kimmy

Aside from going before the people of Canada and asking them to trust you to lead the country? -k

Agence France Presse. Not only can they write in English, but also French, Arabic, Portuguese, Spanish, and German! have you suffered a blow to the head recently? Do you sometimes smell burnt toast for no reason? How many fingers am I holding up? -k

So... you don't consider Agence France-Presse trustworthy... but you want us to watch your link from Makmood Amajinabinabad's state-controlled Iranian news service? You are truly astonishing. -k

Wrong, genius. Yahoo reprints news from other sources. Note the by-line on the article: Also notice the AFP logo on the article, and the link that takes you to the AFP home page. But who is AFP? The oldest, and third largest news agency in the world. They're French. They have bureaus all over the world. They publish in 6 languages. They enjoy baguettes and wine. -k

How do you know? What makes you such an expert on what's really happening in Pakistan? Your reading comprehension is at a level somewhere between "Toddler" and "Cat". The article that AW provided was from Agence France-Presse, Einstein. -k

Jones is pretty amazing, but this is a huge step up in competition for him. Stuff he has been able to get away with against lesser fighters may not work against a guy as skilled, fast, and experienced as Shogun. -k

As far as I can tell, the only actual crime being alleged here is that a guy who left the government in 2008 is being accused of working as a lobbyist without a license before the "cooling off period" had expired. Is that correct? While I realize the "busty hooker" aspect of this has people all overstimulated, the substance of the issue sounds pretty minor. In fact, from the sound of it they were attempting to sell the filtration units to First Nations, not to the Department of Indian Affairs, so it sounds questionable as to whether Carson was actually attempting to lobby the federal government at all. -k

I'm sure that you, like other long-time readers, know that I'm not. However, I'm not opposed to the idea that hate might be considered an aggravating factor during sentencing. More to the point, what I think doesn't matter that much, because our courts have already decided that it should be considered an aggravating factor during sentencing. That is, no doubt, a reflection of the principle that KIS expressed earlier. My only objection is that I doubt it is applied evenly. (ie: it's only "hate" if it's whitey doing the hating. A white guy who punches out a black woman during a heated discussion about race-relations isn't getting away with 3 days of community service and a $50 fine.) -k

That's the worst explanation of irony I've ever heard, Miss Morissette. -k

Indeed, this is the reason that hatred of certain groups is considered an aggravating factor in sentencing of violent crimes. -k

...in nations whose governments are now condemning the practice as antiquated and barbaric, yes? I agree that not causing offense was at the heart of Trudeau's comments. But we had a thread not too long ago where some academic was arguing for more tolerant discussion of female genital cutting precisely for reasons of cultural sensitivity, so I'm not convinced about the latter part. If you kill your wife because you're unable to control your anger or jealousy, you're an animal. If you kill your wife to collect insurance money, you're inhuman. If you kill your wife because your culture says it's an appropriate thing to do, it means you come from a barbaric culture. Whatever the reason, you're a murderer. Maybe the motive will have some effect on the sentence. -k

Most murder is not considered a cultural practice but rather an abhorrent act that is outside the realm of acceptable behavior. Some in this thread are objecting to the characterization of "honor killing" as barbaric on the basis that it's culturally insensitive. I'm just asking: to what culture? Is that an unreasonable question? I have yet to hear those who argue it's culturally insensitive offer any example of what culture it's actually insensitive to. -k

Still waiting to hear whose culture is actually being insulted by the description of "honor killing" as barbaric. -k

Be careful... when people try to start their own weather organizations, it often ends badly. -k

Yes, this does make a rather strong argument in favor of inspections, doesn't it. -k

What are you getting at, Willie? Are you saying that this news article is a hoax? -k

"I am a member of the Imperial Senate on a diplomatic mission to Alderaan--" -k

The Romans were barbarians. Why? They were barbaric. Barbaric. Barbaric. both. But typing in all-caps is a great way to look educated. -k

