For your viewing pleasure this (Canadian) Thanksgiving weekend:
I am thankful that I have such an attentive watch-dog – he could watch squirrels for hours – and does!
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Steyn/Macleans update
October 11, 2008 — xanthippaAs most Canadians are aware, the ‘Steyn verdict’ came out yesterday: Steyn and Macleans have been acquitted. If you are not aware of the situation:
- Macleans is Canada’s oldest news magazine.
- Macleans reprinted, as an article, an excerpt from ‘America Alone’, a book by Mark Steyn.
- In this excerpt, Mark Steyn quotes a Norwegian Imam as saying that (I am paraphrasing) Muslims will win Europe without ever raising the sword, because they will outbreed the indigenous Europeans.
- The term the Imam used was that ‘Muslims are breeding like mosquitoes’…
- There was never a question that this is an accurate quote, the Imam has confirmed saying this
- Despite this, 3 different ‘courts’ – Human Rights Commissions/Tribunals in Canada have charged Steyn/Macleans for ‘spreading hate against Muslims’ for pritnitn this quote.
- The Human Rights ‘courts’ do not follow the rigorous rules and procedures of a regular court, but their rulings are no less binding. And, ‘double jeopardy’ (in this case, triple), where a person can only be charged once per offence, do not apply, nor does ‘innocent until proven guilty’, nor is truthfulness of the comment an acceptable defence: they do not decide truthfullness, but ‘hurtfulness’ of a comment.
- Their defence bill (not reimbursable, not allowed to even sue to be reimbursed for court costs) has topped 7 figures.
So, finally, yesterday, they were aquitted of the charges. Here is an MP3 podcast of an interview where Mr. Steyn describes the experience in his own words. Here’s the audio [mp3] (via Western Standard’s shotgun blog)
Chilling.
Island of Merzy – part 2
October 11, 2008 — xanthippaA few days ago, I posted part 1 of this story, in order to demonstrate that we, Aspies, do indeed have a most excellent sense of humour. If you liked it (or the comment by EBD – which, by the way, is brilliant and which I intend to use as ‘my witty anecdote’ during this weekend’s Thanksgiving dinner – you might enjoy this one.
When the explorer landed on the island of Merzy, he was amazed by so many
things…one of them was just how healthy and youthfull looking all the natives were.
Once he was accepted, he learned the secret: they had a special tea that they
brewed in a particular way, according to ancient rituals….
What was neat about it was that the tea was made from some special buds that grew
very high up in these trees that grew only on the island of Merzy. There was no way
humans could collect them from the fragile tips of branches…. The Merzians had a unique solution: trained Koalas!!!
The Koalas collected the buds – we don’t want to know the detais – then return to the villabe. There they were (eventually) collected, and processed in a secret way – then, they were brewed into a tea.
When the explorer had to leave the island of Merzy, the chief’s daughter was very sad (the two had fallen in love). He promised to return to her as soon as his duties allowed – and she gave him (secretly) a sack of the Koala tea for his journey.
When our explorer returned to his Queen (who had funded the expedition), he wanted to repay her in the best way possible. Since his love had taught him to brew the Koala tea, he prepared it exactly right, to serve it to the queen.
During his audinece, a servant was bringing the tea in – and noticed there ‘bits’ floating in it – and, mindful of court etiquette, the servant strained the chunks out, returened the tea to the pot, and brougt it in.
The explorer served the tea to the queen and her court: they all drank of it – and mmediatelly died!
Why, do you ask?
Because the Koala Tea of Merzy is NOT strained!
‘Media bias’ joke
October 9, 2008 — xanthippaI wish I could take credit for this joke, but I heard it on the radio this morning. A caller to a show said it – so I don’t even know whom to attribute it to. But, it is excellent!
(For any non-Canadian readers: our current Prime Minister, Steven Harper, is a conservative – and it appears that 99% of the media people in Canada are fighting a valiant battle to ensure he is not re-elected…even though Canadian people like him. The media have systematically villified him, reported bad things – and blown them out of proportion – and failed to even mention positive things. It is several orders of magnitude more pronounced than what the liberal media in the US is doing, yet most of them are honestly blind to it and think themselves ‘objective’.)
