i think that this is a part of the disconnect, and it comes out of the fact that christianity is a collectivist and authoritarian system of thought that thinks it can write rules that other people have to follow.
even if the jordan petersons of the world could manage to pass a decree with 95% support, i still don't care - because it's not up for the collective to make these decisions on the behalf of an individual. it's just going to increase the chances that we're going to end up in a court.
so, nothing can come of such a debate. and, it's not worth wasting time over.
that said, you'll notice i'm not out there trying to shut him down, either. i think these people are harming their own cause - which is also my cause. and, i'd rather they let him circle jerk to the choir and find something better to do.
Sunday, March 18, 2018
no, listen, i don't know what you think a debate with somebody like jordan peterson would be like.
so long as he didn't make any factual errors, i'd probably let him finish. without interrupting him.
and, i'm not likely to say much besides "that's nice.", or "you're entitled to your opinion."....
...because i ultimately don't have any interest in winning a debate with somebody like this. or really any interest in bothering to listen to him express his viewpoints on the matter at all.
it's of no relevance to me.
in the end, i'd be more likely to make an argument about the uselessness of bourgeois rights - and how rights aren't something that come from a legislature, but something that come from lived experience.
which isn't to say i don't support the amendments, so much as to suggest that i don't think they're going to actually make anybody's lives better.
i made no effort to agitate for these amendments.
because, news flash: i'm not going to follow the law, anyways. i haven't up to now. if the thing gets defeated, or reversed, i'm not going to change my behaviour, either.
so, it's only at the moment that he tries to physically intervene that i have some reason to care what he thinks. and, at that point, i'm more likely to call the police than i am to try and debate with him.
individual rights aren't up for debate like this. we take them for ourselves. and, we fight with those that want to restrict them.
so long as he didn't make any factual errors, i'd probably let him finish. without interrupting him.
and, i'm not likely to say much besides "that's nice.", or "you're entitled to your opinion."....
...because i ultimately don't have any interest in winning a debate with somebody like this. or really any interest in bothering to listen to him express his viewpoints on the matter at all.
it's of no relevance to me.
in the end, i'd be more likely to make an argument about the uselessness of bourgeois rights - and how rights aren't something that come from a legislature, but something that come from lived experience.
which isn't to say i don't support the amendments, so much as to suggest that i don't think they're going to actually make anybody's lives better.
i made no effort to agitate for these amendments.
because, news flash: i'm not going to follow the law, anyways. i haven't up to now. if the thing gets defeated, or reversed, i'm not going to change my behaviour, either.
so, it's only at the moment that he tries to physically intervene that i have some reason to care what he thinks. and, at that point, i'm more likely to call the police than i am to try and debate with him.
individual rights aren't up for debate like this. we take them for ourselves. and, we fight with those that want to restrict them.
i can't have a mid-life crisis, because i never grew up in the first place.
but we'd be better off if more people had more mid-life crises, younger - and stopped snapping out of them.
we should be thinking of mid-life crises as though they're moments of clarity, not moments of insanity.
because, it's our 30s that are always our low points.
that moment of transcendence comes when we realize we've spent our lives running from ourselves, and stop doing it. how many of us never get there?
but we'd be better off if more people had more mid-life crises, younger - and stopped snapping out of them.
we should be thinking of mid-life crises as though they're moments of clarity, not moments of insanity.
because, it's our 30s that are always our low points.
that moment of transcendence comes when we realize we've spent our lives running from ourselves, and stop doing it. how many of us never get there?
to all you grown-ups, let me ask: where did you find all of these things that are real and true?
was it under your bed?
in your closet?
at your place of employment?
in your sex life?
or did you, in truth, just delude yourself into living in denial - like your parents did.
for that's what being an adult is really about, isn't it?
was it under your bed?
in your closet?
at your place of employment?
in your sex life?
or did you, in truth, just delude yourself into living in denial - like your parents did.
for that's what being an adult is really about, isn't it?
the idea that we're going to throw away music, poetry or culture by discarding religion is just ignorant. dawkins tends to argue we should keep it, but he's maybe not aware of the actual history.
most of the art we connect to christianity is absurdly over-rated. and, there's no deficit of secular art since the renaissance, either. it's a false binary.
which isn't to say we should burn down the sistine chapel, so much as it is to suggest we should approach it like a museum. i'd rather hang out at the parthenon, myself.
today is reznor day....
i only got halfway through machina I on the corgan kick before i had to stop. machina II was better. but, it gets spotty after the stigmata ost.
the air is clearing out in the bedroom, if perhaps even getting worse in the living room. i'm going to have to really clear out the cabinets, as it's coming up behind them. but i need to be sure i've fixed the bedroom up, first.
it's warm today. finally...
most of the art we connect to christianity is absurdly over-rated. and, there's no deficit of secular art since the renaissance, either. it's a false binary.
which isn't to say we should burn down the sistine chapel, so much as it is to suggest we should approach it like a museum. i'd rather hang out at the parthenon, myself.
today is reznor day....
i only got halfway through machina I on the corgan kick before i had to stop. machina II was better. but, it gets spotty after the stigmata ost.
the air is clearing out in the bedroom, if perhaps even getting worse in the living room. i'm going to have to really clear out the cabinets, as it's coming up behind them. but i need to be sure i've fixed the bedroom up, first.
it's warm today. finally...
Saturday, March 17, 2018
see, the thing is that the liberal & ndp platforms are almost the same.
ontario has a strange loophole: we have dental & drug benefits for people on disability (and welfare...), but not for people making minimum wage. so, it puts people in the difficult decision of having to lose their benefits in order to take a job. free market type economists have been pointing this out as inefficient for years, which is no doubt the actual reason the liberals are moving on this.
americans may be interested to know that the actual reason we have a single-payer health care is to attract investment. single payer is more efficient, and therefore cheaper for employers. it's a job creation strategy.
we're lucky to have a smart liberal party that is very, very good at economics - and willing to take on specific industries for the benefit of the larger economy.
likewise, these loans are toxic. the state needs to get rid of them before they start taking things down. cancelling the loans is not a loss of revenue, so much as it's a savings in administration. and, this is something the liberals have targeted, based on class - which is arguably even better.
so, from a distance it seems like this is populist, welfare state type stuff, but it's actually just the smart version of liberalism that is missing in action through much of the world. and, it follows that both wynne and horwath can take these policies to the banks and convince them that it's in their interests to move on them.
i don't think that the ndp can reverse the hydro one sale, nor do i think it would get to the crux of anything meaningful. the hydro problem is complicated; i've posted about it here before. but, the only meaningful things we can do, at this point, are actually to encourage an increase in total use [the basic problem is that the grid was built for electric vehicles, and they're not here - that is the reason costs are high], and try to nationalize some of these private wind farms, that are taking advantage of very good deals as a consequence of lower than expected demand.
when the situation is as it is, and the platforms are nearly identical, i'm tempted to stick with what exists. horwath is more likely to collaborate with notley on oil. and, i remain apprehensive about a so-called socialist party that has no union support; will they force cuts to balance the budget, as the ndp so often do?
but, horwath is certainly a better option than ford.
and, we may have to accept that.
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/ontario-ndp-universal-health-care-1.4581129
ontario has a strange loophole: we have dental & drug benefits for people on disability (and welfare...), but not for people making minimum wage. so, it puts people in the difficult decision of having to lose their benefits in order to take a job. free market type economists have been pointing this out as inefficient for years, which is no doubt the actual reason the liberals are moving on this.
americans may be interested to know that the actual reason we have a single-payer health care is to attract investment. single payer is more efficient, and therefore cheaper for employers. it's a job creation strategy.
we're lucky to have a smart liberal party that is very, very good at economics - and willing to take on specific industries for the benefit of the larger economy.
likewise, these loans are toxic. the state needs to get rid of them before they start taking things down. cancelling the loans is not a loss of revenue, so much as it's a savings in administration. and, this is something the liberals have targeted, based on class - which is arguably even better.
so, from a distance it seems like this is populist, welfare state type stuff, but it's actually just the smart version of liberalism that is missing in action through much of the world. and, it follows that both wynne and horwath can take these policies to the banks and convince them that it's in their interests to move on them.
i don't think that the ndp can reverse the hydro one sale, nor do i think it would get to the crux of anything meaningful. the hydro problem is complicated; i've posted about it here before. but, the only meaningful things we can do, at this point, are actually to encourage an increase in total use [the basic problem is that the grid was built for electric vehicles, and they're not here - that is the reason costs are high], and try to nationalize some of these private wind farms, that are taking advantage of very good deals as a consequence of lower than expected demand.
when the situation is as it is, and the platforms are nearly identical, i'm tempted to stick with what exists. horwath is more likely to collaborate with notley on oil. and, i remain apprehensive about a so-called socialist party that has no union support; will they force cuts to balance the budget, as the ndp so often do?
but, horwath is certainly a better option than ford.
and, we may have to accept that.
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/ontario-ndp-universal-health-care-1.4581129
the liberals should be more concerned about a resurgent bloc than a resurgent ndp.
the ndp will lose seats in quebec....
again: it's not the hat. they won't even vote for white anglos.
it's going to be trudeau v. the bloc, whether anybody likes it or not. and, if the bloc is dead, trudeau will sweep.
the ndp will lose seats in quebec....
again: it's not the hat. they won't even vote for white anglos.
it's going to be trudeau v. the bloc, whether anybody likes it or not. and, if the bloc is dead, trudeau will sweep.
there were only two issues in front of quebeckers to differentiate the ndp and liberals.
1) marijuana.
2) sovereigntism.
and, quebec voted federalist over sovereigntist.
it's probably not more complex than this.
so, why did layton get the break through? it was probably simply due to ignatieff's immense unpopularity, and the fact that layton had better bonafides than ignatieff in terms of being a quebecker.
quebec votes quebecker, first and foremost. layton was from montreal. i think ignatieff was from britain, or transylvania, or something...
1) marijuana.
2) sovereigntism.
and, quebec voted federalist over sovereigntist.
it's probably not more complex than this.
so, why did layton get the break through? it was probably simply due to ignatieff's immense unpopularity, and the fact that layton had better bonafides than ignatieff in terms of being a quebecker.
quebec votes quebecker, first and foremost. layton was from montreal. i think ignatieff was from britain, or transylvania, or something...
i think an underestimated factor in the ndp's collapse last election was mulcair's position on the clarity act, and the general feeling that the ndp were bloc-light.
i know that the party attributed a lot of layton's success to this, but i don't think that holds up, either.
forget about jagmeet's funny hat. the ndp didn't fall due to the hijab issue - that's incoherent. and, if they don't address this, it's going to continue to drag them down long past jagmeet's imminent resignation.
i know that the party attributed a lot of layton's success to this, but i don't think that holds up, either.
forget about jagmeet's funny hat. the ndp didn't fall due to the hijab issue - that's incoherent. and, if they don't address this, it's going to continue to drag them down long past jagmeet's imminent resignation.
see, and i've long argued that secular groups need to step into this vacuum and help people out of the cult.
for, that is what islam is - a dangerous cult.
https://www.economist.com/news/united-states/21738904-yet-even-land-free-apostasy-isnt-easy-number-ex-muslims-america
for, that is what islam is - a dangerous cult.
https://www.economist.com/news/united-states/21738904-yet-even-land-free-apostasy-isnt-easy-number-ex-muslims-america
well, he can have the big bang. it's kind of more on his side of things, anyways.
but, i don't think that this other thing, evolution, is what he thinks it is. at all.
the bottom line is that theologians with funny hats have no business making statements about physics or biology. and what he says on these topics is essentially irrelevant.
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/pope-francis-declares-evolution-and-big-bang-theory-are-right-and-god-isnt-a-magician-with-a-magic-9822514.html
but, i don't think that this other thing, evolution, is what he thinks it is. at all.
the bottom line is that theologians with funny hats have no business making statements about physics or biology. and what he says on these topics is essentially irrelevant.
