"Handlebars" by Flobots

I love this song, not just for its catchy beat: it starts silly and innocuous at first - and builds dangerously close to paralleling American politics.

"Handlebars"

I can ride my bike with no handlebars
No handlebars
No handlebars
I can ride my bike with no handlebars
No handlebars
No handlebars

Look at me Look at me
Hands in the air like its good to be
Alive and I'm a famous rapper
Even when the paths are all crooked
I can show you how to do-si-do
I can show you how to scratch a record
I can take apart the remote control
And I can almost put it back together
I can tie a knot in a cherry stem
I can tell you about Leif Ericson
I know all the words to De Colores
And I'm proud to be an American
Me and my friend saw a platypus
Me and my friend made a comic book
And guess how long it took
I can do anything that I want 'cause look

Look

I can keep rhythm with no metronome
No metronome
No metronome
I can see your face on the telephone
On the telephone
On the telephone

Look at me look at me
Just called to say that its good to be
Alive in such a small world
I'm all curled up with a book to read
I can make money open up a thrift store
I can make a living off a magazine
I can design an engine 64
miles to the gallon of gasoline
I can make new antibiotics
I can make computers survive aquatic conditions
I know how to run the business
And i can make you wanna buy a product
Movers shakers and producers
Me and my friends understand the future
I see the strings that control the systems
I can do anything with no resistance 'Cause

I can lead a nation with a microphone
With a microphone
With a microphone
And I can split the atoms of a molecule
Of a molecule
Of a molecule

Look at me Look at me
Driving and I won't stop
And it feels so good to be alive and on top
My reach is global
My tower secure
My cause is noble
My power is pure
I can handout a million vaccinations
Or let em all die from exasperations
Have them all healed from their their lacerations
Or have em all killed by assassination
I can make anybody go to prison
Just because I don't like 'em
I can do anything with no permission
I have it all under my command because

I can guide a missile by satellite
By satellite
By satellite
And I can hit a target through a telescope
Through a telescope
Through a telescope

And I can end the planet in a Holocaust
In a Holocaust
In a Holocaust
In a Holocaust
In a Holocaust
In a Holocaust

I can ride my bike with no handlebars
No handlebars
No handlebars
I can ride my bike with no handlebars
No handlebars
No handlebars

from www.azlyrics.com

Al Gore

Al Gore Places Infant Son In Rocket To Escape Dying Planet

scientific literacy

“At some point,” he said, “the public at large has to step up to the plate in terms of scientific and policy literacy, in terms of commitment to education and strong and effective political leadership, and in terms of their own general self-improvement.”

Boy, we are not out of the hurt locker yet.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/29/science/earth/29clim.html

uhm, i did this

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/politicalbytes/2008/07/prop_tv.html

centralization

The problem with centralizing is that not everybody agrees on what; the problem with decentralizing is that nobody can agree how.

1000s of wild monkey still captured yearly for experiments

Guilty of reckless abuse for foods, cosmetics, even vaccines, humans are determined to win the race no matter what.

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/africa/article4276460.ece

Obviously countries like Britain who pass "feel good laws" should be using more than peer pressure to influence others since the mighty dollar gets more attention.

FW: Good one to think about

Where our money goes before we fill our municipal dumps:

A MESSAGE TO THE PUBLIC OF BRITISH COLUMBIA

The provincial government is sending each and every one of us a $100
rebate for the carbon tax.

If we spend that money at WalMart, the money will go to the U.S.

If we spend it on gas, it will go to the Arabs or Alberta.

If we purchase a computer, it will go to Taiwan.

If we purchase fruit and vegetables, it will go to Mexico, Honduras, and
Guatemala.

If we purchase a good car, it will go to Japan or Korea or Europe.

If we purchase useless junk, it will go to China and none of it will
help the B.C. economy.

The only way to keep that money here at home is to spend it on
prostitutes and marijuana, since these are the only products still
produced here in B.C.

