Piracy on the High Seas

Capitalism rules the high seas, eye matey tis true....

Study: World's Fish Population to Collapse in 50 Years; 'The Last Century of Wild Seafood'

Because of this....

Overfishing, technology making fish species increasingly rare in Mediterranean

Many small fishing companies are waging a desperate battle against large, sometimes multinational ones, which see the sea only as a source of money.

The number of fishermen has halved to about 50 000 since 1990 in Spain, which has the largest fishing fleet in the European Union (EU).

At the same time, improved technology has increased the size of catches, leading to an unscrupulous pillage of the sea's resources.

Many Spanish and French fishing companies have used EU subsidies to overhaul their fleets, installing sonar systems and new engines.

Fishing boats may have engines four times as powerful as the law allows them to have in the Mediterranean, according to El Pais.

They also use banned gear such as drift nets, which haul up vast quantities of unwanted fish and other marine life, and target juvenile fish despite size restrictions.

Large companies even use radar and spotter planes to track down schools of bluefin tuna, the consumption of which has been fuelled by the growth of the global sushi market.

Tuna are fattened in special ranches around the Mediterranean for the Japanese market, and taken away by Asian ships which pick up the cargo off shore without informing the authorities, according to media reports.

About 50 000 tons of bluefin tuna are captured annually in the Mediterranean and Atlantic, more than three times as much as what experts consider a sustainable amount.

And in Canada the Government continues to be in a state of denial of the fact that overfishing is the result of the industrialization of the sea; floating processing plants with dragnets.

Suddenly the Newfie Joke that is our Fisheries Minister realizes that climate change is affecting the oceans. That of course is the cause. Just like seals were the cause of the cod depletion. Not overfishing or new dragger fleets. Oh no. Its climate change. Something that concerns the Tories. Not.

Of course the fishing stalks will be depleted just about the same time the Tories hot air act comes into effect in 2050.

Fisheries Minister accepts link between climate, declining stocks

Federal Fisheries Minister Loyola Hearn reluctantly acknowledged yesterday that climate change could be hastening the depletion of fish off the coast of Newfoundland.

Mr. Hearn said his department was taking seriously a study published yesterday in the journal Science that predicts a collapse of the global seafood industry by midcentury if current fishing trends continue unabated.

But the minister also defended his decision not to sanction a United Nations moratorium on bottom trawling, a fishing technique akin to clear-cutting trees on land and sharply criticized by scientists and nature conservationists.

"It's not just a matter of overfishing or the use of certain technologies," Mr. Hearn told reporters in the foyer of the House of Commons.

And let us not forget that Hearn says Canada's allies on this issue are Spain, Norway, Iceland, and the other illegal mass fishing violators of the high seas. We are in fine company. Historically of course the Maritimes and its politics has been a port for privateers, pirates and the European fishing fleet.

See:

Fishing

Pirates

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Hockey Fans

Gee who knew the BQ were hockey fans. Bloc MPs boo Don Cherry in House of Commons

I guess we can now call the BQ the Boo-Q.

What has happened to decorum in the house, why the horror of it. Don Cherry booed.

Good thing he has a thick skin and a big fat CBC taxpayer funded salary.

Of course I am surprized more MP's did't boo him considering the loud clothes he wears. Actually he was dressed conservatively as you can see.

And he wasn't just 'dressed' conservatively. Cherry had nice things to say about the Harper, so look for even more polling numbers to drop in Quebec for the Conservatives.

