tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30206580Wed, 26 Apr 2023 05:48:31 +0000academiacanadapoliticsunionslabourfederalstrikegovernmentmusicmetalphilosophyelectionmetaethicsconservativesontarioreligionuseconomyfucking liberalsndpeconomicsfreedomatheismenvironmentfuntorontorightsactionpolicyreasonscopyrightdemocracybcfunnymediaclimate changeeducationhealthcarescienceenergyexplanationlawvotingpublic servicesreasoningconstitutionelectionsepistemologylibertymindpropertysocietytaxestransitAPA Easterncitizensdissertationgeneration serieshealth insuranceknowledgemondaypolitical justicequebecskepticismstupiditythursdaytuesdaywednesdaychoicecitizenshipcrimeequalityfaithfridaygodhealthintellectual propertyjusticereasonautonomycitiescommunitycountryliberalsmetaethicsmetaphysicsopen access seriespersonhoodpragmatismprivateprovincialresearchstrikestechnologyargumentcapitalismconsciousnessdignityelectricitygods of grindharmimmigrationinternationalmental illnessontologypersonspovertypublicrespectsecurityaccountabilityagencyalienationbehaviourbeliefblogbudgetcbcconceptsconsequentialismcreationcultureeuropeevolution warsgamesgenderinternetlanguagelogiclong gun registrylunacymedicalmilitaryobligationopen accesspainpiracypowerprivacypsychologyrandomrealityreferendumreformresourcesright-wing bullshitsexteachingteleologyterrorismthoughttradetransparencyunited kingdomus electionutilitiesvaluezombie09f911029d74e35bd84156c5635688c0NBAabortionactivismaidamazonfailartbangyourfuckinheadsbiasbiologyblog supportbritainbusinesschangecharactercharitychristianitychristmascivilitycommitmentconscienceconstructivismcontracting outcontrolcourtcynical? moi?deathdebatedennettdiscriminationdmcadrugselectonemotionsemploymentetiquetteeuthanasiaevolutionexistenceexperimentalexpressionfascismfinancefoodfrankfurtgay marriagegradinggreen partygreensheritagehfx09historyholidayshomoeroticism? what homoeroticism?housingi'm on a boatidentityin flames we trustinductioninferenceinsuranceintentioninternational justiceiranjoin usjudgeleaderletterlighthousesmanitobamarketsmathematicsmayormclellandmeaningmedicinemethodologymetismonarchymoralitymortgagemotivationnarrativenationnational parksnatural lawsnonsensenova scotiaopinionsparadoxpeter singerpharmaceuticalspolicepracticalitypredictionprinciplepropositionsprotestpunishmentracismrealismrebellionresponsibilityriskscientismscotlandseparatismsocialsocialismsolidarityspeechspendingstuck mojosuicidethe folktheorytransplanttraveltrusttruthtweetsunderstandingwageswe're all gonna diewikileakswomenworkwtfyoutubesWe are here and this is now. <br><br>Comments on the passing show.http://trssastt.blogspot.com/noreply@blogger.com (ADHR)Blogger1007125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30206580.post-8434614909994555163Sun, 12 Aug 2012 20:32:00 +00002012-08-12T16:32:16.373-04:00metaGood news: I have a paying freelance writing gig thing.Bad news: unpaid work has to take a back seat in order to hit my deadline. Back in early September.http://trssastt.blogspot.com/2012/08/good-newsbad-news.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (ADHR)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30206580.post-1938438788739359651Fri, 03 Aug 2012 20:00:00 +00002012-08-03T16:00:02.869-04:00atheismepistemologyfaithknowledgereasonreligionSo what's the alternative? Again, we could just move away from faith as epistemological at all, and talk about faith as a feeling or faith as trust. But the first isn't really worth much, and the second gets us into ethics. We could also just insist that there's something commendable about believing in things that aren't knowable. But the inference there is really hard to figure out. Not http://trssastt.blogspot.com/2012/08/on-religion-3-epistemology-33.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (ADHR)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30206580.post-7351605026499868937Wed, 01 Aug 2012 20:00:00 +00002012-08-01T16:00:01.315-04:00atheismepistemologyfaithknowledgereasonreligionIn what sense is the thought of god rational, though? There's a couple of senses of "rational" possible, after all. Something can be rational in the sense of being commendable. We say it's rational or reasonable to plan financially for your future as a way of praising careful financial planning. This is rational in contrast to irrational. However, there's another sense of "rational" floating http://trssastt.blogspot.com/2012/08/on-religion-2-epistemology-23.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (ADHR)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30206580.post-5348099352006116180Mon, 30 Jul 2012 20:00:00 +00002012-07-30T16:00:01.539-04:00atheismepistemologyfaithknowledgereasonreligionSo, let's talk about faith. Faith is a common term to many religions, particularly the Judeo-Christo-Islamic axis. It's unfortunately also an ambiguous term, which is used in a number of different contexts to mean a number of different things. In this part, I'm dealing with faith in terms of epistemology. "Epistemology" is one of those ten-dollar words that philosophers have coined by stealing http://trssastt.blogspot.com/2012/07/on-religion-2-epistemology-13.