Chan's Personal Blog

Entries from December 2006

Navigation

Calendar

Back December '06 Forward
S M T W T F S
          1 2
3 4 5 6 7 8 9
10 11 12 13 14 15 16
17 18 19 20 21 22 23
24 25 26 27 28 29 30
31            

Quicksearch

Flickr Photostream

DSCN5363DSCN5360
DSCN5359DSCN5356
DSCN5355DSCN5354

Support Us

What I'm Reading

Adam Savage's Maker Faire 2012 Talk: Why We Make - YouTube
05/21/12, 42

Why Facebook is Killing Silicon Valley « Steve Blank
05/21/12, 34

Looking For a Coding Job? Better a Ninja Than a Brogrammer | Wired Enterprise | Wired.com
05/21/12, 53

Space Photo
05/21/12, 46

Stephen Colbert spawns army of crazy super PACs - May. 21, 2012
05/21/12, 17

Alibaba buys back 20 percent stake held by Yahoo for $7.1 billion - Yahoo! News
05/20/12, 08

NHL to NBA in 3 mins - the transformation of the ACC - YouTube
05/20/12, 49

Archives

May 2012
April 2012
March 2012
Recent...
Older...

Categories

Syndicate This Blog

Tuesday, December 19. 2006

Christmas Killjoys

Every December, something very magical and special happens when the holiday season arrives, and the snow starts to fall. Crazy people try to neuter Christmas because they are offended by it. This is political correctness at its worst.

The latest in the Christmas wars is from a Toronto judge ordering the removal of Christmas trees from her courthouse:

A Toronto judge has ordered a Christmas tree out of a downtown provincial courthouse lobby, saying it's not an appropriate symbol to non-Christians.

The move by Justice Marion Cohen has upset staff, some of whom call the decision stupid and insulting.

Cohen says she understands the small tree has stood in the lobby at 311 Jarvis St. for years during the Christmas season, but in a letter to employees says non-Christians are "confronted" with the artificial decoration, which makes them feel "they are not part of this institution.''

The judge, who oversees administration at the courthouse, said it's inappropriate that a Christian symbol is the first thing visitors see when they enter the building.

It's interesting that leaders of other faiths have responded and have come to the defence of Christmas. A National Post article entitled, "Muslim Leader Defends Christmas Tree," has this to say:

"It's so stupid, I'm at a loss for words," said Tarek Fatah, founder of the Muslim Canadian Congress.

"The judge should take a trip to the rest of the world. Christmas is celebrated by Muslims in many countries -- they should ban political correctness, not Christmas trees.

"If people are offended [by a Christmas tree], I'm glad they're offended," he added.

"I think it indicates a serious mental disorder when people want to bring down other people's happiness."

The group issued a news release calling on Muslims to "celebrate Christmas with their Christian cousins and light up Christmas trees to send a message to the Ontario judge that she is wrong on all counts."

"Hindus would be highly upset if another group infringed on our right to put up Hindu symbols in public," said Ron Banerjee, spokesman for the Hindu Conference of Canada.

Honestly, what sounds more inclusive, understanding, and tolerant in a multicultural country like Canada? Leaders from various faith groups telling people to celebrate Christmas with their Christian cousins? Or having a judge banning Christmas trees because non-Christians may be offended?

The judge should consider visiting other countries. Try going to the Middle East and telling them that you're offended by Ramadan; therefore, people should not celebrate it. Try going to Israel and saying you're offended by Passover. People will think you're crazy.


Continue reading "Christmas Killjoys"

Posted by CHaN in Current Events at 23:59
Vote for articles fresher than 14 days!
Current rating: 0, 0 vote(s) 310 read(s)

Tuesday, December 12. 2006

Trump Criticizes Incompetent UN

I saw an interesting interview with Donald Trump on CNN the other day. They were talking about the UN spending $1.9 billion to renovate their headquarters in New York. Mr. Trump is probably the perfect person to talk to since he's a Manhatten real estate developer and knows a thing or two about that business.

From a newspaper article entitled, "Trump criticizes cost of U.N. headquarters renovation."

The $1.9 billion budget for the massive overhaul of the United Nations headquarters is being blamed on the escalating costs of construction, real estate and security.

But critics of the project say the nearly 60 percent increase in the price tag has more to do with bumbling bureaucrats than rising costs.

"It's the most ridiculous construction development I have ever witnessed," Donald Trump told the New York Daily News last week.

"It's being run by a bunch of incompetents and it's a disgrace to this country," he added. "It should cost $700 million at most, but I bet it will now end up costing $3.5 billion."

Trump charged before a Senate subcommittee last year that "gross incompetence ... or corruption" had driven up U.N. renovation costs.

Interestingly enough, someone asked Donald Trump how he was able to build a new tower in New York for $700 million, which was right across from the UN headquarters. Yet, the UN renovations cost more than a brand new tower.

The other part I wonder about is whether this money would be better spent fighting the world's problems rather than on a costly renovation project that helps house the world's elite. $1.9 billion can go a long way.
Posted by CHaN in Current Events at 23:59
Vote for articles fresher than 14 days!
Current rating: 0, 0 vote(s) 258 read(s)

Saturday, December 9. 2006

Fighting Terror With Silly String

I saw this article about a mom collecting cans of silly string and shipping it to troops in Iraq to help them fight.

In an age of multimillion-dollar high-tech weapons systems, sometimes it's the simplest ideas that can save lives. Which is why a New Jersey mother is organizing a drive to send cans of Silly String to Iraq.

American troops use the stuff to detect trip wires around bombs, as Marcelle Shriver learned from her son, a soldier in Iraq.

Before entering a building, troops squirt the plastic goo, which can shoot strands about 10 to 12 feet, across the room. If it falls to the ground, no trip wires. If it hangs in the air, they know they have a problem. The wires are otherwise nearly invisible.

Now, 1,000 cans of the neon-colored plastic goop are packed into Shriver's one-car garage in this town outside Philadelphia, ready to be shipped to the Middle East thanks to two churches and a pilot who heard about the drive.

"If I turn on the TV and see a soldier with a can of this on his vest, that would make this all worth it," said Shriver, 57, an office manager.

Interestingly enough, the article says that military commanders are given budgets to acquire non-standard supplies for war, such as silly string. The article covers some other non-standard items used in warfare, such as the use of tampons to treat bullet wounds.
Posted by CHaN in Current Events at 23:59
Vote for articles fresher than 14 days!
Current rating: 0, 0 vote(s) 222 read(s)
(Page 1 of 1, totaling 3 entries)
"Technological progress is like an axe in the hands of a pathological criminal."
--Albert Einstein (1879-1955), Physicist
© Copyright 2004-2012 Chan Productions