Friday, April 25, 2003

Blog move Check out my new blog at www.martinertl.ca or www.opinionated.ca. 12:44:02 AM    comment  []

Thursday, March 20, 2003

The quotable Aaron Brown "Believe me, I don't understand the technology." -- Aaron Brown on CNN, March 20, 2003 at approx. 9:32 PST I believe you Aaron. 9:38:57 PM    comment  []

Saturday, March 15, 2003

Peace march in Vancouver I went to the peace march in Vancouver today to show my support for peace. I hope that Iraq disarms and that Saddam Hussein leaves Iraq (both of which are fully within Hussein's control), thereby avoiding the need for war in Iraq. 3:49:16 PM    comment  []

Monday, February 03, 2003

Race and Rescue -- Nelson Mandela's odious views on Iraq Christopher Hitchens assails Nelson Mandela for his intemperate remarks that the US is contemptuous of the UN because its Secretary-General, Kofi Annan, is black. 10:30:22 PM    comment  []   "This is CNN, the leader in science journalism." CNN clocked the space shuttle Columbia travelling at 18 times the speed of light. At 19,440,000,000 km/h, this surpasses the previous record of 1,080,000,000 km/h, set just moments before by an anonymous photon. The new record not only shatters the old record, but also Einstein's theory of relativity, inexplicably defying all empirical confirmations of that theory. CNN science analysts are now speculating that the space shuttle did not disintegrate after all, but rather, journeyed to an alternate universe. 9:58:27 PM    comment  []

Sunday, February 02, 2003

Catch this movie if you can I saw Catch me if you can last night. It's a terrific movie and well worth seeing. The movie is a dramatization of the exploits of Frank W. Abagnale, a young 1960's con artist who wrote US$2.5 million in fraudulent cheques, disguised in turn as a Pan Am pilot, a doctor and a lawyer. He later turned to the 'good' side, working with the FBI and Fortune 500 companies on cheque fraud. He cites the following as part of his qualifications: First-hand personal knowledge and experience in exploring methods for altering documents and overcoming security measures... 9:12:18 PM    comment  []

Thursday, January 30, 2003

Martin's Theorem of Professional Fees When a professional tells you that a problem is "interesting", that means it will be expensive to deal with. I know this applies to lawyers, and I'm told by Ryan it also holds true for architects. 10:44:52 PM    comment  []   The world of religions The National Post writes about the Correctional Service of Canada having to accommodate the practise of Wicca, Druidry and Rastafarianism in prisons. This was a bit of déja vu: I had strikingly similar fact pattern in my constitutional law final exam in law school. If memory serves me right, we were asked about the impact of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms on the federal government's obligations with respect to prisoners who are adherents of Pythagorism. This religion was founded by Pythagoras, a Greek philosopher and mathematician. Pythagorans follow a strict code of conduct, including a prohibition on eating beans. I'm sure this is a welcome rule in such close quarters as are found in jails. Pythagoras is of course better known for the Pythagorean theorem, which states that for a right-angled triangle, the sum of the squares of the sides is equal to the square of the hypotenuse (a squared + b squared = c squared). Interestingly, he also made the connection between music and mathematics, in particular, the fact that the interval between musical notes is a mathematical ratio. For Pythagoras, mathematics and religion were essentially intertwined; he believed that the divine principles of the universe could be expressed as mathematical relationships, a belief which has influenced numerologists ever since. 10:25:49 PM    comment  []   Top California law firm dissolving Brobeck, Phleger & Harrison, a large San Fransisco-based law firm well known for being at the centre of the tech boom a few years back, is reportedly dissolving. The firm currently has 500 lawyers, down from almost 1,000 lawyers in 2000. This is the Silicon Valley legal equivalent of, say, Sun Microsystems shutting its doors. 8:21:03 PM    comment  []