*What* culture is being being offended here? What culture doesn't hold "honor killings" to be barbaric? I know it's not Muslims we're talking about, because every single time there has been a thread about "honor killings" committed by Muslims, our resident Muslim Defense League has sprung into action to explain that "honor killing" is as abhorrent to Muslims as it is to the rest of us, and that those very very rare Muslims who have committed "honor killings" are not representative of Muslims, they're just a tiny tiny minority of... well, barbarians. In fact, I am sure that our resident Muslim Defense League will be along any moment to set you guys straight and explain that Muslims hold "honor killing" to be just as barbaric as the rest of us. So ... which culture is the description "barbaric" actually offensive to? Let's name names. Let's find out which culture it actually is where "honor killing" is considered an actual part of the culture, rather than a crime committed by some small minority within that group. I'm willing to bet that nobody here can actually name such a culture. (But if there actually is one, then let's not accept immigrants from there.) -k

I think most people would probably rationalize an elite status (membership in an exclusive club, a promotion at work, that sort of thing) as something they'd earned or deserved... at which point the existence of that barrier becomes A Good And Noble Thing. That's a great example. I've seen Fargo... but I saw it at an age when I was more concerned with whether Brandon would finally get together with Kelly than how stories are told. But even at the time, that scene struck me as really weird and I didn't get it. Maybe you've got it figured out I'd have to watch Fargo again to decide. Sure makes you think about what the author or director is trying to say, though, doesn't it. -k

This is freakin' epic: I haven't seen Navajo Joe, but I've got a hunch that this music heralds the arrival of Bad News for somebody. -k

The NDP used to be the voice of farmers and blue-collar workers, not politically-correct tree-huggers. Maybe they'd do better if they remembered their roots and chose a leader accordingly. -k

On a semi-related note... if you're among the millions who've been thinking "man, I'd love to have an excuse to punch Gilbert Gottfried in the face", today is your lucky day! Aflac Insurance has dropped Gottfried as the voice of the Aflac Duck after Gottfried posted a series of off-colour jokes on Twitter. Now... I'm not opposed to comedians (or alleged comedians, in Gottfried's case) saying whatever they like, because it's a free country. However, I'm also not opposed to Aflac dumping Gottfried for this, because they can also hire whoever the hell they like to appear in their commercials, and they do an enormous amount of business in Japan, apparently. Also, I'm surprised that voicing the Aflac Duck is an actual paying job. They could replace Gottfriend with Jimmy from the mail room, and nobody would notice the difference. It's not like we're talking about Flo from Progressive here. Also, I'd punch Gottfried if I got the opportunity. Even if he hadn't mocked the dead in Japan. He's just really really annoying. -k {"AFLAC!" *smack!*}

The question wasn't what's important. The question was: what should the opposition make the election about? Assuming they want to win, they should pick issues that voters care about. If they want to lose, they should take your advice. -k

Joe Average Canadian remembers burning police cars and smashed store windows and thinks that the police went easy on those troublemakers. Joe Average Canadian really doesn't give a crap. Joe Average Canadian just filled out his tax return, saw how much the government took out of his pay cheques from the last year, and is wondering what happened to all that money. Smart politicians will figure out what's really on Joe Average Canadian's mind. Nah. The smart people in the Liberal party "war room" will figure out that attacking the Conservatives' financial record is where they can make ground. Yeah, the lefties told us that the Olympics were going to be a firestorm of protest: the environmentalists, the First Nations, the shoddy treatment of the homeless... it was going to be an indictment of Canada in front of the entire world. The reality? They protesters proved to be the ones out of touch with the mood of Canadians. Same deal here. The lefties have greatly overestimated the degree to which Joe Average Canadian gives a crap about the treatment of G20 protesters or Afghan detainees. Another good point. Those who think the G20 security "police state" is a top election issue are people who-- if they vote at all-- aren't going to be voting for the Liberals or Conservatives anyway. Those votes are already allotted... so it has zero impact as a campaign issue. -k