City of Toronto ‘multifaith’ prayer room

November 21, 2011 — xanthippa

BlazingCatFur got a tip:

‘The cab driver was mortified to see that prayer room, it is in no way shape or form inclusive or respectful of others, in fact it’s downright threatening to those who suffered at the hands of Muslims in their countries of origin.’

Living up to the challenge and went to investigate:

Head over to his site and check it out.

Of course, I maintain that prayer – under all circumstances – is demonstrably immoral and offensive and that not a penny of any taxpayer money must be permitted to go to anything even remotely related to religion(s).  No publicly funded prayer rooms, no publicly funded preachers and no praying in public.  That would avoid this all mess!

In somewhat related news, here is some advice from Mark Vandermaas over at VoiceOfCanada:

‘Our Western countries have become divided states, one part for the radicals and one for the majority of citizenry — and, by virtue of our free and fair society, they are both afforded the same rights.’

And, I know this is a few days old, but:  check out women’s rights under Sharia! (And, yes, this is precisely why we must not have a law banning the burka:  the moment the state is given the right to legislate how we dress, we are giving up our right and ability to protest against this.)

Posted in atheism, freedoms, politics, religion, society. Tags: , , , , , . Leave a Comment »

So many wrongs – and they don’t add up tp any ‘rights’

November 19, 2011 — xanthippa

I have little liking for the #occupy folks and have said so before.

But…

There is so much wrong in the police responses to the #occupy evictions that I don’t even know where to begin ranting.

Please, consider the following video:

 

First, a cop assaults a bunch of #occupiers (he uses unreasonable force against clearly non-violent people who offer no resistance, at least one of whom had to be taken to a hospital for treatment as a result of the assault), then the whole group of cops gets cowed and cowardly runs away when the mob advances on them!

The use of unreasonable force, especially against people who do not resist, is the second worst thing the cops here did.  The worst thing they did was to let themselves be run out by the mob.  A peaceful mob, but a mob none-the-less.

The lesson here?

If you are non-violent, police will assault you.  If you begin to – even just a tiny bit – look menacing, the cops will run away.

Just marvellous…

This sends a clear signal that the police are willing to neither obey nor uphold the rule of law.

Of course, we have seen this type of a response by police before:  peaceful citizens are bullied, beaten and arrested while violent law-breakers go unchallenged.  This is true from the Islamist rallies in the UK to Caledonia in Ontario and on and on.

All this type of police response will result in is that all protests will take on a violent streak, if only to protect themselves from police violence.  People will loose any vestige of trust they still have in the police,and, by extension, in the rule of law.

How can those calling the shots in the police responses not get it?

Posted in corruption, society. Tags: , , , , , . Leave a Comment »

xda-developers: The Rootkit of All Evil – CIQ

November 18, 2011 — xanthippa

Do you have a smart phone?

Then you might want to read this article at xda-developers about CIQ (CarrierIQ), which proclaims on their own website:

“…we give Wireless Carriers and Handset Manufacturers unprecedented insight into their customers’ mobile experience.”

 

‘Unprecedented’ is right!

It is understandable that any business would like to have a deep insight into their customers’ needs and desires in order to serve them better: satisfying customers is good for business.

However, customers also have a right to – and most have at least some expectation of – privacy.

The problem arises when customers are not even aware of the volume and detail of information about them that their mobile devices routinely report to their carriers: this lopsided information level makes any meaningful discussion about privacy vs data-mining virtually meaningless.

From the article:

“This [CIQ software] is given root like rights over the device, which means that it can do everything it pleases and you will have nothing to say about it.”

“…Because of all the metrics that could be obtained via the different triggers, that same network admin will not just know that you got a dropped call at 5 pm in California, but he/she will also know where in California you were located, what you were doing with your phone at that given time, how many times you accessed your apps until that time, and even what you have typed in your device (no, this last one is not an exaggeration, this thing can act as a key logger as well). Scared already? If not, here is a snippet of some…”

“…what kind of permissible purpose is out there that can allow a company to legally place a key logger on something and use it when you are not even getting service out of them?”