Tuesday, January 28, 2003

Bits from Blix Yesterday, Hans Blix, Executive Chairman of the UN Monitoring, Verification and Inspection Commission (UNMOVIC) presented an update to the UN Security Council on the work of arms inspectors in Iraq. Here are some excerpts (emphasis added). As context, it's important to keep in mind that the report is couched in diplomatic language. Dr. Blix speaks of 'discrepancies' instead of 'lies', though even he seems to find it difficult to soft-pedal some of the obvious Iraqi wrongdoing. It's also noteworthy that Dr. Blix is no US patsy. He was nominated by France as head of the arms inspection team, the very same country that with many others (the Axis of Weasels) is foolishly tolerant of Iraq's contumacious disregard for the UN. ... I begin by recalling that inspections as a part of a disarmament process in Iraq started in 1991, immediately after the Gulf War. They went on for eight years until December 1998, when inspectors were withdrawn. Thereafter, for nearly four years there were no inspections. They were resumed only at the end of November last year. While the fundamental aim of inspections in Iraq has always been to verify disarmament, the successive resolutions adopted by the Council over the years have varied somewhat in emphasis and approach. In 1991, resolution 687 (1991), adopted unanimously as a part of the cease-fire after the Gulf War, had five major elements. The three first related to disarmament. They called for: -declarations by Iraq of its programmes of weapons of mass destruction and long range missiles; -verification of the declarations through UNSCOM and the IAEA; -supervision by these organizations of the destruction or the elimination of proscribed programmes and items. ... As we know, the twin operation 'declare and verify', which was prescribed in resolution 687 (1991), too often turned into a game of 'hide and seek'. ... One of three important questions before us today is how much might remain undeclared and intact from before 1991; and, possibly, thereafter; the second question is what, if anything, was illegally produced or procured after 1998, when the inspectors left; and the third question is how it can be prevented that any weapons of mass destruction be produced or procured in the future. ... For nearly three years, Iraq refused to accept any inspections by UNMOVIC. It was only after appeals by the Secretary-General and Arab States and pressure by the United States and other Member States, that Iraq declared on 16 September last year that it would again accept inspections without conditions. Resolution 1441 (2002) was adopted on 8 November last year and emphatically reaffirmed the demand on Iraq to cooperate. It required this cooperation to be immediate, unconditional and active. The resolution contained many provisions, which we welcome as enhancing and strengthening the inspection regime. The unanimity by which it was adopted sent a powerful signal that the Council was of one mind in creating a last opportunity for peaceful disarmament in Iraq through inspection. ... The substantive cooperation required relates above all to the obligation of Iraq to declare all programmes of weapons of mass destruction and either to present items and activities for elimination or else to provide evidence supporting the conclusion that nothing proscribed remains. Paragraph 9 of resolution 1441 (2002) states that this cooperation shall be "active". It is not enough to open doors. Inspection is not a game of "catch as catch can". Rather, as I noted, it is a process of verification for the purpose of creating confidence. It is not built upon the premise of trust. Rather, it is designed to lead to trust, if there is both openness to the inspectors and action to present them with items to destroy or credible evidence about the absence of any such items. ... Chemical weapons The nerve agent VX is one of the most toxic ever developed. Iraq has declared that it only produced VX on a pilot scale, just a few tonnes and that the quality was poor and the product unstable. Consequently, it was said, that the agent was never weaponised. Iraq said that the small quantity of agent remaining after the Gulf War was unilaterally destroyed in the summer of 1991. UNMOVIC, however, has information that conflicts with this account. There are indications that Iraq had worked on the problem of purity and stabilization and that more had been achieved than has been declared. Indeed, even one of the documents provided by Iraq indicates that the purity of the agent, at least in laboratory production, was higher than declared. There are also indications that the agent was weaponised. In addition, there are questions to be answered concerning the fate of the VX precursor chemicals, which Iraq states were lost during bombing in the Gulf War or were unilaterally destroyed by Iraq. I would now like to turn to the so-called "Air Force document" that I have discussed with the Council before. This document was originally found by an UNSCOM inspector in a safe in Iraqi Air Force Headquarters in 1998 and taken from her by Iraqi minders. It gives an account of the expenditure of bombs, including chemical bombs, by Iraq in the Iraq-Iran War. ... The document indicates that 13,000 chemical bombs were dropped by the Iraqi Air Force between 1983 and 1988, while Iraq has declared that 19,500 bombs were consumed during this period. Thus, there is a discrepancy of 6,500 bombs. The amount of chemical agent in these bombs would be in the order of about 1,000 tonnes. In the absence of evidence to the contrary, we must assume that these quantities are now unaccounted for. The discovery of a number of 122 mm chemical rocket warheads in a bunker at a storage depot 170 km southwest of Baghdad was much publicized. This was a relatively new bunker and therefore the rockets must have been moved there in the past few years, at a time when Iraq should not have had such munitions. The investigation of these rockets is still proceeding. Iraq states that they were overlooked from 1991 from a batch of some 2,000 that were stored there during the Gulf War. This could be the case. They could also be the tip of a submerged iceberg. The discovery of a few rockets does not resolve but rather points to the issue of several thousands of chemical rockets that are unaccounted for. ... I might further mention that inspectors have found at another site a laboratory quantity of thiodiglycol, a mustard gas precursor. ... Biological weapons I have mentioned the issue of anthrax to the Council on previous occasions and I come back to it as it is an important one. Iraq has declared that it produced about 8,500 litres of this biological warfare agent, which it states it unilaterally destroyed in the summer of 1991. Iraq has provided little evidence for this production and no convincing evidence for its destruction. There are strong indications that Iraq produced more anthrax than it declared, and that at least some of this was retained after the declared destruction date. It might still exist. Either it should be found and be destroyed under UNMOVIC supervision or else convincing evidence should be produced to show that it was, indeed, destroyed in 1991. As I reported to the Council on 19 December last year, Iraq did not declare a significant quantity, some 650 kg, of bacterial growth media, which was acknowledged as imported in Iraq’s submission to the Amorim panel in February 1999. As part of its 7 December 2002 declaration, Iraq resubmitted the Amorim panel document, but the table showing this particular import of media was not included. The absence of this table would appear to be deliberate as the pages of the resubmitted document were renumbered. In the letter of 24 January to the President of the Council, Iraq’s Foreign Minister stated that "all imported quantities of growth media were declared". This is not evidence. I note that the quantity of media involved would suffice to produce, for example, about 5,000 litres of concentrated anthrax. ... In addition, Iraq has refurbished its missile production infrastructure. In particular, Iraq reconstituted a number of casting chambers, which had previously been destroyed under UNSCOM supervision. They had been used in the production of solid-fuel missiles. Whatever missile system these chambers are intended for, they could produce motors for missiles capable of ranges significantly greater than 150 km. ... Iraq also declared the recent import of chemicals used in propellants, test instrumentation and, guidance and control systems. These items may well be for proscribed purposes. That is yet to be determined. What is clear is that they were illegally brought into Iraq, that is, Iraq or some company in Iraq, circumvented the restrictions imposed by various resolutions. ... Our Iraqi counterparts are fond of saying that there are no proscribed items and if no evidence is presented to the contrary they should have the benefit of the doubt, be presumed innocent. UNMOVIC, for its part, is not presuming that there are proscribed items and activities in Iraq, but nor is it – or I think anyone else after the inspections between 1991 and 1998 – presuming the opposite, that no such items and activities exist in Iraq. Presumptions do not solve the problem. Evidence and full transparency may help. Let me be specific. ... When we have urged our Iraqi counterparts to present more evidence, we have all too often met the response that there are no more documents. All existing relevant documents have been presented, we are told. All documents relating to the biological weapons programme were destroyed together with the weapons. ... The recent inspection find in the private home of a scientist of a box of some 3,000 pages of documents, much of it relating to the laser enrichment of uranium support a concern that has long existed that documents might be distributed to the homes of private individuals. This interpretation is refuted by the Iraqi side, which claims that research staff sometimes may bring home papers from their work places. On our side, we cannot help but think that the case might not be isolated and that such placements of documents is deliberate to make discovery difficult and to seek to shield documents by placing them in private homes. ... When Iraq claims that tangible evidence in the form of documents is not available, it ought at least to find individuals, engineers, scientists and managers to testify about their experience. Large weapons programmes are moved and managed by people. ... Some 400 names for all biological and chemical weapons programmes as well as their missile programmes were provided by the Iraqi side. This can be compared to over 3,500 names of people associated with those past weapons programmes that UNSCOM either interviewed in the 1990s or knew from documents and other sources. At my recent meeting in Baghdad, the Iraqi side committed itself to supplementing the list and some 80 additional names have been provided. ... In the past, much valuable information came from interviews. There were also cases in which the interviewee was clearly intimidated by the presence of and interruption by Iraqi officials. ... To date, 11 individuals were asked for interviews in Baghdad by us. The replies have invariably been that the individual will only speak at Iraq’s monitoring directorate or, at any rate, in the presence of an Iraqi official. This could be due to a wish on the part of the invited to have evidence that they have not said anything that the authorities did not wish them to say. At our recent talks in Baghdad, the Iraqi side committed itself to encourage persons to accept interviews "in private", that is to say alone with us. Despite this, the pattern has not changed. ... 10:06:43 PM    comment  []

