Justice and Prison Reform

I just finished reading Ezra Klein's article on prison rape that appeared in the Los Angeles times the other day. Here is the key quote for me:

But by and large, we seem to find more humor than outrage in these crimes. In part, this simply reflects the nature of our criminal justice system, which has become decreasingly rehabilitative and increasingly retributive.

Indeed. I'm not sure if anyone has been able to tell from the subjects I like to blog about, but I think that justice and prison reform should be one of the most pressing political issues of the day. If I were a politician I would be pushing it as one of my highest priorities. For me, it all goes back to thinking about what our objectives our with respect to the criminal justice system. Is our objective to promote a peaceful, law abiding, socially adjusted populace? Or is it just to feel momentarily good about the revenge we are inflicting on people who break the law? From a public policy perspective the obvious answer is the former. So, off the top of my head, here are some of my specific proposals for justice reform:

1) Decriminalize and regulate (and tax) all drugs. What are now illegal narcotics should be treated in two ways depending on their addictive nature (to be determined through an open and scientific regulatory structure). Non-addictive drugs should be regulated in a way that is similar to alcohol or tobacco. Production or sale of these drugs outside the regulatory regime should be result in strictly regulatory (i.e. non-criminal) fines and punishments. We should prohibit the production and import of addictive drugs. Again, the result of production or importation should be a regulatory, non-criminal punishment. Simple possession of prohibited addictive drugs should be dealt with in specialized statutory drug courts whose sole purpose should be proper medical treatment of addiction.

2) Prostitution should be legalized and a special tribunal created to adjudicate disputes arising out of legal prostitution. The tribunal should place special emphasis on the privacy of the women involved in prostitution and the prevention of exploitation.

3) Both general and specific deterrence should be removed from the Criminal Code as factors for judges to consider in sentencing. Judges should be directed through statute to consider more alternative, non-penal sentencing options and to take specific consideration of the offenders social and economic background, and the influence of addictive drugs on the commission of the offense.

4) Amend s. 24 of the Charter to include an independent, Constitutional, tortious cause of action against law enforcement agencies for Charter violations.

5) Create an independent body to consider new, exculpatory evidence at a lower legal threshold than is currently applied.

6) Massively increase funding for addiction harm-reduction programs (like Insite in Vancouver) and mental health resources.

Feel free to add to my list. These are just off-the-cuff proposals mostly.

Update: Some other points that go to access to our legal system.

7) Create a single-payer, optional, government administered legal insurance regime.

8) Extend legal aid services to included everyone charged with a criminal offense of any kind.

9) Increase the maximum value of claims in small claims courts; give small claims judges wider statutory discretion to settle claims on equitable outcomes (in order to dull the disadvantage of self-represented litigants); allow awarding of full costs.

Zimbabwe

It's looking possible that Morgan Tsvangirai and the MDC may pull off an election win in Zimbabwe. That could be either really good or really bad news. Bad news because dictators who usually rig elections and round up and beat the shit out of opposition activists don't usually leave office without violence.

Tibetan Artist: Gonkar Gyatso

An interesting look at contemporary Tibetan art, culture and self-reflection:

It is a relatively recent situation for Tibetans to remove art from its iconographical, religious origins of thangkas and scrolls and recontextualize it within the modern dialectic. The most striking example of this process can be found in the work of Gonkar Gyatso, an artist who uses ideological identity portraiture and sophisticated graphics to discuss the modernist dilemma facing contemporary Tibetans...

In My Identity 1-4, Gyatso represents himself alternately as a Tibetan native painting a traditional thangka; a Communist Chinese painting a portrait of Mao; a refugee painting a picture of The Dalai Lama; and finally, an international urban sophisticate painting a picture of the cosmos. Who, however, is the real Gonkar?

A telling portrait of a culture under seige in the post-post-modern world of schizophrenic, reflective self-identification.

B and I spent what I consider one of the most important parts of our trip to China in Xiahe, a town in western China known for the Labrang Monestary that's located there, where Buddhists from all over the world make the pilgramage as part of the Yellow Hat sect that the Dalai Lama is spiritual leader to.

