The first installment in the series by Kaffir Kanuck.
“…Combine those realities with the squeamishly absent Canadian politicians, who both advocate free speech yet have the testicular absenteeism of their convictions to be seen in public with Mr. Wilders, empowered are the extremist left who see a bigot under every honest debate just waiting to be exposed so they can turn them into the nearest Human Rights Commission for hate speech.“
‘Religion’ is more than just a set of world-views.
There is a significant amount of evidence that some humans are ‘wired’ for religiosity: that their brains are ‘built’ so that their need for religious beliefs, practices and experiences is as physical as their other ‘human’ needs. This is why ‘religious belief’ is not an entirely voluntary thing…
‘Religiosity’ is a forseeable result of our social evolution – a feedback-loop, if you will, making it possible for humans to live in ‘unnaturaly’ large groups with top-down rules administered by an authority figure with minimal requrement for physical enforcement. Rules are essential for the functioning of early human societies: the individuals with the greater religiosity needs would submit to an authority figure’s rules through religiously-motivated self regulation. By reducing the need for social regulation through physical punishment, the authority figure is enabled to exert a great deal of control without the kind of revolt a physical enforcement of oppressive or invasive (or both) rules would elicit.
(Aside: OK – perhaps a better explanation is needed – but I do not want to go off on a huge tangent. So, let me be brief:
Though many people are curiously resistant to the idea, ‘religions’ do not necessarily contain dogma about any deities, or afterlife, or any such concepts. Anthropologists and sociologists will confirm that in the past as well as in the present times, the one thing all religions share is belief is ‘powerful forces’ – whether these be physical or not. (‘God’ is just one paricular incarnation of these ‘powerful forces’.)
To paraphrase C. G. Jung, religions are concerned with things (including ideas and principles) that we believe important, powerful or beautiful enough to be recognized and or worshipped.
The following bit of news from Digital Trends therefore does not come as much of a surprise:
…Previously, the scientists had studied the brains of those of religious faith, and they found that, as Riley puts it: “The Apple products are triggering the same bits of [Brooks’ [‘an Apple devotee’s’]] brain as religious imagery triggers in a person of faith.”
“This suggests that the big tech brands have harnessed, or exploit, the brain areas that have evolved to process religion,” one of the scientists says.”
Which, really, really, really makes sense.
I guess bin Laden’s locations wasn’t such a secret…
And nobody had to waterboard her for it, or anything!
I am sorry, but this is just wrong!
It is disrespectful – and wrong.
For the US to actually provide Osama bin Ladin’s body with the proper Islamic burrial is not just wrong, it is actively immoral!
It will prolong the fighting and cause many more deaths in the long run.
Of course, it is wrong to give respect where it is not due. Doing so diminishes respect which is earned. As such, Osama bin Ladin did not deserve respect – in life or in death.
Plus – when somebody orders the extrajudicial execution of another human being, that ‘respect’ train has long left the station…
But, ‘respect’ is a key issue here: showing ‘respect’ by following Sharia in having a Muslim perform all the ‘proper’ Islamic burrial rites is a serious, serious mistake for the Obama administration to have made. Perhaps serious enough to undo the good of having finally captured the little bugger.
Why?
It sends the wrong signal – the head of the only world Superpower is submitting to Sharia.
America is submitting to Sharia!
It sends theunmistakable message to the Islamists that they are succeeding – that we are, slowly but surely, accepting our role of Dhimmis!
That they only have to push a little longer, a little harder, and all of us will submit – because we have already started to…
Judging by Obama’s actions, they just might be right….
Fantino is a big part of the reason why the Conservatives’ fortunes have seen a downturn: the ‘law&order’ conservatives who form a core of his constituency are not pleased. I suspect that if the Conservatives are returned to power in tomorrow’s election, it will be by a very different group of voters than originally.
Why would Harper associate himself with someone so despised in Ontario is beyond me…
The State itself, the government of Ontario has been repeatedly implicated in its interference in the application of the law against both the occupiers and the taxpaying citizen. Compliant and rebuked by Ontario courts have been the Ontario Provincial Police where their actions and inaction have allowed Canadian citizens to be terrorized.
