Quantum Computing

You go along, a little disappointed in this cheap jetpackless future we live in and then every once and a while you read something like this:

If a traditional computer were given the task of looking up a person's phone number in a telephone book, it would look at each name in order until it found the right number. Computers can do this much faster than people, but it is still a sequential task. A quantum computer, however, could look at all of the names in the telephone book simultaneously.

Quantum computers also could take advantage of the bizarre behaviors of quantum mechanics - some of which are counterintuitive even to physicists - in ways that are hard to fathom. For example, two quantum computers could, in concept, communicate instantaneously across any distance imaginable, even across solar systems.

Braingasms.

I like it, I love it

...And you will too, Lyric's Born from his new release Everywhere At Once and oh my God is this album tight! Go spend money on it.

These are the people who helped write C-61

The Motion Picture Association of America said Friday intellectual-property holders should have the right to collect damages, perhaps as much as $150,000 per copyright violation, without having to prove infringement.

"Mandating such proof could thus have the pernicious effect of depriving copyright owners of a practical remedy against massive copyright infringement in many instances," MPAA attorney Marie L. van Uitert wrote Friday to the federal judge overseeing the Jammie Thomas trial

They also believe that transferring music or video you bought and paid for from DVDs or CDs to your computer or MP3 player is theft. The Conservative's new law means if they put even the most inept and easy to circumvent DRM on their products to stop you from doing so and you do anyway you can be fined thousands.

The organizations like the MPAA and RIAA that essentially wrote C-61 (Made in Canada my ass.) now indicate they believe they shouldn't have to prove infringement in order to seize your house. Innocence till proven guilty is now a 'quaint' idea like the Geneva Conventions or Habeas Corpus to a White House lawyer. Expecting these huge corporations to actually prove that you've infringed on their material is clearly unreasonable.

The government of Stephen Harper is collaborating with huge foreign conglomerates to turn Canadian citizens into digital serfs with no legal rights to the possessions we have paid for or by extension the presumption of innocence itself - isn't that sort of...treason?

Prisoners of America

I hope Bush enjoyed his farewell tour of Europe, because he and the most senior members of his administration will never be able to safely leave the United States again.

Is it likely that prosecutions will be brought overseas? Yes. It is reasonably likely. Sands's book contains an interview with an investigating magistrate in a European nation, which he describes as a NATO nation with a solidly pro-American orientation which supported U.S. engagement in Iraq with its own soldiers. The magistrate makes clear that he is already assembling a case, and is focused on American policymakers. I read these remarks and they seemed very familiar to me. In the past two years, I have spoken with two investigating magistrates in two different European nations, both pro-Iraq war NATO allies. Both were assembling war crimes charges against a small group of Bush administration officials. "You can rest assured that no charges will be brought before January 20, 2009," one told me. And after that? "It depends. We don't expect extradition. But if one of the targets lands on our territory or on the territory of one of our cooperating jurisdictions, then we'll be prepared to act."

Murderous dictator General Augusto Pinochet assumed that Margaret Thatcher's swooning girlish crush (Apparently jackboots and testicle clamps really got her hot.) meant he could safely visit England, but his remaining years were consumed with fighting charges of crimes against humanity.

The White House architects of conquest, torture and murder will hopefully spend the rest of their lives nervously looking over their shoulders.

Felon Defends Felon

Conrad Black defends Richard Nixon's reputation - appropriately from behind bars.

Nixonland author Rick Perlstein, who's masterful takedown of David Frum I blogged about here, has written a book that's made him enemies of all the right people. I haven't read it yet, but if it compelled Black to take the time between prison yard shankings and shower room sodomy to pen his outraged screed its got to be worth checking out.

The Myth of a Horesrace

The media loved the primaries. The Democratic race in particular was a ratings bonanza.

So it's understandable, if wildly discrediting, that they would wish to sustain a narrative of uncertainty, of actual contest in the general election campaign regardless of the facts on the ground.

In fact every indication is that John Mcain will lose badly to Obama. Historically badly with blowouts like Roosevelt VS Hoover or Reagan VS Carter the examples that historians point to for what we can expect.

One week into the general election, the polls show a dead heat. But many presidential scholars doubt that John McCain stands much of a chance, if any.

Historians belonging to both parties offered a litany of historical comparisons that give little hope to the Republican. Several saw Barack Obama’s prospects as the most promising for a Democrat since Roosevelt trounced Hoover in 1932.

“This should be an overwhelming Democratic victory,” said Allan Lichtman, an American University presidential historian who ran in a Maryland Democratic senatorial primary in 2006. Lichtman, whose forecasting model has correctly predicted the last six presidential popular vote winners, predicts that this year, “Republicans face what have always been insurmountable historical odds.” His system gives McCain a score on par with Jimmy Carter’s in 1980.

