The Eternal Gaijin

This is the gift that keeps giving. Or getting re-gifted from year to year. Whatever. Schreiber tells ethics committee about $500K deal with Mulroney Karlheinz Schreiber wrapped up more than two hours of testimony before a Commons committee Thursday, saying Brian Mulroney was only paid $300,000 of a $500,000 business deal because the former prime minister did not hold up his end of the bargain. The German-Canadian businessman appeared before a federal ethics committee to testify about his dealings with the former Tory prime minister. Schreiber said he made an arrangement with Mulroney to help establish a military vehicle factory in Nova Scotia. The project, known as Bear Head, was on behalf of Schreiber's client, German industrial company Thyssen Industries. "Since he didn't perform, he didn't get the $500,000. Simple as that," said Schreiber. Nice. He underperformed so he didn't get the full packet. Memo to Citibank. Powered by ScribeFire .

How do you say much more than this? Mayor resigns, reveals false identity he created to escape "satanists" - Boing Boing Arkansas? Isn't that the home of Mike Huckabee, theocracy candidate? What else could I add to that? Powered by ScribeFire .

The 9 Most Badass Bible Verses | Cracked.com If the Bible had been written by King Leonidas and the rest of the Spartans from 300, it would probably read pretty much the same as it does now. Powered by ScribeFire .

Canada's coming DMCA will be the worst copyright yet - Boing Boing The Canadian government is about to bring down Canada's version of the US Digital Millennium Copyright Act, and it promises to be the worst copyright law in the developed world. Powered by ScribeFire .

When you come out of Monument station on the Tube and walk down the slight incline you come into a small open square surrounded by office buildings, some modern, some more classic. Dominating the square is Christopher Wren's Monument to the Great Fire of London from which the station and surrounding area derive its name. Lo and behold, guv'ner. All that is set to disappear into the belly of one of the worst architectural ideas to come along since the anti-lupine use of straw. The Monument will be downgraded from impressive reminder of the loss and rebuilding of much of London to the shadowcaster in an oversized, underthought sundial at the front of this building. Lest you get the idea that I'm some Prince Charles-level ignorant ranter on the topic of anything I don't know about, I'm not against modern architecture. If you look in the back of the photo in the Daily Mail article, you'll see one of my favourite buildings in London - the Gherkin. Yes, it does look l...

When you come out of Monument station on the Tube and walk down the slight incline you come into a small open square surrounded by office buildings, some modern, some more classic. Dominating the square is Christopher Wren's Monument to the Great Fire of London from which the station and surrounding area derive its name. Lo and behold, guv'ner. All that is set to disappear into the belly of one of the worst architectural ideas to come along since the anti-lupine use of straw. The Monument will be downgraded from impressive reminder of the loss and rebuilding of much of London to the shadowcaster in an oversized, underthought sundial at the front of this building. Lest you get the idea that I'm some Prince Charles-level ignorant ranter on the topic of anything I don't know about, I'm not against modern architecture. If you look in the back of the photo in the Daily Mail article, you'll see one of my favourite buildings in London - the Gherkin. Yes, it does look l...

All the way there to baulk at the doorway? Come on. Smithsonian Magazine | People & Places | Keepers of the Lost Ark? Powered by ScribeFire .

All the way there to baulk at the doorway? Come on. Smithsonian Magazine | People & Places | Keepers of the Lost Ark? Powered by ScribeFire .

I mean, just look at the photos. The insane are quite creative. Eighth wonder of the world? The stunning temples secretly carved out below ground by 'paranormal' eccentric | the Daily Mail Powered by ScribeFire .

No the other one. No, try again. Last chance. It's the Baptists! Church rejects interfaith service on its property Austin Area Interreligious Ministries, the city's largest interfaith organization, announced Thursday that its annual Thanksgiving celebration Sunday had to be moved because Hyde Park Baptist Church objected to non-Christians worshipping on its property. The group learned Wednesday that the rental space at the church-owned Quarries property in North Austin was no longer available because Hyde Park leaders had discovered that non-Christians, Muslims in particular, would be practicing their faith there. The event, now in its 23rd year, invites Jews, Muslims, Christians, Hindus, Bahais and others to worship together. Let the special pleading begin: Kent Jennings, associate pastor of administration at Hyde Park, released a statement Thursday that said church leaders received a postcard about the service Monday and only then realized that it "was not a Christian...

