Saturday, February 28, 2009
Channelling Lenin
... you'd almost think that Obama was a student of Vladimir Lenin:
“Lenin is said to have declared that the best way to destroy the Capitalist System was to debauch the currency. By a continuing process of inflation, governments can confiscate, secretly and unobserved, an important part of the wealth of their citizens. By this method they not only confiscate, but they confiscate arbitrarily; and, while the process impoverishes many, it actually enriches some. The sight of this arbitrary rearrangement of riches strikes not only at security, but at confidence in the equity of the existing distribution of wealth. Those to whom the system brings windfalls, beyond their deserts and even beyond their expectations or desires, become ‘profiteers,’ who are the object of the hatred of the bourgeoisie, whom the inflationism has impoverished, not less than of the proletariat. As the inflation proceeds and the real value of the currency fluctuates wildly from month to month, all permanent relations between debtors and creditors, which form the ultimate foundation of capitalism, become so utterly disordered as to be almost meaningless; and the process of wealth-getting degenerates into a gamble and a lottery.”
Lenin was certainly right. There is no subtler, no surer means of overturning the existing basis of society than to debauch the currency. The process engages all the hidden forces of economic law on the side of destruction, and does it in a manner which not one man in a million is able to diagnose.”
Great Words from Quebec
Coming from the most pacifist province in Canada, this is indeed amazing:
ht
Canadian troops in Afghanistan are waging a noble war against the "barbarian" Taliban, Quebec City Mayor Regis Labeaume said Friday during a stop in Valcartier where he met a group of soldiers preparing to deploy.... while were at it, lets not forget that were it not for Quebec anti-war sentiment, polls in Canada would show a majority supporting the mission.
The war in Afghanistan is an unpopular mission among many in the province.
However, during a ceremony to mark the departure of some 2,000 soldiers from the base near Quebec City, Labeaume affirmed his support for Canada’s military intervention.
He urged the soldiers and their families to ignore the pacifist discourse and all those who oppose the mission.
"Ignore those armchair babblers, safe in their living rooms in a secure Quebec, with their anti-military quibbling and ideas about Canadian politics and the role of the military," he said.
"Know that you are our brave."
As part of the UN-sanctioned mission, he said Canadian troops in Afghanistan are engaged in a crusade against barbarism.
"You will fight barbarians, barbarians who close schools, barbarians who destroy books, barbarians who destroy heritage, barbarians who degrade women," he said.
"In Afghanistan, according to the Taliban, women are no more important than goats. . . . By my standards, that’s barbaric."
He said it’s up to the Valcartier troops to "fight that barbarism in a country where children don’t have the right to dream."
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Statezilla
It's a bird ... it's a plane ... no, it's Statezilla:
Do you ever go back to the first issue of this comic book and try to figure out what the plot’s all about? Wasn’t it something to do with subprime mortgages and two strange creatures called Fannie and Freddie? And then it became something to do with saving banks, wasn’t that it? And somewhere along the way the Big Three auto makers got involved? And now it’s about everything. Obama is going to do everything. So he needs to be able to spend everything. Only we don’t call it “spending” anymore. Everything government “spends” is now deemed an “investment.” Government will “invest” in “more efficient cars,” it will “invest” in daycare, it will “invest” in a new Federal Regulatory Agency of Fancy Drapes and Window Treatments. It will “invest” in an impact study group that will study the impact of recalling every edition of Webster’s and pasting in it a little Post-It note on the page defining “spend” saying “obsolete — see ‘invest.’ ”
This Had Better be a Rumour
Lefties are getting more and more irritated that we are bashing the O-conomy.
Perhaps if the following rumour proves to be a fact, they'll start to see things our way:
Update: I've since learned that the linked to blog belongs to one Hal Turner, a clearly white supremacist type who ran a web-radio show for a while. I'll leave the post up nevertheless, but be warned of the source ... it's more than dubious.
Perhaps if the following rumour proves to be a fact, they'll start to see things our way:
The United States of America has tendered to China a written agreement which grants to the People's Republic of China, an option to exercise Eminent Domain within the USA, as collateral for China's continued purchase of US Treasury Notes and existing US Currency reserves!... at the rate that US debt is growing, they'd have to give away entire states to make good on their debt. Frankly, this has got to be a misunderstanding of terms ... but then, this is the O-conomy ... hopelessness and change and all that.
On February 11, Bloomberg Business News reported that China was seeking "guarantees" for its US Government debt (Story Here), and it now appears they got it. Well placed senior sources at the US Embassy in Beijing CONFIRM the formal written agreement was delivered by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton during her recent trip to China.
This means that in the event the US Government defaults on its financial obligations to China, the Communist Government of China would be permitted to physically take -- inside the USA -- land, buildings, factories, perhaps even entire cities - to satisfy the financial obligations of the US government.
Update: I've since learned that the linked to blog belongs to one Hal Turner, a clearly white supremacist type who ran a web-radio show for a while. I'll leave the post up nevertheless, but be warned of the source ... it's more than dubious.
Leftwing Hate Machine in Full Gear
Since the real world labority doesn't much favour leftist politics, "progressives" are left creating myths in order to advance their agenda. Nothing demonstrates this more than the shameless attack by the left on Bobby Jindal:
The radical left is attacking Bobby Jindal over his story regarding Hurricane Katrina and Sheriff Harry Lee.
The people from Louisiana has heard this story a million times.
The key point to be killed is the radical Left, with Keith Olbermann, claims the story is false because Jindal was not on the ground in New Orleans during the Katrina mess.
** NOT TRUE **
In fact, Jindal was the *only* elected official who was on the ground.
Brain Dead Journalism
... CNN considers the following worth printing ... Lord Love a Duck:First lady Michelle Obama has a fashion following, with blogs tracking her daily garment choices.
She's on the March cover of Vogue in a sleeveless silk sheath. Then there was the purple sleeveless Narciso Rodriguez she wore to the president's joint session of Congress on Tuesday. And she's on the cover of the latest People magazine in a lacy pink number, also without sleeves.
Those toned arms are becoming a trademark. And a source of inspiration for some women.
Rylan Duggan, a personal trainer who runs Go Sleeveless, a blog that instructs women how to tone up flabby arms and "eliminate bat wings," said that in addition to asking how to get "Madonna arms" or "Kelly Ripa arms," clients are now asking about getting "Obama arms."
In Praise of Obama; and Not of Conservatives
I have to give the Obama administration credit for its handling of the banking crisis. It had a poor start, with tepid announcements that left investors gobsmacked ... "what did they just say?" ... was the standard response. If investors hate one thing, it's uncertainty.
But, we got a better taste of things to come late this week, and given the dire shape of the banking industry in the USA, the O-team is doing about all it can. What gets me, is the silly reaction of investors.
This past week, the O-team decided to convert its preferred shares of failed CITIgroup ( C ) into common stock. Effectively, this gave the US government a huge share in CITI, and diluted common stock. Investors reacted by selling like drunken sailors. The most common reason given was that "the government now has a dominant say in what happens at CITI ... and you know government, it can't run things as good as the private sector." We heard this refrain from Bloomberg to CNBC.
Now let's step back from this a minute. CITI is as good as toast without government aid ... so is it possible in any way imaginable for the government to do a worse job than the "private" sector did in this case?
Furthermore, tax payers stand to gain a huge profit when the government begins to liquidate its shares once CITI is back on its feet. Imagine ... CITI was down around $1.50 on Friday. Even if it struggles back to $10.00 some day ... tax payers will make out like bandits and CITI will be free to go it alone. Add to this the fact that the USA government is now in the swamp with ordinary investors, and has thus as much to gain or lose as they do.
Like most conservatives, I believe that government can't run business worth a damn ... but in the case of America's banks ... a monkey could run them better ... with a typewriter of course.
As a final thought, I also have to give conservatives the raspberry. The rally cry among those like Malkin is that the banks should be left to fail. Clearly, Malkin and others have no concept ... no inkling ... no idea, of the economic tempest that would strike down America, and the world, were the biggest US banks to fail completely. An avalanche of further failures would be triggered, the likes of which we've never seen before, simply because the USA banking system is a complex web of banks lending to banks and trading debt the world over ... all a convoluted scheme dreamt up by Congress, Government bureaucrats, and the industry to make the most possible people rich. Every American is in on it now, whether they like it or not, so they'd better get used to it. My advice to Malkin et al ... buy CITI. It's now guaranteed to succeed because there is no way that it's principle shareholder is going to let it fail.
On this one, the O-team got it right.
But, we got a better taste of things to come late this week, and given the dire shape of the banking industry in the USA, the O-team is doing about all it can. What gets me, is the silly reaction of investors.
This past week, the O-team decided to convert its preferred shares of failed CITIgroup ( C ) into common stock. Effectively, this gave the US government a huge share in CITI, and diluted common stock. Investors reacted by selling like drunken sailors. The most common reason given was that "the government now has a dominant say in what happens at CITI ... and you know government, it can't run things as good as the private sector." We heard this refrain from Bloomberg to CNBC.
Now let's step back from this a minute. CITI is as good as toast without government aid ... so is it possible in any way imaginable for the government to do a worse job than the "private" sector did in this case?
Furthermore, tax payers stand to gain a huge profit when the government begins to liquidate its shares once CITI is back on its feet. Imagine ... CITI was down around $1.50 on Friday. Even if it struggles back to $10.00 some day ... tax payers will make out like bandits and CITI will be free to go it alone. Add to this the fact that the USA government is now in the swamp with ordinary investors, and has thus as much to gain or lose as they do.
Like most conservatives, I believe that government can't run business worth a damn ... but in the case of America's banks ... a monkey could run them better ... with a typewriter of course.
