Monday, 30 May, 2011

The latest at the Victoria Politics Examiner, May 30th

Alright, here's the latest:
Check it out, eh?

Notes of interest, May 30th: California, crap, and Section 13

A few things I thought were worth mentioning from the past couple of days.

1) Here at the BoW we've talked a little bit about the condition of California's prison system. In that proud tradition, here are Tim Cavanaugh of Reason Magazine on CBC Radio's Day 6 and Steve Chapman in Reason Magazine itself talking about Cali justice.

2) A Canadian ISP owner on how a monopoly drove her company out of business:



3) A mail carrier in southeast Portland was apparently busted taking a crap on someone's lawn. Insert sh*tty pun here.

4) A U.S. District judge has struck down a federal ban on direct corporate contributions to political candidates. This will probably be appealed, but it's an interesting legacy for the Citizens United decision.

5) Courtesy of Blazing Cat Fur, Ezra Levant and Kathy Shaidle on Section 13(1) of the Canadian Human Rights Act:

Two potential insights into the Harper Conservatives

1) Mark Sholdice in The Mark: The Might of Canada's Right.

2) Arnie at Blazing Cat Fur: We do not have a conservative government.

Compare and contrast.

My latest for The Propagandist

Check it out: Teach Me How To Drive So I Can Protect Myself:
"Teach me how to drive so I can protect myself." That was the name of a Facebook group created by a group of Saudi Arabian women in order to protest their country's ban on female drivers. For this, Manal al-Sherif, one of the campaign's founders, was arrested the Saturday before last by Saudi authorities

Sunday, 29 May, 2011

Notes of interest, May 29th: milk, tylenol, Molly Crabapple, and illegal fishing

A few things I've run across over the past few days.

1) Nick Gillespie at Reason's Hit & Run blog on the silliness of raw milk regulation.

2) Gillespie's colleague, Jacob Sullum, on the silliness of pseudoephedrine restrictions and Britain's approach to tylenol.

3) Mark Steyn on the silliness of having to obtain a fishing license to get fish out of your back yard.

4) Matthew Voell at The Tyee talks about the significance of the Insite case currently working its way through the Supreme Court.

5) The FBI Cracks Down on Little Old Ladies With Plastic Bags.

6) Finally, art, Molly Crabapple, and the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund:

A Boing Boing commenter takes umbrage at inevitable comments about Crabapple's er...hotness. Speaking personally, I'm happy to continue this proud tradition: va-va-voom.

Quote of the day, May 29th

From Jon Ferry in The Province:
Indeed, it truly is ironic it's the socialist NDP that is now questioning the incandescent-bulb ban, with opposition energy critic John Horgan noting issues over CFL "toxicity" have raised the concerns of many British Columbians.

Horgan's not kidding. Those British Columbians I've talked to positively hate the new pretzel-shaped bulbs, which not only are far more expensive than the warm incandescent ones, but cast a sickly light, are slow to glow and contain eco-hostile mercury requiring special disposal.

The greens don't care. They'll save the planet even if it sends us back to the dark ages.

My latest at The Propagandist and the Prince Arthur Herald

A couple of quick pieces that I've written here and there.

First, at The Propagandist: Iran's Press TV Runs Into Trouble In Britain:

Based in Tehran, Press TV takes, in its own words, "revolutionary steps as the first Iranian international news network, broadcasting in English on a round-the-clock basis."

If it were a private media outlet, it might be congratulated: broadcasting news and opinion in Iran is a risky business, after all. Alas, Press TV is essentially a government-funded propaganda arm for the Iranian regime. Being a media stooge for an inhuman, brutal government undoubtedly has its perks, if you're willing to occasionally ignore the stench of evil, but Press TV seems to have run up against a wall in Britain.

Meanwhile, I wrote a piece a few days back for the Prince Arthur Herald on the results of the Vancouver-Point Grey by-election: Morrow: A Leader Six Months in the Making:
Ironically, now that Premier Clark has been elected by the public, one can’t help but think how shockingly well we’ve done without a publicly-elected leader until now. However, now that we have a publicly-elected leader, one could be forgiven for thinking that maybe, just maybe, we could benefit from some functional political leadership for a change.
Check it out, eh?

Thursday, 26 May, 2011

My latest for the Victoria Politics Examiner, May 26th

Alright, here's the latest:
Check it out, huh?