One of the most striking memories I have of our time there was at a little restaurant we found tucked away; there, we ate fried noodles and greens with a roomful of monks-in-training, who--in all their red-robed majesty--were yucking up watching the NBA semi-finals on tv. One of them even had a black ace bandage around his elbow, suggesting an injury he might have received while playing basketball himself. The impression of that contrast, between the centuries-old traditional red robes of a monk and the spandex'd sports brace of a modern-day athletic teen, has never left me--and it is perhaps one of the strongest memories I have from my entire trip through China. Why? I think because, in this secular culture I live in, the "divinity" of the Tibetan monk is something beyond which I can inherently understand. And yet they live in this, the modern world.

These pieces of art (posted) reveal a similar conflict to that which I saw in that little restaurant in Xiahe. The traditional world of a sacred religion comingling with the reality of today, with its liberalism, technology, severe isolation and indulgent self- reflection and expression.

Iraq

For people still interested in what is going on in Iraq, read Juan Cole's blog. He's a professor of middle eastern history at the University of Michigan, speaks fluent Arabic and Persian, and produces consistently good analysis and news summaries from local Iraqi media.

Fighting 5-year-olds makes it big!

So it appears that the How-Many-5-Year-Olds-Can-You-Take-In-A-Fight discussion has officially become a cultural phenomenon, now that Chuck Klosterman has written about it in this month's Esquire Magazine (Sorry, link is not online). His piece is pretty lame - you'd think Chuck Klosterman would have a little more of a fresh perspective on the matter. But still, nice to see that a topic that I'm still convinced was originally thought up by the contributors of this blog some years ago is now a mainstream, national conversation. Next up: Cobras.

I Call Bullshit!

I Call Bullshit (!) on a lot of things. Here are a few. Maybe I'll make this into a regular theme for posts.

I call bullshit on:

-People who refer to old people as "cute". Especially when they're teenaged girls.

-Those "brand power" ads.....one because I don't understand what's behind them, and two because I know that whatever is behind them is extremely cynical and evil.

-Words that always get put in italics when they're used, like realpolitik or chutzpuh.


Bullshit!

Election stuff

I must admit that I was pretty surprised to see that the whole Jeremiah Wright thing didn't really hurt Obama at all, as per the most recent polls. When you take into consideration that Clinton now can't use the "Obama has never had to withstand an attack" line anymore, the whole thing actually probably helped him. I think this should calm people down who want him to win but are worried about if he has what it takes to face Republicans. Think about it - if it was revealed that any other Democrat had a pastor and close friend who was a high-profile racist and condemned America one week after 9/11, they'd be fucked. Obama somehow managed to use it as an opportunity to address the looming race issue (and it looks like to much success) and get it out of the way, while keeping his "above the fray" image (and yes, I know it's nothing more than an image) intact all well refusing to disown Jeremiah Wright. Impressive.

On another note, the whole fascination with exit polls and the demographic breakdowns of primary voters is getting really annoying. The bottom line is that most members of a party will vote for their party no matter who is the candidate, most states are very predictably Democrat or Republican, and the presidency is won by winning individual states. So what the fuck! Who cares if white men in Mississippi hate Obama or black people love him.......there is absolutely no way the Democrats will win Mississippi. And there's no way they'll lose New York or California. The only demographics that matter are those in the key swing states, and I'd guess that on average, any old white people in these states that refuse to vote for an African-American will be more than made up for by the massive African-American turnout that will be guaranteed in that (or any other) state.

The road less travelled

Via this article on the traffic problem in Toronto, I really like the idea of getting rid of standard road taxes and parking fees and replacing them with a satellite system that monitors travel, parking, etc. for every individual vehicle and charges accordingly. The customization is great - It makes it super-easy to reduce pollution and congestion by pricing the grid strategically. Besides some privacy concerns and the inconvenient fact that any politician who introduced this would pretty much be thrown out right away, I think this system really would solve a lot of problems. That and actually investing in the TTC so it isn't completely ridiculous anymore.

Winning me over with common sense

Obama speaks truth to power...

“Under Republican and Democratic administrations, we failed to guard against practices that all too often rewarded financial manipulation instead of productivity and sound business practices,” Mr. Obama said.“The result has been a distorted market that creates bubbles instead of steady sustainable growth — a market that favors Wall Street over Main Street, but ends up hurting both.”

