Now I have written about several other types of dating services on this blog for varying types of people. We hold no prejudices on this blog at all. I have yet to do one about Christian Love. So I thought it would be apt that I let you Christians know that there are ways of meeting a significant other that shares your outlook on life. This post is sponsored.

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National Post:

Canada’s use of the term “visible minorities” to identify people it considers susceptible to racial discrimination came under fire at the United Nations yesterday – for being racist.

In a report on Ottawa’s efforts to eliminate racial discrimination in Canada, the world body’s anti-racism watchdog said the words might contravene an international treaty aimed at combatting racism.

Members of the Geneva-based Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination also questioned other terms used by the federal government, among them “ethnocultural communities.”

It won’t happen until Stephen Harper wins a majority government; but I’ll bet when he does he’ll tear a page out of Aussie PM Howard’s book, who told this klatch of international busybodies to bugger off.

I googled up the Committee and found it stacked with the usual (and with only two women among the sixteen members. Tsk!) crowd from human-rights titans like Algeria, China, Pakistan and Egypt. The US delegate resigned in October of last year, and the Americans haven’t bothered to send a replacement.

I would recommend John Bolton. Heh.

the blog québécois

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As you might know from reading my columns, or rather my alter ego Marty’s, I have a wee bit of penchant for female-fronted/vocals metal. After hearing several fairly rubbish attempts over the years there seems to be a huge outbreak of pretty amazing stuff. Here are a few of my favourites concentrating on female-fronted bands rather than lots of bands like Therion, Kamelot et al who have co-leads.

Illumination: Limited Edition

Alright we always knew that this lot was damn good but Illumination is their Once or even Ghost Reveries an album that completely sums up what the band is about. It’s a stunning goth symphonic metal tour de force that just gets better and better with every listen. While not as accessible as Nightwish, it rewards those that give it a chance.

This is one of those few amazing albums that is a bugger to review because it’s just that good. There is not a turkey on this puppy, even though the music ranges from almost Evanescence pop “Destination Departure” to heavy bleak near-death metal “In the Wake” (the bonus track). The band even drafted in Vorph when Osten’s vocals were not extreme enough.

If you are at all interested in female-led goth metal then you could do far worse than pick up this excellent CD. This will keep the goth and the metallers both happy in the clubs. Unlike many CDs I review, this one will stay on the iPod for quite a while. Within Temptation has had the gauntlet thrown down to them by these feisty Norwegians. This album deserves to be bloody huge!

Karmacode

This was predicted to be LC’s breakout album and what an album it is to breakout with. Now not just the secret of metallers with a tender side, they are getting loads of mainstream attention. It has to be said they deserve every moment of it. This is quite a good album with lots passion and feeling from all involved.

The edition of the CD I have comes with photos, a couple of videos, and a tour diary. Normally I am not too keen on covers but their cover of Depeche Mode’s “Enjoy the Silence” is simply a pleasure to hear. There is not a duff one in the other twelve either. Their excellent use of male and female voices means that Lacuna Coil is the band to take Evanescence fans to the next level. Just check out “Our Truth” if you don’t believe me. This is a stunning album and will feature on many people’s best of list at the end of the year.

Highest Hopes: the Best of Nightwish/+DVD

Now all of you know that I rather like Nighwish and fear for their future now that they have parted with their lead singer, Tara. This “best of” is a fitting tribute to the end of the era of a great symphonic goth power metal band with songs from all phases of their career. There is even a cover on here of Gary Moore’s “Over the Hills and Far Away” that I would argue is better than the original recording from the ‘80s.

The female vocalizing on it is just stunning. The CD starts with the awesome “Wish I had an Angel” and ends with frankly stunning male-lead “High Hopes,” recorded live with serious Floyd influences. If you have never heard this band before, this collection is well worth checking out. It is, unlike many greatest hits, very much their best of… so far. Oh yes, and there is special DVD with three live tracks none of which are on the CD. This is an excellent package from an amazing band that hopefully will rise again soon.