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/pope-francis-declares-evolution-and-big-bang-theory-are-right-and-god-isnt-a-magician-with-a-magic-9822514.html
i mean, i don't know much about the details of sikh self-determination.
but, i am, in general, in favour of self-determination.
because i'm a leftist. and we tend to favour that.
you're surprised, for some reason.
i read something about a bombing in the 80s in a history book, but i don't know the details, and it's hardly of any relevance to me.
but, i am, in general, in favour of self-determination.
because i'm a leftist. and we tend to favour that.
you're surprised, for some reason.
i read something about a bombing in the 80s in a history book, but i don't know the details, and it's hardly of any relevance to me.
i think jesus would be more like to present his image to her in the potato side of the weight watchers meal.
i noticed when i was at the hospital last week that oprah is fat again. you know that the weight loss is what her run is going to really be about. and, then she's going to upset the "body positivists".
stop appropriating the term positivism, you freaks.
this is just more proof that america is insane.
....the einstein-turing thesis.
https://www.thestar.com/news/world/2018/03/16/maine-resident-jesus-christ-sends-letter-to-oprah-is-it-the-sign-shes-been-looking-for.html
i noticed when i was at the hospital last week that oprah is fat again. you know that the weight loss is what her run is going to really be about. and, then she's going to upset the "body positivists".
stop appropriating the term positivism, you freaks.
this is just more proof that america is insane.
....the einstein-turing thesis.
https://www.thestar.com/news/world/2018/03/16/maine-resident-jesus-christ-sends-letter-to-oprah-is-it-the-sign-shes-been-looking-for.html
this is not a poll, it's propaganda.
"if it were a poll, it would have a margin of error of 2.5%...."
well, if it were a poll, maybe.
but it's not one.
if your aunt had balls, sir.
news organizations really need to stop reporting on propaganda as though it's science. but, it's the culture we live in right now, and the culture we need to change...
i'm not saying that this isn't accidentally right - and i'm not saying it's necessarily totally wrong, either. what i'm saying is that it's not a poll.
you would expect these online "polls" to skew all over the place, and that's ignoring the fact that there's no sampling in the process.
https://www.thestar.com/news/queenspark/2018/03/17/ontario-voters-to-cast-ballot-for-doug-ford-poll-says.html
"if it were a poll, it would have a margin of error of 2.5%...."
well, if it were a poll, maybe.
but it's not one.
if your aunt had balls, sir.
news organizations really need to stop reporting on propaganda as though it's science. but, it's the culture we live in right now, and the culture we need to change...
i'm not saying that this isn't accidentally right - and i'm not saying it's necessarily totally wrong, either. what i'm saying is that it's not a poll.
you would expect these online "polls" to skew all over the place, and that's ignoring the fact that there's no sampling in the process.
https://www.thestar.com/news/queenspark/2018/03/17/ontario-voters-to-cast-ballot-for-doug-ford-poll-says.html
are they smoking heroin?
listen: i don't and never did have anything in common with kurt cobain. i never idolized him. i was never even that much of a fan.
i'm too young, frankly. he killed himself when i was 13.
corgan & reznor. those were the archetypes.
i even kind of looked a little like a young corgan, who is part cherokee, before i went on hormones.
i have no interest in drugs.
i never had any interest in drugs.
i've never broadcasted an interest in drugs; to the contrast, i've been pretty explicit in my condemnation of them.
and, all i can report is that i feel sick, that i want to be sober and clear-headed and that i don't understand what anybody gets out of this.
listen: i don't and never did have anything in common with kurt cobain. i never idolized him. i was never even that much of a fan.
i'm too young, frankly. he killed himself when i was 13.
corgan & reznor. those were the archetypes.
i even kind of looked a little like a young corgan, who is part cherokee, before i went on hormones.
i have no interest in drugs.
i never had any interest in drugs.
i've never broadcasted an interest in drugs; to the contrast, i've been pretty explicit in my condemnation of them.
and, all i can report is that i feel sick, that i want to be sober and clear-headed and that i don't understand what anybody gets out of this.
Friday, March 16, 2018
i've been clear enough about this.
i'm cusp.
but, gen y, to me, is gen yawn - the kids are fucking boring.
mid 30s, right now, is that demographic dip. we kind of don't exist. so, i need to make that choice. and, you're more likely to find me at a 40+ event than at a 20-something one - even if i'm more likely to blend in at the latter.
i'm cusp.
but, gen y, to me, is gen yawn - the kids are fucking boring.
mid 30s, right now, is that demographic dip. we kind of don't exist. so, i need to make that choice. and, you're more likely to find me at a 40+ event than at a 20-something one - even if i'm more likely to blend in at the latter.
so, i haven't been going out and doing much.
it's been cold and dreary. i don't want to go out anywhere until it warms up.
but, there's also not anything of interest happening around town.
it'll be a snap decision, but i'm probably going to skip gybe! next week. they haven't done anything i care about in almost 20 years. i'm holding out for another mt. zion disc...
it might be april before i head out again.
but, i said this last year: last summer was probably my last summer spent partying. i'm 37 years old. it's not even about my age, exactly, it's more about my interests. i haven't been shy in pointing out that i'm not exactly fond of the younger generation, and it's to the point that they've taken over all of the spaces - there's not a lot of places left for somebody my age to go, and not be bored.
i hate folk music. gen y rock culture is lame. and, even their techno is boring.
so, getting out to things is going to rely on recognizing an older band, or on identifying something going on at the dso, or finding a jazz band, or catching an aging dj. it's going to happen, periodically. but, less and less...
last winter, i skipped a few things due to the cold.
this winter, i'm just not interested.
we'll see if that opens up or not.
it's been cold and dreary. i don't want to go out anywhere until it warms up.
but, there's also not anything of interest happening around town.
it'll be a snap decision, but i'm probably going to skip gybe! next week. they haven't done anything i care about in almost 20 years. i'm holding out for another mt. zion disc...
it might be april before i head out again.
but, i said this last year: last summer was probably my last summer spent partying. i'm 37 years old. it's not even about my age, exactly, it's more about my interests. i haven't been shy in pointing out that i'm not exactly fond of the younger generation, and it's to the point that they've taken over all of the spaces - there's not a lot of places left for somebody my age to go, and not be bored.
i hate folk music. gen y rock culture is lame. and, even their techno is boring.
so, getting out to things is going to rely on recognizing an older band, or on identifying something going on at the dso, or finding a jazz band, or catching an aging dj. it's going to happen, periodically. but, less and less...
last winter, i skipped a few things due to the cold.
this winter, i'm just not interested.
we'll see if that opens up or not.
it's just gotten to a crisis point.
if you're going to break the social contract in refusing to take care of yourself, why should society take care of you at the expense of taking care of others?
every second spent treating an obese person's third heart attack is a second spent not treating somebody else.
we're talking about 30% of the population, and rising. no health care system can accommodate this.
people have to take care better care of themselves.
https://www.theguardian.com/society/2012/apr/28/doctors-treatment-denial-smokers-obese
if you're going to break the social contract in refusing to take care of yourself, why should society take care of you at the expense of taking care of others?
every second spent treating an obese person's third heart attack is a second spent not treating somebody else.
we're talking about 30% of the population, and rising. no health care system can accommodate this.
people have to take care better care of themselves.
https://www.theguardian.com/society/2012/apr/28/doctors-treatment-denial-smokers-obese
this is a kind of american exceptionalism that americans don't seem to realize.
we're not quite here in canada, yet, but we might be fairly soon.
most countries in the world look at this rationally, and understand the need to preserve scarce resources; they don't tell their citizens it's ok to stuff themselves with cheeseburgers, howl that the world is wrong and oppressive to criticize them for their anti-social behaviour and then grossly maximize the profit from the catastrophe.
and, most citizens don't claim the right to stuff their faces with cheeseburgers, or uphold it as some warped concept of "freedom".
usa! usa!
https://www.cnn.com/2017/10/31/health/smokers-obese-no-surgery-nhs-uk/index.html
we're not quite here in canada, yet, but we might be fairly soon.
most countries in the world look at this rationally, and understand the need to preserve scarce resources; they don't tell their citizens it's ok to stuff themselves with cheeseburgers, howl that the world is wrong and oppressive to criticize them for their anti-social behaviour and then grossly maximize the profit from the catastrophe.
and, most citizens don't claim the right to stuff their faces with cheeseburgers, or uphold it as some warped concept of "freedom".
usa! usa!
https://www.cnn.com/2017/10/31/health/smokers-obese-no-surgery-nhs-uk/index.html
i guess what i'm getting at is that i never looked to punk rock as something that was fun, or nihilistic, or party-driven. i was attracted to it because it was "rock music for smart kids", and not because it was some kind of expression of rage or nihilism or angst.
it was nerd rock.
i got my angst from alternative rock, in the sense that it was an expansion of prog. that was the status quo. that was axl rose. i didn't like that; i wanted something different from punk rock...
it was nerd rock.
i got my angst from alternative rock, in the sense that it was an expansion of prog. that was the status quo. that was axl rose. i didn't like that; i wanted something different from punk rock...
i mean, you could argue that graffin & jello were the smartest of the bunch - with rollins & then the offspring appearing later, and that what i'm doing is pulling out the vocalists with viewpoints worth taking note of, while ignoring what was otherwise really just an aimless party scene.
but, i was just a kid. a smart kid. but just a kid.
but, i was just a kid. a smart kid. but just a kid.
the socal punk acts i really liked were the offspring, the dead kennedys and bad religion.
i didn't have much patience for the goofier stuff, like nofx. and, while i had a brief interest in green day when i was very young, it didn't last long. nor did i develop any interest in the "punk rock" that developed after '94.
i liked rollins' spoken word better than i ever liked black flag....
i didn't have much patience for the goofier stuff, like nofx. and, while i had a brief interest in green day when i was very young, it didn't last long. nor did i develop any interest in the "punk rock" that developed after '94.
i liked rollins' spoken word better than i ever liked black flag....
chopin ended up on the cutting room floor.
just didn't feel right.
so, i'm listening to glass this afternoon, instead.
it's the 1998 cd with the full version of the grid.
i remember picking up the cd up in high school, and everybody in my family thinking i'd lost my mind. but, it's great for reading....
https://archive.org/details/Koyaanisqatsi
just didn't feel right.
so, i'm listening to glass this afternoon, instead.
it's the 1998 cd with the full version of the grid.
i remember picking up the cd up in high school, and everybody in my family thinking i'd lost my mind. but, it's great for reading....
https://archive.org/details/Koyaanisqatsi
we're going with some classic rach, this morning.
but, i'm not going to insult you by posting some masturbatory, bourgeois americanized version of either of these.
you gotta let the russians do rach. they do it best. it's no comparison. unfortunately, the closest you'll find to somebody doing this right, online, is some polish tart using it as an outlet for teenage angst.
hope it paid off well, at least.
we're not even at war yet, and i have to link to amazon. fuck...
i've done a lot of sleeping, recently. hopefully, i last the day.
https://www.amazon.ca/Rachmaninoff-Piano-Concerto-No/dp/B000025LJW
but, i'm not going to insult you by posting some masturbatory, bourgeois americanized version of either of these.
you gotta let the russians do rach. they do it best. it's no comparison. unfortunately, the closest you'll find to somebody doing this right, online, is some polish tart using it as an outlet for teenage angst.
hope it paid off well, at least.
we're not even at war yet, and i have to link to amazon. fuck...
i've done a lot of sleeping, recently. hopefully, i last the day.
https://www.amazon.ca/Rachmaninoff-Piano-Concerto-No/dp/B000025LJW
with the singular exception of democracy, i do not have any attachment to the historical values of the west. capitalism, christianity, imperialism, colonialism - i have no attachment to these things.
but, what i do have an attachment to is the promise of a fully secularized, progressive society that the western vanguard once so compellingly aspired to - and that the old left rejected, beginning in the 60s.
if you're a little older, get used to being confounded. we're going to be calling each other regressive, accusing each other of being stuck in the past and convinced that we're each conservatives.
the difference is that i'm consistent, and you're a typical magical thinking baby boomer that thinks they can resolve contradictions through positive thinking.
but, what i do have an attachment to is the promise of a fully secularized, progressive society that the western vanguard once so compellingly aspired to - and that the old left rejected, beginning in the 60s.
if you're a little older, get used to being confounded. we're going to be calling each other regressive, accusing each other of being stuck in the past and convinced that we're each conservatives.
the difference is that i'm consistent, and you're a typical magical thinking baby boomer that thinks they can resolve contradictions through positive thinking.
i don't have a lot of trouble accepting the premise that the russians poisoned a treasonous spy; it's a reasonous position, on their behalf. i just don't think it's much to get upset about.