So, without more ado, here is the joke:
Yesterday, Prime Minister Harper walked across the Ottawa River with bare feet.
Today’s media headlines: HARPER UNABLE TO SWIM!!!
Island of Merzy – part 1
October 8, 2008 — xanthippaWhile I was reading up on famous Aspies, I came across an assertion that Albert Einstein could NOT have been an Aspie, because he had a sense of humour!!!
This came from someone who is apparently considered to be an ‘expert’ on Asperger’s syndrome…. How sad. It sounds like one of those ‘experts’ who only considers a very small percentage of Aspies and – proverbially – sweeps the rest of us under the rug.
Just for the record, I would like to repeat: Aspies have a sense of humour!!!
If you don’t believe me, read xkcd (apparently, they picked the name so it could not be pronounced as a single word…but I was only told that after I HAD been pronouncing it that way…my native tongue can have sentences that are gramatically correct and make sense – yet contain no vowels…and YES, I DO love ‘tongue-twisters’!)
Alternately, let me tell you a story about the island of Merzy….
Once, long ago, when the Earth was smaller than it is today – well, at least the ‘KNOWN’ world (i.e. known to the Europeans who KNEW they were at the centre of the Universe), there was a small, unchartered island somewhere in the tropical band about the world. This island was called Merzy.
It was inhabitted by a wonderful peoples. One day, a European explorer happened upon that island and immediatelly fell in love with it, the people, their culture – or, perhaps, just the
Chieftains’ daughter.
Either way, he feared that as more Europeans would come, they would consider the natives to be ‘savages’, because they did not display the ‘European trappings of power’. The best way to protect them, her reasoned, was to -within the frame of their culture – also teach them how to emulate some of the things that would force the Europeans (who were bound to follow there, now that the paradise-like island had been discovered) to treat the islanders with respect – and not like the other indigenous cultures they had encountered while ‘discovering’ the globe.
It would not be as difficult as all that, our explorer thought…
First, the Chieftain had to be referred to as a ‘King’. That is what all the Europeans called their leaders.
Second, he had to appear ‘kingly’. That meant a proper, golden throne, and that sceptery thingy and the apple-gold-bally thingy. (I love technical terms!)
Third, they had to do something about the architecture….since all the buildings on the island were really just straw huts, the Europeans might not take them seriously, after all. So, they had to ‘Europeanize’ the buildings – you know, they had to put up a fancy facade…
Getting everyone to call his beloved’s father ‘King’ was easy. At least, he taught them that the word ‘Chieftain’ translates into multiple European languages as ‘king’ – same thing, really.
Then, they set about building a huge, multi-story straw hut. Yes, a ‘proper’ building would have been better, but, well, you had bamboo and much straw – and little else for building materials, so the plans had to be adjusted a bit from ‘palace’ to ‘big, two-story hut’. (Please, note that I did NOT say ‘hutlace’.)
But – they did it! It was magnificent! It was very large, so most of the natives from the tribe could gather inside for celebrations. It had two stories around the edges, and the middle was open to the tall ceiling.
And, in the place of honour – the centre of the hut/palace, they placed the masterpiece – a magnificent, golden throne! Yes, it was not easy to make the throne, but it really was magnificent: inlaid with mother-of-pearl and all kinds of precious thingies. A real throne!
The King even got a crown, sceptre and the roundy-bally thingy, which matched the style and look of the throne: golden with pearls all over.
Now, they would be ready for any Europeans to come!
The explorer, sadly, had to return home. After all, even though he wanted to stay, he owed a debt of honour to the Queen (it is ALWAYS queens who fund the most excellent explorers – I think it has to do with longing and the mystique of the unknown) to come back and give his report. With him, he brought many specialities from the island… and he promised that as soon as possible, he would seek permission from his Queen to return to the island and seek the hand of the Merzian princess (chifetain’s daughter) in marriage.
Time passed, but nobody came.
More time passed, and nobody came.