Notes of interest, May 26th: sex workers, pot, pet rabbits, and the most interesting man in the world

A few things that have caught my attention lately.

1) Former BC Attorney General Wally Oppal, currently tasked with heading an inquiry into the handling of the Robert Pickton murders, made a recommendation that 13 participants - groups representing sex workers, Downtown Eastside residents, and aboriginals - in the upcoming inquiry hearings have their costs covered by the BC government. The BC government, in turn, has rejected this proposal.

2) The U.S. Department of Agriculture has fined a family over $90,000 for breeding and selling "more than $500 worth of pet rabbits to a pet store without a license."

3) In the words of Mark Frauenfelder at Boing Boing: "[Video Link] A 69-year-old husband in Ohio grew two backyard marijuana plants to help his wife, who has breast cancer. He was convicted of a felony and sent to jail." Now that's just messed up.

4) Finally, the entire collection of Dos Equis' "The Most Interesting Man in the World" ad spots ( h/t to my Uncle Jack ):

Behold, the townships round II

Earlier this year I briefly noted the idea of activists in municipal jurisdictions in the U.S. doing an end-run around state and federal laws by going straight to municipal regulation.

It was an interesting idea then, and I still think it's an interesting idea now. Here's Cory Doctorow at Boing Boing, examining another example of this approach to regulation:
Jeff sez, "Instead of waiting for Congress to pass a bill to enforce Net Neutrality, net activists should take a cue from Pittsburgh, whose city council recently passed groundbreaking legislation banning fracking (an environmentally polluting form of natural gas drilling). While fracking and Net Neutrality have little in common, Pittsburgh's ordinance uses powerful legal concepts that may be useful for preserving Internet freedoms. Like Pittsburgh has done with fracking, any community can enact an ordinance that enforces Net Neutrality at the local level, as the Internet Freedom, Broadband Promotion, and Consumer Protection Act of 2011 aspires to do at the federal level. And, they can do so now ... without waiting for Congress. Firstly, the Pittsburgh ordinance enforces the right of communities to democratic self-governance. Second, the ordinance strips corporations of their Constitutional rights if they seek to engage in fracking. The organization that assisted Pittsburgh in drafting the ordinance explains how these ordinances are designed to work:"

[...]

I admit I'm not entirely convinced by this approach. I've been talking it over in email with Thomas Linzey, counsel for the Community Environmental Legal Defense Fund in Spokane, Washington. He suggests that the legal principle here expand the rights of natural people, and that this is fundamentally different from a "states' rights" approach that gives rise to, say, segregation. In the case of Net Neutrality, this seems mostly symbolic (since the FCC's jurisdiction is pretty clear), a way of reframing the debate and shifting opinion to make change at levels beyond the local.
Hunh.

Wednesday, 25 May, 2011

My latest

Fresh off the printing press...

At the Libertas Post blog: Does Canada get a barely passing grade in democracy?

At the Victoria Politics Examiner:
Check it out, eh?

Notes of interest, May 25th: ambassadors, potrepreneurs, and Chewbacca

A few things I thought were worth mentioning briefly.

1) It seems that Barack Obama will nominate Earl Anthony Wayne, currently stationed in Afghanistan, to replace Carlos Pascual, a US ambassador to Mexico who got into trouble with Mexican president Felipe Calderon earlier on this year for pointing out the problems with Calderon's botched, bloody war on drugs.

2) The rise and fall of an Oakland potrepreneur.

3) What does it take to get a job at the CHRT?

4) Finally, the Chewbacca bento box ( h/t Boing Boing ):

Killa Cali round 2

The U.S. Supreme Court has upheld an order from a panel of judges that required the state of California to reduce its prison population - from around 200 percent of the intended capacity to a mere...137 percent. Criminy.

At any rate, not long after this ruling from the Supreme Court, Dale Gieringer of California's NORML chapter pointed out the rather shocking amount of California inmates jailed for drug-related offenses: nearly 25,000, by his estimate, as of the end of last year. Criminy squared.

Meanwhile, via Boing Boing, Mother Jones provides a photo essay of California's "Jam-Packed Prisons."

We here at the Blog of Walker have noted some of the quirks of the California justice system before.

Update: Victor Davis Hanson on lawlessness in his backyard, far removed from campus life. Mark Steyn on Victor Davis Hanson.

Meanwhile: Computer errors cause release of 450 California inmates at "high risk for violence".