i mean, do you think nato forces don't kill double agents when they find them?
why do you think edward snowden is so afraid to come home? he likely faces a firing squad.
but, this isn't even really about not being a hypocrite. i really don't see much objectionable in the russians' alleged behaviour. and, i might suggest to intelligence agents intent on defecting that they think what they're doing through carefully, before they do it.
if i'm willing to offer up a criticism, it is to the british for failing to protect their assets. and, this is not the first time the british have failed at this, either.
i mean, do you think nato forces don't kill double agents when they find them?
why do you think edward snowden is so afraid to come home? he likely faces a firing squad.
but, this isn't even really about not being a hypocrite. i really don't see much objectionable in the russians' alleged behaviour. and, i might suggest to intelligence agents intent on defecting that they think what they're doing through carefully, before they do it.
if i'm willing to offer up a criticism, it is to the british for failing to protect their assets. and, this is not the first time the british have failed at this, either.
i don't think that food sustainability should be conflated with veganism or vegetarianism; at it's core, this is an anti-science position, that ignores the reality that we evolved to eat meat, and cannot turn it off via a decision, whether we agree on the moral conclusions or not.
i'm empathetic to arguments about the kind of animals we eat. we eat advanced mammals, and advanced birds; the birds may really not be that smart, truly, but pigs and cows and sheep or not any less intelligent than dogs, and probably mostly far more intelligent than your average cat. these are animals that are advanced enough to develop personalities, to have independent wills and to have some fundamental concept of language. can't we be eating something a little less advanced?
i'd be happy to swap out the salami for some synthetically grown meat, and i think that's the future, rather than veganism. we can grow meat in test tubes.. i'd buy it.
but, another idea is moving to insects, who technically don't actually have brains. they have some concept of pain, but that bothers me less - pain is inherent to existence. i'm not going to sit around trying to prevent myself from breathing in flies. what about the paramecia?
insects don't have identities. some of them are literally clones that will kill themselves off to protect the queens. they're fascinating little robots, sure, but i don't feel bad about eating them.
i'm empathetic to arguments about the kind of animals we eat. we eat advanced mammals, and advanced birds; the birds may really not be that smart, truly, but pigs and cows and sheep or not any less intelligent than dogs, and probably mostly far more intelligent than your average cat. these are animals that are advanced enough to develop personalities, to have independent wills and to have some fundamental concept of language. can't we be eating something a little less advanced?
i'd be happy to swap out the salami for some synthetically grown meat, and i think that's the future, rather than veganism. we can grow meat in test tubes.. i'd buy it.
but, another idea is moving to insects, who technically don't actually have brains. they have some concept of pain, but that bothers me less - pain is inherent to existence. i'm not going to sit around trying to prevent myself from breathing in flies. what about the paramecia?
insects don't have identities. some of them are literally clones that will kill themselves off to protect the queens. they're fascinating little robots, sure, but i don't feel bad about eating them.
i actually eat very little meat.
by weight, i'm guessing that my diet would be over 50% fruit, 10% dairy (cheese, ice cream), 10% vegetables and with the balance being mostly grains - including a lot of soy milk, both in daily smoothies and in the perpetually suckling cup of coffee.
i eat eggs once or twice a week, usually once, which works out to 4-8 eggs a week - usually four. it's about every five days or so.
at this point, i'm still technically a vegetarian. and, i kind of wish i was, but my doctor told me when i was a kid that i need a little red meat.
the idea that you can just take vitamins is wrong. the studies on this are conclusive; it's about absorption, and you just can't absorb a lot of what you get in the fortified foods, or b-complexes. see, and this is the fundamental flaw with veganism - they don't study what your body can actually use. they just look at charts and come to wrong conclusions from them.
take flax seed, for instance. it's actually useless to you - your body can't do a damned thing with it. there's lots of stuff in it that your body would like to be able to use, but it simply just doesn't understand the chemistry required to actually use it. so, it just passes right through. that's not what they told you, is it?
that said, i don't buy raw meat. ever. it's not allowed in the house, under any circumstance. so, you'll never see me buy anything like hamburger, or a ham - or even a turkey. the only meat i will ever purchase is pre-cooked, and i'll microwave it before i touch it, just to make sure.
i'll sometimes buy a pre-cooked bird around thanksgiving (i prefer pizza for christmas, and i generally don't celebrate easter at all). and, i'll get a burger at a fast food restaurant once in a while.
but, the only meat i buy habitually is salami - which tends to get groans. isn't that the worst?
it could be. you're not thinking about this right, though.
see, your body is concerned about total inputs, not relative ones. so, the only reason a tomato is better for you than a chocolate bar is due to the concentration of the sugar - the chocolate bar is just too much. but, you could flip it around the other way, too. a little bit of chocolate is like eating a lot of tomatoes, so if you could fortify the chocolate, it would be a wash.
this is basically thinking like an astronaut. that's what they do with their high tech space food - they condense everything into a few bites.
so, the question of whether salami is actually bad for you or not reduces to how much of it you eat. because salami is highly concentrated, eating a small amount of it is equivalent to eating much more of something else. it follows that if you're also concerned about calories, it makes more sense to eat a little bit of salami than a lot of chicken. you just have to be strict about it.
i just want to add that salami isn't hot dogs. it's not really a processed meat, in that sense. think of it like this: hot dogs are 70% corn starch, but salami is actually 70% meat.
by weight, i'm guessing that my diet would be over 50% fruit, 10% dairy (cheese, ice cream), 10% vegetables and with the balance being mostly grains - including a lot of soy milk, both in daily smoothies and in the perpetually suckling cup of coffee.
i eat eggs once or twice a week, usually once, which works out to 4-8 eggs a week - usually four. it's about every five days or so.
at this point, i'm still technically a vegetarian. and, i kind of wish i was, but my doctor told me when i was a kid that i need a little red meat.
the idea that you can just take vitamins is wrong. the studies on this are conclusive; it's about absorption, and you just can't absorb a lot of what you get in the fortified foods, or b-complexes. see, and this is the fundamental flaw with veganism - they don't study what your body can actually use. they just look at charts and come to wrong conclusions from them.
take flax seed, for instance. it's actually useless to you - your body can't do a damned thing with it. there's lots of stuff in it that your body would like to be able to use, but it simply just doesn't understand the chemistry required to actually use it. so, it just passes right through. that's not what they told you, is it?
that said, i don't buy raw meat. ever. it's not allowed in the house, under any circumstance. so, you'll never see me buy anything like hamburger, or a ham - or even a turkey. the only meat i will ever purchase is pre-cooked, and i'll microwave it before i touch it, just to make sure.
i'll sometimes buy a pre-cooked bird around thanksgiving (i prefer pizza for christmas, and i generally don't celebrate easter at all). and, i'll get a burger at a fast food restaurant once in a while.
but, the only meat i buy habitually is salami - which tends to get groans. isn't that the worst?
it could be. you're not thinking about this right, though.
see, your body is concerned about total inputs, not relative ones. so, the only reason a tomato is better for you than a chocolate bar is due to the concentration of the sugar - the chocolate bar is just too much. but, you could flip it around the other way, too. a little bit of chocolate is like eating a lot of tomatoes, so if you could fortify the chocolate, it would be a wash.
this is basically thinking like an astronaut. that's what they do with their high tech space food - they condense everything into a few bites.
so, the question of whether salami is actually bad for you or not reduces to how much of it you eat. because salami is highly concentrated, eating a small amount of it is equivalent to eating much more of something else. it follows that if you're also concerned about calories, it makes more sense to eat a little bit of salami than a lot of chicken. you just have to be strict about it.
i just want to add that salami isn't hot dogs. it's not really a processed meat, in that sense. think of it like this: hot dogs are 70% corn starch, but salami is actually 70% meat.
Thursday, March 15, 2018
nafta is not about reducing tariffs.
and, abolishing nafta will not erect tariffs.
that was dealt with by the fta and by the wto, as well as by specific bilateral deals like the auto pact.
this study is propagandistic garbage.
http://business.financialpost.com/news/ontario-new-brunswick-most-impacted-if-nafta-implodes-b-c-least-impacted-moodys
and, abolishing nafta will not erect tariffs.
that was dealt with by the fta and by the wto, as well as by specific bilateral deals like the auto pact.
this study is propagandistic garbage.
http://business.financialpost.com/news/ontario-new-brunswick-most-impacted-if-nafta-implodes-b-c-least-impacted-moodys
there's even an argument that being pro-alcohol liberalization & anti-marijuana liberalization, together, is racist and white supremacist.
alcohol's supposed primacy - long displaced, in reality - in western culture is due solely to it's association with christianity. there was no alcohol in native culture, and it's been banned in many other cultures, including islam.
the reality is that marijuana is the preferred drug of choice in most non-white cultures. by showing a preference to alcohol, you are in turn showing a preference to whiteness.
it may be unconscious, but the criticism is legit.
alcohol's supposed primacy - long displaced, in reality - in western culture is due solely to it's association with christianity. there was no alcohol in native culture, and it's been banned in many other cultures, including islam.
the reality is that marijuana is the preferred drug of choice in most non-white cultures. by showing a preference to alcohol, you are in turn showing a preference to whiteness.
it may be unconscious, but the criticism is legit.
i repeat: what wynne wants to do is take the issue off the table, by mimicking ford's positions.
she does not want to run an anti-pot campaign.
if this is a ballot issue, she will lose.
and, while i'd rather see the liberals win, i'm not sinking on this ship: i'm going to bolt to the ndp immediately, to prevent the vote from splitting.
she does not want to run an anti-pot campaign.
if this is a ballot issue, she will lose.
and, while i'd rather see the liberals win, i'm not sinking on this ship: i'm going to bolt to the ndp immediately, to prevent the vote from splitting.
liberals may vote for the right-wing parties from time to time out of protest or general disgust.
and, there's a socially moderate swing in the middle that the liberals can get out of protest, if they think the conservatives are leaning too far to the right.
but, conservatives do not vote liberal out of solidarity. ever.
and, when liberals try to attract conservatives, the end result is that the vote simply caves.
i pointed this out months ago: this party's anti-marijuana zealotry is a weakness that is going to backfire. because, when you try to hug this imaginary "mushy middle", you just end up repelling both sides of the spectrum.
ask thomas mulcair. or michael ignatieff.
it doesn't work.
worse, wynne has actually recently allowed alcohol sales at grocery stores and made a big deal about it - this is simply rank hypocrisy at it's worst.
nobody is talking about putting pot out in the candy bars, although i might suggest that the candy bars are actually more dangerous than the pot. pot doesn't give you diabetes. it's just hard right scare mongering.
she's completely out of touch.
it's not too late for a caucus revolt...
if ford pushes the issue, she will not win the election without moderating her position. it would be wise to get out ahead of it, take the issue off the table and change the topic.
and, there's a socially moderate swing in the middle that the liberals can get out of protest, if they think the conservatives are leaning too far to the right.
but, conservatives do not vote liberal out of solidarity. ever.
and, when liberals try to attract conservatives, the end result is that the vote simply caves.
i pointed this out months ago: this party's anti-marijuana zealotry is a weakness that is going to backfire. because, when you try to hug this imaginary "mushy middle", you just end up repelling both sides of the spectrum.
ask thomas mulcair. or michael ignatieff.
it doesn't work.
worse, wynne has actually recently allowed alcohol sales at grocery stores and made a big deal about it - this is simply rank hypocrisy at it's worst.
nobody is talking about putting pot out in the candy bars, although i might suggest that the candy bars are actually more dangerous than the pot. pot doesn't give you diabetes. it's just hard right scare mongering.
she's completely out of touch.
it's not too late for a caucus revolt...
if ford pushes the issue, she will not win the election without moderating her position. it would be wise to get out ahead of it, take the issue off the table and change the topic.
this is a stupid position to take, and she's going to end up in third place if she holds to it. she should not have taken the bait...
it's going to be unfortunate to see her undo her own legacy by holding to a puritanical view on marijuana. but, so be it.
https://www.nationalobserver.com/2018/03/15/news/ontario-premier-wynne-calls-tory-leader-doug-fords-comments-pot-reckless
it's going to be unfortunate to see her undo her own legacy by holding to a puritanical view on marijuana. but, so be it.
https://www.nationalobserver.com/2018/03/15/news/ontario-premier-wynne-calls-tory-leader-doug-fords-comments-pot-reckless
when is our political leadership going to clue-in to the reality around this guy and just stopping wasting their time with him?
he might not even survive out his term. what i mean is that he could very well die in office; he's in bad shape.
just wait the guy out.
better yet - pull out of nafta, revert to the fta and set the ball rolling for a new bilateral deal with the next president.
https://www.cnn.com/2018/03/15/politics/trump-trudeau-trade-meeting/index.html
he might not even survive out his term. what i mean is that he could very well die in office; he's in bad shape.
just wait the guy out.
better yet - pull out of nafta, revert to the fta and set the ball rolling for a new bilateral deal with the next president.
https://www.cnn.com/2018/03/15/politics/trump-trudeau-trade-meeting/index.html
when old news shows up in the suggested pile.
this is bannon cracking under pressure. nobody is going to believe he accused the wrong guy.
people would have been far more likely to believe he meant to say that trump jr was reasonous. the t was just misheard. as in, like, really smart. just like his dad.
