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badcomputer.org

Saturday, April 8, 2006

I have added a few more things to the site. I have written some album recommendations, which are basically reviews, though they are all of albums that I think people should buy and listen to. Essentially, I am just trying to get some albums out there that I think are especially cool, so go have a look and listen.

I while back I looked at my website at my brother's house, and he uses Windows and IE. Man was I shocked to see what my site looked like. If you are using IE right now then you know what I mean, it looks like a drunk chimp made the page (no offense to alcoholic monkeys). I use only standards-compliant code, so what's the problem here? This led me to see how my site looked in every browser I could get my hands on. I made some screenies and wrote a brief blurb on how each handled my markup and design. So how many browsers ruin my page? Check out the startling results.

I also wrote up a brief page on using the Cowan iAudio X5 portable music player under Linux. It is not totally done yet, but you can see what I have so far. And last but not least, I have updated the photo of myself on the about page to a version that is less than 10 years old! Yeah, we all want to be 18 forever...

The Atlantic seal hunt - senseless cruelty or economic necessity?

Well, thanks to celebrity activists Paul McCartney and whoever his wife is, and Bridgette Bardot, the Canadian seal hunt is everybody's favorite outrage once again. First off, I want to say I am against the senseless killing of any living thing. The key here is senseless. I support cutting down trees to make lumber, but I do not support cutting down trees to improve a view. I support hunting to provide food, I do not support hunting for sport. So do I support the seal hunt? I guess we need to decide whether or not it is 'senseless'.

What really bugs me the most however, is not protesting the seal hunt in the first place, but the means of doing so. A quick google of Canadian seal huntproduces several anti-seal hunt activist sites as the top results. Taking a look at these sites we notice a few things: Every single site I looked has pictures of baby, or 'whitecoat' seals on it. Perhaps these sites don't realize that the Canadian Government outlawed killing whitecoats back in 1987. So why do they still feature photos of them? Well, because they're cute of course. It is much easier to sell a cause with a cute furry animal than with an ugly old one isn't it? One site has these three contentions prominent on the front page:

1. The majority of Canadians oppose the seal hunt, but are forced to pay for it.
2. Hunting harp seals is not justified by economic or environmental reasons. It's driven by votes.
3. Scientists agree that the size of this hunt puts the harp seal population at risk.

1. Do the majority of Canadians oppose the seal hunt? I am not aware of any poll, but non-scientific evidence disproves this in the fact that Pamela Anderson was booed at the Juno awards for saying "The only blood I want to see on the ice is at a hockey game". As for 'paying for it', the site offers no proof here, and the Department of Fisheries and Oceans has repeatedly denied any subsidies whatsoever. Who do you believe, fanatic protesters or a government department? Tough call, I know.

2. The CBCreports that the hunt can provide up to a third of a fisherman's annual income. This is especially important in Canada's poorest province, where the unemployment rate is above 15%, 9% over the Canadian average. As for the hunt being driven by votes, I don't understand what is meant here, and the site does not bother to elaborate. So...?

3. Well, who are these scientists? What is their methadology? Can we get at least one name? Again, the DFOstates that the seal population is over 5 million, triple the figures of the seventies. A number that is "healthy and plentiful". To the IFAW: either put up these scientist's names, or drop the contention.

Another thing that pisses me off is the language on these sites, designed solely to prey on emotions. Some choice quotes: "Hundreds of thousands of baby seals will be clubbed or shot without mercy this year alone", "End Animal Cruelty", "You can stop the tragedy of sealing", "stop this animal cruelty", and the most telling: "Save a Baby Seal: Donate". Uh-huh. The Canadian Veterinary Journal findings state that 98% of the seals they examined were killed humanely. And those that were not killed humanely, well keep in mind that the Federal Government has laid over 200 charges against rogue hunters since 1996.

What draws these people to this cause anyway? What's the difference between this and the beef, veal, poultry, or any other industry that kills an animal to make money? Perhaps it is because the most valuable product from the seal hunt is the pelt, used for designer fashion. Fair enough, so why target working class people trying to eek out an existance? Why not throw some blood on all the rich bitches that buy the coats? I think the majority of these protesters are simply mindless, and target the seal hunt because seals are 'cute', without gaining any deeper understanding of what thew seal hunt is all about. Mindless support of an ideal. Remember that is exactly why people hijacked planes and flew them into buildings. Mindless support of a cause.

As for these websites and seal hunt protest organizations: shame on you. If you need to resort to loaded terms such as "animal cruelty", pictures of baby seals which are not targeted in the hunt, and refusal to back up contentions I can only label you as a propaganda mill. And if you need to use propaganda to gain support and donations for your cause, perhaps you need to rethink just how important your cause is. In the grand scheme of fucked up things in this world, I think the seal hunt is quite low on the list. Don't get me wrong, I am all for standing up for what you believe, and sticking it to the man, but don't use inflammatory language and outright lies to get your point across.

So after all that, do I support the seal hunt? No I don't. I don't think the loss of life justifies some lady getting a nice coat, whether it provides a Newfoundlander a job or not. They are giving away jobs in the Alberta oilpatch like gmail invites, so it's not like these people are going to starve. There is work out there if you are willing to relocate. If you're not, then get a job at Tim Hortons like everybody else. So I guess I am in a strange position here: I am against the seal hunt, and I am against the seal hunt protesters. I guess I am just pro honesty.

And a special note to Paul McCartney: Piss off buddy, you always were my least favorite Beatle.

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