Quote of the day, May 25th

The quote of the day goes to Vox Day, when presented with a rather surprising ( and yet not surprising ) correlation between high school and teen suicide:
Given that the summer vacation reduces the teen suicide rate from 6.22 per 100,000 to 4.71, this means that banning public school would save 1,092 lives per year. This is far more lives than can be saved by most of the usual actions advocated by the save-the-children crowd. Since we are so often told that various laws are justified if just one child's life is saved, and we also know that homeschooling is an academically superior method of education, how can anyone possibly argue in good conscience that eliminating the public schools is not an imminent moral imperative?

Banning public school will save more children's lives on an annual basis than every vaccination program put together, in fact, it would save more children's lives than seatbelt laws and child safety seats. Banning public school, or at least barring public school attendance after sixth grade, would reduce the third leading cause of youth death by 25 percent. And let's face it, it's not as if they're even learning how to read or do math there anyhow.
H/t to my uncle Jack, who tipped me off this morning.

Sunday, 22 May, 2011

Notes of interest, May 24th: Kay, Warman, hockey, and art grants

A few things that have caught my attention recently.

1) Joseph Planta talks with Jonathan Kay about Kay's new book, Among the Truthers: A Journey into the Growing Conspiracist Underground of 9/11 Truthers, Birthers, Armageddonites, Vaccine Hysterics, Hollywood Know-Nothings and Internet Addicts.

2) Old friend Richard Warman has launched what is now a fifth set of legal proceedings for Mark and Connie Fournier to deal with. Feel free to chip a few bucks their way, if you want to give them a hand.

3) Quote of the day goes to the fellow at Coyote Blog:
Spend a few nights listening to the news on TV, and you will quickly discover the one of the bedrock logical fallacies of political discourse:

If it’s good, the government should subsidize it. If it’s bad, the government should ban it. If outcomes are in any way perceived by any group to be sub-optimal, then the government should regulate it. Anyone who opposes these bans, subsidies, and regulations must therefore be a supporter of bad outcomes, hate poor people, want people to get sick and die, etc.

4) Buffalo hunting comes up in an argument with a club doorman, doesn't end well for the doorman.

5) Apparently, there remains a lack of clarification vis a vis the legal status of Washington state medical marijuana dispensaries. This lack of clarification doesn't look to be resolved any time soon.

6) Finally, courtesy of Blazing Cat Fur, the truth about arts grants:

Notes of interest, May 22nd: Pirates, pot, and the Muslim Brotherhood

A few things I thought were worth noting from the past couple of days.

1) The tragic tale of Byron Sonne, whose arrest post-G20 for no seeming reason other than to make an example of him looks to have effectively ruined his life.

2) California Assemblyman Tom Ammiano has introduced a bill that would give local prosecutors the discretion to charge marijuana growers with a misdemeanor rather than a felony.

3) Online news publication Rue Frontenac is apparently being sued by a Canadian offshoot of the Muslim Brotherhood.

4) How spam works, from end to end.

5) Lies by omission from the CBC?

6) German police raided the German Pirate Party servers, allegedly looking for evidence of an Anonymous attack on the French energy company EDF...two days before the Bremen elections.

The Christy Clark By-Election

A little while back I wrote an article for the Prince Arthur Herald. about the by-election in Vancouver-Point Grey. For those readers who are interested, that article can be read here.

Friday, 20 May, 2011

Notes of interest, May 20th: Drugs, lawsuits, and choked Ukrainians

A few things that have captured my interest in the past few days.

1) Binks!

2) The drug violence doesn't stop in Mexico. It's spreading to Guatemala, now.

3) Susan Douglass, of "Terror High."

4) Is smoking a choice or an addiction?

5) John Baglow of Dawg's Blawg fame is suing Mark and Connie Fournier of Free Dominion, and one of their posters, Peter O'Donnell. I'm going to go on the record as being against what looks like nothing more than a SLAPP suit on Baglow's part ( and I would encourage you to contribute to Mark and Connie's defense fund ) but welcome John to get in touch with his point of view ( hence the link to his site ).

6) A race-baiting solution to the war on drugs.

7) Finally, a throttling in the Ukrainian parliament:

Everybody Draw Muhammad Day 2011

Xanthippa's Chamberpot and Blazing Cat Fur kick things off. Mark Mercer explains why.

My contribution, which is really Xanthippa's contribution:

Sunday, 15 May, 2011

Notes of interest, May 15th: drugs and hookers

A few things I thought were worth briefly mentioning.