As a final thought, I also have to give conservatives the raspberry. The rally cry among those like Malkin is that the banks should be left to fail. Clearly, Malkin and others have no concept ... no inkling ... no idea, of the economic tempest that would strike down America, and the world, were the biggest US banks to fail completely. An avalanche of further failures would be triggered, the likes of which we've never seen before, simply because the USA banking system is a complex web of banks lending to banks and trading debt the world over ... all a convoluted scheme dreamt up by Congress, Government bureaucrats, and the industry to make the most possible people rich. Every American is in on it now, whether they like it or not, so they'd better get used to it. My advice to Malkin et al ... buy CITI. It's now guaranteed to succeed because there is no way that it's principle shareholder is going to let it fail.
On this one, the O-team got it right.
A Trillion Dollar Error
If you've got that sinking feeling, it may be that you are one of the unfortunate 300 millions souls aboard the Obama economy:
Quentin Wilson, President and CEO of ALL Student, issued the following statement regarding the U.S. Department of Education budget proposal:
Quentin Wilson, President and CEO of ALL Student, issued the following statement regarding the U.S. Department of Education budget proposal:
"I strongly support President Obama's goal of increasing the completion rate of education beyond high school in the United States. Unfortunately, in conflict with budget language promising 'rigorous evaluation' to 'learn from what works,' the President's FY2010 budget proposal recommends an ineffective and costly nationalization of student lending under the authority of the U.S. Department of Education.... what's a trillion here ... a trillion there. Once you're sunk, you're sunk anyway. Of course, loans are meant to be paid back, but what this means is that somebody will have to borrow the trillion plus up front ... lend it out ... then wait a decade or more to have it repaid.
"Ironically, the weakest part of this Education Department plan involves a serious 'math error':
Thank You Mr. Bush
... for the Obama Iraq pullout:
Obama's withdrawal plan would take U.S. forces in Iraq down from a current 142,000 troops to 35,000 to 50,000. Under the status of forces agreement between the U.S. and Iran, negotiated and signed last year by the Bush administration, all forces must be out of Iraq by the end of 2011.In praise of Obama though, at least he didn't let the screeching left get the better of the situation, and he chose prudence instead.
In short, though President Obama will get credit, it was Bush's plan — not Obama's.
Withstanding the Tempest
Canada has a stodgy banking system backed by stodgy government regulation. The result ... the best dividends in the world of banking today and, other than Spain's Banco Santander, the most secure banks on the planet. That's what happens when there is no "progressive" philosophy driving banking ... the philosophy that believes that even the poor should own a home.
In Canada it's always been harder to get a mortgage than in the USA, but once you qualify, government insurance kicks in to support the banking system.
In Canada it's always been harder to get a mortgage than in the USA, but once you qualify, government insurance kicks in to support the banking system.
Canada's banks are living up to their growing reputation as a safe haven in the midst of the storm that's threatening financial institutions, but their pivotal lending businesses are beginning to stall.... if I quibble with the above, it's that Canada's government deserves all the credit in the world, starting with Paul Martin, who refused to "open up" Canada's banking system.
Four of the country's top six banks have disclosed their first-quarter performance, and each churned out a profit during three of the ugliest months in decades.
In comparison, figures released by regulators yesterday show that U.S. banks collectively lost $26.2-billion (U.S.) in their most recent quarter, the first sector-wide loss since 1990.
"Market conditions worldwide for banks remain difficult," Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce chief executive Gerald McCaughey said yesterday. "Yet, arguably, one of the better places to be right now is in Canada."
The financial results that Canadian banks released this week handily eclipsed analysts' predictions, said Shane Jones of Scotia Cassels Investment Counsel. While the banks face possible losses on their credit portfolios if markets and the economy continue to sour, the banks are strengthening their capital levels to buffer against future hits.
Canadian banks "deserve all the credit they are getting," Mr. Jones said.
Liberal - Conservative Divorce Proceedings
An open letter to American liberals, et al.
To American liberals, leftists, social progressives, socialists, Marxists, Obama supporters, et al.
We have stuck together since the late 1950’s, but the whole of this latest election process has Made me realize that I want a divorce. I know we tolerated each other for many years for the sake of future generations, but sadly, this relationship has run its course.
Our two ideological sides of America cannot, and will not ever agree on what is right, so let’s just end it on friendly terms. We can smile, chalk it up to irreconcilable differences, and go our own ways.
Here is a model separation agreement:
Our two groups can equitably divide up the country by landmass each taking a portion. That will be the difficult part, but I am sure our two sides can come to a friendly agreement.
After that it should be relatively easy! Our respective representatives can effortlessly divide other assets since both sides have such distinct and disparate tastes.
We don’t like redistributive taxes so you can keep them. You are welcome to the liberal judges and the ACLU. Since you hate guns and war, we’ll take our firearms, the cops, the NRA, and the military.
You can keep Oprah, Michael Moore, and Rosie O’Donnell (You are, however, responsible for finding a bio-diesel vehicle big enough to move all three of them.)
We’ll keep the capitalism, greedy corporations, pharmaceutical companies, Wal-Mart, and Wall Street. You can have your beloved homeless, homeboys, hippies, and illegal aliens.
We’ll keep the hot Alaskan hockey moms, greedy CEO’s, and rednecks. We’ll keep the bibles and give you NBC and Hollywood.
You can make nice with Iran and Palestine and we’ll retain the right to invade and hammer places that threaten us. You can have the peaceniks, and war protesters. When our allies or our way of life are under assault, we’ll help provide them security.
We’ll keep our Judeo-Christian values.. You are welcome to Islam, Scientology, Humanism, and Shirley McClain. You can also have the U.N. But we will no longer be paying the bill.
We’ll keep the SUVs, pickup trucks, and oversized luxury cars. You can take every Subaru station wagon you can find.
You can give everyone healthcare, if you can find any practicing doctors. We’ll continue to believe healthcare is a luxury and not a right.
We’ll keep The Battle Hymn of the Republic and the National Anthem. I’m sure you’ll be happy to substitute Imagine, I’d Like to Teach the World to Sing, Kumbaya, or We Are the World.
We’ll practice trickle-down economics, and you can give trickle up poverty your best shot.
Since it often so offends you, we’ll keep our history, our name, and our flag.
Would you agree to this? If so please pass it along to other likeminded liberals, and to conservative patriots, for signatures.
Sincerely,
John J. Wall.
American Law Student
P.S. Also, please take Barbara Streisand
To American liberals, leftists, social progressives, socialists, Marxists, Obama supporters, et al.
We have stuck together since the late 1950’s, but the whole of this latest election process has Made me realize that I want a divorce. I know we tolerated each other for many years for the sake of future generations, but sadly, this relationship has run its course.
Our two ideological sides of America cannot, and will not ever agree on what is right, so let’s just end it on friendly terms. We can smile, chalk it up to irreconcilable differences, and go our own ways.
Here is a model separation agreement:
Our two groups can equitably divide up the country by landmass each taking a portion. That will be the difficult part, but I am sure our two sides can come to a friendly agreement.
After that it should be relatively easy! Our respective representatives can effortlessly divide other assets since both sides have such distinct and disparate tastes.
We don’t like redistributive taxes so you can keep them. You are welcome to the liberal judges and the ACLU. Since you hate guns and war, we’ll take our firearms, the cops, the NRA, and the military.
You can keep Oprah, Michael Moore, and Rosie O’Donnell (You are, however, responsible for finding a bio-diesel vehicle big enough to move all three of them.)
We’ll keep the capitalism, greedy corporations, pharmaceutical companies, Wal-Mart, and Wall Street. You can have your beloved homeless, homeboys, hippies, and illegal aliens.
We’ll keep the hot Alaskan hockey moms, greedy CEO’s, and rednecks. We’ll keep the bibles and give you NBC and Hollywood.
You can make nice with Iran and Palestine and we’ll retain the right to invade and hammer places that threaten us. You can have the peaceniks, and war protesters. When our allies or our way of life are under assault, we’ll help provide them security.
We’ll keep our Judeo-Christian values.. You are welcome to Islam, Scientology, Humanism, and Shirley McClain. You can also have the U.N. But we will no longer be paying the bill.
We’ll keep the SUVs, pickup trucks, and oversized luxury cars. You can take every Subaru station wagon you can find.
You can give everyone healthcare, if you can find any practicing doctors. We’ll continue to believe healthcare is a luxury and not a right.
We’ll keep The Battle Hymn of the Republic and the National Anthem. I’m sure you’ll be happy to substitute Imagine, I’d Like to Teach the World to Sing, Kumbaya, or We Are the World.
We’ll practice trickle-down economics, and you can give trickle up poverty your best shot.
Since it often so offends you, we’ll keep our history, our name, and our flag.
Would you agree to this? If so please pass it along to other likeminded liberals, and to conservative patriots, for signatures.
Sincerely,
John J. Wall.
American Law Student
P.S. Also, please take Barbara Streisand
Friday, February 27, 2009
Truly Loved
Isn't it peculiar, that those who sacrificed the most, appreciate him ... and those who sacrificed the least ... detest him:
Raping the Henrys
High Earners Not Rich Yet:
More on the Henrys.
The group that's hit hardest are the taxpayers I call the HENRYs, for "High Earners Not Rich Yet." The HENRYs are families who make between $250,000 and $500,000 a year. I wrote about the HENRYs in a Nov. 17 Fortune cover story, "Who Pays for the Bailout?" They're among America's most productive, hard-working citizens: our doctors, attorneys, architects, and entrepreneurs, the owners and builders of cleaning companies, delis and security franchises.... keep reading.
More on the Henrys.
All They've Got Left is Hope
With the "hope" crowd taking control of the US economy, it's becoming clearer everyday that "hope" is in fact, the foundation of the Obama economic plan.
"Hope", that heavier taxes won't drive investment away.
"Hope", that the economy will soon surge to levels of growth seldom seen.
"Hope", that China will be able to lend, lend, lend.
"Hope", that the war on CO2 won't drive consumer costs up.