Saturday, January 25, 2003

Jack Layton is the new NDP leader To much surprise, he won the leadership race on the first ballot, with 53.5% of the votes. Interestingly, the NDP adopted voting via the web for its leadership convention. This went awry briefly when the server (or servers plural -- I'm not sure which) hosting the voting application was subjected to a 'denial-of-service' attack. 8:19:44 PM    comment  []   Gordon Campbell Dono has two thoughtful postings, one on The Campbell Incident and the other on Campbell vs. Clark. Derek disagrees with Don. 8:06:20 PM    comment  []   Is war on Iraq justified? It's certainly a question that's gotten me into some passionate debates recently. One of the arguments against war that I've heard and read is that the Bush administration has not made out the case against Saddam Hussein, in terms of his connection to terrorism and Al-Quaeda, and in terms of his continuing development of chemical, biological and nuclear weapons. The conclusion to this argument is that the proposed war against Iraq is therefore unjustified and wrong. With great respect to the proponents of the above argument, it's utterly fallacious [link courtesy of Ryan]. Assuming -- for the sake of argument only -- that Hussein has no connection to terrorism and that he does not possess weapons of mass destruction, it does not logically flow that war is not justified. In fact, there are very sound reasons to support the removal of Hussein by force, if force is ultimately necessary. He is a tyrant who has thought nothing of attacking his own citizens en masse and who has felt at liberty to wage war against neighbouring countries. In my view, the world has a responsibility to deal with dictators of Hussein's nature, including by force if needed. This responsibility has its roots in the moral obligations that we have as human beings to help others and to ensure and protect the physical security (and perhaps even more broadly, the liberty) of others. In certain circumstances, fulfilling these obligations will not only justify countries going to war, but even require countries to go to war. While nations should not take this step lightly, they certainly should not shrink from it either. In Hussein's case, one can reject the reasons advanced by the US for war on Iraq, while still supporting that course of action for other, better reasons: removing a despot and proven killer and warmonger from power will improve the physical security and the lives in general of the people of Iraq, and bring some small measure of incremental stability to the Middle East. Why now? Well, why not? Better than late than never, and better now before Hussein takes advantage of more opportunities to behave badly. Why Hussein in Iraq and not others, for example Kim Jong Il in North Korea? You have to start some place. 7:46:43 PM    comment  []

Tuesday, January 21, 2003

Baking pie It looks like I'm set to bake some pies this coming weekend. Michelle has volunteered her -- and Grant's-- kitchen (mine is too small, perhaps because I've yet to unpack the boxes sitting on the counters). I think I'll bake an apple pie and a sugar pie. Yes, you read that right: sugar pie. Delicious. UPDATE [30 Jan 03]: Mission accomplished. The UN Pie Monitoring, Verification and Inspection Commission, chaired by Dr. Frank Rhodes and staffed by a delegation from Navarik, has confirmed the destruction of all previously known supplies of apple and sugar pie. 10:07:30 PM    comment  []

Monday, January 13, 2003

Paul Martin's blog As noted by Bill, Paul Martin has a blog. I'd note that he hasn't been a frequent poster, but then people who live in glass houses shouldn't throw stones. What's cool for afficionados of Canadian politics and public policy is the list of links (look under "Miscellaneous"). 11:49:40 PM    comment  []   More on liberalism A good quote from Ayaan Hirsi Ali, a Somali refugee who is running for office in the Netherlands, as reported in the Telegraph, via Andrew Sullivan: I wanted to understand why the western countries were doing so well when the rest of the world seemed to be collapsing. I studied the history of European political thought from the Greeks and Romans up to the Second World War. I learned that people in the West value the autonomous individual. They understand the importance of science, knowledge. They are capable of criticising themselves and there is an ability to record history to avoid repeating the mistakes of the past. It is exactly the opposite in Somalia where all the institutions of record are missing, and my grandmother's memories of the clan wars will die with her. 12:40:39 AM    comment  []

Sunday, January 12, 2003

Cautionary notes about democracy This article in the Globe and Mail highlights some troubling points about the vaunted merits of democracy. One of the points made is that democracy is spreading, but sometimes only in the limited sense of elections being held. This falls short of what is usually sought (at least by Western ethnocentric democratic imperialists): constitutional liberalism. Constitutional liberalism is what gives true life to democracy. It brings everyone, and most importantly the government and its officials, under the rule of law. Further, it protects certain essential freedoms and liberties, like freedom of thought, freedom of speech and freedom of religion. Without constitutional liberalism, democracy can yield bizarre results. For example, a majority of people in a country may elect leaders who oppress minorities. Or, democratically elected officials may act to deprive citizens of basic freedoms. Eastern Europe comes to mind, as do parts of Asia. 11:20:07 PM    comment  []   Good grammar gets noticed at the White House Harper's Weekly Review writes: It was reported that Condoleezza Rice is sometimes teased by her colleagues in the White House for speaking in complete sentences. 10:07:13 PM    comment  []   Gordon Campbell's drinking & driving Whatever you think of Gordon Campbell and of the gravity of his being arrested in Maui for drinking and driving, I think it would be difficult to doubt the sincerity of his deep remorse and his shame, shown in his media conference today. The Premier left no doubt in his statement that he took full responsibility for what he did and that it was a stupid mistake. 6:38:49 PM    comment  []   Dictator in residence Donald Rumsfeld, the US Secretary of Defence, and Ari Fleischer, the White House spokesperson, have recently been floating the idea that if Saddam Hussein would pack up his bags and leave Iraq, then war could be avoided. But where would Saddam go? As chronicled in The Atlantic Monthly, Boston University has established an innovative program to entice African presidents who might be tempted to overstay their welcome to leave for the greener pastures of academia. The African Presidents in Residence Program has attracted Kenneth David Kaunda as its first African President in Residence. Mr. Kaunda served as president of Zambia for 27 years, from 1964 to 1991. Without Boston University's program, Mr. Kaunda might have stayed on for a really long time. What's needed now is an "Axis of Evil Dictator in Residence" program. Could UBC's Liu Institute for Global Issues help out? The Centre is run by Lloyd Axworthy (Canada's former Minister of Foreign Affairs), who is no fan of American military intervention in Iraq, and for that matter, probably no fan of America, period. The idea is intriguing, but on reflection, UBC does not have strong connections to the Middle East. Finding a professorial post for Saddam could probably be better left to an institution with closer ties to that area, like, say, Concordia University. UBC's Asian connections (e.g. its exchange program with Korea University) could, however, come in handy in for placing that other Axis of Evil personage: Kim Jong Il of North Korea. Following in his father's footsteps, he's behaved badly recently, culminating this past week in his announcement that North Korea is withdrawing from the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, while in the same breath raising the spectre of the Third World War. The "Dear Leader" reportedly has a fascination for film, as a collector, as a producer and as author in his own right. His art has been praised unanimously, at least within North Korea. UBC could fashion an academic post with time split between the Liu Centre and the Film Department. And with Vancouver's film industry at his disposal, Kim could get his big North American break-out movie. 6:13:24 PM    comment  []