Demographics are no kinder to McCain than history. With the rise of a Latino population in the west treated with grotesque xenophobia and fear-mongering by the Republican Party in recent years, a highly engaged African American population in the south and Americans under thirty overwhelmingly identifying as Democrats, this isn't a surge, this is a fundamental electoral re-alignment. Republican donors seem unwilling to throw good money after bad, another bad sign for the GOP.

But if you're watching American TV news, all you hear is that McCain is a maverick, an independant voice in the Republican Party. The reality of his closeness to Bush's doctrines has gotten through anyway. You're hearing all about Obama's problems with older white women, still bitter about Hillary's fall from grace, and very little about his overwhelming polling advantage with women in general. You hear he doesn't have a plurality of white men, but not that

No Democratic presidential candidate, including Bill Clinton, has won a majority of that declining demographic since 1964. Mr. Kerry lost white men by 25 points, and Mr. Gore did by 24 points (even as he won the popular vote).

The real story is that short of an October surprise - which could as easily help Obama as it could McCain - Obama is about to stomp McCain like a narc at a biker rally. But that story doesn't fit the narrative and would give the talking heads very little to talk about for the next five months.

2009 is going to be a very different world.

John McCain in Ottawa next Friday June 20th

At an Economic Club of Canada luncheon at the Fairmont Château Laurier at 1 Rideau Street. I think as many representatives of Canada's peace and justice movements as can make it should be there to give him a proper welcome.

Words

Harper's apology to residential school survivors was welcome but ultimately what matters is deeds not words.

This is the same government that scrapped the Kelowna Accord, one of the best opportunities to start undoing some of the damage Harper apologized for yesterday. His government has offered nothing approaching the Accord's scope in its place.

This is the government that has refused to ratify the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. A far more concrete step than mere words and far more likely to mean significant change than a cosmetic apology.

This is a government, members of which frequently bloviate about individual human rights for natives - but primarily as a stalking horse to attack native collective rights and pass the buck for institutional neglect back to its victims. It was only last month that they gave up their ideology based efforts to undermine collective rights and accepted amendments to Bill C-21 that protected them.

Even now some Conservative MPs and members of the right wing press minimize the harm done by the residential school kidnap factories, express scorn for the apology and cavil about compensation. This may express the true views of the governing party more than a calculated PR exercise does.

If this undoubtedly historic apology is to be more than mere words it will require deeds to back it up.

Copyright Comics

Spotted at BoingBoing.

Created by the folks at Appropriation Art, this is a great, succinct rundown of the issues around Canadian copyright law and what you can do to protect your rights - in comic book form!

It's a brief but entertaining PDF full of links and advice for you to get involved.

Skepticism for sale

In the marketplace of ideas, how come enviro-skepticism needs to be so heavily subsidized?

90% of Enviro Skeptic Books Have Think Tank Roots

A new study by a team of political scientists and sociologists at the journal Environmental Politics concludes that 9 out of 10 books published since 1972 that have disputed the seriousness of environmental problems and mainstream science can be linked to a conservative think tank (CTT). Following on earlier work by co-author Riley Dunlap and colleagues, the study examines the ability of conservative think tanks to use the media and other communication strategies to successfully challenge mainstream expert agreement on environmental problems.

A made up movement using made up pseudo-science financed by big polluters just to give politicians the political cover to be able to say 'There is scientific disagreement about man made global warming.' and continue to do nothing.

Follow the money. Always follow the money.

Saturday Linkblast - June 7

• David Frum gets bitchslapped
  Too often these right wing hacks get to spout their utter shite completely unchallenged. Unambiguous falsehoods confidently stated in a clear ringing voice and on to the next one. Having a class A bullshitter like Frum interviewed by someone who just repeatedly calls him on his crap is like a breath of fresh air.
  
  
• I'm so bored of the Singularity
  Apocalyptic end time porn for nerds.
  
  
• Pirate attacks up 75%
  A pirate raid per day somewhere on the seven seas.
  
  
• The Brazilians take their cigarette pack warnings seriously
  Not for the squeamish, I'm not kidding here, these are hard core.
  
  
• Canada's Vietnam
  Michael Byers on the Afghanistan mission.
  
  
• Bubble universes
  Warren Ellis has braingasms over some of the latest theoretical breakthroughs into the origins of the universe.
  
  
• The First Horror Movie
  Made in 1910 at the movie studio created by Thomas Edison this 15 minute silent movie adaptation of Frankenstein was believed lost for years. One stained, damaged copy remained. Imagine watching it in a darkened theater with spooky organ music playing as people are only starting to wrap their heads around the idea of moving pictures at all. It must have been apocalyptic.

Part One

And Part Two

Sometimes these things write themselves...