 

And, of course, we know no person or corporation would ever abuse any information they get access to!

Read the full article and weep.

H/T:  CodeSlinger

 

Posted in corruption, freedoms, opression, society, technology. Tags: , , , , , , , , . 1 Comment »

Ruling in the Warman V Fournier Copyright lawsuit

November 1, 2011 — xanthippa

CORRECTION: THE FOURNIERS WILL NOT BE BACK IN COURT LATER THIS WEEK.  (I was confused by a header from an earlier email – my apologies for the my error.)

(Sad, isn’t is, that I have to specify which of the Warman lawsuits against the Fourniers this is about….)

This is the ruling in the motion to suppress a number of ‘things’ from the Fourniers’ defense statement in the lawsuit Mr. Warman is pursuing against them because he thinks that they have violated his copyright by:

  • inline-linking to his image (while he had full control of the image and could have blocked in-line linking)
  • not taking down a re-posting 0f an article fast enough after he acquired copyright over that article in an out-of-court settlement
  • posting on their site some public documents which quoted the above article

OK, OK – I’ll not stretch the suspense out any longer.

The Fourniers won!!!

It’s not the whole case – just this motion. But, it means that the trial lawyer will have the ability to weigh all the evidence and decide for her/his own self as to what is relevant and what is not.

So, this is a victory for justice!

Small victory, but victory none-the-less.  Especially since Connie Fournier – a non-lawyer – went up against the smooth and charismatic Mr. Katz (without whose extraordinary lawyer skills most of Mr. Warman’s lawsuits would have been summarily dismissed as frivolous – in  my never-humble-opinion) and won!!!

In that sense, it is big personal victory for the Fourniers.

Congratulations, Mark and Connie.

P.S. – The Fourniers will be in Federal Court in Ottawa again on Thursday, 3rd of November, 2011.

Posted in corruption, freedoms, politics, society. Tags: , , , , , , , , . Leave a Comment »

Informed Canadians Oppose Online Spying

October 28, 2011 — xanthippa

Do you think it is a good idea for police to be allowed to listen to phone calls without getting a warrant first?

That is exactly what the Harper Conservatives are proposing to imbed into our Criminal Code.

We should all oppose this – especially as more of use use VOIP and as our cars and smart meters are constantly recording bucketloads of information about us.

Arm yourself – get informed!!!

Posted in freedoms, opression, politics, society, technology. Tags: , , , , , , . Leave a Comment »

‘Occupy Phoenix with AR-15’s’

October 28, 2011 — xanthippa

If only more of the #occupy folks were like this…

With the Harper Conservatives poised to scrap the long-gun registry, this is a timely message:  freedom of speech can only be exercised as long as we have the means to defend ourselves from any government that would usurp onto themselves the power to muzzle us.

Our right to be armed at all times, in all places, is essential for us to retain the most core of our innate and unalienable rights, the very cornerstone of our society:  the freedom of speech!

(And, yes, I AM one of the proponents of the idea that ALL teachers ought to be required by law to be fully gun-certified and armed at all times while we entrust our children to their care:  it is of little consolation that the best 9-1-1 response times to schools are at under 10 minutes….a lot of kids can be shot by an intruder in 10 minutes!  If we entrust our children to their care, each teacher  MUST be personally responsible for their protection – even from an armed attack.)

The government’s right to possess and use arms derives from us, the citizens:  we may, if we choose to, confer upon the government the right to carry arms and, as our proxy, use violence in our defense as we, the citizens, have the responsibility to.  This does not, in any way, abrogate our right – or diminish our responsibility – to do so ourselves at all times.

Any attempt at arms regulation – and I DO mean ANY regulation – by the governmenonly weakens the government’s own power to arm its agents and use violence on out behalf!

As someone somewhere put it:

Armed, we are citizens.

Disarmed, we are subjects!