And at least Don has the Cheeries to go where he might get booed unlike our PM.
Critics slam Harper's EU summit cancellation

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Pelosi Gets Her Wish

Despite these headlines of denial;

Rumsfeld Has No Plans to Step Down, Despite Democrat Gains ...
FOX News - 1 hour ago
WASHINGTON — Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld, a key target of Iraq war critics, gave no indication Wednesday that he planned to step down in the wake of ...
Democrats' win alone won't drive Rumsfeld out Washington Post
Rumsfeld not the only one to blame Asia Times Online
First, out with RumsfeldInternational Herald Tribune

It appears that Nancy Pelosi has gotten her wish;Bush Should Replace Rumsfeld for Starters, Pelosi Says

Report: Rumsfeld stepping down
WIS, SC - 16 minutes ago
(Washington-AP) November 8, 2006 - Republican officials say Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld is stepping down, according to the Associated Press. ...
GOP Says Rumsfeld Is Stepping Down Newsday

See:

Purple Wave USA

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Deja Vu

It's fitting that the day that marked the end of Reagan Republicanism was the day that this happened; Daniel Ortega: Return of the Sandinista



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Purple Wave USA

It was a purple wave of petulant protest against politial pulchritude of the Bush Regime. Last night the Democrats with support from real conservatives, both fiscal and social, and from real liberals, sweeped the Republicans out of power in both the House and Senate.

And as I write the contest for America is still being contested. Senate Races were close even those that the Democrats lost like the Tennesse. In Virigina the race is so close its going to a recount. In Montana a supposedly solid Republican Red (neck) state they have voted for an organic lentil farmer and Democrat for Senate giving the boot to long term incumbent Republican Senator. In Missouri the Show Me state, they Showed Bush The Door.

And for those on the right who have made hay at the expense of Howard Dean, well he who laughs last.....Dean forced the Dem's to take on the Republicans in the South, what he called the fifty state challenge. In doing so the Democrats moved to the right, as Howard Ford Jr. best emulates. They took the Republican messaging and made it their own. Which is what Dean had predicted would be the winning formula back in the Presidential Primaries of 2004. And folks laughed and jeered him. Well not tonight. They have the crying towels out, and Dean has the last laugh.

What this portends is that the Democrats are regaining their hold in old Dixiecrat country which went Republican under the mobilization of the ultimate special interest group; the Evangelical Christian Right. Tonight the Democrats put serious chinks in the Republicans Armour of God. For instance in the still undecided Virgina Senate Race, the Democratic contender (and winner) got 36% of exit poll voters who identified themselves as evangelicals while voting to oppose Gay Marriage which was on the ballot.

In Tennesse you couldn't tell the difference between the Republican or Democrat, who were both pro-life, gun loving, evangelicals. In another race the Republican lost because the Democrat had all the right arguments and all the Republican incumbent could say was me too.

In California the Govenator said he loved sequels as he won a landslide second term. but that was because he distanced himself from Bush, and the Republican party, by hiring a Democratic Strategist for his Communications Director, and by moving to a bi-partisan position on key issues like minimum wage and the environment. In siding with the Democrats on crucial issues the first Austrian Govenor of Kali-fornia assured himself a win. Can we all say Kalifornia Uber Alles.

As that state goes, which after all gave the U.S. two Republican Presidents, so goes the 'values' of the Republicans. And Kalifornia has now given the Americans their first woman speaker in the House. Of course the hysteria of the right warned America against Nancy Pelosi. Can you say misogynist politics. Why of course you can. Its the ugly underside of the Republican core values. Along with race baiting as we saw with the attack ad against Ford. These are the core Republican values. As the expose of their corruption reminded everyone over the past three months right up to the last weekend, hypocrisy thy name is Republican became the battle cry of the citizens of America. Especially authentic conservatives.

In a sense this was predicted by the Libertarian movement in the United States, which called for support for the Democrats. The Libertarians that are not Republicans have opposed the war from the begining. But even as late as this fall they came out in favour of classical liberalism, from whence they came, and in its name called for a vote for the Democrats.

More on Libertarian Democrats
I don't think that anyone who is genuinely concerned about limiting government can vote for the Republicans. So, while the Democrats may be distasteful and unpleasant to deal with once they reach power, voting for them as a replacement for the Republicans makes the most sense

The neo-cons in the White House never considered the base important except to get elected and to hold the presidentcy. The Party never considered the base important, except to get elected and hold both houses. When in power they quickly abandoned any pretext to libertarian conservatism, and embraced Struassarian power politics that Rothbard warned against over forty years ago.