Saturday, January 11, 2003

Funding for universities Back in September 2002, as part of the BC government's pre-budget consultations, I spoke to the Select Standing Committee on Finance and Government Services (i.e. the budget committee), on the importance of funding for universities. Here's the transcript of what I said, from the Hansard: B. Lekstrom (Chair): Our next presentation this evening comes to us from the University of British Columbia Alumni Association: Martin Ertl. As well, Agnes Papke is accompanying him but will not be speaking. Good evening. M. Ertl: Good evening. My name is Martin Ertl. I'm a member of the board of directors of the alumni association at the University of British Columbia. Agnes Papke is the executive director of the association. Thank you very much for giving us the opportunity to speak to you this evening. By way of general background about myself, I'm now a board member with the alumni association, which is a volunteer-run organization separate and independent from the university itself. I was actively involved as a student, being president of the student council when I was on campus. I graduated about ten years ago and then went on to practise law. I left that two years ago to co-found and am now the executive for a small startup software company here in Vancouver. I'm here this evening to tell you a little bit about my perspective as an alumnus at the university and also the importance of funding and supporting the University of British Columbia as well as universities in general. Some background about the association itself. It was founded 85 years ago. As I mentioned, it's independent from the university itself. It's run entirely by volunteers, along with a professional staff. We have over 200,000 graduates in total. About 150,000 of those are active and what we call addressable alumni; in other words, they're still alive, and we can reach them. Of those, a surprisingly large number are here in British Columbia — about 120,000, which works out to just over 80 percent of all active and addressable alumni. They're involved in every occupation, every industry and every community in British Columbia: in government, in business, in health care, in social service, in volunteer activities and in not-for-profit activities. Historically, the alumni have played a very active role in building the university and contributing to it. For example, last year alone the alumni gave over $10 million to the university, and that's not counting the historical involvement in capital campaigns and other operational campaigns. As you might imagine, alumni have a strong interest in the continued success of universities. Certainly, UBC alumni are no different. For one, we have an interest in maintaining the value of the university degree itself. Beyond that, what you might call the self-interested aim, we also see UBC as essential to a strong economy for the province. It's also a key engine to addressing other problems facing British Columbia and the country — for example, delivering better health care and better environmental care, to cite but two examples. I do want you to know that we recognize and value the contributions that this government and previous governments have made to funding UBC, particularly now in an era of fiscal restraint. In particular, we recognize the value of the operational funding that the government is providing and the commitment to maintain that, as well as the addition of capital funding — for example, for the life sciences centre at UBC. We also acknowledge that the government has limited resources and that this makes for very difficult decisions and very difficult balances. My next point, having said that, is that the association is very concerned about the prospects for higher education in B.C. We do want to highlight the profound importance of that to the long-term health of the province. UBC and other B.C. universities are facing increasing costs and a growing demand for entrance by prospective students. This poses issues for access, for higher and growing costs of education for students and their families and also — as you've heard previously — for challenges for faculty renewal in a period of intense international competition for very talented faculty members. My next point is that we do recognize that the federal government also has a role to play in funding higher education in British Columbia. On that point, the association supports the university's desire for a stable long-term program for federal funding of indirect costs of research. That's the not-so-sexy area of overhead that's associated with conducting research, especially at a large institution like the University of British Columbia. This committee and the provincial government have a role to play there and, in particular, in endorsing a program whereby additional federal money that is dedicated to the indirect costs of research will in no way diminish support by the provincial government if such a program does come to fruition. I want to conclude with these thoughts. As a university, UBC is a critical institution in our society. A university is one of the few institutions we have and perhaps the only one that's a nexus or central connection point for everything that's the best in our society. It brings together youth and enthusiasm along with experience and wisdom. It offers the cutting edge of thought and research along with a sense of tradition and history. It plays a leading role as an engine of advancement and development in our society. UBC is the product of all of this, and it is these qualities that make UBC so critical to our province and our society. With that, I thank you very much for the opportunity to speak to you and welcome any questions you might have. B. Lekstrom (Chair): Thank you very much, Martin. I'll look to members of our committee to see if there are any questions. I see no questions. Martin, you've obviously done a wonderful job presenting to members of this committee. I thank you for taking time to come and express your views to our committee. As I indicated earlier, our mandate is struck by the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia. We're due to report back to the Legislature by November 15. Thank you very much for coming out this evening. 6:53:15 PM    comment  []   Dono is back Dono has his new blog at www.hitchen.ca. 4:36:07 PM    comment  []   Important legislation I'm always keeping up on new developments in the law, but once in a while I like to go back and make sure I haven't missed anything. Today I was reviewing European legal developments in the 16th century, and came across a key instrument in the evolution of western civilization: the Bavarian Purity Law of 1516. In 1516 Duke Wilhelm IV of Bavaria issued the 'Purity Law' (the Reinheitsgebot), decreeing that from then on beer was only allowed to be brewed from malt, hops and water. (Of course, yeast is also an essential ingredient, but that was not known at the time -- brewers unwittingly relied on airborne yeast.) Interestingly, the law remained in force until the European Court of Justice ruled in 1987 that it contravened the Rome Treaty (the treaty establishing the European Community, now the European Union) by creating a trade barrier. Here's the English translation [from the Beer Church]: We hereby proclaim and decree, by Authority of our Province, that henceforth in the Duchy of Bavaria, in the country as well as in the cities and marketplaces, the following rules apply to the sale of beer: From Michaelmas to Georgi, the price for one Mass [Bavarian Liter 1,069] or one Kopf [bowl-shaped container for fluids, not quite one Mass], is not to exceed one Pfennig Munich value, and From Georgi to Michaelmas, the Mass shall not be sold for more than two Pfennig of the same value, the Kopf not more than three Heller [Heller usually one-half Pfennig]. If this not be adhered to, the punishment stated below shall be administered. Should any person brew, or otherwise have, other beer than March beer, it is not to be sold any higher than one Pfennig per Mass. Furthermore, we wish to emphasize that in future in all cities, markets and in the country, the only ingredients used for the brewing of beer must be Barley, Hops and Water. Whosoever knowingly disregards or transgresses upon this ordinance, shall be punished by the Court authorities' confiscating such barrels of beer, without fail. Should, however, an innkeeper in the country, city or markets buy two or three pails of beer (containing 60 Mass) and sell it again to the common peasantry, he alone shall be permitted to charge one Heller more for the Mass of the Kopf, than mentioned above. Furthermore, should there arise a scarcity and subsequent price increase of the barley (also considering that the times of harvest differ, due to location), WE, the Bavarian Duchy, shall have the right to order curtailments for the good of all concerned. It's good to know the Germans were on top of regulating something as important as beer 500 years ago. 12:02:15 AM    comment  []