"Hope", that printing ship loads of USD won't cause massive inflation.
"Hope", that those earning 250G or more will stick around to pay more tax.
"Hope", that debt caused stagflation won't take hold.
"Hope", that a vastly expanded government won't push away investment.
"Hope", that another 911 doesn't occur to crush the economy while it's down.
If any of the above "hopes" fails to materialize, you can kiss the next two generations of Americans goodbye ... come to think of it though, you can kiss the next two generations goodbye anyway. With the peronal tab owed by each American approaching 40,000 or more dollars (Feb. 19), and the fact that only the most productive will ever repay it ... "hope" may be the only strategy left.
Hope and Change indeed. Obama did, after all, keep his promise.
Gateway examines more hope and change economics ... click.
"Hope", that heavier taxes won't drive investment away.
"Hope", that the economy will soon surge to levels of growth seldom seen.
"Hope", that China will be able to lend, lend, lend.
"Hope", that the war on CO2 won't drive consumer costs up.
"Hope", that printing ship loads of USD won't cause massive inflation.
"Hope", that those earning 250G or more will stick around to pay more tax.
"Hope", that debt caused stagflation won't take hold.
"Hope", that a vastly expanded government won't push away investment.
"Hope", that another 911 doesn't occur to crush the economy while it's down.
If any of the above "hopes" fails to materialize, you can kiss the next two generations of Americans goodbye ... come to think of it though, you can kiss the next two generations goodbye anyway. With the peronal tab owed by each American approaching 40,000 or more dollars (Feb. 19), and the fact that only the most productive will ever repay it ... "hope" may be the only strategy left.
Hope and Change indeed. Obama did, after all, keep his promise.
Gateway examines more hope and change economics ... click.
You Must Hate a Frenchman as you Hate the Devil
From, The Lambeth Walk:Nelson: "Order the signal, Hardy."
Hardy: "Aye, aye sir."
Nelson: "Hold on, that's not what I dictated to Flags. What's the meaning of this?"
Hardy: "Sorry sir, you'll have to read this."
Nelson (reading aloud): "' England expects every person to do his or her duty, regardless of race, gender, sexual orientation, religious persuasion Or disability.' - What gobbledygook is this, Hardy?"
Hardy: "Admiralty policy, sir. We're an equal opportunity employer now.
We Had the devil's own job getting ' England ' past the censors, lest it be considered racist."
Nelson: "Gadzooks, hand me my pipe and tobacco."
Hardy: "Sorry sir. All naval vessels have now been designated smoke-free Working environments."
Nelson: "In that case, break open the rum ration. Let us splice the main brace to steel the men before battle."
Hardy: "The rum ration has been abolished, Admiral. Its part of the Government's policy on binge drinking."
Nelson: "Good heavens, Hardy. I suppose we'd better get on with it ..................... Full speed ahead."
Hardy: "I think you'll find that there's a 4 knot speed limit in this stretch of water."
Nelson: "Damn it man! We are on the eve of the greatest sea battle in history. We must advance with all dispatch. Report from the crow's nest please."
Hardy: "That won't be possible, sir."
Nelson: "What?"
Hardy: "Health and Safety have closed the crow's nest, sir. No harness; and they said that rope ladders don't meet regulations. They won't let anyone up there until a proper scaffolding can be erected."
Nelson: "Then get me the ship's carpenter without delay."
Hardy: "He's busy knocking up a wheelchair access to the foredeck, Sir."
Nelson: "Wheelchair access? I've never heard anything so absurd."
Hardy: "Health and safety again, sir. We have to provide a barrier-free environment for the differently-abled."
Nelson: "Differently-abled? I've only one arm and one eye and I refuse even to hear mention of the word. I didn't rise to the rank of admiral by playing the disability card."
Hardy: "Actually, sir, you did. The Royal Navy is under represented in the areas of visual impairment and limb deficiency."
Nelson: "Give me full sail. The salt spray beckons."
Hardy: "A couple of problems there too, sir. Health and safety won't let the crew up the rigging without hard hats. And they don't want anyone breathing in too much salt - haven't you seen the adverts?"
Nelson: "I've never heard such rubbish. Break out the cannons and tell the men to stand by to engage the enemy."
Hardy: "The men are a bit worried about shooting at anyone, Admiral."
Nelson: "What? This is mutiny!"
Hardy: "It's not that, sir. It's just that they're afraid of being charged With murder if they actually kill anyone. There're a couple of legal-aid lawyers on board, watching everyone like hawks."
Nelson: "Then how are we to sink the Frenchies and the Spanish?"
Hardy: "Actually, sir, we're not."
Nelson: "We're not?"
Hardy: "No, sir. The French and the Spanish are our European partners now. According to the Common Fisheries Policy, we shouldn't even be in this stretch of water. We could get hit with a claim for compensation."
Nelson: "But you must hate a Frenchman as you hate the devil."
Hardy: "I wouldn't let the ship's diversity co-coordinator hear you saying that sir. You'll be up on disciplinary report."
Nelson: "You must consider every man an enemy, who speaks ill of your King."
Hardy: "Not any more, sir. We must be inclusive in this multicultural age. Now put on your Kevlar vest; it's the rules. It could save your life"
Nelson: "Don't tell me - health and safety. Whatever happened to rum, sodomy and the lash?"
Hardy: As I explained, sir, rum is off the menu! And there's a ban on Corporal punishment."
Nelson: "What about sodomy?"
Hardy: "I believe that is now legal, sir."
Nelson: "In that case, kiss me. Hardy".
Snow Mountains
Another side-effect of global warming, I'm sure:
It's not Blue Mountain, it's not even Boler Mountain.
But the huge snow mound piled up in the parking lot of the Wellington Southdale plaza in London is a kind of tourist attraction, says a nearby restaurant manager.
The mini-mountain of plowed snow is one of many that have risen in London in this extra-snowy winter, especially in big parking lots, their heights deliberately extended to cut down the amount of parking space they consume.
"It's something people are talking about, for sure," says Jason Dolsen of Moxie's Classic Grill, near the giant Wellington snowpile.
"It's hard to ignore. Our customers have asked us if we've climbed it or skied on it, which, of course, we haven't."
Does More CO2 Cause More Warming
It seems to be an open question as to whether the more CO2 one adds to the atmosphere, the more warming will result; to say nothing of the various feedbacks. Or to be more specific; is there a limit to the amount of warming increases in CO2 can cause.
Watts Up With That has an interesting debate going in the comments, it's worth a read.
Here's a sample:
Watts Up With That has an interesting debate going in the comments, it's worth a read.
Here's a sample:
“It has been known for a long time that even a short column of air contains enough CO2 to saturate LW absorption. This has been misinterpreted by some skeptics to mean that adding more CO2 will not increase the temperature. That is simply not true, as higher GHG densities force the temperature up.”
The 2 last sentences contradict physical laws. Reasoning only with CO²:
1/ As you said, all LW radiations are exciting a small and finite number of CO² molecules within the first meters (<10m)>2/ Calculation and comparison of the frequencies (which can be interpreted as probabilities of occurrence) of
a) decay rate (natural broadening),
b) relative molecular movement (Doppler broadening) and of
c) molecular collision (collisionnal broadening) show that the frequency of molecular collision is at least 4 orders of magnitude higher than the frequency of decay rate. That means that through molecular collisions and de-excitation as kinetic energy (heat measured with a thermometer), system reaches rapidly to a pseudo thermal equilibrium.
3/ The calculation of the velocity distribution in such system shows that only a very tiny part of the CO² molecules will keep enough energy to re-emit a photon with an energy corresponding to a 2.10^13 Hz frequency (or a 15 µm wavelength) to re-excite an other (CO²/H²O) molecule. The tiny part which re-radiates does so 50% upwards and 50% downwards, but as the number of non excited CO² molecules is far more higher (ie molecular system is far from being saturated), the downwards re-radiation is rapidly trapped again by CO² (or H²O) and re-thermalized by molecular collision as kinetic energy. Thus re-radiation in this frequency range plays only a very small part in the energy “trapping” process. Adding more CO² molecules just increases the probability that radiations from the surface excite CO² molecules at a lower height of the atmospheric column.
4/ Consequently, any radiation outside this frequency range will be (except for macroscopic aerosols which will absorb and re-radiate as a blackbody) transparently returned in part to earth (slightly warming it) and in part to the upper atmosphere (and thus slightly cooling it). This is this tiny re-radiation that is thought to be the GH effect accounted for the GW. Quantitatively, the total number of these low frequency photons depends only on the total number of the photons radiated by the surface, and thus only on the solar irradiation. Thus adding more CO² molecules will not change the total number of low frequency re-radiated photon towards surface, that is to say the slight warming which results of will not be modified when doubling (or more) the number of CO² molecules. As the atmosphere is transparent for these downwards photons, their number will also be independent of the height at which CO² molecules have been excited.
5/ So, what do an increase of CO² level? As the number of CO² molecules increases, the probability that a finite number of CO² molecules is excited tends also to increase at the same height. But as almost the totality of the radiation from the surface is “trapped” within the first meters above the surface, it will not modify the total number of exited CO² molecules and have thus no effect on the total number of low frequency re-radiations towards the surface (GH effect). And because atmosphere is transparent to them, the height at which this process occurs will have no effect on the total number of this re-radiation returned to the surface.
The slight warming is therefore independent of
a) the number of CO² molecules (at the current level),
b) the height at which CO² molecules have been excited. and is dependent only of c) the solar irradiation.
I hope the above, which is not true for very low level of CO² (or any GH gases), makes sense.
What if the Donor Gets Sick?
Now that it's been assured that the United States is heading down the most expensive socialist experiment in the history of the world, we need to look at where the money is going to come from ... especially since the numbers we are now dealing with are gargantuan.
China has been tapped as the main "donor" ... the only place on the planet left with deep enough pockets. But, what if the donor gets sick?
