Get Yer Quebec Accomodation Report!

MONTREAL — Quebec is no more a racist society than other jurisdictions in the Western world, but it faces problems integrating immigrants which it will need to tackle immediately, says a report on the reasonable accommodation of the province's minorities.

The report by sociologist Gérard Bouchard and philosopher Charles Taylor says there is no chaos in Quebec but rather a serious problem of perception. The academics insist that both the francophone and immigrant communities must come together in a moral contract where both have a responsibility in ensuring social harmony.

The full report is here in English, here in French. I haven't read it but the papers make it sound pretty common sense. No hijab ban, thank goodness, although Judges etc. may not be allowed to wear (any kind of(?)) religious symbols.

I'm going to try and read the thing tonight and have an opinion on it by tomorrow.

Whoops! They Did It Again!

For the second year in a row, the Campaign Life Coalition has been busted for using the iconic Canada wordmark - the official symbol of the Government of Canada- on its anti-abortion banners.

And their story hasn't changed much either:

In an interview with Inside the Queensway, CLC national organizer Mary Ellen Douglas called the whole thing“ridiculous,” and insisted that she never even saw the sign — she was too busy with the “eight thousand people” on the Hill for the march. She repeatedly excoriated the media, in general, and ITQ, specifically, for ignoring the “real story”, and instead focusing on a “tiny little sign” (that, we should point out, was on a banner that required nearly a dozen ralliers to carry); she blamed the oversight on the “sign printers”, who, she said, were “asked to remove it,” but “accidentally left it on.” It won’t be there next year," she said.

The feds are weighing their legal options.

By the way, the official estimate of the crowd size at this year's event is a little less than that of Ms. Douglas: "approximately 7,000" according to the Ottawa Sun. While the numbers of participants in the Global Marijuana March, held the same week, sky-rocketed to 20,000.

Obviously, a few of the souls noted by Ms. Douglas wandered off to smoke a fatty.

h/t to Kadey O'Malley, who sees all, knows all, on Parliament Hill.

Catholics to Ted Kennedy: Repent Or Burn

"We hope his ailment will bring conversion. We can't wish anyone eternal punishment."

And here's the definition of "veiled threat".

It's A New Record

...for flying flying fish.

He Could Always Work For The RCMP

NEW BEDFORD, Mass. (AP) — A firearms instructor in southern Massachusetts has been assigned to other duties after his gun accidentally went off while he was teaching a class on weapons safety.
[...]
The bullet ripped a hole in Lamar’s pants but missed his leg and foot.
[...]
Sheriff Thomas Hodgson says the officer made a “gross error in judgment” by not emptying the weapon before the class last week.

Maybe the guy was demonstrating a "don't do".

Pearson's Defense Minister: UFOs Have Shot Down American Fighter Planes

Paul Hellyer kicks off the fourth annual Exo-Politics Institutes X-Fest with a blistering speech re exposing the UFO conspiracy.

I wish I were in a mood for good humour, but I am not. We are hell-bent in the direction of destroying our planet, and we appear to be doing precious little about it. Decades ago visitors from other planets warned us about where we were headed, and offered to help. But instead, we, or at least some of us, interpreted their visits as a threat, and decided to shoot first and ask questions afterward. The inevitable result was that some of our planes were lost; but how many were due to retaliation, and how many were a result of our own stupidity is a moot point.

It would be even more hilarious if he was an ex-Tory minister but, unfortunately, Hellyer's a Pearson era Defense Minister, and this is his second appearance at X-Fest.

For more on the Exo-Politics Institute, which funds X-Fest, try this, or check out their website.

For more on the "exo-politics" promoted by Paul and the gang, especially in its Canadian context, see this post in which Exo Politics Toronto PR guy Victor Viggiani asks Excellency Governor General of Canada Michaëlle Jean to come clean re the cover-up.

She tells him to take his concerns to CSIS.

Update: Ti-guy notes that Hellyer was Defense Minister for Pearson, not Trudeau, as the post originally stated.