Thank you for your help and support,

Gordon Campbell
Premier of British Columbia

misc notes

busy lately.
things i've been wanting to post but haven't gotten around to:
-stephane dion's announcement of shifting the taxebase to polluters: awesome. in fact, i'm pretty sure i blogged FOR exactly that a long time ago.
-city of ottawa and garbage gasification: glad to see there are people raising a stink about the destruction of garbage to extract energy. my best guess is that it only recovers about 5% of the energy that was invested in the production of that garbage. would make a whole lot more sense to divert and reuse it to save 100% energy required, wouldn't it? (ok, maybe 90% to account for the handling and redistribution - but still, way worth it)
-bottled water: a freshwater specialist observed that canadians buying drinking water in a bottle is like eqyptians buying sand in a bucket. time to reverse that unjustified waste of resources (making plastic bottles, distributing water) and source of pollution (where do most of those bottles end up? you got it, in the trash, mostly - the rest collect in hedges, in ravines, etc. oh and a few lucky ones are also collected for recycling). see www.insidethebottle.org
-shade: never noticed how much (a) the house was poorly insulated and (b) trees just outside the house provided so much shade, until I cut them down (were too big too close). Now i'm looking for awnings and such to block the sun on the southwest wall.

there's a number of other things meandering in my brain but I think they're mired in my subconscious at the moment. stay tuned, maybe they'll surface again next time I have a few minutes to post (in a week or so, maybe!).

"i made this"

I'd like to think I'm the proponent of the following amendments:
http://www.ottawa.ca/calendar/ottawa/citycouncil/occ/2007/10-10/pec/ACS2007-PTE-POL-0052%20ENGLISH.htm

I researched and campaigned strongly to change the policy affecting the Chimo area to allow residents to select from "special areas, appendix B1" in addition to the generic "all other areas." I am also pleased to see they noted my points about maintaining the character of the neighborhood in the "whereas" section.

Final Draft policy (prior to this amendment): http://www.ottawastreetlighting.ca/PDF%20Doc/RLP%20Final%20Draft%2009-12-07%20EN.pdf

Thanks, councillor Feltmate!

World's Most Bizarre Statues

http://www.oddee.com/item_89236.aspx
There's a fine line between being imaginative/spurring public creativity, and insolent/generating public distrust and resentment.
This is probably why public art is too often perceived as unjustifiable in Canada, but there are some organizations trying to change that. One particularly impressive example is Maman, the giant spider with marble eggs. I'd like to commend the National Gallery of Canada for their acquisition and choice of location.

Louise Bourgeois's sculpture Maman (1999, cast 2003 © Louise Bourgeois), in front of the National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa. Photo from National Gallery of Canada.

know your limits

"Kicking the addiction isn't pleasant - headaches, fatigue, negative mood."

Who'da guessed (other than my wife...) they were talking about caffeine?

Avoiding the question - or Ignoring basic indicators

Wouldn't it be even more feasible to drop the penny altogether?

28 May, 2008
Dear Sir or Madam,

I acknowledge your email of March 19, 2008, regarding the one-cent coin. I apologize for the undue delay in responding to your query; it was an unfortunate oversight on our part.
First, I would like to thank you for taking the time to share your comments with us.
No decision has been taken on the future of the penny. The Government of Canada's objective is to serve the currency needs of Canadians and any decision would take the potential impact on consumers and businesses into consideration.
Unfortunately, the Mint does not provide the total cost to produce coins as this information is considered commercially sensitive because we bid on foreign coin contracts. However, the metal cost associated with the production of a one-cent coin is eight tenths of a cent.
Regarding our Coinstar recycling service, we are encouraging Canadians to recycle their coins regardless of their denomination, as this is more feasible than the Mint having to produce new ones.
--------Original Message--------

From: mg labreche
Sent: 19/03/2008
To: Royal Canadian Mint

thanks for posting the report of consumer and retailer attitudes toward the 1c piece. Where can i find out more on the costs of its raw materials, processing, minting, distribution, and recovery? Finally, if 70% of coins processed in your Coinstar machines are pennies, and people are willing to pay nearly 10% to get rid of
them, isn't that an indication that they are highly undesirable?

civilizational exhaustion

indeed...
http://www.nationalpost.com/most_popular/story.html?id=563845

reasonable accommodations

Un CPE l'emporte contre un père musulman

sanity 1 - religion, well, already too high to count.

Headrush

The World is Upside Down, NYT Op-Ed
A shift in economic power is under way to which the developed world has not yet adjusted. Of course the G-8 and the permanent membership of the U.N. Security Council need to be expanded to reflect this change. The 21st century can’t be handled with 20th-century institutions.

This is the kind of thing I'm talking about. Glad to see that Harper has been emphasizing less on trying to implement failed American policies of 20 years ago. Have I just stopped paying attention to him, or could it actually be he's finally coming around?

empty rhetoric

how much more of it will we be bombarded with before real reductions are made?