China has been tapped as the main "donor" ... the only place on the planet left with deep enough pockets. But, what if the donor gets sick?
In this vibrant capital city of 17 million, there is an insatiable demand for housing, yet prices remain far out of reach of most residents. American-style free-standing homes are being advertised for more than $1 million in gated communities with names like Versailles, Provence, Arcadia and Riviera. Within the Fourth Ring Road, a beltway that defines the central part of the city, two- and three-bedroom apartments are offered for $800,000 in compounds named Central Park and Riverside.Here's a thought ... there are thousands of new leapers in the United States, that "unclean" class of people earning more than $250,000 a year. China is waiting with open arms ... gated communities and all.
"These are like New York prices, but we are Chinese. We don't have that kind of money," said Zhang Huizhan, a 55-year-old businessman who owns a Chinese furniture factory. He has been looking for five years for an apartment for him and his wife within their budget of $150,000.
The average salary in Beijing is less than $6,000 a year.
Louis Kuijs, a senior economist at the World Bank in Beijing, said a lack of government supervision of the real estate industry tempted developers to build only for the luxury market and to ignore the mass market.
"If you think demand is endless for anything you build and you have just 200 square meters of land, you will build high-end apartments to make the highest profit," Kuijs said.
That Racist Bastard
Acting legend Clint Eastwood , 79, apparently believes that political correctness has rendered modern society humourless, for he accuses younger generations of spending too much time trying to avoid being offensive.... thanks Clint ... I couldn't agree more; and Gran Torino is indeed, a wonderful film.
The Dirty Harry star insists that he should be able to tell harmless jokes about nationality without fearing that people may brand him "a racist".
"People have lost their sense of humour. In former times we constantly made jokes about different races. You can only tell them today with one hand over your mouth or you will be insulted as a racist," the Daily Express quoted him as saying.
"I find that ridiculous. In those earlier days every friendly clique had a 'Sam the Jew' or 'Jose the Mexican' - but we didn't think anything of it or have a racist thought. It was just normal that we made jokes based on our nationality or ethnicity. That was never a problem. I don't want to be politically correct.
We're all spending too much time and energy trying to be politically correct about everything," he added.
Thursday, February 26, 2009
Meanwhile in Thailand
... people are losing their heads:
Suspected Islamist rebels have decapitated three people in Thailand's Muslim dominated south in the past week, police said on Thursday.
Three people were killed late on Wednesday in the southern Thai province of Narathiwat , and one of the victims was decapitated, police said.
Forty-seven people, often soldiers, have been beheaded in Thailand's three Muslim-majority provinces of Yala, Narathiwat and Pattani since 2004. An estimated 3,300 people have been killed in the conflict.
Experts say the region's Islamic schools or 'pondok' are fomenting the Islamist rebellion.
Demands by Thai Muslims include the introduction of Islamic law and making ethnic Pattani Malay (Yawi) a working language in the region. They also want an improvement in the local economy and education system.
The conflict began in January 2004 and reflects the long-standing alienation of the area's inhabitants who are predominantly Malay in ethnicity and language and practising Muslims.
During the 1970s and 1980s secular ethnic Malay groups such as The United Front for the Independence of Pattani (Bersatu) and the Pattani United Liberation Organization (PULO) fought for a separate state in the region.
Are Deer and Headlights Racist?
Before I posted the following cartoon, I made sure to check if "deer" and "headlights" had any racial connotations. I also wanted to make sure that in no way did the picture contain "monkeys" or use the term "articulate".
Heaven forbid that we post such:
Heaven forbid that we post such:
Ancient Astrology and Global Warming Science
What do ancient astrology and global warming science have in common ... archaic methodology for one:
The Register has pulled off a coup, translating the work of a group of key Japanese climate scientists, who are somewhat less than impressed with the work of the IPCC.
Their findings have been published by the Japan Society of Energy and Resources (JSER). Lead author is Kanya Kusano, Program Director and Group Leader for the Earth Simulator at the Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science & Technology (JAMSTEC).
He focuses on the immaturity of simulation work cited in support of the theory of anthropogenic climate change and, using somewhat undiplomatic language, compares the IPCCs conclusions with ancient astrology.
After listing many faults, and the IPCC's own conclusion that natural causes of climate are poorly understood, Kusano concludes: "[The IPCC's] conclusion that from now on atmospheric temperatures are likely to show a continuous, monotonous increase, should be perceived as an unprovable hypothesis."
More Southern Anger
Suddenly, our drab but erudite Prime Minister Harper doesn't seem that bad after all ... we could be dealing with socialists on steroids, as our friends to the south of us are.
In the USA, euphoria at electing the first black president has turned to either silent uncertainty or outright rage. It's in the wind ... on the wire ... and only a fool or hardcore utopian socialist could miss it. Already Obama's numbers are polling worse than Bush's at this point 8 years ago ... and this, after The Big O spent more money to gain power than any other human in the history of the world ... and, after almost the entire world press core shilled for him.
What has become clear, is that when you turn the keys of the economy over to folks who have never run a business, have never built anything, have never accomplished anything of note, and who have functioned strictly within the theoretical realm of academia, or worse yet, Marxist/socialist activism, you end up getting exactly what you voted for ... a perfect storm for economic disaster.
As Canadians we need to take note, given that 80% of our trade is with the soon to be economic basket case down south. And this, despite the fact that economic recovery is in the wind.
As a trader and economy watcher I'd place my bet on a soft recovery starting late this summer ... but my forecast for robust recovery is on hold ... becoming instead a forecast for a long, anaemic, go nowhere USA economy that will drag down the world for a decade to come.
The American people elected a socialist ideologue who just destroyed any chance of a long term robust recovery by placing his bet on socialism. He has just destroyed America by saddling her with the biggest debt in the history of the world, and he plans on exacting revenge on America's most prosperous and productive class ... that group that now pay 40% of America's tax burden ... the new American leaper ... the $250,000+ wage earner. The day is not that far away when it dawns on the socialist ideologues that the leaper can't pay ... won't pay ... and the socialists will have to go ever harder after businesses and the middle class to pay the debt from hell. Either that, or America will be bankrupt. What’s more, the Marxist ideologues are adding Carbon Tax lunacy to America’s financial burden. Welcome to green socialist hell.
It is possible ... just possible ... that we will see a genuine depression, and it will sit squarely on the shoulders of all those who voted for a man who had never in his life accomplished a thing of note, other than be born part black and make them feel good.
Barry Obama has just killed the prosperity of an entire generation, or two. Canadian businesses are best to follow Prime Minister Harper's advice ... seek new business oportunites abroad; unless it's to open cheap resorts in the New Mexico just south of the 49th.
Lord help us all.
America's Right has more:
In the USA, euphoria at electing the first black president has turned to either silent uncertainty or outright rage. It's in the wind ... on the wire ... and only a fool or hardcore utopian socialist could miss it. Already Obama's numbers are polling worse than Bush's at this point 8 years ago ... and this, after The Big O spent more money to gain power than any other human in the history of the world ... and, after almost the entire world press core shilled for him.
What has become clear, is that when you turn the keys of the economy over to folks who have never run a business, have never built anything, have never accomplished anything of note, and who have functioned strictly within the theoretical realm of academia, or worse yet, Marxist/socialist activism, you end up getting exactly what you voted for ... a perfect storm for economic disaster.
As Canadians we need to take note, given that 80% of our trade is with the soon to be economic basket case down south. And this, despite the fact that economic recovery is in the wind.
As a trader and economy watcher I'd place my bet on a soft recovery starting late this summer ... but my forecast for robust recovery is on hold ... becoming instead a forecast for a long, anaemic, go nowhere USA economy that will drag down the world for a decade to come.
The American people elected a socialist ideologue who just destroyed any chance of a long term robust recovery by placing his bet on socialism. He has just destroyed America by saddling her with the biggest debt in the history of the world, and he plans on exacting revenge on America's most prosperous and productive class ... that group that now pay 40% of America's tax burden ... the new American leaper ... the $250,000+ wage earner. The day is not that far away when it dawns on the socialist ideologues that the leaper can't pay ... won't pay ... and the socialists will have to go ever harder after businesses and the middle class to pay the debt from hell. Either that, or America will be bankrupt. What’s more, the Marxist ideologues are adding Carbon Tax lunacy to America’s financial burden. Welcome to green socialist hell.
It is possible ... just possible ... that we will see a genuine depression, and it will sit squarely on the shoulders of all those who voted for a man who had never in his life accomplished a thing of note, other than be born part black and make them feel good.
Barry Obama has just killed the prosperity of an entire generation, or two. Canadian businesses are best to follow Prime Minister Harper's advice ... seek new business oportunites abroad; unless it's to open cheap resorts in the New Mexico just south of the 49th.
Lord help us all.
America's Right has more:
I am so angry right now as an American that, by God, I need to hit something. I feel a bit like a tiger in a cage, pacing back and forth, fuming, snarling, waiting for the next handler stupid enough to unlock that door.
The budget details are out. The White House calls it "A New Era of Responsibility." I ask -- responsibility to whom?
The American people are being pissed on and told that it’s raining. Our ship is sinking, but we’re being told they’re just drawing us a bath. We are being lied to over and over and over again and I, for one, am just tired of it.
[...]
Last week, New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg--another nitwit--let it slip that some 40,000 families pay 50 percent of the taxes in the city. Get that? That’s 40,000 families out of the some 8,000,000 people who live in New York City and the some 12,000,000 that work there, carrying half of the tax burden for the city. How many of those millions of people pay nothing? How many more get a credit at the end of the year? And what happens when Bloomberg hikes taxes on the wealthy in that city? I’ll tell you – many of the 40,000 shouldering the burden for everyone else will find another place to hang their hat and coat, another place to build their business, and kiss New York City as we know it goodbye.
