In recent days, North America has again faced the terror of mass violence (Boston), and the threat of mass violence (Southern Ontario). The response of law enforcement in the United States following the Boston Marathon bombing was commendable and effective. Unfortunately, the need to lockdown the city of Boston for nearly 24 hours is a horrible …
Category Archive: History
Mar 01 2013
Crash Course
While I normally write about politics, I sometimes write on education. Today I would like to point out a great series of Youtube videos that are very funny and educational (even if I’m generally knowledgeable in the subjects). Crash Course is hosted by the vlogbrothers, John and Hank Green, and puts subjects like World and …
Jan 27 2013
What are they teaching our kids?
I have children, and one of them is now old enough to be learning serious subjects in what was once called “Social Studies”, or “History and Geography”, depending on your age. Today it is all lumped together with Language Arts (what I remember as English) into a morass called “Humanities”. I think you get …
Dec 17 2012
On Guns, Society and Mental Illness
This past weekend caused us all to recoil in horror from the events in Newtown, Connecticut. And it didn’t take long after the mass shooting was over and the death toll was tallied that the various political commentators began to attempt to justify their vision for America (or Canada, or wherever they live). First, others …
Jul 25 2012
The problem of evil
I didn’t intend on writing about the events in Aurora, Colorado – I also wasn’t sure I could add anything to the discussion. Then I found that S.E. Cupp pretty much wrote was I was thinking: Evil is difficult to deconstruct. It’s unpredictable and manifests in unimaginable ways, often more horrifying than anything fiction could …
Jul 10 2012
On Salafists and their fear of the past
In recent weeks, we have seen Salafi religious and political leaders (and militants) take action to destroy Sufi tombs and monuments in the medieval African city of Timbuktu, bombing a mosque in Libya because it contains a tomb of an early Muslim military leader, and now call for the destruction of the Pyramids at Giza, …
Jun 28 2012
Obamacare, Federalism, Big Government and Liberty
Recently, I have been considering a post about the encroachment of government into the lives of individuals. While I live in Canada and clearly have a better handle on issues here than I do elsewhere, I have found myself fascinated by events in Europe and America (partly because Canada’s problems aren’t as immediately pressing). Today, …
Jun 20 2012
On Oversimplification
I have for some time found a common human behaviour very disturbing. Michael Shermer describes it in his book The Believing Brain: Dr. Shermer also provides the neuroscience behind our beliefs. The brain is a belief engine. From sensory data flowing in through the senses the brain naturally begins to look for and find …
May 23 2012
On the West and the Rest
Last night, I viewed Part 1 of the new documentary from Niall Ferguson on PBS, titled “Civilization: The West and the Rest“. I have previously enjoyed books by Ferguson, so I was looking forward to this documentary. Before I provide my opinion on the program, I will given you a brief overview of his thesis. …
May 17 2012
The Result of Coddling the Children
This week, I had the opportunity to volunteer for a science field trip at my daughter’s school. The prospect of spending the day with a group of 13 and 14 year olds filled me with some trepidation as this is a difficult age. And while there was much juvenile behaviour and lack of focus on …