Scripturient

Was Marx right after all?

2012-02-21 2012-02-21 Canadian Politics / PoliticsOne Comment

[youtube=”http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qOP2V_np2c0″] While Marx didn’t say exactly that the “rich get richer and the poor get poorer,” he did state that under capitalism, poverty would inevitably increase while more and more wealth would concentrate in fewer hands. Increasing profits and increasing wages, he claimed, were contradictory. Adam Smith – the “father” of capitalism – said much of the same thing, by the way. They were right. Marx’s economic and world views were fermented in the mid-19th century’s industrial age, an age without any of the mass … click below for more ↓

Santorum’s ‘faith’ attack incomprehensible

2012-02-19 2012-02-19 Atheism & Spirituality / Politics3 Comments

[youtube=”http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nyIZIiY81Ek”]I really don’t understand American politics. Watching the current campaign for the Republican Party’s nomination for presidential candidacy only baffles me further. It’s stunning that so many of the Republican candidates appeal – and do so loudly and consistently – to the lowest common denominator among the population. Topping my list of Republicans who bemuse me is Rick Santorum. His campaign only proves that you don’t have to be intelligent, open-minded, visionary, well-educated, focused or wise to run for president. He already proved earlier that … click below for more ↓

Why not a Napoleon theme park?

2012-02-18 2012-02-18 History & Biography / Personal Reminiscences / Urban Design & GrowthLeave a comment

There’s a sarcastic, somewhat-tongue-in-cheek commentary in the Guardian this week, called, “Why not have a Napoleon theme park?” In it, Agnès C. Poirier editorializes on a recent proposal by a French MP to build a theme park in France dedicated to Napoleon Bonaparte. She writes, Abroad, observers could be forgiven for almost choking on hearing this news: why not a Stalin or a Kim Jong-il theme park too? That made me choke, almost pushing my half-swallowed tea through my nose. Imaginations must run very high … click below for more ↓

What Shall We Do With the Mountain View?

2012-02-14 2012-02-14 Collingwood / Urban Design & Growth2 Comments

Here’s a new song for Collingwood, sung to the tune of What Shall We Do With the Drunken Sailor? Unbeknownst to council, the town wants to own the Mountain View Hotel for $1.9 million. This little-known fact appeared in the 600-plus page budget document without any fanfare. or even any other sort of notice. You’d have to dig through page after page of mind-numbing arrays of figures to find it. Normally, when the municipality wants to buy property, we go in camera to hear a … click below for more ↓

Let’s get the terms of this debate correct

2012-02-09 2012-02-09 Atheism & Spirituality / Canadian Politics / Science & TechnologyLeave a comment

There’s a recent story in the Winnipeg Free Press with the headlines that, “Liberals fear pro-lifers trying to take over weakened federal party.” Gawd, I hate such inaccurate, slanted reporting. It’s bad enough when politicians engage in it, but the media should be more objective. Let’s get the terms straight, shall we? Then we can try for objectivity. To call one side “pro-life” is to give credibility to the implication that the other side is “anti-life.” That’s spinelessly accepting a one-sided spin on the debate. … click below for more ↓

Collingwood’s population on the rise, faster than Canada’s

2012-02-08 2012-02-08 Collingwood / Municipal Politics / Urban Design & Growth2 Comments

Statistics Canada has released some of the key data data from its 2011 Census. In the five years since our last census (2006), Canada has grown in population size almost 6% to 33,476,688. That’s ten times larger than we were in 1861. Once again, our growth rate was the highest among G8 countries. According to the StatsCan analysis of the data, “every province and most territories saw its population increase between 2006 and 2011.” However, it notes that, “The rate of population growth increased in … click below for more ↓

Bad Lao Tzu meme adds to growing list of mis-identified quotes online

2012-02-07 2012-03-18 Atheism & Spirituality / Memes; Internet & Social / Personal Reminiscences / Religion / Science & Technology

This bad meme is going the Internet rounds: “If you want to awaken all of humanity, then awaken all of yourself, if you want to eliminate the suffering in the world, then eliminate all that is dark and negative in yourself. Truly, the greatest gift you have to give is that of your own self-transformation.” Lao Tzu Well, although deep – if a bit saccharine – it’s not from the Tao Teh Ching, the only work that the Old Master (the literal translation of his … click below for more ↓

Why Admiral Collingwood should go ahead

2012-02-05 2012-02-05 Collingwood / Municipal Politics / Urban Design & Growth5 Comments