Tariffs

Could carbon tariffs be a suitable response to the developing world's reluctance to sign on to mandatory carbon emission reductions?

It seems to me that we should be valuing the environmental costs of allowing carbon emitters to treat carbon emissions as externalities, and force the internalization of that cost. We can do that within our own jurisdiction through carbon taxes or cap and trade, but without coherent and comprehensive international obligations the outside world is free to emit carbon and then sell the goods produced at a price that continued to treat carbon emissions as externalities. Unless we tax them entering the country. So it doesn't seem like such a bad idea to me.

And just to clarify... if these things are implemented properly I don't anticipate a situation where carbon emissions continue or are slightly reduced and tax revenue is raised from what is emitted. If environmental costs are properly valued then they should impose an economic cost on environmentally unsustainable practices so great that in practice, those activities are rendered obsolete. For example, carbon emissions that lead to global climate change will lead to catastrophic environmental damage. The greater the environmental damage caused by an activity then the limit to the economic costs should approach infinity. If I could press a button for pretty little calculus operators than I could demonstrate, but I can't, so just try to picture that. As the actual costs to society of carbon emissions come to be reflected in the costs of the products they create, those products will be undercut by products created through carbon neutral processes.

Panic! in Mexico City

Seems that mexicans do not like emo kids. Heh.

Canadian Finance Minister Doesn't Understand Basic Economics

It seems like a reporter finally called out a conservative politician on the bullshit argument that "tax cuts pay for themselves". Though we should all be a little bit frightened that our Finance Minster thinks we are on the tail end of the Laffer curve.

Artificial Energy Demand

An example of the result of BC's policy of energy self-sufficiency. The question that should always be asked when contemplating new energy projects is whether the economic, social and environmental costs of bringing capacity online outweigh the marginal cost per equivalent MWhrs of conservation.

Damages

Interesting NY Times article on the American use of punitive damages. Also ties in nicely to my current Conflict of Laws class. The article begins by mentioning the refusal of an Italian court to recognize a US judgment for punitive damages. I found that pretty surprising in light of how Canada generally applies the international principle of comity (respect of foreign legal jurisdictions). BC has become one of the most generous forums in the world in recognizing foreign judgments under the common law established in Morguard Investments v. DeSavoye and it's codification in the Court Order Enforcement Act. A BC court can refuse to enforce a foreign judgment if it would be contrary to public policy to do so - but this is a high burden. The judgment must be in opposition to fundamental principles of our legal system. I don't know anything about Italian conflict of laws rules, but I imagine that the decision indicates an Italian view that punitive damages are fundamentally contrary to their legal system.

The Supreme Court of Canada's view of punitive damages is articulated in Whiten v. Pilot Insurance Co. Punitive damages are only awarded in exceptional circumstances and their value is restricted. I tend to agree with the Canadian (and rest of the world's) view. I think the American court's use of punitive damages is the most important factor in explaining the litigious nature of American society. Any thoughts?

Cleaning Up Love Shots

You heard me. 

Japanese Language

I studied Japanese when I was living and teaching English there but never really understood the history of how the language evolved. I knew there was quite a bit of deliberate state action taken in the name of simplifying the language, but I didn't realize how recent that really was; thought it was in the so-called "olden days." Of course it makes sense that it was during the Meiji "Restoration," as it were, but I guess that didn't click for me before.

As linguistics is intimately linked with culture and the rules of human interaction and decorum, I wonder how such intentional, non-organic (not to insinuate bad necessarily, tho neither to support its opposite) manipulation of the Japanese language has affected subsequent generations since. Here's a history.

One thing I do find interesting to note is the emphasis the first linked article (a review of a book written about the history of Japanese written language) puts on the role of public speaking's high popularity in Japanese culture. I find this funny because, in Japan, I found that my older students especially loved to give little oratories that they'd written up as homework the class before; so every class I assigned this type of homework. And they just loved it! It was a way to share with a group ("the community") something about themselves, a memory or a tradition or a cultural reflection, something one doesn't often discuss in mixed company. It was wonderful. But it always seemed to me that they would most certainly not express in Japanese some of the feelings I heard articulated, only in English; their language of self-expression? I'm sure it's no shocker that I also drew the link between these little speeches that some loved giving in class to the same urge the Japanese all seem to share: to bust out some karaoke moves to an enthusiastic room full of fans. It's adorable.

