Having watched the burning of police cars, the smashing of store windows, and the police attempts at crowd control at the demonstrations surrounding the G20 summit in Toronto, I have to ask myself “What is the greatest threat to our liberties and freedom to come out of this protest?”
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Category: NewsWe are facing a very tumultuous time in Canadian Democracy. We have only just finished an election a few weeks ago that saw the Conservative Party extend their lead in the number of seats but still fall well short of a majority. Now the Liberal Party, the New Democratic Party (NDP), and the separatist Bloc Quebecois have struck a deal to put together a coalition government that would relegate the Conservatives to opposition stutus without an election. What has all of this to do with Robert Heinlein’s Starship Troopers ? (continue reading…)
Every generation asks "how do I oppose injustice, tyranny, and oppression?" The answer to this question was the topic of a lecture called "Winning the Culture War " given to the Harvard Law Society on February 16, 1999. The speaker, the source of the oppression, and his solution may surprise you. (continue reading…)
On September 10th, CERN (the European Organization for Nuclear Research) began experiments on the 10 billion dollar Large Hadron Collider which is finally operational. The first experiments will be modest, but eventually the LHC team will collide two proton streams, each carrying protons accelerated to 99.99% of the speed of light. This enormous amount of energy released in a very small volume is thought to create matter and anti-matter and the question then is raised "What will happen next?" The creation of a microscopic black hole is one possibility. (continue reading…)
A friend of mine, Gregg wrote an interesting post lamenting how some clergy, while maintaining their office as a shepherd of other Christians in their church make statements that undermine and even dismiss not only teachings that have been held in common by Christian since Christ’s coming, but the writings behind the teaching themselves. I believe each person has a right to look at the evidence, weigh it, and then reach their own conclusion. When I have done that, this has led me on a course to being a Christian. What I cannot understand is clergy and other persons of influence in the religious community who apparently have come to the personal conclusion that Jesus is not who he said he is, who then nevertheless despite their aggressive agnosticism continue to hold office, continue to draw salaries, continue to influence other Christians who look to them for leadership while all the time speaking to these personal beliefs which repudiate the essence of Christianity. They are waging intellectual war against Christ-Followers from the inside. To me this seems intellectually dishonest. (continue reading…)
In 1633 Galileo was tried for heresy for publishing a book which argued against Aristotelian Geocentricity and for Heliocentricity (i.e. the Copernican theory that the sun is the central body of the solar system and the all planets revolve around the sun).
In a previous post, I investigated the limitations of scientific inquiry . There I explored how science’s central focus on experimentation inherently limits the kinds of questions that are accessible to scientific investigation. Now I would like to turn to another kind of limitation – one imposed on science by the environment in which scientific investigations are conducted. Galileo’s heresy trial represented a suppression of free inquiry and free expression, so essential to advancement in science (and other endeavors also). I would like to begin by looking at the power structure and motivations for scientific interference in our society today. It is therefore important to ask: in 2008 who, if any, are the "inquisitors" and who are the "Galileos?" (continue reading…)
It is curious that while Christians are remembering the death of Jesus on the Cross and celebrating His resurrection, this solemn Christian celebration inevitably coincides with a series of book launches and popular magazine articles attacking the very heart of the Christian celebration. Setting aside the observation that this calculated timing conflicts with our views of tolerance and respect that we as a society espouse toward people’s religious beliefs (Christian have long known that in western society these principles apply to other religious beliefs but not to Christianity) one still can’t help wondering at the irony inherent in the timing. While denigrating the world view of millions, this very timing depends on the Christian world view for its impact. This year was no exception. Brian Bethune wrote an article entitled The Jesus Problem in the Easter edition of MacLeans. (continue reading…)
I stayed up last Thursday night to watch Steve Paikin’s The Agenda and listen to a debate on “Mixed Member Proportional” or MMP for short, a proposed method for assigning seats in the Ontario Legislature in future elections. Here’s how it’s supposed to work (let’s see if I took accurate notes): (continue reading…)
Ah another provincial election and no one to vote for! I guess I have to paraphrase Treebeard and say I’m not really on anyone’s side since no one seems to be on my side. Still politics is like indigestion. One would rather think about something else, but when it strikes, one has to deal with it or face further discomfort.
One interesting debate about extending government education funding to private faith-based schools has arisen in this election.
Not everyone is happy in Hobbiton! It seems Peter Jackson and New Line Cinema had a falling out over the distribution of the proceeds from The Lord of the Rings trilogy. Wingnut Films apparently has had a long standing lawsuit requesting an audit from New Line. See [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/6173178.stm]. Fans are up in arms about the threat to The Hobbit and have filled out a petition in protest.
I would love to see a version of The Hobbit that is consistent with the quality and characterization of The Lord of the Rings trilogy. If this has really comes down to money then I blame both sides for not compromising. I blame Peter Jackson because he has made plenty of money from LOTR. Jackson says in his open letter: