To be fair, lagging only 30 years behind is a pretty immense feat for a theocracy, especially one as messed up as Malaysia… There are two big news stories out of Malaysia that are making headlines: 1. Malaysia appoints first female Shariah court judges Malaysia’s first women Islamic court judges are starting to hear cases …
Monthly Archive: August 2010
Aug 24 2010
Google discusses net neutrality
Those of you who have been clamoring for more information about the current net neutrality fight (who am I kidding… a total of 4 people read that post ) will be happy to know that I’m not the only one talking about it. Our old friends at Google, after discussing the issue with Verizon, have …
Aug 24 2010
Exciting new blog developments
Hello to all of my faithful readers, and also to those who just use me for a moment’s distraction and don’t call the next day. There are a couple of new things that have happened recently that I want to share with you. First, I am thrilled to inform you that last week, this blog …
Aug 24 2010
Oh good, Canada still uses slave labour
I don’t even know what to say about this one: The B.C. government has terminated a contract with a Surrey forestry company after 25 workers – many of them immigrants from the Congo – were found living in substandard conditions near Golden in late July. That’s not even the bad part; this is: Most of …
Aug 23 2010
Being creative without a Creator
A friend sent me a link to a 20-minute talk on creativity by Elizabeth Gilbert, author of the novel Eat, Pray, Love. I’m not a big fan of the book (I got through about 25 eye-rolling pages before giving up and reaching for the remote), but I am a big fan of (my friend) Claire, …
Aug 20 2010
Movie Friday: Anotherآجر in the دیوار
I don’t often talk about my musical side (I actually had to create a new “music” tag for this post). I’ve been playing since I was a little kid, and I can’t remember a time when I wasn’t banging pots and pans, or singing, or doing something else musical. Music is, quite literally, an integral …
Aug 19 2010
US government stands up for free speech
Those of you who follow alt-med quackery and science-based-medicine skepticism will be familiar with the absolutely ridiculous jurisprudence that is England’s libel laws. In the US , it is up to the plaintiff in a libel suit to prove that the allegations made against them are false (i.e., if I accuse you of practicing quack …
Aug 18 2010
Tim Wise – not just a name
I’m floored. I’m stunned. Flabbergasted am I. Over the past couple of days, a debate has popped up on the comment thread of this Monday’s think-piece about my strategies to combat racism. In brief, I stated three concrete approaches that I think will, over time, markedly improve racial dialogue and equality. A commenter expressed his …
Aug 18 2010
Singapore struggles with free speech
“Oh here’s Crommunist, harping on free speech again!” Yes. Here I am. Harping on free speech. Again. Despite the fact that it perhaps isn’t as sexy as racist beatings or mockeries of religion, I reassert my commitment to highlighting issues of free speech. I don’t talk about it because it brings a whole shit-ton of …
Aug 17 2010
UBC brings in biomass generator
No point to be made here, I just think this is a really cool thing: The technology converts wood waste into a combustible gas called syngas, which is typically a mixture of carbon monoxide, hydrogen, and ash. That will be used to drive a gas engine made by General Electric to produce two megawatts of …
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