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2018/jan/07/steve-bannon-treason-donald-trump-jr-michael-wolff-fire-fury
my bed is reassembled, at least; i guess i needed some sleep, as i've spent the better part of the last 30 hours passed out.
i'm going to need to air out and smoke proof the bedroom first, and then slowly expand to the rest of the apartment. but, i'd like to spend the night working, primarily.
this is bannon cracking under pressure. nobody is going to believe he accused the wrong guy.
people would have been far more likely to believe he meant to say that trump jr was reasonous. the t was just misheard. as in, like, really smart. just like his dad.
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2018/jan/07/steve-bannon-treason-donald-trump-jr-michael-wolff-fire-fury
my bed is reassembled, at least; i guess i needed some sleep, as i've spent the better part of the last 30 hours passed out.
i'm going to need to air out and smoke proof the bedroom first, and then slowly expand to the rest of the apartment. but, i'd like to spend the night working, primarily.
Wednesday, March 14, 2018
from context to context, city to city, annoyance to annoyance, person to person, i've only ever wanted one thing out of life:
for everybody to just go away and leave me alone.
i don't know why it is, exactly, that this is such a difficult request for people to adhere to - or why it is that this is so universally difficult for people to understand.
for everybody to just go away and leave me alone.
i don't know why it is, exactly, that this is such a difficult request for people to adhere to - or why it is that this is so universally difficult for people to understand.
i'm slow to get started again today, but here i am.
i'm waiting for the guy to come to finish the last little bit of painting...
i really don't enjoy the smoke coming up from downstairs, or living life in a fog. again: i can't understand how anybody enjoys this on a daily basis. it's maybe making me understand why so many drug addicts kill themselves.
i feel like shit.
but, i have to wait until i can get things out of here before i can finish taping the walls over.
i finished august last night, and, again, it took some time, but it was the heaviest month, so far. hopefully, september is a little faster....
i'm waiting for the guy to come to finish the last little bit of painting...
i really don't enjoy the smoke coming up from downstairs, or living life in a fog. again: i can't understand how anybody enjoys this on a daily basis. it's maybe making me understand why so many drug addicts kill themselves.
i feel like shit.
but, i have to wait until i can get things out of here before i can finish taping the walls over.
i finished august last night, and, again, it took some time, but it was the heaviest month, so far. hopefully, september is a little faster....
i've identified dawkins for a reason, and it's that his arguments push atheism into a different era. early hitchens falls into the same category, although hitch enjoyed pushing buttons in ways dawkins doesn't bother with. religious thinkers will accuse him of missing points, but in doing so they are the ones missing the point: the points dawkins supposedly misses are, in truth, discarded as anachronisms. he doesn't have time for that nonsense. whether consciously or not, dawkins tosses entire swaths of argumentation in the trash heap where they belong, and then absolutely correctly just shrugs his critics off when they point it out. that's what science calls progress, no matter how loudly the theologians may howl, otherwise.
what's the use in debating aristotlean physics every time we want to talk about quantum mechanics? you maybe do it for five minutes at the start of the course. but, you don't dwell on failed theories. this is obvious to a scientist, but very difficult for a theologian, that wants to carry on ancient arguments into perpetuity.
but, the ideas of the new atheism are going to be connected more to an undiscovering of the past. asimov. russell. these were thinkers far ahead of their time, that were unfairly forgotten in the "new left" of the 60s, partially as a reaction to stalinism. what's going to unfold to future historians is how reactionary the baby boomer generation was. as they die off, their rejection of science is going to fade away, and we're going to pick up where we left off.
there will be new authors. we don't know who they are yet. but, they will be approaching atheism as a renaissance, and the new left will consequently be a kind of rediscovering of who it is that we once were - as we chart a path forward for who we wish to become.
what's the use in debating aristotlean physics every time we want to talk about quantum mechanics? you maybe do it for five minutes at the start of the course. but, you don't dwell on failed theories. this is obvious to a scientist, but very difficult for a theologian, that wants to carry on ancient arguments into perpetuity.
but, the ideas of the new atheism are going to be connected more to an undiscovering of the past. asimov. russell. these were thinkers far ahead of their time, that were unfairly forgotten in the "new left" of the 60s, partially as a reaction to stalinism. what's going to unfold to future historians is how reactionary the baby boomer generation was. as they die off, their rejection of science is going to fade away, and we're going to pick up where we left off.
there will be new authors. we don't know who they are yet. but, they will be approaching atheism as a renaissance, and the new left will consequently be a kind of rediscovering of who it is that we once were - as we chart a path forward for who we wish to become.
bill maher is broadly new left, but he's not a leading figure, and not an intellectual.
maher's biggest claim to fame is that he has a habit of thinking he's really smart, and having it blow up in his face when it's demonstrated that he's not. he's right once in a while, granted - makes the odd point worth taking note of. but, broadly speaking, he's a dolt.
he's on the new left's side of the spectrum, though. mostly.
maher's biggest claim to fame is that he has a habit of thinking he's really smart, and having it blow up in his face when it's demonstrated that he's not. he's right once in a while, granted - makes the odd point worth taking note of. but, broadly speaking, he's a dolt.
he's on the new left's side of the spectrum, though. mostly.
so, how's this for a real world choice.
party A - you can buy it at the corner store, and smoke it wherever you want.
party B - you can only buy it at specific places with restricted hours, and you're not allowed to smoke it inside.
i'd actually go with party B. keeping it out of my breathing space is more important to me than liberalizing access.
unfortunately, the liberal party position is that you can only buy it at specific places with restricted hours, and you're obligated to smoke it inside - which i disagree with on both planks. i think everybody was expecting the conservatives to offer minimal changes on this policy, so i was hoping this wouldn't be a ballot issue.
i will not be voting for doug ford in this election. i have too many disagreements with him.
but, let's hope the ndp have a better set of ideas than the liberals do, on this.
party A - you can buy it at the corner store, and smoke it wherever you want.
party B - you can only buy it at specific places with restricted hours, and you're not allowed to smoke it inside.
i'd actually go with party B. keeping it out of my breathing space is more important to me than liberalizing access.
unfortunately, the liberal party position is that you can only buy it at specific places with restricted hours, and you're obligated to smoke it inside - which i disagree with on both planks. i think everybody was expecting the conservatives to offer minimal changes on this policy, so i was hoping this wouldn't be a ballot issue.
i will not be voting for doug ford in this election. i have too many disagreements with him.
but, let's hope the ndp have a better set of ideas than the liberals do, on this.
to be clear: i think marijuana should be sold at corner stores. the rules should be somewhere between the rules for nicotine and the rules for caffeine; it is in theory as dangerous as nicotine, but in practice closer to caffeine in it's negative effects.
i remember buying jolt colas at the store when i was a kid, and maybe i should have had to flash an id to do it. some owners wouldn't sell it to me.
but, i'd also like to see laws restricting smoking in apartments.
so i'm in favour of very easy access, but stronger restrictions on where it can be used.
i remember buying jolt colas at the store when i was a kid, and maybe i should have had to flash an id to do it. some owners wouldn't sell it to me.
but, i'd also like to see laws restricting smoking in apartments.
so i'm in favour of very easy access, but stronger restrictions on where it can be used.
the truth is that the wide swath of sitting politicians, right now, really has no future besides retirement. the new spectrum is going to make very little sense to most of them, and they're not going to make sense within it, either.
i really wish that wynne would have stepped down while she had the chance.
what she's up against is a generational overturn as much as it is anything else.
and, the only reason that this generation didn't see this overturn coming is that it thought history ended when they assumed power. this isn't ahistorical; but stagnation in the face of generational overturn sure would be.
i really wish that wynne would have stepped down while she had the chance.
what she's up against is a generational overturn as much as it is anything else.
and, the only reason that this generation didn't see this overturn coming is that it thought history ended when they assumed power. this isn't ahistorical; but stagnation in the face of generational overturn sure would be.
the new right is a synthesis of religious ideas. it is going to be very brown. you want to look towards people like tariq ali reza aslan.
and, the new left is being constricted by people like richard dawkins. it is going to be very white.
maybe you're going to have to switch sides.
a lot of people are gong to have to switch sides.
*i imagined reza aslan, but typed tariq ali. brain freeze.
and, the new left is being constricted by people like richard dawkins. it is going to be very white.
maybe you're going to have to switch sides.
a lot of people are gong to have to switch sides.
*i imagined reza aslan, but typed tariq ali. brain freeze.
stop.
your vision of a pluralistic, liberal utopia is nonsense.
brown people don't want this. not muslims, not hindus, not sikhs - not anybody else. leftists don't want this. not anarchists, not socialists and not even liberals, either. market advocates don't want this. queers don't want this. christians don't want this.
nobody wants this.
the only people that want this are burkean conservatives - because the vision of pluralistic liberalism is in truth the same thing as the vision of class harmony.
but, the divisions are collapsing.
white people abandoned conservatism generations ago; the conservative block of the future is first and second generation religious conservatives and free market advocates. ford is going to realign this.
and, the new liberal base is educated white atheists that think markets are empty intellectual abstractions.
get with it, or be swept aside.
because nobody wants what anybody's been selling.
your vision of a pluralistic, liberal utopia is nonsense.
brown people don't want this. not muslims, not hindus, not sikhs - not anybody else. leftists don't want this. not anarchists, not socialists and not even liberals, either. market advocates don't want this. queers don't want this. christians don't want this.
nobody wants this.
the only people that want this are burkean conservatives - because the vision of pluralistic liberalism is in truth the same thing as the vision of class harmony.
but, the divisions are collapsing.
white people abandoned conservatism generations ago; the conservative block of the future is first and second generation religious conservatives and free market advocates. ford is going to realign this.
and, the new liberal base is educated white atheists that think markets are empty intellectual abstractions.
get with it, or be swept aside.
because nobody wants what anybody's been selling.
i never told anyone's kids to be quiet.
i pointed out that buddy's 50 year old, 300 pound mentally retarded niece was going to damage the floors if she kept running across it like a stampeding elephant - that you could hear the entire building shaking and it clearly was bad for the structure.
she actually literally damaged the light fixtures in the hallway with her girth coming down from above.
they told me they would keep the noise down.
but, i was clear - i told them at least 20 times after that that it wasn't a noise complaint, it was concern about the amount of weight coming down on the floor and how it was damaging the structure.
their insistence on interpreting it as a noise complaint, despite my repeated insistence to the contrary, was almost some kind of political correctness, as they couldn't believe i was complaining about fat people coming through the floor.
but, i was, in fact, complaining about fat people coming through the floor.
this woman is retarded. she stomps when she walks. she needs some training to teach her not to do that, but nobody wanted to address it.
i pointed out that buddy's 50 year old, 300 pound mentally retarded niece was going to damage the floors if she kept running across it like a stampeding elephant - that you could hear the entire building shaking and it clearly was bad for the structure.
she actually literally damaged the light fixtures in the hallway with her girth coming down from above.
they told me they would keep the noise down.
but, i was clear - i told them at least 20 times after that that it wasn't a noise complaint, it was concern about the amount of weight coming down on the floor and how it was damaging the structure.
their insistence on interpreting it as a noise complaint, despite my repeated insistence to the contrary, was almost some kind of political correctness, as they couldn't believe i was complaining about fat people coming through the floor.