She also has gigs for phone companies doing hold voices and "Press 1 for..." instructions. Emma Clarke's voice is well familiar to all of us who've travelled around the city. Voice of the London Underground canned for blogging funny fake announcement audio - Boing Boing The woman who reads the London Underground next stop announcements has been fired for keeping a blog where she records and posts her own funny fake announcements, like "We'd like to remind our American tourist friends that you are almost certainly talking too loud" and "Would the passenger in the red shirt pretending to read a paper, but is actually staring at that woman's chest, please stop. You are not fooling anyone. You filthy pervert" and "Residents of London are reminded that there are other places in Britain outside your stinking shithole of a city, and if you removed your heads from your arses for just a couple of minutes, you may realise that the M25 is not t...

A while back, I blamed the rev of The Woodshed fame for backing me into a corner and forcing me to publish this post on Kirk Durston. I went through a debate from iTunes U that Durston participated in. I was unimpressed by the atheist side and unconvinced by Durston. Well, over at Sandwalk, Larry Moran, a personal friend in the I've never met the guy nor exchanged correspondence with him in any way but I read his blog once a week kind of way, decided he'd suffer through a talk at an IDiot class. Turns out to feature Durston. And thus red meat was hung out in front of Moran. Since the heavy lifting's been done, I'm just going to link to some highlights and say "Mee 2." Sandwalk: I'm Going to a Lecture on Intelligent Design Sandwalk: Kirk Durston's Proof of God As it turns out, not understanding the science shouldn't have been such a big deal since the form of his argument was obviously silly. At least I thought it was obvious. Here's the way ...

Looks like more and more people are using this as a chew toy. Good, it was a crap essay. Check out: denialism blog : O Pangloss! The Reality Club: TAKING SCIENCE ON FAITH Adventures in Ethics and Science: Questions I have for Paul Davies after reading his NYT op-ed. The Quantum Pontiff : Nitpicker's Paradiso: Paul Davies Anthropic Edition Powered by ScribeFire .

ERV: DI Fellows-- EXPELLED for plagiarism Memo to the Dishonesty Discovery Institute: Fuck, guys. Come on. People are watching. Try a little harder. Powered by ScribeFire .

Carl Sagan, posthumously, rejoins debate on faith vs. science - International Herald Tribune Powered by ScribeFire .

Ah, the relativists come out of the woodwork again. There's a lot of twaddle peddled in the so-called culture wars these days, but this idea that science is just another faith is one of the most insipid. Further contributing to the mix of pity and despair felt when reading these sorts of articles is when they come from the mouth, pen or word processor of someone who's smart enough to know better. Take for instance: Taking Science on Faith - New York Times SCIENCE, we are repeatedly told, is the most reliable form of knowledge about the world because it is based on testable hypotheses. Religion, by contrast, is based on faith. The term “doubting Thomas” well illustrates the difference. In science, a healthy skepticism is a professional necessity, whereas in religion, having belief without evidence is regarded as a virtue. So far, all true. We are told that science is the most reliable (note: not completely reliable given it's rather tentative nature) way of discovering and...

Interestingly they come from US allies in the main. Can't you hear the Washington Spineless Brigade -- 33rd Fox Division already warming up their counter-points. Let's hear you say it: "B-b-but, but, but....Iran. Iran!" Foreign fighters in Iraq are tied to allies of U.S. - International Herald Tribune Saudi Arabia and Libya, both considered allies by the United States in its fight against terrorism, were the source of about 60 percent of the foreign fighters who came to Iraq in the past year to serve as suicide bombers or to facilitate other attacks, according to senior American military officials. The data come largely from a trove of documents and computers discovered in September, when American forces raided a tent camp in the desert near Sinjar, close to the Syrian border. The raid's target was an insurgent cell believed to be responsible for smuggling the vast majority of foreign fighters into Iraq. The most significant discovery was a collection of biograp...

So here's some snark courtesy of Pharyngula about creationists. Pharyngula: Creationist cowardice Powered by ScribeFire .