It was the independents that made the difference in this election, and the mass mobilization of voters, who were prepared to oust the Republicans. The significant loss of Repulican support can be seen in Lieberman's win, as it can be seen in Webbs.

The Democrats have manuvered to appeal to fiscal conservatives and liberal evangelicals. There is a growing trend for liberal evangelicals to identify themselves as such, being concerned with issues like AIDS, poverty and the environment. The social agenda is changing and the election reflects this sea change in the right. The Church of Global Warming

What was a unified Republican front since Reagan fell apart over the past six years in a morass of opportunism and power for the sake of power. Empire building was the goal of the Roverian Republicans, as it was for Bush and his neo-con advisors. The Empire was shaken to its foundations this morning.

The cry of the Democrats will be the Empire is Dead Long Live the Empire.







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A Taxpayers Timmies

Here is another example of Canadian state capitalism, or as it is called by the neo-liberals private public partnerships (p3's),regardless of who the New goverment of Canada is.

Who pays for Afghanistan's Tim Hortons? Why you and I do.

The total cost for the first year of operations at Tim Hortons' Kandahar operations was over $3.9 million. And keeping the operation running during the duration of Canada's mission in Afghanistan is estimated to cost as much as $5 million a year. The only major expense Canadians won't be paying is the $450,000 franchise fee, which Global National has learned that Tim Hortons has waived in this particular case.

Ah thats generous of them.

Lets see thats $4.5 mil for us and for Timmies its $.5 mil. And the Tories talk about tax farness and corporations paying their share. Yeah right. And we don't even get shares in Timmes for our investment.

Tim Hortons Inc. Announces Third-Quarter Results; Declares Second Quarterly Dividend

Total revenues were $413.6 million in the third quarter, up 7.1% compared
to $386.1 million in the third quarter of 2005. Rent and royalties revenues
were up 10.5%, in-line with systemwide sales growth of 11.5%(1). Same-store
sales growth momentum continued in the third quarter with Canada increasing by
5.9% and the U.S. increasing by 9.2%.

See:


Tim Hortons

Afghanistan

Harper In Kandahar for Timmies

Hockey Night in Kandahar

A little taste

The Other Afghanistan

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Samhain

Whose this Sam guy that witches celebrate. What does he have to do with Jack O' Lantern, and of course the Day of the Dead. And why is Halloween, or Hallo' mass the New Year?

You Call It Hallowe'en... We Call It Samhain






See:

New Age Libertarian Manifesto

Pagan

Witch

Gnostic

Heresy




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Monday Science Guy

It seems that my posts today have made this Monday, Science Day.

• Just Right Ice
• Elephants Cogitate
• Dialectics of Extinction
• Pay Now Or Pay Later

See:

Science

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Just Right Ice

Another example of the Goldilocks Enigma....the X-rays were 'just right'....

Splitting Water Creates Alloy

"At first, we saw these unexpected H₂ and O₂ peaks in our X-ray Raman spectra," Wendy Mao tells C&EN. "Then we released pressure from the diamond anvil cell, and we actually saw gas bubbling out."

Upon further investigation, they determined that at high pressure the X-rays dissociate H₂O and the resulting atoms recombine into a previously unknown solid of H₂ and O₂. This new "alloy" is spectroscopically distinct from a simple H₂-O₂ mix.

X-rays are known to create free radicals and instigate reactions at ambient pressure, but examples of similar transformations at high pressure are rare. "We managed to hit on just the right level of X-ray energy input," Hemley explains. "Any higher, and the radiation tends to pass right through the sample. Any lower, and the radiation is largely absorbed by the diamonds in our pressure apparatus."

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Elephants Cogitate

End the Ivory Trade! And the incarceration of elephants.

Happy the elephant recognises herself in a mirror. Image: Diana Reiss/Wildlife Conservation Society.

