Oops. Missed celebrating the controversial US National Holiday yesterday, Oct. 9th.
For some Columbus Day commemorates Columbus discovering America. But more than that, it celebrates Europeans bringing democracy and capitalism to the pagans who were nothing more than warring tribes led by chieftains no better than Saddam Husein.
Strangely, First Nations have still not thanked the white man for raising them up.
Columbus at the Coit Tower in San Francisco. (I assume Coit is short for Coitus.)
I check internet hoaxes on a great site called Snopes.com
But Google has bigger things in mind.
Imagine being able to check instantly whether or not statements made by politicians were correct. That is the sort of service Google Inc. boss Eric Schmidt believes the Internet will offer within five years.
Dvorak Uncensored » Google head warns politicians about truth and the Internet
Maher Arar was guilty. But only guilty of being Muslim.
Having heard Arar interviewed, I must say his story sounds legitimate. Authorities over-reacted.
Arar is waiting on a personal apology from the Prime Minister.
A Syrian-Canadian has been totally exonerated of having ties with Al Qaeda — after the RCMP and US Department of Homeland Security conspired to have him shipped to Syria, where he was tortured for ten months.
Maher Arar was passing through the US on the way back to Canada when the DHS detained him. The Mounties sent the US authorities bogus intel about him, saying that he had “links with Al Quaeda” because he was friends with someone who might be an Al Quaeda sympathizer. The US authorities sent him to Syria, where they (and the RCMP) fed questions to his Syrian torturers for months. Eventually, his torturers extracted a “confession” from him.
When he returned to Canada, he publicized his plight and the RCMP responded by smearing him, publicizing his “confession” and saying that he’d gotten what he deserved.
Now a public Canadian inquiry (which the DHS boycotted, refusing to disclose any information) has totally cleared Arar, and the RCMP has apologized for sending a citizen to a corrupt totalitarian state to be tortured because he was friends with someone they didn’t like.
… Three other Canadian citizens were also tortured in the Middle East under similar circumstances: Abdullah Almalki, Ahmad El Maati and Muyyed Nurredin.
Boing Boing: Canadian deported to Syria for torture is cleared
If you read this blog regularly you know I am pro-Islam.
I have had nothing but wonderful experiences travelling in the Muslim world and am mortified at the stupid things I see in the Western media.
That said, there are aspects of Islam with which I disagree including these listed on the (locked down) Wikipedia page:
I don’t list the current debate about whether the religion was historically more spread by the sword than Christianity. It is an unimportant issue. Ancient history. A hot button which diverts attention from the far more important issue of women’s rights.
Certainly there are many Muslim societies that have evolved past all of these (often exaggerated) criticisms.
The good works of Islam far outweighs the bad.
Of course I also disagree with some of the traditions of other religions, especially Catholicism and Hinduism. (Lets save those for future posts.)
Now unlike some religious defenders, I welcome criticism of my point of view. If you believe I am wrong please post a comment below.
That is the claim sweeping the internet.
Check their cover story in different regions:
I am sceptical. The American cover story is a feature on photographer Annie Leibovitz who just shot the fabulously profitable Suri Cruise photos.
This month’s cover is Angelina and her kids.
I expect the decision was based on which would move the most product.
“… the incongruity of the festive atmosphere amidst a coup d’etat.”
Bangkok looks pretty relaxed so far. Thai tourists are not fleeing.
photo originally uploaded by Dan Caspersz.
Don’t know how I missed this May 2006 cover story.
It’s a brilliant image.
Shame about Blair. He should have been one of the great PMs.
Everything this guy does breaks me up.
And Hodgman is everywhere right now.
He is the Bill-Gates-like PC in the hilarious Apple computer Get-a-Mac ads.
His bits on the Daily Show are classic. Here’s one where Hodgman explains Net Neutrality. Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.
Just heard the radical professor R.T. Naylor blast the “War on Terror”.
His research says that Osama does not have millions at his disposal. That money has long been shut off.
He states almost every claim made about the “Global War on Terrorism” is a ridiculous exaggeration.
Bloggers are not journalists.
These posts are more like gossip than anything you find in the New York Times.
I believe US politicians make most decisions based on the influence of lobbyists. I don’t know why this is the case — nor have I researched it. I believe it anyway.
At least Canadian politicians are more accountable to the voters. Or are they?
Remember Sam Bulte, the Canadian Liberal Member of Parliament who lost her seat after her voters figured out that she was raising money from the entertainment industry and then delivering pro-entertainment-industry laws that creamed the public to line the pockets of her buddies?
… her successor, the Tory Minister Bev Oda, was also on the take, netting big bucks from the Canadian Association of Broadcasters, Canadian Motion Picture Distributors, Canadian Music Publishers’ Association, Entertainment Software Association, Universal Music and other anti-Internet groups who are about to get their reward when Oda tries to steamroller Canada’s version of the DMCA through Parliament.
How Hollywood’s MP in Canada financed her campaign – Cory Doctorow
I trust Doctorow’s opinion. He is one far-sighted, big-picture, intelligent guy.
But he did not do the research either. He is blogging the blog of Dr. Michael Geist, the Canada Research Chair of Internet and E-commerce Law at the University of Ottawa.
You are reading this post — and I hope you pass it on to your friends in Canada. Or post it on your own blog.
Sooner or later it gets to Bev Oda’s office — and they decide to get much more careful about campaign contributor influence.
I think I will send her this post myself.
One example how blogging and the internet will change the world.
Rick McCharles 