The Persnickety Reader » Politics

Friday Spotlight (for the Week May 28 – June 3)

Ian LeTournneau — Fri, 02 Jun 2006 21:16:45 +0000

A new feature here at ianletourneau.ca: a Friday Spotlight of a weird or spectacular story. Or a story that doesn’t fit anywhere else. This week: Batwoman. Or should I say Batwomyn? Yes, that’s right. DC Comics is bringing Batwoman back and she’s a lesbian. Here’s a snippet from CBC’s profile:

The move is part of the comic giant’s attempt to incorporate more ethnically and sexually diverse characters into its superhero world.

“This is not just about having a gay character,” DiDio said. “We’re trying for overall diversity in the DC universe.”

I’m not even sure what to think about this. Here’s an exchange at Bookninja.

In related news, Stephen Harper is going to ask parliament to reopen the same-sex marriage debate. No comic books for his kids, I guess.

Earth Day 2006

Ian LeTournneau — Sat, 22 Apr 2006 13:10:15 +0000

And I didn’t even know until this morning. Maybe if this was more widely known or reported things could change. Take the Ecological Footprint Test. My score:

TOTAL FOOTPRINT 5.4

IN COMPARISON, THE AVERAGE ECOLOGICAL FOOTPRINT IN YOUR COUNTRY IS 8.8 GLOBAL HECTARES PER PERSON.

WORLDWIDE, THERE EXIST 1.8 BIOLOGICALLY PRODUCTIVE GLOBAL HECTARES PER PERSON.

IF EVERYONE LIVED LIKE YOU, WE WOULD NEED 3 PLANETS.

Ah, and I thought I was doing well. I know I’m doing well so it’s scary to think about others. For instance we put one garbage bag on the curb per week. But next door they put half a dozen per week at least. Im a vegetarian (which is good in this test), but maybe one of the only ones in town. What is everyone else’s footprint? What would W.’s be?

Maybe everyone should be required to take this.

No Sense, No Plan, No Majority Gov’t Next Time

Ian LeTournneau — Thu, 06 Apr 2006 14:51:01 +0000

This story is depressing. The new government is cutting 40% of funding for information and research into climate change. And I can’t believe this passes as spin:

“If it’s not in the taxpayers’ interest to fund programs that are not effective, then we are not going to,” said Natural Resources Minister Gary Lunn.

Apparently the rationale is that they’re going to come up with their own plan. Well, if that’s the case, why cut so fast? why not wait for a new plan before you discard the old plan?

If only they could think beyond the next election, then people 40 years from now won’t be walking around with breathing masks and oxygen cursing them.

This government is a disaster and I hope people are realizing that now.