Elephants possess self-awareness

SYDNEY: Elephants can recognise themselves in mirrors, an ability which gains them membership of the cognitive elite, U.S. researchers say.

"We report a successful MSR [mirror self-recognition] elephant study and report striking parallels in the progress of responses to mirrors among apes, dolphins and elephants," said the researchers. They report their findings today in the U.S. journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Mirror self-recognition is considered a sign of self-awareness which, until now, has been observed only in humans, apes and dolphins. These animals - as well as elephants - all have large brains, complex social systems and high intelligence levels.

"When CITES first banned the ivory trade in 1989, Africa's elephant population was 609,000 (down from 1.3 million in 1979). Now the most optimistic estimates are around 400,000 elephants. Losing elephants is an ecological disaster. Elephants are not just ornaments or tourist attractions; they disperse seeds, prune the trees and shape the land wherever they live, naturally." Ian Redmond, Born Free Wildlife Consultant and elephant expert

West Africa's ivory trade thrives

By Alex Kirby BBC News Online environment correspondent Poachers' victim in central Africa A lively illegal trade in ivory is now flourishing in three populous states in West Africa, conservation groups say. They found more ivory in Nigeria, Ivory Coast and Senegal than the countries' own elephant populations could produce. The wildlife trade monitoring network Traffic and the global conservation group WWF say West Africa's vibrant ivory markets spur the poachers on. They believe much of the ivory their teams found will have come from animals slaughtered by gangs in central Africa. Any international ivory trade must be sanctioned by Cites, the United Nations Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species.

Elephant News


SEE:

Dialectics of Extinction

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Dialectics of Extinction

"We came up with the idea that humans themselves act as both press and a pulse," said West. "Humans began manipulating the environment - the press - from the advent of agriculture. However, that alone did not trigger the current mass extinction. That seems to have been triggered by the pulse of industrialisation and the demands for energy and resources that came with it."

New theory for mass extinctions



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Pay Now Or Pay Later

Global warming could soon cost trillions

According to the Observer, the Stern report says unchecked climate change would cost up to US$6.98 trillion (A$9 trillion) - more than World Wars I and II and the Great Depression of the 1930s.

It also warns that the world needs to spend about one per cent of global gross domestic product - equivalent to about US$349 billion (A$454 billion) - on the issue now or face a bill up to 20 times higher than that in future, the paper says.

Stern also calls for a successor to the Kyoto agreement on greenhouse gases to be signed next year, not in 2010 or 2011 as planned, because the problem is so urgent, according to the paper.

He reportedly says that failure to act quickly would trigger a global recession and calls for an international framework to tackle the issue.

The Observer says his report is the first heavyweight contribution to the debate on climate change by an economist rather than a scientist.

See:

Ambrose

Environment

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I Am Not A Number

I am a free man. So said the Prisoner. Now it turns out that strange white ball that chased him all over the island when he tried to escape actually exists.

Scientists Stumped: Underwater Photographer Captures Picture of Mysterious Gelatinous Ball; 'A Bit of Science Fiction'

The Prisoner was the British paranoid Sci Fi TV series created by the first TV spy guy; Patrick McGoohan. Who starred in Danger Man/Secret Agent






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Why The Democrats Will Sweep

Because they have no spokesperson, no identifiable leader, no one for Bush to thrash or attack, and because they are all over the map on issues.

All these would be a negative in politics, but come November 7 they will sweep the Congress and the Senate.

And they will do it without having launched an orchestrated campaign like the Republicans did in 1994.

What is seen as weakness is actually to their advantage.

That and of course the daily news from Iraq.




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Zaccardelli Gets The Boot?

Will the Conservatives turf RCMP Commissioner Giuliano Zaccardali, looks like they are planning to. Not over his mishandling of the Arar Affair, oh no the Harpocrites love the idea of the Security State. Nope they are dragging up an old sexual abuse case to use as an excuse to turf him. That of course is far more heinious a crime for the Tories than rendition, torture and falsifying information about Maher Arar.