Thursday, January 09, 2003

Can't trust those auditors I received the following text by fax. It really came as a surprise to me, but it does seem genine. This fellow must have picked up a few tips from Arthur Andersen. FROM: FREEDOM DANIEL TEL; 27-83-403-9340 FREEDOMEMAN10@hotmail ATTN: MANAGING DIRECTOR/CEO, PRIVATE&CONFIDENTIAL I know that this message will come as a surprise to you, hence we do not know each other, but for the purpose of introduction, I am Mr. FREEDOM DANIEL, the CHIEF AUDITOR OF AFRICAN DEVELOPMENT BANK {ADB}. There is an account that was opened here in 1980 and since 1990, nobody has operated on this account. After going through sane old files in the record, I discovered that if I do not remove this money out urgently, it would be forfeited for nothing. The owner of this money is Mr. KARL HEINZE WARAF, a foreigner and a miner at KRUGER GOLD COMPANY, a Geologist by profession. Be died in 1990 and there are no other beneficiaries. My investigation has proved to me that his company does not know anything about this account and the amount involved US30 M {THIRTY MILLION UNITED STATES DOLLARS) I am only contacting you as a foreigner, because this money cannot be approved to a local bank here. It can only be approved in any foreign account because the money is in Dollars. The former owner {Mr. KARL HEINZE WARAF} is a foreigner too. I acknowledge the fact that this is a big surprise to you, especially because we do not know each other, but be sure that this is a REAL and GENINE business. We will meet and sign a mutual agreement. Meanwhile I am now in South Africa because of this money. Please respond urgently to the e-mail address so that I will inform you of the next step to take immediately, and send your full details of the account to be used for the deposit. I would like us to meet face to face in South Africa so we can sign the binding agreement so that you can receive this money into your foreign account and as a foreign beneficiary. I need your full co­-operation to make this work excellently, because the management is ready to approve this payment to any foreigner who provides the correct information of this account of which I shall provide them to you later when you show your commitment. Immediately, after you have showed your interest and capability to handle such amount of money, you will follow my instructions and advice for our mutual and honest business transaction, because I do not want to make any mistakes at all. I need your strong assurance and trust, 65% for us and 5% mapped out for international and local expenses that may be incurred throughout the course of this transaction, while 30% will be for you for providing the account and the necessary assistance. I look forward to your earliest response through the above telephone numbers or e­mail address. Thank you for your time to co-operate with me. Best regards and God bless us all. Mr. FREEDOM 11:46:23 PM    comment  []   More on hospitals There is a good article in the The Atlantic Monthly on JFK's serious health problems. Unfortunately, the full article is not currently available online, but there are snippets in this interview with the author, Robert Dallek, a presidential historian and history professor at Boston University. The severity of JFK's problems was previously unknown; the author learned of them from newly uncovered medical records. UPDATE [27 Jan 03]: The full article is now online. 11:28:58 PM    comment  []

Saturday, January 04, 2003

The 2004 Democratic nomination I've decided it's going to be between John Kerry and John Edwards. Joe Lieberman might have been good as a foil to Al Gore, but doesn't have what it takes to win the nomination with his own candidacy. 2:26:48 AM    comment  []   Hospitals My mom's been pretty sick over the last month, and acutely so over the last week, so I've had a good opportunity to watch the comings and goings in a hospital once again (the last time being when I broke my elbow in the summer). One thing that struck me again, as it did when I had surgery on my elbow, is that what hospitals really need is a sort of "arrivals and departures board" like they have in airports. These overhead monitors would tell you the basics about what's happening with you (or your family member), because of course that information is virtually impossible to get from the doctor (who may or not visit on any particular day or time, or at all) or from the nurses. The board would show, for example, "Martin Ertl - polite young man - surgery - 11:00am - on time", or "Don Hitchen - cranky bastard - prostate exam - 2:00pm - delayed pending Dr. Bigarm's arrival". Now, don't get me wrong, I appreciate the care and effort of everyone -- doctors, especially nurses, and other specialists -- but efficient information communication is just not in the cards given the much higher health care priorities they all have. On another note, I was a bit taken aback by the tracheal tube taped to the door of my mom's hospital room. I think this is the contraption they use to intubate someone when they're "crashing" or going "code blue" (to be buzzword-compliant). Even with the inevitably morbid thoughts that can cross one's mind in a hospital, that's a really 'in your face' message to the room's occupants, and could be taken as a wholly bad omen -- but maybe that's just me. What's more, none of the other rooms on the floor have such an ornament. I know, having paced laps around the corridors. I'm curious which of the room's residents it's for (I know it's not for my mom, because there is a 'DNR' order for her), but even in the casual atmosphere of illness and death on the floor, it strikes me as indelicate to wonder too much. But, I did conclude that there's not much to be said for the decorative properties of the tracheal tube on the door. 12:57:01 AM    comment  []

