The Unreasonable Man

Tonight, I am watching Jesus Christ Superstar, the movie. A great musical, great music, a great movie.

Unlike the last time I watched it, I have now been to most of the places it was filmed - like Beit Guvrin, the bell caves - I am watching a place where I was just a few months ago. I also know more about life, philosophy, and about the Bible (which is odd for an atheist). This movie is great - 1970 hippies in Israel. The Jesus I learned about as a child was a hippie. It all fits.

So I was going to drop Carl Anderson a note - he is the black actor who played Judas Iscariot. Alas - he died of leukemia just three years ago.

Damn.

News clippings of the day:

• Turkey may prosecute the publisher of The God Delusion by Richard Dawkins. Article here.
• Saudi Arabia is still upholding the conviction of that 19-year old gang rape victim. Article here.
• A British teacher is charged for allowing her kids to name a teddy bear “Mohammad”. Story here.
  
• Another Ontario school board is reviewing an “atheist” book - it has “attracted comments similar to those over the Harry Potter series”.

And I used to think, with my 1960s optimism, that the world was getting ever better. I know, these are selected clippings, but have we all gone mad?

My two sons are not at all religious, and I am sure news like the news above would make them even less inclined to be religious. They are honest about this: they both have what I would describe as a high degree of personal integrity. One, unlike The Unreasonable Man, is also a diplomat. Will they grow up in a world where, as The Economist said a few weeks ago in a survey, religion is making a comeback? God forbid.

In entirely unrelated news: if I want to  preserve my physical integrity, perhaps I should not keep my cell phone in my trouser pockets.  Here’s why not.

So my Actor of the Decade award goes to Chiwetel Ejiofor, who utterly convincingly plays a Nigerian immigrant doctor in Dirty Pretty Things, and an utterly English drag queen in Kinky Boots.

In that last movie, I love the bit where an old dear brings tea and asks Mr Ejiofor in the dressing room: “can I just ask love, are you a man?” After some hesitation, he answers “yes”. She nods, and says “that’s alright. Just so I know how to leave the toilet seat. I’ll get some biscuits”. And totters off.

Mr Ejiofor also plays in Children of Men.

All great movies. Everything Mr Ejiofror touches is gold - he is king Croesus. This guy deserves an Oscar or two.

And by the way, this is amusing for an old person like me: Baccara and “Yes Sir, I can Boogie“. Disco is growing on me, 30 years later. not just amusing - hilarious. Culture.

Like we need a toothache. I think that Oakville has quite enough cops on the streets already - listing to my scanner (below - click for larger image) makes me realise the extent to which we are being watched all day. So before you take the easy way out and say the usual Tory “We are being soft on crime! Crime must be stopped! Something must be done! We need more police!” you need to think this one through.

Yes, of course crime must be stopped - no-one wants crime. But can it be stopped? Has it ever, in any society? If not, perhaps what we need to do is think about preventing crime, and then about minimising harm. Is police on the streets really the way to do it?
Even if so, how much police would you like? East Germany had “enough police”. The VoPo’s (”Volkspolizei”, “People’s Police”) were everywhere. I mean everywhere - every street, every shop, everywhere, in pairs. Watching citizens lest they might consider getting out of hand. people were under 24 hour observation. In today’s UK, they have the camera equivalent of the VoPos. Do we want that, a surveillance society? Are crime rates in the UK or in East Germany actually lower? If so, at what price?

Perhaps the same amount of police applying laws differently would be a better way. Perhapos the court system is part of the dequation - a large part. Perhaps we need more social workers, rather than cops. Or better funded schools. Or a higher school-leaving age. Ar more jobs for teenagers,

Cops on the street are only good if they behave respecfully to citizens, and if they look for real crime. Our cops do a great job - I admire them greatly. But they do seem to spend more than half their time pulling people over for speeding. Traffic stops, day in day out, all day long. 24 hours a day. No street is safe. In the minutes I have spent typing this, two more traffic stops - two more non-criminals whose day is ruined.
I think “cops on the street” who just try to catch people speeding or not signalling does no-one any good, except the municipal coffers and the court system, which live for this stuff. A bit of thinking is required, not a knee-jerk reaction.