I've wanted a PS3 for quite a while now, which should normally just mean I'm a guy. But I have been holding off until some compelling games come up. Of course, I'm with everyone else in not buying one. In the meantime I've been out to the shop to pick up some new PS2 games (it's so good to be back in Japan; having a Japanese PS2 overseas really sucks. Looks good, can't play it. Great reviews, can't play it. ) This looks like a promising development, as the variety of games should improve shortly. Sony halves software fees to spur PS3 game designers | The Japan Times Online Sony halved the fees it charges for a software development kit for the PlayStation 3 video game machine Monday to encourage outside designers to make more games for the struggling console. Sony Corp.'s gaming unit, Sony Computer Entertainment Inc., said prices for the development package for the PS3 will be reduced to ¥950,000 in Japan, $10,250 in North America and 7,500 euro in Euro...

My lord Japan is an odd place some times. Top 60 Japanese buzzwords of 2007 - Boing Boing Top 60 Japanese buzzwords of 2007 ::: Pink Tentacle 23. Dondake~ [どんだけぇ～]: This catch-all exclamation of surprise/disbelief/reproach arose from the Shinjuku 2-chome gay community and was popularized by Ikko, a popular transvestite TV personality. Dondake~ can be used in a wide variety of situations, sort of like “Really?!” or “No way!” Usually said with a slight rising intonation and seasoned with whiny sarcasm. [More] Powered by ScribeFire .

BBC NEWS | UK | Church condemns lesbian IVF use Powered by ScribeFire .

What could I add? Your Creation Museum Report Imagine, if you will, a load of horseshit. And we’re not talking just your average load of horseshit; no, we’re talking colossal load of horsehit. An epic load of horseshit. The kind of load of horseshit that has accreted over decades and has developed its own sort of ecosystem, from the flyblown chunks at the perimeter, down into the heated and decomposing center, generating explosive levels of methane as bacteria feast merrily on vintage, liquified crap. This is a Herculean load of horseshit, friends, the likes of which has not been seen since the days of Augeas. And you look at it and you say, “Wow, what a load of horseshit.” Powered by ScribeFire .

Always give people time to debunk woos: Bad Science » The end of homeopathy? Homeopathy: "a kind of magic" that kills Powered by ScribeFire .

Oh what the hell. Let's talk about homoeopathy for a minute. In the Guardian this week, there's a defence (or defense, if you're so inclined) of homoeopathy. Let's take a look at what Jeanette Winterson has to say about this. And I wonder if there's a logical fallacy of two to find... In defence of homeopathy | Health and wellbeing | Life and Health Picture this. I am staying in a remote cottage in Cornwall without a car. I have a temperature of 102, spots on my throat, delirium, and a book to finish writing. My desperate publisher suggests I call Hilary Fairclough, a homeopath who has practices in London and Penzance. She sends round a remedy called Lachesis, made from snake venom. Four hours later I have no symptoms whatsoever. Hmmm. First of all, that's a single data point. I also do like the fact that the Hilary Fairclough treats the whole person (a common claim among the woo-set) without seeing the patient. So what is Lechesis? Lachesis by Weleda, Homeop...

I see some of the developments in Canada and I truly I get wet in the eyes. What happened to us? Where the hell are our values going? There was a time when we were the people who'd pick up the pieces and stand up for the right thing. JURIST - Paper Chase: Canada high court upholds conviction despite police disregard of 'right to silence' JURIST - Paper Chase: Canada will not request reprieve for Canadian death row inmate in Montana JURIST - Paper Chase: Canada court allows rights groups to challenge military over alleged Afghan abuse Amnesty International slams Canadian probe into alleged Afghan detainee abuse Powered by ScribeFire .

Six-month hangover for 60-pint Scotsman | The Register A 30-year-old Glaswegian has suffered what may go down in history as the greatest hangover west of the Mississippi - a six-month headache induced by sinking 60 pints over four days. Powered by ScribeFire .

The Economic Consequences of Mr. Bush: Politics & Power: vanityfair.com When we look back someday at the catastrophe that was the Bush administration, we will think of many things: the tragedy of the Iraq war, the shame of Guantánamo and Abu Ghraib, the erosion of civil liberties. The damage done to the American economy does not make front-page headlines every day, but the repercussions will be felt beyond the lifetime of anyone reading this page. I can hear an irritated counterthrust already. The president has not driven the United States into a recession during his almost seven years in office. Unemployment stands at a respectable 4.6 percent. Well, fine. But the other side of the ledger groans with distress: a tax code that has become hideously biased in favor of the rich; a national debt that will probably have grown 70 percent by the time this president leaves Washington; a swelling cascade of mortgage defaults; a record near-$850 billion trade deficit; oil prices that are h...

