Shannon Larratt is Zentastic

I mentioned recently how Canada has now legalized gay marriage (and Spain just did as well), and of course you know that recent US law changes have chased BME out of America and put Rachel and I at risk of arrest if we step foot inside its borders (even me as a Canadian)… But I wanted to mention one other fascinating legal change in Canada:

The Ontario Human Rights Commission has said that discriminating against people with piercings or tattoos is a violation of our Human Rights Code. (!!!)

Now, I'm sure a lot of people think that's going too far (and maybe it is), and it's currently a non-binding interpretation from them, but it's pretty bold on their part, and I think goes well with the PM's statement that Canada is “a nation of minorities”.

I'm not going to tell you this is ethical, but it's sort of funny?
After catching this catfish in South Africa, the submittor put a ring
through the hole from the hook and returned it to the water… I can't
imagine what the next person to catch it will think.

Anyway… back south of the border, the US government (who just voted themselves a pay raise) are trying to ban people with “liberal politics” (or dual citizenships) from owning baseball teams (although neo-Nazis are still allowed to) — sadly, I kid you not. And in Chicago, the insane war on drugs has now expanded to even making anything that tastes similar to pot illegal.

Journalists now face prison time if they don't open their records to the US government, new spy agencies open all the time, kids are being tricked into joining the military and then screwed out of their benefits with fine print (while their parents are forced to buy their gear), and privacy rights are being repealed (especially if it relates to abortion). That said, it's not all bad. Maybe you're one of the richest 1% in America — in that case you're doing splendidly. Never mind that your Iraqi war profiteering (yay for depleted uranium profits) is “wasteful and potentially corrupt” and riddled with “fraud and greed”.

I'm sure the ultrarich are thanking “God” (this is a corporate theocracy) that the average voter is stupid enough to believe Bush's constant claims that 9-11 and Iraq are linked — hell, everything is linked with 9-11 these days. It certainly filled the recent Bush speech, and some Republicans are still directly linking it, even though every shred of evidence suggests the opposite… I'm starting to get the impression that the average American is a coward — hit them once (a la 9-11), and all you have to do is remind them they got hurt once and you can force them with fear to do anything you want. And the amazing thing is these depths of cowardice are wrapped up in the most vitriolic patriotic rhetoric.

Don't dare criticize your masters. Look at Senator Durbin, who'd criticized the US use of torture (killing dozens of innocent people in the process) — he was first forced to apologize for saying torture was wrong (not that this is anything new), and then got ripped to shreds for doing so. Or look at nutcase Robert Franz, an arsonist who lit private homes on fire, has 91 arrests under his belt, and convicted this time of 25 cases of arson… He got seven years for damaging millions of dollars worth of private property and risking the lives of hundreds of people. On the other hand, take Jeff Luers. As an act of political protest he lit three SUVs on fire at a dealership — he got 22 years in prison.

Ah, priorities.