When it became clear that something had gone wrong with the explorer, and he was not coming back – and nor were any other Europeans (the island was rather well sheltered and hidden from major shipping routes), the islanders slowly put away the’European trappings of power’ – except that they did like the big hut! It was an AWESOME party place!
But that big throne was always getting in the way….so, to keep it a bit out of way, the islanders decided to shove it up to the second story of the hut – the whole second floor had, really, become one big storage space.
One day, they had a most excellent party!
Lots of dancing, tea-drinking, singing, and coconut-clapping…..and then, suddenly, with horrid, tortured creaking and cracking, the floor under that heavy throne gave out!!!
The whole hut started collapsing, caught on fire from the party torches, and EVERYBODY DIED!!!!!
And WHAT, do you ask, is the moral of this story???
PEOPLE WHO LIVE IN GRASS HOUSES SHOULD NOT STOW THRONES!!!!!!!
… and they say us Aspies have no sense of humour!!!! We can make things funny AND follow the rules of how humour works!!!
Fireball – will we see it tonight?
October 6, 2008 — xanthippaJust a quick note: a rather biggish (I love technical terms) bit of rock is expected to enter the Earth’s atmosphere tonight (October 6th, 2008). It is big enough to have many astronomers anticipate a ‘fun fireball’, but not so big that it would not be expected to burn up before it can hit anything.
All right, I don’t know if it will even be visible from our part of the world, but…
If you are out about 10-ish (Eastern Daylight), keep your eyes open. You never know – you might see a really big shooting star!
And if you know more (or if you get to see it) – please, share.
UPDATE: Hat-tip to Dvorak Uncensored :0)
 Fireball during the Leonid meteor shower |
Read the story here.
‘Right’ versus ‘left’: not a telling distinction
October 3, 2008 — xanthippaMany people are having a difficult time deciding how to vote, because it seems like we are having to decide between bad and worse….a discouraging proposition at best. We see the ‘left’ as wanting to raise taxes and we can see how this will cripple the economy – and make us poorer. We see the ‘right’ as ‘in bed’ with big business, not concerned with the well-being of the little guy, namely us. And the ‘middle’ – we have seen the corruption there and it turns our stomachs…
What to do?
Big part of the problem is that we have been lookning at ‘politics’ as ‘left’ and ‘right’. But, that only captures one aspect of the political spectrum, and not a very good one at that.
We need to re-define the way we view political party platforms and policies, but according to a different set of criteria. Namely: individualism versus collectivism.
Collectivism is correct in recognizing that together, we can achieve more that each one of us could alone. We should pool all our resources, and ‘the collective’ decides how we use them together in the best way.
Of course, this is true – to a degree.
The problem is that when ‘everything’ is decided by the collective, there is no longer such a thing as an individual – only ‘member of the collective’. Thus, the good of the collective is placed above the good of any member. The voice of the collective is placed above the voice of any member. The will of the collective is placed above the will of any member.
The difficulty with this is obvious.
There is an old saying that the ‘collective intelligence’ of any group of people is defined by the average intelligence of each person in the group – divided by two.
‘Collective decisions’ are usually stupid – there is no denying it. And in a setup where individuals are not heard, nobody can sound a warning against stupid decisions or doing counterproductive things. To the contrary – anyone attempting to sound a warning will be perceived as opposing the collective and mercilessly torn to bits by a collective which transforms itself into the mob it inevitably becomes.
Individualism is correct in recognizing that every single one of us has a will and the ability to use it. It places the individual as the ‘responsible’ ‘decision-making’ unit. Sometimes, individuals may come together to pool their efforts and resources, but these are all voluntary arrangements and any individual has the right to opt out of them at any time. In other words, there is no coersion to pool one’s resources with others.
Again, there is an obvious difficulty with ‘total individualism’.
We do not live in isolation. We may be a group of individuals, but we are still a group and, as such, need the means of acting as a group.
