I disagree with justice. I don't believe in the old definition of justice because I don't believe in revenge, or retribution. I think that revenge or retribution doesn't makes a situation better. The idea of justice, for me, has become something else. My 'justice' ends when the threat is removed. I believe that it is just to kill someone who is or will kill hostages. But I don't believe it's just to kill someone who has killed hostages. The difference, here, is that one is a current threat, and the other is not. In terms of ethics, I believe that killing is unethical, or wrong. ...

Some people lament Canada's supposed multicultural society, thinking that we lack culture. I don't think this is true. Canadian culture is a new thing—Canada is a new country after all. Its culture is a new type of culture. Culture used to be defined by a shared history, a shared identity, and shared set of values or beliefs. But I think that modern culture is changing, and not only in Canada. I think that the future of Canadian culture is still about values and beliefs, or, more specifically, about a shared attitude. (Thank Iain M. Banks.) An attitude of of working and living ...

Once, I wished there was an afterlife to believe in. It was in October of 2006, when a man took 10 hostages, all girls and women, and killed 5 before committing suicide. For a moment, I wished there was an afterlife, especially a hell, for this man. (If you read the reports, you find out this is less than half of what he had planned.) But then that very moment I realized how silly the idea was. If there was an afterlife anything like what most people think of an afterlife, then the death of the girls are almost trivial. Yes, their time on Earth is cut short. But this Earth, this ...

The Liberal Party of Ontario had 15% of the people living in Ontario vote for them on October 10, 2007. "But wait!" you say, "that's not what I heard!" Your correct. Let me explain. The Liberal Party of Ontario has 71 seats out of 109. This gives them 65% of the votes in the Legislature. With a majority number of seats, they get to be the government, and end up with 100% of the power. But there's more to the story. The people of Ontario have spoken tonight with clarity and with purpose. They have chosen the Ontario Liberal Party to govern for four more years. (Dalton McGuinty's ...

Last week in Minneapolis a bridge over the Mississippi River collapsed during rush hour. The number of dead officially stands at five, and at least eight victims are believed trapped in the wreckage... Of the roughly 100 injured, 24 remained hospitalized Saturday, five in critical condition. In one sense, I'm quite relieved that that the number of dead is as small a number as 5 to 18 people. On the other hand, I'm quite appalled that the number of dead is anywhere near that high. We have one life, this life, and to have this life cut short is a tragedy. It's the finality that makes ...

Canada now has a federally regulated definition of organic. What this means is that in Canada the idea that you can slap the word Organic on your product just to increase sales are over. Organic foods have been increasing sales by 15-20% per year. Anyone would want to take advantage of that. But the new rules put strict regulations on how you grow your crop, and how you raise your animals, to qualify as organic. ...

Last night my co-workers and I were talking about humans, nature, and our "place" in nature. One concept that came up was the often repeated "balance" in nature. After break I returned to work and thought this over in my head. It occurred to me that there isn't really any balance in nature. There have been 7 mass extinction events where large groups of animals have all died out. In fact, it turns out that over 90% of all species that have ever existed on Earth have gone extinct. It seems unbalanced to me. Now, I'd like to point out that extinction, even mass extinction like the ...

Almost all political ideologies I've heard had elements you can't disagree with. Libertarianism is no different. Reading over a Libertarian FAQ, however, I noticed a specific contradiction to reality. Libertarianism is based on freedom and co-operation. The idea is that people should take care of their own affairs, and that the government should only get involved when someone's rights are violated (such as murder, rape, robbery, theft, fraud, embezzlement, arson, trespass, etc.). Some implications of this are far reaching. There should be no such thing as minimum wage, they say, ...

I've read the book "Stephen Harper and the Future of Canada", by William Johnson, and it left me thoroughly confused. The book itself is well written, and a very in depth look at Canada's 22nd Prime Minister up to shortly after his election victory in 2006. (I read the updated edition.) Even before we get introduced to Stephen Harper, it's pretty clear where William Johnson sits. Just reading about one of Stephen Harper's relatives you can here the awe and respect coming from the page. This utter adoration of Stephen Harper saturates the pages, and would leak if you ever squeezed the ...

2. Everyone has the following fundamental freedoms: freedom of conscience and religion;freedom of thought, belief, opinion and expression, including freedom of the press and other media of communication;freedom of peaceful assembly; andfreedom of association. (Canadian Chart of Rights and Freedoms) Living in Canada is like living next to a loud mouthed neighbour. Many Canadians have a better understanding of American history than Canadian history. This is probably because American patriotism and nationalism oozes out of their media, and we Canadians to to see a lot of it. As a ...