We Told You So
... at what point can we begin to gloat:
... keep reading!
ht
Don't forget: I'm a LIBERAL!! I voted for this guy. This is not a RIGHT WING ideological rant.
[...]
I am depressed. I looked so forward to not having to listen to that stupid, smug son-of-a-bitch "W" Bush. I was really excited about the prospects of having a smart, eloquent, level-headed leader speaking in plain truths and common sense. I am such an asshole! What I have come to realize is that even though I found Bush-the-dumber virtually impossible to listen to, I always thought it was because he was such a self-congratulatory moron. But what I have quickly come to understand is that it was NOT his insipid, shit-assed grin, or his quasi-literate references to Noooquoooler Weaponsssssssssss that made me nutso, it was his lying. And the reason I know that now is because I feel THE EXACT SAME WAY about our new President.
... keep reading!
ht
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
How the Brits Love Their Soldiers
picture: special new Brit IED proof armour ... thin air... so much so, that they send them into battle in equipment not fit for the junk yard:
Three soldiers in The Rifles have today been reported killed in Afghanistan. Early indications are that they were killed by an IED while riding in a Land Rover Wimik.In case you have doubts ... yes, this is the same UK that once controlled the high seas and dominated most of the world with her navy ... the same UK that refused to give in to Hitler ... the same UK with a once proud military tradition.
Now, let's see. You were prepared to suspend parliament until 12.30 today over the death of a six-year-old child, for whom you bear no responsibility. The deaths of these three, the children now of grieving parents, are partly your responsibility. Your government sent them to their deaths in equipment which is not even fit for a scrap heap.
Numbers Big Enough To Even Scare a Lefty
The numbers are so staggering ... the implications so numbing ... that sooner or later even the religious adoration that "progressives" feel for Obama will be penetrated ... if they so much as consider the numbers. Either that, or we can be assured that in order to be a loyal O-bot, one must be incapable of doing even the most remedial of math.
click image for more details
It should come as relief to educators, that at least 54% of the American population is capable of at least remedial math ... click.
click image for more detailsIt should come as relief to educators, that at least 54% of the American population is capable of at least remedial math ... click.
Is Your Neighbour Going to Kill Your Son
... in Afghanistan?
If UK Muslims are fighting UK soldiers in Afghanistan, it's only a matter of time before Canadians fight Canadians in Afghanistan, after all, Canuck jihadists are already headed for Somalia and not that long ago some were killed by US UAV strikes in Pakistan:
If UK Muslims are fighting UK soldiers in Afghanistan, it's only a matter of time before Canadians fight Canadians in Afghanistan, after all, Canuck jihadists are already headed for Somalia and not that long ago some were killed by US UAV strikes in Pakistan:
Somalia is also becoming a destination for British Muslims of Somali extraction who have started fighting alongside al-Qa'ida-backed Islamist forces. A 21-year-old Briton of Somali extraction, who had been brought up in Ealing, west London, recently blew himself up in the town of Baidoa, killing 20 people. The head of MI5, Jonathan Evans, has raised the worrying issue of British citizens being indoctrinated in Somalia, and Michael Hayden, the outgoing head of the CIA, warned that the conflict in the Horn of Africa [latest here] had "catalysed" expatriate Somalis in the West...
Somebody; Get This Warmist a Soother
This, from a "top" scientist, no doubt:
Climate change will wipe out most life on Earth by the end of this century and mankind is too late to avert catastrophe, a leading British climate scientist said.I always wondered what a "top" scientist was ... now I know ... they are so above it all that the rarified oxygen has turned their brains to Jello.
James Lovelock, 89, famous for his Gaia theory of the Earth being a kind of living organism, said higher temperatures will turn parts of the world into desert and raise sea levels, flooding other regions.
More Change Minus the Hope
Once hardcore old guard Democrats start squawking, you know we've got a problem:
Sen. Robert Byrd (D-W.Va.), the longest-serving Democratic senator, is criticizing President Obama’s appointment of White House “czars” to oversee federal policy, saying these executive positions amount to a power grab by the executive branch.Byrd is a constitutional scholar.
In a letter to Obama on Wednesday, Byrd complained about Obama’s decision to create White House offices on health reform, urban affairs policy, and energy and climate change. Byrd said such positions “can threaten the Constitutional system of checks and balances. At the worst, White House staff have taken direction and control of programmatic areas that are the statutory responsibility of Senate-confirmed officials.”
The Speech That Killed a Recovery
Yesterday Obama missed another chance to rise above it all ... to give the United States and the World some hope that the economic crisis will end ... soon. The speech was laced with change ... but little hope.
We were treated to a speech that could've been given by any socialist, anywhere, at any time. It was full of "we" and "us", but hardly a mention of the most important factor that will bring America, and hence the world, back to prosperity. The speech lacked any appeal to the person as an individual.
Sure, there was oblique reference to the individual in terms of sacrifice ... with vague suggestions that even he, The One, will have to make. But, that is not what America and the world economy need at this time, because notions of sacrifice in the context presented by Obama suggest an ever longer and ever increasing economic crisis.
America was built on the power of individual economic freedom ... and as a result, America has offered more opportunity for vertical economic mobility than any country in the history of the world. It is, after all, where rags to riches is a way of life ... not just a dream. American individuals have sacrificed much in the past, but always with the hope of a better future. They don’t need to be admonished to make sacrifice by one who has made none.
Tony B. , a former business acquaintance of mine, nearly starved, with his fridge down to peanut butter and jam, so that he could keep his business running and pay his employees; in the end building a multi-million dollar business. Yet today, Tony would be viewed in that class of unclean ... those who earn more than $250,000 a year ... and who's patriotic duty it is to pay for bigger and more intrusive government.
Socialists like Obama will never admit that it is the Tony's of America who hold the keys to "collective" prosperity ... for it is the "Tony's" who know what it is to pursue the American dream ... to lift themselves up when things look hopeless ... and to be self sufficient; in the end offering a good living to scores of employees.
In the world of Obama, Tony has only one role ... to pay ever more tax because for socialists, Tony must not only carry the water ... he must offer it to others in ever greater quantity.
Obama, being a Marxist at heart, couldn't find the words to express, nor the understanding, that it is the individual, as consumer and investor, who will get America, and the world, out of recession. It is the individual, be it the unionist, retiree, billionaire, teacher, business owner, truck drive, or enterprising young adult, who can create the conditions and put forth the funds that will trigger recovery. It is the individual who must feel confident enough to spend ... on consumer items and through investments.
In Obama's view, it is the government that can create wealth and prosperity by taking from those who have earned their own prosperity, and dividing the spoils up among those who, for whatever reason, don't have. Obama's world is one of expanded government power, more intrusive regulation from healthcare to energy, and crushing tax burdens passed onto children yet unborn. Obama's world is one of a small cadre of scientific elite using scientific hypothesis as an excuse to draft social and economic engineering. Obama's world is one of the collective ... and nothing in his speech convinced "the market" otherwise.
In Canada, we have the perfect example of what Obama style socialism brings. The province of Saskatchewan elected socialist governments on and off for decades ... creating in Saskatchewan every “progressives” wet dream. In fact, in hindsight, it could be argued, that Saskatchewan was the "progressive" ideal.
The result though, was an economic basket case. Despite the fact that Saskatchewan sits on incredible natural resource wealth, the province depended on Federal handouts ... forever. Then, something happened. The people of Saskatchewan elected a conservative government and like magic, investment dollars flowed into the province, giving Saskatchewan the distinction of producing 3.9 GDP growth in a recession ... and it was all investment driven.
You see, when the investor ... be it a pension plan or billionaire or Sally with her $1000 dollar stock buy, feel confident, they place bets in the market. It is these bets that drive prosperity ... taking the form of stocks, business starts, business expansions, and consumer spending.
Until Obama and the socialist horde who support him recognize this fact, the recovery that we all await will be sluggish at best ... or non-existent. In the end, we all want to be treated as capable individuals who have a right to win or lose based on our own merits ... and keep as much of our cash without government sticking its greasy hands in our pockets. Those who don’t hold this ideal, are little more than leeches.
Obama ... no matter how great a teleprompt reader he is, did nothing to instil confidence in the individual ... and the market heard him loud and clear.
There is nothing in Obama's speech that would dissuade investors in their belief that Obama understands and appreciates little the risks and rewards associated with investment. It is best we all prepare for a long four years.
We were treated to a speech that could've been given by any socialist, anywhere, at any time. It was full of "we" and "us", but hardly a mention of the most important factor that will bring America, and hence the world, back to prosperity. The speech lacked any appeal to the person as an individual.
Sure, there was oblique reference to the individual in terms of sacrifice ... with vague suggestions that even he, The One, will have to make. But, that is not what America and the world economy need at this time, because notions of sacrifice in the context presented by Obama suggest an ever longer and ever increasing economic crisis.
America was built on the power of individual economic freedom ... and as a result, America has offered more opportunity for vertical economic mobility than any country in the history of the world. It is, after all, where rags to riches is a way of life ... not just a dream. American individuals have sacrificed much in the past, but always with the hope of a better future. They don’t need to be admonished to make sacrifice by one who has made none.
Tony B. , a former business acquaintance of mine, nearly starved, with his fridge down to peanut butter and jam, so that he could keep his business running and pay his employees; in the end building a multi-million dollar business. Yet today, Tony would be viewed in that class of unclean ... those who earn more than $250,000 a year ... and who's patriotic duty it is to pay for bigger and more intrusive government.
Socialists like Obama will never admit that it is the Tony's of America who hold the keys to "collective" prosperity ... for it is the "Tony's" who know what it is to pursue the American dream ... to lift themselves up when things look hopeless ... and to be self sufficient; in the end offering a good living to scores of employees.
In the world of Obama, Tony has only one role ... to pay ever more tax because for socialists, Tony must not only carry the water ... he must offer it to others in ever greater quantity.