RCMP whistleblowers get Day's protection

Goldring said the officers have information on a case dating back to the 1990s that the RCMP did not adequately investigate alleged sexual abuse by an ex-Mountie at a school in New Brunswick. RCMP Commissioner Giuliano Zaccardelli was in charge of that criminal division at the time.

MP flags concerns over Zaccardelli

See:

RCMP

Arar



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Tories Can't Stop Crime

The New Conservative Government of Stephen Harper prides itself on being our new Law and Order government. Nine months in power and Edmonton remains the Murder Capital of Canada despite the fact that every single Federal MP is a Tory.

So much for their get tough on crime message. It doesn't appear to be getting through. 3 dead in Edmonton nightclub shooting

Alberta is a Tory province. So ask yourself how successful the Conservatives will be federally when they can't stop crime where they governed for thiry five years.


Of course with their new three strikes law the criminals will only get more desperate and fight to the death,rather than go to jail, just as they do in the U.S.

See:

Murder


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The Vampire State

I loved this definition of the State. Just in time for Halloween. Of course Vampirism historically has been the lot of the aristorcacy who sucked the blood out of the peasants.After all the historical vampire Elizabeth Bathory was a Countess, and Vlad Dracul was a Prince. And when the aristocracy gave way to the bourgoise it became the nature of capitalism.

Mr. Ayittey says aid to Africa should bypass governments entirely and flow into the hands of organizations that empower people. In a PBS interview last year, he said, "Africans see government as the problem. In fact, we call them vampire states because they suck the vitality out of the people. A vampire state is a government which has been captured or hijacked by a phalanx of bandits and crooks who use instruments of the state to enrich themselves, their cronies and tribesmen and exclude everybody else …

"Now, if you want to understand why America is rich and Africa is poor, ask yourself, ‘How do the rich in each area make their money?’ Take the U.S., for example. The richest person is Bill Gates. He’s worth something like $64 billion. How did he make his money? He made his money in the private sector, by selling something, Microsoft computer software. He has something to show for his wealth.

"Now, let’s go to Africa. Who are the richest in Africa? The richest in Africa are African heads of state and ministers. How did they make their money? They made their money by raking it off the backs of their suffering people. That is not wealth creation. It is wealth redistribution."

See:

Vampire

Gothic Capitalism



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Mobile Capitalism

In 1998 the World Bank sponsored an email conference on technology and globalization, that I was involved in. At that time, eight years ago, Africa suffered a lack of infrastructure for basic phones services, let alone available service for computers. In fact most of the developing world lacked phone access.

Many email discussions on Labour Net for instance were conducted by someone with a computer forwarding email to faxes and getting faxed responses back.

Today globalization of technology has proved that infrastructure such as telephone does not have to be land based, poles, wires, interchanges, but can now be accessed by satillite and cell phones. Computers which are still unaffordable are being replaced by cell phones.

Africa's 'Lord of the Ringtones'

Computer science students at the University of Nairobi are learning how to design their own "value-added services" in a nine-week course entitled "Mobile Phone Programming for Entrepreneurs."

The class is taught by Nathan Eagle, a research scientist at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, who says the traditional focus on computer programming has become increasingly misplaced.

He said: "A lot of people here don't have access to computers. Mobile phones are the way they're getting connected."

The irony is that Africa is the source for a rare metal used in cellphones which comes from the Congo and is found in the areas where endangered Gorilla's live.

The phenomena is sweeping the developing world. Allowing people in distant villages who never communicated with each other to do so. And of course it has increased the spread of capitalism replacing the barter based economies of the localized free markets. Which means the market becomes dominated by capitalist monopolies. Cellphones Catapult Rural Africa to 21st Century - New York Times

Phoney finance

Mobile banking is just one example of a wider phenomenon in South Africa. With its odd mix of advanced capitalism and developing-world economics, the country is successfully luring people who hitherto dealt only in cash or barter to the world of formal finance. A simplified kind of account called Mzansi was launched in 2004 to reach the unbanked, and portable banks and ATMs have been rolled out in townships and in the countryside. To this fast-changing scene, mobile-phone banking looks to be a promising addition. Millions of South Africans send money to their relatives in other parts of the country. And most of these sums, which add up to about 12 billion rand ($1.5 billion) each year, still move informally.