1) In Mexico, more and more people seem to be protesting their government's war with the drug cartels. Naturally, the U.S. government probably isn't going to want to get in the way of Mexico's bloody drug-war policies.

2) Now Delaware can enjoy medical marijuana raids too. Meanwhile, Jacob Sullum on whether the U.S. Department of Justice will prosecute state-licensed medical marijuana dispensaries.

3) Finally, if Prostitutes Are Slaves, How Can Punishing Them Be Just?

Tim Hudak's incoherence

Thanks to BigCityLib for the link and the mention to my post yesterday on Tim Hudak's outright backslide on his promise to scrap the Ontario Human Rights Tribunal.

I don't think it can be denied Tim Hudak is breaking a promise that he made when he was running for the Ontario PC leadership. But BCL makes a very interesting additional point: namely, Tim Hudak doesn't know what he's talking about.

Essentially, Hudak's proposal for HRC reform boils down to this: reverting back to an older system and providing more - theoretical - oversight. In fact, these are his words exactly on what he would do if the PCs were to form government in Ontario:
"We will empower the Tribunal to dismiss frivolous applications at a preliminary stage, by restoring the provisions of the Ontario Human Rights Code that were taken out. We will create new standards for the Human Rights Tribunal, so the process follows clear rules similar to those used in the courts, and we will consult with experts who will work in the system to develop ways to improve the quality and the legal expertise of Tribunal adjudicators. And finally, we will review the Commission and Tribunal to ensure the efficient use of your tax dollars, the same process each and every government agency, board, and commission will be subjected to under a PC government, and ensure those dollars are used to support the most vulnerable in our society."
Sounds nice, right? I mean, sure, Hudak initially promised to do away with the OHRT altogether, but surely even this bastard child of a broken promise is better than nothing?

Well, not really. As BCL notes:
The provisions that Hudak refers to were changed in 2008, when it was decided that any complaints should go straight to the tribunal rather than through the intermediary of the Ontario Human Rights Commission. This move was controversial at the time, but billed as a time-saving maneuver: cases would be resolved more quickly by removing a step in the process. So while there is an argument to be made for returning to the old ways, claiming (as Hudak has also done) that it will help clear up the back-log of 4,000 unresolved complaints is ridiculous. If anything, his proposed reforms will have the opposite effect.
Ooh. Awkward.

*Interested in policy and law? Learn about paralegal programs online.

Saturday, 14 May, 2011

Tim Hudak didn't refine his position. Tim Hudak broke a promise outright.

[ Update: Welcome, Blazing Cat Fur readers! ]

Earlier I had mentioned one big, fat reason why Tim Hudak sucks and you shouldn't vote for him: namely, what seems to be a pretty significant back-peddling on an earlier promise to scrap the Ontario Human Rights Tribunal.

Well, Toronto Tory in the comments took me to task for not doing my homework, and never let it be said that I'm not open to being taken to task for being an idiot, so here is a video, as per Toronto Tory, of Tim Hudak explaining his seeming back-slide:



Jump to about the 10:30 mark if you don't want to listen to the whole spiel.

Now, I'd like to say that Tim Hudak didn't go back on his earlier promise. But he did.

Here's what Hudak is currently promising: "We will empower the Tribunal to dismiss frivolous applications at a preliminary stage, by restoring the provisions of the Ontario Human Rights Code that were taken out. We will create new standards for the Human Rights Tribunal, so the process follows clear rules similar to those used in the courts, and we will consult with experts who will work in the system to develop ways to improve the quality and the legal expertise of Tribunal adjudicators. And finally, we will review the Commission and Tribunal to ensure the efficient use of your tax dollars, the same process each and every government agency, board, and commission will be subjected to under a PC government, and ensure those dollars are used to support the most vulnerable in our society."

I'm having a hard time finding a copy of Hudak's earlier promise to scrap the Ontario Human Rights Tribunal itself - I found a link to a Hudak leadership campaign announcement on the subject, but now it just redirects to Hudak's current site - but the Ontario Liberal Party notes that during the Ontario PC leadership race, "Hudak made 'scrapping' the Tribunal a central plank of his platform saying it was a position of 'principle'." Meanwhile, Ezra Levant noted on his site at the time that "In short, he'd abolish the kangaroo court aspects of the system, replacing it with real judges, bound by real rules of procedure."