but, i was, in fact, complaining about fat people coming through the floor.
this woman is retarded. she stomps when she walks. she needs some training to teach her not to do that, but nobody wanted to address it.
i'm far from a market advocate. it's not the point.
if ford is smart, he'll tone the "free market" rhetoric down, because it's going to alienate people that otherwise agree with the crux of further liberalizing access.
i mean, we have an lcbo monopoly, but we don't have access problems to alcohol. the issue is less who and more how.
the reality is that liberals' legalization plan is designed to restrict access, not to liberalize it. it's as close as a continuation of prohibition as they could have gotten way with - it's really just a step away from restricting sales to the internet. and, the hurdles to get pot in the store (including having to sit through an anti-drug lecture - not joking) are so outrageous that online purchase could very well be preferable to most people.
nobody voted for that kind of nonsense. and, even a strict fiscal conservative is just going to interpret it as a waste of money.
they could have just sold it at liquor stores. they could have let bartenders sell it. they could have done a million things differently - but they took the most conservative approach possible.
and, i worried about this.
it's going to backfire. the question is how badly, and how well the ndp can help mitigate.
if ford is smart, he'll tone the "free market" rhetoric down, because it's going to alienate people that otherwise agree with the crux of further liberalizing access.
i mean, we have an lcbo monopoly, but we don't have access problems to alcohol. the issue is less who and more how.
the reality is that liberals' legalization plan is designed to restrict access, not to liberalize it. it's as close as a continuation of prohibition as they could have gotten way with - it's really just a step away from restricting sales to the internet. and, the hurdles to get pot in the store (including having to sit through an anti-drug lecture - not joking) are so outrageous that online purchase could very well be preferable to most people.
nobody voted for that kind of nonsense. and, even a strict fiscal conservative is just going to interpret it as a waste of money.
they could have just sold it at liquor stores. they could have let bartenders sell it. they could have done a million things differently - but they took the most conservative approach possible.
and, i worried about this.
it's going to backfire. the question is how badly, and how well the ndp can help mitigate.
i don't know why the liberals took such a foolish position on this issue.
this was the wildcard conservative position i was worried about...and only ford was likely to have seriously taken it....
if the conservatives seriously run on this - and are the only party running on it - then they will probably win a majority.
on this particular issue, the wynne government has prioritized the narrow interests of the conservative minority over the interests of the majority. as far as i can tell, it's a consequence of the inner party being out of touch with the concerns of real voters. but, this is entirely self-inflicted - they could have legislated open access. they decided not to.
let's hope that the ndp doesn't let them bogart this. but, i suspect they're going to be just as clueless, and just as concerned about appealing to middle-of-the-road conservative voters.
ontario leans left 3:1, and has for forty years.
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottawa/pc-leader-doug-ford-cannabis-ottawa-morning-1.4573790
this was the wildcard conservative position i was worried about...and only ford was likely to have seriously taken it....
if the conservatives seriously run on this - and are the only party running on it - then they will probably win a majority.
on this particular issue, the wynne government has prioritized the narrow interests of the conservative minority over the interests of the majority. as far as i can tell, it's a consequence of the inner party being out of touch with the concerns of real voters. but, this is entirely self-inflicted - they could have legislated open access. they decided not to.
let's hope that the ndp doesn't let them bogart this. but, i suspect they're going to be just as clueless, and just as concerned about appealing to middle-of-the-road conservative voters.
ontario leans left 3:1, and has for forty years.
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottawa/pc-leader-doug-ford-cannabis-ottawa-morning-1.4573790
Tuesday, March 13, 2018
i want to address a silly point, just so it's written somewhere.
when i copied all of my comments off of the internet, i wasn't able to get exact dates and times for many of them, and didn't make the effort to be careful about it for others. so, as i'm reconstructing the comments, i'm making approximations as to the exact dates and exact times.
i assure you that i'm not making up new comments. i frankly have better things to do. and, i'll remind you that the point of this is actually to build the liner notes for my aleph-discs: this is a music project. but, a very keen individual could no doubt point out that certain things are not in the right order...
sure.
first - get a life.
second - i'm doing this as best as i can.
all i can do is acknowledge the defect and carry on...
there's a point a little later on where this shifts, and i make a stronger point to record the time and date as i'm archiving.
when i copied all of my comments off of the internet, i wasn't able to get exact dates and times for many of them, and didn't make the effort to be careful about it for others. so, as i'm reconstructing the comments, i'm making approximations as to the exact dates and exact times.
i assure you that i'm not making up new comments. i frankly have better things to do. and, i'll remind you that the point of this is actually to build the liner notes for my aleph-discs: this is a music project. but, a very keen individual could no doubt point out that certain things are not in the right order...
sure.
first - get a life.
second - i'm doing this as best as i can.
all i can do is acknowledge the defect and carry on...
there's a point a little later on where this shifts, and i make a stronger point to record the time and date as i'm archiving.
what i will say is this: i had problems with skater/thug bullies in high school, but the jocks mostly left me alone. not entirely; i had to dump a full bottle of water (actually, his bottle of water - it's not an exciting story, that's all there is to it) over the head of the star hockey player as he was sitting in class in front of everybody at one point in grade eleven because he kept spraying me, but mostly.
i just took the bottle of water off his desk, took it to the bathroom, filled it up (full.) and slowly drained it over top of his head, as he sat there in shock, and the rest of the class gasped. detention. but, he left me alone after that.
the fact that i made the football team in grade nine probably had something to do with the fact that i was mostly left alone.
i just took the bottle of water off his desk, took it to the bathroom, filled it up (full.) and slowly drained it over top of his head, as he sat there in shock, and the rest of the class gasped. detention. but, he left me alone after that.
the fact that i made the football team in grade nine probably had something to do with the fact that i was mostly left alone.
my dad was a high school sports hero, so he had some expectations that i had no intention of ever living up to. i never learned to skate, but he had his way in forcing me into playing football for a couple of years. grades 8-9.
i made the football team in grade 9. i didn't even try, really - but i did show up to one of the tryouts kind of pissed off about something, and in need of winning a race. i was legitimately fit, if not muscular - not tall, but thin and in good cardio-vascular health. so, i could beat most of the jocks at 100m, 200m, 500m - really any distance.
they pencilled me in as a defensive back. the job was to be as fast as the receivers, and that was a job i could do.
but, i had more interceptions than tackles.
that was kind of a problem, in the end.
i just didn't have the aggression to hit people, and wasn't interested in developing it.
but, if i was more angry and less apathetic, i might have been a decent safety.
i didn't bother trying out in grade 10.
i made the football team in grade 9. i didn't even try, really - but i did show up to one of the tryouts kind of pissed off about something, and in need of winning a race. i was legitimately fit, if not muscular - not tall, but thin and in good cardio-vascular health. so, i could beat most of the jocks at 100m, 200m, 500m - really any distance.
they pencilled me in as a defensive back. the job was to be as fast as the receivers, and that was a job i could do.
but, i had more interceptions than tackles.
that was kind of a problem, in the end.
i just didn't have the aggression to hit people, and wasn't interested in developing it.
but, if i was more angry and less apathetic, i might have been a decent safety.
i didn't bother trying out in grade 10.
i may prefer the qatari vision over the saudi one, but al jazeera is state propaganda, and speaks for nobody besides the qatari ruling class.
the idea that it's some kind of genuine voice of the arab street is laughable.
but, more poignantly, it points to the ideological errors that are taking over the contemporary left, which is being tricked by identity politics into latching on to a mouthpiece for an aspect of the ruling petrostate. it is placing religious and ethnic identity ahead of a coherent class analysis. and, that can never be anything besides deeply reactionary.
as a consequence, you have these people out there running around spewing this turko-qatari propaganda as some kind of indigenous narrative.
these people should be treated as laughingstocks.
they're useful idiots.
the idea that it's some kind of genuine voice of the arab street is laughable.
but, more poignantly, it points to the ideological errors that are taking over the contemporary left, which is being tricked by identity politics into latching on to a mouthpiece for an aspect of the ruling petrostate. it is placing religious and ethnic identity ahead of a coherent class analysis. and, that can never be anything besides deeply reactionary.
as a consequence, you have these people out there running around spewing this turko-qatari propaganda as some kind of indigenous narrative.
these people should be treated as laughingstocks.
they're useful idiots.
even if she loses, it would be divine to watch naomi smack down trudeau in the debates.
and, historically, the purpose of the ndp has been less to actually win, and more to change the narrative. the current ndp is just another status quo neo-liberal party.
she might have to take over the greens, instead.
so, it's easy to come up with a convincing argument that running for - or, unfortunately, against - the ndp would be in line with advancing a social revolution - and even that it's a necessary step in order to really advance it.
and, historically, the purpose of the ndp has been less to actually win, and more to change the narrative. the current ndp is just another status quo neo-liberal party.
she might have to take over the greens, instead.
so, it's easy to come up with a convincing argument that running for - or, unfortunately, against - the ndp would be in line with advancing a social revolution - and even that it's a necessary step in order to really advance it.
if the nep had been a failure, it wouldn't be as reviled as it is in alberta.
the only failure that i see is justin trudeau.
i don't exactly want to bring back the nep. climate change was not a pressing problem in the early 1980s, and one would hope that the elder trudeau would react to the evidence differently today, given his insistence on "reason over passion". i don't know if he publicly commented on climate change in his time out of office.
but, bringing back the basic idea of the nep - which was to utilize the country's national resources for the benefit of the national interest, rather than the benefit of foreign interests, and in particular foreign capital, which is the status quo - would certainly be a step in the right direction.
we are unlikely to make serious steps towards transition so long as the industry is in the hands of the private sector.
the closest thing to a political voice that we have in canada today, towards that direction, is naomi klein - who heads a faction of the ndp that has been completely ignored by the party's politburo.
https://thetyee.ca/Opinion/2018/03/13/Kinder-Morgan-Make-Trudeau-One-Term-PM/
the only failure that i see is justin trudeau.
i don't exactly want to bring back the nep. climate change was not a pressing problem in the early 1980s, and one would hope that the elder trudeau would react to the evidence differently today, given his insistence on "reason over passion". i don't know if he publicly commented on climate change in his time out of office.
but, bringing back the basic idea of the nep - which was to utilize the country's national resources for the benefit of the national interest, rather than the benefit of foreign interests, and in particular foreign capital, which is the status quo - would certainly be a step in the right direction.
we are unlikely to make serious steps towards transition so long as the industry is in the hands of the private sector.
the closest thing to a political voice that we have in canada today, towards that direction, is naomi klein - who heads a faction of the ndp that has been completely ignored by the party's politburo.
https://thetyee.ca/Opinion/2018/03/13/Kinder-Morgan-Make-Trudeau-One-Term-PM/
Monday, March 12, 2018
i'm going to say this clearly.
if trudeau & singh end up in a hipster war, scheer will win in a landslide.
this is an example of bubble-thinking. political strategists don't get out much, and when they do, they don't talk to real people.
the reality is that hipsters are below apple users in the hierarchy of uncoolness.
if trudeau & singh end up in a hipster war, scheer will win in a landslide.
this is an example of bubble-thinking. political strategists don't get out much, and when they do, they don't talk to real people.
the reality is that hipsters are below apple users in the hierarchy of uncoolness.
i understand that there is a certain type of woman that is going to be attracted to jagmeet singh.
but, you have to understand that the vast majority of women are going to find him to be absolutely disgusting looking.
it's not the headgear. it's not the skin colour. it's not even the aroma, that you can no doubt smell through the screen.
it's the beard.
it's gross.
but, you have to understand that the vast majority of women are going to find him to be absolutely disgusting looking.
it's not the headgear. it's not the skin colour. it's not even the aroma, that you can no doubt smell through the screen.
it's the beard.
it's gross.
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i'm a 6.66.
and, hitch would at least give himself an epsilon.
7.0 is just another type of fundamentalism, and hitch wasn't that, not even in his psychotic later years.
http://bigthink.com/think-tank/atheism-easter-atheister
and, hitch would at least give himself an epsilon.