DeLay: 'Unless Obama Proves Me Wrong, He Is a Marxist'

House Republican Leader Tom DeLay (Texas) called Barack Obama a "Marxist" on the Mike Gallagher radio show Thursday.

Explaining that Obama clinching the Democratic nomination is a good thing for John McCain, DeLay said Obama's "weakness" is that "nobody knows him."

"And if McCain does not define him as what he is — hey, I have said publicly, and I will again, that unless he proves me wrong, he is a Marxist," DeLay said.

So by this logic, if I call Tom Delay a pig*&$%er, unless he affirmatively proves to me that he does not, in fact, have intimate relations with farm animals than he is one, case closed.

If this kind of transparently desperate nonsense is the best the Republicans can do, Obama is going to romp into the White House in November.

Irresistable

FOX & Friends host Gretchen Carlson, who, as a dutiful employee of the White House propaganda arm, continues the tactic of attacking the messenger when the message makes the Bush administration look bad. In this case, she all but threatens former White House Press Secretary Scott McClellan.

Scott McClellan better not have any skeletons in his closet, I hope he didn’t do anything that he doesn’t want the world to know about, because we all have and his secrets are going to be coming out.

Tell me this doesn't constitute hanging out a big sign that says 'Please kick me hard'?

So Gretchen, on the subject of skeletons we'd all like to stay in the closet, In 1990, when you parlayed a beauty pageant win into an anchor gig at Channel 8 in Richmond, Virginia, for its 6 p.m. news, only to get fired because of a huge local scandal over a reported affair with your married co-anchor, did you ever think you'd one day be piously threatening warning other people about the skeletons in their closets?

What's a few dead junkies?

After coyly denying for months that any decision about the fate of Insite had been made and clearly planning to leave the safe injection site's operators and clients hanging in limbo until the last minute, suddenly the federal government discovered urgency when the BC Supreme Court took the decision out of their hands.

Health Minister Tony Clement argues that Insite saves only one life a year - this is undoubtedly a significant low ball as Insite's staff report intervening in more than 336 overdoses since 2006. Even if Clement's caviler dismissal of '1 life per year' were accurate it would still mean that the Stephen Harper government is comfortable with those lives not being saved because of their ideological objection to harm reduction.

Dr. Keith Martin, a British Columbia Liberal MP and former Reform Party star, is also a former substance-abuse physician. He admits that Clement may succeed in closing Insite: "But in doing that they will be essentially committing murder."

And it is an ideological objection, let there be no doubt about that, it flies in the face of Insite's support from all levels of government in BC, the Vancouver police department, health professionals and over 25 peer reviewed studies that all agreed that Insite was saving lives and money.

Put against the Harperites distaste for the people being saved none of it matters.

It even contradicts the Conservatives fair weather belief in devolving power from the federal to provincial governments - they're quite happy to cite provincial control over medicine if it means provincial government's undermining universal health care by allowing private clinics - not so much if it means saving the lives of people even Tony Clement admits have an illness.

Stephen Harper's theme song

By the secret Imperial Orchestra

Dry spell in a wet city

It's been a while since I went a week between posts. Busy week at work and more distracted and occasionally horrified by the news events than inspired to write about them.

Since I last dipped into US Presidential politics Hillary Clinton decided that just implying that she should be the candidate because her loyal redneck supporters couldn't vote for a coloured fella' wasn't, in fact, as low as she could go, and the real reason she should stay in the race is because you never know, someone could shoot the guy.

I'm inclined to agree with those who say absolutely she shouldn't drop out until she wants to, however the super delegates should get off their asses and stop waiting for the best time to make their choice known to get themselves the most influence and power and pick a candidate now. Fortunately there are indications that is happening.

Here in Canada, the fallout from the scandal of Harper's chief of staff inserting himself into the American primaries has led to a shakeup in Harper's office. The Conservatives hope that his replacement Guy Giorno will bring some of that Mike Harris magic to federal politics. Wasn't Mike Harris voted out in the aftermath of a murdered native protester and children poisoned by sewage infested water?

Actually, he'll probably fit in perfectly.

Empire's End

The sublime closing credits of David Lynch's Inland Empire. Music courtesy of Nina Simone and her "Sinner Man". This sprightly song and dance sequence would in no way prepare you for the mirror crack'd reality of the movie - or it expresses it perfectly, I can't decide.

Extra Bonus, while we're doing sprightly and a little odd, here's Jaan Pehechaan Ho, the Bollywood clip from Ghost World

The coming Republican Apocalypse

With its huge money advantage, solid candidates in many districts in which the Dems were previously content to provide passive resistance, and the examples of the previous special elections -- especially last night's win in Mississippi -- Democrats could be looking at picking up some 20 to 30 seats in the House.