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (ADHR)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30206580.post-537522991748575196Tue, 24 Jul 2012 22:30:00 +00002012-07-24T18:30:00.313-04:00atheismconceptsexplanationfreedomknowledgemathematicsmetaphysicsontologyphilosophyreligion[Ed: Yes, it used to say "/4", now it says "/3". The last bit got away from me, so I smooshed the next two sections into this one.] Okay, now, at this point, you might be thinking I was just a tad unfair. After all, lots of clever people have thought religion and its metaphysical claims made a lot of sense, so maybe there's more to them than what I'm allowing. When it comes to the explanatory http://trssastt.blogspot.com/2012/07/on-religion-1-metaphysics-33.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (ADHR)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30206580.post-6942809487632185071Sat, 21 Jul 2012 21:00:00 +00002012-07-21T17:00:01.512-04:00argumentatheismconceptsgodmeaningmetaphysicsphilosophyreasoningreligion There's two basic problems about the metaphysical claim of religion, and when I say "basic", I mean very, very basic. Basic in the sense of fundamental, ground-level, at root. Problem the first: the standard arguments in favour of the existence of the supernatural are awful. Problem the second: this is not because these arguments are unsophisticated, careless or poorly thought-out, but because http://trssastt.blogspot.com/2012/07/on-religion-1-metaphysics-24.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (ADHR)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30206580.post-2544816095716963255Thu, 12 Jul 2012 20:58:00 +00002012-07-12T16:58:34.121-04:00atheismgodmetaphysicsphilosophyreligionWhat are the metaphysical claims of religions? It sort of depends on the religion. I say "sort of" because, although there are distinctions between the ways religions deal with metaphysics, these distinctions aren't really all that important. It's like changing the icing without changing the cake; it may look and taste a little different, but it's still the same old cake underneath."Metaphysics",http://trssastt.blogspot.com/2012/07/on-religion-1-metaphysics-14.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (ADHR)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30206580.post-7372643019591369113Wed, 11 Jul 2012 20:47:00 +00002012-07-11T16:51:20.633-04:00atheismcommunityepistemologyethicsfaithgodmetaphysicsmoralityphilosophypoliticsreligionAs I'm heading into one of my periodic moments of frustration and disgust with politics and current affairs in this third-rate, bush-league country of ours (I mean, seriously, do we need another superficial nitwit trading on his father's name for influence and power? Whether the name is Trudeau or Ford, it's equally disgraceful; say what you like about Harper, but at least he earned his position http://trssastt.blogspot.com/2012/07/on-future-plans.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (ADHR)5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30206580.post-2497890266947793642Fri, 22 Jun 2012 21:27:00 +00002012-06-22T17:27:06.624-04:00academiacanadaclimate changeconservativescrimeeconomyfederalfinancegovernmentimmigrationpolicypoliticsA few things for today. First, I noticed Michael Coren whining last night about an OSU prof named Nicholas Drapela, who was allegedly fired for denying climate change!!!!!Nonsense. Drapela's webpage (which is still up as of this writing; see here) lists his academic appointments as follows:Visiting Assistant Professor, Whitman College 1998-99Visiting Assistant Professor, Colorado College http://trssastt.blogspot.com/2012/06/on-universities-and-climate-change.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (ADHR)2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30206580.post-2933015279870510722Thu, 21 Jun 2012 20:31:00 +00002012-06-21T16:31:11.103-04:00metaSo, no update today. However, there will be an update tomorrow (unusual, as I generally only update Monday to Thursday).http://trssastt.blogspot.com/2012/06/pressed-for-time.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (ADHR)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30206580.post-5921832407661182022Wed, 20 Jun 2012 20:40:00 +00002012-06-20T16:40:22.644-04:00budgetcanadaconservativesfederalheritagehistorylighthousesmanitobametismilitarynarrativenational parksnova scotiapoliticsrebellionThe Conservative Party of Canada talks a really good game about a lot of things. The economy, for example. We've all heard how they are masters of the economy, creating jobs, opening up opportunities, developing new sectors, and so on. It's not working out so great, but they don't really seem to care. After all, for them and their base -- and, for that matter, the idiot media -- it's all about http://trssastt.blogspot.com/2012/06/on-preserving-past.