So.

The current Premier of Alberta is under investigation for election irregularities involving becoming the leader of the United Conservative Party. There have already been a pile of fines, and a report where the election commissioner may be freely questioned by the Legislative Assembly is coming up next week.

Or it would be if Bill 22 wasn't being rammed through every stage at highest speed. First reading was Monday, and with repeated use of cloture, is expected to pass third reading before lunch mountain time today (Thursday).

The Leader of the Opposition, the previous Premier, has been barred from the Legislature for calling this out.

I am not surprised. I am tired and disappointed.

Canadian Press: Canadian Federal Court issues first ever order to block piracy website

On the one hand, it protects intellectual property - which, as a writer, means something to me.

On the other, the article says it wasn't done as a measure of last resort, so there are freedom of expression issues here.

It always surprises me when I pull out my BGC discs for another watch how j-poppy the music is, when my memories have it much heavier. Something like this, in fact:

Watashi wa Arashi (I Am a/the Storm) by Show-Ya

(non-embedded)

What little Japanese I understand and can catch in the lyrics makes this sound similarly themed as well.

For Drunkard's Walk VII



The pictures tell the story
This life had many shades
I'd wake up every morning and before I'd start each day
I'd take a drag from last night's cigarette
That smoldered in its tray
Down a little something and then be on my way

I traveled far and wide
And laid this head in many ports
I was guided by a compass
I saw beauty to the north
I drew the tales of many lives
And wore the faces of my own
I had these memories all around me
So I wouldn't be alone

Some may be from showing up
Others are from growing up
Sometimes I was so messed up and didn't have a clue
I ain't winning no one over
I wear it just for you
I've got your name written here
In a rose tattoo

In a rose tattoo
In a rose tattoo
I've got your name written here
In a rose tattoo

This one's for the mighty sea
Mischief, gold and piracy
This one's for the man that raised me
Taught me sacrifice and bravery
This one's for our favorite game
Black and gold, we wave the flag
This one's for my family name
With pride I wear it to the grave

Some may be from showing up
Others are from growing up
Sometimes I was so messed up and didn't have a clue
I ain't winning no one over
I wear it just for you
I've got your name written here
In a rose tattoo

In a rose tattoo
In a rose tattoo
I've got your name written here
In a rose tattoo

In a rose tattoo
In a rose tattoo
I've got your name written here
In a rose tattoo

This one means the most to me
It stays here for eternity
A ship that always stays the course
An anchor for my every choice

A rose that shines down from above
I signed and sealed these words in blood
I heard them once, sung in a song
It played again and we sang along

You'll always be here with me
Even if you're gone
You'll always have my love
Our memory will live on

Some may be from showing up
Others are from growing up
Sometimes I was so messed up and didn't have a clue
I ain't winning no one over
I wear it just for you
I've got your name written here
In a rose tattoo

In a rose tattoo
In a rose tattoo
I've got your name written here
In a rose tattoo

In a rose tattoo
In a rose tattoo
With pride I'll wear it
To the grave for you

In a rose tattoo
In a rose tattoo
I've got your name written here,
In a rose tattoo

In a rose tattoo
In a rose tattoo
Signed and sealed in blood
I would die for you
-- Dropkick Murphys, "Rose Tattoo"

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This is a slightly heavier cover by Jorn Londe, because I like it more and it's the one I was listening to, but the original might actually work better for this since the intent is to make Doug not stand out - to seem like an entirely unremarkable person who just happens to be present. This doesn't help if he's in an area where no one is supposed to just be wandering around, but for losing pursuit on a busy street or keeping people from being able to describe him later while setting up for something in a more public area it's great. Dimmu Borgir did an even more metal version that I also like, but that's even more aggressive sounding - maybe that version acts like an Obliviate targeted to remove knowledge of Doug's identity, instead of a perception filter for anyone who can see or hear him?

lyrics:
Can you remember remember my name
As I flow through your life
A thousand oceans I have flown
And cold, cold spirits of ice
All my life
I am the echo of your past

I am returning the echo of a point in time
And distant faces shine
A thousand warriors I have known
And laughing as the spirits appear
All your life
Shadows of another day

And if you hear me talking on the wind
You've got to understand
We must remain
Perfect strangers

I know I must remain inside this silent well of sorrow

A strand of silver hanging through the sky
Touching more than you see
The voice of ages in your mind
Is aching with the dead of the night
Precious life, your tears are lost in falling rain

And if you hear me talking on the wind
You've got to understand
We must remain
Perfect strangers

But BA!  Private Enterprise will make space colonies happen!