Happy Easter!

Happy Day the Lord Christ Almighty Rose From Death and Freaked Out Millions of Romans... And those that went before him...

The Phrygians of central Turkey called him Attis. According to tradition, Attis died of self-inflicted wounds at the vernal equinox and possibly was resurrected three days later. At his own wedding, Attis was forced to castrate himself by a pine tree and died from loss of blood. (Pine is the oldest tree on the planet, and universally symbolizes immortality.) His blood fertilized the earth, and where it fell, violets blossomed.

Do you think that'll happen to Matt at his wedding... ?

Women Can't Be Trusted

So let's make them feel terrible when faced with the worst decision anyone should have to make. GoChristian legislators!

Ahhhh..... the Internet.

Heh:



I especially like when the girl on the left's pants disappear a little into the green screen, and then washes her face in the little raining McCains.

"Frisco"

I won't be writing too much over the next few days because I'm in the Bay Area till Tuesday. We're levaing in a few minutes for Napa and I get to spend the day pretending I'm a wine bigshot. Then we're in downtown SF for the weekend. Anyone have any good suggestions of stuff to do / see around here? This is my first time here with any free time to experience the city. I know that certain contributors to this blog will be jealous that I'm already planning to go here and here and maybe here, but you know, some variety is good too.

Our Enemy is Relentless

Another fatal stingray attack. Expect reprisal killings.

Obama On Protest

A part of Obama's speech on race likely to be glossed over by pundits, but one I think is especially remarkable: 

"And yet words on a parchment would not be enough to deliver slaves from bondage, or provide men and women of every color and creed their full rights and obligations as citizens of the United States. What would be needed were Americans in successive generations who were willing to do their part -- through protests and struggle, on the streets and in the courts, through a civil war and civil disobedience and always at great risk -- to narrow the gap between the promise of our ideals and the reality of our time." 

Given the total disdain Bush, Harper and company have exhibited towards public protest at recent summits, it's inspiring to hear a presidential candidate recognize its value, not just as a means of expression, but as a fundamental tool in helping North American democracy evolve. It's popular these days to write off demonstrations as mere theatre, the thing bored and lazy twentysomethings do in between reading Chomsky and watching The Daily Show. That attitude strips public protest of its significance and allows politicians to conspiratorially scoff at it in the media -- would you listen to these wackos?, wink-wink. It's amazing to me how little attention so many massive protests against the Iraq War have gotten, presumably because we're supposed to have given up on it something that's outdated and kind of embarrassing, a leftover piece of patchouli and sweat-scented commune idealism from the 1960s. 

Good on Obama for making the case that it's played a key role in advancing certain positive elements in American society. 

Food Fight

We are what we eat. So are they, which is why we hate them. 

Btw...

I think Tasers are shitty. And that they are being used unconstitutionally. Apparently some judges agree.

Taser Fun

Another Court harshly criticizes use of Taser. This particular deployment "constituted cruel and unusual treatment" and violated the victims Constitutional rights. This victim was tortured with the Taser as he was subdued and handcuffed. Toronto Police Chief Bill Blair continues to forcefully support the use of police violence against innocent civilians.

Avert your eyes!

This is an actual emergency room photo of a fisherman who lost control of his High Speed Bass Boat in West Virginia. The wardens believe that he was traveling at a speed of approximately 75 mph at the time of the accident. He was unable to negotiate a curve in the narrow waterway and unfortunately for him, upon striking the shoreline, he was ejected from the boat and landed on an old fence post. You can probably picture what happened next, but this photograph really says it all. The good news is after about 6 months, this man made a full recovery after suffering a shattered hip, broken leg, several broken ribs, internal injuries and soft tissue damage. The doctors credited his recovery to the fact that the post lodged itself so tightly that there was little or no blood loss. Now, that's got to hurt!

GROSSSSSSSS!