Before you go screaming about getting hopes up, that is a conservative estimate, ace. I looked at all the congressional districts currently held by Republicans that have a Partisan Voting Index of R+5 or less, including seats held by Republicans in Democratic districts. (Chris Shays springs immediately to mind.) There are 65 such seats. I put certain seats in the gimme column (AZ-01, for example, in which disgraced Rick Renzi will allow for an easy Democratic takeover) and others I dismissed out of hand (AL-03, for example, which, despite an R+3 rating, is never going Democratic).

The 111th Congress will see heavy Dem. majorities in both Houses. First order of business: The public castration of Grover Norquist.

It's a little pat and self congratulatory, but it's also probably true. The Democrats are used to snatching defeat from the jaws of victory but that could be why Obama is taking iron-fisted control of the party.

I think it can be safely said, that absent some huge scandal or a sniper, the Americans are about to elect a black man president - and he'll have the control over congress that will let him be an effective one - about 20 years ahead of schedule than I would have guessed. All it took was a Republican president so inept and vile that he burned the GOP brand to the ground.

Goodbye Reagan revolution, you won't be missed.

Jason Kenney uses fake Down's Syndrome suicide bombers story to try to discredit Dallaire

When Senator Romeo Dallaire drew an equivalency of disrespect for human rights between al Qaida and Canada and the US for not respecting the human rights of a child soldier, Harper's bulldog went apeshit:

"The minute you start playing with human rights, with conventions, with civil liberties, in order to say that you're doing it to protect yourself and you are going against those rights and conventions, you are no better than the guy who doesn't believe in them at all," he said.
"We are slipping down the slope of going down that same route."
Tory MP Jason Kenney asked if Dallaire really believes that. He pointed to a number of al-Qaida outrages, including an incident in which the terror group reportedly outfitted mentally challenged young girls with explosive belts and sent them to their deaths in a Baghdad animal market.
"Is it your testimony that al-Qaida strapping up a 14-year-old girl with Down syndrome and sending her into a pet market to be remotely detonated is the moral equivalent to Canada's not making extraordinary political efforts for a transfer of Omar Khadr to this country?" he asked.Dallaire was adamant.
"If you want a black and white, and I'm only too prepared to give it to you, absolutely," he replied. "You're either with the law or not with the law. You're either guilty or you're not."
He added, though, that Kenney was using "extreme scenarios."

Not just an 'extreme scenario' but one that has been thoroughly debunked and which even the US Military has backed away from.

The U.S. military said Wednesday that two women used as suicide bombers in attacks earlier this month had undergone psychiatric treatment but there is no indication they had Down syndrome as Iraqi and U.S. officials initially had claimed.Rear Adm. Gregory Smith, a military spokesman, said the women used in the Feb. 1 pet market bombings had been identified as residents from the northeastern outskirts of Baghdad who were in their late 20s or early 30s.

In other words, Kenney used a false example to try to discredit what Dallaire was saying - and only discredited himself.

UPDATE: Dion's instant willingness to throw Dallaire to the wolves is disappointing, while not even remotely surprising. Dallaire stood up for the rule of law and against gulag show trials and Dion starts hinting at party discipline. How shameful and cowardly.

This is important; Kenney's use of a debunked piece of inflammatory propaganda to make his point perfectly illustrates Dallaire's.

The rule of law is what stands between us and unchecked tyranny. If a threat can be demonized, villified and propagandized to the point where we abandon the rule of law, we've already become what we are fighting.

Whether babies tossed out of incubators or Iran forcing Jews to wear yellow badges or terrorists forcing mentally handicapped little girls to kill themselves, these kind of dehumanizing propaganda myths are designed to reduce our enemies - many of them bad men, evil men - to monsters.

And any tactic, any brutality, any violation of law and conscience is acceptable when you're fighting monsters.

McCain's Moonies

The controversial pronouncements of Reverend Jeremiah Wright are nothing compared to those of the right wing evangelicals McCain has actively courted. McCain pastoral supporters have:
Said that 9/11 was caused by liberals;
Said that Hurricane Katrina was caused by gays and that the Catholic church is a “great whore”;
Said that the US was founded to destroy Islam;

And one of his top advisers was part of a bizarre ceremony in a federal government building surrounded by high ranking Republican legislators where Korean cult leader and far right sugar daddy Reverend Sun Moon declared Jesus a failure and had himself crowned the Emperor of America.

So what is clear from this email is that top Mccain advisor Charlie Black is admitting that he helped plan, and would have attended, an event where a convicted tax fraud would have been crowned King Of America and declared himself the Messiah--all on U.S. Government federal property (on March 23, 2004).

According to The New York Times:

"Mr. Moon, an eccentric billionaire, convicted tax cheat, conservative publisher and power broker, grandly donned scarlet robes and a golden crown at the Dirksen Office Building. ''I am God's ambassador, sent to earth with his full authority..."