Juxtaposition. That’s the issue Collingwood Council has to wrestle with, Monday: what effect will the juxtaposition of the proposed development’s size and height have on the existing, smaller buildings? Some people are afraid our existing heritage buildings will be diminished by this project. Last week I was in Toronto. At the corner of York and Wellington Streets, I saw the Toronto Club; a beautifully preserved, late 19th-century red-brick, three-storey building. It’s in the, heart of financial district, surrounded by tall, modern skyscrapers, some 30 or … click below for more ↓

Mayor Ford’s troubles a lesson for all Canadian mayors

2012-02-04 2012-02-04 Canadian Politics / Collingwood / Municipal PoliticsLeave a comment

On days like this, Toronto Mayor Rob Ford must be banging his head against the wall. This week he – and indeed every Canadian mayor – was reminded that a mayor’s powers are limited to a single vote. That point was driven home when Councillor Joe Mihevc asked for a legal opinion on Ford’s unilateral decision to kill the Transit City plan, in December 2010, without consulting council. Mihevc also claimed Ford did not have the authority to sign a memorandum of understanding with the … click below for more ↓

The colour of the herd

2012-02-03 2012-02-03 Arts / Personal ReminiscencesLeave a comment

I felt not so much like I was in a city full of undertakers, but rather in a city that was in casual but widespread mourning. A sombre, solemn city where everyone dressed in black in recognition of some great death, but one of which visitors were unaware. Standing at an intersection, the light would change and a wall of dark would approach, like a funeral procession that had just disbanded and was now going about its daily business in all seriousness. Okay, to be … click below for more ↓

The return of measles a threat to us all

2012-02-01 2012-02-01 Canadian Politics / Science & TechnologyOne Comment

Here’s a scary fact: measles seems to be returning to the West. There has been a rise in the number of outbreaks in the last few years, including in Canada: Quebec and recently in London, Ontario. According to the Middlesex-London Health Unit, there have been recent outbreaks of both measles and mumps in many countries, including, “US states (including New York), United Kingdom, New Zealand, Spain, Switzerland, Italy, France, Serbia, Macedonia, Turkey, Peru, Guatemala, Congo, Zambia, Bangladesh and India.” So why are these diseases coming … click below for more ↓

Why does yogurt aid digestion?

2012-02-01 2012-02-01 Food & Drink / Science & Technology / UncategorizedLeave a comment

I’ve always wondered why probiotic yogurt was good for you. Yes, it aids digestions, as many clinical studies have shown, but exactly why has never been explained to my satisfaction. Until recently, that is. According to a story reported in The Scientist last fall, “The bacteria found in some fermented dairy products, such as yogurt, may alter gene expression in human gut microbes…” One of the results of the study that surprised me was that eating yogurt did not significantly alter the existing population of … click below for more ↓

Make it happen, crowd tells council about Admiral Collingwood

2012-01-29 2012-01-30 Collingwood / Municipal Politics / Personal Reminiscences / Urban Design & GrowthOne Comment

Four hundred people, perhaps more, packed the Collingwood Legion, Sunday afternoon, to support the Admiral Collingwood development, at Hume and Hurontario Streets. It was arguably the most important public meeting of the last 18 months. The clear message, both from speakers at the rally and audience members, was “make it happen.” So many people packed the Legion hall that it was standing room only, with some forced to watch and listen from the alcove. The rally was called by a group of citizens to counter … click below for more ↓

Google Earth 6.2 gets somewhat better, but it still needs work

2012-01-29 2012-01-29 Arts / Science & Technology / Urban Design & GrowthLeave a comment

It was big news this week that Google Earth 6.2 was released with a bunch of new pictures, and an improved satellite mesh that removed some of the previous patchwork of scans that made up some of its maps. The media are full of articles praising Google Earth’s new release. CNET noted, “The result is a more realistic and less distracting (though still optimistically cloudless) view of the planet. Update: It turns out that by turning on the weather layer, you can dispel Google Earth’s … click below for more ↓

Why is most TV so lame?

2012-01-28 2012-01-28 Arts / Personal Reminiscences / Science & Technology4 Comments

I would expect from the names of TV channels like Discovery, The Learning Channel and History Channel that these would be educational, documentary, engaging, informative, deep, and rich with content. Silly me. I forgot that the mandate of most TV channels is to entertain the lowest common denominator, not to educate or engage. With shows like “Freaky Eaters” and “Extreme Couponing”, the “Learning” Channel is the bottom feeder in the TV IQ pond. Of the 30 bathetic shows in its current lineup, four are about … click below for more ↓