I picked up my visa for China yesterday. In Toronto, at the Chinese consulate. On my way I took a few grab shots - cities are so wonderful, and in wintry weather with clear blue skies they are great - layers upon layers.

The shot above, which is the best I could grab from my car window while stopped at sa light, is a good example. Best viewed larger (click on the image). A reflecting building reflecting a reflecting building. Plus the CN Tower to give it context. And a tiny church spire, dwarfed by a commercial building - you see who has power now.

This is why The Unreasonable Man always carries a camera.

I live in Oakville, which is in Halton Region. And that is relevant not because I live there, but because Halton’s Catholic school board is in the news today because of its decision yesterday to ban a children’s book, “The Golden Compass” by Philip Pullman, from its libraries and classrooms; in fact even Scholastic book club advertisements that contain this book are banned.

Why? Because the author, Philip Pullman, is an atheist. Who admits that he is an atheist. An internal Halton memo says that “the book is apparently written by an atheist where the characters and text are anti-God, anti-Catholic and anti-religion”.

This sounds so 1947. But it is true, in 2007. According to the board’s library manager, “[the complaint] came out of interviews that Philip Pullman had done, where he stated that he is an atheist and that he supports that”. He adds “since we are an educational institution, we want to make sure we have the best material for students”.

Right. I think he means “we want to make sure our children are not exposed to materials by people who have different belief systems from the one we are pushing into our children. God forbid, they might start to think.”.

Catholic children are not served by this sort of nonsense. And since the Catholic school board is paid for by the government of Ontario, they should not be allowed to do this. Brainwashing, even in minor ways, should not be allowed. Nor are Catholic school boards served by this in their own goals : the front page coverage has  just sold Mr Pullman another few thousand copies, I am very sure. It has also made the school board look silly. Once again, Halton looks like Alabama.

And before y’all say it: I have a confession to make. Yeah… I am one of them. An atheist. There. I’ve said it.

Hilary Clinton., who has never shown one iota of sincerity, also shows herself to be disingenuous when it gets to argument. Obama’s latest “I lived in Indonesia so I understand a bit about how other people think differently” is met by her with:

“Now voters will judge whether living in a foreign country at the age of 10 prepares one to face the big, complex international challenges the next president will face”

That is silly. Senator Obama made a good point and he argued it well, and intelligently, in his response.

And intelligence is important to The Unreasonable Man. Because of senator Clinton’s insincerity, she comes across as extremely stupid. A flexible Hilary Speech Generator (or, for that matter, a Hilary Answer Generator, would look like:

The future of [Americans|Our Freedom|Our Kids|Our American Kids|America] is in the hands of [Our American Kids|American Values|American Workers|Our Children|Our Decisions]. I want [America|Our Kids|Our American Kids|Ordinary Americans|Our Freedom to be Caring Americans|Our American Workers|Americans] and [America|Our Kids|Our American Kids|Americans] to be the first thing we think of, not the last. And it is because of that that I, more than my colleagues, will protect [America|Our Kids|Our American Kids|Our American Workers|Our Freedom to be America|Americans]. We must review the decisions of the past, and of this current Administration, in order to best do this. Our values, those values of [America|American Workers|Ordinary Americans|Our American Kids|Americans] will drive my presidency, and it is this that will guarantee the future of [Americans|Our Freedom|Our Kids|Our American Kids|America]!

Hilary is content-less, apparently principle-less, and hence comes across as brainless. Maybe she isn’t, but you would neverknow through the haze of cliches and obfuscations.

The Unreasonable Man wants Ron Paul for President - the only candidate who means “freedom” when he says “freedom”. Or failing that, Senator Obama.

Whew. 30 minutes on the phone so far to try and check my Rogers data rates - three calls of 10 minutes each until the voice menus get me through to a busy tone.

You see, I want to hear if my data plan is working for me. It is one of those that you pay $2,500 per GB for (see the post a couple of days ago), and since Rogers are the sole GSM carrier, they can make the rate whatever they want.

Unless they want to sell an iPhone. I presume that eventually, instead of paying 100 times what anyone else pays (literally!), we will pay only 3-5 times as much as everyone else. Apple will “rescue” us - or not.No surprise we do not have an iPhone yet in this country. Why would Rogers go from $2.500 per GB to something more reasonable in a hurry? We have only one GSM choice, so it is not as though we will run away.

