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Are you living in a ToxiCity?

Conservapedia vs Sanity

The ethics of reading people's thoughts

Aussie flag

Virtual Violence

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Being Canadian I am close to this issue even though it is way out in Alberta. The first time I began to see the ugly side of this issue was when I came across a site called VBS.tv.
They have made a 15 part video series in 2-5 minute segments. Easy to watch and very informative to the issue that has surprisingly remained hidden for the most part.

I first noticed it about six months ago, but came across an old bookmark and felt inspired to share this unique site, with all who will listen. VBS goes through issues such as the environmental aspect of finding and getting the oil out of the sands. They show how life is for people coming to make the big bucks in Ft. McMurray and how they affect the indigenous people and their way of life. Also shown is the way they clear areas and cut down trees in large masses. The host talks with political figures from the areas past, who have some interesting words for Al Gore.

So for all this and more including two more specials including Brooklyn and West Virginia CLICK HERE! and come back here and feel free to comment and make your thoughts heard.

For more information on the oil sands.

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The Dissident?

December 24th 2007 05:22

I once heard in a documentary that the great American writer John Steinbeck was a dissident of his time, which I agree with.
Standing up for his beliefs and convictions versus various counterparts, those in politics and organizations that had ideas and ways of doing things that he would disagree with from time-to-time. Everyone can change and literature can change the world, just by you reading this proves that fact.

I will be bringing issues to the forefront that intrigue, inspire and enrage me. Headlines and sites to find this information, free to the public will be my main focus as if you do not know this already "knowledge is power".

For my first post entitled ToxiCity, here at 'The Dissident' I will be looking into the issue of the oil industry in and around our new world, with a big focus on the oil sands, close to me in Alberta.

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The REAL Hairdresser Story

September 4th 2007 02:48

They didn't let me write the REAL thing because it was a bit too harsh. But here it is!

Walking into Sydney’s cheapest hairdresser I experienced the same feelings that usually accompany me on a visit to the dentist – fear and apprehension. It’s no secret that a bad haircut is the arbiter of social humiliation and I, while used to forking out at least two figures for a good trim, could be forgiven for shaking at the thought of subjecting myself to an $8.90 do.
Inside things weren’t so bad. The congregation of flies in the middle of the salon was doing wonders to distract me from the brown patches of goo on the floor, while a large cabinet of assorted goods to my left reassured me that should I need a towel, noodles or a good pair of sneakers during my haircut, I’d be set.
Finally Mr Kwan emerged from somewhere in the back, apparently still in the middle of his mid-morning ritual of putting on a shirt. I was directed to the only seat in the room – a somewhat antique brown imitation leather barber’s chair, complete with masking tape to hold down its escaping foam insides – after which Mr Kwan set to work. Chop, chop, chop he went, wither, wither, wither I went. This man was serious about hairdressing – there was no need for fancy things like sharp scissors and hair products. Just a spritz of water and Tchaikovsky’s Swan Lake was all he needed (he even stopped halfway through to flip the tape). After what seemed like an eternity, but was probably closer to ten minutes, Mr Kwan stood back to admire his work. Indeed, it was not as bad as I feared. After all, rat’s tails are coming back in fashion now aren’t they?

P.S The damage was worth a $150 haicut with my local hairdresser, who was so shocked she almost fainted.

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Talking Cars

June 24th 2007 02:40

You are driving in wet weather, cursing quietly to yourself, when a warning flashes up on your dashboard. The car in front has just told your car there is icy road ahead.
What might appear to be a science-fiction scenario is actually the way of the very near future.
Researchers from the Network Research Lab at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) and car manufacturer BMW are working on an autonomous, self-organising communication network that connects cars to each other, allowing them to collect data from their immediate surroundings, process it and exchange it with other cars.
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Geckoes Rock

June 17th 2007 06:58

The gecko is well-known for its adhesive acrobatics and wall-scaling techniques but now this small lizard is helping scientists out of a sticky situation of their own.
Recent studies of the gecko’s spatula-tipped toe hairs (called setae) have revealed the secret behind the lizard’s uncanny sticking power - a quick-release mechanism that allows it to stick to surfaces without liquid or surface tension and then detach with minimal effort. Researchers in the US now claim they can utilise this quick-release mechanism to manufacture advanced car breaking systems which could stop a car travelling at 80 km per hour in a distance of just five metres, using only one third of a square metre of this reptilian glue.
Geckos are already evolutionary wonders – they are the only lizard to make chirping sounds in social interactions with other geckoes, they have no eyelids and in defense they are known to expel a nasty-smelling substance and feces onto their opponent. Some species are even parthenogenic, meaning the female doesn’t require the services of the male to reproduce. Gecko stickiness is unlike any conventional adhesives, which often stick with ease but only detach with a great amount of force (as anyone who has ever tried peeling off those plastic wall hooks will tell you). By contrast, research has proven that gecko hairs adhere strongly and detach easily. The attractive force which holds geckoes to surfaces is a product of inter-molecular interactions between the extremely fine and numerous setae on its toes (almost 500,000 on each foot) and the surface itself.
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The sexy genes of CB1 Knockout Mice

May 8th 2007 02:17

Here is a bioethical dilemma concerning recreational drugs and our society’s ongoing quest for a final solution.

We are all aware of delta9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the principle psychoactive ingredient in marijuana. Marijuana is a psychoactive cannabinoid and in humans, psychoactive cannabinoids like marijuana produce euphoria, enhancement of sensory perception, difficulties in concentration and impairment of memory. Anyone who has ever smoked a jay or knows someone who has can vouch for this. The cognitive deficiencies seem to persist after withdrawal, which is why we’re taught that taking recreational drugs is bad and why we’re forced to look at those posters on city buses of kids looking sad because they apparently smoked some pot.
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Journalistic integrity gone the way of the dodo

April 23rd 2007 06:59

Yes, it's true. It really has.

I've always been such a strong advocate for journalistic integrity, with the aspiration of becoming someone like, say, Robert Fisk. So there I'd be, defending journalism to my friends, who all think the media, and journalism especially, is screwed.
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The War on Drugs

March 16th 2007 13:47

Just a little ramble on drugs this week.

The late, and great, comedian Bill Hicks once said these famous words: "I believe drugs have done some good things for people," (famous I suppose only insofar as Tool fans are concerned, but nevertheless).
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The Freedom of Information age

March 9th 2007 13:25

Yet another triumph for freedom of information this week (it's a recurring theme lately, I know).
The Guardian reports that British scientists are leading an international effort to create a database that will supply researchers around the world with access to all the known geological information about every single country that exists.

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