Dennis Gruending Breaks Down The National Prayer Breakfast

And finds that it conjures an image of social and moral conservatism. Mostly male, mostly white, mostly Christian, in other words.

Dennis Gruending was raised by monks and later served as MP for the New Democrats. He writes the Pulpit and Politics blog, which offers a kind-of sociological take on the intersection of politics and religion in Canada.

BigCityLib: Art Lovin' Guy

My wife and I visited the National Gallery of Canada on Saturday, and I have to admit that I came away from the place a little bit disappointed. There was too much stuff I wasn't interested in, too little stuff that I liked. A bit boring, in other words

For example, I couldn't find a single piece by Emily Carr, and I've never been impressed by the other members of "The Gang of Seven". It's like they spent their entire artistic careers painting the same tree.

And Barnett Newman's painting "Voice of Fire" really does look like it was done with a roller. I spent months arguing with philistines about this work when the controversy first raged, and now I have to admit that the philistines were right. "Oooh! The Intensity of the colours!" sophisticated people said but, frankly, the colours are similar enough to the scheme used by the New York Giants to seem suspicious.

Somewhere, Barnett Newman is passed out face down with an empty bottle of absinthe and a fistful of Canadian Taxpayers' dollars in his hand.

And I've always loved John Waterhouse.

He painted great nekkid nymphs and his models looked exactly like my old secretary, Dorothy. Exceedingly hot in a typically English way: small breasts, horsey hips. I mentioned the resemblance to Dorothy once and wound up doing eight weeks of sensitivity training.

In any case, there wasn't a single Waterhouse or, as far as I could make out, a single Pre-Raphaelite of any variety (they all painted hot nymphs).

There were no Kandinsky's, no Rousseau's, and the only Klee (see below) was a rather subdued number painted on Burlap.

And what's with the ghastly 1,000 year old picture frames? Braque, Picasso, Leger...these painters were interested in deconstructing the very act of perception, yet their paintings are rimmed around with fat little cherubs blowing trumpets. I DON'T think they would have approved.

Not that there weren't a few cool items. The Pollack heading the post, for example: its a small one, done on glass. And I have always liked Mondrian (below, who always insisted that his work be displayed sans frame) even though I suppose one could ask what's the real difference between him and someone like Newman, the answer being that Mondrian doesn't suck.

They also had one of Joseph Cornell's boxes, although I accidentally deleted my picture of it, and it was a crap picture anyway. (Note: Cornell bulks large in William Gibson's Count Zero)

A Quick Note From The Speechy Wars

Re. the state of "hacked wifi" affair, in which CHRC employees used space-age technology in order to gain access to the wireless network of Nelly Hechme and visit neo-Nazi websites anonymously when they could have just crossed the street and done it from Starbucks.

After a month looking at the file, the Ottawa police have decided that its all really a matter for the RCMP (warning: link to Lemire). Guess we're looking at another whole month until the whole thing gets tossed.

In that He Was Born 2,000 Years Ago?

Columbus — Georgia Republican Party chairwoman Sue Everhart said Saturday that the party's presumed presidential nominee [John McCain] has a lot in common with Jesus Christ.

And I Are On That List

I've already told the tale of how I weaseled my way onto the latest incarnation of the Oregon Petition in this post. It was easy. I read a couple of papers on glaciology, made up a bunch of sciency sounding nonsense in a letter I wrote Dr. Arthur Robinson, and bingo! in a couple of weeks was sent a copy of the petition, which I then signed and mailed back.

Well, the new version of the petition will be published on Monday and, unless my copy went astray in the mail, I expect to have joined 31,000 other scientists in "rejecting claims of human-caused global warming".

Obviously, I did not use my real name on the petition. I won't give the name I actually did use, but here's a hint: I stayed away from my usual favorites. So, no Dr. Eric Von Dickenstein. And no Haywood J. Blome. I also did not sign the petition as Professor P.P. Weiner, because Professor P.P. is actually real, and in fact edited several volumes on Canada's nuclear weapons policy (along with J.M. Careless!) back in the 1980s.