PRIME MINISTER HARPER ADDRESSES UN CONFERENCE ON THE CONVENTION ON BIOLOGICAL DIVERSITY

May 28, 2008
BONN

Prime Minister Stephen Harper today addressed the 9th Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity. The Prime Minister was invited to speak at the Conference by German Chancellor Angela Merkel, and both leaders were presented with awards recognizing their nations' contributions to the protection of biodiversity by the Executive Secretary of the UN Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity.

In his speech, Prime Minister Harper congratulated delegates on their constructive efforts during the Bonn conference. He also described the work that Canada has done to preserve and protect biodiversity at home and around the world.

"Over 10 per cent of Canada's land mass, an area greater than the size of France and Germany put together, and three million hectares of ocean waters have been protected by federal, provincial and territorial governments," Prime Minister Harper said, as a collage of spectacular photographs of Canadian parks and natural landscapes appeared on large screens inside the conference venue. "These large protected areas include famous national parks like Banff, Fundy, Gros Morne, and Nahanni, of which our government announced a significant expansion last summer."

The Prime Minister noted that his Government has undertaken several new initiatives to further protect Canada's biological diversity, including:

Establishment of the Lake Superior National Marine Conservation Area, the world's largest freshwater protected area.

Working with the local aboriginal community to establish a huge new national park on Great Slave Lake in the Northwest Territories.

Investing in more than 1,000 projects to protect habitat under our Habitat Stewardship Program.

Significant investment to protect the Great Bear Rainforest in Northern British Columbia, home to the majestic white Spirit Bear.

And providing funds for the 13 biosphere reserves that UNESCO has designated in Canada.

Prime Minister Harper noted that climate change represents one of the greatest threats to global biodiversity, and a particular threat to Canada's Arctic. "That's why we have made the development of a comprehensive regulatory plan to fight against climate change one of the highest priorities of our government," said the Prime Minister. "We have to get past the empty rhetoric and take real action to require Canadian industry to make real reductions in greenhouse gas emissions."

Glory Without Guts

This is exciting, to say the least, from a technical standpoint. But whats the impact to personal responsibility for one's actions? or to social responsibility for the government's actions?
What will happen to guilt and honour when sacrifice is reduced to inconvenience? http://www.cnn.com/2008/HEALTH/05/26/regrowing.body.parts/index.html

reality bites...

... for an opposition party that becomes elected and accountable all of a sudden.
... for consumers having to pay more at the pumps.
... for the government to have so little ability to affect the price of gasoline.
... for Canadians to have a PM with such obvious contempt for democracy ongoing.

Then And Now: Gas Tax
Image: Brian Gable / The Globe and Mail.

role models?

funny, harper keeps referring to the US and Israel as role models, with exemplary records... they are obviously not using the same metrics.
http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/World/2008/05/20/5617071-ap.html

Pro Valore

nice touch, repatriating the highest military honour. a little ominous, mind you.

GOVERNOR GENERAL AND PRIME MINISTER UNVEIL CANADA'S VICTORIA CROSS

PM HAILS NATION'S HIGHEST MILITARY DECORATION AS NOW 'TRULY CANADIAN'

May 16, 2008
Ottawa, Ontario

Prime Minister Stephen Harper and Governor General Michaëlle Jean today unveiled Canada's newly minted Victoria Cross medal at a formal ceremony at Rideau Hall.

Until now the Victoria Cross, Canada's highest military decoration, was minted in Britain. All future medals awarded to Canadians will be minted in Canada. Though the design is faithful to the original design commissioned by Queen Victoria in 1856, Canada's Victoria Cross includes a number of small but significant Canadian design and content features. "Today the Victoria Cross becomes fully, truly Canadian," Prime Minister Harper said.

The original inscription, "For Valour," has been changed to the Latin "Pro Valore," on Canada's Victoria Cross. "We are using the ancient language employed by our English and French ancestors to express the universal ideal that they shared," said the Prime Minister. Other uniquely Canadian elements include metal from the 1867 Confederation medal, as well as metals from each of Canada's regions.

Ninety-four Canadians have won the Victoria Cross for displaying extraordinary courage, endurance and sacrifice in battle. The last living recipient, Second World War veteran Smoky Smith, died just over a year ago.

Every day, in military missions at home and abroad, Canadian soldiers, sailors and airmen are putting their lives on the line for us", said Prime Minister Harper. "Someday, somewhere, one of those men or women will do something so brave, so gallant, so exceptional, that he or she will join the legendary cadre of the Canadian Forces who wear the pride of a nation on their chests".

Canada's Victoria Cross was produced through a collaboration of the Departments of National Defence, Veterans Affairs, and Natural Resources, the Royal Canadian Mint and Rideau Hall.
The Prime Minister's Office - Communications