7.0 is just another type of fundamentalism, and hitch wasn't that, not even in his psychotic later years.
http://bigthink.com/think-tank/atheism-easter-atheister
this idea of talking about what people in the past thought about god is deeply flawed.
would you ask aristotle what he thought about relativity? then why ask him what he thinks about god? it's just as foolish.
why would we think newton's theology is less flawed than his physics? and, that is ignoring the threat of harm he was under for deviating from orthodoxy.
we need to look at the evidence that exists today, not the arguments that existed in the past, before much of that evidence was available.
i would rather ask the question of what past thinkers might think if presented with the evidence we have today than ask the question of what they thought given the evidence available to them. while this can only be speculative, it's far more useful.
would you ask aristotle what he thought about relativity? then why ask him what he thinks about god? it's just as foolish.
why would we think newton's theology is less flawed than his physics? and, that is ignoring the threat of harm he was under for deviating from orthodoxy.
we need to look at the evidence that exists today, not the arguments that existed in the past, before much of that evidence was available.
i would rather ask the question of what past thinkers might think if presented with the evidence we have today than ask the question of what they thought given the evidence available to them. while this can only be speculative, it's far more useful.
atheism is going to win in the end.
it would probably win right now, if the issue were forced.
the moment it is forced? watch out.
this is a sleeping elephant, waiting to be stirred.
listen: i'm the one that wants this done as humanely as possible, but it's going to be done. we have to secularize the laws further, not continue to work in these loopholes for ideas that are being left in the trash heap.
religious plurality is not progress. progress is the discarding of religion as an anachronism. and, the progress inherent in the atheist and humanist movements is not going to be held back by some burkean conservatives masquerading as liberals.
do not fall for these "progressives". they are trojan horses for stagnation, or backwardness.
so, i say this to the liberal political class: go ahead and choose plurality over atheism, in a situation where they are in direct conflict. see how that works out for you.
i dare you.
leave that for the conservatives. as, that will be their role, in the end.
it would probably win right now, if the issue were forced.
the moment it is forced? watch out.
this is a sleeping elephant, waiting to be stirred.
listen: i'm the one that wants this done as humanely as possible, but it's going to be done. we have to secularize the laws further, not continue to work in these loopholes for ideas that are being left in the trash heap.
religious plurality is not progress. progress is the discarding of religion as an anachronism. and, the progress inherent in the atheist and humanist movements is not going to be held back by some burkean conservatives masquerading as liberals.
do not fall for these "progressives". they are trojan horses for stagnation, or backwardness.
so, i say this to the liberal political class: go ahead and choose plurality over atheism, in a situation where they are in direct conflict. see how that works out for you.
i dare you.
leave that for the conservatives. as, that will be their role, in the end.
also, bach was more of a mathematician than a composer.
and, while i can appreciate his work as a mathematician - as well as a classical guitarist - i do find that he gets prodding rather quickly, as the lack of emotional investment quickly reduces the artistic value of the work.
so, it is perhaps worth pointing out that so much of his work was commissioned - that is, purchased for a sum - rather than produced for purely artistic motives. it's rather obvious.
that said, the novelty saves it from the kind of artistic death one hears in a rossini or a mozart. bach may have been working for profit, but he was exploring a new system of tonality, and so there is this playful dimension to much of it. but, this is the appreciation of a mathematician, and not of an artist.
i would give him a fields medal before i gave him a grammy.
and, john williams was better at guitar than at film music, too.
and, while i can appreciate his work as a mathematician - as well as a classical guitarist - i do find that he gets prodding rather quickly, as the lack of emotional investment quickly reduces the artistic value of the work.
so, it is perhaps worth pointing out that so much of his work was commissioned - that is, purchased for a sum - rather than produced for purely artistic motives. it's rather obvious.
that said, the novelty saves it from the kind of artistic death one hears in a rossini or a mozart. bach may have been working for profit, but he was exploring a new system of tonality, and so there is this playful dimension to much of it. but, this is the appreciation of a mathematician, and not of an artist.
i would give him a fields medal before i gave him a grammy.
and, john williams was better at guitar than at film music, too.
could we become the majority by 2030?
there's still way more of us than there are muslims, even if muslims have a faster growth rate. in canada, islam is atheism's greatest threat - clearly. but it's going to be a while before we have to act on it.
https://www.crop.ca/en/blog/2017/169/
there's still way more of us than there are muslims, even if muslims have a faster growth rate. in canada, islam is atheism's greatest threat - clearly. but it's going to be a while before we have to act on it.
https://www.crop.ca/en/blog/2017/169/
listen.
why did tommy douglas do?
why is he famous?
why does the ndp even exist?
he took on the doctors. and, he won.
so, asking the ndp to fight the doctors on a point of providing access - in this case in helping open the way for the coming secularization of society, as atheism becomes the dominant religion in canada - is absolutely in the party's tradition.
why did tommy douglas do?
why is he famous?
why does the ndp even exist?
he took on the doctors. and, he won.
so, asking the ndp to fight the doctors on a point of providing access - in this case in helping open the way for the coming secularization of society, as atheism becomes the dominant religion in canada - is absolutely in the party's tradition.
the ndp took a hard swing to the right in the last election and got nailed for it.
it's the same party. same leader. but, they're falling back to their traditional messaging, which is about education & healthcare.
trust issues aside, i've spent a lot of time at the hospital over the last few years, and i don't have much to complain about regarding things like wait times. and i don't exactly live in a booming economy, either.
the only problems i've had with the system over the last few years are around the question of access. i've had some problems with doctors - both christians and muslims - that feel that they have some right to enforce their religious views on their patients. if i were to make tweaks to the system, it would be to ensure that there are stronger rules put in place to ensure that doctors are prevented from denying access, based on their religious beliefs.
the issues i've had have been around my gender identity. but, this is also an issue for people seeking assisted suicide (or, i guess, for their remaining family members), for women seeking abortion and for other medical services that ontarians ought to have total, open access to - but may be seen negatively through various religious filters.
i would like to see doctors told very clearly that if they are going to deny services then they are going to have their licenses revoked.
more money is always good, don't get me wrong. but, the liberals themselves campaigned on this many years ago, and i'm not, personally, feeling like there's a lot of work necessary to do, here.
the ndp will, of course, make it seem like we're facing a crisis. that's good politics. i just don't think it's true...
http://windsorstar.com/news/local-news/ontario-ndp-leader-horwath-commits-dedicated-mental-health-and-addition-ministry
it's the same party. same leader. but, they're falling back to their traditional messaging, which is about education & healthcare.
trust issues aside, i've spent a lot of time at the hospital over the last few years, and i don't have much to complain about regarding things like wait times. and i don't exactly live in a booming economy, either.
the only problems i've had with the system over the last few years are around the question of access. i've had some problems with doctors - both christians and muslims - that feel that they have some right to enforce their religious views on their patients. if i were to make tweaks to the system, it would be to ensure that there are stronger rules put in place to ensure that doctors are prevented from denying access, based on their religious beliefs.
the issues i've had have been around my gender identity. but, this is also an issue for people seeking assisted suicide (or, i guess, for their remaining family members), for women seeking abortion and for other medical services that ontarians ought to have total, open access to - but may be seen negatively through various religious filters.
i would like to see doctors told very clearly that if they are going to deny services then they are going to have their licenses revoked.
more money is always good, don't get me wrong. but, the liberals themselves campaigned on this many years ago, and i'm not, personally, feeling like there's a lot of work necessary to do, here.
the ndp will, of course, make it seem like we're facing a crisis. that's good politics. i just don't think it's true...
http://windsorstar.com/news/local-news/ontario-ndp-leader-horwath-commits-dedicated-mental-health-and-addition-ministry
i don't really have a problem with this, so long as the library actually gets moved - although i might suggest prioritizing new housing over more mission space. my main concern would be that we need somewhere to store local records.
one good idea would be to put the new library in the wave pool building.
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/windsor/library-branch-sold-downtown-mission-1.4559616
one good idea would be to put the new library in the wave pool building.
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/windsor/library-branch-sold-downtown-mission-1.4559616
see, i'm hoping that ontarians are able to see rachel notley for the disaster that she is and not make the same mistake.
i mean, we're smarter than albertans...
....right?
http://www.rabble.ca/blogs/bloggers/alberta-diary/2018/03/andrea-horwath-will-be-ontarios-next-premier-remember-where-you
i mean, we're smarter than albertans...
....right?
http://www.rabble.ca/blogs/bloggers/alberta-diary/2018/03/andrea-horwath-will-be-ontarios-next-premier-remember-where-you
the election here could end up the other way, you know.
the ndp could get off to a fast start, forcing liberal voters to make the choice that ndp voters usually have to make. and, ford is going to be harder to vote for than harper for most liberals in the gta.
but, horwath has spent her career campaigning in the middle, and she's going to be a very hard sell. on top of that, as soon as she gets the spotlight on her, she's no doubt going to pull a mulcair - or have to deal with muckracking liberals convincingly painting her as the neo-conservative that she truthfully really actually is. even if she does get off to a good start, that doesn't mean she can hold it.
like every other conservative at ever other level in this country, ford has to split the vote somehow.
also: they said women hated trump, and they probably did. but, in the end, trump actually won white women, who appear to have been whipped by their husbands. numerically speaking, they decided the election (although i'm convinced that it was actually decided by voter suppression laws). let us hope that if anything is different in canada, it's that this doesn't happen here.
the ndp could get off to a fast start, forcing liberal voters to make the choice that ndp voters usually have to make. and, ford is going to be harder to vote for than harper for most liberals in the gta.
but, horwath has spent her career campaigning in the middle, and she's going to be a very hard sell. on top of that, as soon as she gets the spotlight on her, she's no doubt going to pull a mulcair - or have to deal with muckracking liberals convincingly painting her as the neo-conservative that she truthfully really actually is. even if she does get off to a good start, that doesn't mean she can hold it.
like every other conservative at ever other level in this country, ford has to split the vote somehow.
also: they said women hated trump, and they probably did. but, in the end, trump actually won white women, who appear to have been whipped by their husbands. numerically speaking, they decided the election (although i'm convinced that it was actually decided by voter suppression laws). let us hope that if anything is different in canada, it's that this doesn't happen here.
i'm a morning person. well, so long as i don't have to be anywhere, in the morning, anyways; i guess i'm more of a night owl, but i am usually awake when the sun comes up, and rather enjoy it when it does appear.
i want my hour of sunlight in the morning back :(.
i mean, if there's ever been an argument for anarchism, it's this. i didn't vote to make the sun come up an hour later. nor is there any good reason for this. this is just purely arbitrary. how did we end up with an institution that thinks it has enough power to decide when the sun should come up?
i want my hour of sunlight in the morning back :(.
i mean, if there's ever been an argument for anarchism, it's this. i didn't vote to make the sun come up an hour later. nor is there any good reason for this. this is just purely arbitrary. how did we end up with an institution that thinks it has enough power to decide when the sun should come up?
i was up a little later tonight, and am now done eating and ready to start the day.
i haven't smelled any drugs wafting up here yet tonight, so hopefully the adjustments i made yesterday afternoon are good enough to allow me to focus for the day. i've also left the cabinets open. so long as it's cold out, the cold air flowing down should both clear out the passageways a little bit and keep any smoke down there from rising up.
there are other explanations, but let's hope i've got a handle on this.
i haven't smelled any drugs wafting up here yet tonight, so hopefully the adjustments i made yesterday afternoon are good enough to allow me to focus for the day. i've also left the cabinets open. so long as it's cold out, the cold air flowing down should both clear out the passageways a little bit and keep any smoke down there from rising up.
there are other explanations, but let's hope i've got a handle on this.
i think said's point was basically correct, but he's maybe making too much of it.
you still see this kind of thing. canada's sitting prime minister, justin trudeau, took a recent trip to india and what followed was an example of orientalism taken to it's most ridiculous extremes. everybody involved - the prime minister, his wife and his advisors - appear to have been living in the same fantasy reality, with this. his father was actually quite keenly aware of this sort of nonsense and would have barfed if he were alive to see this (although he would have never allowed it to happen, either).
but, i also have a sneaking suspicion that the root cause of this was that a young justin found some kipling on a book shelf somewhere, and never fully undid it's effects.
and, i think that this is really all that said is truly pointing out - that western perspectives of the east remain startlingly out of date. it's less that those stereotypes are completely wrong and more that they're anachronistic, and little attempt was made by western intellectuals to stay up to date on changes happening in other parts of the world.