Obama, being a Marxist at heart, couldn't find the words to express, nor the understanding, that it is the individual, as consumer and investor, who will get America, and the world, out of recession. It is the individual, be it the unionist, retiree, billionaire, teacher, business owner, truck drive, or enterprising young adult, who can create the conditions and put forth the funds that will trigger recovery. It is the individual who must feel confident enough to spend ... on consumer items and through investments.
In Obama's view, it is the government that can create wealth and prosperity by taking from those who have earned their own prosperity, and dividing the spoils up among those who, for whatever reason, don't have. Obama's world is one of expanded government power, more intrusive regulation from healthcare to energy, and crushing tax burdens passed onto children yet unborn. Obama's world is one of a small cadre of scientific elite using scientific hypothesis as an excuse to draft social and economic engineering. Obama's world is one of the collective ... and nothing in his speech convinced "the market" otherwise.
In Canada, we have the perfect example of what Obama style socialism brings. The province of Saskatchewan elected socialist governments on and off for decades ... creating in Saskatchewan every “progressives” wet dream. In fact, in hindsight, it could be argued, that Saskatchewan was the "progressive" ideal.
The result though, was an economic basket case. Despite the fact that Saskatchewan sits on incredible natural resource wealth, the province depended on Federal handouts ... forever. Then, something happened. The people of Saskatchewan elected a conservative government and like magic, investment dollars flowed into the province, giving Saskatchewan the distinction of producing 3.9 GDP growth in a recession ... and it was all investment driven.
You see, when the investor ... be it a pension plan or billionaire or Sally with her $1000 dollar stock buy, feel confident, they place bets in the market. It is these bets that drive prosperity ... taking the form of stocks, business starts, business expansions, and consumer spending.
Until Obama and the socialist horde who support him recognize this fact, the recovery that we all await will be sluggish at best ... or non-existent. In the end, we all want to be treated as capable individuals who have a right to win or lose based on our own merits ... and keep as much of our cash without government sticking its greasy hands in our pockets. Those who don’t hold this ideal, are little more than leeches.
Obama ... no matter how great a teleprompt reader he is, did nothing to instil confidence in the individual ... and the market heard him loud and clear.
There is nothing in Obama's speech that would dissuade investors in their belief that Obama understands and appreciates little the risks and rewards associated with investment. It is best we all prepare for a long four years.
Tuesday, February 24, 2009
A Taste of Caledonia
During Clyde Powless guilty plea both my wife and I attended the court to witness not only Fantino supporting Mr. Powless but the Crown Attorney doing a terrible job in the court.
I filed a complaint with the Regional Crown's office and provide clear examples of how the Crown Attorney refused or failed to provide the court with evidence. As such I demanded, as the victim of these crimes, the Crown Attorney to be removed from any further cases related to those who assaulted me.
Furthermore, the Crown Attorney who had been handling these cases had already appeared in court to stop Jeff and I from laying criminal charges against Mr. Powless and other Native Protesters. Meanwhile the same Crown Attorney is prosecuting the very people he defended in court.
As of today I have been notified that this Crown Attorney has been removed from all cases related to me and other Attorneys have been appointed.
The cases affected are Camile Powless, Steve Powless and Brian Skye who all assaulted me on Dec. 1, 2007.
The OPP and the Crown may have some deal with Native Protesters not to prosecute these cases fully but I, for one, will ensure the Crown uphold the law and if not they will be the subject of the law.
A complaint against the first Crown Attorney will be file with Upper Canada Law Society and possible criminal charges are still be reviewed.
Gary McHale
www.caledoniawakeupcall.com
I filed a complaint with the Regional Crown's office and provide clear examples of how the Crown Attorney refused or failed to provide the court with evidence. As such I demanded, as the victim of these crimes, the Crown Attorney to be removed from any further cases related to those who assaulted me.
Furthermore, the Crown Attorney who had been handling these cases had already appeared in court to stop Jeff and I from laying criminal charges against Mr. Powless and other Native Protesters. Meanwhile the same Crown Attorney is prosecuting the very people he defended in court.
As of today I have been notified that this Crown Attorney has been removed from all cases related to me and other Attorneys have been appointed.
The cases affected are Camile Powless, Steve Powless and Brian Skye who all assaulted me on Dec. 1, 2007.
The OPP and the Crown may have some deal with Native Protesters not to prosecute these cases fully but I, for one, will ensure the Crown uphold the law and if not they will be the subject of the law.
A complaint against the first Crown Attorney will be file with Upper Canada Law Society and possible criminal charges are still be reviewed.
Gary McHale
www.caledoniawakeupcall.com
The Scientific Political Complex
The old socialist refrain, "it's the military industrial complex", seems to be giving way these days to socialism's own invention. Little by little, those who champion the Global Warming hoax are showing themselves to be little more than fascists using the blunt instrument of politically expedient "science". They know full well, that the game will soon be up, if for no other reason than nature isn't going along with the fantasy ... so in typical fascist style, they'll use threat, coercion, and force:It’s time to take a stand on global warming. Dr. James Hansen, an internationally-recognized climate scientist, calls for Americans to take part in the Capitol Climate Action on March 2 at the Capitol power plant in Washington DC — expected to be the largest display of civil disobedience against global warming in US history. Dr. Hansen warns that unless we stop burning coal, the country’s largest source of global warming pollution, young people will inherit a dramatically different world than the one we know.We can add this, to Hansen's support for eco-terrorism.
Hope and Change in SWAT
Recall that Canada's "progressive" class has a thing for "peace-deals" with the Taliban.
Let's see how "peace" with Talibs works.
In SWAT, the ink hasn't even dried on the peace agreement:
Let's see how "peace" with Talibs works.
In SWAT, the ink hasn't even dried on the peace agreement:
The Swat Taliban released a senior Swat district official and six of his Frontier Corps bodyguards after kidnapping them as they travelled to the town of Mingora. The government freed three Taliban fighters who were detained in the provincial capital of Peshawar. The incident was a violation of the ceasefire agreed upon by Swat Taliban leader Mullah Fazlullah' and the government and military.It's good that the government official kept his head about him.
“The government has released two (of) our men and soon they will release the third," said Muslim Khan, the spokesman for the Swat Taliban. "The government violated the agreement by arresting our men in Peshawar and killing [another] in Dir that is why we had to do this.”
According to Dawn, the district official was "kidnapped intentionally because TTP [Movement of the Taliban in Pakistan] wanted to give a lesson to the government that if the deal is violated then such incidents will continue to take place."
Perfectly Symbolic
As goes the theory, so goes the satelite:
A rocket carrying a NASA global warming satellite splashed into the ocean near Antarctica early Tuesday after a failed launch.
The Taurus XL rocket carrying the Orbiting Carbon Observatory blasted off just before 2 a.m. from California's Vandenberg Air Force Base.
But minutes later, the fairing on the rocket failed to separate, a preliminary investigation found. The fairing is a clamshell cover protecting the satellite as it is blasted through the atmosphere.
The 450-kilogram satellite was supposed to be placed into an orbit some 650 kilometres high to track carbon dioxide emissions.
Monday, February 23, 2009
Iraq - Afghanistan: What's the Difference?
With 17,000 more USA troops entering the fray in Afghanistan, it begs the question ... is the knowledge gained by a victorious army in Iraq, going to help in Afghanistan.
The answer ... somewhat:
The answer ... somewhat:
The message board and listservs American soldiers and marines use to share professional knowledge are lighting up as everyone headed for Afghanistan, tries to figure out how much of their Iraqi experience will be useful, or maybe even counterproductive, in Afghanistan.... keep reading.
The facts are these. Afghanistan is 50 percent larger than Iraq, with only 15 percent more people. In Iraq, over 70 percent of the population is urban (living in cities or towns), in Afghanistan, over fifty percent of the population is rural (depends on how you count tiny villages as "urban"). In Iraq, the literacy rate is 85 percent, and nearly all children are in school. In Afghanistan, literacy is 28 percent, and in rural areas, it's common for girls to be kept out of school, even if schools are available. Iraq has 45,000 kilometers of roads, of which 84 percent are paved. Afghanistan has 35,000 kilometers of roads, of which only 24 percent are paved.
The Young British Soldier
By Rudyard Kipling:When the 'arf-made recruity goes out to the East
'E acts like a babe an' 'e drinks like a beast,
An' 'e wonders because 'e is frequent deceased
Ere 'e's fit for to serve as a soldier.
Serve, serve, serve as a soldier,
Serve, serve, serve as a soldier,
Serve, serve, serve as a soldier,
So-oldier _of_ the Queen!
Now all you recruities what's drafted to-day,
You shut up your rag-box an' 'ark to my lay,
An' I'll sing you a soldier as far as I may:
A soldier what's fit for a soldier.
Fit, fit, fit for a soldier . . .
First mind you steer clear o' the grog-sellers' huts,
For they sell you Fixed Bay'nets that rots out your guts --
Ay, drink that 'ud eat the live steel from your butts --
An' it's bad for the young British soldier.
Bad, bad, bad for the soldier . . .
When the cholera comes -- as it will past a doubt --
Keep out of the wet and don't go on the shout,
For the sickness gets in as the liquor dies out,
A' it crumples the young British soldier.
Crum-, crum-, crumples the soldier . . .
But the worst o' your foes is the sun over'ead:
You must wear your 'elmet for all that is said:
If 'e finds you uncovered 'e'll knock you down dead,
An' you'll die like a fool of a soldier.
Fool, fool, fool of a soldier . . .
If you're cast for fatigue by a sergeant unkind,
Don't grouse like a woman nor crack on nor blind;
Be handy and civil, and then you will find
That it's beer for the young British soldier.
Beer, beer, beer for the soldier . . .
Now, if you must marry, take care she is old --
A troop-sergeant's widow's the nicest I'm told,
For beauty won't help if your rations is cold,
Nor love ain't enough for a soldier.
