Bad SF tropes

Dyson spores: instead of a little spore that gets in your lungs and gives you dreaded lurgy, a Dyson spore completely surrounds your lung.

One of these things is not like the other

The new Haitian President, Michel Martelly, will not make hasty decisions in the cases of Jean-Bertrand Aristide and Jean-Claude Duvalier, but he says he is thinking of granting them both an amnesty in order to encourage the process of reconciliation in his deeply troubled country.*

What to do with former presidents Jean-Claude Duvalier and Jean-Bertrand Aristide, recently returned to Haiti and awakening painful memories in the population as well as raising crucial legal questions? Should they be arrested and judged for the violence and fraud committed during their presidencies?

"Their cases are not so unique as you might think. The Haitian Constitution does not sanction exile. They belong here and I welcome them. If they've had problems or acted badly in the past, it's a matter for the justice system.

"I say to them welcome and we favor reconciliation and inclusion. We must not promote the use of ideology. My government has a plan for the future. I've always avoided planning based on the past. I would simply say that we could eventually think of that (an amnesty) to the extent that those who were hurt in the past understand the need for reconciliation. Before thinking about this, we must work on awareness and compassion to understand the victims and respect their feelings.

"So, we won't take hasty decisions, but I'm leaning toward the side of amnesty and forgiveness so that we can think about tomorrow and not yesterday. We must however always keep in mind the past so as not to repeat the errors of the past.

— La Presse, translated from French

Because, um, Aristide and Duvalier are totally the same! I mean, one of them had a personal death squad, and the other... um... opened schools.

Thought for the Day

For months, British parliamentarians — including Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg — have been proposing changes to a 300-year-old law that would allow Prince William and Kate Middleton’s firstborn child to become monarch, regardless of its gender.

Britain’s Telegraph newspaper reports that Canada has expressed opposition to changing any legislation that would alter the principle of male primogeniture — the custom that makes the firstborn son of a prince or king heir to the throne, even if the child has an older sister. The report did not specify who in Ottawa opposed such a change.

When asked Monday about the government’s opposition to the change, Conservative Leader Stephen Harper said Canadians aren’t interested in a debate on the monarchy.

“The successor to the throne is a man. The next successor to the throne is a man,” Harper said during a campaign stop in Yellowknife, N.W.T. “I don’t think Canadians want to open a debate on the monarchy or constitutional matters at this time. That’s our position. I just don’t see that as a priority for Canadians right now at all.”

— "Is Canada stalling royal succession reforms?", The Toronto Star