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (ADHR)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30206580.post-8906192411087922343Tue, 19 Jun 2012 21:12:00 +00002012-06-19T17:13:06.334-04:00deathethicseuthanasialawmedicinephilosophysuicideApparently, the BC Supreme Court has legalized physician-assisted suicide, leading inevitably to a mass slaughter of everyone over the age of -- let's say -- 50.Yeah, there's a lot of bullshit being tossed around about the decision. Without going into the nitty-gritty -- because I really don't have time or inclination to read a lengthy legal document -- here are some useful distinctions which http://trssastt.blogspot.com/2012/06/on-physician-assisted-suicide-and.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (ADHR)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30206580.post-5477219415286575049Mon, 18 Jun 2012 19:35:00 +00002012-06-18T15:35:56.000-04:00electionsfucking liberalspoliticsAnybody who thinks they can explain how an anti-austerity, pro-stimulus party won in France, a pro-austerity, anti-citizen group of parties won in Greece, and a religious radical won in Egypt -- all in about 24 hours -- is either lying or crazy or both.Oh, and, apparently Justin Trudeau will save the Liberal Party of Canada. No, really, some people think that.Some nights, you've just gotta laugh http://trssastt.blogspot.com/2012/06/on-glories-of-politics.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (ADHR)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30206580.post-6625872357019972855Tue, 12 Jun 2012 19:50:00 +00002012-06-12T15:50:39.513-04:00economyfreedommarketspoliticsreasoningtaxesWell, that was two rather unpleasant weeks.I've decided to do away with the Sun Talk thing. The joke was getting old, I think. There's only so many ways to call lying imbeciles lying imbeciles before it gets boring.However, I do have the advantage of watching a metric shit-tonne of news and news-related talk every night, so that does give me some grist for the mill.For example: did you know that http://trssastt.blogspot.com/2012/06/on-freedom-day.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (ADHR)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30206580.post-1849213859454768378Fri, 01 Jun 2012 22:15:00 +00002012-06-01T18:15:07.014-04:00atheismeconomyenergylawmedianatural lawspunishmentreligionrightsQuick one, as I'm pressed for time.The Magnotta obsession continues! Standing by what I said yesterday, BTW. Giving the guy too much attention is exactly he wants. Report on the situation, then move on to other news. Giving him hours and hours of airtime is letting him win (and scaring people for no reason).Daily BriefYeah, I got nothing. Mostly Magnotta last night. A bit on Mulcair and the http://trssastt.blogspot.com/2012/06/on-sun-talk-for-may-31-2012.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (ADHR)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30206580.post-1337409868993673084Thu, 31 May 2012 21:05:00 +00002012-05-31T17:05:52.283-04:00abortioneconomicsemploymentethicspersonsreligionrightsDaily Brief and ArenaPre-empted by coverage of the crazy foot guy. I generally think it's not a good idea to give someone like that too much attention. It's a variant on the "don't feed the trolls" motto; some people do things for attention, and this guy seems like a clear case. (As of right now, of course. Yesterday, I didn't consider that he might be genuinely sociopathic, which now seems to behttp://trssastt.blogspot.com/2012/05/on-sun-talk-for-may-30-2012.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (ADHR)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30206580.post-4308901483560508428Wed, 30 May 2012 21:19:00 +00002012-05-30T17:19:34.608-04:00businesscanadaconservativeseconomicsenvironmentinternational justicepoliticsreligiontradeThe Sunites are really sleepwalking through this week. It's honestly hard to find new things to say about their topics, as they keep rehashing the same old nonsense. It's one thing to have a series of topics that you keep returning to; it's quite another to keep saying the same thing about them. The former speaks to interest, but the latter speaks to obsession -- and a lack of both insight and http://trssastt.blogspot.com/2012/05/on-sun-talk-for-may-29-2012.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (ADHR)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30206580.post-7214215584834044860Tue, 29 May 2012 20:40:00 +00002012-05-29T16:40:34.869-04:00canadaeconomicselectionsfederalgendergovernmentreligionresourcesrightsHere we go again! In case you're wondering, I only work Sun-Thurs, so I don't get to watch the Friday Sun shows. Not to mention that they don't produce new ones on the weekend. Guess that's the vaunted right-wing work ethic. They might bitch about unions, but when it comes to something like a weekend, which unions got for us, they're totally cool with taking it.Daily BriefTed Opitz -- y'know, thehttp://trssastt.blogspot.com/2012/05/on-sun-talk-for-may-28-2012.