We are a nation, a political entity – we need to pool our resources to protect ourselves and maintain order, etc. And if most of us contribute towards maintaing order which all enjoy, those who ‘opt out of contributing’ are getting ‘free ride’. This sets up a bad precedent and a bad dynamic. Eventually, the ‘free loaders’ become resented… and could become just as torn to bits as the ‘member of the collective who speaks up’ in the ‘collectivism’ example, but this time by a bunch of individuals who ‘voluntarily’ form a ‘temporary mob’.
So, what we need to do is find a balance: to form a sufficient collective to allow us to pool our resources and achieve those things we need to do ‘together’, but still retain enough individualism to not get lost in the process. Achieving this balance is the difficult part.
Before you protest that these are the same distinctions as ‘right’ and ‘left’, take a moment to look at history. Yes, it is true that traditionally, ‘left wing’ idealizes ‘collectivism’. But, just as having a ‘red square’ does not mean that a ‘circle’ must be ‘blue’, ‘right wing’ parties can – and often do – also embody the principles of ‘collectivism’: Nacism, for example, is perceived as being ‘right wing’ – but it is very much ‘collectivism’. It’s long name is ‘national socialism‘ – and socialism is a form of collectivism.
Similarly, George W. Bush’s policies are more collectivist than individualist – yet he is perceived as ‘right wing’!
This was the difference between the Canadian ‘right wing’ parties: ‘Reform Party/Canadian Alliance’ were no more ‘right wing’ than the ‘Progressive Conservative Party’. But where Progressive Conservatives were collectivists, the Reformers were fiercely individualist. After the parties merged, the resulting party is somewhere in between…
Yet that is the difference between the current Conervatives in Canada and the current conservatives in the US – despite the US emphasis on the individual, it is the Canadian Conservatives who are actually (and very slowly) returning some of the decisionmaking to the individuals. THAT is why the current financial crisis sweeping the US is not nearly as bad up in Canada – there simply aren’t enough individuals who had made as bad choices as some of the groups south of the border.
OK, this IS an oversimplification – and an intentional hyperbole. But the principle meant to be demonstrated by it is the correct one – and ONE of the factors in this.
So, if the ‘individualist’ ways are so much better, why are most successful political parties ‘collectivist’?
In order to succeed in the political arena, a party has to present a unified image, stand for one thing that voters across the country can recognize and identify with. A ‘Party Brand’, if you will. This is easily achieved with a group of people who believe their individual voices are nowhere near as important as the voice of the collective.
If you have a group of people who are fiercly individualist, this becomes much more difficult. The term ‘herding cats’ comes to mind! The individualist will not hesitate to speak up when the party’s policy does not reflect their personal view of something. That is what makes them individualists!
And that is what makes the ‘individualis’ parties look disorganized, not ‘together’. That is why it is difficult for people to figure out what they stand for.
And THAT is why most parties that value ‘individualism’ tend to be less successful than parties made up of collectivists.
So, when you go to vote this time around – and if you are not sure whom to pick – take a look at the policies and ideas from this, slightly different point of view: who will allow you the most individual freedom? Who will respect you as an individual? Is it the right ‘balance’ you seek – or as close to it as you’d like?
Perhaps if you do, you may arrive at a decision you will be happy with.
Green party calls for more ‘pulp and paper’ jobs?!?
October 2, 2008 — xanthippaI’m sorry, but this defies belief!
I am in the process of wathching the Canadian ‘Leaders debate’ – and it is frustrating me to no end!
Not only are factually incorrect statements allowed to stand, and all the baggage that goes along with it…BUT
Ms. May, the leader of the Green Party – you know, the one that is supposed to protect the environment – has now REPEATEDLY called for creation of jobs in ‘pulp and paper’!!!
Does she not know the environmental impact of these???
The ignorance of these people (not just Ms. May) is astounding!
And as for Sweden….quietly, without much fanfare, the Scandinavian countries have been drastically reducing corporate taxes in order to re-invigorate their industries….so how can THEY get away with claiming they want to follow the Swedish example by keeping corporate taxes high????
I don’t know if I can stand watching the rest of this farce.
What do Olympics and DRMs have in common?