one could imagine that a barbary pirate making a stop on the coast of new england in the sixteenth or seventeenth centuries may have had some colourful stories to bring back to north africa about the new england puritans. reading those stories today wouldn't be wrong, exactly. but, it would certainly be wrong to apply that concept of puritan protestantism to modern boston. i mean, the irish hadn't even shown up, yet.
one can only imagine how the ancient inhabitants of providence would react to lightning bolt.
so, i mean, it's a valid point, and everything. but, it's maybe overblown.
you still see this kind of thing. canada's sitting prime minister, justin trudeau, took a recent trip to india and what followed was an example of orientalism taken to it's most ridiculous extremes. everybody involved - the prime minister, his wife and his advisors - appear to have been living in the same fantasy reality, with this. his father was actually quite keenly aware of this sort of nonsense and would have barfed if he were alive to see this (although he would have never allowed it to happen, either).
but, i also have a sneaking suspicion that the root cause of this was that a young justin found some kipling on a book shelf somewhere, and never fully undid it's effects.
and, i think that this is really all that said is truly pointing out - that western perspectives of the east remain startlingly out of date. it's less that those stereotypes are completely wrong and more that they're anachronistic, and little attempt was made by western intellectuals to stay up to date on changes happening in other parts of the world.
one could imagine that a barbary pirate making a stop on the coast of new england in the sixteenth or seventeenth centuries may have had some colourful stories to bring back to north africa about the new england puritans. reading those stories today wouldn't be wrong, exactly. but, it would certainly be wrong to apply that concept of puritan protestantism to modern boston. i mean, the irish hadn't even shown up, yet.
one can only imagine how the ancient inhabitants of providence would react to lightning bolt.
so, i mean, it's a valid point, and everything. but, it's maybe overblown.
so, it's true that the iranians - for example - are not arabs, but they have been arabized through the process of islamification.
there was a time when there were more arabs in iran (by percentage of the population) than there are today, too.
so, iran would be a good example of a culture where decolonization means dearabization, which is the same thing as demuslimification, or deislamicization.
if you're not following, it's because you're confusing colonialism with westernization, and what you're really calling for is dewesternization, not decolonization. and, you can think whatever the fuck you want. you can go live in the forest, if you can find one, for all i care. i just want you to be honest and concise about it, so i can demonstrate that you're wrong, properly.
i mean, it's the most frustrating fucking thing in the world to get into a debate with somebody that can't even define what they're proposing, leaving me with the task of having to construct their argument for them, before i'm able to disassemble it. do you want me to decolonize you for yourself , too? fuck...
there was a time when there were more arabs in iran (by percentage of the population) than there are today, too.
so, iran would be a good example of a culture where decolonization means dearabization, which is the same thing as demuslimification, or deislamicization.
if you're not following, it's because you're confusing colonialism with westernization, and what you're really calling for is dewesternization, not decolonization. and, you can think whatever the fuck you want. you can go live in the forest, if you can find one, for all i care. i just want you to be honest and concise about it, so i can demonstrate that you're wrong, properly.
i mean, it's the most frustrating fucking thing in the world to get into a debate with somebody that can't even define what they're proposing, leaving me with the task of having to construct their argument for them, before i'm able to disassemble it. do you want me to decolonize you for yourself , too? fuck...
if you're going to have a conversation about decolonization without including dearabization - or demuslimification, whatever - then what you're really talking about is dewesternization - and, implicitly, re-muslimification.
it would just be useful if you were transparent and honest.
because, i'm in your side about decolonization, but i'm not on your side about re-muslimification.
it would just be useful if you were transparent and honest.
because, i'm in your side about decolonization, but i'm not on your side about re-muslimification.
historically speaking, as tools for imperialism and expansion and slavery and colonialism, christianity and islam have really always been pretty much exactly the same thing.
they copied each other, relentlessly.
the idea of jihad, for example, was invented by a roman emperor, heraclius, to rescue the "true cross" and restore it to jerusalem. the muslims then stole that idea, flat out, and used it to further their own interests.
on the other hand, the papal bull that authorized christians to enslave pagans and 'saracens' and set off the period of european colonialism was modelled after the muslim practice of enslaving non-muslims, and was something the christian world hadn't really done, previously. in fact, the english word for slave is etymologically derived from the english word for russian - slav. and, we know the russians were both white and christian, at least in the period of time since william the conqueror.
so, how can we talk about decolonization without including dearabization along with implied dechristianization?
i'm not blaming anything or anyone besides an incomplete understanding of history, which is so often the problem on the left.
they copied each other, relentlessly.
the idea of jihad, for example, was invented by a roman emperor, heraclius, to rescue the "true cross" and restore it to jerusalem. the muslims then stole that idea, flat out, and used it to further their own interests.
on the other hand, the papal bull that authorized christians to enslave pagans and 'saracens' and set off the period of european colonialism was modelled after the muslim practice of enslaving non-muslims, and was something the christian world hadn't really done, previously. in fact, the english word for slave is etymologically derived from the english word for russian - slav. and, we know the russians were both white and christian, at least in the period of time since william the conqueror.
so, how can we talk about decolonization without including dearabization along with implied dechristianization?
i'm not blaming anything or anyone besides an incomplete understanding of history, which is so often the problem on the left.
listen.
i'm just as into phoenicianism, and coptism - and, berberism, too!
the historical record is pretty clear that the initial arab conquerors were so dark-skinned as to nearly be black, and that is something that you only really see today in the very south of the arabian peninsula. just on purely logical grounds, it's hard to take this idea that a couple of million arabs - if that - were able to depopulate and displace two thirds of the roman empire, and the entirety of the persian one in a couple of decades. nor does history uphold the idea that the arabs carried out the kind of rape and mass slaughter that the mongols did (and that explains why such a huge percentage of the historically persian areas are today majority turkic).
the arabs followed mallory's "elite dominance" model. they took over the government, and they certainly left some genetic evidence behind, but they did not replace the existing populations. they didn't even enforce their religion, at first. arabization was a slow, cultural process driven by carrots and sticks. so, the libyans are berbers, and the egyptians are copts and the lebanese are phonenicians and the syrians are just that, too - they've just all been colonized by arabs and lost their identities.
this is why decolonization also means dearabization.
to suggest something different for the palestinians would be inconsistent, to present a special case. and, the evidence is perhaps even stronger for jewish continuity than it is for, say, babylonian continuity, given that there was a stage of persian colonization in mesopotamia, as well.
i'm just as into phoenicianism, and coptism - and, berberism, too!
the historical record is pretty clear that the initial arab conquerors were so dark-skinned as to nearly be black, and that is something that you only really see today in the very south of the arabian peninsula. just on purely logical grounds, it's hard to take this idea that a couple of million arabs - if that - were able to depopulate and displace two thirds of the roman empire, and the entirety of the persian one in a couple of decades. nor does history uphold the idea that the arabs carried out the kind of rape and mass slaughter that the mongols did (and that explains why such a huge percentage of the historically persian areas are today majority turkic).
the arabs followed mallory's "elite dominance" model. they took over the government, and they certainly left some genetic evidence behind, but they did not replace the existing populations. they didn't even enforce their religion, at first. arabization was a slow, cultural process driven by carrots and sticks. so, the libyans are berbers, and the egyptians are copts and the lebanese are phonenicians and the syrians are just that, too - they've just all been colonized by arabs and lost their identities.
this is why decolonization also means dearabization.
to suggest something different for the palestinians would be inconsistent, to present a special case. and, the evidence is perhaps even stronger for jewish continuity than it is for, say, babylonian continuity, given that there was a stage of persian colonization in mesopotamia, as well.
it's one of those deep, esoteric historical points that reveals itself to me slowly over time, and so i'm going to keep going back to it, but this just came to me as i was doing the dishes - a summary of previous points, but perhaps worth stating in it's own terms.
what the state of israel is doing in the levant, today, is finishing the job that the romans started 2000 years ago. for, the palestinians are the true descendants of biblical israel, insofar as it ever existed at all. they have forgotten their identity, forgotten their beliefs and forgotten their history. this has all been taken from them. today, they are told they are not jews at all - and they believe it. the very last step of the roman genocide is to remove them from the land, altogether.
what the state of israel is doing in the levant, today, is finishing the job that the romans started 2000 years ago. for, the palestinians are the true descendants of biblical israel, insofar as it ever existed at all. they have forgotten their identity, forgotten their beliefs and forgotten their history. this has all been taken from them. today, they are told they are not jews at all - and they believe it. the very last step of the roman genocide is to remove them from the land, altogether.
Sunday, March 11, 2018
regarding bernie sanders and the russian hoax...
why is he doing this? does it prove he's compromised?
i think you want to flip it around: it proves how important the narrative is to the deep state. and, this isn't the only example of bernie going along with status quo foreign policy, despite probably not actually believing it.
i mean, maybe he fell for it. but, he has a pretty good track record of not falling for things, doesn't he? so, why fall for this?
the truth is that it doesn't matter, from any reasonable leftist domestic perspective. and, i think bernie himself has been pretty clear that he's not an anti-imperialist candidate, never has been and never will be; he's about domestic policies first and foremost, and willing to ignore these tricky foreign policy issues that could turn global oligarchs against him....
so, the way to look at is this.
1) if sanders goes along with the russia hoax, he doesn't create powerful enemies. and, what harm does this actually do? why would anybody actually care?
2) but, if sanders goes against the russia hoax, the cia goes out of their way to destroy him - and millions of voters think he's in kahoots, too.
3) so, the rational choice is to play stupid, until it works itself out.
see, and this is why i think the deep state didn't just abandon him, but came to see him as the greatest threat. it's not his policies that scared them. it was his willingness to subvert the subversion - to make a deal with people that aren't using to making deals.
you and i know better. millions don't.
i'd just drop it.
why is he doing this? does it prove he's compromised?
i think you want to flip it around: it proves how important the narrative is to the deep state. and, this isn't the only example of bernie going along with status quo foreign policy, despite probably not actually believing it.
i mean, maybe he fell for it. but, he has a pretty good track record of not falling for things, doesn't he? so, why fall for this?
the truth is that it doesn't matter, from any reasonable leftist domestic perspective. and, i think bernie himself has been pretty clear that he's not an anti-imperialist candidate, never has been and never will be; he's about domestic policies first and foremost, and willing to ignore these tricky foreign policy issues that could turn global oligarchs against him....
so, the way to look at is this.
1) if sanders goes along with the russia hoax, he doesn't create powerful enemies. and, what harm does this actually do? why would anybody actually care?
2) but, if sanders goes against the russia hoax, the cia goes out of their way to destroy him - and millions of voters think he's in kahoots, too.
3) so, the rational choice is to play stupid, until it works itself out.
see, and this is why i think the deep state didn't just abandon him, but came to see him as the greatest threat. it's not his policies that scared them. it was his willingness to subvert the subversion - to make a deal with people that aren't using to making deals.
you and i know better. millions don't.
i'd just drop it.
95% of strategists will see it otherwise, i concur.
but, nobody wants to have a beer with a political strategist.
to, 95% of voters, this logo screams DOUCHE.
...and it should be avoided like the plague.
now, if you don't like windows - or are afraid somebody is going to make you pay licensing - a much safer choice than a mac would be linux, because while people may raise an eyebrow, it's more likely to leave a positive impression - it's going to broadcast a level of technical intelligence, whereas the apple logo just broadcasts "this is somebody i don't want to spend time with".
but, nobody wants to have a beer with a political strategist.
to, 95% of voters, this logo screams DOUCHE.
...and it should be avoided like the plague.
now, if you don't like windows - or are afraid somebody is going to make you pay licensing - a much safer choice than a mac would be linux, because while people may raise an eyebrow, it's more likely to leave a positive impression - it's going to broadcast a level of technical intelligence, whereas the apple logo just broadcasts "this is somebody i don't want to spend time with".
politicians with macs.....
i see this all of the time. they probably think it's trendy.
but, you know that apple has like a 2% market share, right?
what that says is "i am an out of touch elitist".
you are literally broadcasting yourself as a member of the 1%.
stop doing it...
normal people use windows machines.
i see this all of the time. they probably think it's trendy.
but, you know that apple has like a 2% market share, right?
what that says is "i am an out of touch elitist".
you are literally broadcasting yourself as a member of the 1%.
stop doing it...
normal people use windows machines.
if the ndp ever win a federal election, it will be the most right-wing government that we've ever seen.
i don't when they swung the other way. the 80s, probably. just another victim of neo-liberalism.
but, they're absolute frauds, and have been for as long as i can remember.
canada needs a new left, and has needed a new left for decades.
i don't when they swung the other way. the 80s, probably. just another victim of neo-liberalism.
but, they're absolute frauds, and have been for as long as i can remember.
canada needs a new left, and has needed a new left for decades.
i had to ask myself.
