Day of Debates
Today's a busy day.
First up: Within an hour the Throne Speech will be read (supposedly as short as 10 minutes) and the opposition will get its first chance in 6 weeks to berate Harper to his face.
Next: At 2 PM I walk into the GFC meeting where we will finally decide the secular convocation issue. The proposed charge reads:
I charge you to use them for the uplifting of the whole people; for all who believe, to serve your God; to inspire the human spirit; and to pursue more steadfastly whatsoever things are true.
I may be introducing a motion to amend this charge, and I'll report fully on the details of this meeting later.
Finally, tonight at 5:30PM in ETLC is the big UAAA vs. Campus Crusade for Christ debate on the existence of God. This is PZ Myers versus Kirk Durston. It should be exciting.
PZ's talk in Calgary last night attracted 230 people, and we expect at least as many tonight.
And if that event isn't enough, there will be an informal Pharyngufest at RATT following the debate.
This should be an interesting day.
MLAs may take pay cut? Too good to be true
First the good news:
The Alberta government will review upcoming MLA raises and revisit hefty hikes approved last year, Premier Ed Stelmach said in Calgary Friday.
That's reasonable, but oddly admirable of our premier, what's the catch?
"We're in this together," the premier said after a media conference at the Calgary Drop-In Centre. "I am not going to ask any sacrifices from the public sector of the province of Alberta if we're not willing to sacrifice ourselves."
Wait... I think this means he's going to ask for sacrifices from the public sector.
What will this look like? Pay cuts, removal of rights to strike, benefit cuts? It definitely doesn't sound like it promises to be an economic stimulus.
Here's a hint Ed: taking money out of people's pockets is not a good way to get them to spend more money and get an economy going.
I guess we'll have to wait and see what happens in his budget. Either way, I'm likely out of this province in 7 months.
Only now tuition tops $5,000?
Averages are funny things. I guess a lot of students have been taking fewer classes then me for most of my degree, since apparently only now does the average tuition for arts and science top $5,000 (with the approved 4.1% increase in tuition).
So what have I (or my parents, or student loans) paid in tuition thus far?
- 2004-2005: $5493.36
- 2005-2006: $6040.22
- 2006-2007: $5140.14
- 2007-2008: $4519.98
- 2008-2009: $4559.88
- Average: $5150.72 (per year)
Although it looks deceptively like my tuition dropped from 2006-2008, in reality I took around 4 fewer courses per year in 2007-2008 than in 2005-2006. The key to note is that my academic average tuition is greater than the $5,000 that science and arts students now get to pay.
University is damn expensive, and hence why the Students' Union's Restricted Access campaign is about more than just challenging the Board of Govenors decision to raise tuition as much as possible every year, but about actually raising awareness of how expensive it is to attend university.
Things I care more about than Obama’s inauguration
Is anyone else sick of this yet (744,823 hits as of writing)?
Yes, Obama looks to be a better president than the last 8 years have shown, but that awaits to be seen.
So what do I care about?
- Let's see if he delivers. And if he doesn't, hold his feet to the fire. He's still bound to the American electorate, and doesn't have a free pass.
- Shit is still going on in the world.
- Canada's still being run by a fascist.
- My EngPhys Club placed 2nd in Geer Week (okay this one's selfish), coming only 2 points from winning.
Sorry to piss in the cornflakes, but despite the promises, he's still a politician, and he's still only human. Or maybe I'm just getting sick of reading Obama inauguration posts across the blogosphere.
Finally, this should mark the start of me getting back into the swing of things in terms of blogging.
January updates
Well it's been a while since I've posted anything, and considering Geer Week (formerly Eng Week) is coming up on campus, it may be another week before I really get going again.
Anyways, here's a round up of news items I feel like sharing:
- The Garneau Theatre is under new ownership. I was initially very conserned about this story, as they were talking (and still are) about tearing down the front entrance. However, it turns out that they are doing this to essentially revamp it and the theatre will continue to operate (even during construction). This is a great indie theatre, and it's good to know it will continue. (Speaking of indie films, see Milk if you haven't yet).
- In the past month and a bit the Alberta Tories have found another way to increase our carbon emissions and finger the recession: spending a quarter million on flying across the globe. Teleconferencing is so 1990s, face to face is the only possible way to convince people that the tar sands aren't evil.
- And speaking of tar sands, the oil companies released a poll that found that almost half of people polled in Edmonton and Toronto don't trust a word they say. I feel a little bad that they had to spend money to confirm this.
- Alberta leads Canada in job losses in December as Albertans lost nearly 20,000 jobs. But the good news that the Journal finds: Edmonton is still tied for lowest unemployment rate (however, they neglect to mention homeless rates).
- And finally, keep your eyes peeled for an upcoming report on carbon-capture technology that the Tories are banking $2 billion on (and wanting the broke federal government to match). Eng Phys director Dr. Backhouse did a (very rough) ballpark calculation on carbon-capture and figures that if we bury all our carbon burned and continue to increase at a steady rate that we'll be out of oxygen (since you have to take 2 oxygen atoms for every carbon atom you remove from the atmosphere, since we bury carbon dioxide) in 750 years. Of course, the issue becomes more of a threat if you realize that a slight change in oxygen content in our atmosphere will likely have drastic effects.
Until I get another chance to write, here's some blogs (that are regularly updated) that I follow regularly (in loose category labels):
Atheism:
- Friendly Atheist
- Greta Christina's Blog
- It's the Thought that Counts
- Open Parachute
- Pharyngula
- Science after Sunclipse
- The Teapot Atheist
- Tiny Frog
Web Comics
Politics
- Alberta: Get Rich or Die Trying
- CalgaryGrit
- Challenging the Commonplace
- daveberta
- DTK
- James Laxer
- Tiny Perfect Blog
- To Ride, Shoot Straight, and Speak the Truth
I read lots more than that, but that should be a good start.
Recent Posts
- The Atheist Census–obnoxious and obscure marketing?
- No, I don’t
- CFI Canada skips critical thinking
- State of Albertan Politics
- Successful in Ottawa, Religious Right turns to Edmonton
Recent Comments
- Ian on The Atheist Census–obnoxious and obscure marketing?
- Per Smith on The Atheist Census–obnoxious and obscure marketing?
- Per Smith on The Atheist Census–obnoxious and obscure marketing?
- Ian on The Atheist Census–obnoxious and obscure marketing?
- Per Smith on The Atheist Census–obnoxious and obscure marketing?
Categories
Politics Religion Links Atheism Media NDP Elections Personal Science Conservatives Alberta Secularism Edmonton School Scepticism Canada BC UofA Atheists and Agnostics Creationism Vancouver Liberals Economics Site Parody Fun Video CFI Global Warming Evolution Humanism Bible Capitalism SFU The Peak Free speech Anti-choice Philosophy Gay rights Books Companies Computers Random USA movies
Subscribe to posts