Get some rest, then decide

Sorry, Hillary: 

"At 3 o'clock in the morning, unless there is a nuclear holocaust coming, there is not much the president has to decide..."

Jeremiah Wright vs. Chris Rock

Is it just me, or do Chris Rock and Jeremiah Wright kinda talk the same? I can easily picture Chris Rock bustin' out the "God Damn America" sermon or Jeremiah Wright delivering the "bullet control" routine....

Last-Sentence-of-the-Post Snarkiness

Are you guys loving it, or what?

The Financial Meltdown...

Liquidity crisis or insolvency crisis?

Would enhanced disclosure requirements aimed at non-bank financial institutions have prevented the crisis? Probably not, since government and regulation are always bad.

More on Accountability

Former US Attorney John Mackay has written an article on the political firings of USA's by the Justice Department for the Seattle University Law Review. The article can be downloaded here, and Harper's Scott Horton, who has been covering the scandal, has a summary here.

Mackay specifically looks at how obstruction of justice and criminal violations of the Hatch Act may apply to Sen. Domenici(R) and Rep. Wilson(R) of New Mexico, the top tier leadership at the DoJ, the DoJ aides who helped organize the firings, and members of the political staff at the White House. As well as numerous instances of potential perjury in Congressional hearings.

The DoJ's Inspector General is due to release an internal investigation into the firings sometime soon. If AG Mukasey doesn't then appoint an independent prosecutor for further investigations, the Democrats should insist that he resign. But they won't. Because they are spineless and afraid of being called bad names by a President with a 20% approval rating.

The Golden Rule of Capitalism:

It only applies when rich people profit. Losses are to be socialized.

Yglesias and DeLong argue that this is a good opportunity to argue for highly progressive taxation of the rich to balance the fact that they aren't actually exposed to real risk. I would argue that electing progressive politicians (in the US) is a condition precedent to making those kind of progressive policy arguments. So don't expect those arguments to make their way into the mainstream public sphere any time soon.

Accountability....

Krugman on things to keep in mind for the coming bailout of the financial system:

As I said, the important thing is to bail out the system, not the people who got us into this mess. That means cleaning out the shareholders in failed institutions, making bondholders take a haircut, and canceling the stock options of executives who got rich playing heads I win, tails you lose.

Bearish on Bear Sterns

JP Morgan picked up Bear Sterns for $2 per share - down from trading at $30 on Friday and from $170 last year. That's a total valuation of $270 million for a company that owns it's $1.2 billion headquarters on Madison Ave. Needless to say, the complete disintegration of a major world investment bank does not bode well for the broader economy. But at least we can look forward to $100 million compensation packages for all their executives, at which case we can all exhale and the world will be in perfect balance and harmony again.

Keynesian

I had heard this Keynes quote before:

In the long run we are all dead.

But I hadn't heard what follows:

Economists set themselves too easy, too useless a task if in tempestuous seasons they can only tell us that when the storm is long past the ocean is flat again.

Funny. From a Krugman post on Alan Greenspan.

Dancerific Douche Bags

Check these douches out.

I always love it when Justice's club hits come on ("Do the DANCE/ The way you move is a mystery!") but knew it was pretty shallow stuff. Now I know why. Listen to the interview with the dudes in the group. They seem to represent the same sort of i-want-to-be-famous-so-i'll-do-it-the-easiest-way-instead-of-actually-creating-something-that-merits-fame school of celebrity as the Aussie dude in our banner. Instead of becoming good musicians or writing interesting lyrics or, gasp, having something to say, they just wrote a song using all Michael Jackson lyrics and laid them over samples from their fave songs. This is exactly what you do when you're a teenager alone at home and don't have a car to see friends with; but no one else usually hears that stuff.

Still, it is quite danceable stuff.

Garfield was never funny

But maybe his owner, John, was...

Who would have guessed that when you remove Garfield from the Garfield comic strips, the result is an even better comic about schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and the empty desperation of modern life? Friends, meet Jon Arbuckle. Let’s laugh and learn with him on a journey deep into the tortured mind of an isolated young everyman as he fights a losing battle against loneliness in a quiet American suburb.