Wednesday, January 01, 2003

The mathematics of relationships Maybe this article explains why I don't have a girlfriend. 10:42:59 PM    comment  []

Monday, December 30, 2002

USAF maintenance crews apparently have a good sense of humour These are alleged to be some actual maintenance complaints submitted by US Air Force pilots and the replies from the maintenance crews. 5:57:21 PM    comment  []   Questions for Dr. Laura Some good questions about the finer points of biblical law. 5:41:27 PM    comment  []

Sunday, December 29, 2002

I'm back After a three-month sabbatical, I decided it was time to resurrect my site. Now the problem is that I've got so much stuff to blog, I don't even know where to begin. Maybe I better take more time to sort that out. 2:45:42 PM    comment  []

Wednesday, September 11, 2002

Dono hops on the bandwagon Don has seen the light and is now blogging. 10:33:29 PM    comment  []   Introspection I read a striking passage today, in the "Lives Lived" column in the Globe and Mail: Watch your thoughts: They become words. Watch your words: They become actions. Watch your actions: They become habits. Watch your Habits: They become character. Watch your Character: It becomes your destiny. 10:28:07 PM    comment  []   Chrétien flapping his gums The Globe and Mail points out that had Jean Chrétien opted for a different strategy in dealing with Bush's position on Iraq, Canada could actually have had influence with the Americans on this issue. Yesterday, Mr. Chrétien emphasized again that Washington must not act on its own, and that the United Nations should forge a multilateral process on Iraq. He's right on that score -- it's preferable, especially given the apparent U.S. predilection for pre-emptive military action, to find an international way forward. But if Mr. Bush does agree to that, it won't be because Mr. Chrétien suggested it. Mr. Bush is listening to British Prime Minister Tony Blair, who has chosen to stand shoulder to shoulder with Mr. Bush while also pressing the U.S. President to dampen his unilateralist impulses. 12:20:55 AM    comment  []   It's almost Pearson-esque Master of geopolitical affairs that he is (he knows where Shawinigan is), Jean Chrétien told George Bush not to go it alone in Iraq. "Not to worry", said Bush, "I'll be taking the military as well." [Credit to Dennis Miller for that one.] "I mean", said Jean, "where are the documents? I haven't seen the documents." Bush simply doesn't understand that this is Canada after all, and we don't take rash action on preventing despots from using weapons of mass destruction or on the colour of the carpet in Rideau Hall without Royal Commissions. Ones that produce lots of documents. As reported by the CBC, Chrétien wants proof. What kind of proof? "A proof is a proof. What kind of a proof? It's a proof. A proof is a proof. And when you have a good proof, it's because it's proven." It's so straightforward, really. 12:10:05 AM    comment  []

Tuesday, September 10, 2002

US bastion of freedom compared to Canada? From InstaPundit: HERE'S A FIRST-PERSON ACCOUNT of Robert Fisk's speech at George Mason University. In keeping with the post-9/11 crushing of dissent in America, he spoke without rioting protesters shutting down the event, the way they do in progressive countries like Canada. Ouch. 11:24:39 PM    comment  []   Credit where credit is due Commenting on Apple's announcement that its computers will soon start up only using the new Mac OS X, Derek writes: ...the old Mac OS was a nice ride in its time. Steve Wozniak, the other co-founder of Apple, said that "We won. Every computer in the world is basically a Macintosh now." Everyone using a computer with a mouse and icons today -- whether Windows, Mac, Linux, or something else -- owes that solid old piece of software a debt, for showing the way. Hey, let's not forget Xerox PARC, where the graphical user interface actually originated. Check out the list of PARC's other inventions and achievements. UPDATE [11 Sep 02] Derek responds that Xerox PARC was to Apple's Mac as Benz (or de Rochas or Markus -- take your pick) was to Ford's Model T: coming up with an idea as opposed to commercializing that idea, the latter being the far more challenging work. I stand corrected. 10:07:59 PM    comment  []

Monday, September 09, 2002

The frontiers of physics Bob Park, with the American Physical Society, debunks junk science, such as "hydrinos". Physics afficionados may pee their pants laughing. Others may just have a blank look on their face. PATENT NONSENSE: INFINITE ENERGY MEETS INFINITE BANDWIDTH. [18 Feb 2000] On Tuesday, BlackLight Power was awarded a patent for a chemical means of shrinking hydrogen atoms into "a state below the ground state." The, uh, inventor, Randall Mills, calls his teeny little hydrogen atoms "hydrinos".... Mills describes them as, "the most important discovery of all time...up there with fire." The second most important discovery, I suppose, would be to find the hydrino line in the spectrum. Check out the recent update to this story. Not surprisingly, Park also has something to say about Nick Cook's anti-gravity musings. 11:45:56 PM    comment  []   That Anglo-American Magic Andrew Sullivan on Tony Blair's relationship with George Bush: The British tabloid press depicts Blair as Bush's poodle. Nonsense. He's Bush's translator and facilitator. He adds rhetorical nuance and diplomatic finesse to Bush's gut refusal to risk American citizens' lives for the sake of pleasing French presidents and the editorial board of the New York Times. Adding "rhetorical nuance" to Bush's pronouncements? Andrew is full of "diplomatic finesse". UPDATE: Nice one. But that's not a poodle. 12:38:17 AM    comment  []   The cutting edge of science? [Via InstaPundit] The Atlantic Monthly has an interview with Nick Cook on anti-gravity research, which is apparently being kept under wraps by the U.S. military, under the auspices of its 'black budget'. Cook has been a defence and aerospace reporter for Jane's Defence Weekly for 15 years, which mitigates my scientific scepticism on the subject matter only somewhat. In other news, George Bush is rumoured to be in close consultation with his Strategic Astrologers Council on the timing of the forcible 'regime change' in Iraq. It's important to make sure that Mars is visible in the night sky, and that Venus is not. 12:10:09 AM    comment  []

