watching all this rt, i really have to say that you simply don't see smart, articulate, informed women able to aggressively argue their points of view anywhere else in the media.

i mean, i've been watching amy goodman for years, but she doesn't grab a hold of the conversation like that. not to mention the plastic models/anchorwomen that dominate most of the news media.

for all it's faults, it seems like that's something communism got right.

pretty weak.

saving face.

http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/giant-virus-resurrected-from-30000-year-old-ice/
https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2014/03/05/ford-m05.html
http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2014/03/04/welcome_to_cold_war_ii
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Knr6VrREZbk
https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2014/03/06/ukra-m06.html
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LZJVi4pFwfE

again: i'm sure those imf policies are going to be popular.

things are going to be different after the election, which is between german and russian backed factions. this faction the americans are backing is dead in the water.

unless they rig and/or refuse to acknowledge the results of the election. but, the protesters aren't likely to roll over and allow that.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AxUSb3Hd2oQ

moronic cpc policy designed to appeal to the 905.

it might work.

rip ndp.

https://www.thestar.com/news/queenspark/2014/03/05/wynne_rejects_ndps_100_rebate_scheme.html

ok, there's still a vote planned, they just moved it up.

rt is noncommittal on the topic as of yet.

yeah. this seems like it is actually an annoyance from the russian perspective. the russians have sent their guys on tv shows all over the world saying that crimea is a part of ukraine. they would lose all credibility if they reversed their position. and as she mentioned it opens a can of worms regarding a number of other regions.

a parliamentary vote isn't a plebiscite, either.

i can't see them accepting it....

did you know that jamaica has repeatedly voted to join canada?

this has been building up for a while. the saudis are pissed at the qataris for taking a softer line on various things.

”outside world.”

interesting.

the security council wasn't created to facilitate armed intervention, it was created to alleviate tensions that could lead to violence.

unfortunately, the result is that that means that things happen in secret.

but do i think it's a good idea to make it easier for the united nations to act with force? absofuckinglutely not!

it's remarkable. they're beginning with the assumption that the un is meant to be a global governing body and is failing because it lacks that kind of power.

that's not remotely what the un was for or should be.

when russia vetoes an american strike on syria, that's the security council succeeding in it's intended purpose of preventing the escalation of existing conflicts.

yeah, the europeans can't and won't sustain this.

this must be an error. tories can't want people with stronger numeracy. they might read one of their budgets...

https://www.thestar.com/news/queenspark/2014/03/05/give_math_teachers_incentive_pay_ontario_conservatives_say.html

in all seriousness, it makes no sense at all to think that you can increase test scores by providing incentives to teachers.

see, teachers don't write tests.

students write tests.

increasing test scores consequently has nothing to do with teachers and everything to do with students.

it follows that if you want to provide incentives to anybody and have it work, there should be incentives for students.

but incentive systems don't work anyways, so it doesn't matter.

i mean, honestly, though - there somehow exist these people that think that the "quality" of teachers somehow affects tests scores. you know what's behind this? it's that stupid michelle pfeiffer movie.

the one where the rich white woman goes to the slums and magically makes the brown kids care more.

see, and that's the absurdity - the idea that students are lazy and simply need to be managed better.

...rather than the truth, which is that students are stupid because their parents raised them on television and junk food....

...and the reality that nothing's going to change them except themselves.

better idea? fire the teachers, hire babysitters and make the kids figure it out on their own.

uploading a tentative vst version of stuck in the middle of an alley closing in on all sides

i'll probably revisit this, but i'm uploading it as is for now.

in addition to being the core of what will be the finished track, it's interesting to point out just how good computer music can sound nowadays. excluding the introduction, i didn't play a single note in this song. the guitars are all played through midi-based vst instruments and put into digital amp models and digital effects emulators. it's really rather remarkable how far the technology has come....

written in early 2001. initially rendered mar 6, 2014.

http://jasonparent.bandcamp.com/track/vst-mix

i don't mind walking to the post office the twice a year that i get mail i care about.

but there's five people in my building and ten in the one beside me. it seems kind of stupid to put a box halfway between when the mail person is there anyways. wasteful, even.

i don't think they're going far enough. if this is their half-baked plan? i suspect urban delivery will continue.

https://www.thestar.com/business/2014/03/04/canada_post_unveils_new_community_mailbox_design.html