No cheap call for cellular network acquisitions

RAMPANT acquisitions in the cellular network industry have seen four players grow to dominate Africa by serving 40% of all subscribers.

Yet there are still 115 operators on the continent, providing plenty of fuel for the acquisition frenzy. The largest operators are MTN, Vodacom and the Middle East’s MTC and Orascom.

But the price tag for acquisitions is reaching a point where even the richest Africans may have to bow out and let the oil rich Arabs muscle in instead.

Recent takeovers have cost more than $1000 for each subscriber — an anomaly when Africans are among the poorest, lowest-spending users in the world. Africa has 165-million users and an average penetration of 18%. That means the potential for growth is still there, analysts agreed at the GSM Africa forum in Cape Town last week.

Of 472-million new users expected to join networks around the world this year, 48-million would be in Africa, said Devine Kofiloto, a principal analyst for Informa Telecoms. Yet the growth potential cannot be gauged purely by Africa’s population, as the majority are too poor to afford cellphone services and penetration would stabilise at about 32%, he said. The payback for acquisitions is also taking longer, as the average revenue per user is plunging as cellphones reach the poorer echelons of society.

See:

The New Market States

Free Market Economics=Cooperatives

Free Trade; Hong Kong & Somalia

Marx Was Right

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Assassination In Mexico

No not Trotsky, but Indymedia reporter Brad Will, reporting from Insurgent Mexico.

Brad Will, Indymedia Reporter, Murdered While Reporting on Mexico Demonstration

Brad was murdered while the phoney el Presidente elect of Mexico was having lunch with el capo Harper in Ottawa.

Of course because Brad was working as freelancer with Indymedia his death has been underreported unlike those MSM journalists killed in Iraq or other war zones . His death was unnessacary as were the deaths of the people of Oaxaca with whom he was covering. This was an assisination by the corrupt Mexican Federal State.

A tip o' the blog to Greenman's Occasional Organ for this.

See:

Oaxaca Mexican Revolution Continues

Dual Power In Mexico

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Dem Crazy Democrats

Who said this;

"I am a Jesus loving, gun toting, fiscal conservative."

Harold Ford the Democratic Candidate for Senator from Tennesse on Fox News Sunday with Chris Wallace.

He is running as the 'values' candidate.

As they say Tweedledee Tweedledum.


See:

Democrats Divided On Chavez Speech

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It's Natures Way

Gay animals exhibit generates heat

A Norwegian museum exhibit of homosexual behaviour in the animal world has sparked consternation among conservative Christians. A Lutheran priest said he hoped the organisers would "burn in hell," and a Pentecostal priest lashed out at the exhibition saying tax payers' money used for it would have been better spent helping the animals correct "their perversions and deviances".

Help the animals correct their deviances and perversions how ya gonna do that? Shock Therapy like they used on gays back thirty years ago?

So drop the false moral indignation, which says heterosexuality is Natural and homosexuality isn't. Freud already proved that was untrue. Now get over it.

Breaking what is taboo for some, the Natural History Museum in Oslo is currently showing an exhibition on homosexuality in the animal kingdom which organisers say is the first of its kind in the world.

"As homosexual people are often confronted with the argument that their way of living is against the principles of nature, we thought that ... as a scientific institution, we could at least show that this is not true," said exhibition organiser Geir Soeli.

"You can think whatever you want about homosexuals but you cannot use that argument because it is very natural, it's very common in animal kingdom," Soeli added.

Oh yes and marriage is a property relationship it isn't 'sacred' either.

Of course the Christian Conservatives loved their favorite family film; March of the Penquins. They thought it great that Emperor Penquins mated for life proving family values are natural. But as it turns out the Emperor Penguins are also homosexual as well.