Wednesday, September 04, 2002

Cross-Atlantic opinions From Jane Galt: 55% of Europeans think that America was "partly to blame" for the Al Quaeda attacks. In related news, 100% of Americans think that Europe was "entirely to blame" for World Wars I, II, the Holocaust, and Communist atrocities in the former Soviet Union and associated territories. 99.8% of Americans think that "The next time Europeans get themselves in any kind of trouble that requires US intervention, they can k*** my a**". And 89% of Americans think that "If those same Europeans are against invading Iraq, then it's time to put Sadaam in a whole world of hurt." 11:00:39 PM    comment  []   Science to the rescue of the environment Finally, somebody has said the obvious. Nuclear power presents a clean, cost-efficient and, yes, safe source of energy. It's emission-free (though it does produce a small amount of waste), and doesn't require damming rivers (and by extension flooding valleys), or covering acres of land with windmills or solar cells. Seven uranium pellets provide enough electricity to meet the annual electricity needs of the average Canadian home. A single CANDU fuel bundle produces as much electricity as 380 tonnes of coal or 1800 barrels of oil. [from the Canadian Nuclear Association] 10:00:41 PM    comment  []   Economics to the rescue of the environment One central element of a solution to pollution and other environmental problems is to internalize the costs in terms of damage to the environment from, for example, burning coal for electricity, logging forests, or driving a car to work. Overdraft at the Nature Bank in the Globe and Mail summarizes the argument for accounting for the economic value of nature ('natural capital'). Monetizing some of this natural capital is a prerequisite to accurately measuring economic activity. It is also a prerequisite to informed decision-making that takes into account the measured limits of the Earth's carrying capacity. ... If the Kyoto Protocol is ratified by enough countries to come into effect, its single greatest influence may be to monetize carbon in the international emissions-trading market that will quickly follow Kyoto's adoption. When market forces place a dollar value on the act of reducing carbon emissions, our economic system will be positioned to solve an environmental problem in the normal course of business. Derek posted on the topic of internalizing costs a while back. 9:43:44 PM    comment  []

Tuesday, September 03, 2002

George W. Bush responds to James Baker From Ernie the Attorney: Dennis Miller Live - shame this show has been cancelled. Tonight's episode (meaning the one I pulled up on TIVO) has Miller recounting news on the possible invasion of Iraq. "Former Secretary of State Jim Baker warned George Bush not to 'go it alone' in attacking Saddam Hussein. And Bush said 'not to worry,' he was going to use our military as well." 12:06:23 AM    comment  []

Monday, September 02, 2002

A just war against Iraq? Check out Dave Trowbridge's post on the conditions for a 'just war' and whether they would be met in the case of Iraq. He states the conditions as follows: The criteria for engaging in a just war, first summed up by Dutch philosopher Hugo Grotius in the seventeenth century and drawing on older, medieval Catholic theologians, consists of seven elements: (1) that there be a just cause; (2) that there is a right authority (legitimate sovereign) to initiate the war; (3) a right intention on the part of the parties using force; (4) that the resort to force be proportional; (5) that force be a last resort; (6) that war is undertaken with peace as its goal (not for its own sake); (7) and that there be a reasonable hope of success. 11:42:28 PM    comment  []   The Saudi Arabia dilemma Edward Luttwak, of the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, presents a sharp, intriguing analysis of the different perspectives of the Bush Sr. and Bush Jr. camps on attacking Iraq. According to Luttwak, the differences revolve around how they view Saudi Arabia. The elder Bush and associates fundamentally like Saudi Arabia, its princes and its oil. For their part, junior Bush and friends would prefer to keep other, better company. Moreover, they are not impressed with the budgetary choices the Saudis make concerning their oil revenues -- fundamentalist Islamic centres and schools, and ostentatious lifestyles for some 5,000 (yes, you read that number right) princes and their families. So, Bush Sr., not wanting to step on the Saudi's toes, prefers to heed their advice that attacking Iraq would destabilize the Middle East. It goes without saying that such a war, fought in the name of democracy, would also highlight Saudi Arabia's dirty little non-secret: that it is a dictatorship, with no pretense of moving towards democracy. Bush Jr. is less inclined to care what the Saudis think. If the princes lose power in the fallout from the planned 'regime change' (gotta love that phrase) in Iraq, perhaps so much the better. 11:01:56 PM    comment  []   And you thought Germans were boring The upcoming federal elections in Germany have stirred its political campaign strategists to new heights of creativity. Mr. Schroeder's [the incumbent Chancellor] glossy posters depict him as a statesman and problem-solver. But the youth wing of his Social Democrats has adopted a steamy slogan to convince voters that after four years in power the party's reforms are just beginning. A picture of two lips pursed in a kiss promises: "That was just foreplay. The peak is yet to come." And: The former Communist Party of Democrat Socialism is also wooing young voters, even though polls show the party likely will not get enough votes to qualify for representation in parliament. "Today I'll have a shag. Tomorrow I'll smoke a joint. The day after that I'll vote," read a party advertisement in the left-wing Tageszeitung newspaper. Sex, marijuana and voting. All that's missing, surprisingly given this is Germany we're talking about, is beer. That would be too ordinary and, er, Canadian, I guess. There's more in the full article in the Globe and Mail. 9:51:35 PM    comment  []

Tuesday, August 27, 2002

Will those corporations ever learn? More corporate malfeasance [from ScrappleFace via InstaPundit]: Insiders at the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) say the agency is probing claims that CNN, MSNBC and network news operations routinely hype interviews, reports and talk shows they know are losers, while top executives privately watch reruns on Nickelodeon, or go out to Red Lobster with the family. "Much like the SEC investigation into corporate execs who made rosy projections while privately selling off millions in stock, this probe seeks to determine if news editors and producers know that some of their on-air material will be a waste of viewers' time," according to an unnamed source. "Clearly, for instance, MSNBC knew that the new Donahue show was a dog, but they continued to promote it like it was the next Bill O'Reilly or something. But that's just the tip of the iceberg." 12:20:16 AM    comment  []

