Morning Brew: August 13, 2008

It's thus far evaded our linking, but Naomi Klein's short piece on how China is using the Olympics as an attempt to create a 'Police State 2.0' is essential reading. You may also want to check out the longer Rolling Stone article from may, China's All Seeing Eye.

A soldier from BC dies, along with a Brit and another four civilians, while the Tyee go all Tyee on the pandering in Afghanistan. If anything, military service does have the potential to harden our citizens into naked 78 year-old vigilantes.

If there's one good thing to come out of China's crackdown on free speech, Campbell's taken a retaliatory hard-line stance on freedom of expression for 2010. It was a 200-year event, ya damn Commies! If someone had mentioned drunk driving, do you think he would've promised free weed?

The Canadian government wages war on arts and culture. Hasn't CBC television been doing that for years?

Closing down Insite will bring out the angel of death. 'Angel of death' - that's 3 parts heroin, 2 parts coke, and 1 part lysol, right?

They finally caught that insanely irresponsible/sadistic pit bull owner. I mean... five of those dogs... nine attacks? Since it's all the rage, I say we start an intensive cross-breeding program and phase these fuckers out in favour a much more manageable 'bull-shitz'. Jokes aside, I guess the cops finally catching him kinda puts the kibosh on my plans to hire the dude for some mercenary work here in Yaletown. Five raging pit bulls let loose inside one crowded doggy boutique? You know you want it.

For all that security, these still seem to be the most savagely violent Olympic games to have occurred in awhile. Oh, and did you hear about how they faked the fireworks (update: and apparently those cute little Asian kids are a scam too)? Ultimately, these spectacular photos of the opening ceremonies depress/frighten me... but at least all those people are mobilized to bang drums instead of shoot rifles.

"It certainly showed China's unique character," said one comment [on the opening ceremony]. "Namely, that we have 1.3 billion people."

The Dark Knight is already the third biggest film of all time, and has been getting rave reviews everywhere. I thought it was utter dreck. The film's existence in a state of limbo between action-comic fluff and 'higher' moral allegory helps seal its failure on both levels. And any flashes of ingenuity or genuine artistry are so overshadowed by the typical Hollywood wallet-grabbing conventions and that seemingly subconscious right-wing American consumerist crap ethos that simply doesn't need to be "part of the form." Anyway, here's your essential contrarian Dark Knight review.

Rich people's rooftops in NYC. While these may be nice, they've got nothing on the the few I have a view of here in Yaletown. Here's some more productive local use of downtown rooftop space.

They're even using 'shrooms to treat people with terminal illnesses now, basically so they can "find god" before they die. I think we should just start prescribing mushrooms to treat the human condition. But in all honesty, this is a pretty compelling idea, and hallucinogens certainly deserve more attention from the medical world.

Frances Bula's move to the Vancouver Observer has been confirmed.

I should point this out before the unending clouds return, Miss 604's Guide to Vancouver's Outdoor Movie Theatres.

In celebration of rising gas prices and Eno and Byrne's recent re-collaboration (download the first track here), I give you David Byrne's bike rack as art installation.

Your interactive Internet Meme Timeline. Just a reminder that even long before Facebook or the kanYe blog (woe be the comment roll on that one), the internet's been full of those moments that leave me teetering on the edge of sticking a shotgun in my mouth. BA-BAM!

Not only is our city full of bugs, but the rat problem is rising in Vancouver. Could this be the explanation for all those recent gang-related murders? Ok, terrible joke. I'm always getting confused if that thing dashing behind the self-cleaning toilet across the street is a disease-carrying rodent or a newfangled dog breed. Whatever, this is a real rat problem. Just doing my part to keep the 'net (us) as mindless as possible. Sacajawea!

image of the Falun Gong protest at the Chinese consulate courtesy of phoneyman