Of course as a fallback the Christian Conservatives raise the fear of Islam....Conservative activist Mike Baker said, "Nevermind Christian condemnation. This exhibit won't endear the museum with many Muslims."

Of course all patriarchical religions and sects fear homosexuality as they do women. And poor Mike Baker is confusing Norway with Denmark.

animal species practice homosexuality

Homosexuality is quite common in the animal kingdom, especially among herding animals. Many animals solve conflicts by practicing same gender sex.

From the middle of October until next summer the Norwegian Natural History Museum of the University of Oslo will host the first exhibition that focuses on homosexuality in the animal kingdom.

"One fundamental premise in social debates has been that homosexuality is unnatural. This premise is wrong. Homosexuality is both common and highly essential in the lives of a number of species," explains Petter Boeckman, who is the academic advisor for the "Against Nature's Order?" exhibition.

The most well-known homosexual animal is the dwarf chimpanzee, one of humanity's closes relatives. The entire species is bisexual. Sex plays an conspicuous roll in all their activities and takes the focus away from violence, which is the most typical method of solving conflicts among primates and many other animals.

Biological Exuberance: Love That Dare Not Squeak Its Name - Homosexuality in animals... (gay animals and a strange bat)

See:

Morality not from animals

Polygamy is NOT Polyamoury

Homosexual

Metrosexual

Same Sex Marriage

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The Cost of Fitness

The Tories tax credit for fitness is a joke. First it will be based on fitness programs that can prove they improve kids "cardio-respiratory fitness" Next it ain't $500 its only $78.50. For every $500 you spend on Hockey Equipment or joining a sports fitness centre you will get a tax credit for $78.50.

The federal government let parents claim up to $500, but give them an annual maximum of $78.50 per child.During the campaign before the Jan. 23 parliamentary election, Stephen Harper proposed that parents with children under 16 be able to claim $500 in registration fees per child participating in organized sports.

Dr. Kellie Leitch suggests that means activities such as archery and lawn bowling wouldn't qualify. Eligible programs would have to include at least 30 minutes of physical activity for kids under 10, and an hour for those 10 and over, for parents to qualify for the maximum tax credit of $78.50 per child.

Of course if your kids join a dance group like Shumka or go to a Drama Music Dance School like Fame you get nada. Despite these programs being just as effective at improving cardio-respiratory fitness in your kids as sports programs. Call it another tax credit for the suburban class, call it the Harpers Kids benefit, cause his son plays hockey and would qualify.

Call it another false promise, $500 suddenly becomes $78.50. And there are restrictions on who qualifies. Just like their Family Allowance payments aren't a Universal Daycare program.


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Patriarchy Hates Women

Two blogs at opposite political polls make the point that patriarchy hates women. April Reign reports on the right wing Catholic attacks on womens right to choose in Nicaragua and Poland, and the sexist comments of a Mulsim Cleric in Australia admonishing women to avoid dressing provocatively or they invite rape.

At the other end of the political spectrum Big Blue Wave complains that people, men, are sexist in believing that social conservative women are dumb. Well they aren't dumb, but they are agents of patriarchy. Which is worse. Because they are women they think they can speak for all women, while denouncing feminists for doing the same thing.

In reality they are the womens voice FOR patriarchy, which is anti-women always has been always will be.


Unfortunately the pews, temples, and synagogues are filled with women. Without women the patriarchical religions would collapse. Like Hegels 'slaves'; whose existence is justfied through their bondage, conservative women act against their own best interests for the interests of their masters. Thus the right wing can justify their attack on individual rights by saying not all women support feminism.

The war on women is the inherent misogyny of patriarchy, the battle for womens rights which is the battle for individual rights means that patriarchy needs to be abolished. Since all monotheist religions are patriarchical and conduct their moral war against human rights and individual rights means that we must abolish religious institutions and their political power.

This has always been the core of anarchist anti-theism.

See:

Radical Feminism

Whose Family Values?

The Sanctity of Marriage Debate

Feminism



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