One of my undergraduate classmates linked to an article on a recent Alberta Human Rights Commission tribunal finding that Alberta’s professional association for engineers (APEGA, formerly APEGGA – which it’s referred to in the decision) discriminated against an international applicant. APEGA is already planning to appeal the decision. The 67
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Terahertz: Free Ukraine
I won’t claim to be well-enough versed to provide any deep commentary on the deteriorating situation in Ukraine. Despite a truce between protesters and the government, more violence and bloodshed has broken out on the streets of Kiev. What is interesting to contrast is the Western media coverage and response
Continue readingTerahertz: You can’t get experience if you don’t have a job…
There was a PSA on TV in Canada in the 90s, which looped “you can’t get a job if you don’t have experience… you can’t get experience if you don’t have a job.” That about sums up what’s been flipping through my head for the past six months living in
Continue readingTerahertz: Is the Humanist brand dying?
It’s no secret that the term humanism (or secular humanism) have never really taken off. Simply ask a random sampling of people on the street and you’ll likely be met with blank stares. Now regardless of the utility of a word, I think it’s important for organizations to choose language
Continue readingTerahertz: Supreme Court strikes down Canada’s prostitution laws
A few weeks ago I did a “mini-cruise” to Amsterdam. We spent two nights on a ferry (which was really a small cruise ship) and had about 6 hours to explore the infamous capital of The Netherlands. During that time, we walked through De Wallen, Amsterdam’s red light district where
Continue readingTerahertz: So are atheists being censored in Vancouver?
Last week I meant to add a note that the Centre for Inquiry Canada has issued a press release about the fact that Pattison Outdoor Advertising had rejected their fairly inoffensive new billboard campaign in Vancouver. A pretty slick ad that’s pretty hard to find fault with. I’ll skip over
Continue readingTerahertz: UK has “Systemic Discrimination” against freethinkers
Indi at Canadian Atheist brought the IHEU’s 2013 Freedom of Thought Report to my attention and has already done a brilliant summary of the issues facing Canada. Very shortly he’ll also be posting a commentary on the broader report. I encourage you to download and read the entire 244 page
Continue readingTerahertz: BC public schools continue to permit Christian Evangelism in classrooms
During my work with the BC Humanist Association last year, we managed to help raise awareness of how the longstanding tradition of Gideon’s distributing Bibles to grade 5 students continued unabated in the Chilliwack and Abbotsford School Districts. This process continued despite the BC School Act requiring all schools be
Continue readingTerahertz: The Coin-Change Problem
Since moving to the UK, I’ve been interested in what’s called the "coin-change problem." Simply put, it comes down to what is the best set of coins that minimizes the number of coins in my wallet. Canada currently has 5c, 10c, 25c, $1, and $2 coins (having recently eliminated the
Continue readingTerahertz: Costco “undermines Christianity”
The famed warehouse superstore, also known for raising the ire of Fox News pundits for treating it’s employees decently and generally being on the right side of history, is now upsetting conservative pundits for the following price label: Costco has Bibles for sale under the genre of FICTION Hmmmm…… pic.twitter.com/mLZVogkSfd —
Continue readingTerahertz: I say interesting things
I’ve submitted a piece to the Pod Delusion, the partner podcast of the British Humanist Association. It’s a podcast about interesting things. You can find me speaking about the Sunday Assembly and it’s success here in Leeds on their website, where they’re just giving it away (so consider subscribing)! I’ll
Continue readingTerahertz: It’s time for elected local education authorities in Britain
There is a lot to learn coming from Canada about the complicated education system serving England and Wales. Differences abound from the widespread use of uniforms, to near-universal behavioural challenges, to the fact students don’t earn diplomas but are expected to either take the right classes to go to college
Continue readingTerahertz: Scientific Misogynistic
While I usually ignore and skip YouTube ads as quickly as possible, the one I just saw was too ridiculous(ly offensive) to not skip. Well, at least until “Ben” complained about how frequently he gets “friend-zoned”. What hooked me on this video was the absurd claim that “Ben” was going
Continue readingTerahertz: Today’s required readings on revolution
Following his manifesto for a revolution, Russell Brand received ample praise and criticism, which he explores in a piece in yesterday’s Guardian. I think he makes a lot of good points in there, key among them is an admission of his own potential faults and biases: One thing I’ve learned
Continue readingTerahertz: Woo and health charities
Charities and non-profits operate under tough conditions. There is never enough funding, staff, or expertise to achieve perfection and the demands from clients, donors, and funders often force the charity to be more flexible than it might otherwise. Because of these limitations, you can wind up with articles like “Energy-based
Continue readingTerahertz: Tonight we launch an atheist church
It’s been a busy few days as we close in on the launch of Sunday Assembly Leeds, the atheist church that isn’t purely atheist or really a church. We’ve had over 200 RSVPs and confirmation that BBC Look North will be filming live on location and BBC Radio will be
Continue readingTerahertz: The first rule of comedy: Aim up
Last night in Vancouver comedian Ian Harris came to town as part of his “Critical & Thinking” Tour. The show has been promoted by the BC Humanist Association and other skeptical groups, so naturally many of my friends in town went to the event. From the reports, it sounds like
Continue readingTerahertz: Same old politics or revolution?
Progressives are buzzing after British comedian-turned-revolutionary Russell Brand released his revolutionary manifesto as guest editor of the latest issue of New Statesman and went on an anti-capitalist rant when interviewed by Jeremy Paxman on BBC Newsnight. The editorial is worth reading in its entirety. It wanders quite a bit but
Continue readingTerahertz: Vancouver too expensive, not over-taxed
It must be easy to write right-wing anti-tax screeds when you don’t have to actually research any facts. Take for example, this new piece in the Vancouver Sun which blames the local tax system for “scaring off potential businesses.” Author Roslyn Kunin notes that 46 new businesses were licenses in
Continue readingTerahertz: Albertans choose progressive mayors
After a surprise victory in the 2010 purple wave, Naheed Nenshi became one of Canada’s most popular mayors during his handling of severe floods in Calgary earlier this year. Few predicted any chance of him losing his position in yesterday’s election and perhaps the only shock was the size of
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