Vinland Saga

Yes, I know I am a bit behind the times reviewing this set. But, at least, I have the pleasure of the enhanced version with its bonus track ‘Amelie’ (new version) & ‘Heal’ plus a video (Viking Wuthering Heights) for the cracking track ‘Elergy’ , an interview and a making of clip. The Viking theme and Mrs Krull’s lovely ethereal voice make for quite a pleasant heavy ride. They are set to have a new album out soon, one has to wonder how they are going to top this rather impressive CD. This is the sensitive, but not too much, side of the whole Viking metal genre. I found it the perfect accompaniment for reading Beowulf which I reviewed last week.

No not the sequel to Four Weddings and a Funeral but the new album from Sirenia a bloody impressive nine song collection of goth rock that sounds to me like Evanescence done properly with someone who can really sing. The only fault I have with this CD is that “the bonus” with the special edition is a bleeding poster and the radio edit of the track ‘My Mind’s Eye’ and video for said song.

Saying that the singer of this band does work well with the name of the band with her clear siren vocal qualities. This is a bit lighter than say Leaves Eyes or Tristania but it certainly has enough of an edge to make it of interest to goths and metallers. Well worth seeking out.

The Forgotten Goddess

This is a bunch of Americans trying to do the female fronted progressive goth thing and beat the Europeans at their own game. The band really works quite well on this disc, but there is really nothing that jumps out at you and blows you away. “Voices in a Dream” and “Expressions of Hesh” are a couple of tracks that do seem to stick after a few plays. Musically it’s rather modern riffing metal with touches of Dream Theater and the added twist of a sweet voiced songstress. Some of the European purveyors of the same music seem to work better with female vocals than this lot; their vocals can seem to be a bit too lush and fluffy, without enough oomph behind ‘em.

This is a decent album, just not yet to the level of some of the similar style coming out of Scandinavia and Italy. One thing that can be said about this lot though is that they are not by any means Evanescence-clones preferring a goth metal, as opposed to pop edge, with plenty of blast beat drumming. The album is just missing that something I can’t quite put my finger on, which is a shame.

The Heart of Everything

Readers of this column will know I rather liked this lot’s last album and was worried they would have a hard time matching it. I needn’t have. If anything this album matches it for quality and there is a song on here that makes “Angel” seem a bit week. “What Have You Done,” which features Keith Caputo just stuns from the first listen. It’s goth-pop pomp at its absolute best. As if that was not enough, there is the absolutely blinding “Our Solemn Hour.”

There is absolutely nothing on the last Evanescence album which comes anywhere near close, and some have speculated that this song is WT laying the gauntlet down. Never mind the fact that Sharon Den Adel has probably the best voice in female goth metal completely eclipsing the vocals of Ms Lee. The vocalist can do sweet but also has enough grunt behind it to get out some wicked power. The band is providing music for the new RPG Spellborn as well as releasing a strong candidate for album of the year.

There is not one duff track on this CD, a powerhouse of the genre from start to finish. I will be amazed if there is anything this good for quite a while. Simply stunning stuff and essential if you like quality symphonic goth tinged metal.

Battlelore: Evernight

With a name like Battlelore, you would be expecting Dragonforce clones right? Well in this case you would be wrong. They do straight ahead heads-down metal with touches of power metal but with a female lead singer twist. For once, the person hitting those high notes should actually be doing it. The band base a lot of their lyrics on Lord of the Rings and Viking Metal, however unlike, say, Rhapsody, it never tips over into farce. “Summon the Wolves” is just great metal with its keyboards/guitars. Battlelore use male death metal growls as a clever counter to the lovely voice of their lead singer.

Just when you thought you were in a mellow bit, heavy vocals come along to kick yer arse. It adds up to something quite special and is a great addition to the female fronted metal brigade.

Elis: Griefshire

Great German female-led metal with a tragic twist that has nothing to do with the name. Sabine Dunser, lead vocalist, who has the voice to propel them to the heights of Within Temptation and Nightwish, died recently of sudden illness. The album is dedicated to her memory and is a fitting memorial to the talent that was Sabine. This is a quality goth female-led power metal to rival the above mentioned bands. To demonstrate the full breath of her and the band’s talent the bonus track is a cracking cover of “Heaven and Hell” by Dio-era Black Sabbath.

Some of the tracks on here are in German, which almost adds to the nuance and mystery of the music on offer. The cover looks ominous and some of the music has a sense of foreboding. It is a great shame Sabine has died and she is a great loss to metal in general and female-voiced specifically. “Pheonix from the Ashes” is quite powerful, it has to be said, followed by the excellent “How Long.” This is a great disc from a talented band who has suffered a great loss.

