Mr. Awan is now a lawyer in Saskatchewan, but in 2007 he was the public face of a campaign to protest the representation of Muslims in Maclean’s magazine. This led to three failed human rights complaints and spurred Canada’s first online culture war over the hate speech section of the Canadian Human Rights Act.
That law has since been repealed by the Harper government and this case was one of the last loose ends in the broader conflict. As a total victory for Mr. Awan, it represents the revenge of the “sock puppet.”
Reader Tips
Ladies and gentlemen, Miss Turnstiles.
The comments are open, as always, for your Reader Tips.
Honey, I Finished The Internet
The origin of yodeling.
Smackdown
h/t Marc
Y2Kyoto: State Of Anorexia Envirosa
Lured by subsidies, [German] power companies went green. But to keep the lights on they have to burn coal. (h/t Kevin B)
Oh, Frack!
“In 2016, when OPEC completes this objective of cleaning up the American marginal market, the oil price will start growing again,” said Fedun, who’s made a fortune of more than $4 billion in the oil business, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. “The shale boom is on a par with the dot-com boom. The strong players will remain, the weak ones will vanish.”
Oil futures in New York plunged as much as 3.8 percent to $70.87 a barrel today, the lowest since August 2010.
At the moment, some U.S. producers are surviving because they managed to hedge the prices they get for their oil at about $90 a barrel, Fedun said. When those arrangements expire, life will become much more difficult, he said.
Upon further reflection, I believe it’s time for Canada to institute a “human rights tariff” on foreign oil from corrupt and repressive states – a 25% surcharge on Saudi imports would kick things off nicely.
Bill’s Wife
When officials at the University of California at Los Angeles began negotiating a $300,000 speech appearance by Hillary Rodham Clinton, the school had one request: Could we get a reduced rate for public universities?
The answer from Clinton’s representatives: $300,000 is the “special university rate.”
This Is Not Your Grandma’s Humane Society
h/t l. Hill
Reader Tips
In tonight’s entertainment en route to the tips Johnnie Ray, the undisputed king of ever-so-slightly gay-sounding histrionics, sings (Here Am I) Brokenhearted.
On the plus side, it only cost him a dime.
The comments are open, as always, for your Reader Tips.
Who are the Burnaby protesters?
What Would We Do Without Peer Review?
The always entertaining Retraction Watch;
Yesterday, we reported on the discovery by BioMed Central that there were about 50 papers in their editorial system whose authors had recommended fake peer reviewers. Those “reviewers” had submitted reviews of a number of manuscripts, and five of the papers had been published. (BMC posted a blog examining the case this morning.)
For some Retraction Watch readers, the elements of the story may have seemed familiar. Fake reviews — often involving self-peer review — have been the basis for a growing number of retractions.
This Season On The Celebrity Corpse Network
I amuse myself.
Reality News hasn't been this much fun since Caylee Anthony won the Dead Baby Lottery. #FergusonDecision @TillyLaCampagne @Justin_Ling
— Katewerk (@katewerk) November 26, 2014
The Decline And Fall Of The American Empire
When it comes to Department of Defense doctrine on military treatment of detained persons, “unlawful enemy combatants” are a thing of the past. That term has been retired and replaced by “unprivileged enemy belligerents” in a new revision of Joint Publication 3-13 on Detainee Operations, dated November 13, 2014.
Y2Kyoto: State Of Anorexia Envirosa
These stories reveal the snow job that has been perpetuated on the general public regarding renewable energy. They don’t understand the need for power or how it works. They seem to believe that when a rule passes a magic wand waves replacing older, but still fully functional, power plants with wind or solar–that doesn’t produce electricity 24/7/365 as do the decommissioned coal or nuclear plants and which requires far more land to produce the same amount of, albeit intermittent, electricity.
An iced up wind turbine or a solar panel covered in seven feet of snow–even if some of it slides off–doesn’t generate electricity. And the cold days of a Northeast winter create one of the times when energy demand peaks.
Your Moral And Intellectual Superiors
About to begin. Levin and lawyer Clayton Ruby in house. Looks like @SunNewsNetwork is the only media here excluding an independent blogger.
— Faith Goldy ن (@FaithGoldy) November 26, 2014
“Organic” Is The Latin Word For “Grown In Pig Shit”
I’m Done with fearing food and done with A&W;
Yes, there are hormones in your food, but are they something to fear? A&W certainly thinks so, with a new campaign promoting their beef burgers produced with “no added hormones or steroids”. It is good to know a company that says, “Being a leader isn’t always easy – but doing the right thing rarely is,” is clearly only interested in selling a few more hamburgers because of fear, rather than educating a skeptical customer.
First point: You have hormones in you right now, and whether you eat a Teen Burger or not isn’t going to change that. In fact, you may even be taking additional hormones to help keep you from getting pregnant, lessen the effects of menopause, or an incredible host of other concerns and issues. Hormones also are natural in every other living thing from a soybean plant to a duck. It is why A&W has to promote there are not ‘added’ hormones, and can’t get away with saying hormone-free.
A Rat Is a Pig Is a Dog Is a Lawyer
Not your grandma’s humane society;
Animal Justice’s non-profit wing launched their charter campaign last week, saying it would “ensure animals are treated as sentient beings instead of mere property, would guarantee the rights and freedoms that make life worth living, and give all animals a chance to have their interests represented in court.”
The group says there’s a gap between how Canadians care about animal welfare and how the legal system views it, and are hoping a petition draws the attention of policymakers.
“Animals don’t have legal standing to go to court and have a judge say yeah, that animal’s rights are being violated, that to me that is very sad,” said Camille Labchuk, a lawyer with Animal Justice.
Pollspotting! Does Canada need a charter of rights for animals? (To nullify the vote-splitting design of this poll, I suggest the nays be direct at the “No” option.)
10:50am update: SDA gets results! “No” has pulled into the lead.
h/t Harold
Reader Tips
Tonight, as a special treat for all you long-neglected yodelling fans, we deliver the yodelliest song of them all: the Dirndl aus Bayern Jodel, mit vielen bunten fotos.
The comments are open, as always, for your Reader Tips.
Honey, I Finished The Internet
Your Moral And Intellectual Superiors
New York Times Publishes Darren Wilson’s Home Address