'Nough, 'nough, 'nough for a soldier . . .
If the wife should go wrong with a comrade, be loath
To shoot when you catch 'em -- you'll swing, on my oath! --
Make 'im take 'er and keep 'er: that's Hell for them both,
An' you're shut o' the curse of a soldier.
Curse, curse, curse of a soldier . . .
When first under fire an' you're wishful to duck,
Don't look nor take 'eed at the man that is struck,
Be thankful you're livin', and trust to your luck
And march to your front like a soldier.
Front, front, front like a soldier . . .
When 'arf of your bullets fly wide in the ditch,
Don't call your Martini a cross-eyed old bitch;
She's human as you are -- you treat her as sich,
An' she'll fight for the young British soldier.
Fight, fight, fight for the soldier . . .
When shakin' their bustles like ladies so fine,
The guns o' the enemy wheel into line,
Shoot low at the limbers an' don't mind the shine,
For noise never startles the soldier.
Start-, start-, startles the soldier . . .
If your officer's dead and the sergeants look white,
Remember it's ruin to run from a fight:
So take open order, lie down, and sit tight,
And wait for supports like a soldier.
Wait, wait, wait like a soldier . . .
When you're wounded and left on Afghanistan's plains,
And the women come out to cut up what remains,
Jest roll to your rifle and blow out your brains
An' go to your Gawd like a soldier.
Go, go, go like a soldier,
Go, go, go like a soldier,
Go, go, go like a soldier,
So-oldier _of_ the Queen!
How to Kill a Market
IBD offers up a list of market killers ... many brought to you via the new socialist overlords in the US of A. Keep in mind, that there will be no recovery until the "investor", be it Jack with his $5000 TFSA, or Jill, with her 10 million porfolio, decide to play ball again.A Sample:
• Newsweek, a prominent national newsweekly, blares from its cover "We Are All Socialists Now," without a hint of recognition that socialism in its various forms has been repudiated by history — as communism's collapse in the USSR, Eastern Europe and China attest.... keep reading.
Even so, a $787 billion "stimulus," along with a $700 billion bank bailout, $75 billion to refinance bad mortgages, $50 billion for the automakers, and as much as $2 trillion in loans from the Fed and the Treasury are hardly confidence-builders for our free-enterprise system.
• Talk of "nationalizing" U.S.' troubled major banks comes not just from tarnished Democratic Sen. Chris Dodd, chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, but also from Republicans like Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina and former Fed chief Alan Greenspan.
To be sure, bank shares have plunged along with home prices, and many have inadequate capital. But is nationalization really the only solution for an industry whose main product — loans to consumers and businesses — has expanded by over 5% annually so far this year?
Free Speech Victory?
A Saskatoon judge acquitted David Ahenakew today, of hate crimes. Is this a victory for freedom of expression? CTV Star Phoenix
The damning comments:
1. Ahenakew did not counsel violence against Jews in the present day, therefore he should be left alone.
2. His views are indefensible, laughable, and easily deconstructed in the open marketplace of ideas ... and that's where this battle should be fought.
3. Of concern though, is that the judge commented that with internet gaining prevalence, perhaps hate crimes should be re-examined; suggesting that hate can be spread via the net, and therefore may need to be regulated more. I find this reasoning disturbing.
4. The judge rationalized that since Ahenakew tried to avoid the damning interview, he wasn't really pushing his views ... therefore, not fomenting hate ... that they were private views. So, are blogging views private of public ... what about views expressed in the comments?
The damning comments:
"How do you get rid of a disease like that, that's going to take over, that's going to dominate?" Ahenakew responded. "The Jews damn near owned all of Germany prior to the war. That's how Hitler came in. He was going to make damn sure that the Jews didn't take over Germany or Europe.My thoughts:
"That's why he fried six million of those guys, you know. Jews would have owned the God-damned world."
1. Ahenakew did not counsel violence against Jews in the present day, therefore he should be left alone.
2. His views are indefensible, laughable, and easily deconstructed in the open marketplace of ideas ... and that's where this battle should be fought.
3. Of concern though, is that the judge commented that with internet gaining prevalence, perhaps hate crimes should be re-examined; suggesting that hate can be spread via the net, and therefore may need to be regulated more. I find this reasoning disturbing.
4. The judge rationalized that since Ahenakew tried to avoid the damning interview, he wasn't really pushing his views ... therefore, not fomenting hate ... that they were private views. So, are blogging views private of public ... what about views expressed in the comments?
Sunday, February 22, 2009
If it Weren't so Sickening; I'd Laugh
From WUWT:
94% of the carbon in the atmosphere has the same isotopic signature as the natural background. 6% is of an organic origin, fossil fuels included. Half of that organic source, 3% is what the IPCC itself says man is contributing.... and from the comments:
[...]
President Barack Obama’s climate czar said Sunday the Environmental Protection Agency will soon issue a rule on the regulation of carbon dioxide, finding that it represents a danger to the public.
The White House is pressing Congress to draft and pass legislation that would cut greenhouse gases by 80% of 1990 levels by 2050, threatening to use authority under the Clean Air Act if legislators don’t move fast enough or create strong enough provisions.
“It’s politically motivated, scientifically unjustified and legally ridiculous” said tallbloke, chief of himself, a contributor on Whats Up With That.
“Co2 a pollutant? Are they on this earth or fullers?” He added.
A representative of the Union of rhizomes, foodcrops, artichokes, cacti and triffids UR-FACT said the measure to remove co2 from the atmosphere “amounted to the mass murder of all photosynthesising lifeforms”.
Vegetable Supremo Carol Browner was “unavailable for comment”.
[...]
This is good news. Instead of limiting themselves to 60 second ads, OpEd pieces, PR releases, scare headlines, movies and pictorial spreads in national magazines, the anti-CO2 folks will have to come up with real numbers showing what power plants will be shuttered, what industries will be crippled, where the windmills and power lines will be built, how much the solar collectors will cost and how the mass transit will be paid for. Real activity to be paid for with real money and real changes in how people live. Moaning and complaining is easy. Cutting carbon isn’t just hard, it’s impossible without unacceptable sacrifice and expense.
Daily Islamophobe
... of which I completely agree:
‘It is hard to understand this deal,” said Richard Holbrooke, President Obama’s special envoy. And, if the special envoy of the so-called smartest and most impressive administration in living memory can’t understand it, what chance do the rest of us have?... keep reading.
Nevertheless, let’s try. In the Swat Valley, where a young Winston Churchill once served with the Malakand Field Force battling Muslim insurgents, his successors have concluded the game isn’t worth the candle. In return for a temporary ceasefire, the Pakistani government agreed to let the local franchise of the Taliban impose its industrial strength version of sharia across the whole of Malakand Region. If “region” sounds a bit of an imprecise term, Malakand has over five million people, all of whom are now living under a murderous theocracy. Still, peace rallies have broken out all over the Swat Valley, and, at a Swat peace rally, it helps to stand well back: As one headline put it, “Journalist Killed While Covering Peace Rally.”
Echoes of Nixon from the O-bots
One of the more classless things emerging from the O-bot White House, is the proclivity of the new administration to target those who vex them. Even over-zealous O-bots in the peasantry seem to get carried away. It's chilling frankly, that top officials within one of the most powerful offices on the planet see fit to attack unbelievers personally. Just this past week, we saw H. Clinton and J. Kerry take the lead by attacking the Bush administration while abroad (classless in any context) ... while at home the socialists were going after lowly citizens.We witnessed a man with a sign in the window of his truck stopped and bullied by police. The sign was a re-write of text used to attack Bush openly and with impunity over the last 8 years ... yet when used against The One ... the man was confronted by none other than the police. For details, go to Gateway Pundit.
Then there's the high dudgeon and wailing over the dead monkey cartoon. Pamela gives the details on this one. As you read the piece, recall going to any drug store or card shop and seeing derogatory cards featuring G.W. Bush ... and chimps.
The most recent attack on descent was the White House open rebuttle of Rick Santelli (this following a slagging of Limbaugh). Santelli is a respected journalist among those who follow investing and economic concerns. The other day he unloaded on the White House mortgage bailout; which prompted a personal attack by the White House. The attack, can be found on The New Editor.
Santelli though, pushed back:
Welcome to Chicago machine politics ... or Latin America ... it's hard to tell which.
Update:
New White Paper on the Draft
Now here's something I may agree with:
New Direction for any war:... keep reading.
Send Service Vets over 60! I am over 60 and the Armed Forces thinks I'm too old to track down terrorists. You can't be older than 42 to join the military. They've got the whole thing ass-backwards. Instead of sending 18-year olds off to fight, they ought to take us old guys. You shouldn't be able to join a military unit until you're at least 35.
For starters:
Saturday, February 21, 2009
Child Power
I always shudder when leftists use every excuse under the sun to justify "peace-terms" with murderous Islamist forces. It's like they've already decided that we can't defeat the barbarians, so we might as well allow the killers to have their way over millions of people in Pakistan and Afghanistan.
Then, I read pieces like the following, where mere children demonstrate incredible courage in the face of barbarism ... where acid burned young women return to school and a Pakistani girl takes on the barbarians with poetry of all things.
I compare this to the loathsome left ... the so-called bastion of the down-trodden and dispossessed, and I realize that the world is upside down ... that left is right; and yesterday's civil rights-fighter is today's bellicose phony ... more concerned with expanding bureaucracies and leeching off of taxpayers than in doing something positive about a very ugly world.
Tuba:
Then, I read pieces like the following, where mere children demonstrate incredible courage in the face of barbarism ... where acid burned young women return to school and a Pakistani girl takes on the barbarians with poetry of all things.
I compare this to the loathsome left ... the so-called bastion of the down-trodden and dispossessed, and I realize that the world is upside down ... that left is right; and yesterday's civil rights-fighter is today's bellicose phony ... more concerned with expanding bureaucracies and leeching off of taxpayers than in doing something positive about a very ugly world.