This is from a site called "Garfield Minus Garfield," which removes the G-cat from the frame and lets John be the star. It's funny, I could never get a handle on John when I used to read/watch Garfield, but now that I see him in isolato I see how poignant his character is as a symbol of his age and generation... much the way American Splendor was for a different generation. I never really "got" American Splendor because it seemed just out of reach for my condition to grasp, and I never "got" G-field either - until now. Well... ish. It's still a bit old for me; I think the 35-45 year olds in the crowd are more the audience, but as a child of the 80s, when that age group was in high school and university, my perception of the world was shaped by their world/cultural view. So I can put those glasses on.

Also, the theme of loneliness in modern society is something we're still trying digest and move on from. Problem is, we aren't really.

These Garfield Minus Garfield bits actually remind me a lot of Japanese culture.

The Media Love Apartheid

Ezra Klein nicely summarizes my feelings on the Obama-Wright "controversy":

It's fine to be a Christian extremist in America. It's fine to believe, and say publicly, that everyone who hasn't accepted Jesus Christ into their heart will roast in eternal hellfire, fine to believe that the homosexuals caused Hurricane Katrina and the feminists contributed to 9/11, fine to believe we must support Israel so the Jews can be largely annihilated in a war that will trigger the End Times, fine to believe we're in a holy battle with the barbaric hordes of Islam, fine to believe that we went to the Middle East to prove "our God is bigger than your God." What you can't believe is that blacks have suffered a long history of oppression in this country, that they're still face deep institutional discrimination, and that a country where 100 percent of the presidents have been rich white guys is actually run by rich white guys. More to the point, even if you do believe those things, you certainly can't be angry about it!

I'm much more interested in the question of why the media, and most of America, isn't angry about the country's history of slavery, institutional racism and support of apartheid.

Xiahe

Xiahe is both one of the most interesting places I have ever been, and the location of growing Tibetan protests in China. It is a small town in southern Gansu province, in China proper, with a population of a few thousand - roughly evenly split between ethnic Tibetans and Han Chinese. The Labrang monastery, one of the six major monasteries of Yellow Hat sect Tibetan Buddhist (the Dalai Lama's sect), forms the vast majority of the western half of the town. I don't really have a point to make other than to bring attention to the tragedy of the fact that the Chinese military is probably going to fuck the place up. Here is my photo tribute:

For The Magazine Employees Out There

Riding The Walrus

Seems this handsome devil is really getting around these days.  

Wrongful Convictions

An acquittal, 30 years in the making. It's a shame that these cases have to be pushed by not-for-profits like the Association in Defence of the Wrongly Convicted as opposed to some state administered process for considering new exculpatory evidence.

Classy

It turns out that as well as falsifying evidence against child soldier Omar Khadr and holding him without trial for 7 years in a concentration camp, the US probably also tortured him. Stay classy George Bush.

Ferraro's nuts

"I really think they're attacking me because I'm white. How's that?"

Man, this shit is almost as entertaining as politicians caught in prostitution rings. Who knew Geraldine Ferraro was crazy? I'd like to think that she's just out of control and the Clinton camp can't reign her in, but I think it's more likely that they've all calculated this story will end up hurting Obama and helping them.

However, I doubt that's going to be the case. I think the Obama campaign is brilliantly not getting too involved and instead making themselves out to be the slightly-irritated parent who's waiting for a child to finish throwing a temper tantrum. The narrative of Hillary being power obsessed and doing whatever it takes to win is shaping up nicely. And they've finally found a way to challenge Hillary's only attack-line that sticks: the "experience" thing. (Greg Craig's awesome memo should be a template of the campaign's response. Now Obams just needs to find some way to connect with old white people (may be hard), but if he can figure that out he's got it wrapped.

Green Bylaws

Now within the authority of BC municipalities.

It's Boner Time!

.... in Pasadena.

Bill Clinton told gays to go F#!$ themselves

I think this is not as much about Bill Clinton hating gay people as it is about Bill Clinton doing whatever it takes to win elections....but still. Geez.

China: Orange Alert!

