Moral-Flexibility.Net

Today Toronto was hobbled by an illegal strike by the TTC which was eventually brought to an end by a second order issued by the Ontario Labour Relations Board. The result, predictably, was added congestion to an already dangerously overloaded traffic system during a day when heat, smog and humidex warnings had been issued.

Lisa, Jilly and I were stuck in the mess for just over an hour, taking turns looking at the gas gauge, the unmoving traffic ahead of us, and our daughter baking in the back seat.

This, then, is my thanks to the employees of the TTC, our mayor for yet another “happy thoughts” solution to a problem, and especially to the hordes of amateur drivers who ventured out today entirely failing to grasp simple concepts of motor vehicle operation.

I’ll be glad to wave goodbye to Toronto in the very near future.

Enjoy picking a movie apart as soon as it ends? Bickering about what was portrayed on the screen and why that couldn’t possibly have worked in real life? Pointing out serious “liberties” taken by the writers in an effort to add dramatic effect?

You are not alone.

Intuitors Insultingly Stupid Movie Physics is on your side. Spending time breaking down typical movie mistakes involving physics, the site also has a series of reviews rating the movies “for their portrayal of excessively bad physics”.

One of my favorites?

First, let us point out that the thirty-round magazine in a Mac 10 will be expended in a mere 1.8 seconds of sustained fire! If our shooter blazes away steadily for a total of only 3 minutes, his or her Mac 10 will spit out around 3000 chunks of lead at roughly 15 grams a piece. This amounts to 45 kilograms or a little less than 100 pounds of lead. And that doesn’t account for the weight of the 3000 cartridge cases or 100 empty magazines scattered on the ground.

[Hat Tip: Cousin Theodore]

All Souls Day: Dia de los Muertos (2005) directed by Jeremy Kasten.
(Proposed Title: “Supernatural zombies phoning it in.”)
Starring Marisa Ramirez, Travis Wester, Nichole Hiltz, Laz Alonso, Laura Harring and David Keith.
Zombie Film Rating:

“Poor Ugly Zombie Esmerelda”

Teaser: Santa Bonito, Mexico has a secret, a secret that makes itself public every November 1st, on the “Day of the Dead”. Naturally it is on this day that Tyler and Alicia drive into town looking for gas, interupt a human sacrifice and find themselves barricaded in an ancient hotel. Nice vacation, no?

While there are some problems with this film, overall I found it a fairly inoffensive effort, with fair acting and good directing, cinematography and scoring. The film really barely rates as a zombie movie as the zombies serve more as set decoration than an integral part of the film, but still I rarely found my thumb creeping towards the “fast forward” button, so it couldn’t have been all bad (that may have been a side effect of the scotch however).

Continue Reading »

I’ve got a few zombie movies to watch (And possibly even review), a stack of firearms to clean and a glass of Scotch close to hand. Yes, that’s right. Lisa is at work, Jillian is with the Grandparents and Erik finds himself with some all too rare time to himself.

So what am I doing here typing? I’m not…b-bye.

Just finished the book “Other Losses” by James Bacque which puts forward the theory that approximately one million German prisoners of war died in French and American captivity between 1945 and 1947. Their deaths were a direct result of the reclassification of Prisoners of War to Disarmed Enemy Forces, by Dwight Eisenhower, so as to circumvent the requirements of the Geneva Convention. Allowing the US and French authorities to reduce prisoner rations to a starvation diet, denying essential medical treatment and containing these prisoners in unsanitary, unsheltered compounds.

A fascinating read, but is it true?

Stephen Ambrose wrote his own review of the book in which he disputes Bacques findings and methodology. My own quick googling shows the German Red Cross - Tracing Service had in 1957 showed 1.4 Million Germans listed as war related missing persons. This number is often attributed to the Soviets, who admit to approximately 350,000 POW deaths.

I have to admit that I personally find it difficult to believe that conditions in American and French camps were so much worse than the Soviets that 3 times the numbers of prisoners died in their care. What do I know, you be the judge.

News services today reported the death of another Canadian Soldier in Afghanistan. Captain Nichola Goddard of the Royal Canadian Horse Artillery was killed in action 24Km west of Khandahar City.

The precise circumstances of the action, or her death were not available, but Captain Goddard is the 17th Canadian Soldier killed during Canada’s efforts in Afghanistan.

[Edited to add] It is reported that Captain Goddards unit was ambushed by Taliban forces, Captain Goddards LAV was struck by two, possibly three, RPGs resulting in Goddards death.

Captain Goddard is survived by her husband in Shilo, Manitoba.

Auditor General Sheila Fraser has released her report which includes a chapter on the Canadian Firearms Registry. The Canadian Firearms Program chapter is about what you’d expect, a dry government document illustrating systemic mismanagement and cost over-runs. The report pegs the cost of the Registry at $1 Billion to date. Including approximately $250 Million spent on developing the information system (Version I, and now Version II) used to track firearms and their owners.

The Conservative minority government has set it’s sights on the registry, as they promised during the election. The plan is to chop the long gun and shotgun sections out, leaving the handguns, restricted and prohibited weapons components under RCMP control.

In essence, a return to pre-CFC practices.

So, to those proponents of the federal firearms registry I ask this. How has this $1 Billion in tax dollars reduced crime. How has this $1 Billion saved lives, how has this $1 Billion done anything but line the pockets of greedy contractors?

Don’t give me intangibles or emotional arguments. Give me one solid reason the entire thing shouldn’t be scrapped before we throw good money after bad.

Any one of my trusty regulars recognize these pictures?

Continue Reading »