Tuba:
Tuba Sahaab is taking on the Taliban. But the 11-year-old Pakistani girl is no militant and her weapons are simply her words. She lives on the outskirts of Islamabad and writes poems about the pain and suffering of children in her country despite personal threats from hardline Islamic militants.
"If they kill me, do not worry," she says. "I want everyone in Pakistan to be equal."
The young poet has been interviewed by US network, CNN, and now regularly appears in the media. She is not afraid to express her views and is famous in Pakistan.
"I want to give peace to my nation," she tells CNN (photo). "I will fight for it."
Tuba is strongly opposed to hardliners who have tried to restrict girls from going to school in certain parts of the country.
Before a peace agreement announced in the volatile Swat Valley in the country's northwest on Monday, the Taliban was forcing girls out of the classroom and destroying schools.
"This is very shocking to hear that girls can't go to school, they are taking us back to the Stone Age," Tuba says.
O-Worship
Can we take the bags off our heads yet?
I find all this openly worshipful behaviour more than a little disturbing. I don’t like it when I see it directed to rock stars — What possesses people to chant their names in unison? Is it not enough to be a slave? Why do you have to advertise it? — but I really mistrust it when it slops over into the political arena. And is it not all just a bit more loathsome for being attached to a foreign leader? Could we be more craven? Usually we reserve such spinelessness for Quebec separatists.
Friday, February 20, 2009
Thursday, February 19, 2009
Stress Tests From Hell
picture: JTF2Why do special forces soldiers out-survive others? Why are they so incredibly resilient ... and capable of doing that which most humans could never do?
Here's why:
At the elite Navy Diving and Salvage Training Center in Panama City, Fla., they know how to figure out quickly who will be capable of accomplishing extremely dangerous underwater missions. They take young sailors and tie their hands behind their backs and bind their feet. They put the strap of a dive mask between the sailors' teeth and then throw them in the Olympic-size pool. The challenge is to stay afloat and live. "The more someone struggles," Morgan tells me, "the harder it is to get air and the more tired they get. You just have to inhibit the powerful, incredible instinct to breathe and your anxiety and alarm." Morgan knows how scary it is because they also tied him up and threw him in so he could understand what the sailors were going through. Most trainees quickly realize that the only way to avoid drowning is to relax and sink to the bottom of the pool, kick off powerfully toward the surface, gasp for a little bit of air through clenched teeth and then fall back into the water and drop down to the bottom again.
During this testing, a lot of sailors black out. They simply don't get enough oxygen and lose consciousness. Morgan has watched many of them sink to the bottom of the pool before divers pull them to the surface. On the deck, the unconscious sailors are rolled on their sides, and as soon as they revive, an instructor shouts again and again: "Are you gonna quit? Are you gonna quit?" Sailors are given 30 seconds to answer or they're kicked out of the program. If they say they want to keep going, they're given another 30 seconds to recover and then they're thrown back into the pool. It may sound sadistic, but the Navy is simply trying to identify who will survive the most dangerous missions and who won't. Through this grueling test, it finds soldiers and sailors who refuse to give up, who can suppress the need to breathe, who trust that they'll be rescued if something goes wrong and who are prepared to lose consciousness—or even die—following orders.
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
So Who Are These People Anyway?
It has come to light that only 20% or so of IPCC members have had "some dealing with climate". What I'd like to know is what does "some dealing" mean ... greenie bureaucrats with a penchant for hating technology and human progress perhaps ... or pragmatic socialists who see "greenishness" as a way toward creating more superanational organizations ... or perhaps even geneticists who've hosted television programs that cover "green" topics. Who knows?
The point is, that the notion that some massive body of science and research supports the Global Warming myth ... is, in itself, a myth. Those providing foundational research are actually a very small group. The rest are simply spin-off science ... like a spin-off industry. For example, a biologist may predict what impact global warming may have on snow geese, while taking as the gospel truth that human caused global warming exists without ever having studied and scrutinized the foundational science. I imagine that for said biologist, the key is receiving a piece of, and a living off of, the billions of dollars available to believers.
Nevertheless, the next time someone tries to shove the IPCC down your throat, as if it’s some sacred institution of truth ... remind them that only about 20% of the IPCC members are "climate" specialists in even the simplest terms. I suppose that the rest are just UN bureaucrats doing what these leeches have always done ... create one crisis after another so that they can hire more bureaucrats and expand world government. After all, isn’t that what the IPCC is all about?
More
The point is, that the notion that some massive body of science and research supports the Global Warming myth ... is, in itself, a myth. Those providing foundational research are actually a very small group. The rest are simply spin-off science ... like a spin-off industry. For example, a biologist may predict what impact global warming may have on snow geese, while taking as the gospel truth that human caused global warming exists without ever having studied and scrutinized the foundational science. I imagine that for said biologist, the key is receiving a piece of, and a living off of, the billions of dollars available to believers.
Nevertheless, the next time someone tries to shove the IPCC down your throat, as if it’s some sacred institution of truth ... remind them that only about 20% of the IPCC members are "climate" specialists in even the simplest terms. I suppose that the rest are just UN bureaucrats doing what these leeches have always done ... create one crisis after another so that they can hire more bureaucrats and expand world government. After all, isn’t that what the IPCC is all about?
More
The Magnificent Bastard Strikes Again
One of my favorite international statesmen is Vaclav Klaus of the Czech Republic ... he's every "progressives" nightmare. One of my favorite European blogs is EU Referendum.
So, when the two combine in a piece of wit and mockery, it makes for delightful reading:
So, when the two combine in a piece of wit and mockery, it makes for delightful reading:
Vaclav Klaus was speaking in Paris recently. He took the opportunity while there to complain that although in the last twenty years he had given hundreds of speeches and lectures throughout the world, not many of them had been in Paris. In fact, his last one was in 2003.... keep reading.
Ever sensitive to the subtle nuances of international discourse, Klaus confessed to have picked up some slightly negative vibes, suggesting that his prolonged absence from the speaking circuits of gay Paree might just have had something to do with his choosing the "wrong topics". It is either that or it could be that his views were "politically incorrect", he said.
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
Junker in Afghanistan
I thought I'd just let our readers know that "Junker" of this blog is now in Afghanistan. He's a member of the CF, as most of you know. We said our good-byes and wish him safe return home. Don't expect any posts from him as his responsibilities preclude such.
Another One Bites the Dust
It would seem that the quickest way to Taliban heaven these days is to become a leader. ISAF, NATO, and the USA are doing a smash-up job of knocking Taliban kingpins down.
For instance, just yesterday, another one bit the dust:
For instance, just yesterday, another one bit the dust:
Coalition forces killed a senior insurgent commander during an airstrike in the western province of Herat.
Ghulam Yahya Akbari, the leader of an independent insurgent group aligned with the Taliban, and upwards of 15 of his leaders and fighters were killed in a "precision strike" that targeted his headquarters in Herat's Gozara district.
Akbari was "a key insurgent commander" with "affiliations with Hezb-e-Islami Gulbuddin and the Taliban," the US military said in a press release. He was behind a surge in violence in Herat province over the past several months.
Akbari, who was also known as the “Tajik Taliban”, served as the mayor of the city of Herat before the Taliban took control in 1995. After the fall of the Taliban, he was appointed the province's minister of public works. He was relieved of his position in 2008 and took up arms against the government shortly afterward.
Psychoanalysis of The One and his Followers
Enjoy:I must confess I was not impressed by Sen. Barack Obama from the first time I saw him. At first I was excited to see a black candidate. He looked youthful, spoke well, appeared to be confident – a wholesome presidential package. It is so instinctive for most people to want to see blacks succeed. It is as if all humanity is carrying a collective guilt for what the ancestors of blacks endured. However, despite my initial interest in him, I was put off soon, not just because of his shallowness but also because there was an air of haughtiness in his demeanor that was unsettling. His posture and his body language were louder than his empty words.
It is surreal to see the level of hysteria in his admirers. This phenomenon is unprecedented in American politics. Women scream and swoon during his speeches. They yell and shout to Obama, “I love you.” Never did George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, Franklin Roosevelt. Martin Luther King Jr. or Ronald Reagan arouse so much raw emotion. Despite their achievements, none of them was raised to the rank of Messiah. The Illinois senator has no history of service to the country. He has done nothing outstanding except giving promises of change and hyping his audience with hope. It’s only his words, not his achievements that is causing this much uproar.
[...]
Obama’s speeches are grandiose. They are other worldly. He may talk about the war in Iraq, taxes or social security. It does not matter how mundane is the subject, he makes them sound transcendental and his audience is moved to tears. His worshippers do not go to listen to his plans. He has yet to offer any that is workable and different. They go to bask in his glory, to get high. Obama presents himself as someone with a unique vision and grasp of the entire problems affecting, not just the nation but the world, a pretense that is incomensurate with his track record. When in a meeting with House Democrats waxing lyrical about his trip to Europe, he concluded, “this is the moment, as Nancy [Pelosi] noted, that the world is waiting for.” The world is waiting for Obama, according to Obama. In one of his rallies he reiterated this delusion of grandiosity and said, “We are the ones we’ve been waiting for." This sentence is logically absurd. What actually Obama wanted to say, which he masked with fake modesty is “I am the one the world has been waiting for.”
When you fall for someone to the extent that Obama’s followers have fallen for him, you surrender your reason and individuality to him willingly. When millions of people surrender their hearts and their minds to one person the result can be catastrophic. This is what happened in Germany with Hitler, in China with Mao, in the Soviet Union with Stalin, in Cuba with Castro, in Iran with Khomeini, and so on and so forth. Today, we think these men were monsters, but that was not what millions of their worshipers thought. Those people loved them. Dictators can’t dictate, unless peole are willing to be dictated.
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