That's a pretty far cry from the watered-down reforms Hudak is rolling out these days. And quite frankly, I don't see the point. Moderation - while theoretically a better political strategy - doesn't seem to be getting him anywhere, with Dalton McGuinty merely saying that "I don’t believe he’s prepared to back off a position that was firm."

In other words, Tim Hudak is still a scary conservative even if Tim Hudak himself isn't willing to stand by scary conservative promises anymore.

Like I said before: I get it. Tim Hudak wants to come off like a moderate in order to appeal to more voters. That's certainly understandable. But it's a gamble on his part: he has to make sure that the promises he abandons are worth the amount of image that he gains with the public. If the Dalton McGuinty campaign machine is able to paint Hudak as a scary, heartless fascist regardless of Hudak's abandoned promises, then Hudak loses support from both the right and the center.

Personally I would have gone with just sticking by my earlier promises and not gambling at all. But then, I'm not Tim Hudak. Good luck, Timmy.



*Passion for law? Look into law degrees online.

The Daily Rasp is closed

My fellow blogger Rasp of The Daily Rasp - who comments semi-regularly here and has a pretty damn good site - is closing his site.
On March 17th my wife went to the doctor complaining of a persistent cough, a few days later an x-ray showed a mass in her right lung. She was a smoker; quit in '94.

On April 27 she was diagnosed with Adenocarcinoma; Stage IV Lung Cancer (non-small cell) there is no cure.

On April 28 she had her first chemo - it did not go well. Friday we were back at the hospital. Sunday back again and an overnight stay for hydration and anti-nausea drugs.
I don't pray much myself, but if you're the kind who does I would encourage you to include Rasp in your prayers. Here at the BoW our thoughts are certainly with him and his wife.

H/t Blazing.

Tuesday, 10 May, 2011

Notes of interest, May 14th: Heroin, cigarettes, and dangerous chickens

A few things I thought were worth mentioning from my travels over the past few days.

1) How the government promotes heroin use.

2) BC Premier Christy Clark has promised up to $25 million in funding for nicotine replacement therapies.

3) Uganda's gay-hating president celebrates his fourth term in office. Here at the BoW we've talked a little about Uganda's anti-gay bigotry before.

4) Mennonite chicken farmers join those damn raw dairy people in their war on all that is good and decent in society.

One big, fat reason why Tim Hudak sucks and you shouldn't vote for him

I don't know much about Tim Hudak, the leader of Ontario's Progressive Conservative Party. But I do know this: he's a chicken-shit.

Don't believe me? I'll let the Ottawa Citizen back me up:
The leader of Ontario's Progressive Conservative party has backtracked on a key leadership promise to scrap the province's human rights tribunal.

Tim Hudak now says he will "fix" the tribunal to ease a backlog at the agency that is at nearly 4,000 cases.

"Victims of genuine discrimination are waiting a year or more to have their case heard," he said at a recent speech in Ottawa. "This is wrong."

Although no details were provided, Hudak said he will empower the tribunal to dismiss frivolous claims at a preliminary stage. It will also be given new rules to use similar to those in courts.
Look, I get it. Tim Hudak campaigned on a promise, saw that it might be a little out of mainstream bounds*, and decided to back-track on it for the sake of his future political image and chances of electability. Folks like Tim Hudak do that all the time.

And that's why folks like me try their damnedest not to vote for folks like him.

*For those who are wondering, I would much rather see the Ontario Human Rights System put under the direct supervision of the court system - or be dissolved into it - with beefed up legal aid and advice provisions so that people with legitimate grievances can have their cases handled by actual judges in actual courts governed by actual legal precedent. I realize that makes me a heartless bastard, but them's the breaks.

Monday, 9 May, 2011

Everything is Jack Layton's fault

This story is from last week already, so I'm coming late to the party, but since I've already established a pattern of hooker-related commentary on this site I figure I might as well be consistent.

Last year, Ontario Superior Court Justice Susan Himel made a ruling which struck down three provincial laws governing prostitution - communicating for the purposes of prostitution, pimping and operating a common bawdy house - and effectively decriminalized the trade in Ontario.

Naturally, both the federal and Ontario government are appealing this ruling, because...well, because it's prostitution! So far, the federal government's argument in the appeals process seems to go something like this: "Those people should know what's good for them and stop being on the wrong end of arbitrary legal grey zones."