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (ADHR)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30206580.post-289621631869529414Fri, 25 May 2012 21:16:00 +00002012-05-25T17:16:30.545-04:00cbcelectionsmediamental illnesspoliticsspendingterrorismI'm not sure what was up with the Sunites yesterday. I mean, they all went through the motions, but it really seemed -- to me, at any rate -- like their hearts just weren't in it. Daily BriefPerfect example. This was the least Con-friendly Daily Brief to my memory. A discussion of pork-barrelling by government MPs with someone from the odious Canadian Taxpayers Federation -- oh, and, memo to the http://trssastt.blogspot.com/2012/05/on-sun-talk-for-may-24-2012.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (ADHR)2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30206580.post-8582549033975115499Thu, 24 May 2012 19:37:00 +00002012-05-24T15:37:25.304-04:00conscienceeconomicsethicsgovernmentmental illnesspoliticspublicreligionresourcesrightsspeechStill playing with the format a little here. Rather than complain about everything the Sunites (good name? bad name?) have to say, I'll stick to just the main topics. Otherwise, this gets very long, and pretty tedious for me. I can only complain so much!Daily BriefI suppose I should say at least something official about the whole "Dutch Disease" thing, and it did come up in Akin's show. Tony http://trssastt.blogspot.com/2012/05/on-sun-talk-for-may-23-2012.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (ADHR)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30206580.post-7764752163884856230Wed, 23 May 2012 20:19:00 +00002012-05-23T16:19:11.252-04:00canadacbccrimeethicsgenderjusticemonarchyopinionspoliticsrightssexterrorismSun News talkers from last night! Hooray! Daily Brief David Akin devoted the bulk of the show to fawning over the royals (a term I have trouble applying to Chuck Windsor, let alone Cammy). Now, it's clearly not fair to just jump on Akin for this, as most of the newscasts in the country -- I watch the majority every night, 'member -- did the same thing. So, read this as a general point about thehttp://trssastt.blogspot.com/2012/05/on-sun-talk-for-may-22-2012.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (ADHR)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30206580.post-8691930951080775203Tue, 22 May 2012 18:41:00 +00002012-05-22T14:41:14.044-04:00constitutionmediamental illnessndppolicepoliticsquebecreligionrightsstrikestrikesSince leaving the academy -- gladly, willingly -- I've found myself a position at a media monitoring company. The basic idea is that corporations, unions and other organizations approach us with a set of keywords and topics they want us to find in newscasts, including print, tv and radio sources. The system automagically pulls relevant chunks of the broadcasts that contain the keywords, but thesehttp://trssastt.blogspot.com/2012/05/and-i-back.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (ADHR)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30206580.post-5355959727213319459Wed, 11 Apr 2012 01:28:00 +00002012-04-10T21:28:19.211-04:00metaBreaking my hiatus briefly to request removal from Progressive Bloggers. The name is just a little too ironic for my tastes.And, no, I'm not going to engage with the very silly arguments being advanced in favour of the mods' recent actions. I have better things to do.Anyone got any other aggregators they could suggest? Blogging Dippers is long dead. Others?http://trssastt.blogspot.com/2012/04/exit-stage-left.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (ADHR)3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30206580.post-8084657646130072460Mon, 13 Feb 2012 18:53:00 +00002012-02-13T13:53:32.128-05:00metaRethinking some things about what I'm trying to accomplish with the blog. I'm not shutting it down, but will stay dark until March. At which point, I should have a plan!http://trssastt.blogspot.com/2012/02/temporary-hiatus.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (ADHR)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30206580.post-1948898710860124839Sat, 04 Feb 2012 22:26:00 +00002012-02-04T17:35:04.367-05:00governmentlabourlawpoliticstorontounionsHere's what I've been able to figure out about the Toronto labour situation.While negotiations are ongoing, so during the initial stages, prior to the no-board report, an employer cannot impose a contract on employees. This has to wait until after the no-board report, when the union is in a legal strike position, and the employer is in a legal lockout position.Once that happens, employers can http://trssastt.blogspot.com/2012/02/on-toronto-labour-situation.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (ADHR)0