Don’t let the facts disturb your reasoning

I read Vox’s latest missive on how the UK …er Britain ….er England should deal with Europe and it’s political future.
Firstly he cannot make up his mind which country or group of countries he is addressing. An appropriate analogy would be referring to the USA, the mid west and Kansas as the same thing and [...]

CanWest – We can’t discuss the Abdelrazik issue

I wrote a letter to the editor of my local CanWest paper regarding the situation Mr Abdelrazik finds himself in the Sudan. I awaited its publication in vain and possibly a phone call to clarify issues, but none came. So I decided to publish it myself.
I write to express outrage at the behavior of our [...]

Are American Politicians all as stupid as Rep Steve King -(R-IA)?

Via Thinkprogress, another Republican politician has once again exposed to the whole world how stupidity is not an impediment to holding office. As an attempt to add to the fear mongering flames he uttered these words:
KING: Let’s just say that, that, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the mastermind of 9/11, is brought to the United States to [...]

Military Misinformation in Iraq?

Muckraker reports on the “supposed” opening of a KFC in Fallujah and it’s use by passing US Marines.
It appears that a local military information officer filed the report, which was then leaped upon by those paragons of investigative journalism over at Fox News.
Then it was heralded as a signal of the improving situation in Iraq [...]

Vaccination is good for the species

Just browsing my blog role and 12 angry men has a great post on vaccinations:

Disease

Rubella
(German Measles)

Tetanus
(Lockjaw)

Pertussis
(Whooping Cough)

Effect

Pre-vax
Cases/Yr

47,745
1,314
147,271

2003
Cases/Yr

7
99.9% eff.
20
98.5% eff.
11,647
92.1% eff.

Disease
Risk

CRS— 1 in 4 (preg.)
Arthritis — 7 in 10 (adult)
Death — 3 in 100
Death — 1 in 20
Pneumonia — 1 in 8
Encephalitis — 1 in 20

Vaccine
Risk

MMR Vaccine
Encephalitis or allergy — 1 in 1,000,000
DPT Vaccine
Convulsion with full [...]

Zimbabwe

A long time ago when I was a student in London I was invited to talk against imposing sanctions in South Africa as part of a debate at a sister college of the one I was attending. I was no fan of the apartheid regime at the time but realised that a debate was intended [...]

Church and the Reich

A wee while ago on some of the various blogs that I look at, Vox`s (way back) and now Pharyngula and Skeptico, there were some interesting and not so interesting discussions about the role of the xtian church in the Nazi state.
Bonhoeffer was mentioned and a lot of folk generally thought the the church was [...]

Why are people here holding a swastika anyway?

Just found out that right wing scumbags are exercising their right to public expression.
Why do these idiots think they are Canadians. They wave insignia and profess views from nazi Germany and claim to be patriots. I would like to add my support to the anti-nazis/anti-rascists who opposed this march.
Hey aryan idiots Canada fought that aryan [...]

Welcome To Canada

Recently I read a comment from a blogger called Spirit wolf at the site “Halls of Macedamia”:
Spirit Wolf said… The thing is, if Brenda was a Muslim or a Sikh, or had been born in another country and was a paper “Canadian”, the government would be falling all over itself to get her out. [...]

Depressed….. no not really

Wow the right wing in Canada and the USA really make me yearn for the right in Britain. No not the brainless NF right, but rather the “decent” reactionary gentlemen of the shires.
All I hear in N America is whining from the conservatives here. That and abject displays of incompetence. Even British tories would mobilise [...]