October 1, 2008 — xanthippaFreedom of speech is so important, it is fundamental to freedom in a society. The threats to freedom of speech come in many shapes – some from government (like the Canadian Human Rights’ Commissions and similar organizations), some from religious leaders, others from corporate interests.
After all – he who controls what and how ideas are communicated has a great amount of control of what and how people think. And how they spend their money. Power and money – it’s that crass.
John Perry Barlow wrote, in an article The Economy of Ideas which appeared in Wired in 1994:
The greatest constraint on your future liberties may come not from government but from corporate legal departments laboring to protect by force what can no longer be protected by practical efficiency or general social consent.
Barlow was speaking of things which we have all seen to happen. From DRM laws, which are based on the idea of ‘every customer is guilty of being a potential pirate, don’t bother with a defence’, to some serious weight being thrown around by the Olympic committees, we are experiencing true and real erosion of our freedom of speech and expression with the sole aim to further corporate interests.
Don’t think so?
If someone from ‘the government’ tried to control what people wore to a sporting event, we would scream ‘censorship’. Yet, Olympic organizers get away with it – if your T-shirt displays a logo of a non-sponsor, you are asked to remove it, wear it inside out, or – I know this happened at the Athens games – you are handed an official Olympic ‘logo cover’ thingy you have to stick over top of your ‘unapproved’ logo.
This is all in the name of ‘protecting their sponsors’!
Want to drink water from a non-sponsor’s bottle? Not at the Olympics….
Is your hotel, near the Olympic venue – and visible from it, not a sponsor? Well, then its name will have to be covered up during the games by the official Olympic ‘sign cover’. (In Beijing, all logos, even on water taps and toilets, from non-sponsors were covered up by sticky tape.)
And we all know how much the IOC is intent on ‘protecting’ freedom of speech from the nice deal they struck with the Chinese about censoring all ‘non-sports relevant’ internet sites. Their attitude is best exemplified by this answer, given by BOCOG speaker Sun Weide, when asked why access to all sites about Falun Gong religion….keep in mind, the question was why was the access censored:
“I would remind you that Falun Gong is an evil, fake religion which has been banned by the Chinese government.”
But all this is just a tip of the ice-berg.
The IOC – and its various local minions – have been busy little beavers indeed. If you think the Beijing one (BOCOG) was in Communist country and therefore much more oppressive than most, think again. Look at what is already happening in preparation for the Olympic Games in Vancouver (VANOC) in 2010!
- Bits of the Canadain National Anthem are being TRADEMARKED by the Vancouver organizers.
- Other words, like ‘winter’, ‘2010’, ‘games’, ‘medal’, ‘gold’ and many more are also being trademarked by VANOC.
Usually, these would be just too general to be registered – but that does not worry the Olympic committee. While back, they got a law passed (I understand that there is a similar law in the USA), Bil C-47, which makes it OK…
You may think that it is really just meant to protect the sponsors, that the IOC would not abuse this to hassle legitimate businesses, right? You might want to discuss that with the many businesses that have the word ‘Olympic’ in their name – even Greek restaurants, in Greece…or ones on ‘Olympic peninsula’ in North America. They might be able to explain why they keep receiving letters from the IOC lawyers, telling them they are in violation of a trademark…
Freedom of speech indeed…
From DRM laws which assume all of us are lawbreakers and must be handcuffed (digitally) lest we steal what we see, greedy corporate interests, to corrupt, money and power grubbing international organizations, we are increasingly finding our freedoms eroded, one little bit at a time.
And isn’t it a coincidence that both the ‘Olympic marks’ Bill C-47, which allows unprecendented powers of censorship to the Olympic Committee, and the ‘movie piracy’ Bill C-59 both received royal assent on the same day?
Xanthippa's Chamberpot 
Stephane Dion understood quite well…
October 10, 2008 — xanthippaYes, I am pretty fed up with politics already…but this one – it needs to be seen to be believed.
Mr. Dion clearly understood the question – at several points – then chooses to not answer anyway. Please, pay attention to the increase in his rate of blinking while the question is being asked the second time around….after it had been explained. He ‘gets’ the question – he just hasn’t got an acceptable answer.