Now that all the dumb, stupid ice in the Arctic is finally melting, an international consortium of entertainment parks, oil companies, and private military corporations is planning to develop that once-useless wasteland into a world class amusement and recreation center called ArcticWorld.

Among its many features

Water slides off icebergs into the Artic Ocean (”If we can still find any icebergs, that is”, chortles one of the developers, “if not, we’ll get Disney to build a simulation.”)

Nature safaris to view polar bears, reindeer, caribou, and walrus. (In the event of extreme and unexpectedly sudden climate change, ArcticWorld reserves the right to substitute animals from different climate zones.)

Meet an Inuit. (Or, if the climate has changed too radically, perhaps a Samoan instead.)

Oil rig tours. Take a tour on an actual drilling rig, as there are expected to be thousands of them in the Arctic soon. (Note: as the oil-rich Arctic is currently claimed by 14 different nations, oil rig tour security will be provided by Icewater, a subsidiary of Blackwater, as attacks by unfriendly nations on competing rigs have been known to occur.)

And finally, thrill to the Aurora Borealis, that spectacular light show in the sky provided by Mother Nature - enhanced for your viewing pleasure with laser shows, booming soundtracks, Las Vegas performers, and exploding glaciers at the finale!

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The British government has invoked legislation from 1839 to stop an antiwar march on Parliament this coming Monday.

Stop the War UK will be marching in defiance of the ban.

And you have to be there. This is an exercise in mass civil disobedience that will, if Brown doesn’t back down, create a serious crisis for him.

There will also be a march in support of the Burma monks in London on Saturday, something we need more of here in the States.

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The Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA) may pass Congress this year and includes protection based on sexual orientation (lesbian, gay, bi.) A major battle is ongoing based on whether or not gender identity (transgendered) should be included.

This is a classic, for lack of a better phrase, pragmatist vs. militant split. The pragmatists say the bill won’t pass if transgender protection is included. This would result in no protection for LGB, something they’ve been working towards for years. The militants say compromise is unacceptable, and push for transgender inclusion and passage of the bill.

John Avarosis of AmericaBlog takes a pragmatist position then prints in its entirety the militant response from Dana Beyer.

Beyer:

The bottom line is that when we’re in the equation, the LGBT community can’t hide from gender nonconformity and all the sub-issues that raises. You’re right - let’s deal with it. Generalized fear of transgender people can be overcome just as so many Americans have overcome their generalized fear of gay men. We can make this a better country together, and do so without sacrificing anyone.

Avarosis:

Your argument boils down to the assertion that America really does accept transgendered people far more than I’m willing to realize and therefore we’d have no problem passing a trans-inclusive ENDA. Great. I’m game. Show me the votes. Show me that you have the votes to pass a trans-inclusive ENDA, that the bill won’t go down in flames, that Democrats won’t be forced en masse to vote in favor of some hideously anti-trans amendment lest they lose their jobs next election, and I’m there for you.

Read the whole thread, this is blogging at its best - thoughtful, impassioned, and putting the issues out into the open.

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