The Surreal Life

So who is this nut job Governor Sarah Palin? John McCain trotted her out a few weeks ago as his vice presidential choice, but her ignorance is only out-matched by her confidence. Look at her enthusiastic conviction that merely being able to see Russia from Alaska gives her suitable foreign policy experience. It seems that her value to McCain is as a certified proponent of American fundamentalist beliefs to ensure that the religious far-right comes out for him on election day. McCain's campaign has done everything in its power to keep her away from scrutiny since; her contribution has been completed. Lets hope tomorrow's Vice Presidential debate shines a bit of light.

She makes fantastic fodder for comedians, but given McCain's age and past health issues the fact that she could be literally a heartbeat away from the Presidency gives one pause... Her earnest ignorance makes the George W. Bush look pretty damn clever, and that my friends is really saying something. Factor in her apparent religious convictions and the world would be facing a reckless and apocalyptic administration. Why fuss over climate change when the End Times is mere years, heck maybe just days, away? Why foster peace when "prophecy" says Israel must control the Holy Land? Nuclear war is also apparently to be expected, so why worry about them when they're merely a good way to get the Rapture started?

Here's an interesting video on the subject of Sarah Palin's religious views from the American News Project.

Listening to: Life During Wartime by Talking Heads from Stop Making Sense.

Teach the Controversy!

If you've been a regular reader of my blog, which I can almost guarantee you aren't (that hit counter is getting to be an embarrassment), you know that I have a disgust for religious fundamentalists, especially those that deny evolution. Recently I came across a web site selling t-shirts that mock the "teach the controversy" approach of crypto-creationists. Tip: there's no credible controversy about the concept, but the details are constantly being refined or expanded. Maybe Satan buried fake dinosaur bones to confuse believers, eh? Or maybe we should seriously discuss astrology in science classes.

Recently there was an e-mail exchange between a prominent hard-core religious fundamentalist and a evolutionary biologist which resulted in, to use the language of today's youth, epic pwnage. Maybe someone deserves a t-shirt...

A different controversy with a sadly similar intellectual basis is taking place out in Alberta, amongst other places, where the Catholic bishops are opposing the immunisation of young girls against cervical cancer. When you strip away the arm waving it boils down to wanting to control the morals and sexuality of women rather than protect them from a preventable and sometimes fatal disease. The bishops equate protection from STDs with encouragement of pre-marital sex. This position is deeply hypocritical, medically harmful, and smugly paternalistic in the worse way.

In happier news, I enjoyed watching the French Grand Prix almost live on Sunday. The main developments revolved around Kimi Raikkonen and Lewis Hamilton. Lewis started in 13th after a ten place penalty for his pit lane crash in the last race and never really made any progress forward as he drove too aggressively and had a number of minor contacts. He was also given a drive-through penalty for a failed passing attempt. Kimi on the other hand started at the front and stayed there until his exhaust pipe broke off and began flapping around. He lost power and had to let his team mate Filipe Massa by until enough of the engine cover had burned off (!) to allow the exhaust gases to escape. Jarno Trulli and Heikki Kovalainen had a good fight for third in the closing laps, but Jarno held him off.

Two spinning classes planned for today, gotta get those "kilometers" in! Tomorrow is a swim and then a modeling job for Home Depot.

Listening to: Big Me by Foo Fighters from Foo Fighters.

These are the people in your neighbourhood

I'm still trying to get a handle on last weekend's arrest of 17 Muslim extremists with a supply of explosive components here in Toronto. It's worrying, but I suppose it should have been expected. Religious extremists seem immune to both cultural and moral realities.

I think these groups spring up as a misplaced expression of identity and desire to have power over others. Apparently their leader maintained that Canadian troops had been sent to Afghanistan for the purpose of raping Muslim women. Anyone who believes that is either comprehensively stupid or well trained in ignoring reality.

My superficial understanding of Islam is that it is about personal morality and faith. I find it troubling that its current cultural expression seems to boil down to "we'll tell you what to think." What happens when the person doing the telling has a terrorist agenda? I'm afraid we are starting to see the results of that.

Tomorrow of course is an important date in the history of another fanatic, this one a politician who believed that Germany had a natural right to control Europe...

Listening to: Two Little Hitlers by Elvis Costello from Armed Forces.

Will you carry the word of love with you?

The current unrest over the Danish cartoons of Mohammad (including one of Mohammad wearing a bomb-shaped turban) has saddened me and got me thinking. In case you've been in outer space for the last week there's a Wikipedia page about the controversy here. At first it was hard to find the cartoons to see what the fuss was about, but a Google search found copies on a rather smug Young Republican site. Now of course the cartoons are everywhere. This photo is of the Danish embassy in Damascus, set on fire by an angry mob.

As a matter of free speech the cartoons, un-nuanced as they are, should be seen as a voice in a debate not a reason for confrontation. The connection between Islam and political violence needs to be examined. Also the justification that any depiction of Mohammad is blasphemous is something that I reject, because although religious beliefs should be generally respected there is no moral right to force their rules onto non-believers.

On the merits of Islam itself, I'm divided. As I understand it Islam is fundamentally a religion of compassion and self-improvement (aren't they all?). The much misused term "jihad" apparently refers to this internal struggle. The violence seen today in Islam's name is, to my eye, more about power politics than spirituality. In its early days Muslim societies set an example of enlightenment, especially compared to the Christians to the north. Muslim society doesn't seem to have progressed though. Instead, again to my eye, Islam is being used as a prescriptive tool telling followers what they can't do or believe and to help focus attention on the West as the source of their social ills.

There's no question historical developments have been hard on the Muslim world and that they have legitimate grievances, but the self-interest of their political and religious leaders has magnified the situation through deliberate attempts to keep their followers ignorant and obedient. So Islam is OK by me, but the intolerant versions that are gaining ascendancy are definitely not...

The title of this post comes from a phrase in the backing vocals of the Cat Stevens song Oh Very Young. I discovered his ballads in high school and still love them. Sadly, the songs portray a spiritual enlightenment that is at odds with his later embrace of "strict" Islam under the changed name of Yusuf Islam. He repudiated music and even supported the death sentence imposed on Salman Rushdie! Sigh.

Listening to: Oh Very Young by Cat Stevens from Buddha and the Chocolate Box.