Sunday, August 25, 2002

Crime runs rampant From InstaPundit: Ford has lifted a page from the RIAA's playbook. 11:00:19 PM    comment  []   The Right Way to Change a Regime This is a great opinion piece from today's New York Times by James Baker (former Secretary of State, for the elder Bush) on the need for a regime change (a euphemism for getting rid of Saddam Hussein) in Iraq and on military action being the only realistic means to achieve that change. More interestingly, given the U.S. government's current unilateralist tendencies, Baker presents the political and moral case for building an international coalition in support of that military action. The whole article merits reading, but here is one key passage: Some will argue, as was done in 1990, that going for United Nations authority and not getting it will weaken our case. I disagree. By proposing to proceed in such a way, we will be doing the right thing, both politically and substantively. We will occupy the moral high ground and put the burden of supporting an outlaw regime and proliferation of weapons of mass destruction on any countries that vote no. History will be an unkind judge for those who prefer to do business rather than to do the right thing. And even if the administration fails in the Security Council, it is still free — citing Iraq's flouting of the international community's resolutions and perhaps Article 51 of the United Nations Charter, which guarantees a nation's right to self-defense — to weigh the costs versus the benefit of going forward alone. 8:48:09 PM    comment  []   This place is getting crowded Trevor told me yesterday that the world population was somewhere between 6 and 7 billion. I didn't believe a word of it. Last time I checked, the world population was around 4.5 billion. Well, I stand corrected. In 2001, we crossed the 6.1 billion mark, and the United Nations median estimate is for 9.3 billion in 2050. Check out the 2001 World Population Data Sheet from the Population Reference Bureau, and World Population Trends from the Population Resource Center. 3:19:38 PM    comment  []   Who needs enemies? As reported this week, George Pell, the Catholic archbishop of Sydney, Australia, has been accused of molesting a 12-year old boy in 1961. Pell is apparently a controversial figure for, among other things, once remarking that homosexuality is "a greater health hazard than smoking." Recently, at the World Youth Day in Toronto, he reportedly said that abortion is worse than child abuse by priests. With the Catholic Church having such inarticulate leaders, who needs enemies? 2:11:48 PM    comment  []

Thursday, August 22, 2002

Copycat Prodded into action by my bold move to a 'real' URL, Ryan now has a new blog site: www.sisyphean.org/blog/. This will also be the web presence for the McCuaig Institute for the Study of Pointlessness, Futility and Mootness. Funded by the Canadian Foundation for Innovation, the McCuaig Institute is located in the same building (designed by Ryan) as the Frank Rhodes Centre of Excellence for Research on Flatulence and Belching. The Rhodes Centre recently attracted Prof. Ole Sanne as a visiting scholar. Prof. Sanne has a distinguished record of achieving remarkable results with gaseous emissions. 11:57:43 PM    comment  []   Clock watching Jean Chrétien will be gone in 18 months, and who knows, perhaps sooner. The immediate public reaction (and no doubt the reaction among Paul Martin supporters) is, quite rightly, one of indignation that Chrétien would try to cling to power till the bitter end. Smiling while delivering a sucker punch to Paul Martin, Chrétien announced a transparent attempt to frustrate Martin's leadership ambitions, the strategy being to make Martin look old and past his prime when the leadership convention is held, presumably in early 2004. Will Chrétien be able to stick to his timeline? Were the early public dismay at the 2004 resignation date to build into a louder cry for a more hurried departure, he could well find himself walking in the snow this coming winter. No one likes long goodbyes, and Paul Martin should tap into that sentiment, and move to push Chrétien out sooner. One tactic for Martin: use his control of riding association executives and his support in caucus and in the Liberal party to push for a leadership convention as early as possible (at least no later than the Fall of 2003). To kick it up a notch, Martin should campaign openly and energetically, using his advantage over other leadership candidates who are constrained from campaigning (at least openly) by Chrétien's continuing prohibition on cabinet ministers doing so. 10:52:49 PM    comment  []

Wednesday, August 21, 2002

The professions' monopoly In an earlier post on the legal aid system, I wrote about lawyers' monopoly on the provision of legal services, and the desirability of moderating that monopoly. Lawyers are not the only professionals with a monopoly, and in fact, it seems that having a monopoly is almost a defining feature of professions generally. Interestingly, an article in the Globe and Mail this week highlighted the debate under way among professional engineers in Ontario regarding the licensing of technologists. Such a move would recognize the fact that some engineering services can be delivered competently by so-called 'para-professionals' (though still under the umbrella of a professional governing body). The proposal would expand the pool of those legally entitled to provide engineering services, in a similar fashion to that suggested for legal services. On a related note, Ryan writes about the need for the architectural profession to come to grips with the fact that its legally mandated monopoly is for nought, if architects do not satisfy their clients' needs, that is, if they don't 'perform'. 10:01:49 PM    comment  []   Na, na, na, na, hey, hey, hey, goodbye And good riddance. It's none too soon. Has hell frozen over? What was he waiting for -- the Second Coming? It's about time. Finally! There will be no shortage of clichéd expressions of relief and joy (there may even be dancing in the streets) now that the country and the Liberal party have been liberated. So long, Jean. 9:05:26 PM    comment  []   Well, not quite... Seems the 'comments' links have disappeared. Now, if I can only remember how to put those in again. 8:41:56 PM    comment  []   Back in production As if to prove the point in my previous post regarding my technical ineptitude, I managed to take this site out of commission yesterday (with Radio's help, I might add). Once again with Grant's and Ryan's assistance, I'm back in action. 8:08:03 PM    comment  []

Tuesday, August 20, 2002

Blog technical advice You remember the apocryphal story of the taxi driver giving investment advice to his passenger, a Wall Street money manager. The money manager's reaction: when your taxi driver is giving you stock market advice, it's time to get out of the market. My friend Randy, who is a website design whiz, asked me, a lawyer-type, for advice on how to move his blog to his personal URL. Get out of this blog thing now. 5:26:16 PM    comment  []

Monday, August 19, 2002

Moved site to my namesake URL With help from Grant and Ryan, I finally managed to move this site to my new URL. Whew. A lot of little kinks to work -- and I'm not even sure I've worked them all out yet. 10:37:56 PM    comment  []

Sunday, August 18, 2002

Radio's curveballs Radio is a good tool for its ease of use; you can blog with it right out of the box. Its attraction to me, however, was not just its immediate ease of use, but also its capacity to be tweaked and configured to produce a full website. Doing that is proving to be quite an adventure (perhaps not surprising given my newness to html). 10:38:53 PM    comment  []

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