The Proletariat Congress

Or at least that’s what the Halton Catholic School board would have you think. And that the slightest challenge would drive the faithful to question why they believe in their religion. For this reason, certain books must be kept from the hands of children lest they think for themselves, something that is evidently contrary to the mantra of church indoctrination.

The book in question today is not one of the seven books of the Harry Potter canon (though Dumbledore’s sexuality has caused quite a stir) but of the His Dark Material trilogy (Golden Compass) by Philip Pullman. A trilogy labelled as tripe written by an Atheist (as if somehow this discredits him as a person; nothing more than a bias; discrimination if you will) and the books as anti-religion, anti-god and anti-Catholic characters and plot.

There was some concern that if students were exposed to the contents of the trilogy it may cause them to lose faith – Marianne Mazzorato, superintendent of the Dufferin-Peel Catholic District School Board.

Well, if children would lose their faith, did it ever occur to these zealots that it’s not because of the book itself but because children are able to think for themselves and able to see through the farce that is religion? That maybe they just aren’t buying the church’s line about salvation and the threat of hell for being different.

Of course, it could very well be that these people have never actually read the book, much like the anti-Harry Potter brigade, who was more than happy to throw about allegations that the series encouraged delinquent behaviour, despite that if you actually read the books you’d see some very wholesome themes, ie: good versus evil (with good winning), friendship…

Meanwhile, another Catholic school board, the Dufferin-Peel Catholic School Board is reviewing it and placing labels on the book due to Halton’s choice to ban the books in question.

The label reassures the reader that the book is indeed fiction; fiction much like the Bible.

Representations of the church in this novel are purely fictional; the council, the officials and the God in the novel in no way represent the reality of the Roman Catholic Church to which we are blessed to be members.

Younger people know it’s fiction, too bad the adults can’t tell the difference. But what does one expect when someone has been indoctrinated in their youth, given no alternative to that mind-numbing tripe that the church passes off as the ultimate truth?

Golden COmpass becomes cautionary tale

As a person who enjoyed the Harry Potter series, I was intrigued by His Dark Materials trilogy. I have all three books and I’m reading Golden Compass, and I have yet to see the problem that these people are bellyaching about. Perhaps maybe I am immune to it being an Atheist myself and having no problem with the themes of this book. It could also be that I see this as purely a work of fiction and something to be enjoyed.

You know, if you’re worried about a book shattering someone’s faith then your faith is too shaky to withstand the test of time without a lot of strong-armed tactics. If a person’s faith is strong then a mere work of fiction shouldn’t be able to shake that foundation. If it leads someone to question their faith, then that faith was weak in the first place and no amount of censorship will change that.

This entry is a guest article written by Brian Damage of demodulated blog.

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What’s in a name? Can a few proper nouns summarize the essence of a human being? If a man is only as good as his name does that man have the sole rights to its selective usage? Not according to the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers who is the world’s regulating body for internet domain names.

Let’s back up that tractor a bit first. (beep beep beep)

Blogger and native Edmontonian Dave Cournoyer, aka Daveberta, is a vocal member of Canada’s Liberal party and a staunch opponent of the provincial Progressive Conservative party of which reigning Alberta Premier Ed Stelmach is a member. Dave recently registered the publicly and freely available domain name “edstelmach.ca” for fourteen bucks and pointed it to his blog. Shortly thereafter, with nary a warning shot, Dave was contacted by the Stelmach’s lawyers who demanded he desist in pointing this domain name to his blog and that he surrender the domain to the Premier at once, else the coyotes of litigation would git to howlin’.

Cournoyer, unswayed by these empty threats, merely pointed the domain to the Wikipedia article on Harry Strom, a former Alberta Premier who was criticized similarly to Stelmach as a good old farm boy whose reputation dwindled for being oblivious to the needs of the province’s flourishing urban centres. Threatening this indebted University of Alberta student due to his misunderstanding of the workings of the internet certainly bolsters such comparison.

Does Stelmach have the authority to unleash his stampede of thoroughbred lawyers on this poor kid in his jurisdiction? Well sure he does – it’s his got-dang right as a western Canadian. But that’s as far as he’ll mosey along, ah reckon.