"is she farting this shit out, or what?"
it's just the sheer volume of smoke coming up from down there.
and, i couldn't avoid the mental image of a bong with an anus as mouthpiece.
google revealed some pornographic bongs, but i was really looking for something a little nastier.
i bet anus hair would be a good way to trap resin....
"is she farting this shit out, or what?"
it's just the sheer volume of smoke coming up from down there.
and, i couldn't avoid the mental image of a bong with an anus as mouthpiece.
google revealed some pornographic bongs, but i was really looking for something a little nastier.
i bet anus hair would be a good way to trap resin....
this is getting you closer to understanding doug ford than anything trump has said or done.
i'm going to say this, though: ford could probably campaign against nafta to great benefit. it may guarantee a win. see, that is what let trump flip those states (well, that and voter suppression). and, people arguing that ford can flip the crumbling industrial heartland - you will see many articles like this - are kind of missing the point, without taking that policy position into account.
wynne is certainly strongly pro-nafta.
he won't do it, though.
well, not unless he does it by quoting pierre trudeau, and arguing for a real free trade deal.
i'm going to say this, though: ford could probably campaign against nafta to great benefit. it may guarantee a win. see, that is what let trump flip those states (well, that and voter suppression). and, people arguing that ford can flip the crumbling industrial heartland - you will see many articles like this - are kind of missing the point, without taking that policy position into account.
wynne is certainly strongly pro-nafta.
he won't do it, though.
well, not unless he does it by quoting pierre trudeau, and arguing for a real free trade deal.
and, why do the fords do so well with black and brown voters?
we can all speculate.
my guess is that, to a jamaican or muslim immigrant in toronto, ford's rhetoric about "taking on the elites" translates roughly to "fighting the white man". and, the fact that he's so gruff and macho and plain spoken makes him more culturally similar to something they can identify with than a posh, liberal white dude in an expensive suit - who they may speculate is secretly gay.
the reasons may not be clear yet.
but, ford will win immigrants in wide sections of the province.
we can all speculate.
my guess is that, to a jamaican or muslim immigrant in toronto, ford's rhetoric about "taking on the elites" translates roughly to "fighting the white man". and, the fact that he's so gruff and macho and plain spoken makes him more culturally similar to something they can identify with than a posh, liberal white dude in an expensive suit - who they may speculate is secretly gay.
the reasons may not be clear yet.
but, ford will win immigrants in wide sections of the province.
in analysing canadian elections, you need to begin with the understanding that we have a 3+ party system - at least three parties, and there's always a chance a fourth may appear in any election. we still have five at the federal level...
this is the first problem in trying to apply the last american election to the upcoming election in ontario: there are three parties in contention, and it is likely that they will all receive more than 20% of the vote.
of course, a provincial election is not like a presidential election, either - because we are building a house of representatives and not electing a leader of the executive branch.
is this a change election? probably. but, what wynne v. elliot does is open up a space for andrea horwath - because elliot doesn't represent much of a change. it's a different hair cut. but, horwath at least looks younger. the pcs really rely on uninformed voters; we call them "tim horton's conservatives". i think they'd have bolted to the ndp under elliot....
conversely, doug ford presents a much starker contrast, and that is going to make it harder for horwath to gain traction.
i'm not willing to call it yet, because wynne is in such a poor position. it seems obvious; it isn't. ford will effectively and believably campaign on change, for better or worse. he will dominate the immigrant communities in toronto, as he and his brother have always done - which is going to be a big problem for both of the other parties, as they're used to taking these voters for granted. that's the scary wildcard, here. his very strong appeal to immigrants could flip some seats in the gta - and other urban areas, perhaps including windsor - that are not normally competitive.
doug ford is what the indo-canadians want - not jagmeet singh. his success with groups like jamaicans, hispanics, hindus and muslims should open some eyes in ottawa. but, i told you this was coming, and you didn't listen.
white moderate conservatives, on the other hand, will come running to wynne. so, this is the trade-off: ford will be able to steal a substantial amount of multicultural voters from the liberals and ndp, but he's going to lose white middle class support in the middle of the spectrum in the process.
the battle for the left between wynne and horwath will, as always, be crucial, because wynne may need to cut deep into the ndp base to fully make up for the losses.
this election could in some ways be realigning. both wynne and horwath may be tempted to float illiberal positions to try and prevent the bleed (flood) of immigrant voters to ford - and it probably won't work. whether it works or not, it will certainly backfire. i'm in the group of (culturally) white liberal voters that is going to flip out over certain overtures.
we'll have to see where everybody aligns once the dust settles before i'm willing to make stronger predictions. but, i'm going to guess that wynne pulls this off - at the expense of the ndp.
a good model may be the last toronto mayoral race, where john tory beat doug ford by eating into olivia chow's support base - who willingly rallied to defeat him.
this is the first problem in trying to apply the last american election to the upcoming election in ontario: there are three parties in contention, and it is likely that they will all receive more than 20% of the vote.
of course, a provincial election is not like a presidential election, either - because we are building a house of representatives and not electing a leader of the executive branch.
is this a change election? probably. but, what wynne v. elliot does is open up a space for andrea horwath - because elliot doesn't represent much of a change. it's a different hair cut. but, horwath at least looks younger. the pcs really rely on uninformed voters; we call them "tim horton's conservatives". i think they'd have bolted to the ndp under elliot....
conversely, doug ford presents a much starker contrast, and that is going to make it harder for horwath to gain traction.
i'm not willing to call it yet, because wynne is in such a poor position. it seems obvious; it isn't. ford will effectively and believably campaign on change, for better or worse. he will dominate the immigrant communities in toronto, as he and his brother have always done - which is going to be a big problem for both of the other parties, as they're used to taking these voters for granted. that's the scary wildcard, here. his very strong appeal to immigrants could flip some seats in the gta - and other urban areas, perhaps including windsor - that are not normally competitive.
doug ford is what the indo-canadians want - not jagmeet singh. his success with groups like jamaicans, hispanics, hindus and muslims should open some eyes in ottawa. but, i told you this was coming, and you didn't listen.
white moderate conservatives, on the other hand, will come running to wynne. so, this is the trade-off: ford will be able to steal a substantial amount of multicultural voters from the liberals and ndp, but he's going to lose white middle class support in the middle of the spectrum in the process.
the battle for the left between wynne and horwath will, as always, be crucial, because wynne may need to cut deep into the ndp base to fully make up for the losses.
this election could in some ways be realigning. both wynne and horwath may be tempted to float illiberal positions to try and prevent the bleed (flood) of immigrant voters to ford - and it probably won't work. whether it works or not, it will certainly backfire. i'm in the group of (culturally) white liberal voters that is going to flip out over certain overtures.
we'll have to see where everybody aligns once the dust settles before i'm willing to make stronger predictions. but, i'm going to guess that wynne pulls this off - at the expense of the ndp.
a good model may be the last toronto mayoral race, where john tory beat doug ford by eating into olivia chow's support base - who willingly rallied to defeat him.
Saturday, March 10, 2018
here's a little advice from the other side, pc party.
christine elliot is a loser. and wynne has her dominated.
voting purely on experience? wynne wins. are you a red tory? wynne wins. elliot has no upside over wynne whatsoever.
you're better off with ford.
and, while ford is not trump, you're clearly learning the wrong lesson from the last american election, aren't you?
personally? i just want an excuse to make fun of doug ford for three months.
christine elliot is a loser. and wynne has her dominated.
voting purely on experience? wynne wins. are you a red tory? wynne wins. elliot has no upside over wynne whatsoever.
you're better off with ford.
and, while ford is not trump, you're clearly learning the wrong lesson from the last american election, aren't you?
personally? i just want an excuse to make fun of doug ford for three months.
so, it seems as though doug ford won in more or less the way i suggested, and the party leadership won't accept it...?
?
the system is exaggerating rural support. it was predictable, for that reason.
you can't change the rules because you don't like the results. or, maybe, the real message the party is sending is that you actually can.
?
the system is exaggerating rural support. it was predictable, for that reason.
you can't change the rules because you don't like the results. or, maybe, the real message the party is sending is that you actually can.
and, i need to reiterate that ford isn't much like trump at all.
he's more like a chris christie: very fiscally conservative, kind of 'colour blind' (at least in public) and sort of quasi-libertarian rather than social conservative.
ford would be opposed to tariffs, in favour of immigration and largely disinterested in war.
they would agree on little, besides tax cuts.
he's more like a chris christie: very fiscally conservative, kind of 'colour blind' (at least in public) and sort of quasi-libertarian rather than social conservative.
ford would be opposed to tariffs, in favour of immigration and largely disinterested in war.
they would agree on little, besides tax cuts.
huge sample size, but funny methods.
both email and ivr are going to skew towards the moderate voters; tga is also going to do very well in the rural areas.
i'm not changing my call on this. and, whether ford wins comfortably or barely is really going to come down to whether granic-allen can beat mulroney or not...
http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/ontario-pc-leadership-poll-1.4569420
both email and ivr are going to skew towards the moderate voters; tga is also going to do very well in the rural areas.
i'm not changing my call on this. and, whether ford wins comfortably or barely is really going to come down to whether granic-allen can beat mulroney or not...
http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/ontario-pc-leadership-poll-1.4569420
so, how am i doing?
those nose bleeds are lingering. they're not active bleeds; it's more bloody boogers. and, it's not entirely unheard of - i'm used to getting a little blood in my snot when it's dry, which it is, right now. cold or hot, what i really hate is dry air. the smoke is no doubt a factor. once i get the holes blocked off in here, that's going to need to be something i'll want to deal with. humidifier, maybe. as it is, my last brita filter died on me the other day, so i'm just drinking coffee.
the guy was supposed to come finish the work yesterday, but didn't. so, i've been stuck in the house all week. i'll be able to get out and grab some things - duct tape, steel wool, brita filter - in the morning.
i'm otherwise relatively alert. the headaches have mostly subsided, and there's only two or three places left to tape, for now.
i want to be clear: i'm feeling better because i've blocked most of the smoke. it didn't go away on it's own, i took steps to counter the problem. and i think i'm not at 100% because it's not done, yet.
those nose bleeds are lingering. they're not active bleeds; it's more bloody boogers. and, it's not entirely unheard of - i'm used to getting a little blood in my snot when it's dry, which it is, right now. cold or hot, what i really hate is dry air. the smoke is no doubt a factor. once i get the holes blocked off in here, that's going to need to be something i'll want to deal with. humidifier, maybe. as it is, my last brita filter died on me the other day, so i'm just drinking coffee.
the guy was supposed to come finish the work yesterday, but didn't. so, i've been stuck in the house all week. i'll be able to get out and grab some things - duct tape, steel wool, brita filter - in the morning.
i'm otherwise relatively alert. the headaches have mostly subsided, and there's only two or three places left to tape, for now.
i want to be clear: i'm feeling better because i've blocked most of the smoke. it didn't go away on it's own, i took steps to counter the problem. and i think i'm not at 100% because it's not done, yet.
yes.
yes, it is kent.
but, trudeau will stick with the girl he brought to the dance, regardless of how disinterested she is, or how drunk she gets, or how many times he has to ask her why she's been hanging around outside the men's room all night.
if we want to get rid of the puppet masters, you will need to get rid of the puppet, too.
http://www.macleans.ca/opinion/is-it-time-to-change-up-team-trudeau/
yes, it is kent.
but, trudeau will stick with the girl he brought to the dance, regardless of how disinterested she is, or how drunk she gets, or how many times he has to ask her why she's been hanging around outside the men's room all night.
if we want to get rid of the puppet masters, you will need to get rid of the puppet, too.
http://www.macleans.ca/opinion/is-it-time-to-change-up-team-trudeau/
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