Now, now, now...try not to judge just cause you don't believe what they believe... Oh, fudge, children. Judge away. Woman drowns during exorcism ceremony | The Guardian | Guardian Unlimited A 22-year-old woman died during an exorcism ritual in New Zealand, drowning at a relative's home as up to 40 family members looked on, police said today. Janet Moses, a mother of two, was held under water in an attempt to drive away a makutu, or Maori curse. Containers holding an "extensive amount" of water were brought into the lounge of the house, in Wellington, for the ceremony. Powered by ScribeFire .

Waterboarding is Torture… Period (Links Updated # 9) (SWJ Blog) I’d like to digress from my usual analysis of insurgent strategy and tactics to speak out on an issue of grave importance to Small Wars Journal readers. We, as a nation, are having a crisis of honor. Last week the Attorney General nominee Judge Michael Mukasey refused to define waterboarding terror suspects as torture. On the same day MSNBC television pundit and former Republican Congressman Joe Scarborough quickly spoke out in its favor. On his morning television broadcast, he asserted, without any basis in fact, that the efficacy of the waterboard a viable tool to be used on Al Qaeda suspects. Scarborough said, "For those who don't know, waterboarding is what we did to Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, who is the Al Qaeda number two guy that planned 9/11. And he talked …" He then speculated that “If you ask Americans whether they think it's okay for us to waterboard in a controlled environment … 90% of American...

Huh? You got a discharge? On your own then. Crooks and Liars » 1 In 4 Homeless Americans Are Veterans Veterans make up one in four homeless people in the United States, though they are only 11 percent of the general adult population, according to a report to be released Thursday. And homelessness is not just a problem among middle-age and elderly veterans. Younger veterans from Iraq and Afghanistan are trickling into shelters and soup kitchens seeking services, treatment or help with finding a job. “We’re going to be having a tsunami of them eventually because the mental health toll from this war is enormous,” said Daniel Tooth, director of veterans affairs for Lancaster County, Pa. Read on… The human toll of the Iraq disaster is piling up around us and our liberal media is all too happy to sweep these unfortunate souls under the rug. These soldiers, many of whom suffer from one form of mental issue or another, return home to find they have difficulty settling back into ...

Cash Advance Loans Kinda, I guess. -- From: The Eternal Gaijin Lost Somewhere in Kobe, Japan "Words Cannot Describe What I Am About To Tell You."

Abstinence works. Abstinence-only sex education programs don't. End of story. Do not distort. Now go sort yourselves out. Crooks and Liars » Abstinence-only programs still don’t work Abstinence-only programs still don’t work By: Steve Benen on Thursday, November 8th, 2007 at 5:11 AM - PST Those who are concerned with reality probably didn’t need more evidence that abstinence-only programs don’t work, but we have some anyway. The nonpartisan National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy released the results of its latest research project this week. “At present there does not exist any strong evidence that any abstinence program delays the initiation of sex, hastens the return to abstinence or reduces the number of sexual partners” among teenagers, the study concluded. […] The study found that while abstinence-only efforts appear to have little positive impact, more comprehensive sex education programs were having “positive outcomes” including teenagers “delayi...

Rachel Marsden - Official Website Welcome to the official online home of Rachel Marsden, New York based political strategist and media commentator. Sun Media Column Statement: "Attention terrorists and Islamofascists: You can now read the Toronto Sun without having your delicate sensibilities offended, as my weekly column is no longer with Sun Media. I am currently exploring US syndication and other venues for the column. In the meantime, you can continue to read it here at RachelMarsden.com, every Monday. And yes (to respond to some of your queries), after more than 2 years of writing weekly for the Sun, I've been under a new Editor-in-Chief, Lou Clancy, since October 5th, who comes from Canada's most liberal newspaper: The Toronto Star. My column about Islam was spiked on his first day at the job. Best of luck to any principled conservatives who remain." UPDATE: Looks like the Sun fell for a letter writing campaign by the biggest leftist blog in the USA: ...