I have now reached a representative. And contrary to what the papers say, there appears to be no decrease in cost (or increase in data allowed) whatsoever. I can get $20 for 200 minutes of voice, plus $60 for 25 MB (yes, MB, not GB) of data. And then you add all sorts of extra charges, of course, so it will be well over $100 for 200 minutes voice plus 25 MB data.

Can you spell “ripoff”?

• Three year compulsory plan activation.
• Rates that are 100 or more times real world rates
• US GPRS standard roaming rate is 5c per kB; international 10c per kB. So for a GB that is around 10 million pennies, or $100,000. Yes, you are reading that right: one hundred thousand dollars for one GB of data when I am in the UK.
  
• I see that “Unlimited Evenings” now start at 9pm. That used to be 6pm, then 7, then 8, and now 9pm.

Sure, Mr Rogers. Why not make it midnight. I feel like Judge Judy: “Does it say STUPID” here on my forehead?”

Rogersatan (a.k.a. Luciferogers) or Bellzebub. What a choice! And if you need GSM, there is no choice - only Rogersatan. We need competition; we need the Tories to live up to their only benefit: they allegedly understand the economy. “Allegedly”, because what they seem to understand is how to line their pockets and keep their friends in cozy business where they can charge 100 times the real price for a commodity that is essential to the economy. We need T-Mobile to be granted access to this country!

Another recurring theme of The Unreasonable Man is the ripoff that data is in Canada. But here too, people are noticing. This column today shows how much of a ripoff: in spite of falling prices,

“Under new pricing structures, SeaBoard estimates that Telus Corp. and Bell Canada subscribers pay $100 for one gigabyte of wireless data each month. While Rogers has also dropped prices, it charges $1,580 for one gigabyte of data.

As recently as June, Telus and Bell charged $2,350 and Rogers $2,600 for the same amount of data, SeaBoard said.” 

Still no bargain: this compares to $50 for unlimited data in most other countries. I am amazed that these prices are sustainable even in the short term.

Apparently, I am not alone in my condemnation of the world’s, and the especially the Anglo-Saxon world’s, and within that especially the US and even more the British world’s, move away from civil liberties to totalitarian statism. You have seen this as a steady theme in my columns here.

I have just returned home. In the UK, I read The Guardian, The Independent, and other UK papers all week, followed by The Observer today on the plane on my way back from England, and I am impressed by the number of columnists who criticise the lessening of civil liberties in the UK.

I was also impressed by the full-page front cover, and many letters, in the Globe and Mail about that poor helpless Polish man who was Tazered in Vancouver.

Nor am I the only person who draws entirely uncomfortable parallels. Henry Porter, in The Observer, today describes the recent UK measures as “the government’s sinister anti-libertarianism”, and calls them “a putsch against our freedoms”, in this excellent article here [link]. Please read it.

Perceptively, Mr Porter draws parallels with totalitarian states where you need an exit visa to be able to leave - which in effect may well be the case in the UK soon. Passport controls on people leaving have already been announced. The information that will be required when tickets are purchased includes “any biographical information the state deems to be of interest or anything the ticket agent considers to be of interest”. How much closer to East Germany can you come?

Mr Porter is especially eloquent in his explanation of the “slippery slope” process. And it really is a slippery slope. The idea that we take off our shoes and belts, that data goes to spooks every time we travel, and that the state has a secret no-fly list, would have been impossible to accept just twenty years ago. And the argument that “if you have nothing to fear, you have nothing to fear” is just, well, stupid. Most law-abiding Russians had noting to fear from the KGB either. That does not make Soviet Russia an acceptable society.

Starting in Britain, we are headed for Soviet Russia - but we can stop it still. Only we make no effort to do so. Porter adds:

Where are the principled voices from left and right, the outrage of playwrights and novelists, the sit-ins, the marches, the swelling public anger? We have become a nation that tolerates a diabetic patient collapsed in a coma being tasered by police, the jailing of a silly young woman for writing her jihadist fantasies in verse and an illegal killing by police that was prosecuted under health and safety laws?

I could not agree more, and this needs to be said, and in those terms. While I think that perhaps the state really is laying it on too thick, and perhaps people are finally listening to these columnists and to people like me, I too wonder where the outrage and the protest are.