Video H/T:  CodeSlinger

Posted in freedoms, human nature, society. Tags: , , , , . Leave a Comment »

Maryam Namazie: ‘For a Free And Secular Middle East And North Africa’

October 26, 2011 — xanthippa

From Maryam Namazie from ‘One Law For All’:

For Immediate Release, 27 October 2011

76 secularists and human rights campaigners, including Mina Ahadi, Nawal El Sadaawi, Marieme Helie Lucas, Hameeda Hussein, Ayesha Imam, Maryam Jamil, Maryam Namazie, Taslima Nasrin, Farida Shaheed, Fatou Sow, and Stasa Zajovic have signed on to a Manifesto for a Free and Secular Middle East and North Africa.
In light of the recent pronouncements of the unelected Libyan Transitional Council for ‘Sharia laws’, the signatories of the manifesto vehemently oppose the hijacking of the protests by Islamism or US-led militarism and unequivocally support the call for freedom and secularism made by citizens and particularly women in the region.
Secularism is a minimum precondition for a free and secular Middle East and for the recognition of women’s rights and equality.
We call on world citizens to support this important campaign by signing on to our petition: http://www.change.org/petitions/world-citizens-defend-a-free-and-secular-middle-east-and-north-africa.
We also ask that supporters click ‘like’ on our Facebook page to support this important campaign: http://www.facebook.com/pages/A-Free-and-Secular-Middle-East-and-North-Africa/271164176261820#!/pages/A-Free-and-Secular-Middle-East-and-North-Africa/271164176261820 and Tweet: #freesecularMENA in support of a free and secular Middle East and North Africa.
VERSION FRANÇAISE CI DESSOUS
FRENCH, ARABIC AND PERSIAN VERSIONS BELOW
 
