Marc | May 21, 2010
At ~ 3:30 am (May 18th), the RBC branch at Bank and First in Ottawa was firebombed and, later that day, a group calling itself FFFC Ottawa posted a video of the attack and claimed responsibility. The chief of Ottawa Police Services, Vern White, told CBC that he is “extremely confident” that they will shortly [...]
Marc | April 22, 2010
According to a recent press release, the Canadian Minister for Public Safety will be re-introducing the Justice for Victims of Terrorism Act that died when the government was prorogued last December. According to the minister, “This government is responding to calls from victims who seek justice, and demonstrating leadership in the global fight against terrorism,” [...]
Marc | April 14, 2010
Well, once again one of the primary characteristics of fanatical fundamentalists, in the pejorative sense, has shown up. CBC announced that several of the radical Islamist groups in Somalia have banned music from being played on the radio stations there on the grounds that it is “un-Islamic”. As the story noted: Hosts at Mogadishu’s 14 [...]
Marc | March 19, 2010
I am continually amazed at how “muddy” at lot of thinking is these days, and how this is reflected in a lot of the writing that I now read. I find myself yearning for the “Good Old Days”, which existed only in myth, where people would hold sensible conversations in their writing. Maybe I’m just [...]
Marc | March 2, 2010
My friend Jim Cassidy just sent me a link to this presentation. Totally cool, and a fantastic way to show the power of music.
Marc | February 1, 2010
A week ago, I posted about the medium is the message vs. massage and used a couple of YouTube Videos from the Ottawa Back Choir as example. On Saturday, I was over for dinner at an old friend’s house and he showed me one of his favourite YouTube recording artists: Pamplamoose Music. As he showed [...]
Marc | January 26, 2010
The Medium is the Massage (no, that isn’t a spelling error), is the name of a rather famous work produced by Marshall McLuhan and Quenten Fiore in 1967. It is, in many ways, a popularizing, as well as exemplar, version of McLuhan’s major research focus on how media influences messages or, in it’s better known [...]
Marc | January 15, 2010
A very interesting discussion is starting to heat up over at the Small Wars Council over a paper written by Matt Lauder called Religion and Resistance: Examining the Role of Religion in Irregular Warfare (March 2009, DRDC Toronto TN 2009-049; NB: originally posted by milNews.ca over at army.ca forums). I expect the discussion to expand [...]
Marc | January 12, 2010
CBC just carried a story that Sarah Palin will be joining Fox News as a commentator. I think that her comment that It’s wonderful to be part of a place that so values fair and balanced news. just about says it all. Needless to say, I will continue my personal classification of Fox News as [...]
Marc | November 26, 2009
I really don’t like rap at all, but one of my ex-students just sent me a link to an incredibly powerful rap video (hat tip to Lindsay Aranoff). The video speaks for itself. Do not watch it if you have a weak stomach.
Marc on Ethics, honour and the dangers of over-ritualization, part 1Marc on Ethics, honour and the dangers of over-ritualization, part 1
In Harmonium » Ethics, honour and the dangers of over-ritualization, part 3 on Ethics, honour and the dangers of over-ritualization, part 2
MM on Ethics, honour and the dangers of over-ritualization, part 1
Backwards Observer on Ethics, honour and the dangers of over-ritualization, part 2