It’s men like this that give religion the worst of its bad name.

(Via BoingBoing):

The UK Border Agency has scientists “horrified” at a weird, eugenics-flavoured proposal to test asylum seekers’ DNA to determine if they are truly and purely of the “race” they claim to be from. Even the scientists who pioneered DNA fingerprinting and related techniques call the idea “horrifying,” “naive” and “flawed.”

Science has obtained Border Agency documents showing that isotope analyses of hair and nail samples will also be conducted “to help identify a person’s true country of origin.” The project “is regrettable,” says Caroline Slocock, chief executive of Refugee and Migrant Justice headquartered in London. Although asylum-seekers are asked to provide tissue samples voluntarily, turning down a government request for tissue could be misinterpreted, she says, “so we believe [the program] should not be introduced at all.”

The Border Agency’s DNA-testing plans would use mouth swabs for mitochondrial DNA and Y chromosome testing, as well as analyses of subtle genetic variations called single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs). One goal of the project is to determine whether asylum-seekers claiming to be from Somalia and fleeing persecution are actually from another African country such as Kenya. If successful, the Border Agency suggests its pilot project could be extended to confirming other nationalities. Yet scientists say the Border Agency’s goals confuse ancestry or ethnicity with nationality. David Balding, a population geneticist at Imperial College London, notes that “genes don’t respect national borders, as many legitimate citizens are migrants or direct descendants of migrants, and many national borders split ethnic groups.”

Scientists Decry “Flawed” and “Horrifying” Nationality Tests

Read on… »

Congrats Ralph Lauren for outdoing Gap:

Her head is bigger than her pelvis. Finally, a real model I can get my girlfriend to aspire to.

I don’t need much water in my toilet most of the time. Here’s an easy way to save about 900ml per flush (click image to enlarge):

Simply by placing three full beer bottles next to my toilets ballcock (couldn’t pass that up), I think I may have saved between 300 and 500 litres of water in the amount of time I’ve lived here. I don’t do it to save money. I do it because I think it’s right.

I couldn’t agree more.

The Polish government has passed into law mandatory chemical castration for some pedophiles. I know many people here in Canada that would applaud this decision, and I can understand why. I however completely disagree.

I have no sympathy for the actions of pedophiles. However, they are still people, and that I think the state should be above their actions. We want to end the behaviour, not the person. I understand the wave of unquestionnable hostility to these criminals, but for the Prime Minister to say

…he wanted obligatory castration for pedophiles, whom he branded ‘degenerates’. Tusk said he did not believe “one can use the term ‘human’ for such individuals, such creatures.”

Why stop there? Let’s just execute every priest who touches a little boy! Let’s just cut off the hands of thieves? Oh wait, we’re better than this.

I hate my immune system right now. I’ve had night sweats like you wouldn’t believe, my throat and ears are killing me. Been to the doctor twice. There’s nothing they can do. Sweet as chocolate.

Metallica was a class act. I was about 8 feet from one of the main microphones on the 360 degree stage. I caught one of James’ picks. They played for over two hours and were fantastic with the crowd. Although a bit lacking in visuals (they had a short lightshow at first, and a few flames coming out afterward), the music was effing amazing. Lars would get down to his knees and chat with the people on the floor while James would rile up the rest of the crowd. Kirk put in a couple of improvised solos. Top notch show.

Maybe it is this that created the contrast for my next concert: Marylin Manson. All I can say is “Ugh”.

Die Mannequin opened. They’re a fantastic punk/hard rock band. However, the lead singer was so stoned, that her normally pretty voice was absolutely wretched. She was hobbling on a broken foot, re-duct taping it between songs, which probably explains the need to kill the pain. Regardless, at the end of their set, she wouldn’t get off stage. She kept screaming into the mic, to the point where security had to drag her off stage, still clutching the mic that was then cut, to awaiting paramedics. Yowza.

Manson came on and was okay. But I think I was generally put off by then. His show seemed cheap and stupid. He would scream the occasionnal “Haaaaallifaaax!” and stick the mic into the crowd. His setlist was good. But you just knew that it was just another night at the grind for the (now slightly overweight) singer.

Last night was the last chapter of my live show saga of 2009: Comedian Louis C.K. at the Capitol Theatre. Both he and his opener (I forget who it was, and his name can’t be found anywhere) were hilarious. I love crude humor, and he delivers. Rants on life, sex, marriage and racial differences are the bread and butter of comedians; but Louis’ emphasis on today’s youth and society in general are very funny. I’ve seen a ton of his YouTube clips, and I did not hear a single recycled joke. Kudos to him!

Now I wonder if I’ll ever get over my ailments. Probably not. I think my girlfriend is going to leave my sick ass if I don’t get better within a couple of weeks. Echinecea, Vitamin C, shittons of water, fruit and veggies, check. I don’t believe in herbal medecine at all, but at this point, I’ll try anything. FML.

Tomorrow night, one of my dreams will come true…to see Metallica live.

I’m hopping on a train tonight, headed to Montreal. I’ll be meeting up with sis, and three other good friends for breakfast (or brunch, as I expect the train to be late). I head back on Monday evening, and should be home Tuesday afternoon, just in time to catch a class.

I can’t think of a better way to complete a recovery from nearly a week of battling the flu. What’s more; next Thursday Heidi and I are going to see The Jimmy Swift Band, Friday we’re going to Halifax to meet with friends we met in Cuba to catch some fantastic thai food and a Marilyn Manson concert, only to return home the next night to see Louis C.K. live at the Capitol Theatre.

I am incredibly fortunate to be able to do all this, but I worked hard all summer and didn’t make any of my usual expeditions away. More importantly, I consider this to be an appreciation of my health. Without which, none of these experiences would have any meaning.

I have never seen such ludicrous excuses for “debate”. There are a small portion of very stupid, racist and violent people who are so cult-like in their demeanour it almost scares me; but it doesn’t.

"If debt is the slavery of the free then you might want to start asking why your country spends more on defense than the rest of the planet put together. If debt is the slavery of the free then you might want to start asking why you owe the Chinese a trillion dollars, or what would happen if those nations that you owe money to were to come collecting. Bad news, sweetheart, your entire way of life is based on the existence of debt." - Matthew Good

Take Fox News’ boasting that it has now taken over the top spot on the airwaves. well, it is indeed true. But when was the last time you watched cable news? Have you even seen CNN lately? It’s a joke. News orgs are trying to dumb down their pieces, taslking more about Michelle Obama’s outfits than anything else. Tell me you saw the “hologram” Wolf Blitzer used on election night.

I therefore argue that now the majority of people watching cable are either tuned in to Fox, BBC, or Al-Jazeera (or comedians). I say the voices of the idiots are blown way out of proportion. I think congress (or at least the President) knows that.

I think a form of universal health care will pass. With a simple majority. However, I am weary of the senate. It wouldn’t surprise me if they killed it.