Ricardo Montalban R.I.P.

Today came the sad news that Ricardo Montalban has died. The 88 year old actor was best known for his roles as Mr. Roarke on Fantasy Island, and of course Khan on Star Trek. According to the LA Times, Montalban succumbed to "complications related to old age", which strikes me as rather curious phraseology. In any case, here for your viewing pleasure, are some of his timeless performances.

There's Probably No God...

Comedy writer Ariane Sherine, Richard Dawkins and the British Humanist Association have breathed fresh air into the London public transit system by organizing a donor funded campaign to plaster public buses with the slogan "There's probably no God. Now stop worrying and enjoy your life."


Of course, with every breath of fresh air comes a whiff of stupid. Enter Stephen Green, national director of Christian Voice, who uses said voice to object to the ads on the grounds that they lack supporting evidence. Seriously.

"There is plenty of evidence for God, from people's personal experience, to the complexity, interdependence, beauty and design of the natural world. But there is scant evidence on the other side, so I think the advertisers are really going to struggle to show their claim is not an exaggeration or inaccurate..."

Wow. I don't know if there's a God or not, but if he exists, Stephen Green must surely be his dumbest creation.

RMR: Commemorative Tony Clement Gravy Boat

Celebrate the spirit of ineffectiveness! (h/t Mo)

Another Day, Another Lie

Would you buy a car from these two guys? If you did, it would almost certainly be an oil-burning gas guzzler. Over the past few years, the Conservatives have embarrassed Canada repeatedly on the international stage when it comes to their record on the environment.

Rona Ambrose - STEEEERIKE ONE!

John Baird - STEEEERIKE TWO!!

Lawrence Cannon - here's the wind-up....

We made a commitment to implement fuel consumption regulations for the 2011 model year that are benchmarked against a stringent, dominant North American standard, and we are keeping our word," Mr. Cannon said on Jan. 17, 2008.

And the pitch....

The federal government appears to have missed a key legislated benchmark to bring in new fuel-efficiency standards that will help Canada reduce greenhouse-gas emissions. Moreover, the failure of the federal government to meet the deadline could end up costing the beleaguered auto industry money and lost jobs.

STEEEEEEEEEEERIKE THREE!!!!!!

Another promise made, another promise broken. But hey, at least they're open and accountable, right?

After the October election, Mr. Cannon was replaced by John Baird, who moved over from the environment portfolio. A spokesman for Mr. Baird said yesterday that Environment Canada was now the lead department on the file. Environment Minister Jim Prentice was not immediately available to comment.

Happy New Year!

Well, it's been an interesting year. Dion and the Liberals tried and failed to sell the Green Shift. Harper and the Conservatives won a minority, then had to prorogue parliament to avoid losing it. South of the border, Obama won a historic presidential election. Iraq and Afghanistan continue to fester. The world faces a deepening economic crisis. And the year ends with Israel launching a serious military offensive in Gaza. But through it all, hope for a better future shines through on this night as people the world over welcome the new year.

Wherever you are, whatever you are doing, may you find peace, health and happiness in 2009. Happy New Year!

Merry Christmas

Wishing everyone Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!

That's "Senator" Partisan Hack To You

Congratulations to Jabba the Duff on finally coming out of the closet. It was always rather a poorly kept secret that Duffy was a Conservative hack in journalists' clothing, but at least now he'll be guaranteed an income till age 75 and a cushy pension thereafter.

But quite aside from Senator Duffy wallowing in pork that was heretofore utilized merely as a topping for his ample servings of poutine, there remains the blatantly obvious flip-floppery of der Führer Stephen Harper stuffing the Senate with 18 patronage appointments after staking a part of his political career on vowing to institute an elected upper chamber. I'm sure we'll hear all the usual Conservative propaganda about how you have to break it in order to fix it, or fix it in order to break it, or something like that. Some see Harper as a "pragmatist". I see him as a man so crazed by the prospect of losing power, that he will throw anyone and anything (including his own ideals) under the bus when the going gets tough. Like atheists, it would seem that there are no Reformers in a foxhole.