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OK ... I don't know what it is. But you can waste time there too.

The Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA) recently presented a report, Environmental Crime - a Threat to Our Future , to a UN meeting on trans-border organized crime. According to the report, environmental crime generates billions in profits for criminals annually. Environmental crime includes the illegal trading of wildlife, smuggling of toxic substances and hazardous waste, illegal fishing, illegal logging and trade in stolen timber. The fact that there are those willing to steal and destroy the environment for profit, doesn't surprise me. How often do you hear of legitimate businesses that take advantage of public trust and harm the environment? Be it the dumping of toxic waste, including banned substances in their products or lobbying governments to reign in regulators -- well respected corporate giants already do it -- although those that break the law are thankfully few. I'm not suggesting that the criminals in the EIA report are no different from legitimate bus

The International Union for Conservation of Nature recently wrapped up its 10-day World Conservation Congress in Spain, with high hopes for the future. High hopes, because IUCN believes the tide is turning in trying to save the world by conserving biodiversity. Hope came from the commitment of stakeholders to protect Sumatra -- the world's sixth largest island and a garden of Eden for biodiversity. Since 1985 for instance, Sumatra has lost 48% of its forests, and there is still danger as deforestation continues to increase production of palm oil and acacia. Still, there is much work to do when the blinders of short-term economic gain are being rigorously protected. Japan and Norway for instance, continue to refuse to heed the calls for conservation to allow whale populations to recover. An IUCN study assessed the 5,487 mammal species on Earth and found that at least 1,141 are threatened with extinction. Another IUCN report shows that 35% of the world's birds, 52% of

A new report from the Earth Policy Institute is extolling the potential of the emerging new energy economy in the United States -- potential is my refrain -- I'm a little cynical of sustaining the investment without an enforcing regulatory environment to make sure the playing field is level and the commitment is unwavering. My cynicism isn't unfounded. The dangers of climate change has been apparent to those who wanted to know, for years -- decades even. The majority still don't view it as a problem that needs near term action. What is driving the shift in energy investment is the constraint on access to fossil fuels. If that changes, expect businesses and consumers to take the easy way out. I don't for a minute believe that the shift currently happening is wholly out of shared concern with the green movement.

Ah shit! You stupid Canadians! You did it again!

"Almighty God created the races white, black, yellow, Malay and red, and He placed them on separate continents. And but for the interference with His arrangement there would be no cause for such marriages. The fact that He separated the races shows that He did not intend for the races to mix." -- Leon Bazile, Trial Judge, Jan. 6, 1959, Virginia, USA. Not so long ago, people went around telling others who they were allowed to love. The culmination of love between two people, marriage, was forbidden in certain circumstances, and enforced by law. Today, sadly, not much has changed. There are still people going around telling others who they are allowed to love, and who they're not. In some places, they are supported by the law. In some places, it can lead to death. We're an unjust society when we allow such laws to remain -- and when we allow some to dictate who others can live with and love. This is why I support same sex marriages. [Source: reddit ]

Thanksgiving history isn't lost on me -- it is a harvest festival that has been celebrated in North America for hundreds of years, but the cynic in me can't help but think of the North American aboriginals that got there thanks the hard way at the hands of the European settlers. Wonder how they view Thanksgiving. Anyway, I'm not about to start another tirade on political and social injustices. For my wife, it's a tradition that brings back memories of family -- and so this year, I decided to take on the task of bringing some tradition to the table for supper. I've never roasted a turkey before, and since we're only a family of four, my wife asked that I do something smaller. So I got a chicken. Something smaller. I've never roasted one of those before either, so I called on my friend, Google, and found the instructions at Canadian Living to create a classic roast turkey -- which I applied to my chicken -- with some slight modifications, as I'm n

Al Jazeera is reporting that the pirates holding the MV Faina, a Ukranian ship carrying weapons, are demanding a ransom for the ship's release in order to clean up the coast of Somalia that has been a dumping ground for toxic waste, including nuclear material, by European and Asian vessels. The pirates allegation was confirmed by the UN envoy for Somalia, Ahmedou Ould-Abdallah . So, two problems. The pirates are no more than opportunists at best -- at worst, terrorists -- who are using piracy to cash-in on international trade to bolster their status at home -- funding power and religious struggles. They should be treated as such. They don't have noble goals. Selfishness and profit are their motives. The environmental disaster that is being made off the coast of Somalia -- and I've got to wonder about elsewhere in Africa -- needs to stop. Not only has colonialism -- past, present and future, in its varied forms -- destroyed the people, but it's also taking their

The fact that there are Christians left in Iran is surprising. I would have thought them all gone by now. Either by immigration, as refugees to Christian or agnostic nations -- or by death. Apparently there are still Christians, however. And leaving by death has become acceptable to Iranians -- and by their tolerance, acceptable also to the European Union and the United Nations. Being killed by religious reasons is nothing new. New in Iran however, is death for apostasy . It is now the law in that country -- convert and you will meet your new god very quickly. The killing over religion is registering less and less at an emotional level with me now. I could start the rant right now about religious teachings of tolerance and the irony of killing non-believers. Or the devolution of a once great society in the Middle East since they lost their god -- the hypothetical Allah would be none too happy his Imams today -- and Mohammad has left the house. But why bother. Maybe if we le

John Derbyshire is a dumb-ass. I say this without know much about the man, other than what I've read on his Wikipedia entry -- and photographs I've found of him online. In his case, I'm more than willing to skip my usual refrain of withholding judgment, and just judging the book by its cover. The man is a dumb-ass. All you need for evidence is to look at his October 7th post on the National Review, Will Obama Kill Science? Actually, just being in the National Review's stable is enough to make him a dumb-ass, but his latest words are even more notable for their elevation of his stature to dumb-ass-ness. In the post in question, Derbyshire promotes the idea that Obama will quash research into the life sciences, because he's afraid that science will find out that blacks are an inferior race. Oh, he didn't come out right and use those words, but his meaning is quite clear. Read his post.

Sheikh Muhammad al-Habadan apparently rushes off to a dark corner to masturbate his diseased dogma when he sees the two eyes of women -- feeling guilty for sinning, he's lashing out against women. He is suggesting that women should now hide one eye . The stupidity has to stop. The veil has nothing to do with the Muslim religion, and lots to do with shriveled little men who crave power.