OK, that's the abridged version. Here's what a federal government lawyer - Michael Morris - actually had to say:
"It is the practice of prostitution in any venue, exacerbated by efforts to avoid the law that is the source of the risk of harm to prostitutes," wrote Michael Morris, a federal lawyer representing Canada's attorney general. "The legislative provisions seek to deter individuals from choosing to engage in the practice of prostitution at all."
Never mind that prostitution - and I'm really getting kind of tired of saying this - is a perfectly legal activity. Which means that all laws governing prostitution make those engaging in a perfectly legal activity into criminals for simply not having the common decency to fall into line with government "deterrence."

Anyways, the sex-trade workers fighting in court to uphold Susan Himel's ruling have fired back:
"To suggest that this claim is built upon the notion that there is an entitlement to engage in prostitution free from state interference trivializes the serious nature of the rights-claim being advanced," lawyer Alan Young wrote. "This is a case in which state action, a legislative enactment, plays a critical role in the perpetuation of violence by imposing a blanket prohibition on conduct which can serve to enhance the safety of sex workers."

[...]

"In the pursuit of its legitimate objectives, Parliament has created a legislative regime that, on its face, is irrational and inconsistent, and which in its effects contributes to an increased risk of significant physical harm for those who attempt to comply with its contradictory demands."
This is absolutely correct. There is no reason for the laws struck down in Ontario last year to be resurrected, other than for the government to feel better about itself for having maintained the status quo.

In a way, Jack Layton's troubles with Wankergate ( or whatever the kids are calling it these days ) have contributed in a large way to this ludicrous situation.

When the story first broke that Jack had been caught fifteen years ago in a bawdy house - but never charged with anything; that's important - I have to admit I never really got what the big deal was. The guy got a hand-job a decade and a half ago. Big deal.

The bigger issue is that the sort of mentality which makes a fifteen-year-old hand-job into a big deal is exactly the kind of mindset that has kept a set of outdated and nonsensical rules governing outfits like bawdy houses on the books. It's ridiculous that these laws continue to exist, perpetuating a legal grey zone that is almost wholly arbitrary in nature.

The title of this post is misleading. This isn't all Jack Layton's fault - none of it is. But he's played an unwitting part in the ongoing farce that is Canada's approach to sex for sale, and for that I think his situation really encapsulates the whole problem quite beautifully. Until we get over the idea that the personal transactions - sexual or otherwise - of other people are any of our business, the ongoing problem of nutty prostitution regulations won't go away.

Sunday, 8 May, 2011

Notes of interest, May 8th: missing journalists, gay-bashing, black lungs and more

A few items of interest to me from the past couple of days.

1) My friend Binks has a brand new heaping helping of links, commentary, and all-around web-elfery over at Free Canuckistan: Steynian 446. Check it out, eh?

2) Jacob Sullum at Reason's Hit & Run discusses the pros and cons of outdoor smoking bans.

3) The other day, someone sent me a link to this site memorializing Erik B. Scott, who was killed by three Las Vegas police officers last July. It seemed fitting to link to it, considering the amount of time I've devoted lately to talking about police negligence and outright brutality.

4) Lauryn Oates at The Propagandist notes how close Uganda is to passing an Anti-Homesexuality bill in parliament. Disgusting...

5) Vancouverite Fred Parvaz is urging people to put pressure - through letters or other means - on the Syrian government to release information on the whereabouts of Al-Jazeera journalist Dorothy Parvaz, his daughter.

6) Finally, here is my fellow blogger - and all-around good guy - Roy Eappen on Sun TV News talking about the Riseau Liberte-Quebec movement:

Friday, 6 May, 2011

Cuban blogger Yoani Sanchez wins Freedom Award, is banned from accepting it

Here at The Blog of Walker, we've talked a little bit about the ongoing struggle of Cuban pro-freedom blogger Yoani Sanchez.

It turns out that she's won the CEPOS Freedom Award for her promotion of human rights and freedom. Only thing is, the Cuban government is banning her from traveling to Denmark to collect her $50,000 prize.

That's just mean.

Wednesday, 4 May, 2011

The Union

Someone recommended this to me, and my friend Smyke sent me a link to an online copy afterward.

Here's part one:



Well worth watching.

Monday, 2 May, 2011

Pipeline to nowhere

I've got a busy day ahead of me, but before I skip out into the rain I thought I would highlight this case of - in some cases outright - police incompetence in Alberta, as ably reported by Kevin Libin.

This is what happens when police become attached to an outcome: in this case, getting an arrest.