Manifesto for a Secular Middle East and North Africa
The 2009 protests in Iran followed by the Arab Spring have the potential to herald a new dawn for the people of the region and the world. The protests have clearly shown that people in the region, like people everywhere, want to live 21st century lives.
We, the undersigned, emphasise their modern and human dimension and wholeheartedly welcome this immense and historical development. We are vehemently opposed to their hijacking by Islamism or US-led militarism and support the call for a free and secular Middle East and North Africa made by citizens and particularly women in the region.
Secularism is a minimum precondition for the freedom and equality of all citizens and includes:
1. Complete separation of religion from the state.
2. Abolition of religious laws in the family, civil and criminal codes.
3. Separation of religion from the educational system.
4. Freedom of religion and atheism as private beliefs.
5. Prohibition of sex apartheid and compulsory veiling.
SIGNATORIES
  1. Mina Ahadi, Spokesperson, International Committees against Stoning and Execution, Iran/Germany
  2. Marieme Helie Lucas, Sociologist, Founder and former international coordinator of Women Living Under Muslim Laws and founder of Secularism Is A Women’s Issue, Algeria/France
  3. Maryam Namazie, Spokesperson, Equal Rights Now – Organisation against Women’s Discrimination in Iran, Iran/UK
  4. Shahla Abghari, University Professor, Iran/USA
  5. Siavash Abghari, Esmail Khoi Foundation, Iran/USA
  6. Ahlam Akram, Palestinian Peace and Human Rights Writer and Campaigner, Palestine/UK
  7. Sargul Ahmad, Women’s Liberation in Iraq, Iraq/Canada
  8. Mahin Alipour, Coordinator, Equal Rights Now – Organisation against Women’s Discrimination in Iran, Iran/Sweden
  9. Reza Alkrami, Human Rights Activist, Iran/USA
  10. Farideh Arman, Coordinator, Committee to Defend Women’s Rights, Iran/Sweden
  11. Sultana Begum, Regional Gender Adviser, Diakonia Asia, Bangladesh
  12. Djemila Benhabib, Writer, Algeria/Canada
  13. Codou Bop, Journalist and Director of GREFELS, Dakar, Senegal
  14. Ariane Brunet, co-founder Urgent Action Fund, Québec, Canada
  15. Micheline Carrier, Sisyphe, Québec, Canada
  16. Patty Debonitas, Iran Solidarity, UK
  17. Denise Deliège Femmes En Noir, Belgium
  18. Equal Rights Now – Organisation against Women’s Discrimination in Iran, Sweden
  19. Fanny Filosof, Femmes en Noir, Belgium
  20. Mersedeh Ghaedi, New Channel TV Programme host, Iran/Norway
  21. Groupe de recherche sur les femmes et les lois, Dakar, Senegal
  22. Laura Guidetti, Marea Feminist Magazine, Italy
  23. Zeinabou Hadari, Centre Reines Daura, Niger
  24. Anissa Hélie, Historian, Algeria/France/USA
  25. Rohini Henssman, Human Rights Activist, India
  26. Hameeda Hossein, Chairperson Ain o Salish Kendra, Dhaka, Bangladesh
  27. Khayal Ibrahim, Women’s Liberation in Iraq, Iraq/Canada
  28. Leo Igwe, Founder, Nigerian Humanist Movement, Nigeria
  29. Ayesha Imam, Women’s Human Rights and Democracy Activist, Nigeria/Senegal
  30. International Campaign in Defence of Women’s Rights in Iran, Sweden
  31. International Committee against Execution, Germany
  32. International Committee against Stoning, Germany
  33. Iran Solidarity, Iran/UK
  34. Maryam Jamil, Women’s Liberation in Iraq, Iraq
  35. Sultana Kamal, Executive Director, Ain o Salish Kendra and Chairperson Transparency International, Bangladesh
  36. Abbas Kamil, Unity Against Unemployment in Iraq, Baghdad, Iraq
  37. Harsh Kapoor, South Asia Citizens Web, India
  38. Akbar Karimian, Human Rights Activist, Iran/UK
  39. Cherifa Kheddar, President of Djazairouna, Algeria
  40. Monica Lanfranco, Marea Feminist Magazine, Italy
  41. Houzan Mahmoud, Representative of Organisation of Women’s Freedom in Iraq, Iraq/UK
  42. Nahla Elgaali Mahmoud, Biologist, Sudan/UK
  43. Anwar Mir Sattari, Human rights Activist, Iran/Belgium
  44. Amena Mohsin, Professor, Dept. International Relations Dhaka University, Bangladesh
  45. Khawar Mumtaz, Director Shirkat Gah, Lahore, Pakistan
  46. Taslima Nasrin, Writer and Activist, Bangladesh
  47. U. M. Habibun Nessa, President, Naripokkho, Bangladesh
  48. Partow Nooriala, Poet, Writer and Human Rights Activist, Iran/USA
  49. Asghar Nosrati, Human Rights Activist, Iran/Sweden
  50. One Law for All, UK
  51. Pragna Patel, Southall Black Sisters, UK
  52. Fariborz Pooya, Iranian Secular Society, Iran/UK
  53. Protagora, Zagreb, Croatia
  54. Hassan Radwan, Activist, Egypt/UK
  55. Mary Jane Real, Women’s Human Rights Coalition, Manila, The Philippines
