversy in the use of the test.

'Attempted' Copyright Infringement

The latest on intellectual property protection south of the border, comes courtesy of Attorney General Alberto Gonzales and the Bush Administration. They are seeking to ensure that their friends of the old guard can continue to milk profits from content, regardless of fair use rights. Copyright infringement is already against the law, but Gonzales is now proposing that attempting to commit piracy should also be a crime, punishable by America law.

Considering that close to 80% of internet traffic is from file sharing activities -- and just making a wild guess to say that at least half of those people are partaking in copyright infringement, exposes a whole lot of people to potential jail time. Is it just me, or is there a huge disconnect with reality on the part of the Bush Administration and their business supporters? Believe it or not, a whole lot of people aren't looking for jail time, but neither are looking for draconian measures on how they can consume content they've purchased.

Just in case you think that not living in the US offers you any type of protection against, think again. There was a recent case of an Australian being extradited to the US to stand trial for software piracy. With compliant national governments around the world, working to appease America, no one is safe -- except maybe, the Iranians and North Koreans.