Maybe the christians' god was fibbing...

It seems the oceans are rising faster than previously thought. This is being largely attributed to the rapid melting of glaciers from "global warming".

The water from the glaciers is fresh water, which further disrupts the ocean ecology.

Dead Oceans

The Independent reports on growing 'dead zones' in the oceans.

Stop and take note of your vision of the world right now. When those who survive look back, that will be the proverbial "what we were thinking" as we watched the single biggest period of mass extinction in the whole of human existence.

E-Voting is bad - get it?

How E-Voting Threatens Democracy is a lengthy report by Kim Zetter for Wired.

Seen on Boing Boing (they had lots of interesting stuff today).

Action Comics #1 scanned online

Action Comics #1 from June, 1938 — the first appearance of Superman — has been scanned and put online. The comic is fairly beat-up, but still readable.

Seen on Boing Boing.

Mocking Social Networking

Small World [QuickTime] is a video where this guy comments, in humorous mocking tones, about Friendster and other Social Networking websites.

Seen on Boing Boing.

Seussian Geek Talk

This question just posted on a chat reminded me of Dr. Seuss:

How do I initialize a member on a base class
from an initializer on the derived class?

When I told him about my interpretation of his question, the author retorted:

I do not like C++, Sam I Am!

Stencil Graffiti Art

Banksy is a London-based graffiti artist specializing in stencils, who has done some amazing work.

Seen on Boing Boing.

Low-Income Banking Project

Today I launched the Low-Income Banking Project.

This has come out of my election campaign for the board of directors of First Calgary Savings & Credit Union. In my campaign I received tremendous support for my low-income banking proposal. While the force of inertia has prevailed at First Calgary (all 3 incumbents retained their seats on the board - not surprising in a city that has about a 98% rate of return for incumbents), the forces of change in the community are coming together.

(The extremely strict campaign rules prohibited me from publicly discussing it while the election was on. Otherwise, I would have done a bunch of blogging about it.)

Missing Biblical text discovered?

“The Gospel of Debbie” presents an eye-opening perspective on the Jesus story.

Seen on Metafilter.

Darn, they beat me to it

Actforlove is an activist-focused dating website. Why would I even bother going ahead with the “Hot Luvin’ Activist: For people who take the political personally™” project now?

Seen on Boing Boing.

I've overhauled my personal website

I've finally finished designing and implementing my new personal website.

This is a major overhaul - the biggest since I set up my first vanity page over a decade ago.

Brick comes in colors

I have a feeling that Richard Morton’s Lego Color Guide is going to “come in real handy.”

Seen on Boing Boing.

A schooling alternative

The Hudson Valley Sudbury School reminds me of something I read a few years ago about “anarchist schools” where there is no imposed structure for learning. The students define their own learning paths in a diverse group (young kids through late teens), with the support of adults.

My own high school experience was sort of a hybridized version of that and a regular high school. We didn't have classes, but still had specific course assignments and studies that we pursued at our own pace. There were also opportunities for extended projects (I was in a Winnie The Pooh play that toured elementary schools for a couple weeks).

HVSS seen on MetaFilter.

Some plausible reasons why school is bad

In his essay Why Nerds are Unpopular, Paul Graham describes his experiences growing up as a nerd in suburban public schools — and suggests some reasons why bullying, cliques, and popularity hierarchies are so prevalent. There are also some follow-up responses to questions.

John Taylor Gatto wrote an essay, The Six-Lesson Schoolteacher, that presents a different perspective.

I wish I had done this...

Mr. Rogers Graffiti.

Movie font fun

A couple of short games/quizzes that test your recognition of letters from movie posters: Movie Alphabet Game 1 and Movie Alphabet Game 2. (If you know what U and Y are in the first game please let me know - I'm stumped.)

A fun little waste of time.

U.S. trying for 'two-fer'?

Haiti is not the only current target of U.S. 'intervention' in the western hemisphere. Things look set for another U.S. backed coup in Venezuela in the near future.

Hopefully enough people in the world will soon recognize that when the U.S. says words like "democracy" and "freedom" they actually mean imperialism and corporate slavery.

Democratically elected (in the real sense, not the U.S. sense) Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez apparently has.

Blogging as an anti-social force

In Blogging Off, Whitney Pastorek presents (in a fun ranting way) some of her experiences of blogs as a socially destructive force in her life. She's a non-blogger who sees blogs as taking away friendships and human contact. Worth a read by anyone involved in, or curious about, blogs.

Peace and Knitting update

The Calgary 'Peace Knits' banner is coming along quite nicely. We're scheduled to do a bunch of the finishing stitching this Saturday at the peace banners & placards work fest. I think we're down to about ten squares (out of 66) left to be done/assigned.

All this is in preparation for the March 20 Global Day of Action. In Calgary, we're gathering at Memorial Park at 1pm, then marching to Tompkins Park where there will be a rally & speakers.

Another month, another U.S.-backed coup

The U.S. government has apparently backed (or perhaps even led) yet another coup - or regime change.

This month's lucky contestant is Haitian president Jean-Bertrand Aristide. He's won a free abduction trip to the Central African Republic - with a complimentary U.S. security accompaniment. There, he can relax in illegal confinement quiet and comfort, free from interrupting telephones, knowing that the hassles of running a government have been stolen are behind him.

Coverage

• Democracy Now, special coverage:
  • Randall Robinson: Aristide Says 'Tell the World It Is a Coup'
  • Rep Maxine Waters: Aristide Says 'I Was Kidnapped'
• AlterNet: U.S.-Sponsored Regime Change in Haiti
• BBC: Aristide accuses America of coup
• News.com.au: US troops 'made Aristide leave'
• CBC: Aristide accuses U.S. of coup d'etat
• Canadian Prime Minister Paul Martin: Statement by the Prime Minister
• Christian Science Monitor: Round 2 for US nation-building in Haiti
• New York Daily News: Kerry's Haiti jab: Faults Bush and says he'd send U.S. troops
• Mercury News / Miami Herald: Ousted Haitian President Aristide claims he was "kidnapped"
• CNN: U.N. to send peacekeepers to Haiti
• Metafilter: Aristide Says He Was Kidnapped

More Coverage (added March 2)

• Toronto Star: Canada parrots U.S. line on Haiti
• Rabble.ca: Bush short on empathy for Haitians