  56. Edith Rubinstein, Femmes en Noir, Belgium
  57. Nawal El Sadaawi, Writer, Egypt
  58. Fahimeh Sadeghi, Coordinator, International Federation of Iranian Refugees, Iran/Canada
  59. Gita Sahgal, Director, Centre for Secular Space, UK
  60. Nina Sankari, Secularist and Feminist, Poland
  61. Secularism Is A Women’s Issue (International Network)
  62. Aisha Lee Shaheed, London, UK
  63. Farida Shaheed, Shirkat Gah, Lahore, Pakistan
  64. Siba Shakib, Filmmaker, Writer and Activist, Iran/USA
  65. Sohaila Sharifi, Women’s Rights Campaigner, Iran/UK
  66. Issam Shukri, Head, Secularism and Civil Rights in Iraq, Iraq/Canada
  67. Southall Black Sisters, UK
  68. Fatou Sow, Sociologist CNRS, Dakar, Senegal
  69. Afsaneh Vahdat, Coordinator, International Campaign for Women’s Rights in Iran, Iran/Sweden
  70. Lino Veljak, Professor of Philosophy, Zagreb University, Croatia
  71. Fauzia Viqar, Director Advocacy and Communications, Shirkat Gah Women’s Resource Centre, Lahore, Pakistan
  72. Anne Marie Waters, One Law for All, UK
  73. Vivienne Wee, anthropologist, feminist and human rights activist, Singapore and Hong Kong, China
  74. Women In Black, Belgrade, Serbia
  75. Sara Zaker, Theatre Director, Bangladesh
  76. Stasa Zajovic, spokesperson Women in Black, Belgrade, Serbia
FRENCH
Manifeste pour la laicité au Moyen Orient et en Afrique du Nord
Les protestations de 2009 en Iran et le Printemps Arabe qui a suivi pourrait faire se lever une nouvelle aurore pour le peuple de la région et du monde. Les manifestations ont clairement montré que le peuple dans la région, comme partout, veut vivre au XXI° siècle.
 Nous sous signés, soulignons leur dimension moderne et humaine et soutenons de tout coeur cet immense tournant historique.  Nous nous opposons avec véhemence à ce qu’il soit détourné par l’islamisme ou par la militarisation sous l’égide des Etats Unis et reitérons l’appel pour un Moyen Orient et une Afrique du Nord libres et laiques, lancé par les citoyens et particulièrelent les femmes de la région.
 La laicité est le pré-requis minimum pour assurer la liberté et l’égalité de tous les citoyens, et cela inclue:
 1. la totale separation de la religion et de l’état.
2. l’abolition des lois religieuses en matière familiale et dans le code penal.
3. la séparation de la religion et du système d’éducation.
4. la liberté de religion et d’athéisme, définis comme croyances personnelles.
5. l’interdiction de l’apartheid sexuel et du voile obligatoire.
ARABIC
بيان من أجل شرق اوسط وشمال افريقيا علمانية
 إن احتجاجات إيران عام 2009 والربيع العربي الذي أعقبها تحمل أملاً بفجر جديد لشعوب المنطقة وللعالم. لقد أظهرت الاحتجاجات بشكل &#1608 ;اضح أن شعوب المنطقة، كغيرها من شعوب العالم، تسعي لحياه تواكب متطلبات القرن الحادي والعشرين.
 نحن، الموقعون أدناه، نؤكد على البعد الحديث والإنساني لهذه الثورات ونرحب ترحيبا حارا بهذا التطور التاريخي الكبير. ونحن ن&#159 3;ارض بشدّة سلب مكتسبات هذه الثورات سواء كان ذلك على يد الحركات الإسلامية أو السياسات العسكريتارية بقيادة امريكا، ونؤيد الدعوة لقيام شرق أوسط وشمال إفريقيا علمانية ب&# 1575;رادة المواطنين في المنطقة وخاصة النساء.
 إن العلمانية تمثّل الحد الأدنى من أجل تحقيق حرية ومساواة كل المواطنين، ويشمل ذلك:
 1. فصل الدين عن الدولة فصلاً تاما.
2. إلغاء التشريعات الدينية الخاصة بالأسرة والتشريعات المدنية والجنائية.
3. فصل الدين عن النظام التعليمي.
4. حرية الدين والإلحاد كمعتقدات شخصية.
5. منع سياسة التمييز الجنسي والحجاب الإجباري.
PERSIAN
مانیفست برای خاورمیانه- شمال آفریفای سکولار
مبارزات سال 88 (2009 میلادی) در ایران و در پی آن “بهار عربی” این ظرفیت را دارد که طلوعی تازه را به مردم منطقه و جهان نوید دهد. اعتراضات به روشنی میدهد که م&#1 585;دم این منطقه، نظیر مردم هر جای دیگر، خواهان یک زندگی قرن بیست و یکمی هستند.
ما امضاء کنندگان زیر بر ابعاد انسانی و مدرن این مبارزات تاکید میگذاریم و با تمام وجود از این تحول عظیم تاریخی استقبال میکنیم. ما قاطعانه مخال&#16 01;ت خود را با مصادره این انقلابات و مبارزات توسط اسلام گرایی و یا  میلیتاریسم (دولتی) تحت رهبری آمریکا اعلام میداریم و از فراخوان “یک خاورمیانه و شمال آفریقای آزاد و سکولا&#1 585;” حمایت میکنیم که توسط شهروندان این منطقه  بویژه زنان مطرح شده است.
سکولاریسم  پیش شرط حداقل برای آزادی و برابری همه شهروندان و دربرگیرنده این مفاد است:
١-جدائی کامل مذهب از دولت.
٢-الغای قوانین مذهبی در قوانین خانواده، مدنی و جنایی.
٣-جدائی مذهب از سیستم آموزش و پرورش.
٤-آزادی مذهب و بی مذهبی بعنوان اعتقادات شخصی.
٥-ممنوعیت آپارتاید جنسی و حجاب اجباری.
For more information, contact:
Marieme Helie Lucas
Maryam Namazie
For a Free and Secular Middle East and North Africa
BM Box 2387, London WC1N 3XX, UK
Posted in freedoms, society. Tags: , , . 1 Comment »