You would think with Evanescence’s popularity there would be a huge rush of piss-poor imitators instead we fine there were a large group of bands doing a similar thing which never really got the push. Seeing the bar raised the have all released their best CDs of late blowing away the latest CD from the Amy Lee band.

More metal & hard rock reviews in this week’s Marty’s Music Meltdown.

If you like women in metal take a look at this festival found via the great site Metal Maidens.

Update: Rumour has it that Nightwish’s new singer is none other than the recently departed chanteuse of Tristania. Thinking vocally this would seem to be a logical move.

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Speaking of frocks or rather what some ladies wear on the inside or in their private time there is this site for erotic things and other assorted bits of lingerie. Unlike some other high street shops that claim to sell these things this site sells things like leather corsets and pvc catsuits lingerie as well for those with more unusual tastes. There are also a myriad of constumes and other assorted stuff. So why not head over and take a look if you are in the market for that sort of thing. And I know I have readers with an interest. This post is sponsored.

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Written by JIMV published with his permission

I submitted this to the Portland Socialist as an opinion piece…they sort of ignored it so I post it here:

Gibberish, Religion and Global Warming

Am I the only fellow who considers the hysteria surrounding the Global Warming phenomenon a bit overblown?

Lets look at this for a moment.the basic idea is that the Earth is getting marginally warmer (exactly how much is not known) and that this warming trend is to a large degree due to the efforts of human beings. Worse, this trend will result in massive global gloom and doom.

Sounds sort of scary..were all going to die…UNLESS, we agree to major, costly economic changes in our lives and agree to let a host of unelected, international elites save us from ourselves.

So far this is not unlike the hype that surrounded the overpopulation fad of the last century, or the new ice age scare from the 1970sall said with absolute conviction, to be absolutely, rock solid, true, if we do not invest vast amounts of treasure and political power to specific elites.

Lets look at this Global Warming idea a bit. Where did it come from? In late 1980s a couple of events occurred. Groups like Union of Concerned Scientists, a 1980s left wing lobbying organization with an interest in pushing the idea that the end was near because of nuclear weapons, suddenly found themselves in trouble. The Soviet Empire fell apart. Funding for these fine fellows dried up. They looked around for something new to scare folk with and discovered what had been considered to be a fringe idea, Global Warming. They found it was just gaining main stream legitimacy with the Montreal Conference and UN interest. They hit the jackpot!

I am going to stop here for a moment with a disclaimer, and the main point of this piece. I have no idea if the current warming trend is part of a natural cycle or is caused by man. Neither does anyone else reading this.

There, I said it. The actual science is so complex and crosses so many disciplines that the number of folk who can even begin to understand it worldwide is so small we could fit all of them in the Augusta civic center and still sell seats. Regardless of what anyone tells you, just as the high school math teacher does not understand Stephen Hawking, no one really understands this science. I dont, you dont, and almost no one else does.

What does that mean?

Simply put, we have a vast number of people claiming with absolute certainty that an idea they cannot prove or understand is beyond a shadow of a doubt TRUE.

Now what does that sound like?...yep. FAITH. These acolytes are behaving exactly like the religious of all the worlds faiths do. They embrace a dogma they can not prove and do not understand. They have a priesthood of approved experts. They demand money. They punish heretics, and they have an evil counter force, skeptics who can be derided. They promise doom if THEY, are not given treasure and power to force folk into line.

Folks, this is religion, not science, a Global Warming Jihad! About all it lacks is the promise of an afterlife.

Examine the response to criticism of this new faith. They first will point to the science, science they themselves do not and can not understand. When countered by science from the skeptics, they attack the funding of the science. Their priests are right, heretics are in league with the devil!

They pretend that all the science from their side, funded by approved groups, foundations or governments, is pure and above board, lacking the slightest hint of bias. They do not notice that reports funded by global warming advocates produce reports that support global warming theory. No, they only note that reports funded by skeptics produce reports that show skepticism. How convenient. Sort of cult like.

How does one hold a serious scientific argument when no one arguing understands the science under review and one side embraces their views with a religious fervor?

You cannot.

I do not know what is more frightening, potential global warming or the folk who insist on it.

Can we say HALELLUJA?...Of course we can.

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