In the coming months, expect to see a lot more coverage of potential terrorist threats facing the Beijing Olympics. In the last three months, there've been reports about renewed conflicts with terror cells in Xinjiang province, plus a hijacking/hostage situation in Xi'an (a major tourist draw, thanks to the Terracotta Warriors), and now, the China Southern Airlines incident.

Important to keep in mind, though, that Xinjiang -- which will almost certainly draw all of the heat from Chinese officials and media -- is essentially in the same situation as Tibet. Like Tibet, it's been designated an "Autonomous Region," and, like Tibet, it's home to a people and culture that are drastically different than ethnic Chinese; many of them would sorely like to be independent from China, and while their independence movement hasn't captured the West's attention the way Tibet's has, they have many of the same complaints. The people are Uighurs (or Uyghurs, pronounced "Weeger"), and they're mostly Muslims. They claim the Chinese government is waging a campaign to extinguish their culture through repression and by flooding the province with ethnic Chinese residents.

Beijing (and the UN) considers separatist organizations like the East Turkestan Islamic Movement to be terrorist groups, and there's a legitimate possibility these groups will use the Olympics to draw global attention to their cause. But given Beijing's record on human rights and their continued insistence on being pricks about Tibet, there's just as much of a chance that Uyghur leaders are right in their suspicions that Beijing will use the Games as an excuse to crack down on their wayward provinces, even going so far as to fabricate terrorist threats in oder to make retaliation seem more acceptable. It's not as if it's unusual these days for world superpowers to make stuff up to justify warfare.

(NB I have firsthand experience of Beijing's stance, in that a Uighur cabdriver in Turpan once told me how he liked to smoke some funny stuff and play his Rawap -- in his mind a cherished Uighur tradition -- but the Chinese government would put him in jail for it).

I can't say I blame China for wanting to keep Xinjiang, though -- it's got the best cuisine in the country.

Tiny hippos

Rage on, little dudes.

Michael Clayton

..Is a really good movie that I just watched.

Skynet

Where is Linda Hamilton when you need her?

Clinton: McCain more fit for presidency than Obama

This pretty much disqualifies Clinton for office in my mind. Think about that statement, and the context it is made in. Clinton would prefer McCain to Obama as president. That is bad enough. Throw in the fact that this is made in the context of an undecided primary whereby Obama may win and become the nominee. All this is going to do is help with the Republican argument, if Obama wins the nomination, that he is unprepared for the presidency.

What a fucking stupid thing to say. After that statement I would not vote for Clinton in the primary or the general. Period.

Ibuprofen is a serious drug

Check out the side effects...

The War on Drugs

Kudos to the writers of The Wire.

Legs Dealers Beware!

Usually I'm not much for these types of news stories (booo-ring), but this story about the notorious arms dealer who was arrested in Bangkok caught my eye--and my imagination.

It's so bizarre to me that there is this whole underworld of crime that is just as complex (if not more so) as any other "industry."

This dude has been involved in supplying weapons, tanks and helicopters to sites of some of the most deadly human rights atrocities in the last decade-plus. For a moment, I thought, how can someone do this with their life. Then I realized he was ex-Russian Air Force. I'm sure they break you pretty well.

Here's a funny excerpt:

Richard A. Chichakli, 49, a friend of Mr. Bout’s who lives in Russia and who has been accused by Office of Foreign Assets Control in the United States of being Mr. Bout’s business associate, expressed surprise when he heard of the arrest.

“I didn’t know he was traveling,” Mr. Chichakli said by telephone, and added that Mr. Bout knew he was listed on international watch lists and did not often leave Russia.

Mr. Chichakli also said he was perplexed upon hearing news that the arrest was coordinated in part by the Drug Enforcement Administration. “It’s very strange to me,” he said. “They claim that he’s an arms dealer. Just hearing the name of the D.E.A., it’s surprising.”

Haha, "I didn't know he was traveling." Yes, that's the first thing I thought when I read the news, too.

And, yes, it is surprising to hear the name D.E.A....

MSG is the New Chipotle

I bet Buddha's uses tons of the stuff.

Vote for Warren Henegar!

Check it!

"Re-elect Warren Henegar for County Council at Large!