For I would not wish to sully Mr. Weiner's reputation by associating him with such a low endeavour as the Oregon Petition.

Update: It appears I made the list. I signed the card "Michael F. Murphy" (real name Michael J.) and there indeed is one such on the petition. On the other hand, I don't recall adding "MD" after my name, or anything for that matter, but my handwriting is notoriously horrible and they may have misinterpreted a flourish. (note: the "X" I write on the petition in the original post was done on a photocopy created for the purpose.)

Further Update: I am attempting to confirm with the Oregon Institute that the signature is indeed my own.

Update to Further Update: Alas, the Michael F. Murphy on the petition is not my signature, according to A.B. Robinson. So I suppose for total accuracy's sake I should say that I was invited to sign the petition, though my name did not appear on the final list. I wondered if something had gone wrong with the letter containing my petition card when the further cards I asked for did not arrive. I would assume the postie who got assigned my mail was unable to read my handwriting.

But not to worry. You can be your own fake scientist. The Oregon Institute has put their petition online here, though you still have to send it back to them snail-mail Be sure to tell them what your "specialized scientific experience" is.

As for me, I'll be trying again to make it on the next go round.

(And of course my main point still holds: You sign your name to the petition, tell what your degree is supposed to be in, and mail the petition in. That's the entire extent of the screening.)

Free Speech Is Wasted Upon Him

In which a Blogging Tory mistakes the CRTC for the CHRC:

... I urge everyone to let their voices be heard in the CRTC's latest at controlling internet content. If you care about free speech, the CRTC must not be allowed to control anything. No doubt Richard Warman and his Human Rights Commission cohorts will be submitting their reasons for controlling us upstart hate mongering bloggers.

Oh well. They both start with a "C" and have four letters in 'em. What more resemblance do you need?

Notes From Ottawa

Went into The Astrolab yesterday, an rare book/print store, and picked up a nifty map of Ottawa-area used book stores. I then asked where I could find booze for sale, and the directions I was given wound me up in front of the Parliament Buildings. Did I mis-hear or is this Ottawa humor? There was definitely no LCBO there.

Also, so far we've found two lists of secret charges the Marriot levies if you don't explicitly decline the service. Can anyone with experience of these places tell me whether there is a third list that I should be looking out for, maybe stuffed under the mattress somewhere? (They even charge $1.50 for the Saturday Globe.)

Kinsella Vs. The Scientist

Kinsella's recent post on Dion's carbon tax proposal has made more than a few waves. You can find it here. I thought I would juxtapose it with an analysis by Canadian climate scientist Simon Donner (click on link for the entire piece):

Is there a better time to redirect federal tax code to stress fuels, rather than income? The signals are all pointing in that direction. Cars are outselling trucks and SUVs for the first time in years. Goldman Sachs reported this week that oil could reach $150 to $200 a barrel. Public transit usage is on the rise. A carbon tax on transportation and heating fuels would only further nudge our economy towards higher energy efficiency and lower per capita greenhouse gas emissions. Most importantly, even if 100% revenue neutral the tax will allow the government the political room to direct revenues to programs to further invest in energy efficiency, renewable energy and new technologies.

As for the politics: evidence from the US primaries, where Hillary Clinton's obvious pandering over a gas tax holiday appears to have sunk what was left of her presidential campaign, [suggests] that people do appreciate honest on the complex issues of today. Dion is in the strange position of being seen by Canadians as "weak, uninspiring and unintelligible" but still more likable than PM Stephen Harper. Voters across the spectrum might just respect Dion more for making seemingly risky and groundbreaking political move of pushing for a carbon tax.

I can't say that reading Warren's piece didn't stoke some doubts in me. His profession, after all, is political strategy, so if he says an idea is crap you have to give the opinion some weight. But I wonder if he isn't working from a political play book that's a few years out of date. For example, I don't believe for one minute that talking environmental issues tags you as an lefty urbanite. We can all see what's happening to our arctic, and I think Canadians are beginning to understand this as a security issue (maybe our most important security issue), not just a matter of saving a few cute polar bears.