Dispatches from the Culture Wars: More on Waterboarding as a War Crime Judge Even Wallach, one of the nation's most respected experts on the law of war, has an op-ed in the Washington Post pointing out what Andrew Sullivan has been pointing out for weeks as well, that the US has not only always considered waterboarding to be torture, but has aggressively prosecuted other nation's for war crimes for using that technique on American POWs. Powered by ScribeFire .

I love the Sun. The Toronto Sun, Ottawa Sun, the original in London. I love the scratchy feeling when you wipe. Otherwise I have no use for something that when spread around the kitchen the dog would rather keep busting for a whiz than piss on. So when the paper-training reject of the print world publishes this I just have to say something. TorontoSun.com - Rachel Marsden - Torture? Sounds like a swimmingly good idea President George Bush's nominee for attorney general, Judge Michael Mukasey, may end up getting dunked at his Senate confirmation hearing because he refuses to call waterboarding torture. According to the Geneva Convention, prisoners of war are afforded certain protections. But contrary to what some folks might believe, we're not talking about prisoners of war here. In the war on terror, we're dealing largely with "unlawful enemy combatants" -- unaccountable freelancers who dress like they're coming out of philosophy class at UC Berkeley. Hey, I r...

'Cool Cash' card confusion - News - Manchester Evening News A LOTTERY scratchcard has been withdrawn from sale by Camelot - because players couldn't understand it. Speaking as someone who's assembled a home theatre system from instructions completely in Japanese (2 pictures!) I can see instructions being complicated especially if the concept is a little abstract. I think Camelot did the right thing. The Cool Cash game - launched on Monday - was taken out of shops yesterday after some players failed to grasp whether or not they had won. See? Exactly. It's unclear and unnecessarily complicated. Hunh, sorry? Didn't catch that last part. To qualify for a prize, users had to scratch away a window to reveal a temperature lower than the figure displayed on each card. As the game had a winter theme, the temperature was usually below freezing. But the concept of comparing negative numbers proved too difficult for some Camelot received dozens of complaints on the first da...

So sayeth Dana Perino on behalf of the White House. It's come to the point where they think that we're so fucking gullible, they're not even looking at their own goddamn memos any more. Think Progress » White House Tells Musharraf: Never ‘Restrict Constitutional Freedoms’ To Fight Terror Powered by ScribeFire .

Joss is my new master now. Buffy mastermind returns with new TV series | The Register Joss Whedon, creator of sci-fi fan favourites Buffy and Firefly, is to return to television with a new series. Powered by ScribeFire .

-- From: The Eternal Gaijin Lost Somewhere in Kobe, Japan "Words Cannot Describe What I Am About To Tell You."

No, the question really is this: how long before some National Insecurity whack-a-doodle turns around and sticks the word bomber in the middle of the key phrase. We know it won't be long before Faux News commentators quote this article as proof that the Mooo-slims are comin' to blow us all up! They're just casing the joint! Study uncovers 'suicide tourists' | NEWS.com.au MORE than one in 10 people who kill themselves in Manhattan are "suicide tourists" who travel to the Big Apple especially, often ending it all at one of the city's top landmarks, according to a study. Among the top choices for out-of-towners taking their own lives were the iconic Empire State Building, Times Square and the George Washington Bridge, according to the study by the New York Academy of Medicine. "I don't think any of us were aware or even conscious of thinking of suicide among tourists, that people would travel to a city specifically for that,'' the New Y...

I admit, I have a soft spot for Little Mosque on the Prairie; it has funny moments and is light hearted even if it suffers from that CBC writing style that feels like either everybody in the office or merely everybody in the office got a kick at the scripts. Still, it's well intentioned and has enough value to make me watch an episode here and there. And it's going to Israel... Israelis, Palestinians weigh in on CBC's Little Mosque A Canadian sitcom about Muslims living in rural Saskatchewan had its first broadcast in Israel Monday night, aiming to deliver a touch of Canadian humour to an often tense region. Produced by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, Little Mosque on the Prairie is a half-hour depiction of a small Muslim community living in the fictional prairie town of Mercy. Powered by ScribeFire .