Monroe County citizens would be wise to re-elect Henegar— a man who is, as I like to think of him, “his own guy,” and wonderfully amiable—he’s a great presence on County Council for his bringing much-needed focused brevity of debate to our public processes. When he makes his remarks, they are well-chosen, and they bring perspective that interjects lightness with which to move forward a debate more energetically."

A Retort, Sir

Maybe women aren't as stupid as we thought?

24: Not Just Sucky -- Evil, Too!

Ever wondered exactly who came up with the idea for Jack Bauer? Over at Harper's, Scott Horton has an idea: 

"We should start with a frank question: has "24" been created with an overtly political agenda, namely, to create a more receptive public audience for the Bush Administration's torture policies? I think the answer to that question is very clear. The answer is "yes." In "Whatever It Takes," Jane Mayer has waded through the sheaf of contacts between the show's producer, Joel Surnow, and Vice President Cheney and figures right around him... Surnow is now working to develop public attitudes which are more accepting of torture... he is a torture-enabler."

 

The only question now is, can we also assume Surnow hired Kiefer Sutherland in an attempt to make drunk driving more acceptable to the public? 

Three posts in a day -- how's that for making up for lost time?

Vice in North Korea

Nice one. 

If Bill C-10 Goes, What the Hell is CityTV Supposed to Program?

I know this blog tends to skew south of the border, but this is well worth paying attention to for anyone who likes boobs, neck punching or freedom of expression: the Canadian government is set to pass a bill that would allow a panel of Heritage and Justice department bureaucrats to withdraw tax credits (read: essential funding resource) from film productions it deems "inappropriate" or "not in the public interest." It's hard to say what's more disturbing -- that the policy is being driven by lobbying from Charles McVety's fundamentalist Canada Family Action Coalition, or that the amendment was sneaked past the House of Commons without so much as a second look, and now lies in the hands of the Senate. 

The arguments about whether this is censorship are semantic. Technically, it's probably closer to repression; the argument goes that they're not stopping anyone from making films, only from spending public tax dollars on them -- but once you have a system that makes artists question, from the get-go, the likelihood of their projects getting squashed by religious-driven policy, you have an arts community that's going to be afraid of taking risks, which, really, defeats the purpose. Think on how many past Canadian films might have qualified as too risque -- in an instant, pretty much everything David Cronenberg, Guy Maddin and Bruce McDonald ever produced goes down the shitter. 

So write to a Senator now -- for the record, Sens. Sharon Carstairs and Elaine McCoy wrote me back to express their support -- lest we be subjected to a whole era of Air Bud sequels. 

More in-depth info (and from an enlightened Christian perspective, no less) here. 

How $5 Donations Can Make the Difference

Here is where you can learn all about the program Remote Area Medical, which was covered on 60 Minutes this week by Scott Pelley. An example of a program almost entirely funded by meager donations of $5-10 a pop.

What's most amazing is how much the program can accomplish within its (very) limited budget. Shows you how mired in paperwork, excess and politics the health care industry really is, with its exorbitant bills and cumbersome coverage stipulations. Oh, yeah, and let's not forget the stranglehold of the pharma and insurance industries over the health care industry in the U.S...

The Obama Mirage

"The 2008 campaign, it seems, will be waged on the basis of personality, not political philosophy. If the magic works, all will be forgiven. But if it doesn’t, the recriminations could tear the party apart."

Paul Krugman gives the same argument I've been trying to make (though with far less aplumb)... Now, convince me he isn't right.

The Washington Post: Women are Stupid

Seriously. That is what this article is about.

Neat!

So I was just in the corner store at Bloor & Dovercourt when all of the sudden about 10 cop cars sped into the intersection and closed the street down in a matter of 20 seconds. I ran outside to see what was going on - thought I was gonna witness some Jack Bauer season 2 shit. But instead, a huge motorcade came rolling down Bloor St. At least another 10 police cars, a few black SUV's, a couple limos, and a freakin' ambulance. The whole closing-down-the-street thing was done with military precision. It was awesome, but I couldn't figure out who would warrant such a motorcade. It seemed too big even for Stephen Harper or someone. So I checked to see who might be in town, and easily found my answer here.

Too bad he didn't stop at my place for a glass of wine and a cigar!