Furthermore, I rather think the cry of "too complex for the Canadian people" lets people like Warren off the hook as strategists. If a political party is developing an agricultural policy, for example, everyone involved in the production of that policy (from wonks to communicators) is expected to know enough about it to push the policy and counter the attacks. AGW as a political issue, though, is genuinely new, and I have a feeling alot of the resistance to the Carbon Tax proposal is about teaching old dogs new tricks. Its, like, another thing to learn... Well, tough nuts. From this day forward political types are going to have to start boning up on Carbon Markets and cloud feedbacks, and will be expected to know as much about that as they do about the history of The Wheat Board (or whatever). Simply accepting the Tory political spin that this will drive up fuel prices, as Warren does in spite of the fact that all Dion's pronouncements on the matter have made clear that the tax will not apply to gasoline, doesn't cut it. Its lazy. Its giving up before the fight has begun.

And just to rephrase Mr. Donner's last bit: we've got all sorts of people within the Liberal Party (Warren among them) saying "The party can't run away forever! Let's got to an election campaign!", but without really say much about what the Libs positive platform is supposed to be. Now that some (fairly bold) policy is starting to emerge, they're running away from the policy! Well, what then is the policy to be? We'll bring gas prices down? Nobody will believe that, and it can't be done! Or how about promising daycare for all? But, how many times have they done that already?

What's Sauce For The Goose...

Christians win a Human Rights Complaint and, praise Jesus, prominent Christian bloggers warm to the HRC process.

Does This Logo Make You Hot?

A group of U.S. activists think it should:

A Christian group based in San Diego found grounds for outrage over the new retro-style logo for Starbucks Coffee.

The Resistance says the new image "has a naked woman on it with her legs spread like a prostitute," Mark Dice, founder of the group, said in a news release. "Need I say more? It's extremely poor taste, and the company might as well call themselves Slutbucks."

Members of The Resistance--whose name sounds more heavy metal than Christian, but never-mind--believe in the Illuminati, and believe George W. Bush is part of it. They also argue that Jessica Simpson is a slut because she "dances like a stripper" and "kisses Willie Nelson" in her video for "The Dukes Of Hazard".

Okay, so maybe they've got a point on that one. I could never condone kissing Willie Nelson.

As for the Starbucks logo, it definitely does NOT make me hot. You'd think a mermaid, having to swim around all day, would be a bit more toned in the upper body. This particular fish chick looks downright flabby.

PS. I'm off to the nation's capital for the next couple of days. However, I will be taking the laptop and our hotel has free wifi. We'll see if I can get anything written. As always, any tips re Ottawa bookstores is welcome. We're right downtown this time, so I plan to do a top to bottom bookstore walkabout over the weekend.

Does Bill C-484 Target Abortion Providers?

Ken Epp, sponsor of the BillC-484, the Unborn Victims of Crime Act, has been busy. Huge portions of his website are devoted to defending this private members bill, and he has composed a report defending it against the accusations made by people like Joyce Arthur. A recent Ottawa Citizen column by Mr. Epp is here, and here is the report.

I can't speak particularly effectively to most of the arguments he makes (short version: C-484 is not like any of those nasty U.S. Fetal Homicide Laws). If anyone else wants to, or to just blow off some estrogen, go ahead in the comments. But what I would be especially interested in is if anyone has considered the risk the bill would might pose for abortion providers (rather than pregnant women)?

C-484 refers to harm caused to the woman by a "third party" committing an offense against the unborn child by virtue of committing an offense against the woman. And whether or not an offense against the woman has been committed depends on whether the act was "against her will".

Could a woman decide retroactively that her abortion was carried out "against her will" and attempt to bring charges against her doctor?

You do read about this sort of thing on Lifesite: My Doctor Drugged Me And Took My Baby etc.

Update: Liberal MP Brent St. Denis has now introduced Bill C-543, intended to "counter" C-484 and fill in some of its loop-holes.