.......

Watch this video first.  The whole thing.  And I promise this will make sense.




This was recent.

VERY recent.

Barely more than one year yet recent.

Not ten years ago.

Not fifty years ago.

Not a hundred years ago.

And you would think that after all this time we've been drilling for oil, there would be safety standards at the Federal level that drilling companies must adhere to.

But no.  There aren't.  It's fucking Wild Wild West out there.

This is where it becomes relevant.

Right now?  There is no regulation beyond Earth's atmosphere.  No countries, no laws, no nothing.  Elon Musk can probably send an automated Helium-3 collection plant to the moon so he can sell it here on Earth and no one would be able to do shit about it.  (They'd try, but he can weasel out of it somehow.)

The thing is, anytime there is no government oversight or regulations, that is when corporate enterprise will assign a price tag to human lives.

Can you imagine the kind of shit people would pull in order to make a quick buck while going after Helium-3 or other valuable materials?  It'd be Mr. Peabody's coal mines all over again.

Meanwhile, people like Elon Musk will be more than happy to build their walled gardens in the L-Points and on the moon, and all of it built off of this industry.  Welcome to the modern "Gilded Age".

"But that can't possibly happen!"

Oh?

People said the same thing about the events in Tom Clancy's Debt of Honor.  Some years later, the September 11th Terrorist Attacks happened.

People said that the events in Phillip Roth's novel, The Plot Against America, couldn't possibly occur.  And yet, we now have Donald Trump; a sitting US President that panders to white supremacists, marginalizes minorities, and seeks to ingratiate himself to our enemies.

Dare we say that the events that led to the scenario in the film Elysium can't possibly happen?

Am I being too paranoid?

I hope I am.

But unfortunately, the evidence suggests otherwise.

Is there anyone on the board who's playing this?  I've been playing it since July, and enjoying it quite a bit.  The reason I'm posting about it now is that the current "special event" has "Make 1 New Friend" (within the game system) as a task to complete, and while I've seen evidence of other players in my area, I've never actually run into anyone.  So if there's anyone on the boards playing, I'd like to trade friend codes with you.

Thanks.

...but there's still the possibility of an appeal.

AP: District Court in Boston rules against warrantless searches of phones, laptops

Another one courtesy of Rob Kelk:

Competition #3: They Fight Crime!

Quote:He's a human who turns into a duck when splashed with cold water.
She's a duck who turns into a human with a special necklace.
They fight crime!

A healing song, but not for gross injury, this one handles more long term issues. May or may not be effective on depression and similar mental disorders, but infections are a snap, cancer or poisoning/radiation damage is probably not much harder, and even genetic/congenital defects could be within its scope depending on interpretation. Not the kind of things superhero stories usually deal with except in "superpowers can't solve everything" terms, except now they can!


(non-embedded)

Lyrics:
You've been to the doctor, you've been to the medicine man
No one could tell you the condition you have
You went to the preacher to drive the demons out of your head
But nothing could reverse this spell

If you're just sick and tired of feeling down and lonely
Well let me tell you I've got just the thing for you
I've got a recipe that's sure to get you going
And it ain't about sex, no
No it ain't about drugs

[Chorus]
R.O.C.K that's what you'll get from me
It's my medicine. all that you need's a little R.O.C.K
It's a guarantee. yeah it's the cure
All you need is some rockin' baby

You don't need no miracle, no laying of hands
You don't need an x-ray or a full body scan
This ain't no sickness, this ain't no common disease
Babe, you need some expertise

If you're just sick and tired of feeling down and lonely
Well let me tell you I've got just the thing for you
I've got a recipe that's sure to get you going
And it ain't about sex, no
No it ain't about drugs

[Chorus]
R.O.C.K that's what you'll get from me
It's my medicine. all that you need's a little R.O.C.K
It's a guarantee. yeah it's the cure
All you need is some rockin' baby

If you're feeling down
You gotta' turn it up come on play it loud
Move it to the sound, a little rockin's what it's all about
It's the remedy. you don't need no pill 'cause it's all for free
So when you feel like you've caught that fever baby
Come on rock with me