More thoughts about ‘Anonymous’ and the #occupy crowd

October 24, 2011 — xanthippa

The #occupy folks are still at it – still sounding rather shrill, poorly informed and selfish.

Most are idealistic – yes, I’ll give them points for that.  (On the honesty front, that is.)

But they also sound dangerously naive and deeply ignorant.  And if we san see the historical pattern, honest idealism coupled with naivite and ignorance is usually a deadly combination.

What makes it even scarier is that some very pragmatic forces have successfully infiltrated the movement and are focusing the idealistic crowds to their own ends.  That also is a historical pattern – with grave consequences (pun intended).

Psema4 commented on my earlier post about Anonymous (where I expressed my conviction that these #occupy protests were seeded by them) where he (she?) expressed similar misgivings about Anonymous and left a link to this site:  ‘What is The Plan’.  (Thank you for bringing it to my attention!)

On the home page, there is this movie:

Was your reaction to the video similar to mine?  I think that the neo-marxist semi-anarchist drivel that we hear from the majority of the #occupy people sounds very much like the remnants of this rant…

First things first:  the video is demonstrably self-contradictory.  At about 7 1/2 minutes, it claims that there is no such thing as membership in Anonymous, while just before the 9 minute mark, it boasts it has 50 thousand members.  That is just the most easily demonstrated internal  inconsistency within the video…  There are a few more, but they would take a long time to pull out and dissect – plus I am sure most people will have picked up on them anyway.

If you find the first part of the video painfully tedious, you can skip forward a bit: ‘The Plan’ comes up at around the 8:40 mark.  As Psema4 pointed out, the pattern for ‘The Plan’ as outlined in the video would very much fit in with the #occupy ‘movement’, either as step 2 or step 3…

These people sound a lot like a bunch of insulated anarcho-marxists and elitists who want to take a shortcut to fixing what is wrong with the world.  These types of short cuts have a history of becoming very bloody and resulting in great loss of civil liberties.

As long as Anonymous had limited themselves to the role of ‘the man with no name’, I had little problem with them.  But playing Russian roulette with a revolution?  That is immoral, plain and simple.

Like CodeSlinger said:  “End well, this will not!”

Posted in society, technology. Tags: , , , , . 1 Comment »

Ezra Levant speaks up for women

October 22, 2011 — xanthippa

Because a person’s a person, no matter how small!

…or how female…

…or how Muslim…

 

 

Posted in religion, society. Tags: , , , , , . Leave a Comment »

Europe v. Facebook

October 19, 2011 — xanthippa

Blarney…

Facebook:  all your data are belong to us!

Posted in technology. Tags: , , , , , . Leave a Comment »
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