[C22] France in the late 2150s

Having wisely stayed neutral in the South American War, France has been left to experience continued relative decline, most obviously in GDP per capita and quality of life statistics. France is doing well, and its balance of payments has become positive once again, but France remains relatively poor by European standards, this poverty affecting health and education and France's economic standing in the world. I'm thinking of Britain in the 1970s, here.

[B5] Nearing the end of Season 4

Four episodes Tuesday night: "The Exercise of Vital Powers", "The Face of the Enemy", "Intersections in Real Time", and "Between the Darkness and the Light".

( Good, but ... )

[BRIEF NOTE] On the Danish Cartoons

The people attacking the cartoons on the grounds that they're blasphemous haven't tried nearly enough to explain why blasphemy--by members, by non-members--shouldn't be permissible, or to justify why threats of violence should spilled out willy-nilly. The people defending the cartoons on the grounds of freedom of speech aren't bothering to address the question of unfair or bigoted stereotyping of Muslims in what looks to be the first Huntingtonian clash of civilizations. No one is bothering to address the other side's points, hence the grand stupidity of the entire affair.

In case you're curious, the cartoons available here. Sorry for sending you over to Michelle Malkin's site, but, well.

[URBAN NOTE] Roncesvalles Village

I ended up spending some time in Roncesvalles Village last night, cutting over from Dundas West to Roncesvalles' Alternative Grounds coffee shop (333 Roncesvalles Avenue), then south along Roncesvalles past Polish shops (bookstores, travel agencies, delis) and monumental churches. It reminds me somewhat of vorpal and bonoboboy's neighbourhood, actually, only with an eastern European imprint instead of a South Asian.

[LINK] A Vernean View of the Future

Jules Verne's "The Day of an American Journalist in 2889", for your reading pleasure.