The US Copyright Office, who regulates the ICANN, has this to say on the matter of copyright…

… on domain names:

“Copyright law does not protect domain names. The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), a nonprofit organization that has assumed the responsibility for domain name system management, administers the assignation of domain names through accredited registers.”

… and on proper names:

“Names are not protected by copyright law.” and “Copyright does not protect names, titles, slogans, or short phrases.”

That’s right, it’s first come first serve in the Wild Wild Web. (otherwise translated for Stelmach’s benefit as “them dubyas”)

It seems that unless the very Right (if not Honourable) Premier might have to prove that he is either the world’s one and only Ed Stelmach, the supposely infringing use of his name detracts from his brand, the domain name disingenuously cuts his profits by impersonating his brand and thereby tricking customers, or that his name is the entirety of a catchy corporate slogan. (might I recommend, like George Costanza before him, the “by Mennen” tune?)

Ed Stelmach may as well hitch up and git along. Daveberta is making a stand and won’t be ponying up any time soon.

For more information on this topic I’ve blogged previously (here and here) about corporate bullying for domain names.

 

“Yeee haw, lit’s wrangle up this internet sumbitch!” – not actually said by Ed Stelmach

A couple of months ago, I made an offer to the author of the demodulated blog. I made an offer for the author to make a guest appearance in my blog. They agreed to do so and will be making an entry at a later date. At the same time, the author asked if I would do an article for his blog. At the time, when I agreed to, I said I would make a link here so that any of my readers wanting to see the article could head on over to read it.

The Art of Rampaging is the article I wrote for the blog. Unlike the majority of my posts here, this one is about Oblivion, a first person fantasy game that I’ve played for a long while, on and off. It’s not necessarily a game review so much as just a commentary about a certain aspect of the game itself.

Head on over to the demodulated blog to read it if you’re interested.

I have reached the end of the month of November. Back at the beginning of the month I had announced that I was going to be participating in NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) as ScreechingWeasel. For that reason, I have no written nor attended my blog over the month, leaving it woefully neglected in the pursuit of those elusive 50,000 words, which is the core of the NaNo challange. Needless to say, I have reached the end of a long road and I have finally got those words and I can now proudly return to my blog with this achievement under my belt.

Early on the challenge I posted pieces of my work. But then I stopped doing it. I needed to focus more on the work itself and not my blog, so I decided that it would take away from my ability to write in order to reach my deadline.

Doing this, reminded me of something I learned while I took Tae Kwon-do in high school. At the start of each class, we would recite the oath of the art, and in that oath, in the first one, we would recite the five tenets of Tae Kwon-do.

Courtesy • Integrity • Self-Control • Perseverance • Indomitable Spirit
Courtesy – even when you dedicate your time, you need to realise that you need to listen to those around you, and be courteous, so that they will be respectful of your need to write in peace. This creates friendships and a support network.

Integrity, it’s the ability to admit to yourself that this isn’t going to be an easy task but you can do it if you just try. To be honest with yourself and others.

Self-control. This is the ability to ignore the other factors when the weight of the task weighs down on you, driving one to procrastinate and find others venues of escape. It’s the ability to ignore temptation and plug away until you reach your goal.

Perseverance. The ability to keep at it even when things get tough and never giving up. Failure is only an inevitability when one decides that they are ready to give up. Even if you don’t succeed, not giving up is the way to victory. Not surrendering when things get tough takes a lot out of you. The initial burst to get started tapers off once the realisation of reality sets in and one realises that there is a monumental task ahead of them.

Indomitable Spirit. It is the courage, but, you don’t need it unless you struggle against an oppressive regime in your literary pursuit to express yourself.

And now, I come to the end of another long road on the ever-winding path of life. I have proven to myself that I have it in me to just write. I know now that if I need to I can do it. Seeing results is a truly driving force; it can be a truly driving force when you can see the finish line. Just when things start to look grim, as that deadline approaches, when you can get a glimpse of the finish line, you can reach into yourself and find that little power keg. That power keg can provide you with the last burst; that final exhilarating rush of adrenaline driving you to push yourself to the limit and make it out, triumphant, even if drenched in a thick coat of sweat.

Winner Certificate