…
On the 28th of February, 2006, early in the DCE development stage, trespassers who later were aided by anarchists, union agitators and activists hailing from the left spectrum of politics as partially detailed here by Gary McHale, occupied the DCE. The rightful owners, Henco Industries Ltd, who purchased the land from the Crown, were subsequently denied access by the new strong arm for Native protesters, the OPP.
There has been a deliberate attempt to silence the truth. The conspiracy of silence which has denied a voice to the real victims of the occupation will eventually come to an end.…
By refusing to acknowledge the pain of the victims, both native and non-native, victimizes the victims twice.
…
And this is why conservatives are disappointed with PM Harper for embracing Julian Fantino into the CPC…
Well, well. well – I am not surprised, but, it’s good to have it confirmed.
An excellent explanation of the origins of our copyright laws – and how they have evolved over time. Plus – a strategy on dealing with the problems they create.
You-know-who is suing people again – because he finds them ‘annoying’!
That little silly bunny will just not let up!
With his skinhead-like haircut and fascist tactics, he really does look like the member of a Neo-Nazi organization (Stormfront) that he is. Yet, watching him in person for any length of time, the comparison to Uriah Heep (just before the 2 minute mark) crowds itself into one’s mind unheeded…
I don’t know how he can live with himself, that little tyrant-wanna-be silly bunny!
Who the … is the Pirate Party of Canada?
And, why am I writing about them?
I am writing about them because, for the first time ever, I have come accross so very many people who are so reluctant to give their votes to the ‘traditional’ politicial parties that they are – for the first time in their lives – considering not voting at all. Or spoiling their ballot in protest…
And, the Pirate Party of Canada may be a strategic place to trust one’s vote to. They don’t stand much of a chance to get elected (though, in Sweden, the home of the Pirate Party movement, they have 2 seats in the European Parliament), but the more votes they get, the more their central message will be strengthened, perhaps even reach the ears of the policymakers…
What is theie central message message?
It my never-humble-opinion, it seems to be this:
But, don’t rely on my imperfect understanding check them out yourself. Even if they are not your cup of grog, their message is worth thinking about.
If you are interested in a bit of the background – the zeitgeist that gave rise to the Pirate Party, it is well described in’Steal This Film‘. Here are Part 1.1, 1.2, 1.3, 1.4, and (better) Part 2.1, 2.2, 2.3, 2.4, 2.5.
Some of these very serious issuess – without the ‘pirate mentality’ – are presented inMichael Geist’s movie, ‘Why Copyright‘.
Why raise this issue now?
Well, the ‘gatekeepers’ who profit from manufacturing ‘culture’ have now began convincing governments that having file-sharing capability on one’s personal computer automatically means they intend to breech copyright laws – and so they are passing laws against this.
According to these laws, my son would be a criminal, for ‘filesharing’ when he submits his homework to his teacher electronically – which he does, because it is easier, neater and he gets immediate feedback…
According to this, my husband and his brother would be criminals because they file-share family photos and have programs on their computers that allow them to back-up store all of each other’s photofiles…
And now, the Conservatives want to pass a law that would give civil servants complete access to all the ‘internet activity’ of Canadian citizens – without judicial oversight!!! As in, any civil servant could listen in to all your VOIP phone calls, read all your emails, follow each click you surf – without telling you…. In Michigan, cops routinely download all information from a person’s phone during a traffic stop…this would, in a very real way, permit each and every civil servant to do the same when your phone is sinked-up to your computer.
Even if you have nothing to hide, do you trust your civil servants not to abuse these new powers?
We need to bring balance to our IP and copyright laws.
Right now, there is not even a pretense, not even a lip service to privacy (not to mention all the other violations of liberty)!
Which is why taking a look at the Pirate Party of Canada – just taking a look – does not seem like a bad idea.
Xanthippa's Chamberpot 