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The worst things you will read all day
May. 24th, 2011 06:06 pmI have two doozies for you today.
The first is about Canada and our mines. Canadians like to think of ourselves as peaceful and humanitarian, but we are actually right murderous bastards when it comes down to it. Canada owns 40% of the mining companies in the world, and we are known internationally for horrific human rights abuses and environmental devastation.
In Tanzania, Barrick Gold's operations have prevented locals from making a living, stealing Tanzanian resources to profit a Canadian company. Life-threatening levels of arsenic have been found near the mine; in May 2009, 203 people became ill and 43 people died near one of Barrick Gold's sites. Some of the locals, in a desperate attempt to survive, have been invading the mine to "steal" gold (though it's not really stealing, unless one believes that Canadian gold magically got under Tanzanian soil). So naturally, we had those guys killed.
Apparently because we can't resist pouring salt in a wound, Barrick Gold then banned the families of the victims from holding a memorial at the mine.
Disgusting. For more information on how we're fucking over people and the environment with our greed, check out Canadian Mining Watch.
Professional misogynist stooge Margaret Wente is at it again! In her latest offering, this blathering maggot has managed to spew forth the most incredible drivel that, I believe, may very well win some sort of award for the most concentrated clusterfuck of virulent racism, sexism, and homophobia ever contained within a single sentence.
The sentence in question is as follows:
Really, you batshit drooling harpy? Really?
It gets worse, too. For some reason, the Chattering Class has decided that any mention of the adulterous Schwarzenegger must also contain a reference to violent rapist Dominique Strauss-Kahn*, and vice versa. And no, not because one questions the likelihood of non-coerced, freely given consent where a rich and powerful man and a racialized, marginalized woman in his employ are concerned.
Wente makes the dubious claim that the case of Strauss-Kahn "is a tragedy of Shakespearean dimension (or, at the very least, the makings of a great novel)." Again, not because a woman in a vulnerable position was brutally assaulted. It's a "tragedy" because of its impact on European politics. Wente feigns sympathy for the women involved, but her focus, and distress, is centered around the fall of great men and how their "follies" are making us all look bad.
Anyway, that's it. I'm all for freedom of speech, but for the love of everyone's sanity, someone take away that woman's laptop.
* Okay, alleged violent rapist.
The first is about Canada and our mines. Canadians like to think of ourselves as peaceful and humanitarian, but we are actually right murderous bastards when it comes down to it. Canada owns 40% of the mining companies in the world, and we are known internationally for horrific human rights abuses and environmental devastation.
In Tanzania, Barrick Gold's operations have prevented locals from making a living, stealing Tanzanian resources to profit a Canadian company. Life-threatening levels of arsenic have been found near the mine; in May 2009, 203 people became ill and 43 people died near one of Barrick Gold's sites. Some of the locals, in a desperate attempt to survive, have been invading the mine to "steal" gold (though it's not really stealing, unless one believes that Canadian gold magically got under Tanzanian soil). So naturally, we had those guys killed.
Apparently because we can't resist pouring salt in a wound, Barrick Gold then banned the families of the victims from holding a memorial at the mine.
If the police decide to use force against us, it is entirely up to them. We will hold a peaceful ceremony,” said Tundu Lissu, a lawyer who has worked on behalf of residents around the North Mara mine and who is an opposition MP in Tanzania’s parliament.
“We will not be intimidated or told how to mourn our dead by the very people who murdered them.”
Despite the ban, a van with a loud speaker still drove through the streets of Tarime inviting townspeople to attend. It was quickly followed by a police truck issuing a warning to residents against taking part in any such activities.
Disgusting. For more information on how we're fucking over people and the environment with our greed, check out Canadian Mining Watch.
Professional misogynist stooge Margaret Wente is at it again! In her latest offering, this blathering maggot has managed to spew forth the most incredible drivel that, I believe, may very well win some sort of award for the most concentrated clusterfuck of virulent racism, sexism, and homophobia ever contained within a single sentence.
The sentence in question is as follows:
Why would a man who’s married to a thoroughbred like Maria Shriver cheat on her with a plump Mexican housekeeper?
Really, you batshit drooling harpy? Really?
It gets worse, too. For some reason, the Chattering Class has decided that any mention of the adulterous Schwarzenegger must also contain a reference to violent rapist Dominique Strauss-Kahn*, and vice versa. And no, not because one questions the likelihood of non-coerced, freely given consent where a rich and powerful man and a racialized, marginalized woman in his employ are concerned.
Wente makes the dubious claim that the case of Strauss-Kahn "is a tragedy of Shakespearean dimension (or, at the very least, the makings of a great novel)." Again, not because a woman in a vulnerable position was brutally assaulted. It's a "tragedy" because of its impact on European politics. Wente feigns sympathy for the women involved, but her focus, and distress, is centered around the fall of great men and how their "follies" are making us all look bad.
Anyway, that's it. I'm all for freedom of speech, but for the love of everyone's sanity, someone take away that woman's laptop.
* Okay, alleged violent rapist.
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